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There was no way he could admit that to Mu-Jin, who knew nothing about the dark side of Kongtong. Besides, his part in their plan was supposed to be the easiest one. Ham Ji-Pyung had already lost all of his martial arts and was no threat to him.

Unfortunately, he hadn\'t taken into account the fact that Kwak Moon-Jung would protect the Ham family and stall for time until Jin Mu-Won arrived and smashed the wall.

On the other hand, one man\'s misery was another man\'s fortune. By virtue of Kwak Moon-Jung and Jin Mu-Won\'s interference, Ham Ji-Pyung was saved from the brink of death once more.

Seeing that Seol-Goong wasn\'t about to answer him, Mu-Jin turned to face Ham Ji-Pyung and said, "Junior Brother Mu-Gung, what\'s going on? Why are you here? Do you know how long I\'ve been searching for you?"

"Senior Brother Mu-Jin, I…missed you."

Tears streamed down Ham Ji-Pyung\'s face. Ham Seo-Ryung didn\'t know what was going on, but when she let out the breath she had been holding, her eyes also welled up with tears.

Mu-Jin was thoroughly confused. Ham Ji-Pyung was his favorite junior brother, and the two of them used to be as close as real brothers. However, while he was busy training in seclusion, Ham Ji-Pyung disappeared from the Kongtong Sect.

The official reason for Ham Ji-Pyung\'s disappearance was that he had gone crazy due to Chi Deviation and attacked several of his fellow disciples, but Mu-Jin didn\'t believe a single word of that excuse. He wanted to find Ham Ji-Pyung and confirm the truth for himself. That was the least he could do as a brother.

However, when he asked his other junior brothers about Ham Ji-Pyung\'s whereabouts, every single one of them had kept their mouths shut about it as if they were all co-conspirators. Mu-Jin had tried to search for Ham Ji-Pyung himself but to no avail.

Only now, after seeing Seol-Goong and Ham Ji-Pyung together in the same place, did Mu-Jin finally start to piece things together. He directed his killing intent at Seol-Goong and threatened, "Tell me what\'s going on."

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"S-Senior Brother?"

"Hurry up and talk."

"I-I don\'t know anything. I was just…following Senior Brother Mu-Hae\'s orders." Seol-Goong desperately tried to explain himself, but Mu-Jin\'s piercing state was making him feel so guilty and frightened that he couldn\'t help but tremble like a leaf.

"Mu-Hae?" Mu-Jin\'s gaze turned toward the spot where Mu-Hae had been knocked down by Jin Mu-Won.

Sensing his opportunity, Jin Mu-Won added, "Fifteen years ago, Ham Ji-Pyung was ganged up on by his fellow disciples who were envious of him. He then ended up taking the blame for the fight and was excommunicated from the Kongtong Sect."

Mu-Jin immediately refuted, "Don\'t lie to me. Discipline in the Kongtong Sect is enforced very strictly. There is absolutely no way something like that could have happened."

"Everything he said is the truth, Senior Brother Mu-Jin," said Ham Ji-Pyung, walking toward Mu-Jin.

"Then how did Mu-Hae hide the truth for so long? I\'m sure our sect leader would have conducted a proper investigation."

"When this happened, the sect leader was busy teaching you the Five Yin Divine Blade. He didn\'t take part in the investigation or the trial."

"Are you saying that he might not be aware of this?"

"Yes. The investigation and trial were both conducted by Master Uncle Tae-Hyun."

"Master Uncle…Tae-Hyun?" Mu-Jin\'s voice shook. Reverend Tae-Hyun was Mu-Hae\'s master, and a junior brother to his own master, Reverend Tae-Wol, who was also the sect leader.

"Also, my chi center wasn\'t destroyed as part of the punishment. It was an injury that I had gotten from the fight. Since I was already a cripple that could never use martial arts ever again, and Master Uncle told me that everyone I cared about would be fine as long as I kept my mouth shut, I accepted being excommunicated from Kongtong."

According to Ham Ji-Pyung, this whole affair had begun with Mu-Hae verbally abusing him after his win in the tournament. When Ham Ji-Pyung ignored the insults, Mu-Hae lost his temper and assaulted him along with Mu-Wol and several other disciples.

Not too long after, Mu-Hae\'s master Tae-Hyun covered for his own disciple and laid the blame on Ham Ji-Pyung, leaving him with no choice but to leave the Kongtong Sect.

