Chapter 387
Translator: penny
Chapter: 396
Chapter Title: Unexpected Support and Bold Challenge
Chapter 396
The audience, including the Nine Great Sects, began to stir at the appearance of Reverend Hye-gwang.
It was because Reverend Hye-gwang, who had been absent during the interrogation of Namgung Hyeok, had suddenly shown up.
The impact was enormous.
The atmosphere shifted in an instant just from the arrival of an elder from Shaolin, revered as the pillar of the martial world.
Elder Heo Won glared at Reverend Hye-gwang with a twisted expression.
“What do you mean by that, Elder Hye-gwang!”
Reverend Hye-gwang burst into laughter.
“Isn’t there a Buddha in this young man’s heart? How compassionate and noble is that sentiment?”
“Do you not know that merely possessing a demonic sword is enough to make one a criminal!”
“Ha ha, metal is just metal. It’s all about the intent in one’s heart—what matters is cultivating that mind.”
“Do you think this old Daoist needs a sermon from Shaolin right now?!”
What the hell is this crazy monk saying?
Reverend Hye-gwang smiled faintly.
“Any sword in the hands of a villain becomes a demonic blade, and in the hands of a virtuous man, it becomes a divine sword. That’s why the sword held by the Wudang Sect is a divine sword, isn’t it?”
…This old coot?
“Sophistry! Utter sophistry!”
“Ha ha! They say wielding a demonic sword turns one into a baleful spirit, but to my eyes, Young Master Namgung radiates a pure and clear aura, doesn’t he?”
Namgung Hyeok nodded emphatically.
That’s right, well said, monk!
The monk showed up right on time!
Yeah, who are these Wudang punks to argue when Shaolin speaks?
Namgung Hyeok chuckled.
“As expected of Shaolin—their heads may not sparkle, but their mastery of the mind is brilliant!”
“Ha ha ha.”
“Keuh! He shines, he really shines.”
Namgung Hyeok gave Reverend Hye-gwang a thumbs-up in praise.
Elder Heo Won’s face twisted even further at the sight.
“So! You’re saying that demonic sword isn’t a demonic sword?”
“If it’s in the hands of Donor Namgung, wouldn’t it be a divine sword? The Alliance quelled villains who stirred up the Blood Tribulation, but that sword never clashed against it.”
What the hell did this crazy old man eat wrong?
With no one else to take their side, is he defending the Namgung family?!
Even if his words rang true a hundred times over, shouldn’t he still say no?
Defending the Namgung family, which tarnished the dignity of the Nine Great Sects, was absurd.
‘Since when did Shaolin think so highly of the Namgung family!’
He’d heard Shaolin had recent dealings with them, but was a mere connection enough to step forward like this?
Yet with just a few words from Reverend Hye-gwang, the audience’s expressions had already changed.
This isn’t good.
‘Even so, it won’t reverse the flow.’
In the Righteous Heaven Alliance, which trembles at the mere mention of demons or demonic paths, such nonsense wouldn’t fly.
That’s why Wudang’s sect leader, Elder Heo Jong, was staying silent.
Elder Heo Won snorted.
“Fine! Let’s say Shaolin thinks that way! What about the other elders?”
His gaze turned toward the elders of the Nine Great Sects seated behind.
The elders’ eyes intertwined in complex fashion.
They glanced at one another cautiously.
Elder Heo Won pressed them.
“Speak your honest minds! Don’t hold back…”
“Ha ha, I’ve heard enough. Time for me to stand.”
“Yes, stand and speak… What?”
Elder Heo Won’s mouth fell open at the voice of Huashan’s Elder Ja-yang.
What did that plum blossom lunatic just say?
“What did you just…?”
“Huashan concurs with Shaolin’s view.”
“…W-what do you mean by that!”
“A sword is just a sword. The Dao is a matter of the heart’s cultivation. A blade is merely a tool. Finding the Dao through it depends on the practitioner’s own capacity, does it not?”
What kind of bullshit is this?!
Huashan’s crazy plum blossom fanatics are stabbing him in the back now?!
At that moment, Zhongnan’s Elder Baek Jong stepped forward and spoke.
