Chapter 167

Chapter 167: Taking the Position

“AAAAAAARGH!”

Moyong Seong's scream shook the Grand Training Ground.

The moment he realized his right hand had been severed, he collapsed and rolled across the ground.

Blood gushed from his wrist, staining the training ground red.

“Y-Young Master Moyong!”

“Quick! Call a physician!”

Righteous Alliance martial artists rushed onto the field.

One of them barely managed to restrain Moyong Seong as he thrashed and screamed, while another struck his acupoints to stop the bleeding.

A moment later...

Moyong Seong's violent struggling suddenly stopped.

I glanced at his face.

His eyes had rolled back.

He had lost consciousness from the shock and blood loss.

“Y-Young Master!”

The Righteous Alliance warriors hurriedly placed him onto a stretcher.

Another one rushed over and picked up Moyong Seong's fallen sword.

His severed right hand was still gripping the hilt.

The man wrapped the hand in cloth as well, then hurried after Moyong Seong as he was carried away.

I quietly watched him disappear.

What a fragile bastard.

He fainted just because he lost one wrist?

Considering he'd tried to take my life...

he should be grateful I stopped at his hand.

Then—

several Righteous Alliance warriors who had served closely beside Moyong Seong stepped in front of me.

“Taoist Han!”

One of them gripped the hilt of his sword and shouted.

“Even in a match, how could you sever someone's wrist?”

His expression twisted with anger.

“You will answer for this!”

I almost laughed.

Apparently, they'd already forgotten that Moyong Seong had been aiming for my throat.

The Alliance warriors radiated killing intent as though they might attack me at any moment.

Haa. Have these bastards all lost their minds together?

My hand was just about to move toward the Heavenly Law Sword when—

a massive back blocked my view.

“What did you just say?”

It was Jin Gwangung.

A truly loving master.

“If you've got eyes, then you saw it clearly yourselves.”

A ferocious aura erupted from his entire body.

The Righteous Alliance warriors who had stepped forward immediately stiffened.

“Moyong Seong had countless chances to pull back his sword, yet he kept aiming for Mujin's vital points.”

Jin Gwangung glared at them fiercely.

“Those were killing moves aimed at my disciple's neck.”

His voice grew harsher.

“If Mujin had reacted even a fraction too late, he would've died.”

Then he growled,

“In that instant, cutting off Moyong Seong's arm was the only way for my disciple to survive.”

His eyes flashed.

“So who exactly are you planning to hold responsible?”

“B-But....”

The Righteous Alliance warriors hesitated.

Jin Gwangung's voice became even more vicious.

“What?”

He stepped forward.

“Was Mujin supposed to quietly offer up his neck so Moyong Seong could cut it off?”

“T-That's not what we meant....”

They faltered.

Then another voice rang out.

“The one who turned the match into a life-or-death duel was Young Master Moyong.”

Jinwon of Mount Hua stepped forward.

His calm voice carried clearly throughout the Grand Training Ground.

Others soon voiced their agreement.

“That's right. Young Master Moyong clearly went too far.”

“Taoist Han could've lost his life.”

The atmosphere had already shifted completely in my favor.

The Righteous Alliance warriors swallowed their anger but could no longer act.

They understood they had no justification.

A short while later...

Heo Seongbaek, who had overseen the match, stepped forward.

“We will discuss this matter again later.”

His face was stiff as he looked at me.

“For now, Young Master Moyong's treatment is the most urgent issue.”

He turned to leave.

At that moment—

“Elder Heo.”

Heo Seongbaek stopped and turned back with an irritated expression.

“Taoist Han, is there still something you wish to say?”

I answered calmly.

“Before you leave, shouldn't we finish what we came here to do?”

He frowned.

“Finish what?”

“The result of the match.”

His expression twisted immediately.

I continued,

“You still haven't officially announced it.”

He stared at me in disbelief.

“Is that really important right now?”

“Of course.”

I sheathed the Heavenly Law Sword.

“Very important.”

Then I smiled.

