Episode 37. The Pavilion Lord's True Education

The Heaven-Devouring Great Method was, of course, a martial art derived from the Heavenly Jade. If one only considered the force of pulling objects toward oneself, it would be a type of Void Grasping; but if one also considered the process of the Heavenly Jade absorbing the energy of miraculous medicines, it was a supernatural ability.

Having gained an unexpected ability on top of it all, and being in the unfamiliar bed of the Pavilion Lord, I could not easily fall asleep.

Moreover, the attendants were being a nuisance.

"Pavilion Lord? Whom shall we call to attend to you?"

Although the Pavilion Lord had changed, it seemed the attendants could not omit the question they always asked.

"What sort of attendance?"

"Pardon? That is……"

That dead rabbit bastard must have spent his nights with the attendants.

Only then did I learn one more reason why that Heukmyo Pavilion Lord bastard had been bound to die so easily by my hands. A man who still had a long road ahead—if he had shared beds with so many women before even completing his martial art, it would have been difficult for him to progress.

If one frequently took to bed during the training process, muscle degeneration occurred. The term "muscle degeneration" was not actually used by the orthodox righteous sects, nor could it be found in ordinary martial arts secret manuals.

In my previous life, when the Hao Sect that I had created with my own hands perished in haste before ever seeing the light, and when the ill-fated ties gained in that process caused the character for "mad" to keep attaching itself to my nickname, there were nonetheless a few men who were on familiar, unreserved terms with me.

The unique expression "muscle degeneration" was something the Fist King had frequently used among them. There were a few fools in the martial world that I liked, and the Fist King was one of them.

A madman is close with fools.

I did not know exactly why that was. If they had anything in common, perhaps it was that their way of life involved little scheming or calculation.

It was only after thinking of the term "muscle degeneration" that I recalled the Fist King, supreme fool that he was.

Staring at the ceiling, a smile naturally came to my lips.

'That crazy bastard, he must be training somewhere.'

Gathering those I had karmic ties with in my previous life was also no easy task. Because I could not know all of their pasts in detail, I had to spend time and effort to find them.

Still, it was fortunate that the speed at which I was growing stronger was not falling behind at all compared to my competitors, be they enemies or allies.

I spoke to the attendant waiting outside.

"Did the previous Pavilion Lord make you do strange things every night?"

It was a question I had asked because something felt odd about how the attendant spoke without hesitation.

"Yes. In summer, we would cool him with a large fan all night. When it was cold, we would warm him. When he could not sleep, we would massage him all night as well."

A sigh escaped me.

"Girls, I will not ask you to do such things from now on, so rest easy. Since the Pavilion Lord has changed, your daily lives will become a bit more comfortable as well. Withdraw and get some sleep."

"Yes, Pavilion Lord."

The attendants, who had been extremely nervous because the Pavilion Lord had newly changed, exchanged glances and could not hide their happy expressions.

I had joked that I would stand at the vanguard of the Martial World Slave Liberation Front, but as it turned out, this place was already filled with slaves. Not all of the dark path would be like this, but in any case, Dae Nachal himself was like that, and it seemed none of the disciples he had raised were normal either.

If that was the case, I had no choice either.

I would have no choice but to give them a true education in the name of the Heukmyo Pavilion Lord.

Only then did I finally seek sleep in the Pavilion Lord's quarters, situated in the deepest part of Heukmyo Bang.

The long day was buried in darkness alongside the dark path.

* * *

Originally, the greatest threat to Ilyang County was Heukmyo Bang.

As it happened, since I had become the Pavilion Lord of that very Heukmyo Bang, there was no immediate need to return to Ilyang County. Thus, I ate breakfast with the elders of Heukmyo Bang and briefly finished the morning meeting.

Was it because all the elders were gathered here?

A subordinate entered the great hall and announced that there was a visitor.

"A woman has come, saying she wishes to inform the Pavilion Lord of news regarding Ilyang County. We would have driven her away if it were any other matter, but since it concerns Ilyang County, we thought the Pavilion Lord should hear it…… What should we do?"

The one reporting was a subordinate of So Gunpyeong, who had been keeping watch outside.

"Is she alone?"

"Yes."

So Gunpyeong asked me.

"Shall we let her in?"

When I nodded, So Gunpyeong also gave a slight nod to the subordinate.

By the way, what in the world was this news from Ilyang County?

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't predict what it might be, since it didn't seem like anything special would have happened. In any case, it was where the Hao Sect's main force was located, and where the Jaha Guesthouse had been built—it was my hometown—so it wasn't news I could simply overlook.

Perhaps Heukseonbo might have caused a disturbance.

