Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors
Upon returning to Jinlang Valley, we sought out Lee Kwang again. Since we had used the levitation technique to move quickly, not much time had elapsed. We found the disciples of the Thunder God Lineage tending to Lee Kwang, who lay unconscious. I had triggered a strong transfusion while performing a pressure-release technique, keeping him in a deep sleep for an extended period.
As I approached slowly, Sagong Rin suddenly drew her sword.
Piying –
The tip of her blade trembled just in front of my throat. I realized that her sword skills had become incomparably faster and more precise than when I last saw her. It seemed that Sagong Rin had made tremendous progress in her training over the past two months. She glared at me and said,
“Step away.”
“I’m just trying to release his pressure points.”
“How can I trust that? Jin So-cheong had also betrayed us.”
I found myself at a loss for words, forced to halt in my tracks. Indeed, it was impossible for me to approach given my status as a disciple of the Thunder God Lineage. If I harbored ill intentions and pressed on any of Lee Kwang’s fatal points, he would surely be dead. Just then, Jin So-cheong took a step forward and said,
“Then take my life as collateral.”
“……!!”
Without hesitation, he strode up to Sagong Rin. Standing there unguarded, Sagong Rin asked,
“What’s your intention?”
“Just as it sounds. A promise made by a man should be as solid as gold.”
“Are you really ready to stake your life on my blade, Jin So-cheong?”
Silently, her sword glided, creating droplets of blood on Jin So-cheong’s throat. With even the slightest movement, Jin So-cheong’s vertebrae would surely snap. Yet, he remained resolute, saying,
“Indeed.”
Then, Geuk Ho, who had been watching from the side, grumbled.
“Rin, step aside.”
“Geuk Ho!”
“I’ll take responsibility for him. That guy has never deceived one to this extent.”
Sagong Rin retracted her sword. I turned to Lee Kwang, shaking off the awkward silence, and proceeded to release his pressure points and awaken him from his slumber.
Moments later, Lee Kwang suddenly opened his eyes and sat up. He scanned the surroundings, and upon seeing everyone gathered, he quickly assessed the situation. He shot a piercing glare at me and Mangnyang before his expression softened as he looked at Jin So-cheong with sorrow.
“So-cheong… why are you…?”
Jin So-cheong knelt right there in response.
“I’m sorry, Master. But this is the path I believe to be right.”
“……”
Lee Kwang let out a deep sigh. Contrary to our expectations, he didn’t spring up immediately; it seemed that the psychological shock of being subdued by Jin So-cheong weighed heavier on him than we thought. He sat on the bed, upper body upright, for a while before saying,
“… I don’t want to see anyone right now. Everyone, please leave.”
He turned his head and lay back down.
No one in the room dared to refuse his request. Silently, they left Lee Kwang’s room. I had thought the disciples of the Thunder God Lineage would question or express their frustrations at either Jin So-cheong or me, but surprisingly, they didn’t utter a word. I felt somewhat embarrassed instead.
Whoosh
Instead, Geuk Ho crossed his arms and braced himself against the cool forest breeze, saying,
“Hey, did you say you were the Lord of Bancheon Alliance?”
“That’s correct.”
Mangnyang replied, and Geuk Ho spoke without even glancing at him.
“Your master will be on your side.”
When Mangnyang stared at him blankly, Geuk Ho continued irritably,
“We’ve come this far; we can only follow your orders.”
“Well, that works for me.”
“Damn it.”
He muttered a curse and fell silent.
‘He knows too.’
Geuk Ho, as well as the disciples of the Thunder God Lineage, understood that attacking me or Jin So-cheong wouldn’t change a thing. Ultimately, the matter hinged on Lee Kwang’s decision, but since he couldn’t kill Jin So-cheong, he had no choice but to side with the Bancheon Alliance.
To branch off unilaterally now, after forming ties with the White Lotus Sect, would only lead to total loss. Although Lee Kwang felt a significant threat from Mangnyang at one point, now that his momentum had waned and he had regained composure, he would have no choice but to align himself with the Bancheon Alliance—this fact was clear to Geuk Ho.
However, this didn’t imply that the Thunder God Lineage had wholly succumbed. If Mangnyang didn’t steer things in the right direction moving forward, he could turn on the Bancheon Alliance at any moment. The only relief was that Geuk Ho seemed to understand Jin So-cheong instead of blaming her.
That night, we made a fire in the temple to cook a meal before sleeping. I couldn’t fall asleep for the life of me, yet I resolved to think positively about it.
