Chapter The Demonic Cult Instructor Returns Chapter 145
Chapter 145
‘Indeed, it’s as spacious as the rumors say.’
Ryu Yeo-jung clicked his tongue inwardly as he entered the outer courtyard of the Jeongdo Alliance.
Even after walking for quite some time, the gate leading to the inner courtyard was nowhere to be seen, so it wouldn’t be strange if someone got lost within the grounds.
However, such a splendid manor also proved just how serious the corruption was.
And yet they managed to block the Blood Death Alliance’s full-scale offensive.
‘Indeed, this person called Gu Yoon…’
Curiosity arose.
What kind of person could he be?
From what he’d heard, he was quite young.
“This is the place.”
The guide stopped in front of a building and spoke.
Ryu Yeo-jung and White Tiger Hall Master Chu Hui-ryong, Black Tortoise Hall Master Dokgo Jin, and Hong Myo Seo Rae-hyang, who had been dispatched as the Blood Death Alliance’s negotiation team, stopped walking and looked up at the building.
Beside them followed Yo Sin, who wasn’t part of the negotiation team but was handling escort and miscellaneous duties.
The place their gazes reached was an ordinary guest hall.
However, its scale was somewhat larger compared to other places.
Dokgo Jin immediately showed his displeasure openly.
“This place? Are you saying the Alliance Leader is waiting here?”
“No. This is the lodging where you’ll be staying. And it’s also the place where negotiations will be conducted.”
“Ha! Is this how the Jeongdo Alliance treats guests? The host doesn’t even show his face!”
Then contempt flashed across the guide’s expression.
“The Alliance’s attitude changes depending on who the guests are.”
“What? How dare you…!”
Dokgo Jin’s martial robe puffed up.
It was because he had instantly drawn up his internal energy.
But Ryu Yeo-jung quietly stepped forward and restrained him.
“I understand well. The Jeongdo Alliance is indeed cautious. It’s interesting that you had us stay in the outer courtyard, conscious that we might spy on the Alliance’s interior. That’s truly the right choice. After all, doesn’t the old saying in the martial world go “it’s better to have more caution and less pretense”?”
It was a peculiar tone.
It seemed to praise their caution, but when you understood the underlying meaning, it was ultimately saying they were cowardly.
‘Was there such a saying in the martial world?’
The guide frowned with a strange expression before turning around.
The five people, including Ryu Yeo-jung, soon followed him into the guest hall.
***
Alliance Leader Neung Un-pa never showed herself in the end.
Since the Blood Death Alliance hadn’t sent their leader either, it was a subtle indication that this wasn’t a situation requiring her direct involvement.
Though the Blood Death Alliance negotiation team found this cold treatment quite unpleasant, they didn’t show it outwardly.
In any case, this negotiation was clearly under unfavorable conditions for them.
If it hadn’t been, there would have been no reason for only four people to enter the heart of enemy territory.
Guest hall reception room.
Eight people sat facing each other across a long table.
From the Jeongdo Alliance sat General Manager Gu Yoon, Lightning Hall Master Deung Wang-pae, Sword Shadow Pavilion Master Seop Cheong, and Sa Bigang.
Sword Shadow Pavilion Master Seop Cheong was one of the Alliance Leader’s close associates.
‘That one is… Sa Bigang.’
Ryu Yeo-jung, who had been introduced during the exchange of names, stared intently at Sa Bigang sitting at the very end.
‘And this one is the General Manager, Gu Yoon!’
He shifted his gaze to the delicate-looking Gu Yoon.
He was certainly quite young to be considered the Jeongdo Alliance’s General Manager.
‘They say he’s a natural talent… Indeed, he survived power struggles from a young age and made it to this position.’
Meanwhile, there were two people who were paying even more attention to Sa Bigang’s presence than Ryu Yeo-jung.
One of them was Hong Myo Seo Rae-hyang.
‘To meet this man again…!’
Sa Bigang kept glancing at Seo Rae-hyang with a continuously grinning expression, as if something was quite amusing.
‘How annoying…!’
And the other person was none other than Deung Wang-pae.
‘Why is such a fellow mixed in here!’
He was quite displeased with Sa Bigang, who had taken a seat at one end.
Gu Yoon watched Deung Wang-pae’s reaction with inward amusement.
In fact, Sa Bigang’s inclusion in the negotiation team hadn’t been Gu Yoon’s idea.