“Ha ha ha! What a coincidence—Zhongnan shares the view of Huashan today! The Dao is precisely that!”
“W-what?!”
Zhongnan aligning with Huashan?
With those Huashan folks? Zhongnan?
Rivals worse than dogs and cats?
What the hell is going on?
Shaolin, Huashan, and Zhongnan—all three major sects supporting Namgung Hyeok?
‘N-no way?!’
Elder Heo Won’s beard trembled.
Namgung Hyeok was grinning slyly.
Something was off.
Terribly off.
Why would three powerhouse sects of the Nine Great Sects back this Namgung family punk?!
Huashan and Zhongnan, whose pride pierced the heavens—why?!
And weren’t those two both Daoist sects, grouped together as the Five Great Sword Sects?
Elder Heo Won’s face turned ashen.
With those three sects stepping up, the other Nine Great Sects hesitated to support him.
Even the spectators who had gasped at the demonic sword began tilting their heads.
“Thinking about it, yeah. The Namgung family’s second young master isn’t some villain.”
“Actually, wasn’t Elder Heo Won the one almost overcome by the demonic qi?”
“…For a young man in his twenties to wield such a demonic sword.”
“Hmm! Still, it’s a demonic sword…”
“But the Radiant Dragon is suppressing it! Even if blocking the Blood Tribulation is an exaggeration, it’s clearly no issue!”
The atmosphere began to shift like a receding tide, the ripple spreading like wildfire. Elder Heo Won was at a loss.
This was absolutely not the situation Wudang wanted.
Even Wudang’s sect leader, Elder Heo Jong, had his face flushed amid the current fiasco.
As the chaos intensified.
Namgung Hyeok, who had been watching silently—or rather, smirking—suddenly spoke up.
“So, no problem then?”
No problem?
No…
Not a single elder from the Nine Great Sects raised an objection.
‘Something’s wrong here. They must’ve planned this in advance, twisting things at the last second!’
Would the prideful Nine Great Sects so readily yield to a few words?
‘What the hell did the Namgung family bribe them with!’
When they should be paragons of integrity, they’d clearly taken something.
Under Elder Heo Won’s piercing glare, Elders Ja-yang and Baek Jong slyly averted their eyes.
Their gazes met for a split second.
‘Zhongnan, you don’t mean…?’
‘…Huashan too?’
‘You took it?’
‘…Yeah.’
‘No wonder! I thought you two were getting along too well!’
‘Of course they wouldn’t give to just one sect!’
The two exchanged awkward glances before steeling their eyes.
‘This is all for Huashan’s revival, isn’t it? If we sit idle, we’ll be left sucking our thumbs!’
‘Hearing it out, it makes sense. A warrior wields the sword like limb and seeks the Dao!’
‘We must obtain the original manual of the Purple Cloud Divine Skill, lost during the Demonic Blood Tribulation. Who’d have thought it was tied to the Namgung family!’
‘The manual left by Zhongnan’s ancestors is still only half. We need the other half!’
They had obtained originals of manuals lost in the Demonic Blood Tribulation.
Exactly half each.
‘If Huashan’s plum blossoms could blanket the world, what’s a little loyalty! Ahem!’
‘Wudang may be one of the Nine Great Sects, but not Zhongnan!’
Receiving Elder Heo Won’s scorching glare, the two pretended otherwise.
“Ahem!”
“Ahem, so much dust.”
“Ha ha! Seems the matter’s wrapping up nicely?”
“Ha ha ha! Let things flow as they will.”
An bizarre sight unfolded: Huashan and Zhongnan, who usually couldn’t stand each other, laughing heartily while eyeing one another.
As Elder Heo Won trembled with rage, Namgung Hyeok taunted annoyingly.
“So you admit there’s no problem?”
“…”
“Admit it?”
With Shaolin, Huashan, and Zhongnan on board, it was over.
What could they do now?
Have Wudang bypass Shaolin?!
Heh heh heh.
Just as Namgung Hyeok grinned and moved to sheath the sword at his waist.
“I do not accept this!”
