Chapter 69
“And besides my disciple, I’ll be bringing one more person, Min. Just so you know.”
“Are you talking about Azure Divine Dragon Namgung Min?”
“That’s right.”
“Isn’t that cheating? The Azure Divine Dragon is already…”
“Should a monk who serves Buddha speak with two tongues? You said Mu-ryong’s grandson, and I never said Min couldn’t be included.”
“Ugh…”
Master Juwon couldn’t continue.
It was undeniable that he himself had set those conditions.
“Well, I’ve delivered my message and enjoyed the tea. I’ll be on my way now.”
“So when will you come?”
“When will your disciples be available? And will the Azure Divine Dragon be able to come right away?”
Chwiwol Geolgae had a relaxed expression, while Master Juwon was the one short on time from the moment the name Azure Divine Dragon was mentioned.
However, his pride wouldn’t allow him to ask for more time.
“Hmph! Tomorrow would be fine with me!”
“Really? But the distance from the Namgung family to here is quite far. And since I plan to stop by our Chongta on the way, how about a month from now?”
“A month? Sounds good.”
Juwon nodded readily while thinking to himself.
‘A month, huh. I’ll have to train them hard during that time.’
Chwiwol Geolgae smiled faintly.
‘This fellow. If he only focuses on Min, he’ll get blindsided by Ha Hyeon.’
Despite appearances, he was an elder of the Beggar Sect, the martial world’s greatest information network.
From this moment, he had already begun psychological warfare.
He deliberately mentioned Namgung Min’s name to divert attention in that direction.
“Then I’ll really be going now.”
“Alright. See you in a month.”
“Will do.”
Chwiwol Geolgae rose from his seat without hesitation, left the separate quarters, and quickly disappeared from view.
“Chwiwol Geolgae. You’ve finally found somewhere to belong.”
Master Juwon no longer hid his pleased expression.
Never had he felt such joy at seeing the change in his friend who had lived a lifetime of solitude.
“Amitabha…”
As he recited the Buddhist invocation, Wonjin, who had been waiting in front of the separate quarters, approached him.
“Great Master, did Elder Chwiwol Geolgae leave immediately?”
“Ha ha. That’s right. Is this your first time meeting him? That’s just how he is.”
Master Juwon stared at Wonjin before speaking.
“Wonjin. Have you been diligently practicing your martial arts?”
“Yes. I’m working hard to fulfill Buddha’s will.”
“Then let’s spend the next month together.”
“Is something happening?”
“You will practice the Eighteen Arhat Formation with your fellow disciples.”
While Wonjin was unable to respond, not understanding what was happening, Master Juwon smiled quietly.
‘He called me brother. Though I am a Buddhist monk who has renounced worldly ties, to be called brother by Chwiwol Geolgae for the rest of my life is truly precious.’
Wonjin, unable to imagine the hell that awaited him over the next month, could only roll his eyes trying to grasp the situation.
“Come. There’s no time. Gather all your fellow disciples at the Main Training Hall immediately.”
“Yes, sir!”
Wonjin ran to the temple hall at Master Juwon’s command.
Master Juwon watched his back and began walking.
While he was clearly happy that his friend had decided to take on a disciple, he had no intention of losing this bet.
* * *
The Ten Thousand Great Mountains.
Originally, this term referred to the vast mountainous region at the western edge of the Central Plains, where green mountains blended with red soil.
However, if you mentioned “Ten Thousand Great Mountains” to people in the Central Plains now, all one hundred out of one hundred would think the same thing.
‘The Demonic Cult’s stronghold.’
They prioritized power over loyalty, propriety, and filial piety.
It was essentially a religious group with doctrines that revered martial arts itself and permitted any action in the pursuit of strength.
They called themselves the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, while the martial artists of the Central Plains called them the Demonic Cult.
To them, the Ten Thousand Great Mountains wasn’t just a region.
It was where they resided.
Where the cult leader was.
That place was their Ten Thousand Great Mountains.
