Chapter 173
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 173
Chapter Title: I Won't Die
Ju Si-woon, his face half-wrapped in bandages, stared silently at his father.
How had things come to this?
He had heard that Jong Pae-jin, after checking on his father's condition, had hurriedly returned to the Elders' Hall.
The reason was obvious.
With the sect leader in this state.
"Urk."
A self-deprecating laugh escaped his lips.
"You should go now, junior brother."
Nam Hwa-ryong stood by his side.
He was both the criminal and the watcher assigned to the criminal.
Since he had been present when the sparring conditions were negotiated, he too was slated to face punishment from the Discipline Hall.
Ju Si-woon grimaced at the pain radiating from his left arm, secured rigidly in bandages.
How had things come to this?
"Understood."
He gave a curt reply and turned away. Under Nam Hwa-ryong's supervision, he headed back to the Thunder Prison.
The Zhongnan Sect was in a frenzy of activity.
There had been no time to recover from the shock of their sect leader's humiliating defeat before madness had set in.
The sect leader was no longer fit to lead.
Less than a day after Jong Pae-jin returned to the Elders' Hall, the elders arrived at Zhongnan.
The Elders' Hall, nestled deep within Zhongnan Mountain.
Even deeper still, the elders lived scattered in seclusion.
Ten of them had gathered in response to the urgent summons.
Of the fifteen surviving elders in Zhongnan, two-thirds had come.
So Jung-san was swamped with work.
It came with being the Discipline Hall Lord.
He had sought out like-minded individuals to curb the sect leader's rampage, but now the leader had been replaced.
And all because of one man from outside.
How badly did you have to beat someone to drive them insane?
'It was gruesome, though.'
Suddenly, he recalled the sparring match where Ha Mu-baek had pummeled Ju Jae-seung.
A shiver ran through him.
He felt like he might go mad too if he took hits like that.
'Please, let the new sect leader be worthy...'
They couldn't afford to repeat the same mistake twice.
This time, they had to verify thoroughly and choose a sect leader befitting Zhongnan.
Baek Ri-pyeong gazed at the mighty flow of the Yangtze River.
It had been two days since leaving Zhongnan.
He had returned to the Yangtze Three Gorges and boarded a boat.
The vessel, riding the current, moved far faster than on the way up.
"Did you plan all this from the start?"
Baek Ri-pyeong leaned on the railing and asked Ha Mu-baek, who was staring blankly at the sky.
"Plan what?"
"The sect leader's madness."
On the day Ha Mu-baek and Baek Ri-pyeong left Zhongnan, Jong Pae-jin had informed them about Ju Jae-seung's madness.
He had just confirmed it himself.
Madness triggered by the sight of fists.
"When was it... There was this guy I beat half to death when I lost my temper. When I came to, he was insane."
Ha Mu-baek turned to face the river, speaking calmly.
"That's when I first realized you could drive a man mad by beating him senseless."
"......"
Baek Ri-pyeong was speechless.
As expected, it had been deliberate. He had intentionally reduced the sect leader to that state.
"What about the match with Great-Grandmaster...?"
"You've experienced it too. Controlling your momentum."
"Is that even possible?"
"It worked for me. Even with Seol-bing. It's not that hard."
The more they talked, the more Baek Ri-pyeong's mind reeled.
"Anyway, are you really okay? You could just leave the pavilion and head back to Zhongnan. Even that Discipline Hall Lord suggested it."
Before departing Zhongnan, So Jung-san had proposed it to Baek Ri-pyeong.
Apologizing for the incident with Ju Jae-seung, he had suggested returning to Zhongnan.
It was the complete opposite of Ju Jae-seung's command to return.
Ju Jae-seung had summoned him to destroy him; So Jung-san wanted him back to nurture him further.
"I like the Fierce Dragon Corps."
"What about the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest?"
"I won't die."
A resolute declaration.
Ha Mu-baek said nothing more.
Squads Seven and Twenty of the Fierce Dragon Corps trained relentlessly every day.
The rest period felt like a joke.
The six cadets gathered on the training grounds practiced diligently, with Han Seol-bing watching over them.
"Instructor."
