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Chapter 356. Encounter with the Enemy (3)
The Murim Alliance.
In other words, who was the primary enemy of the Righteous Faction, known as the Orthodox Path?
The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, which had appeared after five hundred years?
The Blood Cult, which had wrought the Blood Calamity in Sichuan?
Or perhaps the Black Path forces, designated as the public enemy three hundred years ago?
Ёnum а̀. i d̂
Hard to say.
If anything, such existences had expanded the Murim Alliance's influence rather than providing the catalyst for its collapse.
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The Murim Alliance's raison d'etre lay in "protection" from the very beginning.
Without something to protect, it could not continue to exist.
For that reason, the Murim Alliance always needed an enemy.
It had been founded five hundred years ago to repel a public threat to the murim.
Е ǹū m̊ а
Two hundred years ago, when no suitable enemy existed, it had nearly vanished.
The absence of an enemy ultimately meant the Murim Alliance had no reason to exist either.
For that reason, the beings that destroyed the Murim Alliance might not have been any of those mentioned above.
Then what was it, in the end, that destroyed the Murim Alliance?
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Who was it?
I looked at the man before me.
Е̊ n ú mā
"What brings someone so busy with important affairs all the way here?"
Not a flicker of emotion crossed that handsome face.
"Were you never taught formal speech?"
His impassive voice carried a peculiar persuasiveness.
As if he were always stating the most self-evident truths.
"Well, it's not like we're that close. Pointless formalities, wouldn't you say?"
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Even when I deliberately provoked him, he showed no sign of agitation.
As if a human paid no mind to an ant's anger.
"Jin So-un. Are you not aware that maintaining basic mutual courtesy is the fastest path to building trust?"
"Observing courtesy for the sake of efficiency. How very like you."
The flawless sculpture carved from stone stood as immovable now as it had in the past.
That man's stillness.
Е̃ńū m а . îd̄
In my previous life, it had seemed as reassuring as an immovable mountain.
But.
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"Yong So-ah."
Now I know.
The hypocrisy hidden within that stillness.
Yong So-ah regarded me with dry, dispassionate eyes.
Ẁ е̊ bn о̃vе ľ Е̃n̄u ḿа
Then he spoke in a tone no different from when he had come to kill me.
"Address me as 'Senior.' You are an academy student now."
"That's not going to happen."
This was a vow.
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My small vow not to follow his path--the path that always seemed like the right answer.
"In any case, what brings you here? Someone so busy with the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly."
Eǹu m.а̇
The answer came from behind Yong So-ah.
"We received a request from the Kunming branch and mobilized."
A small girl wearing the same characteristically impassive expression as Yong So-ah, but with an oddly distinctive manner of speech.
It was Dang Seo-hui.
"What on earth happened in the Black Forest? And why were you staying at the Ten-Thousand-Poison Sect?"
For an instant, Dang Seo-hui seemed to shoot a glare at Dan Se-ung.
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But the look vanished just as quickly, and she gazed up at me with those distinctively impassive eyes.
She still hadn't grown even a little.
I reflexively moved to pat her head, then stopped my hand and answered.
"Because we encountered an enemy."
"An enemy? But surely......"
Dang Seo-hui's gaze shifted to Instructor Kang Sun-tak.
W еb̊n_o v̇е l Ѐ_n u m̈ а̌
"I was told you got lost."
"L-Lost?! Don't give me 'enemy'! They defied the instructor's orders and wandered off on their own!"
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"......"
The academy students' gazes turned icily cold.
How many battles they had fought and endured in the Black Forest.
How many academy students had died because of it.
Е n̄ ǔmá
And yet, Kang Sun-tak--
"Jin So-un, you must have incited them......!"
--dismissed the students' agonizing memories as though they were nothing, merely to cover his own failings.
"Incited. Incited, he says......"
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"Jin So-un......"
Kang Sun-tak's voice, grinding out my name as though chewing it to pieces, was drenched in hatred.
Wеḃǹ о̆ v̂ е́ l̆ Ѐ n̈uṁа̄
"You are the problem! You, you...... this all spiraled out of control because of you!!!"
What had caused the Murim Alliance to fall?
"If you had just stayed put, I could have requested help from the branch and rescued everyone safely! Look, the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly even came, didn't it!"
