<Black Flame Dragon Amid the Chaos (4)>
“Orabeoni, will the day ever come when our Yujang Sect stands tall in the martial world?”
Jang Ujae couldn’t answer his younger sister’s question as she prepared to marry into a prominent family.
He alone knew how much she, too, dreamed of making her mark in the martial world.
Still, she would say things she didn’t mean, like how marrying into a wealthy family would give her an easy life from now on.
It was thanks to his younger sister’s sacrifice that Jang Ujae had been able to become a student at the Martial Academy.
Knowing how happy she would be about his acceptance, he’d tried to see her as soon as he arrived at Yujang Sect.
But he couldn’t manage to meet her, and he couldn’t even get news of how she was doing.
There was a grand banquet hosted by her new family.
His friends from the Academy came to visit, too. Jang Ujae had been rushing from one thing to another every day.
“Huh?”
Then he met the man who had married his younger sister.
Seeing him at one side of the banquet, singing songs with a courtesan beside him, Jang Ujae couldn’t help frowning.
The man got drunk and caused a scene wherever he went. He even came over to the Academy students and made a fool of himself.
Despite his arrogant behavior, Jang Ujae had been patient and treated his brother-in-law well.
But then—
“My wife would be wonderful if she were even half as pretty as you, Young Lady.”
That remark, made with a sycophantic air among the Academy students, sparked Jang Ujae’s suspicions.
“My wife has no talent, but she’s all pride. I have a hard time teaching her, haha.”
Jang Ujae was the guest of honor at the banquet, with countless people he had to meet. But he rushed straight to the family his younger sister had married into.
He ignored the servants and maids trying to stop him, barged into her quarters, and forced the door open.
“Ah …”
His younger sister greeted him with a sorrowful smile.
“Orabeoni, have you been well?”
She had tried to cover the bruises on her face with makeup, but the marks were too prominent to miss.
“I heard you came with your friends from the Academy. That means our Yujang Sect has become a respectable sect, too, doesn’t it?”
That day, just as before, Jang Ujae couldn’t answer.
He’d realized whose sacrifice had made it possible for him to stand where he did.
The realization cut too deeply.
He couldn’t say a word.
“ …”
His eyes fixed on Dongting Lake were filled with desperation.
He couldn’t let himself fall now.
He couldn’t let himself collapse.
He had already sacrificed too much.
If Yujang Sect fell here, neither he nor his younger sister would ever have a decent life.
“I won’t fall. No matter what happens, I’ll survive.”
Looking out at the boats floating on the dark waters of Dongting Lake in the distance, Jang Ujae made the vow again and again.
‘I’m tired.’
That was what Ilgak thought.
Compared to the days at the Academy, when he trained relentlessly, his schedule in Yueyang was nothing but idle. Yet he felt even more mentally exhausted.
All he wanted was to return to the Academy as soon as possible and prepare for his next spar with Jin Sowoon.
‘That won’t be easy now.’
If they went to Sichuan, it would take at least several weeks.
They’d go through all kinds of ridiculous formalities just to make it look like they’d accomplished something.
They would visit allied sects, strengthen their ties, attend banquets, and repeat the whole process.
He’d once thought that this, too, was a form of mental cultivation. But if so, it had piled up far too many doubts in his mind.
‘My training must be lacking.’
It was a path that countless senior disciples and masters of his sect had taken.
Wasn’t it only natural that he would have to walk it, too?
Ilgak silently recited “Amitabha” thousands, tens of thousands of times, swallowing his impatience again and again.
“Venerable Monk, it’s time to disembark.”
At the boatman’s words, Ilgak came back to his senses. The boat had already returned to the dock.
Glad to be on his way, Ilgak stepped off the boat.
There would be more reports to hear once he returned to his lodgings, but after that, he could take some time to train.
Just as he was thinking that—
“Great Master! My name is Jang Ujae! I’m a student at the Martial Academy and a disciple of Yujang Sect. Please, help us just this once!”