Dang Jin-san approached Han Seol-bing with a sly expression.
"What?"
Dang Jin-san, drenched in sweat, had come to her during a brief break between sessions.
"Instructor Ha."
"Yeah?"
"How strong is he, exactly?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Well, you said Zhongnan got wrecked last time..."
Even if it was one of the Nine Great Sects, that phrasing.
How shocked they had all been when they first heard it.
Even Yeon Ha-min, who had asked, had been stunned for a while.
"I want to know just how strong that guy is too..."
Han Seol-bing murmured while gazing at the sky.
She didn't know either.
After taking her Ten Thousand Golden Chain Thunderbolt head-on last time, he had grown even stronger. Just how powerful was he now?
The question suddenly crossed her mind.
"Still, taking down a whole sect..."
Dang Jin-san muttered, still unconvinced.
Han Seol-bing just chuckled softly.
"Well, that's normal until you see it yourself. One thing, though—that guy lost his temper once..."
"Ah, we saw that."
Dang Jin-san said.
"Huh?"
"When that Pang Gun-ho bastard messed with Seol-ran..."
Dang Jin-san shuddered, recalling Pang Gun-ho's pitiful state back then.
"Oh, that time?"
Han Seol-bing said, as if remembering.
She had arrived a bit late, while Ha Mu-baek was in the midst of thrashing Pang Gun-ho.
"Instructor Ha held back a lot then. Because of Seol-ran."
At those words, the six cadets' eyes widened in shock.
That was holding back?
What if he hadn't?
"That's when I first learned a person could beat another so mercilessly. The guy who got thrashed by Instructor Ha..."
As Han Seol-bing trailed off, all eyes turned to her.
She glanced at Ha Seol-ran.
She seemed torn about whether to continue.
The cadets' eager gazes urged her on.
"He went insane."
"Pardon?"
Dang Jin-san asked on their behalf.
"Just like I said—the bastard he beat went completely mad."
Killing intent leaked from Han Seol-bing's body as she spoke.
Just thinking about that scum did it to her.
The cadets flinched at the sudden aura.
"Ah, sorry. Thinking about that damn bastard... I couldn't help it."
What kind of monster was he?
Ha Mu-baek beat him until he lost his mind, and Han Seol-bing exuded killing intent just recalling him.
Dang Jin-san was curious but didn't press further.
The energy emanating from Han Seol-bing warned against it.
And he had the sense not to.
"Anyway, keep training."
With that, Han Seol-bing left the training grounds.
That filthy traitor who sold out his comrades to the Blood Cult for a few coins and a martial art.
Half their squad had died because of him.
No wonder Ha Mu-baek had snapped.
The reason he hadn't killed him was simple.
Death would have been far too merciful for scum like that.
She hadn't expected the beating to drive him insane, though.
Even so, Ha Mu-baek hadn't let him off easy.
He beat him for days.
Even as the man trembled in madness, spouting nonsense and soiling himself.
Beat him, and beat him again.
In the end, that bastard died under Ha Mu-baek's fists.
No, under the Hocheon Corps' fists.
Ha Mu-baek wasn't the only one who had pummeled him.
Han Seol-bing clenched and unclenched her fist.
Suddenly, the feel of pounding that bastard came back to her.
'Feels dirty and grimy. Need to wash up.'
Though it was still daytime, Han Seol-bing headed to the instructors' bathhouse.
To wash away this filthy feeling.
Gong Son Dan-gyeong reviewed the report from Heavenly Eye Pavilion's intelligence network.
"So it ended like this after all."
Zhongnan's affair seemed resolved.
With the sect leader driven mad.
"He didn't kill him. Should I call that fortunate...?"
It was fortunate, in a way.
Blood hadn't been spilled, and Zhongnan's leadership had changed without further incident.
For Ha Mu-baek's rampage, it had concluded remarkably cleanly.
"Good thing I didn't go to Zhongnan."
He had agonized over it to the end.
Whether to head there in preparation for Ha Mu-baek going berserk.
If that man had truly cut loose, Zhongnan might not have survived.
But there was that child, Baek Ri-pyeong.
