Chapter 370 : Battle Between Dragon and Phoenix

Chapter 370: Battle Between Dragon and Phoenix

“Tomorrow, let us hold the duel here.”

“Very well.”

Reverend Mang Wu accepted the proposal without hesitation.

Everything proceeded swiftly and smoothly.

Once the successors of the Three Demonic Heavens left, complaints erupted everywhere.

“The heads of each sect, gather in the Assembly Hall.”

Alongside Reverend Mang Wu, the leaders of each sect headed to the Assembly Hall from the early morning.

Yong Hwarin spoke to the Lady of Mount Lu.

“Lady, please take me with you to the meeting. I must reveal who consumed the Explosive Phosphorus Pellet.”

“Very well.”

The Lady of Mount Lu went together with Yong Hwarin to the Assembly Hall, which had been prepared within Shaolin Temple for the meeting.

“Abbot, who shall represent our side in battle?”

Aside from the Shaolin Abbot, the highest-ranking figure present was the Sect Leader of Wudang, Dong Seonja.

When he asked, Reverend Mang Wu looked around at the heads of the Nine Great Sects and the Twelve Great Clans before speaking.

“We must send out late-blooming prodigies equal to those three.”

Dong Seonja spoke without hesitation.

“In my view, it would be right for Shaolin’s Jeong Hang, my sect’s Wun Mang, and Mount Hua’s Cheong Mong to represent us.”

They still had not taken into account the whereabouts of the Explosive Phosphorus Pellets.

At those words, Yong Hwarin looked at the Lady of Mount Lu.

The Lady of Mount Lu nodded and spoke.

Yong Hwarin’s intention was to keep pushing the Lady of Mount Lu to step forward, so that people would remember her presence.

“Wait! Of course, I have no doubt that those three are enough to face the heirs of the Three Demonic Heavens. But there is one problem.”

Just as she was about to continue, Dong Seonja cut her off.

“What problem do you speak of?”

The Lady of Mount Lu felt frustrated that the Sect Leaders of the orthodox sects, intoxicated by their honor, could not see the bigger picture.

“Wudang Sect Leader, are you not curious about the whereabouts of the remaining Explosive Phosphorus Pellets?”

“Why should we concern ourselves with their whereabouts here?”

Dong Seonja’s sharp tone drew a look of pity from the Lady of Mount Lu.

“I believe those three—Jeong Hang, Wun Mang, and Cheong Mong—consumed the pellets.”

“What?”

Dong Seonja cried out in shock, but Reverend Mang Wu raised his hand to quiet the hall.

“I wish to hear your reasoning.”

At his words, the Lady of Mount Lu calmly explained.

“Think carefully. Three pellets have already been consumed, and suddenly, the heirs of the Three Demonic Heavens proposed a duel. Do you not think this is too much of a coincidence? How could such an obvious fact be overlooked?”

Reverend Mang Wu had already realized this himself and was about to persuade Dong Seonja, but the Lady of Mount Lu had spoken first.

“I too held the same thought,” Reverend Mang Wu admitted.

The Dojang of Kunlun Sect, Oh Uk, asked,

“If you realized this, why did you accept the duel?”

“Because even if it is not those three, we still have other outstanding prodigies.”

“I cannot believe you claim we have prodigies greater than those three.”

Dong Seonja’s voice turned cold.

“Why not? There is Emei’s Priestess Myung Ok, the Young Master Yong of the Heavenly Central Sect, and Priestess Shengxi of Mount Lu. They are masters more than capable of standing against those three.”

At Reverend Mang Wu’s words, Dong Seonja’s lips twisted.

“I will acknowledge Emei’s Priestess Myung Ok and the disciple of the Lady of Mount Lu, but I cannot accept that some unheard-of disciple of the Heavenly Central Sect could be compared with the heirs of the Three Sects.”

The pride of the Nine Great Sects was surprisingly stubborn.

