Chapter 414. The Cult Leader’s Proposal.
It would have been troublesome if we had gone up Mount Hua and fought.
Who would have prepared a meal like this and brought it up there?
Like soldiers on a battlefield, we devoured the food, then even drank the liquor the Plum Blossom Manor Lord had brought. Since he had put out everything he had, the Plum Blossom Manor Lord quietly joined the drinking party, saying he himself would not be able to drink good liquor for a while.
And so we sat wherever we pleased, drinking and chatting.
Was this why the moon existed?
If it had been a night without the moon, the atmosphere would have been rather bleak, but now, even without anyone saying anything special, the mood seemed to seep vaguely into the moonlight.
In truth, this was the point when the Cult Leader had to speak.
Because until now, he had remained in his place without offering any particular opinion. When I glanced at him a few times, the Cult Leader said to me,
“Speak. It seems you have something to say.”
I filled my cup and said,
“I have gained everything I wanted here. I ate a meal with people who are difficult to gather, and now we are drinking together. No matter how mad we may be, life does not consist only of fighting.”
“…….”
“At the very least, I feel it was worthwhile that we gathered at Mount Hua. As for the rest, I will leave it to the will of the Cult Leader, who has endured until now.”
There are times when one must be greedy, and times when one must let go. I felt that now was a moment when we should not force anything.
So even I did not know well what would happen next.
Because it would not have been right for all the masters here to gang up on a Cult Leader who had not lost his courtesy.
The Cult Leader looked at Cheonak.
“Do you have anything to say?”
Cheonak looked at the Cult Leader, then shook his head.
“If you had brought a swarm of cultists with you, I would have had something to say as well, but there is no need for that now. Do as you wish.”
The Cult Leader looked around at us and said,
“Originally, the fight I had in mind on Mount Hua was for me alone to face all of you. If so, of course it would have been a life-and-death battle.”
Since I had entertained a similar thought once or twice myself, I asked the Cult Leader,
“Is that possible?”
The Cult Leader looked at me.
“I never considered victory or defeat in the first place.”
“That is like you, Cult Leader.”
“If I faced all of you, I do not know whether half would die, whether most would die, or whether all of us would die together with me. There are those who have grown rapidly, and people like Cheonak who have become stronger than before. There is also a man like the Chief Strategist, who has not fully revealed his abilities to the world. But I thought that alone would be meaningful to me. If everyone here died, the things the Sect Leader has planned on a grand scale would return to their starting point.”
I nodded.
He was right.
In other words, the Cult Leader also acknowledged the state of affairs. As things stood now, the alliance was stronger than the Cult. But if the Cult Leader killed most of the greatest masters belonging to the alliance here, that state of affairs would become meaningless as well.
In truth, the Cult Leader was capable enough to do that.
Since it seemed his mind had changed, we had no choice but to listen even more closely to the Cult Leader’s words.
The Cult Leader said,
“I will accept the Mount Hua martial contest the Sect Leader proposed. However, it will be done my way.”
“Let us hear it.”
“If a life-and-death battle occurs, my intention remains that I alone will face all of you. A martial contest is different. I will wager the retirement of the Three Greats on this contest.”
“Mm.”
The Cult Leader looked around at us.
“White-Clad Scholar, Chief Strategist, Sword Demon, Hao Sect Leader, Blood Demon, and Shitter—you six.”
Shitter cut in with his brow furrowed.
“Cult Leader?”
“I have not finished speaking.”
“Yes.”
The Cult Leader looked calmly over us and said,
“You six will be faced by Cheonak and me.”
“……!”
I widened my eyes and chewed over the Cult Leader’s words.
Could there be a more absurd proposal?
Everyone stared at the Cult Leader like people who had gotten indigestion while drinking. Even Cheonak seemed dumbfounded as he asked the Cult Leader in return,
“What on earth do you mean by that?”
The Cult Leader smiled faintly and said,
“Do you think an era will change with a few words from the Sect Leader? I cannot hand it over so easily. However, if the six of you attack at once and defeat Cheonak and me in the form of a martial contest, then Cheonak and I will retire. If the two of us retire, the Divine Beggar will retire as well. The beggar was never a man interested in being the greatest under heaven to begin with; he merely endured long years in order to keep me in check. I know that if I retire and disappear, the Divine Beggar will naturally step back as well.”
First Brother asked,
“If the six of us lose?”
