The Murim Alliance Leader, the Lord of the Black Alliance, and on top of them, the head of the Sichuan Tang Clan, the head of the Namgung Clan, and even the abbot of Shaolin.
Though the Orthodox Sects held an overwhelming majority, what mattered wasn't who filled more seats, but that the representatives of both the Orthodox and Unorthodox Sects had gathered in one place.
Something that couldn't have even been imagined just ten years ago.
If we went back a bit further, to thirty years ago, it would have been a gathering where it wouldn't have been strange for them to already be drawing their weapons and fighting.
But to me, who had experienced regression, these faces weren't anything particularly special.
If anything, I felt a sense of relief, as if things were finally moving in the right direction.
…Well. That's just how I see it, anyway.
"There is much to discuss in this place, but before that, there is something that must be said first."
The abbot of Shaolin Temple, the one who had provided the venue and had taken it upon himself to act as mediator between the Orthodox and Unorthodox Sects, surveyed his surroundings with a stern expression.
"I ask that you refrain from drawing your swords for personal reasons. This is sacred ground where the Buddha is enshrined. I have no desire to see unnecessary bloodshed."
"I shall keep that in mind."
The Murim Alliance Leader set down the beggar's staff that had been resting on his shoulder and nodded.
In his youth, he had been called Uicheon-singae, a man who had beaten the Demonic Heads of the Unorthodox Sects like dogs—the former leader of the Beggars' Sect.
He who had been most active during the period of fiercest conflict with the Unorthodox Sects had now declared he would lay down his weapon within these grounds.
Though their roles differed and the burdens they carried were not the same, the others who respected him as a martial artist and as an elder of the era would not raise any objection to that.
"Is a spear acceptable instead of a sword?"
"Please, Your Excellency…!"
"Heh heh. Just joking."
Well, that was to be expected of an Orthodox Sect.
Though that didn't apply to the Lord of the Black Alliance, who had been born and raised at the very bottom of the Unorthodox Sects.
Of course, he too, lest anyone think he had come to this place looking for trouble, quickly unstrapped his twin blades from his back and set them down on the ground.
…By the way, was it just his imagination that Sama Yuryeon, looking around at the others with a tearful expression, seemed to be clinging to him as if she enjoyed it?
He shook his head back and forth, erasing any interest in the Lord of the Black Alliance's married life. Meanwhile, Great Master Jeonghyeon, chuckling, naturally moved on to the next topic.
"So I thank you for accommodating this old monk's request. Then, shall we begin with the most recent events?"
"You mean the Green Forest subjugation. The results were good, but the fact that the two clans joined hands with the Black Alliance without saying a word to the Murim Alliance…"
"The Tang Clan has no reason to seek the Murim Alliance's permission, Alliance Leader."
"The Namgung Clan is the same."
"Ahem. I'm not speaking of permission. I mean, couldn't you have at least informed us?"
The Murim Alliance Leader added sheepishly, taken aback by the reactions of Tang Jincheon and Namgung Dowi, both of whom showed a hint of displeasure.
It seemed he had only just realized that his words could be perceived as the Murim Alliance interfering with the Tang Clan and the Namgung Clan.
Tang Jincheon, having realized it was a slight slip of the tongue, spoke in a much more subdued tone.
"My apologies, Alliance Leader. What can I say—my son-in-law resolved everything in the blink of an eye, so there was nothing left to be done."
"Huh?"
"That's right. Around the time the Namgung Clan found a few Green Forest strongholds and subjugated one of them, the White Moon Sword Lord had already wiped out countless strongholds and even slain the chief of the main camp."
"Is that even possible?"
"I couldn't tell you the method. But if it happened, then it must have been possible."
Tang Jincheon grinned proudly at the Murim Alliance Leader's dumbfounded reaction.
Surprisingly, there was one more person who took pride in my deeds.
"Hahaha! Isn't it only natural, Murim Alliance Leader? Who knows the Unorthodox Sects better than the Unorthodox Sects themselves? The Sword Demon—no, the White Moon Sword Lord—having stood at the very top of the Green Forest is hardly cause for surprise!"
"…Just why are you so full of yourself, Lord of the Black Alliance? And the White Moon Sword Lord is a figure of the Orthodox Sects."
The Murim Alliance Leader let out a deep sigh. Even so, he glanced at me, so I nodded my head proudly.
"That's right. I wonder why the Lord of the Black Alliance would say such a thing when there's no one more suited to the Orthodox Sects than me."
"…"
"…"
"…"
A moment of silence flowed. Everyone had plenty to say, but their expressions showed they didn't know where to begin.
