Chapter 244
Chapter 244
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 244
Chapter Title: Mount Wudang Conference
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Hyun-gong's footsteps were unbearably heavy as he emerged from Hyuncheon Hall.
'What kind of accomplishment am I supposed to show, exactly?'
Nothing came to mind at all. He had a few vague ideas, but each one felt a bit off or insufficient.
After agonizing over it for a long while, Hyun-gong returned to the guest hall where Dang Mujin and Hong Geolgae were.
'If I'm lucky, maybe Dang Mujin or Hong Geolgae will come up with a decent solution. They're both a little lacking, but they can be helpful sometimes...'
Hyun-gong gathered Dang Mujin and Hong Geolgae and explained everything that had happened in Hyuncheon Hall without holding back.
Hong Geolgae, sprawled out on the floor as he listened, responded in the same position.
"It's not like there's some clever trick to it, right? Just train harder from now on."
It was a somewhat pathetic answer, but Hyun-gong wasn't too disappointed. It was exactly the level of response he'd expected from Hong Geolgae.
"We've got ten days until the conference, and even if it drags on, it won't last more than five. You think an extra half-month of training is going to make a difference?"
If he had been slacking off and playing around normally, that would be one thing, but Hyun-gong trained diligently on a regular basis. The odds of achieving some special breakthrough from cramming for half a month were low.
Ever since he'd broken through to the peak realm at a young age, Hyun-gong had never made any explosive progress through training. He'd just advanced steadily, bit by bit. Another half-month would surely be the same.
Hong Geolgae replied indifferently.
"From my experience, you'll definitely improve if you go through a life-or-death duel."
"That's true."
"Want me to spar with you for real this time?"
"Spar?"
Hyun-gong gave Hong Geolgae a quick once-over before responding.
"Hmm. I don't think it'd help me much."
"Why not?"
"It's a life-or-death duel where only your life is on the line... How's that supposed to help me?"
Hong Geolgae puzzled over Hyun-gong's words for a moment, then gripped his staff tightly once he understood.
"Oh yeah? Looks like you're the type who won't shed a tear until you're in the coffin."
Just as Hong Geolgae started spouting third-rate thug talk and lunged at Hyun-gong, Dang Mujin intervened.
"It's not like you can just show Perfected Youngbo your martial arts. Why not demonstrate some non-martial accomplishment instead? Like networking or interpersonal skills. Don't they say that's important for becoming sect leader?"
It was a bit better than Hong Geolgae's suggestion, but not some brilliant idea that exceeded expectations.
Still, unlike with Hong Geolgae, Hyun-gong strangely couldn't bring himself to dismiss it.
At the same time, he felt an inexplicable dizziness.
Hyun-gong forced his reluctant mouth open to reply.
"That's not really worthy of being called an 'accomplishment.' Martial arts are still the best option."
"Raising your cultivation right now is unrealistic. Besides, didn't Perfected Youngbo send you away from Mount Wudang because of issues beyond your martial prowess? Maybe the answer lies in a non-martial direction."
Just as Hyun-gong was about to refute Dang Mujin, a bizarre sensation unlike anything he'd experienced before washed over him.
He had planned to politely decline Dang Mujin's suggestion and ask him to brainstorm other solutions together.
But as if possessed by a ghost, his mouth spat out something entirely different.
"You know, that actually sounds intriguing. Shall we go with that?"
Hyun-gong froze in shock at the eerie phenomenon.
Dang Mujin didn't miss how tense Hyun-gong had suddenly become.
"What's up, Hyun-gong? Why the sudden change?"
"No, it's nothing. I just heard a good idea and got lost in thought."
This response wasn't what Hyun-gong had intended to say either.
He panicked at this unprecedented experience. It felt as if control of his body had been wrested away by someone else.
But even stranger things were to come.
A second set of memories—what one might call a second consciousness—seeped into Hyun-gong's mind.
They were his memories, yet at the same time, not his.
"Seeped" wasn't quite right; it was more like two split entities merging back into one. Hyun-gong couldn't even tell which was real and which was fake.
Both sets of memories belonged to him.
As the two conflicting judgments merged, Hyun-gong perfectly understood why he hadn't rejected Dang Mujin's proposal.
'If things go wrong and I get expelled from Wudang Sect, the Dang family is the only place I can rely on. I need to at least pretend to respect Dang Mujin's opinion.'
In other words, it was the whisper of Hyun-gong's instinct to avoid risk and seek stability. The judgment that he shouldn't defy Dang Mujin.
