The World of Sound - Chapter 83



Only Krnovel

The devil’s cult.

Everyone was shocked and dumbfounded at the thought that they, who had massacred countless people and trampled about half of the Central Plains, could have reappeared after disappearing without a trace after the Battle of Jeongma.

Some people may have expected it to some extent, but even they were probably skeptical.

Because the Demonic Cult hasn’t even shown its face in the Central Plains for the past hundred years.

Even though the Shaolin abbot had called it suspicious, the mere mention of his name would have had enormous repercussions.

I don’t think he would have taken that heavy name lightly.

So, a cold silence descended upon the room.

Even the Shaolin abbot who brought up the story had a complicated expression on his face and was having difficulty continuing his words, when a trained monk jumped up onto the stage.

In the hands of the monk with a serious expression, a rather long, rolled-up scroll of letters was being held.

“What’s going on?”

“Master, please take a look at this.”

The Shaolin abbot looked slightly embarrassed at his disciple’s interference at this crucial moment, but soon opened the letter.

I quickly read the contents inside and opened my eyes wide.

“… … I think I have one more piece of bad news to tell you.”

After reading it all, he was speechless for a moment, then with a stern expression, he told the gathered people the bad news that had come in a hurry.

“It seems that while the martial arts competition was taking place, the various sects were attacked. Some places were able to join forces to repel the attacks, or fortunately evacuate their personnel… … but it seems that quite a few places were not able to avoid the damage.”

The contents of the emergency report were shocking to everyone.

While the martial arts competition was taking place, it seems that there were simultaneous attacks on various sects that were missing their elites.

Among them, there were places that suffered damage that was close to annihilation, so even the Shaolin abbot, who would not easily lose his composure, could not hide his bewilderment.

The martial arts competition was held to show off the prowess of the martial arts world to an unknown opponent and to warn them not to act rashly, but they are using it to their advantage.

It is shocking that they launched such a large-scale offensive.

“I’ll call out a list of the confirmed locations, so please check them and then calm down… … .”

The fact that they went to such lengths means that they must have made considerable preparations.

It probably means that he is confident that he can deal with any level of martial arts power.

But now was the time to calm those who were shaken by this shocking news.

If they were truly a demonic cult, and if they were planning to officially declare war on this occasion, they would have to form the Murim Alliance again and pool their strength and power, so they hastily prepared to return and focused their efforts on capturing the warriors and calming them down.

The disciples of Shaolin, the five great masters of the Nine-Tailed Faction, and the giant sects that could be called the giants of the Four Sects came forward to calm everyone down, so no one acted rashly, but it was natural that they all couldn’t keep still, like people who needed to go to the bathroom.

In the midst of this, the sects and regions that had been affected were named by the Shaolin abbot, and some fainted or began to sob on the spot.

As he said, there were quite a few places that suffered blows that were close to destruction.

Of course, in places where all the sect’s elite had gathered, the damage was relatively less, but it was difficult to remain calm when hearing that all the future talents of the sect had died and that the monks and family members who had worked hard together had turned into corpses.

The martial arts competition that was supposed to end as a festival turned into a funeral in an instant.

“We, Shaolin, and all the sects gathered here will actively help those who have been harmed. We will also definitely uncover the identity of the evil master and make him pay the price for such a heinous act.”

Although Shaolin abbots and other prominent sects, including Gupilbang, have declared that they will actively support the affected sects, this is of course no consolation.

With their support, we can rebuild the sect, but we can’t recover the people we’ve lost.

Thanks to this, the atmosphere continued to be quite gloomy, and the Shaolin master, who had been watching them with a stern expression, turned his head slightly and made eye contact with the others.

After exchanging some kind of communication, he once again poured his inner strength into his voice and spread a warm voice as if embracing them.

“I think you will be very surprised, saddened, and embarrassed by the sudden news. I, too, cannot help but feel depressed. Therefore, I would like to make a suggestion. How about we cooperate and act together without dividing into political or religious factions until we find and punish the mastermind behind this incident?”

“What do you mean…?”

“Yes. I propose the creation of the Murim Alliance.”

Creation of the Murim Alliance.

He proposed the Jeongsa-pa League, which had disappeared after the Jeongma War.

If we think about it simply, we could understand it as Jeong and Sa simply joining forces for a certain purpose or to deal with a specific target.

But if you delve a little deeper, anyone can see that it’s not that simple.

“The Murim Alliance… … .”

“Ahem. It’s a bit much to create a martial arts alliance with an opponent that hasn’t even been revealed yet… .”