With a thunderous shout, Wudang’s sect leader Elder Heo Jong, from the spectator stands, unleashed Cloud-Stepping Palm and descended onto the arena.
His descent on pale mist-like clouds stunned everyone.
Namgung Hyeok cocked his head.
Ah, what’s this beak-faced bastard saying?
Elder Heo Jong swept his fierce gaze over Namgung Hyeok and the assembly.
“I’m saying I do not recognize the demonic sword in the Namgung family’s possession!”
“…”
“Allowing free possession of a demonic sword that could plunge the world into misery, merely because its qi can be purified, is like unleashing a tiger after taming it!”
Elder Heo Jong’s shout, infused with profound inner energy, echoed across the entire arena.
The crowd panicked.
Shaolin, Huashan, and Zhongnan had already sided with Namgung Hyeok.
The Five Great Families’ elders were already on his side, and the others lukewarm—practically settled.
Elder Ja-yang furrowed his brow.
Why cling so desperately when it’s done?
“Sect Leader, this is Alliance business. And the elders have already decided.”
Elder Ja-yang turned his gaze.
Zhongnan’s Elder Jong-baek chimed in.
“Indeed. Why stir up a non-issue?”
“Sect Leader, this is excessive.”
As the two raised their voices, the spectators nodded.
Even as Wudang’s sect leader, this was the Alliance’s interrogation—he was clearly overstepping.
Elder Heo Jong swept his sharp eyes around, his kindly smile long gone.
“The Alliance proceedings may be over, but Wudang does not accept this.”
“Sect Leader?”
“A demonic sword is a demonic sword.”
Irresistible energy emanated from Elder Heo Jong’s body.
The elders fell silent before his surging aura like ocean waves.
Amid the chill atmosphere.
Thud, thud, thud!
Clunky footsteps resounded in the arena.
All eyes turned toward the sound.
Namgung Hyeok, demonic sword slung over his shoulder with a clack, stood ten paces from Elder Heo Jong.
The Radiant Dragon crew watched, sticking out their tongues.
‘Consistent as ever. Not intimidated even before Wudang’s sect leader.’
‘…He’s not gonna slap the sect leader, is he?’
‘I wish he would right now? They’re just making excuses.’
At Dang Myeong-jin’s words, Paeng Jung-hyeok and So Geol-gae nodded unwittingly.
Then, Namgung Hyeok’s voice rang out.
“The sect leader doesn’t accept it?”
“That sword brimming with murderous intent is a baleful artifact disrupting heaven’s order! Even bearing all scorn, I…”
“Ah, enough. You just don’t accept it, fine.”
Elder Heo Jong’s eyes sharpened like blades at Namgung Hyeok’s dismissive wave.
The elders atop the arena held their breath under that piercing gaze.
Whatever.
Namgung Hyeok ignored the glare entirely and sighed.
“Phew, I wondered why it was taking so long. A martial world that accepts things easily wouldn’t be the martial world, huh?”
“What?”
“Ah, I’m saying that steadfast stubbornness of yours is just too charming.”
As Elder Heo Jong bristled at Namgung Hyeok’s cackling.
Out of nowhere—truly out of nowhere—the provocation dropped.
“So what’ll you do about it? If Wudang doesn’t accept?”
Swoosh, clink.
Namgung Hyeok lowered the demonic sword from his shoulder and grinned.
“…”
“Wanna go a round?”
“A… round?”
Shiiiing!
A single gust swept the arena.
Plop, plop!
The prayer beads Reverend Hye-gwang had been rolling fell and scattered on the ground.
Elders Ja-yang and Baek Jong—who’d been gleefully awaiting Wudang’s retreat—nearly popped their eyes out.
The Radiant Dragon crew gaped.
‘…What’s the situation?’
A round?
With who?
…Wudang?
H-hey!
Amid universal shock, only Namgung Hyeok smiled faintly.
Throughout history, there were just two ways to deal with someone words wouldn’t reach.
Ignore them.
‘Or beat the crap out of them.’
Gazing at Elder Heo Jong’s chilling expression, Namgung Hyeok continued.
“If you’re scared, just drop dead.”