But the moment I saw the woman brought by the Golden Dragon Hall martial artist, I realized the situation.

* * *

Lady Son of Maehwaru, who had vanished without a trace, approached with a slightly frightened expression.

'……Is it you?'

Naturally, I was currently wearing the mask of the Heukmyo Pavilion Lord. When I folded my arms, So Gunpyeong asked in my stead.

"Tell the Pavilion Lord in detail what has occurred."

Lady Son opened her mouth in a trembling voice.

"Yes, I am called Son Soso of Ilyang County."

It was the first time I had heard Lady Son's name.

"That is a pretty name."

At my words, Lady Son glanced at me before continuing.

Perhaps because she was nervous, her words were not very methodical. In summary, it was joyous news that the innkeeper of Jaha Guesthouse had killed the masters of the pleasure houses one after another and completely seized control of Ilyang County.

In technical terms, old news.

There was something rather sly about the survivability of those who lived at the bottom.

But I was magnanimous. Listening objectively to the deeds I had committed, I nodded a few times behind my mask and replied briefly.

"I have heard you well. That is good news."

The elders who had listened to the story with me also doubted their own ears. The innkeeper of Ilyang County was obviously me. In other words, this was a situation where someone had come to report to the current Pavilion Lord the very deeds that the current Pavilion Lord had committed.

So Gunpyeong also watched my reaction with a bewildered expression.

But I asked in a friendly tone, as if meeting Lady Son for the first time.

"Brave maiden, do you have somewhere to go?"

"No."

"That is a pity. How about this—shall I grant you a position overseeing the attendants?"

Lady Son asked back with a delighted expression.

"Truly?"

"If it is alright with you, try working at our Heukmyo Bang. Your age is suitable, and since you worked at Maehwaru, you must have sufficient experience. Perfect."

"Pavilion Lord, if you entrust it to me, I shall do my utmost."

"However, let us make two promises."

"Yes."

"Betrayal means death."

"How could there be any question of that?"

Pointing at Lady Son's mouth with my finger, I kindly informed her of the second precaution.

"Be especially careful with that big mouth of yours. Understood?"

Though the request was somewhat difficult to understand at a glance, Madame Son nodded vigorously.

“Yes, Pavilion Master.”

“Then that's settled. You pass.”

Madame Son, who had succeeded in her reemployment, clasped her hands together and replied with a delighted expression.

“I am truly grateful, Pavilion Master. I shall serve you with all my heart from now on.”

“You should be grateful. I'm giving you another chance like this. Let's do well from now on. Our Son Soso, Madame Son……. It is a truly beautiful name. Haha.”

While speaking, I removed the Black Cat Pavilion Master's mask.

In that instant, Madame Son, upon seeing my face, let out a bizarre, brief cry and fainted on the spot. Thanks to that, the atmosphere suddenly grew cold. Is this what's in fashion these days?

“She fainted?”

One of the executives brought a finger beneath Madame Son's nose.

“Pavilion Master, it seems she simply fainted from surprise. Her breathing is normal.”

“Good. Tell the servant girls to take care of her. Fainting the moment she sees me, how impertinent.”

Shortly after, servant girls swarmed out and dragged the fainted Madame Son off somewhere. Still, seeing Madame Son alive, I felt a slight sense of gladness.

She too was a woman with nowhere to go; if I didn't take her in, who would?

I am such a merciful man.

Besides, the Haomun was originally such a place as well.

* * *

I briefly gathered the idle underlings of the Black Path in the outer courtyard.

The core of making a group powerful is group training, group conditioning, group drills, and group mental education.

Only by enduring hardships together does camaraderie sprout.

And I needed to raise them into elites to have the advantage when attacking the Heuksunbo. Honestly, since they hadn't been my subordinates from the start, I intended to be even harsher on them.

I would make the Black Path clash against the Black Path, but…….

from the position of having become their leader, I intended to make as few of them die as possible.

Thus, training was the answer.

Still, since I was a Pavilion Master in name, I had some thought of not letting them live worthless lives. I looked at the rabble of the Black Path waiting below while I stood alone on the platform.

“Since it's the first day, I will supervise the training only for today. Executives, apply my training methods exactly as they are. For the Black Path, first is training, second is drilling, third is sparring. Except for time spent eating, shitting, and sleeping, everyone will focus solely on becoming stronger. Especially before lunch, without exception, everyone will perform physical training, so remember that.”

It was called physical training, but what I wanted was hell training.

They were guys who stole others' belongings and fought all their lives in the first place, so there was no need to go easy on them whatsoever.

