Chapter 185 Resolution (1)

Chapter 185 Resolution (1)

‘Damn bastards.’

Gu Yangjeok, his face twisted in fury, lifted Ma Yi with both hands.

No matter how much of an enemy he was, no matter how much he tried to deceive him, he couldn’t just leave a dead man lying there.

What a worthless life.

Gu Yangjeok found himself unconsciously recalling the last words Ma Yi had left behind.

They were words that reminded him of his past life as a blood dog, and they were also words that only someone like Ma Yi—who had spent his entire life dreaming of betrayal and intrigue—could have uttered.

He didn’t know what Ma Yi might have done had he seized the power of Plum Blossom Valley, but it was something he’d never achieve now.

“I suppose I’ll have to bury him.”

Gu Yangji muttered to himself as he stepped out of the brain prison. The Taoist guarding the entrance watched him and turned pale.

“Wh-what is this…?”

“We were attacked.”

The Taoist was about to say that no one else had entered or exited besides Gu Yangjie.

But the bitter expression on Gu Yangjie’s face made him hesitate to ask.

Above all, the grotesque wounds—not from stabbing, but from some bizarre sorcery—made the Taoist’s tongue go numb.

Gu Yangjie glanced at the Taoist’s expression and stepped forward.

“Then I’ll take my leave.”

He hadn’t expected the Taoist to believe him outright. Thinking coldly, suspicion was only natural.

Warriors who had experienced sorcery could be counted on one hand across the entire Central Plains.

Moreover, those capable of wielding sorcery so secretly as to evade a warrior’s notice were exceedingly rare.

Even if rumors spread that he’d killed Gu Yangji in a fit of rage after their many clashes, he had no defense.

The image he’d presented thus far was less that of a trusted Taoist and more that of a formidable martial artist.

“…Good heavens.”

Though the Taoist murmured in agitation, Gu Yangji made no effort to correct him.

Every moment was precious.

Finding a burial site for Ma Yi, meeting Man Tong-ja, and investigating the route Yi Mai might have taken for a surprise attack would be tight enough.

Moreover, now that he knew the crow’s true identity, he had to find a way to deal with it.

Having sorted out the order of priorities, Gu Yang-jeok raised one eyebrow.

‘Damn it.’

He felt filthy.

* * *

Ma Yi’s funeral was conducted with extreme simplicity.

It wasn’t something he particularly wanted the martial world to know about, and since he was a subordinate of the Eight Palms, even a high-ranking shaman couldn’t afford to hold a grand ceremony.

Had Baek Dan-hyeon not insisted strongly, the Two Great Protectors might not even have allowed a burial mound to be prepared.

Yet within the Huashan Sect, the incident had already caused an uproar.

“The demonic cultivator we captured yesterday is dead today…?”

“I heard no one entered or left except for Gu Yangji’s private residence?”

Given that Gu Yangji had cultivated countless martial arts techniques over three or four years, gaining considerable fame as a result.

As rumors spread of his involvement, the whispers among disciples grew louder and louder, reaching the heavens.

Among them, some Taoist masters cast peculiar glances at Gu Yangji.

“Could the reason he brought the Demon Master to the Hsüan-shan Sect instead of entrusting him to the Martial Alliance be…?”

“Hey, that’s too much of a stretch!”

This was a misunderstanding born from the ordinary disciples’ ignorance of why Gu Yangji had brought the Demon King to Huashan Sect.

Consequently, several ordinary disciples cautiously inquired of the elders.

“We cannot reveal anything until the matter is definitively resolved.”

Not only were they sparing with their words, but they also appeared to be shielding Gu Yangji. This discrepancy only fueled the rumors further.

As murmurs that Gu Yangji had accidentally killed Ma Yi during interrogation began circulating throughout the Huashan Sect’s estate,

Bai Danxian roared in a voice like a frosty blast.

“What on earth are you doing?!”

“…It’s not that we’re trying to slander Senior Brother Gu Yangji.”

“I know what the unease of the past three years stems from.”

Bai Danxian scanned the disciples gathered in the courtyard.

There was the senior disciple, who had been with him since childhood and now sported a sparse beard.

There were lay disciples, born into wealthy families, who had joined to learn self-defense martial arts.

To be honest, Baek Dan-hyeon could not say he cherished them all equally.

Even a Taoist master studying scriptures could not escape human nature.

