Chapter 74
Chapter 74
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Entering the World (4)
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As Jin Mu-wol and Ouyang Jue seemed ready to let the matter drop without another word, Bai Duanxian spoke up urgently.
“But, haven't we remained silent in response to the Martial Alliance until now? If we send Jue alone at this point…”
“Disciple, you tell me.”
Jin Mu-wol turned to Ouyang Jue and asked.
“Is there any issue with you traveling outside?”
Ouyang Jue pondered for a moment before answering.
“There is not.”
“Perhaps some shameful affair or an unresolved incident?”
“There is not.”
As if to ask if there were any more problems, Jin Mu-wol looked back at Bai Duanxian.
Bai Duanxian let out a long sigh.
“…Hahh.”
He couldn't easily accept it.
Sending Ouyang Jue to the Martial Alliance wasn't a bad idea in itself. It was an opportunity not only to gain experience in the martial world but also to build friendships with other rising talents.
‘But this time is different.’
A full twenty years ago.
Since the war against the old Demonic Cult, the Mount Hua Sect had lived quietly, focusing on cultivating the Dao.
They believed that living and cultivating the Dao on Mount Hua was the path of the righteous, purer than the martial world which pursued bloodshed.
So they had cut off contact. Even when the Martial Alliance expressed its disappointment, they had remained steadfastly silent.
The most they did was attend gatherings like the Nine Dragons Convention once or twice.
And even then, they attended as guests, not as a member sect of the Martial Alliance.
Yet, now they were going to send a single young disciple?
He didn't know what the current figures in the Martial Alliance would think. That made him even more anxious.
‘Isn't this perhaps a disrespectful act?’
After such a long silence, the person they finally send to break it is a young disciple.
And it was Ouyang Jue, who lacked deep experience. The only reason he was a first-generation disciple was because he was Bai Duanxian's own student.
In other words…
‘They might think he's being sent just to show off his own disciple.’
The more Bai Duanxian thought about it, the more he mulled over the future, the worse it seemed.
Just then, Jin Mu-wol spoke.
“You are overthinking.”
“How can I not?”
“You weren't like this when you were just a disciple.”
“As I've gotten older, I see too much. I couldn't help but change.”
Jin Mu-wol gave a bitter smile.
“Is that so.”
“…”
A stifling air flowed between the two Daoists. It was heavy.
Normally, Bai Duanxian would have reluctantly listened to him, but now he was stubbornly holding his ground.
Jin Mu-wol knew from whom this change stemmed.
“Disciple.”
“Yes, Grandmaster.”
At Ouyang Jue's respectful demeanor, Jin Mu-wol briefly closed his eyes, then opened them.
He felt a gaze watching him intently.
He could also sense a spirit that did not shrink back, even before the guardian of Plum Blossom Cave.
Furthermore, as if aware of the martial might Jin Mu-wol possessed, the flow of Ouyang Jue's ki was calm yet traced a proud, undulating curve.
“It seems your master cares for you a great deal.”
“Of course.”
Ouyang Jue answered honestly.
“I have not yet reached the age of maturity, and as you know, Grandmaster, I have been in several fights. It is natural for him to be concerned.”
“I am aware.”
Jin Mu-wol affirmed the obvious. There was no reason to deny it.
Plum Blossom Cave was the heart of Mount Hua, a legacy left by the late Grandmaster Hak.
As the one residing there, there was nothing that happened on Mount Hua he didn't know. He was even aware that carrier pigeons from the Beggars' Sect were coming and going.
He simply had no need to speak of it. Jin Mu-wol assumed Ouyang Jue knew this as well.
‘A remarkably clever disciple.’
That must be why Bai Duanxian was so worried.
Clever people often know they are smart, become arrogant, and end up dying suddenly in the martial world trying to be too cunning.
Jin Mu-wol had seen many such people. The Jegal and Nangong clans often produced that type.
He is cherished because he is exceptional.
He is precious, so he cannot be let go from one's embrace.
That was why Liu Zhangming always traveled with an elder.
Jin Mu-wol lightly shook his head.
That was an act that erased one's wild nature. It was like raising a flower in a garden—something unimaginable in the past, at least.
“To say he cannot go out because he is young. That is wrong.”
Before Bai Duanxian could object again, Jin Mu-wol continued.
“A man is born with the instinct to contend for supremacy. Be it for a mother's love or among friends. That is why they are bound to clash with their peers. But if you nip that bud, how can he ever fulfill his role as a man?”
At the unexpected words, Ouyang Jue showed a surprised expression.
Of all the Daoists he had ever seen, this one's way of thinking was most similar to his own.
Supremacy.
Struggle.
It was the same in any profession. Survival itself is a war. A struggle against every other person around you.
That was why the Ouyang Jue of his past life had fought tooth and nail to survive.
He had pursued not simple strength, but true strength.
To stand above others.
To face the struggle and survive until the very end.
Seeing Ouyang Jue's expression sharpen as he recalled those memories, Jin Mu-wol's lips twisted into a smirk.
“Look. Do not those eyes also wish to fight?”
“…”
“Do you intend to let that bud rot—the bud that wishes to escape this small well, to clash with the strange and wondrous masters of the world and survive?”
