Chapter 606: I’ll Turn You into Snake Soup.
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 606: I’ll Turn You into Snake Soup.
Red Herring.
It’s a tactic employed by those whose logic is lacking.
Since they cannot win through reason, they nitpick at words and divert the conversation toward provocative, emotional, and unpleasant topics.
They do this until the original subject becomes meaningless.
Tang Jin-seol was attempting to use a red herring.
Sensing the weakness in her own logic, she tried to shift the focus to a provocative subject: the disparagement of the Cheonmu Alliance.
Hah.
Sun-woo let out a silent scoff.
The scheme was so pathetic it made him want to laugh.
"No, the Young Master did indeed disparage the Cheonmu Alliance."
Tang Jin-seol continued in a calm, steady tone.
"The Cheonmu Alliance is a gathering of chivalrous heroes who do not look upon, listen to, or act upon anything that is not Righteousness. To say such a place is not perfect? Does that not imply there are hypocrites among us who are not true heroes? Are you saying there are villains who do not revere Chivalry?"
Tang Jin-seol began to obsessively nitpick his words.
It seemed her plan was to pressure Sun-woo after muddying the waters with a provocative topic.
...What a venomous bitch.
Sun-woo found himself impressed by her once again.
Most would have given up, yet her persistence and malice were palpable.
No group is perfect.
No matter how noble its ideology, this was an inescapable fact.
This is because groups are composed of humans.
And humans are inherently unstable beings.
How could a group created by such beings ever be perfect?
The problem is that they refuse to admit it.
Sun-woo’s eyes grew heavy.
Groups are unstable.
However, the individuals within those groups refuse to acknowledge that fact.
They hold a firm belief that their ideology cannot be wrong.
It is an incredibly arrogant and twisted conviction, yet the individuals remain unaware of it.
It is impossible to change a belief that has been ingrained through learning and has become one's very life.
That is where the problem arises.
If someone denies that belief, they are branded an enemy and ostracized.
They are criticized, slandered, and cursed; physical violence is often employed, and in extreme cases, it can even lead to murder.
Tang Jin-seol was exploiting that psychological tendency.
She intended to escalate the issue from a conflict between him and Lee Jae-won into a conflict between him and the entire Cheonmu Alliance.
She really is a wicked bitch, Sun-woo thought.
Of all the women he had met so far, she was the most meticulously cruel.
If he agreed with her now, his conflict with Lee Jae-won would escalate into a war with the Cheonmu Alliance.
However, if he denied her words, it would imply that the group represents the individuals within it, forcing him to accept Lee Jae-won’s apology.
She would use the pretext that the leader of the Cheonmu Alliance would never lie.
It was a question designed to be impossible to answer easily.
"Why don't you say something, Young Master?"
When Sun-woo remained silent, Tang Jin-seol began to press him for an answer.
She clearly intended to give him no room to think.
"You're right."
Finally, Sun-woo spoke.
His attitude was remarkably bold.
"There are certainly such people. There are three thousand members in the Cheonmu Alliance. How could anyone definitively say there isn't a single person with a wicked heart among them?"
Sun-woo looked at Tang Jin-seol with an unwavering gaze as he continued.
"Young Master."
Upon hearing his words, Tang Jin-seol called out to him in a voice that was bone-chillingly cold.
"Can you handle the weight of those words?"
She glared at him with eyes as cold as a bitter northern wind.
"I may be young, but I am not so stupid as to utter words I cannot handle, Madam Tang."
Sun-woo stared back at her with a defiant glint in his eyes.
"Is that so? To me, you don't seem particularly bright."
Tang Jin-seol met his defiant gaze head-on, refusing to back down.
"Young Master, with that one sentence, you have just made enemies of over three thousand chivalrous heroes."
"I fail to see how that is a problem."
Sun-woo replied with a look of genuine confusion.
"Young Master, are you not afraid? The fact that over three thousand martial artists have become your enemies?"
Tang Jin-seol glared at Sun-woo with predatory eyes.
