Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 172

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 172
Ju Won-gwang often found his mind growing hazy whenever he observed Dokgo Myeong.
Didn’t there exist certain patterns and rules of the world that, while clichéd, people inevitably followed as they lived?
When one tumbles off a cliff, a fortunate encounter appears. When one becomes stranded in a remote mountain valley, a mysterious sage emerges.
So when an unexpected enemy arrived like this, wasn’t it the natural flow of events to exchange dangerous and secretive words within a solemn atmosphere?
‘Yet this bastard Dokgo Myeong….’
Ju Won-gwang glanced sideways toward where Dokgo Myeong stood.
“Mu-baek. I told you it’s not just about applying more force, is it? The Thousand Pound Hammer directs your inner force downward to create the sensation of increased weight.”
“Understood. Like this?”
“Ugh, grrrrgh….”
“Hey, the fact that you’re groaning means you’ve still got some life in you. More, press harder. This fellow’s inner cultivation exceeds mine, so if I’m careless, he’ll break free.”
“Understood.”
Crack!
The Cheonryeong General, who possessed an unusually rigid and solid inner pathway despite his affiliation with the Jeongheol Sect.
He now lay pathetically pressed into the ground. Not content with being bound in nets, Cheolmu-baek sat atop him, crushing his torso with the blunt edge of an iron axe.
‘Where is the dangerous and secretive conversation within this solemn atmosphere?’
He simply destroyed them in a single stroke because he disliked them?
Moreover, Dokgo Myeong was now crouching before the Cheonryeong General, spouting such nonsense.
“Heh heh, conduct yourself properly. If you dare mock my subordinates again with such pathetic displays of strength, then I’ll simply….”
As Dokgo Myeong gestured, blades touched the napes of the Talmyeong Military Commander and the Yeonggwi Military Commander’s necks, blood trickling down.
“See? These bastards will bid farewell to life as a pair. Don’t think for a moment you can’t do it. The instant you twitch, we’ll slice. Understood? Did you hear me or not? No answer? Shall we start by severing your limbs one by one?”
What was this? Who was the villain here?
Despite claiming to have come as an envoy, instead of courtesy, there was only mockery?
Moreover, he was even threatening them with the lives of his subordinates.
‘I should try to stop this….’
The moment that thought crossed his mind, Ju Won-gwang startled and slapped his own cheek.
That was certainly a thought that crossed the line. Whatever the circumstances, those men were disciples of the Jeongheol Sect.
“Brother Ju. Why are you hitting your own face?”
“Ah, ah well. It’s nothing. Don’t mind it.”
Suddenly Dokgo Myeong’s smile carried a chilling edge.
“Brother Ju. One thing.”
“What do you mean all of a sudden?”
“Right now we’re not playing games like Go or chess. If you’re going to weigh gains and losses or act like a young master, then step back.”
At those words, Ju Won-gwang’s expression hardened rigidly.
Soon his gaze transformed.
“My apologies. I showed you an unworthy side of myself.”
“Forget it. It was quite an intriguing story after all.”
Ju Won-gwang felt the urge to slap his own cheek again, but instead he swallowed hard and restrained himself.
Without realizing it, he had grown quite covetous of the situation—the possibility that internal allies might emerge.
But that could not be. They were certainly his enemies. He had to face them as enemies and think of them as enemies.
In Gangho, it is not chess pieces and stones that perish—it is human lives that are extinguished, and that life could very well be one’s own.
At that moment, the Cheonryeong General spoke in a voice as though his chest were constricted.
“We truly harbor no ulterior motives. We could become partners whose goals complement one another, so why….”
“General, you are being rather arrogant. Or perhaps foolish.”
Ju Won-gwang cut him off.
The Cheonryeong General continued with difficulty.
“Arrogant…? I have consistently… maintained propriety.”
“Maintaining propriety does not preclude arrogance.”
Ju Won-gwang spoke in a grave voice.
“Why do you assume we would naturally join hands with you?”
“If you hear our proposal, there would be no loss for you either.”
“Is this proposal not merely various suggestions and discourse regarding your sect’s doctrines and history?”
The Cheonryeong General’s expression hardened as though struck at a vital point.
Ju Won-gwang nodded.
“That is precisely why I called it arrogance. The Jeongheol Sect is our enemy—why should we concern ourselves with the circumstances of those who belong to the enemy camp?”
“…!”
“You imagined that if we listened, we would come to understand your faction, weigh the gains and losses, and then establish a cooperative relationship. How naive.”
Ju Won-gwang clicked his tongue lightly.
“For us, it is far more advantageous to simply kill you here without shouldering such variables. After all, this would be the first time we capture a superior-ranked general since the conflict began. And we would seize two subordinate commanders as well.”
“What do you mean….”
