Martial Alliance Leader, Martial Supreme Venerable Cheol Gun-ak’s face was filled with warmth as he looked at Uncheon Zhenren.
“Sword, you have gone to much trouble coming all this way.”
There were not many people in the martial world who dared shorten Sword of Wudang to simply Sword.
And now, the Martial Alliance Leader was saying it with the familiar warmth one showed to kin, so for Uncheon Zhenren, it was something to be grateful for instead.
Moreover, Uncheon Zhenren had something to ask of the Martial Supreme Venerable, which was why he had set everything else aside and climbed to the Alliance Leader’s Office.
“Alliance Leader, what trouble could there be?”
Uncheon Zhenren smiled lightly, then continued.
“I was growing bored living deep in a quiet mountain. It was good to see the world.”
“Hearing you say that eases the burden on my heart a little, Sword. In any case, this old man is lacking, and so I have made things troublesome for you in many ways.”
“Not at all. When the Alliance Leader is laboring day and night for all under heaven, I am the one ashamed to have been standing idle as a later student.”
The conversation between the two—Martial Alliance Leader Cheol Gun-ak calling himself this old man, and Uncheon Zhenren calling himself a later student—was absurd beyond words if one looked only at Cheol Gun-ak’s youthful appearance and Uncheon Zhenren’s immortal-like bearing.
However, although Uncheon Zhenren was not of the same generation, he was still his junior, and even if Cheol Gun-ak had undergone rejuvenation, Cheol Gun-ak was far older in actual age.
“That is merely work this old man has taken responsibility for, so I will decline words that gild this face.”
“In any case, I apologize for being unable to come immediately after receiving the Martial Alliance’s circular.”
“I understand Wudang’s circumstances well enough. Besides, you have not arrived too late, so let us not bring up what is past.”
Cheol Gun-ak shook his head briskly, then asked,
“More importantly, is there still no word from the Sword Sovereign?”
“That is correct.”
“How strange. There has never been a time when the Sword Sovereign vanished without news for this long, has there?”
“Recently, worry has been growing within our sect as well, but the Supreme Patriarch is an exceptionally elusive man, so we are waiting in faith that we will soon hear from him.”
Cheol Gun-ak narrowed his eyes and looked at Uncheon Zhenren.
“Sword, now that matters have come this far, how about giving me at least a hint as to why the Sword Sovereign is so busy?”
“......”
“Several years ago, the Sword Sovereign came into the Martial Alliance’s territory and yet left without even stopping by headquarters. I was inwardly disappointed at the time, but looking back now, I began to wonder if there had been some matter he was reluctant to speak of to me.”
Venerables who had reached the Formless did not hide what lay inside them.
So the Supreme Patriarch must have deliberately avoided meeting the Martial Alliance Leader because he did not want to reveal Wudang Sect’s miserable hidden affair.
When Martial Alliance Leader Cheol Gun-ak struck straight to the heart of the matter and asked, Uncheon Zhenren was briefly put in an awkward position and could give no answer.
“......”
When Uncheon Zhenren closed his mouth with a troubled expression, Cheol Gun-ak gave a bitter smile.
“In other words, it is something you cannot brush aside with some careless excuse, but also something you cannot reveal?”
“I apologize.”
Cheol Gun-ak shook his head.
“What has the Sword to apologize for? This old man is the one being foolish, trying to peek over another household’s wall for no reason.”
“......”
“In any case, Sword, it seems your realm is not far away either.”
Uncheon Zhenren was truly impressed that the Martial Alliance Leader had recognized his realm from nothing more than the fact that he had failed to hide his inner thoughts.
“I seem to have stepped onto the foundation stone.”
Tap!
Cheol Gun-ak lightly struck the table.
“As expected of the Sword. The Sword Sovereign said that in the future, his place would be inherited by you, and he was not wrong!”
Cheol Gun-ak was delighted, but when he saw that Uncheon Zhenren’s expression was not particularly bright, he asked,
“Sword, why do you look so sour? Surely you are not dissatisfied because it is only the foundation stone, or regretful because you reached that realm late?”
