Chapter 123

The atmosphere in the Martial Alliance was chaotic.

No matter how much they tried to hide it, the scale of what Namgung Woo had done was too big, so rumors inevitably spread.

“Heavenly Rain Sword…”

“So, Elder Seomun was actually from Seekers in the Mist?”

“I can’t believe it. The Heavenly Rain Sword I knew was a man of righteousness and chivalry!”

“Perhaps the Alliance Leader, who stirred conflict with the Imperial Family…”

“Hey, you! Watch your words. Do you know who the Alliance Leader is?”

“But didn’t the Alliance Leader separately hire the Great Master of Changcheon Pavilion to stop it? Even though there are many talents within the Alliance…”

“If even the Jinroe Unit Leader couldn’t win, who else could handle it? Even if we call him Heavenly Rain Sword… I’m not sure, but even a leader of the Eight Units would find it hard to completely stop it.”

“That’s true…”

The rumors circulating within the Martial Alliance were roughly like this.

Some doubted whether Seomun Pyo, the Heavenly Rain Sword, had truly colluded with a sinister group to assassinate the Yi King, while others, even if they acknowledged it, were dissatisfied that such an important task was given to an outsider like Namgung Woo instead of someone within the Martial Alliance.

Generally, there was a consensus that since Seomun Pyo’s martial prowess was high, it would be right to use a peerless master if possible. However, there was still a subtle undercurrent of rejection.

After all, the arm bends inward. Even if Seomun Pyo had committed such acts, the news of him being killed by an outsider was uncomfortable to hear.

Acknowledging Seomun Pyo’s wrongdoing itself stung their pride, and the fact that it was resolved by someone outside the Martial Alliance was a blow to the self-esteem of the Martial Alliance warriors, who prided themselves as the elite guardians of the White Path Martial World.

Then, news came that would mend the wounded pride of those affiliated with the Martial Alliance.

The results of Seomun Pyo’s autopsy were announced.

Seomun Pyo had been manipulated by a sinister group called the Beonse Sect, and the Yi Royal Residence accepted the Martial Alliance’s innocence and promised to cooperate in tracking down and eliminating the Beonse Sect!

The villains weren’t the Martial Alliance or Seomun Pyo, but the Beonse Sect. The Beonse Sect was also behind Yi Ja-ryong. Seomun Pyo was a tragic victim!

The facts announced by the Martial Alliance revived the confidence of the disheartened warriors.

“Ugh, we didn’t know…”

“Heavenly Rain Sword… we won’t forget your sacrifice…”

“As expected, the White Path Martial World stands with the Imperial Family!”

The bad stuff is yours, the good stuff is ours.

After shifting all the blame to the Beonse Sect and other evil factions, what remained were Seomun Pyo’s past achievements from the Jeongsa Great War and the Martial Alliance’s accomplishment of dragging the sinister Beonse Sect out of the shadows.

Before anyone realized, Seomun Pyo had transformed from a treacherous villain who attempted to assassinate the Yi King into a tragic victim who had once been active in the Jeongsa Great War but was later ensnared by some dark technique.

The Martial Alliance also returned to being a righteous group that, while the Imperial Family was incapacitated by various issues, was the only one striving with all its might for the safety of the world.

In this process, some even began to speculate that the evil factions during the Jeongsa Great War had conspired with the Beonse Sect.

“Ugh… really, even as someone from the White Path, this is too much. No matter what, it was Gaga who ultimately prevented the tragedy and resolved the danger…!”

“That’s right! We need to properly address this matter!”

Paeng Ha-ryeong and Jegal Seon-a, feeling ashamed as members of the White Path, were particularly vocal.

On the other hand, the Yang Brothers and Myorin, who were neutral and didn’t particularly care for either the White or Black Paths, were indifferent.

“Isn’t this just the White Path’s specialty? Rationalizing things while acting all noble.”

“Brother, even so, that’s a bit…”

“What does it matter? The Imperial Family took one of the General’s horns as compensation, so let’s just leave it at that. The General didn’t intend to reveal it back then anyway. But this time, they should’ve properly compensated. The fate of the White Path Martial World was at stake.”

“Bodhisattva Myojin. This is a matter that was already discussed between Elder Gakwon and the Great Master. We have no place to argue.”

Namgung Sol, who had been cautiously observing, spoke up in a bright voice.

“W-Well, at least the Martial Duel Tournament is still going on! Everyone was looking forward to it, so it would’ve been a shame if it fell apart, right?”

“Exactly. It would’ve been unfair if the tournament was canceled after I lost to you.”

“Ah…”

Song Chaeji, who had subtly secured her spot, made Namgung Sol shut her mouth.

Seeing this, Song Chaeji chuckled softly and patted Namgung Sol’s shoulder.

“Just kidding. I did my best, and honestly, making it to the main round was partly due to luck in the preliminaries.”