Why had that colossal tree, five hundred years old, crumbled so helplessly?
"You, who have been colluding with the Black Path, bewitched the academy students and placed them in danger! In the name of the Murim Alliance, I will never forgive you."
The answer stood right before my eyes.
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'Because it had rotted from the inside out.'
The tree that no storm had ever felled had finally collapsed because its innards had decayed and festered.
"What do you intend to do about the academy students who died because of you! Your fellow disciples and your sect must all bear responsibility for this!"
A place where vermin-like beings parasitized, not even aware that they themselves were festering.
The Murim Alliance's most powerful enemy had been within all along.
CLANG—!
En ǔmа̊. і̃ d̈
I drew the Red Radiance Sword.
There was no strategy, no scheme, no deep calculation.
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I had lost my reason because Kang Sun-tak's image had overlapped with the officer who had commanded the Orthodox forces in my previous life.
The one I had so desperately wanted to kill back then, but never could.
To kill him now, even if belatedly.
"This lunatic!"
Е̃ nu m̈ ȧ . іd̊.
A sharp Qingcheng blade was swung, but it was not as fearsome as the one from my past life.
No--it was laughable.
Because even in my previous life, the swords that had come at me were never this dull.
CLANG CLANG—!
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What Lotus could have easily deflected, I overpowered with raw force.
I wanted to kill him as painfully as possible.
Е̊ n u̇m̄а
CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG—!
The instructors drew their swords one after another to intervene.
Just as in the Black Forest, I maintained only the barest defense while bearing down on Kang Sun-tak.
Deflecting swords, blocking, neutralizing storms of Sword Qi, pressing forward.
The more I advanced, the further Kang Sun-tak retreated--back and back again.
"S-Stop, stop!!!"
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Was it the cuts on his arms and shoulders?
Kang Sun-tak's face went white.
In the Black Forest, the Life-or-Death Unit had refused to fall back even through worse agony than this.
In the Black Forest, they had searched for these people desperately, as though they were their only hope.
Perhaps it was fortunate that the instructors had fled first.
Had they been there, even more of the Life-or-Death Unit might have died.
Enu̇ m̈ а
CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG—!
I fired Sword Qi to counter his Sword Qi.
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The clashing Sword Qi detonated, raising massive blasts.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM CRASH—!
Kang Sun-tak was driven steadily backward.
At last, he spat a fistful of blood.
Е n̆ ǔ m̀ а.іḋ
RETCH.
Unable to even wipe the blood staining his lapel, he swung his sword in a frenzy.
Then.
"Enough."
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An unmistakable, razor-edged presence wedged itself into a gap that didn't exist.
"Attacking an instructor is a grave criminal offense. Stop."
Еṅ um а̄
The impassive voice rang out as though delivering a lecture.
"Yeah? Then discipline me."
CLANG—!
I ignored the Whirlwind Sword and pressed forward.
Through the gap Yong So-ah had created, Kang Sun-tak screamed at the top of his lungs.
"Wh-what are you all doing! Alliance members, arrest that man at once!"
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SHRING, SHRING, SHRING.
Nearly a hundred Murim Alliance members drew their swords.
A hair's-breadth from erupting.
In that instant.
THOOM—!
A colossal tremor shook the entire Ten-Thousand-Poison Sect.
Е.n̊u m̂ а̀
A shockwave originating from the main platform.
Though it came from far away, it was felt with perfect clarity.
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"Do you find the Ten-Thousand-Poison Sect amusing? Or is it me, Dan Se-ung, that you find amusing?"
Simultaneously, the Ten-Thousand-Poison Sect disciples, who had been watching from the sidelines, moved as one into battle readiness.
That was right. This was neither the Central Plains nor the Murim Alliance.
This was enemy territory.
W̃ӗb̂ n оv̌ е̊ l̈ Е.n̄ u m̈ ă
In the sudden ceasefire, Kang Sun-tak--who had been on the receiving end of a one-sided beating--seemed to have forgotten even that, and screamed wildly.
"Arrest him! Arrest that man!"
"......"
But not a single Alliance member dared act rashly before Dan Se-ung's intimidation.
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"Do you intend to continue?"
Dan Se-ung's gaze turned to Yong So-ah.
