The Murim Alliance Steps In (1)
The Four Guardian Kings are taking too long.
As always that day, Fist Buddha Cheollim Seonsa, the abbot of Shaolin, emerged after offering prayers to the Buddha.
Nothing seemed amiss at first glance, save for one thing.
For some inexplicable reason, there was no word from the Four Guardian Kings—who had set out to capture the excommunicated monk Jeong Myeong—nor even from the Eighteen Arhats.
Something's off.
Cheollim paced restlessly through the Guardian Kings' Hall, a foreboding unease gnawing at him.
It was a rare sight for this supreme master, one of the Heaven's Five Venerables renowned for his mental fortitude, to waver so.
"Have no worries, Abbot. The Four Guardian Kings and Eighteen Arhats have been dispatched. That's half our temple's strength, no exaggeration."
Cheolwoong, the Guardian Kings' overseer, sought to reassure him, noting how deeply immersed the abbot seemed.
Cheolwoong was inseparable from Cheolgyun, the Great Power Buddha and leader of the Four Guardian Kings, fellow disciples bound by blood-thick brotherhood.
No way something went wrong with them, right?
Steeped in Shaolin pride, Cheolwoong dismissed any notion of failure.
"You know Jeong Myeong's skills well enough, excommunicated or not. His martial prowess aside, that boy's mind is sharper than most. It'll take time to catch him."
Cheolwoong couldn't fathom the abbot's excessive anxiety.
"No. I anticipated obstacles given his talents... but if so, Cheolgyun or Jindong would have sent word."
His heart roiled with dread.
Something had gone terribly wrong, he was certain.
And as if on cue—
"Abbot!"
In the deep predawn hour, before the sun had risen, a figure raced desperately toward the hall.
It was Jeong Geuk, a prime disciple of Shaolin and Jeong Myeong's cohort.
"What is it?"
One look at Jeong Geuk's contorted face, and Cheollim knew disaster had struck.
"The Four Guardian Kings and Eighteen Arhats... they've all been found dead!"
Cheolwoong recoiled in shock; Cheollim closed his eyes tightly.
"W-what? Is that true?"
Unable to accept it, the burly Cheolwoong—rivaling Great Power Buddha Cheolgyun in size and strength—seized Jeong Geuk's shoulders with crushing force.
Writhing in agony, Jeong Geuk confirmed, "It's true. Their bodies were discovered near a secluded inn at the foot of Mount Song, known only to a few."
A flash of insight struck Cheollim.
Not long ago... rumors flew that Demon Sword Prince Hyeon Yucheon passed through that area.
He'd dismissed it as idle gossip among commoners, but now...
"Impossible! Gyun-ah! Gyunaaaa!"
Cheolwoong wailed in grief for his sworn brother Cheolgyun.
From youth, their massive builds and shared warrior ideals had forged an unbreakable bond, closer than blood kin.
And now he was gone.
"What of Jeong Myeong? Was he found?"
Steeling himself as Shaolin's leader before emotions could overwhelm him, Cheollim pressed on.
"No sign of Jeong Myeong, but witnesses reported seeing someone matching his description."
Cheollim was all but convinced.
This has Demon Sword Sect Lord's fingerprints all over it.
Fury surged first.
How dare a Sapa riffraff scorn a millennium-old Shaolin and butcher its elites?
But as rage ebbed, cold reason dawned—and chilled him.
Could I even defeat him?
And if Demon Sword Lord Hyeon Yucheon launched a full assault on Shaolin?
The thought conjured visions of Shaolin's glorious history ending in his tenure, dread crashing over him.
"Amitabha, Amitabha."
He fiddled with his prayer beads, but unease lingered.
Suddenly, words from Ami Sect's leader, Secret Lotus Nun Yeo Unsa-tae, resurfaced.
—We'll face heavenly retribution someday, plain as day.
As Buddha's servants committing such deeds... paradise was surely barred.
He'd scoffed then.
Slaying Demon Sword Ghost Lord Cheon Baeksang—peerless hegemon and Sapa's pinnacle—seemed ticket enough to bliss.
Yet her prophecy now loomed real, beyond his nightmares.
"Cheolwoong, Hall Master."
Fist Buddha Cheollim Seonsa called to him, voice heavy with sighs and torment.
"Yes, Abbot. Your command?"
In the end, one path remained.
"Send word to Murim Alliance headquarters."
* * *
"So, what do you make of our Demon Sword Sect after a week of watching?"
Hyeon Yucheon asked Little Divine Monk Jeong Myeong.
While Shaolin reeled from the havoc wrought by Cheon Baeksang's three disciples, Jeong Myeong had spent roughly a week observing Demon Sword Sect.
His impressions were staggering.
"Utterly beyond expectation."
Jeong Myeong gazed up at Hyeon Yucheon in awe, unable to hide his admiration.
A grin split Hyeon Yucheon's face; the monk's shock amused him.
"In what way?"
"To be frank... raised solely on Shaolin teachings, I assumed all Sapa sects were brutal survival-of-the-fittest hells drenched in blood and death. Demon Sword Sect is the polar opposite."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. Neither weak nor strong face oppression; pride in their sect shines through every member."