The Cult Leader answered,
“The moment the six of you collapse to the ground, Cheonak and I will immediately determine the greatest under heaven on that very spot. If that happens, it means you failed to change the era. After all, though you are all considered among the foremost masters of the jianghu, six of you could not handle two of the Three Greats. It seems there are some who find this difficult to understand, so the Sect Leader shall explain again.”
Everyone who had been listening crossed their arms.
I, too, was bewildered. But while it was strange, it was also logical; and while it was logical, it was also a strange proposal.
I summarized it.
“So if the six of us make the Three Greats retire, the era changes.”
“…….”
“If we cannot make you retire, then at last, the greatest under heaven will be born among the Three Greats.”
No matter how I thought about it, I could not guess which side would win. Since the side lacking in numbers was the Cult Leader and Cheonak, I asked just to be sure.
“Can the two of you handle us?”
The Cult Leader and Cheonak looked at each other, then Cheonak said to me,
“Sect Leader, I think you are the ones who should be worried.”
“True.”
The method the Cult Leader proposed was truly bizarre because both sides seemed confident, yet neither side seemed able to be absolutely certain of victory. The direction of victory and defeat was chaos itself.
The Blood Cult Leader, sitting alone in the martial arena, opened his mouth.
“Cult Leader, are you telling me to join those bastards and oppose you?”
The Cult Leader nodded.
“As I said, it is not a life-and-death battle, but the retirement match of the Three Greats. Of course, it is not a life-and-death battle, but if you are unlucky, you may never be able to use martial arts again.”
In truth, if one were properly struck by the Cult Leader or Cheonak, surviving at all would be fortunate.
Originally, I had intended to challenge the Cult Leader alone.
Even if I lost.
But if the Cult Leader faced me and then fought a perfectly fine Cheonak afterward, that too would violate the fairness of a sword debate or martial contest. Likewise, even if someone challenged Cheonak and exhausted him before he fought the Cult Leader, it would be the same.
Because luck would be too involved.
But if the Cult Leader and Cheonak faced the six of us at the same time……?
It was a sword debate that was both a righteous-path martial contest and, at the same time, steeped in the chaos of the demonic path.
The shitter who had earned the Cult Leader’s recognition asked everyone.
“If the six of us win, then who becomes the Greatest Under Heaven?”
The Cult Leader answered.
“If that happens, then whether you later summon even those not present here for a second martial discourse, or whatever else you do, it will be up to you. It is not a matter for retired men to interfere in.”
And so it was settled.
Strangely enough, once this sparring match ended, one of two things would happen: either the era would change, or the Greatest Under Heaven would be born.
The White-Clad Scholar, who had been sitting quietly, gave his thoughts.
“In all my years, this is the first time I’ve seen a fight with a structure so impossible to predict. What do you think, Chief Strategist?”
Gongson Sim answered.
“If the Cult Leader and Cheonak are at a realm similar to that of the former Alliance Leader, the Divine Sword, then even six attacking at once will not be enough. For us, it would be impossible to determine those two men’s realms through mere thought or prediction. I will follow the Cult Leader’s will.”
Cheonak nodded.
“Good. Speak freely. In the end, discussing how you will win, plotting, conspiring—even that is conversation suited to a moonlit night like this.”
I asked the Blood Cult Leader, who stood a little apart.
“What do you think, Blood Cult Leader?”
The Blood Cult Leader answered.
“The six are at a disadvantage.”
“Why?”
“The Cult Leader and Cheonak know each other’s martial arts. Long ago, they must have crossed hands enough to memorize each other’s techniques by heart. As for the rest of us, we’re a complete mess. We have numbers, but in terms of composition, we’re a rabble. It wouldn’t be strange if we were defeated one by one. Still, given the Cult Leader’s personality, an offer like this is rare, so we have no choice but to accept. For the Cult Leader, words once spoken are as good as a pact. If the six win, the title of Greatest Under Heaven will go to one among the six.”
The man who had lost his mind was now speaking like a great grandmaster.
When the Blood Cult Leader finished, Moyong Baek quietly raised his hand.
Naturally, I listened closely to Moyong Baek’s opinion as well.
“Teacher Moyong, speak.”
