#13. The Third-Rate Warrior Who Protects the Sect's Honor (7)
Fundamentally, why couldn't the Iron Sword Sect join the 108 Peaks? They lacked the justification.
The 108 Peaks was a position akin to a symbol of the Murim Alliance. Five hundred years ago, with the emergence of the Demonic Cult, the righteous sects scattered across the martial world had gathered, sacrificing themselves to form the Murim Alliance. At its core were the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families. Afterward, it became an honor for those allied sects that had shed blood alongside them. Among the entire 108 Peaks, one-third had maintained their positions for those five hundred years. For a sect to be replaced in the 108 Peaks, there needed to be justification of that magnitude.
So what about the Murim Alliance that decided such matters? The Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families held absolute power, shaking the Alliance, but the Murim Alliance wasn't run solely on brute force. Ultimately, what moved the Murim Alliance was a battle of justifications.
In that sense, Jegal Somyeong had lost his justification and found himself in a bind.
Damn...
As he reviewed the board laid out by that kid from Tae-eul Gate, Jin Sowoon—piecing together the intentions step by step—he had missed the right moment to step in. The flames ignited by the Iron Sword Sect had now splattered onto him, the Chief Strategist.
"Insolent! How dare you spout such nonsense before whom?!"
Seong Cheonwol bellowed furiously, but Jegal Somyeong wished he'd just shut up. If things escalated further, both the Iron Sword Sect and the Murim Alliance would end up covered in shit.
"My father knelt all night to save me, yet the Iron Sword Sect Lord pushed forward with the spar despite their vile plot being exposed. But when the spar turned against them, he interfered."
Jin Sowoon pointed at Seong Mohyeon.
"At that bastard's cry of 'sorcery,' the Iron Sword Sect Lord immediately branded Tae-eul Gate as an unorthodox sect, and the Murim Alliance did nothing about it."
Jin Sowoon's voice brimmed with rage and resentment. In truth, he should have intervened back then... that lingering regret still burned.
"What am I supposed to trust to sheathe my sword?!"
The onlookers nodded in agreement, then turned their eyes to him—the de facto representative of the Murim Alliance.
Checkmate.
No matter how he thought about it, the recent events didn't seem coincidental. And there was one reason for that. That kid, Jin Sowoon, hadn't panicked once.
Facing head-on what seemed like the Iron Sword Sect's conspiracy, with every circumstance stacked against him, he had turned the tables to his advantage. Could a young man not even in his twenties truly remain unflinched upon hearing "Gold Palace"?
Jin Sowoon had boldly proven his innocence, and in doing so, dragged both the Iron Sword Sect and the Murim Alliance into his game.
He couldn't just admire it. One misstep, and the Murim Alliance's name would be tarnished alongside the Iron Sword Sect. What could he offer? What would quell the conflict between the Iron Sword Sect and Tae-eul Gate, while affirming the Murim Alliance as the upholder of the martial world's order?
Nothing came to mind at first glance. Of course there wouldn't be.
But that didn't mean there was no solution.
"...Then what do you want?"
Just toss the answer back. If he demanded truth, an apology, or something else, give him something suitable, placate him, and end the incident. If it wrapped up neatly, this event would fade from memory like that incident twenty years ago.
But.
"I want the Iron Sword Sect Lord's head."
"...!"
Jegal Somyeong nearly burst out laughing at Jin Sowoon's words. It was a move he hadn't even dreamed of. An outrageous gambit pressuring not just the Iron Sword Sect Lord, but even him, the Chief Strategist. If this were go or chess, he'd flip the board in shock.
Wanting the Iron Sword Sect Lord's head meant demanding a duel between the two. Even if Jin Sowoon drew his innate energy to the limit, could he take the Lord's head? But if Jin Sowoon died in mutual destruction, he'd become a martyr who sacrificed for his declining sect and family. Then the Iron Sword Sect and Murim Alliance would be seen as black path thugs who persecuted a weak sect, ignoring ethics and justification, driving an innocent to his death.
