The Man Who Stood in the Hall of the Alliance
In my previous life, I had never come to the Murim Alliance at this age. And yet, both the outside and the inside of the Alliance were exactly as I remembered them. It felt as though the righteous sects were a perfect mirror of themselves, preserving every scrap of their stubborn refusal to change.
Jin Mu-heon came to a stop. Above the door before him hung a plaque that read Alliance Leader’s Hall. Even through the doorway, I could hear the voices inside.
“That Baek Mugeuk is coveting Zhejiang’s interests. We need to take those interests back from him.”
“That’s right. Zhejiang is an important strategic ground bordering Cheolhyeol-seong. We must seize it.”
Nothing had changed, not then and not now. The politics of these old men were always the same. They would say it was for the greater good of the righteous sects and tell you to understand. In truth, it was nothing more than sweet talk in service of their own greed.
The voices went silent only after Jin Mu-heon spoke.
“I am Jin Mu-heon of the Hyeonmu Guard. I have brought an honored guest to see the Alliance Leader.”
In an instant, silence spread through the hall. A heartbeat later, the door to the Alliance Leader’s Hall creaked open.
The hall was vast. Massive pillars held up the chamber, and along both sides stood senior figures from the various sects under the Murim Alliance. Their gazes, fixed on me, were cold and sharp. Like blades.
My eyes naturally drifted to the far end of the hall. At the end of the Alliance Leader’s Hall, on the raised platform, stood a black taishi chair.
And seated in that chair was one man.
The leader of the Murim Alliance. Namgung Cheon.
A white-haired old man. No, was it even right to call him old? His hair showed that he had lived through many years, but his body was so solid and massive that it didn’t seem to belong to a man of his age at all.
I remember he was over seventy. Looks like the old man never stopped training.
I had never had the chance to meet Namgung Cheon in my previous life. By the time I rose in the Murim Alliance, he was already dead. Well, even then, he had simply died of old age.
Namgung Cheon, who had been closing his eyes, slowly opened them. His gaze moved toward me at a measured pace. There was something about him. He did not release any obvious aura, and yet I could feel his oppression all the same.
It was a reflexive reaction from my body, because my current realm was low while his was so exalted. He tapped the armrest of the taishi chair lightly, then gestured for me to come closer.
“You are Baek Mugeuk?”
At the Alliance Leader’s words, I gave a proper, restrained salute. In that instant, I felt something press down on me.
His presence. Namgung Cheon’s presence, the summit of the present righteous sects.
He did not withdraw it easily, as though I had not been granted permission to breathe under it.
“Raise your head.”
Once Namgung Cheon granted permission, the weight pinning me down vanished in an instant. When I lifted my head, he slowly began to inspect me. But he said nothing beyond that. So I spoke first.
“I am Baek Mugeuk of the Baek Family. I came to the Murim Alliance after receiving the Alliance Leader’s summons. I have one question: why was I called, when I am not even a member of the Alliance?”
The moment I finished, sharp rebukes burst from all sides.
“How insolent!”
“This is the Alliance Leader’s Hall, and you speak so freely?”
“Know your place before you open your mouth!”
I did not even glance at them. My eyes remained fixed solely on Namgung Cheon. Only then did the angry shouts rise higher around me.
“You! Are you ignoring the elders of the various sects?”
“A runt from some petty clan, and his arrogance reaches the heavens!”
Namgung Cheon’s expression sharpened.
“Enough.”
Rising from the taishi chair, Namgung Cheon released a powerful aura from his whole body. Every person in the hall shut their mouths.
“Yes. I was the one who summoned you. You made quite the achievements in Zhejiang. But I hear you took control of the place independently, without cooperating with the Namgung Family. Is that true?”
“……”
“Choose your answer carefully. There are suspicions within the Alliance that you may be playing some trick with the unorthodox sects.”
At Namgung Cheon’s words, I curled the corner of my mouth upward.
“I never had any interest in Zhejiang’s interests to begin with. And the only thing I protected there was one thing.”
“And what was that?”
“Baek-ga Inn.”
“Explain properly.”
