Chapter 612: Do Not Cloak Your Selfishness in a Greater Cause
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 612: Do Not Cloak Your Selfishness in a Greater Cause
"I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry."
Hwangbo Yu-yeon apologized repeatedly as she frantically began wiping Sun-woo’s face with a cloth.
The hand clutching the cloth was trembling. She was terrified that Sun-woo might come to hate her for this.
"It’s alright. It’s not like it was your fault."
Sun-woo began to gently soothe her. How could he possibly blame her for this disaster?
Sun-woo slowly shifted his gaze toward the door.
"..........."
There stood Lee So-ran, looking incredibly awkward.
"So-ran."
Sun-woo called her name softly.
".....Yes..?"
She answered in a weak, small voice.
"If this isn't something major, I’m not going to hold you for a week."
Sun-woo threatened her with the one thing she feared most. It might have sounded like a silly threat, but for the lust-driven Lee So-ran, there was no threat more effective.
"...........Yes, sir."
Knowing she was in the wrong, Lee So-ran complied in a hushed voice. She seemed to feel responsible for causing Sun-woo’s face to be drenched in tea.
"So, what’s going on?"
Sun-woo asked her with a puzzled expression.
Sun-woo lived a life where he might be sleeping with someone at any time or place. Therefore, knocking before entering his room was an absolute necessity. Otherwise, one might inadvertently witness something quite embarrassing.
Lee So-ran was well aware of this and had always been a girl who knocked before entering. Yet, she had barged in recklessly without a single knock. He couldn't help but be curious.
"....Something terrible has happened, Sun-woo."
At his question, Lee So-ran spoke with a grave expression.
"Outside... the leadership... the leadership has come to see you!"
"Who?"
"It’s not just one person! It looks like most of the leadership is here!"
"What!?"
Sun-woo asked, his expression turning to one of pure bewilderment. What was this all of a sudden? Most of the leadership had come to his quarters?
"Where are they now?"
"I think they’re waiting just outside the residence...."
"Why?"
"I don't know...... I only received the message myself."
At Sun-woo’s question, Lee So-ran shook her head as she continued. She had also heard the news through a maidservant. She didn't know the details of the situation.
"....Well, I suppose I have no choice."
Hearing her words, Sun-woo slowly stood up and climbed down from the bed. He then began to walk slowly toward the door.
"Sun... Sun-woo! Where are you going?"
As Sun-woo moved, Hwangbo Yu-yeon asked him back with a flustered expression. Where was he going without a word?
"When guests arrive, the host must greet them."
Sun-woo replied calmly to her question.
"Besides, I’m curious to see what business brings them here."
".......Will it be alright?"
Hwangbo Yu-yeon asked Sun-woo with a worried look.
"Are you worried it might be dangerous?"
Sun-woo chuckled at her concern. He was a man who had reached the Profound Realm, often called the Half-Immortal Stage, and had even established a Sword of the Mind known as the Killing Sword. Furthermore, thanks to his absurdly overpowered Ethereal Body, he had obtained infinite internal energy.
To someone like him, even a truckload of leadership members wouldn't pose a threat. It was impossible for them to be a danger.
"It’s not that...... it’s just that I don't think they’ve come with good intentions."
Hwangbo Yu-yeon spoke, her eyes filled with deep concern as she looked at Sun-woo.
"It’s fine."
Sun-woo spoke firmly.
"No matter what their intentions are, nothing they do can harm me."
Sun-woo’s eyes sparkled with absolute certainty.
".........Yes, sir."
Meeting that gaze, Hwangbo Yu-yeon eventually nodded. Seeing his eyes so full of confidence made her feel that her worries were unnecessary.
Sun-woo was a Transcendent and a great martial artist. There was no way the mere leadership could trouble him.
"...P-please... take care, Sun-woo."
Hwangbo Yu-yeon bowed slowly toward Sun-woo. Her posture exuded politeness and grace.