This would become a political weapon, cornering the Murim Alliance and dooming the Iron Sword Sect for years to come. In that instant, one man's life equaled the Murim Alliance.
Hah, Tae-eul Gate had a talent like this?
Though cornered, curiosity overpowered anger or panic.
What would that kid look like in the Myriad Communications Division?
Then I can't let him die here. Not for the Murim Alliance's sake.
#
"If you feel insulted, repay it with insult."
Jegal Somyeong nodded as if muttering to himself.
"But do you have the skill for that?"
"I will definitely claim blood debt."
"... "
Jegal Somyeong's gaze lingered heavily. A genius beyond geniuses. If Yong So-a, the Dragon Child, was a genius untouchable by the martial world, then Jegal Somyeong was the Dragon Child of the literary world.
Jegal Somyeong, who passed away just before the Great War between Righteousness and Evil. Some said that if only he had lived, the Murim Alliance wouldn't have been torn apart like this.
A being of such caliber. Jegal Somyeong was already nimbly dodging the trap Jin Sowoon had set.
"No, that's not right. If so, it would just be resolving things unreasonably, like what you suffered."
As expected, not easy.
"Then there's another way."
"What?"
"Those three scoundrels kowtow in full prostration and apologize for everything that's happened."
"...Hm, but that wouldn't confirm you've mastered the Gold Palace, would it?"
"Does the Chief Strategist have a solution? Opposing just to oppose is for petty officials."
For some reason, Jegal Somyeong seemed to be enjoying this immensely. His lips twitched, barely suppressing a smile.
"How confident are you, Sect Lord?"
At Jegal Somyeong's question, Seong Cheonwol faltered.
"Pardon? Th-that..."
"Would you stake your sect's plaque?"
"What?!"
Seong Cheonwol raised his voice shamelessly, then cleared his throat.
"Ahem. Chief Strategist. Discovering and eradicating the Gold Palace is the righteous duty of us orthodox warriors practicing demon extermination. Why stake the sect plaque over that? If you demand responsibility, as that kid says, I'll take it with my sword."
The Iron Sword Sect Lord, Seong Cheonwol, thrashed unknowingly caught in the web, and Jegal Somyeong, exasperated, snapped.
"I already said that's the wrong way!"
"Th-then..."
"What about your personal safety, Sect Lord?"
Seong Cheonwol's eyes bulged at the Nine Rings Sword hanging in the hall's center, the relic of Gui Geom Seonong.
"Th-that."
"Don't you have confidence, Sect Lord? I don't know what happened at last night's banquet, but everything I've seen today reeks of injustice, just as the kid says. Were you truly just vile schemers hiding behind the Murim Alliance?"
At Jegal Somyeong's words, the Iron Sword Sect Lord's gaze darted between the pale Seong Mohyeon and Jin Sowoon. Then came the grinding of teeth.
"Fine. So be it!"
With his answer, the Iron Sword Sect Lord stomped toward Jin Sowoon. Jin Sowoon raised a hand to stop him.
"There's a condition."
"Enough!"
"If we're doing this, do it right. What if the Sect Lord inspects personally, finds nothing, but still insists I learned the Suction Great Law?"
"Do you see me as that kind of man?!"
"From your actions so far, yes, more than enough."
Jegal Somyeong nodded.
"Waiting for the Execution Hall would take too long, and delaying your sixtieth birthday banquet with this mess won't do. I'll check personally. That satisfactory?"
Jegal Somyeong slowly passed the Iron Sword Sect Lord and approached Jin Sowoon.
"Enough posturing now."
Jin Sowoon withdrew his innate energy and extended his right hand to Jegal Somyeong. The Suction Great Law absorbed others' energy, mixing all sorts of foreign qi into one's own. Thus, confirming it wasn't hard.
"... "
Jegal Somyeong's qi softly probed Jin Sowoon's dantian, then vanished in an instant.
"...Ahem."
Silent for a moment, Jegal Somyeong looked at the Iron Sword Sect Lord. The Sect Lord swallowed hard, like revealing his final card in a bet with his entire fortune.
