Chapter 128 :

Chapter 128. The Black Flame Dragon Takes Away Their Chance (3)

The members of the Righteous Path Association, who had staked everything on Jin Sowoon's failure, were now running around desperately trying to stop more people from leaving.

Those who had already been alienated because they participated in the Soul-Destroying Formation event had begun withdrawing, and now even more people were showing signs of doing the same.

The fact that not a single disciple of the Nine Great Sects had entered the Soul-Destroying Formation during the recent incident only provoked even greater anger.

"I thought that if we followed the Righteous Path Association, we'd naturally be treated the same as them, but apparently not."

"I'm not asking for equal treatment. We're not on the level of the Nine Great Sects anyway. But wasn't standing around doing nothing while academy students were dying going too far?"

"The Righteous Path Association won't take responsibility for our advancement, much less our lives."

Because of this, Daoist Myeonghyeon and the other elders affiliated with the Righteous Path Association spent more time wearing down the threshold of the Martial Academy than that of the Elder Hall, constantly meeting with academy students.

The disciples of the Nine Great Sects were the greatest beneficiaries of the Righteous Path Association and were also the ones leading it, so they showed no signs of wavering.

But those who merely followed the Righteous Path Association made up nearly seventy percent of its members.

From that perspective, the current unrest among the academy students could easily lead to a reduction in the faction's overall strength.

Moreover, if what had happened became known to the students' sects and families, they would also have to endure the fury of sects that had practically uprooted their foundations just to send a disciple to the academy.

They had emptied their entire fortunes just to barely send one child to the academy, only for that child to nearly be discarded after being used as expendable material?

Forget advancement.

It would not have been strange for them to immediately announce their intention to leave the Righteous Path Association.

Of course, if someone from the Righteous Path Association had held the academy representative position, they would not have cared about this internal unrest at all.

Power naturally had the ability to draw people in.

Even if someone left out of dissatisfaction, another person would usually fill the vacancy.

But the representative position was occupied by some unknown bastard from the streets, while the Nine Great Sects had shown the disgraceful sight of secretly trying to learn the Soul-Destroying Formation in violation of academy rules.

They were on the verge of even losing the symbolic authority of representing the Martial Alliance.

That did not mean the White Path Association and Twelve Peaks Fortress were simply observing everything as neutral third parties and thinking of this as an opportunity to recruit those leaving the Righteous Path Association.

People's thoughts were generally similar, and the narrow-mindedness of those with power was much the same.

They had been planning to enter the Soul-Destroying Formation after the Righteous Path Association.

They had simply watched their friend rush ahead, get beaten first, then taken a step backward in relief while observing how things developed.

In any case, the Righteous Path Association had suffered the greatest disaster from this incident.

Daoist Myeonghyeon was working himself to exhaustion trying to clean up the mess the academy students had created.

"Your expulsion from the academy has already been decided and cannot be reversed. However, the Righteous Path Association will certainly provide you with sufficient compensation for this incident."

Even though it was Daoist Myeonghyeon speaking, a member of one of the Martial Alliance's highest authorities and the current leader of the Righteous Path Association, the survivors' reactions were lukewarm.

Normally, they would have desperately tried to catch his attention even once, emphasizing some supposed connection through their parents, grandparents, or even distant relatives by marriage.

Their current attitude was completely different.

"But surely your expulsion is not entirely your fault, is it? Isn't the person who caused the accident through an unreasonable event schedule and narrow participant selection largely responsible?"

"This was clearly something an academy representative should never have done. His wrongdoing is severe. Don't you agree?"

"...What should we do?"

Seeing the survivor apparently suppressing his anger, Daoist Myeonghyeon's expression gradually relaxed.

"Naturally, we must make him properly pay for his wrongdoing. Through this incident, we will dismiss the current academy representative and select a new one."

Believing he had successfully brought the Righteous Path Association back under control, Daoist Myeonghyeon did not stop there.

He was fundamentally a man who understood politics, and his next move was extremely political.

#

"Hoho. To think the leader of the Righteous Path Association would personally visit such a humble place. I hardly know how to receive you."

"Regardless of the White Path Association or Righteous Path Association, aren't we already one body united by chivalry? What does it matter which organization anyone belongs to?"

Hearing Daoist Myeonghyeon's shameless words, the leader of the White Path Association mocked him inwardly and nodded.

"Very well. What exactly do you want?"

"I understand that some are trying to recruit members of the Righteous Path Association while we are in turmoil."

"If we're originally one body, does it really matter if some of us merely change where we stay?"

"Didn't we agree to call that 'lacking in righteousness'?"

"I wonder. Wasn't your side the one that frequently recruited sects under the White Path Association in the first place?"

"Even if our power weakens now, are you confident the White Path Association can seize complete control?"

"..."

The leader of the White Path Association fell silent at Myeonghyeon's incisive words.

"I believe our current crisis is actually an opportunity."

"...What do you want?"

"We should abolish that ridiculous event and remove the academy representative."

"Many within the Alliance are interested in the Soul-Destroying Formation. We cannot simply abolish an event whose budget was personally allocated by the Chief Strategist."

"Which is precisely why I'm proposing that we join forces."

"..."

"I also know very well that the White Path Association is displeased with the current academy representative. If we miss this opportunity, neither the Righteous Path Association nor the White Path Association will be able to claim the academy representative position for this year's class."

