Chapter 64
Already seated inside the Wind Banquet Hall were the Kang Household’s Kang Yong-Tae and his sister Kang Yeon-Soo. The Draconic Tiger Gang’s Yong Chu-Saeng and his sister Yong Seol-Ah were already present as well.
“Baek Mu-Gun really is here.”
“Of course he’s real. Did you think he’s an illusion or something?” Yong-Tae, who was surprised to see Mu-Gun, got into a fit of rage when Jeong Ho-Gun spoke sarcastically.
“I just found it hard to believe that he recovered from qi deviation.”
“It’s certainly surprising. You probably encountered a miracle, considering you suffered from qi deviation for three years and found no way to recover,” Chu-Saeng said while giving Mu-Gun a sharp gaze.
“I’ll leave it to your imagination.”
Chu-Sang’s cheeks twitched at Mu-Gun’s insincere response. However, he didn’t pry further. On the other hand, Yeon-Soo and Seol-Ah couldn’t take their eyes off Mu-Gun. Even before he suffered from qi deviation, Mu-Gun was already popular among the ladies of the Ten Great Clans' rising stars due to his outstanding martial arts and good looks. That was one of the reasons Byeok Jin-Woon and Tae Mu-Gang envied Mu-Gun.
However, now that Mu-Gun had awakened from his previous reincarnation, he gained an outstanding aura. Moreover, he started exuding a prince-like sensation since he had reached the Absolute Realm. Hence, he possessed the perfect weapon to captivate the hearts of women.
Yeon-Soo and Seol-Ah’s hearts seemed to sink with a thud at the sight of Mu-Gun, who had become more attractive. Having been interested in him since way before, they wanted to talk to Mu-Gun, but they couldn’t say anything because they were so nervous.
Mu-Gun smiled softly and greeted the two ladies who couldn’t take their eyes off him. “It’s been a while. Have you been well? You both have gotten a lot prettier since the last time we met.”
Yeon-Soo and Seol-Ah’s faces flushed red at Mu-Gun’s greeting.
“Are you feeling better now? I was so worried when I heard you were suffering from qi deviation, Brother Mu-Gun.”
“Me, too. I’m so happy to see you in such good health.”
Yeon-Soo and Seol-Ah replied as if they were competing against each other.
“Thank you.” As Mu-Gun smiled, their faces turned even redder.
Jo Bi-Yeon, who was next to Mu-Gun, pouted in dissatisfaction upon witnessing the scene. However, it was nowhere near what Yong-Tae and Chu-Saeng were feeling. They looked irritated. They didn’t like Mu-Gun that much, so they found it impossible to be happy about their younger sisters being head over heels for him.
They glared fiercely at their sisters to stop them from staring at Mu-Gun. Feeling a prick of conscience, Yeon-Soo and Seol-Ah averted their gazes away from Mu-Gun. However, they couldn’t help shifting their eyes back toward him even after that.
In the meantime, Shim Ok-Hwan of the Clear Sun Sect, Dam Woo-Kyung of the Iron Palm Sect, and Mei Jang-Hyun of the Mei Household entered the Wind Banquet Hall with Jin-Woon of the Byeok Sword Manor in the lead. Jin-Woon’s sister Byeok So-Gun, Ok-Hwan’s brother Shim Cheol-Hwan, Woo-Kyung’s brother Dam Sa-Myeong, and Jang-Hyun’s sister Mei Yak-Ran came with them.
After exchanging formal greetings with Mu-Gang, the host of the banquet, and entering the Wind Banquet Hall, they were immediately amazed by the sight of Mu-Gun sitting inside.
“Who’s this? Isn’t this the Young Sword Dragon who suddenly disappeared three years ago?” Jin-Woon made a provocative remark using the nickname that was given to Mu-Gun in the past.
“I tried to live a secluded life as much as I could, but someone who doesn’t know their place kept acting wildly while I was away, so I came out of curiosity.”
Jin-Woon frowned. He knew Mu-Gun was talking about him.
“You’re still as arrogant as ever. I wonder if your skills remain the same as well.”
“They’re good enough to teach a stinging lesson to those who don’t know their place.”
