Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Annihilation (1)
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What had been dismissed as a momentary whim began to grow and flourish.
Exponentially so.
Once they started gathering, the small and medium-sized Daoist sects joined in droves.
Mount Hua and Zhongnan had already established themselves as major powers.
For them to join forces with the smaller, regional sects was like a silent protest.
‘We will no longer turn a blind eye to the Black Dragon Gang.’
Regarding this, Cheol Pung-gae commented in his gruff voice.
“Seems the Unorthodox Faction has been chattering about it. Heh heh. Looks like they’ve pissed their pants a little.”
“For now, I’ll be satisfied with them laying low.”
At Ouyang Jue’s words, Cheol Pung-gae sniffled and asked.
“By the way, have you picked a leader?”
Ouyang Jue did not answer.
That was a different problem.
‘There’s no guarantee we can devour them completely, and even if we could, the damage would be too great.’
Cheol Pung-gae, cautiously watching Ouyang Jue’s expression, grinned and said.
“Just from your face, I can tell it’s a thorny issue. Alright, I’ll see you next time.”
“Congratulations on your promotion.”
At that, Cheol Pung-gae awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
The cord hanging from his waist still had only three knots, but his rank had been elevated to Regional Master.
Of course, Ouyang Jue’s help had been a huge factor in this.
“Well, that bastard Ouyang… ah, no, you told me to call you Master Daoist, right? Aish, tsk. I got promoted thanks to you, Master Daoist.”
“That’s like accepting a forced bow.”
With that, the two men shared a small laugh and parted ways.
Left alone, Ouyang Jue looked down at the autumn-colored Mount Hua and thought.
‘It will take at least two years to decide.’
Although a king had not been chosen between the two heads, Ouyang Jue was satisfied.
‘As long as we maintain our current advantage…’
The balance of power would gradually solidify, with Mount Hua taking on the role of the elder brother.
Most importantly, the initial approaches taken by Mount Hua and Zhongnan were fundamentally different.
Zhongnan originally followed the principle of ‘life first, nature second.’
They adhered to the teachings of the Southern School, which emphasized first building the body, the vessel of the mind, and pursuing studies later.
So when Zhongnan encountered the smaller Daoist sects they had always found distasteful, how would they have treated them?
The result was obvious.
‘They probably suggested discerning teachings through the sword.’
As his thoughts reached that point, a chill ran down Ouyang Jue’s spine.
If he hadn’t stirred up Lu Dongbin’s cave first, would they have ever listened?
He couldn’t be certain, as it was only a guess. But deep down, he was confident they would not have.
‘Next time I see Yeong Heo-ja, I should teach him something as an apology.’
He still felt sorry for barging in and injuring the man, but he didn’t think he had done anything wrong.
Thanks to this, the Zhongnan Sect would also be able to avert a crisis to some extent.
Then, suddenly, he felt a difference in himself.
“Would the old me have felt sorry for a man I’d never even met?”
Ouyang Jue quietly sensed the change and shivered slightly.
* * *
Meanwhile, Cheol Pung-gae, having scurried down from Mount Hua, grinned at the waiting beggars.
“You brats… Your Regional Master has arrived, and your heads are still held so high?”
“W-Welcome, Regional Master!”
The dumbfounded expression on the beggar’s face, as if to say, ‘What is this guy talking about?’, was a picture, prompting Cheol Pung-gae’s hand to move stiffly.
*Thwack, thwack!*
“Ack! You son of a…”
At those words, Cheol Pung-gae’s smirk deepened.
“‘Son of a’? A ‘son of a’ what?”
“N-No, it’s nothing, Regional Master.”
“Right. It better be nothing. If you don’t like it, get a few more knots yourself.”
Despite the utterly petty remark, the beggar just smirked.
Aside from his incredibly foul mouth and quick hands, he was a perfect superior.
After all, wasn’t Cheol Pung-gae the reason beggars throughout all of Shaanxi no longer went hungry?
‘That hurt like hell, damn it.’
…Pushing his personal feelings aside, the beggar began to recite what he had memorized.
“Uh, well, the Zhongnan Sect’s resentment is much greater than you expected, Regional Master.”
“Why?”
As if on cue, another beggar took up the question.