"What!? How could Master Uncle Tae-Hyun do such a thing…!" cried Mu-Jin.

This was completely different from the story he had heard. He recalled once asking Tae-Hyun about it, and his master uncle\'s response to his question was as such: "The Sect Leader and all of the elders have confirmed that Ham Ji-Pyung attacked his fellow disciples after a training accident that caused Chi Deviation. We decided that the best punishment for his sins was ex-communication."

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Stunned, Mu-Jin then asked Ham Ji-Pyung, "So…where have you been all these years?"

"I was afraid that Mu-Hae and Tae-Hyun would kill me to erase all the evidence, so I never dared go close to Mount Kongtong. It was only recently that I moved to this village, hoping that I would be able to meet you again and tell you the truth about what happened. Unfortunately, Mu-Hae found me first."

Seol-Goong immediately kneeled down before Mu-Jin, slamming his head down on the ground and crying, "Senior Brother Mu-Jin, please forgive me. I was just following Senior Brother Mu-Hae\'s instructions. I\'m innocent!"

However, Mu-Jin did not buy into Seol-Goong\'s lies. He stared at Seol-Goong coldly and said, "Mu-Hae may have been the instigator, but you are definitely a co-conspirator. ‘Dead men tell no tales\', was it?"

"Senior Brother, please, please forgive me! I really didn\'t know anything!" Seol-Goong screamed. I may not be able to oppose Senior Brother Mu-Jin, but I should at least be able to use the facts against him! I was still a baby fifteen years ago, after all! Whatever Mu-Hae did back then has no relation to me! As long as I can persuade Senior Brother Mu-Jin into letting me go today, Master Uncle Tae-Hyun will naturally take care of the rest!

Unbeknownst to Seol-Goong, while he was sobbing and kowtowing to Mu-Jin, Mu-Jin was also observing him carefully. Noticing the cunning look in Seol-Goong\'s eyes, Mu-Jin couldn\'t help but look up at the sky and laugh at his own foolishness.

"Hahaha! I feel like a ragdoll, blind and deaf to everything around me, with only martial arts in my head. What a joke I must look like to my fellow disciples who have successfully kept such a dirty secret from me for fifteen whole years."

Mu-Jin paused for a moment, then glanced at Ham Ji-Pyung and said, "I\'m sorry. You must have had a hard time."

"Senior Brother…" As if a knot in his heart had been untangled, Ham Ji-Pyung plopped down on the ground and began to cry.

"Ah! Daddy, please don\'t cry!" Ham Ji-Pyung hugged her father tightly, tears flowing down her cheeks as she shared in his pain.

Jin Mu-Won and Mu-Jin watched them quietly.

A little while later, when Mu-Hae and Mu-Wol came back to their senses, they were immediately greeted by the sight of Mu-Jin and the Ham family standing over them. In particular, Mu-Jin was staring down at them with extremely cold eyes.

Shit! We\'ve fucked up, big time.

The two Taoists instinctively knew that things had gone very wrong and got to their knees as quickly as they could.

"Senior Brother, this is a misunderstanding! Please allow me to explain."

"That\'s right. I don\'t know what they told you, but these people can\'t be trusted."

Although Mu-Hae and Mu-Wol were pleading with him desperately, to Mu-Jin who had already heard Ham Ji-Pyung\'s side of the story, everything the two said now sounded like the shameless excuses of despicable lowlifes.

"All this time, I never once suspected that you people were so cruel."

"S-Senior Brother…" mumbled Mu-Hae in a trembling voice. The truth was, he feared Mu-Jin so much, he wanted to kill Ham Ji-Pyung before Mu-Jin found him.

His First Senior Brother Mu-Jin was a man of integrity who prioritized fair judgments over relationships. If a junior brother of his were to commit a crime, he would punish him mercilessly. Therefore, when Mu-Jin volunteered himself to accompany him to the village, Mu-Hae plotted to let Seol-Goong secretly murder Ham Ji-Pyung while he kept Mu-Jin and Jin Mu-Won distracted.

"Prepare yourself to receive a harsh punishment upon returning to Mount Kongtong. You will be tried for deceiving me, the sect leader, and the whole of Kongtong Sect."

"Anything but that! Please forgive me, Senior Brother…"

Mu-Hae and Mu-Wol fervently begged for forgiveness, but Mu-Jin ignored them. He didn\'t want to hear another word of their lies.