Seeing Dong Seonja’s rigid and obstinate gaze, Reverend Mang Wu rolled his prayer beads.

At that moment, the Lady of Mount Lu rose and spoke.

“I can vouch for Young Master Yong’s strength. His skills are no less than my own.”

Her words struck the hall like thunder, throwing the assembly into chaos.

“Hmph, I cannot believe it.”

When Kunlun’s Dojang Oh Uk scoffed, the Lady of Mount Lu smiled faintly, her eyes glimmering as if she had caught a fish on the hook.

“Very well. Then let Young Master Yong prove himself in a duel. I propose a match between Dojang Oh Uk and Young Master Yong.”

Though it was a grave insult to Oh Uk, Yong Hwarin firmly nailed him in place so he could not escape.

“If this junior could learn even a single move from Dojang Oh Uk, it would be the honor of three lifetimes.”

With Yong Hwarin speaking so, Oh Uk could not refuse without wounding his pride.

“Fine! I shall crush that so-called Heavenly Sword Hero’s arrogance!”

In truth, both the Lady of Mount Lu and Yong Hwarin, who had risen closer to the seat of Alliance Leader after the assassin incident, were unwelcome to him.

Reverend Mang Wu shook his head.

These were men who had trained for decades, claiming to seek enlightenment and Buddhahood.

Yet their behavior was no different from worldly martial artists. Reverend Mang Wu sighed.

“Perhaps the very idea of waging war against the Demonic Path only shows that we are still lacking.”

As that thought crossed his mind, Reverend Mang Wu’s eyes no longer lingered on Dong Seonja, but instead turned to the Lady of Mount Lu.

The reason the Nine Great Sects rejected the Lady of Mount Lu was because she did not welcome war against the Demonic Path.

The sects had long cultivated their strength, and from that strength, the desire to seize hegemony had slowly sprouted.

Thus, they sought to unify the Three Central Alliances into the Baekjeong Alliance.

Of course, on the surface, it was to prepare a response should the Demonic Path start a war, but in truth, there was a sense that the orthodox Murim desired war even more.

‘Indeed, the Leader of the Baekjeong Alliance would be more fitting as the Lady of Mount Lu than Dong Seonja.’

Through this incident, Reverend Mang Wu broke free from thoughts he had kept only in his heart, and became convinced that the Lady of Mount Lu should be Alliance Leader.

Though he had agreed with her intentions, Reverend Mang Wu had not thought it fitting for a woman to become the Leader of the Baekjeong Alliance.

But after today, through Dong Seonja’s words and actions, he realized for certain that the man lacked the capacity to lead the Three Central Alliances.

In contrast, in pursuing and resolving the assassin case, the Lady of Mount Lu had shown exceptional ability.

In truth, the duel between Dojang Oh Uk and Yong Hwarin should not have made sense.

Yet not a single person stepped forward to stop it.

The elders hoped the young man’s arrogance would be disciplined, while the younger generation hoped Yong Hwarin would break the stubborn elders and display his vigor.

For that reason, no one opposed the duel.

“Hoo…”

Reverend Mang Wu sighed and walked outside.

If he wished for Benefactor Yong not to suffer serious injury, he had to restrain Dojang Oh Uk.

For no matter how great a late-blooming prodigy Yong Hwarin was, Dojang Oh Uk was a master who had already long been spoken of as a candidate for Sect Leader of Kunlun. It was for that reason that he had come as acting Sect Leader of Kunlun.

No matter how extraordinary a prodigy Yong Hwarin was, he could not defeat him.

But as Reverend Mang Wu watched the two face each other, he chanted the Buddha’s name repeatedly.

For both Dojang Oh Uk and Yong Hwarin entered Sword Unification at the same time—yet, absurdly, Yong Hwarin’s Sword Unification was closer to perfection.

“Hohoho, truly an outstanding benefactor.”

Even Reverend Mang Wu, who rarely showed surprise, could not help but voice admiration at Yong Hwarin’s Sword Unification.

