Chapter 439. The Man Who Became a Martial Artist Again.
The Cult Leader sat in the seat of honor, looked around at the First Young Master, Ilmajo, and the coachman Gukgeom (菊劍), then spoke.
“Ilmajo.”
“Yes.”
“Return to your post as the Right Envoy of Light and assist the Vice Cult Leader.”
Ilmajo replied.
“Understood.”
Since Ilmajo was the First Young Master’s maternal uncle, it was a natural appointment. The Cult Leader looked at the guard who had served him for many years.
“Gukgeom.”
“Yes, Cult Leader.”
“You will take the post of Left Envoy of Light. You no longer need to serve as my guard or coachman.”
Gukgeom barely managed to answer, his face flustered.
“Understood.”
The Cult Leader was not the sort of man to whom words like, How could I dare take the position of Left Envoy, would work at all, so if he told him to take it, he had no choice but to take it.
But how could a man not be startled? For many long years, whenever the Cult Leader slept, Gukgeom had had to become the Cult Leader’s eyes and five senses. To be raised to Left Envoy for that service was certainly a bewildering appointment.
The Cult Leader looked at the First Young Master.
“I have set no deadline. Until I give separate word, you will serve as Vice Cult Leader and oversee both the Inner Hall and Outer Hall.”
“Understood.”
“Ask your questions.”
The First Young Master asked.
“When you say Vice Cult Leader, does that include not only internal affairs, but external matters as well…”
“External matters?”
“For example, forces such as the former Main Headquarters, Jinhongdo, and the Myeongcheon Guard.”
“Handle them as you see fit.”
“Yes.”
The Cult Leader looked at the small box placed on the table and spoke.
“In name, I will be entering secluded cultivation, but there will be many times when I train outside rather than remain in the cult. Consult Ilmajo regarding internal affairs. Consult Gukgeom regarding external affairs, and there should be no major problems. Especially you, Ilmajo.”
“Yes, Cult Leader.”
“If things grow noisy while you are handling internal affairs, I will return and hold you accountable.”
Ilmajo lowered his head.
“I will see to it.”
Everyone thought the Cult Leader’s attitude had somehow changed, but there was no one who could voice that thought aloud.
While everyone was gauging his mood, the First Young Master looked at the Cult Leader’s white hair.
“Cult Leader, your hair, how did it…”
The Cult Leader answered briefly.
“It is turning black again from the roots.”
“Ah, congratulations.”
The First Young Master moved his lips for a moment, then finally asked what he truly wanted to know.
“Is the Haomun Sect Master alive? It is difficult to trace whether he is dead or alive.”
Only then did the Cult Leader’s expression change slightly.
“Naturally, he must be alive.”
The First Young Master widened his eyes and asked.
“Why did you spare him? He is too dangerous a man to leave alive.”
“……”
The Cult Leader looked around at those gathered. The only person here who knew the true result of the Mount Hua Sword Debate was his guard Gukgeom, who had participated as the coachman.
Suddenly, the Cult Leader let out a faint sigh and propped his chin on his left hand.
“Why did I spare him? That is something I would like to ask the Haomun Sect Master.”
The question should have been asked the other way around.
Why had the Haomun Sect Master spared him?
The Cult Leader told them the result.
“I lost on Mount Hua.”
Ilmajo and the First Young Master asked back at the same time.
“Pardon?”
“What?”
To the First Young Master, who was so dumbfounded he looked around him, the Cult Leader confirmed it once more.
“I said I was defeated by the Haomun Sect Master. What do you mean, who spared whom?”
The First Young Master said with a laugh.
“Why would you say such a thing? If you lost a game of Go on Mount Hua, I would understand. You have grown even stronger than when I last saw you. Naturally, you must have fought a life-and-death duel. If you find it difficult to say why you spared him…”
“Vice Cult Leader, stop spouting nonsense.”
The Cult Leader said to Gukgeom.
“You tell him.”
Gukgeom spoke to the First Young Master in a cautious tone.
