Read Novel Full Chapter 1163: What Should We Do. (3)
Chapter 1163: What Should We Do. (3)
“Nine... Great Sects... One Union...”
“...Return?”
A groan-like voice escaped from the mouths of Mount Hua disciples.
Their eyes constantly watched the abbot, as if to confirm whether what they just heard was true. The shock was that great.
But the shock they received was nothing compared to what Hyun Jong and the elders felt.
Kkuuuuk.
Hyun Sang’s hand gripping his thigh tightened as if it would pierce the flesh at any moment. But Hyun Sang could not even feel the pain.
Return to the Nine Great Sects. Who could have imagined such words would come from the abbot?
The disciples do not know. The Baek disciples and Chung disciples here cannot even imagine what this word means to the Hyun disciples.
They watched with their own eyes. They remembered clearly the deaths of Mount Hua’s predecessors who were expelled from the Nine Great Sects, who could not bear their resentment until the ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ moment they closed their eyes, hoping that someday in the distant future, Mount Hua’s name would rise again in the Nine Great Sects.
Their master also repeatedly urged them before leaving. He pleaded until the end to restore Mount Hua to the rock and regain its glorious past, weeping and begging, even though he knew it was a dream that could never be fulfilled.
But now, someone with the power to achieve that has spoken of returning.
Of course, the abbot had mentioned the same words in the past. But back then, ‘Mount Hua’s return to the Nine Great Sects’ was nothing more than a sweet bait and an empty promise to manipulate Mount Hua at will.
But now Mount Hua is no longer a place the abbot can manipulate at will, nor a place where empty promises can be thrown and easily appeased. Mount Hua is now a sect that can hold the abbot accountable for its words.
The fact that the abbot, who cannot be unaware of this, brought up these words means this proposal is sincere.
“Th-those words...”
Hyun Jong, who was about to ask if it was sincere, suddenly closed his mouth. Whatever he says now would feel awkward. He is both the sect leader of Mount Hua and the Alliance leader of the Heavenly Friends Alliance.
The condition for disbanding the Heavenly Friends Alliance must not be a fruit that returns to Mount Hua.
“That is an excessive statement.”
At that moment, Tang Gunak spoke.
“Mount Hua is the core of the Heavenly Friends Alliance. No matter how great the Nine Great Sects are, nothing is greater than the headship of the Heavenly Friends Alliance.”
“Hmm. One could think that way.”
The abbot also readily acknowledged that fact.
“And what do you say about the remaining sects if the Heavenly Friends Alliance is disbanded?”
“Would that be a problem?”
“...Yes?”
The abbot smiled faintly.
“The awkwardness is that the Tang family belongs to the Heavenly Friends Alliance. Is it really a problem for the Tang family to return to the Five Great Families where it originally belonged? The Tang family has been there for hundreds of years.”
“...”
“The same goes for Namgung. What is so strange about the Namgung Family using the name of the Five Great Families again?”
“We have no such intention.”
Namgung Do-Wei answered coldly, and the abbot shook his head.
“Young lord, I have nothing to say to you.”
“...”
“But if young lord truly cares for the family, you must let go of your stubbornness a little.”
“I believe that being with the Heavenly Friends Alliance is for the good of the family.”
“That may be true now. But what about a hundred years from now?”
“Of course...”
“Do you think it will benefit the family to belong to the Heavenly Friends Alliance after the leader is gone, the Mount Hua’s Sword Saint is gone, and everyone here has returned to dust?”
“...”
“It is not so. No. I am not unaware of the lofty ideals and noble aspirations of my Heavenly Friends Alliance. But that...”
The abbot declared calmly.
“It was not created by the Heavenly Friends Alliance, but by a few people here. Am I wrong?”
Namgung Do-Wei’s face twisted.
“It is a matter of carrying on that will.”
“It is not easy to carry on the will of predecessors in a single sect, so do you really think it is possible for the Heavenly Friends Alliance, a coalition of many sects, to carry on that will across generations?”
“...”
“Young lord, you are a fine person. That may be so. But young lord, there is no guarantee that the next generation of young lord will be like you. And the generation after that even less so.”
The abbot shook his head.
“The Heavenly Friends Alliance will not last long.”
“No, but...”
“It is not because the Heavenly Friends Alliance is lacking, but because it is too much. A person’s capacity has limits from the start. Can they truly bear the broad will of the Heavenly Friends Alliance?”
No one could easily answer that.
“I know because I have experienced it. I was not someone who thought my capacity was small, but I did not understand the will of the Heavenly Friends Alliance. Then I ask, what happens if someone like me appears among the descendants of the Heavenly Friends Alliance? If I appear in an era without the Mount Hua’s Sword Saint and without elder Hyun Jong, what will happen to the Heavenly Friends Alliance?”
“Uh...”
This time, no one dared to speak. The answer was obvious, but saying it aloud would be a slight against the abbot.
“Even so, is maintaining the Heavenly Friends Alliance truly for the future?”