"Whether it be three thousand or thirty thousand, I am not afraid at all."
Sun-woo stared straight back into her sinister eyes.
"Why would I be afraid of those weaker than myself?"
A small smile played on Sun-woo’s lips.
It was an incredibly arrogant and conceited statement, but his smile was brimming with absolute confidence.
"............Are you claiming that you are stronger than the combined might of the Cheonmu Alliance?"
Tang Jin-seol asked, looking slightly taken aback.
Sun-woo’s completely unexpected remark had caught her off guard.
An individual claiming to be stronger than the entire force of the Cheonmu Alliance?
How could anyone spout such arrogant nonsense so casually?
Even if he was a monster of the Profound Realm, a so-called Half-Immortal...
This was far too much hubris.
There were four masters of the Transcendent Realm within the Alliance alone.
Furthermore, the Alliance Leader, Lee Jae-won, was an absolute master who, like him, had reached the Profound Realm.
On top of that, there were countless other experts among the three thousand members.
How could he utter such arrogant words?
"I won't deny it."
Sun-woo looked at her with an arrogant expression.
"How conceited."
Tang Jin-seol glared at Sun-woo with a gaze of pure ice.
He was arrogant.
Far too arrogant.
It was enough to make one's skin crawl.
"It's not arrogance, Madam Tang. It's confidence."
Sun-woo continued in a calm tone.
"If one has the ability to back up their words, it isn't arrogance."
He spoke while looking at Tang Jin-seol with eyes full of conviction.
"..............."
Meeting that gaze, Tang Jin-seol realized something.
He was serious.
He truly believed it.
He genuinely thought he could handle the entire strength of the Cheonmu Alliance alone.
"I will say it again."
When she didn't respond, Sun-woo spoke slowly.
"Individuals are unstable. Therefore, any group composed of individuals is bound to be unstable. Likewise, the Cheonmu Alliance is nothing more than an unstable group. So, I would appreciate it if you stopped barking this bullshit about the Cheonmu Alliance being a perfect group without a single flaw, or how its leader would never lie. The gap in our levels is so great that I can't stand to listen to it anymore."
Sun-woo continued with a steady gaze.
"Feel free to spread my words as much as you like. And if anyone has a problem with what I've said, tell them to come find me whenever they wish. I will not hide, I will not avoid them, and I will not run away."
Sun-woo looked at Tang Jin-seol with a dignified expression.
"Do you have any other objections?"
"......You will regret this."
Tang Jin-seol stared at Sun-woo with venomous eyes.
Thud.
She stood up abruptly from her seat.
"Alliance Leader, let us leave. This is not a man one can reason with."
Tang Jin-seol looked at Lee Jae-won, who was sitting beside her.
".......Very well."
Lee Jae-won, who had been listening to their conversation in a daze, snapped back to his senses and replied with a stoic face.
"We shall meet again."
He slowly stood up and spoke while looking at Sun-woo.
His expression was incredibly heavy.
"I'd rather not."
Sun-woo replied with a look of pure contempt.
"............"
Lee Jae-won bit his lip hard at the rejection.
He quickly began to leave the reception room.
He felt as though he wouldn't be able to maintain his composure much longer.
Tang Jin-seol began to follow him.
Step, step.
Stop.
She paused at the door of the reception room.
"I hope the Young Master realizes that his mouth will eventually bring him ruin."
Tang Jin-seol slowly turned her head and spoke to Sun-woo.
"Just keep walking. Don't leave parting remarks like some old boomer."
Sun-woo stared at her with a cold expression.
"You... insolent..."
Grit.
Tang Jin-seol ground her teeth.
Sun-woo’s attitude was far more disrespectful than she had imagined, causing her to show emotion for the first time.
"I won't see you out."
Regardless of her reaction, Sun-woo issued a cold expulsion order.
Grit.
Tang Jin-seol ground her teeth once more and turned away.
She immediately walked out of the reception room.
Sun-woo and the two women watched her leave.
"Um... Sun-woo..."