“Vice Cult Leader, the Cult Leader was defeated.”
“Guard Guk, do not lie.”
“I am not. Of course, no one witnessed the duel. They ascended to a secluded place on Mount Hua, crossed hands, and then came down together with the Sect Master. As you said, Vice Cult Leader, the Cult Leader descended the mountain with his realm advanced. However, the result was said to be the Sect Master’s victory. Why would I report falsely?”
Now Ilmajo and the First Young Master merely blinked.
The Cult Leader asked.
“Is it that hard to believe?”
“Yes.”
The Cult Leader touched his white hair lightly with his fingers and continued.
“Would it be as hard as it is for me?”
“Mm.”
The First Young Master looked at his maternal uncle, Ilmajo.
“Right Envoy, you clearly took part in the first half of the Mount Hua Sword Debate, did you not? You must have confirmed everyone who was there.”
“Yes.”
“It was also your opinion, Right Envoy, that even if all those gathered on Mount Hua combined their strength, they could not be a match for the Cult Leader.”
“Yes. That is correct.”
“And yet?”
Ilmajo answered.
“My apologies. I could not see the latter half, so I, too, find it difficult to believe.”
The agitated First Young Master said to the Cult Leader.
“Cult Leader. Please explain properly.”
“Are you telling me to explain my defeat in detail with my own mouth?”
The First Young Master met the Cult Leader’s eyes, then hurriedly lowered his head.
“My apologies.”
“I understand that it is difficult to believe.”
“Yes.”
“While we were fighting after ascending Mount Hua, the Sect Master’s realm reached Golden Eyes of Fire, and I was defeated.”
“Is there such a realm in the jianghu as Golden Eyes of Fire?”
“There likely is not. However, while fighting me, he obtained a realm that had reached the ultimate, and it merely manifested as Golden Eyes of Fire. From the standpoint of the righteous path, it is the rank of a Martial God (武神), and by the demonic path, it is the realm of a Demon God (魔神), so there will be no one who can match the Sect Master while he lives.”
“Mm.”
“When I say there is no one who can match him, I mean the result would be the same even if the former Main Headquarters exerted all its power and joined forces with us, so do not create pointless trouble. Left and Right Envoys, keep that in mind as well.”
“Understood.”
The First Young Master said in a bitter tone.
“You should have killed him when you saw him at the Blood Night Palace.”
“Are you saying it is my fault?”
The Eldest Young Master closed his mouth.
The Cult Leader said,
“A defeat is a defeat, but in the end, it was also the Sect Master who made me surpass my present limits. It was something even Cheonak and Singae could not accomplish by joining forces.”
The Eldest Young Master and Ilmajo wore troubled expressions, as if wondering what on earth he meant. But the Cult Leader did not bother to explain.
“While wandering the martial world, the only men who did not fear me were Cheonak and Singae. At Blood Night Palace, the Hao Sect Master was added to that number. Moreover, his ability at the time fell far short of Cheonak and Singae’s level.”
“Was the mere fact that he did not fear you sufficient reason to let him live?”
The Cult Leader laughed.
“By my standards, even if one searched all under heaven, those three are the only ones who could be called true people of the martial world. Below them, the Sword Demon and the Blood Demon were at least somewhat independent men. The rest cannot even overcome their own fear, so what could I possibly expect from them?”
“You had several chances to kill him. Do you not regret it?”
The Cult Leader closed his eyes for a moment.
“…….”
What the Cult Leader had tried to explain was that men like Cheonak, Singae, and I Jaha would ultimately grow stronger, but hearing the Eldest Young Master ask the same question again, it was clear he had not understood at all.
If so, the one fixated on the word defeat was not the Cult Leader, but the Eldest Young Master.
The Cult Leader had thought that if the Eldest Young Master were spurred by the Three Talents and trained deeply, then one day he might reach their level and contend for supremacy with the masters under heaven.
One who did not trouble himself to distinguish between life and death, and who, even when death stood right before his eyes, desired only to become stronger…….
