Chapter 21: Something Called Responsibility
“Do you truly intend to face him alone?”
At the Strategist’s worry-filled question, the Shaolin Divine Monk replied.
“I suppose I do.”
“It is dangerous.”
“I know.”
“Then why…?”
“The beginning of this incident stemmed from the emergency meeting that this poor monk convened. Thus, it is only right that this junior monk bears the responsibility.”
“It was a matter in which the Vice Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult appeared. After receiving that information from the Beggars’ Sect, it was impossible not to convene a meeting.”
Toward the Alliance Leader, who offered no rebuttal to his words and merely wore a faint smile, Jegal Giyeon continued in a frustrated tone.
“Despite the Alliance Leader’s opposition, it was we who decided to form the extermination force at that meeting. Then why is it that the Alliance Leader wishes to shoulder responsibility for that matter, and alone at that?”
“Though I sat as Alliance Leader in name, knowing the danger yet failing to stop it completely—this, too, is the responsibility of this poor monk.”
“Alliance Leader…”
Even at Jegal Giyeon’s sorrowful call, the Shaolin Divine Monk merely smiled gently.
In truth, unlike past Alliance Leaders of the Martial Alliance, the Shaolin Divine Monk had not ascended to the position through overwhelming martial prowess.
He had been forced to take on the vacant seat after the previous Hundred Paths’ number one was killed by the Vice Cult Leader.
There was only one reason: among the active figures of the martial world, his standing and moral authority were the highest.
In reality, the Shaolin Divine Monk’s level of martial arts had merely reached the peak realm. Even so, he was called a Divine Monk because his Buddhist power surpassed that of scholar monks who devoted their entire lives solely to Buddhist studies.
To the point that he, once a warrior monk, had even been discussed as a candidate for the senior monk position over the Shaolin scholar monks.
Several years earlier, after the Taiji Sword Emperor of Wudang newly ascended to the transformation realm and rose as one of the Four Heavenly Forces, he had wished to step down, but failed to realize that wish.
The Taiji Sword Emperor had requested about five years to stabilize his newly attained realm.
Of course, before even filling that span of time, he set out as part of the extermination force and instead was killed by the Vice Cult Leader, leaving the Shaolin Divine Monk to guard the Alliance Leader’s seat indefinitely once more.
The problem was that, having occupied the position through standing rather than strength, his words carried little weight within the Martial Alliance.
Martial masters whose realms far surpassed his sat in the elders’ seats, so his commands failed to truly take hold.
So much so that even the Martial Alliance extermination force dispatched most recently had been formed despite the Alliance Leader’s opposition.
Thus, as the Shaolin Divine Monk stepped forward to take responsibility for a matter he had opposed yet failed to prevent, Jegal Giyeon watched him with a pitiful gaze.
The road from Sichuan to Luoyang in Henan, where the Martial Alliance resided, generally split into two routes.
One passed through Shaanxi and entered western Henan, while the other passed through Hubei and entered southern Henan.
Neither road was particularly easier or better; one simply chose whichever was more accessible from one’s current position.
In that sense, Yul Han’s group chose the route through Shaanxi. Given the direction they had taken while cutting through northern Sichuan, that path was closer.
And so, a problem arose. In Shaanxi existed Mount Hua, a powerful sect belonging to the Nine Sects.
At one time, it had been accepted as orthodox wisdom that all sword techniques of the Central Plains originated from Mount Hua. That was how peerless Mount Hua was when it came to the sword.
Though martial enthusiasts of the world spoke of “revering the north and honoring the south,” placing Shaolin and Wudang at the forefront among the Nine Sects, the sect that had produced the most number-one masters under heaven was, in fact, Mount Hua.
More than the combined total produced by Shaolin and Wudang. That alone spoke to how many masters Mount Hua possessed, and how many outstanding sword techniques it held.
Perhaps because of that, Shaolin and Wudang had always sought to keep Mount Hua close, striving not to come into conflict with them.
And now, the Vice Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult was openly passing through the very front yard of Mount Hua.
Naturally, turmoil erupted.
Those who insisted it must not be tolerated clashed fiercely in debate with those who argued that since he was not coming to fight but to hold talks with the Alliance Leader, they should wait and see.
As the elders’ opinions refused to narrow, the Sect Master of Mount Hua, who had been quietly observing, stepped forward.
“Let us observe. After all, this is not a matter we were involved in.”
At those words, the elders’ gazes all turned toward a single person—the only attendee who had kept his mouth shut throughout the entire meeting.
Following their gazes to him, the Sect Master’s eyes held pride wholly unfitting for the situation.
How could he not be proud?
Though he was merely listed among the Seven Great Masters of the Martial World for now as Mount Hua’s strongest, he was someone certain to soon transcend his realm and display power comparable to the Four Heavenly Forces.
In fact, he already possessed the internal energy of ten cycles, said to be the minimum requirement to reach the transformation realm attained by the masters of the Four Heavenly Forces.
Thus, people of the martial world grouped him together with Iron Demon of the Bright Cult, who stood in a similar position, calling them the Two Strong among the Seven Dragons.
It meant the two most powerful among the Seven Great Masters of the Martial World.
This man, who brought such glory to his sect, was a martial brother who had served the same master as the Sect Master, no different from blood kin.
Perhaps because of that, the Sect Master of Mount Hua never hesitated to call this martial brother his pride.
And so, the Sect Master posed his question to him.
“What is the Grand Elder’s view?”
At the question, the Grand Elder—the Heavenly Flower Sword King—opened his eyes, turned his gaze, and looked at the Sect Master.
“This junior brother will follow the Sect Master’s will.”