Jin-Woon’s eyes grew fierce at Mu-Gun’s response, but Mu-Gun didn’t avoid his glare. Sparks seemed to be flying from their locked gazes.
“Ehem, it’s been a while since we’ve met, so should we really start a war of nerves now? Don’t ruin the atmosphere for useless reasons and just sit down.” Mu-Gang, the host of the banquet, intervened.
“That’s right, Mu-Gun came for the first time in a long time, so let’s just drink in a good mood today,” Cho Won-Yee stepped in between them as well. Only then did Jin-Woon stop glaring.
“Fine. We can do this some other day.” Jin-Woon shrugged.
When Jin-Woon stopped glaring, Mu-Gun also naturally stopped making eye contact with him.
“Now, now! Don’t just stand around like that, everyone. Have a seat.” At Mu-Gang’s remarks, the people standing found their seats and sat down.
As everyone sat down, Mu-Gang, sitting at the seat of honor since he was the banquet’s organizer, stood up.
“First of all, I would like to thank you all for attending the banquet. It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other, so let’s just think about having fun today. We’ve prepared as much alcohol as required, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
“Do you think all alcohol is the same? It can only be called alcohol if it’s at least one of the Ten Finest Liquors of the Central Plains,” Jin-Woon arrogantly said, intending to make the Byeok Sword Manor stand out by showing that the Wind Saber Sect was financially inferior to the Byeok Sword Manor.
The Ten Finest Liquors of the Central Plains were as expensive as their fame. It would require an exorbitant amount of money to buy enough of them. Jin-Woon thought it would be impossible with the Wind Saber Sect’s finances.
“Haha! The Ten Finest Liquors of the Central Plains is indeed great, but wouldn’t any liquor be just as fine if it’s shared like-minded friends?” Mu-Gang shrugged off Jin-Woon’s words.
“You’re serving guests, however, so you have to show some sincerity. It can’t be helped if you couldn’t prepare it because your finances can’t handle it, though.” Jin-Woon blatantly denigrated the Wind Saber Sect.
“Well, I think it’s better to be self-sufficient with one’s own resources than be a clan that gained riches through the financial support of their wife’s family,” no longer holding back, Mu-Gang rebutted.
“Hah, calling yourselves self-sufficient sounds grand, but in truth, you just don’t have any in-laws with that sort of financial capabilities, do you? It’s also a part of one’s capabilities to have such great in-laws,” Jin-Woon sneered.
“I wonder if that’s the case?” Mu-Gun, who was listening quietly to their conversation, intervened.
“What?”
“Since the early times, there has been no such thing as a free lunch in the world. Getting financial support from the Hangzhou Merchant Company at no cost means they could easily sway the Byeok Sword Manor. After all, Hangzhou Merchant Company cutting off their financial support would threaten the Byeok Sword Manor’s finances. To prevent that, the latter would have no choice but to comply with the former’s requests. Perhaps that sort of incident has already even happened.”
Jin-Woon’s expression hardened, unable to stop himself from feeling bitter. It hadn’t been that long since Byeok Sword Manor was left with no other choice but to accept a request from the Hangzhou Merchant Company. They tried to harm someone who came to the Myth Vault to withdraw money and, as a result, suffered considerable damage. However, Jin-Woon pretended not to be affected by it at all.
“Do you think we haven’t thought that far? We won’t be swayed by the financial power of the Hangzhou Merchant Company. Keep your needless worrying to yourself.”
“I’m glad to hear that, then. Anyway, let’s stop talking about the same thing over and over again and just drink merrily. As Tae Mu-Gang said, what matters is who you share a drink with. No matter how great the liquor is, it wouldn’t taste good if drank with a snobbish guy, would it? On the contrary, even cheap bamboo leaf wine would taste amazing if it’s drunk with a good group of friends. What are we waiting for? Bring in the drinks.”
“A-alright.”
At Mu-Gun’s urging, Mu-Gang nodded and instructed the servants to bring in the prepared alcohol.
“Since you’re the host of the banquet, why don’t you start by pouring everyone a drink?”
“Should I?”
