Where the Hell Do You Think This Is? (2)
There were always places in the world where one felt uncomfortable.
If you could avoid them, there was nothing better. But in the course of living, you inevitably ran into situations you couldn’t escape.
Hyun Jong was in exactly such a situation now.
My stomach hurts.
It had been a long time since his stomach had prickled like this when Chung Myung wasn’t even in front of him.
He quietly looked over the people seated before him.
In the place where Mount Hua’s disciples would normally sit around him, gazing up with reverent eyes, the great names of each sect were now seated instead, staring straight at him.
Their looks weren’t exactly hostile, but it didn’t take much to guess that they certainly weren’t friendly.
The Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families.
The prestigious powers that ruled the current martial world.
Of course, Hyun Jong had already met the leaders of the various sects all at once during the All-Heaven Martial Gathering.
But the situation was different now.
Back then, he had merely been one more man among the sect leaders, with no particular attention on him, while he cheered for Mount Hua’s disciples. Now, he was the one who had to endure all of their scrutiny.
If the leaders of the Heavenly Alliance hadn’t been at his sides, shielding him, it would have been hard to face those heavy gazes with such composure.
“Amitabha.”
Beop Gye, seated at the center, softly recited a Buddhist chant and then looked at Hyun Jong with deep, calm eyes.
“First of all… congratulations on the founding of the Heavenly Alliance, Alliance Lord.”
He addressed him not as Sect Leader, but as Alliance Lord. It meant Shaolin acknowledged Hyun Jong as the leader of the Heavenly Alliance and would treat him accordingly.
Of course, once things had come this far, Shaolin had no choice but to accept it, but even so, receiving Shaolin’s official recognition carried great weight in the martial world.
“Thank you.”
Hyun Jong smiled faintly.
“I feel much more at ease hearing those words from Elder.”
“Hahaha.”
Beop Gye let out a low laugh.
Perhaps because of that, the atmosphere in the hall loosened just a fraction.
“The martial world’s fellow pathers are paying close attention to the Heavenly Alliance.”
“Yes.”
“On behalf of them, I sincerely ask that you work for the peace and well-being of the martial world.”
“How could we do otherwise?”
Beop Gye showed no hostility toward the Heavenly Alliance.
That was because Beop Jeong himself was not especially hostile toward it in the first place. He had already agreed to acknowledge and officially sanction the Heavenly Alliance’s founding through his dealings with Chung Myung.
Besides…
Indeed…
Beop Gye was able to fully understand what Beop Jeong had meant when he spoke before coming here. He could feel a faint tension in the expressions of the great names seated to his left and right.
For years, the major sects of the martial world had been scattered like grains of sand, never managing to form a proper alliance. And Shaolin, which ought to have stood at the center, had also lost much of its influence over them.
If there’s no one strong enough to oppose them, there’s no reason for them to band together.
If they judged that obeying Shaolin wasn’t in their interest, then no matter how great Shaolin was, it would be impossible to control everyone.
For Shaolin, which was gradually losing its grip on the Nine Sects after being humiliated at the All-Heaven Martial Gathering, the emergence of an outside alliance like the Heavenly Alliance was not necessarily a bad thing.
Of course.
He did feel uneasy that monks and Daoists were so openly engaging in politics, but the world had never been a place where one could live straight and clean forever, had it?
“Amitabha.”
In any case, those were all private thoughts he could never voice.
“Our abbot also has high expectations for the Heavenly Alliance. So please….”
But at that exact moment—
“I think Elder Beop Gye is being too gentle. Perhaps this isn’t a matter so great for those who follow the Buddha’s teachings, but for those who follow worldly law, it cannot be passed over so easily.”
Beop Gye and the others turned their eyes toward the speaker.
Lee Biok of Qingcheng was staring at Hyun Jong with cold eyes.
His gaze soon shifted away from Hyun Jong and pinned itself on Tang Gun-ak.
“If you throw a stone into a lake, ripples spread. I find it hard to understand why the Heavenly Alliance must intentionally stir tension in this peaceful martial world by banding together.”
