Chapter 274: Not an Orthodox-Unorthodox Great War, but the Great Orthodox-Demonic War

TL: FoodieMonster007

Becoming the Murim Alliance Chairman was Jin Hagun's lifelong dream. He grew up watching his grandfather and constantly heard people say, "You must succeed your grandfather."

Jin Hagun naturally assumed the position would be his, but his grandfather announced he would pass the role to someone with the necessary ability and qualifications. So Jin Hagun tried relentlessly. Becoming the Chairman was his entire life. He could not imagine a life without it.

But now, Geom Mugeuk was telling him to give up on becoming the Chairman himself? It was the most shocking thing Jin Hagun had ever heard.

Seeing Jin Hagun's expression harden, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon and the Fist Demon glanced at each other. They knew Geom Mugeuk had sent a telepathic message. Having experienced Geom Mugeuk's methods themselves, they could guess the state Jin Hagun was falling into.

Bi Sayin, sitting opposite them, also saw the expression.

No!

Of course, Bi Sayin did not interrupt the conversation between the two.

The frantic Seo Baekjong, however, had no such courtesy. Seo Baekjong sent a telepathic message to Jin Hagun.

[What are you two discussing?]

He knew he should not have interfered, but Jin Hagun's expression was unsettling.

[Wait a moment.]

At the curt reply, Seo Baekjong sensed something was wrong. Jin Hagun had told him to wait, but Seo Baekjong could not.

[If the Demonic Cult's Young Cult Leader is pulling some trick, you can't fall for it!]

Jin Hagun shot Seo Baekjong a cold look. The qi of the man who led the Demon Slaying Brigade, the Murim Alliance's elite unit, overwhelmed Seo Baekjong.

Faced with the sharp reaction, Seo Baekjong could not interfere any further. He had a bad feeling. His gaze turned to Geom Mugeuk. From the moment Seo Baekjong first saw him, he knew Geom Mugeuk was not an easy opponent. Could Jin Hagun truly handle that man? Seo Baekjong sensed that an unexpected variable had emerged.

Jin Hagun sent a telepathic message to Geom Mugeuk.

[You're giving up the Chairman position yourself? What does that mean?]

He tried his best to remain calm, but his voice trembled.

[It means that if you obtain the Heavenly Peace Sect, you won't be able to obtain the position of Murim Alliance Chairman.]

Jin Hagun's heart, which he had struggled to calm, began to beat rapidly again. The words 'Murim Alliance Chairman' were like a weakness to him.

This is a trick. I must not fall for it.

Jin Hagun drank the wine before him. After composing himself, he asked calmly.

[Tell me the reason.]

Geom Mugeuk did not answer immediately. Everyone around them focused on the two. They all felt it. A very important conversation was taking place.

The Sword Saint sent a telepathic message to the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.

[As long as I'm here, it would be best not to try any foolish tricks.]

It seemed the Sword Saint felt some unease. They were such high-level masters that they could notice emotional changes just from a shift in the air.

[This is an era where old men can't interfere even if they want to. We can only watch.]

At the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's reply, the Sword Saint said stubbornly.

[One must interfere when it's necessary.]

The two men's personalities certainly had similarities.

[Isn't that why our Cult can't strike the orthodox sects?]

It was a high compliment, saying they could not attack because the Sword Saint was there. The Sword Saint smiled faintly.

[Why are you sacrificing so much for your juniors who aren't even that grateful?]

[It's not a sacrifice. It's living a righteous life.]

[Live your own life while you're at it.]

If anyone else had said that, they would have been met with a fiery rebuke. The Blood Heaven Blade Demon, however, was an exception.

[At this point… I've lived my whole life this way. How could that life change so easily?]

[It can change.]

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon's gaze naturally turned to Geom Mugeuk. The Sword Saint wondered what the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's last words meant, and his gaze also turned toward Geom Mugeuk and Jin Hagun.

At that moment, Jin Hagun was pressing Geom Mugeuk.

[I said, tell me the reason!]

Geom Mugeuk stared at him intently and replied.

[You already know the reason, don't you?]

The moment he heard those words, Jin Hagun's heart sank. Geom Mugeuk had begun to dig up what he had tried so hard to ignore and bury.

Jin Hagun's gaze went past Geom Mugeuk to someone seated far away. It was Seo Cheong.

Seo Cheong was the one who had killed an innocent person. Jin Hagun had been constantly deliberating on how to deal with him. That was why he had not offered a single friendly word when Seo Baekjong first introduced his son.

[What do you mean?]

After asking, Jin Hagun regretted it. He had pretended not to know, hoping there might be another reason.

Damn it.

Even if there had been another reason, he should not have asked. He, who dreamed of becoming the Murim Alliance Chairman, was pretending not to know just to avoid the truth?

It would have been different if there was another reason, but Geom Mugeuk had struck his weakness precisely.

[I'm talking about Seo Cheong.]

Jin Hagun unknowingly clenched his jaw.

Get a grip! Don't get played by him.

