Chapter 23
“Crazy. Crazy. He is really not in his right mind. How can a person do such a crazy act?”
“That…… Junior Sister…… Still, adults are present, and I am Senior Brother…….”
“Senior Brother my foot! Do you really have a mind? Or not? To catch a sword with a hand, my goodness? If Great Hero Namgung had pulled the sword out there… Ugh…….”
Sa-ryeon trembled brrr then soon hit Jin So-un’s back continuously with her palm.
Seeing that appearance, the Elders and Hall Masters of the Taeeul Sect smirked.
Of course, there were people who didn’t.
Jin Tae-san and Hong Mun-gi.
Jin Tae-san, who witnessed his son’s crazy act, shouted loudly.
“You stupid rascal! Even in a duel with wooden swords, one does not grab the sword with hands!”
The sinner only shuts his mouth.
Conversely, the Sect Leader asked worriedly.
“Are you alright?”
“The physician said it’s just a small wound.”
Because he grabbed the sword wrapped in Sword Qi with his hand, the wound tore messily making it look severe, but since Jin So-un also had infused his left hand with qi fully, a big wound didn’t occur.
“Ugh…….”
As Sa-ryeon examined the wound again worriedly, Jin So-un added words to relieve Sa-ryeon’s worry.
“It was all due to precise calculation. Because I grabbed it exactly right before the sword went to the end and came back like this.”
Smack!
Was anger not relieved with one hit.
Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!
Sa-ryeon’s palm went back and forth on Jin So-un’s neck and back continuously.
“What are you doing!”
“Try doing such a reckless act once again! At that time, I will cut off Senior Brother’s hand with my sword, not Great Hero Namgung’s sword! Understand!”
“……Understood.”
As if he had words left, the Sect Leader opened his mouth when the surroundings became quiet.
“Why did you go to that extent?”
An unknown emotion that is neither rebuke nor praise is carried in the voice.
At the point Namgung San used the Emperor Sword Technique, Jin So-un had already won. He was asking the reason why he didn’t retreat nevertheless.
Jin So-un scratched the back of his head for a moment and spoke.
“The guy didn’t greet the Sect Leader as well as others.”
The Elders and Hall Masters looked at each other and tilted their heads.
“It might be that only I felt so, but he didn’t seem to keep the etiquette as a guest either.”
Hong Mun-gi made a bewildered face.
“You risked your fingers just for that?”
“It isn’t…… just that, is it.”
Disappointment appeared heavily on Hong Mun-gi’s face and the faces of the Hall Masters including Jin Tae-san.
Winning in the duel with Namgung San is commendable, but this could not be said to be won fairly by any means.
A situation where his fingers, no, the entire left hand could have flown away.
Kang Chae-seok, who had laughed heartily saying it was a trivial wound, shouted with his face turning bright red.
“This crazy bastard. You bastard! Still, you risk a warrior’s hand for such a thing!”
At that moment, Namgung San entered quietly.
Because of Kang Chae-seok’s loud voice, no one noticed Namgung San entering.
“Was this a small matter?”
At the appearance of Jin So-un talking back even after doing something to be scolded for, the Hall Masters also started to get angry slowly.
“It was your victory at the point Namgung San used the Emperor Sword Technique already! You could have won without losing anything! It wasn’t something to go this far for!”
“Weren’t the young Junior Brothers watching.”
“……!”
“……!”
“!!!”
The Elders and Hall Masters had faces as if suddenly struck by lightning.
“Even though my fingers might be cut off, wouldn’t the disciples feel the possibility in the Taeeul Sect’s martial arts seeing my sword hung at the tip of Senior Namgung’s neck? Wouldn’t they think ‘I must try challenging the Namgung Clan with my sword’ instead of ‘If only I was born as a child of the Namgung Clan’?”
No one in the hall could make even a single sound of breathing.
Hong Mun-gi and Jin Tae-san looked at Jin So-un with complex eyes.
The Elders and Hall Masters looked at the dusty ceiling and sighed continuously as if frustrated by something.
