Chapter 154 - Black Flame Dragon in the Midst of Chaos (4)

"Brother, surely the day will come when our Yujang Sect stands tall in Jianghu, right?"

At his younger sister's question as she was being married off to an influential family, Jang Ujae could not say a word.

Because he alone knew that she dreamed of roaming Jianghu more than anyone else.

Even so, his sister would say things she didn't mean, claiming that her life would be smooth from now on since she was marrying into a wealthy family.

And so, through his sister's sacrifice, Jang Ujae was able to become an academy student at the Murim Academy.

Knowing his sister would be happier about his acceptance than anyone else, Jang Ujae tried to meet her as soon as he returned to the Yujang Sect.

However, he could not meet her at all, nor could he hear any news of how she was doing.

A grand banquet hosted by the family.

With friends he made at the academy visiting as well, Jang Ujae truly spent his days in a frantic blur.

"Huh?"

Then, he encountered the man his younger sister had married.

His brow furrowed naturally at the sight of the man singing a tune with a gisaeng on his arm in a corner of the banquet.

From acting belligerently in all four directions while drunk, to coming over and acting foolishly in front of the academy students...

Despite the man's arrogant behavior, Jang Ujae maintained his patience and treated his brother-in-law well.

However.

"Ha, if only my wife were at your level, Lady, it would have been truly wonderful."

A sense of doubt began from that single remark he spat out while flattering the academy students.

"My wife has no ability, yet her pride is so high. I've been having quite a hard time educating her. Hahaha."

Jang Ujae was the star of the banquet and had countless people to meet, but he immediately ran to the family his younger sister had married into.

When he ignored the protests of the servants and maids, recklessly barged into her quarters, and forced the door open.

"Ha..."

His younger sister welcomed Jang Ujae with a sorrowful smile.

"Brother, have you been well?"

She had tried to conceal the bruises on her face with makeup, but the sheer size of the injuries immediately caught his eye.

"I heard you came with your friends from the academy this time? Our Yujang Sect is practically a respectable sect now, right?"

That day, just like in the past, Jang Ujae could not answer.

He realized whose sacrifice had paved the place he stood upon, and he felt it too painfully to his bones.

He couldn't say a single word.

"..."

His eyes, looking toward Dongting Lake, were filled with desperation.

He couldn't fall like this.

He couldn't collapse like this.

He had already sacrificed far too much.

If the Yujang Sect crumbled here, not only himself, but his sister would never be able to live a proper life either.

"I will never collapse. I will survive no matter what."

Jang Ujae gazed at the boats floating on the dark surface of Dongting Lake in the distance, resolving himself over and over.

* * *

'I am tired.'

Ilgak thought so.

Compared to his time at the academy where he underwent arduous training every day, his schedule in Yueyang was incredibly sluggish, yet he felt far more mental fatigue.

What he hoped for now was to return to the academy even a day sooner and prepare for his next sparring match with Jin Sowoon.

'Even that won't be easy anymore.'

If they went to Sichuan, they would end up spending at least several weeks.

They would have to engage in all sorts of absurd formalities to artificially manufacture results that didn't exist.

Visiting allied sects, solidifying relationships, attending banquets, and repeating that cycle continuously.

There was a time when he considered this, too, to be mental discipline, but the worldly anguish was piling up too much for that to be true.

'My training is lacking.'

This was the path that countless seniors and masters of his sect had all walked before him.

Wasn't it only natural that he would have to walk it as well?

Ilgak chanted 'Amitabha' thousands, tens of thousands of times in his heart, swallowing his patience over and over.

"Monk, it is time to disembark."

Snapping back to his senses at the sailor's words, he realized the boat had already returned to the dock.

Ilgak stepped off the boat with a willing heart.

There would surely be more matters to receive upon returning to their lodgings, but once that was finished, he would be able to spare some time for training.

Just as he was thinking that.

"Grandmaster! My name is Jang Ujae! I am an academy student of the Murim Academy and a disciple of the Yujang Sect. Please, help us just this once!"

When he turned his head at the familiar name.

Familiar faces were shouting at the top of their lungs amidst the restraint of the crowd.

"My sect is currently in danger of collapsing at the hands of the Underworld. We desperately need your help."

