Four.
After that single word settled upon the Eight Trigrams Hall.
No one opened their mouth.
Myo Jinheo and Yan Bilyeong.
Two Trigram Masters are at the Hero's Sect right now?
Why are the Formation Tower's Trigram Masters staying at some new, unheard-of sect?
Considering Dongmun Mutoe was also there, that made three of them.
Everyone wore a grave frown, as if a part of their brain had malfunctioned.
Dongmun Mutoe leaned back, arms folded behind his head, and sank deep into his chair, observing the assembly.
A dead silence.
He had expected this stillness, but its density far surpassed his expectations.
So this is how heavy the air can become when everyone's thoughts stop at once.
And then.
A faint sound came from the Yin-Yang Guard's seat on the higher platform.
A teacup was lifted.
Jin Mugeuk.
The legendary figure, said to be able to seal the entire Yunling Mountain Range with a single formation, took a sip of the still-warm tea.
He did not set it down.
He held the cup in his hand after taking it from his lips.
It was unclear if this meant it was not yet over, or if he was savoring what he had just heard.
That was the Yin-Yang Guard's only reaction.
Below, a silence like the calm before a storm continued.
As expected, the one who could not bear the silence first was, in the end, Baek Jang-gyeong.
Bang—!
The table rang out.
Baek Jang-gyeong's huge palm had slammed down on the round table of the Eight Trigrams Hall.
A teacup tumbled over, but Baek Jang-gyeong paid it no mind.
"Why are two of our Formation Tower's Trigram Masters in a place like that?!"
His booming voice reverberated throughout the Eight Trigrams Hall.
The two empty seats—the seats of the Trigram Masters of the Mountain Formation Division and the Thunder Formation Division—seemed particularly conspicuous.
It was not the fact that they were empty, but the reason for their emptiness that was confusing everyone.
"Didn't they say it was urgent business?"
The Trigram Master of the Wind Formation Division immediately added.
"Trigram Master Yan and Trigram Master Myo left their seats, saying they had urgent business, but what in the world does that have to do with the Hero's Sect?"
All eyes focused on Dongmun Mutoe.
Dongmun Mutoe, his arms still behind him, only tilted his head slightly.
A crafty smile, with one corner of his mouth raised.
"Well, now."
"What do you mean, 'Well, now'?!"
"It's certain that the two of them came to the River Capital looking for me, but as for the rest, I'd have to see it myself to know, wouldn't I?"
His fingers walked across the tabletop.
Tap, tap.
"Well, I can make a guess. They came looking for me, we had a fight, and now they might be held captive… who knows?"
He laughed.
Kek.
As if it were someone else's business.
A vein bulged on Baek Jang-gyeong's temple.
"You dare to joke at a time like this—."
"A joke? It's a fact that they are at the Hero's Sect, and it's also a fact that they came looking for me. And isn't that urgent business? After all, it concerns the matter of 'me' being subdued."
Dongmun Mutoe shrugged once.
There were no loopholes.
It was all true, and that was all there was to it.
However, his words, 'they came looking for me, we had a fight, and now they might be held captive,' had already taken root in everyone's mind.
Dongmun Mutoe was defeated?
Two Trigram Masters are being held captive by a new sect?
A new sect has the power to hold two Trigram Masters?
The mere thought set off their individual calculations.
Tak.
Ga Myo-ryeon's abacus clacked.
As if she had regained her lost composure, she began to move the beads one by one with a completely cool hand.
"Trigram Master Dongmun."
"Yes."
"If two Trigram Masters are staying at the Hero's Sect."
Tak.
"Then no matter how you interpret it, the presence of the Hero's Sect must be far greater than anyone here imagines, correct?"
At those words, Baek Jang-gyeong's eyes widened, but Ga Myo-ryeon paid him no mind.
The abacus clacked once more.
"It is also true that contact between the Formation Tower and the two Trigram Masters has been lost…."
Tak, tak.