Only Kang Chae-seok grumbled and broke the frozen atmosphere.
“……Seeing fingers cut off, they would have been terrified and tried to run away.”
Jin So-un only smirked and answered.
“If even one out of a hundred thinks of such possibility, and so continues the spirit of the Taeeul Sect, I think my fingers paid a sufficient price.”
“Kuh-heuk!”
Kang Chae-seok, perhaps something burst out suddenly, ran out of the building wildly covering his face with a frown.
People watched Kang Chae-seok, then saw Namgung San standing outside the door.
“You came?”
When Hong Mun-gi pretended to know him, Namgung San, who was about to nod, soon offered a polite bow with clasped hands.
“Young people must have things to talk about.”
At Hong Mun-gi’s words, Jin Tae-san and Elders, Hall Masters, and even Sa-ryeon rose from their seats.
On the way out this time, there was no one who tried to talk to Namgung San or act to look good to him.
“…….”
Namgung San put down the Heavenly Silkworm Thread, the wooden box, and the Seven-Colored Jewel quietly without a word.
Then he maintained silence for a long time before opening his mouth.
“Losing to the Namgung Clan is not a shameful thing.”
“Losing to the Taeeul Sect is also not a shameful thing.”
“Was the Taeeul Sect a sect of that level?”
“Is the pride of the Namgung Clan based on powerful strength?”
“!!!”
“If the Namgung Clan’s ultimate technique is cut off and the Blue Sky Limitless Sword Technique disappears, is losing to the Taeeul Sect not shameful?”
“…….”
Namgung San’s face, which had been dignified in gait, was filled with shame.
“It is the same for us as well. Just because we do not have powerful martial arts, we did not abandon pride.”
“……Risking fingers, you had already won from the determination from the start.”
Namgung San suddenly expressed a polite bow with clasped hands.
“I hope you forgive the rudeness shown at the Taeeul Sect in the past days and the disgrace shown in front of Junior with broad generosity.”
Jin So-un also rose from the seat and took a bow with clasped hands with his bandaged hand.
“Since you showed good faith and I even received an apology, I will forget the past. Please also forget the discourtesy this lacking Junior showed in the meantime.”
As the greetings between each other ended, Jin So-un asked.
“Then what will you do about the Entrance Pass? Do you have another place to obtain it?”
“Do you want to make a bet with the Entrance Pass again?”
“No way.”
Namgung San stared piercingly at Jin So-un with a somewhat meaningful face.
“It seems I don’t have to worry. ……Because somehow it feels things will work out well.”
“Pardon?”
***
Hong Mun-gi lifted the wine bottle to fill the empty glass.
Trickle.
However, the wine bottle had already been emptied by Kang Chae-seok who was sobbing next to him.
“…….”
Hong Mun-gi couldn’t even think of blaming Kang Chae-seok, who brazenly emptied the wine and was crying, and fiddled with the empty glass round and round.
Jin Tae-san, who went out to fill the bottle emptied by Kang Chae-seok, came in holding a wine jar he had hidden tightly and spoke.
“Why are you crying so pathetically?”
“Leave him. How disturbed his mind must be.”
Hong Mun-gi filled his glass full as soon as the wine bottle was filled.
“Huck. Are you not ashamed, Brother? That a guy not even twenty yet thinks and acts like that for the Taeeul Sect.”
Kang Chae-seok continued to fill the wine bottle while sobbing huck huck.
“Not only the Elders but also Hall Masters pushed their faces into Namgung San’s quarters once. Listening to So-un’s story, I felt ashamed for myself.”
“I said stop it!”
Jin Tae-san tried to stop him, but rather Hong Mun-gi agreed with his words.
“I was also ashamed.”
“……Why are you doing this too, Sect Leader. I know well how much effort you made for the Taeeul Sect.”
“Did I do anything.”
“Do you think we don’t know you swing your sword every night at the Great Wise Hall training ground.”
“…….”
Hong Mun-gi’s martial talent didn’t go beyond average no matter how favorably looked upon.