Е̊ n̆ù mȧ . і d́
That he looked to Yong So-ah despite Kang Sun-tak and the branch members being present was tantamount to acknowledging Yong So-ah as the leader of this group.
But Yong So-ah did not readily sheathe his sword even under Dan Se-ung's pressure.
He showed no fear of Dan Se-ung or the Ten-Thousand-Poison Sect whatsoever, his impassive gaze unwavering.
"I think it would be best to stop here. It seems there were quite a few things going on that we don't know about."
Hwa Jeong-san of the Mount Hua Sect.
He stepped forward and spoke.
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"Yong So-ah, we came here to rescue our juniors, not to wage a war."
The same man who had once come to pick a fight with the Taeul Sect was now mediating between the instructors and me.
"Our cocky junior should call it quits here too. If there are grievances, take them to the Murim Alliance."
He then looked around at the academy students with a troubled expression.
"Juniors! Why don't you all put your weapons away now?"
Even after Hwa Jeong-san spoke, no one moved readily.
Ẇе̌ b́ n öv̈ е l Ě ñ u̇ m̀ а̄_
When even the Mount Hua Sect's own disciples and its lay-affiliated sect's disciples showed the same reluctance, a faint tremor crossed Hwa Jeong-san's eyes--but unlike the past, he did not easily lose his temper.
"If the Alliance members and academy students fight inside the Ten-Thousand-Poison Sect, what do you think will happen?"
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"......"
I sheathed the Red Radiance Sword.
Hwa Jeong-san clapped his hands exaggeratedly and worked to clear the air.
"Alright, let's all head back. We'll sort this out once we're home."
Ӗ n um á.
"That won't be necessary."
"Hm?"
I lifted Jong Chu-ak, who had been sprawled to one side.
"Many of us still haven't recovered from their injuries. We'll rest a while longer before departing."
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"Ha, at the Black Path...... no, at the Ten-Thousand-Poison Sect?"
"Sect Leader Dan learned of our circumstances and generously extended his hand."
Е̊ nü m ӓ
I looked at Hwa Jeong-san and smiled.
"The very circumstances the instructors refuse to believe."
"......"
I entrusted Jong Chu-ak to Nam Hwa-seong and approached Kang Sun-tak.
The man who felt not a shred of responsibility or guilt.
"You say we got lost? Then why didn't you rally the academy students at the assembly point?"
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"......"
"You say there was no enemy? Then what was it we fought so desperately against?"
Even when every fault was laid bare in detail, not a trace of remorse appeared.
It was not that he was hiding his shame.
A man who knows shame is not called rotten.
"You can't understand why the elite of the Orthodox sects asked a Black Path sect for help?"
Е ńu m а̀
It was because such shame did not exist in him in the first place.
That was why I called them rotten.
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"Is it all just about your own wealth and glory?"
Once the truth came out--once the full story was properly known--Kang Sun-tak would fall.
And not only him. Every instructor who had never doubted the brilliant future awaiting them would have it all stripped away.
"......"
W е́ b̆ nӧ vеl̈ Е n ŭ m̂а̇_
They must have wished for it.
That everyone had simply died in the Black Forest.
That not a single survivor remained.
If that had been the case, the path laid before them might have trembled somewhat, but it would not have been derailed.
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"You will be held accountable. For the crime of ignoring the appointed schedule as instructors and exploiting academy students for private gain. For the crime of abandoning your duties in a dangerous situation and thinking only of your own safety."
They must have thought it better if everyone died.
Е nů m̆а̌ . і d̊
The entire way to the Ten-Thousand-Poison Sect.
"For the crime of attempting to conceal the truth to cover your own offenses--I will hold you to account for all of it. I will never forgive you. I will hold you responsible for every academy student who died because of you."
They must have wished for our deaths more fervently than the beings who had actually tried to kill us.
"Your fellow disciples and your sect will also bear this responsibility."
And so I made my vow once more.
"I will make it so."
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That I would have my reckoning. Without fail.
"Jin So-un...... how dare a wretch like you!"
I turned away without delay.
Kang Sun-tak's venom-laced curses trailed behind me, but I did not listen.
One by one, the academy students began sheathing their weapons.
***
W̄ еbn оv еl̄ Е n̂ ü m̊ а
"You......"
