Chapter 217
The gaunt, sharp-featured man had just entered the Peng Clan's Clan Head's Hall.
His name was Jo Jinbung.
He was the Sect Leader of the Jeomchang Sect (點蒼派), one of the Nine Great Sects.
Peng Mugang received him.
“Welcome.”
“It was a sudden visit, but I’m grateful for the warm welcome.”
Jo Jinbung raised the corners of his mouth.
At the sight, Peng Mugang snorted inwardly.
What welcome, my ass!
He had barged in without even contacting them beforehand.
Naturally, Peng Mugang was not pleased by this sudden visit in the slightest.
Above all, he disliked Jo Jinbung as a person.
From the first moment they had met long ago until now, Jo had always been loathsome and insufferable.
Looking at him smile had a way of making Peng Mugang's fists clench before he knew it.
He could only marvel at how someone like that had become Sect Leader of one of the Nine Great Sects.
As if there had been no one else available.
“I did hear that everyone was already here before I came.”
Jo Jinbung asked while looking over each of the heads of the Five Great Families in the hall.
“May I ask what has brought you all together here?”
“Well, it’s not as though it’s so strange for the heads of the Five Great Families to gather, is it?”
Huangbo Gyun, usually affable, apparently felt the same way about Jo Jinbung and answered with a sour expression.
“Of course I know that.”
Jo Jinbung nodded and smiled.
“But you already held your biennial meeting not long ago, didn’t you? I heard you’ve been gathering unusually often this year. So I wondered whether you might be plotting something… I’m sure that’s an overly cautious concern, isn’t it?”
The faces of the heads of the Five Great Families hardened.
What on earth gave this man the confidence to act so arrogantly?
Just as the atmosphere was about to turn hostile,
“How peculiar.”
Someone spoke.
It was Yeo Un-hwi.
After hearing that a visitor from the Righteous Alliance had arrived, he had come to the Clan Head's Hall and was listening alongside the heirs of the other Five Great Families.
Everyone in the hall, including Jo Jinbung, looked at him.
Yeo Un-hwi spoke as though he could not understand.
“Since when have the Nine Great Sects meddled this much in the affairs of the Five Great Families?”
Jo Jinbung's face hardened.
“And who might you be?”
He narrowed his eyes and looked Yeo Un-hwi up and down.
In truth, they had briefly crossed paths when the Nine Great Sects visited the Martial Alliance during the earlier Martial Alliance incident.
But Jo Jinbung seemed not to remember Yeo Un-hwi at all.
“I’m Yeo Un-hwi, commander of the White Wolf Unit.”
“Oh-ho. I see. I’ve heard that name quite often lately. You’ve been making quite a name for yourself, I hear?”
“You flatter me.”
“But you.”
Jo Jinbung's eyes turned cold.
“Do you think someone of your lowly rank as commander of a single martial unit has any business taking part in this conversation?”
Unlike the words he had directed at the Clan Heads, his tone toward Yeo Un-hwi was openly contemptuous.
It was an unmistakable warning.
A warning to know his place, shut his mouth, and withdraw.
But instead of shrinking back, Yeo Un-hwi snorted and shrugged.
“Naturally, I must have business taking part, or I wouldn’t be here, would I? Or did you think I came to listen despite not even knowing what you were discussing?”
“What?”
For a moment, Jo Jinbung wore a blank expression.
He had never imagined receiving such an answer.
What an insolent brat.
He was neither sly nor exactly shameless, yet every word he spoke grated on Jo Jinbung's nerves.
And on top of that, he wore a perpetually relaxed smile.
Every single thing about him was utterly distasteful.
Jo Jinbung glared fiercely at Yeo Un-hwi and spoke.
“Do you realize you’re crossing the line?”
“Me? Of course not. You’re the one who crossed the line, Sect Leader.”
“What are you talking ab—”
“Are the heads of the Five Great Families beneath the Sect Leader?”
“Of course not… I mean, no.”
