Chapter 66
After the discussion on the election of the alliance leader, the Ten Clans of Zhejiang were given some time to develop friendships with each other for seven days. During that time, the Ten Clans of Zhejiang interacted with the other families and sects as they desired. The Byeok Sword Manor and the Wind Saber Sect supervised the clans already on their side while making an effort to recruit the three clans that remained neutral. In the midst of all that, Mu-Gun visited the side building where the Justice Martial Sect was staying.
“You’re here?” Jeong Ho-Gun welcomed Baek Mu-Gun.
During the three-day-long meeting of the Ten Clans of Zhejiang’s patriarchs, Mu-Gun spent time with Ho-Gun and Jo Won-Yee.
“Yes. Is Uncle Jeong inside?”
“He is. Why are you looking for my father?”
“I have something to tell him.”
“Something to tell my father?”
“Yes, so please tell him I wish to have an audience with him.”
“What is it about?”
“You kids don’t have to know.”
“Do you want to die?”
“You can hear it directly from Uncle Jeong later, so hurry up and inform him of my arrival.”
“Fine. Wait here.”
Ho-Gun immediately went to his father and delivered Mu-Gun’s words. Jeong Won-Hyo, Ho-Gun’s father, was surprised but decided to meet Mu-Gun anyway. Ho-Gun guided Mu-Gun into Won-Hyo’s room.
“Thank you for accepting my sudden request.”
“It’s fine. Why did you ask to see me?”
“I have a proposal for you, Uncle Jeong.”
“A proposal? What is it?”
“I hope that the Justice Martial Sect will support the Baek Sword Sect as the Zhejiang Martial Alliance leader.”
“It would be understandable if this was coming from Elder Brother Cheon-Sang, but it’s honestly unpleasant to hear that from you.”
“I’m sorry if I offended you. However, I’m here in my father’s stead because there are a lot of prying eyes, so please overlook this and understand.”
Won-Hyo nodded at Mu-Gun’s reply.
The Byeok Sword Manor and the Wind Saber Sect were paying keen attention to whether the other clans would aim for the Zhejiang Martial Alliance leader position. From where Baek Cheon-Sang stood, he had to pay attention not to let the others find out that he desired it. Hence, Won-Hyo could understand that Cheon-Sang sent Mu-Gun instead of visiting himself.
“I was surprised to see Elder Brother Cheon-Sang actively expressing his opinion at the patriarch’s meeting, but I didn’t expect he had this in mind. Still, even if I—no, even if the Justice Martial Sect wants to support the Baek Sword Sect, wouldn’t it be of no use if Elder Brother Cheon-Sang doesn’t win in the sparring competition?”
“You don’t have to worry about that. Father will undoubtedly win the sparring competition. Once he does, all you have to do is agree to my father becoming the Zhejiang Martial Alliance leader. Moreover, we would be even more grateful if you could help persuade the other sects’ patriarchs to support my father.”
“You seem to have something to believe in, seeing how confident you are. Personally, I hope Elder Brother Cheon-Sang can become the Zhejiang Martial Alliance leader instead of the others. However, as the Justice Martial Sect’s patriarch, I have to prioritize the Justice Martial Sect. I’ll be upfront. What can the Justice Martial Sect gain from supporting the Baek Sword Sect?”
“I’ll help the Justice Martial Sect grow stronger.”
“How would you do that?”
“First, I’ll improve the Justice Martial Sect’s martial arts.”
“You’re going to improve the martial arts of our sect?”
“That’s right. With all due respect, the Justice Martial Sect’s current martial arts can only go as high as the Upper Peak realm. To make matters worse, it’s only possible to reach that level with enough talent and effort. Uncle, if you allow me, I will turn the Justice Martial Sect’s martial arts into an Upper Ascension Realm martial art.”
“Hahaha! Do you have any idea how absurd you sound right now? You’re going to make the martial arts of our sect reach the Upper Ascension Realm? That makes me curious about how great the Baek Sword Sect’s martial art is now. If you can enhance our sect’s martial arts into the Upper Ascension Realm, then you likely would’ve improved the Baek Sword Sect’s martial arts to the Upper Ascension Realm long ago.”
“You’re right, Uncle Jeong. Our sect’s martial arts have already reached that realm.”