“But…when I made that mistake earlier, it was practically a loss…”

“The referee didn’t declare the match over, did they? That was my mistake. And if it were a real fight, I might’ve retreated thinking there was a trap. Anyway, the next match hasn’t been announced yet, right?”

“Ah, yes. The second round will be announced on the day, just like the first round.”

“Tomorrow, huh… The main round schedule is really tight. One day off, then a duel, another day off, then another duel. The third round will wrap it all up in one go.”

Song Chaeji and Namgung Sol began chatting about the Martial Duel Tournament.

Meanwhile, Yang Kwae, sitting in a corner, spoke to Myorin, who was smoking cannabis.

“Hey, Myorin, why didn’t you follow the General?”

“Huh?”

“You did pretty well, right? You fought some weird ambusher, didn’t you? Didn’t you get anything special?”

“I got what I needed.”

The merit of saving the Yi King and Princess Gasang.

Honestly, receiving a Spirit Beast wouldn’t fully repay the debt of saving a life.

So, Namgung Woo asked Ju Si-yeol to pardon Myorin. He transferred his own merits to Myorin, framing it as Myorin repenting for her past mistakes and striving to atone to the Imperial Family.

And Ju Si-yeol agreed, promising to defend Myorin in his name.

Of course, if the Emperor shouted “Nonsense!” and ignored it, it would be useless. But with the names of the Yi King and Princess Gasang, saving one person shouldn’t be too hard.

Adding Han Gyeran’s name to the mix made Myorin’s pardon almost certain.

“Honestly, I’ve already gotten everything I needed.”

Having smoked enough, Myorin gathered her internal energy and pressed her thumb against the bamboo pipe. As she tidied up, she also organized her thoughts.

After this incident, Myorin could leave Changcheon Pavilion and return to her solitary life if she wanted.

She had stayed at Changcheon Pavilion to hide behind Namgung Woo, but now that there was no reason to hide, she could leave.

When Myorin’s words trailed off oddly, Yang Kwae asked seriously.

“So, are you leaving?”

“Hmm. Honestly, if I stay here, it wouldn’t be strange if I died at any moment. Right? The Great Master or the young lady… oh, is this a dangerous statement?”

The room grew solemn at her words.

Jegal Seon-a, who had always felt excluded from certain secrets shared only within Changcheon Pavilion, was shocked to see even Song Chaeji resonating with the solemnity.

It wasn’t just acting. The Resonance Power proved that Song Chaeji fully understood the hidden implications of those words.

‘Am I the only one…?’

But this wasn’t the time for complaints.

A strange tension was flowing between Myorin, Yang Kwae, Yang Jeong, Geumshin, and Paeng Ha-ryeong.

“If you leave…”

“There’s no reason to stop you, but we should at least get a promise of silence.”

At Yang Kwae’s words, Myorin let out a silly laugh and popped the tense bubble with a single remark.

“Silence? Nah. I’m not leaving.”

A sigh was heard from one side. It was Yang Jeong.

“That kind of joke isn’t good.”

“Well… I did think about it a bit. I was just curious about how serious everyone else is. Aside from Ha-ryeong unnie, let’s be honest, you three don’t have any grand reasons either, right?”

“Hmph. No. We’re like disciples, you know? We properly learned martial arts from the General. What’s that saying in Buddhism…”

“One vehicle to salvation?”

“Right! Brother Geumshin, you really know your Buddhism. That’s it.”

“Pfft, leave the ‘one vehicle to salvation’ to Ha-ryeong unnie. Is that really all?”

Yang Kwae answered with a face that said, “We learned martial arts. What more reason do we need?” but Yang Jeong seemed to think differently.

“Adversity comes with glory.”

“Huh?”

“It’s something my late father used to say during tough times. Brother once imitated Taesa’s last words, but as he said, if a man is born, he should at least once risk his life to achieve greatness.”

“Hmm… I thought you were just pretending to be noble like those scholars, but you do have some ambition, huh?”

Just as the tension was easing and they were about to move on.

The sound of the door opening interrupted them, and Namgung Woo returned alone.

Amidst the various titles like Great Master, General, Gaga, Young Hero, and Great Hero being thrown around to welcome him, their words suddenly cut off when they saw what Namgung Woo was carrying.

“Uh, Gaga, is that…”

Paeng Ha-ryeong, as the true mistress, spoke up, her voice trembling uncontrollably.

Shock. A good kind of shock was shaking Paeng Ha-ryeong’s heart.

“I received it. As a gift. It’s a Spirit Beast.”

Namgung Woo lifted the small creature he was holding, as if to make it easier to see.

A small body. Namgung Woo’s large hand could cover its entire chest from under its armpits.

Bright blue fur with dark gray stripes.

Its sparkling eyes looked like carved sapphires.

It made a sound.

“Kyung!”

It was the roar of a fearsome blue tiger.