Chapter 141

Chapter 141

“Isn’t this going a bit too far?”

“What do you mean?”

In the silent, monotonous room, an oppressively heavy air weighed down on their bodies.

“No matter how much he’s the Abbot, that man is nothing more than a mere Junior Disciple.”

“And yet you are called the Fist King, are you not?”

This place, furnished with only the bare necessities of daily life, was none other than the quarters of Shaolin’s Abbot, Hye-gak.

Hyeon let out a deep sigh and spoke.

“As the Abbot surely knows, Youngho is incomparably stronger than someone like me. So why in the world did you tell me to deliver such words to the Murim Alliance Leader…?”

“Why? Are you afraid? That Shaolin might be annihilated?”

“I’m not a fool. Youngho will probably try to prevent conflict between the Orthodox and Unorthodox for the time being. After all, the Demonic Cult still has the Heavenly Demon.”

“Most likely.”

“But what I’m worried about is what happens after the war with the Demonic Cult ends. How exactly are you planning to handle the aftermath?”

“Do you not trust your Senior Brother?”

“Then do you believe I can defeat the Heavenly Demon?”

“That is….”

“You can’t answer, can you? This isn’t a matter of trust!”

As if his insides were about to burst, Hyeon struck his own chest. Hye-gak merely smiled faintly and replied,

“Even so, there was no other choice. As for the Sacred Relic of the Wudang Sect, the Sword Immortal said he used it until the very end. However, within Wudang, only Taoist Hyeonu knows its exact location.”

“And besides Taoist Hyeonu, the only one who knows where the Sword Immortal was is Youngho, is that what you’re saying?”

“Correct. Youngho is the only one who knows the precise location.”

“Then at least you could have softened your words…! If you just send that message as it is, won’t it look like you’re telling the Unorthodox Alliance to handle everything themselves?!”

“There was some truth to that intention.”

“Pardon?”

Hye-gak met Hyeon’s eyes with a solemn expression.

“We are Shaolin. All martial arts under heaven originated from Shaolin, and that includes the martial arts of the Unorthodox Alliance.”

“…….”

With that single sentence, Hyeon understood why Hye-gak had sent the letter to the Unorthodox Alliance in such a commanding, lofty tone.

Hye-gak merely wanted to seize the upper hand.

Shaolin was powerful enough to be called the greatest sect under heaven.

Thus, among the Nine Sects and One Gang, it wielded overwhelming influence, and even the Five Great Families could not ignore Shaolin’s authority.

But now, the situation had changed considerably. The Unorthodox Faction, which would never normally unite, had formed the Unorthodox Alliance. Moreover, Han Yonghu, seated as the Murim Alliance Leader, exuded influence that far surpassed that of Hye-gak, Shaolin’s Abbot.

Hye-gak intended to use this opportunity to show that Shaolin was in a position to make use of Youngho.

After all, he was called the only rival capable of opposing the Heavenly Demon—yet they could move him with mere words…

Those who did not know the full truth would surely revere Shaolin. Not some ordinary small or great sect, but Shaolin itself.

Having grasped the entire truth, Hyeon felt disappointed in his Senior Brother for the first time.

There was no way Youngho would be unaware of this. No—not only Youngho. None of those who had been swayed by Shaolin’s influence thus far had failed to perceive Shaolin’s intentions.

They had simply wished for matters to pass peacefully. As harmoniously and without trouble as possible.

For the fortress wall that was Shaolin could neither be climbed nor broken—unless it was the Demonic Cult.

‘The war with the Demonic Cult is right around the corner, and yet he’s only thinking about solidifying Shaolin’s position….’

He had not expected such foolishness.

Just then, a gentle breeze brushed past Hye-gak and Hyeon’s noses.

“Hmm? Where did that wind—?!”

Hye-gak saw it—the Junior Monk who had been by his side for decades staring at him in unconcealed shock and fear.

‘Hmm?’