Mu-Hae and Mu-Wol felt that everything they had built up over the years was crumbling to pieces. Their pride as first-class disciples of the Kongtong Sect, the positions of elders that they would receive in a few more years, the respect of the other disciples…

The two Taoists suddenly exchanged glances. They had simultaneously come to the same conclusion.

"To hell with all this!"

"Die!"

They dashed toward Mu-Jin, quick as lightning, to catch him unawares. Mu-Hae used the Demon Slaying Palm (伏魔掌), while Mu-Wol used the Seven Injuries Fist (七傷拳). These two techniques ranked among the strongest martial arts in Kongtong Sect, and both Taoists considered them their trump cards.

"I knew it!"

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Contrary to what Mu-Hae and Mu-Wol thought, their surprise attack was under Mu-Jin\'s expectations. Ever since finding out the truth, he had already suspected that something like this would happen.

SHIING!

The Bamboo Blade at his waist slid out from its sheath and drew an arc in the air.

"Ugh!"

"Gah!"

Before their attacks had even landed on Mu-Jin\'s body, Mu-Hae and Mu-Wol screamed in pain as the deep stab wounds on their shoulders spilled out blood like a fountain. Mu-Jin\'s sword thrusts had reached them first.

"Did you think that you\'d be able to hurt me with your pitiful strength? Not only are you two heartless, you\'re also stupid!"

Mu-Hae placed a hand on his shoulder wound to stem the bleeding and glared at Mu-Jin bitterly, saying, "Haha! What makes you think you\'re any smarter than us? Do you even know anything besides martial arts?"

"Is that why you lied to me?"

"That\'s right! You\'re too strong, and everyone knew that you\'d become the next sect leader, so there was never any meaning to competing with you. That guy next to you, on the other hand, kept getting in my way!"

Mu-Hae\'s gaze shifted toward Ham Ji-Pyung. That was a man who had a humble and amiable disposition despite being younger and more talented than himself. He felt that as long as this junior brother existed, he would never be able to stand out among his peers. Especially after his loss in the tournament, this feeling of dread had only gotten stronger.

"Hmph! So that\'s why you provoked him into a fight and destroyed his chi center?"

"Yeah! Well, what are you going to do about it? What can you do? Are you going to kill me?"

"No, I will not kill you. I will drag you back to Mount Kongtong, where you will be punished according to the sect\'s rules."

"My master will not idly sit by and watch that happen, you know? Give it up… No, I have a better idea. Try your hardest to prove your point, Senior Brother. Even if you are the next sect leader, more of the first-class disciples support me than you. I\'ll show you that you won\'t be able to get anything done without their help."

"...You want to make a bet with me?"

"Since you\'re the one who suggested it, Senior Brother, why not? You have nothing to lose and everything to gain anyway."

Mu-Hae\'s confident tone struck Mu-Jin like a stab to the heart, pushing him into the abyss of despair. He bit his lip until it bled to wake himself up.

Damn it! I never realized that our Kongtong Sect had rotted from the inside out… Mu-Hae was right when he called me a fool who doesn\'t know anything except martial arts!

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"Fine, I will stake Mu-Gung\'s and my own reputation on this. I, Mu-Jin, will reveal the truth about the events of fifteen years ago and restore Junior Brother Mu-Gung\'s honor. Additionally, I will make sure that the perpetrators of the crime are punished accordingly."

Upon hearing Mu-Jin\'s final declaration, the color drained from Mu-Hae and Mu-Wol\'s faces.

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Mu-Hae, Mu-Wol, Seol-Goong, and the four other Taoists had their acupuncture points sealed and were locked up in the basement of the South Sea Inn. Seol-Goong repeatedly insisted that he was used by Mu-Hae, but Mu-Jin pretended not to hear him.

Once the offenders were secured, Mu-Jin then sent a messenger pigeon back to the Kongtong Sect, requesting reinforcements from the disciplinary council to haul them back to Mount Kongtong the next morning.

While he waited for them, Mu-Jin and Ham Ji-Pyung discussed the events of the last fifteen years till the wee hours of the morning. As Mu-Jin listened to the Ham family\'s situation, tears welled up in his eyes in sympathy and regret over his own negligence.

Ham Seo-Ryung sat next to her father, helping him tell the story and adding in facts that he had forgotten. From this, Mu-Jin could tell that she was an incredibly smart girl.

