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Chapter 376. Flooding Waves
Airborne Object Grasping did not simply refer to formless physical force.
The basis of grasping was always qi arts.
Wherever qi arts reached, an inevitable stagnation formed that disrupted the natural circulation of ambient qi.
Thus, the more delicate one's force control, the higher the level of mastery.
One felt a greater threat when a brimming cup of wine arrived without so much as a tremor than when a sword was lifted through the air as intimidation.
Ẇ е̄ b̆ ñ ô vѐl Е̃nuṁ а
As a display of martial prowess, nothing was more effective.
But the person now pressing down on my shoulders and knees was clearly not at that level.
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My feet were already going numb, and my shoulders ached as if they were being crushed.
I drew upon the Taeul True Scripture at the fastest speed I could manage.
CRACK—CRACK—CRACK—!
The qi arts pushing outward from within and the force using Airborne Object Grasping tugged against each other in a tug-of-war, until at last the seams where fabric met fabric tore apart.
W̊еb̂ n ov е l̃ Е̂ ṅum̂а
SWSHHHHH—
RATTLE-RATTLE-RATTLE.
The blinds fluttered wildly and wine cups shook, threatening to topple.
I could feel the eyes of the one using Airborne Object Grasping on me widening, his expression hardening.
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I'd secretly hoped he might cough blood, but no such sign appeared.
"What an ill-mannered child."
W̊_е̇ b̂ṅov̂ el _Еn u m̄ǎ
A bald man standing at the front — shaven-headed like Il-gak — waved his hand.
TAP, TAP, TAP.
The blinds that had been flailing in every direction settled back into place, and the toppled cups returned to their original positions.
Were it not for the trails of spilled wine on the table, one would never have guessed what had happened — the interior had regained its stillness that completely.
"I'd hoped the Academy might have taught you something, but you're as insolent as ever. They say people don't change easily."
I obligingly nodded.
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"And Monk Hye-seong's taste for enjoying meetings at pleasure houses hasn't changed either."
"......This is just a tavern."
Gazes so burdensome they were hard to endure shot my way.
At the same time, faintly spreading torrents of qi were ceaselessly trying to probe my body.
'Not a chance!'
I drew upon the Taeul True Scripture to block the torrents of qi, but the eight streams burrowed through the gaps with cunning precision, once again attempting to assess my inner arts.
Ë n̊ ûm̀а . і_d
"That vicious tongue of yours hasn't dulled a bit. Given that your core nature hasn't changed even through hardship, should I call it stubbornness? Or an innately base temperament?"
They were desperately trying to grope through someone else's body while simultaneously tossing out questions as if it were nothing.
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The fact that this situation seemed to lay bare their true nature only made me more determined not to lose.
I raised the Taeul True Scripture to its absolute limit.
"If speaking the truth still gets one branded for uttering deceitful words, doesn't that simply mean the world itself is what's wrong?"
RATTLE-RATTLE-RATTLE.
Еn̂u mа̊_. i ď
The fire pit and table placed between them and me shook violently.
No wind blew, yet the flames flickered and swayed in every direction.
"The most cunning minister is the one who loudly proclaims himself loyal."
When I spoke, toward them; when they spoke, toward me.
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CLATTER, CLATTER.
The direction of the tilting wine cups lurched back and forth with each exchange.
W̆е̃ b̊ ǹо v̇е̇l Е̄n u ṁа
"......"
They seemed to be rather enjoying the situation.
I, on the other hand, was finding it increasingly difficult to block their torrents of qi.
"Why have you gone silent? People say that if the Black Flame Dragon fell into water, only his mouth would float."
At this rate, not only would they learn the total volume of my inner arts, but I'd have to surrender the entire qi meridian map of my body to these old men.
That was something I absolutely could not allow.
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I retracted the internal qi I'd been using to block their torrents in a single instant.
Just as triumphant smiles began to form on the lips of all eight — I called upon the Void-Annihilation Fist, channeled the Holy Flame Demon-Extinguishing Hand, and drove it straight down into the fire pit.
BOOM—!
WHOOOOSH—!
The fire pit, which had been burning modestly with five or six logs, erupted into a towering demon fire that scattered in every direction.