Jin Sowoon, who was practically the central figure in the incident, had still not regained consciousness.

But Myeonghyeon instead used that as an opportunity and pushed ahead with a disciplinary committee.

"Daoist Myeonghyeon, the academy representative hasn't even regained consciousness yet. Why are you already convening a disciplinary committee?"

"Didn't the academy representative already publicly state that he had nothing to do with this incident? Even if he wakes up, is there any need to hear his opinion? Moreover, this incident involved a violation of Alliance law. If we do not handle it swiftly, the internal confusion will only worsen."

Myeonghyeon's intentions were obvious.

But because Daoist Myeonghyeon and most of the Elder Hall elders had been visiting the Enforcement Pavilion every day and obstructing matters at every turn, a disciplinary committee was eventually convened less than two days after the incident.

The committee members, heavily influenced by the Righteous Path Association, followed the script Daoist Myeonghyeon had prepared.

They tried to extend responsibility not only to the survivors who had violated Alliance law, but also to Jin Sowoon, who had been responsible for the event itself.

Jegal Somyeong was about to dissolve the committee over the absurd situation when the survivors' words stopped him.

"This incident was entirely our fault for violating Alliance law out of personal greed."

"Hm?"

Daoist Myeonghyeon, who was attending the committee, sensed something strange and tried to speak, but the survivors gave him no opening and continued.

"The academy representative risked his life by entering the Soul-Destroying Formation for us, even though we had tried to steal his secret teachings. We would like to use this opportunity to express our gratitude to him once again."

Something was clearly going wrong.

Yet the survivors, as though they had become of one mind, were saying things completely opposite to what Daoist Myeonghyeon had intended.

"...Do you truly feel no resentment toward the academy representative who planned this event and placed all of you in danger?"

A committee member planted by Daoist Myeonghyeon tried to guide their response, but the survivors remained firm.

"While several days passed inside the Soul-Destroying Formation, the academy representative couldn't eat even a single fasting pill because of us. How could I resent someone like that? I won't claim I've always lived morally, but I'm certainly not an inhuman piece of garbage."

"Exactly!"

"If we absolutely have to identify the cause of this incident, then it would be the officers of the Righteous Path Association among the academy students."

"If they hadn't pushed us into it, we never would have done something so dangerous."

The survivors' words caused the commotion in the hall to intensify.

Not only the committee members, but even Daoist Myeonghyeon, who had planned and coordinated everything, looked as though he had no idea how to bring the chaos under control.

'Could those expressions back then have been...'

Myeonghyeon remembered the expressions the survivors had worn while he tried to persuade them.

They had looked as though they were suppressing tremendous anger.

'That anger wasn't directed at Jin Sowoon... It was directed at me?'

"Academy students, do not speak about matters unrelated to this incident!"

The committee issued a warning.

But those words only struck the survivors' sorest point.

"We heard everything! Not one person from the Righteous Path Association tried to step forward for us! I could understand the academy students, but I never thought even the elders of the Elder Hall would do that!"

"Order! Maintain order! Be quiet!"

"How much has our sect given you all this time?! You pushed us toward a death zone, then turned your backs on us when it actually mattered?!"

The survivors shouted without restraint, as though they had nothing left to fear.

"Our Twin Sword Sect may be a pathetic little sect compared to the Nine Great Sects, but never again! We will never again believe anything the Nine Great Sects say!"

"If I'd known this would happen, I would have faithfully followed the academy representative from the beginning! At least he risked his life for us!"

"Be quiet! Discipline! We will impose disciplinary punishment!"

What did disciplinary punishment matter to academy students who had already been expelled?

If anything, the threat merely poured more firewood into the flames.

"My grandfather was absolutely furious when he heard about this incident."

"Our sect will not forget this either."

Daoist Myeonghyeon could only stare blankly at the disciplinary committee that had descended into complete chaos.

#

When I opened my eyes after sleeping for several days straight, my body felt considerably lighter.

I had no idea who had changed me, but I was wearing fresh clothes, and instead of the stale smell of sweat, my body smelled clean and fresh.

'Don't tell me someone washed me while I was asleep.'

Even though I had opened my eyes, the surroundings were so quiet that I wondered whether I had awakened in the middle of the night.

At the very least, I had expected the Geum, Eun, and Dong brothers to take turns guarding me, or for Young Lady Namgung or Young Lady Seong Moran to be nursing me and immediately begin nagging the moment I woke up.

But—

Chirp. Chirp.

Warm sunlight poured in through the window, while mountain birds busily moved around outside.

Had everyone gone to class?

Maybe that was why no one could stay beside me.

I tried to suppress the slight feeling of disappointment and began pushing myself upright.

Then I saw a familiar back and flinched.

'Why is that person here again?'

In my previous life, this was someone whose face had been difficult to glimpse even from a great distance.

Yet in this life, following the Iron Sword Sect incident, this was already the second time I had been alone with him.

Moreover, both encounters had happened in strangely similar circumstances, giving me an odd sense of déjà vu.

"You're awake?"

I immediately turned my head away and pretended to be asleep.

Then, as though muttering to himself, he said,

"An academy representative who is practically a member of the Martial Alliance is lying down in front of the Chief Strategist. How utterly disrespectful. I wonder what punishment I should impose."