"Umm."

It was a suppressed groan.

Ilhae couldn't give any answer.

"Junior brother."

"..."

"From now on, leave it to me. You've done enough."

"Sect Leader."

"This is not a request from a senior brother, but an order given as the Sect Leader."

The Sect Leader's order.

It was the supreme authority of a sect's leader, and an order that a disciple must strictly obey.

Although he glared at Cheonyeong as if he could eat him, Ilhae politely stepped back and took his place behind Il-u.

"Family Head Tang."

"Yes."

"I accept all of your words."

Ilhae said calmly.

He was not trying to hide it.

And since he said he would accept it, he was admitting all his faults and was willing to take responsibility for them.

Cheonyeong, who had been watching Il-u quietly, smiled bitterly.

"Tch, this isn't fun..."

"Is that so?"

"Don't they say it takes two to clap? You have to make a sound when you clap, but you're pulling your hand back like this."

"Hoho, a good analogy."

"I'm disappointed."

"Disappointed?"

"Since I'm holding the hilt of the sword anyway, you have to get more worked up so that I can get more."

"Don't worry about that part. I am a person who can handle as much as I can."

"But I'm greedy."

"Huh?"

"Couldn't I ask you to give me the entire Blue Green Sect's Taoist temple?"

"What did you say?"

"You punk!"

They reacted at the same time, but their expressions were completely different.

Il-u's expression was one of bewilderment but curiosity, while Ilhae's expression was ferocious, as if he would swing his fist at any moment.

"Junior brother."

"S-sorry. That punk keeps..."

"Watch your words. He is the venerable head of a sect. Family Head Tang is no different from me now."

"Keung."

At the gentle scolding, Ilhae stood up awkwardly and then sat down.

"Well, I'll stop here for now. I didn't request a private meeting just to talk about the attack."

"Hmm?"

"Thanks to the attack, things have become easier. Because I was able to have a private meeting with the Sect Leader like this. Even if not trust, my words have gained some weight, haven't they?"

At Cheonyeong's words, Il-u tilts his head.

Was there another reason he wanted to see me?

"First, this is the urgent matter... let's discuss the matter of compensation for the attack later."

"Is there something more urgent than the attack?"

"Yes, a lot."

"Hmm."

A deep furrow formed on Il-u's brow.

It was a very brief meeting.

Although they had exchanged conversation, it was not enough time to grasp someone's character and read their thoughts.

But there was one clear fact: Tang Cheonyeong was definitely not a person who would make empty promises.

"I will listen attentively."

"You will have to. Because it is a matter that cannot even be compared to a mere attack."

Cheonyeong's expression turns quite serious.

And the story begins. About the reason he had participated in the Assembly of Elders, and the efforts of the Beggars' Sect until now.

Il-u's expression, as he listened intently, changed from moment to moment, and at the end, it was filled with not just surprise, but astonishment.

"Wh-what?"

Ilhae's expression was one that couldn't even be explained.

My, my, the reaction is... good.

I felt it when he was hosting the match, but is his ability to empathize outstanding? He's a person who makes you want to talk.

"These damn punks! To dare, in the Blue Green Sect! I'll immediately!"

"Please calm down."

"Do I look like I can calm down? Lead the way! Hurry!"

"..."

Ilhae seemed to be a person whose appearance was all there was. He seemed to have completely forgotten about the attack on him.

"Sect Leader."

At Cheonyeong's sigh-like call, Il-u nods and says.

"Junior brother."

"Yes! Sect Leader."

"Enough."

"Yes."

Cheonyeong couldn't help but be impressed by the sight of Il-u calming Ilhae with just one word.

As expected, the position of Sect Leader was not something anyone could do.

"Family Head Tang."

"Please speak."

"First, I would like to express my gratitude."

"Pardon?"

"I am ashamed to see Family Head Tang's face."

"..."

"The saying 'the good do not come, and those who come are not good' is truly foolish."

The good do not come, and those who come are not good.

It meant that those who came on their own did not have good intentions.

In other words, it was a compliment to Cheonyeong, who had come to help the Blue Green Sect, guessing the infiltration of the assassins.

However.

"You've misunderstood."

"Huh?"

"There is no such thing as kindness without a price, Sect Leader."

"..."

"No way, you're not trying to brush off such valuable information with a mere compliment, are you?"

"Huh?"

"I told you, didn't I? That I'm very greedy."

Cheonyeong's appearance, as he curled his fingers into a circle to express something and winked, was that of a complete snob. To ask for compensation so openly in front of him.

But at that sight, Il-u burst into laughter.

The Tao is hard to recognize. It is even harder to find in a vulgar place. Because everything covers the eyes and deafens the ears.

Don't they say that only after reflecting on the ordinary daily life that has passed, one regrets, 'Ah! That was the Tao'?

Therefore, Taoists, in order not to miss the opportunity for that enlightenment, live in seclusion in the mountains, build Taoist temples, and strive in their cultivation.

But how can the Tao have only one form?

It was said that the Tao has ten thousand forms and comes along ten thousand paths.

Just because one is a Taoist, does one obtain the Tao, and just because one is a layman, does one not obtain the Tao?

Looking at Cheonyeong again, a clear radiance shines from behind his head like a light. It is the Tao that illuminates the world.

"What kind of person are you?"

He was suddenly curious.

How did this person, at this young age, already achieve his own Tao?

"What kind of place is the Tang Family's estate?"

"..."

"Your words are vulgar, but the heart contained within them is so righteous that I cannot distinguish it."

At Il-u's question, Cheonyeong smiles and says.

"Heh heh, the martial world. It's a truly amusing place."

"..."

