He stared intently.

Silently, intently...

Steadily...

At that, Ilhae frowned unpleasantly and asked.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I was wondering why you weren't leaving."

"What did you say?"

"Didn't you hear? The Sect Leader said, 'Everyone, leave! And remember that there must be no listening ears in the Upper Hall'..."

Cheonyeong tilted his head, mimicking Il-u's tone, and one of Ilhae's eyes twitched.

This punk...

"I am!"

"I know. You're Elder Blue Cloud Sword. I saw you throughout the tournament."

Cheonyeong cut him off and answered, and Ilhae ground his teeth, glaring at him.

He looked like he could eat him with his eyes.

"I clearly requested a private meeting with the Sect Leader. As the family head of the Tang Family's estate."

"Hmph! What's so great about the title of the Tang Family's head! As an elder of the Blue Green Sect..."

"Ha! This is too much, isn't it?"

"Wh-what is?"

"No wonder you were plotting conspiracies from behind. It seems the etiquette of the Blue Green Sect is not as good as I've heard."

"What did you say?"

"Of course, what do you mean, what?"

"You punk!"

"Look at this. It's 'this punk, that punk' again, isn't it?"

"..."

"Was there ever a high or low in the status of a family head? Was there ever a big or small in a sect or family?"

Ilhae couldn't say anything, his bloodshot eyes just trembled finely.

"For someone who has cultivated the Tao for so long, your way of thinking is quite... How can you be less than a child from my family's Hoyeon Unit?"

"What did you say about what?"

"I haven't said anything wrong, so why are you getting angry?"

"You punk! Your arrogance, trusting in your meager skills, pierces the heavens!"

Ilhae, who finally couldn't hold back his anger and shouted with a red face, was stared at intently by Cheonyeong again.

And then.

"Heh, I thought you were talking about yourself for a second."

"What did you say?"

"It's true, isn't it? With the status of a mere elder, talking about the arrogance of a sect's family head... It seems you've cultivated the Tao in vain."

Now he was even trembling.

He looked like he wanted to use his hands right away but was using extreme patience because he was in front of the Sect Leader.

This is how it should be.

Kids and adults alike start with a war of words before fighting.

There's nothing better for seizing the momentum!

What? Did you two put your heads together and come up with some countermeasures while I was coming?

What good is that?

Your mind is completely blank, isn't it?

You're so angry you can't think of anything, right?

The Tao?

Try cultivating that for a hundred days.

Let's see if you can endure the ridicule of an opponent you considered a mere puppy.

"Enough!"

Just as Cheonyeong was smiling slyly to himself, Il-u stopped the two who were clashing as sharply as if they had swords in their mouths.

"Nokun Pavilion Master, calm down."

"...Yes, Sect Leader."

Unable to defy the Sect Leader's words, Ilhae glared at Cheonyeong with bloodshot eyes and clamped his mouth shut.

"Family Head of the Tang Family's estate, how about you stop as well? Though he is the head of a sect, Ilhae is an elder of this sect. To treat him the same way just because he has broken etiquette would not be mutual respect, would it?"

Il-u calmed Cheonyeong with a faint smile.

But how could he not understand, even if it was said in a roundabout way?

Stop it. If you go any further, you'll be the same as him. If you want to be seen as a family head, maintain the dignity of a family head.

...Well, that's what he meant.

Even if I back down, I'm not the type to back down meekly.

"I appreciate your words, but since I'm from a lowly vagrant background, I don't care how I'm seen."

"Hoho."

"Sigh, looking at the situation, a private meeting seems difficult. What can I do? If I've come to the Blue Green Sect, I have no choice but to follow its ways. Let's sit together."

"Thank you for your understanding."

"Then shall we go inside for now?"

"Huh?"

"Cough, cough!"

"...?"

"I have internal injuries. The culprit's palm force was so fierce."

"Umm."

It was nonsense.

Just a moment ago, he looked like he could kill a person with his words, and now suddenly, internal injuries?

It was a fake cough, and just an excuse.

"By the way, Elder Blue Cloud Sword, could you prepare some warm tea to soothe my insides and a single Yosangdan pill made with the Blue Green Sect's secret recipe?"

"Wh-what did you say?"

"You saw, didn't you? That there's no one to run errands since everyone was sent away. It seems you're the only one, Elder."

"Y-you... you..."

