Chapter 68

"Come on, calm down. Of course, I have no intention of letting him go. If we can't restore our fallen prestige, how can we call ourselves the descendants of the orthodox and prestigious nine sects? But the problem is that he is constantly making contact with strange people."

"Who is that?"

Yu Gyu-seon of the Mount Hua Sect asked. He was skilled in swordsmanship, but his quick temper was his flaw.

"It's the Twin Ghosts."

The Twin Ghosts he mentioned referred to the Cheonmu Twin Ghost Shadows, Tang Cheol-gi and Cheon So-hae. A mixture of blatant displeasure and surprise appeared on the faces of the crowd.

"You mean he met with those troublemakers?"

Yeok Sang-han of the Diancang Sect also asked in surprise. Baek Mu-yeong smiled bitterly.

"It's too early to be surprised. If you're surprised by this, you might faint if you knew the name of the club he joined."

"No way!"

Jeong Ha-gyeong's bright face hardened at once. Because an unpleasant place that she didn't even want to think about had come to mind. She personally hoped that that name would not enter her ears if possible. But Baek Mu-yeong was cruel.

"Yes. It's the Young Lady Lovers' Society."

"That's a very annoying and unpleasant thing."

It was truly the worst-case scenario. Something that was only possible when things went the worst had happened.

"Then that means he has already met with Jin Seong-gon, Im Seong-jin, and Bi Yeon-tae."

So Cheon-gun of the Qingcheng Sect, who had been silent until now, said. He was also one of the Nine Orthodox Eight Swords. He was one of the Four Sword Lords of the Sword Soul Society and one of the Nine Orthodox Eight Swords of the Nine Orthodoxies Association. He had an unpleasant memory of receiving Im Seong-jin's help yesterday for an unexpected reason.

"That's right. If things get any more tangled, I can't guarantee that even I can completely untangle the tangled skein. Because we have a fire at our feet."

Baek Mu-yeong said in a meaningful voice.

"You mean the Seven Absolutes Divine Sword, Moyong Hwi..."

As the conversation finally moved to the topic she had been hoping for, Jeong Ha-gyeong began to liven up. Because it was a much more progressive story than the unpleasant story of the Young Lady Lovers' Society.

"To exaggerate a little, we are now in a very serious crisis. If we make a mistake, we may suffer the humiliation of being pushed back by the Heroes and Eight Families Association and drinking the bitter cup of defeat."

"I don't believe that such a thing will actually happen."

Like Jeong Ha-gyeong's words, there was not a single person in that place who thought that their Nine Orthodoxies Association, which boasted of tradition, would be pushed back by the Heroes and Eight Families Association. For the past 10 years, they had only continued to win after painstaking efforts. They could not make the mistake of tearing down the tower that their seniors had built with their blood and sweat now.

"But you never know about the affairs of the world."

Baek Mu-yeong said in a subtle tone. It was an act to test their inner thoughts.

"That's absurd. How can our Nine Orthodoxies Association, which boasts of tradition and orthodoxy, have its victory stolen by riff-raff like the Heroes and Eight Families Association? Please put away such worries."

Gongyang Jin of the Kunlun Sect raised his voice and passionately argued. But Baek Mu-yeong once again subtly took a step back.

"No. Such arrogance can be the biggest cause of defeat. They are also descendants of traditional prestigious families and are well-known and talented next-generation figures of the righteous path of the Jianghu. It is not a good habit to look down on them just because they are on a different side."

Although his words were right, strangely, right words seemed to have a mysterious power to make the listener flare up.

"Isn't the Vice-Leader's attitude too passive?"

Baek Mu-yeong did not flinch at Gongyang Jin's counterattack. He was leisurely, as if he knew that things would turn out this way. He even seemed to have the leisure to joke around. Baek Mu-yeong showed an embarrassed expression. It was an expression that did not suit his cold impression.

"I agree with Young Master Gu. That kind of appearance is not like the Vice-Leader at all."

Jeong Ha-gyeong, who had always maintained her coolness, also felt that he was acting unusually passive and timid today.

"My, my, I've been misunderstood. I'm not trying to reprimand Young Master Gu for his carelessness right now. Moreover, passive? I'm just saying that we should know how to acknowledge our opponents."

Baek Mu-yeong soothed Jeong Ha-gyeong with a bitter smile, but she didn't seem to like that either.

