#128. The Black Flame Dragon Who Steals Opportunities (3)
The members of the Jeongdo Council, who had staked everything on Jin Sowoon's failure, were now frantically running around trying to hold onto those on the verge of defecting after this incident. Many who had already felt alienated due to participating in the Muryangbulgolmokhonjin event had left, and now even more were showing signs of following suit. The fact that not a single disciple from the Nine Great Sects had entered the formation during the crisis only fueled greater outrage.
"I thought following the Jeongdo Council would get us the same treatment as them, but no."
"I don't expect equal treatment—we're not on the level of the Nine Great Sects anyway—but wasn't it too much to just stand by while academy students were dying?"
"The Jeongdo Council doesn't care about our advancement, let alone our lives."
As a result, Myeonghyeon and other council elders were constantly shuttling between the Elder Hall and the Murim Academy, wearing out the doorsteps as they met with the students. The Nine Great Sects' disciples, being the biggest beneficiaries and leaders of the Jeongdo Council, showed no signs of wavering. But from the perspective of those who followed the council—making up seventy percent of its forces—this unrest among the academy students could lead to a sharp decline in their power.
Moreover, if word of these events reached the students' sects and families, the factions that had uprooted their foundations to send disciples to the academy would be furious. They'd poured their entire fortunes into getting one child in, only for that child to be used as cannon fodder and nearly discarded? It wouldn't be strange if they immediately declared withdrawal from the Jeongdo Council, advancement be damned.
Of course, if someone from the Jeongdo Council had taken the academy representative position, they wouldn't have cared about this internal noise. Power naturally draws people in, filling any gaps left by the discontented.
But the representative was some unknown street rat, and the Nine Great Sects had been caught red-handed secretly practicing the Muryangbulgolmokhonjin in violation of academy rules, putting even the symbolic prestige of the Murim Alliance representative at risk.
That said, the Baekdohoe and the Twelve Bongseong weren't viewing this as a chance for a clean third-party scoop of defectors from the Jeongdo Council. Human thinking is all much the same, and the cunning of those in power follows suit. The ones who'd tried to enter the formation right after the Jeongdo Council had simply stepped back after seeing their rivals take the hit first, breathing a sigh of relief while watching the fallout.
Either way, the Jeongdo Council had taken the biggest lightning strike in this mess. Myeonghyeon was working tirelessly to clean up the students' mess, his mouth practically smoking from the effort.
"Your expulsion from the academy is already decided and irreversible. However, the Jeongdo Council will certainly provide ample compensation for this incident."
Even as Myeonghyeon—the highest-ranking Murim Alliance official and current head of the Jeongdo Council—spoke, the survivors' reactions were lukewarm. This was a far cry from their usual fawning, where they'd sell out even their distant relatives to catch his eye.
"But isn't your expulsion not entirely your fault? Wasn't the real responsibility on those who set an reckless schedule and biased participant selection, sparking the accident?"
"……."
"This was clearly a grave sin by the academy representative, something no representative should ever do. Don't you agree?"
"……What should we do?"
Myeonghyeon's face softened slightly at the survivor's expression, brimming with suppressed rage.
"Naturally, they must pay the proper price. Through this incident, we'll dismiss the academy representative and select a new one."
Thinking he'd reined in the Jeongdo Council, Myeonghyeon didn't stop there. He was a man who understood politics, and his next move was profoundly so.
#
"Haha, for the head of the Jeongdo Council to visit this humble place, I hardly know where to put myself."
"Having left both the Baekdohoe and Jeongdo Council behind, aren't we now united as one under 'conciliation'? What does affiliation matter?"
The Baekdohoe leader nodded inwardly mocking the loathsome Myeonghyeon as he listened.
"So, what do you want?"
"I'm aware there's movement to poach Jeongdo Council members amid our current chaos."
"Does it matter if those who were one body with us simply shift their lodgings a bit?"
"Didn't we agree to call that 'lacking in righteousness'?"
"Well. Wasn't poaching sects under the Baekdohoe something your side did plenty of?"
"Even if our forces weaken now, do you have the confidence to seize full control with the Baekdohoe?"
"……."
The Baekdohoe leader fell silent at Myeonghyeon's sharp thrust.
"I see this crisis as an opportunity for us."
"……What do you want?"
"We must abolish that absurd event and oust the academy representative."
