Chapter 168: A Strange Incident
A deep blue robe.
Subtle cloud patterns were embroidered along its hem, and there wasn't the slightest wavering in his steps.
The moment he entered the Alliance Council Hall, the atmosphere naturally grew heavy.
Alliance Leader of the Righteous Alliance.
The current strongest under heaven.
Moyong Cheonhwi.
And...
the man who had personally cut off my head in my previous life.
For a moment, my breath caught in my throat.
The flames of the Myriad Tribulation Flame.
The pain of flesh burning, bones twisting, and my soul being torn apart.
Those indifferent eyes looking down at me from within the fire.
The righteous path does not tolerate filth.
A moment from the past I wanted to forget flashed through my mind.
I slowly inhaled.
Then exhaled.
Calm down.
I was no longer an experimental subject of the Shadow Corps being trampled under Moyong Cheonhwi's heel.
I was one of Kunlun's leading young martial artists.
Han Mujin, Commander of the Demon Expulsion Unit.
Haa.
I forced the tension from my expression and offered Moyong Cheonhwi a martial salute.
“Greetings, Alliance Leader.”
Moyong Cheonhwi looked at me.
His eyes revealed nothing of his intentions.
A gentle smile appeared on his lips.
To me...
it looked disgustingly false.
“It truly pleases me to see you again.”
His voice was warm.
“Taoist Han returning from the very threshold of death is a joyous event for the entire righteous martial world.”
“You honor me too much.”
“Not at all.”
Moyong Cheonhwi looked around the Alliance Council Hall once before returning his gaze to me.
“A young hero who will help lead the future of the righteous faction has returned alive.”
His smile deepened.
“How could that not be something worth celebrating?”
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
A young hero, huh.
He really knew how to talk.
Moyong Seong's ambush in Falling Death Valley.
The Righteous Alliance using my death to create the Demon Expulsion Unit.
There was no doubt Moyong Cheonhwi had been deeply involved in all of it.
“Kunlun suffered a great sense of loss after your death.”
Moyong Cheonhwi continued in a compassionate tone.
“But here you are, alive.”
Then—
“And you've even taken the position of Commander of the Demon Expulsion Unit.”
He smiled benevolently.
“Hardship sometimes opens unexpected paths.”
A soft laugh escaped him.
“The saying that fortune and misfortune endlessly turn into one another seems particularly fitting for you. Hahaha.”
“Your words are too generous.”
I lowered my head politely despite not meaning a word of it.
Then I added,
“Though... part of me does feel somewhat apologetic toward you, Alliance Leader.”
Moyong Cheonhwi looked at me.
“Apologetic?”
“I was told Young Master Moyong was originally nominated to become Commander of the Demon Expulsion Unit.”
The moment I mentioned it...
the people in the Alliance Council Hall stirred.
I pretended not to notice.
“Since my return resulted in me taking the position originally meant for Young Master Moyong...”
I gave a troubled expression.
“I cannot say I feel entirely comfortable about it.”
Moyong Cheonhwi's gaze turned cold.
Only for an instant.
The chill vanished in the blink of an eye.
Then he nodded with the same gentle expression as before.
“Ah.”
“That matter.”
He looked directly at me.
“Taoist Han.”
Then—
“I would first like to apologize to you and to Kunlun.”
Apologize?
What is he planning?
I couldn't help tilting my head.
Even Jin Gwangung stroked his chin, looking puzzled.
Moyong Cheonhwi continued calmly.
“I heard Seong went too far with his sword during your match a few days ago.”
His expression remained composed.
“As both the one who taught him martial arts and his father...”
He sighed.
“I am deeply ashamed.”
Then he spoke with measured sincerity.
“Even if youthful blood got the better of him, it is no excuse.”
“On Seong's behalf, I offer my apologies to Taoist Han and Kunlun.”
Jin Gwangung looked openly surprised.
Understandably so.
During the match, I had cut off Moyong Seong's right hand.
The heir of the Moyong Family had been carried away screaming in front of countless martial artists.
And yet Moyong Cheonhwi wasn't demanding answers from me.
He was apologizing first.
I calmly replied,
“I hardly know what to say when you put it like that.”
My words were polite.