Dokgo Myeong chuckled softly and gave Ju Won-gwang a nod of acknowledgment.
Ju Won-gwang offered a wry smile, as though embarrassed.
The Cheonryeong General bit his lower lip and opened his mouth.
“Please, just hear us out. We are truly different from the Jeongheol Sect disciples you imagine. We are….”
“Exactly.”
Dokgo Myeong laughed coldly.
“Whatever tragic circumstances your faction may have, whether you turn out to be innocent victims or not—we do not care.”
“…!”
“You claim you are different from other disciples? Then you should have come as apostates or fugitives, not as generals bearing military rank. There is no meaning in appealing that you are different when you wear such titles.”
His voice, delivered as though gently admonishing, carried an unmistakable pressure.
“There are circumstances….”
“Damn it, this fool still doesn’t grasp it. Do we look like easy marks to you?”
“….”
“I disliked this from the start. You thought that by staging a performance of withdrawing your forces to show you had no intention of fighting, we would nod and listen respectfully? How absurd.”
Ju Won-gwang’s head snapped around.
In the tension of the moment, I had failed to perceive such an intention. It seemed that only Dokgo Myeong had remained composed and clear-sighted from beginning to end.
“….”
The Cheonryeong General’s expression twisted.
A man worthy of being called a master of his generation had not only been caught off guard and subdued, but was now being threatened, mocked, and humiliated.
One’s pride could not be crushed more thoroughly than this.
He closed his eyes tightly.
Then, slowly, he opened his mouth.
“I shall… apologize.”
“What?”
“I assumed that since our sect is an enemy of Zhongyuan, you would naturally listen only if gains and losses favored it. I was arrogant.”
Cheonryeong General decided to swallow his pride.
“Please, would you hear me out? I humbly beg of you.”
The atmosphere in the hall shifted slightly.
Dokgo Myeong glanced around.
“Our commanders, even you, Ju. What do you think?”
“Pardon?”
“What am I saying?”
“Should we kill him, or listen?”
The question was asked in such a casual tone that someone audibly swallowed.
The answer came from an unexpected person.
“Let us hear him out. I believe we should listen to what he has to say.”
It was none other than Ye-hwa.
Ye-hwa fidgeted with her bowstring and murmured.
“If you speak nonsense, I will…”
Everyone stared at her with slightly trembling eyes.
‘Will what?’
‘What’s the rest?’
Ye-hwa tilted her head ever so slightly.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Ah, ah. It’s nothing.”
“No, no. Just keep holding the bow.”
Dokgo Myeong chuckled and turned his head toward Cheonryeong General.
“General. Listen well.”
“Speak.”
“From the moment you came seeking us, you ceased to be the stronger party and became the weaker one. So stop indulging in such lofty sentiments about bending your pride and seizing great enterprises. It’s unsightly.”
Surprise flickered across Cheonryeong General’s face before fading.
He asked.
“Why did I become the weaker party from that moment?”
“Because your sect’s position is so precarious that you had to seek out a mere Young Master barely of age.”
Cheonryeong General, his mouth shut, stared at Dokgo Myeong with eyes that trembled in disbelief.
With merely a brief exchange of words and a glimpse of his methods, he had grasped the entire situation.
‘This man…’
Along with fear came another thought.
If he could capture such a person, perhaps a true path forward might open.
* * *
The Cheonryeong General sat down.
He remained bound, and his vital points were still sealed.
“Since I’ve mastered the Jeongheol Sect’s inner cultivation, my major meridians are twisted. How could you possibly seal my pressure points…”
“Quiet. Just start talking.”
The Cheonryeong General. Why did this man feel so flimsy to me?
For a high-ranking military commander, he felt utterly insubstantial.
‘What the hell is this bastard?’
At that moment, the Cheonryeong General began speaking with a solemn expression.
“I’ll spare the details and speak simply. We were never a hastily formed new religion. The founder of the Pure Land School and Lushan…… well, such stories aren’t necessary.”
“…”
“Originally, we weren’t even the Jeongheol Sect. That name was merely a single word written in our scriptures, and its meaning referred to personal cultivation and refinement.”
“It means practicing correctly.”
“Precisely.”
“Then what was our original name?”
The Cheonryeong General cleared his throat and opened his mouth with a somewhat reverent demeanor.
“The White Lotus Sect.”
A religion of white lotus flowers.
It was a name that sounded entirely different from the Jeongheol Sect.
Ju Won-gwang furrowed his brow.
“White Lotus, the White Lotus Sect, the White Lotus School……?”
Then he murmured something and his eyes suddenly widened.
“Don’t tell me it’s that White Lotus? Wasn’t it a branch of Buddhism?”
“You know of us?”
