Alright, alright, I get it.
Now it's time to tell the story.
I know too. I know that this isn't the kind of story you're curious about. But there are too many things that need to be addressed before we get to that. What am I supposed to do about it?
The Mount Hua Martial Gathering, or the Mount Hua Blood Incident.
Whatever you want to call it doesn't matter. What's important in the end is what happened at Mount Hua, isn't it?
I know, I said I know.
Why are you rushing me like this? I said I'd explain it now, didn't I?
So… let me see.
Where should I start explaining from?
After Wei Yan-ho defeated the Dark King, the atmosphere became quite strange.
How should I put it? It was as if the winner no longer mattered?
So people seemed to have quite a dilemma. Should they stay to see the winner decided and then return, or should they return early?
Quite a few chose to just return at that time.
But if they had known what kind of results that would bring, no one would have returned…
Such a pity.
What do you mean what am I talking about?
The ones approaching Mount Hua were trying their best not to cause trouble.
After all, it was an operation that required stealth.
But no matter how stealthily they tried to move, given their nature, incidents were bound to happen.
If only we had noticed that earlier, the situation would have changed drastically.
Such a pity, such a pity indeed.
***
"It feels a bit wrong to leave already, elder brother."
"What do you mean?"
"Shouldn't we at least see who wins?"
"What's the point of seeing the winner? Either Wei San-ho or Baek Geom-yeong will win anyway. The fact that one of those two will be victorious was something we already knew, wasn't it?"
"That's true, but…"
Jong Du-gwan, who had come all the way up from Sichuan to watch this match, clicked his tongue regretfully.
"I was hoping the Heavenly Medicine Alliance would show us something this time."
"Those half-wit bastards."
Whether they liked it or not, the faction representing Sichuan was the Sichuan Tang Family, and the Sichuan Tang Family was the backbone of the Heavenly Medicine Alliance. He had hoped that his regional faction would achieve good results and bring glory to the region, but with Wei Yan-ho's appearance, they only brought shame.
Probably the Sichuan Tang Family wouldn't be able to hold their heads up in the martial world for quite some time.
'That would be fortunate if that's all there is to it.'
As long as Wei Yan-ho was alive, it would become impossible for the Tang Family name to establish a fearsome reputation in the martial world as a symbol of poison and terror. Their name would now be used to explain Wei Yan-ho's majesty.
When the regional powerhouse lost their status like this, the people of that region also lost their spirit.
"How frustrating."
Ma Ryang sighed.
Understanding his mood, Jong Du-gwan pointed to a tavern visible ahead.
"Let's rest before we go, elder brother."
"You want to rest already?"
"We left so early, what's the rush?"
"Hmm, that's also true."
Ma Ryang pretended to be reluctantly dragged along by Jong Du-gwan's arm.
Perhaps because his heart felt stuffy, he desperately wanted some alcohol. He felt that if some warming liquor went down into his belly, this mood might improve a bit.
"Let's rest and go."
"Yes. Let's have a refreshing drink before we leave."
"Mm."
As they entered the tavern, they unconsciously scanned the interior once. The tavern was rather quiet. The only noticeable people were a group that appeared to be merchants.
Honest-looking merchants were hastily eating noodles to stave off hunger as they hurried on their busy journey.
"Welcome!"
As they entered, a server rushed over quickly.
"This way! Please sit over here."
"Ahem!"
Guided by the server and seated inside, Jong Du-gwan asked the server.
"What do you do well here?"
"Hehe, there's nothing our tavern can't do."
"Don't talk nonsense, tell us your best dishes."
"Since the weather has warmed up appropriately, how about enjoying some cold dishes? Cold dishes go perfectly with strong liquor."
"Fine, that sounds good. Go bring cold dishes. Along with the liquor."
"Yes! Please wait just a moment."
As the server scurried away, Jong Du-gwan looked at Ma Ryang and smiled broadly.
"Don't worry too much, elder brother. No matter how strong that Wei Yan-ho bastard is, with the Guangdong Wei Family backing him, he won't be able to do anything. Although the Heavenly Medicine Alliance was humiliated this time, the Tang Family isn't the only faction belonging to the Heavenly Medicine Alliance."
"That may be true, but…"
Ma Ryang knew this matter wasn't that simple.
'Wei Yan-ho backed by the Guangdong Wei Family can't be ignored either.'
It's not that a family becomes a Great Family because their power is strong, but rather when people gather around a family that has produced absolute masters, it develops into a Great Family.
The Sichuan Tang Family wasn't the Sichuan Tang Family from the beginning, and the Namgung Great Family wasn't the Namgung Great Family from the beginning. Even before they left, there were signs of people flocking around Wei Yan-ho. If Wei Yan-ho had just a bit of inclusiveness and could unite them, the Guangdong Wei Family would instantly become a Great Family commanding the martial world.
And the biggest problem lies elsewhere.
"No matter what, shouldn't we consider Wei Yan-ho as belonging to the Orthodox Alliance?"
"Eh, calling it the Orthodox Alliance is a bit…"
"It's ambiguous to say the Guangdong Wei Family belongs exactly to the Orthodox Alliance, but it's a famous fact that the Righteous Hero Sword and Gwon Geuk are close friends, isn't it?"
"That's also true."
