Chapter 172
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 172
Chapter Title: Th-that's the Truth
"U, uuu, uuuuu."
Joo Si-un couldn't even speak properly.
He mumbled unintelligible words and staggered backward.
The wet footprints from his shoes marked the ground clearly.
Ha Mu-baek slowly approached him.
The Zhongnan Sect disciples watched the two, wondering what on earth was happening.
So Jung-san hurriedly stepped in.
He knew the story behind this spar.
With the sect leader in such a state, he couldn't let the senior disciple end up the same way.
"St-stop!"
So Jung-san, deploying his lightness skill, rushed over and blocked the space between Ha Mu-baek and Joo Si-un.
The Zhongnan Eight Swords also hurried over.
Ha Mu-baek slowly looked around at those surrounding him.
"What is the meaning of this?"
Ha Mu-baek's question.
"The spar is over now. How about we call it here?"
So Jung-san said to Ha Mu-baek in a placating tone.
"Didn't you hear what I said earlier? We still have some unfinished business."
At Ha Mu-baek's words, So Jung-san's face hardened.
"Hmph. So you knew as well."
Ha Mu-baek chuckled, reading it from the change in So Jung-san's expression.
"And three among them must know too."
Ha Mu-baek's gaze turned to one, three, and six of the Zhongnan Eight Swords.
The standoff between the Zhongnan Eight Swords and Ha Mu-baek.
The disciples slowly began closing in on Ha Mu-baek.
Yet Ha Mu-baek remained utterly composed.
"I-Instructor..."
Baek Ri-pyeong, who had approached at some point, spoke cautiously.
"It seems Zhongnan isn't one of the righteous sects after all."
Ignoring Baek Ri-pyeong's call, Ha Mu-baek muttered with a sigh.
At those words, the disciples' auras turned fierce in an instant.
Their auras, already roughened by their sect leader's humiliating defeat.
Ha Mu-baek's words ignited them.
"What nonsense is that?!"
One among the countless disciples shouted.
"Treating promises so lightly is something only unorthodox sects do!"
Ha Mu-baek responded as if agreeing.
Now they were being branded as unorthodox.
The Zhongnan disciples' auras blazed fiercely, dominating the surroundings.
Each individual's aura was weak, but with so many gathered, it was quite formidable.
"What exactly are you saying?"
In the end, Jong Pae-jin stepped forward again.
He had lost to him in the spar and been toyed with.
Now his sect was being insulted, so anger filled his eyes.
Ha Mu-baek pulled an envelope from his bosom and took out a single sheet of paper.
He sent it flying toward Jong Pae-jin.
"N-no, nooo!!"
What madness was this?
Joo Si-un snatched the paper Jong Pae-jin had caught and thrashed about, trying to tear it.
But.
The stiffly unfolded paper didn't budge.
No matter how much strength he put into his grip, it showed no deformation.
"Heh."
Jong Pae-jin could only let out a hollow laugh at the sight.
Fine, using telekinesis to send the paper to him was one thing.
But the paper, wrapped and protected by energy even after leaving his hand.
What realm must one reach to do such a thing?
Energy enveloping the air itself.
That's why, no matter how Joo Si-un flailed, the paper remained intact.
Thus, Jong Pae-jin could read the entire content.
"I-is this truly real?"
"Gr-grand master..."
Joo Si-un trembled.
But Jong Pae-jin's gaze wasn't on him.
His cold, stern eyes turned to Nam Hwa-ryong.
The paper bore Nam Hwa-ryong's name as well.
Nam Hwa-ryong bowed his head deeply under the sharp glare.
"Why no answer?!"
Jong Pae-jin pressed again.
"...Y-yes, it's true."
Nam Hwa-ryong finally spoke with difficulty.
Jong Pae-jin's rage reached its peak. But this time, the target was different.
It was fury directed at Sect Leader Joo Jae-seung, Joo Si-un, and Nam Hwa-ryong.
"A disciple of Great Zhongnan made such a spar agreement? Staking the opponent's eye and arm?"
Jong Pae-jin's voice boomed. Doubts appeared on the faces of the Zhongnan disciples who heard.
Faces wondering what this was about.
Then the paper slowly moved. Ha Mu-baek had summoned it with telekinesis.
The paper floated before the eyes of each Zhongnan disciple one by one.
Some tried to destroy it upon reading, but Ha Mu-baek's energy held firm.
One by one, emptiness and shock settled on the faces of the disciples who read the contents.
They knew their sect leader and Joo Si-un were cruel, but they never imagined this.
