Chapter 160 :

 <Black Flame Dragon Who Quells the Chaos (5)>

“Gyaaaah!”

Snake Evil screamed as he looked at Sword Evil’s blade, buried deep in his thigh.

Mukhyul Gang was so stunned by the sudden turn of events that no one knew what to do. Meanwhile, Sword Evil, who had been sent flying five jang, rose to his feet, bleeding.

“Promissory note … I’ll kill you …”

“Snake Evil was the one who kicked you. Why are you going to kill me?”

Sword Evil glanced at Snake Evil, who was in pain, then said:

“ …I’ll deal with Snake Evil later. For now, I’m killing you.”

I nodded.

“That makes some sense. If you can catch me, that is.”

Before Sword Evil and the Mukhyul Gang fighters could move, I used the World-Solitary Divine Movement and leaped into the sky.

Boom!

As the ground rippled like a wave and blocked Sword Evil’s view, I stepped on a building and escaped Mukhyul Gang.

I heard Sword Evil screaming as he desperately chased after me.

“My promissory note!”

Why did he keep treating people like objects?

I headed straight for Haomun’s branch.

We were short on time, but there should be a little while before news of what happened at Mukhyul Gang reached Yujang Sect.

Still, just in case, I hurried to the fabric shop. When I arrived, I couldn’t help tilting my head.

“Huh?”

I’d been prepared to wake the shop owner in the middle of the night, but the fabric shop was lit up, and Haeryeong was waiting outside.

“What happened?”

“I thought you’d come, so I waited.”

As expected, not just anyone could become the Haomun sect leader’s senior disciple.

“Sorry, but I’m short on time, so I’ll get straight to the point.”

“Of course. Go ahead.”

“Please spread a rumor. Say that Yujang Sect and the righteous sects pooled their money to hire assassins, and that the assassins are about to begin their operations in earnest.”

“Will anyone believe it?”

“They won’t. That’s fine. I only want to make them uneasy.”

The righteous factions wouldn’t be too concerned even if such a rumor spread.

But to the heretical factions, who considered hiring assassins perfectly normal, this choice would seem reasonable enough to make them feel pressured.

“What will you do after that?”

“Having mounted a tiger, it’s too late to dismount. It’s too late to stop the heretical factions in Yueyang. I’ll trip them up instead.”

“ …You’re thinking of a decisive duel?”

“Yes.”

Worry clouded Haeryeong’s face.

“Even if the duel happens, the Eight Evils will probably take part. They’re no easy opponents.”

I knew that from experience. If those two hadn’t been used to fighting together for so long, the grafting technique wouldn’t have worked.

“I’ve thought of a way to deal with them.”

“ …Understood. Do you need anything else?”

“How many people in Haomun know how to use martial arts?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Several righteous sects have fallen because of this. The heretical sects will face a backlash, too. Wouldn’t this be a chance to lead people and claim a share of the spoils?”

“ …Are you sure that’s all right?”

Haeryeong seemed terribly embarrassed by the idea of taking a share of the feast I’d prepared.

If this tug-of-war between the heretical and righteous factions was going to keep happening, it would be better to divide Yueyang into three parts.

Then neither side would be able to act rashly.

At the very least, the smaller sects wouldn’t be swept away by the storm.

I deliberately tried to reassure her.

“Didn’t you promise to share the profits with me? If I don’t get a reward this big, I won’t feel like working.”

I returned to Yujang Sect so quickly I could barely catch my breath.

Unlike when I’d left, this time I made no effort to move quietly. I landed inside the sect with a loud thud.

Thump!

There was a commotion outside the walls at the sudden noise, but no one tried to do anything.

“My goodness! Young Master Jin, what have you been doing?”

“What?”

“What are all these injuries? Good heavens, what happened to your hand?”

Only then did I look myself over. My left hand, arms, and legs were covered in wounds.

Well, I’d fought two of the Eight Evils. Coming away with only these injuries was a good result.

“It’s nothing. More importantly, what’s everyone doing?”

“We were taking turns keeping watch and sleeping, just as you instructed.”

Even a short nap should have eased their exhaustion a little.

“Wake everyone up and tell them to prepare for battle.”

“What?”

“Tell them not to spread out this time. Have everyone gather in the Great Horse Yard.”

“Is something going on?”

“They’ll move soon.”

Seong Moran went to wake everyone, still not entirely convinced, while I tended to my wounds as best I could.

The others gathered, and the air in the Great Horse Yard settled into silence.

A little while later, a commotion began outside the walls.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“An intruder? A fire?”

“What? Who?”