“Wasn't today's winner supposed to become Commander of the Demon Expulsion Unit?”

My voice carried throughout the field.

“We can't leave such an important position, one responsible for the future of the martial world, vacant forever.”

I gestured lightly.

“Please announce the result.”

"..."

Heo Seongbaek's face turned red, then pale.

Apparently, he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Not that I cared.

He looked around.

Countless martial artists were watching us.

There was no way he could simply walk away now.

The Righteous Alliance couldn't openly reverse a promise made under its own name.

“Haa....”

Heo Seongbaek released a long breath toward the sky.

His eyes slowly swept across the spectators filling the Grand Training Ground.

Then returned to me.

At last...

he spoke.

“The winner of this match...”

He paused.

Every gaze in the Grand Training Ground fixed on his lips.

Then—

“is Taoist Han Mujin of Kunlun.”

For an instant, the entire Grand Training Ground fell silent.

Heo Seongbaek's voice continued over that silence.

“In accordance with the promise previously made, the Righteous Alliance shall appoint Taoist Han Mujin as Commander of the Demon Expulsion Unit.”

A strange stillness lingered over the arena.

Then—

Clap.

Someone began applauding.

Clap. Clap.

Another joined in.

One sound became ten.

Ten became a hundred.

Then a thousand.

Soon...

thunderous applause and cheers shook the entire Grand Training Ground.

“Kunlun’s Young Hero!”

“Han Mujin!”

“Commander of the Demon Expulsion Unit! Han Mujin!”

Surrounded by those cheers...

I slowly looked around.

Yeah.

A smile naturally appeared on my lips.

This is the martial world.

The strong are respected.

The martial world is a merciless place.

Only moments earlier, Moyong Seong had stood beneath everyone's expectations.

Now...

he had been carried away without his right hand.

And already, his name seemed buried beneath the cheers for the victor.

In the end...

what people remembered wasn't the blood shed by the loser.

It was the name of the person still standing at the end.

And that victor was—

me.

Han Mujin.

Just like that...

I took for myself the position of Commander of the Demon Expulsion Unit that the Righteous Alliance had created for Moyong Seong.

A strange heat filled my chest.

But this wasn't the end.

Becoming Commander is only the beginning.

Enjoying the cheers directed toward me...

I slowly raised the corner of my mouth.

That night.

A shabby inn stood in a secluded area a short distance outside Luoyang.

Our Kunlun group and I had been staying there since several days before the founding ceremony.

We had deliberately rented out the entire inn outside the city so word of my survival wouldn't leak beforehand.

Now that the match with Moyong Seong had ended cleanly...

I had the shallow wound on my side treated, then gathered with the Kunlun group and enjoyed a long-overdue drink.

Thud!

Jin Gwangung slammed an empty liquor bottle onto the table.

“Khaa! The liquor tastes especially good today!”

He opened a fresh bottle and burst into hearty laughter.

“Kwahahaha!”

His grin widened.

“Watching the faces of those damned Righteous Alliance bastards rot right in front of me cleared away ten years of frustration!”

Myeongjeon immediately agreed.

“Exactly.”

He nodded eagerly.

“Those Righteous Alliance people are always acting so high and mighty, but today they couldn't even open their mouths properly.”

Then he poured liquor into my cup.

“It's all thanks to Martial Uncle Mujin.”

I smiled lightly and emptied the cup.

Then I noticed Yu Seola staring at me.

“Do you have something to say, Junior Sister?”

Yu Seola leaned slightly toward me.

“There's something I'm curious about.”

“What?”

“Did you intend from the beginning to cut off Moyong Seong's hand?”

The inn immediately fell silent.

Everyone looked at me.

They hadn't asked directly before...

but apparently they'd all been wondering.

“Of course not.”

I calmly raised my cup.

“How could a Taoist walking the righteous path sever someone's hand out of personal revenge?”

Yu Seola's eyes narrowed.

“Really?”

“Moyong Seong refused to withdraw his killing move.”

I took a sip.

