novelraw Chapter 212 : Turning the Flow Upside Down (1)
Chapter 212 : Turning the Flow Upside Down (1)
Chapter 212: Turning the Flow Upside Down (1)
Sss—
The moment Sewoon finished speaking, an icy silence settled over the surroundings.
Soon, confusion spread across the faces of those gathered.
In an instant, the stillness collapsed.
“……Sewoon. You—why?”
“I-If that’s really true—!”
“T-That would be an act that constitutes a public enemy of the Martial Forest……!!”
The war had come to a halt due to the explosion of the Thunderbolt Bombs, and in order to determine the cause of the blast, the senior figures of each faction had all gathered.
Behind Boyeon Divine Nun and Great Master Gakgong, who had arrived first, stood Geumhwa Satae, Tang Muyeol, Lee Jamyeong, and Myeongwolja, all tense.
Unlike their restless reactions to the thunderbolt-like declaration—
‘Alright, shall we begin now.’
—Sewoon’s inner thoughts were impossibly calm, like a tranquil lake.
Watching Sewoon commit such a catastrophic act yet remain utterly unperturbed—
“Yes, just as I thought.”
Great Master Gakgong finally broke his silence.
A deep light of fury settled into his eyes as he stared at Sewoon.
“Tang Sewoon, you should have been executed on the spot.”
“……For a greeting after so long, that’s rather chilling, Great Master.”
Sewoon brushed aside the opponent’s vicious abuse lightly.
As a heavy atmosphere once again descended upon the standoff between the two—
“You filthy unorthodox bastard!!”
“!!”
Suddenly, someone’s roar exploded forth.
The one shouting with bulging veins in his neck was none other than Lee Jamyeong.
He stepped forward and shouted as if to make sure everyone heard him.
“You dare to use Thunderbolt Bombs! You carried it out knowing full well that the moment you used them, you would become a public enemy of the Martial Forest!!”
To others, Lee Jamyeong’s outburst sounded filled with righteous fury.
But hidden within it were barely concealed impatience and fear.
‘Damn it! How did that cursed bastard show up here already……! The truth must never come out like this! I have to pin everything on him, no matter what!!’
He was shouting through clenched teeth to prevent his own crime from being exposed.
At that, Sewoon turned his gaze.
He scattered a cold look filled with nothing but mercilessness.
“The way your eyes dart around is utterly revolting, Lee Jamyeong.”
“You bastard……!”
“You’re no different from the son of yours who ambushed someone unprepared. To throw away your sworn ally Kunlun like worn-out shoes and then invade the main clan.”
“Shut up!!”
“And—.”
Sewoon paused briefly, then continued slowly but clearly.
“I said I detonated the Thunderbolt Bombs. I never said I planted them.”
“……Stop spouting nonsense!!”
“Tang Sewoon.”
Just as Lee Jamyeong raised his voice in desperation, Gakgong stepped forward, gripping the Green Jade Buddha Staff.
“You detonated them, but you did not plant them? Are you trying to toy with me right now?”
Sssaa—
Kwa-ga-ga-ga!
Enraged, Gakgong unleashed his true power.
A terrifying aura of the Extreme of the Manifestation Realm instantly engulfed the surroundings.
The color drained from everyone’s faces, Lee Jamyeong included. Those with weaker Martial Attainment felt their insides churn violently.
But—
Heh.
“……!!”
‘W-What?!’
Sewoon, upon whom the full force of the aura poured down like a rain of arrows, showed no sign of distress at all—he merely twisted the corner of his lips.
“Great Master, to think you would try to pressure me with such paltry presence. How laughable.”
“……!!”
Sssaa—
Kwaaah!
At the same time, a mighty aura that did not yield in the slightest to Gakgong’s power began to surge violently from Sewoon’s entire body.
At that sight, everyone present was struck with shock.
‘Th-This is impossible.’
‘……That child has reached the Extreme of the Manifestation Realm, just like Gakgong?’
