Return of the Mount Hua Sect-Chapter 1156: A Sect Abandoned By All Of Justice Faction. (1)

Chapter 1156: A Sect Abandoned By All Of Justice Faction. (1)

When everyone seemed at a loss for words, there was one distinct reaction. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

“Why is that?”

At that moment, Yoon Jong twisted Jo Gul’s chin without asking or questioning.

“Kyaul!”

Seeing Jo Gul fall instantly, Yoon Jong clicked his tongue shortly.

“Please, act like a human…”

But at that moment, Jo Gul suddenly stood up and shouted.

“Ah, it’s not me!”

“Huh?”

Yoon Jong blinked in confusion, and Jo Gul protested with a face full of grievance.

“No, sahyung! I’m still the son of a merchant family who made a living through trade; surely I know where that place is?”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes.”

“Ah, then that makes sense. That is an island, and the hatched area between the land and the island is the sea.”

“If it’s an island?”

“Southern Island.”

Yu Yiseol still looked puzzled. But even Tang Soso couldn’t solve this further. The reason Yu Yiseol was confused was why that man was pointing to the Southern Island, and even Tang Soso didn’t know the reason.

As Yu Yiseol’s blank gaze and Tang Soso’s suspicious look poured out simultaneously, Im So-Byeong smiled slyly.

“Hehehe. Yes, that’s right. This is the Southern Island.”

“…W-wait a moment.”

At that moment, Baek Cheon interrupted, looking incredulous.

“Southern Islands?”

“Yes!”

“Really the Southern Islands?”

“Are your eyes bad by any chance?”

“Ah, no, it’s not that…”

Baek Cheon couldn’t understand at all, but still asked with a questioning expression.

“Then perhaps… the great sect that the Green Forest King mentioned, the one which can join us? Surely not… right?”

“Hehe. Why not!”

Bang!

Im So-Byeong slapped the map with his palm and said triumphantly.

“There are countless sects in the world, but there is only one great sect based on the Southern Island in the southern sea!”

“…”

“Yes! Why hide it! It’s the Southern Island Sect!”

“Gul.”

“Yes, sahyung.”

“Do you know today’s lunch menu?”

“I think it was beef today.”

“Oh, good. Shall we go eat?”

“Let’s do that.”

“Then I should go train as well.”

“Ugh. Now that I think about it, I still have some work left. Let’s start with that…”

As people began to get up one by one with indifferent faces, Im So-Byeong shouted in an even louder voice.

“Ah, no, why such reactions! I brought such an amazing strategy!”

“I’m hungry.”

“Ah, my shoulder hurts from training yesterday.”

“Will you train in the evening too?”

“Listen to me!”

When Im So-Byeong shouted, Baek Cheon scratched his ear and replied gruffly.

“You have to make sense for me to listen.”

“That guy is done for. I thought he was smart for a while.”

“Bandits are all like that. If they were that smart, would they live by banditry?”

Criticism beyond reproach poured out. But at that moment, Im So-Byeong opened his fan wide, covered his lower face, and chuckled softly.

“Oh dear, oh dear…”

Seeing Im So-Byeong shaking his head, everyone frowned.

“Why is that guy acting like that again?”

“Leave him be. He seems a bit crazy.”

Regardless, Im So-Byeong did not come out of his own world.

“Hehe. A genius ahead of his time must always suffer from envy and misunderstanding. It’s natural, so I’m not particularly angry.”

“…Ah, yes, yes. I suppose so.”

“I said let’s eat. I’m hungry.”

As people really tried to leave, Im So-Byeong hurriedly lowered his fan and shouted.

“No! Just listen first!”

“Why listen? It’s going to be nonsense anyway.”

“No! Why do you only say no! People have to keep all possibilities open! That closed-minded prejudice and fixed ideas block so many good thoughts…!”

“Hey, you!”

Unable to hold back, Baek Cheon raised his voice sharply.

“You have to make sense! Southern Island Sect belongs to the Nine Great Sects, so why would they join us? Do you think they have no sense!”

“There are even two from the Five Great Families here! Have you ever thought that the Tang Family or Namgung would leave the Five Great Families to join the Heavenly Friends Alliance?” 𝘳ΆΝŏ𝐛ÈṤ

“Huh?”

Im So-Byeong said firmly.

“If I said that just five years ago, I would have been certified as a madman anywhere in the world. It would have been lucky if they even treated me like a person!”

“Well…”

Baek Cheon trailed off. In fact, it wasn’t entirely wrong. They were in the middle of that flow, so everything felt natural.

But for those watching the Heavenly Friends Alliance’s moves from afar, wasn’t it also shocking that the Tang family or Namgung joined the Heavenly Friends Alliance?

“If the Five Great Families could do it, why can’t the Nine Great Sects? Do they think they were born wearing a golden crown? Damn it! If they are the Nine Great Sects, then they are! Why discriminate and ignore people…”

“Whoa, whoa, Green Forest King. That’s not it. You have to speak without bias.”