At that moment, I noticed the oldest chief manager, Byeok, in Heukmyo Bang looking at me, and I extended him a hand of salvation.

“Old Chief Manager Byeok is exempt from physical training.”

A bright expression washed over Chief Manager Byeok's face.

“Thank you, Pavilion Master.”

I issued training orders to the troops of Heukmyo Bang lined up in formation.

“Except for the martial artists of Geumryonggak, everyone assume the basic push-up position and begin. Geumryonggak, move to the rear garden now, make sandbags, and after bringing them back, place them on the backs of your comrades who have started push-ups. So Gunpyeong, take them and prepare.”

So Gunpyeong answered.

“Understood.”

It would be a great mistake to think that a martial artist grows strong solely by accumulating inner energy.

External arts are the essential element of combat. And there is nothing special about the method of learning the basics of external arts. One has no choice but to push the body to its limits and repeat. The Fist King's usual doctrine, which had seemed foolish, was that the quickest way to break through that limit was simply to burden oneself with increased weight.

In other words, the training I was putting Heukmyo Bang through was the crude training method that the Fist King had systematically devised. While Geumryonggak went to make sandbags, the martial artists of Heukmyo Bang began their push-ups with dumbfounded expressions.

The ones who started the push-ups were not serious at all, but I was serious.

“From now on, you will quickly repeat five hundred times.”

“……!”

“Only those who complete five hundred reps may rest in the horse stance. Executives, complete one hundred reps first, then get up and each fetch a wooden sword. Those who do it sloppily will be beaten mercilessly as they do it.”

I gave Chief Manager Byeok, who was loafing around with a pleased expression, a task as well.

“Chief Manager Byeok.”

“Yes, Pavilion Master.”

“You go inside and write a report. Don't just stand here wasting time.”

“Ah, understood.”

I looked at the low-level martial artists whose pace was gradually slowing and spoke.

“I will bestow a cash reward upon the five who complete five hundred reps the fastest.”

Money has always been the most powerful motivating factor. Since it wasn't my money anyway, I intended to scatter it like flower petals upon the subordinates who worked hard. After all, even if they were of the Black Path, everyone did this to make a living.

“Faster, faster, more accurately, faster. Executives, remember today's training method. From now on, you will serve as instructors.”

Indeed, the executives' push-up speed was incredibly fast.

As executives here and there who had completed one hundred reps instantly got up, I immediately ordered.

“Executives, take wooden swords and beat those who try to slack off. I'll allow you to hit them until just before death, and I'll even overlook broken bones.”

The executives, perhaps suddenly excited at the thought of beating their subordinates, used their lightness arts to go fetch the wooden swords.

Anyway, these Black Path bastards are a strange bunch.

Even amid that, I didn't ease up on the intensity of my threats.

“You'd better complete the five hundred reps quickly. Soon the sandbags made by Geumryonggak will arrive. Then, of course, you'll have to complete the remaining reps with sandbags on your back, won't you? Which is more comfortable? Now is more comfortable, isn't it? Faster, faster, faster!”

At that moment, someone let out a bizarre shriek similar to an animal's scream.

“Kuaaaaaah.”

I nodded.

“Good. Good. Just now…… you expressed the rising pain very well through sound. I'll overlook screams let out because of hardship. What's important is to complete the five hundred reps quickly and accurately. To think that Black Path bastards would struggle with five hundred push-ups. Ah, this is too pathetic.”

The moment I finished speaking, I cackled with laughter.

In the meantime, the executives who had brought wooden swords suddenly rushed in and began clubbing the subordinates' buttocks.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

I watched that sight for a moment before giving an order.

“Executives.”

“Yes, Pavilion Master.”

“Only administer clubbing to your direct subordinates. Don't just beat martial artists from other groups you usually dislike.”

I am such a fair person.

“Ah, understood.”

Only then did the clubbing subside a bit. It seemed these bastards had only been beating the hell out of others' subordinates. But the real pain was only beginning.

I spoke to the martial artists who had already broken through three hundred reps.

“Soon So Gunpyeong will gift you sandbags. Ah, I look forward to it. My heart is pounding. Hurry up and finish.”

Indeed, when So Gunpyeong appeared carrying sandbags with his subordinates, I briefly extended my hand to signal him to wait.

‘Wait.’

While So Gunpyeong and his men waited quietly, amid the patter of dripping sweat, the sounds of push-ups, screams, and cudgel beatings blended beautifully together.

My days were busy—I had to raise the Hao Sect, expand the underworld forces, meet the ties from my past life, and before long, give the Twelve Divine Generals and the Great Rakshasa a lesson.

And yet, in my heart, all of it felt peaceful.