Nevertheless, the reason he couldn’t let go of martial arts wasn’t because of personal achievement or wish.
Because ultimately, if there is no development in his martial arts, there is no development in the Taeeul Sect.
“Everyone is making efforts individually. Such hearts gather and the Taeeul Sect develops further. There is no need to have a sense of sin or guilt.”
“Rotten! Why are you so confident establishing merit for the Taeeul Sect!”
“Me?”
Jin Tae-san shrugged his shoulders.
“Isn’t Jin So-un my son.”
“……Damn it…….”
Kang Chae-seok drank wine continuously.
“Coming here, I saw the lights of the Buseng Hall are still on.”
“Are the children training until this time?”
“They were learning that strange Small Sky Sword Technique from that guy So-un.”
“Is that so?”
“I don’t know if I should stop them. It is definitely the Small Sky Sword Technique, but isn’t it overflowing with killing intent?”
“Didn’t you teach that?”
At Kang Chae-seok’s words, Jin Tae-san shook his head.
“Teaching that. Do you say that knowing how much my martial arts achievement is.”
Hong Mun-gi, who was listening quietly, spat out like a sigh.
“Wouldn’t it be that the child researched it himself.”
“Pardon? No matter if the Small Sky Sword Technique is basic martial arts…….”
“Actually, I was just surprised because there were many similarities with the Small Sky Sword Technique I was researching. Of course, the Small Sky Sword Technique So-un uses is closer to completion. Anyway, how much effort must that child have made to achieve that level at that young age.”
“This damned fellow. Was what he did running out of the Buseng Hall merely martial arts training.”
Kang Chae-seok emptied the wine bottle gulp gulp with that excuse as if annoyed.
“Just leave them. Isn’t it good news that children took interest in basic martial arts just in time.”
“That is true.”
“Rather than that, isn’t there anything we should do for So-un.”
Taking his mouth off the wine bottle, Kang Chae-seok spoke as if shouting.
“We must do something! He is a guy who devoted his life to the Taeeul Sect to this extent, shouldn’t we push something for him so we become at least less ashamed.”
“…….”
Hong Mun-gi nodded and spoke looking at Jin Tae-san.
“How about giving the Head Disciple position to So-un?”
“…….”
Jin Tae-san couldn’t answer with a hardened face, and Kang Chae-seok nodded as if excited.
“A very good idea! If the guy becomes the Head Disciple, the children will follow him even more, and later the special admission…….”
While Kang Chae-seok was talking excitedly, Jin Tae-san cut him off and said firmly.
“It is a matter we must think about.”
“Huh?”
In a strange situation where Kang Chae-seok supports and Jin Tae-san opposes, Hong Mun-gi asked.
“What are you worried about?”
“Isn’t the Head Disciple a position like the Sect Leader among disciples. If he ends up doing mandatory service at the Murim Alliance, Gye Cheol-yeong might not care about the Taeeul Sect disciples. Moreover, the Head Disciple is an existence who might have to lead the sect in the future. You must think of Sa-ryeon too.”
“This…… This stupid!”
“It’s not something you give away just because you’re carried away by the mood.”
Hong Mun-gi, who stopped the fuming Kang Chae-seok, continued.
“What if So-un goes to the Murim Academy?”
“…….”
“So-un already proved his skill vying for supremacy with Namgung San. I think he won’t lag behind Gye Cheol-yeong. Sa-ryeon…… Sa-ryeon will also have no big objection to this decision.”
“I heard the Rooster Dragon Merchant Group Leader requested spiritual pills from the Mount Hua Sect again. Although it won’t be the Snow Plum Pill, if Cheol-yeong’s internal energy increases drastically, wouldn’t Cheol-yeong be selected eventually.”
Bang.
Kang Chae-seok, who was listening to the story, slammed the table.
“What are you doing right now!”
“I am speaking calmly. Do you think I want to refuse a good thing for my son.”
“That’s not it. Aren’t you worrying about the Rooster Dragon Merchant Group’s sponsorship money being cut off right now!”