"..."

As people's gazes gathered on Jang Ujae at his words, Hyeseong eventually gestured for them to approach.

"Ahem."

Grandmaster Hyeseong covered his nose and frowned.

A thick stench of sweat wafted from them as they burst through the crowd.

"Grandmaster! The help of the Orthodox sects, including the Orthodox Council, is desperately needed. Please, help us just this once!"

Although he only heard fragmented details, Ilgak could roughly guess the situation.

With the Mount Cangshan Sect retreating, the Orthodox Murim and the Underworld Murim had begun clashing over control of Yueyang.

The Orthodox Murim would suffer quite a heavy blow due to the storm blowing in from the Underworld.

And it was only natural that the brunt of the blow would spread to the smaller sects rather than the large ones.

Ilgak wore a pitying expression as he recalled that Jang Ujae's sect was not a particularly prominent one.

"Ilgak."

At Grandmaster Hyeseong's call, which seemed to ask for an explanation, Ilgak quietly approached and spoke.

"They really are academy students."

"Which sect's children are they?"

"They belong to a sect called the Yujang Sect."

"Yujang Sect?"

At Hyeseong's head tilt, Ilgak quickly added on.

"They are a fundamentally solid sect rooted in Yueyang."

"I don't believe I've ever seen them in the Murim Alliance."

"Their activities within the Alliance are still lacking, but I understand they are often spoken of among the people as possessing righteous chivalry."

Hyeseong's gaze shifted to Jang Ujae and the academy students who appeared to be his friends.

He closely observed the clothes they were wearing, the weapons they carried, their appearance, and the standard of their martial arts.

"Hmm..."

At Hyeseong's quiet hum, Ilgak quickly continued.

"In particular, that friend Jang Ujae is evaluated as the representative of the unaffiliated individuals within the academy. He commands so much respect that not only our Orthodox Council, but the White Path Council and the Twelve Peaks and Castles are also keeping an eye on him."

Due to this incident in Yueyang, his sect might end up disappearing.

Even though it had absolutely nothing to do with him, Ilgak began to feel anxious.

"If we help him this time, it would likely be of great assistance in reclaiming the academy representative position later on."

"Is that so?"

"Y-Yes."

Hyeseong stared intently at Ilgak.

"To think that you, who are usually ignorant of politics and human relations, have suddenly become so eloquent today."

"..."

Grandmaster Hyeseong slowly shook his head side to side.

"That, too, is worldly anguish."

"..."

Grandmaster Hyeseong stepped forward.

And spoke in a resonant voice.

"Young Benefactor, you may rise now."

"Grandmaster! I will pay any price in the future. Please, help us just this once."

Desperation to grasp even a thread of hope surfaced on Jang Ujae's face.

"The Buddha does not ask for any price from you. By any chance, have you tried requesting help from the Alliance's Yueyang Branch?"

"Yes. I ran to them and pleaded first. But the branch's personnel are not enough to face the entirety of Yueyang's Underworld."

No matter how much the branch stepped up, with its limited permanent personnel, there was no way the Underworld Murim would cower.

In the first place, the Underworld Murim was not meticulous enough to hesitate when presented with an environment where they could run completely rampant like this.

Jang Ujae pleaded earnestly once more.

"It will be too late after the war with the Underworld breaks out. We need immediate help, Grandmaster."

Ilgak chipped in without realizing it.

"He is right, Monk. If the Murim Alliance only steps forward after the Underworld Murim has already taken over Yueyang, the smaller sects will..."

Grandmaster Hyeseong slowly turned his head and looked at Ilgak.

"..."

That expressionless face felt like the face of one of the Four Heavenly Kings, making Ilgak swallow heavily without realizing it.

"... I-I am sorry."

Grandmaster Hyeseong began to speak again in a solemn tone.

"The Underworld's atrocities plunging the world into chaos is not a matter of just a day or two. That the grace of the Buddha cannot reach all under heaven is a profound regret held by this humble monk."

Not only the academy students, but everyone from the onlookers who came to see the people of the Nine Sects and One Gang to the passengers waiting to board ships, all looked at Hyeseong.

"Furthermore, the Buddha never turns a blind eye to mortals seeking salvation."

