Chapter 83
Chapter 83
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: The Jongnam Sword Saint Arrives
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Inside the grand hall where the Jongnam Sect was staying.
In the innermost room among them, the owner of the room, Elder Cheongwoo, and an old man with snow-white hair and beard were facing each other.
The old man's attire was quite unique: he wore a worn-out Daoist robe that had been patched multiple times with shabby cloth.
It was starkly comparable to Elder Cheongwoo's expensive silk Daoist robe, obvious at a glance.
"It's been a long time."
Elder Cheongwoo bowed deeply and formally in response to the old Taoist's words.
"I'm sorry for summoning you so urgently."
"It's fine. Thanks to you, I got to see the faces of the kids at the Murim Alliance."
As the Jongnam Sword Saint replied softly, Elder Cheongwoo raised his head.
A broad smile spread across his face as he met the Jongnam Sword Saint's eyes.
'If you have the Mount Hua Divine Sword, then our sect has Martial Uncle here!'
He, who had been forced to withdraw in humiliation because of the Mount Hua Divine Sword, had requested aid from the Jongnam Sect—no, from the Jongnam Sword Saint himself.
And he had arrived.
In less than a few days.
"I read the letter."
The Jongnam Sword Saint said quietly.
"Is everything in it true?"
"Yes."
"That the Mount Hua Sect is trying to seize our sect's hall, and that the Mount Hua Divine Sword pressured you?"
"Yes."
The Jongnam Sword Saint stroked his beard once at Elder Cheongwoo's firm reply.
"I can't understand it. Mount Hua wasn't such a petty place..."
As Elder Cheongwoo watched the Jongnam Sword Saint close his eyes slightly, as if shaken, he seized the moment and quickly added,
"As you know, Martial Uncle, Mount Hua has long viewed our sect's rising fame unfavorably."
A wry smile formed on the Jongnam Sword Saint's lips.
It was a statement he couldn't refute.
Just as said, the rift between the current Mount Hua Sect and Jongnam Sect had deepened as far as it could.
"In the end, it can't be helped."
His expression turned complicated for a moment, then he slowly rose from his seat.
"I suppose I must meet them myself."
Meanwhile, the Mount Hua Sect's hall was in an uproar.
Especially Hyeondo, who furrowed his brow and reacted strongly upon hearing that the Jongnam Sword Saint had arrived at the alliance.
"The Jongnam Sword Saint has come?"
He had long heard rumors of the Jongnam Sword Saint and admired him as a great hero.
But.
'To visit at a time like this...'
As the wrinkles on his forehead deepened,
"Looks like Jongnam called him in."
Cheonhwi tossed out the words lightly.
Cheonhwi, who voiced what no one else dared say aloud, twisted his lips with an excited expression.
"Seems like we're in for a proper fight."
The absolute master of the Jongnam Sect, who had driven the once-mighty Mount Hua Sect to second place in Shaanxi.
Even accounting for the massacre of the Plum Blossom Sword Hero and the Plum Blossom Sword Guards, the Jongnam Sect's continued dominance owed more than half to the existence of the Jongnam Sword Saint.
'Around the level of the White Ghost Castle Lord? Or maybe a bit lower...'
As he anticipated,
'No, higher.'
Cheonhwi corrected his thought.
A massive presence was drawing closer.
"Everyone, step back."
Hyeondo must have sensed it too, as he pushed Hyeonjin and the Plum Blossom Sword Guards behind him and approached the door.
"Come in."
"Pardon the intrusion."
A response came as if anticipated, and an old man in worn Daoist robes entered.
Following the old Taoist were Elder Cheongwoo and the other Jongnam Sect Taoists.
Hyeondo frowned at the Taoists swarming in like a swarm of bees.
"Are you here to start a war?"
"Indeed."
Elder Cheongwoo declared proudly, chest puffed out.
Unlike when he had first met Hyeondo and cowered, things were different now.
He had something to rely on.
And that reliance was.
"Martial Uncle."
At Elder Cheongwoo's words and glance, the old Taoist who had been watching silently stepped forward.
"This is our first time meeting like this."
He smiled purely and kindly, like the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord.
"I am Go Hyeon."
Hyeondo's eyes narrowed.
He had suspected it when the Jongnam Sect Taoists arrived, but it was as expected.
'The Jongnam Sword Saint!'
Hardening his gaze, he considered the matchup with the Jongnam Sword Saint and bowed politely.
"...I am Hyeondo."
Thus, the two exchanged greetings.
"That one is..."
"The Jongnam Sword Saint."
The listeners tensed, bodies stiffening.
These two facing each other were the representatives of the current Mount Hua Sect and Jongnam Sect.
After staring at each other for a long while, the Jongnam Sword Saint spoke first, yielding.
"Until now, I thought the rumors about you were exaggerated. But meeting you in person, it seems they were true."
Though the Jongnam Sword Saint spoke lightly, the impact was tremendous.
Especially for the Jongnam Sect Taoists—the shock was staggering.
"If even Martial Uncle says that, then the rumors weren't exaggerated?"
"Does that mean he really took down White Ghost Castle...?"
As the Jongnam Sect Taoists swallowed hard,
"For a master like you to appear in Mount Hua... it's a great blessing for the martial world."
The Jongnam Sword Saint seemed genuinely pleased.
As if unaware of the current strained relations between Jongnam Sect and Mount Hua Sect.