…No, at the very least, Tang Jincheon shouldn't be looking at me with those eyes.
A faint sense of injustice welled up inside me. I decided to push forward with a bit more shamelessness.
"You may call me the living conscience of the martial world, if you like."
"…"
This time, even the Murim Alliance Leader fell silent.
Nothing I could do about that. I shook my head gently, a hint of regret in the motion.
"I was joking. However, it wasn't because I understood the Unorthodox Sects' way of thinking, as the Lord of the Black Alliance suggested."
"Then how did you manage it? Ah, I'm not interrogating you, of course. Regardless, the subjugation of the Green Forest is a matter of upholding the righteousness of the martial world. This is merely curiosity for the future, so answer freely."
"It's nothing special. I've simply always been interested in the ways of the Green Forest."
"Hm?"
I couldn't very well say that I'd learned this information by interrogating Green Forest bandits who had infiltrated the Orthodox-Unorthodox Alliance before my regression, so I decided to spin something plausible instead.
A clever lie—one that contained a grain of truth, but wasn't entirely true.
If it were Tang So-wol, she might see through me, but the Murim Alliance Leader had only seen my face a few times. I felt no guilt lying to him.
"When I was young, I had a run-in with some Green Forest bandits…"
"You're still young now, aren't you?"
"I'm all grown up now. I mean when I was even younger than this. They treated me so harshly that I swore I'd pay them back someday, and as I kept scheming and thinking about it, I started to get a sense of how they operate."
That had happened before my regression, but it was true that I'd been harassed by Green Forest bandits who popped up during my travels. I'd told similar stories to others before.
When I told the story with a bit of embellishment, everyone started blinking as if they couldn't believe it.
No, the Murim Alliance Leader actually asked back.
"Young man. Does that even make sense… Hmm. Come to think of it, reaching the Harmony Realm at the Age of Twenty doesn't make sense either."
"?"
He nodded to himself, as if he'd convinced himself with his own reasoning.
…Still, if they pressed me for details, I'd be at a loss for words, so this was better.
Well. Tang Jincheon and Tang So-wol, who knew about my seal, were sending me worried glances as if they'd caught on to something.
I couldn't speak of what the seal restricted, but just knowing that they were aware of its existence was a relief in itself.
Anyway, with the past stories finished, we began to bring up one thing after another about what lay ahead.
"Ahem. Listen, everyone. I, the Alliance Lord, have been thinking…"
"Not bad. But isn't that just shifting the Black Alliance's problems onto the Murim Alliance?"
"Then how about we try it this way…"
"…That's acceptable. The issue is that it increases the burden on the Namgung Clan."
"If there's proper support, Namgung will handle it."
The topics were varied.
Things like joining forces when dealing with those officially designated as enemies in the Central Plains, just as we had during the Green Forest subjugation this time.
If a Demonic Head who had gone mad during martial arts training were to appear, petty acts of violence by minor evil sects, tolls for passing between Orthodox and Unorthodox territories, and so on.
These were difficult topics that had nothing to do with the Heavenly Demon, but were necessary when considering the future of the Central Plains martial world, and they began pouring out in earnest.
They would jab at each other, sometimes nod in agreement at the same time, and scratch at each other whenever they got the chance, but the discussion itself progressed steadily.
Most of it was thanks to Great Master Jeonghyeon's mediation and Sama Yuryeon's desperate efforts to keep things moving, but…
It was a far smoother affair than the Orthodox-Unorthodox Alliance I had seen before my regression.
Not only had the Demonic Cult not marched right up to their doorstep, nor had half the Orthodox Sects been wiped out.
The Lord of the Black Alliance, pleased to have been able to crush the Green Forest, his long-time enemy, seemed to be taking a fairly cooperative stance, which likely helped ease the atmosphere.
As I nodded, Tang So-wol quietly sidled up to me and whispered.
"Young hero Cheon. Young hero Cheon."
"Hm?"
"There's so much complicated talk that I can't even understand half of what would benefit the Tang Clan. What does young hero Cheon think?"
"I'm no different. Rather, I find it impressive that you, Tang So-wol, understood nearly half of it."
As Seomun Hwa-rin taught, in the martial world, if you don't know, you're bound to suffer. That's why I'd made an effort to study letters and learn how the world worked from various places.
But being placed among those who led entire factions and steered the martial world, it was hard to properly grasp the discussions.
There were perspectives I'd never heard before, topics that felt somewhat familiar, and even events that would actually happen in the future, which made me flinch.
Still, one thing was certain: even if I tried to chime in now, I had little to say.
So I couldn't resist tickling Seomun Hwa-rin's feet, who was concentrating with all her might to keep up with the current state of the martial world.