Since principle (道理) is morality born of emotion, he considered the lie of treating all equally to be no different from the three-inch tongue of a hypocrite.

Baek Dan-hyeon, who believed the current rumors had also ultimately sprung from anxiety, once again reflected on his own shortcomings.

“After the senior master of the Huashan Sect fell ill, I chose the path of strengthening our sect as a martial arts faction rather than as a Daoist order.”

“……”

Faced with the silence of his numerous disciples, Baek Dan-hyeon paused to steady his breath.

“I know there are Taoists who lament that the Huashan Sect has lost its identity as a Taoist order. I also know there are young disciples who worry anxiously, wondering if they will someday have to bear the burden of killing.”

At those words, a senior disciple who had long studied under the Huashan Sect raised his head.

The gaze of the Taoist who had trained under Song Mu was particularly intense.

Even now, despite their increased wealth, these ascetic Taoists still abstained from cooked food, subsisting instead on grass and berries.

Even Song Mu, who had begun eating cooked food several years ago, still adhered to this raw diet.

Next, a Taoist around Jo Hoon’s age revealed an anxious expression.

He was a disciple suffering intensely from surging ambition and inferiority, especially after witnessing Jo-hun display immense martial prowess before Moo-myeong.

Baek Dan-hyeon met each gaze without flinching.

“You all know this by now. The martial world is in chaos, and the demonic creatures known as the Eight Palms will devour Zhonghua.”

“……”

Unlike the silence that had just flowed, a slight unease now rippled among the Taoists.

Seeing this, Baek Dan-hyeon’s expression hardened.

“Hwasa Mountain must remain Hwasa Mountain. Taoists must always live according to the teachings left by the sages… I too believed that. I thought it was right.”

Baek Dan-hyeon paused, closing his eyes briefly.

Ha Jin-ak, brought in with full-body burns; Jin Mu-wol, whose whereabouts had been unknown for days; Yu Jang-myeong, who had begun showing strange symptoms.

Watching Gu Yang-jeok grow increasingly weary from the relentless battles, Baek Dan-hyeon felt a pang of guilt.

He agonized that his seclusion to study the Taoist scriptures, meant to wash away the blood spilled in the war against the former Demon Sect, had instead placed a heavy burden on his disciples.

Above all, hadn’t he allowed four invasions of the Huashan Sect by now?

‘Even Yang Dae-ho, who hated sorcerers so much, suggested accepting Man Tong-ja.’

Gu Yangji, who had lowered his head while burying the demonic robe, flashed briefly through his vision.

“But if the twisted faction were to claim the righteous principles of the martial world, if righteousness itself became muddied… then the teachings left by the sages would become meaningless. Wasn’t that precisely why we fought the Nine Demon Sect?”

Bai Danxian’s voice boomed through the courtyard.

Each word seemed to pour out his very soul, seeping into his disciples’ very bones.

Swish.

Song Mu, who had been standing guard behind, stepped beside Bai Danxian.

Gua Yunpei, too, wore an unusually solemn expression.

After a moment, Baek Dan-hyeon spoke.

“Since ancient times, the Huashan Sect has never chosen the easy path. Does not the plum blossom also fly not as predetermined, drifting far and wide? (梅花萬里)”

“……!”

“Just as we did against the Nine Demon Sect, we will not yield to the power of evil. Even if we kneel, we will not sell the fragrance of the plum blossom (不賣香).”

It did not take long for Baek Dan-hyeon’s reaffirmed resolve to permeate the minds of the Hwasan Sect’s Taoist masters.

* * *

“Has your mind grown troubled since burying the enemy?”

“No.”

“Then have you come to test your martial arts?”

“That is not it either.”

At Gu Yang-jeok’s words, Yu Jang-myeong tilted his head and smiled faintly.

“That’s unlike you. You didn’t come here for a Zen koan, did you?”

“……I wish to see the wall.”

“The wall?”

As Yu Zhangming questioned, Gu Yangjie recalled the story he’d heard from Mumei.

That while he was chasing the Demon King, the only one who fought the Immortal Demon God on equal terms was Yu Zhangming.

Especially that final strike he displayed—greater than any sword technique.

Moreover, hadn’t he now regained countless memories from past lives?

Gu Yangjie steeled his resolve and raised the scabbard of the True Sword.

A duel with real blades.

Seeing this, Yu Zhangming’s smile vanished.