“Can you prove it now?”
“I am the proof.”
“What?” Baffled, Won-Hyo looked at Mu-Gun.
Mu-Gun smiled, then released and filled the entire room with the powerful aura that he had been hiding. Won-Hyo’s expression became tinged with astonishment as he watched Mu-Gun. He could instinctively feel from Mu-Gun’s aura that he was at least in the Upper Peak Realm.
“This doesn’t make sense...” Won-Hyo muttered in disbelief at Mu-Gun’s strength.
Mu-Gun stopped exuding his aura, then told the still-surprised Won-Hyo, “If you want, I can show you the Baek Sword Sect’s sword techniques as well.”
“I can definitely see that your level is high, but that does not prove that the Baek Sword Sect’s martial arts have been enhanced to the Upper Ascension Realm. I want to witness it with my own eyes.”
“Let’s go to the training hall, then.”
Mu-Gun rose from his seat and moved to the training hall inside the side building with Won-Hyo. Mu-Gun stood in the center of it and used his aura to confirm that there was no energy source nearby. Afterward, he began to demonstrate the Celestial Moonlight Sword.
The sword qi the Celestial Moonlight Sword manifested was truly amazing. Every time Mu-Gun moved his sword, the training hall was enveloped with moonlight. Before the moonlight’s vestige disappeared, another filled the training hall. The scene made Won-Hyo feel suffocated and as if he would never be able to escape if he was inside that moonlight. The sword technique Mu-Gun currently performed was on a whole different level from the Baek Sword Sect’s sword technique he knew of yet still contained the Baek Sword Sect’s swordsmanship he was familiar with. It was clear that their current martial arts had been improved to the Upper Ascension Realm. This made a question naturally come to his mind.
‘Who enhanced their martial arts?’
Was it Baek Cheon-Sang? Or Baek Mu-Gun? No matter how much he thought about it, there was no way only two people could do it together. To enhance an existing martial art, a great level of enlightenment was required. It would be pushing it too far to say that Cheon-Sang and Mu-Gun improved the martial arts together. If they had the capabilities to do so in the first place, the Baek Sword Sect wouldn’t have fallen behind the Byeok Sword Manor or the Wind Saber Sect. If so, then it wasn’t an existing member of the Baek Sword Sect. He was sure that an unidentified third party had intervened.
‘Don’t tell me... Is the Nine Celestial Demons Sect involved?’
Won-Hyo suspected that one of the Nine Celestial Demons Sect’s faction was raising the Baek Sword Sect as a disguised force. What if they supported the Baek Sword Sect to take control of the Zhejiang Martial Alliance and use them to dominate murim? It was terrible just imagining it.
It was also very suspicious that Mu-Gun, who was a cripple until recently, suddenly recovered from qi deviation and reached a level higher than the Upper Ascension Realm in such a short time. Won-Hyo looked closely at Mu-Gun in doubt. He couldn’t feel any signs of demonic energy coming from Mu-Gun. Mu-Gun wasn’t wearing a Demon Seal Ring, which was capable of concealing demonic energy, either.
However, that alone wasn’t enough to conclude that Mu-Gun and the Baek Sword Sect weren’t related to the Nine Celestial Demons Sect. If not Mu-Gun, Cheon-Sang could be the one connected to the Nine Celestial Demons Sect. Mu-Gun saw the doubt in the eyes of Won-Hyo, who was looking at him.
“It seems that you are suspicious of me, Uncle Jeong.”
Mu-Gun’s words made Won-Hyo ponder how he should respond. If he expressed doubt now, it could give him away and alert the enemy.
“Considering you couldn’t answer immediately, it really seems like you are. To be honest, it certainly could be suspicious from your perspective. Our sect, which was nothing special up until now, suddenly enhanced our martial arts. Moreover, I, who has been turned into a cripple by qi deviation, suddenly recovered and reached such a high level. I understand that this would not make sense. Moreover, given the current circumstances, you likely even wonder if the forces of the Nine Celestial Demons Sect have infiltrated the Baek Sword Sect.”
Mu-Gun’s words seemed to have completely interpreted his inner feelings, so Won-Hyo confessed. “It’s just as you said. Can you prove that the Baek Sword Sect has nothing to do with the Nine Celestial Demons Sect?”
