Survival Guide for the Reincarnated - Chapter 161

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 161

“Ordinary people say that holding a sect with great power accountable is madness.”

“Usually, that’s true.”

“However, I believe that in living life, whether one has power or not, if one commits a crime, they should bear the appropriate responsibility.”

“Like spilling the blood of the Blood Spirit Nine Sect in Wol-jin Gorge?”

“Yes.”

Cheon Do-ja’s gaze was very gentle.

“The way of a martial artist doesn’t just mean pursuing strength, but also fulfilling the responsibilities that strength brings. Confucius is right.”

“Then does that responsibility include acknowledging one’s own mistakes?”

Cheon Do-ja picked up a go stone and spoke.

“Hmm… That’s truly an impressive topic.”

He placed his stone down, and I also placed mine down.

A moment of silence settled in.

In the silence, click, click.

Only the sound of stones being placed echoed.

After thinking for a while, Cheon Do-ja asked me.

“No matter how I think about it, I don’t understand. What exactly are you trying to say, Confucius?”

“Don’t you know?”

“I have one guess, but I’m thinking it surely can’t be that.”

“Then it’s probably correct.”

A strange smile bloomed on Cheon Do-ja’s lips.

“Then.”

His eyes also sank, and everything around us, the invisible world, became heavy.

“Shall you try saying it?”

I spoke firmly and clearly.

“If you want to play games, start with internal discipline first.”

No one noticed.

Not Manager Seong who was already present, nor the other Branch Members.

None of them could react to the sword aimed at my neck. That was right.

The realm of this woman beside me was Limitless Divine Manifestation.

Moreover, she was a master among masters, just half a step away from Great Void Formless.

She silently aimed the Poison Spirit Octagonal Sword, one of the ten famous swords under heaven, at my neck, while my gaze was fixed on Cheon Do-ja.

I continued speaking quietly.

“There are those who act without the sect leader’s knowledge, and the severity of their actions provides too perfect a justification for subjugating the Original Blood Sect.”

“So?”

“For someone who cannot even govern their own internal affairs to play games and amuse themselves with external forces… frankly, it’s unpleasant to watch.”

“…Heh heh heh… I have nothing to say to that.”

And.

“The game is in full progress, yet Elder Cheon’s person is interfering with it.”

“Hmm? Heh… heh heh… Does it work that way?”

Cheon Do-ja was laughing as if he was genuinely enjoying himself, and I quietly shifted my gaze to look at Yang Ui-ji.

Her eyes were filled with interest, shock, and a bit of anger, which was quite impressive.

Looking into her eyes, I spoke quietly.

“Please put it away. You won’t be able to cut anyway.”

“…Wow…”

To Yang Ui-ji who let out a strange exclamation, Cheon Do-ja said.

“Heh heh… Put it away. As Confucius said, the game is still in progress.”

Yang Ui-ji lowered her sword without complaint and stepped back.

When I shifted my gaze to look at Cheon Do-ja, his presence instantly grew larger as he smiled.

Not a playful old man, but the Supreme of Murim.

A supreme master of Primordial Sole Existence.

His aura was difficult to endure physically, but it was fine.

There was no killing intent, it was merely a test.

It was sufficiently bearable and manageable.

Cheon Do-ja’s eyes curved in a smile.

“Confucius is impressive in many ways.”

“If that’s praise, I’ll gratefully accept it.”

“But it seems like you have more to say. Am I mistaken?”

“It’s not a mistake.”

“Heh heh heh… Then continue. You must finish what you started.”

Lightly wiping away a trickle of blood flowing down my neck, I continued speaking.

“Elder Cheon, this time I’ll ask about something different.”

“Go ahead.”

“I have received teachings from countless sages. From what I learned, the way of a martial artist is not simply pursuing strength, but protecting the fundamental order of the world.”

At these words, Cheon Do-ja’s eyes widened greatly.

“…Continue…”

“As I learned from Confucian teachings, benevolence means more than simple compassion – it signifies the fundamental harmony of the world. And like Taoist teachings say, not disrupting the natural flow of all things – isn’t this the true path of a martial artist?”

Cheon Do-ja said nothing.

No, he couldn’t.

Though I mentioned Confucianism and Taoism, I had learned all these teachings from only one person.

And that one person was Cheon Do-ja himself, sitting before me.

“The experiments contained in the Tae-yeong Records are distant from any path, and from benevolence as well. Treating the lives of ordinary people like experimental medicinal materials breaks the fundamental order of Murim.”

“…”

“Isn’t that so?”

“…Confucius’s words strike this old man’s heartstrings. Confucius.”

“Yes, Elder Cheon.”

“As I know it, you’ve killed countless people so far, but wasn’t there not a single ordinary person among them?”

“There were.”

“Then shouldn’t those words not come from Confucius’s mouth?”

“I think it’s perfectly fine for me to say them.”

“How so?”

“Because I thoroughly distinguished between martial artists, people who entered the martial world, and people who had no connection to it.”

“…Hmm… Is that so?”

“If you’re doubtful, feel free to investigate further.”