The moment he confirmed that the only people of that caliber were himself, Cheonak, Singae, I Jaha, and perhaps the Sword Demon, he could not help but be deeply disappointed.
The Cult Leader opened his eyes.
“Of course, I did not expect I Jaha to surpass me so easily. In truth, even after I lost, it was difficult to determine the cause. There was a variable.”
“What was it?”
“Singae was originally a man without desire for honor or wealth. If, like the beggars of the Beggar Sect, he had passed all of his internal energy to the Hao Sect Master, then the Sect Master could well have become my match at Mount Hua. But when I met Singae later, his internal energy was perfectly intact.”
“Then…….”
“The Sect Master rose from the very bottom by himself and reached the stature of a Martial God. A man like that, I would have spared a dozen times over. Though he is not a member of the Cult, in a world filled only with insects, how could I kill such a man?”
“…….”
The Cult Leader looked around at those gathered and said,
“That must be why Elder Heo handed Ilsal over to the Sect Master as well. I also believed that if given time, he would at least reach Cheonak or Singae’s level.”
“Did you not expect that such a Hao Sect Master would surpass even you?”
“That would have been difficult. If I were a god, perhaps I would have foreseen it. He himself likely did not expect it either.”
“What I wish to ask is why you gave him that time.”
“Why do you think I should not have given him time?”
The Cult Leader asked in return.
The Cult Leader, who had always treated people fairly, had given time not only to the Four Heavenly Kings, his sons, and the former Left and Right Envoys, but also to I Jaha. There was no other reason. It was because he himself had trained in martial arts longer than they had.
When he fought, it had not been fair.
Feeling that his words were not getting through at all, the Cult Leader lowered his gaze and looked at the Vice Cult Leader.
The Eldest Young Master looked at the box on the table and said,
“What I cannot understand is that the Sect Master is also a man with one foot in the demonic path, so why the outcome was not a life-and-death duel.”
As a son, he could not bring himself to ask his father why he had returned alive, but the meaning was more or less conveyed.
Because the Cult Leader understood what he meant, he answered calmly.
“We kept many alive on both sides. The Sect Master also went out of his way to spare your younger brothers.”
“That is true.”
“As my reply, I did not touch Ilyang County, and the Sect Master insisted on steering the battle at Mount Hua into a spar.”
“You are not one to engage in a spar, Father.”
The Cult Leader sighed.
“He even stopped me from killing myself.”
“Was there a reason?”
At his son’s question, half devoid of emotion, the Cult Leader answered in a hollow tone.
“It seems he thought the succession structure was unstable.”
“Why would the Hao Sect Master worry about that?”
The Cult Leader looked at the Eldest Young Master.
“He was not worried about you. Nor was he worried about me.”
“Then…….”
“Having labored to reach the stature of a Martial God, he must have worried that, enraged by your petty movements, he himself would turn back into a Demon God. Ilmajo and Gukgeom……”
“Yes, Cult Leader.”
“Keep this in mind when you advise the Vice Cult Leader.”
“We will remember it.”
“I Jaha chooses the survival of his allies, and his nature is to accept the existence of the Cult simply as it is. He is not the sort to uproot others merely because their thoughts differ from his. The three of you should not provoke him with petty tricks, and should first cultivate the ability to face I Jaha. That is my wish.”
“Yes.”
“If you provoke him, even the old headquarters will be engulfed in flames. It is true that I gave I Jaha time until now, but thanks to that, I Jaha is giving you time. Because even though he has attained the stature of a Martial God, he is not the sort of person who would go out of his way to strike the Cult. Consider carefully what has been lost, and what has been gained.”
The Eldest Young Master pointed to the box on the table.
“If you give me the opportunity, I too will prepare in earnest.”
The Cult Leader ordered the Left and Right Envoys,
“You two, go outside.”
“Yes, Cult Leader.”