‘Tch. Somehow, things will work out.’
Lee Kwang called everyone together the next day when the sun was high.
“Lord of Bancheon Alliance, I apologize for earlier attempting to take your life.”
Lee Kwang’s voice had regained its strength. A gleam flickered in his eyes, signaling that he had sufficiently regained his mental fortitude over the course of a day. Mangnyang waved the Seven Star Banner he had set down, saying,
“I accept it. There will be no further discussion on this matter.”
“Thank you.”
Lee Kwang then turned to me and Jin So-cheong.
“I will regard your actions as void. This incident will be forgotten.”
“Thank you.”
“Thank you.”
With that, the situation had more or less been sorted out, and Lee Kwang inquired,
“Lord of Bancheon Alliance, please tell me what happened after I was subdued.”
“Of course.”
Mangnyang recounted everything that transpired when we visited the White Lotus Sect and spoke with the Young Master of the White Lotus Sect. He also shared the tale of receiving the blessings of Heavenly Convergence—
Having listened carefully to all this, Lee Kwang finally spoke,
“So, the plague affecting the Young Master of the White Lotus Sect was the doing of some Evil Deity and that the White Lotus Sect will seek clues about it along with the Seven Luminaries. The Bancheon Alliance effectively undertook that responsibility?”
“That’s correct.”
“Why go for that choice? Once the Young Master recovers, the White Lotus Sect will operate without restraint, and the Thunder God Lineage will have no chance to stand up.”
Mangnyang flicked the Seven Star Banner and replied,
“What if I asked the opposite? If we hadn’t shared that information, do you really think the White Lotus Sect would have found a remedy for the plague?”
“……”
“You handed over the task of finding the cure to the Bancheon Alliance, which means we can also control them. We will gather sufficient intel from our adversaries. We can look into remedies for the plague when necessary and use this to negotiate further with the White Lotus Sect. It’s a decision with no downsides.”
“Sounds like an overly optimistic interpretation.”
“It seems that a certain level of trust hasn’t been established between us yet.”
Noticing that this was a crucial persuasive moment, Mangnyang took a swig of the water he had set aside. Then, with serious eyes, he continued,
“Think hard. The White Lotus Sect has already infiltrated the Han Family in the capital and placed their Protectors among them. They have extended their influence to the Nine Abandonments as well as the Eight Devils of Martial Daos. They have established a means to seize control of the world at any moment.”
In this situation, mindlessly sidelining them while attempting to extract information would be impossible. Unless we simultaneously took control of both the Dongchang and Gyeongbeiqin leadership, there was no way it could happen.
“Hmm.”
“The White Lotus Sect is the biggest threat. As such, we should keep them close and glean as much information as possible. The actions taken from here on will be crucial.”
Lee Kwang contemplated Mangnyang’s words carefully. It took him about half a ke to nod in agreement.
“You’re right.”
“Thank you for your understanding.”
“… Lord of Bancheon Alliance, Mangnyang, you truly possess exceptional skills. If only So-cheong had found you first…”
As Lee Kwang sighed, his ice-cold gaze turned to me. Feeling an inexplicable sense of danger, I flinched as Lee Kwang dulled his hostility. Then, he continued,
“Alright then, that means that Yong Jung-il’s next move will be stopped by the Young Master of the White Lotus Sect. What do you think will develop from this?”
“Honestly, they won’t be able to stop it outright. They’ll only spring into damage control after the incident unfolds. We have to hold out until then.”
“Hmm… indeed, the martial world’s public enemy, huh?”
“Without a doubt.”
I couldn’t help but interject,
“What do you mean? Public enemy of the martial world…?”
With a deadpan expression, Mangnyang answered,
“At this moment, somewhere, corpses massacred by the Thunder God Lineage are being produced. The Beheaded Celestial Association will recognize the existence of our Thunder God Lineage through investigating the cause and label us as public enemies.”
“……!!”
“So the moment to stop it has passed. All the evidence, witnesses, and political ramifications have already been finalized, meaning we can’t do anything.”
What is this nonsense!?
As I stammered in disbelief, Lee Kwang smiled wryly and explained,
“Baek Woong, listen carefully. What the Lord of Bancheon Alliance mentioned is a common method of annihilation in the martial world. Not just this time, the Beheaded Celestial Association and the Eight Devils of Martial Daos have often designated public enemies to obliterate.”
“So, are you saying the Nine Abandonments will jointly attack us?”