“Are you serious?”

“Because it’s a wall that can only be broken this way.”

Gu Yangji brought the raised scabbard to waist height. Simultaneously, he widened his stance to shoulder width, ready to draw at any moment.

Seeing this, Yu Zhangming realized Gu Yangji was serious.

“As I am now, I cannot afford to go easy on you. To organize the martial arts I learned in my past life…”

“I hope you do.”

Gu Yangji emphasized again, his voice firm.

“I want a serious spar where the slightest mistake costs a life.”

“……”

Yu Zhangming narrowed his eyes and shook his head lightly. He looked at Gu Yangji with a complex expression, as if he couldn’t quite grasp it.

‘I should be going to meet Master Manshen of the Zhongnan Sect.’

He was puzzled as to why Gu Yangji, who had always understood him deeply, was suddenly displaying such an obsession.

But Gu Yangji had his own reasons.

‘If Zhi Sha Hong could reach that realm, there’s no reason I couldn’t too.’

The spear techniques Zhi Sha Hong had displayed during his fight with Jiao Gangtian transcended the realm of martial arts.

Though he had only seen it from afar, Gu Yangji could glimpse the ultimate martial skill born from the slashes formed by Zhi Sha Hong’s two hands.

Hands light, feet heavy.

It was a maxim any martial artist who trained would hear. Yet, it was also one of the hardest to master.

There, he felt the wall.

In the martial world where countless geniuses emerged and extraordinary individuals were forged, only a hundred or so ever reached the pinnacle of mastery.

Yet even those were mostly slain by evil men consumed by inferiority, leaving fewer than twenty martial artists to survive.

But there were always exceptions.

Exceptions that slipped through a net so dense not even a speck of dust could pass.

The path toward an unparalleled realm.

That was the narrow path of heaven’s abandonment, the realm of immortals and gods transcending human limits.

‘It’s becoming visible bit by bit.’

In his previous life, he had thought this realm utterly unattainable, but now the wall was gradually thinning.

Through the martial arts of the Huashan Sect, he carved away at it, and before he knew it, he could see beyond.

Swish!

When Gu Yangji finally drew his sword, Yu Zhangming’s expression hardened.

“If that is truly your wish… I shall not evade you any longer.”

“It is what I hoped for.”

“But you must not blame me afterward!”

Splash!

Yu Zhangming’s right shoulder jerked back, then shot forward.

Such a lightning-fast thrust!

Gu Yangji hastily activated the Zhenhui An and Guangjue Xiangluo.

Crack, crack.

As the Zhaojin Qi surged through his body, his muscles screamed.

The sudden movement felt like his shoulder blade might tear apart.

“Is that all you’ve got?”

At Yu Zhangming’s voice, Gu Yangji changed his stance.

Unlike his earlier frantic evasion, even suspended in midair, Gu Yangji’s movements were faster than those of a martial artist planted firmly on the ground.

Pafang!

The palm pressure erupting from his left hand struck Yu Jang-myeong’s abdomen.

It happened in an instant, leaving Yu Jang-myeong gasping for breath.

‘I suffered because of such sudden changes in my past life too.’

But the situation now was different from then.

The tendons on Yu Jang-myeong’s forearm bulged crimson. Seeing this, Gu Yangji anticipated the deployment of a powerful sword technique.

But he couldn’t quite picture it.

The Yu Zhangming he had seen thus far had never displayed a powerful sword technique, only a style emphasizing elegance and fluidity.

That had been true in his past life, and it remained true in this one.

Then Yu Zhangming’s eyes widened.

“You wanted to see the wall, didn’t you?”

“……?!”

“Very well. As your senior brother, I’ll show you.”

Kwa kwa kwa kwa!

The purple-red energy gathered on the Dragon Roar Sword pulsed madly, then began to swell.

Gu Yangji instantly sensed it.

That was the absolute peak, the strongest single strike Yu Zhangming could unleash right now.

“Heavenly Plum Shadow.”

As countless plum blossom sword energies, numbering in the thousands and tens of thousands, darkened the surroundings.

Yu Zhangming aimed the tip of his sword at Gu Yangjie.

“Will you face it?”

“Hahaha.”

Gu Yangjie let out a tense laugh. Beyond that, the wall he desired must surely be waiting.

“In all our duels thus far, have I ever lost?”

At those words, Yu Zhangming offered a faint smile.