"Why? Then should I, the guest and the head of a family, do it? Or should I ask the Sect Leader to do it?"

At Cheonyeong's words that scratched his insides, Ilhae's face flushed as if it would explode again.

"This is strange. It seems the hilt of the sword is in my hand right now... For some reason, you're making me want to just swing it anywhere."

"You...!"

As Ilhae was about to explode in anger at Cheonyeong's words, Il-u raised his hand to stop him.

"Nokun Pavilion Master."

"Yes?"

"Bring the tea and the Yosangdan as the Tang Family Head has requested."

"Ye-es. I understand."

The answer was to Il-u, but Ilhae's gaze was on Cheonyeong.

So what?

No matter what he does, he's just an elder. How dare he interrupt when a Sect Leader and a Family Head are speaking.

Shoo, hurry up and go.

I'm just pretending not to be, but my insides are really a mess.

The assassin punks poured oil on my tiny internal injuries, and I'm so angry I'm about to suffer from Qi Deviation.

"Now, let's go in. Family Head Tang."

"Yes."

Cheonyeong followed Il-u.

And at his back, Ilhae, who had been grinding his teeth, turned around sharply.

To prepare the tea and the Yosangdan.

***

The Sect Leader's residence, located inside the Blue Green Sect's Upper Hall, was more modest than expected.

He touched the wall lightly; it was thick.

Could it be that they had built it like this to prepare for external attacks in a place like the heart of the Blue Green Sect? And the Changlim Sword Saint, at that?

This was to prevent sound from leaking out. The smaller the space, the easier it would be to set up a sound-blocking barrier.

To bring him into his private chamber, leaving the spacious main hall of the Upper Hall, must have meant that the conversation to come was to be secret.

"So, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

Il-u, facing him, asks with a soft tone and a calm expression.

"Don't you already know?"

"Umm..."

"The first-generation disciples of the Blue Green Sect attacked me."

Cheonyeong said it bluntly, but Il-u didn't give any answer.

Thud!

But Ilhae was different.

He came in late, roughly put down the tray with the teacup and the Yosangdan, and said.

"Your words are excessive!"

"Excessive?"

"That's right! What do you take this sect for! An attack?"

His tone had changed.

It seemed he had realized it was difficult to deal with him with words and had taken some time to compose himself outside.

"Ha! You're denying it?"

"Of course!"

"Then who was I attacked by?"

"How would I know that?"

"It happened in the Blue Green Sect, though?"

"Of course! I am very sorry that Family Head Tang was attacked inside the Blue Green Sect. But how is that the Blue Green Sect's fault?"

"..."

"And how can you be sure that the culprit is a first-generation disciple of this sect? How dare you look at the Blue Green Sect like that!"

It was a denial.

Even though he already knew everything...

"You're going to pretend you don't know, right?"

"It's not pretending, I'm saying what's not true is not true!"

"Is that so? Then if I present evidence, will you admit it?"

"Evidence?"

"Yes."

"..."

Ilhae becomes silent.

Evidence?

Did the disciples of the Nokun Pavilion leave something behind?

But he had already feigned ignorance.

The attack by the Nokun Pavilion was something that must never be known.

It was a disgrace to the Blue Green Sect, and if it became known to the outside, everyone would point fingers at the Blue Green Sect.

Furthermore, what if it became known that they had manipulated the matches to make Yu Seongyeon the winner of the Assembly of Elders?

"Show me. That evidence! If I don't confirm it with my own eyes, as an elder of the Blue Green Sect, I will question the rudeness committed by Family Head Tang!"

"Rudeness... If you deny it like this, my temper will get worse. And it seems the hilt of the sword is still in my hand."

"Hmph! Even if the evidence points to the Blue Green Sect, I will not admit it!"

"You won't admit it?"

"That's right! Was anyone among the attackers caught? Even if there was evidence at the scene, couldn't it be evidence deliberately left by someone to frame the Blue Green Sect?"

Ilhae began to act unreasonably.

Of course, he had expected that and had already prepared a countermeasure.

"Alright. I tried to resolve this amicably by meeting the Sect Leader, but if the Elder comes out like this, I have no choice."

"..."

"When I heard the Taoist boy's words and went to the Sangdogwan, there were no Blue Green Sect Taoists in sight, and masked men were waiting."

"Those punks left the Taoist temple empty. I will look into that matter and handle it. But, that cannot be seen as evidence."