“Didn’t I tell ya? Those Daoist bastards were showing off their strength.”
“Showing off their strength?”
The phrase didn’t seem to fit with Daoists, and Cheol Pung-gae’s brow furrowed.
“Are your eyes made of mud?”
“Hey, who are you calling a fool?”
“Or is there water in your ears?”
“Ah, seriously. It’s definitely not that either.”
“…”
At the beggar’s annoyed tone, Cheol Pung-gae nonchalantly pulled out the club tucked between his knots.
The beggar’s expression immediately softened.
“Ah, no. I’m telling the truth. They said they were showing off their strength.”
The beggar licked his dry lips.
“They must have been on edge because of the Black Dragon Gang and decided to take it out on the smaller Daoist sects that were getting on their nerves. Otherwise, there’s no way they’d be badmouthing them so openly.”
“Hmm, for a beggar, you’re quite logical.”
The beggar cursed under his breath again, but Cheol Pung-gae was lost in another thought.
‘It seems the times are going to raise that guy up more than I thought…’
Thinking about it, it sounded like something an scholar would say.
Cheol Pung-gae smacked the heads of the beggars lined up before him.
Indeed, he could immediately tell the difference from their subsequent words.
‘Mount Hua used its head, devising a clever plan to prevent assimilation. They’ll probably retain at least half of their influence even after this is over.’
But Zhongnan was different.
A bitter smile formed on Cheol Pung-gae’s lips.
‘Trying to show off your sword skills to those narrow-minded Daoists won’t make them bow down so easily. No matter how worked up they were, they shouldn’t have done that.’
Cheol Pung-gae tilted his head, wondering if they were aiming for something else.
Who was the current Sect Leader of Zhongnan?
None other than the True Master Manseon.
He was once called the Number One Sword North of the River, and due to his hot-tempered personality, the Eccentric Immortal.
Though he had quieted down after becoming Sect Leader and was now the stuff of legends.
‘Don’t tell me, is he trying to lend strength to Mount Hua?’
The thought made him let out a sudden, hollow laugh.
There was no reason for it.
To Zhongnan, Mount Hua was a rival sect, even if they were both Daoist.
They shared the same founder, but their schools were different.
There was a reason Shaanxi was known as the borderland of the two great Daoist sects.
Then, Cheol Pung-gae’s gaze turned to the beggars.
“What’s got you all so upset?”
“The way you’re smirking is a little annoying to look at…”
“You damnably honest bastards.”
Then again, wasn’t it this very trait that made him take in these unruly men?
To be honest rather than to curry favor.
He was the one who had taught them to never lie, even if they were cussing each other out.
“Well done.”
“Is that all you’re gonna say?”
“No, you impatient, good-for-nothing mongrels. Just wait a second.”
*Riiip-!*
Cheol Pung-gae promptly tore his robe in half and bit his thumb lightly.
Soon, blood seeped out.
Using the blood, Cheol Pung-gae wrote a message for Ouyang Jue on the piece of cloth.
Now all he had to do was go to the branch office and send it.
As Cheol Pung-gae pressed a point on his shoulder to stop the bleeding, a short beggar snickered.
“I have ink and a brush, you know.”
“…”
Cheol Pung-gae whipped his head around, unable to contain his anger, and raised his club.
Only then did the short beggar cry out.
“Hey, I just watched because you looked so cool biting your thumb!”
“You good-for-nothing brat!”
A moment later.
A single carrier pigeon took flight from Chang’an.
* * *
*Flap.*
Ouyang Jue fed the carrier pigeon, then gave its rear a gentle pat to send it on its way.
The situation was progressing well.
So absurdly well, in fact, that it felt as though, to use his words, the era itself was pulling Mount Hua forward.
A gentle ripple passed through Ouyang Jue’s eyes.
‘Still, I never imagined the Sect Leader would have changed that much.’
It was somewhat astonishing that Bai Duanxian, who had been just but stubborn and unaccommodating, had changed so drastically.
Who was it that said it?
The times make the hero.
In that sense, Bai Duanxian was a hero forged by scorching fire and a heavy hammer.
He had actually been prepared for one thing.
Everything Ouyang Jue had done until now could be seen as an affront to Bai Duanxian’s pride.