At the familiar name, Ilgak turned.
A group of familiar faces were shouting themselves hoarse as people tried to hold them back.
“Our sect is on the verge of being destroyed by the heretical faction. We desperately need help!”
“ …”
As the people’s attention turned toward Jang Ujae, Master Hyeseong finally gestured for them to approach.
“Ahem.”
Master Hyeseong covered his nose and frowned.
The group had rushed through the crowd, and they smelled strongly of sweat.
“Great Master! We desperately need the help of the Righteous Path Association and the other righteous sects. Please, help us just this once!”
He’d heard only fragments of the story, but he could roughly guess what was happening.
With Diancang Sect backing off, the righteous and heretical martial worlds had begun clashing over control of Yueyang.
The storm blowing in from the heretical side would deal a serious blow to the righteous martial world.
And naturally, that damage would spread to smaller sects more than the great ones.
Remembering that Jang Ujae’s sect was not particularly powerful, Ilgak gave him a sympathetic look.
“Ilgak.”
At Master Hyeseong’s questioning call, Ilgak quietly stepped closer and answered.
“They are Academy students.”
“Which sect do they belong to?”
“A sect called Yujang Sect.”
“Yujang Sect?”
At Hyeseong’s puzzled response, Ilgak quickly added an explanation.
“It’s a solid sect with deep roots in Yueyang.”
“I don’t think I’ve seen it in the Martial Alliance.”
“They haven’t been very active in the Alliance, but I understand that people often speak of their sense of honor.”
Hyeseong turned his gaze toward Jang Ujae and the Academy students who seemed to be his friends.
He carefully examined their clothes, weapons, appearance, and martial skill.
At Hyeseong’s quiet hum, Ilgak hurried to continue.
“Jang Ujae, that young man in particular, is considered a representative of the unaffiliated students at the Academy. He’s so well-liked that not only our Righteous Path Association, but also the White Path Association and the Twelve Peaks are trying to recruit him.”
Because of what was happening in Yueyang, his sect might disappear.
It had nothing to do with Ilgak, yet he began to feel anxious.
“If we help him now, it could be a great help in reclaiming the Academy representative position later.”
“Is that so?”
“Y-yes.”
Hyeseong looked steadily at Ilgak.
“You’re usually clueless about politics and relationships. What’s made you so eloquent today?”
“ …”
Master Hyeseong slowly shook his head.
“That, too, is a delusion.”
“ …”
Master Hyeseong stepped forward.
Then he spoke in a deep, resonant voice.
“Please rise, young lay patron.”
“Great Master! I’ll pay any price you ask later. Please, just help us this once.”
A desperate hope, thin as a thread, appeared on Jang Ujae’s face.
“The Buddha asks no payment of you. Have you tried asking the Yueyang Branch of the Martial Alliance for help?”
“Yes. I went to them first. But the branch doesn’t have enough people to deal with all the heretical factions in Yueyang.”
No matter how many of the branch’s limited staff stepped in, the heretical martial world wouldn’t back down.
The heretical factions were hardly so cautious that they’d hesitate when they had a chance to act freely like this.
Jang Ujae pleaded once more.
“If you wait until war breaks out with the heretical factions, it’ll be too late. We need help right away, Great Master.”
Without realizing it, Ilgak joined in.
“He’s right, Venerable Monk. If the heretical martial world takes control of Yueyang before the Martial Alliance steps in, the smaller sects will …”
Master Hyeseong slowly turned to look at Ilgak.
“ …”
That expressionless face seemed just like the face of the Four Heavenly Kings. Ilgak swallowed hard without meaning to.
“ …I-I’m sorry.”
Master Hyeseong began speaking again, his voice solemn.
“The dark faction has plunged the world into chaos with its abuses time and again. It pains this humble monk that the Buddha’s grace cannot reach the whole world.”