Uncheon Zhenren shook his head.
“How could that be? I had been worried I might never set foot on the foundation stone in my entire life.”
“Then even leaping for joy would not be enough, so why does your expression look so uneasy?”
“......”
Uncheon Zhenren carried guilt over having been so absorbed in closed-door training out of his desire to reach that realm that he had failed to prevent the tragedy that befell the sect leader and his disciples.
So even after stepping onto the foundation stone of the Entrance-to-Divinity Realm, his lifelong wish, he was not happy in the slightest, and he had also stagnated, unable to take even one more step forward.
When Uncheon Zhenren fell silent again, Cheol Gun-ak spoke with an empty expression.
“Hah. I truly do not understand the world of immortals. The Sword Sovereign is one thing, but even the Sword hides this much.”
“......”
“Let us end the greetings here. My frustration is growing greater than my joy at seeing you, and this old man cannot bear it.”
Martial Alliance Leader Cheol Gun-ak let out a low sigh, shook his head, and said,
“In any case, with the Sword and Wudang’s disciples coming together, the Martial Alliance has gained an army of ten thousand horses.”
“I would not say our sect amounts to an army of ten thousand horses, but wherever we are placed, we will lend our strength to suppressing the Demonic Eight Divisions.”
“Wherever you are placed? Naturally, the Sword must take command of the First Corps.”
“I heard as much from Hocheon Unit Lord, but would the Corps Commanders already entrusted with the First Corps not feel uncomfortable?”
“This old man will compensate the Corps Commander who yields the First Corps sufficiently, and I will be the one to feel apologetic, so please do not concern yourself over that point. This is all for the great cause of the martial world, is it not? One should not put a small self forward.”
Because the Alliance Leader’s words were reasonable, Uncheon Zhenren quietly gave a clasped-hands bow.
“I deeply thank the Alliance Leader for showing consideration to our sect despite our late arrival.”
“Sword, I am the one who should thank you.”
“......?”
Martial Alliance Leader Cheol Gun-ak gave a bitter smile and continued.
“Because this old man’s negligence in managing the demons of the Great Demon Prison allowed the immortal sword to be sullied.”
“What in the world ever goes exactly as planned? Moreover, Alliance Leader, you have a mountain of other matters to concern yourself with.”
“Sword, I am grateful for your understanding, but it was clearly this old man’s mistake. The Great Demon Prison had been quiet for more than ten years, and because it was in such a remote forbidden zone, I had grown careless.”
“Have you still been unable to discover how the demons of the Great Demon Prison restored their dantians?”
Martial Alliance Leader Cheol Gun-ak nodded.
“We investigated in every possible direction, but we could not find out. Recently, there was information that might at least serve as a clue.”
“You mean the madmen’s great evil art? I heard the general outline from my junior brother Uno before coming up to the Alliance Leader’s Office.”
“That is correct. Hu Gae and Chief Secretary Kwak uncovered truly important information. In addition, Chief Secretary Kwak even pointed out that there seemed to be some hidden hand behind that great evil art, so I ordered it investigated intensively.”
“A hidden hand, you say......?”
“The investigation has only just begun, so I do not know yet. It may be the Blood Cult that caused upheaval more than a hundred years ago, or it may be the Fire-Worshiping Secret Cult that stirred even earlier than that. In any case, in terms of timing, it is about time for heretical cults to begin moving, so we must be quite careful.”
Uncheon Zhenren’s face hardened.
It was because there was a history of heretical groups periodically rising in the martial world. And each time, the martial world had suffered enormous damage.
“If that is true, then a truly difficult era is coming.”
“Well, even so, if the martial world gathers its will with one heart as it does now, it is not something we cannot overcome, so let us not worry beforehand.”
The orthodox martial world was united around the Martial Alliance, and the three great powers of the Martial Alliance, the Heavenly Demon Cult, and the Alliance of the Demonic Path were communicating with one another more than at any other time in history.