First of all, belonging to the Murim Alliance meant that they would not be at odds with each other at least for the duration of the Murim Alliance, so there could be no fighting or restraint between the different sects.

It is not an easy task when you consider that even within a single province, or even within a county, there are several to several dozen people who are keeping each other in check and competing with each other.

They would have to collect all the countless things they had spread out to check each other, and in the process, they could be caught while collecting the things they had secretly spread, and once those methods are revealed, it is difficult to use them again later.

It’s also more difficult because there may already be some work being done on other sects or just about to come to fruition.

That is why, even with the proposal of the renowned Shaolin abbot, no expressions of agreement readily came out.

No one has stepped forward to reject it first, but there are too many things to consider to welcome it with open arms.

“That’s a great idea!”

“If this is something that could be the rise of the Demonic Cult, then we should join forces.”

“Shouldn’t those who are so dangerous be weeded out?”

Of course, there are those who welcome it.

However, they were members of a relatively small fire brigade with little influence.

Because they are people who have more to gain than to lose or give up by joining the Murim Alliance.

Rather than trolling other sects, those who were more likely to be involved actively raised their voices, but the numbers were small.

That alone wasn’t enough to create public opinion.

“No matter what, holding hands with Sapa… … .”

“Huh! Who wants to join hands with the hypocrites of the political party?”

“What? Hypocrisy? These baseless things… …!”

Also, the justification was weak.

The fact that this martial arts competition aimed to bring about harmony between politics and society also meant that their usual relationship was not very good.

Although there were no major clashes, the various political and social factions routinely ignored and criticized each other as if they were enemies, so there was little point in uniting them.

If the heads of each sect gathered here unite, it is not impossible, but no matter how senior they are, they cannot swing the sect around as they please, so it is necessary to ask the opinions of the sect members or persuade them.

In that sense, it was difficult to say that it was sufficient to just speculate that the Demonic Cult might rise up.

Because even they themselves couldn’t convince themselves right away.

“Stop it.”

Because of this, a commotion had already begun, but Namgung Se-ga suppressed them with a quiet voice.

However, since the large sects such as Gupailbang and Odaesega were quiet, peace was quickly restored.

“Then what about the organization, etc?”

It seemed that even the Gupailbangs had not yet discussed the creation of the Murim Alliance.

Or, you could plan it out in advance and pretend not to know.

“We will have to discuss it. However, there will be no distinction between the right and wrong, and there will be no discrimination based on that. I guarantee this in the name of Shaolin. Furthermore, Shaolin, which first proposed this, will not be named as the leader.”

When Namgung Se-ga asked, the Shaolin abbot brought up a somewhat theoretical story.

One thing that is worth noting, however, is that Shaolin will be at the forefront, but will not take the position of leader.

It was a very Shaolin-like action.

If you propose the creation of the Murim Alliance and challenge the position of its leader, it means that Shaolin has been after it from the beginning.

Rather than being misunderstood, he showed his intention to simply contribute as a coordinator and a warrior, and many people began to show interest.

If the Martial Arts Alliance is truly established, the most likely candidate for the leader is the Shaolin abbot.

The leader of the Murim Alliance must naturally be the one with the strongest martial arts skills, but in order to convince everyone with just his strength, he must be overwhelmingly powerful.

However, even if you look at the best martial artists in the world, represented by the Three Jesses, Five Kings, and Three Ghosts, it is difficult to determine their superiority to the point of grouping them together.

Problems may arise because the others will not be able to tolerate one of them becoming the leader.

That is why popularity and the ability to embrace everyone were important to the leader of the martial arts world.

The one who had it all was the Shaolin abbot, but as he declared that he did not desire the position of the leader, the idea that he could become one began to spread.

“then…….”

Thanks to that, the atmosphere changed.

There are still many problems that need to be solved before the creation of the Murim Alliance can begin, but with the heads of major sects and families showing interest, things are starting to move quickly.

“We, the Apostles, will not let you leave.”

At that time, the so-called tyrant, the Sado-ryeonju, poured cold water on the atmosphere that was about to heat up.

He opposed the creation of the Murim Alliance.

To be exact, it was said that the Sado Alliance would not participate, but if the Sado Alliance, the largest force among the Sapas, were to leave, even if the Murim Alliance were to be formed, its meaning would have faded significantly.

“Overlord? How can you do that?”

So, he asked the reason as if he was trying to calm him down, but the tyrant was not acting just to be strong or to gain favorable conditions.

“We, the Apostolic Alliance, are not afraid of those who are only after empty fields. I don’t know if we should join forces. Also.”

