Chapter 150: Banquet (1)

An oppressive silence shrouded the meeting hall.

Namgung Hyeok shattered that silence.

His eyes burned with displeasure as he glared at the Mount Hua Elder.

“So what you are telling us is… that either the Geum Clan’s heir or Heaven-reaching True Qi here murdered Mount Hua’s Elder?”

The Azure Cloud Divine Sword technique bore little difference from the Yellow Cloud Divine Sword. With martial traces erased and only sword marks to judge by, distinguishing between the two would prove nearly impossible.

In other words, claiming the Yellow Cloud Divine Sword was involved in Jongin’s disappearance was tantamount to pointing accusatory fingers at both Seojun and Chunbong.

Am I screwed?

Seojun’s mind raced through the implications as the conversation continued around him.

But upon reflection, this didn’t seem catastrophic.

I mean, I didn’t do anything wrong, did I?

When you cut to the heart of it, that bastard Jongin had been the one collaborating with Black Serpent.

Actually, come to think of it, he wasn’t even certain whether Jongin had been working with Black Serpent or some other organization…

Either way, hadn’t the man been carrying Black Serpent pills?

What a shame…

He’d hoped to pin this on Black Serpent as well. Now this would only scatter suspicion toward Mount Hua.

A Mount Hua Elder collaborating with Black Serpent? It was obviously serious business.

It might even provide other sects an excuse to pressure Mount Hua.

But he couldn’t allow the Geum Clan to shoulder the blame for this.

Though he disliked creating opportunities for internal strife, given these circumstances he had no choice but to…

“So Mount Hua has concluded this was most likely Black Serpent’s handiwork.”

“What?”

Seojun’s head snapped up.

The Mount Hua Elder smiled warmly at his startled reaction. Seeing Heaven-reaching True Qi’s grave expression, he could well imagine what troubled the young man.

He appeared worried about the Geum Clan facing false accusations, but such concerns were entirely unnecessary.

“Everyone knows that Elder Lee, who bore the title Mad Hungry Wolf at the time, was merely at Peak Realm then. Furthermore, I understand the Namgung daughter accompanied him, and it defies all logic for the Geum Clan and Namgung Clan to conspire in assassinating a Mount Hua Elder.”

“Oh…?”

“Furthermore, we discovered traces of Elder Jongin in a forest quite distant from Mount Hua. It appears Elder Jongin discovered something, gave pursuit, and met with peril…”

The Mount Hua Elder glanced at Seojun’s expression before speaking consolingly.

“Perhaps… the Yellow Cloud Divine Sword has fallen into Black Serpent’s hands. That is our assessment.”

Everyone in the assembly widened their eyes at those words.

The Yellow Cloud Divine Sword.

A peerless martial art that could boldly claim supremacy among the Central Plains’ finest sword arts without drawing significant objection.

That had fallen into Black Serpent’s hands?

“Do not fret, Elder Lee. The Yellow Cloud Divine Sword is renowned for its complexity, is it not? Those Black Serpent scoundrels could never properly master it.”

“Precisely! Still, how fortunate that the Divine Sword Geum Clan’s heir and the successor of that martial art remain alive and well!”

“Indeed so. Learning the Yellow Cloud Divine Sword from manuals alone proves impossible, so worry not overmuch.”

Suddenly receiving this flood of consolation, Seojun’s eyes darted about uncertainly.

Hmm. Is this actually better?

He’d done nothing at all, yet somehow achieved his objective anyway.

After the meeting concluded and weathering another barrage of consolation from various acquaintances, Seojun departed Shaolin Temple.

“It’ll be fine. The Family Head emphasized repeatedly that the Yellow Cloud Divine Sword is so complex that those Black Serpent scoundrels could never wield it properly.”

Namgung Hyeok offered comfort with a troubled expression.

“That’s right, Brother. Everyone knows how difficult it is to master martial arts from manuals alone.”

Namgung Myeong echoed the sentiment.

Having received such an outpouring of sympathy, Seojun began wondering if some genuine tragedy had actually befallen him.