Somewhere in the Central Plains, in a hall with endless red pillars, someone was prostrating himself completely on the floor.
It was Neunghu, who had disappeared just before the bloody battle between the Namgung family members and the Blood Wolf.
“Neunghu.”ì At the far end of the hall.
The man sitting at a place so distant that his face was barely visible spoke in a low voice.
Normally, words spoken from such a distance shouldn’t be audible, and yet…
“Ugh…”
Neunghu couldn’t help but groan at the sound that seemed to resonate in his ears.
It felt as if the entire space he shared with the man was filled with his voice.
“Blood Sword Lord… Blood Wolf is dead?”
“Y-yes…”
“Yet you’ve returned completely unharmed without a scratch?”
“I strongly advised against going after Namgung Mu-ryong. And… even if I had participated in that battle, I wouldn’t have been of any help.”
Neunghu trembled as he said everything he wanted to say.
In truth, the man facing him likely already knew all this information.
He was now testing whether Neunghu might be a spy from the Martial Alliance.
That’s why Neunghu desperately opened his mouth.
Despite feeling like the air was crushing his lungs, and despite trembling like he was already in a tiger’s mouth, he had to speak more to survive.
“Namgung Mu-ryong and his descendants are all still alive. If someone with my inferior martial arts had joined the fight, I couldn’t have saved the Blood Sword Lord.”
“Then why didn’t you come here immediately after the Blood Sword Lord died?”
“After confirming the Blood Sword Lord’s death, I returned to the Blood Sword Squad to unify them. The Blood Sword Lord died along with ten of the unit leaders. I needed to suppress their unrest.”
Whoosh-
As he answered without hesitation, the air suddenly seemed to lighten.
When the weight that had been pressing on his lungs disappeared, Neunghu could finally breathe properly.
Then the figure from the end of the hall walked toward him with measured steps.
Neunghu couldn’t even think of raising his head until the man was right in front of him.
The closer the man came, the more Neunghu’s entire body trembled.
Fear.
What he felt toward this man was fear.
“Rise.”
At the man’s command, Neunghu immediately stood up as if he were a puppet.
“L-Lord Cult Master.”
Neunghu barely opened his mouth as he looked at the Cult Master’s face.
His face was remarkably clean-cut.
It was a face that could be believed to belong to a scholar studying in the mountains rather than the leader of the Demonic Cult that had terrified the entire martial world.
But Neunghu knew.
He knew what cruel nature hid behind that face.
And despite having the face of an ordinary middle-aged man, his age had already passed eighty.
“Blood Sword Lord. Blood Wolf originally had a grudge against Namgung Mu-ryong.”
Within the Demonic Cult, everyone knew who had created the long scar on Blood Wolf’s neck.
“And he probably held tremendous dissatisfaction with me as well. He couldn’t understand why I have been hiding like this.”
“Hup.”
Neunghu inadvertently sucked in a breath.
It was because the Cult Master knew exactly about the discontent that Blood Wolf had subtly revealed.
“However, the Grand Method is not yet complete.”
“Yes. That’s why I always tried to stop him.”
“According to our cult’s laws, you too should be punished for failing to stop him, but…”
“…!”
“In recognition of your merit in calming the Blood Sword Squad, I’ll let it pass this time.”
“Th-thank you!”
Neunghu felt a chill down his neck.
The Cult Master standing before him could kill him more easily than swatting a fly with just a word.
But Neunghu had truly performed a deed worthy of saving his life.
If the Blood Sword Squad, upon learning of Blood Wolf’s death, had rushed to attack the Namgung family for revenge, the aftermath would have been unimaginable.
“From this moment, the Blood Sword Squad will be incorporated into the Demon Dragon Unit.”
“Y-yes, my lord!”
The Demon Dragon Unit was the Cult Master’s direct military organization.
Incorporating the Blood Sword Squad meant he would personally manage them from now on.
“And you have a separate task.”
“Whatever you command, I will carry it out with my life.”