“Do you know the Heavenly Sea God Sect?”
“The sect of the Heavenly Seafarer, who was highly renowned in the past?”
“That’s right. You’re likely well aware that our sect attacked the base of the Sea Dragon Gang and eradicated them not long ago.”
“Yes.”
“I found the inheritance left behind by the Heavenly Seafarer at the Sea Dragon Gang’s base. My father and I were able to gain enlightenment through his legacy, and, through that enlightenment, we improved our sect’s martial arts.”
“Is that true?”
“You will believe me once you look at this.”
Mu-Gun took out a letter left behind by the Heavenly Seafarer and showed it to Won-Hyo. Predicting that this sort of situation would arise, Mu-Gun had forged a letter from the Heavenly Seafarer in advance so that it could be used as evidence to back up his words. As expected, Won-Hyo couldn’t help but believe him when he saw the letter the Heavenly Seafarer left behind.
“It seems I was suspicious for no reason. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. I would’ve had the same suspicions.”
“Thank you for your understanding. To sum it all up, if our sect supports the Baek Sword Sect for the Zhejiang Martial Alliance leader position, you will enhance the martial arts of our sect to the Upper Ascension Realm?”
“That’s right. We are doing this not just to win over the Justice Martial Sect’s support. My father wishes for the Zhejiang Martial Alliance to be a central force of murim that can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Seven Great Families. That will be difficult to achieve if only our sect becomes strong. All the clans in the Zhejiang Martial Alliance have to grow stronger, and improving the Justice Martial Sect’s martial arts is a step toward that.”
“Elder Brother Cheon-Sang’s ambition is gigantic. It worries me that he could be dreaming too big. Since the early times, too much ambition has always led to ruination.”
“I know very well what you’re worried about, Uncle Jeong. However, if we don’t challenge ourselves, we won’t be able to achieve anything. The current Zhejiang Martial Alliance’s power is insignificant compared to the Seven Great Families, but the Seven Great Families didn’t start as strong and powerful as they are now. Hence, there is definitely a possibility for us to reach their level.”
“You’ve got a point. However, the Nine Prominent Sects and the Seven Great Families wouldn’t want anyone to challenge their authority. They have no regard for the method and ways they’d use to prevent the other forces from growing and protecting their vested powers. If the power of the Zhejiang Martial Alliance grows and threatens their status, they will not leave the Zhejiang Martial Alliance alone no matter what.”
“That could have been the case if the Nine Celestial Demons Sect didn’t resurface. Now that traces of that demonic sect has appeared, the Nine Prominent Sects and the Seven Great Families won’t be able to mess with the Zhejiang Martial Alliance. For the sake of fighting the Nine Celestial Demons Sect, they have to value murim’s strength, even if just by a little bit.”
“You’re right. I didn’t think that far ahead.”
Won-Hyo immediately acknowledged Mu-Gun’s opinion.
“Will you stand on the Baek Sword Sect’s side, Uncle Jeong?”
“Do I have to make a decision right now?”
“No, but if you think about the enhancement of your sect’s martial arts, the sooner you decide, the better.”
“There’s certainly no need to waste time for no reason. As of today, the Justice Martial Sect will support the Baek Sword Sect for the Zhejiang Martial Alliance leader position, and we promise to make every effort to make that happen.”
“You will not regret your decision. To improve the Justice Martial Sect’s martial arts as promised, I first have to understand the Justice Martial Sect’s martial arts. Will that be fine with you?”
Won-Hyo momentarily hesitated to answer Mu-Gun’s question. The Baek Sword Sect’s martial arts were at a much higher level than the Justice Martial Sect’s, so they wouldn’t covet the Justice Martial Sect’s martial arts. However, martial art superiority aside, showing every single aspect of their sect’s martial art to Mu-Gun would be akin to showing their hand to their opponents in a game of poker.
If the Baek Sword Sect had ill intentions, they could formulate a method to render the Justice Martial Sect’s martial arts useless. It would basically mean that the Baek Sword Sect would be holding onto the Justice Martial Sect’s fatal weakness. If that happened, the Justice Martial Sect would be forced to be absolutely inferior to the Baek Sword Sect in terms of martial arts.