Moyong Baek said,
“In truth, the Cult Leader has conceded a great deal by withdrawing the life-and-death duel, but in a sparring match like this, I suspect there will be many who suffer severe injuries, and even many who die. Since you intend to make it a sparring match, allow me to make a proposal. There is likely no expert here who would fight desperately enough to resort to Lanlü Dagun (懶驢打滾). Therefore, anyone whose buttocks touch the ground—whether due to another’s force, lack of skill, or even a mistake—shall be immediately eliminated from the sparring match. Likewise, anyone who falls to both knees is eliminated. How could a master who rolls on the ground like a lazy donkey become one who changes the era or aims to be the Greatest Under Heaven?”
Lanlü Dagun originally means a lazy donkey rolling on the ground, but among martial experts of the gangho, it is a mocking term for dodging in an ugly manner even if it means rolling across the ground. Thus, everyone here knew exactly what Lanlü Dagun implied.
I summarized it.
“In this two-against-six fight, if anyone shows an unsightly display equivalent to Lanlü Dagun, they are immediately eliminated. Does everyone accept?”
“That’s how it should be.”
Once it was decided, laughter kept slipping out of me for no particular reason.
It was absurd, amusing, and I was caught in a complicated swirl of anticipation and the fear that we might lose.
I looked at the Lust Demon.
“Fourth.”
“What?”
I spoke to the Lust Demon in a serious tone.
“Youngest, pour a cup of wine for your brothers and masters who are about to enter a great battle.”
The Lust Demon stared at me, then nodded.
“Let’s do that.”
The Lust Demon rose and received a full jar of wine from the Plum Blossom Manor Lord. Holding the wine, the Lust Demon looked around at those present and said,
“Brothers and masters. This shitter of Baek Eungji offers you a cup. Today is a special day, so I will pour it for you as ice wine. I will offer the wine in the order I wish, so do not question me. It is my heart.”
I watched the Lust Demon move with the wine jar in hand. His expression already made him look drunk. Naturally, the Lust Demon arrived first before Eldest Brother.
“Master, your disciple offers you a cup of ice wine. Please accept it.”
As the Lust Demon extended the wine jar, its surface froze white. Ice wine flowed from it and filled Eldest Brother’s cup.
Eldest Brother merely nodded.
The Lust Demon approached the Cult Leader.
“Cult Leader, I offer you ice wine.”
The Cult Leader held out his cup.
“Very well.”
“Someday, I meant to challenge you, Cult Leader, but I never thought that day would come so soon. Senior Cheonak, please accept this.”
While he poured the wine, we simply watched the Lust Demon, who was already drunk before drinking. The Lust Demon spoke alone beneath the moonlit night.
“I never knew Second Brother had become that strong. White-Clad Scholar, where are you? Our hateful White-Clad Scholar. I always thought you would someday betray us Four Great Evildoers and meet us as an enemy, but in any case, it is an honor to fight alongside you today.”
The Lust Demon approached the White-Clad Scholar and poured him ice wine. Then he looked at the Chief Strategist and bowed his head first.
“I offer the Chief Strategist a cup of ice wine. Some time ago, I was severely scolded by Alliance Leader Im, so even now my heart still wanders somewhere within the Murim Alliance. Please accept it.”
The Chief Strategist nodded.
“I will drink it well.”
The Lust Demon suddenly strode off like an angry man and arrived before the Blood Cult Leader.
“Blood Cult Leader, accept a cup. I say this because Second Brother is not here, but thank you for sparing him. You could have killed him easily enough.”
With a trickling sound, the wine fell.
Seeing him like this, he was truly a man who poured wine well. He poured ice wine for Moyong Baek as well, then filled the Plum Blossom Manor Lord’s cup, and finally approached where I was.
When I held out my cup, the Lust Demon said as he poured the wine,
“Third, drink some ice wine.”
“I will.”
After pouring for me, the Lust Demon looked around and shook the wine jar.
“Then this youngest shall drink the remaining wine straight from the jar.”
The cup still filled with ice wine felt as cold as moonlight.
Where should I direct my gratitude for the merit that allowed me to drink this wine?
I raised my cup toward the pouring moonlight. Several martial artists raised their cups with me.
It may have been my imagination.
But everyone was smiling with a similar expression.
Because we had all lived entirely as we pleased, there had never been any slogan for us to shout together in the first place.
We looked at one another’s faces, then drank the ice wine almost at the same time. Just what was this wine commemorating, what was it blessing, and what meaning did it hold?
Martial artists generally know nothing of such meaning.
Since we had drunk, now only the fight remained.