“More precisely, it’ll be the martial forces that have received requests from Yong Jung-il and the Banneon Alliance’s minions alongside a few members from the Eight Devils of Martial Daos. Since the public enemies have to be promptly dealt with, they’ll most likely be working in unity.”
“……”
Lee Kwang and Mangnyang appeared to understand the process very well regarding the designation of public enemies. Perhaps, Lee Kwang’s past in the imperial palace coupled with his experience as a veteran would account for that. I had no doubt Mangnyang was well connected.
Mangnyang calmly added,
“It’s a rather obvious tactic, yet it’s powerful enough that against Yong Jung-il’s open threats, there’s practically no way to counter it. After all, he is the head of the Huangshan school, and he wields strong influence within the Beheaded Celestial Association. Only someone like Yan Zhenghong from the Zhongnan Sect could counter his line of argument.”
“Yan Zhenghong…”
Just the mention of him brought back memories.
The number one sword of Zhongnan, Yan Zhenghong!
He left a far stronger impression on me than the combine effort of the ten elders from the Zhongnan Sect. I had witnessed Jin So-cheong panic as Yan Zhenghong made his entrance; it was clear he far surpassed any peak master in skill.
“Wait a moment—how could they create traces of Thunder God Lineage’s martial arts? How do they even use Thunder God’s techniques?”
“In my view, the Thunder God and Wind God Lineages must be sharing basic martial techniques.”
Mangnyang’s gaze shifted to Lee Kwang. Reluctantly, Lee Kwang let out a long sigh.
“Indeed, that’s accurate. The Thunder God and Wind God Lineages have been coexisting for over a thousand years; thus, their foundational techniques share significant similarities. While they diverge at advanced stages, they both can utilize basic Thunder Spirit techniques.”
“……!!”
“Of course, we can also use Wind Spirit techniques. Like this.”
Hwaah
Lee Kwang’s palm suddenly surged with a wind-like energy, sharp and refined enough for practical application. It seemed that he had learned to handle the Wind Spirit technique through operating the tasks of the Thunder Spirit using his own Visionary Skill. Holding onto the wind energy, Lee Kwang stated,
“Similarly, the Fire God and Water God Lineages are intertwined in the same manner too; the foundational techniques would share their similarities.”
I realized something precious in that moment and found it fascinating, prompting me to ask Lee Kwang,
“So, if I trained, I could handle Fire Spirit or Water Spirit techniques?”
“Correct. However, your energy source is Thunder Spirit, so you cannot utilize anything above a basic level. The principle of mutual generation and restriction is clear.”
“Um… why didn’t you mention this sooner?”
“Well, knowing this wouldn’t help your training in any way.”
“……”
Although Lee Kwang deliberately diverted his answer, it essentially meant [You lack talent; just stick to learning what you can.], which I could clearly interpret. Maybe it was the same situation he’d faced in his previous life as well.
Lee Kwang then awkwardly remarked,
“Of course, you could learn it easily at your level now. If you want me to teach you right away, I can do that.”
“Yes, thank you.”
He seemed reluctant to press the issue too hard on my lack of talent, likely due to my past contributions to the Thunder God Lineage.
Mangnyang spoke again,
“We have two choices to make.”
“What choices?”
“One is to utilize Baek Woong’s incognito technique to escape into Dongyoung completely. The other is to confront this as public enemies in the Central Plains and hold our ground.”
“What’s the benefit of the latter?”
“Regardless, since the Thunder God Lineage has broken away, our name will echo throughout the Central Plains, even infamous as it might be, and the masters of the Thunder God Lineage scattered around will soon learn of it.”
“So, you’re saying we will last long enough until they come to our aid.”
“Hopefully, yes.”
As I listened, I interjected with skepticism,
“Even if we do hold out, do you really think masters would come to aid the Thunder God Lineage once we’re labeled public enemies? What would they gain by joining?”
In response to my question, Mangnyang merely smiled.
Keeping a deferential posture, Lee Kwang chortled.
“Do you think that there are so many reasonable folks contemplating life and death for the Thunder God Lineage?”
“……”
Somehow I wanted to retort, but found no ground to stand on.
Mangnyang added,
“Then, let’s send messengers to all the martial factions a day after tomorrow and host a faction competition. No matter how they designate us as public enemies, the martial code forbids them from attacking during that competition.”
“That sounds alright.”
The faction competition of the Thunder God Lineage!
It was a declaration of war against the Wind God Lineage’s schemes!
