Chapter 345: Twin Overlord Spear King (2)
“Have you gone senile?”
“Hey, isn’t that a bit too harsh?”
Even though he had tried to show concern, the Black Lotus Sect Lord looked sullen.
But I could guarantee one thing—everyone else probably had thoughts similar to mine. They just hadn’t said them out loud.
“Think about it. If martial artists of our level were to spar—especially to suppress the rumors going around—then a half-hearted duel would become impossible.”
“That’s true. Either we’d have to go through the motions carelessly, or it would have to be a duel close to a fight to the death for it to mean anything.”
“I’d rather not cut you down, Sect Lord.”
“Are you already assuming you’ve won? The audacity.”
The Black Lotus Sect Lord let out a hollow laugh, but his eyes were serious.
“But it’s something that needs to be done. For the future of this Sect Lord and the Black Lotus Sect. And for dealing with that Heavenly Demon bastard as well.”
“I don’t quite understand.”
“Well. No matter who wins, it’ll lead to profit. That’s why.”
“I still don’t understand. No matter how I think about it, it seems like we’d both just suffer losses.”
“It’s simple. What do you think would happen if this Sect Lord won?”
“It’s not something I’ve ever thought about, but if that happened, I’d probably just be a bit embarrassed and that’d be the end of it. Even though we’re both Flowering Stage martial artists, my seniority is much lower, isn’t it?”
“No. You would become the successor of the Black Lotus Sect.”
“What do you—… Then what happens if I win?”
“You would become the new Black Lotus Sect Lord.”
“????”
For a moment I blinked, unable to process what I had just heard.
I understood the part about making me the successor of the Black Lotus Sect. It had been the same before my regression and even now—somehow, I seemed to fit perfectly with the tastes of the Black Lotus Sect Lord.
But the part where he said he’d hand over the position of Sect Lord if I won was completely incomprehensible.
After all, he was the Black Lotus Sect Lord.
The Sangwan Geuk himself.
The most unorthodox martial artist I knew.
If there was something he wanted, he took it. If there was something he wanted to do, he absolutely had to do it before he could rest.
Honor, power, wealth, martial strength… there wasn’t a single thing he didn’t want to keep for himself.
A man overflowing with ambition.
It was precisely because of that nature that he had been able to build the Black Lotus Sect as it existed today.
If he had lacked even one of those traits, he would’ve either lived comfortably alone without founding the sect, developed the disposition of an Orthodox Sect instead of an unorthodox one, or spent his life plagued by the endless betrayals that constantly emerged.
It was something only a man like Sangwan Geuk could accomplish.
And that achievement contained everything he was.
Naturally, he treated the organization called the Black Lotus Sect—and the position of its Sect Lord—as if they were part of his own body.
Yet now he was saying he’d hand both over to me over a single spar.
No matter how much I thought about it, it made no sense.
“Yeah… I think you really have gone senile.”
“The only madman who can say that in front of this Sect Lord is you.”
“Or is this a trap?”
“If you’re that suspicious, go check the ledgers yourself. If I had planned to pull off some big scheme and dump the blame on you, there would at least be some traces left.”
“Good heavens…”
If he was acting this confidently, then there were only two possibilities.
Either he truly had no shady intentions—
Or he had hidden them so perfectly that I wouldn’t find them no matter what I did.
Well… considering the nature of the Black Lotus Sect Lord, the former was far more likely.
“Why are you doing this? Whether I receive the position of Black Lotus Sect Lord now or later, it’s nothing but a burden to me. I don’t even need it.”
“Yes. I know that well. If you had even a little more greed for things like this, you would’ve accepted this Sect Lord’s proposal long ago, or you’d be splitting the power of the Tang Clan with the Poison King.”
At that point, the Black Lotus Sect Lord curled the corner of his mouth upward.
“So this is something I’m doing for myself, not for you.”
“What kind of nonsense is—”
“You look like you’re thinking ‘what kind of bullshit is that.’”
“I haven’t said that yet.”
“I understand. Just as this Sect Lord has a rough grasp of what kind of person you are, you probably have a rough grasp of what kind of person I am as well. But this Sect Lord is sincere.”
“That’s right. My husband is sincere.”
Sama Yuryeon began explaining slowly after taking over his words.
“A full-scale war between the Demonic Cult and Zhongyuan is already an unavoidable reality. And it’s also true that neither the Murim Alliance nor the Black Lotus Sect can stand against the Demonic Cult alone… to be precise, against the Heavenly Demon.”
