Chapter 12

Why had the Iron Sword Sect failed to enter the One Hundred Eight Peaks?

Because it lacked proper justification.

The One Hundred Eight Peaks were not merely a ranking of powerful sects. They were one of the Murim Alliance’s greatest symbols.

Five hundred years ago, when the Demonic Cult first emerged, the righteous sects scattered across Jianghu had united and made enormous sacrifices to establish the Murim Alliance.

The Nine Sects and One Gang and the Five Great Clans formed the Alliance’s central pillars.

The One Hundred Eight Peaks were then created to honor the allied sects that had fought beside them and spilled their blood in battle.

Nearly a third of those sects had retained their positions for the full five hundred years.

To replace one of them required justification equal to the history and sacrifice represented by that position.

The Murim Alliance itself operated by the same principle.

The Nine Sects and One Gang and the Five Great Clans had become overwhelming powers and taken control of the Alliance, but strength alone did not govern it.

In the end, every major decision within the Murim Alliance depended upon legitimacy and proper justification.

And in that regard, Jegal So-myeong had already lost his footing.

‘This is……’

While studying the situation Jin So-un had created and trying to understand the boy’s intentions, Jegal So-myeong had missed the right moment to intervene.

The fire started by the Iron Sword Sect had now spread to him—the Grand Strategist of the Murim Alliance.

“Impudent! Do you understand who you are speaking to with such disrespect?”

Seong Cheon-wol shouted furiously.

Jegal So-myeong wished the man would simply close his mouth.

If this continued, both the Iron Sword Sect and the Murim Alliance would be dragged through the mud.

“My father knelt here all night to protect me.”

Jin So-un’s voice carried across the training ground.

“Even after the Iron Sword Sect Leader’s scheme was exposed, he forced the duel to continue. Then, when the match turned against his grandson, he personally interfered.”

Jin So-un pointed toward Seong Mo-hyeon.

“The moment that man shouted ‘witchcraft,’ the Iron Sword Sect Leader seized upon the accusation and tried to brand the Taeul Sect as practitioners of forbidden arts.”

His gaze moved toward the Murim Alliance’s representatives.

“And throughout all of it, the Murim Alliance remained silent.”

His voice trembled with anger and resentment.

Jegal So-myeong could not deny that he should have stepped in sooner.

“What am I supposed to trust when you ask me to sheath my sword?”

The spectators began nodding in agreement.

Then their gazes turned toward Jegal So-myeong, the man representing the Murim Alliance.

‘Checkmate.’

No matter how Jegal So-myeong examined the situation, it could not have unfolded by accident.

There was one clear reason he was certain.

Jin So-un had not panicked even once.

He had faced the Iron Sword Sect’s scheme head-on.

Despite every circumstance working against him, he had overturned the entire situation and transformed it into a battlefield that favored him.

Could a young man who had not even reached twenty truly remain so calm after being accused of practicing a forbidden art?

Jin So-un had declared his innocence with unwavering confidence.

At the same time, he had drawn both the Iron Sword Sect and the Murim Alliance onto the board he had created.

This was no longer the time to admire the boy.

One wrong decision, and the Murim Alliance’s reputation would be stained alongside the Iron Sword Sect’s.

What could Jegal So-myeong offer him?

What could settle the conflict between the two sects while proving that the Murim Alliance still upheld justice and order throughout Jianghu?

No answer came to mind.

Because, in truth, no perfect solution existed.

Still, that did not mean there was no way forward.

“……Then what do you want?”

He simply had to let Jin So-un provide the answer.

If Jin So-un demanded the truth, an apology, or some reasonable compensation, Jegal So-myeong could grant it, calm him down, and bring the conflict to an end.

As long as the dispute appeared to have been settled properly, people would eventually forget it.

Just as they had forgotten what happened twenty years ago.

But then—

“I want the Iron Sword Sect Leader’s head.”

“……!”

Jegal So-myeong nearly burst out laughing.

It was a move he had never expected.

A strange and extraordinary move that cornered not only the Iron Sword Sect Leader, but also Jegal So-myeong himself.

Had this been a game of janggi or go, it was the kind of move that would make him want to flip the entire board.

Demanding Seong Cheon-wol’s head was the same as challenging him to a duel.

Even if Jin So-un used his innate true qi, could he truly kill the Iron Sword Sect Leader?

Probably not.

But if he fought with the determination to die together and lost his life, Jin So-un would become a martyr who had sacrificed himself for his father and his declining sect.

Meanwhile, the Iron Sword Sect and the Murim Alliance would be remembered as no better than Black Path thugs.

They would be accused of abandoning justice, oppressing a weaker sect, and driving an innocent young man to his death.