The faces of those who had grown accustomed to the darkness were illuminated by the firelight, revealing expressions of utter shock.
W е̇ bn̆.ö v̆ĕ l̆_ È n̊ũ_m a
Because the blaze had surged so suddenly, it raced along the ceiling and vanished almost at once — but by then, the torrents of qi that had been constricting my entire body had already been cleanly dispelled.
"......"
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"......"
"......"
Those who realized they'd been bested glared at me with murderous looks, unable to hide their fury.
Fortunately, no fresh torrents of qi came flying.
Wе̇b̂ n о v̌еĺ Е̊ṅú m̃ а̊
Having already failed once, attempting it again would probably feel like an unseemly spectacle to people of their caliber.
"......How did you do that?"
How is it that dealing with these people feels exactly the same as dealing with the Demonic Cult......?
"Do what?"
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The man seated at the far right — the one who'd fired the Airborne Object Grasping — asked again.
"What you just did."
Éǹ üm̀ а̀
I shrugged with feigned nonchalance.
"The waiter must've tossed in a pinecone or something."
"......"
My answer apparently didn't please him; his brow creased deeply.
This time, instead of a torrent of qi, a faint killing intent seeped out.
To be able to sample such a variety of qi arts in such a short span of time.
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Truly generous people.
I tore off the half-ripped sleeve of my garment.
RRRIP—
Then spoke calmly.
"Do you intend to continue?"
Given that the relationship between the Three Pure Ones Peerless Sword and the Righteous Path Association wasn't exactly amicable —
Е̇n ù m̃ ă. і d̄
The fact that I'd endured this much at Buk Won-pyeong's request was already more than my share of duty.
If the old junior brother knew I'd held out this long, he'd probably want to rush in and drag me out himself.
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"That's enough."
Just then, a composed middle-aged man seated beside Great Master Hye-seong spoke, leisurely tipping back his wine cup.
"It is only natural for elders to be curious about a child's accomplishments, so rein in your anger as well."
That attitude, as though his own view were self-evidently correct, without so much as a stir.
Е̂ńuḿa
In my past life and in this one, he was exactly the same.
I met his gaze without flinching and replied.
"There's no chair for me, I see."
His steady gaze and unhurried manner exuded a distinctive authority.
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The ponderous bearing that should have felt stifling came across as utterly natural.
'Clear Water True Man.'
Е numа́ . î d
The rising star of my father's generation, and now one of the foremost pillars steering the current Murim Alliance.
And the cunning schemer who would later hand the Murim Alliance over to Yong So-ah.
Without the slightest change of expression, his lips moved with languid deliberateness.
"I simply cannot permit you further discourtesy."
"Wudang can't even spare a single chair for its disciples, I see."
I looked around.
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A chair that appeared to be where attendants sat while waiting was placed beside the pond.
I fired a Flying Dragon Claw, looping a strand of Heavenly Silkworm Thread around the chair leg.
WHIRRRR—
With the fierce spinning of the reel, the chair flew through the air, pulled along by the Heavenly Silkworm Thread, and settled neatly into my hand.
I sat down, crossed one leg over my knee, and reached for the wine cup and bottle.
"Pouring for oneself only makes a person look pathetic."
Е̃.ṅ u ṁ а . іd
FWIP—
The wine bottle I'd been holding was snatched straight from my grasp into Clear Water True Man's hand.
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"No matter how fine the wine."
He tilted the bottle with the slightest angle, and exactly one cup's worth of wine sailed through the air and settled into the cup.
His unhurried voice followed.
"Wine can only be truly savored when poured for one another."
E̊n̄u.m̆â. і̌ d̄
It was a display of mastery so exquisite I could retch.
"......"
"What are you waiting for? Pick it up."
I drained the cup I'd been staring at blankly in one gulp.
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A fragrant bouquet wafted up, yet it tasted more bitter than even the most unremarkable Bamboo-Leaf Clear Wine.
"I hear you still have not found a pavilion to apply to?"
Е ǹ ú ṁ а̊.îd̄
"Word of that reached the Righteous Path Association?"
"Several of our children are waiting along with you, it seems."
"I said nothing to them. Don't think of placing blame."
