Chapter 192: You Remembered (2)
Chapter 192: You Remembered (2)
In the Martial Alliance, there were men wearing two different colors just staring at each other.
They were the Cult of the Heavenly Demon and the Orthodox factions, who had extinguished the fire together.
Martial Alliance and Cult of the Heavenly Demon.
Orthodox Murim and Demons.
How long had these two forces been fighting each other?
A hundred years?
Two hundred years?
No, it could be hundreds of years.
Maybe a thousand years.
Before the immortal Sky Demon, the First Heavenly Demon, gathered together the people under one religion, there were already demons living in the Heavenly Mountains.
And most of those were people who had fled or were driven out of Zhongyuan, settling there.
From that point on, the relationship between the two sides was like oil and water.
A relationship where the two could never be mixed.
A vicious cycle.
When an Orthodox and a Demon met, they would fight each other.
Now, it was the same.
“I never thought I’d sit in the same place as these devils… What the hell is this?” one of the warriors, dressed in fiery robes, muttered.
“Excuse me?!”
It was natural for the demons to be offended.
A group of demons leapt to their feet.
Then, a group of Orthodox soldiers also stood up.
It was fortunate that no one had pulled out their weapons.
When such conflict arose, Sang Gwan-chuk had a terrible migraine.
It was not easy to approach each other, or control each person.
Sang Gwan-chuk sighed. He then went to stand in front of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon and shouted loudly:
“From now on, fighting with the Martial Alliance is strictly forbidden. Hurry and take care of the wounded. I will punish those who are caught picking a fight.”
The Senior Strategist was one of the Ten Demonic Masters. It was true that he had a distinct position inside the Cult of the Heavenly Demon.
However, his influence was not as great as Woon-seong’s.
That was why one of the demons muttered, “One of the sects started it…”
There was sudden silence.
The muttering demon gasped. “Huff!”
A terrible aura was emanating from Sang Gwan-chuk.
As if to support Sang Gwan-chuk, the Wind Demon Fist King stepped forward and stomped his feet.
A wave of energy stretched out.
As a result, the demons who were about to show their dissatisfaction clamped their mouths shut.
Then, the sects mocked them.
“Hah, you’re all cowards.”
“I’m sure you’re not talking about the demons. They only bow their heads to the strong.”
The words caused the demons to look unsightly. They wanted to yell something, but they could not stand up because the Demonic Masters were glaring.
They truly wanted to pull their blades out and cut the sects’ heads in half.
Of course, nothing happened.
“Stop it, Amitabha.”
The Buddhist Star drifted between the Orthodox warriors and stopped them. But he was only one person, and there were many warriors. He wanted to use the same technique as the Senior Strategist, but he was a buddhist. Perhaps he felt it was not right to press down with force.
But the Sword Star obviously felt differently.
“Shut up.”
A tidal wave of energy erupted from the Ssword. It was as if hundreds of intangible swords filled the air.
The moment the factions felt the sharp swords in front of them, they kept their mouths shut.
“Huff!”
Watching on, the Buddhist Star could hear the Sword Star’s voice in his ears.
— If you want to be a peacemaker, then do it. But I will not be like that, I am not partisan.
“Amitabha.”
It was as the Sword said.
Although the Sword Star had never practiced anything that contradicted the Orthodox Path and Murim liked to include him as part of the factions, the Changbaek Sword Sect was not an orthodox sect.
Martial artists drenched in gray; it was a sect that was caught in the middle.
Maybe it was different for the Sword Star, a disciple of that sword sect. He was also gray, but leaned towards white.
The Buddhist Star continued to speak, the Sword Star continued to pressure.
It was at that moment Woon-seong appeared.
Unable to fight, a martial artist raised his head to stare mindlessly at the sky. A shadow seemed to have been cast, and he saw a bird flying near the sun.
“A bird?”
At that moment, the bird fell from the sky.
Immediately recognizing that it was actually a person, the man exclaimed loudly. “Woah!”
At that moment, Woon-seong landed on the ground.
Kung-
He had descended from such a height but did not seem shocked at all.
Once on the ground, Woon-seong read the atmosphere on both sides and asked, “What’s the situation here?”
***
“So that’s what happened.”
Woon-seong had been briefed by the Buddhist Star and Sang Gwan-chuk, nodding.
The Orthodox factions were staring at Woon-seong’s figure.
A young man.
He looked like he could be a disciple, or still in his apprenticeship.
But he was the Heavenly Demon.
Other than a slightly bleak expression, he didn’t fit the image.
Rumor had it that the Heavenly Demon was a three-headed freak.
Still, the martial artists that met Woon-seong’s eyes flinched.