"Everyone says so. Orthodox, Unorthodox. But is such a distinction important?"

"Umm..."

"I am just a person living in the martial world. A person who was born according to the principles set by heaven, and is faithful to that life until death."

"..."

"Sect Leader, please do not distinguish me and the Tang Family's estate as Orthodox or Unorthodox. I do not want to be included in that. The Tang Family's estate is just the Tang Family's estate."

At Cheonyeong's words, Il-u nods and falls into thought.

"I see... Then where do you place your great cause?"

"Great cause?"

He had never thought of such a thing.

But he always had a goal.

At first, it was to rebuild his family and take revenge on the culprits. And now, it was to place the name of the Tang Family's estate at the highest place in the world.

To do that, of course!

"Hmm, could it be money?"

"Money?"

"As you may have felt, I am an incorrigible snob. If I had to pick my great cause, it would be profit."

"Profit... hoho, I see. That's right, that's how it is."

Il-u repeats it as if it were a word that had sprung from the depths of his heart.

Enlightenment? It wasn't that he had felt something like that.

It was the way of a person.

A person must eat to live. They must enjoy food, clothing, and shelter. To desire profit and to feel greed was the most human thing to do.

However, within that, there was a destiny set by heaven, and one lives in accordance with that destiny.

"The Tang Family's estate... I see. So Family Head Tang is that kind of person."

"...?"

"I understand. That Family Head Tang is a truly pure person."

Pure? Was that word used in that sense?

If living according to one's own nature and upholding the principles one knows is purity.

"Yes, I am a person who is exactly as I appear."

Il-u nods repeatedly with a pleasant expression.

And after a long while.

"Family Head Tang."

"Yes."

"The reason you requested this private meeting was because everything had to be secret, is that right?"

At Il-u's words, Cheonyeong smiles brightly.

Although he was a person who cultivated the Tao, it seemed his mind was not just hardened in that direction.

"Thank you for your consideration."

"The gratitude today is mine."

"..."

"Now, what should the Blue Green Sect do? I will follow your will completely."

"Of course, we must root them out."

"Root them out?"

"That's right. They still don't know that their identities have been exposed. So their preparations will be insufficient. The reason I requested a private meeting was because everyone knows it as a complaint about the attack, so please announce it officially as such."

"Announce it to everyone?"

"Yes, in the first place, the first-generation disciples who attacked wanted to be seen as Blue Serpent Sect disciples."

"Ugh!"

At Cheonyeong's words, Ilhae, who was behind him, flinches and rolls his eyes.

Would he be human if he wasn't pricked by something?

"Please announce it as such."

"But, that is not a matter of falsely accusing the Blue Serpent Sect."

"It doesn't matter."

"What do you mean, it doesn't matter?"

"Did you not hear? Or are you pretending not to have heard?"

"Umm."

As Cheonyeong glares with one eye narrowed, both Ilhae and Il-u have nowhere to look.

They must have heard the conversation he and Jeokseong had on the competition stage.

They would have the internal energy to eavesdrop on a conversation from that distance.

"I consider the Blue Serpent Sect my enemy. After the Assembly of Elders is over, I plan to have a life-and-death battle immediately."

"Family Head Tang."

"I am not asking for much. No, perhaps I am asking for a lot."

"..."

"Please tell the Blue Green Sect. That the warriors of the Blue Serpent Sect attacked the family head of the Tang Family's estate, who had won the match against their young master."

"But... such a lie."

"Hasn't the Assembly of Elders already begun by deceiving many people?"

Ilhae and Il-u couldn't say anything.

"Will that be enough compensation for the attack that the Blue Green Sect desires?"

Cheonyeong had already made up his mind.

He had planned it early on, and had just included the two of them in it.

"Earlier, didn't the Sect Leader say that he would accept all my words?"

"I did."

"To me, it sounded like you meant you would take responsibility for the Blue Green Sect's sins. Am I right?"

"...You are right."

"Then take responsibility. As I wish."

"Hoo, Immeasurable Life Buddha..."

Il-u mutters the Taoist greeting.

But Cheonyeong, since he did not question further, noticed that he had already made up his mind.

"Before I came up, I already asked the Beggar Dragon of the Beggars' Sect."

"The Beggar Dragon?"

"Yes, to use all his strength to pick out the disguised assassins."

"I see."

"However, they must not move in a conspicuous way. They are very cautious punks. If the atmosphere of the Blue Green Sect changes, they will quickly notice and try to hide."

"Hmm."

"I have not been able to find out why they targeted the Assembly of Elders."

"Do you have any guesses?"

"As far as I know, their ultimate goal is killing."

It was always like that.

There was always the same thing in Jingagu's purpose.

Either to kill someone, or to kill someone and take something, or to kill someone and obtain information.

Whatever it was, in the end, death always lurked in the process.

But, no one had died yet.

"If they haven't moved yet, I think it will definitely be tomorrow."

"Are you saying they are aiming for the final match?"

"Yes."

"Perhaps if they are on the verge of carrying it out, all their attention will be focused on the competition stage. With their prey in front of them, they will not be able to see their surroundings."

"Then, we should also aim for that time."

"Yes, when the match begins, please move the Blue Green Sect. Spread a huge net and capture the school of fish trapped inside all at once."

"Umm..."

"But, no one other than us must know. The fish will immediately notice the changes in the net."

"I understand. I will do as you wish."

"When the Blue Green Sect is ready, the Beggars' Sect will leave a mark."

"..."

"And all the assassins who have infiltrated the Blue Green Sect will be wiped out."

A pale blue light flickered in Cheonyeong's eyes.

(End of Chapter)