Jo Yong-sang rushed towards the visible island. Martial artists capable of suspicion had already arrived at the shore, and a bridge was being lowered from the tail of the ship to connect the coast and the island.
There was a strong will to send all martial artists of the island to the shore.
The members of the alliance hurriedly checked the strength of the Black Forest Isle.
“It seems there are at least twenty Blood Monsters.”
“Just the number of martial artists must exceed three hundred.”
Having confirmed this even at the forefront of the lead ship, Gu Mo-seol, Jo Yong-sang felt the world blur before his eyes. The overwhelming difference in strength seemed so great that luck alone would not suffice.
In an instant, the forces of the Black Forest Isle formed ranks at the coast. Gu Mo-seol, standing at the forefront of that formation, let out a lion’s roar toward the forest.
“Thieves who stole assets of the Blood Sect, listen! Beast King, hear me!”
“And also, the assassins of the Martial Forest Alliance, who shamelessly call themselves righteous while ambushing the Blood Sect, also pay heed!”
“The descendants of the Blood Sect have suffered oppression, and hearing rumors of the thieves in control of our wealth, the valiant Blood People gather here to request the extermination of those thieves!”
“I, Gu Mo-seol, tied to the Blood Sect by deep bloodlines, along with the martial artists of the island, cannot ignore their valiant spirit and have broken the hermitage to take action.”
“A despicable method was employed to defeat the Blood Ancestor, and the Beast King, who stole the treasures of the Blood Sect, has formed a gang. Truly, the spirit of the world has fallen to the ground!”
“To establish a new path for the fallen laws of the world, we, the ‘Blood Forest Alliance,’ hereby declare our emergence from this moment forth!”
“Thieves led by the Beast King and assassins of the Martial Forest Alliance must hand over their necks willingly!”
Waaaaaa!!!
As soon as Gu Mo-seol’s lion’s roar ended, the Blood Forest Alliance shouted in unison. Hundreds of experts yelled in unison, sending a prickling energy even to the members hidden deep in the forest, some distance from the shore.
The members hardened their expressions as they spoke.
“Hall Master, we must prepare.”
“By your order.”
Jo Yong-sang blankly watched the members preparing for battle. What would happen if they headed out like this? Most of them would die or get hurt.
Without realizing it, Jo Yong-sang’s feet started to move.
“Master? Hall Master!”
“Where are you going?”
The members’ panicked voices echoed, but Jo Yong-sang ignored them and unfolded his lightness skill.
The place Jo Yong-sang rushed to was where Ho Cheon-an was located.
With his hands behind his back, Ho Cheon-an stood looking at the forces of the Blood Forest Alliance landing on the shore, appearing completely unfazed.
“Please help, Elder.”
“You already agreed to help.”
Jo Yong-sang knelt. He poured out his emotions in a heartfelt tone, shouting, “That’s not enough! Elder! I know you cherish the Entity! But… but still, I beg of you! Anything! I will do anything!”
The members who hurriedly followed Jo Yong-sang were astonished to see him kneeling, but Jo Yong-sang didn’t care.
“We cannot stop the Blood Forest Alliance like this. Is that all? Most of our members here will die or get hurt! So, Elder! Just this once, I beg you! Please… use the Entity!”
Did that desperate plea reach him?
Ho Cheon-an, who had been staring unwaveringly at the coastline, turned to Jo Yong-sang.
“Hall Master, have you not already given up?”
“…What?”
Ho Cheon-an’s gaze turned elsewhere. Following that gaze, Jo Yong-sang spotted Seo I-ryeong.
Seo I-ryeong had already drawn her sword. There was no scabbard at her waist to match that sword.
What does it mean for a martial artist to discard their scabbard?
It meant she was prepared to embrace death.
“Iryeong has resolved to solve this situation with her own strength, even if the outcome is akin to smashing an egg against a rock. Or her own death.”
Ho Cheon-an raised his hand and pointed somewhere. Following that hand, Jo Yong-sang saw Namgung Bin, who was grim-faced, staring at them with his hands clasped before Seo Gong and Mi-ho.
“Just a moment ago, Young Hero Namgung Bin was requesting assistance from Seo Gong and Mi-ho regarding this matter. I too had no intention of stopping Seo Gong or Mi-ho if they intended to side with the Martial Forest Alliance, so it was not a bad method after all.”
“Ah…”
“The resolute Iryeong dedicated herself to training in martial arts to fulfill her goal, and Young Hero Namgung Bin worked hard to build familiarity with Seo Gong and Mi-ho. Both have done their utmost to achieve their goals.”
Ho Cheon-an’s gaze returned to Jo Yong-sang.
“However, Hall Master. What have you been doing all this time, kneeling and longing for help from your own hand and the Entity? Although you did indeed reject my request, did you not also choose not to break your own aspirations?”
Jo Yong-sang was speechless. Seeing him, Ho Cheon-an opened his mouth one last time.