At least fortunately, that old bastard Pae Jinwang wasn’t present.

He couldn’t fathom what sort of reaction the man would display, but if that geezer started offering comfort, it would truly feel like something was seriously amiss.

“Ah, enough already. I told you I’m fine.”

Seojun shuddered and hastened his departure.

Watching his retreating figure, Namgung Hyeok clicked his tongue in sympathy.

“How deeply must he be suffering…”

From what he’d heard, the boy had wandered the back alleys during difficult times. Truly heartbreaking.

To think the Yellow Cloud Divine Sword, preserved through such hardships, had fallen into those vile Black Serpent hands.

Namgung Hyeok reflected on his own words and conduct, regretting what he’d said during their first encounter.

“How shameless I was…”

“Great-great-grandfather…”

Namgung Myeong squeezed his eyes shut.

What could possibly heal his elder brother’s wounded heart?

As he pondered this question, a promising idea suddenly struck him.

“A gathering? You want me to attend their gathering?”

Seojun tilted his head at Namgung Myeong’s proposal.

What would he do at some kids’ party?

Seeing his bewildered expression, Namgung Myeong grinned broadly.

“Even so, everyone there is around your age, Brother. Perhaps you’ll make some worthy friends.”

“Is that so? But aren’t they all just… kids?”

“Well… even by age alone, Brother, you’re on the younger side among the rising stars.”

“What.”

When Seojun acted dramatically surprised, Namgung Myeong smiled awkwardly.

“In any case, Sister and Young Lady Geum are attending as well, so what do you say?”

“Listen lil bro, you should have mentioned that first.”

Then there was no reason not to go.

Four empty days stretched between the Round of 32 and the Round of 16.

During this period, a grand banquet traditionally gathered the rising disciples.

It wasn’t exclusively for tournament participants. There were no real qualifications, but those outside the Sixteen Great Sects rarely attended.

Since most attendees hailed from the Sixteen Great Sects anyway, outsiders risked unknown consequences by intruding.

Of course, there were always some who did intrude and stirred up trouble…

Regardless, Seojun attended.

There shouldn’t be any problems. He was the appropriate age to be considered a rising star, after all.

Being an elder-level figure among the Sixteen Great Sects didn’t matter for the moment.

“Damn, kids these days really know how to throw a party.”

Seojun surveyed the gathering venue with genuine admiration.

“Indeed. You know, back in my younger days, we used to hang out with Black Path friends in the back alleys.”

“Please shut up.”

Chunbong beside him grumbled irritably.

This bastard talked like some 200-year-old ancient martial artist.

Didn’t he claim his original world had no qi whatsoever?

“Hey, Chunbubbie! What’s wrong? Why you got no energy today?”

“What do you mean, me?”

“There’s no way this is your only reaction to all this?”

“…”

Chunbong stared at Seojun intently.

His appearance, dressed properly for this formal gathering, looked quite refined.

Wearing Namgung Clan attire with his usually disheveled hair neatly arranged.

Just looking at him, he resembled some noble young master, but the moment he opened his mouth, he was just a complete moron…

And most importantly—

“It’s weird.”

“What is?”

“Dunno… something, just something…”

This bastard, the Namgung Clan clothes suited him remarkably well.

“Is this that NTR thing or whatever?”

He looked good, sure, but seeing how well the Namgung Clan attire fit him made her chest sting oddly.

When Chunbong made that peculiar expression, Seojun was horrified.

“Hey! Gim Chunboing…! Where did you learn those words!?”

“Who else but you?”

“What.”

Seojun realized his mistake.

This is why you have to watch your language around kids… I’ll need to be more careful going forward.

“Oh! You’re here!”

Cheongsong waved and approached from across the venue. Muhye accompanied him as well.

“It’s been quite some time.”

Watching her bow gracefully, Seojun waved back.

“Yeah, long time no see.”

Inside, quite a crowd had gathered.

Many eyes focused on Seojun, but approaching seemed difficult as a fairly substantial empty space formed around him.