Is that your Dao?
Bai Duanxian could not immediately answer that question.
He had heard those words before. To be precise, they were what Jin Mu-wol had said when Liu Zhangming reached the first-rate level.
-What do you think of sending Disciple Liu out early?
How had he answered back then?
Bai Duanxian had said he could never do that. He had declared that there would be many targeting Liu Zhangming, and that he would keep him on Mount Hua until he had fully blossomed.
And so, even Jin Mu-wol could not change his mind.
No matter that he was his master, he was not in a position to interfere with the sect's affairs now.
And now, once again, Jin Mu-wol was asking the same question.
What if he allowed it this time, and Ouyang Jue returned in the same state as Ha Jin-ak?
Bai Duanxian's brow furrowed deeply.
This wasn't a matter of the sect; it was about his precious disciple. Bai Duanxian couldn't remain detached.
And this was Ouyang Jue, who was now seen as an enemy among the unorthodox factions for having defeated the Black Dragon Gang.
The moment he descended from Mount Hua, he would be exposed to the threat of poison and hidden weapons.
As Bai Duanxian agonized, Ouyang Jue was the first to speak.
“It's alright.”
“What is alright?”
Bai Duanxian's face twisted in a deep scowl.
“You have done well enough until now. There is no need for you to get involved in more troublesome matters.”
In a calm voice, Ouyang Jue addressed Bai Duanxian by his title.
“Sect Leader.”
“Do you think you'll be treated properly if you go to the Martial Alliance? Or is this because of some misguided desire for fame?”
Bai Duanxian's voice was now too agitated to be called mere concern. But neither Jin Mu-wol nor Ouyang Jue interrupted him.
Because they were not strangers.
Having been on Mount Hua all this time, and knowing the burden Bai Duanxian carried, Ouyang Jue quietly called out to him.
“Master.”
“…Hahh, my apologies.”
Bai Duanxian composed himself once more and asserted his position.
“But I have no intention of sending you to a foreign place where no one will welcome you. It will only create the misunderstanding that we are trying to throw our weight around now.”
‘He's right…’
Ouyang Jue slowly stroked his chin, lost in thought.
He still didn't know why Jin Mu-wol wanted him to go to the Martial Alliance.
He also knew, as Bai Duanxian had said, that their relationship with the Martial Alliance had been distant for twenty years.
‘I likely won't hear anything good if I go.’
In a way, it was like being swayed here and there by this man, Jin Mu-wol.
For a martial artist, getting entangled in matters without knowing the reason was the most unpleasant thing of all.
But.
Ouyang Jue held his head high. His bold spirit seemed to swallow both Bai Duanxian's worries and Jin Mu-wol's mysterious air.
“I do not know why the Grandmaster has nominated me. I am too young to be in such a position. My status is low as well.”
“That's right.”
A hint of relief colored Bai Duanxian's reply. But Ouyang Jue wasn't finished.
“However, I believe this is not a matter we can remain silent about forever.”
“Is that not something I or the other elders can resolve?”
“That is…”
Ouyang Jue glanced at Jin Mu-wol.
He didn't know what his goal was, but at least his attitude wasn't hostile toward him or the Mount Hua Sect.
In fact, it felt more like he was watching him with interest.
And regarding the Martial Alliance, Ouyang Jue had his own intentions.
“Don't we need to show them that Mount Hua was not silent because it was weak, but because it was merely crouching?”
“…!”
At those words, Bai Duanxian bit his lip hard. It was an unexpected topic.
Only then did he realize the subtle difference in their perspectives.
He realized that since their great leap forward in Shaanxi, they hadn't received visits from sects in other regions.
It was possible that other regions still thought the Mount Hua Sect lacked the power to contend for supremacy in the martial world.
And that assumption was spot on.
‘From the year I came of age, the Martial Alliance clearly distinguished between the strong and the weak, treating them accordingly.’
Before long, the Martial Alliance had grown in size and come to possess absolute power.
Ouyang Jue had become a wanderer because of them.
He had struggled like that for three years.
If he hadn't belatedly found his fortuitous encounter, he was fated to remain a mediocre martial artist, a mere foot soldier, and eventually be sacrificed.
Good and evil aside, the Martial Alliance was materialistic and followed the law of the strong.
So, he had no choice but to make an impression.
That Mount Hua was a place that could not be overlooked, that it held numerous hidden dragons and should not be taken lightly.
Ouyang Jue was ready to stand at the vanguard.
“As I just said, I do not know why the Grandmaster nominated me. I also know that it is a position beyond my station.”
“Jue…!”
“Regardless of the advantages or disadvantages of the situation, or the dangers outside, I am a Daoist of the Mount Hua Sect. I am the disciple of Daoist Bai Duanxian.”
“But…”
“But before that.”
Ouyang Jue put force into his next words.
“I, who was nothing but a war orphan, was reborn on Mount Hua. I have received that grace.”
“…”
“So, to repay that kindness, I will proudly declare to the people below the mountain, to the outside world.”
Ouyang Jue clenched his fist.
“Mount Hua is by no means weak. And the fragrance of the plum blossom is never for sale.”