Chapter 115

Chapter 115: It's Been a While Since We Met, But My Heart Isn't What It Used to Be (3)

Han So-yu stared intently at Dam Ho. Tears were already welling in her eyes.

She was not certain. But seeing Dam Ho with his limp, she had wondered if it might be him. When her suspicion proved true, she felt an even more intense confusion.

"You were alive. Then why didn't you return to the Mount Hua Sect? Everyone worried about you so much."

"Is that so?"

"What do you mean?"

"Did they really all worry?"

"……"

Dam Ho's cold question left Han So-yu momentarily speechless.

Only then did she realize—the gaze Dam Ho turned upon her was frigidly cold. Not a trace of emotion remained in those eyes.

His eyes, as emotionless as those of a stranger with no connection whatsoever, were frighteningly unsettling.

"Cheong-gyeong."

"Where is Master?"

"Martial Uncle is… doing well."

At Han So-yu's answer, Dam Ho nodded.

That was what he had most wanted to hear.

For Dam Ho, that was enough.

As long as he was safe, that was all that mattered. Someday, they would meet again.

Dam Ho turned and looked at Eun So-cheong.

"Let's go."

"Cheong-gyeong!"

Just then, a booming voice suddenly rang out beside Dam Ho's ear.

Dam Ho turned to find Hyeon-mu Sage glaring at him.

Hyeon-mu Sage's voice echoed thunderously throughout the Azure Sun Sword Sect.

"Are you truly Cheong-gyeong? If so, how dare you fail to pay proper respects to your sect's elder when you see him?"

Most of the martial artists present nodded in agreement with his sentiment.

The martial world placed greater emphasis on the hierarchy within a sect than anywhere else.

Those of lower rank were required to show utmost respect to their sect's elders. Once one became a disciple of a sect, one could never be free from the hierarchy. Even Myeong-gyeong, currently praised as the Mount Hua Sect's greatest prodigy, had been no more than an Outer Disciple twelve years ago. His standing had been below even the Second Generation Disciples.

But when Sage Hyeon-geom accepted him as a disciple, everything changed. He became a First Generation Disciple, and the Second Generation Disciples were now required to address him as Martial Uncle.

That was the hierarchy of the martial world. That was the order of a sect.

Therefore, Hyeon-mu Sage's indignation was natural. If Dam Ho was truly a disciple of the Mount Hua Sect, he should have paid his respects first to the sect's elder.

Dam Ho's gaze sank deep.

In that moment, the bold voice that had just cried out fell silent, and Hyeon-mu Sage instinctively recoiled like a turtle pulling its head into its shell.

Dam Ho's eyes, fixed upon him, were so black that not a single fragment of emotion could be found. But Hyeon-mu Sage could sense that those eyes held no goodwill whatsoever.

A chill ran up his spine.

He had boldly stepped forward upon hearing that the man was a sect disciple, but Dam Ho's overwhelming presence had caused him to shrink back without realizing it.

People held their breath, watching Dam Ho and Hyeon-mu Sage.

They were still under the lingering impression of Dam Ho's fierce display moments ago. They were captivated by his aftershock.

'The Fist Demon was a disciple of the Mount Hua Sect.'

'As expected, only a prestigious sect like the Mount Hua Sect could produce such a person.'

If Dam Ho were to join the Mount Hua Sect, the destructive power would be beyond imagination.

They marveled at the Mount Hua Sect's hidden strength while watching the unfolding situation with guarded eyes.

Dam Ho said nothing and simply stared at Hyeon-mu Sage. This only intensified the pressure upon Hyeon-mu Sage.

For Hyeon-mu Sage, that brief silence felt like eternity. So he shouted.

"Why do you say nothing? Do you find the sect's elder laughable?"

"A sect, you say…"

At last, Dam Ho opened his heavy lips.

Everyone waited with expectant gazes for his next words. What followed was enough to plunge the hall into chaos.

"I may have a Master, but I have no sect."

"What did he say?"

"He denies the sect?"

Not just Hyeon-mu Sage, but the entire hall erupted in murmurs.

Those present belonged to the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families—the martial world's most prestigious organizations.

For them, the sect was the cradle and the grave from which one must never betray. It was the beginning and the end, and the entirety of one's life.

To deny one's sect was absolutely unthinkable. Such words were tantamount to severing one's own place in the martial world.

They gazed at Dam Ho with eyes burning with outrage.

Hyeon-mu Sage's beard trembled with fury.

"Are you denying the Mount Hua Sect? You learned martial arts from the Mount Hua Sect, and this is how you repay it?"

He was genuinely furious.

Such words were beyond understanding or acceptance according to Hyeon-mu Sage's values.

The Mount Hua Sect was everything to him. And a mere disciple dared deny it?

Not only had he insulted the sect's elder, but he had also denied the very order of the Mount Hua Sect and the entire martial world.

"It seems the Mount Hua Sect was a joke to you. The Mount Hua Sect—"

"Do not force your beliefs upon me."

"How dare you—"

"It was the Mount Hua Sect that abandoned me."

"What are you—"

"Seems you don't know."

Dam Ho's voice was as deep and cold as his gaze. His demeanor was so desolate that Hyeon-mu Sage could no longer press him.

Instead, events from twelve years ago surfaced in his mind.

After returning from beyond the seas, Sage Hyeon-so had entered seclusion. Mu-gyeong and Un-gyeong had fallen silent.

The elders of the Mount Hua Sect had pressed them for answers, but they said nothing. Thus, nothing was known about the circumstances of that day.

'What on earth happened that day?'