On the other hand, could the Justice Martial Sect stand on an equal footing with the Baek Sword Sect if they didn’t expose their martial arts and refused the Baek Sword Sect’s offer to enhance it? Having seen the Celestial Moonlight Sword Mu-Gun demonstrated a while ago, Won-Hyo knew that it was highly unlikely. The Justice Martial Sect was no match for the Baek Sword Sect. If the results were the same anyway, it would be much better to accept the Baek Sword Sect’s help and enhance their martial arts. Then, at the very least, the Justice Martial Sect would be able to secure the upper hand in terms of martial arts against the other clans.
“I have decided to entrust the Justice Martial Sect’s fate to the Baek Sword Sect, so what’s there to not be fine with? Do you want me to show it to you now?” Won-Hyo asked, having made up his mind.
“Yes, I’d very much appreciate it.”
“First of all, I will explain to you our internal energy cultivation method.”
Won-Hyo began to explain the scriptures and application method of the Sunlight Origin Cultivation Method—the Justice Martial Sect’s internal energy cultivation method. One explanation was enough for Mu-Gun to memorize all of its scriptures and application methods. Amazed by Mu-Gun’s comprehension ability, Won-Hyo continued explaining the steps and the internal energy application method of the 12 Pure Sun Blades, which was a sword art that complemented the Sunlight Origin Cultivation Method. This time too, Mu-Gun memorized its steps and the internal energy application method in just one explanation.
“How long will it take to enhance our martial arts?”
“I’ll be able to finish improving it in three days at the earliest.”
After listening to Won-Hyo’s explanation of the internal energy scriptures and the steps of the Sunlight Origin Cultivation Method and the 12 Pure Sun Blades respectively, Mu-Gun decided on the direction he wanted to take in enhancing the Justice Martial Sect’s martial arts. The Sunlight Origin Cultivation Method and the 12 Pure Sun Blades focused on the characteristic of the sun. Hence, incorporating the fire element into it would allow it to grow exceptionally stronger.
Adding special attributes to an ordinary martial art was not as easy as it sounded. However, Mu-Gun, who had learned from watching various martial arts through his multiple past lives, could accomplish such a feat.
Mu-Gun decided to add the essence and principle of the Nine Revolving Fire Art and the Nine Sky-Shaking Fire Blades, which he had learned in his previous life, to the Sunlight Origin Cultivation Method and the 12 Pure Sun Blades, which would serve as foundations.
The Nine Revolving Fire Art and the Nine Sky-Shaking Fire Blades were the ultimate arts of the Vermillion Fire Sect, which the Hell-Blood Demon Sect had wiped out. The Vermillion Fire Sect’s patriarch handed down the Vermillion Fire Sect’s martial arts to Mu-Gun just before his death and requested him to continue their sect’s legacy. However, betrayed by the Seven Saints in his past life, Mu-Gun failed to fulfill the request of the Vermillion Fire Sect’s patriarch. Therefore, Mu-Gun intended to pass down their martial arts and continue their legacy in this reincarnation instead if a suitable person appeared.
Although it bothered him a little to use the essence and principle of the Vermillion Fire Sect’s martial arts without permission for the sake of enhancing the Justice Martial Sect’s martial art, he decided to think of it as a price to pay for continuing the Vermillion Fire Sect’s legacy.
In any case, he thought he could quickly complete the revamped martial arts of the Justice Martial Sect once he had incorporated the essence and principle of the Vermillion Fire Sect’s martial art into them. On the other hand, Won-Hyo, who was unaware of the process and details, was astonished to find out that the enhancement could be completed so fast.
“In three days?”
“Just because I only require a short amount of time doesn’t mean I will haphazardly alter the Justice Martial Sect’s martial arts. You don’t have to worry.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about. I’m just surprised that our sect’s martial arts can be refined so quickly.”
“That’s because I already have a basic idea of how to improve the Justice Martial Sect’s martial arts. Now, then, I’ll be on my way. I’ll visit as soon as I’m done with the enhancement.”
“Alright. I’ll be looking forward to it.”
Mu-Gun finished his discussion with Won-Hyo and returned to the side building where the Baek Sword Sect was assigned.
New novel chapt𝒆rs are published on free(w)ebnovel(.)com