Something was strange. Even after he had become Abbot, that man had never once lessened the distance between them.

What could possibly have happened for him to wear such a terrified expression?

Before Hye-gak could resolve his confusion, a voice came from behind him.

“So the Fist King did not agree with this matter. Then I suppose it should be regarded as the Abbot’s unilateral decision.”

At the chillingly emotionless tone, Hye-gak rose from his seat to assume a stance—

—but in that instant, Youngho pressed down on his shoulder, forcing him back into his seat.

It felt as though a massive boulder had slammed into his body. Unable to resist, Hye-gak was seated once more.

“Fortunately, what the Abbot desired is not much different from what I had in mind.”

Youngho brushed the dust off Hye-gak’s trembling robes. More precisely, he was about to speak—

Crash!

At that moment, a loud commotion erupted outside, accompanied by multiple voices.

—Wait!

—No, I’m telling you, your octopus is in danger!

—Not octopus, you bald head!

—Not bald head, you shaved monk!

—…He’s called the Abbot, you ignorant fools.

—Wait! The Abbot did not grant permis—!

Hyeon-gang hurriedly flung open the door. The moment he saw what was in Youngho’s hand, his complexion turned deathly pale.

“Young Master! Please restrain yourself! Nothing serious may happen even if you do it, but still—please restrain yourself!”

“Bran… no, Abbot! Are you all right?!”

Sensing the anxiety in Hyeon-gang’s voice, Kang Hosan forced his way into the residence.

Then his body froze as if struck by lightning. Strangely enough, that frozen body soon began trembling violently.

“Y-Young Master, please endure just a little longer. I don’t know what happened, but please, just endure a little!”

Hearing Kang Hosan’s earnest advice(?), Youngho smiled faintly.

“It’s because I’m enduring that this man’s neck is still attached. And the wound he receives from me will surely become a wound of honor.”

“What do you mean…?”

Unable to comprehend the situation, Hye-gak turned his head—

—and immediately regretted it. A searing emotion, one he felt he would never forget even after decades, began to shatter his cultivation.

“……Sword Exalted.”

“Let me tell you one thing, Giant Octopus.”

Youngho’s eyes shone brilliantly.

“Just because I’ve obtained the title of Sword Exalted, a moniker granted only to the greatest masters of the Orthodox Sect, doesn’t mean I walk the path of the Righteous Path.”

With a cruel smile, Youngho placed the charcoal he held with tongs atop Hye-gak’s head.

“Aaaargh!”

No—it was not merely placed. He pressed it down with full force.

The charcoal crumbled under the pressure, and a burn mark formed upon Hye-gak’s head.

Satisfied at the sight of Hye-gak, who now resembled a thoroughly cooked octopus, Youngho nodded and said,

“I’ll commend you for not circulating your Internal Energy. So let’s have a conversation.”

Watching Youngho reduce the Abbot of Shaolin in the Northern Dipper to such a state, Hyeon thought,

‘He’s even crazier than I expected.’

More absurd still was that, despite witnessing Youngho’s actions, he himself could not move.

‘How did he do this?’

A formless force restrained his body. Surely he was not being immobilized through Object Grasping Through the Void.

Not only would the consumption of Internal Energy be immense, but even when he tried to circulate his Internal Energy to move, his body would not budge.

If he forced himself to the limit, he could probably move…

Hyeon lowered his gaze under Youngho’s calm stare. He knew that gaze was a warning directed at him.

This was on an entirely different level from when they had briefly cooperated at the Murim Alliance. Back then, if they fought, there had been perhaps three chances in ten of death. Now, the only thought in his mind was certain death.

It surpassed even ten in ten odds.

Youngho naturally sat beside Hyeon and spoke.

“Now then, it would be best to talk.”

Resting his chin upon his hand atop the table, Youngho continued,

“Shaolin will need to provide some support.”

Hye-gak trembled uncontrollably with humiliation.

Veins bulged not only on the back of his hands but even along his jaw from the force he exerted.