“You’re acknowledging that faster than I expected. I heard that many people in the Murim Alliance still laugh it off, giving the Alliance Leader quite a difficult time.”
“That’s probably because they’ve never personally exchanged blows with the Heavenly Demon.”
That was true.
Unless you were someone like the Sword King—who had fought the Heavenly Demon together with two others and still failed to break through even his protective qi—or the Murim Alliance Leader who gathered all the information of the Orthodox Murim…
It was hard to properly grasp the danger of the Heavenly Demon.
After all, wasn’t it absurd?
The fact that he hadn’t merely matched three Flowering Stage martial artists—but had completely overwhelmed them.
In fact, the Illusory Illusion Witch had declared that no human could become that strong through normal means.
Which meant that a master of that level probably hadn’t appeared for a very long time.
If someone claimed such a master had appeared—someone no one had seen or even heard of before—who would believe it?
Especially if the person hearing it had spent their entire life training martial arts and had risen to a position respected by countless martial artists.
“But once the war with the Demonic Cult truly begins, whether they like it or not, they’ll realize it. That the demonic practitioners aren’t merely pitiable people… and that the Heavenly Demon isn’t someone they can arrogantly face.”
“Right. That’s why we’re enduring these ridiculous rumors and pushing for an Orthodox–Unorthodox Alliance. Wait… I just had a ridiculous thought. Surely you don’t mean—?”
“As my husband said, the White Moon Sword Lord notices quickly.”
Sama Yuryeon nodded, confirming my suspicion.
“If the Orthodox–Unorthodox Alliance is formed, you will naturally stand at its center. You belong to the Tang Clan of the Orthodox Sect, yet you also possess great prestige in the unorthodox faction and my husband’s recognition.”
“I don’t need that kind of prestige or recognition…”
“Whether you want it or not isn’t important. What matters is that the people of the world think so.”
“That’s true. If the Black Lotus Sect Lord remains the Sect Lord until then, he’ll naturally have no choice but to step back a little. No matter how powerful the unorthodox factions become, surpassing the Orthodox Sect is still a distant dream. In the end, he’d be the second-in-command. At best, maybe a joint second-in-command.”
“But if there’s a strong connection with the White Moon Sword Lord, then the story changes.”
So if he couldn’t become number one anyway, he intended to push me—someone with no interest in power—to the front while acting as the hidden power behind the scenes.
And if an opportunity appeared, he’d step forward and swallow the Orthodox–Unorthodox Alliance whole.
Considering the personality of the Black Lotus Sect Lord, it was entirely possible.
Possible… but something still felt off.
While I was tilting my head internally, the Black Lotus Sect Lord added calmly,
“Of course, if this Sect Lord can’t remain the Black Lotus Sect Lord forever, I also thought it’d be better to pass it on to someone I like.”
“You don’t seem like someone who would already be thinking about retirement.”
“This Sect Lord might be considered young among Flowering Stage martial artists, but I’m still approaching fifty.”
“Hm.”
Before my regression, the Black Lotus Sect Lord had always believed that he himself was the Black Lotus Sect.
Even when he knew he couldn’t defeat the Heavenly Demon, he had always stepped forward first in everything.
Now suddenly talking about the future…
I could somewhat guess the reason.
Me.
Unlike before my regression, I had become far stronger.
I had revealed myself to the world.
And instead of being merely a revenge-driven madman, I now possessed a certain level of reputation.
Of course, the fact that he had met Sama Yuryeon much earlier and had even held a wedding—something that had never happened before my regression—was probably another reason.
He was pretending otherwise, but seeing the firmness I once knew wavering slightly made my heart complicated in many ways.
I didn’t want to see the Black Lotus Sect Lord speaking weakly like this.
So what should I do?
My confusion didn’t last long.
After all, both he and I were unorthodox martial artists.
Well… these days anyone looking would call me a model Orthodox martial artist, but still.
The Black Lotus Sect Lord was the most unorthodox of the unorthodox.
In that case, the way to persuade him was obvious.
“Let’s do this.”
“Hm?”
“If you win, Sect Lord, then as you said, I’ll become the successor of the Black Lotus Sect. If necessary… I’ll even enter your family as an adopted son.”
“Oh? Would that be alright? Didn’t you say you’d refuse because the Tang Clan would dislike it?”
“I’ll somehow persuade my father-in-law.”
