Sword God Reborn

Chapter 72 : Ownership Dispute

The surroundings were submerged in silence.

But soon, the sound of hollow laughter from the Zhongnan side increased one by one.

"What's that again?"

"What? The Primordial Root Scripture is his?"

"Heo. I'm so dumbfounded..."

"Now even a young kid, not just Mount Hua..."

But at Jeon-hyeon's following words, that whispering stopped abruptly.

"Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero! Why do you claim to be the owner of the Primordial Root Scripture!"

The Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero.

Hearing those four words, the Zhongnan martial artists all hurriedly shut their mouths.

The faces of those who had been whispering bad things like 'young brat' or whatever turned pale.

Who in the current Shaanxi Province did not know that name that was shaking it?

"The Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero, Cheon Mubaeck?"

"My goodness, elder. Then are you saying that the new genius who saved Zhongnan and Mount Hua before is that person?"

At those words, Jeon-hyeon's face crumpled.

"Hmph, saved? We just fought together."

Jeon-hyeon tried to downplay the incident at that time.

No, he actually believed so. Of course, he admitted that Cheon Mubaeck had made a decisive contribution by beating up the Blood Demon Sect Master.

But he did not think that he had saved the helpless Zhongnan, who had been in a crisis, all by himself, as the storytellers were saying.

Then what would he become?

'To think that I went to find a treasure map with my disciples and came back with such a rumor.'

Even among the elders, there were gazes that did not look at Jeon-hyeon very favorably.

Although he should have been a first-generation disciple, hadn't Jeon-hyeon risen to the position of an elder thanks to his skills and having a good master?

This Ghost Tomb incident was fatal to him.

'The great elder, and furthermore, the sect leader.'

That was his goal.

He glared at Cheon Mubaeck with slightly bloodshot eyes.

He had taken the first-generation disciples, saying that he would bring back the secret manual of the Red Blood Sword Demon, but he had lost one.

And he had not achieved any results. He had lost a precious disciple and had gotten nothing. On top of that, a rumor had spread that the prestigious orthodox sect, Zhongnan, had had its life saved by a successor who had appeared from nowhere.

It was a fatal blow that shook Jeon-hyeon's ambition to the core.

'So I must have the Primordial Root Scripture!'

The Primordial Root Scripture.

He could absolutely not give that up.

"The Primordial Root Scripture is a Taoist scripture that the founding ancestor, Wang Chongyang, who opened The Complete Truth Sect, personally wrote! It is only natural that it should return to Zhongnan, which succeeded The Complete Truth Sect, for it to return to its original owner!"

Jeon-hyeon's voice, filled with internal energy, rang throughout Mount Hua.

Although he was evaluated as having a petty personality, his skills were the real deal.

At his overwhelming momentum, Gukbo, on top of the main gate, swallowed his saliva.

But...

"What a load of bullshit. Bullshit."

"...!"

At the low and clear voice, the crowd fell silent for a moment.

Jeon-hyeon's gaze turned to the place where the voice had come from.

Right at Cheon Mubaeck.

"What did you say?"

A sharp voice.

"Huh?"

But Cheon Mubaeck rather shrugged his shoulders as if asking what he was talking about.

His appearance was so innocent that even Jeon-hyeon let out a hollow laugh for a moment.

"Ah, Neung-heo, you bastard. Stop talking bullshit and stand up straight."

"No, am I getting scolded for just standing now?"

"Don't stand with your legs crossed, you brat."

"Wow. I live like this, Cheon-hu."

"..."

Cheon Mubaeck grinned and said.

"I was talking to this person, did you misunderstand?"

The sound of air escaping from Jeon-hyeon's mouth flowed out.

He was dumbfounded.

Does this bastard think I'm a fool?

But since Cheon Mubaeck was saying that, it was also a funny thing to nitpick at his words there.

Jeon-hyeon tried to ignore Cheon Mubaeck and looked straight at the main gate.

"Plum Blossom One Sword, Gukbo! Open the gate! We will take the Primordial Root Scripture!"

"The answer of Mount Hua is the same! Impossible!"

"Then can I enter?"

When Cheon Mubaeck's voice cut in, Gukbo was silent for a moment.

Then he soon shouted with a serious face.

"Are you also here to find the Primordial Root Scripture, young hero?"

Cheon Mubaeck slowly nodded his head.

"It is impossible. We found the Primordial Root Scripture, and it is the property of Mount Hua."

Even for Mount Hua, the Primordial Root Scripture was an item that was hard to give up.

The Complete Truth Sect, which had been the peak of Taoism in the Central Plains.

The Taoist scripture written by Wang Chongyang, who had opened The Complete Truth Sect.

