Chapter 56
Chapter 56
Chapter 56
The Ten Alliance (1)
The atmosphere in the lodging became serious with the news delivered early in the morning.
—A second official group of reincarnators has been born in China. The group, which calls itself the Ten Alliance, is drawing attention by directly targeting the Heavenly Demon Cult.
The screen switched from the anchor to show an elderly man with white hair wearing white Taoist robes.
—Our Ten Alliance is a group that reveres martial arts and considers chivalry as our life. We will not have any negative impact on society, but we cannot exist under the same sky as the Heavenly Demon Cult.
His manner of speech reminded me of someone.
—The Heavenly Demon Cult and we have a long-standing grudge that has continued from our previous lives. We have devoted our entire lives to preparing for the revival of the Heavenly Demon Cult, and now it is time to execute this.
His words weighed heavily on my heart. The white-haired old man's story continued.
—We have prepared for 60 years to prevent the revival of the Heavenly Demon Cult. If the Heavenly Demon Cult had appeared 100 years later, we would naturally have waited until then.
I could feel the desperation. It meant they had made that many preparations.
—We inform all nations and the public. We will have a direct fight with the Heavenly Demon Cult, and this is merely a continuation of the fight from our previous lives. We hope that neither nations nor individuals will interfere in this fight.
It was a declaration of war.
The news ended there. Afterward, they talked about curiosities regarding the Heavenly Demon Cult's response, but most of it was just people unrelated to me chattering away.
"Do you know who it is?"
"Ak Cheon-in."
Mount Hua Sect Leader Ak Cheon-in.
He was someone who had mastered the Plum Blossom Sword Technique to its extreme.
His distinctive manner of speech made me guess this.
"I understand what the name Ten Alliance means."
"The Ten Great Masters?"
"That's right."
The Ten Great Masters who died by my hand.
They naturally qualified to reincarnate.
"They prepared for 60 years."
It meant they had dreamed of revenge from the moment they guessed reincarnation.
What preparations they made hadn't been revealed yet. But one thing was certain.
"They must have almost recovered their previous life's power. They may have already surpassed it."
A full 60 years.
If they had devoted themselves to training for revenge, they might have already surpassed their previous lives. Their understanding and application of martial arts were also excellent.
"We have prepared countermeasures."
"Did you anticipate it would be to this extent in your countermeasures?"
"Not exactly. But we will prepare to respond sufficiently."
If it was Jimun Seo-saeng, he would find a good plan.
But this time, it seemed my method, not his, was needed.
"That countermeasure—does it involve bringing them down?"
"That would be difficult."
As expected, Jimun Seo-saeng would create a situation where it was ambiguous for the opponent to attack. He could make them fight with other organizations, or he could unfold political maneuvers.
"If it's revenge, I should accept it."
"Cult Leader."
Jimun Seo-saeng quickly tried to stop me, having grasped my intention.
But this kind of matter should be done my way. That's the best method to not harm the cult members.
"Please just wait ten days. I need time to at least gather information about them."
Jimun Seo-saeng, anticipating what I would say, made the first move.
Thinking I would definitely keep whatever I said out loud, he bought time in advance.
"Alright."
I didn't refuse even this.
Thus, ten days passed.
The Ten Alliance received explosive support.
First, the Chinese government recognized them.
The Chinese government even packaged the reincarnators' group as if it belonged to the state.
The Chinese people welcomed this. It looked the same as Koreans welcoming the Heavenly Demon Cult.
As if they had developed a new weapon, the Chinese called the Ten Alliance the pride of China.
The Ten Alliance didn't refuse this either.
—If our revenge succeeds, we will protect China, which helped and supported us.
They too needed backing, and if it was a powerful nation like China, there was no reason to refuse.
'It was a predetermined sequence from the beginning.'
This wasn't something that suddenly happened. It must have already been agreed upon with the Chinese government.
The Ten Alliance was a union of 10 people, but their numbers reached 300.
'They even have disciples.'
There were disciples raised in this world. Sixty years was enough time for that.
The number of reincarnators couldn't be determined, but there seemed to be at least 50 reincarnators, and 250 were those who had learned martial arts from this current life.
The Ten Great Masters.
This meant the Ten Great Sects.
Even those from those sect origins had joined the Ten Alliance.
They had become the largest armed group in the world, excluding armies.
'They prepared with venomous resolve.'