Cheon Do-ja looked into my eyes silently, and I also looked into his. Certainly, I had killed commoners too. However, I had never once killed an innocent person.

Commoners who entered the world of martial artists and commoners removed from the world of martial artists.

If one considers these two the same, there would be nothing to say, but Cheon Do-ja would never consider these two the same.

Neither would I.

Eventually, Cheon Do-ja’s expression changed subtly. It was a very brief moment, but I caught it.

It was resolution.

I didn’t know what he had resolved.

“I’ll ask just one last thing.”

Cheon Do-ja’s eyes sharpened.

“I believe it was called Tae Hwa-cheon – what did you do with the corpses there?”

“Do you think I brought them?”

“If you brought them, show me. I’ll see and judge.”

I shook my head.

“You won’t be able to see them.”

“Is there a reason?”

“Because I didn’t bring them.”

“…Hmm…?”

“I held a funeral for them there. I burned everything, so there’s no evidence left.”

“Why did you hold a funeral for them? If you had brought the Tae-yeong Records and that child’s corpse now, everything would have gone as Confucius desired.”

“I simply didn’t want to do that.”

“…You didn’t want to…?”

“They were people who suffered from the desires of the wicked until the moment they died. If I used their corpses even in death, how would I be any different from them?”

Cheon Do-ja’s eyes widened greatly, and Yang Ui-ji’s eyes beside him also widened greatly.

“…Confucius… Today I find myself reflecting because of you.”

Then Yang Ui-ji turned her head sharply.

She probably had never seen Cheon Do-ja like this in her entire life.

I too had only seen it twice in my life.

Today makes it the third time.

“The path of a warrior is lonely, but even in that loneliness, there are principles that must be upheld.”

“That’s correct. Elder Cheon is the leader of the Origin Blood Sect and the supreme master of Murim. I believe that one who occupies those two positions must carry the appropriate weight and take responsibility for their words.”

“…Confucius is scolding me.”

Heh heh heh.

I spoke quietly to Cheon Do-ja who was laughing like that.

“I think Murim is not moved by the will of any one person, but is like a painting created by the harmony of all moves.”

“A painting….”

“If I remove this stone placed on this Go board, what would Elder Cheon do?”

“…Ho?”

I reached out and picked up one stone from the Go board. It was an important stone positioned at the boundary between black and white that affected the entire board situation.

“If this stone moved its position on its own, it would go against the principles of Go, wouldn’t it?”

“Of course.”

“But what if this stone’s position was wrong from the beginning?”

Cheon Do-ja looked at the stone in my hand and spoke.

“Then it would be right to return it to where it should originally be.”

“What I’m doing now is exactly that.”

A smile spread across Cheon Do-ja’s lips.

It was a smile of understanding and acknowledgment.

“…Confucius is truly a unique stone. You give me a feeling different from anyone I’ve met in all these long years.”

“I’m simply walking the path laid out before me.”

“Then where that path will ultimately lead would be the most interesting part.”

Cheon Do-ja smiled again and placed another stone on the Go board.

“What do you think of this move?”

It was an unexpected position.

On the surface it looked like a decent move, and it was the kind of move whose true value could be revealed by looking several moves ahead, but it wasn’t perfect.

“The world is wider than a Go board, and the stones placed on it are countless. But I think all stones have meaning only when they achieve overall balance from their respective positions.”

Cheon Do-ja’s gaze deepened.

“This move that Elder Cheon has made, if I may dare say so, I think it’s a foolish move.”

“Foolish?”

“Yes. Starting from that move, you could destroy about five white territories in roughly five moves, but after ten moves, twenty black territories would be shattered instead.”

“Your vision is broad.”

Looking at Cheon Do-ja, I continued in a quiet voice.

“Everyone must choose their own path and bear the consequences of that choice themselves. That is the true meaning of the Way, and even if Elder Cheon were to take my head today, I have no intention of harboring resentment.”

“….”

“Will you make that move?”

Cheon Do-ja had asked me to read the implicit meaning, and I read it.

Then Cheon Do-ja burst into a hollow laugh.

“You thought I would kill Confucius?”

“I was prepared to lose an arm or so.”

Cheon Do-ja paused for a moment and looked at me.

“You’re misunderstanding.”

“Am I?”

“Confucius has the true soul of a warrior living within you, so how could I lay a hand on your body?”

Soon Cheon Do-ja tapped the stone lightly.

“The incident caused by a stone thrown in jest… The meaning of taking responsibility… Today, I am impressed by Confucius Seol. Therefore, I will not make this move.”

Cheon Do-ja paused briefly and continued while looking at me.

“How about we play our match again on a new board next time?”

“I am always open to it.”

“Heh heh… And may I take these Tae-yeong Records?”

“Of course.”

Cheon Do-ja, who had been staring at me intently, smiled broadly.

“I’ve never broken off a game like this in my life, but I’ll come again soon.”

“I’ll be waiting, Elder Cheon.”

“Since I broke off the game, I’m thinking of bringing a generous gift when I come. Will you accept it?”

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