Chapter 20: The Proper Way to Apologize
“Do you want me to rip your mouth apart? How dare you call us bandits! Are you trying to die!”
As people’s gazes converged, there were those who recognized him.
“F-Flashing Light Blood!”
As another sobriquet of the Thirteen Bloods was mentioned, tension rose among the Sichuan martial artists. From among them, another martial warrior stepped forward.
“Watch your words! This is not a place where demonic brutes like you can flap your mouths at will!”
Among those who recognized the man shouting at Flashing Light Blood, something like a cheer burst out.
“It’s the Tang Clan’s Eldest!”
The Tang Clan’s Eldest.
It was a kind of hereditary title bestowed upon the strongest master of the Tang Clan. The one holding the position of Tang Clan’s Eldest in the current generation was a man known as Manbak Flying Sword Tang Yul.
Manbak, famed as the Tang Clan’s secret throwing weapons—hundreds of thin, sharply honed metal shards manipulated as if by ghosts—was the sobriquet that gave rise to that name.
Both Thousand Hands Abbess, who had stepped forward earlier, and Manbak Flying Sword, who had appeared now, were supreme masters capable of standing toe-to-toe with the Thirteen Bloods.
With the appearance of such figures, the Sichuan martial artists, who had been tense, felt their fighting spirit swell and flare up once more, thinking it might be worth a try.
Into their midst, Yul Han stepped forward slowly.
“My apologies for the late greeting. I am Yul Han of the Bright Cult.”
A calm tone and a courteous clasped-fist salute. The crowd stirred. There was no one who did not know the name Yul Han.
But……
“T-That’s a lie!”
At the words of one of the Sichuan martial artists who had been at the front, people nodded instinctively.
After all, there was no way the Vice Cult Leader—the ultimate weapon of the Demonic Cult, the Salyejin Heavenly Emperor himself—would offer a clasped-fist salute to Hundred Paths martial artists and bow his head.
When Yul Han, restraining Flashing Light Blood who seemed about to erupt again at their distrust, stepped forward, the people shuffled backward.
They might have thought it a lie, but they did not have the guts to block the path of someone who might be the Salyejin Heavenly Emperor.
Walking along the path that opened as the Sichuan martial artists retreated, Yul Han slowly pushed aside the sword of Flashing Light Blood, which had still been resting near Abbess Hamyeol’s neck.
“Vice Cult Leader……”
“If one answers words born of ignorance with a blade, one becomes no different from them. At the very least, we should not lower ourselves to the level of those who hurl abuse without even knowing properly.”
At Yul Han’s words, Flashing Light Blood gave a bitter smile and sheathed his sword.
Confirming that, Yul Han’s gaze passed over Abbess Hamyeol, whose face had turned completely red after being reduced to a lowly person by a single remark.
It was an attitude as if she was not even worth dealing with.
Before Abbess Hamyeol could even give vent to her anger, Yul Han’s voice—cold enough to chill the marrow—was thrown toward Thousand Hands Abbess, the strongest of Mount Emei.
“When you say ‘bandits,’ it sounds as though you are defining us as enemies. Is that correct? Enemies. Enemies who tear out throats, smash skulls, and kill indiscriminately…… such enemies!”
As he spoke, each gesture of Yul Han’s hands, mimicking the act of tearing apart and smashing, caused Force Energy to flare up, blazing crimson.
Faced with that energy—clearer and more ferocious than anything else—it was impossible not to feel fear.
Though Thousand Hands Abbess was the strongest master of Mount Emei, Force Energy was something from a distant world. At best, all she could muster was Sword Energy.
Of course, even that was a realm high as the heavens to ordinary martial artists, but to peerless masters who wielded Force Energy, it was no more than a child’s play.
That was why.
Thousand Hands Abbess could not properly answer Yul Han’s question.
“Th-That is……”
Though she was the strongest of Mount Emei, said to surpass even the Taoists of Dianchang in aggressiveness, her opponent was someone who raised Force Energy as if it were a joke.
It was proof that the introduction as Vice Cult Leader was no lie.
The Salyejin Heavenly Emperor. The de facto strongest in the martial world. Human Butcher. The Butcher of the Hundred Paths. Against those countless chilling sobriquets, she could not stand.
There had never been anyone who faced him and lived.
Should she trust the mass of Sichuan martial artists crowded behind her and step forward?
Numerical superiority.
Before the Salyejin Heavenly Emperor, such a thing held no meaning. Fifteen years ago, Kongtong had already proven that by losing 1,647 disciples.
