Chapter 1202: What On Earth Is Different? (2)

“What...”

Namgung Do-Wei glanced briefly at Tang Gunak and forced an awkward smile.

“Isn’t it good? Even in the Southern Island they’ll surely understand our sincerity.”

Namgung Do-Wei truly thought so. What could better show their sincerity than the sect masters personally visiting Southern Island?

But Jo Gul seemed to think differently.

“Wouldn’t it be fortunate if they don’t take it as a threat?”

“Huh, a threat?”

When Namgung Do-Wei turned as if asking what he meant, Jo Gul shrugged.

“Think about it. The sects that make up the Heavenly Friends Alliance aren’t exactly pushovers, are they?”

“...That’s true.”

Calling them ‘not pushovers’ was an understatement. While the Heavenly Friends Alliance may lag behind the Nine Great Sects, by any measure they’re among the top three powers in the land.

“There’s the Namgung Family and the Tang Family that once formed the core of the Five Great Families, the Green Forest which was one of the Shenzhou Five Clans, and even two of the Five Palaces Beyond the Great Wall.”

“Hmm...”

“Among those, is there any place Southern Island could look down on?”

“N-no...I don’t think so?”

No matter that Southern Island is one of the Nine Great Sects, it only joined them less than a century ago as the last to be accepted. Coldly speaking, it’s Southern Island that would feel the greater burden when dealing with the others.

“But... having the sect leaders of the Heavenly Friends Alliance all swarm such a sect and say, ‘We come with good intentions, so join us while we speak kindly’—try picturing that.”

At that moment, a scene popped into everyone’s minds.

They imagined the Heavenly Friends Alliance’s sect leaders—who wouldn’t even tolerate the Nine Great Sects’ arrogance—surrounding the Southern Island’s sect leader.

“Uh...”

“That picture is a bit...”

“There’s even the leader of the Evil Sect.”

As strange reactions began to ripple out, Namgung Do-Wei broke into a cold sweat and said,

“Huh, we’re not threatening them. We just think it’s better for the Southern Island’s future to join with the Heavenly Friends Alliance...”

“Isn’t that the same thing? ‘If you don’t join, we’ll leave. And then Shaolin won’t help you either, so you’ll perish. If you don’t want to perish, join.’”

“...”

“That’s a threat.”

At that remark the Five Swords began murmuring.

“Now that you mention it...?”

“Scary.”

“Really damn terrifying.”

“I’d have pissed myself.”

By now it felt like a blessing Tang Gunak hadn’t joined. If those people surrounded you while Tang Gunak glared from a step back, wouldn’t you feel like offering up whatever odd trinket you had just to placate them?

“...At this point you can’t even call it ‘coercive charity,’ sahyung, can you?”

“Tsk tsk. Fool. Don’t you yet understand?”

“Yes?”

Yoon Jong looked at Jo Gul with contempt and said,

“Coercive charity is, by nature, done with force.”

Jo Gul opened his eyes wide and asked,

“Ah, no—what do you mean by that?”

“Think about it. If coercive charity doesn’t require force, it’s not coercive charity at all.”

“I-is that so?”

“Then it’s just a good deed.”

“Huh?”

Jo Gul widened his eyes. It sounded like nonsense, but on reflection he had a point. Seeing that expression, Yoon Jong nodded.

“Shut up and accept that when you beat someone into compliance it’s not a mere good deed but coercive charity. And aren’t we on our way to perform coercive charity?”

“I suppose so?”

“Exactly. So of course we must use force.”

“Ahhh. I didn’t know that, sahyung. Indeed, this is a Mount Hua-style coercive charity.”

“No, you lunatics!”

Baek Cheon, unable to bear it, suddenly shouted. Jo Gul tilted his head in puzzlement.

“Sahyung, the Acting Sect Leader says it’s not so.”

“Tsk tsk. Gul, you still don’t understand. From a lofty position like the Acting Sect Leader’s, there are times when one must call right things wrong and wrong things right.”

“Ah, so his true intent is different.”

“Exactly. Wasn’t the Acting Sect Leader the one who devised this plan? And if you think about it, he’s practically the founder of ‘Mount Hua-style coercive charity.’”

“Indeed!”

“Ah, no it’s not!”

Tang Gunak, who had been quietly listening, looked up at the ceiling as if he had let something go.

‘Should I have just joined hands with the Shaolin abbot?’

Then at least the Abbot would have endured this pain instead of him. In retrospect that might have been the best way to trouble the Abbot—why hadn’t he thought that far?

Tang Gunak sighed deeply and composed his expression.

“In any case, it’s no laughing matter.”

Everyone turned to Tang Gunak at the change in his tone.

“We can’t blame them for their resolve to go to the Southern Island directly... but it’s true that those heading to the Southern Island carry more weight than we initially thought. Objectively speaking, isn’t this unprecedented?”

“If the sect leaders who go to Southern Island suffer an unexpected reversal, the damage would be incalculable. Depending on the situation, the very existence of the Heavenly Friends Alliance could become impossible.”

Having said that, Tang Gunak looked over the faces of the other sect leaders. Even as he spoke he knew their resolve would not be broken.

Who could blame them? Wasn’t the Heavenly Friends Alliance founded by such people? It is because of people like them that the Alliance exists.

“So above all else, a safe return is paramount. Do not forget what you’re taking upon yourselves.”

At those words, everyone nodded.