Mu-Gang moved without a single complaint at Mu-Gun’s lead. The alliance’s rising stars looked at Mu-Gun in awe as he easily overpowered Jin-Woon with words and led the banquet naturally, while the women thought Mu-Gun appeared even cooler than he already was. Their gazes on him were full of envy.
On the other hand, Jin-Woon gritted his teeth. He wanted to get even with Mu-Gun as he humiliated him. He doubted Mu-Gun had recovered all his martial arts even if he recovered from qi deviation. Moreover, he had made steady progress with his martial arts over the past three years, so he was confident that he could defeat Mu-Gun now if they competed in martial arts. It was impossible for him to openly challenge Mu-Gun to a martial arts bout, however. Hence, he had to show everyone that Mu-Gun was inferior to him in a different way.
“...!”
Jin-Woon agonized over what he could do but soon came up with a good method as he watched Mu-Gang pouring alcohol for everyone. Using his internal energy, he would prevent Mu-Gun from receiving the alcohol and humiliate him in the process.
“Have a drink.”
Mu-Gang poured alcohol for Jin-Woon last. For now, Jin-Woon pretended everything was alright and accepted the alcohol that Mu-Gang had poured him. Mu-Gang had finally poured alcohol on all the attendees. However, his own glass was still empty.
“I’ll pour you a glass, Tae Mu-Gang.”
Mu-Gun volunteered to pour alcohol into Mu-Gang’s glass and said, “You should make a toast as the host of the banquet.”
Mu-Gang got up from his seat to make a toast as Mu-Gun told him to.
“Let’s drink to the Zhejiang Martial Alliance making a new leap forward. For the future of the Zhejiang Martial Alliance!”
“Cheers!”
At Mu-Gang’s lead, the other attendees repeated after him and raised their glasses. After Mu-Gang emptied his glass, the others chugged their glass as if they were waiting for this moment. That marked the beginning of the banquet. However, there weren’t any specially prepared events. It was just drinking, talking, and having a great time with like-minded people.
Mu-Gun actively mingled with the rising stars who attended the banquet. It was a sight that had never been seen before. Before his current reincarnation awakened, Mu-Gun didn’t interact deeply with other descendants except for Ho-Gun and Won-Yee. From their perspectives, Mu-Gun relied on his martial arts and ignored them, so they didn’t have a good impression of him. However, it was different now. Mu-Gun got along with them in a friendly manner.
The Ten Clans of Zhejiang’s unity was required in reorganizing the Zhejiang Martial Alliance to revolve around the alliance leader. Forming a rapport through interactions with these rising stars was integral to that unity. Although initially unfriendly toward each other, they gradually opened their hearts and began to mingle around when Mu-Gun actively interacted with them. However, the rising stars of the Clear Sun Sect, the Iron Palm Sect, and the Mei Household, all of which had decided to follow the Byeok Sword Manor’s leadership, refused to do the same since they were wary of Jin-Woon.
Mu-Gun led the atmosphere of the banquet until Jin-Woon couldn’t stand it anymore.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, so let me pour you a glass,” Jin-Woon told Mu-Gun with a bottle of alcohol in hand.
“I see no reason to refuse.”
Mu-Gun gladly raised his glass. Jin-Woon smiled with satisfaction and poured alcohol into it. While doing so, he played a prank using his internal energy. He imbued his internal energy into the alcohol being poured into Mu-Gun’s glass so that he would drop it.
‘I knew this would happen.’
Mu-Gun shook his head as internal energy pressed down on the glass. He then exuded his own internal energy in retaliation. Mu-Gun’s internal energy, which flowed backward along the stream of alcohol, began to heat up the liquor bottle held by Jin-Woon with the Samadhi True Fire technique.
“Agh! Hot!”
Jin-Woon lost his grip, the hot energy he felt from the bottle taking him by surprise. As the bottle broke, the alcohol in it spilled and splashed onto Mu-Gun.
“Even if you don’t like me, isn’t it a little overboard to put me in this mess?” Mu-Gun asked in shock as he patted down his alcohol-soaked clothes.