“It’s less tension than—”
“Can you truly be certain that its intent is not one of domination?”
The last words were not directed at Hyun Jong or Tang Gun-ak, but at the other great names.
“Hmph.”
“Mm.”
A few low, troubled sounds escaped the mouths of the other elders.
Qingcheng was a sect located in Sichuan. A prestigious sect situated closer to the Sichuan Tang Family than almost anywhere else.
Of course, Qingcheng and the Tang Family didn’t have the same relationship as Mount Hua and Zhongnan, who glared at each other and reached for their swords at every chance, but if two sects lived that close to one another and got along too well, that would be strange in itself.
When distances were short, territories overlapped. Interests had to be divided. People competed for the same things. At first, perhaps, one could maintain a decent relationship, but as the years wore on, resentment was inevitable.
That was why Lee Biok of Qingcheng was reacting so sensitively.
“Who could object to like-minded people gathering to form an alliance? But when we don’t know what that alliance intends to do, it’s difficult to offer congratulations and nothing more.”
His words were brutally direct, and Hyun Jong’s brow twitched slightly.
“The Heavenly Alliance absolutely does not pursue domination. What Elder is thinking will not happen.”
“Then!”
Lee Biok met Hyun Jong’s eyes head-on.
“If my sect were to have a problem with the Sichuan Tang Family and end up drawing blades, are you saying Mount Hua would not interfere?”
“……”
“Are you saying that, right or wrong aside, sect business should be left as sect business? From what I’ve seen, the Heavenly Alliance doesn’t seem to work that way.”
For a brief moment, Hyun Jong seemed at a loss for words and closed his mouth. After calming himself for an instant, he opened his eyes again and smiled gently.
“The reason the sects of the Heavenly Alliance can become brothers is because they first trust that each other will not commit disgraceful acts. If any sect belonging to the Heavenly Alliance does what it must not, then the Heavenly Alliance itself will step forward and stop it.”
“……”
“Brothers are not those who support what is wrong, but those who stand in the way of what is wrong.”
Everyone nodded as though those words were only natural.
But it didn’t seem to be enough for Lee Biok.
“Naturally. But none of those here think the Heavenly Alliance is bound to cause trouble from the start. The problem is what comes after.”
Hyun Jong looked at him as if to say, And what do you mean by that? Lee Biok gave a faint snort and said,
“Even a child, once handed a blade, wants to swing it around. Do you honestly believe sects that have gained the Heavenly Alliance as a powerful backer will remain as meek as they are now?”
“……”
“They’ll of course restrain themselves at first. But in the end, they’ll want to see what it feels like to wield that power. Even then, can you truly be certain the Heavenly Alliance won’t end up causing trouble?”
The assembled men looked at Lee Biok with strange eyes.
After all, this was a celebration of the alliance’s founding. Even if there were complaints, even if there was cause for concern, voicing them here was rude.
And yet no one stepped forward to stop him. Everyone wanted to hear the answer to these words.
Just as Hyun Jong, meeting Lee Biok’s icy gaze, was about to speak, Tang Gun-ak, who had been standing quietly at his side, slowly opened his mouth.
“Elder Lee Biok, you needn’t worry so much.”
“……What do you mean by that?”
A strange twist touched the corners of Tang Gun-ak’s mouth.
“What Qingcheng is worried about is the Tang Family, is it not?”
“……”
Lee Biok closed his mouth tightly.
When the question was put so directly, it was not easy to answer. In the first place, Qingcheng had no real advantage over the Sichuan Tang Family. And now the Tang Family had the power of the Heavenly Alliance at its back as well….
Tang Gun-ak’s sword-sharp eyes pierced through him.
“Would the Tang Family need to borrow the Heavenly Alliance’s hand just to deal with Qingcheng? You seem to think rather too highly of yourselves.”
“W-what….”
Lee Biok’s face flushed red.
Of course, he was an elder of Qingcheng, and Tang Gun-ak was the Tang Family’s patriarch. But even so, this had crossed a line.
“You’ve gone too far!”
“Gone too far?”
Tang Gun-ak bared his teeth in a cold smile.