Jeong Myeong spoke true, his astonishment genuine.
Is there another sect so ideal, so flawless?
Not even the Nine Great Sects or famed clans matched half of it.
To Jeong Myeong, long blinded by prejudice, Demon Sword Sect was a thunderbolt revelation—an newfound utopia.
"Well then, does it suit you?"
Hyeon Yucheon probed; Jeong Myeong replied without hesitation.
"I declare it the model for Murim's future—the guiding star."
He was certain.
Unlike other Sapa realms, under flawless lord Demon Sword Prince Hyeon Yucheon's iron leadership, Demon Sword Sect flourished in unprecedented prosperity.
If Lord Hyeon Yucheon shatters Murim, resetting it to a blank slate...
Wouldn't the world Jeong Myeong dreamed of finally dawn?
Such blissful imaginings filled his mind.
Then—
"We are warriors of Murim Alliance headquarters!"
"Cowardly assassins who slew Shaolin's men and shield the excommunicated monk Jeong Myeong—Murim's arch-villain! Demon Sword Lord Hyeon Yucheon, atone for your crimes!"
An ominous clamor erupted at Demon Sword Sect's gates.
Mighty auras...!
Few in number but overwhelmingly potent, the presences startled Hyeon Yucheon. He rushed to the entrance—and there they were.
Murim Alliance HQ, silent through his campaigns, had finally drawn steel.
And leading them—
Heavenly Thunder Divine Spear Bong Hyocheon!
World's Supreme Spearman!
Spear King of the realm!
Incredibly, it was Bong Hyocheon, revered as the unparalleled spear master.
Many wielded spears in the jianghu, but nine times out of ten, the title went to him—especially among the Orthodox.
As one of Murim Alliance's Four Peak Elders, Bong Hyocheon wielded immense power, fourth only to the Alliance Lord, Vice Lord, and Strategist.
Each Elder claimed supremacy in their domain; where Nine Great Sects boasted Heaven's Five Venerables, the Alliance had its Four Peak Elders.
"Is Demon Sword Prince Hyeon Yucheon, Lord of Demon Sword Sect, present?"
The world's supreme spearman, eldest of the Four Peak Elders, shared a deep bond with Heaven's Five Venerable Fist Buddha Cheollim Seonsa.
Unlike the active Venerables' fame, the Elders focused inwardly on Alliance affairs, earning reclusive master status.
—My friend, for me... for Shaolin, step forward just once.
Bong Hyocheon's emergence stemmed from his bosom friend Cheollim's plea.
Plus orders from Alliance leadership.
—Time to curb Demon Sword Prince Hyeon Yucheon's momentum.
As the grand scheme's opening move, supreme spearman Bong Hyocheon was chosen.
"What an honored guest. Had you sent word, I'd have replied with envoys."
As all froze in shock, Hyeon Yucheon jested, striding forward.
Startling, yes—but not unforeseen.
With Venerables falling, Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families crumbling, HQ would act soon.
His hunch proved spot-on.
"As rumored, a brazen man."
Cool and stern against Hyeon Yucheon's levity, Bong Hyocheon embodied the Elders' most rigid, unyielding nature.
"Brazen suits you better, sir."
"What?"
"Barging into another's sect uninvited and causing chaos—aren't you the epitome of a mannerless madman?"
Laughter erupted here and there at Hyeon Yucheon's sharp tongue.
Demon Sword Sect disciples swiftly formed ranks, primed for mass battle.
"......"
Ignoring the jest, Bong Hyocheon glared stone-faced before cutting straight.
"I came for one reason: to interrogate Demon Sword Lord's crimes... and beyond."
The supreme spearman's eyes shifted past Hyeon Yucheon to excommunicated monk Jeong Myeong.
"Public enemy of the Nine Great Sects—and Murim Alliance! I bind Little Divine Monk Jeong Myeong."
Hyeon Yucheon burst into laughter.
"Hahahahaha!"
His unusually booming guffaw drew every eye—including Jeong Myeong's.
"Why laugh?"
Solely stone-faced amid the mirth, Bong Hyocheon demanded, eyes bulging.
"Calling the innocent a public enemy over and over—it's hilarious."
After prolonged chuckles, Hyeon Yucheon sobered abruptly.
"Who deems him Murim's enemy, fit for binding? By what authority?"
He couldn't grasp it.
Jeong Myeong's "crime" was trivial: defying his master to leave the sect.
In freewheeling Sapa, barely a fault; even Orthodox, under his flexible master's view, was forgivable.
Jeong Myeong was no helpless youth.
"Rules set by this Alliance, Nine Great Sects, and all Murim."
Unyielding to Hyeon Yucheon's piercing gaze, Bong Hyocheon stood firm, evoking Huang Zhong—Chu's famed general and archer.
"If meeting me warrants public enemy status and chains, better that rulebook and Murim crumble. And..."
Hyeon Yucheon stretched calmly, advancing on Bong Hyocheon.
Jianghu's twin transcendents faced off.
"If that Murim is just Nine Great Sects, Alliance, Five Families, and Seok Family scraps... I'll gladly shatter it."