Chapter 1202: How Is This Different (Part 2)

"Well...?"

Namgung Dowi, glancing at Tang Gunak, forced an awkward smile.

"Isn't it a good thing? The Southern Island Sect will surely understand our sincerity."

Namgung Dowi truly believed that. What better way was there to show their sincerity than to have the Sect Leaders visit Southern Island themselves? But Jo Gol seemed to have a different opinion.

"Rather, wouldn't they feel threatened?"

"Th-threatened?"

When Namgung Dowi turned to ask what that meant, Jo Gol shrugged his shoulders.

"Think about it. Are any of the sects in the Heavenly Comrade Alliance easy to deal with?"

"...That's true."

Admitting that none of them were easy to deal with was honestly a very humble statement. While the Heavenly Comrade Alliance may not match up to the Ten Great Sects, it was still a formidable force within Kangho.

"The Namgung Family and the Tang Family, the backbone of the Five Great Families, Nokrim, one of the Five Great Evils, and even two of the Outer Palaces."

"Hmm..."

"Among them, is there a single sect that Southern Island Sect could easily look down upon?"

"There... wouldn't be, right?"

Even though Southern Island was considered one of the Ten Great Sects, it had only joined the alliance less than a hundred years ago. Objectively speaking, the place with greater concerns in their interactions would undoubtedly be Southern Island.

"But... imagine if the Sect Leaders of the Heavenly Comrade Alliance flocked to them, said they came with good intentions, and asked them to join us."

At that moment, everyone's minds conjured up an image.

To put it bluntly, it was an image of the Heavenly Comrade Alliance's elites, who were considered untouchable even by the Ten Great Sects, surrounding Southern Island's sect leader.

"Uh..."

"This picture is a bit..."

"There's even a member of the Evil Sect."

As some strange reactions began to emerge, Namgung Dowi, sweating coldly, said.

"Well, we're not threatening. We just think it would be good for Southern Island's future to work with the Heavenly Comrade Alliance..."

"Isn't that the same as saying, 'Join us, or else we'll leave, and then you'll be in trouble because even the Shaolin won't help you'?"

"..."

"That's a threat."

At that remark, the Five Swords began to murmur.

"Come to think of it..."

"It's scary."

"Really, terrifying."

"If it were me, I'd be scared."

By now, Namgung Dowi felt relieved that Tang Gunak had not joined. If Tang Gunak was glaring at you from a distance while you were encircled by these formidable masters, wouldn't you feel the urge to offer up some precious treasure you didn't even have?

"...At this point, we can't even call it cooperation, right, Sahyung?"

"Tsk tsk. Foolish. Don't you understand yet?"

"Yes?"

Yoon Jong looked at Jo Gol as if he were pitiful and spoke.

"Cooperation is supposed to be done with force."

Jo Gol asked with widened eyes

"What, what do you mean?"

"Think about it. Cooperation that doesn't require force isn't called cooperation."

"Th-then?"

"That's just charity."

"Huh?"

Jo Gol opened his eyes wide. Initially thinking it was nonsense, upon hearing it, he realized it made sense in its own way. Yoon Jong nodded, observing Jo Gol's expression.

"Shutting them up and beating them; that's called cooperation, not charity. And aren't we on our way to cooperate?"

"Is that so?"

"Exactly. So, of course, we need to use force."

"Wow. Sahyung, I didn't know that. Indeed, this is the Mount Hua-style cooperation."

"No, you crazy bastards!"

Unable to endure any longer, Baek Cheon shouted. Jo Gol tilted his head, seemingly puzzled.

"Sahyung, Deputy Sect Leader disagrees."

"Tsk tsk. Gol-ah, you still don't know. When you're in a high position like Deputy Sect Leader, there are times when you have to say 'No' to what is right and 'Yes' to what is wrong."

"Oh, so his true intentions are different."

"That's right. The one who originally devised this plan was Deputy Sect Leader. And if you think about it, isn't Deputy Sect Leader practically the founder of 'Mount Hua-style cooperation?"

"Indeed!"

"No, not indeed!"

Listening silently, Tang Gunak looked up at the ceiling with a face that seemed to have let go of everything.

'Should I have just joined hands with Bangjang?'

Then at least the pain would have been experienced by the Bangjang, not him. Upon reflection, it might have been the best way to torment Bangjang. Why didn't that thought occur to him?

Tang Gunak sighed deeply and smoothed out his expression.

"Anyway, this isn't just a trivial issue to joke about."

Everyone turned to Tang Gunak, noticing the change in his tone.

"While I can't criticize the determination of the group heading directly to Southern Island...it is also true that the weight on those heading to Southern Island has become heavier than I initially thought. Objectively speaking, this is an unprecedented event, isn't it?

If the Sect Leaders heading to Southern Island suffer an unintended disaster, the damage could be catastrophic. Depending on the situation, even the continuation of the Heavenly Comrade Alliance could become impossible."

Having said that, Tang Gunak looked at the other sect leaders. Even as he spoke these words, he knew that he wouldn't break their will.

Who could be blamed?

In the first place, wasn't the Heavenly Comrade Alliance a gathering of such people? These were the people who were associated with the Heavenly Comrade Alliance.

"So, above all, the most important thing is to return safely. Do not forget what you are carrying."

Everyone nodded at those words.

Finally, Tang Gunak's gaze turned towards Baek Cheon. It was just a brief glance, but Baek Cheon clearly understood its meaning.

Baek Cheon started this. Therefore, if any problems arose, it implied that the responsibility would fall on Baek Cheon. Even if the sect leaders participated voluntarily.

