Chapter 219. I’m an Emotional Person.

The White-Clad Scholar asked me with a grim expression.

“How do you know of Kwaedang?”

I smiled as I looked at the White-Clad Scholar’s face.

This bastard was the benefactor who had tossed me the Golden Turtle Wandering Art. If I hadn’t learned the Golden Turtle Wandering Art, I would probably have been beaten to death somewhere in the martial world.

At the same time, this bastard was the very root of what had driven me mad.

The Golden Turtle Wandering Art was relatively easy to enter and to learn in its early stages, but once one reached the middle and latter portions, it became exceedingly difficult. In other words, the very person who had gifted me several bouts of qi deviation was standing right before my eyes.

I survived because of this bastard, and I lived in agony because of this bastard.

“Scholar, do you really know that much about the martial world?”

The White-Clad Scholar drew in a deep breath, then barely managed to rein in the anger that had come over him.

“More than you expect.”

“Is that so?”

“I know far more than you could ever imagine.”

I answered with a faint snort of laughter.

“Impressive. But what meaning does that have? You don’t even know why I know Kwaedang. You don’t even know why I learned the Golden Turtle Wandering Art. You can’t possibly know the stories of vermin-like bastards.”

“Sect Leader, are you asking me to kill you here and now?”

“I’ll state it outright. You can’t kill me. I’m not saying this while holding information I haven’t revealed hostage. It’s already too late. Because of the Moon Shadow Heartless Art you gave me, I completed a divine art on my own.”

“A divine art?”

This, too, was honestly a reckless bluff.

I put all my strength into maintaining an expressionless face. It was because I had no choice but to keep throwing out reckless bluffs. Saying earlier that I seemed to have a master’s sect was a bluff, mentioning Kwaedang was a bluff, and saying I had completed a divine art was not the complete truth either. But there was nothing I could do.

Because one way or another, I had no choice but to fight.

I took my eyes off the White-Clad Scholar, who must have been weighing whether the words “divine art” were true or false, and looked around the study.

“Surely the divine art I created isn’t here too, is it? If there’s nothing new under heaven, it’s possible I created the same martial art. Isn’t it?”

“Check for yourself.”

Based on my stream of consciousness and what I had grasped about the White-Clad Scholar, I continued searching to see if he had any weaknesses.

“Naturally, you must have created new martial arts as well, no? Since you would have seen and learned so many martial arts here.”

I pointed a finger at the White-Clad Scholar.

“I believe you must have created the most outstanding divine art in all history. Yes, of course you should have. Wait a moment, hm… I’ve realized the biggest problem with your study.”

The White-Clad Scholar answered at once.

“What is it?”

I deliberately looked around the study to my heart’s content and sighed.

“You aren’t a perfect person either.”

“Tell me what is missing.”

“Three things are missing.”

The White-Clad Scholar laughed.

“Three whole things? That can’t be. It isn’t only the lost martial arts of the Hundred Schools of Thought that are here. We have also gathered the martial arts of powers we annihilated. Meaningful unique martial arts do exist in the martial world, but as time passes, I intend to make those mine as well.”

“Is that so?”

For a moment, goosebumps rose all over my body.

Was it just my intuition? The thought suddenly occurred to me.

I began to suspect that the reason this bastard had thrown himself into the Martial Alliance in my past life was because he had been curious about Im Sobaek’s unique martial art, the Six Battles Great Sword.

It was not just anyone’s martial art, but the unique martial art of none other than the current Martial Alliance Leader.

Moreover, Im Sobaek had taught the Six Battles Great Sword to no one, so no matter how exceptional the White-Clad Scholar was, there was no way for him to find it out. It might have been coincidence, but I even thought that the reason Alliance Leader Im Sobaek had remained perfectly fine through both my past life and this one was because he possessed a unique martial art. If he did not teach it, the Six Battles Great Sword was a martial art that would vanish forever.

But out of consideration for the Alliance Leader, I did not mention the Six Battles Great Sword for now.

“Look. No matter where I look, there are no Buddhist martial arts here. That’s the first.”

The White-Clad Scholar nodded.

“I am aware of that. What are the other two?”

To fight the White-Clad Scholar, lies alone were not enough, so I had no choice but to mix in the truth.

“There are no martial arts of esoteric Buddhism at all.”

“Esoteric Buddhism is also a branch of Buddhism, so how do you distinguish the two?”