It was almost miraculous that they had endured without being revealed until now.
'If one sect raised 30 disciples, their skills must be outstanding.'
Even if only 3-4 reincarnators joined, it was a number that could be intensively trained.
Three hundred people seemed like a lot on the surface, but divided among 10 sects, it was no different from an elite few.
—The Beggar's Sect and Shaolin Temple are missing.
The Ten Alliance was filled not with the Ten Great Masters, but with 8 of the Ten Great Masters and 2 others.
Beggar's Sect Leader Gu Ak-chil.
Shaolin Eminent Monk Beop-seong.
They were among the Ten Great Masters, but they weren't visible in the Ten Alliance.
Their places were taken by the Kunlun Sect Leader, who was one of the Nine Great Sects, and the head of the Namgung Family.
"Cult Leader, what will you do?"
So Iryeon couldn't contain her frustration and asked.
I had already made my decision.
"I'm going to China."
"I'll prepare."
"No, I'm going alone."
"Cult Leader!"
So Iryeon raised her voice.
"Do you think I'll lose?"
"It's not that..."
"Don't forget who I am. I'll accept their revenge, but I won't be the one dying."
So Iryeon couldn't say anything more.
Actually, So Iryeon's position had become somewhat ambiguous.
She was clearly Chinese and enjoyed tremendous popularity within China. But with the Ten Alliance mentioning the Heavenly Demon Cult, she found herself in an awkward position.
Until the situation was sorted out, she needed to refrain from activities within China.
"Cult Leader, if you insist on going alone, there's no need for it to be right now."
"The sooner I finish it, the better."
"I'm not asking you to wait long. Please look at this."
Jimun Seo-saeng held out a printed piece of paper. It was content I had seen before.
Ten Alliance Martial Arts Tournament
Just as the Heavenly Demon Cult had done, they too were trying to gather reincarnators from their own sects. The stage they created for this was the martial arts tournament.
It was quite an excellent method. It stimulated nostalgia and was sufficient as justification.
"Are you telling me to go where all those bastards are gathered instead?"
"It's a place where even general spectators can participate without restrictions. If there are many watching, ambushes and coordinated attacks will be difficult."
I could understand his intention.
"Isn't it fun to overturn a feast?"
Jimun Seo-saeng no longer tried to stop me. He had regained his characteristic composure.
"That's a good idea."
The date of the martial arts tournament was June 3rd.
One month later.
June 3rd.
Nanjing, China.
Nanjing was experiencing unprecedented prosperity.
The headquarters of the Ten Alliance was here in Nanjing, and recently, countless people had gathered for the Ten Alliance's martial arts tournament.
It was natural in a way that media from all over the world, thirsty for reincarnator information, dispatched reporters here.
Moreover, recently one issue had become a subject of great controversy.
—Should fights between reincarnators be viewed as crimes?
The Ten Alliance had said that the fight with the Heavenly Demon Cult was an extension of their previous lives. And they warned others not to interfere.
The Chinese government took a moderate stance. They simply said nothing.
Instead, they announced that the government would step in if ordinary people got involved.
Therefore, expectations and anticipation for the martial arts tournament reached their peak.
I too arrived in Nanjing early in the morning.
"Why did you follow me?"
"Tourism."
The Witch was beside me.
"Did Jimun Seo-saeng tell you to?"
"Am I someone who does what he tells me? It's just tourism."
"Then why are you following me?"
"I don't know the way. You're going to see the martial arts tournament, so if I follow you, I can see it."
"Am I a tour guide?"
My tension dropped because of the Witch.
I came to see the martial arts tournament after building up tension for a long time, but instead, I was more concerned about the Witch.
"This is my fight. Never interfere."
At my words, the Witch stared at me.
"Why?"
"Didn't you interfere in my fight?"
"That's because you were dying."
"So you want me to just stay still even if you die?"
Even if we don't always say nice things to each other, we're definitely family. Recently, even the walls from our previous lives have come down a lot.
"I'll never create anything that would make our parents and Yuna sad."
The Witch didn't hide her true feelings.
"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"
"What?"
"Trying to make us equal because I saved you a few times."
"Half correct."
"What's the other half?"
"Five years left. Until then, you, as my younger sibling, need to stay alive and protect me."
The six years the Witch had mentioned.
Time had passed and it became five years.