And then.
"This one has not learned the Suction Great Law."
"Ah...!"
At Jegal Somyeong's words, the Iron Sword Sect Lord and Seong Mohyeon wore expressions of disbelief.
"No! He definitely learned the Suction Great Law."
"C-can I check too?"
Jegal Somyeong frowned at the Iron Sword Sect Lord's plea.
"It's about your sword at stake."
"... "
As Jegal Somyeong stepped back, the Iron Sword Sect Lord seized Jin Sowoon's hand and roughly thrust his qi in, rummaging through his body.
"W-wait..."
His crude, violent qi made Jin Sowoon's already strained meridians from drawing innate energy go berserk.
"Stay still!"
The rampaging energy roughly battered the dantian, and the meridians finally backlashed.
"Urk."
Without time to defend, thick blood surged up his throat. The floor quickly filled with the blood he spat.
"What are you doing?!"
"Sowoon!"
"This bastard finally!"
Jegal Somyeong startled, shoved the Iron Sword Sect Lord's hand away and tried to seal acupoints, but Jin Sowoon kept vomiting blood.
Jin Taesan and Gang Chaeseok looked ready to fight the Iron Sword Sect Lord to the death.
"This can't be..."
The Iron Sword Sect Lord's incredulous expression. Sensing something wrong, Seong Mohyeon pleaded desperately.
"No! Grandfather! I definitely felt it. Otherwise, I couldn't have lost to that guy."
"Shut up!"
Jin Sowoon shook off his supporting father and tried to stand.
"Don't get up yet. It's not fully healed."
Jegal Somyeong pressed his shoulder firmly, but Jin Sowoon roughly brushed off his bloodied hand.
"... "
"Sowoon!"
He finally stood, shaking off even Jin Taesan's hand. Blood still trickled from his mouth, and Seong Cheonwol and Seong Mohyeon stared at him in horror.
"Pay... the price!"
He extended his hand.
"... "
"For this vile act by you and your descendants... cough... pay the just price!"
His fingertips trembled.
The Iron Sword Sect Lord rolled his eyes frantically, unable to act.
"Urk!"
As he spewed more blood, the exasperated Jegal Somyeong grabbed his hand and glared at the Iron Sword Sect Lord.
"Sect Lord, honor your promise."
"...Chief Strategist, how can you side with me like..."
"Your confident promise, and harming the opponent's body with crude qi— all your actions. Show responsibility to affirm you're an allied sect of the Murim Alliance!"
"...For this incident, we'll compensate, and on behalf of the sect, give that kid three Iron Heart Pills."
"Grandfather!"
The Iron Sword Sect Lord glared murderously at Seong Mohyeon.
"Open your mouth again, and I'll cut out that tongue."
Pleading with Jegal Somyeong, the Iron Sword Sect Lord said,
"Our disciple made a grave mistake in this matter. Even so, the founding ancestor's sacred relic can't be handed over lightly. Wouldn't settling it here benefit all sects more?"
Jegal Somyeong looked to Jin Sowoon for agreement, but instead, he gripped his sword.
"Then... I'll claim blood debt."
As Jin Sowoon tried to shake off even Jegal Somyeong's hand, he shouted,
"Iron Sword Sect Lord! As a member of the Murim Alliance, do you intend to tarnish its name?!"
At the thunderous cry, Seong Cheonwol's eyes flashed wide.
"I witnessed this as a guarantor. Will you brand an innocent as guilty and pay no price? Do you truly wish to feel the wrath of the Murim Alliance's Execution Hall?"
"... "
Lacking confidence to face Jegal Somyeong's fury, the Iron Sword Sect Lord bowed his head.
"Bring the Nine Rings Sword."
Seong Jutaek brought the trembling sword, and Seong Cheonwol received it, offering it to Jegal Somyeong. Jegal Somyeong placed it atop Jin Sowoon's hand.
"This satisfactory now?"
With his words, Jin Sowoon closed his eyes.