“It was merely an unfortunate accident that occurred while I was defending myself.”

“Hmm.”

Yu Seola looked entirely unconvinced.

“An unfortunate accident....”

She studied my face for a moment.

Then asked another question.

“Senior Brother, had you seen the Sovereign Heaven Sword before?”

I looked at her.

“Why are you suddenly asking that?”

“Because your responses today were too smooth.”

She rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

“You read the sword path of Heaven-Piercing Sun.”

“And the way you dealt with Heavenly Punishment Life-Binding didn't look like someone facing it for the first time.”

I smiled and shook my head.

“Where would I ever have seen the Sovereign Heaven Sword?”

I spread my hands.

“I've spent almost my whole life around Kunlun.”

Myeongjeon nodded.

“Exactly.”

He looked toward Yu Seola.

“There's no reason Martial Uncle would've ever had a chance to see the Moyong Family's Sovereign Heaven Sword.”

Yu Seola still looked unconvinced...

but didn't press any further.

In truth...

today hadn't been my first time seeing the Sovereign Heaven Sword.

In my previous life...

I'd witnessed Moyong Cheonhwi use Heavenly Punishment Life-Binding.

During the conquest of the Demonic Cult...

I'd seen him brutally slaughter cult members with it from nearby.

Of course, back then...

I had merely been an experimental subject of the Shadow Corps.

My martial realm had been far too low to read the finer details of the sword path or find its weaknesses.

But one thing had remained firmly engraved in my memory.

The more you dodged the technique...

the fewer escape routes remained.

And once it targeted a vital point...

it pursued that point to the very end.

On top of that...

it was widely known throughout the martial world that Moyong Seong had learned up to the Third Form of the Sovereign Heaven Sword.

So it wasn't difficult to predict that he'd use Heavenly Punishment Life-Binding once he was cornered.

That was why I waited.

I waited for the moment he would push Heavenly Punishment Life-Binding all the way through in an attempt to kill me.

Naturally...

I'd also already decided that if he tried to take my life, I would take one of his wrists in return.

But I can't exactly say that openly.

I smiled and drank.

Then Myeongjeon suddenly raised his cup.

“Anyway, shouldn't we celebrate properly now?”

He grinned.

“Martial Uncle Mujin officially became Commander of the Demon Expulsion Unit today!”

Jin Gwangung raised his bottle high.

“Good!”

His voice boomed.

“Today is the day this brat became Commander. Everyone empty your cups!”

Myeongjeon was the first to extend his cup.

“To Commander Han Mujin!”

“Sounds good!”

Yu Seola raised hers next.

“Tch.”

Hyeongwon reluctantly lifted his cup as well.

Clink!

The clear sound of cups meeting rang through the inn.

“Congratulations, Martial Uncle.”

Myeongjeon drained his cup and smiled brightly.

“A man everyone thought was dead returned alive and became Commander of the Demon Expulsion Unit.”

His grin widened.

“How many stories like that could there possibly be in the martial world?”

I stared at him.

“That wording sounds a little strange.”

“I meant it positively.”

I chuckled and emptied my cup.

Then Hyeongwon spoke with a dissatisfied expression.

“Don't get too excited just because you gained one title.”

I glanced over.

“Why?”

A grin crept onto my face.

“Jealous?”

“Who's jealous?”

Hyeongwon immediately snapped and put down his cup.

“You only got the position because you were the one who stepped forward to challenge Moyong Seong.”

He snorted.

“If I'd fought him, the result wouldn't have been much different.”

I nodded.

“Sure.”

“Keep believing that.”

Hyeongwon frowned.

“What's that supposed to mean?”

“If believing it makes you feel better, that's enough.”

“W-What did you say?!”

Myeongjeon burst out laughing at Hyeongwon's expression.

Yu Seola covered her mouth and laughed softly as well.

For a while...

bright laughter filled the inn.

After the drinking continued for some time...

Myeongjeon suddenly seemed to remember something.

He looked at me with a more serious expression.

“Still, Martial Uncle...”