"Are you saying they have intelligence superior to the Formation Tower and possess at least enough power to defeat Trigram Master Dongmun?"
Dongmun Mutoe shook his head.
"To be precise, their Sect Leader defeated me by himself. As for their intelligence network, I'm not really sure. I don't know if that person has a superior network, or if they have ties with the Great Beggars' Sect."
"Hah. Are you saying they might also be connected to the Great Beggars' Sect?"
"Yes, well."
"In that case, no matter how you look at it, they are no simple new sect, are they?"
Ga Myo-ryeon's half-closed eyes turned towards Dongmun Mutoe.
Half-opened eyes.
A sign of a sharp attack.
"Trigram Master Dongmun, despite being from the same sect as Trigram Master Yan, you show no sign of worry at all, do you?"
"I'm not sure if that man subdued them or is treating them well as guests."
Hmph.
"But a person who wants to negotiate doesn't usually go around slitting the other party's throat, do they? Especially—."
Dongmun Mutoe lightly wrinkled his nose and then opened his lips.
"—on the day of their sect's opening ceremony."
● ● ●
River Capital.
The Hero's Sect Training Ground.
"—And now, we will have a greeting from the Sect Leader of the Hero's Sect."
Jeon Rahwa's calm voice spread over the Training Ground.
Yan Bilyeong sat in the honored guest seat and straightened her back.
Her shoulders naturally pulled back, an old habit.
She was a martial artist whose posture improved whenever she was nervous.
Her gaze turned towards the platform.
Dong Bongsu was walking out.
A black robe.
The sword at his waist glinted silver in the sunlight.
He was young.
A face younger than most gathered here.
It was the face of one who had reached a tremendous realm, one that could not be achieved even if he had trained in martial arts since the womb.
Without realizing it, Yan Bilyeong neatly folded her hands on her lap.
'Kim Rae-won.'
That man defeated my junior brother, Dongmun Mutoe.
That man faced me and Myo Jinheo at the same time.
And he won.
After defeating two of the Formation Tower's Trigram Masters with an unfazed expression, he was now stepping onto the platform for the opening ceremony with that same face.
The overwhelming energy that had made her whole body tremble not long ago was nowhere to be found; she could not feel any such aura from the current Kim Rae-won.
In fact, he seemed gentle.
His eyes were soft as he glanced at the children lined up in the front row of the Training Ground.
A child named Hoae was at the very front, fists clenched tightly, and next to the children stood Jeon Rahwa, smiling.
In the honored guest seats across from them sat the Prefect of the River Capital and the Branch Leader of the All-Knowing House, a branch of the Great Beggars' Sect.
And martial artists gathered from all over the River Capital filled the Training Ground.
The scale was not grand, but every one of their gazes was serious.
She had heard he single-handedly and easily swept away the two sects that dominated this place, the Iron God Gang and the Seven Star Immortal Society, but she had no way of knowing how great a feat that was in itself.
It just seemed that there was no one present who did not know that this act had completely overturned the landscape of the River Capital.
'How strange. To become the hegemon of a region in such a short time surely means that a lot of blood was shed….'
Everyone gathered was sending him a friendly gaze.
No, beyond that, a considerable number were looking at him with eyes full of absolute trust, as if worshiping him.
This place, the Hero's Sect, exuded an atmosphere as if it were their shrine.
It was full of things she could not understand, but she continued to focus, trying to understand it all somehow.
Beside Yan Bilyeong, Myo Jinheo sat with his fan half-open.
In his half-opened eyes, a scholar's observation shone.
'I will find out exactly what kind of being you are.'
True to his internal declaration, Myo Jinheo's eyes showed no intention of missing a single one of Dong Bongsu's movements.
The width of his stride, the direction of his gaze, the interval of his breaths, even the depth of his smile.
Dong Bongsu stood in the center of the platform.
He looked around the assembly once, then slowly opened his mouth.