"I’ll be back soon. Stay here and play with So-ran."
Sun-woo chuckled as he looked at her. The way she followed her husband like he was a god was quite adorable.
"I understand, Sun-woo."
Hwangbo Yu-yeon replied immediately.
"You stay here and play nicely with your mother, too."
Sun-woo casually patted Lee So-ran’s head and spoke.
"Yes.."
Lee So-ran nodded in response. Seemingly satisfied with the answer, Sun-woo stroked her soft hair a few more times before heading outside.
Hwangbo Yu-yeon and Lee So-ran quietly watched Sun-woo’s retreating back.
*
Step, step.
Sun-woo walked slowly. Soon, he reached the large main gate.
Buzz, buzz.
The sound of a noisy crowd began to reach his ears. Sun-woo knew. Beyond that gate, there would be a crowd of the leadership members Lee So-ran had mentioned.
'I wonder why these bastards are here.'
Sun-woo felt a surge of curiosity. It was difficult to guess why they had come, considering they had no real connection to him.
Grip.
Sun-woo grabbed the door handle. Rather than trying to deduce it alone, he chose to face them directly to find out why they had sought him out.
Creeeeeak.
The large gate began to open slowly, the old hinges letting out a sharp groan. And then, Sun-woo saw them. A multitude of people waiting in front of the gate.
"He’s out!"
"Jang Sun-woo is out!"
"Young Master Jang, we have something to say!"
"How could you do such a thing!"
"No, Young Master Jang, what about Chivalry!"
Immediately, the area in front of the gate became as noisy as a crowded marketplace. The atmosphere turned chaotic as each member of the leadership shouted their own piece.
'I won't be able to hear a thing at this rate.'
Seeing this, Sun-woo shook his head. If this continued, he wouldn't be able to hear anything useful.
Wooooooong.
Sun-woo slowly began to circulate his internal energy. As he did, the Nature Qi floating in the surroundings was absorbed into his body and immediately converted into internal energy—the energy of the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source.
Sssssss.
Sun-woo then began to release that converted internal energy. Instantly, the energy of the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source filled the entire area.
"Ugh!"
Thud.
One of the leadership members fell to his knees. He simply couldn't withstand the pressure Sun-woo was emitting.
"Urgh... what is this..."
Another person groaned, his face contorting. Just being exposed to the energy created a crushing pressure that felt like it was slicing through his flesh.
"..........."
Others remained silent, desperately circulating their own internal energy to resist Sun-woo’s pressure. In an instant, the surroundings that had been as loud as a marketplace fell into a deathly silence. All from the simple release of his aura.
'Now it’s finally quiet.'
As the area fell silent, Sun-woo looked satisfied. He felt that an atmosphere suitable for conversation had finally been established.
"What business brings you all here?"
Sun-woo asked, looking around at the grim-faced leadership members.
".......We... ugh... have something... to say... to you.."
Lee Dae-gon, the Hwalbindang Master, spoke while letting out continuous groans.
"Speak."
"B-before that... could you... please... release this... pressure?"
Lee Dae-gon asked, looking at Sun-woo with a face turned beet-red. He felt it was impossible to continue the conversation in this state.
"I will release it if you make one promise."
Sun-woo replied in a calm tone to Lee Dae-gon’s request.
"S-speak your mind.."
Lee Dae-gon replied urgently.
"Only one person speaks at a time. If it becomes as noisy as a marketplace again, I will release a pressure far greater than this."
Sun-woo issued the threat as he looked around at the leadership. Every single one of them turned pale. They were already barely holding on. To be threatened with even greater pressure in such a state naturally terrified them.
"I... I understand... I accept... your condition.."
Lee Dae-gon nodded hurriedly. From the perspective of a senior, Jang Sun-woo’s attitude was incredibly arrogant and rude, but he had no room to point that out. He felt that if this dragged on any longer, he might lose control of his bladder and faint.