Seeing this, Tang So-wol, sitting with her back straight, traced a finger down the spine of the dozing Seol Ri-hyang, making her shiver.
When I quietly placed a hand on Tang So-wol's waist as she giggled secretly, she casually leaned her head against my shoulder.
How long did we wait, passing the time among ourselves, for the discussion to finally come to an end?
By the time Seomun Hwa-rin's toes, unable to bear the tickling, had all curled up, and Seol Ri-hyang was twitching on her own without anyone even touching her—
That is, by the time the sun was setting, the discussion had more or less come to a close.
What we had initially expected was a simple non-aggression pact. But in reality, we exchanged a pact that was a bit closer than that.
It wasn't to the level of calling it an Orthodox-Unorthodox Alliance, but it was also true that it was a greater achievement than we could have imagined.
As I was inwardly both surprised and pleased, the Murim Alliance Leader spoke in a heavy voice.
"…I believe this level of cooperation between the orthodox and unorthodox is sufficient. Let us move on to the next matter."
"The next matter? Speak a bit more plainly, Alliance Leader."
"Don't we all know? It concerns the Heavenly Demon. And the Demonic Cult."
The moment the name of the Heavenly Demon was uttered, the atmosphere turned hostile in an instant. This was because the Lord of the Black Alliance had reflexively released his Aura.
As the gazes around him focused on him, the Lord of the Black Alliance let out a bitter laugh and shook his head.
"My apologies. It seems this Alliance Lord has grown a little too sensitive and made a slight mistake."
"Heh. For the Lord of the Black Alliance to react in such a manner? I had heard the stories, but…"
It was not the Lord of the Black Alliance, but Namgung Dowi who answered the Great Master Jeonghyeon's worried words.
"I understand. The Lord of the Black Alliance has likely reviewed the previous battle over and over, and his Aura rose on its own. Am I wrong?"
"You see right through me. It's as if you've been spying on this Alliance Lord's life. Perhaps…"
"That is because I did the same, up to a point. But no matter how many times I swung my sword and reviewed the fight, the answer was always the same. …My sword—the Namgung sword—cannot reach the Heavenly Demon. Not yet."
Namgung Dowi spoke of his complete defeat in a calm voice. Yet the resolve he showed at the end, that he would one day cut the Heavenly Demon down, was truly befitting of the Namgung Clan.
That was why the words of the Sword King—of all people—that he himself could do nothing against the Heavenly Demon, seemed to weigh heavily on the Great Master Jeonghyeon and the Murim Alliance Leader.
Though his obsession with the sword was great, it was only natural that a powerhouse ranked within the top five of the Orthodox Sects would so readily admit his own defeat.
The Murim Alliance Leader let out a deep sigh and spoke.
"I see. Let us take the Heavenly Demon's threat as a given, and this time, tell me what you have learned of the Demonic Cult."
"Has there been some progress?"
At my question, the Murim Alliance Leader nodded heavily.
"There has been. As you said, the Demonic Cult's movements were suspicious, so I planted spies. And of all those spies, all but one returned with only their heads left."
"…That one survivor must have been released deliberately by the Heavenly Demon."
If the Heavenly Demon is a regressor, then the Murim Alliance's spies would be of no use. It would be more accurate to assume that the one survivor was kept alive to deliver some message from the Heavenly Demon.
"Correct. He is alive, but he returned half a fool, and in his arms was a letter from the Heavenly Demon."
"To you as well?"
"Surely not—White Moon Sword Lord, you too received a letter from the Heavenly Demon?"
"Yes. I found it on the body of the Slaughter King, who had tried to assassinate me alongside the Green Forest's chief innkeeper. He said I would be targeted a few more times, so I should do my best to survive."
I answered, leaving out any mention of the seal, and the Murim Alliance Leader wiped his face with his hand as if washing it dry before finally speaking.
"Damn it. Mine's similar. It said not to do anything foolish, that a great calamity would soon befall my house, and to keep things well in order."
"…"
"…"
My gaze met the Murim Alliance Leader's. We were probably both thinking the same thing.
Just as we had sent our spies, there was a Demonic Cult infiltrator within the Murim Alliance. And that bastard was after my head.
Was it because of the frustration? Before I knew it, I was shaking my head and muttering to myself.
"Hah. It's not like I can just cut down every suspicious bastard, but…"
"…!"
"Oh."
Under the Murim Alliance Leader's thoroughly wary gaze, I shrugged with a deliberately composed expression.
"It was a joke."
"It didn't seem like one just now…"
As expected of the Murim Alliance Leader.
How did he know.