Chapter 105

Chapter 105

Needless to say, the Sado Alliance Leader  does not carelessly utter words of admiration.

Naturally, this is because the Sado Alliance Leader’s standards are far too high. People tend to judge everything based on themselves, and when measured against the Sado Alliance Leader’s standards, those who could earn the word “excellent” in any aspect were rare in this world.

No matter how outstanding a martial artist, no matter what struggle they displayed, earning the Sado Alliance Leader’s recognition was no easy feat. Even the Daesageom , who had been with him since the founding of the Alliance, had barely seen the Sado Alliance Leader utter words of admiration a handful of times.

“Excellent.”

In that sense.

For him to exclaim in admiration at a mere sparring match between late-generation disciples could be considered quite unusual for the Sado Alliance Leader.

“The victor is…?”

The silence after the clash.

The crowd, which had been murmuring at the results revealed after the dust settled, fell silent all at once. The sight of Baek Risan  collapsed on one knee, supporting his body with his sword, and Seonwoo Gang  standing tall, looking down at the fallen Baek Risan.

“Did he win?”

“Seonwoo Gang won!”

At the sight of spectators hastily shouting, the referee who had been waiting beside the sparring stage quietly stepped onto the platform, examined both sides, and awkwardly cleared his throat.

“…He’s unconscious.”

“You mean Baek Risan lost consciousness?”

“No. As you can see.”

The referee who spoke tapped Seonwoo Gang’s shoulder lightly. Then, maintaining that exact posture, Seonwoo Gang began to fall backward.

Thud!

“Both sparring participants have fainted. It seems their minds flew away simultaneously with the clash.”

The referee, who caught Seonwoo Gang’s falling body and safely laid him down on the stage, frowned as if troubled. And at this sight, the crowd murmured.

“Both fainted… Can such a case happen?”

“No, it’s not even mutual destruction, how can it be such an even match…”

In battles between masters, victory is decided by a paper-thin difference.

Conversely, this means that even with just a paper-thin difference, a victor is determined. A very small gap creates a disparity, and that disparity determines victory and defeat.

Cases where victory isn’t decided despite giving one’s all are extremely rare. Usually, one side becomes unable to fight, or both die using mutual destruction techniques, bringing the match to a conclusion. 

“Completely even, with both sides fainting. Hahaha.”

Both sides unable to fight without even using killing moves . Could such a case exist?

“Then how is the victor determined?”

In this situation, no one could easily say who had the advantage.

The Daesageom , who sighed deeply at the sight of the cheerfully laughing Sado Alliance Leader, examined Baek Risan and Seonwoo Gang’s conditions with his eyes and made his judgment.

“It will be Seonwoo Gang’s victory.”

“Why is that?”

“Because he retreated.”

“Oho.”

At the Daesageom’s words, the Sado Alliance Leader checked the deeply imprinted footprints in front of Seonwoo Gang and smiled faintly.

“Did he hold back?”

“…I don’t think it was quite holding back.”

When great force meets great force, tremendous repulsive power follows.

During the final clash, Seonwoo Gang’s sword force  was absolutely not inferior to Baek Risan’s. If completely equal sword forces had collided head-on, naturally tremendous burden would have fallen on Baek Risan’s side.

“When you twist the direction of force, the burden on the one extending it is also greatly reduced.”

Retreating means dissipating the surplus force.

Usually, retreating to dissipate surplus force is to counter an opponent’s strong force with weaker force, but this case is a bit different. If he had met head-on with sword force powerful enough to cause him to faint just by extending it, Seonwoo Gang would have suffered internal injuries, but Baek Risan wouldn’t have gotten away with just fainting.

The sword forces were equal. The precision of the techniques also didn’t differ greatly. So what decided the match was surplus force . And consideration for the opponent.

“If the referee has eyes, he cannot but declare Seonwoo Gang’s victory.”

“Is that so? “

“…That’s right.”

At the sight of the Sado Alliance Leader lightly nodding, the Daesageom finished speaking, quietly closed his mouth, and looked directly at Seonwoo Gang who had fainted while standing.

‘So that was your sword.’

Over ten years ago, when Seonwoo Gang first came to Hyeolgeommun , he thought he had found the next generation’s Hyeolgeommun Master .

It was natural. At the time, Seonwoo Gang desperately accomplished anything with a single-minded determination to avenge his father.

Quick judgment and resolute decisions. And that martial talent  as well.

Nothing was inferior to himself at that age, and nothing was lacking. For the Daesageom, there was no one more suited to be his disciple than Seonwoo Gang.

But what about now?

‘How brilliantly you shine.’