“A mere elder, not even Qingcheng’s sect leader, questioning the Heavenly Alliance’s Alliance Lord—is that not going too far? But when I speak to Qingcheng’s elder, that’s crossing a line?”
For an instant, the expression on Tang Gun-ak’s face hardened, and a blade-like aura poured from his body.
“Answer me.”
“Th-that is….”
Lee Biok shut his mouth.
Whether Tang Gun-ak’s logic was right or wrong no longer mattered. What mattered was that the Poison King Tang Gun-ak was openly showing him hostility.
Even if this had been before the Heavenly Alliance was formed, Lee Biok would never have been a match for Tang Gun-ak. So how could he possibly meet that gaze head-on now?
“Relying on prestige and swinging your power around?”
A sneer touched Tang Gun-ak’s lips.
“That’s something you should be saying about yourselves, not us. If you weren’t riding on the prestige of the Nine Great Sects, would you even dare spout such nonsense here?”
“Patriarch. Your words are excessive.”
Unable to watch any longer, Beop Gye stepped in to mediate, but Tang Gun-ak glared at everyone and said,
“Listen carefully. Zhenren Hyun Jong is the Sect Leader of Mount Hua and the Alliance Lord of the Heavenly Alliance. To speak carelessly to the Alliance Lord is to slight the Heavenly Alliance itself—and beyond that, to slight the Sichuan Tang Family, the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace, and the North Sea Ice Palace all at once.”
He hadn’t even raised his voice.
And yet that low, heavy tone felt more threatening than any shout.
“If something like this happens once more in my presence, the Sichuan Tang Family will absolutely not sit idly by.”
“He’s right.”
Maeng So, who had been watching the situation, folded his arms and slowly glared at the elders.
The pressure pouring from his mountain-like bulk weighed heavily on everyone in the room.
“I don’t know the rules of the Central Plains. What I do know is one thing: the Alliance Lord is not someone brats like you can speak to however they please. And remember this too—the Alliance Lord is protecting you. If the Alliance Lord were not here, I would already have acted.”
If Tang Gun-ak’s words had been a warning, this was bordering on a threat.
But no one could easily object.
That idiot handed them the justification.
How utterly foolish!
It had been Lee Biok who first violated the proper etiquette.
So the other side had no reason to hold back on courtesy now. Realizing that, Lee Biok’s face darkened to black.
“The North Sea Ice Palace is also not a place that walks the path of domination. But in the North Sea, we do not use words to scold the rude.”
Seol So-baek said calmly.
“If you want to know what truly goes too far, we can show you.”
In truth, measured purely by martial might, Seol So-baek was not especially strong.
So he could not exude the same overwhelming pressure as Tang Gun-ak or Maeng So.
But where in all the world was there a place that could truly disregard the North Sea Ice Palace standing behind him?
Once the three sects openly moved to protect Hyun Jong, the atmosphere turned cold in an instant.
“Amitabha.”
Beop Gye let out a low chant.
“I will apologize on behalf of the Alliance Lord. Please forgive our rudeness.”
“Rudeness? How could that be rudeness?”
Hyun Jong gently extended his arms to either side, and the oppressive aura that had been weighing down the others instantly disappeared.
In its place, Hyun Jong’s mild, clear energy softly enveloped the assembly.
“That is a perfectly natural question. I, too, understand the unease you feel over the founding of the Heavenly Alliance.”
Hyun Jong smiled warmly.
“But what you are worried about will not happen. Please trust me.”
Beop Gye quietly nodded.
“I will trust you. I once again ask that the Alliance Lord lead the Heavenly Alliance well.”
“I shall do so.”
Watching the two men bow to one another, Tang Gun-ak slowly curled the corners of his mouth upward.
We’ve set the tone.
It was already meaningful enough that they had made it clear the Heavenly Alliance would not bow before the pressure of the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families.
Of course, their expressions were terrible right now….
If we just wrap this up properly, it’ll be enough.
But at that moment, Tang Gun-ak had no idea at all.
Something he had never imagined, something no one in the world could have imagined, was now heading straight for Mount Hua.