Yong Hwarin had no intention of dragging things out.

When one did not know the true extent of Dojang Oh Uk’s level, a hasty probing battle was dangerous.

So, to end things quickly, Yong Hwarin drew upon the energy of Qi-Seoyeo-rim and entered Sword Unification, overwhelming Dojang Oh Uk’s aura.

Had it not been for the energy of Qi-Seoyeo-rim, he would instead have been crushed by the momentum of Dojang Oh Uk.

That was how different Reverend Hoi Eulshin’s aura martial arts were from the existing ones—they were on another level entirely.

As Yong Hwarin raised his sword, Dojang Oh Uk saw before him a vast forest, which then seemed to transform into a Sword Forest.

If he himself had merely merged his body into a single sword, becoming one with it, Yong Hwarin had not simply achieved Sword Unification, but had created a Unified Sword Forest.

Already at the Qi-Vision Realm, Dojang Oh Uk found his body trembling within that Sword Forest.

Had he not reached the Qi-Vision Realm, he might have resisted, but precisely because he had, he crumbled before the unity of Qi-Seoyeo-rim’s energy and Sword Unification.

Yong Hwarin then drew forth the energy of Immovable Mountain from within Qi-Seoyeo-rim, stepping forward once more.

At that, Dojang Oh Uk involuntarily stepped back.

When the mountain of a vast forest pressed down upon him, he could not withstand its weight.

Moreover, the martial artists watching the duel were themselves masters at the Transcendent and Unintentional States, the leadership level of the sects, and so they could measure Yong Hwarin’s level.

Even they could not guarantee victory against Dojang Oh Uk, yet Yong Hwarin was overwhelming him.

‘So much talk of the Heavenly Sword Hero… I thought it meant another exceptional prodigy, but no. This youth has already surpassed the elders of the great sects.’

It was shocking. The elders of the great sects possessed not only inner strength, but also experience and judgment that could not easily be dismissed.

For Yong Hwarin to surpass them was proof of how extraordinary he was.

In truth, Yong Hwarin had chosen not a contest of techniques, but of aura, precisely to create such a situation.

A battle of aura etched itself deeper into the memory of all who witnessed it.

Aura could be felt even by the onlookers, and the impression lingered long.

It would prevent anyone from dismissing the Heavenly Central Sect, and was also a stepping stone to claim a high position within the Baekjeong Alliance.

That was why he had requested the duel with Dojang Oh Uk, even if others might see it as discourteous.

Moreover, as he wielded the White Tiger Demon-Subduing Sword with the Nine Dragons Heavenly Ascent Technique, the aura emanating from it spread in all directions.

It felt as if a vast, formless force rushed upon one, ready to tear the body apart.

Dojang Oh Uk lowered the sword he had raised in a high stance.

It was a gesture of conceding the duel.

“I… have lost.”

When Dojang Oh Uk declared his defeat without even fighting, murmurs broke out everywhere.

Yong Hwarin sheathed his sword and answered with a clasped-hands salute.

“Thanks to Dojang-nim’s forbearance, this junior has gained much. I am grateful.”

As he bowed politely, Dojang Oh Uk was left utterly dejected.

And he realized that one could not envy such an extraordinary prodigy.

Indeed, the aura of Yong Hwarin had brought him insight, even gratitude.

It was why comradeship often grew after a duel.

Strange though it was, Dojang Oh Uk felt such emotions toward the much younger Yong Hwarin.

“Kunlun’s Oh Uk acknowledges that Young Master Yong is fully capable of fighting the successors of the Three Demonic Heavens without shame.”

Dojang Oh Uk corrected his thinking and admitted it openly.

In truth, that was the only way to restore the honor of Kunlun that had been tarnished by his defeat.

For when defeated, one must acknowledge it cleanly—at the very least, it prevented others from seeing him as a petty man.

And at the very least, Dojang Oh Uk understood that.