“……In front of starvation, eventually there is no loyalty or sense of belonging. If the Taeeul Sect cannot provide meals right now, the majority of disciples cannot eat even one meal properly a day. What will you do about them.”
“Th, This…… This!”
Kang Chae-seok couldn’t continue speaking and sat down.
Silence hovered in the hall.
No one could open their mouth rashly in front of the heavy responsibility of food, clothing, and shelter.
“Is it truly only that?”
“……That is the biggest problem.”
“Then let’s give the Head Disciple position to So-un.”
“Sect Leader!”
Hong Mun-gi continued calmly.
“He risked his fingers. To lift the sense of defeat from the children’s hearts. Isn’t a hand like life to a warrior. He risked his life, to prevent the Taeeul Sect’s honor from crashing to the ground. If we prevent such a child from leading the Taeeul Sect, who on earth should lead the Taeeul Sect?”
“……It is not a problem to decide emotionally like that.”
“No, it is not an emotional decision. If money is all the problem, I will earn money even by working as an escort warrior.”
“Sect Leader!”
“Right! Good! I will do it too! No, I will gather all Hall Masters and set up an Escort Agency or something, so do it!”
Kang Chae-seok and Hong Mun-gi clinked glasses laughing without knowing Jin Tae-san’s burning inside, and held out a glass even to Jin Tae-san.
Eventually, Jin Tae-san sighed and lifted the glass.
“I will manage the money coming in from escort missions too, so know that.”
***
One Cycle (60 years)!
A lump the size of a baby’s fist was caught firmly in the dantian.
As if the reputation of the Great Affinity Divine Pill was not empty, it showed off its presence and created one cycle of internal energy in a single breath.
“Finally…… I achieved it.”
An enormous amount of internal energy I couldn’t even dream of in my past life.
In this life, it was only the beginning. Thanks to the unexpected miraculous encounter, I reached one cycle faster than thought.
I swept up all the elixirs in Anhui Province, but there were still many elixirs in other provinces.
Time was too short to scrape them up as much as possible before the regular exam of the Murim Academy opens.
‘I should depart as soon as the special admission exam ends.’
Thinking like that, the moment I entered the Taeeul Sect.
The sight of strangers I saw for the first time filling the training ground wearing weapons came into my eyes.
‘Rooster Dragon Merchant Group?’
Those wearing the martial arts robes of the Rooster Dragon Merchant Group stood surrounding Gye Yeon-seok as if protecting him, and Gye Yeon-seok was discussing something serious with the Sect Leader on the platform.
I approached Sa-ryeon who was looking at the two with a worried expression on one side.
“What’s going on?”
“……Where did you go to come just now?”
“I came from doing personal training. It’s not like a fuss happens just because I am not at the Taeeul Sect.”
“It’s a problem because a fuss happened.”
“Huh? What does that mean?”
I asked back at Sa-ryeon’s incomprehensible story, but Sa-ryeon only looked at the training ground without answering.
“Sect Leader Hong! How can you do this to me! Do you truly intend to break the promise like this?”
Gye Yeon-seok was expressing desperation and anger together like a person who lost the collection money.
“Unit Leader Gye. You are misunderstanding something. The authority to select the Head Disciple is the unique authority of the sect!”
“From the start, who is there with the qualification other than our Cheol-yeong!”
My mind went blank.
‘Head Disciple?’
That was originally a position weighed between Gye Cheol-yeong and Hong Sa-ryeon.
Having authority comparable to the sect elder and accompanying responsibility at the same time.
When dispatched to the Murim Alliance, the words of the Head Disciple were the words of the Sect Leader.
Conventionally, they give the position of Head Disciple to the disciple entering the Murim Academy.
That way, they can take care of other Junior Brothers and Sisters even one more when they become executives.
In the past life, Gye Cheol-yeong became the Head Disciple, and because of that, we became Gye Cheol-yeong’s limbs and worked hard as servants to the children of the Nine Sects One Gang and the Five Great Families.