How could they demand a spar staking a disciple's eye and arm?
Though Ha Mu-baek's were used in the actual spar, the deep malice toward Baek Ri-pyeong was palpable.
If Joo Si-un had won and Baek Ri-pyeong returned to Zhongnan, it was clear what fate awaited him as a sect disciple.
Ha Mu-baek waited a moment.
But that was it.
"Then, elder. Mind stepping aside now?"
Ha Mu-baek's request to Jong Pae-jin.
Jong Pae-jin, who had stared at Ha Mu-baek for a moment, shook his head and stepped aside.
"Un-uncle!"
So Jung-san cried out in surprise at the sight.
Step.
Ha Mu-baek took one step forward.
"Are you going to block me?"
His question to So Jung-san.
So Jung-san gritted his teeth.
He disliked both his senior and junior brothers. But still, this felt wrong.
"I am So Jung-san, Lord of Zhongnan's Discipline Hall. As the one responsible for the sect's codes, I cannot acknowledge that document!"
So Jung-san decided to fulfill his duty as Discipline Hall Lord and shouted.
Ha Mu-baek smiled brightly at those words.
His lips parted.
"Your sect leader was practically foaming at the mouth to take my eye and arm. Why didn't you stop that? It seems you already knew the conditions of this spar."
"Th-that was..."
So Jung-san's words faltered.
"I can't acknowledge codes that only surface when Zhongnan loses. If you wanted to invoke codes, you should have stopped this spar from the start."
At Ha Mu-baek's words, So Jung-san clenched his fist tightly.
He was right.
So Jung-san had intended to do just that from the beginning.
But he couldn't override the sect leader's authority.
No, the authority of the Sect Leader's Seal the sect leader wielded superseded the Discipline Hall.
When Joo Si-un first returned to Zhongnan, So Jung-san had gone to Sect Leader Joo Jae-seung to oppose the spar.
As Discipline Hall Lord, he couldn't allow violation of the codes.
It was a spar condition that defied common sense from the outset.
At that time, Joo Jae-seung had once again produced the Sect Leader's Seal.
"I couldn't defy the Sect Leader's Seal..."
His voice was filled with regret.
At those words, Jong Pae-jin was startled.
"You mean he even mobilized the Sect Leader's Seal for this ridiculous spar?!"
His shout reached the ears of the Zhongnan disciples.
Their agitation grew even more intense.
He used the Sect Leader's Seal to override the Discipline Hall Lord's opposition.
And for the purpose of taking an instructor's eye and arm to teach a disciple.
Disappointment, shock, despair.
All sorts of emotions swirled among the Zhongnan disciples.
"This document has no Sect Leader's Seal, so you'll block it. Convenient excuse. But I'm not Zhongnan. This is a contract between me and that bastard Joo Si-un. Witnessed by Pavilion Lord Pang Do-yul."
Ha Mu-baek was still smiling.
But that smile was terrifying.
Because of the aura slowly emanating from his body.
"I've been very lenient so far. Now step aside. Or..."
The aura pouring from Ha Mu-baek's body focused on So Jung-san.
So Jung-san trembled all over, sweat beading coldly.
In the end, overwhelmed by the aura, he staggered back.
Now nothing stood between Ha Mu-baek and Joo Si-un.
Joo Si-un chattered his teeth, trembling violently.
Ha Mu-baek's fist moved.
Crack.
The sound of bones shattering rang out.
"Kaaaaack!"
Joo Si-un screamed.
His right eye burst from Ha Mu-baek's punch. The surrounding bones cracked, beginning to swell.
Tears and blood mixed, streaming down.
"Next is the arm."
"Uh, uh, uhh..."
Joo Si-un turned and ran, howling grotesquely, struggling to escape somehow.
But it was futile.
Ha Mu-baek blocked his path in an instant and simply tripped him.
And then.
Crack.
He crushed the left arm underfoot.
"Kaaaaack."
His foot twisted left and right with deliberate pressure.
The bones in the crushed area shattered completely, beyond any hope of recovery.
"Cut it off or live with it as is—do whatever you want."
Ha Mu-baek wore a refreshed expression, as if his business was done.
So Jung-san squeezed his eyes shut.
"If it were me, I'd punish him for agreeing to such a code-breaking spar. That guy."
Ha Mu-baek's voice reached So Jung-san's ears.
"He committed a grave sin as well."
"You're right."
A powerless voice replied.
It was Jong Pae-jin.
There was no room for excuses. Everything was written in the document.
Joo Si-un's signature was all too clear.