"Of course. I didn't think that much was evidence either."

"...?"

"As I fought the masked men, their martial arts seemed quite familiar."

"Familiar?"

"Yes."

Cheonyeong grinned at Ilhae.

"The Blue Green Sect's Seventy-Two Faction Sword."

"...!"

"And the Heaven and Earth One Qi Art."

"Nonsense! How would the Tang Family Head know this sect's martial arts!"

Ilhae shouted, as if he had been pricked by something.

"The Lee Family's Sword Dragon."

"Lee... family?"

"Lee Cheongik, you know him, right?"

"..."

"I'm quite close with him. So I'm familiar with his martial arts."

"The martial arts of a secular family are..."

"Was what he showed at the Assembly of Elders the martial arts of a secular family?"

As if not expecting an answer, Cheonyeong immediately continued.

"It was a sight where the Seventy-Two Faction Sword showed a new possibility."

"Th-that's..."

"A new possibility, but the core is the same. It must be the same as the Seventy-Two Faction Sword. The attackers were definitely using the Seventy-Two Faction Sword."

"Umm."

"And, what inflicted the internal injuries on me was definitely the Heaven and Earth One Qi Art."

Ilhae frowns.

Foolish things, I clearly told them they had to disguise themselves as Blue Serpent Sect disciples.

And, in Ilhae's place, Il-u took over the conversation.

"Family Head Tang."

"Yes, Sect Leader."

"I believe your eyes and your words."

Il-u's gaze was gentle. And it was full of curiosity.

"Let's say the Seventy-Two Faction Sword is one thing, but how did you know about the Heaven and Earth One Qi Art?"

"Because I've experienced it."

"You've experienced it?"

"Yes, the Lee family's Six Meridians Heart Method."

"Ah!"

Il-u lets out an exclamation of pure admiration.

He guessed the Heaven and Earth One Qi Art from seeing the Six Meridians Heart Method?

That's amazing.

There were eleven attackers, it must have been a chaotic battle. Yet he saw the opponent's martial arts.

"Hoho, it seems Family Head Tang is hiding a lot."

"Because I'm a martial artist."

"..."

"Shouldn't one always hide their dagger?"

"A dagger..."

Il-u repeats Cheonyeong's words and nods.

It was something he had already decided.

He had no choice but to admit it. To admit the Blue Green Sect's fault, and to sweetly accept the consequences.

He was planning to take all the blame and finger-pointing himself, not the Blue Green Sect.

Even if it meant stepping down from the position of Sect Leader...

"Family Head Tang."

"Yes."

"Your words..."

Just as Il-u was about to admit it.

"No! Sect Leader!"

Ilhae shouts, cutting him off.

"Nokun Pavilion Master."

"Absolutely not!"

It was not an action an elder should show in front of the Sect Leader. But Il-u, who read the heat in his eyes, sighed and frowned.

"Family Head Tang!"

"..."

"Even so, it is just your one-sided claim and is far from being evidence! The master of a new martial family knows the Blue Green Sect's martial arts well. Do you think the people of the world will believe your words? If that is all the evidence, I will never admit it!"

Ilhae said, glaring with his fierce eyes. Cheonyeong, who had been watching for a long time, sighed as if the floor would collapse.

"No way, do you think that's all?"

"Wh-what did you say?"

"I can't help it. I don't want to be wronged either. If I present visible evidence, will you admit it?"

"Visible?"

"Yes."

"What is that?"

"Gather all the first-generation disciples of the Blue Green Sect in front of the Upper Hall right now. Without a single one missing."

"...?"

"There will be those who are injured. They probably haven't been treated yet. They are the attackers."

Ilhae's face hardened.

"Whether you grant my request or not, I will definitely make this public and spread suspicion throughout the entire martial world. That the Blue Green Sect is trying to cover it up."

"Wh-what?"

"You know, right? I am on close terms with the Beggar Dragon of the Beggars' Sect, Baekta, who has recently gained a name. And they are the best at spreading rumors. Hehehehe."

Cheonyeong laughed eerily.

"Now, what will the people of the world think? If it is said that the Blue Green Sect manipulated the matches to make a specific person the winner of the Assembly of Elders, and sent culprits after the opponent?"

The invisible tip of the sword held in Cheonyeong's hand touched the necks of Ilhae, Il-u, and the Blue Green Sect.

(End of Chapter)