At that moment, Baek Cheon spoke sharply and coldly.
“I do not know if I may speak, abbot, but the Heavenly Friends Alliance includes not only us but also the Palace. You did not call them here to say this...”
“We will remove the label of Palace attached to the Northern Sea Ice Palace and the Nanman Beast Palace, and recognize these two sects as Central Plains sects.”
“...”
“And I promise to support them as much as now, if not more. Then they will obtain what they have long desired. What the Heavenly Friends Alliance cannot give: to enter the center of the Central Plains proudly, not as border barbarians.”
“W-what about the Green Forest! The Green Forest is part of the Evil Sect but also in the Heavenly Friends Alliance!”
At Jo Gul’s sudden shout, the abbot smiled faintly.
“That is also a concern of mine. It is something we can discuss together. But isn’t Green Forest already a place that cannot be called Evil Sect?”
“...That is true, but...”
“If the Green Forest promises not to harm commoners anymore, there is no reason not to recognize them as part of the Justice faction. The Buddha also taught to lead evildoers to repentance, so wouldn’t that be a good thing?”
“I-if that is so...”
Jo Gul scratched his head and stepped back.
If Im So-Byeong had heard this, he might have rolled his eyes and sworn loyalty to the abbot. No matter how much Mount Hua favors Green Forest, it could never have the impact of Shaolin’s single recognition.
“Then isn’t that enough?”
At that moment, Chung Myung, who had been quietly listening, spoke.
“I think I already gave an answer to that before. We have no reason to return to the Nine Great Sects, which is nothing but a facade...”
“Is it enough if it’s not just a facade?”
“Huh?”
The abbot looked intently at Chung Myung and smiled faintly.
“I promise to grant Mount Hua equal status with Shaolin.”
“What?”
Chung Myung inadvertently spoke informally for a moment. Even he, who thought he had the abbot’s tricks in the palm of his hand, was shocked by this statement.
What kind of place is Shaolin?
It is a place that never lowered its noble pride as the head of the Nine Great Sects, even when Mount Hua alone was fighting the Demonic Cult in the past war.
But now, compared to Mount Hua at that time, which was still far from enough, they say they will grant a status that even then was not obtained.
“What nonsense...”
“I will declare to the world in the name of the Shaolin Abbot that Mount Hua and Shaolin will have equal status and cooperate with each other.”
“...”
Chung Myung’s mouth dropped open.
“Um... Abbot. I... I’m just asking in case.”
“What is it?”
“Have you been wetting your pants lately, or forgetting where you are... Gyaek!”
Chung Myung collapsed forward on the spot. Hyun Young quietly withdrew the foot that kicked Chung Myung’s back of the head.
“Sorry, Abbot. This guy’s mind wanders away from time to time...”
“And the elder is?”
“My name is Hyun Young.”
“...I will remember that.”
The abbot blinked, as if surprised that among Mount Hua’s elders, there was someone who could stomp on Chung Myung.
“Amitabha.”
The abbot, as if calming his slightly startled heart, looked straight at Hyun Jong.
“Alliance Leader.”
“...Yes, Abbot.”
“Of course, I know this alone is not enough. This is too small a price to pay for what Mount Hua currently enjoys and the path it seeks to take.”
At that moment, Chung Myung jumped up and nodded vigorously. The abbot spoke calmly.
“But even so, Alliance leader, you must accept my proposal.”
“...What do you mean by that?”
“If you are only the sect leader of Mount Hua, you may refuse my proposal. But as the leader of the Heavenly Friends Alliance, you must not refuse it.”
Seeing Hyun Jong’s hesitant expression, the abbot smiled faintly.
“The reason is simple. Because the Heavenly Friends Alliance is exactly the Heavenly Friends Alliance. Tell me, when the Nine Great Sects and the Heavenly Friends Alliance are in conflict like now, when they are divided and cooperate minimally, and when they lay everything down and become one again.”
Hyun Jong’s face hardened.
“Which of the three is easier to deal with them? And which of the three can save more people?”
“Well...”
Hyun Jong could not finish his answer, but that was an answer in itself. Even a child could answer that question on the spot.
“I believe that the Heavenly Friends Alliance has never lied about fighting for the common people. You have already proven that sincerity.”
The abbot scanned those seated here.
“So I dare to ask. Shaolin will let go first. So please, do not refuse the chance to save more people and save the world because of pride. I beg you.”
Everyone became so quiet it seemed they were holding their breath. The abbot slowly bowed his head there.
Tang Gunak, with a face hardened beyond measure, bit his lip tightly.
‘This is... a dead end.’
The justification the Heavenly Friends Alliance had upheld and the values it tried to protect were consensus. It was everything to the Heavenly Friends Alliance.
But now that consensus had become a sharp dagger aimed at their necks.
‘The abbot...’
Tang Gunak, suddenly feeling intense fear toward the abbot, unconsciously grabbed his own thigh tightly.
A pressure came over him as if someone was slowly, very slowly tightening a large rope around his neck.