The Heavenly Demon Goes to See the Plum Blossoms (5)
“This connects to what we were just discussing. When Hwaryong Muin first launched, it was not long after the Heavenly Demon had shattered the entire righteous faction. Most of the righteous masters had fallen to the Heavenly Demon’s hands, and the majority of their sect members had been slaughtered by the Heavenly Demon Cult. The righteous faction as a whole was in decline.”
That would have been right after I finished my revenge and was heading toward the newly established Heavenly Demon Cult.
“What the crumbling righteous faction needed most was people. Without them, refined martial arts, ancient history, and lofty reputation meant nothing. They tried every means to replenish their numbers, but there were limits. After all, the righteous faction was a coalition of many sects. There simply weren’t enough people in the murim to satisfy every sect within it. No matter how desperately they struggled, it seemed impossible for the righteous faction to reclaim its former glory—until Hwaryong Muin began and players entered the game world. To the declining righteous faction, players were nothing short of a miracle that could halt their fall. So they became obsessed with drawing players into their sects.”
According to Park Yeon, at first the righteous disciples tried to teach the principles of martial arts, just as I had done. The people of the righteous faction knew better than anyone that those principles were the foundation. Yet most players found the teachings difficult to grasp.
“They’re spouting words no one can understand and calling it instruction. Even when you do what they say, nothing changes. Why should I come to a game just to get stressed out? That was the general opinion among players at the time.”
Around the time people began to doubt the value of learning martial arts, the unorthodox faction introduced a revolutionary method. Instead of studying tedious and incomprehensible principles, they would heavily utilize the correction functions available to outsiders. The righteous faction denounced it as an insult to martial arts, but the unorthodox faction paid no heed. When had they ever cared about tradition? For them, becoming stronger was enough. As word spread that one could wield martial arts without learning the principles, players gradually turned toward the unorthodox faction, and fewer and fewer sought out the righteous sects.
“The righteous faction had to make a choice. Cling to the principles and lose the players, leading to further decline, or compromise with reality and adopt the unorthodox method?”
Most righteous sects chose to accept the unorthodox way rather than decline. They believed that if they could preserve their sects, they could always reclaim their roots later. For now, survival came first.
What they had not anticipated was losing the very people who would have upheld those roots. Pursuing the principles was arduous, but following movements was easy. Without anyone to anchor the foundation, people began to fall into the convenient method one by one. After a year, then two, every righteous sect in Hwaryong Muin had chosen to chase the movements of martial arts rather than the principles.
After hearing Park Yeon’s full explanation, my head felt heavy. Regardless of cause and effect, all of this had begun because of the atrocities I committed. Because I pushed the righteous faction to the brink of destruction, those who pursued the principles had vanished. What nonsense. I influenced the mess that modern people’s martial arts had become? No—strictly speaking, it was the Heavenly Demon inside this game who did it, not me. In the murim I lived in, nothing like this ever happened. So it is a stretch to call it my karma.
…But if it is not my karma, then what? The world inside Hwaryong Muin had already fallen into chaos. I had no idea how long it would take to fix this problem myself.
While I was sighing inwardly, we arrived at the gates of Mount Hua. The moment the stairs ended, Baru landed on the ground, took in the scenery of Mount Hua, and frowned.
“There’s a strange smell here.”
“So there is.”
An energy I was familiar with wafted from the buildings of the Mount Hua Sect. It was the aura emitted by the Blood Cult’s demonic arts.
“What do you mean, strange?”
Park Yeon looked puzzled at our words. He could not believe anything was wrong with the place he always stayed. As a modern person unfamiliar with energy, his confusion was natural. How should I explain it?
“Mount Hua right now is like rotten food. They have covered it with all sorts of seasonings and spices to hide the smell, but the inside is still rotting.”
“Min-ga is correct. Covering it does not change the fact that it is rotten inside.”
When Baru and I spoke the same words, Park Yeon’s expression grew serious. If even the divine beast who issued the quest said the same thing, he could not deny it.
“Why didn’t I notice it?”
“There is no need to blame yourself. It is only natural that you did not know.”
Most people who lived in the murim of the past failed to notice the Blood Cult’s schemes. How could a modern person like him possibly detect it? The Blood Cult is hated. The moment their identity is revealed, they are eradicated, so they have mastered the art of concealment. Your ignorance is not a fault.
“Still, it is strange that the original inhabitants of Mount Hua did not notice.”
The Blood Cult’s energy was so blatantly exposed, yet the elders of Mount Hua had failed to sense it? They were still called masters in the murim. They had once stood at the forefront of the righteous alliance that defeated the Heavenly Demon Cult. No matter how far they had fallen, they should not have remained unaware of the Blood Cult’s schemes until now.
Then there was only one possibility.
“I need to meet the sect leader of Mount Hua.”
