Read Novel Full Chapter 1190: The Path We Will Continue To Walk (5)
Chapter 1190: The Path We Will Continue To Walk (5)
Was it right? Or was it wrong?
Chung Myung wasn’t qualified to decide—he was too close to it. He had opposed Chung Mun fiercely, yet he was still an accomplice who had failed to stop what Mount Hua had done in that era. That alone disqualified him from passing judgment.
He could sigh and complain, he could be angry at those who belittled that spirit, but in front of those who accepted the suffering brought by that choice with their lives, he could not say his predecessors were right.
And yet now, those who had ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) inherited that will were telling him the predecessors had not been wrong. Chung Myung had never once forced that belief on anyone, but they declared it nonetheless.
If Chung Mun and the other sahyung sajaes truly watched this scene from the heavenly realm, Baek Cheon’s words would comfort them more than Mount Hua’s rising prestige or Chung Myung’s lone deeds across the Central Plains. They would know the message they’d risked their lives to convey had been received. Their deaths would not be in vain.
Baek Cheon smiled faintly as he looked at Beop Jeong.
“Therefore, we intend to walk our own path, Abbott.”
“......”
“Of course, to your eyes we may seem fools—and perhaps fools we are. But... doesn’t the world need fools like us as well?”
He finished speaking and bowed deeply toward Beop Jeong.
“Please understand that we cannot accept the Abbott’s proposal.”
“.........Amitabha.”
Beop Jeong closed his eyes and intoned the prayer. After a silence that felt longer than it should, he opened his eyes and looked around at the other sect leaders.
“Do the others of the Heavenly Friends Alliance share the same intention?”
“They do.”
Tang Gunak answered first, nodding solemnly.
“It may sound youthful, but I believe there is no mistake in the Acting Sect leader of Mount Hua’s words.”
“......”
“And perhaps it is not seasoned elders but decisions like theirs that change the world—decisions that those who conform call foolish and rash.”
A small smile deepened at the corner of Tang Gunak’s mouth.
“I am not wise enough to judge right or wrong at a glance, but I will not regret following that choice, even if we face the consequences.”
Namgung Do-Wei nodded and spoke in turn.
“Abbott.”
“...Speak, young lord.”
“I too do not claim my father’s choice was absolutely right. It was hasty.”
Beop Jeong’s expression remained grave; Namgung Do-Wei’s was calm.
“But even so, I will not deny the spirit my father held. The moment we abandon that spirit, would the Namgung not lose everything?”
“......”
“Therefore the Namgung Family also intends to join Mount Hua in that will. To reclaim the title of the foremost family in the heavens, Namgung must not lose its spirit.”
A faint smile touched Beop Jeong’s lips—not because he endorsed them, but because the words reminded him how old he had become.
He still found it hard to sympathize. It seemed rash. The world is not something you break through with sheer will alone. But...
‘I must have been the same.’
Beop Jeong realized his younger self must not have been much different. He had ultimately accepted the world and diminished himself. These men, however, declared they would walk another path.
Would he call them wrong?
“I don’t think it’s necessary to hear what the others have to say.”
Their gazes had already revealed their decision.
“As for me...”
Beop Jeong paused and looked at Hae Yeon. Hae Yeon met his gaze directly, and the corner of Beop Jeong’s mouth twitched upward.
“As one Buddhist disciple, I respect your choice. What words could possibly belittle such high spirit?”
Hae Yeon’s eyes widened slightly, but Beop Jeong soon shook his head.
“However, not merely as one Buddhist but as the Abbott of Shaolin, it is hard for me to respect your choice. If that spirit leads to a wrong outcome, your deaths alone would not bear its consequences.”
“Abbot...”
Beop Jeong wore a bitter expression, uncharacteristic of him.
“Therefore... Shaolin, and the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Houses aligned with Shaolin, will from now on provide no support to the Heavenly Friends Alliance, and we will clearly oppose any actions the Heavenly Friends Alliance undertakes independently.”
Baek Cheon’s face stiffened.
Those words amounted to the Nine Great Sects officially declaring they and the Heavenly Friends Alliance were distinct.
They had been prepared, but hearing it from Beop Jeong chilled them. They knew better than anyone the depth of history and legitimacy carried by those four characters: the Nine Great Sects.
“Also, the Nine Great Sects will not intervene in disputes between the Heavenly Friends Alliance and sects.”
“Abbot!”
Tang Gunak reacted sharply. Others might let it pass, but Tang Gunak understood what those words meant. Even if the Four Sects Alliance attacked the Heavenly Friends Alliance, the Nine Great Sects would not aid them.
There was only one meaning to this declaration: complete division.
