Chapter 682

Chapter 682

There was a hum that rang out.

A sound that spread against the blue background of Mount Hua, which felt peaceful at a glance.

It was as if the person humming wasn’t Jang Ilso.

Ho Ga-Myung quietly approached him down the mountain, as humming was a sign of him being in a good mood.

“Clan leader.”

“Hmm?”

Jang Ilso looked back at Ho Ga-Myung with his pale face and shining eyes.

“What is it?”

“Is this... may I ask a couple questions?”

“You speak such strange things. When have I ever stopped you from doing that?”

Of course, it didn’t happen.

Jang Ilso was a tyrant. It was his innate nature to be cruel, and his mood swings were the hardest to understand. At the same time, he was also the type of human who threw people into pits and then laughed at them.

However, one thing that Jang Ilso would never break was that he didn’t stop others from speaking.

-The reason the king falls isn’t because of the evil being committed. It is because they don’t listen. No matter how corrupt and cruel a king is, he will not fall as long as the others are listened to.

And that was what Jang Ilso believed in.

A tyrant-like person and, at the same time, one who didn’t stop the words of others.

Jang Ilso reconciled these two things, which seemed completely incompatible. This aspect made Jang Ilso what he is today.

“Clan leader.”

Ho Ga-Myung took a short breath and then said.

“I don’t know why the clan leader had to come all the way here in person.”

“Ohh?”

Jang Ilso smiled.

“Why? You feel like nothing has worked out?”

“How can I dare make a comment about the actions of the clan leader?”

“Anyway, you’re saying it seems like it?”

Even though the question might feel a bit out of line, Jang Ilso didn’t seem upset. He just clicked the tongue with his usual look.

“Tsk tsk, Ga-Myung, Ga-Myung.”

“Yes, clan leader.”

“You think that is the problem.”

He turned his back and continued talking as he moved down the mountain.

“There is no way I can follow behind you when it comes to planning and thinking of benefits to gain. It is wonderful.”

“...”

“But...”

A big smile appeared on his face as he spoke. It was like a child who had found his most wanted toy, which made him so excited that he had no idea what to do.

“Let me ask you one thing. The gains we see in front of us cannot be all, right? One must also know how to take losses for something greater. And sometimes, for the sake of a far future, one has to endure efforts that will not help us now.”

“... do you think today’s visit will be of benefit to anyone?”

At that question, Jang Ilso turned his eyes and glanced at the peak. A look of ridicule in his eyes.

“If not, why would I bother stepping into that disgusting-smelling Taoist sect?”

“...”

“Ga-Myung, Ga-Myung.”

Jang Ilso laughed softly as he looked at Ho Ga-Myung.

“How do you think the existence of the Heavenly Friends Alliance will be seen in the eyes of the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families?”

“That... like a thorn in their eyes.”

“Right. That is all.”

The power of the alliance could not be ignored. But, so far, the Nine Sects and Five Families had fought against forces stronger than the Heavenly Friends Alliance and won.

They would be safe and on their guard, but they would not be too afraid of it.

“Do you know what those who are afraid do when they notice a change?”

“Stop the change?”

“Wrong.”

Jang Ilso gently waved the hand that had many accessories.

“Those who are afraid of change first simply wait when the unknown to them starts to reveal itself in front of them.”

“...”

“They still don’t have a clear sense of what kind of change it is and how it works,”

“Ahh...”

Ho Ga-Myung nodded.

When he thought about it, it was clear that the prestigious sects like the Nine Sects and the Five Families did have that nature.

“And do you know what riles people up?”

“... I don’t know.”

Ho Ga-Myung looked at Jang Ilso with shocked admiration.

“Did you know that Im So-Byeong was there?”

“Ehh, as if.”

“... Uh?”

Jang Ilso responded with a sour expression.

“I am no God; how would I know he was there?”

“... then?”

“It doesn’t matter whether I knew or not. I had already sent someone to Mount Hua to handle it. I simply changed my words at the right moment when I saw him.”

“...”

“I feel sorry for him. His face looked like he got caught doing something wrong. Hahahahaha.”

Jang Ilso extended his arms to the side. The embroidered long sleeves waved around dramatically.

“Did you notice the atmosphere?”

“... yes.”

“Change brings anticipation and excitement, but it also brings fear.”

“I was just being kind, exposing the reality to those who were excited without having any idea what was happening. I personally told them unpredictable things would happen now. Now, the people will no longer be happy with the existence of the Heavenly Friends Alliance.”

“...”

“Be it the Nine Great Sects, the Five Great Families, or even the others gathered there! Everyone will know about the idiots who don’t know anything and just eat the food served! The fact that there will no longer be the past peace! The anxiety and panic they harbor will give rise to suspicion, and that would soon lead to blood being spilled.”

Ho Ga-Myung’s body trembled.

“We are...”

Jang Ilso lowered his hands and smiled brightly.

As if nothing had been said.

“In a world that is in confusion, it is enough to take advantage of them. Do you understand, Ho Ga-Myung?”

“... yes, clan leader.”

Of course, it was impossible to fully understand how far Jang Ilso was looking into the future and what more he was planning.

In any case, Ho Ga-Myung couldn’t grasp the full extent of Jang Ilso’s thoughts, and Jang Ilso didn’t understand all of Ho Ga-Myung’s confusion. The moment everyone thinks the same way, one person’s thoughts don’t hold much worth.

“But one thing is bothering me...”

“Hmm?”

“Can Mount Hua do its needed task?”

“...”

Jang Ilso couldn’t respond right away to that question.

“Which is why I came to check on them.”

“... uh?”

“A force is ultimately a gathering of people. It is useless to make plans in the head without seeing the people who make it up. And I don’t believe what I haven’t seen with my own eyes.”

Jang Ilso mumbled as if he were muttering to himself, then let out a low laugh.

“Mount Hua... right, Mount Hua. Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon.”

He rolled up his sleeve for a moment. The moment he uttered ‘Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon,’ goosebumps arose in his arms.

“... If I hadn’t come, I would have messed things up. Right, one has to see it with their own eyes. One can never know a beast like that unless they see it with their own eyes!”

Ho Ga-Myung, who was a little lost, looked at Jang Ilso. There was a vibrant look on his face, which had never been seen before.

Ho Ga-Myung had served Jang Ilso for so long. But even he had never seen Jang Ilso make such an expression.

‘Just...’

Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon.

It was said that his reputation was shaking the world to its core, but he was nothing but a young Taoist. Compared to Jang Ilso, wouldn’t it be too much to even call him a puppy?

Ho Ga-Myung didn’t even dare to guess what he saw in such a young man to react as such.

“You asked if Mount Hua could do its task, right?”

“... Yes.”

“Well. I don’t know either. Will they really do what they need to do...”

Looking at the peak of Mount Hua, which was now looking far away, Jang Ilso’s eyes secretly shone. And he couldn’t hold back the laughter as he spoke in an excited voice.

“If not... the world will be thrown into a fiery pit!”

“...”

“HAHAHAHAHAH! This will be fun to watch.”

Ho Ga-Myung stopped for a moment and glanced at Jang Ilso’s back as the man moved forward. And without realizing it, he looked back at the peak of Mount Hua.

It was impossible to guess everything about Jang Ilso’s internal thoughts, but one thing was certain.

No sect or person in the world had ever survived by turning against Jang Ilso.

It seemed like Mount Hua’s shrine was already up in flames, about to turn to ashes at any moment.

‘What to do?’

Of course, it wasn’t their fault. They had just come across a formidable opponent.

They had caught the eye of Jang Ilso.

“...”