Dam Ho watched the pondering Hyeon-mu Sage with amusement. A faint sneer appeared at the corner of his lips.

"Curious?"

"……"

"Then ask that gentleman over there."

Dam Ho's gaze turned to Sage Cheong-heo, who stood in the distance looking lost. When their eyes met, Sage Cheong-heo's body flinched.

The one most shocked by Dam Ho's appearance was Sage Cheong-heo. Among all the martial artists present, he alone knew the truth of that day.

Though every person present was a master, not a single one had been able to protect Dam Ho, each having been consumed with saving their own life.

The memory of that day remained as a stain upon his conscience. Though he had done it to save his own disciple, Yeon So-ha, the guilt was inescapable.

He still sometimes dreamed of Dam Ho, left alone, being buried alive. The memory of that day remained a nightmare.

All eyes turned to Sage Cheong-heo. But Sage Cheong-heo could not bring himself to speak.

If he revealed what had happened that day, not only the Mount Hua Sect's reputation but also the honor of the Wudang and Zhongnan Sects would be dragged through the mud.

So Sage Cheong-heo sealed his lips tightly. But Dam Ho was not surprised by this reaction.

"I knew you'd say that."

"……"

Dam Ho turned away.

There was no further business for him here.

He did not care how they looked at him. Since the day he had been isolated from the world twelve years ago, he had ceased to care about the gaze of others.

It did not matter how the world saw him. He did not care what they said.

They were who they were, and he was who he was.

Hyeon-mu Sage and the Mount Hua Sect disciples, who did not know the circumstances, could only remain silent. But not everyone was like Hyeon-mu Sage.

"To dare deny one's sect—he is clearly a heretic!"

Elder Jin Do-gyeong of the Zhongnan Sect roared with fury.

He was a man of immense pride in the Zhongnan Sect, and correspondingly stubborn.

Though it was not his own sect's affair, watching Dam Ho deny his sect made his blood boil.

Dam Ho's words were not merely a denial of the Mount Hua Sect; they were a denial of the entire martial world's order.

"He who denies his sect has no place in the martial world!"

"No matter how the sect may have erred, how can a disciple dare deny it?"

Several people voiced their agreement with Jin Do-gyeong.

As their voices grew louder, the hall became a venue for denouncing Dam Ho.

Jin Do-gyeong stepped forward, pointing his finger.

"If you have any sense, you should immediately kneel before the sect's elder and beg forgiveness. That is the only way to atone for your—"

"Kuh!"

Crack!

In that instant, Dam Ho's fist struck Jin Do-gyeong square in the mouth.

Teeth shattered, lips were crushed.

Jin Do-gyeong clapped both hands over his mouth and collapsed to the ground. His face was a mess of tears and blood.

"Elder!"

The Zhongnan Sect disciples rushed toward him like madmen.

Bam!

At that moment, Dam Ho's fist slammed into the bluestone floor.

Crash! Boom!

From the point where his fist had sunk to the wrist, the bluestone exploded.

Powerful shockwaves and stone fragments radiated outward in concentric circles.

It was as though a thunderbolt had struck.

"Cough!"

"Ugh!"

The Zhongnan Sect disciples were struck by the stone fragments and swept away by the shockwave, tumbling ignominiously in all directions.

Dam Ho did not even glance at them.

His gaze was fixed solely on Jin Do-gyeong.

Jin Do-gyeong's face was twisted with pain and humiliation. He had never expected Dam Ho to punch him without warning.

He tried to charge at Dam Ho. But at that moment, their eyes met head-on.

Shudder!

Every hair on his body stood on end.

'If I fight, I die.'

The thought struck him suddenly.

Only then did he recall that Dam Ho had single-handedly slaughtered the Golden Demon Lion and the Blood Chain Demons—enemies that had given them all so much trouble.

That meant that even if everyone here attacked together, they could not guarantee victory.

He had provoked such a being. It was a miracle he was still alive.

His pride lay in ruins, and humiliation washed over him like a tide. But he could not move.

If he moved now, he would certainly die.

It was not mere premonition but absolute conviction. That was why he could not move.

Dam Ho looked at Jin Do-gyeong and spoke.

"Run your mouth one more time, and I'll rip your head off."

"Ugh!"

Jin Do-gyeong instinctively recoiled like a turtle pulling in his head.

Jin Do-gyeong and the Zhongnan Sect's honor had been trampled into the dirt, but those who witnessed it could not laugh. His situation felt too close to their own.

Dam Ho rose to his feet.

The eyes of countless people watched him.

Some gazes held contempt, others held fear.

What was certain was that very few gazes held any warmth.

Only Eun So-cheong, Cho Yeon-woon, and Hae So-wol looked upon Dam Ho with something resembling goodwill.

Dam Ho looked at Hyeon-mu Sage.

In that instant, Hyeon-mu Sage flinched.

He had just witnessed with his own eyes what had happened to Jin Do-gyeong, Elder of the Zhongnam Sect.

The usual rules did not apply to Dam Ho. Neither his Mount Hua Sect origins nor the framework of the martial world's hierarchy could bind him.

The only possibility was if Dam Ho's Master, Sage Hyeon-so, intervened. But Sage Hyeon-so had not been seen in nearly ten years.

As it stood, there was no method to compel Dam Ho. Not unless Dam Ho chose to bow his head of his own accord.

At that moment, Dam Ho made his declaration.

"My name is Dam Ho. I walk alone. I am a free man who belongs to no sect."

His cry echoed thunderously throughout the Azure Sun Sword Sect.