Chapter 18: The Sect Leader Poisoning Incident
The Sect Leader would be murdered.
More precisely...
he would be poisoned to death.
One week from now...
a special banquet attended only by Kunlun's highest-ranking members would take place.
That was where the Sect Leader Poisoning Incident would occur.
Naturally...
his death would send enormous shockwaves throughout the peaceful Kunlun Sect.
To identify the person who poisoned him...
everyone directly or indirectly connected to that day's banquet would be investigated.
For several months, Kunlun would conduct a massive investigation.
Suspects would be interrogated.
Every possible lead would be pursued.
Yet in the end...
they would fail to identify the murderer.
From that incident onward...
Kunlun's strength would decline sharply.
Kunlun was already considered relatively weak among the Nine Great Sects and One Union.
After the poisoning...
even its position among them would become unstable.
And that incident would have an enormous effect on my fate as well.
In my previous life...
the direct event that caused my life to collapse was the Sect Leader's death.
Why?
Damn it...
Even remembering that day makes my blood boil.
Preparing the banquet where the Sect Leader was poisoned required manpower from throughout the sect.
Naturally...
some Event Hall workers responsible for miscellaneous labor were assigned to help.
They too became potential suspects in the Sect Leader's murder.
The Martial Discipline Office subjected them to incredibly harsh questioning.
And among those suspects...
was me.
Eventually...
every Event Hall worker, including me, was cleared of suspicion.
But it didn't end there.
Something even worse followed.
Every single Event Hall worker who had been interrogated after the incident was expelled from Kunlun.
The shock surrounding the case was simply too great.
Distrust toward the Event Hall workers connected to the banquet reached its limit.
And after I was expelled from Kunlun...
my life completely went to shit.
The place I thought was my home threw me away overnight.
After that...
I wandered without direction.
Then, of all possible things...
I was kidnapped by the Shadow Corps, the Righteous Alliance's underground organization.
I spent decades suffering as their experiment subject.
And eventually...
I died miserably on the battlefield against the Demonic Cult.
Well, I died then and ended up regressing like this.
Still...
the Sect Leader Poisoning Incident had unquestionably been the most important turning point of my previous life.
Unfortunately...
it turned everything in the worst possible direction.
As I remembered that horrible past...
"Hey, brat!"
Jin Gwangung's voice interrupted my thoughts.
"Why do you look half-dead this early in the morning?"
"Did you dream about a ghost last night?"
"Hehehe."
The old man truly had no sense of timing.
But I already knew that.
So I simply let it go.
I forced a small laugh.
"No, Master."
"I simply became nervous after hearing that I would meet the Sect Leader."
"Nervous?"
Jin Gwangung snorted.
"Just think of him as some nagging old man sitting in the back room."
I almost laughed.
Only Jin Gwangung would casually call Kunlun's Sect Leader "some old man in the back room."
Still, I lowered my head.
"Yes, Master."
"Good."
"Then let's go."
Jin Gwangung kicked the door open with his foot and walked out.
I immediately followed.
Despite his claim that the sun was already high...
the sky outside still held the faint light of early morning.
Feeling the coolness in the morning air...
I thought quietly.
The Sect Leader will probably still die in this life.
The poisoning would happen one week from now.
I knew that much.
But I had no idea who the murderer was.
Even in my previous life...
the culprit had never been discovered.
I followed Jin Gwangung through the cold morning air.
Toward the residence of a tragic victim who would soon die.
After walking behind Jin Gwangung for a while...
we reached the Sect Leader's residence.
Surprisingly...
it was extremely simple.
From the outside, it didn't look much different from the Event Hall residence where I used to live.
It was far too modest for the home of Kunlun's highest authority.
But the people guarding it were another matter.
Just looking at them...
I could tell they were powerful experts.
"You've arrived, First Elder Gwangung."
One of the guards politely greeted Jin Gwangung.
Apparently, they had already been informed about our visit.
Jin Gwangung nodded lightly.
"Yes."
"Is the Sect Leader inside?"
"The Sect Leader stepped out briefly."
The guard smiled.
"He said he had some important guests to meet."
"Important guests?"
Jin Gwangung frowned.
"He'll return soon."
"Please enter first."
"The other Elders are already waiting."
"Hmm."
Jin Gwangung nodded.
"Fine."
Then he walked inside.
I followed.
The first thing I saw...
was three old Taoists.
The aura coming from them was no joke.
Even standing still...
they seemed to dominate the entire room.
The moment they saw me...
their sharp eyes scanned me from head to toe.
One face was already familiar.
First Elder Na Gwangdo of the Finance Hall.
