Chapter 157 – The Orthodox Alliance (5)

Fortunately, Sword Master’s disgraced appearance wasn’t seen by people.

The explosion that burst in the sky stole people’s gazes.

Because before the last confrontation, Sun-woo had spread illusion magic on the sparring platform beforehand to deceive people’s attention.

“Witchcraft, no, a type of magic technique? An illusion with substance. This is the first time I’ve seen something like this.”

Fortunately, Sword Master’s confusion wasn’t long. The old man who swept back his disheveled hair began reviewing the match that just occurred.

“The increased swords and the body that shot into the sky were all illusions with substance. And at first, the magic that moved earth or soil, and transposition movement that seemed more than just martial arts. Truly more than one or two techniques I’ve never seen before.”

The old man, who had been muttering as if in admiration, raised his head to seek Sun-woo’s agreement and saw the desolate sparring platform with only himself remaining.

Sun-woo had already left the platform and entered the tent where Strategist Zhuge was.

Waaah!

Sword Master tried to immediately follow Sun-woo, but he had to respond to the cheers of people watching the platform.

Of course, the match had a rather disgraced result.

The audience, who didn’t properly know the result due to the flashy explosion and Sun-woo’s deception, jumped to conclusions that it was Sword Master’s victory and sent him cheers.

As Martial Elder, this was an even more absurd and awkward matter.

As the Orthodox Alliance’s Martial Elder, he couldn’t not respond to the crowd’s cheers.

He clicked his tongue quietly while waving his hand toward the crowd.

Meanwhile, Strategist Zhuge’s eyes widened seeing Sun-woo enter the tent in intact condition.

Because to people below the stage, Sun-woo appeared to be caught in the explosion and wrecked due to the illusion magic.

Of course, his outer coat was damaged enough to discard, but his body didn’t have a single scratch.

“Ah, you said you also have magic techniques.”

Strategist Zhuge immediately realized what happened as if showing off his outstanding mind.

He looked up at the platform again and sighed.

“Martial Elder seems to have taken quite a beating. His expression isn’t good.”

Strategist Zhuge made a slightly troubled expression, then eventually shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, can’t be helped. Though he has a somewhat stubborn side, his grudge-holding isn’t that severe. Just spar with him a few times next time and it’ll be fine.”

“That seems quite grudge-holding enough.”

“Well, isn’t it much better than the Tang Clan? Well, with bad luck from this incident, they’ll have to close the sect’s gates for a good 10 years, so there won’t be any problems going forward.”

The way he threatened then immediately handled it showed he was truly good at handling people.

However, Sun-woo had an indifferent expression. He really wasn’t worried about the Tang Clan.

“Anyway, since you’ve shown enough ability, there won’t be anyone complaining about assigning you a new position now.”

Strategist Zhuge threw Sun-woo an identification badge and armband.

On the armband and badge, the character for “Investigate” (察) was embedded in gold, and the badge additionally had the epithet Black Wind (黑風) prominently engraved.

“It’s a new position. Though temporary, it’s the surveillance team leader. I’ll attach Mount Hua’s Sword Flower and one surveillance team martial artist as adjutants, so ask them about the position.”

Sun-woo looked at the badge and armband and asked Strategist Zhuge.

“Surveillance team leader… Weren’t all the brainwashed just caught?”

“If only it could be done in one go, how nice would that be…”

Strategist Zhuge tapped the back of his neck with his fan as if his head hurt.

“I gathered as many as possible, but the people gathered here aren’t everyone. There are still many people at Orthodox Alliance headquarters, and if we include each branch and cooperating sects, there’ll be more than the people gathered here. We need to check those people too.”

“It doesn’t seem like the mission will continue for that long.”

“Well, once we check this headquarters and this city Chengdu, it’ll be done. But if you’re going to carry out missions on this land in the future, that badge will help sufficiently. If you find and eliminate brainwashed people while doing missions, it’ll help the alliance too.”

As always, Strategist Zhuge’s words contained personal motives, but it was also true that it helped Sun-woo.

Sun-woo put the badge and armband inside his coat.

“Those two are currently handling the brainwashed aftermath, so if you wait a moment, they’ll come. Please wait outside for a bit.”

Strategist Zhuge seemed very busy. After giving Sun-woo the armband and badge, he started scribbling documents again.

However, even though Strategist Zhuge’s words ended, Sun-woo didn’t move from that spot.

When Zhuge Hyeon looked at Sun-woo with a puzzled expression, Sun-woo extended his hand toward him.

“You said you’d give compensation.”

Strategist Zhuge shook his head at Sun-woo’s persistent appearance.

***

Three days from then.

Sun-woo, Nanseol, and the surveillance member Strategist Zhuge attached went around the Orthodox Alliance and sects in the Henan area looking for brainwashed people.

Fortunately, since the Henan region was close to the alliance, most people had participated. Thanks to that, cases of discovering additional brainwashed people were almost none.

Two outer division martial artists at the Orthodox Alliance main group and one head of a small-medium sect in Henan territory were revealed as additional brainwashed, and they were arrested by Sun-woo and Nanseol and escorted to the alliance.

Meanwhile, stories of Sun-woo who fought Martial Elder and martial artists arrested while watching the match spread like wildfire.

People were feeling even more confused at Martial Elder’s appearance pulling out even the sword orb in the last confrontation.

If the opponent made him pull out the sword orb, the opponent was definitely a martial artist who reached super absolute level.

However, people were confused because of the preconception that Sun-woo was a young martial artist from the frontier called the east.

What was certain was that no one remained who accepted Sun-woo as an ordinary absolute expert.

And it also became an established fact that Tang Pyeong properly transformed into a Poison Man.