“Junior Sister. Did the Sect Leader say he would give the Head Disciple position to you?”
“……?”
Sa-ryeon looked with an expression asking what nonsense I was talking about.
“Why did the Head Disciple position suddenly become a problem?”
“……It is because of Senior Brother.”
“Me? Why?”
At that moment, the things I had done so far flashed in my mind.
Bringing the Nine-Fold Sword from the Iron Sword Sect, and not retreating a single inch against Namgung San’s sword.
“Sect Leader Hong! Are you doing this perhaps because of the matter at the Iron Sword Sect? I told you! Since our Cheol-yeong belonged to the Rooster Dragon Merchant Group, he couldn’t step forward at the Iron Sword Sect!”
Conversely, Gye Cheol-yeong didn’t step forward at the Iron Sword Sect either, and rather became the cause inciting the fight.
Compared to that, the things I had done were…….
‘Totally excellent Head Disciple material.’
However, from the Sect Leader’s position, it was a problem not easily selected.
If I become the Head Disciple, the Rooster Dragon Merchant Group, which already seems to be leaving slowly, might take their hands off completely.
If that happens, the economy of the Taeeul Sect might collapse in an instant.
Of course, since there are the arrangements I prepared and the Seven-Colored Jewel, such a thing won’t happen, but still, from the Sect Leader’s position, it was tantamount to making a huge decision.
“Eventually, isn’t this a trick to interfere with our Cheol-yeong’s admission to the Murim Academy!”
At Gye Yeon-seok’s rude remarks, Hong Mun-gi eventually shouted a rebuke.
“Watch your tongue. Unit Leader Gye! From the start, admission to the Murim Academy is an opportunity given to all disciples of the Taeeul Sect. Even if Cheol-yeong doesn’t become the Head Disciple, if his skill is proven, wouldn’t he be able to enter the Murim Academy sufficiently!”
The reason Gye Yeon-seok hangs onto the Head Disciple is because during the admission screening, additional points as the Head Disciple are attached.
Since the Head Disciple was also proof of having legitimacy within the sect, he had to have the position of Head Disciple in a situation where one point was regretful.
“Kuh……!”
Gye Yeon-seok, pushed back in the argument, glared at me with resentful eyes.
“Good! If it continues like this, I will also cut off the sponsorship sent to the Taeeul Sect right now!”
At the words like a bolt from the blue, deep worry clouded the faces of Elders as well as Hall Masters.
“Did you see me, Gye Yeon-seok, as someone Sect Leader Hong can use and throw away at will? Try going back to those days when you couldn’t even eat porridge once a day properly and wore clothes indistinguishable from Beggar’s Gang disciples! Only then will you know how foolish your choice was!”
Those with many worries couldn’t hide their anxious looks already.
Embarrassment hovered on Hong Mun-gi’s face and Jin Tae-san’s face too, but they tried not to show shaking appearances.
The atmosphere of the training ground where silence descended with anxiety, nervousness, anger, and hostility.
When young disciples were secretly breathing while observing the moods of such adults.
A voice breaking the silence was heard.
“Then may I do that instead?”
At the voice suddenly intervening without grasping the atmosphere, Gye Yeon-seok turned his head back with murderous eyes.
“Who is it! Who dares to play tricks on the Great Affair of the Rooster Dragon Merchant Group!!”
Gye Yeon-seok’s voice was so sharp that the warriors who came with him drew their swords one by one and began to emit fighting spirit.
“Trick? I do not play things like tricks. Did you forget that?”
“What?”
A middle-aged man appearing with a relaxed voice.
Appearance looking simple yet luxurious, and unlike Gye Yeon-seok, simple accessories. Dignified attitude flowing naturally from the upright posture.
“Y-You are here…….”
Gye Yeon-seok’s mouth opened as wide as a large bowl.
Then, behind the man, a girl with a white face and a lovely smile stuck her head out.
“So-un Big Brother~!”
The man’s identity was Wang So-so’s father, Wang Geum-san.