Thus, from the Hundred Paths’ perspective, unless an absolute existence on the level of the Taiji Sword Emperor was present here, the one who could not be opposed was the Salyejin Heavenly Emperor—the Vice Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult.
Therefore……
“……I-It was a misunderstanding. Th-The word ‘enemy’ was a m-mistake.”
At Thousand Hands Abbess’s apology, forced out while biting down hard on her lower lip, Yul Han smiled faintly.
Of course, to those watching, it was so slight it looked no more than a sneer.
“Now that you know it was a mistake, I hope you will correct it. Carelessly calling anyone an enemy is an extremely dangerous thing.”
“I-I will do so.”
As Thousand Hands Abbess withdrew completely, Yul Han’s gaze turned to Manbak Flying Sword, whose face was full of confusion.
“It seems you have something to say.”
“M-My words went too far. I apologize…… hmm…… I will.”
“That is good. Realizing one’s own fault and correcting it, you see. In that sense……”
Stopping there, Yul Han looked back at Flashing Light Blood and Flashing Light Blood. Realizing the meaning of that gaze belatedly, the two spoke awkwardly.
“I-I apologize. My words were excessive.”
“My actions went too far…… I apologize.”
Flashing Light Blood, who had been about to offer a half-hearted apology, hurriedly corrected himself upon meeting Yul Han’s sharply flaring eyes. Seeing that, Yul Han nodded and said.
“Indeed. An apology must contain sincerity, and just as much respect for the other party. Using honorific speech will not make the sky collapse. Being courteous is what is right. If one cannot even do that, then the apology is either false or born of a narrow heart.”
With those words from Yul Han, the actions of Thousand Hands Abbess and Manbak Flying Sword—who had reluctantly used half-formal speech in their apologies—were rendered petty and disgraceful.
In the end, the two of them had no choice but to once again offer proper palms-together salutes or raise formal clasped-fist greetings.
“Amitabha…….”
“Hmph. My words were far too excessive. I ask for your forgiveness.”
At their actions, Yul Han smiled.
“Good. Then, would you please open the way? I am in a hurry to reach the Martial Alliance.”
“Y-You are going to the Martial Alliance?”
Manbak Flying Sword, who had unconsciously let polite speech slip out and then slightly furrowed his brow, received Yul Han’s reply.
“Yes. I have a matter to settle directly with the Alliance Leader.”
“A d-direct settlement?”
“Yes. I thought a battle of words would be better than spilling blood.”
He could not clearly grasp what that truly meant, but at least it did not sound like he was going to seize and kill the Alliance Leader. That alone made Manbak Flying Sword step aside.
In truth, he was not someone who could be stopped even if one tried.
Perhaps thinking the same, Thousand Hands Abbess also stepped aside, and the people hurriedly withdrew one after another.
They lacked the courage to meet Yul Han’s gaze, sharp and upright like a drawn blade.
Thus, a path opened among the Sichuan martial artists.
Walking leisurely down that path, Yul Han returned to the carriage, climbed aboard, and spoke to Cold Blade Blood and Flashing Light Blood.
“We were delayed. Let us hurry.”
“Yes, Vice Cult Leader.”
Bowing their heads in acknowledgment and climbing onto the driver’s seat to guide the carriage, Cold Blade Blood and Flashing Light Blood wore satisfied smiles at the corners of their mouths.
How could they not, when they had witnessed with their own eyes thousands of Hundred Paths martial artists being driven back and forced to open a road with nothing more than a few words?
The carriage that passed through the path opened by the Sichuan martial artists soon picked up speed and began to race away.
For a long while, the Sichuan martial artists stood dazed, staring at the Demonic Cult’s carriage as it sped off trailing a cloud of dust, before finally dispersing to return to their respective sects, leaving behind only awkward, hollow coughs.
It was a completely different sight from just moments earlier, when they had charged in tightly bound by fighting spirit and murderous intent, determined to face the enemy that had invaded Sichuan.
The same was true for the martial artists of Mount Emei and the Tang Clan who had stood at the center of the group.
In particular, the expressions of Thousand Hands Abbess and Manbak Flying Sword were deeply twisted, as if they had bitten into something unbearably bitter.
In effect, they had shown weakness before the Vice Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult in front of countless Sichuan martial artists.
Even so, they did not regret it.
Had they stepped forward to defend their pride at that moment, then setting aside their own deaths, the disciples they had brought with them would never have returned alive as they did now.
Knowing that, none of the martial artists of the two sects said that what had happened was a wrong choice during the entire journey back.
Though Mount Emei and the Tang Clan had stepped forward only to be humiliated and retreat, it was not as though there had been no gain at all.