I began to wonder what would happen five years from now.
"What on earth is going to happen in five years?"
"You'll end up calling me older sister."
She didn't seem to have any intention of answering in detail anyway.
I didn't want to argue over this matter, so I turned my gaze away, but the Witch said as if tossing words at me.
"Don't forget. We have a contractual relationship."
I tried to say more but stopped. But the Witch didn't seem to be done.
"Don't you have something you want to say to me? There's something appropriate for the current situation."
It was true that I had interfered in the fight and saved her, and at that time, the Witch had rather tried to repay the debt.
—Help me.
The Witch had even said these words, and in the end, I dealt with Rena.
I too faced a difficult situation, but I didn't ask the Witch for help.
'I can't separate her anyway.'
The moment this thought occurred, Jimun Seo-saeng's words came to mind.
—You are stubborn.
—The Cult Leader's life is one, but the lives hanging on it are not just one.
It was certainly different from my previous life.
In my previous life, I was the strongest, and I just had to prove it. But not now.
Now that Heavenly Demon Cult members were just beginning to gather, nothing bad should happen.
Just before I departed for China, Jimun Seo-saeng gave only one piece of advice about this matter.
—Cult Leader, could you please hold back just once at the martial arts tournament before stepping forward? Just once will do.
Don't be the first to step forward. Jimun Seo-saeng emphasized once.
'Jimun Seo-saeng and the Witch must have definitely talked about something.'
The Witch just waited quietly as if she knew what I was thinking.
'Let's trust Jimun Seo-saeng.'
He must have made the Witch accompany me because he judged it absolutely necessary. Too much was at stake to be stubborn.
I steeled my resolve and spoke to the Witch.
"How about passionately?"
"You're asking for help, right?"
"Do you want to hear those words?"
"I was extremely embarrassed when I said those words."
The Witch's eyes became fierce. They were eyes forcing me to say those words.
"Let's go together."
"That's all?"
"I did my best."
The Witch thought for a moment, then turned around.
"I'll let it slide this much today. But you'll definitely end up asking me for help."
"That won't happen."
"We'll see."
Thus, we decided to be together at a point that preserved each other's pride and satisfaction.
1 PM. The Ten Alliance headquarters on the outskirts of Nanjing.
In front of the newly built Ten Alliance headquarters was an empty lot that hadn't been developed yet.
Until yesterday morning, that place had been a plain with tall grass. But now, around the training ground built like a stage in the center, crowds had gathered so densely there was no room to set foot.
The central training ground, made flat by building up a platform, was quite spacious, but compared to the crowds that had gathered, it even looked shabby.
An empty lot where 100,000 people had assembled.
It was such a large crowd that most people couldn't see anything.
Dung! Dung!
With the sound of drums, Ak Cheon-in ascended onto the training ground.
"Fellow martial artists who have come to this humble place, thank you."
The martial arts tournament began with Ak Cheon-in's greeting.
It was now natural that this too was broadcast to various countries.
After that, Ak Cheon-in gave a courteous greeting, then announced the declaration of the martial arts tournament.
The purpose of this martial arts tournament was to gauge the skills of the 10-sect alliance and to announce the Ten Alliance to the outside world.
A total of five sparring matches were scheduled, and from each sect, experts excluding the sect leaders came forward.
Rough wooden chairs were placed around the sparring ground, and 10 elders took their seats.
The 10 sect leaders.
I saw their faces for the first time in this current life.
Although Beggar's Sect Leader Gu Ak-chil and Shaolin Eminent Monk Beop-seong were missing, their prestige was not diminished in the slightest. The two who newly joined were also those with high reputations in the martial world.
As I was trying to look at each face one by one, the Witch beside me asked. We were on the roof of an old warehouse near the sparring ground, not in the empty lot of the sparring ground.
"You said to go passionately, right?"
"Of course, we should."
Suddenly, the Witch raised her hand, and a giant ice spear formed in the sky.
"Stop!"
The Witch looked at me with her hand still raised.
"This is passionate."
"Are you So Iryeon? Not the Witch?"
"I'm your older sister."
"Hurry up and put your hand down."
"Coward."
Fortunately, the Witch lowered her hand. The ice spear disappeared, and the 100,000 spectators were safe.
'Did Jimun Seo-saeng anticipate even this?'
For the first time, I had doubts about Jimun Seo-saeng's judgment.