Boyeon Divine Nun’s eyes, in particular, trembled as if struck by an earthquake.
She had realized that Sewoon’s realm had reached the Extreme of the Manifestation Realm.
Meanwhile, Gakgong, having confirmed Sewoon’s Martial Attainment, let out a low groan.
It was not because he was shocked by Sewoon’s power.
‘……Master.’
It was because of the nature of the aura he felt from Sewoon’s body.
The aura emanating from Sewoon was not Demonic Qi or Evil Qi of any sort.
Rather, it evoked the overwhelming Profound Qi of his late master—
the Divine Monk Gongsung.
How could he not be shaken?
At that moment, Sewoon, who had been quietly watching, spoke in a low voice.
“I have endured the Great Master’s discourtesy until now solely out of respect for the will of the Divine Monk. But if you cross that line in the end, then as the master of the Tang Clan, I will no longer stand by and watch.”
“!!”
At Sewoon’s second declaration, everyone around revealed expressions of bewilderment and fear.
They could all predict what kind of horrific outcome would unfold if two absolute experts at the Extreme of the Manifestation Realm were to clash.
Without exaggeration, every living being nearby would meet death in that torrent of destructive power.
Moreover, was it not a situation where there might still be additional Thunderbolt Bombs?
Perhaps because they sensed that—
Sss—
Sss—
Gakgong withdrew his aura.
In response, Sewoon also reined in his power.
Only then did the others escape the pressure and gasp for breath.
“You will properly explain the truth behind this incident.”
“That was my intention from the start.”
With those words, Sewoon relaxed the strength in his hand.
The Black-Masked Figure whose collar he had been gripping fell to the ground.
Whoosh!
Sewoon removed the man’s mask.
“Ugh!”
“Uuugh!”
The grotesque face of the Black-Masked Figure, crushed and scorched by burns, was revealed.
Barely clinging to life and struggling just to breathe, the Black-Masked Figure was clearly no ordinary martial artist by any measure.
As unmistakable anxiety surfaced in Lee Jamyeong’s eyes, Sewoon continued speaking.
“There were individuals like him stationed throughout this ravine.”
“……!”
“I eliminated them all as soon as I identified them, but to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances, I detonated an area guaranteed to cause no casualties in order to warn everyone of the danger.”
“!!”
Everyone was shocked.
According to Sewoon, the explosion had been a warning—one that did not distinguish between friend or foe.
If it had not been his doing, he could have ensured that only the Tang Clan’s side suffered no damage during the war.
The fact that countless lives had been saved left them no choice but to be stunned by that decision.
As exclamations erupted one after another without regard for faction, Great Master Gakgong spoke.
“……Without proof, all of that is nothing more than empty words. How are we to know whether you are persecuting the innocent or not?”
At those words, Sewoon formed a very brief yet meaningful smile.
Then, without the slightest hesitation, he spoke.
“That’s simple. Because I don’t just have evidence—I have a witness.”
“A witness……?”
At the sudden mention of a witness, Boyeon Divine Nun blinked her eyes.
She was not alone. Everyone looked at one another, tilting their heads in confusion.
‘What the hell is that bastard trying to pull……!’
As Lee Jamyeong felt an inexplicable sense of unease, Sewoon continued without pause.
“As I said earlier, there was a common point at every location where the Black-Masked Figures were stationed.”
Swoosh.
Sewoon pointed with his finger toward a single spot.
Those who turned their gaze as if possessed—
“Ah!”
—let out a groan. There lay the fallen body of a disciple of the Kongtong Sect, his eyes still open as if unable to close them from how unjust his death had been.
Everything until now had unfolded far too rapidly, pushing it briefly out of their minds.
Yet it was clearly a strange sight.
Why was the corpse of a Kongtong Sect disciple lying here?
Sewoon provided the answer.
“Yes. The Kongtong Sect disciples were found here because they died after failing while trying to ‘block’ the Black-Masked Figures.”