“Ah. He is not someone you can meet easily.”
“It does not matter.”
If he would not come out, I would simply make him come out.
I started to push the gate open, then glanced to the side. With the possibility that Mount Hua was connected to the Blood Cult, Baru entering the sect grounds would draw attention.
“Baru, can you hide your energy?”
“Of course. Wait a moment.”
Baru took out her staff and waved it around. The divine energy I felt from her gradually faded. Some kind of Taoist magic, perhaps. It had grown faint enough that even I could barely detect it. This should be sufficient.
“Done?”
“Yes. Let us go.”
Inside the sect, the shouts of disciples training echoed. There were certainly many who looked like players. They were not seriously delving into martial arts, but merely learning how to use it in a rough manner. Even those teaching looked like players rather than true martial artists. Their teaching methods were far removed from those used in the original murim. They were only showing how to use martial arts conveniently. They had truly abandoned the principles.
The instructors were even discussing how to better utilize the correction functions.
“Have you come to join Mount Hua?”
While I was quietly observing the inside, one of the people teaching disciples approached me. Tch. Someone in a position to teach others was in this state. It seemed Mount Hua had little interest in reclaiming its former glory.
When I frowned, the young man’s expression soured.
“Why are you staring at me like that without answering?”
“What martial art do you use?”
“Excuse me?”
“Answer.”
I had not even released internal energy, only pressed him with my presence, yet a flustered look appeared in the man’s eyes.
“I said answer.”
“Ah. I use the Swift Gale Sword.”
“What about its principle?”
The man could not answer. He seemed unable to even understand why the word “principle” had come up. Where had the Mount Hua that was once counted among the Six Great Sects gone, leaving behind only a vulgar sect that did not even speak of principles? It had fallen. The people of Mount Hua probably thought they had rebuilt themselves by accepting modern people, but to me it was different. The original Mount Hua had already died, and what remained now was nothing more than merchants trading on the glory of the former Mount Hua.
A laugh escaped me. Truly a beautiful revenge. If the sect leader of Mount Hua I killed were watching this from the underworld, he would be so furious he would die all over again.
“Park Yeon-nim! Who on earth is this person?!”
The young man, his face flushed from my laughter, shouted at Park Yeon who had hurried after me.
“This is Hwaryeong-nim.”
“Hwaryeong… If it’s Hwaryeong, then the one from Apis?”
“Yes. That is correct.”
At the word Hwaryeong, the gazes of the training disciples turned toward me. Were they all players? I could not see any original murim people.
“In the video, she definitely had short hair.”
The young man who had been angry just moments ago now stared blankly at my face, surprised after learning my identity.
“Min-ga, were you a famous person?”
“Something like that.”
“Hoh. With that level of skill, of course you would be famous.”
Leaving Baru nodding to herself in satisfaction, I turned my gaze back to Park Yeon.
“Excluding the players, is there no one originally from Mount Hua here?”
“The person sitting in the center over there is one of Mount Hua’s elders.”
Looking where Park Yeon pointed, I saw a man seated in the middle of the building, observing the disciples. One of Mount Hua’s elders? I did not recognize his face. He had stepped into the early stages of the Transcendence Realm beyond Peak, so he possessed some skill, but he had chosen a poor method to raise his realm. He had adopted a method that would make even most unorthodox martial artists recoil in shock.
Drinking life force. Considering that Mount Hua originated from Taoism, it was truly laughable. Someone who should become an immortal by performing good deeds was using a technique of human sacrifice. I could not understand why he had chosen such a method. It was true that human sacrifice allowed one to grow stronger quickly, but it came with a corresponding price. There would be more days of regretting the side effects of power than days of using it. How could one be so captivated by what was right in front of them?
The previous fool was a player, so that was one thing, but how could an elder of Mount Hua have received help from the Blood Cult?
“Everyone, be quiet.”
When the elder shouted with internal energy infused in his voice, the chatter among the players died down.
“What is so great about a martial artist who has not even reached First-class that you are making such a fuss?”
He used a gentle tone that did not match his appearance. His furrowed brows looked as though he might start shouting at any moment.
“Stop acting rashly and focus on your training again.”
I walked forward, passing the players who still could not take their eyes off me. None of the many players tried to stop me, so I reached the elder far too easily.
The elder’s crooked gaze met mine.
“You seem to be from outside. What business do you have?”
“Greetings.”
I could denounce Mount Hua here. Condemning them for borrowing the power of something unorthodox would not be difficult. But what meaning would that have? I came here to make the Blood Cult suffer, not to restore Mount Hua’s glory. So what I needed to do now was not to criticize this man’s morality. I needed to cause a commotion to draw out the others in Mount Hua and confirm how many people here were connected to the Blood Cult.
The best way to do that was, of course—
“Have you heard of dojo breaking?”
It was a show of force.