The incident would become a political weapon used against the Murim Alliance for years.

And the Iron Sword Sect would almost certainly be destroyed.

At that moment, the life of a single young man had become as valuable as the reputation of the entire Murim Alliance.

‘Heh heh. To think the Taeul Sect had someone like this.’

Although Jegal So-myeong had been driven into a corner, he felt curiosity rather than anger or panic.

He even found himself wondering how Jin So-un would perform if he worked in Mantongbu.

‘Then I cannot allow him to die here. For the sake of the Murim Alliance, that must not happen.’

“If you have been humiliated, it is only natural to repay that humiliation.”

Jegal So-myeong nodded as though he agreed.

“But do you possess the strength to do so?”

“I will make them pay in blood, no matter the cost.”

“……”

Jegal So-myeong’s gaze remained steady.

He was a genius beyond geniuses.

If Yong So-ah stood beyond everyone’s reach in martial arts, then Jegal So-myeong was his equal in strategy and intellect.

He had died shortly before the Great Righteous-Demonic War began.

Many later claimed that if he had still been alive, the Murim Alliance would never have fallen apart so easily.

He was that remarkable.

Even now, he was already finding a way around the trap I had prepared, carefully avoiding every path that might catch him.

“No. That would merely settle the matter through the same unreasonable force that was used against you.”

As expected, he was not an easy opponent.

“Then there is another option.”

“What is it?”

“That shameless family—the grandfather, father, and son—must fully prostrate themselves and apologize for everything they have done.”

“……Mm. But even if they do that, we will still have no way to determine whether you practiced a forbidden art.”

“Then does the Grand Strategist have a solution?”

I looked directly at him.

“Rejecting every proposal without offering an alternative is something only a politician would do.”

For some reason, Jegal So-myeong seemed to be enjoying himself.

The corners of his lips twitched as he struggled to hold back a laugh.

“Sect Leader.”

Jegal So-myeong turned toward Seong Cheon-wol.

“How certain are you of this accusation?”

“Yes? Th-that is……”

“Certain enough to stake the Iron Sword Sect’s signboard on it?”

“What?!”

Seong Cheon-wol shouted without a trace of dignity, then quickly cleared his throat.

“Ahem. Grand Strategist, is it not the duty of every Orthodox Path warrior to uncover forbidden arts and destroy them? Why should I risk my sect’s signboard merely for fulfilling that duty?”

He continued stubbornly.

“If someone must take responsibility, then as that boy suggested, I will settle the matter with my sword.”

Seong Cheon-wol continued struggling without realizing that he was already trapped.

Unable to tolerate his foolishness any longer, Jegal So-myeong roared,

“Did I not already tell you that this cannot be settled through force?”

“Th-then what do you suggest……?”

“What about your sect’s divine weapon?”

Seong Cheon-wol’s eyes widened.

His gaze turned toward the Ninefold Sword of the Ghost Sword Immortal Elder, which was displayed prominently in the center of the great hall.

“Th-that is……”

“Are you truly certain of your accusation, Sect Leader?”

Jegal So-myeong’s voice turned cold.

“I do not know exactly what happened at last night’s banquet. However, everything I have witnessed today has been as unreasonable as that boy claims.”

He stared directly at Seong Cheon-wol.

“Did you commit all these disgraceful acts because you believed the Murim Alliance would protect you?”

Seong Cheon-wol looked between the deathly pale Seong Mo-hyeon and me.

He ground his teeth.

“Very well! We will wager the Ninefold Sword!”

After answering, he tried to stride toward me.

I raised a hand to stop him.

“There is one condition.”

“Enough with your conditions!”

“If we are going to settle this, then we should do it properly.”

I looked at him coldly.

“What happens if you examine me, find nothing, and still insist that I practiced the Great Star-Absorbing Art?”

“Do I look like such a dishonorable man?”

“Judging by everything you have done so far, I believe you are more than capable of it.”

Jegal So-myeong nodded.

“Waiting for the Execution Pavilion would take too long. Nor should the Iron Sword Sect Leader’s sixtieth-birthday banquet be delayed any further by this unpleasant matter.”

He stepped forward.

“I will examine you myself. That should satisfy you, should it not?”

Jegal So-myeong walked past Seong Cheon-wol and approached me.

“Calm your qi.”

I withdrew my innate true qi and extended my right hand.

The Great Star-Absorbing Art absorbed the internal energies of others. As a result, its practitioners carried many conflicting currents of qi within their bodies.

That made the forbidden art relatively easy to detect.

“……”

Jegal So-myeong sent his internal energy into my body and gently examined my dantian.

A moment later, he abruptly withdrew it.

“……Ahem.”

For a long while, Jegal So-myeong said nothing.