“What exactly do you want to do?”
Jo Yong-sang’s head dropped.
‘I… What have I been doing?’
Due to the gambling debts of his father, Jo Yong-sang had wandered the world until he could finally settle in An-hui with the help of an old man who recognized his talent.
So, Jo Yong-sang walked the path of a martial artist with the hope of becoming a hero who helps others, like the master who saved him and his family.
As he achieved numerous small and large heroic deeds, Jo Yong-sang matured as a martial artist and gained reputation as a hero. Yet, the chaos in the world continued to grow.
The conflict between the Huang Nation and the Martial World. The ensuing revival of the Blood Sect.
The chaos in the world was far too immense for the strength of a single hero to rectify. To confront this vast chaos, Jo Yong-sang headed to the Martial Forest Alliance and ultimately became the Hall Master.
However, by the time he succeeded Yeon Cheon-baek as the new Hall Master, the Martial Forest Alliance’s strength had greatly waned.
This was because they, along with the other sects of the Martial Forest Alliance, had suffered prolonged oppression by the Huang Nation and had resorted to pouring everything into an assassination operation against the Blood Ancestor to stop the Blood Sect from engulfing the world.
The Blood Ancestor was dead, but the influence of the Blood Sect remained, and what was left in the Martial Forest Alliance were only a handful of heroes who held onto a flicker of hope that the world would change from now on.
Jo Yong-sang gave it his all.
He did his best, yet he always felt lacking.
While attempting to uphold the authenticity of the Blood Sect, he found himself forced to cede the base of the alliance, turning his position into one of stealth.
He was gradually cutting off the Blood Monsters and reducing the Blood Sect’s influence, fighting off bandit-like outcast factions, but he could not fill the void left by the fallen martial artists.
Thus, the Martial Forest Alliance slowly declined, and as it declined, the things that could be done also dwindled.
“I wanted to calm the chaos of the world. Together with the comrades gathered under the banner of fellowship, I thought if we could slowly work on things, one day everything would return to its rightful place.”
Jo Yong-sang gave it his all.
However, no matter how much he tried, the results were disheartening. Even after exterminating the Blood Monsters and defeating the outcasts, it felt like pouring a bucket of water into a vast ocean, and the Martial Forest Alliance continued to be whittled down and fell into decay.
“I kept trying relentlessly.”
Yet, Jo Yong-sang always gave it his all.
“I thought I had made an effort.”
Always.
He believed he had done his utmost.
But what was the reality?
When Seo I-ryeong swung her sword desperately. When Namgung Bin got scraped and rolled while mingling with the Entities.
Jo Yong-sang merely stood back with his hands behind his back, watching the scene unfold.
Confronted with Ho Cheon-an’s question, Jo Yong-sang suddenly realized he had given up. No matter how hard he tried, the world was only becoming more chaotic. In the dwindling circumstances of the alliance, the word hope had been gradually erased from his heart, and he had forgotten the meaning of effort.
What remained in Jo Yong-sang’s heart was only a sense of duty as Hall Master, and his actions were merely a pretense to uphold that duty.
He finally realized that fact.
Facing the members of the alliance and the vague feelings that had stirred within him, those feelings took a clear shape in the presence of Ho Cheon-an’s question.
“I… only just understood this now. Just now.”
Tears streamed down Jo Yong-sang’s face.
Tears of regret.
Regret about missing the opportunity to change the current desperate situation while merely deceiving himself.
If only he had given his all before it came to this.
If he had gone to meet Ho Cheon-an alongside Seo I-ryeong instead of standing back at the alliance.
If, after meeting Ho Cheon-an, he had bet everything and pushed forward to persuade him.
Perhaps the outcome might have changed.
“I am such a fool. I should have done my utmost, yet I did not, and now I regret it late, scrambling and making a scene. To you, Elder, I am nothing but a stubborn fool.”
Jo Yong-sang’s forehead touched the ground.
“Nonetheless, I beg you. Please help the alliance… no, help me!”
“Lift your head.”
Ho Cheon-an spoke quietly, but Jo Yong-sang did not lift his forehead.
“Lift your head. If not, I will not move.”
With Ho Cheon-an’s strong words, Jo Yong-sang slowly raised his forehead and looked up at him. Hope. With hope in his heart, Jo Yong-sang faced Ho Cheon-an with trembling eyes.
Surprisingly.
The lower half of Ho Cheon-an’s face, obscured by his black rib, was smiling.
“First, let me clarify. I do not consider you foolish, nor do I regard you as pitiful or stupid.”
Ho Cheon-an thought.
Indeed, Jo Yong-sang’s spirit had been broken. It was true that he had also squandered opportunities.
But.
Jo Yong-sang was also someone who, amid calamities, did not give up and kept struggling until he fell.
Even having fallen, he clung to his responsibilities as Hall Master.
