The Heavenly Respect and the Dark Respect
Luoyang was a splendid city.
“Wow… I’ve never seen a city bigger than Sichuan before.”
Ga-ryeong said as she looked around through the window.
The sight of the Grand Canal cutting across the vast land was, indeed, magnificent.
“Look over there, young lady! It’s the Grand Canal!”
“Yes.”
Soyeong answered indifferently.
Why should she marvel at something she had already seen several times?
In her previous life, Luoyang had been a place she could come and go from as easily as strolling in and out of her own inner chamber.
That bastard will be seeing me again after a long time, too.
In her past life, Soyeong hadn’t had a single true friend, but if there was one person she could call a comrade, it was Geomu.
She didn’t know whether he would have called her the same.
He was the only person in that former life, gifted beyond all others under heaven, who could match swords with her.
He must have felt something similar toward her, too.
The last time she had seen him, he had reached the Transcendent Realm. She had no idea how far he was now.
After all, not all Transcendent Realms are the same.
If Tang Cheon-ak or Hyejeong the Great Monk of the present day were to challenge the Soyeong of her previous life, they wouldn’t even last ten moves.
“Look! There’s a huge gate over there!”
So we’ve finally arrived.
Without even looking, Soyeong already knew what Ga-ryeong meant by a huge gate.
Luoyang was the old imperial capital and the heart of the Grand Canal.
It was also the location of the Murim Alliance headquarters, which made it even more famous among martial artists as the city of the Murim Alliance.
Passing through a gate so enormous that even dozens of carriages could enter and leave at once without causing a blockage, one would see countless halls beyond it.
Their grandeur was the pride of the orthodox martial world, its center.
Murim Alliance.
They had arrived at the Murim Alliance headquarters.
***
“Thank you for making the long journey.”
A man who seemed to be the Murim Alliance’s branch chief welcomed the group.
The representatives of Mount Qingcheng and Emei had parted ways with them after passing through the main gate of the Murim Alliance.
There was no reason to remain together and let themselves be crushed under the weight of the Tang Clan’s prestige.
Besides, from the Tang Clan’s perspective, it was a relief to be rid of the bothersome guests.
“Long time no see, Branch Chief Baek.”
Tang Cheon-ak greeted the man before him as if they knew one another.
The martial artist called Branch Chief Baek smiled warmly and returned the salute with a cupped fist.
“You seem to have advanced even further since I last saw you.”
“There’s not much difference. Is the Alliance Leader inside?”
“Yes. Not only the Alliance Leader, but all the great lords of the Murim Alliance are gathered as well.”
“Are we the last to arrive?”
“Mount Song, Mount Wudang, and Kunlun have not arrived yet.”
“I see.”
Anything was fine as long as they weren’t the very last to enter.
When everyone was waiting and you were the last to arrive, it meant one of three things.
Either you have no sense, you really are far away, or you’re powerful enough to get away with it.
Among those, Mount Song, Mount Wudang, and Kunlun were genuinely far-flung sects.
No one would blame them for being late.
So if those sects were excluded, it meant the Tang Clan had arrived the latest.
But that didn’t matter.
The Tang Clan occupied a position where they were allowed to be late.
“This way, please.”
Branch Chief Baek bowed his head and led the Tang Clan lord and his party toward the conference hall.
Compared with the number of Tang Clan members who had come this far, the group heading to the conference hall was small.
The Tang Clan lord, Tang Cheon-ak.
His right hand, Seon-hyeon.
And the Tang Cheon-ak’s second daughter, Soyeong, personally summoned by the Murim Alliance Leader.
Only these three followed behind Branch Chief Baek.
The Tang Clan lord has a fine stroke of luck when it comes to children.
With just a glance, Branch Chief Baek could estimate Soyeong’s martial prowess.
She was already beyond the mid-level of the First-class realm at not even twenty years of age.
It was unusual that she wore a sword at her waist, but at that age, wasn’t it better to dabble in a few things?
First Young Master, Second Young Master, and even this Second Young Lady—such achievements at this age?
Even in another clan, reaching First-class at such an age would earn praise as a rare genius fit to lead a family.
And yet she was born into the Tang Clan of all places.