“Then why did you barge in and badger them, accusing them of plotting something simply because they were gathered with old friends? By what right, exactly? Don’t you think you’re the one who crossed the line? To my eyes, you’re being extremely rude.”
“Y-you…!”
Jo Jinbung's face turned bright red.
He wanted nothing more than to cut down the insolent youngster who dared to speak to him so brazenly despite not knowing his place, but he knew that would be the worst possible move.
Huffing, he slowly took deep breaths to calm his anger.
Meanwhile, Yeo Un-hwi mocked him inwardly.
Jo Jinbung, Sect Leader of the Jeomchang Sect.
He was an unforgettable man.
When Yeo Un-hwi, as the Blood Demon, met his end, Jo Jinbung had been there as well.
‘That bastard—I’ll tear him limb from limb.’
‘Abbot, how long do you intend to sit there and listen to that murderous fiend?’
‘Die, you bastard!’
Yeo Un-hwi could vividly remember how Jo Jinbung had cursed him despite knowing all about the vile and horrific deeds committed by his younger brother and associates.
“Ahem. If my words sounded rude, I apologize.”
Having calmed his anger, Jo Jinbung apologized to the heads of the Five Great Families.
But his eyes remained unchanged.
Everyone knew his apology was not sincere.
Sure enough,
“But you must understand that we are in a position where we have no choice but to think that way.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
This time, Namgung Hwan asked what nonsensical thing Jo Jinbung was going to say next.
“We received information that when the Peng Clan was in danger because of the Demonic Cult, not only the Five Great Families but Hao Mun also helped the Peng Clan.”
“!”
The Clan Head's Hall began to stir.
So he knew about that?
Seeing the reactions around him, a smile spread across Jo Jinbung's face.
“And what’s more, not long after that, the Leader of the Evil Path Alliance visited the Hebei Peng Clan, didn’t he? Whether or not there was an official agreement with the Martial Alliance, that is beside the point now. From the Righteous Alliance’s standpoint, this is absolutely unacceptable. Does it make sense for prominent clans representing orthodox martial arts to cooperate and associate with the Evil Path?!”
Everyone fell silent.
Emboldened, Jo Jinbung raised his voice and continued.
“That is why I came to issue a warning.”
“A warning?”
“Yes. The Martial Alliance is as good as gone, and with the world in turmoil following the Heavenly Demon’s return, if we are to unite under the name of the Righteous Alliance, things like this must never happen again.”
That was something even Kwon Hwang Muhyeo, the newly appointed leader of the Righteous Alliance, had been concerned about.
Could the Five Great Families, who maintained ties with the Evil Path, be admitted into the Righteous Alliance?
But in the end, they had decided that bringing all orthodox forces together under the name of the Righteous Alliance took priority, which was why they had sent Jo Jinbung to the Five Great Families.
Though the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families had rarely interacted in the past, the intention was for him to negotiate well and reunite them on this occasion.
However, contrary to Kwon Hwang Muhyeo's inclusive intentions, Jo Jinbung was saying whatever he pleased.
From the start, he had not welcomed the Five Great Families joining the Righteous Alliance.
If they were going to join, he had hoped they would do so much later.
Why?
Jo Jinbung had deeply resented being forced to step back from uniting the entire martial world because of Jang Cheong.
But now Jang Cheong and the Martial Alliance were both gone. With the Righteous Alliance making a fresh start, he wanted the Nine Great Sects to monopolize the alliance's interests so that no one else could easily challenge them later.
He had no intention of sharing them with the Five Great Families.
Ironically, the Righteous Alliance was following the exact same path as the Martial Alliance, which they had so harshly criticized and ridiculed, despite having only just begun.
“If you become entangled with the Evil Path again…”
“That’s a very strange line of reasoning.”
Yeo Un-hwi cut Jo Jinbung off and inserted himself into the conversation once again.
“Let me ask you one thing. When someone willingly came to help while our lives were in danger, were we supposed to tell them that, since they belonged to the Evil Path, we didn’t need their help and that they should just leave us there to die like idiots? Is that what we should have said?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“No. That is exactly what you meant. Well, I suppose this worked out nicely.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Now we know for certain that the Righteous Alliance and the Five Great Families are headed down different paths.”
