Chapter 345

Chapter 345 – Wudang's Heaven Is Not the Martial World's Heaven (2)

Yeon So-ha climbed Wudang Mountain.

She had climbed up and down Wudang Mountain countless times. The ascending stairs and the large trees standing by the roadside remained unchanged in their places, yet today they somehow looked different.

Yeon So-ha quickly climbed the rugged Wudang Mountain and arrived at the Wudang Sect. The first sight she encountered when reaching the training ground was martial artists filling the entire space.

It wasn't just Wudang Sect's Taoists. Numerous martial artists who had come to the Wudang Sect to fight against the Demon Cult were all gathered together. And they were stirring.

"Is it true? They're attacking the Fist Demon?"

"Didn't they say Taoist Cheong-jin's both arms were broken? The Fist Demon must be insane. How dare he break a Wudang Sect elder's arms."

"I didn't see him that way, but the Fist Demon is no good either. At a time when we should unite our strength to fight the Demon Cult, he attacks the Wudang Sect, which is also an orthodox sect. It wasn't for nothing that his nickname contains the character for demon."

Most martial artists were condemning Dam Ho.

Their faces clearly revealed the light of anger. They were accepting what happened to the Wudang Sect elder at Dam Ho's hands as if they themselves had been insulted.

Especially for martial artists based in Hubei Province, the Wudang Sect was a sacred and inviolable domain. Therefore, they accepted the Wudang Sect's affairs as their own and were prepared for battle.

"Sigh!"

Yeon So-ha let out a quiet sigh while looking at such people.

Just standing still, she could feel the collective madness. In the past, she could have passed it off as nothing, but now just standing in this place made her feel suffocated.

Yeon So-ha shook her head and passed by them, heading toward the Purple Heaven Palace.

As she expected, the Wudang Sect's leadership had all gathered inside the Purple Heaven Palace.

Sect Leader Taoist Cheong-wol, Strategist Taoist Cheong-mu, and many elders and disciples filled the space without a single empty seat.

In the center was Taoist Cheong-jin. He was passionately speaking with splints on both arms.

"That fellow is a scoundrel beyond reasoning. Look at these arms. See what he did to me when I only wanted to talk. He attacked me suddenly and broke both my arms. Does this make sense? Even if I displeased him, how could he break the arms of a Wudang Sect elder like this? He is an irredeemable demon. If we tolerate him like this, countless fellow martial artists will surely look down on the Wudang Sect."

"Mm!"

At Taoist Cheong-jin's passionate speech, Taoist Cheong-wol and Taoist Cheong-mu wore troubled expressions.

Especially Taoist Cheong-wol was frowning deeply while glaring at Taoist Cheong-jin.

'In the end, Cheong-jin caused trouble.'

Like it or not, they had been together for decades. Therefore, he was confident he knew Taoist Cheong-jin's character better than anyone.

Taoist Cheong-jin always turned red-faced and spoke passionately only when something disadvantageous to him occurred.

Now his face was glowing red like a furnace. That meant Taoist Cheong-jin had picked a fight with Dam Ho first.

Taoist Cheong-wol looked at Taoist Cheong-mu. It meant Taoist Cheong-mu bore responsibility for letting things reach this point. Then Taoist Cheong-mu lowered his head to avoid his gaze.

Taoist Cheong-mu hadn't anticipated that Taoist Cheong-jin would return with both arms broken.

It was a super-scale incident far beyond what he could handle.

'This is troublesome. Whatever the case, Senior Brother Cheong-jin's both arms are broken. If we just let this pass, the Wudang Sect's prestige will fall to the ground.'

For massive sects like the Wudang Sect, external face was more important than anything. Losing face was equivalent to revealing the sect's weaknesses.

Martial world warriors don't respect those who reveal weaknesses. Rather, they tend to bite even more fiercely.

It might seem trivial, but even a dam bursts starting from one small hole. Therefore, massive sects like the Wudang Sect had no choice but to act more harshly to prevent weaknesses from being exposed externally.

It was the same now.

Taoist Cheong-jin was simply complaining about his broken arms, but the Wudang Sect had no choice but to punish Dam Ho to maintain face.

It was like being checkmated in chess.

Though he found Taoist Cheong-jin annoying for babbling without even recognizing this fact, there was no way to stop him now.

"We must punish the Fist Demon. Otherwise, fellow martial artists will look down on the Wudang Sect."

It was when Taoist Cheong-jin finished speaking like this.

"Uncle Master!"

Suddenly a clear voice echoed through the hall.

Everyone's gaze turned toward the voice's owner. The voice's owner was precisely Yeon So-ha.

"Uncle Master says we must punish the Fist Demon, but I oppose it."

"What nonsense are you talking? This isn't a place for you to interfere."

Taoist Cheong-jin shouted in surprise. His face was full of anger. Usually, he was such a stern uncle master that she wouldn't dare even look at him directly. But not a trace of wavering existed in Yeon So-ha's eyes looking at him.

"Uncle Master!"

"You?"

"Uncle Master attacked first."

"What nonsense are you talking?"

"Though he may have a bad relationship with our sect, that doesn't mean it's bad enough to treat him carelessly. Even if our hearts don't align and we can't be together, we should have shown proper courtesy."

"Are you daring to insult your uncle master?"

"I don't intend to insult Uncle Master. I'm stating facts."

"Shut up! We spoiled you by being nice, and now you don't know your place and climb up. Is that how you speak to a sect elder?"

"Uncle Master!"

"What are you doing? Disciples, quickly drag that girl out."

Taoist Cheong-jin shouted at other disciples. The disciples looked at each other uncertainly.

At that moment, Taoist Cheong-wol rose.

"Stop it, Junior Brother."