The commotion, as if they were searching for someone, grew until it sounded like a roar. Their fierce fighting spirit carried over the walls and into Yujang Sect.

Gulp.

Everyone gathered in the Great Horse Yard watched the unrest outside, swallowed hard, and tightened their grip on their swords.

Crash!

The already half-demolished wall collapsed, and the heretical fighters poured into Yujang Sect, led by the man with the sickle.

“Jin Sowoon!”

The dark faction fighters called for me without a word of explanation. My companions, including Seong Moran, all turned to look at me.

Their eyes seemed to ask, “What have you done this time?”

I began gathering the Mad Heaven Divine Palm in my hands.

Rumble, rumble, rumble.

“Huh?”

“Th-that’s …”

The Mukhyul Gang warriors had already felt the Mad Heaven Divine Palm once, so they hesitated to come closer.

Only the man with the sickle stepped forward without fear.

“Did you really attack Mukhyul Gang?”

“What are you talking about?”

At my calm reply, the man with the sickle ground his teeth.

“Word just came from our headquarters. An intruder set fire to Mukjon Pavilion.”

“My goodness! That happened? Shouldn’t you hurry back and see?”

“Jin Sowoon!”

“Take one more step and I’ll let you experience the Mad Heaven Divine Palm again.”

The man with the sickle flinched, but didn’t advance.

“Do you think you can take on ten men with one hand?”

“Bring me the deputy gang leader. I have something to say to him.”

The man’s face twisted.

“ …Why are you asking for the deputy gang leader instead of the boss? I said there was a fire. I never said the boss was dead.”

I pretended to be surprised.

“Oops! My mistake.”

“ …So you really did assassinate the boss.”

The people of Yujang Sect let out silent gasps at the man’s words.

Geum, Eun, and Dong looked ready to faint.

“Tell the deputy gang leader this: if he doesn’t come tomorrow, then even if Yujang Sect is annihilated, he’ll be the next one to die.”

“Grrr …”

The tense silence held for a moment.

The man with the sickle glared at me as if his teeth might break, then turned and left.

When the tension finally eased, the people of Yujang Sect and the children of Taeul Sect sank to the ground one after another.

“Phew … I thought I was going to die of fright.”

At Geumpyo’s words, I withdrew the Mad Heaven Divine Palm and clicked my tongue.

“You think you can survive in the martial world if you’re afraid of a few heretical thugs like that?”

For some reason, everyone’s expressions twisted strangely.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“ …What?”

Geumpyo looked at me as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Senior Brother, you were terrifying. ‘Oops! My mistake’? What was that creepy line? I almost wet myself.”

Eunho shuddered and chimed in.

“Brother, did you see that grin when he said it? I thought he was a ghost.”

Even so, calling the Eldest Senior Brother a ghost was a bit much.

“ …”

Was I really that strange?

Day broke, and a small table was set up in the courtyard in front of Yujang Sect.

It had been brought over from the Martial Alliance’s Yueyang Branch. Three chairs were arranged around it.

The future of Yujang Sect would be decided at this humble table.

Early that morning, I went to see the sect leader of Yujang Sect to tell him what we needed to discuss and negotiate.

But he refused outright.

“This isn’t something I can handle. You should go in my place.”

“What?”

“If it weren’t for you, Yujang Sect would already have been destroyed, and everyone here would be dead. So you should be the one to take that seat, not me.”

He wasn’t wrong, of course, but this was a negotiation over the survival of a sect.

A disciple of another sect shouldn’t be the one to represent it.

“I don’t know how to deal with heretical fighters who are overwhelmingly stronger than I am. But you’ve dealt a blow to Mukhyul Gang and even killed its leader. You’re the one who should sit there, not me.”

“ …”

“Don’t worry. Even though I’m not the one you chose, I won’t shirk my responsibility.”

After he put it that way, I had no choice but to nod.

“All right. Then there are two things I’d like to ask you.”

“What are they?”

I looked into the sect leader’s eyes, still wavering with uncertainty.

“What are you willing to stake?”

“ …”

“I need to know what you’re willing to wager before I can negotiate.”

After thinking for a moment, the sect leader nodded and looked me straight in the eye.

“ …My life and Yujang Sect’s signboard.”

“Father!”

“Sect Leader!”

Jang Ujae and the disciples of Yujang Sect cried out in alarm, but the sect leader raised a hand to stop them.

“I don’t need anything in return. Just make sure the people of Yujang Sect don’t die because they came from Yujang Sect.”

His exhausted appearance hadn’t changed, but his eyes burned fiercely.

He was determined to fulfill his responsibility to the very end.

Looking into his eyes, I felt, for some reason, that Yujang Sect’s story wouldn’t end today.