"But would Wei Yan-ho, son of the Righteous Hero Sword Wei Jeong-han, really antagonize the Orthodox Alliance? We should consider him as belonging to it."
"Mm… Then we should consider both Wei San-ho and Wei Yan-ho as belonging to the Orthodox Alliance."
"Exactly. If the Nine Factions don't defect on top of that, the Orthodox Alliance would truly possess unprecedented power."
Ma Ryang clicked his tongue.
"Only the Heavenly Medicine Alliance would end up like a dog that chased chickens and ended up staring at the roof."
"Isn't it a bit excessive to talk about unprecedented power just for having those two?"
"You don't know what you're talking about."
Ma Ryang began to explain.
"Do you think the Demonic Cult was called the greatest single force because of their numbers? It was because each and every master was incredibly strong."
"Mm, that's true."
"Especially the Demon Lord who was too strong. If not for that Demon Lord, how could the Demonic Cult have dared to covet the Central Plains? The power of an absolute master is that threatening. What's the use of being able to win faction against faction if you can't stop one person?"
"…Are you saying Wei Yan-ho and Wei San-ho are at that level?"
"Not now. But who could stop them twenty years from now? At best, maybe Baek Geom-yeong. But Baek Geom-yeong belongs to the Baek Sword Castle, doesn't he? Tsk, if only he belonged to the Heavenly Medicine Alliance, I wouldn't feel this way."
Jong Du-gwan nodded.
"But no one knows how those fellows will turn out in the future, right?"
"That's also true."
"Besides, I don't think relying on just one or two masters looks very good either. Just look at how the Demonic Cult was completely defeated after the Demon Lord was killed by Gwon Geuk."
"Mm… Conversely, that means the Orthodox Alliance leader Gwon Geuk was an even greater master."
"That's right…"
Jong Du-gwan, who was about to agree, saw something strange.
One of the merchants who had been eating noodles quietly got up from his seat and approached them.
'What is it?'
Seeing him approach with a bright smile, Jong Du-gwan thought he might be trying to sell them something.
"I heard you were having an interesting conversation."
The man who had come right up to them opened his mouth with a smile. When the server came with liquor, the man took cups from the tray and placed one each in front of Jong Du-gwan and Ma Ryang, then lifted the liquor bottle and poured liquor into their cups.
"What is this…"
"Did you say Gwon Geuk was stronger than the Demon Lord?"
"Hm?"
Ma Ryang tilted his head.
Why bring up something everyone already knows?
"That's correct."
"That's strange. I didn't hear it that way."
"What do you mean? The fact that the Demon Lord fought a duel with Gwon Geuk in the past, was defeated, lost his life, and the Demonic Cult was completely routed—isn't that something the whole world knows?"
"Hahaha, what an interesting thing to say."
The man laughed loudly.
But Ma Ryang had to feel a chill at that moment. The eyes of the laughing man weren't laughing at all.
"Central Plains people are still the same. Making up stories as they please and pretending to be righteous as they please."
"…What did you say?"
Just as Ma Ryang was about to get angry, the man's hand shot toward his throat.
"Kuk!"
The man's hand grabbed Ma Ryang's throat and pulled him sharply toward himself.
"Keoeoek!"
Ma Ryang couldn't come to his senses from the pain of his throat being strangled. The man's face, which had been smiling, had now sunk as cold as if frost had settled on it.
"Central Plains people are really strange. They babble about things they don't even know properly and say things they can't take responsibility for."
"You, you bastard!"
Jong Du-gwan jumped up from his seat in shock.
But he couldn't act rashly. Now that the throat was already subdued, the man could break Ma Ryang's neck anytime he wanted. Jong Du-gwan had never heard of anyone surviving after having their neck broken.
As he pondered how to handle this situation, a low voice was heard.
"I told you not to cause a disturbance."
As soon as those words were heard, the man released Ma Ryang's throat and stepped back.
"I have committed a mortal sin."
Among those who appeared to be merchants, one who seemed to be the eldest slowly shook his head.
"Jo Sam, I've told you countless times that your quick temper is the problem, but you still haven't corrected that habit."
"I'm sorry."
The man called Jo Sam bowed his head deeply.
"What can someone who can't calm his heart even before a great undertaking accomplish?"
Jo Sam bowed his head without answering.
"And…"
The speaker raised his head to look at Ma Ryang and the others.
"Once you've started trouble, you shouldn't make threats."
Paaaaat!
And at that moment, Ma Ryang and Jong Du-gwan's heads exploded, sending a fountain of blood shooting toward the ceiling.
The man looked at the two people collapsing to the floor with cold eyes.
"There's no need to make trash realize they are trash. Especially in a place where we can avoid others' eyes."
"Yes."
"Clean it up."
As soon as the man's words fell, the merchants jumped up and began clearing away the corpses.
"Mount Hua seems to be having an interesting time."
The man smiled quietly.
Probably it would become even more interesting after a little time passed.
'Wei Yan-ho, was it?'
Throughout their journey to Mount Hua, his name had been heard. Apparently a new rising star had appeared.
'I wonder if we can enjoy this a little?'
It won't be easy.
The martial world has been soaked in peace for too long. They will now feel in their bodies just how great the price for that is.
"Deceivers, the time has come to pay the price for deception. Now you will receive payment for what you have done."
The man's eyes sank impossibly low.