"As we formally open the Hero's Sect, I would like to take this opportunity to say a few words."
His voice spread across the Training Ground.
It was a plain voice, but not a light one.
It wasn't forced to be loud, nor did it feign authority, but it was simply clear.
"You all know this place called the River Capital well."
A few people nodded.
"It was a land of lawlessness."
Dong Bongsu paused for a beat.
"The weak were plundered, and the strong did the plundering. Swords flew at night, and corpses lay strewn about in the morning. The authorities hid behind their walls, and the martial artists looked after only their own interests."
Yan Bilyeong's eyes were wide as she focused intently.
She was curious about every single word that man chose.
"That is not a problem unique to the River Capital."
Dong Bongsu's gaze slowly swept over the assembly.
"It is a scene found everywhere in these Central Plains. It just hits closer to home because this is your home."
His tone was calm.
There was no anger, no desperation.
He spoke as if that was just how the world was.
'Strange.'
Myo Jinheo's half-opened eyes narrowed slightly.
There's no anger.
No righteous indignation.
Usually, martial artists who speak of righteousness on such occasions hold anger towards injustice in their hearts and use it as the driving force for their words.
That man had none of that.
He was just low and level, as if talking about the weather.
And yet, his words had power.
"The Hero's Sect was established to end that lawlessness," Dong Bongsu said.
"However."
Another beat.
"I have no intention of putting forth some grand ideology."
Yan Bilyeong's eyebrow twitched slightly.
"Righteousness is not something grand."
Dong Bongsu's voice dropped a notch.
It was a natural change.
It didn't seem intentional.
At least, that's how it felt to Yan Bilyeong.
"It is to meddle in other people's business."
It was concise.
"It is to be unable to stand by when you see injustice."
It was short.
"That is all."
Myo Jinheo's fan trembled slightly.
'A man with great martial arts speaks unremarkable words.'
His scholarly intuition whispered.
That is calculated simplicity.
Or it is a simplicity that comes from the heart.
It was one of the two, but either way, the result was the same.
It strikes a chord in the listener's heart.
"However."
Dong Bongsu's gaze swept over the assembly again.
"We intend to walk the path of Neutrality."
Yan Bilyeong's lips moved slightly.
The Neutrality.
"A path that is neither Orthodox nor Unorthodox, a path of judging right and wrong for ourselves."
Dong Bongsu took a step forward.
"In the Jianghu, there are those who are called Orthodox but are not righteous."
A faint murmur arose from the crowd.
"And there are those who are called Unorthodox but have a Dao of their own."
Dong Bongsu let out a small laugh.
"Name tags, titles, or plaques are not what's important. Actions are what's important. What you do must come before what you call yourself."
Yan Bilyeong's hands clenched on her lap.
A path that is neither Orthodox nor Unorthodox.
In some ways, it resembled the path of the Formation Tower.
However, while the Formation Tower was a place that chose sides based on money, this man intended to choose sides based on right and wrong.
'Is he naive, or is he arrogant?'
Yan Bilyeong had not yet made her judgment.
But that man's eyes were neither naive nor arrogant.
They were simply filled with conviction.
She recalled her first clash with Dong Bongsu a while ago.
She had poured all ten-tenths of her power into it, but she was no match for him.
No, even the expression 'no match' was inaccurate.
That man had not 'fought' her.
He had subdued her.
As precisely and calmly as an adult grabbing a child's wrist.
Such a man was now uttering 'obvious words'.
Protect the good and eliminate the evil.
It was obvious.
But when a person with the power to carry out the obvious says obvious things, it is no longer obvious words, but a declaration.
"Therefore."
Dong Bongsu slowly raised both arms.
The figure reflected in Yan Bilyeong's eyes, though standing on the small training ground of a new sect, somehow seemed like a person standing on a much larger stage.
'Not a Sect Leader.'
Yan Bilyeong suddenly thought.
'He is a General.'
It was the face of a man who leads an army on the battlefield.