But that lasted only a moment.
"I heard the story from my martial nephew."
The pleasant atmosphere vanished, replaced by an oppressive pressure around the Jongnam Sword Saint.
"That your sect is trying to take the hall where our sect is staying."
Hyeondo's eyebrow twitched.
"What do you mean? We never tried to seize it."
"...You never tried to seize it?"
"Martial Uncle!"
Elder Cheongwoo tried to interject hastily, but
"Cheongwoo."
The Jongnam Sword Saint turned to him, stopping him, then fixed his gaze back on Hyeondo.
"Speak."
"The Murim Alliance assigned it to our sect."
"The Alliance...?"
The Jongnam Sword Saint's expression changed.
The softness shattered, replaced by sharpness filling his face.
"Do you expect me to understand the situation?"
"Our sect performed missions for the Alliance, accumulating merits, so they returned the hall we originally stayed in."
"So it's our sect's hall."
"Yes."
The Jongnam Sword Saint turned his displeased gaze to Elder Cheongwoo.
"That's different from what I heard from you."
"It's all lies! With the missions they did, they couldn't claim our sect's hall. Ours was earned through years of missions..."
As Elder Cheongwoo poured out aggrieved words laced with desperation,
"Tch, tsk tsk. Are these Taoists starving for a fight or what?"
All eyes turned to the wall at the sudden voice.
There stood an old beggar draped in filthy rags.
"Gang Leader!"
"Why is the Gang Leader here?!"
As chaos erupted regardless of Mount Hua or Jongnam at the appearance of Yong Ju-gae,
'Why did this guy show up?'
Cheonhwi stared at Yong Ju-gae.
He knew he had come but didn't expect him to reveal himself so openly.
『Have you been well?』
His transmission voice tickled his ear.
『Why are you here?』
『Heh heh. Why do you think?』
Cheonhwi's eyes narrowed momentarily.
'So he teamed up with one of the three.'
As if confirming his thought, Yong Ju-gae grinned, revealing yellowed teeth.
Then Yong Ju-gae leaped down.
Moving gracefully in midair, he landed between Hyeondo and the Jongnam Sword Saint, chuckling.
"I thought I'd visit the Murim Alliance after so long, but are you here to fight?"
"It turned out that way."
"Didn't I tell you before? Biased information deceives the eyes and ears."
Yong Ju-gae and the Jongnam Sword Saint conversed as if they were close acquaintances.
"Are you saying my martial nephew is wrong?"
"Exactly."
At Yong Ju-gae's blunt words,
"That's nonsense! How could that many people wipe out the Water Dragon Stronghold?"
Elder Cheongwoo bristled.
But Yong Ju-gae ignored him, digging in his ear.
"You'll know the truth in a few days, yet you're closing your eyes to it."
"Are you siding with Mount Hua because the Beggars' Gang recently allied with them?"
"Oh ho."
Yong Ju-gae's lip curled up.
"A Taoist with good intel, for once."
The Jongnam Sect Taoists, flustered by the Gang Leader's appearance, gritted their teeth.
"They're in cahoots!"
"No wonder he showed up!"
As they vented their frustration,
"Mount Hua has allied with the Beggars' Gang."
A loud voice came from behind.
At the same time, about a dozen Taoists in black-and-white Daoist robes entered slowly.
It was the Wudang Sect.
"Elder Mok Yeong!"
Elder Cheongwoo's stiff expression relaxed and brightened at Wudang's arrival.
"Sorry for being late."
The middle-aged Taoist at the front of the group approached with a bright smile.
"No, I'm just grateful you came."
Cheonhwi narrowed his brow at the increasingly tangled situation.
The martial world was a place where the strong reigned supreme anyway.
But what was this spectacle?
They were just glaring at each other.
'Just fight it out and be done with it.'
He was frustrated to the point of exasperation.
Why so much talk?
Just settle it with a decisive battle.
'Get to fighting already.'
As Cheonhwi looked at them pitifully, Elder Mok Yeong approached the three.
"I am Mok Yeong of Wudang. I never imagined I'd meet the Wind Cloud Divine Beggar and the Mount Hua Divine Sword in one place."
Yong Ju-gae grumbled at the words.
"Wind Cloud Divine Beggar my foot. I know they call me the Strange Beggar behind my back."
"Haha."
Elder Mok Yeong laughed awkwardly, unable to retort, and withdrew his fist salute.
After the formal greetings, he glared at Yong Ju-gae and Hyeondo, lips moving.
"More importantly, I just heard the Beggars' Gang and Mount Hua Sect have allied."
His eyes narrowed.
"Is it true?"
"You know it well."
"Indeed."
At Yong Ju-gae and Hyeondo's replies, Elder Mok Yeong hardened his face and stood beside Elder Cheongwoo.
"Then our sect stands with Jongnam Sect."
A short but resolute declaration of alliance followed.
And thus, the groups split into two factions.
Meanwhile, Cheonhwi watched the two factions standing silently after the proclamation, furrowing his brow.
'So when are you going to fight?'
Their constant brinkmanship looked like a children's squabble.
At that moment.
"This is getting noisy!"
As the atmosphere heated up, Yong Ju-gae shouted irritably.
"If you're going to do this, why not settle it with a public sparring match?"
Everyone froze at that instant.
"What?"
"A public sparring match?"