At the very least, they now knew that the Vice Cult Leader was heading to the Martial Alliance to settle matters directly with the Alliance Leader.
Judging it to be news that had to be delivered immediately, two emergency message hawks departed from Mount Emei and the Tang Clan respectively, flying toward the Martial Alliance.
Because of that, Eastern Goshawks once again appeared in the skies over the Central Plains, cutting eastward through the air.
Beneath the two Eastern Goshawks in flight, Yul Han’s carriage was racing forward at full speed.
No matter how fast a carriage ran, it could not be faster than a bird in flight.
Naturally, before Yul Han’s group had even fully exited Sichuan, the Eastern Goshawks sent by Mount Emei and the Tang Clan had already reached the Martial Alliance.
Upon receiving the news, the Martial Alliance was thrown into turmoil, like a hornet’s nest that had been struck.
Having only just been left stunned by the news of the Taiji Sword Emperor’s death, the Martial Alliance could not help but suspect the purpose of the Vice Cult Leader’s visit.
Moreover, the word “settlement” written in the messages from Mount Emei and the Tang Clan could be interpreted in many different ways depending on the reader, which only worsened the problem.
At the emergency Martial Alliance council convened immediately, voices calling for an all-out response burst forth.
“We must commit our full strength. Even now, we should summon the Nine Sects and request support from the Six Great Clans.”
“When will they all gather? At least urgently summon the masters of each sect. If we call only those at the supreme and above level that each sect possesses, they will be able to arrive in time. If we gather them and respond together, then no matter if he is the Salyejin Heavenly Emperor, he will not return alive.”
As the elders poured out their arguments one after another, the council hall instantly became as noisy as a bustling marketplace.
Cutting through that clamor, the voice of the Alliance Leader, the Shaolin Divine Monk, rang out.
“That is enough. Enough.”
When the hall fell silent at his voice, the Shaolin Divine Monk continued.
“Let us assume we gather the masters of each sect as you say. Do you truly believe we can stop him that way?”
“O-Of course…….”
The Shaolin Divine Monk cut off the words of the Blazing Fire Sword Lord, the leading hardliner within the Martial Alliance and representative of the Mount Hua Sect.
“We lost not only the previous generation’s strongest of the Hundred Paths, but even the current generation’s strongest, to his hands. And yet you say it is possible?”
“That was because he faced him alone—”
“He was not alone, neither then nor this time. Look at the situation properly.”
At the Shaolin Divine Monk’s words, the Blazing Fire Sword Lord lowered his gaze.
“Then are you saying, Alliance Leader, that our Hundred Paths will lose to that single demonic brute?”
Despite the Blazing Fire Sword Lord’s raised voice, the Shaolin Divine Monk replied with a calm expression.
“We would win. If we pour out that many masters, how could we lose?”
“That is exactly my point. So immediately spread word to each sect—”
“And if we win that way, what will remain for us? If we capture that one but lose the majority of the masters we possess, would that truly be a victory?”
“Alliance Leader, just what are you trying to say?”
“He is coming alone. If we pour out all our masters just to capture him and exhaust them, how will we stop the Demonic Cult’s martial artists who will strike afterward? Do we have a master capable of stopping the Cult Leader, the Martial Heaven Demon Emperor, right now?”
At the Shaolin Divine Monk’s question, the Blazing Fire Sword Lord could not answer.
The only trump card the Hundred Paths had to stop the Martial Heaven Demon Emperor, one of the Four Heavenly Forces, had been the Taiji Sword Emperor—and he had perished in the recent clash with the Vice Cult Leader.
Thus, at present, the Hundred Paths had no means to stop the Martial Heaven Demon Emperor.
It meant that even if they stopped the Salyejin Heavenly Emperor—the Vice Cult Leader now heading to the Martial Alliance—the situation would not be resolved.
Realizing the meaning of the Alliance Leader’s words, the Blazing Fire Sword Lord and the other elders shut their mouths like clams.
Looking at them, the Alliance Leader continued.
“He says he comes to settle matters through dialogue, so let us meet him. If he desires this monk’s head, I will give it to him. If conversation is possible, then we can ask his intent and discuss it.”
In other words, he was saying that he would take full responsibility and meet the Vice Cult Leader himself.
Perhaps because of that, the elders of the Martial Alliance, including the Blazing Fire Sword Lord, neither opposed nor supported further, remaining silent.
When the meeting ended and the Shaolin Divine Monk returned to his residence, the Strategist, Jegal Giyeon, followed him inside.