For a senior disciple of the sect to target his martial uncle in a spar.
There was no such absurdity in Zhongnan's codes.
"Zhongnan Eight Swords, imprison this sinner in the Thunder Prison. Move the sect leader to the infirmary. Once recovered, we'll discern right from wrong according to Zhongnan's codes."
At Jong Pae-jin's command, the Zhongnan Eight Swords moved swiftly.
"As one of the elders of the Elder Council, I apologize for this incident."
Jong Pae-jin formally cupped his hands toward Ha Mu-baek and bowed deeply.
It was a humiliating posture, yet not humiliating.
Since it was an apology for wrongdoing, Jong Pae-jin was dignified and courteous.
Only the sect leader and senior disciple's excesses were lamentable.
If anything was humiliating, it was that. How could such a thing happen in Zhongnan?
It was quiet.
Not a single disciple opened their mouth.
They were simply lost in confusion.
"Well, as long as no more annoyances arise, it's fine."
At Ha Mu-baek's response, beads of sweat formed on Baek Ri-pyeong's back.
Because he knew from Ha Mu-baek what that annoyance might be.
"And thank you for raising our sect disciple so well."
Jong Pae-jin's eyes on Baek Ri-pyeong were warm.
"No big deal."
Ha Mu-baek replied nonchalantly.
"It's chaotic, but how about staying a few days? I know it won't be comfortable, but for Pyeong, who's returned to his home sect after so long."
At those words, Ha Mu-baek's gaze turned to Baek Ri-pyeong.
He tried not to show it, but how could he not?
This was Baek Ri-pyeong's hometown and home.
"Sigh. Three days."
Thus, Ha Mu-baek ended up staying at Zhongnan's guest quarters.
The moment he entered his room, Ha Mu-baek lay down on the bed.
"Phew. Time to rest now. Well, no more annoyances should crop up. There seemed to be some beggars and Heavenly Eye Pavilion folks here."
Ha Mu-baek's energy sense spread across all of Zhongnan.
The presences of Beggars' Sect members and Heavenly Eye Pavilion caught in his sense.
They were disguised as laborers or cooks in various spots around Zhongnan.
He didn't bother them.
He planned to finish the spar and leave anyway.
With the Righteous Heaven Alliance's eyes and ears reaching Zhongnan, word would spread.
He had given prior notice as well.
"Lord Gong Son will handle it. Now, what."
With that, Ha Mu-baek closed his eyes.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
In that time, Zhongnan's atmosphere was somber.
The shock from the sect leader's misdeeds.
His current state.
These combined into the gloom.
"His dantian is damaged?"
"Yes."
The infirmary lord cautiously answered Jong Pae-jin's question.
"Well, after getting pummeled like that..."
Fists infused with internal energy had battered his entire body.
His dantian would naturally be damaged.
"Then how long for recovery?"
At Jong Pae-jin's question, the infirmary lord shook his head.
"Recovery seems impossible."
"What? Then his martial arts?"
"It's damaged, but some remains, so he can use it... but barely a tenth of his original internal energy."
"No different from a shattered dantian. Tsk."
Jong Pae-jin clicked his tongue.
"There's an even graver issue."
"Hm?"
"It seems the mental shock was severe."
"What do you mean?"
Jong Pae-jin asked at the infirmary lord's grave expression.
"Just seeing a fist... he panics and can't do anything."
Jong Pae-jin's movements halted.
What was this now?
To confirm, Jong Pae-jin went to the infirmary himself.
In the spacious inner chamber, Joo Jae-seung lay alone, wrapped head to toe in bandages.
As Jong Pae-jin entered, Joo Jae-seung's eyes shifted toward him.
"Sect Leader. How's your body?"
Even at Jong Pae-jin's question, Joo Jae-seung gave no answer.
His eyes were blankly unfocused.
"Heh."
Jong Pae-jin let out a regretful sigh and raised his hand.
He intended to briefly check Joo Jae-seung's pulse.
In the process, his slightly clenched fist brushed near Joo Jae-seung's eyes.
At that instant.
"Kuh, kaaaaack. Khek. Aaaang!"
Joo Jae-seung thrashed wildly, screaming.
Jong Pae-jin, startled by the sudden situation.
The infirmary lord hurriedly pushed down Jong Pae-jin's fist and covered Joo Jae-seung's eyes with a black cloth.
Only then did Joo Jae-seung gradually calm.
"This is the situation..."
Jong Pae-jin shook his head at the infirmary lord's words.
"With the sect leader like this..."
He seemed unfit to perform sect leader duties.