Chapter 162
Chapter 162
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 162
Chapter Title: Mount Wudang
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The Leader of the Supreme Healing Sword Sect voiced the first thought that came to mind.
"...Victory Dragon Sword. Why are you still alive?"
It was just a single phrase, but the atmosphere around them turned intensely frigid.
The Leader of the Supreme Healing Sword Sect quickly waved his hands in denial.
"No, that's not what I meant. Clearly, through a transmission..."
The Leader of the Supreme Healing Sword Sect trailed off there, as if his tongue had frozen solid, unable to continue. It seemed Hyun-gong had pulled some trick to seal his mouth.
But when Elder Yeongbo casually flicked his hand, Hyun-gong's ploy was instantly shattered.
Elder Yeongbo narrowed his eyes slightly at Hyun-gong before turning to the Leader of the Supreme Healing Sword Sect with a gentle expression.
"Leader of the Supreme Healing Sword Sect. Don't worry—just speak freely."
The Leader of the Supreme Healing Sword Sect pulled himself together and pointed accusingly at Dang Mujin and Namgung Myeong.
"The Victory Dragon Sword... No, the Victory Dragon Sword told me! He said he'd personally hunt down these villains, so I should trust him and wait!"
"Leader of the Supreme Healing Sword Sect! How can you just blurt out whatever pops into your head? When did I ever say anything like that..."
Hyun-gong shouted forcefully. When witnesses were absent and right and wrong hung in the balance, the one with the louder voice usually won.
But as he gauged the room's mood while speaking, it seemed people found the Leader of the Supreme Healing Sword Sect's account credible too. Of course—no one in their right mind would come to the Wudang Sect and spin lies without reason.
Going against the tide was dangerous. After a brief internal struggle, Hyun-gong took half a step back. A strategic retreat.
"...Did I say something like that? I don't remember. Maybe you misheard?"
"No way!"
"By any chance, is there someone who heard me say that too?"
"There isn't. It was a mental transmission."
"Hmm. So no one else heard it. Let's assume for now that I did say it."
Hyun-gong slyly twisted the narrative.
*Of course, your story isn't true, but I'll graciously hear you out.* That was the vibe he gave. Even he was satisfied with his own response.
Naturally, the Leader of the Supreme Healing Sword Sect wasn't a fool and could read right through Hyun-gong's intentions.
The Leader of the Supreme Healing Sword Sect stared at Hyun-gong in utter disbelief.
Then, the Protection Hall Leader—who had brought Dang Mujin's group and hadn't spoken a word since—interjected and asked the Leader of the Supreme Healing Sword Sect.
"By the way, why did you think Hyun-gong was going to hunt down these young heroes?"
"These villains killed my father!"
"That's the odd part. Hyun-gong's skills are indeed outstanding compared to his peers, but it doesn't seem like he'd be a match for all three of them at once—including the Healing Dragon."
"It wasn't him facing three alone. Including Hyun-gong himself, there were five of us, so we had the numerical advantage too...!"
"Hold on. Five? You didn't mention that earlier. Who were the other four?"
The Leader of the Supreme Healing Sword Sect hesitated. He hadn't expected to run into Hyun-gong, so he'd deliberately omitted that detail until now.
The Protection Hall Leader pressed again.
"You shouldn't be hiding anything."
"...Assassins."
"Aassassins?"
The Protection Hall Leader's face twisted into a bizarre expression.
"Leader of the Supreme Healing Sword Sect. Are you claiming Hyun-gong teamed up with assassins to target righteous sect heroes?"
As the Leader of the Supreme Healing Sword Sect floundered, Hyun-gong swiftly cut in.
"Ah, so that's where the misunderstanding lies. I wasn't following these fellows—I was tailing the assassins to hunt them down. And conveniently, with me joining, the numbers evened out."
Hyun-gong whipped his head toward Namgung Myeong, emphasizing the surname "Namgung" as he spoke.
"Hey, 'Namgung' Myeong. You saw me chasing after those assassins, right? I was the first to subdue one and cut his throat. Isn't that so?"
Hyun-gong's account contained a slight distortion. He hadn't subdued and beheaded the assassin—he'd ambushed and stabbed him in the back.
But the key point was that he'd confronted the assassins, so Namgung Myeong generously nodded.
"Yeah. Thanks to you, the fight was a lot easier."
"As Namgung Myeong has testified, I bravely stood against the assassins. As a proud Daoist of the Wudang Sect, I couldn't just overlook such injustice. If my courage and sense of justice are crimes, then I'll gladly accept my punishment. I'll surely commit such crimes again in the future too."
Hyun-gong concluded his spirited defense triumphantly.
By now, even the core of the story had shifted. It was no longer about "betraying the Leader of the Supreme Healing Sword Sect," but "eliminating assassins as a righteous hero of the orthodox sects."
The Leader of the Supreme Healing Sword Sect trembled with rage.