"Very well."
Flash.
Upon hearing his words, Sun-woo instantly withdrew his aura.
"Haaa..."
"Heuuu..."
"..Haa.."
Gasps of breath broke out everywhere. The suffocating pressure that had reached their very throats had vanished, making it possible to breathe freely again.
"Now then, tell me. Why have you come?"
Sun-woo asked in a calm tone, looking at them.
"................"
The leadership members all remained silent, as if they had suddenly become mutes. Not a single person stepped forward.
The first button had been misaligned.
Before coming to his quarters, the leadership had made a plan. Their plan was to break Jang Sun-woo’s spirit before they even started. They assumed that because he had reached the Profound Realm at such a young age, his pride would be sky-high.
Their plan was to bombard him with questions and accusations the moment they saw him, putting him under immense mental pressure. Since they couldn't pressure him with martial force, they thought mental pressure was their only option.
And their plan had backfired spectacularly. Far from breaking his spirit, their own spirits had been crushed by his transcendent and overwhelming aura.
Thus, no one could open their mouths. Their courage had withered, and words wouldn't easily leave their throats.
"Why are you all standing there like mutes?"
Sun-woo asked with a puzzled expression. Hadn't they come to see him because they had business? So why were they just standing there silently, watching each other? He couldn't understand it at all.
"If you have nothing to say, I shall take my leave."
When they remained silent, Sun-woo turned his back on them. It was a move intended to provoke those who had been seized by fear.
"W-wait!"
At that moment, a flustered voice reached Sun-woo’s ears. Sun-woo slowly turned around.
"What is it?"
He asked, looking toward the direction of the voice.
"...It’s not that we have nothing to say."
Lee Dae-gon, having regained some composure, spoke while trying to maintain as calm an expression as possible.
"Then speak. Why did you come?"
Sun-woo thought to himself, 'Finally,' as he asked. It seemed they could finally have a proper conversation.
"..........Before I speak... there is one thing I must confirm."
"Go ahead."
Sun-woo replied with an indifferent attitude.
"I have heard that you do not intend to participate in the Great War of Righteousness and Demons... is this true?"
Lee Dae-gon asked, staring at Sun-woo with a steady gaze. Hearing this, Sun-woo’s expression turned curious. He hadn't expected that topic at all. He had assumed they had come to complain about him not accepting Lee Jae-won’s apology.
But it seemed that wasn't the case. An entirely different subject had surfaced.
"It is true."
Sun-woo replied calmly. He saw no reason to lie.
"How... how! How could you make such a choice!"
As soon as Sun-woo finished speaking, Lee Dae-gon roared. He glared at Sun-woo with a face flushed red with anger.
"I don't believe I have any justification to participate."
Sun-woo spoke with a confident posture. There was no justification for his participation. It wasn't a war he had started, and there was nothing for him to gain.
"You call that an excuse!"
Hearing Sun-woo’s words, Lee Dae-gon screamed at the top of his lungs.
"The Great War of Righteousness and Demons is a critical event that will decide the fate of the Murim! How can you take such an indifferent attitude!"
"Are you telling me to participate for the sake of a 'Greater Cause'?"
"Exactly!"
"I refuse."
Sun-woo rejected him flatly.
"What did you say!"
"I have no intention of living for everyone else. I live only for myself."
Sun-woo spoke, meeting Lee Dae-gon’s gaze with an unwavering stare.
"Are you saying you’ll just let the Central Plains Murim fall into Demonic Hegemony!"
"If the Orthodox Faction was destined to collapse without me, it would have collapsed long ago."
Sun-woo spoke in a calm tone.
"Do not cloak your selfishness in a greater cause just to drag me into this."
Sun-woo glared at Lee Dae-gon with eyes that were cold as ice.
"It is utterly disgusting."
At Sun-woo’s words, Lee Dae-gon’s face began to turn an even deeper shade of crimson.