Hyun-gong meticulously weighed and evaluated the two judgments.
The memory of intending to refute Dang Mujin. And the memory of intending to accept him.
Rejecting Dang Mujin's proposal didn't seem likely to yield any sharp solution.
But accepting it could produce at least some modest results. It might even plant a favorable impression in Dang Mujin's mind.
Objectively speaking, accepting the proposal was the slightly wiser choice.
His unconscious response had been the correct one.
Or rather, he could no longer tell if it had been unconscious at all. Both memories and judgments stemmed from reason, not instinct.
This wasn't some crude level of judgment, like acting out of habit while daydreaming.
'In any case, the response ended up being wise. I should follow Dang Mujin's suggestion for now.'
Having decided on his course of action, Hyun-gong pondered what had just happened.
Yet even though little time had passed, the sensation of that bizarre experience was already fading like mist.
Like a vivid dream that becomes hazy by lunchtime.
Hyun-gong's conviction wavered slightly.
'...Was it just my imagination? Well, I'm twice as smart as the average person, so it's not strange if my subconscious considers more factors than others.'
Dang Mujin asked again, looking puzzled.
"You're sure nothing's wrong?"
"Uh... yeah. Nothing like that. We should get moving."
Hyun-gong scratched the back of his head vigorously before stepping out of the guest hall.
*
Hong Geolgae focused on circulating his qi in the guest hall, while Dang Mujin and Hyun-gong strolled through the Wudang Sect grounds.
The grounds were bustling with people. There was no reason for the martial artists who had come to the renowned Wudang Sect to hole up quietly in their rooms.
Dang Mujin asked,
"So, what's the plan now?"
"The foundation of relationships starts with familiarizing yourself with faces, striking up conversations, and building rapport. First, we break the ice."
Even a puppy is bold in its own neighborhood, as they say.
Hyun-gong strode through the grounds with confident steps, and Dang Mujin followed behind, curious to see what he would do.
In the midst of that, they spotted a young man sitting alone, not mingling with the others.
He was clearly a junior from some sect or clan, but his unfamiliar face left Dang Mujin guessing his identity.
Hyun-gong, however, was different. He approached the young man and spoke.
"You're from the Murong Clan, I take it."
"Pardon? Do you know me?"
The young man jumped in surprise.
He seemed to think they might have met before, but apparently not.
Hyun-gong continued smoothly.
"First time meeting. But the Murong Clan's fame echoes throughout the Central Plains, so it wasn't hard to guess from your bearing alone."
The young man looked pleased that someone had approached him while he was bored. However, he couldn't keep the conversation going as fluidly as Hyun-gong.
"Thank you. But my knowledge is limited, so I don't know who you are, Daoist. Ah, right—I'm Murong Bu."
"My name isn't widely known, so it's natural you wouldn't recognize it. I'm Hyun-gong of Wudang Sect, and the friend beside me is Dang Mujin of the Dang family."
"Victory Dragon Sword and Healing Dragon!"
The young man who introduced himself as Murong Bu jumped again in shock.
His expression suggested he couldn't tell if this moment—being recognized and approached first by a fairly famous junior—was a dream or reality.
Hyun-gong spoke to Murong Bu with a calm, affable expression.
"I've only heard of the Murong Clan's renown secondhand, so I don't know much. Might we chat for a bit?"
"Yes, of course!"
Hyun-gong listened to Murong Bu and nodded along encouragingly.
After about fifteen minutes, Hyun-gong and Murong Bu were as close as childhood friends.
"Murong brother, I have some business to attend to now. Let's talk more later."
"Yes, sure!"
Dang Mujin watched in awe as Hyun-gong forged a connection with the Murong Clan in an instant.
"How'd you know he was from the Murong Clan? You been there before?"
"No, of course not. But I've heard about it."
Hyun-gong continued matter-of-factly.
"The Murong Clan is unlike ordinary Central Plains sects—it's way up in the remote northeast of Liaoning, on the fringes where even the unorthodox can't reach. That's why they have some distinct traits."
"Like what?"
"A look and speech resembling the northern barbarians. Small, refined features. And different attire too."
Now that he mentioned it, Dang Mujin realized Murong Bu's features were subtly different from the average person's.
But to Dang Mujin, his clothes looked no different from anyone else's.
"What's different about the clothes?"
"I hear Liaoning is colder than here. Even in autumn weather, the fabric is thick, and the cuffs and pant hems are snugger. Probably a habit to keep out the cold winds."