“What… do you mean by that?”
Jo Jinbung narrowed his eyes.
“Since it seems our paths diverge, let’s each go our own way. As it happens, the Five Great Families were planning to form a new alliance of our own. We’d been wondering what to do after hearing about the Righteous Alliance, but it seems things worked out well since you came all this way to settle it for us.”
“Shut your mouth!”
Unable to bear it any longer, Jo Jinbung shouted.
“How dare a mere commander of a martial unit speak without restraint! Do you realize how arrogant and presumptuous your words are? You people! Are you really going to just sit there and watch this?”
Yet despite Jo Jinbung's fury, everyone in the Clan Head's Hall let out derisive chuckles.
A mere commander of a martial unit? Unbelievable.
“I’m barely holding myself back from cutting that man’s head off right now! So you’d better stop wagging your tongue in front of me!”
Annoyed by their strange reaction, Jo Jinbung bristled and growled, prompting Peng Mugang to speak as though it were nothing important.
“You don’t have to hold back.”
“What?”
“Didn’t you hear me? I said you don’t have to hold back. You said you wanted to cut his head off, didn’t you? Then go ahead if you can. Let’s see whether you’re capable of it. I’m curious myself.”
“Huh!”
Have these men gone mad?
Just then,
“Besides, what exactly is the problem?”
The Emperor Sword, Namgung Hwan, spoke after quietly observing the situation.
“There’s not a single thing he said that’s wrong. Since what he said is no different from what I think, I see no need to add my own opinion.”
“Same here.”
“I agree.”
All the Clan Heads nodded.
They had clearly lost their minds.
At the sight, Jo Jinbung shouted furiously.
“Do you realize how much trouble what you’re saying will cause the Five Great Families from here on? Be prudent. Or else…”
“Or else?”
At that moment,
Rumble.
The air inside the Clan Head's Hall surged violently.
“Ugh.”
Jo Jinbung groaned under the immense pressure.
‘So these are the heads of the Five Great Families…’
By then, all the Clan Heads' eyes were glinting dangerously.
“Are you threatening the Five Great Families in front of us right now? That’s certainly how it sounded.”
“How brave. It seems you’re fine with dying here and now.”
“I suppose I’ll be making an enemy of the Jeomchang Sect today.”
Under that murderous fury, all of Jo Jinbung's confidence and arrogance from when he had first appeared in the hall vanished.
Without realizing it, Jo Jinbung took a hesitant step backward and began blurting out whatever came to mind.
“Y-you… fools! You people! Do you think you can handle the consequences of this afterward?”
“A martial artist simply follows the path they believe is right. You’re the one who should be ashamed.”
“You’re already making a spectacle of yourself by throwing your weight around under the Righteous Alliance’s name.”
Jo Jinbung ground his teeth.
“You’ll regret this. I’ll make absolutely certain of it!”
“Look at you, yapping on and on despite cowering at this paltry killing intent.”
Peng Mugang finally stopped holding back, rose from his seat, and slowly walked forward.
The pressure he exuded was immense.
With every step Peng Mugang took forward, Jo Jinbung continued retreating just as far.
“Stop prattling on with the same empty threats and get out! Before I kick you out by the seat of your pants!”
Kuwaaaang!
“Eeeek!”
Overwhelmed by the beastlike aura pouring from Peng Mugang, Jo Jinbung fled the Clan Head's Hall in a panic.
The sight was utterly pathetic.
“Tsk, tsk. Only now do I feel like I’ve finally seen the true state of orthodox martial arts.”
“To think a man like that is the leader of one of the Nine Great Sects. Heh.”
For a moment, they felt foolish for ever having placed even the slightest hope in the newly formed Righteous Alliance.
Today, they felt more certain than ever of the path they had to take.
“The Righteous Alliance…”
And this incident made Yeo Un-hwi reach a decision as well.
He decided to bring forward the founding ceremony of the Taechon Alliance.