Just by possessing this, it meant that they had inherited the orthodox lineage of the Taoist lineage of the Central Plains.

Even if the identity of Mount Hua as a Taoist sect had faded and its identity as a sword sect had become stronger, its foundation was a Taoist sect.

How many Taoists were there all over Mount Hua?

Moreover, since it was a content that Wang Chongyang had personally written, they had to study it in detail.

Who knows?

What if an ultimate martial art of an enormous scale was hidden inside?

Of course, the probability of that was slim, but in any case, Mount Hua had no intention of giving up the Primordial Root Scripture, not even in their dreams.

At that, Neung-heo, who was next to Cheon Mubaeck, cut in with his characteristic drawl.

"Well. Who was the first person to enter the Ghost Tomb?"

"..."

"Who was the first to discover it and enter, and who saved all the people who were in a crisis, and who defeated the Blood Demon Sect?"

Gukbo was silent.

Jeon-hyeon, who had been listening, shouted with a red face.

"That's a different story! The Primordial Root Scripture is the property of The Complete Truth Sect! You, who have nothing to do with The Complete Truth Sect, are not in a situation to interfere!"

"What's a different story?"

When Cheon Mubaeck said bluntly, Jeon-hyeon shouted as if he were frustrated.

"This is a matter between Mount Hua and Zhongnan! No, only the Zhongnan Sect, which has been passed down from the Seven Masters of The Complete Truth Sect, can claim it! So you, and also the Plum Blossom One Sword! You too! If you don't want any more disputes, hand over the Primordial Root Scripture!"

Jeon-hyeon raised his momentum to the fullest, as if he would not tolerate it any more.

At that, Cheon Mubaeck stretched his neck as if he were dumbfounded.

"It's not like I'm asking for a bundle after saving a person who has fallen into a river."

"..."

"If I was the first to discover and solve the treasure map, I can also claim ownership. Can't I?"

"..."

Jeon-hyeon shut his mouth.

In fact, it was not a wrong statement.

"If you're claiming ownership because you have a connection in the past, huh? Can't Wudang also interfere?"

"How can Wudang...!"

"Not just Wudang. There's also Kunlun. Huh? Are Mount Hua and Zhongnan the only Taoist sects in the martial world? Can't the big and small Taoist sects also interfere?"

"Isn't the situation different!"

"Different? Aren't you just claiming that because you guys are strong?"

Cheon Mubaeck said that far and looked around the crowd.

His gaze reached the Zhongnan martial artists after Jeon-hyeon, and then the Mount Hua martial artists on top of the main gate in order.

"The strong prey on the weak. Then shall we have a match?"

In an instant, all the people in the crowd saw the same illusion.

The sight of Cheon Mubaeck's smile shining brightly in the pitch-black darkness.

Jeon-hyeon, in an instant, felt goosebumps all over his body.

'What is this!'

He was startled and looked around.

Everyone was unable to say anything and was just looking at Cheon Mubaeck.

Just a few words.

With just that, he had cut off people's breaths and had drawn their attention.

Not only that.

Just by raising his momentum, he had taken control of the crowd.

That was not just because his martial arts realm was high.

'This person, he knows how to handle momentum!'

Even if one's martial arts realm was low, to handle the surrounding momentum was a different meaning.

A person is bound to have their own qi wave.

And if you are a martial artist, that is even more clear.

To temporarily take control of them meant that he was very familiar with this kind of thing.

And it meant that he was a person who knew how to properly handle momentum.

'Indeed...'

Jeon-hyeon suddenly recalled what had happened at the Ghost Tomb.

Hadn't it been like that then too? The momentum that had taken control of the surrounding atmosphere in one go and had led it as he wished.

'If this goes on... the atmosphere will be taken over.'

Jeon-hyeon's expression hardened.

If Cheon Mubaeck interfered, spouting plausible bullshit, the matter would become a mud fight.

Before the ownership was properly defined, rumors would spread and Wudang would jump in, and Kunlun would also come. Not only that. As Cheon Mubaeck had said, the big and small Taoist sects would also be snooping around.

If so, the matter would become complicated.

He had to finish it here.

"Are you saying you want to have a match with Zhongnan!"

A momentum that would turn the mountains and rivers upside down.

Kwang!

When Jeon-hyeon shouted and stomped his foot, those who had been looking at Cheon Mubaeck as if they were possessed all came to their senses.

The ferocious energy of Jeon-hyeon and the Zhongnan martial artists was all focused on Cheon Mubaeck.

But even so, Cheon Mubaeck was still smiling.

"Hey."

"Hey?"

"Are you Zhongnan itself?"

"...What?"

"Instead of a match with Zhongnan, shouldn't you be saying, 'Are you saying you want to have a match with me!'? Isn't that normal?"