Dang Mujin was inwardly impressed.
Hyun-gong's cleverness went beyond ordinary bounds. Though he couldn't help thinking it was being applied to something a bit peculiar.
Excluding Murong Bu, there were several others lingering on the outskirts, unable to mingle.
It was the wariness unique to people in unfamiliar places, the shyness of approaching others first, and the strong pride inherent to martial artists, all mixed together.
Hyun-gong approached these outsiders, chatted them up, subtly praised them to build rapport, then gathered them in one spot.
"I'll take my leave now. Oh, and Murong brother and Hong brother are over there. I'm sure you'd get along with Brother Gong, so why not chat? Mention my name, and they'll be delighted."
"Hmm. Alright."
While the elders from each sect and clan were busy talking among themselves and ignoring the juniors, Hyun-gong began recruiting the younger generation from various groups.
Hyun-gong was their only common link. Thus, they would endlessly remind themselves of that sole connection with every interaction.
Dang Mujin was left sticking out his tongue at Hyun-gong's cunning, natural expansion of influence.
By the time Hyun-gong had gathered about five juniors, an unusual tension arose.
Unlike the others who at least maintained polite distance, someone was raising their voice. Not shouting, but with clear irritation.
More troubling was that the voice came from the direction where Hyun-gong had assembled his group.
"Let's go check it out!"
Sure enough, two of the people Hyun-gong had drawn together were snarling at each other. The first one he'd befriended, Murong Bu of the Murong Clan, and the last one he'd spoken to, Ak Sogun of the Shandong Ak Clan.
"...The Murong Clan are like bats—siding with the unorthodox when their clans thrive, and the orthodox when they rise. What's your game showing up here?"
"Spouting utter nonsense without shame? If that's the Ak Clan's style, I have nothing to say."
"Nonsense? Everyone knows you're holed up so far north of the Yellow River, pulling shady schemes. During the last Orthodox-Unorthodox War, didn't a Murong warrior get caught aiding unorthodox fighters and executed?"
"He was a criminal who fled the Murong Clan after committing crimes. They'd cut ties with him long ago—how is that the clan's fault?"
"Not even your excuses are original!"
Murong Bu's hand flicked to his waist. When his sword hilt didn't meet his grasp, he clenched his fist instead.
If he'd been wearing his blade, he surely would have drawn it by now.
Quarrels are common when martial artists gather. No one was surprised this would happen. Orthodox martial artists had little left once you stripped away their pride.
The problem was twofold. Hyun-gong had gathered them, and plenty of eyes were watching the spat.
To make matters worse, the heads of the Murong and Shandong Ak Clans weren't present.
The elders from other sects and clans observed without intervening. Meddling in such disputes rarely ended well.
In short, Hyun-gong was the only one who could resolve this.
Dang Mujin stepped back half a pace to watch how Hyun-gong would handle it.
"Cease this quarrel!"
Hyun-gong's response began ordinarily enough.
He stepped between them, separating the two.
The issue came next.
He had to calm one down first.
Martial artists compete even over trivialities, and this could be seen as a de facto judgment call.
Mediators typically soothe the higher-cultivation, more powerful, or prestigious party first.
All eyes turned to Hyun-gong.
Who would he calm first?
Which did Wudang Sect favor between the Shandong Ak and Murong Clans?
Hyun-gong's mind raced.
Even for him, openly siding with one over the other was no easy task.
'I hear the Murong Clan's power outstrips the Shandong Ak Clan's by a good margin.'
'But they're too far away. Who knows how much help they'll be? That's why they can't fully integrate into Central Plains martial society.'
'Siding with the Shandong Ak Clan isn't ideal either. Any major experts who emerge will most likely come from the Murong Clan, not them.'
'Still, Shandong Ak warriors are infamous for their fiery tempers. If their feelings are hurt even slightly here, they'll sabotage the conference for sure.'
He couldn't take sides.
Once again, Hyun-gong felt that subtle dizziness. A sensation he'd grown slightly accustomed to, yet utterly alien. Like his qi and blood subtly twisting.
Hyun-gong transmitted sound to both without leaning toward either, half in a trance.
-I'll give that clueless hothead a stern talking-to, so for my sake, please stand down for now.
The moment Hyun-gong sent the transmission, delighted smiles bloomed on Murong Bu's and Ak Sogun's faces.
Incredibly, Hyun-gong's transmission had reached both simultaneously.
Both snorted and backed off, but Hyun-gong stood frozen in place for a long while.