It was their confidence in their own strength and power,

“We don’t really know if that evil spirit is related to the Demonic Cult. In any case, wasn’t the power of the sleeping group something that the Jeongpa side produced during the Jeongma War? If they had revealed mines or magic, it might be different, but since that doesn’t seem to be the case, we can’t believe it based on mere speculation. Also, there’s no guarantee that there aren’t people related to the evil spirit among them.”

It was a distrust of the political party.

Since Shaolin promised to guarantee it, doubting him was like doubting Shaolin itself, but I didn’t care.

That part seemed a little cautious, but Shaolin doesn’t know everything, and the evidence isn’t clear, so it’s difficult to easily trust the sect and cooperate.

That’s certainly not wrong.

The evidence was weak, and there was little justification for creating the Murim Alliance.

The problem is that if the Apostolic Union comes out like this, the rest of the Sapa people will react similarly.

“If necessary, we will move separately. I think it won’t be too late to move after we learn more about the beast.”

“Ugh… … !”

Moreover, the last words of the Apostolic Alliance were to destroy the very establishment of the Murim Alliance.

I will take action separately.

It could be the sole action of the Apostolic Union, but it also sounds like they might be creating a separate Sapa Alliance.

“I’ll also put the Black Tower on hold. Also, this attack is a bit strange. At first glance, it seems like both the Jeong and Sa factions suffered similar damage, but the positions of each faction are different. Strangely enough, it seems like our Sa faction suffered the most damage.”

At that time, even the Heukdobang, one of the strongest factions in the Sapa, expressed rejection and doubt.

In the list of victims announced by the Shaolin abbot a little while ago, the proportion of the Jeongpa and Sapa did not differ greatly, but if you look inside, the Sapa’s damage is far greater.

Even though the same number of sects were affected, the status of each sect, their influence within the region, and the size of their businesses are all different. The sects that were affected this time are quite powerful, not just small but mid-sized.

So who benefits when they are harmed and lose their power?

Of course, there are other powerful sects around.

Among them, there were some that belonged to the same sect, but there were also quite a few that were political sects.

Since the Black Ark already had the map of Sapa in its head, it figured it out and expressed its doubts while the Apostle Lord was coming out.

“Then does that mean that our party did something wrong?!”

“I didn’t say that, but I can’t say that it’s absolutely not true. We’ll have to investigate that further in ‘Our Sapa’.”

I don’t think so, but that smile is bitter.

Therefore, there was no one who failed to notice the meaning contained in those words.

Moreover, by using the expression ‘our faction’ as if to replace what someone else had said, a line was drawn between the political and social factions.

It was a subtle hint that they could not become one.

The agreements and negotiations made during the martial arts competition were quite beneficial to them, but they had no intention of becoming fully cooperative with them.

If they had gained an advantage in the later index competitions and had even chosen a winner on their side, then it would be different, but in the current situation, even if they combined forces, they could end up handing over the initiative to the Jeong faction.

Even though there were those from the Sapa side who were listed among the Three Kings and Three Ghosts, and they accounted for more than 30% of the 100 greatest masters, the number of masters was absolutely insufficient.

“If they are hypocrites of the political party, they can easily do that.”

“Huh! We don’t trust those Sapa guys either!”

Thanks to that, the room became noisy again.

The political and social factions split and began to antagonize each other, and this time it was difficult to calm them down even with someone’s pressure.

Because the leaders of Sapa came forward one after another.

Although no swordsmanship took place, a murderous aura was felt as they flew towards each other.

“… … It is difficult to reach an agreement right away, so it would be better to discuss this issue later.”

In the end, the Shaolin abbot took back what he had said.

It was not that they had completely withdrawn their plan to create the Murim Alliance, but at least in the current situation, they had acknowledged that no matter how long the discussion continued, it would be difficult to achieve anything.

In this way, the martial arts competition that was held to promote harmony between the political and private sectors ended bitterly, leaving behind only many wounds.

As soon as the closing ceremony was over, the unmanned personnel of each faction hurriedly returned to their own areas, and the same went for those who had not heard any news of damage.

There doesn’t seem to be any confirmed damage yet, but while information is being collected, there may be changes in their sect as well, and as the Black Ark raised, the weakening of the neighboring sects could be to their advantage.

In order to make the most of the opportunity that was given to me as a gift, I needed to hurry back and check.

It doesn’t seem like that’ll happen, but since the Murim Alliance or something similar could be established, we’ll have to finish it before then.

As the tide receded, countless people left Shaolin Mountain, and not many remained.

Cheonhwa was one of them.

Because there is still business left in Shaolin.

“Your Majesty, please follow me. The divine being has permitted us to meet.”

Shaolin monk.

My request for a private interview with him was granted.