It had been Sa Bigang’s wish from the beginning.
On that day when he had visited Yongcheon Hall, Sa Bigang had suddenly said to him as he was getting up to leave:
“If a negotiation meeting is arranged, please include me in it.”
“In the Jeongdo Alliance negotiation team?”
“That’s right. I have demands to make of the Blood Death Alliance.”
“May I ask what that is?”
“No, I want to tell them directly myself. Of course, it won’t be anything that would harm the Jeongdo Alliance.”
Gu Yoon thought for a moment and then replied that he understood.
While Gu Yoon was briefly lost in recollection, Ryu Yeo-jung was the first to speak.
“Our leader wishes to settle past grudges and have the righteous and evil factions harmonize to open a new future.”
“Hmph! Grudges? We have no debts of gratitude to settle with you people, what nonsense! You were the ones who first created resentment, and now you want to settle it however you please!”
Deung Wang-pae retorted with a sharp voice.
Then Black Tortoise Hall Master Dokgo Jin flared up and shouted.
“If we’re going to argue like that, hasn’t the Jeongdo Alliance always oppressed and despised evil faction martial artists? Just for the reason of practicing evil techniques!”
“Just evil techniques? That itself is sinful!”
“What? There are countless people throughout the land who practice orthodox techniques yet are inferior to those who practice evil techniques!”
“Ho, it seems the Blood Death Alliance came here today not to negotiate but to engage in a life-and-death battle!”
“Grrr…! I can’t stand this any longer…!”
Then Ryu Yeo-jung casually interjected.
“Hall Master. Please restrain yourself.”
“How can I restrain myself now? Military Strategist, aren’t you frustrated too…”
“It’s Black Dragon’s command.”
“…Tch!”
In the end, Dokgo Jin pursed his lips and turned his head away sharply.
Deung Wang-pae laughed coldly.
Ryu Yeo-jung continued in a calm tone.
“Our leader has sent a small gift.”
Then Yo Sin placed a large box on the table and opened the lid.
A golden gleaming mass came into view.
When Gu Yoon gestured, a martial artist who had been standing at attention approached and collected the box.
“I’ll make sure to deliver it well to the Alliance Leader.”
“Thank you. And this is the content of the alliance we’re proposing.”
Ryu Yeo-jung presented a document.
The Jeongdo Alliance negotiation team received copies and read through them carefully.
To summarize in one sentence, it was about establishing a ten-year non-aggression pact between the righteous and evil factions.
It included content stating that even if fights broke out between the righteous and evil factions during that period, they would be treated strictly as personal matters and would not be allowed to escalate.
Also, when settling grudges, the righteous and evil factions would reach agreements to fairly determine right and wrong.
Finally, it included content about exchanging captured prisoners from both sides.
‘They’ve certainly bent quite a bit.’
Considering the Blood Death Alliance’s identity, these were proposals made from quite a humble position.
In fact, even accepting their proposals as they were wouldn’t be problematic.
But Deung Wang-pae thought differently.
“As expected, you’re being arbitrary. Do you think we’d just accept it if you come out like this now?”
“Then do you have different proposals to suggest?”
“We cannot release the Blood Death Alliance martial artists captured by our Alliance. Most of them are those who mercilessly slaughtered even ordinary people, not just martial artists. It’s proper to hold them accountable for their crimes, so we cannot simply release them.”
A shadow crossed Ryu Yeo-jung’s expression.
In fact, he had expected this to some degree.
Deung Wang-pae glanced at Gu Yoon as if showing off.
As if this was how negotiations should be conducted.
He intended to use this opportunity to restore his fallen prestige.
However, Ryu Yeo-jung soon opened his mouth and replied nonchalantly.
“That’s quite unfortunate. Actually, this is something I’ll say quietly only in this setting… From our Alliance’s standpoint, we’re not particularly attached to those martial artists who were defeated and captured by your Alliance.”
“What? Then why include such a clause…”
“It’s about justification and face. Our Alliance has grown large enough that we need some degree of justification and face.”
“What exactly are you saying now…”
“In short, our Alliance doesn’t care much about that clause. It’s a kind of show for the martial world, you could say. Those prisoners who brought us the shame of defeat wouldn’t receive good treatment even if they returned to our Alliance anyway. So whether your Alliance kills them or spares them, you can do as you please.”