He had subconsciously thought he might have to endure being resented.
But what about now?
‘On the contrary, isn’t it becoming more solid than in my past life, in a way I never predicted?’
He was ashamed for having thought of his master as someone he needed to lead.
Bai Duanxian was growing stronger in his own way.
Despite being broken countless times and receiving harsh words from him, a mere disciple, he had accepted it all in silence.
In the martial world, where hierarchy and martial skill were absolute authority, such a thing was utterly unthinkable.
‘…Perhaps things will change in less than two years.’
Ouyang Jue tossed the letter into the pile of burning leaves and stirred it with a pair of tongs.
The letter turned to ash, disappearing with the black smoke.
The smell of iron from the tongs in his hand rose and filled his nostrils.
They were brand new, fresh from the blacksmith’s forge.
Just two months ago, they didn't have things like this.
A sense of pride swelled in his chest.
Seeing Jo Hun waving enthusiastically in the distance, it truly felt like things had changed.
Ouyang Jue smiled warmly and lifted Jo Hun, who had run up to him.
“Is your training going well?”
“Yes, Senior Brother.”
“Are you meditating from time to time?”
“Well… that’s part of my daily routine.”
‘A daily routine. Indeed.’
Ouyang Jue’s gaze fell to Jo Hun’s hands.
The wooden sword was blunt at the tip from being swung so much, and the bandage wrapped around the hilt was worn.
Ouyang Jue asked Jo Hun.
“How about we have a light spar?”
“C-Can I really do that?”
“Hm? Well, there’s no reason you can’t.”
When he said it so casually, Jo Hun tilted his head.
“But I don’t have a wooden sword to give you, Senior Brother.”
“I’ll face you with my bare hands.”
“……!”
At those words, Jo Hun’s lips jutted out.
It was the characteristic pout of a child who felt he was being underestimated.
Ouyang Jue let out a chuckle.
“Hun, I’m not doing this because I look down on you.”
“Then why?”
*Crunch.*
Ouyang Jue’s big toe dug into the sandy ground. His knees bent just slightly, poised with elasticity.
His upper body leaned forward, ready to react at any moment, and soon his lips parted slightly, revealing clenched teeth.
“Even if you’re holding a wooden sword, if I hold a weapon, I can’t go easy on you.”
*Fwoosh-!*
Ouyang Jue’s step exploded with the force of a storm.
Jo Hun quickly retreated and raised his wooden sword.
*Crack!*
The lacquer was rendered useless as the wooden sword was half-shattered by the mere graze of Ouyang Jue’s fist.
“…Keuk.”
An irresistible force.
Despite the pressure weighing down on his entire body, Jo Hun corrected his stance.
His body trembled from the momentary fear, but he kept his back ramrod straight.
He would simply execute what he had learned.
That was all Jo Hun could do.
“…Plum Blossom Falls and Laughs.”
The plum blossom falls and laughs.
The sword tip, held higher than his own body, swung down, extending precisely toward Ouyang Jue.
Watching this, Ouyang Jue smiled as if proud.
“You’ve learned well.”
But that was as far as it went.
Pushing off the ground, Ouyang Jue changed direction and appeared behind Jo Hun.
It was sheer speed.
At least at the level of a first-rate master. A speed that couldn’t be tracked without such keen eyes.
Seeing Jo Hun looking around, Ouyang Jue cleared his throat.
“S-Senior Brother?!”
“Just keep practicing like that. Review today’s duel during your meditation.”
At those words, Jo Hun nodded his head.
“I will!”
“Good.”
After finishing the spar with a smile, a few days later, Jo Hun had to voice his complaint.
“You got even faster?!”
“Get used to it.”
Ouyang Jue watched Jo Hun’s struggle with a grin.
‘Until he grasps the clue to the Path of Zen Scripture on his own…’
Of course, he wasn’t just looking after Jo Hun.
There was Ik Hyeon, with whom he had started a bond in this life, and most importantly, Liu Zhangming.
He would occasionally correct the stances of the formal disciples and offer them encouragement.
About a week passed like that.
“Jue, the Sect Leader is looking for you.”
“Thank you, Senior Brother.”
Ouyang Jue felt that the time had come.