“It’s not like that—”
“If it isn’t, then do you mean to say that the bottle, which had no issues, suddenly became hot?” Mu-Gun cut off Jin-Woon as he was trying to explain himself. Flustered by the sudden turn of events and other descendants’ eyes, Jin-Woon became lost for words. He didn’t know how he did it, but based on the circumstances, Mu-Gun clearly used his internal energy to heat up the bottle. However, he couldn’t just say that outright. Considering he himself found it ridiculous even though he was the one who fell for it, would anyone believe him if he told them? It would only make him look weird. For now, no matter how humiliating it was, he had to apologize and step down.
“I apologize. I suddenly lost strength in my hands. I swear I didn’t do it on purpose, so I hope you don’t misunderstand,” Jin-Woon reluctantly apologized.
“Well, if you say so, then that’s probably the case. I’ll think of this as a mistake, so don’t worry about it and just drink up.”
Rather than provoking Jin-Woon further, Mu-Gun took a bottle next to him and extended it to Jin-Woon. Everyone could feel Mu-Gun’s kindness and understanding as he casually overlooked Jin-Woon’s behavior, which was obviously intentional. Furthermore, in contrast to Mu-Gun’s broad mind, Jin-Woon’s shamelessness was embossed even further. Even though they followed the Byeok Sword Manor, the rising stars from the Clear Sun Sect, the Iron Palm Sect, and the Mei Household frowned at Jin-Woon’s behavior, which said a lot about what they thought of his actions. Jin-Woon’s actions to put Mu-Gun in trouble instead led to Mu-Gun garnering more attention and allowing him to set the mood of the banquet.
Meanwhile, the Wind Saber Sect’s Tae Mu-Gang, the banquet organizer, smiled triumphantly at Jin-Woon’s actions against Mu-Gun. Mu-Gang thought that the more enmity Mu-Gun had against Jin-Woon, the higher the possibility of the Baek Sword Sect siding with the Wind Saber Sect. In actual fact, Mu-Gang, just like Jin-Woon, also didn’t like Mu-Gun that much. He hated that Mu-Gun was getting more attention than him even though he was the host of the banquet. Furthermore, he felt annoyed that Mu-Gun alone grabbed the attention of the women in attendance.
However, he couldn’t ruin such an important occasion because of his personal feelings. Mu-Gang was willing to bury his own feelings whenever necessary if that was what it took for the Wind Saber Sect to become the Zhejiang Martial Alliance leader. In that respect, it was apparent that Mu-Gang was much more mature and calculative than Jin-Woon. Throughout the duration of the banquet, Mu-Gang put in the effort to win Mu-Gun’s favor. Mu-Gun, too, was favorable toward Mu-Gang unlike Jin-Woon, who openly confronted him.
Mu-Gun’s reason was the same as Mu-Gang’s. To unify the Zhejiang Martial Alliance, it was necessary for him to get the Byeok Sword Manor and Wind Saber Sect’s acknowledgment more than anyone else. Of course, they could just bring the Byeok Sword Manor and Wind Saber Sect to their knees by force, but doing that would make it difficult to create the Zhejiang Martial Alliance that Mu-Gun dreamed of.
Ultimately, Mu-Gun wanted to form a coalition in which the Baek Sword Sect was the main clan and others served as vassal clans that supported the Baek Sword Sect. For that to come to fruition, he had to achieve unity with the other clans. The rising stars attending the banquet would become the backbone leading the Ten Great Clans in the future, so winning over their hearts would be of great help in achieving the Zhejiang Martial Alliance that he had envisioned.
The banquet lasted until late at night. The descendants had a good time playing various drinking games popular in murim and chugging drinks due to the games’ penalties. As they laughed and chattered with each other while playing drinking games, the friendship between the descendants deepened.
However, even in the midst of all that, there was still animosity between Mu-Gun and Jin-Woon. Even the descendants of the three clans supporting the Byeok Sword Manor mingled more with Mu-Gun than with Jin-Woon.
Feeling a sense of superiority toward the three clans’ descendants, Jin-Woon had a strong desire to trample on them. They stood on his side according to their family’s decision, but there was no way they would feel good after receiving such treatment. Unlike Jin-Woon, Mu-Gun treated them in a friendly manner and indiscriminately, making it only natural for them to like Mu-Gun more.
Hence, Jin-Woon inevitably felt he lost more things than others in this banquet.
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