Before anyone knew it, Hyeseong's gaze had left the academy students and turned toward the crowd.

"Whenever and wherever there is someone seeking the Buddha's help, even if they are in the Nine Springs of Hell itself, the Buddha's reach will extend to them."

Those listening to Hyeseong's words suddenly let out a cheer.

"Waaaaah!"

After the brief excitement settled, Hyeseong looked at Jang Ujae with a benevolent smile.

"Therefore, Benefactor, please return and set your mind at ease."

"A-Are you going to help us?"

"Did I not just say so? No matter where you are, the grace of the Buddha will reach you."

At Hyeseong's vague words, Jang Ujae bowed his head deeply once more and spoke.

"There are rumors that the Dark Blood Gang plans to attack my sect in the coming days."

Hyeseong nodded.

"As soon as I return to the Murim Alliance, I will convene an Alliance meeting and handle this matter as the highest priority."

"Pardon?"

Jang Ujae's face distorted.

If he handled it like that, how was it any different from having the Murim Alliance's Yueyang Branch handle it?

"G-Grandmaster! My Yujang Sect's crisis is hanging by a thread. If you do that..."

"Benefactor."

Thick inner qi was loaded into Grandmaster Hyeseong's voice.

A Silence Command that constricted the spirit, making it feel as if a massive weight had been dropped onto them just from hearing it.

The onlookers also felt a massive presence from Grandmaster Hyeseong's voice and maintained a deep silence.

"Did this humble monk not say it? There is nowhere the Buddha's hand cannot reach."

"..."

"However, all things in the world have an order."

Jang Ujae, who was trembling all over, desperately opened his mouth.

"I-In that case... could you not pay a visit to our sect? Just having the Grandmaster visit us would make the Underworld Murim extremely nervous."

Watching Jang Ujae, Ilgak could not hide his internal shock.

Hyeseong's Silence Command was considered top-tier even within the Shaolin Sect, yet he managed to overcome it.

To put it conversely, it meant the situation Jang Ujae faced was just that desperate.

"..."

Knowing all of this yet being unable to do anything, Ilgak felt a deep sense of self-reproach.

"... I would like to do so, but I ask for your understanding that I cannot visit, as I have an extremely urgent matter fighting for every second right before me."

"G-Grandmaster!"

"Do not worry. Benefactor, you and your sect will surely be protected within the grace of the Buddha."

The moment Hyeseong finished speaking and turned to leave.

"What is this cheap trick?"

A voice breaking the silence echoed across the dock.

"Are there still people who use this sort of thing these days?"

Men and women who looked to be in their twenties walked out onto the dock.

As the man leading them casually waved his hand through the air, the people unknowingly felt the pressure constricting them disperse and let out long sighs.

"..."

Hyeseong's gaze turned to the man who had dispelled the Silence Command.

An expression that seemed somewhat despicable and mocking. On top of that, a relaxed attitude unfitting for his age.

He was a man Hyeseong knew well.

The man looked at Hyeseong and asked.

"That talk about being protected within the grace of the Buddha. Does that mean if you pray hard enough, the Dark Blood Gang will just turn around and leave on their own?"

"..."

The man naturally stepped between Hyeseong's group and Jang Ujae's group, continuing his words.

"No, isn't that right? In the first place, if everything gets solved just by chanting Amitabha, why does the Murim Alliance exist, and why do the Underworld factions still remain in Jianghu?"

The man's gaze swept over the crowd.

"Has the Shaolin Sect been lacking in their prayers?"

Hyeseong's group, as well as the onlookers, turned pale as they stared at the man.

"Who the hell is that?"

"Is he out of his mind?"

"How dare he speak such blasphemy to Grandmaster Hyeseong, a high monk of the Shaolin Sect..."

People murmured among themselves, glaring at the man.

Just what was the identity of a man who spat out remarks so utterly brazen that it seemed he had completely left his sense of fear behind?

And surprisingly, the answer burst forth from Grandmaster Hyeseong's lips.

"Benefactor Jin Sowoon..."

The man called Jin Sowoon heavily furrowed his brow.

"I told you before, stop saying Benefactor this, Benefactor that, to a disciple of a Daoist sect. Seriously."