“…!”
Seol-Hwi was surprised and stopped breathing for a moment. The proposal was too sudden, but it was because the words appeared before his eyes at the same time as when the End Demon spoke.
<The End Demon, the First Disciple has made a proposal. Will you accept ‘One Life of the End Demon’?>
This is nonsense…
Seol-Hwi’s face had twisted up.
The text appeared. It was the moment for a choice, it appeared now.
The direction of life the End Demon suggested? No, that was not even something to consider.
What angered Seol-Hwi was the fact that even at this time the system was messing around with him.
Does it really think it can mess around?
A life and death situation—
It presented another way of the system in a desperate situation where the mission failed even if a slight change happens.
In the end, if this problem could not be solved, another option would be forced on him, and he would have to live his life according to the End Demon’s suggestion.
“Your expression is quite enraged. It is about your life.”
Life?
Seol-Hwi wondered if he heard this wrong.
“…Just what exactly does that mean?”
“This fight. It means nothing will change if you intervene. Your life will just get caught up in it and break down.”
Shhh
The End Demon got up and slowly approached the window. And he said while picking up a small potted plant placed there,
“To you, the current fight seems like the last stage to solidify the composition between the successors, right? But, I was wrong, the aspect of the war has turned out quite differently than what you intended too.”
“War…?”
“Do you know why I brought Mount Hua into this fight?”
Shhh
The End Demon asked as if this was a funny incident.
“Mount Hua and First Disciple have something to gain from each other so they are using each other?”
“What… that is a superficial reason. The other disciples seemed to have forgotten something because we only fought each other,”
He said, sneaking up this small potted plant by the window.
“If we limit the battle to the sect, we will be the only ones fighting. But what if we change the battle to include the entire nation?”
“…What is this?”
“It is as I said. When the sect’s fight is changed to the Central Plains, the question comes, who is a threatening enemy for us? Are they also fighting for the top position? Or is it the Murim alliance, which is hostile to our sect? Which one do you think?”
“…”
Seol-Hwi’s face went stiff at those words. It felt like the blurry puzzle in front of his eyes was now turning clear.
The reason why they joined hands with Mount Hua, and what happened when they expand their control over the Central Plains.
“Let me supplement your understanding a bit more. Me of the sect versus the ones whose brains are just stones and don’t work, who are focusing constantly on the power struggle within the sect. Well, it is an important thing for them. However.”
The End Demon raised his voice.
“There is an unwritten rule in the sect to respect the strong. The strongest gets to decide everything. But there is one major thing. It means that there is a forbidden road which cannot be crossed.”
“Forbidden…”
“The absolutely unacceptable taboo of joining hands with any power of the Justice Faction.”
The struggle for the succession was limited to just inside the sect, gathering forces within the sect and mobilizing troops to fight against each other.
Even if it means to work with the Justice Faction, if you use them in a fight which involves the matters of the sect—
That was what was forbidden.
“Isn’t the First Disciple the one who crossed that line?”
Smile
At Seol-Hwi’s question, the End Demon had a fun look.
“You want to criticize me or is there any proof? Right, strictly speaking I did join hands with Mount Hua. But that is just using them to my advantage. And it is true. As a result, four pillars of the Nine Great Sects were destroyed. But what about you?”
“…”
“The cause that isn’t even there, if you decide you can cause damage to me. For example, if you attack from behind when we go for Wudang, victory will be certain. But you see.”
Round
The potted plant in the hand of the First Disciple rose into the air. It was a technique which uses the empty space. The pot shook in the air.
“That way you will be signing your own death.”
Crack!
It was broken into dozens of pieces and scattered, with a heap of dirt and torn parts of the plant.
“What if the warrior who went to overthrow the Wudang Sect dies at the hands of fellow sect members and not even the enemies. What will happen? To win the struggle for succession in the sect, the power struggle.”
“…!”
Seol-Hwi was shocked.
Because it was unexpected.
He just thought that he could stop the First Disciple from working with a Justice Faction sect. But, as it turned out, this was not such a simple problem.
If you helped the Justice Faction, and it also helped them, and that did sound fine.
But if they did not stop there and fight against the End Demon, they will raise the topic of stepping into the taboo of attacking the members of the End Demon by joining forces with a Justice Faction.
“Do you get it now? The Murim Alliance, the Wudang Sect are of the Nine Great Sects and clear enemies to our sect. Of course, Mount Hua too. But I used them to make progress but you are helping Wudang to take me down. If this gets out, the eyes of the high people will glare at you.”
“…”
The face of Seol-Hwi turned pale.
Thoughts on this… it was not that he did not have them. So even when he went to Kangho this time, he kept things as secretive as he could so the information would not leak out too. But from the way the End Demon was acting here and the contents of the words he said, he already have evidence of their movements.
No, maybe that was not all.
“…Who is it? The one who designed this strategy from the start, End Demon?”
“Hmm? Well.”
Tuk
The End Demon smiled and brushed the dust off his hands.
Now that he had the upper hand, he finally opened the door.
“I have many thoughts but I need to make a decision quickly. The time till tomorrow, you decide where to use it. If you want to touch the Justice Faction, this side is also ready.”
Tak. Shhh.
The End Demon disappeared like an illusion, showing a relaxed attitude until the end.
“…”
With a blank face, Seol-Hwi continued to stare at the spot the First Disciple disappeared from for a while.
<The encounter with the First Disciple, the End Demon has caused another twist.> <Did not agree with the proposal of the End Demon, so the result cannot be calculated yet.> <Due to the End Demon, the time to meet Goo Jong-myung has been restricted. The time given is 2 days — 48 hours — 172,800 seconds.>
172,800…
172,799…
172,798…
The text of the system had changed. Seol-Hwi had these complex words which made fear rise up.
