The World of Sound - Chapter 151
Only Krnovel
151
After Cheonhwa returned to his quarters, the Black Alliance was turned upside down.
Not right away. Perhaps because the training ground was located in such a remote location, it was quiet even after returning to the lodging, but after about this amount of time had passed, the commotion began.
Someone must have found the fallen ghost and the Mysterious Sword.
That’s why I was worried that they might come to my room and bother me.
Even though I came as a guest, if I attacked a member of the Black Alliance from within the Black Alliance, things could get serious.
Even so, I thought it wouldn’t be a big problem since they were the ones who made the first move, but if they were to find fault with me, I planned to respond in my own way.
But that didn’t happen.
There was a huge uproar, but it was surprisingly quiet.
They were top-notch players who could be called the elements of the Black Alliance, so they were barely able to regain consciousness through meticulous nursing and treatment, but both Hwan-sa and Myeol-hon-do kept their mouths shut.
Whether or not you know who Cheonhwa is, whether or not you let your guard down, the fact that such a young warrior was defeated by a single move is not something you can just casually say.
It seemed that he decided to keep his mouth shut even though he didn’t say anything because it would hurt his own reputation and the reputation of his sect.
Since there was no follow-up attack that destroyed their martial arts skills or caused serious damage to their bodies after they were knocked down, I knew that Cheonhwa didn’t intentionally infiltrate them to kill them.
Then, there was an expectation that if they kept their mouths shut, he might keep his mouth shut too.
That’s why the two of them who had caused a commotion were considered to be nothing more than a fight between two opposing factions, and it was settled for now.
And just like their wishes, Cheonhwa also stayed in seclusion after returning to her quarters, so no rumors were spread.
If it were the original Cheonhwa, he would have taken advantage of its weaknesses and tore it apart, but his mood was not good enough to consider such things right now.
‘what?’
What disturbed Cheonhwa’s mind was none other than memory.
Old memories forcibly brought up by the illusionist.
It had already happened more than a dozen years ago, and for some reason, the fearful, sad, and sorrowful past that even he himself had completely forgotten remained in his mind like an afterimage and was not easily forgotten.
‘Why did I forget this? Could it be that Master did something?’
These were memories that made me wonder why I had forgotten them.
If that memory wasn’t fabricated, then there’s no way I could forget it, but I forgot it, so much so that I even thought that maybe my master had intervened and erased or banned my memory.
‘That can’t be true.’
But that couldn’t be the case.
Even though my master is eccentric and has many strange aspects, he is not the kind of person who would do such a thing.
If you roll yourself over and over again, saying that you will never have time to recall your memories, or if you roll yourself over again, saying that you need strength for revenge or whatever, then what would it be like?
I would rather believe that it was like that, and that it was so hard that he forcibly erased his memories.
But my worries deepened because I knew that it was also impossible.
‘I think I forgot something important… … .’
If it had gone that far, I would have just brushed it off as something strange.
It would have been enough to dismiss it as a past that was so difficult and painful that I didn’t want to remember it.
But what kept me from being able to shake it off was that I had a strange feeling that there was something more to remember.
I couldn’t say exactly what it was, but I kept feeling like I had forgotten something important, so the feeling of unease didn’t go away easily.
“Great Hero. The leader has returned.”
I thought about it for a long time, but I couldn’t come up with an answer.
Although Cheonhwa was able to remember even the most trivial of memories, perhaps because they were so old and buried in the subconscious, he was unable to recall anything beyond what he had seen in dreamlike fantasies.
Then, the Black Lord called him.
As soon as he returned, he heard about the situation in Maeng and gladly accepted to meet Cheonhwa.
In fact, I thought that since Cheonhwa was here to argue and receive compensation, he might be reluctant to meet her.
I thought I could somehow postpone the meeting and resist, but I thought the elixirs I could secure through the Black Panthers were more valuable, so I decided to meet him immediately after returning.
‘Did you say it was the Black Emperor of Gyeongcheon?’
So Cheonhwa put his thoughts aside for a moment and focused on the situation in front of him.