"How old are you, Seo-Ryung?"

"I\'m twelve this year."

"Twelve, hmm?" Mu-Jin\'s eyes lit up with interest. Although twelve was a little old to begin learning martial arts by the standards of the large sects, it wasn\'t uncommon to start learning at that age either. He couldn\'t be sure how much talent Ham Seo-Ryung had from just looking, but if she was intelligent, the chances of her being below average were pretty low. Furthermore, she was his best friend\'s daughter.

Mu-Jin considered taking her on as his disciple. He had never taught anyone before as he was concentrating on his own training, but he now realized that he very much needed to expand his horizons. It would probably be difficult to make it official as she was female and couldn\'t enter the all-male sect, but women could still be accepted as civilian disciples. From there, he would make her his nominal disciple.

However, that will have to wait until after I return to the sect and clean up the trash. Master Uncle Tae-Hyun and several other elders will do everything they can to hide the truth, and Mu-Hae\'s accomplices are not to be underestimated, either. It\'s going to be tough, but for the future of the Kongtong Sect, this is something I cannot avoid.

"You\'ve had it hard all these years, so please leave the rest to me. Get some sleep now while you can, you should know how hard the hike up Mount Kongtong is." Mu-Jin gently patted Ham Seo-Ryung on the head and stood up.

Ham Ji-Pyung appeared shocked by Mu-Jin\'s sudden action. He asked, "Hmm? I thought we were going to chat for a while longer?"

"I want to, but there\'s something I must do first."

"Senior Brother?"

"It is true that that person saved you, but it\'s also true that he has provoked the Kongtong Sect."

Ham Ji-Pyung froze for a moment as Mu-Jin\'s words slowly registered in his mind. He then stuttered, "B-But…"

"This is this and that is that. The Bamboo Blade is the symbol of the Kongtong Sect. Breaking our swords is the same as trampling on our pride."

Mu-Jin was often referred to as the "pride of Kongtong Sect", and in return, he was proud of being part of the sect. Everything he had was given to him by the sect, so there were some things he just couldn\'t let go.

"You should rest now."

Ham Ji-Pyung didn\'t dare object to Mu-Jin\'s decision and quietly left.

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Meanwhile, Mu-Jin walked out of the South Sea Inn. The sun hadn\'t risen yet, and it was still pitch black outside.

Interestingly, although he and the other Taoists had caused quite the commotion the day before, none of the escorts or villagers had gotten close to the battleground.

I suppose I have Yoon Seo-In and Gong Jin-Sung to thank for that. It\'s good that no innocent people got hurt by our actions, and those people won\'t be able to spread bad rumors about the Kongtong Sect if they know nothing as well. That would be a huge embarrassment to the Sect.

Mu-Jin spread out his senses and grinned. A certain presence was making his location known in the darkness. Mu-Jin walked toward a clearing a hundred feet away, near the docks.

There, he found Jin Mu-Won waiting for him as if the man had already foreseen that Mu-Jin would come searching for him.

Mu-Jin asked, "Have you been waiting here all this time?"

Jin Mu-Won nodded silently in reply.

"How did you know I would go looking for you?"

"I knew a man with a similar personality as yours."

"Oh?"

"Just like you, he valued the pride of his sect over his own reputation. He was a man who could endure being personally humiliated, but if it involved his sect, he would fight against it to the bitter end."

Mu-Jin nodded, saying, "You saw right through me, huh. That\'s right, I\'m a stubborn fool that doesn\'t understand how to compromise."

He placed a hand on his sword and continued, "I know you had a good reason for doing it, but you did injure several of my fellow disciples and even broke their swords. I cannot let you go unpunished."

"Are you planning to dispel the wind of corruption within the Kongtong Sect?"

"That\'s our own problem. It has nothing to do with you."

"Puhahaha! I see!" Jin Mu-Won laughed. Mu-Jin had indeed answered his question, albeit in a very indirect way.

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Suddenly, Mu-Jin gave Jin Mu-Won a fist salute and declared, "I, Mu-Jin, First-Class Disciple of the Kongtong Sect, request a formal duel with you, Jin Mu-Won. Regardless of the outcome, I will consider all our disputes settled after this match. Do you accept?"

Jin Mu-Won returned Mu-Jin\'s salute, saying, "I, Jin Mu-Won, humbly accept Reverend Mu-Jin\'s request. We will settle all our disputes through this duel, swordsman to swordsman."