With him there, Ha Mu-baek wouldn't cross the line, he had predicted.
So he waited at the Righteous Heaven Alliance.
The right call.
With Zhongnan's elders stepping in, there was no need for Gong Son Dan-gyeong to intervene.
"As long as the new sect leader isn't some vengeful hothead, it'll be fine."
Gong Son Dan-gyeong set Zhongnan's matter aside.
"Is this acceptable?"
Jong Pae-jin asked, looking around at the nine elders.
They all nodded.
The ten elders were in agreement.
Unlike last time, they had chosen the sect leader directly.
Back then, in the chaos, the Elders' Hall had selected the next in line after Baek Ri-dan.
Among the elders at the time, Ju Jae-seung was the only one who stepped up.
Of the remaining nine elders, five including Ju Jae-seung had agreed.
Though opinions had divided, the majority favored him.
But Ju Jae-seung had caused a disaster.
And now he was a mad invalid.
They couldn't leave it to the elders again.
Thus, the Elders' Hall elders stepped forward.
And the one they selected was...
"Pardon? You're saying me as sect leader?"
So Jung-san, who had rushed over postponing urgent duties at Jong Pae-jin's summons, was stunned.
As Discipline Hall Lord, he had been preparing the protocols for selecting a new sect leader and the subsequent procedures.
Him, as sect leader?
"I am a sinner who failed to stop my senior brother. I planned to step down from Discipline Hall Lord and atone once this matter is settled."
So Jung-san refused.
Ha Mu-baek's rebukes.
Most had struck at his core truths.
It was a decision reached after long deliberation.
And now they wanted him to be sect leader.
"We're not fools, Jung-san. When Jae-seung lost control, you were the only one who tried to stop him."
Ju Jae-seung's sect leader position had already been revoked.
Incapacity due to madness was the reason. Thus, Zhongnan currently had no sect leader.
That was why Jong Pae-jin addressed Ju Jae-seung and So Jung-san casually.
"It was my duty as Discipline Hall Lord."
"Was that duty only for the Discipline Hall Lord? The others all kept their mouths shut. Looked away. That's why Ping, that child, is in the Fierce Dragon Corps. Tsk."
Jong Pae-jin clicked his tongue regretfully.
So Jung-san bowed his head at the words.
Sending him to the Fierce Dragon Corps—a path to death.
Guilt for failing to prevent it as Discipline Hall Lord.
"But now, that child Ping has refused to return?"
So Jung-san nodded at Jong Pae-jin's question.
Before Baek Ri-pyeong left, he had urged him to return to Zhongnan.
But he had declared with firm resolve that he would stay in the Fierce Dragon Corps.
In truth, forcing that resolute child back to Zhongnan had sparked this mess.
Ju Jae-seung's vain greed had led to his downfall.
"In any case, our ten agree—you're the only one we can trust in Zhongnan right now."
Jong Pae-jin stated firmly.
He placed an ancient sword before So Jung-san.
The Golden Crane Azure Sword.
A blade with a blue body inlaid with a golden crane.
Weak in actual combat due to the gold inlay technique.
Yet, in Zhongnan, it was the supreme sword.
The sect leader's ceremonial blade.
The ultimate authority that had twice overridden even the Discipline Hall Lord So Jung-san.
And now it lay before him.
"We've done our part. Time for us to head back."
As if on cue, the ten elders rose simultaneously.
"M-Martial uncles."
So Jung-san stood in panic.
But the elders shook their heads and filed out one by one.
The last was Jong Pae-jin.
He paused at the door.
"Oh, and if any fool insists on revenge against Ha Mu-baek, cast him out, Sect Leader. That man is beyond what we can handle."
His final admonition.
Jong Pae-jin was already treating So Jung-san as sect leader.
Bowing deeply, he exited, leaving So Jung-san alone.
After a long internal struggle, So Jung-san reached out slowly and grasped the Golden Crane Azure Sword.
He had made up his mind.
As he stepped out with the sword in hand, Zhongnan's disciples, gathered on Jong Pae-jin's word, erupted in cheers.
Cheers celebrating the birth of the new sect leader.
The moment Zhongnan was reborn.