“……Benefactor.”

“Yes?”

“This is Shaolin.”

“I know. When one says Shaolin, one says Mount Songshan, and when one says Mount Songshan, one says Shaolin.”

“And do you truly believe what you are doing to me now is acceptable?”

“Then perhaps, as Abbot, you should have made a wiser decision. Why drag an innocent person into this?”

Crack!

The sound of teeth grinding echoed through the room. Sensing the grim atmosphere, Hyeon-gang and Kang Hosan quietly closed the door and withdrew.

Outside, Kang Chowon, seeing their expressions, remarked that they looked as though they had aged ten years and offered them words of consolation.

“So, what do you think?”

“You are presently opposing Shaolin. Shall I take this as the will of the Unorthodox Alliance?”

“Well, if you insist, you could say that. My Master was also enraged by the Abbot’s shameless request.”

At those completely unexpected words, Hye-gak glared at Youngho in disbelief.

“Do not glare at me so. Honestly, you and I both know neither of us acted entirely in the right, do we not?”

“…….”

“Ah, come to think of it, my Master told me to leave a burn mark on the Abbot’s head. In that case, I am merely a disciple who faithfully carried out orders. So I bear no fault at all.”

“What nonsense—!”

In order to conceal the Killing Intent rising in his eyes, Hye-gak lifted the gaze he had been keeping lowered—

—and upon meeting Youngho’s eyes, he crushed the prayer beads in his hand to pieces.

As Youngho looked at him with genuine disdain, his hand tightened unconsciously.

At the gruesome sight, Hyeon flinched, and Youngho spoke in a regretful tone.

“It seems the current generation’s Abbot falls short of my expectations. It used to be quite a useful place, too….”

Setting aside Youngho’s inexplicable remark, Hye-gak glared at him with eyes so fearsome they called to mind a demon.

“With the war against the Demonic Cult right before us, are you truly saying you would make an enemy of Shaolin, one of the Nine Sects and One Gang?”

“It is my Master’s will. And I said I would make an enemy of Shaolin, not the Nine Sects and One Gang. Do not drag other sects into this. No matter how mighty Shaolin may be, it is not the entirety of the Nine Sects and One Gang.”

“……!”

He was sharper than expected.

‘Should I press harder?’

No—he had thought so before, but the young man before him was certainly not someone to be underestimated.

It was as if he could see straight through his schemes.

Youngho rose slowly from his seat and said,

“Abbot, as I mentioned before, I do not possess a particularly admirable character.”

“…….”

Taking Hye-gak’s silence as affirmation, Youngho continued,

“And there is one thing you are mistaken about.”

Deploying a Hardened Force Barrier so Hyeon would not hear, Youngho leaned in and whispered,

“Do not attempt to use me. I am not a figure worthy of respect, nor one to be revered. But there is one thing that is certain.”

With a chillingly savage smile, Youngho said,

“There is no one under heaven but me who can stop the Heavenly Demon.”

Bang—!

“Your words go too far! How dare you use the peace of the world as leverage!”

“If you do not wish that peace ruined, then do not play foolish tricks. Who knows? The Unorthodox member you so despise might suffer a great wound and decide to join hands with the Heavenly Demon.”

“What…!”

“Abbot.”

At that moment, a cold voice pierced Hye-gak’s ears.

“I have no intention of throwing myself into the Demonic Cult.”

“Then why say such a thing—?!”

“A warning. For after the war with the Demonic Cult ends.”

—When that time comes, a wounded beast might just tear out your throat.

The final words were transmitted through Voice Transmission, in case others might overhear. Then Youngho handed over a scroll and said,

“This assistance is not one-sided exploitation by Shaolin, but a transaction. What the Unorthodox Alliance desires is written there. Fulfill it, and I will cooperate. I shall take my leave now, so consider it carefully.”

With that, Youngho exited the room, and Hye-gak clenched his fist so tightly his nails dug into his flesh.