The simply decorated inner chamber held old objects that seemed to be part of the scenery itself. In the room were a worn tea table, a kettle, and cups stained by many hands. Despite their age, everything was immaculately clean, suggesting the owner's frugal nature.
Three people sat around the tea table.
"I heard that the Fire King has entered Nirvana," an old monk with a full white beard said in a voice colored with regret. His robes, once a vibrant ochre, appeared faded with time.
"Nirvana? What nonsense," a one-armed Taoist sneered. His right sleeve hung loose, and he appeared to be the same age as the monk. "Sama Ryang wasn't even a monk. There's no need to exalt him like that." He paused, then added, "Considering that man's fiery temper, we'd be lucky if he isn't brawling with King Yama by now."
Contrary to his blunt words, the old Taoist's eyes were clouded with loneliness. The grief of sending off a dear old friend weighed on him.
The old monk, understanding this, simply gazed into his teacup and smiled faintly. "...I heard the Fire King faced the apostle alone."
"Hah..." The Sword Sage sighed.
"The foolish bastard. He was just being reckless, knowing he was no match for her."
"His young students were nearby, weren't they? I'm sure you would have done the same in that situation, Sword Sage."
"......"
The two old men—the Sword Sage, Sage Jinyang, and the Supreme Buddha, Reverend Muheo—silently mourned their peer. Not only was the Fire King Sama Ryang a peerless master who had dominated an era, he was also a longtime friend of theirs.
Among the masters of the Nine Sects, who were revered by common people as immortals above the clouds and pillars of their world, they were the greatest masters of Shaolin and Wudang.
The Sword Sage flourished in the same era as the Fire King and was a retired member of the Ten Supremes. The Supreme Buddha, who was slightly younger, still held a seat among the Ten Supremes of the current era.
They were giants of the murim whose symbolic importance was as great as their martial prowess. Even the most renowned murim experts could scarcely breathe comfortably in their presence.
After a brief remembrance, the two men shook off their lingering emotions. They had not gathered to mourn the Fire King.
"The Blood Cult has gone too far with its evil deeds. We can no longer stand by and watch."
"The Nine Sects should have joined forces a long time ago. I left that task to the young disciples, but they're progressing so slowly. I suppose their bellies have gotten fat from the prolonged peace."
"I recently scolded the Abbot as well. I considered caning him, but he's nearly sixty now."
"Truly, you have remarkable patience, Supreme Buddha. I secretly threw a few punches at my Sect Leader before coming here."
"Amitabha..."
The pair spoke of the Shaolin Abbot and the Wudang Sect Leader as if they were children, a testament to their high seniority in the murim.
"I've sent word to my old friends in Mount Hua, Zhongnan, Qingcheng, Diancang, Kunlun, and Kongtong. No matter how stubborn those Taoists are, they'll act when an order comes down from their grandmasters."
"I have instructed the Four Great Vajras of our temple to go to the Emei Sect and demand their Abbess take action."
"The Beggars' Gang will come on their own. Soon, all of the Nine Sects One Gang will gather."
"Indeed. For the first time since the war with the Blood Cult ended fifty years ago..."
The two men were discussing the mobilization of the Nine Sects One Gang, the representatives of the orthodox murim. Coming from anyone else, this conversation would have seemed absurd, but here it felt as natural as breathing.
However, there were actually three people sitting at the tea table.
The two old men turned their gazes to the third man, who had remained silent since the meeting began.
"Why haven't you said anything, Principal?" the Supreme Buddha asked.
The middle-aged man with piercing eyes, who had been quietly sipping his tea, finally opened his mouth. "With the two of you at the center, the Nine Sects One Gang is basically already unified. What significance could my opinions possibly hold? I was just politely listening to my seniors."
The Sword Sage frowned. What an inscrutable man.
"...I can't tell if that's humility or a sharp rebuke," he said. "How could we decide such a grave matter by ourselves?"
Jin Ryang, the Myriad Weapons Emperor and Principal of the Heavenly Martial Academy, was a member of the Ten Supremes. For the last fifteen years, he had solidified his academy's position as the world's greatest martial arts institution, a status that no one could challenge.
In the past, the academy was little more than a place for prodigies from prestigious orthodox sects, such as the Nine Sects One Gang and the Five Great Clans, to socialize. They believed the students could not learn anything from the academy that their own sects could not teach them.
That all changed when Jin Ryang became principal. He immediately took control of the brilliant prodigies who had gathered from each sect. Their martial arts progressed beyond simple socializing, which made it only natural for more outstanding prodigies to gather. This was only possible because he possessed both peerless martial arts and great prestige.
"A rebuke? How could I dare harbor such disrespect toward the two of you?" Jin Ryang shook his head, smiling politely.
However, the Sword Sage only furrowed his brows even more. "I know that most of the young martial artists of the Nine Sects One Gang respect you as their teacher, so don't humble yourself so much. As they say, excessive courtesy is a breach of etiquette."
"Hoho. There's some truth to what the Sword Sage says," the Supreme Buddha interjected, trying to soften the tense atmosphere. "Don't you have more influence over the young martial artists than we do, Principal?"
Indeed, the Principal of the Heavenly Martial Academy was famous even compared to legendary martial artists like the Sword Sage and the Supreme Buddha. To say that all the future sect leaders of the Nine Sects One Gang and the heirs of the Five Great Clans had learned martial arts from him was no exaggeration. This was why he had such immense influence over the younger generation.
"The Alliance Chairman couldn't attend this meeting because he's busy investigating the traces of the Blood Cult left in the Ak Clan Branch Estate, but he has agreed to join our cause."
If Jin Ryang took an ambiguous stance here, the morale of the orthodox would plummet before the war even began.