What caught his eyes was Seonwoo Gang’s resplendent golden sword energy .

It wasn’t simply because it was golden. The sword path  drawn by the sword techniques, the footprints Seonwoo Gang had carved—all of it was the complete opposite of the Sapa’s . Bewitching yet not evil, persistent yet not vicious.

An orthodox faction’s  sword that he had not taught.

‘It’s an ill-fitting garment.’

No matter the result here, it would have ended up this way eventually. Those who cannot have confidence in themselves cannot endure the pressure of being the sect master. Seonwoo Gang’s departure from Hyeolgeommun was probably only a matter of time.

He cannot hold him. Even if he tried to hold him, it would be useless . 

Therefore, he will not hold him.

The Daesageom, who finished his brief contemplation, sighed and relaxed the strength in his grip.

“It’s finished now. As the Alliance Leader thought, it ended with Muryeon Hall’s  victory.”

“Ah, that’s how it turned out.”

“What are your intentions?”

“What intentions?”

At the Daesageom’s question, asked with the “small request” he would receive when Muryeon Hall won in mind, the Sado Alliance Leader chuckled and sat askew in his chair, resting his chin on his hand.

“First, let me ask. Does the Daesageom intend to let his disciple go?”

“…Can’t you tell by looking?”

“Well, certainly even to my eyes, he seems too upright a fellow for us to keep. To put it nicely, he’s honest; to put it badly, he’s like a proper scholar.”

Even a great tiger that reigns as a predator in the ecosystem dies of thirst if it cannot adapt in the desert.

Seonwoo Gang cannot be kept in the Sapa. Even if kept, he would wither away without even displaying half his abilities.

That was an ending the Sado Alliance Leader didn’t wish for either.

“But isn’t it quite a waste to give him to the Murim Alliance ?”

“…What do you mean by that?”

“I’m thinking it’s a waste to hand over such a raw gem entirely to those idiots.”

Just because he’s an ill-fitting garment for the Sado Alliance doesn’t mean the Murim Alliance is a fitting garment.

“Raw gems should be where they ought to be.”

The Sado Alliance Leader, who smiled faintly, slowly stood up. 

“Since the match is over, I’ll make one request to the Alliance Leader as promised.”

The next moment.

The Daesageom’s eyes widened.

He had a dream.

A dream from the time before coming to the Murim Alliance, when he was at Hyeolgeommun.

—I-I’m sorry!

—It’s okay.

The cause of the incident was simple. A maid attending to Seonwoo Gang had spilled tea on his chair.

He passed it over, thinking it wasn’t something to make a fuss about. Since it was a mistake anyone could make, he just thought he would clean it up himself and let it go.

And that night.

—Why did you not punish the maid?

The Daesageom came to find Seonwoo Gang.

—Because I thought it wasn’t something to punish. It was a mistake.

—You didn’t punish her because it was a mistake?

—…That’s right.

At the sight of the Daesageom asking with an indifferent expression, Seonwoo Gang answered carefully and closed his mouth again. An uncomfortable silence.

—How pathetic.

The Daesageom, who frowned, slowly picked up the nearby ink, ground it in the inkstone, and quietly recited.

—In any group, the most important thing is fairness .

—For those who stand above, favoritism is a shortcut to corruption and the foundation of ruin. Small cracks weaken the embankment and eventually collapse it. Don’t you think so?

—That’s…

—Fairness is furthest from emotion.

The Daesageom, who spoke decisively, continued.

—You forgave her because it was due to a mistake. Then next time the maid makes another mistake, you must forgive her. Even if a bigger mistake occurs, if it wasn’t intentional, you’ll have to judge whether to forgive or not. Isn’t that right?

—It’s not limited to just that maid. Since you forgave her, even if another maid who isn’t yours commits the same mistake, it won’t be easy to punish them. Because it will be seen as unfair.

The black-haired beast is extremely cunning.

Even when their fault is clear, most humans turn their eyes to external factors instead of their own mistakes. Even if punished for a mistake, if there’s someone who was forgiven for the same mistake, humans harbor resentment instead of reflection, don’t they?

—You should have punished the maid.

A leader must be clear in rewards and punishments.

—You should have been rational.

One’s own emotions don’t matter. Whether it’s morally right or wrong doesn’t matter either. What matters is whether it’s rational or not.

—What you need is not good  but a line .

Harbor intent  and cooperation , not righteousness  and chivalry .

At the teaching of the Daesageom, Seonwoo Gang understood but couldn’t empathize. Because.

For Seonwoo Gang, chivalry was something like a legacy his father had left behind.

“Are you awake?”