“It was the inn I bought in Zhejiang. I merely tried to protect that inn. But the Namgung Family, Cheolhyeol-seong, and Mosan were the ones causing trouble there.”
“You’re saying the Namgung Family caused trouble.”
Namgung Cheon’s expression became even sharper. It looked as though he might kill me at any moment.
“Yes. I was there not as the martial artist Baek Mugeuk, but as the inn owner Baek Mugeuk. That was all. And how could Zhejiang’s interests belong to me in the first place?”
“What did you say?”
“Zhejiang’s interests belong wholly to Bota Sect, do they not? Or has Bota Sect been annihilated without my knowledge?”
“……”
Namgung Cheon had nothing to say. It was a perfectly sound argument. That land had originally been Bota Sect’s territory.
Then why had Cheolhyeol-seong entered Zhejiang now, in this moment, to seize those interests? The reason was simple. As time passed, the righteous sects grew weaker and the unorthodox sects stronger. If Namgung Cheon refused to recognize the now-empty rights of Bota Sect here and now, then he would be admitting that the righteous sects were gradually declining.
So they would have no choice but to acknowledge it. That Zhejiang was Bota Sect’s domain.
“Fine. Then why didn’t you cooperate with the Namgung Family and wipe out the unorthodox bastards?”
“The biggest reason was that Mosan had infiltrated the inn in disguise.”
“That alone?”
Namgung Cheon clicked his tongue, as if incredulous. But when I continued, he showed visible discomfort.
“The innkeeper who sold me the inn died that very night. By the corpse technique that Mosan is so proud of.”
“……!”
“That is why I did not borrow the hands of Mosan or the Namgung Family.”
At my words, the elders began to erupt in anger. They called me no true member of the righteous sects, said I was in league with the unorthodox sects, and spat all manner of accusations. And still, my gaze never moved.
“So you acted independently?”
“That’s right.”
“Baek Mugeuk. I understand your words. But this is not a place to determine the rights and wrongs of what happened in the past. The Namgung Family and Cheolhyeol-seong both stepped back because they believed you had rights in Zhejiang. Then naturally, that means you hold the interests of Zhejiang, does it not?”
Namgung Cheon did not say that Baek-ga held the rights to Zhejiang. He addressed me directly, naming me with precision.
“Can you protect Zhejiang? On your own strength?”
“I can’t give you that assurance.”
“Then should you not hand those rights over to the righteous martial world?”
Namgung Cheon’s expression remained grave. But I could feel the elders around him beginning to ease. That is, until I opened my mouth again.
“Why should I?”
“……What did you say?”
“I don’t care about rights or interests, but even if I did have them, why on earth should I do that?”
“Because you are righteous!”
“Exactly. So what you mean is that if your power is weak, you should hand over everything you have to the Murim Alliance?”
At my words, the Alliance Leader’s expression twisted. I did not stop.
“Should I understand that small sects like Baek-ga, because they lack power, can’t earn any rights even if they seize them for themselves?”
Unlike before, when the hall had been full of furious cries and accusations, the Alliance Leader’s Hall fell silent in an instant. It had no choice. Seated here were not just the heads of the major sects and families, but also the leaders of small sects and clans.
And the Murim Alliance had been created to embrace and bind together those smaller groups.
I smiled faintly. From this moment on, I held the advantage.
“I understand the Murim Alliance was created for all righteous martial artists. And my family, too, is part of the righteous path. Jiangxi, where my Baek Family lives, is also a region constantly threatened by the unorthodox sects. Even so, because our family was weak, we never begged others for help or backed down.”
I turned and looked toward the heads of the smaller sects before speaking again.
“Because before being righteous, this is our land.”
The leaders of the smaller sects had looked at me with disapproval the moment I entered the hall. And every time I spoke, they had been eager to heap abuse on me. But now their expressions were different from before. Some were nodding. Some were coughing awkwardly, as though trying to hide their shame.
Yet the elders of the major sects tried to shift the mood back again.
“And if you still can’t stop it, then what? Can Baek-ga protect Jiangxi and Zhejiang alone? Can you defend that region against Cheolhyeol-seong by yourself?”