“I’ve heard the Grand Master wasn’t from the Frontier but from Zhongyuan. Unlike ordinary Buddhist practitioners who enter mountains for cultivation, you practiced the half-monastic, half-lay way…”
“You know of us well.”
“I’ve heard you weren’t a group of martial monks who learned martial arts either. You refrained from idle talk, rejected theft, killing, and illicit desires…… the extremely orthodox teachings of Buddhism. But could it be that the Jeongheol Sect was the successor to the White Lotus Sect?”
“Successor…… more precisely, we were absorbed.”
The Cheonryeong General exhaled a sigh like a lament.
“Long ago, when our sect flourished, we faced many restraints, I’ve heard. When something new emerges, it’s the way of the world for the old to suppress it. It wasn’t strange.”
“…”
“But as I said, our sect originally forbade conflict, so we could only propagate our teachings while remaining hidden beneath the surface. However…”
I suddenly opened my mouth.
“You must have felt a strange thought at some point. Why should we hide? We’ve done nothing wrong?”
The Cheonryeong General showed a slightly surprised expression, then slowly nodded.
“Yes. Around that time, many strange teachers began spreading heterodox teachings within our sect. They taught not only martial arts but also the teachings of the left-hand path and sorcery, various secret manuals from who knows where, and consumed us from within. We went deeper, and thus our name changed to…”
“The Jeongheol Sect and the Sinhyeol Sect.”
“Indeed.”
I opened my eyes narrowly.
“It sounds like nothing but a well-fabricated story.”
“It is the truth. We have clear records…”
Dokgo Myeong’s brow furrowed.
“Among the military commanders of the Jeongheol Sect, not a single one knew such hidden secrets.”
“The military commanders keep their lips sealed.”
Dokgo Myeong let out a dry laugh.
“How do you think I’ve come to know so much about you all?”
“….”
“I know far more about you than you imagine. I’ve heard tales of the Sado and the Singnyeo, but I have no recollection of hearing such hidden secrets. Unless….”
Dokgo Myeong suddenly grasped the very part where the Cheonryeong General had been particularly guarded with his words.
“Damn it. Has the Grand Commander and the Three Great Demon Generals already become the Sect Leader’s faction?”
“….”
“No, this isn’t even worth calling a faction. Seeing that you still bear the title of military commander means you’ve all been consumed already, and only an extremely small number are barely clinging to life in the shadows.”
“…That’s correct.”
At the Cheonryeong General’s deflated response, Ju Won-gwang and the members of the Chamma Unit’s mouths fell open for a moment before their expressions turned absurd.
To summarize, this man had referred to the people of the Sado and Singnyeo—of whom only an extremely small number had survived even within the Jeongheol Sect—as a faction. It also meant that the Jeongheol Sect no longer possessed its true form, whatever this White Lotus was.
Only after deducing that far could I understand the existence of the Singnyeo and the Sado.
“Where is the Singnyeo right now?”
“She is at the sect’s main headquarters.”
“So where exactly in the headquarters.”
“Why do you wish to know that?”
The Cheonryeong General’s expression hardened.
Dokgo Myeong gazed at him and muttered as if speaking to himself.
“Is the Singnyeo perhaps in the Sect Leader’s grasp?”
“…!”
“Your expression says it all. Did you capture the Singnyeo as a hostage for the sake of legitimacy and succession?”
The Cheonryeong General’s expression became rigid.
“Could you possibly be….”
“Shut it. Do I look like a member of the Jeongheol Sect? You’re being careless with your suspicions.”
“….”
“But now that control of the sect is complete, she should have outlived her usefulness. Why have you kept the Singnyeo alive?”
“…Because the Sect Leader knows that descendants of the White Lotus Sect still remain.”
“Internal cleanup. You don’t know exactly who inherited the White Lotus Sect’s legacy?”
“That’s correct.”
“Then you’re trying to extract the Singnyeo now. The plan is already nearly complete. You just need someone to protect her in Zhongyuan….”
Dokgo Myeong stopped mid-sentence and stared at the Cheonryeong General with his mouth firmly shut.
The Cheonryeong General met that gaze calmly.
Dokgo Myeong muttered.
“Ah, I see.”
I recalled that the Singnyeo and the Sado were already dead when the war broke out.
And I reconsidered the meaning held within the word Sado.
Sado was not a term used lightly. According to the words of a Jeongheol Sect member I had captured and tortured in the past….
‘One who serves in the sacred and exalted priesthood of Amitabha Buddha.’
Their primary duty was to protect the Singnyeo and represent her will.
And this man sitting here with his acupoints sealed bore the title of Cheonryeong—the celestial spirit, or the soul of heaven itself.
Dokgo Myeong nodded and spoke.
“So you are the Sado of the White Lotus Sect.”
“….”
The Cheonryeong General.
A superior commander I had never encountered in my past life.
This man was the Sado.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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