“!!”
Sewoon placed emphasis on the words “trying to block.”
The gazes of everyone present—including Great Master Gakgong and Boyeon Divine Nun—turned toward Myeongwolja, the Sect Leader of the Kongtong Sect.
Within Myeongwolja’s eyes, which had been quietly maintaining silence, violent emotions churned.
‘Th-This madman!!’
Only then did Lee Jamyeong realize what Tang Sewoon was trying to do, and shock flooded his expression.
Mocking that look, Sewoon spat out a single line.
“Now then, speak. Myeongwolja. Who is the culprit that used the Thunderbolt Bombs?”
“……!!”
That was right.
The witness Sewoon spoke of was none other than Myeongwolja of the Lee Trading Company faction.
The beginning of all this had been when Sewoon discovered the corpses of the Kongtong Sect disciples at the site where the Gate of Assassins’ assassins had been operating.
Sewoon had immediately tortured the assassins of the Gate of Assassins and confirmed the fact that Myeongwolja had been betrayed.
Then, as people appeared following Great Master Gakgong and Boyeon Divine Nun—
[ Myeongwolja. ]
[ You’ve seen it and still don’t understand? You were betrayed by Lee Jamyeong. ]
—he secretly transmitted his voice to Myeongwolja.
At first, Myeongwolja could not believe Sewoon’s words.
What in the world was going on?
Why were assassins from the Gate of Assassins stationed where he had sent his disciples?
In that confusion, Sewoon’s voice rang out, awakening a horrific truth.
All the pieces were falling into place.
He himself had been destined to be reduced to a single smear of blood by the Thunderbolt Bombs.
[ He surely told you to give a signal to your disciples so the Thunderbolt Bombs would be detonated. But Lee Jamyeong is not someone who leaves behind loose ends. ]
‘Ah… ahh……!’
[ He intended to erase both your disciples and you in the explosion. ]
While Sewoon and Great Master Gakgong were pitting their auras against one another, Myeongwolja burned through countless emotions inwardly.
Guilt toward the disciples who had died in vain because of his mistaken choice—
‘How dare he—!’
—and rage toward Lee Jamyeong, who had betrayed him despite all the help he had given.
He wanted nothing more than to sever Lee Jamyeong’s neck as the man shouted at Sewoon.
But he could not.
In the end, he himself was deeply entangled in this incident.
Then, at that moment, a devil’s whisper echoed beside his ear.
[ If you fail to judge correctly from this point on, you too will meet the same end as Lee Jamyeong. ]
[ You know well that responsibility for using Thunderbolt Bombs is something you can never escape, even if the war ends. ]
Sewoon’s words were cunning and insidious to the point of terror—
[ But if you silently follow my words from here on, then with my broad generosity, I will spare your life and release the Kongtong Sect from that responsibility. ]
—yet they carried a sweetness richer than honey.
Sewoon was forcing a single choice upon him.
As Myeongwolja continued to keep silent, ignoring all the gazes upon him—
[ Myeongwolja! Don’t fall for the nonsense that bastard is spewing! ]
[ It’s all ridiculous lies! Those Black-Masked Figures are people I don’t know at all!! ]
[ Myeongwolja!! Are you listening!! ]
Lee Jamyeong’s desperate voice, unheard until now, echoed out in succession.
How truly laughable.
Suppressing the bitter laugh that nearly escaped him—
“……Hoo.”
At last, Myeongwolja began to speak.
After letting out a deep sigh, he drew everyone’s attention.
“……Overwhelmed by the grief of seeing my disciples dead before my eyes, I momentarily lost my words. But the truth must be spoken.”
“!!”
“Last night, I received intelligence that someone intended to use Thunderbolt Bombs, and I secretly dispatched my disciples. And in the end, the identity of the culprit I uncovered was…….”
Whoosh!
Myeongwolja raised his finger and pointed at a single person.
“It is the master of the Lee Trading Company—Lee Jamyeong.”