"Hmph! Now you're not just passive, you're even timid. I'm disappointed."

She was completely sulking, and it seemed there was no way to resolve it. Due to the confrontation between Jeong Ha-gyeong and Baek Mu-yeong—although it was almost a one-sided attack by Jeong Ha-gyeong—the atmosphere of the place sank into a sea of awkward silence. Perhaps that's why an atmosphere where anyone could present an opinion could not be formed. How could a proper opinion come out in an atmosphere that had sunk like a lump of iron thrown into an abyss?

As the atmosphere became stagnant, Baek Mu-yeong felt a desperate need to ventilate the atmosphere. Because he felt that it would be very difficult to proceed with the meeting like this. Then what was the point of convening an emergency meeting? But he couldn't completely ignore Jeong Ha-gyeong to continue the meeting.

"Come on, the Seven Absolutes Divine Sword, Moyong Hwi, is a name that has caused a stir in the Murim even before he entered this place. No matter how exaggerated the rumors are, if you look at the results of compiling the rumors about him, he is a person who is considered to be even more than the rumors suggest. It is not a proper act to ignore such a person."

And they were now the dragon catchers who had to capture or eliminate that dragon. The last words were for her. Words to soothe and coax her. Because if he hurt her feelings, it would require enormous effort and patience to resolve it again. Baek Mu-yeong wanted to avoid that terrible situation at all costs.

"No matter how great his existence is, I don't think it's to the extent that the top brass of our Nine Orthodoxies Association should gather and worry about the future. He is still a first-year greenhorn. Doesn't this make it seem like we are getting scared in advance and holding a countermeasure meeting?"

Jeong Su-hyeong of the Mount Heng Sect said with a very dissatisfied face.

"You can think of it as a countermeasure meeting. But please think again about who he is."

"Even so, isn't he just a first-year new disciple?"

"Tsk tsk, you're too hasty. Have you already forgotten whose grandson and successor he is?"

As Baek Mu-yeong reminded her of one fact, her face finally became flustered and contorted. She had to admit that she had been forgetting one of the most famous stories in the Jianghu. Then she could no longer argue with Baek Mu-yeong's opinion.

"I have to admit that I was too hasty. Because he is, after all, that person's grandson."

Jeong Ha-gyeong obediently admitted her mistake. Baek Mu-yeong showed a slight smile and reassured her.

"But don't blame yourself too much. Because then my heart will ache. For our side, it is very regrettable and deplorable, but he is that person's most cherished grandson and successor. And I am convinced that most of that affection stems from his talent rather than his bloodline. There is also physical evidence. Then it is not a wrong thought to think that he has received advanced classes in advance."

"Then are you, Vice-Leader, assuming the worst-case scenario?"

Yu Gyu-seon of the Mount Hua Sect chimed in and asked.

"I think it's unlikely, and it's an assumption I don't even want to imagine. But if, by bad luck, it is true, we will have to put in a truly enormous effort and a great deal of trouble this time. It is by no means a welcome thing from our side's point of view."

"You mean this Three Sages Festival might be in danger."

Cheong-heun, who had been sitting next to Baek Mu-yeong in silence until now, opened his mouth. He was a super-genius from the Wudang Sect. He was a sword master who could not be defeated by anyone except the leader. Baek Mu-yeong himself also yielded to him in the field of martial arts. Although he had not completely abandoned his bystander's attitude, he knew exactly what Baek Mu-yeong was trying to say.

The faces of the 8 people surrounding the rosewood round table hardened noticeably. Jeong Ha-gyeong spoke again.

"Then you, Vice-Leader, are thinking that he may have received not only the Great Revision Law that he received as soon as he was born, but also an internal energy transfer from that person."

The 'Great Revision Law' was a kind of energy practice performed on an infant who had just been born, and it was to activate the ki meridians of the whole body and change the physique to create a superior body suitable for learning martial arts. The effect is maximized when it is performed in infancy, because it prevents the evil ki of the secular world from entering the body and blocking the ki meridians. It could be said to be a procedure performed for the purpose of preventing the infiltration of evil ki.

In other words, one can achieve the enhancement of internal energy three to four times faster than an ordinary person. It can be said to be a kind of blood vessel and ki meridian road construction. Just as it is possible to move faster on a wide-open paved road than on a bumpy gravel road, the Great Revision and Cleansing Law also plays the role of trimming and paving the path that ki travels. It is a fortunate encounter that every martial artist would want to receive at least once.