Branch Chief Baek clicked his tongue inwardly.
The child’s talent wasn’t lacking, but within the Tang Clan it was merely average.
The First Young Master, a talent unmatched under heaven, had reached the Transcendent Realm at twenty-five.
The Second Young Master, though not quite as gifted, had reached the Peak Realm in his youth through frightening tenacity.
Even the Third Young Lady was already said to be in the First-class realm.
It was like trying to boast about your height among giants.
Lost in such thoughts, he found himself before the conference hall doors.
“Please enter. Everyone is already waiting.”
Branch Chief Baek opened the doors, and the Tang Clan lord and Soyeong stepped inside.
“Welcome, Tang Clan lord. We’ve been waiting.”
An elderly man with a gentle countenance greeted Tang Cheon-ak with a smile.
“I’m late, Alliance Leader.”
“It happens. Is Sichuan rather far from here? Come, take your seat.”
With a benevolent smile, he led Tang Cheon-ak to his place.
“Hm? And you are…”
“I am Tang Clan’s Soyeong.”
Soyeong offered the Alliance Leader a cupped fist salute.
“Ah! My apologies. I’ve invited a guest and yet don’t even know her face.”
“It’s all right.”
Soyeong truly didn’t care.
He might be seeing her for the first time, but she was not seeing him for the first time.
It’s been a long time.
The only person in her former life who could truly cross blades with her.
The Murim Alliance Leader, Cheonjon Jin Cheon-hui.
Though the former Sapaelryeon leader and Jin Cheon-hui had stood on opposite sides of righteousness and evil, their attitude toward martial arts had been the same.
Martial arts must be pure.
One had to keep moving forward without end.
Jin Cheon-hui had risen to the position of Murim Alliance Leader on the strength of his extraordinary talent, while in her previous life Soyeong had founded Sapaelryeon and unified all the evil sects of the world under one banner.
Once two great roc birds lifted their heads, a collision was inevitable.
And as for who had won there, it was, of course, the Sapaelryeon leader who had won by a crushing margin.
Even after that, they had fought dozens more times, but the Murim Alliance Leader had never once defeated the Sapaelryeon leader.
Whenever the Murim Alliance Leader seemed to be narrowing the gap, the Sapaelryeon leader would already have moved far ahead with some new insight.
That was the man who had spent his entire life chasing after the Sapaelryeon leader’s shadow.
How much stronger has he become?
The Murim Alliance Leader she remembered was not the sort of man who would lay down his sword simply because Sapaelryeon’s leader had died.
He might have grown gloomy for a day or so, but after that he would have picked up his sword again.
“Miss, you should stand over here.”
“Ah.”
It seemed she had been lost in thought, dazed for a moment.
At Seon-hyeon’s call, Soyeong moved to stand behind the Tang Clan lord’s seat.
There wasn’t a single insignificant person in this hall.
Seven of the Nine Great Sects’ abbots and sect leaders, excluding Mount Song, Mount Wudang, and Kunlun.
The eight clan lords of the Eight Great Clans.
And the Murim Alliance Leader himself.
Altogether, sixteen figures filled the table.
The one who spoke first was the Alliance Leader.
“Now that the Tang Clan lord has taken his seat, I think we may begin the meeting.”
At his words, someone raised a hand.
It was the sect leader of Mount Hua, the Daoist Cheongheo, Unmyeong.
“The people from Mount Song, Mount Wudang, and Kunlun have not yet arrived.”
“They sent word by letter that it would take five more days before they could get here.”
The Murim Alliance Leader replied to Cheongheo’s words.
Usually, when a meeting started before everyone summoned had arrived, it carried one of two meanings.
One was the meaning of disregard: we can manage without those people.
And the other was…
“Is it that urgent?”
“It is.”
It meant the matter was so pressing there was no time to wait for them, and it had to proceed with only the minimum necessary people present.
There was no doubt this case was the latter.
“Two weeks ago, we received a letter from Sapaelryeon.”
“From Sapaelryeon?”
“I’d heard rumors that the Sapaelryeon leader had died.”
“So it wasn’t disbanded after all.”
One person’s remark led into another, and the words did not break.