Once she had completely disappeared, Lee Ye-seol spoke up slowly.
"What is it?"
Sun-woo asked, looking at her curiously.
"Will it really be okay?"
"What will?"
"That... your statement about not losing even if you fight the Cheonmu Alliance."
She looked at Sun-woo with a worried expression.
She felt that Sun-woo’s declaration had been far too reckless.
The Cheonmu Alliance was the greatest martial power in the Murim.
The number of its members was so vast that their strength was comparable to the combined forces of the Nine Sects and One Gang.
How could he claim to face such people alone?
She couldn't help but think it was reckless.
Pat, pat.
"It's fine."
Sun-woo spoke as he gently stroked Lee Ye-seol’s hair.
He found her concern for him quite adorable.
"I truly am confident I can win."
Sun-woo spoke with a gentle smile.
He was serious.
He genuinely believed he would not lose even if he fought the entire three-thousand-strong force of the Cheonmu Alliance.
He had broken through the wall and reached the Ethereal Body, gaining access to infinite internal energy.
Furthermore, he had mastered the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth, the martial art of the Heavenly Demon that had once pushed back an army of a hundred thousand.
There was no way someone like him could lose.
Whether it was three thousand or thirty thousand.
He was not afraid.
Not with the power he possessed now.
".......But still."
Despite Sun-woo’s gentle reassurance, Lee Ye-seol still looked uneasy.
Her anxiety didn't seem to have faded completely.
"Do you not trust me?"
Sun-woo looked at her with a mock-hurt expression.
"N-no... it's not that."
Lee Ye-seol waved her hands in denial.
"Then you believe me, right?"
"............Yes."
She eventually lowered her head and agreed with him.
"Good girl, Ye-seol."
Sun-woo stroked her hair even more gently, looking amused.
When they first met, she had glared at him with eyes full of contempt.
Like a prickly wildcat.
Seeing that same girl now acting like a gentle lamb, worrying about his safety, was quite entertaining.
Did she know, on the day he defeated her?
That she would end up like a submissive lamb before him?
"However... Master..."
Just then, Joo So-yang, who was standing nearby, spoke up.
"What is it?"
Sun-woo, still stroking Lee Ye-seol’s hair, asked her curiously.
"Can we really... leave Tang Jin-seol like this?"
She asked Sun-woo with a grim expression.
The venomous Tang Jin-seol kept weighing on her mind.
"Hmm, I suppose I should take some measures, but..."
Sun-woo replied, looking thoughtful.
Sun-woo actually held a fairly high opinion of Tang Jin-seol.
Unlike the childish and dim-witted Lee Jae-won, she actually knew how to use her head.
And she used it quite wickedly.
That was why he was wary.
Unlike the foolish Lee Jae-won, she was full of sinister schemes.
If Tang Jin-seol continued to act as the strategist, pulling Lee Jae-won’s strings, things could become quite annoying.
"Shall I kill her?"
Joo So-yang uttered those bloodthirsty words while looking at the pensive Sun-woo.
A murderous aura began to flow incessantly from her body.
Tang Jin-seol’s disrespectful attitude toward her beloved Master had deeply offended her.
To dare spit such nonsensical vitriol at her lovely and divine Master—she deserved to die a thousand deaths.
"No need to kill her."
Sun-woo shook his head.
"Why not...?"
When Sun-woo didn't give his permission, Joo So-yang looked dejected.
"I want revenge more than I want her dead."
Tang Jin-seol was the one who had incited Lee Jae-won’s wives to try and assassinate him.
Simply killing her didn't sit right with him.
In this world, there are forms of revenge far more perfect than death.
"What do you plan to do?"
Joo So-yang asked curiously.
"I'll have to think about it. Now that I have a rough idea of her personality..."
Sun-woo spoke in a calm tone.
Though it was his first time meeting Tang Jin-seol, he could guess her disposition well enough through their conversation.
She was a viper.
A very wicked viper.
I'll turn you into snake soup.
A cold light flickered in Sun-woo’s eyes.