He was a grateful man.
By position as Grand Elder, and by pretext as Mount Hua’s strongest, he could have opposed the Sect Master’s command. Yet he always took a step back, becoming a sturdy pillar for his lacking senior brother.
At the Heavenly Flower Sword King’s words, the Sect Master formed a gentle smile and asked again.
“Even if your thoughts differ from mine, I have no intention of reproaching you. I merely wish to hear your view. Speak, junior brother.”
At the repeated urging, the Heavenly Flower Sword King reluctantly opened his mouth.
“If it were this junior brother, Sect Master senior brother, I would not have gathered here in the first place.”
“Not have gathered?”
“Yes. The Vice Cult Leader in question cut down the Taiji Sword Emperor with a single strike, did he not? And that while accompanied not only by the Seven Swords of Wudang, but also Shaolin’s Four Vajra Guardians and Eighteen Arhats, and even the Beggars’ Sect’s Thirty-Six Beggars Unit.”
“Did the other side not have assistance as well?”
“The Thirteen Bloods of the Bright Cult. Strong figures, to be sure. But I heard there were only two of them. And even those two were blocked by the Four Vajra Guardians and the Thirty-Six Beggars Unit. If that is so, then it means the Taiji Sword Emperor was struck down while everyone else still had both eyes wide open. This junior brother sees little difference there.”
At the Heavenly Flower Sword King’s pointed remark, the Sect Master who had spoken earlier, as well as the listening elders, let out awkward dry coughs.
“Ahem, hem.”
Hearing the dry coughs erupt from all around, the Heavenly Flower Sword King continued.
“Does this make you uncomfortable? Well, it is only natural that being called weak would not sound pleasant.”
“Weak…”
“Of course we are weak.”
Displeased by the Heavenly Flower Sword King’s definitive tone, uneasy voices rose among the elders.
“Though the Martial Alliance mobilized considerable masters, including the Hundred Paths’ number one, in the end only Wudang, Shaolin, and the Beggars’ Sect lent their strength. None of the other six of the Nine Sects participated, nor did the Six Great Clans gather their power. Is that not a hasty conclusion?”
The one who stepped forward in objection was the Plum Blossom Hall Lord, who oversaw Mount Hua’s Plum Blossom Sword Practitioners. The Heavenly Flower Sword King looked at him quietly, then unexpectedly nodded in agreement.
“You are correct. If the remaining sects of the Martial Alliance were to unite and gather all their masters, how could they fail to bring him down? Even if the number of masters who returned alive could be counted on one hand, they would still be able to capture him.”
Though it seemed he agreed with the Plum Blossom Hall Lord’s words, the content was colder than outright opposition.
He was saying that even after mobilizing hundreds, only a handful of masters would return alive.
The problem was that one could not chastise those words as excessive. Considering what the Vice Cult Leader had done thus far, it was not an overestimation.
Thus, as the Plum Blossom Hall Lord and the other elders fell silent with furrowed brows, the Heavenly Flower Sword King swept his gaze over them and continued.
“The issue is that there is not even time to gather like that. What we are discussing now is not whether to wait until all the Martial Alliance’s masters assemble, but how to deal with the Vice Cult Leader who is passing through our front yard right now.”
At this point, even the Plum Blossom Hall Lord had nothing to say. Turning his gaze away from the elders who no longer stepped forward, the Heavenly Flower Sword King addressed the Sect Master.
“Though it was only two sects with the Beggars’ Sect lending aid, the force the Martial Alliance mobilized was by no means light. For Mount Hua to muster a comparable force, we would have to tear out even our very pillars.”
At the Heavenly Flower Sword King’s words, there were those whose displeasure was evident, but not a single person said he was wrong—not even the Sect Master receiving his gaze.
Thus, to the Sect Master who could not speak, the Heavenly Flower Sword King continued.
“If tearing out even our pillars would only allow us to form a combination already proven to be shattered, then is not the answer obvious? There is nothing we can do.”
Displeased by the Heavenly Flower Sword King’s firm conclusion, one elder cautiously stepped forward.
“Even if, as the Grand Elder says, the Martial Alliance’s extermination force was powerful enough to rival the maximum force Mount Hua could produce, that was an expedition. But Shaanxi is our front yard. Are not the number of disciples we can mobilize incomparable to that extermination force?”
“If you speak of numerical superiority, I can only answer that you should look back to the past of the Kongtong Sect.”
When the Heavenly Flower Sword King mentioned Kongtong, low murmurs spread throughout.
“Hm…”
Casting an indifferent glance over the elders, the Heavenly Flower Sword King spoke to the Sect Master.
“If even our masters are insufficient, and numerical advantage is useless, then what should we do? Should we cling to empty notions like honor and pride, and push our disciples into a clearly visible abyss of death?”
“Ahem. How could that…”
The dry coughs and awkward voices leaking out from all around were acknowledgments that such a thing was impossible.
At least the elders were not insisting that Mount Hua must act unconditionally for the sake of honor. Thinking that much was fortunate, the Heavenly Flower Sword King said,
“In the end, all we can do is shut up and watch.”
Though displeased coughs erupted at his words, no one stepped forward to refute them any longer.
Thus, that day, Mount Hua did not block the carriage of Yul Han’s group as it passed through what was essentially their front yard.
When Mount Hua—hailed as the progenitor of all sword techniques under heaven—fell silent, the small and mid-sized righteous sects of the Shaanxi region could not move.
And so, unlike the silence that enveloped Shaanxi, Hubei—bordering Shaanxi to the east and located south of Henan, where the Martial Alliance stood—boiled over with martial artists crying out for revenge.