Cheon Mubaeck's smile deepened.

"If you don't have the prestige of your sect on your back, are you a guy who can't even draw his sword proudly?"

Chaechaeng!

Jeon-hyeon drew his sword. The Zhongnan martial artists all drew their swords.

"The one who insults Zhongnan! Even if you are the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero, I cannot forgive you!"

"Well. Did I insult Zhongnan? I insulted you."

Cheon Mubaeck grumbled as if he were dumbfounded.

But the situation was not so leisurely.

A touch-and-go atmosphere.

If Cheon Mubaeck drew his sword next, a fight was certain.

It was then.

Kugugugung!

The main gate of the Mount Hua Sect, which had been firmly closed, opened with a heavy sound.

At the face of the person who appeared next, Jeon-hyeon, who had been raising his momentum, withdrew his sword with a bewildered face.

"Sect leader."

A white beard that came down to his waist.

He was wearing a Taoist cap on his head, and his Taoist uniform was neat and simple.

A person who looked like a Taoist to anyone.

He was the sect leader of Mount Hua.

He looked around with his half-open, slitted eyes and said.

"Everyone, come in. Mount Hua does not refuse guests. But... to use martial arts in Mount Hua is to break the law, and it is a sign of hostility towards Mount Hua, so please withdraw your momentum."

A low but heavy voice.

It was a momentum befitting the sect leader of Mount Hua, who had stood tall as the center of the orthodox martial world after Shaolin had gone into seclusion.

With just one low voice, he had erased all the ferocious momentum.

But his gaze was directed at Cheon Mubaeck.

Cheon Mubaeck did not avoid his gaze and took a fist-and-palm salute.

"Zhongnan and the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero. Everyone, come in."

Cheon Mubaeck.

Entering the Mount Hua Sect.

* * *

"What is the Primordial Root Scripture that they are making such a fuss about?"

"It's nothing special. It's just a Taoist scripture."

"What's with them acting as if they're going to start a war over that? Well."

From the perspective of Neung-heo, who was a black-way member, the sight of them risking their lives for a mere Taoist scripture seemed quite ridiculous.

Cheon Mubaeck looked at Gwak Cheon-hu.

"Looking at the atmosphere now, it seems your purpose will not be solved either."

"...If I had known it would be like this, I would have gone to Henan and found Shaolin."

Cheon Mubaeck, who had entered Mount Hua, felt a ferocious atmosphere.

Since the Zhongnan martial artists, who were carrying swords, were gathered in a group, it was only natural.

"Then why does my lord need the Primordial Root Scripture?"

Neung-heo was curious about that.

Was there a need to interfere in this mud fight?

Unlike the Taoist sects, Zhongnan and Mount Hua, wasn't Cheon Mubaeck unrelated?

"Isn't it funny?"

"Pardon?"

"You bastards. I solved everything, but where are you trying to take just the core?"

"..."

Wow, this guy.

His sense of ownership is surprisingly strong.

Of course, it wasn't just for that reason.

'The Primordial Root Scripture...'

Wang Chongyang was a great person that even Cheon Mubaeck knew well. Of course, they had never met, but wasn't the anecdote that Wang Chongyang had received teachings from immortals and had founded The Complete Truth Sect famous?

It was a Taoist scripture written by such a person.

Moreover, was it the 'sacred object' of The Complete Truth Sect for nothing?

Furthermore, Cheon Mubaeck had paid attention to the fact that it was hidden in the place where he had obtained Lü Dongbin's Heaven-Concealing Sword Technique.

'The Heaven-Shaking Soul Art, which uses the upper dantian. And the upper dantian is unusually sensitive to external qi and is well suited to the Heaven-Concealing Sword Technique.'

Cheon Mubaeck, who had concentrated on the Heaven-Concealing Sword Technique for a few days and had completely mastered it as his own, had clearly felt it.

The Heaven-Shaking Soul Art of the upper dantian and the Heaven-Concealing Sword Technique had a compatibility that was so strange.

It meant that there was something that connected with the Heaven-Shaking Soul Art, which was based on the internal energy of Buddhism and Taoism.

'Then... if it is a sacred object found in the sacred altar made by Lü Dongbin, even if it is just a Taoist scripture that contains Taoist studies, I might be able to see something.'

Cheon Mubaeck was not a person who was very greedy.

Wealth, women, and honor.

He had felt all those things as much as he could in his numerous past lives.

His thought was that it was enough if it was not lacking, even if it was not abundant.

But just one thing was different.

Right, martial arts.

Cheon Mubaeck was greedy when it came to martial arts.

So Cheon Mubaeck had made a decision.

"I have to take the Primordial Root Scripture.”

(End of Chapter)