For Seojun, this was fortunate.

He wasn’t particularly eager to field a barrage of questions from countless strangers.

“Chunbong, go play around. You should make some friends.”

Instead, he nudged Chunbong’s back encouragingly.

“What? Why should I?”

“Well, you… don’t have a single friend.”

Sadly, this was true.

Geum Chunbong didn’t have anyone she could genuinely call a friend.

At most, big sis Suah or Myeong. But those two were more like family than friends.

“At this age, you need to cultivate same-gender friendships for proper social development and such…”

“Ugh! Just forget it!”

Though Chunbong erupted in protest, Namgung Suah took the suggestion seriously.

Having no friends herself, she felt a profound sense of kinship.

“Sister Geum, shall we go together?”

When Namgung Suah, who understood the loneliness of friendlessness, extended the invitation, Chunbong reluctantly agreed.

“Fine! Whatever! Sure.”

She nodded brusquely and pointed accusingly at Seojun.

“Hey, you!”

“Yes?”

“Don’t cause any trouble, seriously!”

“Now, now, I wouldn’t do such a thing. What trouble could I possibly cause when it’s just kids around?”

“Well… I guess that’s true?”

Actually, even if he wanted to stir up trouble, any sensible rising star wouldn’t dare provoke this Lee Seojun bastard.

His antics made the Transcendent Realm seem like a joke, but a Transcendent Realm master could still pop three or four disciples’ heads with a single gesture.

Unless someone was genuinely deranged…

Thus, Chunbong and Namgung Suah departed to seek out potential friends.

Seojun watched their retreating figures fondly amused, then turned to Namgung Myeong.

“So what do we do now?”

Seojun was equally friendless.

The Black Serpent’s Chief Military Advisor.

He couldn’t understand the current situation at all.

“So… the North Sea Ice Palace assassinated an Imperial Great General?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“I never issued such orders.”

“That’s…”

When his subordinate floundered, Sama Hyeon clicked his tongue.

“What the hell are they thinking…”

He tapped his iron fan against the desk, lost in thought.

The North Sea Ice Palace had been involved in the Blood Crow Sect’s disaster, and now they’d assassinated an Imperial Great General?

Sama Hyeon’s cold gaze turned toward his subordinate.

“Is this reliable information?”

“Yes. We received it from a spy planted in the orthodox faction. Though the orthodox side tried to keep it quiet, the incident was too big…”

“This makes no sense.”

Sama Hyeon clicked his tongue.

“What did the Ice Palace say?”

“About that…”

His subordinate broke into a cold sweat as he spoke.

Meanwhile, deep within the North Sea Ice Palace.

Ice Palace Lord Baek Seolhyang’s furious voice shook the entire palace.

“Stop spouting nonsense and give me an explanation that makes sense!”

“P-Palace Lord…”

“Do you think this sounds reasonable right now? Some crazy bitch destroys an entire sect and assassinates an Imperial Great General, but you don’t know who? Didn’t you say traces of the White Ice Divine Art were found!?”

“They say traces of demonic qi were also found at the Blood Crow Sect…”

“This…! What fucking bastard is it!?”

Baek Seolhyang felt like she was going insane.

An Ice Palace master of that caliber couldn’t exist without her knowledge, yet among those she knew, none had committed such acts.

“What, so you’re saying the White Ice Divine Art was leaked? What logical sense does that make? Even if it were leaked, who could master the White Ice Divine Art in such a short time and impersonate the Ice Palace!? That’s impossible!”

The White Ice Divine Art was as difficult to learn as it was supremely powerful.

First, one had to contain the North Sea’s cold qi entirely within their body, then imbue evil qi to amplify its power, and to achieve mastery, one needed help from the Ice Palace’s sacred treasure, the Ice Crystal.

Even if the White Ice Divine Art had somehow leaked, impersonation was impossible.

“Summon the elders! I’ll make sure to identify which bitch is causing all this trouble and make an example of her!”

The North Sea Ice Palace was turned upside down.