“But then there would be no way to put on a show…”
“Of course not. But wouldn’t the rumors spread properly in the martial world? The Blood Death Alliance did their best to rescue their prisoners. But the Jeongdo Alliance rejected the proposal.”
“Then our prisoners captured by you…”
“Of course, since that clause has failed, our Alliance also cannot release them. If you want your Alliance’s martial artists to return safely, you can accept our proposal.”
“What kind of bullshit is that!”
Bang!
Deung Wang-pae slammed the table and stood up abruptly.
Whoooosh!
A strong energy wind blew out from his entire body in all directions.
“Are you threatening us now, saying you’ll spread rumors that our Alliance rejected your legitimate proposal!”
“You bastard? No matter how much this is your home ground, your manner of treating guests is terrible!”
Black Tortoise Hall Master Dokgo Jin stood up abruptly.
Killing intent swirled fiercely between the two.
This time, Ryu Yeo-jung didn’t stop him either.
He actually smiled faintly.
Deung Wang-pae shouted angrily.
“Guests? What kind of guests are you bastards? You came here defeated in war to grovel and beg!”
“What? Just because you won a few battles, you’ve become completely arrogant! Our Alliance is graciously offering to stop the killing here, and you should gratefully accept it. What’s all this about?”
“What did you say?”
This was enough.
Ryu Yeo-jung slapped the table with his palm.
Smack!
This caused Dokgo Jin to flinch and look back at him.
Ryu Yeo-jung said coldly.
“Hall Master Dok. This is a place for civilized conversation. Please lower your voice.”
Though it seemed like words directed at Dokgo Jin, Ryu Yeo-jung’s gaze was directed at Deung Wang-pae.
He smiled inwardly.
The Jeongdo Alliance lives by justification and dies by justification.
No matter how much Dokgo Jin rampaged here, the Jeongdo Alliance couldn’t harm him.
What if the Jeongdo Alliance killed a Blood Death Alliance martial artist who came for negotiations? No, even just injuring him would spread rumors throughout the martial world.
About the Jeongdo Alliance’s cowardice.
Could the Jeongdo Alliance really endure such criticism?
‘Hehe. Those who practice orthodox techniques could never escape from such pretense.’
Rumors had already spread in the martial world.
That the Blood Death Alliance was swallowing their pride and seeking out the Jeongdo Alliance to establish a ceasefire pact.
To reduce further meaningless sacrifice.
The Blood Death Alliance had spread such rumors.
But what if the Jeongdo Alliance kicked away that pact?
Of course, there would be many orthodox faction martial artists who would want that.
Under the justification of punishing evil.
But at that moment, the Jeongdo Alliance would bear a heavy burden.
If they went that far and then lost in subsequent battles?
They would be unable to avoid all kinds of criticism.
On the other hand, Blood Death Alliance martial artists would harbor tremendous anger and venom toward the Jeongdo Alliance martial artists who had kicked away the ceasefire proposal they had made while even bending their pride.
‘In other words, you can accept this negotiation or not. We clearly stated our position even in the negotiation setting. If you decide to reject this proposal… you’ll bear the burden, while we’ll have justification and a reason to harbor venom. Then we can somewhat balance the tilted scales, can’t we?’
Meanwhile, unlike Deung Wang-pae, Gu Yoon now clearly grasped Ryu Yeo-jung’s intentions and fell into thought.
‘Indeed… was that what he was aiming for? Perhaps he hopes we’ll reject this pact. He might be waiting for us to make unreasonable demands. Then the negotiation would naturally break down. If that happens, the rumors certainly won’t be favorable to our Alliance.’
Gu Yoon stared intently at Ryu Yeo-jung.
‘The Blood Death Alliance has someone like this too.’
Though he had stepped back from real power, he seemed to understand why the Jeongdo Alliance had suffered consecutive defeats.
At this point, Deung Wang-pae was also in a difficult position.
Though he had spoken boldly, if the other side didn’t accept the proposal, there would be no way to get back the Jeongdo Alliance martial artists who had been captured.
A single difference had become an obstacle.
This side treated the prisoners as criminals, but that side treated them as hostages.
This is why it’s harder to live righteously.
‘Damn it.’
It was then.
“Sigh, I can’t stand how frustrating this is anymore. May I say something?”
The person who suddenly spoke from the end of the table.
It was Sa Bigang.
Deung Wang-pae’s eyebrows twitched.
‘What is that crazy bastard going to say now…?’