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Righteous Faction Gathering Has Concluded

The Righteous Faction Gathering came to an end.

Honestly, I wasn’t that curious about the details, but I had to know from my position.

This outcome could twist my pre-arranged schedule.

So, the mere fact that plans would change was a significant matter right now.

I had to remember this information.

I asked Cheol Jiseon about the things I had missed while I was asleep.

“What happened?”

“…Uh, well…”

Cheol Jiseon hesitated at my question, but soon began explaining.

It all started with the Great Lord speaking about the ambush incident.

-How did things end up like this?

They began from the very onset.

-What was the Martial Alliance even doing?

What measures did the Martial Alliance take leading up to the results?

-What are their thoughts moving forward?

Now that the event has occurred, how do they intend to address it?

Starting from the heated discussions about the Martial Alliance’s incompetence.

Including the family of victims.

Due to issues concerning reputation, the clans and sects who suffered and the upper houses sponsoring the alliance.

The Martial Alliance needed to present something definitive in response.

Otherwise…

‘…It wouldn’t lead to disbandment, but it would certainly become quite troublesome.’

If the alliance were to disappear right away, it could create problems in the cities that they protected.

If branches vanished, the clans or sects responsible would start managing them.

But considering the costs and personnel required, it wouldn’t be easy to simply withdraw.

Others would know this too, hence they wouldn’t act rashly.

So, what’s the conclusion?

First of all.

The Martial Alliance decided to temporarily close Shinryong Temple.

It was a norm to close after graduating a batch of students, but now, they couldn’t continue Shinryong Temple due to the incident that occurred.

Naturally, the bloodline or successors they had entrusted there wouldn’t want that either.

Shinryong Temple decided to close without graduating any students.

Upon hearing this, what came to my mind was:

‘It’s not a permanent closure?’

That Shinryong Temple was closing temporarily rather than permanently.

I naturally expected that the temple would be permanently closed due to this incident, but it appeared they were only thinking of a temporary closure.

Thinking about the reason for this choice—

‘It’s probably for their damn honor.’

It must have been due to the reputation and esteem Shinryong Temple held.

In the current era, where martial artists are synonymous with sword teams, the prestige of being from Shinryong Temple was not insignificant.

The mere fact of originating from there creates connections.

That sense of belonging could help the bloodline rise to a higher position in the future.

This means that, ultimately, they postponed a permanent closure for their own benefits.

The Martial Alliance also knew this, which is why they mentioned a temporary closure.

‘Although it feels unsettling… Well.’

Whatever the case, the fact that Shinryong Temple is temporarily closed is unprecedented.

‘To begin with, the ambush itself never happened.’

It’s hard to even guess where things began to twist.

I could only nod my head.

There would be no end if I tried to hold onto every detail in my mind; I just had to adapt to the changes.

Next was the treatment of Gu Daemadu, the one behind the ambush.

The Martial Alliance officially announced the identity of the person who attacked Shinryong Temple as the Black Dragon Sword.

People buzzed.

This was only natural.

The Black Dragon Sword was the very martial artist executed by the current Sword Sovereign, Wi Hyogun, famed for wielding the Gale Sword.

It was recorded that he had been decapitated and met his death, after all.

That the Black Dragon Sword was still alive?

Not only that, but it seemed he had drawn his sword against the righteous faction once more after dozens of years.

To those gathered here, this appeared to be quite shocking news.

The alliance exists.

The three eminent beings are maintaining the fragile and insufficient peace because they are righteous.

Did they really not know that this could break at any moment?

It would indeed be correct to say they were very much intoxicated by the peace.

It was said that the Black Dragon Sword, currently held in the alliance’s prison, would soon be transferred to the Tang Clan.

‘The Tang Clan?’

Upon hearing this, I couldn’t help but frown.

I was suspicious as to why they were sending him not to the alliance, but to the Tang Clan.

‘Why?’

Considering the lengthy journey to Sichuan, it would be safer for torture to be conducted within the alliance.

What did they intend to accomplish by transporting him that far?

Such doubts crossed my mind.

But the larger issue arose here.

As this was a gathering, it wasn’t just the Great Lord lecturing; it was quite clearly a place for questions and discussions.

One could say it was a ground for debate.

In such a scenario, I was the one who captured the Black Dragon Sword.

Those who wanted to know what happened were inclined to direct their questions at me.

…But the problem was, I was actually asleep, leaning on my father’s shoulder at that moment.

What a shameful sight it was to be a bloodline of a great house, sleeping soundly at a gathering!

In the midst, I had no recollection of awakening.

What could this mean?

‘Was the rebound too strong for me to wake up…?’

It could be, but there was Cheol Jiseon, looking all shaky and gulping as he spoke.

“…Your father… was really scary.”

“What?”

“No… never mind.”

Cheol Jiseon trembled as if he didn’t want to recall what he saw.

What on earth did he witness to react like that?

As I was about to scold him to finish what he started, he continued.

“…So, instead of you sleeping, I took the questions.”

“…”

Hearing his somber words, I could only shut my mouth.

At that moment, it dawned on me why he was looking at me with those deathly expressions.

I should have been the one to receive questions at the gathering, but I slept instead.

This meant Cheol Jiseon was the one burdened with answering the questions posed by others.

The Clan Leader and the Sect Leader as well as the higher-ups of the central houses had bombarded Cheol Jiseon with questions.

This certainly must have been overwhelming for the timid Cheol Jiseon.

Especially since he was trying to hide his surname of the Zhuge Clan.

“…You… suffered a lot.”

“…”

That was all I could say.

Cheol Jiseon still bore a fatigued expression, looking as if he might collapse at any moment, but he shook his head and continued.