“If that’s the case, then this Sect Lord would certainly welcome it, but—”
“However.”
“…?”
The Black Lotus Sect Lord froze for a moment at my unexpected reply.
Looking straight at him, I continued in a serious tone.
“If I win, you must continue being the Black Lotus Sect Lord.”
“What?”
“Of course, while the Orthodox–Unorthodox Alliance lasts, you’ll have to listen to me a little more. But you must remain the Black Lotus Sect Lord.”
“If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better for you to become the Black Lotus Sect Lord instead?”
“No. The Black Lotus Sect Lord is only one person—Sangwan Geuk, the Twin Overlord Spear King. At least until you properly appoint a successor, not through something like this.”
“Have you never considered that successor might be you? No matter how many times this Sect Lord has looked across Zhejiang Province, there’s no one more suitable than you.”
“There’s still someone you haven’t seen yet.”
“There’s an unorthodox martial artist this Sect Lord doesn’t know about?”
“Your child with the strategist.”
“Didn’t this Sect Lord say before that I’m infertile?”
“You can just treat it. Fortunately, I’ve been researching things like that for a long time.”
“Ah.”
For some reason, the Black Lotus Sect Lord clicked his tongue with a strangely sentimental expression.
“Don’t tell me you’re like that too? Being unable to do it at an even younger age than this Sect Lord… how unfortunate.”
“That’s not it.”
“Yes, yes. Everyone says that. This Sect Lord also denied reality at first.”
“I’m telling you that’s not it.”
No matter how much I denied it, the Black Lotus Sect Lord only looked at me with a lukewarm gaze that seemed to say he knew everything.
Ever since entering Zhejiang Province, it felt like the number of unfair situations I faced kept increasing.
“Anyway, the cause is different so I don’t know how much it’ll help, but I’ve done similar research and achieved some results. More importantly, I recently formed a connection with someone who could help with this kind of matter.”
“Someone who could help…? This Sect Lord has already summoned nearly every famous physician.”
“Did you also summon the Demon Physician?”
“…!”
Even the Black Lotus Sect Lord widened his eyes at that.
Apparently even he couldn’t summon the Demon Physician, who wandered wherever he pleased and treated patients only when he felt like it.
“How did you get connected to the Demon Physician?”
“I saved him when he was about to die.”
“I see. If it’s a life-saving debt, that’s possible.”
“Well… I was the one who almost killed him in the first place.”
“…?”
I could feel a gaze like he was looking at a lunatic bandit, but I ignored it.
Because the important point was something else.
“If I win, we’ll include receiving treatment from the Demon Physician as part of the conditions.”
“Why would you go that far for this Sect Lord? I’ve given you various favors, but even considering that, the position of Black Lotus Sect Lord is on the line. Wouldn’t it be more advantageous for you to just accept it quietly?”
“Well… it annoys me.”
“Annoys you?”
“If I win, things should go my way. So why would the loser be the one raising his voice?”
“You crazy bastard…”
The corner of the Black Lotus Sect Lord’s eye twitched when I said it annoyed me that he had already decided what would happen even if I won.
But what could he do?
That was simply how the unorthodox faction worked.
And the Black Lotus Sect Lord of all people would know that fact.
Yet he continued pondering silently, as if something still bothered him.
So I spoke in a slightly provocative voice.
“What are you hesitating for? Don’t tell me… you’re afraid?”
“…”
For a moment his eyes widened.
Then soon after, his mouth spread wide as well.
“Huh—HAHAHAHA! What? Did you just say this Sect Lord is afraid?! What an insolent brat!”
Even as he spoke, his hearty laughter never stopped.
Now he was starting to feel like the Sangwan Geuk I knew again.
“Fine! Let’s have a proper fight! Once preparations are finished, this Sect Lord will send word. Until then, rest well so you won’t have any excuses!”
“Yes. I’ll see you then.”
I bowed slightly and immediately turned around, leaving the office.
Behind me, I could still hear the joyful laughter of the Black Lotus Sect Lord.
And while all of this was happening,
Tang Sowol gently smiled and quietly patted my back.
Meanwhile, the Illusory Illusion Witch—
“Eek…! The mindset that if you didn’t obtain something with your own hands, you don’t need it. That’s the very essence of the Path of Tyranny…! I think I’ve chosen the right side!”
She nodded with a look of absolute certainty.
At this point, I was starting to feel too tired to even react.