“Ah, right.”

When Beon Chung calmed him down, Im So-Byeong suddenly changed his expression. Those watching frowned even more.

“The Nine Great Sects are people who share the same table. Just because you were once part of the Nine Great Sects doesn’t mean you’ll be forever in there. Mount Hua disciples had to prove themselves…”

“What, you bastard?”

“Chung Myung!”

“Chung Myung! Hold on!”

“Get that man away! Quickly! Why bring up that past story suddenly and make the quiet guy have a fit!”

The terrified Five Swords and elders subdued Chung Myung, whose eyes were half-rolled back, emitting a manic frenzy.

“What? Kicked out of the Justice faction? You bandit bastard with a loose mouth!”

“I-I didn’t say kicked out…”

“But this bastard?”

“C-Calm down!”

“Hey, hey! Hold him tight! If he hits him now, Green Forest King is done for!”

Im So-Byeong broke into a cold sweat and stepped back.

“Ahem, anyway…”

Bang!

Im So-Byeong spread his palm wide and struck the Southern Island on the map again.

“To understand what I mean, you need to understand the current situation of the Southern Island Sect.”

“Do we have to listen?”

“Really?”

Though tired responses leaked here and there, Im So-Byeong steadfastly continued.

“The part to focus on is here.”

Im So-Byeong drew a long horizontal line across the center of the large map.

No one here didn’t know what that line meant. Drawing across the Central Plains. That meant the Yangtze River.

“Currently, the Central Plains are divided north and south by the Yangtze River. The south of the river is controlled by the Four Sects Alliance, and the north is dominated by the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families.”

“Hmm.”

As familiar topics came up, people gradually became interested.

“The Yangtze River flows through Sichuan and reaches the transverse mountain range that forms the boundary between Sichuan and Tibet. In other words, once the Yangtze is occupied, the path from south to north is completely blocked.”

“What obvious nonsense.”

“Then look. Where are the Nine Great Sects located?”

“Well…”

Baek Cheon, about to answer indifferently, suddenly showed a subtle expression.

“Shall we see?”

Im So-Byeong quickly took out a fine brush from his bosom, opened the cap, and dotted the map densely.

“Do you understand?”

Baek Cheon nodded silently. Im So-Byeong shrugged and said.

“As you can see, most sects belonging to the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families are concentrated north of the Yangtze River. Emei, Qingcheng sect, and Dian Cang are in Sichuan just above the Yangtze; Wudang is in Hubei above the Yangtze; Southern Edge, Mount Hua, and Shaolin are in Henan and Shaanxi above Hubei. There’s no need to mention Kunlun in Qinghai and Kongtong in Gansu.”

“That’s right.”

It was nothing new. It was already well known that the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families were centered north of the river. No need to question it again.

Except for that one place.

Im So-Byeong fiercely drew Southern Island Sect below Guangxi Province with his brush.

“How about here?”

“…It’s south.”

Of course. The Southern Sea is at the southernmost tip of the Central Plains.

Yes. Only the Southern Island Sect exists in the south of the river. Not just anywhere in the south, but isolated alone in the South Sea beyond the Four Sects Alliance’s territory. They cannot receive help from any sect.

“As you know, the Nine Great Sects and the Four Sects Alliance have crossed a point of no return. It’s only a matter of when they reveal it to each other.”

“Well…”

“Then let me ask one thing.”

Im So-Byeong smiled, lifting one corner of his mouth.

“Where will the war begin?”

“…”

“Until now, everyone naturally thought the war would start at the Yangtze River. But… is that really so?”

Baek Cheon closed his mouth.

“Let me ask, would the Hegemony Lord start a war leaving enemies behind their backs?”

No. Everyone here could confidently say no. Jang Ilso would never leave those who could attack his back alive.

“I guarantee, the signal for war won’t come from the Yangtze River. It will be Southern Island Sect. To us, the Southern Island seems isolated and struggling alone, but to the Hegemony Lord?”

Chung Myung gently pushed away those pressing on him and sat upright.

“…You mean it looks like a separate special unit behind the lines?”

“Exactly. When they focus their forces on the front main line, it looks like a place that can suddenly strike into the Four Sects Alliance’s territory and destroy the rear.”

Im So-Byeong grinned.

“What do you think, taoist? If you were the Hegemony Lord, what would you do with Southern Island Sect?”

“I’m not that Evil Sect bastard Jang Ilso, so that question annoys me.”

“…”

“But…”

Chung Myung rested his chin on his hand, eyes shining.

“If I were Jang Ilso… no, even if I’m not, I wouldn’t just leave the Southern Island alone.”

“Indeed…”

“But saying the war starts there is wrong.”

“…Yes?”

At that moment, Chung Myung’s voice lowered softly.

“They would want to settle things first before starting the war.”

“…”

“Even right now.”

With those words, the atmosphere in the room chilled and sank.