The Black Emperor of Gyeongcheon, who took the position of the Black Lord, was one of the three emperors, the first of the three emperors and five kings.
Along with Mudang’s Taegeuk Sword and Hwasan’s Plum Blossom Sword, he was considered one of the most powerful martial arts in the current martial arts world.
At least a fully mature flower.
There were also masters of the Hwagyeong among the other five kings, but they were not combined into the Eight Kings, but were classified separately and given nicknames because they had already ascended to the Hwagyeong and reached a mature level.
However, when competing against a master of the same level, he may be overwhelming, but he cannot guarantee victory due to a momentary mistake, carelessness, compatibility, or a last-second problem, so he was only called the Three Kings and Five Kings.
That’s why even Cheonhwa couldn’t let his guard down when dealing with him.
It is not a level that can be dealt with while thinking of something else like those super-epic eight-pun guys who call themselves the five kings.
Of course, it may not be as great as the Shaolin monks, but it was still a sufficient threat to Cheonhwa.
“egg plant.”
But there was nothing to be afraid of, just caution.
You can make things difficult for others, but you can never defeat yourself.
Not just the Black Emperor of Gyeongcheon, but anyone else.
Cheonhwa immediately prepared and headed to the battlefield, and soon he was able to come face to face with the ruler of Nammurim, Gyeongcheon Black Emperor.
“Meet the leader!”
The guides all bowed their heads and knelt down.
It seemed like Cheonhwa should also be polite in this situation, but Cheonhwa just remained confident.
He was only slightly wary, and he just raised his head and observed him blankly, with the same posture as when he was walking.
‘He’s not that kind of guy.’
I thought he might be strutting around in a fluttering robe as the leader, but he was dressed in a neat black uniform, ready to come out at any time.
That’ll pass for now.
Although it was well-kept so as not to reveal its history, it was clear that it felt like a sharp prayer facing a well-honed sword.
This guy is a natural born bad boy.
So, it must have reached a level where it can be called a flower mirror.
This is because Hwagyeong is not a state that can be achieved simply by learning the martial arts of ascension and eating elixirs like food.
“Are you a demon? I think the rumors are wrong. You should be called the Demon King, the Demon Emperor.”
As the sky looked after him, he also looked after the sky.
As if to prove that he was different from those foolish guys, he also showed surprise as he vaguely guessed at the realm of Cheonhwa, even though he didn’t reveal himself in particular.
“Yes. I heard you came here because you had business.”
“Then I guess I know what your business is.”
Two gazes meet and become entangled.
It was a standoff where neither side backed down, but strangely enough, the atmosphere was not hostile.
Because we acknowledged each other to some extent.
As he was there to question her, Cheonhwa would normally have immediately started yelling and threatening her, but she spoke calmly as if she was waiting to see his reaction.
“Pay compensation, right? I heard you’re going to charge a separate price for targeting the Black Panthers. Is that right?”
“Roughly.”
And it was the same for the other person too.
As if it was still in the exploration stage, he just quietly looked at Cheonhwa and confirmed what he knew.
“I’m sorry. As the leader of my Black Alliance, I apologize.”
“My lord!!”
But the next moment, surprisingly, the Black Lord lowered his head.
He only bowed his head slightly in a polite manner, but the sight startled the surrounding subordinates enough to make them jump up.
That’s the kind of position the Black Sword Lord is in.
Since it was a place where I couldn’t bow down to anyone in the world, I looked for the leader with a tone of voice that was a mixture of surprise, bewilderment, and anger.
“It’s noisy. What’s wrong with admitting a mistake?”
But the leader and the one with the grand nickname of Kyungcheon Black Emperor didn’t even blink an eye.
Instead, he shouted at his subordinates and made them shut their mouths.
“Okay, that’s fine. I didn’t come here to say hello.”
“Thank you for accepting my apology. Then let’s discuss compensation.”
The look wasn’t bad
Is it because he’s a Sapha? No, not all Saphas are like that, but he may be treating me like this because he knows his own incompetence to some extent, but in any case, he was much better than those who were so stubborn and tried to show off their authority, so I could feel a slight favor towards him.