Unfortunately, his opponent was not one to be swayed by such resolve.

[Didn't you come here knowing full well what crimes he committed?]

[I…]

Jin Hagun struggled to answer calmly.

[I was planning to consider his punishment after concluding the matter with the Heavenly Peace Sect.]

[Punish him later?]

After a brief pause, Geom Mugeuk asked.

[Shouldn't it not be that way?]

Geom Mugeuk's words flew and struck him like throwing knives. Those were words Jin Hagun himself should have said.

You of the Demonic Cult, you of the unorthodox sects, shouldn't it not be that way?

Geom Mugeuk could feel Jin Hagun's agitation. That was why he was hopeful. Jin Hagun was still young. He still had much to learn and experience. If he was someone who knew shame, it was fine. Kicking the blankets in regret during one's youth was fine.

Geom Mugeuk's telepathy continued.

[The moment you obtain the Heavenly Peace Sect, you'll fail the test given by the Murim Alliance Chairman.]

[A test?]

At the word 'test', Jin Hagun's mind snapped to attention.

[That's right. This is the Chairman's test.]

[How do you know that?]

[Because I've met your Chairman.]

[Are you telling me, his grandson, that you know because you've met the Chairman many times?]

[Correct. The number of times you've met him is incomparably greater. However, Commander Jin.]

Geom Mugeuk stared straight at him and asked.

[Until now, have you been looking at your grandfather properly?]

For a moment, Jin Hagun flinched. Had he been looking at his grandfather properly?

Of course, I was.

The words did not come out right away. His grandfather… was such a difficult person for him.

[What are you trying to say?]

Jin Hagun's voice rose slightly. His composure was already broken, and he was becoming agitated.

[I'm saying that sometimes you can't see someone properly precisely because they're close to you. At least, that was the case for me.]

Geom Mugeuk honestly conveyed what he had felt. He knew that no matter how many rhetorical tricks one used, sincerity ultimately moved a person's heart.

[Until recently, I couldn't see Father properly. I couldn't see him because I was scared, and I couldn't see him because I thought I could see him anytime. Only recently have I started trying to see him properly. That's why I said that. Even if you see someone a hundred, a thousand times, if you don't look properly, you might know less than someone who has seen them only once.]

Their gazes locked in mid-air.

Jin Hagun could not deny Geom Mugeuk's words. However, he could not blindly believe them either. He thought that his grandfather might not be thinking that way at all, and that he might be falling for Geom Mugeuk's trick. He was confused.

[I'm suspicious of you. How can you be so sure that these words aren't just a ploy to take over the Heavenly Peace Sect?]

Then, Geom Mugeuk struck his core once more.

[Then why are you looking at me?]

[What do you mean?]

[If you have doubts, you should be looking at your grandfather. Isn't that where you should find the answer?]

"!" Suddenly, Jin Hagun recalled the time he went to greet his grandfather before leaving for this place.

Come to think of it, his grandfather had not said a single word about the Heavenly Peace Sect. Nothing about how they must obtain it, or how he should conduct himself.

He had simply told him to have a safe trip. The look in his eyes as he watched him.

Were those the eyes of someone who would be pleased to obtain the Heavenly Peace Sect without punishing the unjust?

No.

Perhaps he had known all along. He had just pretended not to. It was something his master had proposed for his sake. Was it not possible that his master had simply said what he himself wanted to say?

Let's achieve a great merit and become the successor!

Jin Hagun's face flushed hot. No matter how much he pretended not to know, no matter how much he used his master as an excuse, he knew. He knew he had wanted this.

[The person who connected you with the Heavenly Peace Sect Leader doesn't wish for you to become the Chairman.

Jin Hagun's expression instantly hardened.

From that reaction, Geom Mugeuk could discern one thing.

It's someone close to Jin Hagun.

It had to be someone closer to Jin Hagun than Seo Baekjong.

Jin Hagun trusted his master. He respected and followed him more than anyone. The reason his master had proposed this was also to help him become the Chairman.

I must trust my Master! I can't fall for this attempt to drive a wedge between us!

Bi Sayin watched Jin Hagun's expression change from moment to moment.

What on earth did he say to throw Jin Hagun, whom I just met, into such a state of passion?

Then again, the answer was clear when he thought about himself. He considered how his own emotions had changed since meeting Geom Mugeuk. What was truly unfolding at this drinking party was not an orthodox and unorthodox great war, but the Great Orthodox-Demonic War.

Bi Sayin sent a telepathic message to Geom Mugeuk.

[You are truly the greatest villain in this murim!]

[Our telepathy is getting tangled. Send it later!]

[No! Please let them get tangled so you misunderstand.]

Bi Sayin was surprised that he was saying such things. He truly had not known he was the kind of person who could joke like this with someone. He had thought that with this hideous scar, he would never be able to have a sincere conversation with anyone.

While this happened, Seo Cheong sent a telepathic message to Seo Baekjong.

[Why is it so quiet?]

[They're conversing through telepathy.]

[Someday, I'll get revenge on that Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult. Father, please avenge me!]