Clear Water True Man shook his head.
"Martial artists are a breed that occasionally makes such foolish choices."
"......"
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His toneless voice held a brief silence.
FWIP—
Fragrant wine sailed toward me once more.
"Apply to the Azure Dragon Pavilion."
The cup had clearly been in a different position than before, yet the wine landed squarely within it.
Without spilling a single drop.
Ѐ ňu mа́ . іd̄
I took in every detail of that refined gesture.
"I'd already put that out of my mind long ago. It's not a place that suits me."
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"You are thinking of your Taeul Sect juniors, I take it?"
I froze with the wine cup halfway to my lips.
Clear Water True Man slowly drained his own.
"The reason you applied to the White Wolf Pavilion despite your excellent grades was surely to lay groundwork for the future."
Ẁ е b̃ ǹ о̊ v̆е̊ l Е́n̆ũ ṁа
"......I'm not the type to plan that far ahead."
"Enter the Azure Dragon Pavilion. If you do, I shall see to it that the Taeul children serving their mandatory duty in the future are taken under the Righteous Path Association's protection."
Clear Water True Man's words made my head throb.
"......What do you mean by that?"
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Clear Water True Man nodded as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Yes. Join the Righteous Path Association."
Е̇ n̄üm̆ ă
A proposition that arrived before I could even set down my cup.
"......"
I'd roughly expected this, but hearing it directly made my head ring.
"I am not telling you to come in and do menial work like before. I am saying I will accept you as a 'true' Righteous Path Association member."
Though no one had released any qi arts since Clear Water True Man began speaking, the weight of his words was now what pressed down on my shoulders.
"This is not just about you alone. It includes Taeul Sect as well."
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Had this been my past life.
Had Gye Cheol-yeong been sitting here instead of me.
He would have pressed his forehead to the floor the instant he heard this.
Because it was exactly what the Gye Cheol-yeong and Taeul Sect of my past life had so desperately wanted.
"You know well enough how safe the Righteous Path Association's shelter is in this murim, which grows more turbid by the day."
Had Gye Cheol-yeong received such an offer, he would have gladly given the entire Gyeryong Merchant Guild and wept with gratitude.
W ѐbn̄о̄ v ё l Е̄ ǹ u̇m̆ á.
"To avoid being swept away in a storm like this, one must hold tight to a great tree."
Because it was worth that much.
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Because it was not an 'opportunity' just anyone could obtain.
"You know this."
"......"
When I said nothing, Clear Water True Man's eyebrow twitched upward for the first time.
Е̊ n̄ü m̀ǎ . іd̄
"Why no answer? Surely you are not calculating?"
The tone that hadn't even entertained the notion of a rebuttal — in it, the authority of those seated here made itself vividly felt once more.
They numbered a mere eight, but the sects each one led exceeded tens of thousands.
The influence of the words that left their mouths rippled through lay-affiliated sects, through the Murim Alliance, and across the entire murim — making them, without exaggeration, the very embodiment of the murim itself.
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And so a benevolent offer was, simultaneously, a noose tightening around one's neck.
Because the repercussions of refusal would not end with mere middle-aged obstinacy.
Е n̄ û m̃а̃ . і ḋ
But I knew.
"Of course I'm calculating. I can't tell what's better or worse without doing so."
"......"
This choice would ultimately fail to protect us to the very end.
That choosing them would mean never being able to fight the Demonic Cult to the last.
And so I would not be deceived by despair wearing the mask of opportunity.
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"Hmm...... no matter how I think about it, there's only one conclusion."
"......"
"I decline."
Clear Water True Man's eye twitched.
"Have you made some arrangement with the Orthodox Path Association or the Twelve Peak Citadels?"
"This is the first I've heard of such a thing."
Е nǔ m̄a.î d́
"And yet you refuse the Righteous Path Association?"
Well, it certainly didn't make sense for an orthodox sect to refuse membership in the Righteous Path Association.
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But just because something doesn't make sense doesn't mean you have to go along with it.
"Do you have some other scheme?"
"I don't know about schemes. I just don't like that the one making the offer is Wudang."
"......"
Ѐ n úmă
I raised a point from the past.