"Great!" Mu-Jin nodded and drew his Bamboo Blade.

SHIING!

The razor-sharp edge of the Bamboo Blade glittered in the darkness. Jin Mu-Won felt Snow Flower tremble in his hand, as if it was complaining about why he hadn\'t drawn it yet.

Okay, this time, I\'ll answer your summons.

As the blade darker than night revealed itself, Mu-Jin\'s heart skipped a beat. He was enraptured by Snow Flower\'s eerie beauty.

"That…is no ordinary sword."

"This is Snow Flower. I crafted it myself."

"You did? Amazing."

Mu-Jin concentrated his chi, and his Bamboo Blade cried out in acknowledgment. Today was the first time he was revealing the fact that he had learned the Kongtong Sect\'s Five Yin Divine Blade to the world. It was an announcement that he was the successor to the sect.

"Then let us begin."

WHOOSH!

Before he had even finished speaking, Mu-Jin used the Flying Phoenix Steps and appeared right in front of Jin Mu-Won.

SLASH!

As he unleashed the first form of the Five Yin Divine Blade, Dark Moon Splits the Sky (陰月斷天),[1] his blade drew a red arc across the air and split Jin Mu-Won in two.

No, that was an afterimage! I didn\'t feel any resistance that meant I cut something.

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Mu-Jin\'s expression hardened. The instant he moved, Jin Mu-Won had also moved. The young man\'s reflexes and reaction time were much faster than he\'d thought.

Where is he?

Mu-Jin searched for Jin Mu-Won\'s aura and locked on to his position. Using his left foot as a pivot, he spun around, swinging his blade and releasing five bursts of sword chi.

That was the third form of the Five Yin Divine Blade, the Five Yin Scarlet Flower (五陰紅花).[2] When the five bursts of sword chi struck their target, a scarlet flower with petals of sword chi and blood would bloom.

However, Mu-Jin\'s attack missed its target once again as Jin Mu-Won vanished from the spot he was standing on.

I don\'t want to drag this out any longer, so I\'ll finish the battle right away, thought Jin Mu-Won.

SWISH!

Like a graceful swallow gliding across the water\'s surface, Jin Mu-Won sprinted toward Mu-Jin. He tightened his grip on Snow Flower, causing the sword to vibrate excitedly.

When Mu-Jin saw the shadows around Jin Mu-Won suddenly darken as if they had come alive, his heart raced with anticipation.

I\'ll face him head-on!

Jin Mu-Won raised his sword, which shone like a meteor about to shoot across the heavens. It was the preparation for Meteor Soul (流星魂), the first form of the Shadow Blade of Destruction.

Across from him, Mu-Jin wasn\'t about to just stand there and do nothing either. The Taoist muttered, "Heavenly Sword Flash (天劍一照)." [3]

The Five Yin Divine Blade contained seven forms in total. The one Mu-Jin was most familiar with among the seven was the fifth and most powerful form, the Heavenly Sword Flash.

HUMMMMM!

The Bamboo Blade emitted green light in the shape of a gigantic sword. That green light was Sword Flux, the refined form of sword chi that every swordsman dreamed of achieving.

"YAHHHHH!" Mu-Jin roared as his aura rampaged through the darkness.

And then…

BOOOOOOM!

The two swordsmen clashed.

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Footnotes:

[1] Dark Moon Splits the Sky (陰月斷天): Literal TL – Yin Moon Splits the Sky. "Yin Moon" can refer to either the month of April in the lunar calendar or the dark side of the moon. Manhwa TL – Slash of the Lunar Skies.

[2] Five Yin Scarlet Flower (五陰紅花): Literal TL – Five Yin Red Flower. Manhwa TL: Five Elements: Spread of Destruction.

[3] Heavenly Sword Flash (天劍一照): Literal TL – Heavenly Sword One Flash. Manhwa TL: Single Blade of the Heavens.

Translator\'s Note:

Damn, Mu-Won was talking about his dad! *Hit in the feels*

FYI, the Seven Injuries Fist is the most famous technique of the Kongtong Sect in Jin Yong\'s "Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber". In the novel, the Golden Lion King Xie Xun snatched the manual from Kongtong Sect\'s Five Elders, and the mc Zhang Wuji then learned it from Xie Xun and flaunted it right in front of the Kongtong Sect.