Seo Baekjong found his son, who could not even read the room, pathetic. It was not even 'I will get revenge', but 'please avenge me'. Compared to the three heirs over there, he was even more pathetic.

However, it was ultimately his own responsibility for raising him this way.

[Don't act rashly and stay quiet.]

He had thought that the position makes the man, that if he created a great position and passed it down, his son would become a person worthy of it. It was a complacent thought. Raising a child required more effort than even a fraction of the effort it took to grow the Heavenly Peace Sect. No, it required more effort than all of it combined.

The price for evading that responsibility was now speaking before his very eyes.

[Just in case, should I quietly run away?]

Seo Baekjong sighed and replied.

[It's already too late. So stay put.]

Meanwhile, the telepathy between Geom Mugeuk and Jin Hagun continued.

[Fine, let's say you're right. Then why are you telling me this? Is it to take the Heavenly Peace Sect for yourself?]

[Of course, that's part of the reason, but there's a bigger reason.]

[What is it?]

[Because I want you to be a person who upholds principles.]

A cold qi emanated from Jin Hagun's body. He did not want to hear a demon talk about principles.

As he unleashed his momentum, those around him tensed up all at once.

The Demon Slaying Brigade raised their inner arts. The Heavenly Demon Hall bodyguards and the Thirteen Evil Wolves also raised their momentum, preparing to counterattack.

Geom Mugeuk, on the other hand, was perfectly calm.

[Later, when you or I become the Cult Leader and the Chairman, the lives of thousands, tens of thousands, will depend on our decisions. At that time, I hope we don't make the wrong choices. You, me, and that Young Alliance Chairman over there. I hope we become people who uphold principles.]

Jin Hagun's outstretched qi subsided. He could feel it. Geom Mugeuk was speaking with sincerity. His eyes were saying this. Become a good Chairman. So let's not start a war in our era.

I lost.

It was the single phrase that surfaced in Jin Hagun's mind.

Whether Geom Mugeuk's words were lies or sincere, it was his complete defeat. He had to admit it. Whether Geom Mugeuk was a swindler or a true demonic hero, he was at least a person superior to Jin Hagun. A person he found difficult to handle.

I'll have to try harder. Ten times, a hundred times harder than now!

So that someday, when he became the Chairman, he would not lose the Murim Alliance to the Geom Mugeuk before him.

Jin Hagun said calmly.

[I will become a person who upholds principles. Not because you want me to, but because that's the kind of person I've always wanted to be.]

[I believe you'll become such a person.]

[Are you mocking me?]

[Mockery should be reserved for bastards like that Seo Cheong over there. Shouldn't it be directed at Seo Baekjong, who tries to protect such a man just because he's his son? Isn't that why we exist? If not for us, who could restrain the children of massive sects like the Heavenly Peace Sect?]

[You are truly…]

It was a complete defeat to the very end.

Jin Hagun's gaze suddenly turned to Bi Sayin, who sat opposite him.

Their eyes met. Bi Sayin had been so engrossed in Geom Mugeuk that he had not even realized Jin Hagun was looking at him like this.

Bi Sayin silently poured wine into Jin Hagun's empty cup.

The feeling was a little different now compared to when he had provocatively sat opposite him at the beginning.

Jin Hagun drank the wine Bi Sayin had poured. To think that wine poured by the heir of an unorthodox sect could be so comforting.

It was not just Bi Sayin's feelings that had changed.

Seo Baekjong was looking at him with a strange expression. His eyes seemed to ask a question.

Surely you're not going to fall for that Demonic Cult bastard and abandon us, are you?

Just then, Geom Mugeuk's telepathic message arrived.

[Are you worried about your promise with the Heavenly Peace Sect Leader?]

How perceptive he was. Yes, Jin Hagun was worried. Just a moment ago, he had boasted for them to trust only him, but now he could not bring himself to say that his mind had changed. Moreover, so many people were watching, which made it even harder.

[I'll resolve this so that you won't be in an awkward position. Is that alright?]

The word 'no' rose to Jin Hagun's throat. In terms of momentum, he did not want to be swayed by Geom Mugeuk any longer. However, he had to let go of the Heavenly Peace Sect. Only then would he have something to say to his grandfather when he returned.

How on earth did he plan to resolve it without making things awkward? He was extremely curious about the solution.

The moment Jin Hagun gave a slight nod, Geom Mugeuk ended the long telepathic conversation and opened his mouth.

"Come now, let's have a drink and relax."

They all drank together. Everyone was curious about how the telepathic conversation between Geom Mugeuk and Jin Hagun had concluded.

Geom Mugeuk set down his cup and said nonchalantly.

"This matter was never meant to get this big. As you all know, this whole affair began because our Sect Leader Seo here tried to protect his son, who has committed multiple murders. It's a matter of familial bonds, so I understand. However, given that the deceased were innocent people…"

Just then, someone cut Geom Mugeuk off.

"What is the meaning of that?"

It was the man who had lived his entire life for good deeds and justice, the Sword Saint.