“Of course not.”
“Exactly! With only your own strength, you cannot defend that land. Then why are you being so stubborn?”
“I’ve said it many times already. The only thing I intend to protect is Baek-ga Inn. As for the defense of Zhejiang, tell Bota Sect to handle it.”
“Bota Sect is……”
The elder who was about to continue abruptly clamped his mouth shut.
I turned my head back toward Namgung Cheon. Not a trace of expression had changed on his face. He merely asked me,
“And what will you do if it is not possible?”
The question I had been waiting for.
I let the corner of my mouth rise and answered,
“I’d like to make a proposal.”
“Speak.”
“Accept Baek-ga into the Murim Alliance and establish branches of the Murim Alliance in Jiangxi and Zhejiang. Instead of allowing a strong faction to seize Zhejiang’s interests, cooperate with us as righteous sects and help defend Zhejiang together.”
“……”
Namgung Cheon could not answer at once.
“Let us say I accept your proposal.”
“Alliance Leader!”
“What do you mean by that!”
Namgung Cheon’s presence spread through the entire hall. Every person there lowered their heads to the floor and could not utter a word.
“Then what would the righteous martial world and the Murim Alliance gain in return?”
“You would gain a single righteous sect.”
“A single righteous sect?”
“One that strives to protect small sects and families as well, and to stand with them.”
At my words, the smaller families and sects began to stir. They would understand. They had never once been the backbone of the Murim Alliance. At best, they were nothing more than blades thrown into the front lines to be broken.
But if the Murim Alliance stopped using Baek-ga and the other smaller forces as shields and instead became the shield itself, then the story would be different.
After a moment of thought, Namgung Cheon slowly nodded.
“Interesting. I’ll discuss whether to accept your proposal with the elders.”
“Alliance Leader! That won’t do!”
“You can’t be fooled by that bastard’s tricks!”
“That’s right, Alliance Leader!”
“Do not be agitated. The Murim Alliance is not a group led by the Alliance Leader alone, is it? We will proceed through discussion, so speak your minds then.”
Namgung Cheon’s voice was calm, but it carried an irresistible force.
“For now, you may step back.”
His order to clear the hall fell. I once again gave a respectful salute.
“Ah. What about Mosan?”
“We are investigating them. I will have further questions concerning them later, so remain in Henan for the time being.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Even though I had said that the man who killed the innkeeper was a Mosan priest, Namgung Cheon did not press me to repeat it. That meant he was already suspicious of Mosan to some degree, but...
Well, I wasn’t even part of the Murim Alliance, and the fact that a Mosan priest was operating in secret was already a major affair. There wasn’t anything more I could squeeze out of him right now.
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
I walked slowly toward the hall doors. As expected, the elders of the great sects were still staring at me with burning eyes. But unlike when I first entered, the gaze of the smaller sect leaders had changed.
When I reached the door, it opened. At that moment, I suddenly turned back.
“Ah, right.”
All eyes gathered on me at once.
Under that weight of attention, I looked at the Alliance Leader and spoke.
“Alliance Leader. If the opportunity arises, I’d like to witness your sword for myself.”
After a brief silence, a suffocating pressure shot toward me.
Exhaling an aura that chilled the spine, the Alliance Leader slowly nodded.
“If the opportunity arises.”
“That’s enough.”
With my farewell, the door closed.
At the same time, voices of commotion spilled out from the Alliance Leader’s Hall.
That ought to have shaken him, old man. Well then. Time to prepare for the dungeon, I suppose.
Since I still had the Murim Alliance’s layout fixed clearly in my mind, I quickly left the Alliance headquarters. Once outside, I found more than a dozen martial artists waiting for me. Each of them wore different sect robes.
These were the ones. The key that would let me enter the Murim Alliance’s prison.
“You’re the insolent little brat from Baek-ga?”
“These days, people really do talk too much.”
“What?”
“You didn’t come here to swing swords with me?”
“T-That’s right, isn’t it?”
“Then let’s get started.”
I charged at the confused bastards and swung my sword.
Of course, I kept it sheathed the whole time.