“Even though you became Commander, will everything really be all right?”

He continued carefully.

“The organization was originally created with Moyong Seong in mind.”

“Now that you've taken his place...”

He frowned.

“I can't help feeling uneasy.”

Jin Gwangung answered before I could.

“Even if Mujin is Commander, most of the people placed beneath him will probably belong to the Righteous Alliance.”

He tilted the liquor bottle and continued.

“They'll call him Commander on the surface...”

“but they'll try to tie his hands and feet somehow.”

I thought the same.

What the Righteous Alliance had wanted was a Demon Expulsion Unit operating under Moyong Seong's command.

Instead...

I had suddenly taken his place.

Naturally, they had to be furious.

They'll definitely try something.

They might even try to reduce me to a figurehead Commander while keeping actual authority in the hands of the Righteous Alliance.

But I wasn't worried in the slightest.

There was probably no one alive who knew better than I did what kind of tricks the Righteous Alliance liked to play.

I slowly lowered my cup.

Righteous Alliance.

The corner of my mouth rose.

Let's see what you try next.

Exactly three days later...

a messenger from the Righteous Alliance arrived at the inn.

The message said there was an urgent matter to discuss regarding my formal appointment as Commander of the Demon Expulsion Unit.

It also requested that I bring as few people as possible because of the importance of the matter.

I headed to the Righteous Alliance with Jin Gwangung.

Inside the Alliance Council Hall...

Heo Seongbaek and several senior Righteous Alliance figures were waiting.

The moment we entered...

every gaze turned toward us.

They maintained outward courtesy.

But they couldn't completely hide their discomfort and wariness.

The man they had intended to appoint as Commander, Moyong Seong, had lost his right hand.

Instead...

a disciple from Kunlun, a sect they often dismissed as a remote frontier power, had taken the position.

And some of the people here likely knew what had really happened in Falling Death Valley.

To them...

I was an outsider they couldn't easily control.

Someone who might expose the Righteous Alliance's dirty secrets at any moment.

Their stares meant nothing to me.

I walked to the center of the Alliance Council Hall and looked at Heo Seongbaek.

“How is Young Master Moyong?”

I saw the muscles in Heo Seongbaek's face twitch.

He glared at me briefly before answering.

“...Fortunately, his life is not in danger.”

His voice was restrained.

“However, the injury is severe, so he is still resting.”

I gave him a sorrowful expression.

“How unfortunate.”

Then I spoke a little louder.

“I sincerely hope Young Master Moyong recovers as quickly as possible.”

The expressions of the Righteous Alliance elders stiffened.

Of course.

Anyone could tell I wasn't sincere.

A deep crease formed between Heo Seongbaek's brows.

I asked with an innocent expression,

“So why have you summoned me here?”

Heo Seongbaek didn't answer immediately.

A faint smile appeared on my lips.

“Surely you still haven't accepted the fact that I became Commander of the Demon Expulsion Unit?”

“Taoist Han.”

His voice lowered.

“Your appointment as Commander has already been publicly announced.”

He looked at me coldly.

“The Righteous Alliance has no intention of reversing the result.”

“Then that's a relief.”

“However....”

He paused.

“Before you formally assume the position, there is someone you must first greet.”

Someone I needed to greet?

I frowned slightly.

“Who are you referring to?”

The moment the question left my mouth—

Creeeak.

The doors behind me opened.

Step.

Step.

Someone entered.

The footsteps weren't loud.

Yet the atmosphere inside the Alliance Council Hall instantly became heavy.

Then...

a familiar voice followed.

A voice I could never forget.

“I heard you returned alive.”

My heart immediately turned cold.

“It has been a long time, Taoist Han.”

I forced my expression not to stiffen and slowly turned around.

A man was walking through the open doorway.

So we've finally met again.

Yes.

A face I could never forget...

not even in death.

The man standing at the very peak of the righteous martial world.

The one every martial artist praised as the strongest under heaven.

But beneath that reputation...

a true monster filled with lies and hypocrisy.

Moyong Cheonhwi.