The Orthodox Alliance immediately started a meeting to impose sanctions on the Tang Clan, and behind the scenes, transactions began between the Tang Clan and Orthodox Alliance to adjust the sanction level.

Interrogation of people arrested at the plaza also proceeded, and people learned they were subjected to a type of prohibition.

Of course, that prohibition was brainwashing by psychic powers.

Martial artists who didn’t know psychic powers themselves could only think they bewitched them with a type of witchcraft.

Naturally, Tang Pyeong’s betrayal was also concluded to be by the same brainwashing.

Of course, the sanctions on the Tang Clan didn’t help because the problem wasn’t the brainwashing but the fact that the forbidden martial art, Poison Man, was still being transmitted.

As a result, this incident became something that caused distrust within the Orthodox Alliance.

Fortunately, Strategist Zhuge stepped forward systematically and handled it as much as possible with words that the alliance was properly responding.

***

The alliance was turning busily.

Sun-woo and Nanseol left the surveillance member at the alliance and departed to visit Shaolin Temple, one of the last two sects remaining in Henan.

The two visited Shaolin Temple without revealing their identity as surveillance members, but as Mount Hua disciples and their attendant.

Fortunately, Nanseol’s epithet Mount Hua’s Sword Flower wasn’t light, and the party was immediately guided to the sect leader’s room.

“You’re not an ordinary attendant. Seol-ah, you’ve truly grown in the time I haven’t seen you.”

Shaolin Temple’s sect leader wearing a yellow kasaya with shining head immediately recognized both people’s skills upon seeing Sun-woo and Nanseol.

As Shaolin Temple’s abbot, naturally a super absolute martial artist.

He could immediately tell the two people’s skills.

Shaolin Temple’s abbot seemed to personally know Nanseol too.

“He knows my master well.”

Perhaps sound transmission wasn’t polite, seeing Sun-woo’s curious expression, Nanseol whispered softly.

Seeing that appearance, the abbot made a warm smile.

“You’ve already reached that age. The breakthrough in growth that had been blocked was probably also because of that reason.”

At the abbot’s words, Nanseol’s face flushed red and Sun-woo made a puzzled expression.

“Let’s leave personal talk for later, and first tell me the reason you came.”

It wasn’t a place to talk coercively by showing the armband like small-medium sects.

At the sect leader’s words, Nanseol explained why she came.

Nanseol explained the events that occurred earlier excluding the story about summoners, and about brainwashed people and the spirit creature that could find them.

When Nanseol’s story moved to Seolmyo’s story, Sun-woo summoned Seolmyo from inside his coat and showed it to the sect leader.

The sect leader, who had been listening calmly, made a slightly surprised expression at the spirit creature that suddenly appeared.

When the story ended, the sect leader looked at Sun-woo.

“So you’re that Black Wind.”

The sect leader also knew about Sun-woo.

The sect leader looked at Seolmyo for a moment, then looked at Nanseol again and continued the story.

“I roughly heard about what happened at the alliance. About the appearance of the future greatest under heaven and witchcraft that completely changes consciousness.”

Certainly, Shaolin Temple in the murim wasn’t an ordinary temple.

The sect leader knew accurately what happened at the alliance.

“That witchcraft that changes minds is probably witchcraft created by the Blood Cult that Strategist Zhuge keeps looking for, right?”

No, not just not ordinary. Though not perfect, the sect leader was seeing through the situation.

“Tsk tsk, the punishment for oppressing the Demonic Cult in the past seems to be returning now.”

“Wait, what do you mean Demonic Cult?”

Sun-woo couldn’t help but blurt out a question at the suddenly appearing word Demonic Cult.

“Ah, as I age, I naturally talk more. Originally there was a group called Blood Cult that split from the Demonic Cult in the past. A blood-fanatic group created when the Demonic Cult leader who fell into qi deviation ran out of the Demonic Cult. They disappeared after attacks from the imperial family and orthodox faction.”

After that, the orthodox faction and Demonic Cult erased the name Blood Cult from murim history.

The Demonic Cult because of the leader who ran out crazily, the orthodox faction because they had the fault of making the leader fall into qi deviation, both had justification to cooperate.

Through their joint attack, the Blood Cult’s name disappeared from murim history, and that name only remained in secret documents of a few sects.

“I recently heard stories about a group using the name Blood Cult appearing again, but it was hard to connect it with that past Blood Cult. How many evil cults or unorthodox factions using the name ‘blood’ have appeared? But after hearing what happened at the alliance and gathering information, I couldn’t help but feel it’s connected to the past Blood Cult.”

At the abbot’s words, several points that were doubts in Sun-woo’s head surfaced again.

Why were summoners recruited centering on the orthodox faction in this world, why the Demonic Cult side was much more connected to the Blood Cult than the orthodox faction.

Such questions kept passing through Sun-woo’s head.

“Well, even now I’m thinking of giving strength to Strategist Zhuge’s words. Though it’s just a monk settled in the mountains, it’ll still help a bit with what Seol-ah is doing.”

Truly words befitting Shaolin Temple’s abbot, called the orthodox faction’s pillar.

“Then, check. They’re all people who’ve only been inside here, so I don’t know who they could have met.”

Certainly the sect leader’s words were correct.

With his permission, they went around Shaolin Temple’s grounds, but Seolmyo just dozed off on Sun-woo’s shoulder, and Nanseol made bright expressions thanks to monks who occasionally recognized her.

After saying farewell to the sect leader, the two headed toward the last sect.

Shortly after, standing before the last sect’s main gate, Nanseol made a quite troubled face.

Because of disciples looking back and forth between her and Sun-woo.

On the horizontal tablet above the main gate of the sect settled in the mountains, the sect’s name was magnificently written.

Mount Hua Sect (華山派)

Far inside the gate, her master was quickly approaching.