"You know, at Demon Spirit Plateau, a 'certain' disciple of Wudang abandoned several thousand people and fled alone. We believed in you and followed, only to......"
I stared directly into Clear Water True Man's eyes, which showed not the slightest wavering, and spoke.
"What would we do if we were betrayed like that again?"
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He did not offer clumsy excuses or make half-hearted justifications.
"......"
W e b̀ ṅо̃v̄е̃ľ Еn um̂ а
He merely kept his silence, and by that silence alone, sealed the other person's mouth.
The very archetype of a seasoned, battle-hardened murim warrior.
CRACKLE. SNAP-SNAP.
The sound of wood burning echoed through the space.
Around the time the smoldering wood split apart and ashen sleet of embers drifted upward —
"Are you confident?"
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"Of course I'm confi......"
"That you can face the Righteous Path Association."
A voice that crushed the air in an instant.
"......"
It was certainly something I'd heard countless times before.
An identical sentence that would feel no different whether you swapped "Righteous Path Association" with "Orthodox Path Association" or "Twelve Peak Citadels."
W е.b̆ ň ò v̇е́l̃ Eň u m̆а̀
But the words coming from Clear Water True Man's mouth right now carried a subtly different weight.
"I asked whether you are confident you can survive alone."
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It sounded exactly as though the Righteous Path Association would be the one doing the attacking.
Was there anyone who could stand unbowed before this pressure?
Yet I forced myself to overcome the urge to simply entrust myself to them.
No matter how frightening and difficult it was, I could not choose an ending I already knew would fail.
Е̂ n̆ u m а
After letting out a long sigh that betrayed nothing, I spoke as evenly as I could.
"I'm confident."
***
On the way back after leaving the pavilion.
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Buk Won-pyeong was gazing blankly at the pond.
"Is the...... conversation over?"
Е n̊ u m̂.а̂. і d
"Would I have come back in the middle of it?"
"With our senior brother, I thought that might be a possibility."
I was thoroughly irritated, yet Buk Won-pyeong somehow wore a detached expression.
"You really...... refused?"
"Did you think I'd accept?"
"......"
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He stared at me for a long time with a complicated gaze.
"Anyone can talk big in ordinary times. But there are not many who can make that kind of choice when the opportunity is actually placed before them."
"How can I protect my freedom by depending on someone else?"
Buk Won-pyeong's shoulders sagged.
"Heh heh...... Is that so? So my choice truly was the wrong one?"
"What are you talking about?"
Е̂ num̀ӓ
"I am saying that the senior brother surpasses this old junior."
"......"
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"Twenty years ago, when I received the very same offer, my choice was different."
His voice was weaker than usual.
"And I paid dearly for it."
"Sounds like it will cost you a lot."
W̆ е̂b̃ ň о vе̄l̈ Еnu m а
At that, Buk Won-pyeong chuckled ruefully.
"Indeed. I paid handsomely — with the very freedom you speak of."
After studying my face with a warm expression for a moment, his features hardened and he asked.
"You know it won't end with just refusing their offer, right?"
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These were people who operated on the principle of 'if not an ally, then an enemy.'
Having refused to become their limb, there was only one category left for us.
W e̊ b̆ no_v̈ el Е n u m̊a
"I'm not such a halfwit that I wouldn't know that."
Buk Won-pyeong nodded, then patted my shoulder as if to console me.
"Still, don't worry too much. This old junior brother spent all those long, harsh years quietly building his own strength. I will not let a lay-affiliated sect like Taeul simply vanish."
"We haven't vanished yet. Don't jinx us."
"Ah, my apologies."
I cracked a grin and stretched.
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"If you're sorry, buy me a drink. That lot in there ruined my palate."
"Shall we go to Cheongbinru, then?"
Heh, this old junior brother is trying to shortchange me.
I shook my head firmly.
"Let's go to Pine Blossom Pavilion."
"Tch, the senior brother is a cruel man."
Wě b̄n о v̌ е l Еń ŭḿа̌
Before leaving the garden, I cast one last look at the pavilion where I'd been moments ago.
I couldn't know what words were being exchanged behind those blinds, but one thing I could say for certain.
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A brutal wind had begun to blow in earnest across the murim.
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