Finally, Tang Gunak’s gaze turned to Baek Cheon. It was only a brief look, but Baek Cheon clearly understood its meaning.

Baek Cheon was the one who initiated this. If something went wrong, it would be his responsibility—even if he hadn’t forced them and the sect leaders had volunteered.

It was less a reprimand than a look of concern. Baek Cheon understood Tang Gunak’s gaze and nodded gravely.

Seeing that determined look, Tang Gunak wore a small smile.

“However...”

From Tang Gunak’s mouth came a commanding voice befitting the lord of the Tang family.

“Conversely, there’s no better way to clearly show the Heavenly Friends Alliance’s will and resolve to the world than this.”

“We declared we would take a different path from the Nine Great Sects. If it ends with words alone, our choice will later be judged as a selfish decision born of petty feelings.”

Everyone nodded at his words.

“I’ve learned in life that sometimes there aren’t simply right or wrong choices. A choice is a choice, and whatever you choose, the important thing is to prove it was right.”

This was Tang Gunak’s honest sentiment.

Over the years, the Heavenly Friends Alliance, Mount Hua, and the Tang Family have repeatedly made choices that declared the world wrong. Yet the reason they’ve come this far is because they’ve proven through blade and will that those choices were not wrong.

He knew that the moment they ignored their inner convictions and spoke only of reality and danger, they would, in the end, become like the Abbott.

What the Heavenly Friends Alliance chose now was a way to prove they are different from Shaolin—to themselves above all.

Suppressing his worries and concerns, Tang Gunak looked at everyone with a resolute face.

“So go forth with pride. Under the name of the Heavenly Friends Alliance.”

The reply came in unison.

“Yes!”

With fiery fervor.

The negotiations between Shaolin and the Heavenly Friends Alliance broke down.

Great monk Beop Jeong, Shaolin’s Abbott, proposed resolving the hostility between the two powers and reuniting under the banner of the Justice faction to face the coming calamity, but the Heavenly Friends Alliance rejected the proposal outright.

In response, Beop Jeong was angered that the Heavenly Friends Alliance prioritized their own power over the world’s crisis and firmly declared he would not cooperate with them.

With the crafty Four Sects Alliance on the rise and the Demonic Cult that vanished a century ago showing signs of movement again, putting only one’s own stance forward is not the action of those who walk the righteous path. The Nine Great Sects led by Shaolin sternly condemn the Heavenly Friends Alliance’s lawless conduct.The news spread across the land in an instant—astonishingly fast.

Reactions to the news varied widely.

“Isn’t the Heavenly Friends Alliance going too far?”

A man hearing that question grew fierce in the face.

“What? Are you sane? How can you slander the Heavenly Friends Alliance? Where did people in need always run to first? Who were the only ones who rushed to Hangzhou when that Demonic Cult slaughtered people by the dozens?”

“No, that’s exactly my point. Hasn’t the Heavenly Friends Alliance always helped the common folk? If they combined forces with the Nine Great Sects they’d be of course more effective than now—so why refuse?”

“You can’t trust those Nine Great Sect bastards! How could you trust those damned brutes? They just stood by and watched while their comrades died because they valued their own lives!”

A middle-aged man frowning at the heated voices scowled.

“Even if the Nine Great Sects aren’t what they used to be, they’ve protected people as Justice factions for centuries. Surely they wouldn’t just watch when Four Sects Alliance and the Demonic Cult invade the north? Their very lives are at stake.”

“...They wouldn’t do that, right?”

“Then of course they should unite and fight. I heard ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) Great monk Beop Jeong conceded a great deal to the Heavenly Friends Alliance. If they rejected that offer, doesn’t it mean the Alliance has begun to care about something else?”

“Something else?”

“The bait. They’re hungry for power now, aren’t they? The Heavenly Friends Alliance can no longer be called small.”

“You open-mouthed fool! Hey, you—you’re asking for punishment. How much has the Heavenly Friends Alliance done so far?”

“Don’t speak ignorantly. The Nine Great Sects weren’t always like that. It was the Nine Great Sects performing the Heavenly Friends Alliance’s current duties in the past. Who were the ones who risked their lives to fight the demonic sect in its heyday and protect the world?”

“Well...”

The man at a loss for words trailed off.

There was certainly a time when the Nine Great Sects were the symbol of unity. But the only unchanging truth in this world is that everything changes, isn’t it?

“Still, the Heavenly Friends Alliance couldn’t have changed so fast.”

“Don’t be hasty. If they truly prioritized protecting the common people, they would have tried to unite even if the Nine Great Sects refused. But what happened in reality? Didn’t they kick away the offer from the Nine Great Sects themselves?”

“...”

“When Four Sects Alliance or the Demonic Cult invades, whether we’re divided or united—any child knows which causes fewer sacrifices. I’m greatly disappointed in the Heavenly Friends Alliance this time.”

“That’s because your nephew’s one of those joint household disciples, right? Look at your own arm—it’s so crooked inward you can’t even use chopsticks.”

“What? Have you finished?”

“What! Have I said anything wrong?”

“You hen!”

Their voices rose fiercely, turning the tavern into an uproar. Those nearby frowned but did not intervene; their thoughts were complicated too.

A beggar sitting in a corner of the tavern watched the scene quietly. His dark, sunken eyes softened as a serving girl approached with an annoyed face.

The beggar cackled as he took the stale rice the girl tossed at him and then slipped out of the tavern.