“No one knows the current state of the martial world better than you. Therefore, teach the Young Cult Master about the current Central Plains.”
Neunghu’s eyes wavered.
He too had heard many stories about the Young Cult Master who had been enthroned two years ago.
That his nature was unspeakably cruel. But that his talent and understanding of martial arts were so exceptional that even the word ‘genius’ couldn’t adequately describe them.
“W-what should I teach him?”
Neunghu risked his life to ask.
Rumors were rampant within the cult about how the Young Cult Master had beaten teachers he disliked to death.
That’s why he asked.
He figured dying by the Cult Master’s hand or the Young Cult Master’s handâwhat difference did it make?
But the Cult Master gave him a gentle smile.
It was such a fresh smile that anyone who didn’t know better might mistake it for genuine pleasure.
“Everything from start to finish. The history of the Central Plains that you know, the masters of each sect, and the current political situation. There are three years until the Grand Method is complete. When the Young Cult Master enters the martial world after those three years, he should not experience any inconvenience. Understand?”
“Yes, my lord!”
Neunghu was quick-witted.
Sensing that one more question would cost him his life, he answered immediately.
“Then you may go. And tell Manoe to enter.”
“Yes, my lord!”
As soon as he was dismissed, Neunghu hurriedly left.
He even found himself touching his neck to make sure it was still intact.
“Phew…”
He let out a deep sigh.
Though he wanted to collapse on the spot, he couldn’t.
‘I must survive.’
At this moment, he had only one goal.
Just to stay alive.
* * *
Once, twice, three times… and nine times.
Ha Hyeon performed the nine-bow ceremony to Chwiwol Geolgae, who sat cross-legged with a solemn expression.
Both Sword Venerable Namgung Mu-ryong and Azure Divine Dragon Namgung Min watched with pleased expressions.
“Then Master, I look forward to your guidance.”
“Haha! Yes, my disciple. I’ll take good care of you!”
Unlike Ha Hyeon’s calm face, Chwiwol Geolgae appeared quite flushed.
He recalled the day he first met Ha Hyeon in Goshi County.
Back then, Ha Hyeon had a clean face but was dressed like a beggar.
Chwiwol Geolgae had asked Ha Hyeon to become a disciple of the Beggar Sect… no, his own disciple.
Of course, Ha Hyeon had flatly refused at the time.
“Good grief. After disappearing for a week, you return only to have Ha Hyeon bow to you.”
“Hehe. Jealous? When one agrees to become a disciple, performing the nine-bow ceremony is the proper order.”
“Didn’t I receive it from you before? Right in front of you.”
“It was so long ago I can’t remember? But right now, I’m the one receiving the bow.”
Chwiwol Geolgae laughed heartily.
As Namgung Mu-ryong had predicted, after leaving Shaolin, he had even stopped by the Wudang Mountain in Hubei to boast that he now had Yuyeop Jin as a disciple.
‘Your disciple may be Hubei’s Greatest Sword, but I’ll make my disciple the Martial World’s Greatest Sword!’
He proudly claimed to have shouted this where many Wudang Sect Taoists could hear.
The embarrassment fell to Namgung Mu-ryong and Ha Hyeon.
“Mu-ryong, I’ll rest for just two days before departing.”
“You said a month later, why such a hurry?”
“I promised to show Ha Hyeon to our sect leader. It’s better to allow plenty of time if we’re going to visit Kaifeng and then travel to Mount Song. Min, is it okay if you come along too? If it’s inconvenient for you, we can meet at Shaolin a month later.”
“It’s not inconvenient at all. However, Elder, your movement technique is too fast, so please slow down a bit.”
Chwiwol Geolgae responded with a disgusted face.
“Goodness! With such good looks and such charm, what are you trying to do!”
Twenty-seven days remained until the showdown at Shaolin.
The more Chwiwol Geolgae looked at the happily smiling Ha Hyeon and Namgung Min, the less confident he felt.
Less confident about winning the bet.
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