Everyone looked toward Hyeseong—not only the Academy students, but also those who had come to see the Nine Great Sects and those who were waiting to board the boats.
“Nor does the Buddha ever turn away those who seek salvation.”
Hyeseong’s gaze had shifted from the Academy students to the crowd.
“Whenever and wherever someone seeks the Buddha’s help, even in the depths of the Nine Hells, the Buddha’s hand will reach them.”
Those who heard Hyeseong’s words erupted in cheers.
“Waaah!”
Once the excitement had died down, Hyeseong looked at Jang Ujae with a kindly smile.
“So you may return without worry.”
“Y-you’ll help us?”
“Didn’t I just say? Wherever you are, the Buddha’s grace will reach you.”
At Hyeseong’s vague answer, Jang Ujae bowed his head deeply once more.
“I’ve heard that Mukhyul Gang is planning to attack our sect soon.”
Hyeseong nodded.
“As soon as I return to the Martial Alliance, I’ll call a meeting and make this matter our top priority.”
“What?”
Jang Ujae’s face fell.
How was that any different from having the Yueyang Branch of the Martial Alliance handle it?
“G-Great Master! Yujang Sect is standing on the brink of destruction. That won’t …”
“Lay patron.”
A powerful internal energy filled Master Hyeseong’s voice.
Just hearing it made it feel as though a great weight had been set upon the spirit—a word-bound command.
The onlookers, too, felt the immense presence in Master Hyeseong’s voice and fell silent.
“Didn’t I tell you? The Buddha’s hand can reach anywhere.”
“ …”
“But everything in this world has its proper order.”
Jang Ujae trembled, then forced himself to speak.
“Th-then … could you visit our sect? Your presence alone would make the heretical martial world uneasy.”
Watching Jang Ujae, Ilgak couldn’t hide his surprise.
Hyeseong’s word-bound command was considered one of the finest arts even within Shaolin Temple, yet Jang Ujae had resisted it.
That only showed how desperate his situation was.
“ …”
Knowing all this and still being unable to do anything, Ilgak felt deeply ashamed of himself.
“ …I would like to, but a very urgent matter requiring immediate attention is before me. I hope you’ll understand that I can’t visit.”
“G-Great Master!”
“Do not worry. You and your sect will surely be protected by the Buddha’s grace.”
Just as Hyeseong finished speaking and turned to leave—
“What’s this cheap trick?”
A voice rang out across the dock, breaking the silence.
“Are people still using things like this?”
A group of young men and women who looked to be in their twenties were walking out from the dock.
The man at the front casually waved his hand through the air. The people felt the pressure that had been constricting them lift, and they let out long breaths of relief.
“ …”
Hyeseong’s gaze turned toward the man who had dispelled the word-bound command.
He had a somewhat vile, mocking expression, and his relaxed manner didn’t suit his age.
Hyeseong knew him, too.
The man looked at Hyeseong and asked:
“You said they’d be protected by the Buddha’s grace. Do you mean that if they pray hard enough, Mukhyul Gang will just leave on its own?”
“ …”
The man naturally stepped between Hyeseong’s group and Jang Ujae’s, then continued:
“Come on. If chanting ‘Amitabha’ solved everything, why would the Martial Alliance exist? And why would the heretical factions still be in the martial world?”
The man’s gaze swept over the crowd.
“Were Shaolin’s prayers not enough?”
Hyeseong’s companions and the onlookers alike stared at the man, aghast.
“Who is that?”
“Has he lost his mind?”
“How dare he speak so disrespectfully to Great Master Hyeseong of Shaolin …”
People whispered as they stared at him.
Who was this man, speaking as if he had so much gall he’d left his entire liver at home?
The unexpected answer came from Master Hyeseong himself.
“Lay patron Jin Sowoon …”
The man called Jin Sowoon frowned deeply.
“I’ve told you before: stop calling me ‘lay patron’ when I’m a disciple of a Daoist martial sect. Seriously.”
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