They were all the heads of their respective sects and clans.
One sentence naturally led to another.
“Silence.”
The Murim Alliance Leader would not let the atmosphere run wild.
One word, infused with deep internal energy, made the surrounding air feel heavy.
This was the dignity of the orthodox world’s supreme master.
...At least he hasn’t gotten weaker.
From that one exchange, Soyeong gauged the Murim Alliance Leader’s level.
How could a mere First-class martial artist possibly judge the level of someone who had transcended the mortal realm?
But skill was not measured only by the amount of internal energy one possessed.
There were many factors—an opponent’s presence, breathing, gaze, concentration, and more.
It was possible to make a rough estimate, if not a precise one.
In that sense, the Murim Alliance Leader had at least not weakened compared to ten years ago.
“This is a matter of the utmost urgency. Let me speak first.”
At the Alliance Leader’s words, everyone in the room nodded.
Jin Cheon-hui, the Murim Alliance Leader, was past eighty and nearing ninety.
And the great lords present were at most in their seventies, with some as young as their fifties.
In other words, the Murim Alliance Leader was the senior-most elder among them.
There was not a single orthodox martial artist here bold enough to defy the words of such an honored senior.
As the room grew quiet, the Murim Alliance Leader continued.
“The newly appointed Sapaelryeon leader, Yeon So-ha, sent a letter.”
Yeon So-ha.
At that name, Soyeong ground her teeth.
“He asked the Murim Alliance for an alliance.”
Alliance.
The righteous Murim Alliance and the black-path Sapaelryeon in an alliance?
There could be no more ill-fitting pair of words in the world.
“So, I would like to hear the great lords’ opinions here. We’ll take it by raising hands. Those in favor of this alliance, raise your hand.”
No one raised a hand.
“Then those opposed, raise your hand.”
Then everyone raised a hand.
Strictly speaking, they began raising their hands the moment he said “those opposed.”
Unanimous.
They rejected the alliance.
“I see. I understand the will of the great lords well.”
“The ones not present here would likely think the same.”
Those not present referred to the sect leaders of Mount Song, Kunlun, and Mount Wudang.
Given that their sects were situated in remote places to begin with, their resistance to the evil path would only be greater, not lesser.
The Murim Alliance Leader knew that as well.
“Likely so. But my opinion is a little different.”
Different.
When everyone present opposed it, what other meaning could “different” possibly have?
“I believe an alliance with Sapaelryeon is necessary.”
“Why?”
A man wearing a robe embroidered with the character for Peng, with a great saber resting beside him, shouted.
He was the lord of the Hebei Peng Clan, Peng Daebu.
Peng Daebu’s conduct was clearly impolite, but the other great lords did not rebuke him.
They felt the same way he did.
Seeing the mood, the Murim Alliance Leader did not scold him and continued with his explanation.
“The letter sent by the Sapaelryeon leader wasn’t only that. It also explained why he requested an alliance. More precisely, an alliance isn’t quite the right word. A joint front would be more accurate.”
“A joint front?”
By a joint front, he meant there was an enemy the righteous and the evil must join forces to drive out.
At that point, Soyeong immediately understood what that enemy was.
“The Demonic Cult.”
At the Murim Alliance Leader’s words, the atmosphere turned heavy.
More accurately, it turned sharp.
“The Sapaelryeon leader proposed a joint front for the purpose of suppressing the Demonic Cult.”
“Where is the evidence that the Demonic Cult has appeared? Isn’t it possible they’re lying?”
The lord of the Zhuge Clan, Zhuge Myung, voiced his opinion.
The Murim Alliance Leader nodded after hearing Zhuge Myung’s words.
“The Zhuge lord’s suspicion is reasonable. I suspected the same at first. But at that time, there was a place that reported evidence regarding the Demonic Cult.”
“What evidence?”
The Murim Alliance Leader’s gaze shifted slightly toward Soyeong.
And then all the great lords turned to look at Soyeong.
Soyeong thought to herself, So that was why he brought me.
“The report said that the Tang Clan’s child over there had slain a white-haired demon.”
From here on, you can explain it yourself.
Even after all this time, he’s still an irritating old bastard.
Soyeong let out a dry laugh.