However, in order to perform this, one had to receive the help of three or more peak masters with enormous internal energy, so there was a sense of reluctance on the part of the practitioner. Besides, this Great Revision Law was much easier to perform and its effect could be seen when it was received in infancy. Because the body of an ordinary adult has accumulated evil ki and waste products that block the ki meridians, it requires an enormous amount of strength and effort, two or three times that of an infant, to break through it. Not only that, but even after the procedure, the effect was so insignificant that the effort put in was almost in vain.

The person who had received that peerless great law, which was said to be received by one in 50,000 people, as soon as he was born was Moyong Hwi. But on top of that, if he had also received an internal energy transfer, he would have emerged as the strongest obstacle and would have been more than enough to torment them.

"Not all of it, but I think a part of it is very likely. No matter what anyone says, he is the most cherished grandson of the great hero, the Sword Saint, Moyong Jeong-cheon, one of the Three Sages of Cheonmu."

"That's truly the worst-case assumption."

Gongyang Jin said as if spitting it out. He himself had not realized that Baek Mu-yeong was taking the situation so seriously. Then it was not incomprehensible that Baek Mu-yeong, the Vice-Leader and the brain of the Nine Orthodoxies Association, was making a fuss.

"If the Seven Absolutes Divine Sword, Moyong Hwi, the successor of the great hero, the Sword Saint, Moyong Jeong-cheon, one of the Three Sages of Cheonmu, has also received a part of the Sword Saint's sea-like internal energy, the situation can be said to be truly the worst. We will be busy protecting our honor. Who knows when it will fall to the ground."

"That's too hasty a judgment. Please be more prudent."

"It's a very interesting thing that the successor of the Sword Saint is participating in the Three Sages Festival, which has a strong character of honoring the Three Sages of Cheonmu and selecting their successors."

The First Line Fairy of Mount Hua also chimed in. Was she trying to make the situation a little worse?

"Although our nine sects have a gloomy past of not being able to produce even a single one of the Three Sages of Cheonmu, we have strived for the past hundred years to wash away that disgrace. As the crystallization of that effort, we have not missed the victory in the Three Sages Festival even once for the past ten years. This undefeated honor must be protected no matter what. If we tear down the fame and honor that our seniors have built up overnight, how can we face our sect and seniors? I don't think I'll have the courage to do that."

"I agree. We must devote ourselves to training even more."

The fact that they had not produced even a single one of the Three Sages of Cheonmu, who had saved the Murim from the dark age of the Heavenly Calamity Blood Age a hundred years ago, was an indelible disgrace for the nine sects. Although everyone was keeping quiet and not showing it, the mental shock and damage that the nine sects had suffered at that time was as great as what they had suffered from the Heavenly Calamity Spirit.

That shock remained as a deep bruise in their hearts. It was not something that would be erased as time passed. Therefore, from the day the Heavenly Calamity Spirit and the Blood God disappeared, the nine sects spurred on the training of their disciples. A desperate whipping to regain their lost honor had begun. They had wanted to wash away the shame they had received, they who had claimed to be the pillar and tradition of the orthodox faction.

Thus, after fifty years of repeated efforts of grinding their teeth and sleeping on firewood and tasting gall, the nine sects, which had regained their former prestige that had been pushed back by the eight great families, were not satisfied with that and spurred on even more.

Thus, finally, eighty years from the years of that disgrace and humiliation, they were able to rise to the top of the Murim again, suppressing the eight great families and other large sects. For the eight great families and other large sects that had been complacent, it was nothing short of a bolt from the blue.

The eight great families and the prestigious orthodox sects, which had come to their senses only after being deprived of all their vested interests and becoming penniless, came to their senses and prepared a counterattack, but since they were already running towards the top, there was no way they could catch up. Thus, the situation was reversed, and now the eight great families were chasing the shadow of the nine sects. A game of tag for the recapture of the top had begun once again. The only thing different from eighty years ago was that the tagger had changed, that was all.

Since they had a record of being severely beaten once, the nine sects did not want to add a record of being caught by the tagger again. Therefore, it was natural for them to always pay attention to the tagger who was diligently chasing after them.

"Then Moyong Hwi will surely participate in the Sword Saint Exhibition."

"We have to see it that way."