Hidden behind his gentle smile, there was something unshakeable.
She did not know what it was yet.
Dong Bongsu's gentle eyes swept over the assembly once more.
The children.
Jeon Rahwa.
The martial artists.
Yo Han-myeong.
Bae Dal-pae.
Yan Bilyeong.
Myo Jinheo.
Everyone's gaze was fixed on Dong Bongsu.
"Our Hero's Sect will walk the path it is meant to walk," Dong Bongsu said.
"We will preserve the good, protect righteousness and justice, punish the evil, and eradicate the demonic. Whatever it may be, however great a power it is—,"
His voice, calm yet clear, cut across the Training Ground.
"Until they are exterminated from these Central Plains, I will wield this sword."
Dong Bongsu's declaration of war-like words fell upon the Training Ground.
A brief silence.
And then.
Applause erupted.
The children first.
Hoae clapped her hands vigorously, and the children next to her followed suit.
Soon, the martial artists of the River Capital, Yo Han-myeong, and Bae Dal-pae.
The Training Ground was filled with the sound of applause.
Myo Jinheo's half-opened eyes opened completely.
'The path it is meant to walk.'
It is indeed what is meant to be.
To protect the good and eliminate the evil.
Words so right that everyone has forgotten them, words whose very roots may have already gone extinct in these Central Plains.
But.
'...Is he sincere?'
Was there anyone in this Jianghu who could actually carry it out?
It's impossible to know, for now.
Myo Jinheo closed his eyes halfway again.
He folded his fan.
But he had to admit what he had to admit.
That man's words had power.
Not the power of martial arts, but a power that drew people in.
Whether the source of that power was sincerity or not, the result was the same.
People are moved.
Weren't all those who filled the Training Ground clapping?
Even Yan Bilyeong was clapping.
Myo Jinheo also stealthily raised the corners of his mouth and joined in the storm of applause.
Without realizing it.
With each clap of his hands, he felt the preconceptions he had held for some time breaking down one by one.
The image of the monstrous martial artist who had defeated Dongmun Mutoe and themselves was now overlapping with the man on the platform.
A young Sect Leader of a new sect, who spoke of righteousness.
'If it's this person.'
Yan Bilyeong's lips moved.
Though no sound came out yet.
'He might be someone the Formation Tower could genuinely join hands with….'
Even after that.
The applause continued for quite a long time.
● ● ●
Formation Tower, Eight Trigrams Hall.
The heated debate had been going on for more than two hours.
Dongmun Mutoe spent most of his time leaning back in his chair, drumming his fingers.
He had thrown out all he needed to.
Now was the time to wait for the seed to sprout its own roots.
After all, if you throw a stone into a pond, the ripples are the water's business, not the stone's.
Tap, tap.
However, before long, he sensed that the Trigram Masters' debate was gradually running out of steam.
Arguments of justification, practicality, and procedure—all of them were just going in circles in the face of the unknown variable that was the Hero's Sect.
We don't know.
Therefore, we cannot judge.
Therefore, we must confirm.
There could only be one conclusion.
And in the Formation Tower, there was only one person who could voice that 'one' conclusion.
From the Yin-Yang Guard's seat on the higher platform, the sound of a teacup being set down was heard.
A very light sound.
Instantly, the entire Eight Trigrams Hall fell silent.
As if all the discussions up to that point had been nothing but a prelude.
"We must confirm it."
Jin Mugeuk's voice was low.
It was not forceful, nor did it intend to be authoritative, but was just a single phrase like the natural mumbling of an old man.
Dongmun Mutoe's drumming fingers stopped.
'It's done.'
The moment Dongmun Mutoe was cheering inwardly.
"Lord Yin-Yang Guard, when you say confirm...?"
As Baek Jang-gyeong immediately leaned forward, Jin Mugeuk replied.
"We shall meet him. Whether he comes, or we go."
It was at that exact moment that Dong Bongsu finished his speech.