Unlike his youthful appearance, Woon-seong’s eyes were a deep abyss.
But while the warriors were thinking about Woon-seong, the young man in question pulled out a stack of paper.
“Is that……?” the Buddhist Star asked.
Woon-seong waved the papers in front of him. “It was a request from the Justice Alliance.”
“Amitabha,” the Buddhist Star echoed faintly.
The documents in Woon-seong’s hands was the crucial evidence proving the relationship between the Martial Alliance and the Cult of the Inverted Sky.
Evidence with details too precise to be manipulated.
And along with Jwa Do-gyul, there was a list of all the clans who cooperated with the Inverted Sky and their handwritten signatures.
With this, there would be a reason to overthrow the Imperial Court and a reason not to join the Martial Alliance — a declaration of justice.
The Buddhist Star reached his hand out to take the documents.
But…
Zek-
“But I can’t just hand it over.”
Woon-seong retracted the hand holding the paper.
The Buddhist Star frowned.
Handing the evidence over would make the Cult of the Heavenly Demon’s work easier.
The Buddhist Star’s expression clearly conveyed his confusion.
Woon-seong explained, “There are conditions.”
“Conditions?”
Woon-seong nodded and spoke.
***
“ ……. ”
“Public work?”
After the situation was roughly straightened out, Jegal Sung, who had found a secluded place, listened to the Buddhist Star’s words.
“Amitabha,” the man nodded.
Woon-seong’s conditions were simple.
“If it went according to plan, this evidence should have been found by the Justice Alliance. However, this evidence was obtained by my Cult. Moreover, my people should have been fighting alongside allies.”
If it had gone according to plan, the Justice Alliance should have been launched before the Martial Alliance and the Cult of the Heavenly Demon went to all-out war.
And the Cult of the Heavenly Demon should have joined forces with the Justice Alliance to face the Martial Alliance, not been fighting alone.
Lacking the evidence, the full-fledged war against the Martial Alliance had been shouldered entirely by the Cult of the Heavenly Demon and damage had increased.
Woon-seong wanted public works in return for that damage.
Where the Martial Alliance was, not anywhere else.
It was fortunate that Woon-seong had not demanded another province be included in the Demonic realm.
A public work, such as a monument.
That was not necessarily a difficult request. But was he serious about the location?
Although Jwa Do-gyul had been compromised by the Cult of the Inverted Sky, the Martial Alliance was still the strongest force of the factions.
In other words, it had long been a focal point for gathering the power of Orthodox Murim.
But he was asking to erect a monument with the names of demonic practitioners there.
He’s experienced. Not only is he strong, he has excellent political sense, mused Jegal Sung.
As long as this place had historical significance as the site of the Martial Alliance, it was clear that many martial artists would still flock here, even after the Justice Alliance was established elsewhere.
But if a monument was raised here, martial artists would see a memorial stone with the names of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon and their achievements here instead.
“He said we would regret it if we do not raise that monument.”
What if the army of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon was to immediately assemble?
More than half the provinces of Murim had already been handed over to the Demonic Cult.
Then, there would be the enemies of the Orthodox called the Cult of the Inverted Sky inside and the enemies called the Demonic Cult outside.
That was a far worse situation.
Of course, Woon-seong did not necessarily mean his words.
The Inverted Sky Lord wearing the emperor’s shell was clearly Woon-seong’s enemy. Woon-seong could not fight the Orthodox because he needed to kill the Inverted Sky Lord.
But that did not mean it was not a threat.
It’s a good threat too.
Jegal Sung chewed on his lip.
After a moment of thought, he finally made a decision.
“I guess I have no choice.”
“Is that so?”
“Is it not better to lose something smaller than to lose something bigger?”
The Buddhist Star responded with, “Amitabha.”
Within a few days after Jegal Sung and the Justice Alliance reached the former Martial Alliance, King Jinseong’s Court also arrived.
Among them was King Jinseong himself.
“Thank you. Thank you very much. I heard you took a lot of damage. Thank you so much.”
On that day, King Jinsung said ‘thank you’ a few times, holding the hand of Woon-seong tightly.
If Woon-seong had not brought down the Martial Alliance, then this plan would have failed without the crucial evidence linking the Imperial Court and the Cult of the Inverted Sky.
Even if they succeeded in taking down the crown, it would likely be recorded as a usurpation, not a revolution.
However, these concerns were ended by Woon-seong and the Cult of the Heavenly Demon.
As such, King Jinseong was bound to feel infinite gratitude for Woon-seong and the Demonic Cult.
Woon-seong briefly responded, “Just keep to what you promised. That is enough.”
And finally, after some time, it was the day for King Jinseong’s declaration of rebellion and the reveal of the Justice Alliance.