The Cult Leader remained with the Eldest Young Master and stared silently at the box in question. Since this was a son who still had much to learn, the Cult Leader endured once more and opened his mouth.
“Vice Cult Leader.”
“Yes.”
“An unstable medicine may be highly effective, but its side effects are also great.”
“I know.”
“When did the old headquarters say it should be taken?”
“It contains the words of the old headquarters instructing it to be prepared and taken when a crisis comes in which the orthodox, unorthodox, and demonic factions unite to exterminate the Cult.”
“Is now that time?”
“It is not, but in order to defeat the Hao Sect Master……”
Feeling as though his hair were turning white again, the Cult Leader said,
“My son.”
“Yes.”
“At your level, even if you take this, you cannot defeat the Hao Sect Master. And the Vice Cult Leader is not the Cult Leader. When I finish my closed-door cultivation, I will decide the next Cult Leader through a spar between Ilmajo, Gukgeom, and you.”
“Pardon?”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Being born the son of a Cult Leader and yet failing to become Cult Leader was true of my brothers as well. You are no exception. The newly appointed Left and Right Envoys hold important duties within the Cult, so do not assassinate them. Overpower them with your own ability and prove yourself. Get out.”
“Understood.”
When the Eldest Young Master reached for the box containing the Heavenly Jade for no particular reason, the Cult Leader spoke.
“Leave it.”
“Yes, then I shall take my leave.”
Left alone, the Cult Leader recalled the end of the duel he had fought on Mount Hua. Why had he survived, bearing the humiliation of such a defeat? The reason he had returned to the cult alive instead of throwing his life away was because of the cultists.
Among those cultists were his sons as well.
Yet in his son’s attitude, there was only the perception of him as a defeated father.
It was a situation that made a hollow laugh escape him of its own accord.
Alone, the Cult Leader thought of Cheonak in order to calm his heart. As he recalled that fierce and pure yearning for martial arts, a faint smile settled at the corners of his mouth.
He thought of the Divine Beggar. A man who seemed like an ancient immortal standing at the farthest possible distance from himself. When he recalled the Divine Beggar’s truly radiant smile when he had gone to inform him of his retirement, a snort escaped him unbidden.
Then the Sword Demon, whom he had once thought to be the man most similar to himself, came to mind.
He thought of the Blood Demon, half out of his mind between loyalty and independence, pride and fear.
And for a long while, he thought of the Master of Haomun, whose presence could erase all of theirs.
A madman in the truest sense.
He seemed like the greatest lunatic of all ages.
As he thought of the rivals of his life, his complicated heart settled calmly once more.
“Hoo……”
How much stronger could he become in this closed-door training?
With his arms crossed, he planned in advance the mental and physical training he would have to undertake during his seclusion.
If the results were good, he would once again contend with the Master of Haomun.
If the results were not good, he resolved to rest for a little longer.
Having sorted out his thoughts, the Cult Leader took the box on the table and headed toward the rear garden.
In the rear garden, the Cult Leader opened the box and glared at the Heavenly Jade. First, he erased his worries and concerns about the cult, cast aside his dissatisfaction with his subordinates, and even wiped away the few lingering worries he still had for his son.
Thinking solely of the Master of Haomun, the formidable foe of his lifetime, he gazed at the Heavenly Jade. The more he thought about it, the less he could clearly grasp just how the man had defeated him. If he pondered too deeply over something so difficult to uncover, he would fall into qi deviation, so he let go of that curiosity in an instant as well.
When he suddenly infused true qi into the box he held in his right hand, the Heavenly Jade rising from the box turned into a small wisp of smoke, then became dust and vanished.
Feeling an inexplicable sense of wrongness, the Cult Leader swept his gaze around once, then glared here and there at the sky again.
Had it been his imagination?
For an exceedingly brief moment, he had felt as though his entire existence had been annihilated. Since the sensation had brushed past him far too faintly, he took a deep breath and regained his composure.
Thus, having wiped away every stray thought cleanly, the Cult Leader—
As he had once been, became a martial artist again.