"The Muryangbulgolmokhonjin has many interested parties even within the Alliance. We can't arbitrarily cancel an event budgeted by the Chief Strategist himself."
"That's why we should join forces."
"……."
"I know the Baekdohoe also finds this academy representative distasteful. Miss this chance, and neither the Jeongdo Council nor the Baekdohoe will claim the representative seat for this class."
Jin Sowoon, practically the culprit, still hadn't awakened, but Myeonghyeon turned it into an opportunity, pushing the disciplinary committee.
"Myeonghyeon Dojang, the academy representative hasn't even woken yet. Why hold the disciplinary committee so soon?"
"Didn't the academy representative already declare no involvement in this incident? Even if he wakes, do we need his opinion? Besides, this violates Alliance law. Delaying will only worsen internal chaos."
Myeonghyeon's intentions were obvious, but with him and most Elder Hall elders hounding the Execution Hall daily, the committee convened just two days after the incident.
The committee, steeped in Jeongdo Council influence, followed Myeonghyeon's script, extending blame not just to the surviving violators but to Jin Sowoon as the event's responsible party.
Jegal Somyeong tried to disband it amid the absurdity, but paused at the survivors' words.
"This was purely our fault—we violated Alliance law out of personal greed."
"Huh?"
Myeonghyeon, attending the committee, sensed something off and tried to speak, but the survivors pressed on without pause.
"The academy representative risked his life diving into the Muryangbulgolmokhonjin to save us who tried to steal his vision. We offer our thanks again here."
Something was going terribly wrong, but the survivors spoke as one, utterly defying Myeonghyeon's intent.
"……Don't you resent the academy representative who planned this and put you in danger?"
A committee plant from Myeonghyeon prodded, but the survivors were resolute.
"For days inside the Muryangbulgolmokhonjin, the representative didn't eat a single byeokgokdan pill because of us. How could we resent such a man? I haven't lived purely morally, but I'm no heartless scum."
"Exactly!"
"If we must pinpoint the cause, it's the Jeongdo Council officers among the academy students. Without their pressure, we never would've taken such risks."
The chamber erupted at the survivors' words. Even the committee and Myeonghyeon, who had orchestrated it all, wore expressions of utter confusion, unsure how to contain the chaos.
Could it be that expression from back then?
Myeonghyeon recalled the survivors suppressing their rage while he persuaded them.
It wasn't aimed at Jin Sowoon... it was at me?
"Academy students, stick to the incident—no unrelated talk!"
The committee's threat only touched the survivors' reverse scale.
"We heard everything. Not one from the Jeongdo Council stepped up for us! We didn't expect even the Elder Hall elders to abandon us."
"Silence! Silence! Be quiet!"
"How much have our sects contributed? You push us into the jaws of death, then wash your hands of it at the critical moment!"
The survivors now shouted freely, fearing nothing.
"Our Yanggeommun may be lowly compared to the Nine Great Sects, but never again! We'll never trust their words."
"If we'd known, we'd have followed the academy representative from the start. At least he risked his life for us!"
"Quiet! We'll impose discipline."
What did discipline matter to students already expelled? It only poured oil on the fire.
"My grandfather is furious about this."
"Our sect won't forget either……."
Myeonghyeon could only stare dumbfounded at the chaotic disciplinary committee.
#
After days of sleeping, I woke feeling lighter. Someone had changed my clothes to fresh ones, and instead of stale sweat, I smelled clean and fresh.
Did they bathe me while I was out?
The surroundings were so quiet I thought it was the dead of night. I'd expected at least the gold-silver-bronze brothers taking shifts to guard me, or Namgung Seonhwa and Seong Moran nagging me upon waking.
But.
Chirp— Chirp—
Warm sunlight streamed through the window, with mountain birds bustling about. Had they gone to class? Brushing aside a pang of disappointment at their absence for such a reason, I tried to sit up.
"!"
I flinched at the familiar back.
Why is he here again?
A figure I'd barely glimpsed from afar in my past life was now meeting me one-on-one for the second time in this one—after Iron Sword Sect, no less. Both times in eerily similar situations, triggering déjà vu.
"Awake?"
I quickly turned my head, pretending to sleep. He murmured to himself.
"For the academy representative—practically a Murim Alliance affiliate—to lie there before the Chief Strategist is the height of irreverence. What discipline shall I impose?"