Seeing Hyun-gong alive, he'd felt a moment of relief—and now he felt like a fool for it.
"You promised to avenge my father! You even came to his funeral! You should've helped me get revenge, even if it meant joining hands with assassins! What was the point of the Supreme Healing Sword Sect joining the Righteous Heaven Alliance?"
The Leader of the Supreme Healing Sword Sect cried out in a voice raw with anguish, as if scraping out his guts. It was the first time he'd raised his voice before Wudang Daoists.
Suddenly thrust into the role of judges, Elder Yeongbo and the Protection Hall Leader fell deep into thought.
Should they close their eyes to the Leader of the Supreme Healing Sword Sect's grudge and deem striking down assassins just?
Or was it right to side with assassins and aid the Leader of the Supreme Healing Sword Sect's vengeance, even at the cost of young heroes' lives?
It wasn't a question with a clear answer.
The Protection Hall Leader furrowed his brow in frustration, but Elder Yeongbo's eyes sparkled like a child's.
It was regrettable for the Leader of the Supreme Healing Sword Sect, but this was the first time such a heated debate had unfolded within the Wudang Sect—and it was immensely intriguing.
The Protection Hall Leader asked.
"Before debating right and wrong here, there's something we need to clarify first. How did you end up killing the Leader of the Supreme Healing Sword Sect?"
The question shifted toward Dang Mujin and Namgung Myeong.
Namgung Myeong nudged Dang Mujin's side. He was passing the buck.
Dang Mujin pondered briefly before beginning his account.
"Do you know of Mount Nogun?"
Elder Yeongbo answered Dang Mujin's question.
"I've never been there. But I know the name."
"Then, have you heard the moniker Three Swords of Mount Nogun?"
Neither Elder Yeongbo nor the Protection Hall Leader seemed familiar with the Three Swords of Mount Nogun. Pyochung must have delivered the sword without much explanation.
Dang Mujin elaborated.
"On Mount Nogun live tormented and pitiable souls, and beside them are three Wudang Daoists who have spent their lives. They are the Three Swords of Mount Nogun."
Dang Mujin slowly recounted the tale of Mount Nogun.
He had spent a considerable time there, but the story itself wasn't particularly long.
"...And so, I beheaded the Leader of the Supreme Healing Sword Sect."
The Leader of the Supreme Healing Sword Sect, who had been listening, shouted.
"You're saying you killed my father to protect some heretics!"
"Well, in summary, yes. But I acted according to what I saw with my own eyes and what I believed was right."
As Dang Mujin admitted it, the Leader of the Supreme Healing Sword Sect scanned the room's reactions.
But neither Elder Yeongbo nor the Protection Hall Leader showed clear agreement with his claims.
Unable to contain his frustration, the Leader of the Supreme Healing Sword Sect cried out.
"They're heretics! Descendants of heretics! They plotted rebellion to plunge the world into chaos and caused countless deaths! If they've seized a chance to atone through servitude, they should be grateful and rejoice!"
Namgung Myeong interjected with sarcasm.
"Well, you could see it that way. Though I don't quite get why they had to serve the Supreme Healing Sword Sect of all places."
The Leader of the Supreme Healing Sword Sect's face flushed red. But no retort came to mind. It was a point he'd never considered before.
Dang Mujin added one final remark.
"Judge as you will—I won't argue. But if you deem my judgment and the Three Swords of Mount Nogun's actions wrong, then I'll take Songmun Noble Sword and melt it down."
Neither the Leader of the Supreme Healing Sword Sect nor Hong Geolgae knew what Songmun Noble Sword was, but the other five sets of eyes fixed on the blade beside Elder Yeongbo.
Separate from the current matter, disappointment was evident on Dang Mujin's face.
He'd come to see the world's finest sword, famed as such—only to find the one beside Elder Yeongbo was the very blade he'd forged last winter.
He couldn't fathom why they'd slapped such an awkward name on a sword less than a year old.
Elder Yeongbo toyed with his beard.
"Everything's fine, but why bring up Songmun Noble Sword all of a sudden?"
"Because I forged that sword last winter, in honor of the Three Swords of Mount Nogun."
Interest flickered in Elder Yeongbo's eyes.
"Aren't you a physician? How does a physician forge swords?"
"I'm a physician, a martial artist—and a blacksmith."
The Protection Hall Leader scowled.
"Nonsense. Even if you'd picked up a hammer before you could walk, you couldn't have made that sword. It's not just some flashy showpiece."
"Of course. Who made it—some trash with only looks?"
Dang Mujin approached Elder Yeongbo and reached for Songmun Noble Sword.
The Protection Hall Leader reflexively moved to block him. How could an outsider touch the sacred relic symbolizing the sect leader, the Wudang command token?
But Elder Yeongbo waved him off, stopping the Protection Hall Leader, who wore a deeply displeased expression.
Dang Mujin drew the sword from its scabbard. Intricate patterns filled the blade's surface. Irregular and chaotic, yet not crude.