Silence.

Seonwoo Gang, who quietly opened his eyes and stared blankly at the unfamiliar ceiling, turned his gaze at the voice he heard and looked to the side. The sight of Seomun Cheok  sitting in a small chair that didn’t fit his build, reading a book with one hand.

“Where is this…?”

“The Medicine Hall .”

“Medicine Hall?”

“You fainted. Don’t you remember?”

“…Fainted.”

At Seomun Cheok’s story, Seonwoo Gang, who blinked and recalled hazy memories, frowned. Memories that had been submerged below the surface began to quietly rise.

“…Mmm.”

He didn’t remember properly. As far as Seonwoo Gang remembered, the final clash of the sparring match clearly wasn’t even, was it?

It was a clash where it wouldn’t be strange for either one to collapse. Since it was the final technique that both Baek Risan and Seonwoo Gang executed by drawing out all their might, whatever the result, it wouldn’t be strange.

“Did I… lose?”

He might have been defeated.

At the sight of Seonwoo Gang asking with that in mind, Seomun Cheok, with his eyes on the book he was reading, quietly denied Seonwoo Gang’s concern.

“The sparring result ended as your victory in the end.”

“…In the end?”

“Yes. It was almost even. It wasn’t just you who lost consciousness—Baek Risan lost consciousness too.”

Opinions were divided about the final clash.

Both lost consciousness the same way, but Seonwoo Gang fainted while standing, and Baek Risan fainted while kneeling on one knee. While there was an opinion that it was a judgment victory for Seonwoo Gang who remained standing until the end, there was also an opinion that since both lost consciousness, this match should be declared invalid and a rematch should be held.

However, in the end, there was no rematch, and victory ultimately went to Seonwoo Gang, who had been standing on both feet. In the end, Muryeon Hall won the competition.

“I… won.”

As if it didn’t feel real, Seonwoo Gang, who rubbed his hands that still didn’t have much strength, let out a hollow laugh.

“Haha…”

“Why are you laughing?”

“Just, because it doesn’t feel real.”

If he lost the sparring match, he would die.

He never deeply dwelled on that. He knew that if he deliberately dwelled on it, it would become an even deeper chain binding him.

But just because he tried not to dwell on it doesn’t mean he truly didn’t dwell on it. He had felt the burden and fear inwardly that it might turn out that way.

But now all of that was no longer necessary. Because he.

Had survived.

“You silly fool.”

“What do you mean by that? Still, I do feel regretful. I wish I could have shown a more decisive victory.”

“…What do you mean?”

Seomun Cheok, who sighed, quietly spoke up.

“Even though it appeared as an even result, in the end, you’re the one who won. Even if it’s a hairsbreadth difference, victory is victory. And even if it had ended in your defeat, I had no intention of blaming you.”

“Is… that so?”

“Yes.”

The initial objective was achieved in the first place. At Ilgwan Gate  and this gate, Muryeon Hall properly proved that they were different from before, that Muryeon Hall could also defeat Mujeong Hall .

“What we want isn’t to crush Mujeong Hall, is it?”

Rising to an equal relationship is enough.

At the sight of Seomun Cheok saying this, Seonwoo Gang, who breathed a sigh of relief, scratched his head.

“Anyway, I’m relieved I didn’t lose. Then can I go now?”

“Go… where?”

“Where else? With those guys’ personalities, they wouldn’t be sitting still right now. Aren’t they probably having a celebration?”

“A celebration…”

At the sight of Seonwoo Gang asking playfully, Seomun Cheok, who had been still, maintained silence for a moment, then quietly closed his book. 

A moment later, Seomun Cheok opened his mouth in a deeply sunken voice.

“Seonwoo Gang.”

“…Why?”

“Do you know what happened after you fainted?”

“…Well.”

Seonwoo Gang, who was about to casually answer back but sensed Seomun Cheok’s unusual presence, hardened his expression. An ominous premonition flashed through his mind in an instant.

“What…?”

Baek Riyun , who was nowhere to be seen, and the outside that was strangely quiet.

Perhaps something unusual happened to Baek Risan. Having thought that far, Seonwoo Gang asked carefully. 

“What happened?”

The moment Seonwoo Gang’s question fell.

“The sect master was imprisoned. By the Murim Alliance Leader’s  command.”

“…What?”

At the completely unexpected story he hadn’t anticipated at all, Seonwoo Gang’s brain froze.

“I’ll ask just one thing. Seonwoo Gang.”

The next moment.

“Are you really from Hyeolgeommun?”

Seomun Cheok’s bitter words stabbed Seonwoo Gang’s heart.