I also liked the refreshing way it admitted the issue without any fuss and got straight to the point.
“But before that.”
That must have been it, but Cheonhwa’s eyebrows twitched slightly at the words of the Black Sword Master who added one more thing.
“I can’t help but say this. Would you like to join us?”
“Are you telling me to join the Black Alliance?”
“That’s right. I know you don’t like being affiliated with any organization, but please understand. If I don’t invite a master as strong as you, I will be neglecting my duties as the leader. If you wish, I will guarantee you the autonomy to not listen to anyone’s orders as the leader of my clan.”
But the Black Lord let out some uncomfortable sounds quite playfully.
It is true that it sounds harsh because I highly acknowledge the inaction of Cheonhwa and make a suggestion without being forceful.
But in the end, it’s just a play on words.
Because the moment you belong, you become entangled in some way.
Also, naturally, going under someone else was not Cheonhwa’s taste.
“Okay. I’ll think about it if you give me the position of leader.”
So I smiled and politely declined, but the answer I got was unexpected.
“The position of leader. Hmm, that’s a bit difficult. Although I am a Sapa who follows the principle of the strong, the position of leader is not given to those who are strong. Instead, I think I can do this. I will step down from the position of leader.”
“My lord!!!”
Although he cannot directly hand over the position of leader to Cheonhwa, he will step down from his position and make room for him.
Of course, his subordinates were screaming at the top of their lungs, but the Black Lord paid no attention and continued to speak.
“Then, if you challenge for the position of leader, I will support you. What do you think? The overlord or the four kings may have to step forward, but in my opinion, if you set your mind to it, there won’t be a problem.”
He even presented a concrete plan for Cheonhwa to become the leader of the Black Swordsman.
If he supports him after he steps down from the position of leader, the power issues will be resolved, and two of the other three kings and four ghosts, the Overlord and the Four Kings, can challenge for the position of leader together, but Cheonhwa will be able to win.
It meant that he held the Heavenly Flower’s Wuwei in such high esteem, higher than the Overlord or the Four Kings, but his subordinates were busy checking the mood in panic, perhaps because they thought about the reactions of the Overlord and the Four Kings who would cause chaos if the news spread.
“Hmm, the Black Lord… … .”
Meanwhile, Cheonhwa looked troubled.
I didn’t know if he would really go that far to recruit me, but there were certainly many things I could do and gain if I became the Black Lord.
“I thought about it, but it’s still annoying. Okay, let’s discuss compensation!”
But it’s still annoying.
Most of the tasks can be passed on to the subordinates, but in the end, there are things that only the leader can and must do.
There are many things to be gained by attaining that position, but most of those things are things that can be done even now.
So he kicked the proposal away, and the Black Lord laughed at the sight, while the others felt a strange anger.
It felt like he was insulting the entire Black Alliance by simply kicking away the position of Black Alliance Leader just because he found it annoying, even though he had no intention of giving it up.
“Then there’s nothing I can do. Okay. Do you have any thoughts on compensation?”
“proposal!”
But the people being discussed didn’t care about their reactions at all.
They continued their conversation between themselves as if it didn’t matter to them what they were thinking or doing.
“It’s really difficult. Since we said that compensation was paid at the time, how much more should we pay in compensation?”
The Black Lord stroked his chin at Cheonhwa’s short request, thought for a moment, and then gave an answer.
“How about if we pay you the same amount as we paid you back then? And if you give us priority in selecting all the wagons to be purchased in the future, we will pay you twice the market price. If you supply them exclusively, we will pay you three times the price. Also, of course, we will promise non-aggression in the future, and treat the Cheonummun on an equal footing with our Heukdo Alliance.”
It was a truly groundbreaking condition.
The amount they paid as compensation is enormous, and if it is two or three times the market price, it is no exaggeration to say that it is an astronomical amount.
In addition, the declaration of non-aggression was a given, but treating Cheonummun on an equal footing with the Black Sword Alliance was also a proposal that only he could make.
Because he wants to see Cheonhwa as an equal to himself, the leader of the Black Empire.