The leaders of the sects that had maintained their lineages even after the Righteous-Demonic War often had eyes like his.

Then Jang Ujae, standing beside his father, spoke with the same look in his eyes.

“Then I’ll stake my life, too!”

“Ujae!”

“Father! I can’t let you send yourself to your death alone. Representative Jin, I’ll share the responsibility, too.”

Jang Ujae’s words and expression were so resolute that his father no longer tried to stop him.

“Very well. I’ll take both your lives as a surety. Now for my second question.”

I paused to take a breath.

It was a question that might anger the sect leader and everyone from Yujang Sect.

“Can you defeat an expert from Mukhyul Gang?”

“ …”

Asking someone to state the measure of their martial strength was an affront to a warrior’s most basic pride.

It was a nasty provocation, the kind used by heretical fighters or thugs to get under their opponent’s skin.

“ …”

As expected, Yujang Sect’s warriors looked at me coldly.

Even so, I had to ask.

A plan could only be made properly with accurate information.

“Who … am I supposed to fight?”

The sect leader spoke as though he already knew what I had in mind.

He was quite perceptive.

“The deputy gang leader.”

“ …!”

The leader of Mukhyul Gang had died because vanity ruled his mind, but that didn’t mean I could underestimate the skills of its leader or deputy.

They were leaders of a heretical sect that had survived for fifty years in Yueyang, once ruled by Wudang and Diancang.

Yujang Sect’s disciples seemed to think it was impossible, too. Their faces turned ashen.

‘So it really is difficult.’

The decisive duel should be fought by the main parties as much as possible.

If the members of the Eight Evils all took part, the outcome would be all but decided already.

Even if we gave the members of the Eight Evils only the minimum number of places, it would still be a serious problem if Yujang Sect’s representatives lost.

The sect leader’s silence made me look at Namgung Seonhwa.

She was the second card I could play right now.

At the very least, if Namgung Seonhwa took part in the duel, they wouldn’t be able to object.

While I was weighing the possibilities, the sect leader of Yujang Sect broke his silence.

“I can win.”

“What?”

I was so surprised that the word slipped out before I could stop it.

The sect leader nodded as if he didn’t mind.

“It’s all right. People think my skills aren’t particularly impressive. But I’ve kept a secret technique hidden all my life.”

The sect leader paused and looked around at the people of Yujang Sect.

Then he took a breath and spoke in a clear, unwavering voice.

“So make the plan assuming that I’ll win.”

The atmosphere changed in an instant. The faces of Yujang Sect’s people seemed to glow with renewed hope.

I nodded.

Had the sect leader been following the old martial-world saying to always conceal thirty percent of one’s strength?

I found myself seeing him in a new light.

“Then that settles it. We need one more person from Yujang Sect …”

“Representative Jin!”

As expected, Jang Ujae was the first to answer.

He looked at me with unwavering eyes and gave a slight nod.

He wasn’t particularly strong, but his gaze and manner showed courage and conviction without fear.

It was no accident that the unaffiliated students at the Martial Academy followed him.

“Then that settles it.”

Just as I nodded, an officer from the Martial Alliance approached and told us everyone was assembled.

I was about to head to the negotiating table when—

“Wait. Doesn’t a decisive duel have three fighters on each side?”

The sect leader asked, puzzled.

I stopped and looked at him for a moment before answering.

“I’ll be one of them.”

Mukhyul Gang, Cheukbu Palace, Ghost Sword Pavilion, Changgui Sect, Blood Serpent Sect, Seoak Sect, and the rest …

All nine of the heretical sects leading this conflict had gathered in Yueyang.

Nearly three thousand people had assembled around Yujang Sect alone.

Merchants nearby had packed up their stalls, and those who had opened their windows quickly shut them, afraid they might even make eye contact with someone.

The funny thing was, some of them had been with me through what happened at Maling Plateau.

Like people meeting an old friend, they waved and raised their swords to make sure I saw them.

‘Crazy bastards.’

I slowly approached the table.

Dang Hyeokjae sat at the place of honor, frowning deeply. Across from him, a man who looked like the leader of Mukhyul Gang bared his teeth and growled.

Behind him stood Sword Evil and Snake Evil, whose leg was wrapped in bandages.

Beside them stood the leader of Cheukbu Palace, Spear Evil, Tiger Evil, and Axe Evil.

It was an unmistakable signal that if the negotiations went badly, they would wipe out Yujang Sect.

“Why are you the one here instead of the sect leader of Yujang Sect?”

“I was given full authority to make the decisions. Besides, you wanted to see me, didn’t you?”