My thoughts were not.
Moyong Cheonhwi.
You really aren't human.
He didn't merely control his emotions.
He wielded them like tools.
He apologized in situations where anyone else would rage.
He spoke of virtue where others would speak of resentment.
Even now...
he was presenting himself as a fair and righteous Alliance Leader who refused to be swayed by personal emotion.
But I knew better than anyone.
I knew the true face hidden beneath that mask.
If you had your way, you'd probably cut my head off right now.
He would make me pay eventually for what I had done to his son.
It simply wasn't the right time yet.
I watched Moyong Cheonhwi for a moment.
Then spoke.
“Alliance Leader.”
His gaze settled on me.
“I am curious why I was urgently summoned here.”
I went straight to the point.
I needed to understand his true intention.
“I doubt you secretly called me all the way to the Alliance Council Hall merely to congratulate me on returning alive.”
A faint smile appeared on Moyong Cheonhwi's lips.
“Hahaha.”
“Sharp as ever.”
He looked around at those gathered in the hall, then asked me,
“You heard that I was unable to attend the founding ceremony of the Demon Expulsion Unit, correct?”
“Yes. I heard.”
It was something I'd already found suspicious.
The founding ceremony had been an opportunity for the Righteous Alliance to gather the younger generation of the righteous faction together...
and publicly announce its justification for standing against the Demonic Cult.
Yet Moyong Cheonhwi, the Alliance Leader himself, had been absent.
There had to be an important reason.
Moyong Cheonhwi's voice turned heavy.
“Several days ago, an urgent report arrived from the Namgung Family.”
The Namgung Family.
One of the Five Great Families representing the righteous martial world alongside the Nine Great Sects.
Jin Gwangung, listening beside me, spoke with interest.
“The Namgung Family?”
The name was too important for anyone in the martial world to take lightly.
Moyong Cheonhwi's expression darkened.
He murmured as though speaking to himself.
“The first urgent report came only from Namgung...”
He paused.
“But afterward, similar reports arrived from Kongtong and the Sichuan Tang Clan.”
That was strange.
What exactly was he getting at?
The Namgung Family.
Kongtong.
The Sichuan Tang Clan.
Every one of them was a major force in the martial world.
I asked,
“When you say similar reports... what exactly happened?”
Moyong Cheonhwi remained silent briefly.
Then slowly answered.
“Misfortune struck figures in their lines of succession.”
Jin Gwangung immediately asked,
“Alliance Leader, what kind of misfortune?”
Moyong Cheonhwi nodded.
“The young head of the Namgung Family suddenly attacked fellow members during training...”
His eyes darkened.
“then disappeared.”
Attacked fellow members and vanished?
I focused more closely.
“A young swordsman who was the designated successor of Kongtong suddenly collapsed during training after vomiting blood.”
Moyong Cheonhwi continued.
“Then he suddenly woke again...”
His tone became grim.
“lost his reason and attacked those around him.”
The faces of the Righteous Alliance elders listening nearby grew darker.
“The same happened at the Sichuan Tang Clan.”
Moyong Cheonhwi went on.
“Several members of their younger generation lost consciousness without explanation.”
“And after waking...”
He paused.
“they attacked the people around them.”
His voice lowered.
“The ones who died were their own brothers and sisters.”
Several incomprehensible incidents had happened almost simultaneously.
All among promising young martial artists and successors of prestigious righteous factions.
Moyong Cheonhwi explained that he had immediately recognized how serious the situation was after receiving the reports.
Before the matter could spread, he personally traveled to the Namgung Family to investigate.
He also dispatched Righteous Alliance investigation teams to Kongtong and the Sichuan Tang Clan.
The incidents had not yet been announced to the martial world at large.
If word spread that young martial artists and successors hailed as the future of the righteous faction were suddenly exhibiting such bizarre symptoms...
the entire martial world could be thrown into turmoil.
I listened silently.
Namgung Family.
Kongtong.
Sichuan Tang Clan.
The fact that all three names were being mentioned together was enough to show how serious this was.
But the incidents themselves weren't the only thing bothering me.
Why was Moyong Cheonhwi telling me this now?
That question bothered me more.
Moyong Cheonhwi studied my expression.