A lot was exchanged, but upon hearing everything, there were only three important points to consider.

-Shinryong Temple has decided to remain closed for at least ten years.

-The alliance takes the incident seriously and has declared war on the Demonic Faction.

And the most crucial point.

With this incident having occurred, someone had to take responsibility.

Even if they were innocent.

People need someone to blame, and unless someone takes responsibility, this matter won’t end.

Thus, the alliance sought to find someone to announce as accountable.

First.

The Sect Leader of the Kunlun Sect.

Cheonghae Ilgeom decided to take responsibility himself and step down from the leader position.

Upon hearing this, I inevitably tightened my fist.

The Sect Leader causing trouble and stepping down from leadership meant significant damage to the Kunlun Sect.

Unlike in my previous life, where Cheonghae Ilgeom fell from grace and became a demon, he stepped down this time but under different circumstances.

‘Who would have thought he’d step down from that position?’

It seemed the individual overseeing matters was indeed Cheonghae Ilgeom, which implied he intended to take responsibility.

But that nagging feeling was unavoidable.

‘Moreover.’

That was not the end of the issue.

The greater matter remaining was—

-Nakgeom Jangcheon also chose to step down from his position as the current Great Lord.

For over ten years, Nakgeom, who has been sitting in the position of Great Lord, decided to step down just like Cheonghae Ilgeom.

“…The Great Lord?”

As soon as I heard this from Cheol Jiseon, I whipped my head around.

Nakgeom was stepping down from the position of Great Lord?

“What…?”

“Well, naturally, when the Great Lord brought it up, there was a huge reaction from the crowd.”

“Of course there would be…!”

If Jangcheon stepped down as Great Lord, it was absolutely no trivial matter.

Taking responsibility and stepping down?

That was possible.

But that means the position would be vacant.

This means they would need to elect a new Great Lord.

That would complicate things.

In my previous life, Jangcheon was the Great Lord, and right after the Blood Calamity ended, Wi Seol-Ah became the Great Lord.

But now, if Jangcheon were to resign from that position…

‘Who would become the next Great Lord?’

The next generation had to elect a new one.

The Martial Alliance is referred to as the symbol of the righteous faction, meaning the Great Lord’s position must remain filled.

“Ha…”

The situation was spinning way too complicated.

A vacant Great Lord position… This was an unforeseen development for me.

The sun had already set.

With a heavy head, I headed towards an inn.

This was the place that Lady Mi had given me a heads-up about.

Probably, the Gu Clan’s group would all be gathered there.

The streets of Hanam felt busier than any other day I had seen recently.

It was so packed that it was difficult to take a step forward, but after jumping over a few buildings, I thankfully reached my destination comfortably.

Around the inn, there were relatively fewer people.

It seemed Lady Mi rented out the entire inn, which likely contributed to that.

Just as I arrived and was about to enter through the door—

“Hey… Yangcheon.”

Cheol Jiseon, who had been on my back, called out to me urgently.

“What?”

“Can I really go…?”

“You said it was okay. So it should be fine.”

“B-but still…”

Cheol Jiseon spoke to me anxiously.

The reason was that he also ended up joining the meal time.

He said his family wasn’t coming anyway, and since he was feeling sorry for being dragged around, I figured I’d treat him to a meal.

I remembered how Lady Mi wore a pleasantly cheerful smile when I asked if he could dine with a friend.

“Is… is it really okay for someone like me?”

“What’s there not to be okay about? Stop whining and come along.”

“Ugh…!”

After saying that, I tossed Cheol Jiseon aside.

Now that we had arrived, he could walk on his own.

I left him patting his backside and opened the door to the inn first.

As the door opened, the splendid interior came into view.

Inns are generally this way, but perhaps due to the fewer inhabitants inside, there was an even better view.

As I stepped in, someone welcomed me.

“Oh! It’s been a while.”

A hearty laugh approached me.

It was Elder Gu Ryoon.

It had been months since I’d seen familiar faces like Lady Mi or Gu Huibi.

Somehow, it felt especially nice to see him.

“It’s nice to see you again.”

“How have you been?”

Haha—!

The Elder laughed heartily, and patted my back.

…It still hurt like hell.

It was a sign of affection, but this old man’s hands were still quite rough.

“Oh ho. Yangcheon.”

“…Yes.”

I responded while enduring the pain, and the Elder grinned gruesomely.

“Looks like you’ve gotten stronger since we last met. I quite like it.”

As he showed off his arm muscles, it looked as if he was about to burst out of the martial robe he wore.

It seemed like he’d pop if hit lightly.

“Looks like you’ve been well, Elder.”

“Haha! I’ve always been doing well! Yangcheon, it seems you’ve been doing quite fine too. They say you received a new alias, right? What was it? So Yeom….”

“Oh, I’m hungry.”

I quickly passed by before he could say anything weird.

I didn’t want to hear any more.

-Um? Who might you be?

-Oh… I’m Cheol Jiseon from the Cheol Clan….

-Ah, you’re Yangcheon’s friend. But why is this guy so fragile looking? Is he weak in the arms….

-Excuse me? Um… wait! Aah!

Screams erupted from Cheol Jiseon, who was caught by Elder Gu Ryoon.

But I ignored it.

‘Consider it a good sacrifice.’

After offering my condolences to Cheol Jiseon in spirit, I headed towards where the Gu Clan members were gathered.

Squeak.

Upon opening another door, many familiar faces, including Lady Mi and my father, were present.

“Hmm?”

I had expected to see the people I thought would be at the family meal, but amidst them—

“…What’s this?”

An unexpected person was sitting there as well.

 

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