The three powers might be squabbling among themselves, but if a common enemy appeared, they would form an alliance and oppose it.
At the Martial Alliance Leader’s words, Uncheon Zhenren nodded, then opened his mouth.
“Since the subject of my martial nephew Kwak has come up, as his martial uncle, I thank the Alliance Leader for entrusting him with the heavy responsibility of Chief Secretary.”
“I entrusted it to Chief Secretary Kwak because he has that degree of talent, so it is not something I need to be thanked for separately.”
“Even so, is it not true that the Alliance Leader looked kindly upon my martial nephew Kwak?”
Seeing the shadow fall over Uncheon Zhenren’s face as he asked the question, Martial Alliance Leader Cheol Gun-ak said,
“It seems you have something to say about Chief Secretary Kwak.”
“I would like to make one difficult request of the Alliance Leader.”
“It surprises me that there is something in this world the Sword of Wudang cannot resolve. At the same time, I wonder whether this old man can do such a thing either.”
“It is something the Alliance Leader can certainly do.”
At Uncheon Zhenren’s answer, filled with conviction, Cheol Gun-ak could not help asking,
“What on earth has happened to Chief Secretary Kwak?”
“The Alliance Leader must have heard the news that my martial nephew Kwak and the Fire Dragon of the Jegal Family fought a first engagement.”
“I have.”
Martial Alliance Leader Cheol Gun-ak readily nodded.
“I was told the Sword settled the situation and ended it well before it could {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} grow into a larger fight.”
“Outwardly, yes.”
Seeing the shadow on Uncheon Zhenren’s face grow even darker, Cheol Gun-ak asked,
“Speak plainly.”
“An inner demon has taken hold of my martial nephew Kwak.”
At Uncheon Zhenren’s answer, Cheol Gun-ak replied indifferently,
“For martial artists, being seized by an inner demon happens as often as eating meals. Why treat it so seriously? If you, Sword, sharply rebuke him with your immortal aura, it should be washed clean.”
“The inner demon that entered my martial nephew Kwak was something I could not handle.”
“......!”
“As the Alliance Leader knows from what you have heard, my martial nephew Kwak’s martial development has been so fast that it is difficult to find any precedent. At an age in his twenties, he stands facing the wall of the Entrance-to-Divinity Realm; even across the entire history of the martial world, he would rank among the top ten.”
Martial Alliance Leader Cheol Gun-ak’s complexion slowly began to harden as well.
“On top of that, my martial nephew Kwak climbed to such a realm without the guidance of a master worthy of that level. My martial nephew Kwak’s master, eldest senior brother Unseon, belonged to the line of Taoist immortals, and moreover, he ascended to immortality early.”
Cheol Gun-ak’s expression grew grave.
It was because he knew better than anyone the danger of cultivating martial arts without a master’s guidance.
Training martial arts alone could be called a charging bull that had lost its reins and could see only straight ahead.
It could run freely and swiftly, but the moment the reins caught on something, the bull’s fate would be over.
If its running speed were slow, it might avoid a fatal injury, but was Kwak Yeon’s charge not so fast that it was difficult to find a precedent?
Martial Alliance Leader Cheol Gun-ak understood why Sword of Wudang Uncheon Zhenren had said that he could not handle it with his own realm.
He had likely tried to calm the inner demon that had come upon Kwak Yeon, only to feel the difficulty.
Uncheon Zhenren rose from his seat, straightened the lines of his Taoist robes, and gave Cheol Gun-ak a silent bow.
“I, Uncheon, Sword of Wudang, earnestly ask the Alliance Leader to look after my martial nephew Kwak with the heart that cherishes the talents of all under heaven.”
How could Martial Alliance Leader Cheol Gun-ak fail to understand the weight of a plea made in the name of the Sword of Wudang?
After looking at Uncheon Zhenren for a moment, Cheol Gun-ak suddenly asked,
“Sword, do you know just how dangerous a request you are making right now?”
Uncheon Zhenren nodded with a dark expression.
“Of course, I know.”
A heavy silence settled inside Righteous Heaven Hall.
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