The scabbard and hilt were unadorned. But famed swords weren't made by gaudy decoration. The room was overwhelmed by the blade's presence.
Namgung Myeong's mental transmission pierced Dang Mujin's ear.
*-Couldn't you make me a new sword too?*
Ignoring Namgung Myeong's transmission, Dang Mujin traced the twelve characters engraved at the base of the blade with his finger. Jungseon Pyochung. Jungok Dang Rang. Junghyeon Sanjeo.
"These are the Three Swords of Mount Nogun's Daoist titles and aliases."
"I may not know if they were called the Three Swords of Mount Nogun, but I know their titles. They were my senior brothers, even if they left the mountain long ago and never returned. But knowing their titles doesn't make your entire story true."
At the Protection Hall Leader's point, Dang Mujin nodded.
"I see."
Dang Mujin drew his needle case from his bosom and tapped the hilt as if wielding a tiny hammer. A hidden wooden peg emerged.
As he manipulated the hilt, it disassembled along its patterns, segment by segment.
Finally, the tang deeply embedded within the hilt was revealed.
Blacksmiths often inscribed their signatures on hidden tangs after completion, and Dang Mujin had done the same.
Songmun Noble Sword's tang bore a single character: Dang (唐).
Dang Mujin offered no lengthy explanation. He simply reassembled the hilt in reverse order.
Once the wooden peg was reinserted, Songmun Noble Sword looked as pristine as ever.
Dang (唐). Just one character. One might ask if it could only be the Dang family, but no one did.
The surest proof that Dang Mujin had forged the sword wasn't the inscription, but his deft hands disassembling the hilt without hesitation.
The mechanism was far more intricate than ordinary swords, yet Dang Mujin hadn't faltered for an instant.
Dang Mujin held the sword aloft in a casual stance, not returning it to Elder Yeongbo.
"If you can't acknowledge the Three Swords of Mount Nogun's lives, then you're unworthy to wield the sword made in their honor. Elder Pyochung would agree with my intent."
A brief silence fell.
Hyun-gong, standing nearby, thought quickly.
*'How many bonus points should I give him?'*
Dang Mujin's skills and background were impressive, but nothing extraordinary.
The prestige of being one of the Three Great Physicians gave significant points, but still below his own—that was Hyun-gong's assessment.
But if Dang Mujin had forged Songmun Noble Sword, that changed everything.
Songmun Noble Sword was a blade capable of stirring bloodshed across the martial world. To think it had come to Wudang without incident was unbelievable.
A blacksmith who could produce such a sword—impossible to even guess the points.
*'No wonder Namgung Myeong and Hong Geolgae watch Dang Mujin's mood. Clever bastards.'*
Hyun-gong resolved himself. He needed to get on good terms with Dang Mujin.
Goodwill filled Hyun-gong's eyes as he looked at Dang Mujin.
Hyun-gong declared emphatically.
"As I said earlier, I don't regret fighting the assassins alongside Dang Mujin."
Elder Yeongbo chuckled broadly. It had been ages since he'd encountered such entertaining talk and spectacle.
The moment he saw Elder Yeongbo's smile, the Leader of the Supreme Healing Sword Sect sensed defeat. The scales had already tipped slightly toward Dang Mujin—and Songmun Noble Sword had sealed the verdict.
"Leader of the Supreme Healing Sword Sect. Truth be told, this isn't something to overcomplicate. The previous Leader of the Supreme Healing Sword Sect, young hero Dang, and young hero Namgung settled it with a deathmatch, so those around must respect the outcome. Your father wouldn't have wanted this either. He was an honorable warrior who knew what was at stake with his sword."
The Leader of the Supreme Healing Sword Sect squeezed his eyes shut.
He didn't want to respond—and couldn't.
"That doesn't mean we'll berate you for it. What child doesn't harbor resentment over a father's death?"
"...Understood. I'll take my leave now."
Without waiting for Elder Yeongbo's permission, the Leader of the Supreme Healing Sword Sect rose unsteadily and shuffled out.
It was blatant discourtesy, but no one called him on it.
Once the Leader of the Supreme Healing Sword Sect vanished from Present Heaven Hall, Elder Yeongbo extended a hand to Dang Mujin.
Dang Mujin handed over Songmun Noble Sword, and Elder Yeongbo spoke.
"I had no idea I owed such a debt until now. Let me offer a small gift in return—why not stay one more day to rest?"
"I'll do that."
"Good. Everyone, retire for the day and get some rest."
Dang Mujin let out a sigh of relief. Thankfully, things hadn't escalated.
As Dang Mujin's group headed out of Present Heaven Hall, Hyun-gong slyly positioned himself beside Dang Mujin, matching his stride. Hyun-gong's gaze and expression were all warmth and amiability.
At that moment, Elder Yeongbo's mental transmission reached Hyun-gong's ear.
*-You stay behind.*
Hyun-gong's face fell.