Which meant...
The other two must be First Elders as well.
This was my first time seeing the remaining First Elders in person.
I carefully studied them.
One was an ordinary-looking old Taoist with a relatively small build.
But there was a strange sharpness in his face and eyes.
He looked like the kind of person who could see through whatever someone tried to hide behind their expression.
Four red bands decorated his sleeves.
The Iron Lion, Gwangheon.
The true ruler of the Martial Discipline Office.
First Elder Gwangheon.
He really does feel similar to Hyeonyul.
Now I understood where Hall Master Hyeonyul's cold aura and sharp gaze had come from.
Then the last one...
The final old Taoist was enormous.
He looked like a moving cliff.
Thick arms.
Broad shoulders.
Huge muscles rising around his neck.
His build and rough features were nearly comparable to Jin Gwangung's.
I recognized him immediately.
Explosive Sword Yu Gwangcheol.
Leader of the Geoncheon Guard.
Kunlun's strongest military organization.
The Geoncheon Guard protected the sect from external invasion and stood at the very front whenever Kunlun fought enemies.
It was both Kunlun's shield and spear.
First Elder Yu Gwangcheol still personally served as Hall Master of the Geoncheon Guard.
He was one of the sect's strongest martial artists.
It was said that whenever he drew his sword...
not only his enemies but everything around them was destroyed.
Despite being a Kunlun Taoist...
his merciless and destructive swordsmanship had earned him the title "Explosive Sword."
With all four First Elders in one room...
even the air feels different.
The four people who practically controlled Kunlun were all gathered here.
Their combined presence alone felt suffocating.
Amid the silent tension...
I noticed several other people.
I had been so focused on the Elders that I initially overlooked them.
Behind each First Elder stood a young Taoist.
They were probably the representatives who would compete against me in the Elders' Lecture Gathering.
One of them was familiar.
That guy....
Standing behind the Iron Lion Gwangheon and staring directly at me...
was Hyeongwon, Young Hall Master of the Martial Discipline Office.
Just like before...
his irritating gaze remained fixed on me.
I ignored him and looked toward the others.
Behind Na Gwangdo stood a young Taoist with a somewhat crafty face.
He kept his head slightly lowered while constantly moving his eyes around and studying the atmosphere.
There wasn't anything especially impressive about him at first glance.
So I looked toward the final representative beside Explosive Sword Yu Gwangcheol.
...A girl?
A young girl stood beside First Elder Gwangcheol.
Actually...
she looked almost too young to call a woman.
At most, she appeared to be in her mid-teens.
Her skin was pale like white jade, and her features were strikingly clear.
Her beauty stood out.
But what caught my attention even more...
was her expression.
The other representatives stood several steps behind their Elders with tense faces.
She, however...
stood directly beside Yu Gwangcheol with a completely relaxed expression.
Who is she?
She's definitely a representative, right?
Perhaps she felt my gaze.
The girl looked directly at me with a slightly haughty expression.
I was standing alone under the intense attention of the First Elders and their representatives when...
"What's so interesting about my disciple's face?"
Jin Gwangung's rough voice broke the tension.
"What?"
"Does he have gold stuck to his face?"
"Hehehe."
"..."
Na Gwangdo cleared his throat.
"Ahem."
"Elder Gwangung..."
"This is your first disciple in ten years."
"And you've even chosen him as your representative."
"Of course everyone is curious."
Jin Gwangung scoffed.
"What a bunch of nosy old men."
"Whether I take a disciple or not is none of your business."
"You've all grown uselessly curious with age."
"Hehehe."
I frowned slightly.
He had other disciples before me?
That was news to me.
Before regression...
very little had actually been known about Jin Gwangung.
Despite holding such an important position as First Elder...
he was famous for building no personal faction and taking no disciples.
He ignored Kunlun's rules whenever he felt like it and lived however he pleased.
That was basically everything I knew about him.
Come to think of it...
I actually know almost nothing about Jin Gwangung.
Why hadn't he accepted a disciple for more than ten years?
What happened to his previous disciples?
Just as my curiosity grew...
the Iron Lion Gwangheon spoke.
"Enough idle talk."
At the same moment...
the door opened.
Someone slowly entered.
Finally....
I quietly watched the old Taoist step across the threshold.
The person overseeing this meeting.
The man standing at the very peak of Kunlun.
And yet...
before long...
he would fall from that highest position and be buried as a cold corpse.
The man destined to fall from the highest place in Kunlun to the lowest.
The true master of Kunlun.
Sect Leader Cheon Gwangcheon.
He slowly...
but heavily...
walked toward us.