Sect Leader Dan Se-ung chose his words with uncharacteristic care.
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Why is he acting like that all of a sudden?
When I looked at him strangely, he blurted it out.
"Are you...... actually insane?"
What?
We b n̂ ö.v е ľ En̊ u m̌.а
Was he trying to say "Are you insane?" Or did he just want to hurl an insult?
"Or have you perhaps secretly learned witchcraft or some demonic art?"
"......"
I was devastated.
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To hear such things from a genuine madman who injected unknown poisons into his own body to test their effects.
Thanks to the Taeul True Scripture, I had a more normal body and mind than anyone.
E nu ṁа
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
"I'm dumbfounded, is what. No matter how Black Path a person might be, they couldn't unleash that kind of abuse on a Captain-ranked figure of Qingcheng. Unless they were out of their mind...... ahem."
"......"
Perhaps the words had been harsh, but I had no desire to take them back.
His words had denied the effort, the tenacity, and the despair of the entire Life-or-Death Unit.
"......You do realize you're royally screwed, right?"
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"......"
To hear such a crude expression from the mouth of a Sect Leader.
Black Path was Black Path, no question.
"I'm aware I'm royally screwed."
"Ahem, well now, you've got quite the mouth on you."
Having said that, Dan Se-ung clapped my shoulder.
E ñ ū m.а.і d
"If right and wrong had ever properly determined merit and fault, then neither today's Righteous Path Association nor the Orthodox Path Association would exist. Their power would have long since been handed off to others."
I knew.
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Through that unjust process, their power had only grown more entrenched.
"What's more, you've given them cause for hostility by humiliating a Qingcheng disciple. Dark clouds are already gathering over your promising future."
The man who had been openly hostile at first was now offering concern with a strangely warm familiarity.
He even looked a little pleased.
Ĕnů m̊a .іd́
That look in his eyes, as though he'd found a kindred spirit.
"There's never been a ray of light in my future to begin with. The only difference is whether it's a storm or hail."
"Hail would hurt."
"I've got a hard head."
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"Keh heh heh."
Dan Se-ung broke into a pleased laugh.
W е̊_b ñоv̄е l Ẽ nu mа̀
Is the man drunk?
Before I knew it, a smile was creeping across my lips as well.
"Thank you."
"Hm?"
I bowed my head slightly to Dan Se-ung.
"For stepping in at just the right moment."
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"......"
Dan Se-ung chuckled as though he found it amusing.
"I only took your side to saddle you with the stigma of being a Black Path associate, you know."
"Even so, it won't tarnish my dazzling reputation as a chivalrous hero."
"Heh heh...... definitely insane. The Black Flame Dragon, a chivalrous hero."
The Ten-Thousand-Poison Sect had clearly not witnessed the events on the Demon Spirit Plateau, so they did not seem to fully appreciate my renown.
Wѐb n̊ о̇v̈ēl̈ Е n̈ ü m̊а
After chuckling for a while, Dan Se-ung shifted to a notably serious tone.
"Cha Seok-du, that blockhead, told you that you're always welcome at the Black Thought Alliance, didn't he?"
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"That's a baseless rumor."
"Heh heh. That blockhead may be thick-skulled, but he's not one to spread idle talk."
So it was Cha Seok-du's fault that the Black Flame Dragon epithet wouldn't die.
Damn it.
E̊ n̈ ùm̀ a.і d̀
I'd thought it was about time for it to change.
"But here's the thing."
In an instant, Dan Se-ung's gaze turned cold.
The man who had been trading idle banter a moment ago had vanished without a trace.
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"The way I see it, you absolutely must never come to the Black Thought Alliance."
"......"
Ĕń_u m̊ a
I'd never intended to go in the first place, but being told not to come stung a little for no reason.
"Why is that?"
He stared into my eyes, then turned his head away.
"Because you're too pure and too venomous."
I did not quite understand.
Could the words "pure" and "venomous" even be used together?
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No--could they coexist at all?
Purification.
"Among the Ten-Thousand-Poison Sect's poisons, there's one called Purifying Venom. It's colorless, but its smell is somewhat distinctive, so it can't be used covertly."
"Sounds like a useless poison."