"Sect Leader!"

"Didn't I tell you to stop? Stop it."

"Yes!"

When Taoist Cheong-wol's voice rose slightly, Taoist Cheong-jin quickly bowed his head. His face had turned deathly pale.

Taoist Cheong-wol appeared gentle and mild on the outside. But he knew best how strong-willed and decisive his character was.

If he fell out of favor with Taoist Cheong-wol, it wouldn't stop at being pushed to a minor position. Being treated as if he didn't exist was minor, and in the worst case, he could be pushed out of his elder position entirely and ordered into secluded cultivation.

Though it sounded nice to call it secluded cultivation, it was no different from exile. Unable to come out until Taoist Cheong-wol called for him.

There were quite a few martial artists in secluded cultivation after falling out of Taoist Cheong-wol's favor. Taoist Cheong-jin definitely didn't want to become one of them.

"So-ha, you stop too."

"But…"

"So-ha. I know too."

"Excuse me?"

"How impatient Cheong-jin is. And how authoritarian. But the Fist Demon is someone on whom authority doesn't work. His actions until now prove that fact. So they clashed. It's natural when those who never back down meet."

"……"

"It's no one's fault. But even so, we absolutely cannot just let it pass."

"Sect Leader."

"We are the Wudang Sect."

It was a simple statement. But the weight and meaning contained within it were different.

Everything was contained within those words 'Wudang Sect.'

Hundreds of years of history, pride, status, and values that must be protected were contained within.

The position of Wudang Sect Leader was a position that protected all of that.

Sometimes wrong decisions had to be made, and this moment was one of those times.

The value that took priority over everything else for him was precisely the name 'Wudang Sect.'

"Cheong-mu."

"Yes! Sect Leader."

"Bring the Fist Demon here. Very courteously."

"Understood."

"Move personally."

"I will do so."

"Don't make mistakes this time. Absolutely not!"

"Yes!"

Taoist Cheong-mu bowed deeply. Cold sweat flowed down his spine.

Taoist Cheong-wol's gaze turned toward Yeon So-ha.

"You rest."

"Sect Leader!"

"It's an order."

That was the end.

The Wudang Sect Leader never went back on his word.

Yeon So-ha's face hardened. Just as she was about to say something more, four first-generation disciples surrounded her. They completely blocked any chance for her to speak.

Yeon So-ha closed her eyes.

'In the end…'

Though she had thought no words would work anyway, when it actually became reality, it was only disheartening.

***

There was an empty field on the outskirts of Jun County that people rarely visited.

Azure Sky Escort Agency's escorts had gathered in the field that had long been unvisited. In the center of the field were dozens of platforms built high with tree branches.

On each platform lay the body of an escort who died in this escort mission. They intended to cremate them here.

"Sigh!"

Nam Woo-saeng let out a quiet sigh while looking at the scene.

Though he thought his grief had sufficiently passed during this time, his heart ached again.

The bodies had already decomposed to the point where even their faces were unrecognizable. They planned to cremate them before further decay and return them to their families' embrace.

Everyone had come here except for a few escorts left to guard the Jun County branch.

"Begin!"

At Nam Woo-saeng's command, the escorts lit fires on the platforms built from tree branches.

Whoosh!

Tremendous flames instantly rose and consumed the bodies. Tears welled up in the eyes of the escorts watching.

They too were martial world people who made their living by the sword. Though they were always prepared to throw away their lives, watching the cremation of colleagues who returned as corpses left a strange resonance in their hearts.

That's when a black figure appeared in the field. It was Dam Ho.

The moment he appeared, everyone's attention focused.

"Great HeroDam!"

"Great Hero!"

The escorts cupped their fists and stepped aside in succession.

A path was instantly created.

They weren't moving aside because of Dam Ho's intimidating presence. They were voluntarily opening the way out of respect that welled up from their hearts.

Their eyes looking at Dam Ho were full of reverence.

They could hold this cremation because Dam Ho had intervened. Without him, they wouldn't have had the chance to collect their colleagues' bodies and cremate them.

Dam Ho passed the escorts and headed toward the burning platforms. As he approached the platforms, tremendous heat could be felt. His hair and eyebrows were about to burn, but Dam Ho paid no attention.

Dam Ho silently watched the escorts' bodies turning to ash. He looked at the body of the young escort who had asked him to remember him.

'Jo Su-gwang.'

Dam Ho repeated that name.

He would not forget.

He would never forget his promise to him.

He had come to this place to keep that promise.

The escorts were moved by Dam Ho's appearance. They hadn't expected such a great figure as the Fist Demon to visit this place to keep a promise with a mere escort.

'To come here to keep a promise with insignificant escorts like us.'

'That person is truly…'

They felt something surging up from deep within their hearts.

That's when it happened.

"Immeasurable Buddha!"

Suddenly a quiet voice echoed through the field.

Then numerous Taoists appeared. They were precisely Wudang Sect's Taoists. At their head was Taoist Cheong-mu.

Taoist Cheong-mu walked toward Dam Ho and spoke.

"Immeasurable Buddha! This humble Taoist is called Cheong-mu. Are you the Fist Demon Great Hero Dam?"

Dam Ho silently looked at Taoist Cheong-mu. Then Taoist Cheong-mu smiled.

"I heard my senior brother committed a discourtesy. We'd like to apologize and host you at the Wudang Sect. What do you think, Great Hero Dam?"

"……"

"It's a courteous invitation. To the Wudang Sect."

"This is a solemn occasion. Keep your mouth shut."

"What?"

"Or else recite prayers for them."

The Wudang Sect Taoists momentarily doubted their ears. Then they became angry.

"How dare!"

They surrounded Dam Ho.