Until now, Shaolin had recognized the Heavenly Friends Alliance as part of the Justice faction and had treated it as an entity to embrace. So, though clashes occurred, there was no overt hostility. But Beop Jeong, here and now, declared he would no longer even regard the Heavenly Friends Alliance as a potential ally.
Had the Nine Great Sects led by Shaolin ever declared hostility against a faction within the same Justice camp? Perhaps this even denied the Heavenly Friends Alliance’s place in the Justice faction. Shaolin and the Nine Great Sects were supposed to protect all the righteous sects of the land. Conversely, by refusing protection, didn’t they imply those not under their aegis were not of the Justice faction? The price of simply declaring they would walk a different path was enormous.
Beop Jeong’s gaze shifted from Tang Gunak to Baek Cheon. Despite the grand declaration, Baek Cheon had not wavered; he met Beop Jeong’s look calmly.
‘Admirable.’
Beop Jeong had not made this declaration out of ill will.
He now understood why Mount Hua and the Heavenly Friends Alliance chose that path. But Beop Jeong, too, had his own road to walk. He had come too far to stake all his fate on a single word—spirit. He had to do his best from his position, to rally even one more force and oppose those who would sweep over the world. Even if that meant labeling the Heavenly Friends Alliance as misguided.
“I hope you will understand.”
Beop Jeong’s voice was calm, as if the cold words were not entirely his.
Baek Cheon let out a low sigh.
“Honestly, it’s difficult to understand, but...” Then he straightened, squared his shoulders, and faced Beop Jeong.
“If that is how the Abbott maintains his great cause, then we have no right to criticize you.”
Beop Jeong smiled faintly.
The Heavenly Friends Alliance had solidified its line, and the Nine Great Sects had justification to blunt their momentum.
It wasn’t the outcome he wanted, but it wasn’t without gain. Had he not clarified Shaolin’s position, he would still have been dragged along by them.
“That will do.”
The Abbott rose as if the long conversation had come to an end. Those seated rose as well and watched him.
“Amitabha.”
Beop Jeong led the chant and intoned the prayer.
“We may part without pleasant faces, but having clarified our positions, it cannot be said to have been meaningless.”
“We think likewise.”
Beop Jeong’s gaze shifted from Baek Cheon to Chung Myung. He looked at Chung Myung, whose expression was hard to read, then to Hae Yeon, who had his eyes closed.
“The reason lofty ideals ultimately crumble is because the path to realize them is unbearably painful.”
Those words echoed clearly in everyone’s ears.
“Before being the Abbott of Shaolin, as a fellow murim warrior, I pay my respects to you for making such difficult decisions. May your path not be too arduous.”
As Beop Jeong bowed slowly, everyone bowed in return.
“Then.”
Beop Jeong turned and left without hesitation.
Jong Ri-Hyung, looking regretful, stared after him for a moment before following. The sect leaders stood and left the room to see him off.
“No need to escort me.”
“Still, there’s such a thing as courtesy...”
“That would put my mind at ease.”
“If that’s so...”
Beop Jeong smiled faintly and looked at Hyun Jong.
“Alliance Leader.”
“Yes, Abbott.”
“You have excellent disciples.”
“...They are more than I deserve.”
Beop Jeong smiled and said, “I hope we can meet next time with smiles.”
“I hope so too.”
“Be well.”
As Beop Jeong walked toward the main gate of the manor, everyone watched his back. At that moment, Hae Yeon, who had held back until the end, ran forward.
Sensing his approach, Beop Jeong glanced back at Hae Yeon.
Hae Yeon ran up but hesitated, unsure what to say, so Beop Jeong spoke first.
“Experience it yourself. You have only seen their spirit so far—only what they accomplish. Now that you know the cost of that spirit, you too must share the burden of that responsibility.”
“...Yes, Abbott.”
“Then you will find your own feelings. It will be a path you cannot take within Shaolin.”
That was all he said.
Without words of farewell, praise, or resentment, Beop Jeong left the manor without looking back.
Tang Gunak watched his confident stride and sighed.
“An Abbot is an Abbot indeed.”
“......Yes.”
Baek Cheon nodded calmly.
“Such a person, no doubt, became the Abbot of Shaolin.”
Tang Gunak smiled.
“Do not worry too much.”
“Yes?”
“The position of Acting Sect leader of Mount Hua is not one just anyone can hold.”
The same smile appeared on Baek Cheon’s lips.
“It should be so.”
Baek Cheon’s gaze left Beop Jeong’s receding figure and turned to the lofty sky. A cloudless expanse stretched out.
“Surely.”
The endlessly vast blue simply watched over them.