At last, he turned toward Seong Cheon-wol.

The Iron Sword Sect Leader swallowed hard, like a gambler about to reveal the final tile with his entire fortune at stake.

Then Jegal So-myeong spoke.

“This young man has not learned the Great Star-Absorbing Art.”

“Ah……!”

Seong Cheon-wol and Seong Mo-hyeon stared at him in disbelief.

“That cannot be true! He definitely used the Great Star-Absorbing Art!”

“M-May I examine him myself?”

Jegal So-myeong frowned at Seong Cheon-wol’s request.

“Your founder’s sword is at stake.”

“……”

When Jegal So-myeong stepped aside, Seong Cheon-wol seized my hand and forced his qi into my body.

His energy swept through me without restraint, violently probing every meridian.

“W-wait……”

My blood vessels had already been strained from drawing upon my innate true qi.

Under the violent pressure of Seong Cheon-wol’s internal energy, they began to convulse.

“Stay still!”

His qi continued tearing through my body until it finally reached my dantian.

At that moment, the energy flowing through my meridians reversed.

“Blegh!”

Before I could protect myself, blood surged up my throat.

I vomited heavily, staining the floor red.

“What are you doing?!”

“So-un!”

“You wretched man!”

Jegal So-myeong immediately knocked Seong Cheon-wol’s hand away and tried to seal my acupoints.

But the bleeding would not stop.

Jin Tae-san and Kang Chae-seok looked ready to fight Seong Cheon-wol to the death.

“How can this be……?”

Seong Cheon-wol stared at me in disbelief.

Realizing how serious the situation had become, Seong Mo-hyeon cried out desperately.

“That cannot be right! Grandfather, I know what I felt! If he did not use a forbidden art, how could I possibly have lost to that bastard?”

“Shut your mouth!”

Father supported me as I struggled to rise.

“You must remain still. I have not finished treating you.”

Jegal So-myeong pressed firmly against my shoulder, but I pushed his hand away with my bloodstained palm.

“……”

“So-un!”

I forced myself to stand and pushed away Father’s supporting hand.

Blood continued to drip from the corner of my mouth.

Seong Cheon-wol and Seong Mo-hyeon stared at me in horror.

“Pay……”

I reached out toward them.

“The price.”

“……”

“For the vile acts committed by you and your descendants…… Cough…… Pay what you owe!”

My outstretched fingers trembled.

Seong Cheon-wol could neither agree nor refuse. His eyes darted around helplessly as he searched for a way out.

“Blegh!”

I vomited another mouthful of blood.

Unable to watch any longer, Jegal So-myeong grabbed my hand and turned a cold gaze toward Seong Cheon-wol.

“Sect Leader, honor your promise.”

“……Grand Strategist, how can you treat me this way?”

“You brought this upon yourself. You made the wager with complete confidence, then injured the other party by recklessly forcing your qi into his body.”

Jegal So-myeong’s voice hardened.

“Take responsibility and prove that the Iron Sword Sect is still worthy of remaining an ally of the Murim Alliance.”

“……I will compensate him for his injuries. The Iron Sword Sect will also give him three Iron Heart Pills.”

“Grandfather!”

Seong Cheon-wol glared at Seong Mo-hyeon as though he wanted to kill him.

“Open your mouth again, and I will cut out your tongue.”

He then turned back to Jegal So-myeong, his voice almost pleading.

“A disciple of our sect certainly made a grave mistake. Even so, we cannot hand over our founder’s sacred weapon so easily. Would it not be better for both sects to settle the matter here?”

Jegal So-myeong looked toward me, silently asking whether I would accept.

Instead of answering, I tightened my grip on my sword.

“Then……”

I tried to pull my hand free from his grasp.

“I will collect the price in blood.”

“Iron Sword Sect Leader!”

Jegal So-myeong’s roar shook the training ground.

“As a member of the Murim Alliance, do you intend to drag its name through the mud?”

Seong Cheon-wol’s eyes widened at the icy anger in his voice.

“I personally witnessed this wager. You accused an innocent man, injured him during the examination, and now intend to avoid paying the agreed price?”

Jegal So-myeong’s gaze grew colder.

“Do you truly wish to experience the terror of the Murim Alliance’s Execution Pavilion?”

“……”

Unable to withstand the Grand Strategist’s fury, Seong Cheon-wol finally lowered his head.

“Bring the Ninefold Sword.”

Seong Ju-tak returned with the sword in his trembling hands.

Seong Cheon-wol accepted it and reluctantly held it out to Jegal So-myeong.

The Grand Strategist then placed the Ninefold Sword into my hands.

“Will this satisfy you?”

At his question, I slowly closed my eyes.

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