After the original plan was twisted, it was difficult to make any more judgments.
The First Disciple, the End Demon—
He was a far more dangerous person than Seol-Hwi thought.
He isn’t just a strong tyrant or ruler, but one who knows to see the greatness in things. He drew this perfect plan in advance and then induced us into acting how he…
Such a grand plan was not something anyone could do with a good advisor alone. It had to be a plan drawn from the First Disciple himself. In a way, it was a much more calculated and clever plan than those of the Demon Lord.
Such a person, someone who is sly and smart, had disguised himself as just a strong person who could not hold his emotions back…
Like a hawk hiding its claws.
Was this the system intervention then? Or just the ability of the First Disciple?
Either way, the situation was now a mess. The opponent had justification to attack them for joining hands with Wudang.
No, it is too early to give up now. Because there is just one chance left.
Seol-Hwi’s gaze turned to Mount Hua’s Goo Jong-myung.
The one who will lead Mount Hua to overthrow the Wudang sect. He had been collaborating with the First Disciple for a long time and was probably using his skills directly for better results.
“By tomorrow. We need to resolve the situation.”
Naturally Seol-Hwi had no intention of accepting the proposal of the End Demon. But still, he could not find a way to get over this situation.
“What if I kill the End Demon?”
It is possible.
At least with Profound Demon he could subdue the man. But what after?
The simulation would get triggered and then things would change. Would the Wudang Sect not be attacked when this happened?
No, on the contrary, Mount Hua would like it. Since the debtor is dead, they will take over the fights in a bold manner.
“Ah, getting help from the AI would be nice at such times…”
Since he left on his own accord, he could not be summoned and when he was in dilemma.
“What are you so worried about?”
Flinch
He must have fallen asleep in his chair. When he opened his eyes, he saw two familiar old people entering the residence.
“I heard the First Disciple came to visit?”
It was Cho Ah-ran and Ack Bi, who stood there.
“Yes. I came back an hour ago.”
“What? You don’t want to speak?”
Cho Ah-ran’s expression had hardened. She had expected that the First Disciple would use his cards.
“He wouldn’t have come to fight. After all, he is no match for you.”
Cho Ah-ran glared fiercely at the words of Ack Bi.
Seol-Hwi quickly joined the conversation,
“Yes. He wasn’t here to fight. It was to make a proposal.”
“Proposal? What kind?”
When Cho Ah-ran looked interested. Seol-Hwi thought for a moment. He wondered if it was right to bring despair by saying that, but he opened his mouth just in case.
Are they not also hard workers with time and experience on their side?
“So the thing is…”
But he did not speak about it.
If he harmed someone, then the simulation would come, and now he could only meet Goo Jong-myung.
He did not bother to suggest that he was asked to come under the First Disciple’s wing.
After hearing the explanation of Seol-Hwi, Cho Ah-ran asked,
“So if we hit back, we will be helping the justice faction?”
“Yes.”
“This man. His plan wasn’t done in a day or two,”
Cho Ah-ran exclaimed.
Somehow in the middle of the fight for the successor, they were turned into traitors. If they left them alone, everything would be over.
If the Wudang Sect collapsed and only Shaolin remained, it was impossible to stop them even if they wanted to.
“Usually, when it is like this, it is basic to respond with a straight attack.”
“…?”
Seol-Hwi looked away.
Cho Ah-ran was organizing her thoughts.
“We said we would help the Justice Faction if the First Disciple moved. Then what if Wudang hits Mount Hua?”
The eyes of Cho Ah-ran turned to Seol-Hwi.
Then the movement of the End Demon will change. Rather, the cause of helping would rise.
Of course, one can get out of the crisis with a lie, but it was not a situation to handle overnight.
Because the ones who determine the succession were watching this.
“There is no justification for the Wudang Sect to move. As one might know, the sect leader is a person who neglected the work in the Central Plains…”
Seol-Hwi had such thoughts—
To meet the Wudang sect leader and persuade him to attack the enemy first.
But the problem was that no matter what happened the Wudang Sect would never step out on their own. And it was obvious they would rather die on their mountain.
“Don’t stay mum and say something.”
When Seol-Hwi was still worried, Cho Ah-ran looked at Ack Bi and reprimanded him.
Even after coming in, he was saying useless things.
“The view is nice here.”
“Ah? Is that so?”
It was only then that he felt his attention fall and Ack Bi scratched the head.
Then slowly crossing the arms he nodded a couple times and said,
“It is obvious that the First Disciple has the will to fight and Wudang will not step ahead. Then Mount Hua will be able to step ahead.”
“…What?”
Cho Ah-ran frowned.
They were asking for his opinion and he was speaking nonsense. But Ack Bi continued,
“Mount Hua will act for their own benefit, but they are part of the Justice Faction. They surely are cooperating with the Demonic Sect but their motive is for their own gain right?”
“Right.”
When Seol-Hwi agreed, Ack Bi smiled.
“Then we need to give them something to be satisfied with, something better for example…”
“…”
“It is the Purple Cloud Divine Arts restored to their original form.”
“…!”
Seol-Hwi’s eyes widened at it. A way had opened up in a situation they thought was impossible to counter.
Of course, he was not fully confident, but with the memorization and understanding of the system—and if it becomes possible to interpret the martial arts due to reaching the realm of Profound Demon.
Maybe, they would want to do it?
Well, this fight.
It was feared that a situation would come when just the Demonic Sect could fight each other without Mount Hua.