It was more a gaze of concern and worry than a reprimand. Baek Cheon understood the meaning in Tang Gunak's gaze and nodded heavily.

Looking at his determined gaze, Tang Gunak flashed a small smile.

"But..."

However, a voice filled with the authoritative dignity of the Tang Family's leader flowed from Tang Gunak's mouth.

"If you think about it the other way around, there's no other way to clearly show the will and intentions of the Heavenly Comrade Alliance to the world than this.

We declared that we would take a different path from the Ten Great Sects. If it ends with just words, eventually, our choice will be evaluated as a selfish decision driven by emotions rather than a decision made with a clear mind."

Everyone nodded at his words.

"As you live, you come to know. Sometimes there's no such thing as a right choice and a wrong choice. A choice is just a choice, and no matter what choice you make, the important thing is to prove that the choice was right."

These were Tang Gunak's sincere feelings.

Throughout the years, the Heavenly Comrade Alliance, Mount Hua, and the Tang Family had made countless choices that the world claimed were wrong. Despite that, the reason they were able to come this far was that their choices were proven not to be wrong through determination and will.

He knew. If they ignored the cries in their hearts and considered only reality and safety, they would inevitably become like Bangjang.

The choice the current Heavenly Comrade Alliance made was a path to prove their difference from the Shaolin. It was a choice made by no one else but themselves.

Suppressing the concerns and worries in his heart, Tang Gunak looked at everyone with a firm expression.

"So, go confidently. In the name of the Heavenly Comrade Alliance."

The response came in a single voice.

"Yes!"

Passionate as ever.

***

Negotiations between Shaolin and the Heavenly Comrade Alliance collapsed.

Master Beopjeong, the leader of Shaolin, proposed resolving the accumulated animosity between the two factions and uniting under the name of the righteous sects to prepare for the imminent disaster. However, the Heavenly Comrade Alliance flatly rejected this proposal.

In response, Master Beopjeong, angered by the Heavenly Comrade Alliance prioritizing their sect over the crisis facing the entire realm, firmly declared that they would not cooperate with the Heavenly Comrade Alliance.

- In the current situation where the malicious remnants are stirring up trouble, and the long-lost Evil Sect is showing signs of movement again, merely asserting one's position is not an action befitting those who walk the righteous path. The Ten Great Sects, including Shaolin, strongly condemn the reckless actions of the Heavenly Comrade Alliance.

This news spread rapidly throughout the realm at an astonishing speed. The reactions of those who heard the news varied.

"Isn't the Heavenly Comrade Alliance going a bit too far?"

Anger flashed across the face of the speaker.

"What? Is this person... sane right now? How can anyone speak ill of the Heavenly Comrade Alliance? When powerless people were suffering, who were the first to rush in to help? Weren't they the only ones who ran to Hangzhou when the Demonic Cult slaughtered people in masses?"

"No, isn't that the point? Hasn't the Heavenly Comrade Alliance always helped the common people? If they join forces with the Ten Great Sects, it would undoubtedly be more helpful, so why refuse?"

"You can't trust those Ten Great Sect guys! Those hypocrites who just stood by and watched our colleagues die because they were too afraid for their lives!"

A middle-aged man, listening to the heated voice, furrowed his brow.

"No matter how different the Ten Great Sects may be now, it has still been a place that has protected people for hundreds of years as a righteous sect. Will they just stand by if the Evil Tyrant Alliance and Demonic Cult invade the north? That's a matter of life and death."

"...Probably not."

"So, naturally, shouldn't they join forces and fight? From what I've heard, it seems that Master Beopjeong offered a lot to the Heavenly Comrade Alliance. However, seeing that they rejected the proposal, it implies that the Heavenly Comrade Alliance has started to focus on something else, doesn't it?"

"Something else?"

"Well, they wouldn't want to give their opponent more power right? Now that the Heavenly Comrade Alliance can no longer be considered a small force."

"This person has a big mouth! Hey, you. You're asking for trouble. How much has the Heavenly Comrade Alliance done until now?"

"Don't talk nonsense. Just because they're called the Ten Great Sects, does that mean they were always like this from the beginning? The current Heavenly Comrade Alliance is doing what the Ten Great Sects did in the past. Who were the ones who risked their lives and fought to defend the world when the Devil Cult threatened it in the past?"

"Well..."

The person hesitated, unable to come up with a response.

There was indeed a time when the Ten Great Sects symbolized righteousness.

"Even so, there's no way Heavenly Comrade Alliance changed already."

"Don't make hasty judgments. If they truly prioritized protecting the common people, even if they refused the Ten Great Sects from the beginning, they should have tried to join forces. But what about in reality? Didn't they kick away the proposal made by the Ten Great Sects?"

"..."

"When the Evil Sect and the Demonic Cult attack, even a dog would know which would result in fewer sacrifices: divided into two or united into one. I'm greatly disappointed by the Heavenly Comrade Alliance this time."

"That's probably because your nephew is one of those Kongtong Sect disciples. Look at your own faults properly. How much have you bent inside? You can't even straighten your chopsticks."

"What? Have you said everything you wanted to say?"

"What! Did I say something wrong?"

"This person!"

As their voices escalated, the atmosphere in the tavern became tumultuous. People around frowned but didn't try to intervene. They, too, had their own complex thoughts.

Observing this scene, a beggar sitting in a corner of the tavern watched quietly. The dark, sunken eyes suddenly relaxed as if he had never held such an expression when a Diancang disciple approached with an irritated look on his face.

The beggar chuckled as he smoothly received the half-eaten bowl of rice offered by the Diancang disciple and quietly slipped out of the tavern.