Maybe they were thinking of an alliance rather than an incorporation, but even so, it was a break from the norm.
Although he was accepted as a demon and a member of the Four Guardian Spirits, no one thought that his martial arts skills were truly comparable to those of the Three Kings and Five Guardian Spirits, as they only highly regarded his special nature.
“Hmm. Not really. If you mess with what’s mine, you’re messing with me, and that kind of small change won’t do. And I don’t plan on changing the rules. If you want to secure the cart first, bring the items or information I wrote down. Well, if you do that again, I won’t give you any leniency, so just know that I’m not going to invade you, and you don’t have to think about Cheon Eum Sect’s status. As long as I’m here, it’s already the best sect in the world.”
But Cheonhwa went one step further.
Beyond refusing to pay a huge amount of compensation, he also nitpicked, saying everything else was wrong.
From his perspective, these were all very obvious stories, but they were absurd enough for others to accept.
“Haha! I made a slip of the tongue. Okay. Then let’s do this. Tell me what you want. I’ll give you anything I can. You can open the Black Clan’s treasure vault and take something, and if there’s any martial arts that you need or find useful, I’ll reveal as much as I can. I can give you anything from our Black Clan. Or, if you have a special favor to ask of me, that’s fine too. I’ll help you however I can.”
“Oh, even martial arts? Then does that mean the martial arts you learned are also included?”
“Why, are you jealous? Okay. Let’s do that.”
“?!”
But this time, the Black Sword Lord’s reaction was different.
Admitting his own slip of the tongue meant that he accepted Cheonhwa’s words.
That alone was enough to make his men dizzy, but the new condition he uttered next was even more mind-boggling.
Let’s say it’s a treasure vault. Opening the treasure vault was a problem, but it was something that could easily be done with the authority of the leader.
But you’re even revealing your martial arts skills? And your own true martial arts skills at that?
It was nonsense. It would have shocked anyone, and it was something that should never have happened.
“No, I was just asking. No need.”
But Cheonhwa’s answer was even more confusing.
It’s none other than the Black Heavenly Emperor. He’s one of the three emperors, and an absolute powerhouse who has reached the realm of a mature flower master. Do you think it’s unnecessary to teach him the martial arts?
Is this even possible without going crazy?
While everyone was still unable to come to their senses, Cheonhwa continued speaking.
“Hmm. Then let’s just leave it for now. I’ll use it when I need it.”
For now, we will save our demands.
I already knew that there were quite a few useful items in the Black Alliance’s treasure vault, but it wasn’t enough to really interest me.
I decided to definitely pay off the debt first, since I thought I could use it later if I saved it.
“Do as you wish. While we’re on the subject, let me make one more suggestion.”
“… … ?”
“Would you like to make a bet with me?”
“What’s the bet?”
“If you win the duel, I will grant your request not once, but twice. However, if you lose, I will join the Black Alliance. I will also fulfill all the promises I mentioned earlier.”
“Falcon, falcon, falcon, my lord!!!!!”
Then, the Black Lord went even further.
If you win the duel, the compensation will be doubled.
What was more surprising than Cheonhwa at those words were his subordinates.
I thought he wasn’t going to give it to me at all since it was conditional on Bimu’s victory, but when he immediately mentioned that he would fulfill his previous promise, stepping down from the position of leader and helping Cheonhwa obtain it, the leader went wild and yelled at him to leave.
Kuung!!
However, the uproar was soon suppressed by the Black Lord.
Because the moment he stomped his feet hard and released a wave of energy, everyone trembled and fell silent.
“You said it was noisy. Aren’t you sharing your story?”
Discontent persisted, but no one stepped forward again, succumbing to the overwhelming force.
On the one hand, there was also the reason why he thought that Cheonhwa would not accept the offer.
“Bimura, that sounds fun.”
However, Cheonhwa’s response that followed shattered everyone’s expectations.
Rather than being scared, he accepted the offer with a relaxed attitude as if he found it interesting.
“Then shall we start right away?”
He expressed his intention to continue the non-violent campaign at any time, as if he were confident.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