Even in despair, he remained Hall Master and still was Hall Master amid regrets.
Ho Cheon-an also decided to treat him as Hall Master.
In the wake of extreme chaos, the last barrier preventing the Martial Apocalypse was Jo Yong-sang, Hall Master of the Martial Forest Alliance.
Jo Yong-sang, suppressed repeatedly by the chaos and merely tossed around by the world, what would happen if he were to cast off the shackles of chaos?
That was what had always intrigued Ho Cheon-an.
And finally, today he would solve that curiosity, hence the smile on Ho Cheon-an’s face.
“Well then, let us see you become the Hall Master of a peaceful Martial World.”
Ho Cheon-an spoke.
“Like a question for the mountain, if the mountain is one shovel away from completion, stopping is simply my own doing.”
Ho Cheon-an’s words shook Jo Yong-sang.
It felt as if those verses seeped deep into his soul.
“Referring to the completion of a mountain, if it is merely one heap of earth away from completion, then stopping means I myself have halted. If it ends midway, all previous efforts are lost.”
“However, the principles of the world are such that when something ends, it begins again, and thus it always exists and does not end.”
The past events whispered to Jo Yong-sang.
Although he may have given up midway, there are no endings to all things in the world.
So why not stand up again?
“The one and only path that pierces the heavens opens.”
Ho Cheon-an thought as he observed Jo Yong-sang entering a state of realization. The original plan of granting enlightenment to control others was always impossible.
He had leaked the secrets of the heavens to guide the lost souls, yet how could he bend their paths to his intent?
Thus, from the start, all he could do was watch as they went on the right path.
“Hall Master!”
“The Hall Master has… attained enlightenment!”
“Protect the Hall Master… Protect him!”
Ho Cheon-an retreated, and the members of the alliance surrounded Jo Yong-sang, unable to hide the confusion on their faces. It was only natural that the Hall Master attaining enlightenment was a great event, but now that they were on the verge of conflict with the Blood Forest Alliance, who knew when he would awaken?
Simultaneously, the members stared at Ho Cheon-an with strange looks. He was patently the one who had intentionally bestowed enlightenment upon Jo Yong-sang. A figure that was hard to believe even after witnessing it.
How on earth were they to treat this character?
As Jo Yong-sang, who was to stabilize the chaos, entered realization, he was only confused about how to treat Ho Cheon-an, who had demonstrated such strange abilities in this urgent situation.
As if reading their hearts, Ho Cheon-an spoke.
“Guard the Hall Master.”
Leaving only those words, Ho Cheon-an naturally walked forward.
With a stance as if he was about to face the entire Blood Forest Alliance alone, Seo I-ryeong stepped forward to obstruct him.
“Elder! What are you thinking…!”
“Haha, they won’t look for me. So I have to go.”
“Elder!”
Seo I-ryeong let out a vehement cry, but something gripped her hand. Startled, she looked back to find Seo Gong’s tail.
Plip!
Seo Gong, locking eyes with Seo I-ryeong, shook his head. And with the tail gripping her hand, he pulled Seo I-ryeong’s hand back.
His actions seemed to communicate that she should not obstruct Ho Cheon-an, and without realizing it, Seo I-ryeong made way for him.
Roar!
Caw!!
“Hey, guys…?”
Seo I-ryeong looked at the Entities with a confused expression. Knowing better than anyone how devoted the Entities were to Ho Cheon-an, she found the scene utterly incomprehensible.
The Hyeong-gyeong expert. Hundreds of martial artists. And dozens of Blood Monsters.
A colossal force against which no single person could possibly stand. Thus, she naturally thought that the Entities would follow behind to protect Ho Cheon-an.
Yet, the Entities merely wailed in place, showing no signs of movement.
It was as if they were cheering him on or bidding him farewell.
‘…Could it be?’
A hypothesis bloomed within Seo I-ryeong’s heart.
Ho Cheon-an, whose level of martial arts was impossible to gauge. Even as he advanced toward danger, the Entities appeared excessively calm.
She recalled how effortlessly he had offered precious Spirit Herbs as treats to the Entities and how he had instantly pinpointed Jo Yong-sang’s presence from afar, as well as the scene where he had just bestowed enlightenment upon Jo Yong-sang.
Perhaps.
Ho Cheon-an was an immense expert? One so transcendent and absolute that even when facing the massive forces of the Blood Forest Alliance, the Entities could afford to remain at ease.
An absurd idea.
She had no choice but to dismiss it as mere delusion, yet her heart raced as she looked at Ho Cheon-an’s retreating figure, filled with thoughts of “what if” and “perhaps.”
Gripping Seo Gong’s tail tightly, Seo I-ryeong fervently hoped.
May that delusional scenario turn into reality.
Riding on Seo I-ryeong’s earnest wish, Ho Cheon-an’s steps halted before the leader of the Blood Forest Isle, the fierce Gu Mo-seol.
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