"The effects are potent, though. Splash it in someone's eyes and it blinds them. Touch it to the mouth or nose and it ruins the lungs. But here's the thing......"
Dan Se-ung refilled his cup as he continued.
Е̇ n̊ um̆а . ĩd
"There's a reason this poison is called Purifying Venom."
"I did think it was a peculiar name."
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"If you use it to clean a contaminated well or a mold-infested space, it purifies it. Then water that was undrinkable becomes drinkable, and a disease-breeding space becomes one where people can live."
"Then it's not a poison."
"It is a poison. Drink it directly and you die. Spread it in a place like the Black Thought Alliance and people would die. But......"
He drained his cup in one go.
En̊ u m̆ а̌
"I'm curious what would happen if it were used as a cleanser on the Murim Alliance."
Whether he was talking about the Purifying Venom or about me, his words remained ambiguous.
"Wouldn't that be rather dangerous? A clean Murim Alliance? I can already hear the Black Path's death wails."
He found even that amusing, snickering quietly.
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"And do you know its most remarkable trait?"
"What?"
Е ñuṁ a. ї d
"After it's been used, it evaporates without a trace."
Evaporates.
"Think it over carefully."
He fiddled with his cup instead of looking me in the eye.
"Whether it's worth using for the sake of the Murim Alliance."
He left his words ambiguous to the very end.
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I thought I understood his intent, so I didn't press further.
***
The Murim Alliance members departed.
They had been branch personnel from the start, and Dan Se-ung's refusal meant the instructors could not remain here any longer.
The Dragon and Phoenix Assembly, however, stayed.
The Ten-Thousand-Poison Sect's disciples, who had formed small connections with the academy students, had not welcomed the Alliance members--but they showed curiosity toward the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly's members.
Eǹ u m̈ а
From their perspective, the curiosity about those celebrated as heroes of the Orthodox Path was evidently not easy to set aside.
Dang Seo-hui, in particular, drew immense interest.
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Her use of poisons was one reason, and her status as the Tang Clan's foremost Later-Generation Talent seemed to have played a significant role as well.
Several disciples of the sect, driven by that curiosity, cautiously arranged a small gathering over drinks.
Dan Se-ung and the other leaders turned a blind eye to their younger members' little transgression.
I too had been invited before heading off to meet Dan Se-ung, but I was in no mood to attend a boisterous party.
Е̄n ũm̆ а. і̀ d̂
On the path back to my quarters after leaving Dan Se-ung's residence.
The distant clamor told me a drinking session was underway, but--
After walking a bit further, the sound grew muffled, and silence settled quietly over the surroundings.
I paused in a dark spot untouched by torchlight and gazed up at the sky.
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The position of the stars seen from Yunnan was not so different from anywhere else.
But perhaps because of the high elevation, or perhaps because the weather was clear, the stars shimmered as though they might spill down at any moment.
Ѐ n̂ǔ m̃ а
As I stared at those stars, sorting through my thoughts--
I sensed a presence and turned my head.
"......"
At the edge of the fire-shadow cast by the torches, an unwelcome face came into view.
"What brings you all the way here?"
"......What did you discuss with Sect Leader Dan Se-ung?"
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"Am I under some obligation to tell you?"
The moment I tried to ignore him and walk past--
"I have a question."
A question.......
That was truly unlike Yong So-ah.
Thinking as much, I continued walking.
Е̂n umӑ
"About why you are still alive."
"......"
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Words I could not simply dismiss reached my ears.
Had he wished for my death in the Black Forest?
"Did you, like that man Kang Sun-tak, wish for my death?"
"I have no interest in your relationship with him. What I'm curious about is simply......"
Е̃ ǹ uḿ a . ī d̈
Yong So-ah suddenly fell silent.
His face was unfamiliar.
An expression I had seen in neither my past life nor this one.
After pressing his lips together for a moment, he slowly raised his eyes.
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"Why are you still alive?"
On a face where impassivity should have been natural, what had surfaced was unmistakable curiosity.
W̌е̃ b̀ṅ о̆ v̆ е́ l Е̂ n um̄ ǎ
Puzzlement at why something that should have been a certainty had gone awry.
'......What the hell?'
A chill crawled up my spine.
'Is he saying he's going to kill me?'
He was speaking as though my death were a foregone conclusion.
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