The deputy gang leader of Mukhyul Gang, So Gyeongchu, wore a vicious expression.

“You dare do that to Mukhyul Gang and think you can negotiate with us?”

“Then why did you crawl all the way here?”

“C-crawl …?”

Dang Hyeokjae frowned, then sent me a telepathic message, astonished.

—Could you watch what you say?

Of course not. Not at a time like this.

I ignored the message and continued.

“You came all this way because you realized something was going wrong, didn’t you?”

“Watch your mouth, brat. I could still order everyone to crush you where you stand.”

“I’m sure you could.”

“If you stop acting as separate sects and start working as one group, the Martial Alliance will get involved in earnest. The Heretical Alliance hasn’t even been established yet. Do you think you can wage war against the Martial Alliance?”

“ …”

Dang Hyeokjae’s face went pale.

“And the Heretical Alliance will have a hard time accepting you as founding members after you’ve angered the Martial Alliance. Either way, the Heretical Alliance can’t afford to ignore them.”

So Gyeongchu’s expression stiffened.

Bang!

So Gyeongchu flinched at the sound as I struck the table, then glared at me in anger.

Everyone’s attention turned toward me.

“You’re all in a hell of a situation.”

“ …”

I could feel control gradually shifting into my hands.

I leaned back and spoke at my leisure.

“I’ll give you a chance. Let’s settle the war between Mukhyul Gang and Yujang Sect with a decisive duel.”

“You think we’ll accept that?”

I looked silently at So Gyeongchu.

I clasped my hands in front of my mouth and stared at him until he grew uncomfortable.

“I’m in a very bad mood right now.”

I looked in turn at the members of the Eight Evils and the leaders of the heretical sects.

“You attacked people who had declared their surrender without mercy. You chased down and killed those who had lost the will to fight.”

Tap. Tap.

I paused and drummed my fingers on the table twice.

“ …Right now, you don’t look like people to me. You look like beasts.”

“You bastard!”

“Hey! Watch your mouth!”

So Gyeongchu and the other heretical sect leaders showed their displeasure, but I didn’t care.

The Heretical Alliance was supposed to be created so we could face a greater evil together—not so we could swallow rotten apples just because they were hungry.

“If Yujang Sect is annihilated by Mukhyul Gang, I’ll put everything else aside and kill the leader, deputy leader, hall masters, deputy hall masters—every last one of you. The same way I killed your leader.”

“ …Do you think Mukhyul Gang is that easy to deal with?”

“You’ve seen what I can do. No one can detect my stealth arts, and no one in Mukhyul Gang can catch up with my movement technique—not even Snake Evil. You’ll spend the rest of your lives sleeping uneasily, always on edge.”

“ …”

So Gyeongchu turned to look at Snake Evil.

Snake Evil only glared at me as if he wanted to kill me. He didn’t say a word.

That was as good as admitting I was right.

“If you do something like that, you’ll have trouble working in the Martial Alliance, too.”

I gave a short laugh.

“If I were worried about my position in the Martial Alliance, would I have pulled a stunt like the Heretical Faction Night Raid?”

“ …”

So Gyeongchu stared at me for a long time, then swallowed a groan.

“What are the terms of the decisive duel?”

“If Yujang Sect loses, it will hand over its land, sect, signboard, and businesses, then leave Yueyang. No one will ever hear the name Yujang Sect again. If Mukhyul Gang loses, it will compensate Yujang Sect for the damage caused by the war and pay consolation money to the families of the dead.”

“ …”

“And don’t say something stupid like that’s unfair.”

“You bastard! You’ve got a foul mouth.”

I pointed my chin at Snake Evil and Sword Evil.

“If those two hadn’t been there, the boss wouldn’t have been the only one to die yesterday.”

“ …”

“Don’t try to fill all three places with the five Evils you invited. At least two fighters must come from Mukhyul Gang. Don’t forget that this is a war between Yujang Sect and Mukhyul Gang.”

So Gyeongchu looked at the man with the sickle.

The man gave a slight nod.

“Fine.”

“The duel will take place here, a week from today.”

“We’ll do it right now.”

“Don’t you want time to dispose of Mukhyul Gang’s dead?”

“ …Then three days from now, here.”

Three days … Three days …

No matter how I looked at it, the schedule was tight.

But judging by the dissatisfied expressions and murderous glares of the heretical factions, even that seemed like a stretch.

I nodded.

“Fine.”

I got up and started walking back toward Yujang Sect, then turned around and pointed at Snake Evil.

“By the way, why did you bring that crippled-legged fellow?”

Snake Evil glared at me as if he wanted to kill me.

What are you looking at? What are you going to do about it?