“Though their origins are the same and the religious aspect may be so, in terms of martial studies, they are on entirely different tracks. If the grandmaster of the Jabbu Esoteric Sect were to appear, his superiority would have to be determined against the Ten Great Masters Under Heaven, including the Three Talents. Can you so easily disregard esoteric Buddhism? In terms of martial arts, that place is no less than a pillar in its own right.”

Inwardly, I apologized to the Mad Monk. That was because the grandmaster of the Jabbu Esoteric Sect meant the Mad Monk. For now, I dragged him into it and saw what happened.

The White-Clad Scholar said,

“I have heard that the Jabbu Esoteric Sect is an extremely closed-off place, but I cannot easily believe there is such an extraordinary master there. Where is the third?”

I looked at the study as I spoke.

“As you know, of course it is Kunlun. Kunlun is not here. It isn’t. No matter where I look, it isn’t here. Not here. Nowhere. So this was a study missing Buddhism, esoteric Buddhism, and Kunlun. Even so, I suppose this much is still impressive.”

I applauded the White-Clad Scholar.

“You are a once-in-an-age prodigy without equal under heaven.”

I deliberately spoke as if praising a subordinate. Even amid that, I checked the White-Clad Scholar’s expression. When I praised him, a smile naturally spread across his face.

‘Crazy bastard, and he’s actually grinning at that.’

The White-Clad Scholar rose from his seat and approached me as he spoke.

“How truly astonishing. How does a bastard who was nothing but a waiter in Ilyang County know so much about the martial world? To be honest, I am surprised. There are not many in the martial world who can discuss martial studies with me.”

The White-Clad Scholar, who had been drawing closer, looked around the study and nodded.

“You are right. Buddhism, esoteric Buddhism, and Kunlun are missing. Do you know why?”

“It must have been difficult.”

“They are people who would choose death rather than have their martial arts stolen. But once the old man of Kunlun falls, Kunlun will also become extremely weak. We must aim for that time.”

“When will that ever be?”

“We have grown accustomed to waiting.”

The White-Clad Scholar sighed and continued speaking.

“The reason it is difficult to deal with eminent Buddhist monks is this. They have left the secular world behind. First of all, they have no families. They have no money either. Nor do they have desires. Eminent monks have nothing that could really be called a weakness. And most importantly……”

“What?”

The White-Clad Scholar looked at me and grinned broadly.

“Even we do not know exactly what kinds of masters exist in Buddhism. Do you think we never made an attempt? We tasted the most disastrous failure since the First Emperor. In the end……”

The White-Clad Scholar was briefly flustered.

“Ah, to think I would say even this much to you.”

While the White-Clad Scholar let out a sigh, I pondered what this bastard had been about to say. In other words, it meant that at some point in a previous era, they had once touched Buddhism and been smashed to pieces. I guessed that he had been about to say they had ultimately prepared an alternative, then stopped himself.

He spoke while studying the White-Clad Scholar’s expression.

“In the end, you must have needed to create an opposing pole against the Buddhists. So you could keep harassing them in various ways.”

“…….”

“Did you pick out demonic forces and turn them into the Demon Cult? If you wanted to weaken a certain religion, you had no choice but to attack it with another religion standing on the opposite side. Stir them up, and they’d fight among themselves on their own. Their doctrines would have been direct opposites, after all.”

The White-Clad Scholar looked at me with a slightly dazed expression.

“You truly are a man one can converse with. That is exactly it.”

I nodded.

“The Buddhists speak of mercy, and the Demon Cult runs on mercilessness, something like that? But human affairs never flow exactly according to plan. Now things are starting to fit.”

“What do you mean?”

I looked at the White-Clad Scholar with a smile.

“You meant to play around by controlling a puppet, but the Demon Cult grew too large. So you supported the Third Young Master. There’s nothing more efficient than internal strife. It probably wasn’t the first time, either. They said the previous succession struggle was even greater, after all. You really did every sort of damn thing to the martial world.”

The White-Clad Scholar laughed.

“……That is our work.”

I spoke while looking at the White-Clad Scholar’s back as he turned away.

“Even if Cheonak is one of your experts. Even he failed to kill the Cult Leader. I don’t know how much the Cult Leader knows, but the affairs of the martial world are far simpler than the schemes you people weave. No matter how much you study and experiment with these damned books, the strong are the ones who win.”

I could not tell whether the White-Clad Scholar was their supreme commander or not. The only thing certain was that the Cult Leader and Im Sobaek were figures who had slipped free of any form of control.

The White-Clad Scholar returned to his seat and sat down.

“……I do not know what I should do with you. You know far too much. In that respect, you are certainly on a different level from my disciples. Of course, being on a different level does not guarantee that you would defeat my disciple. As you said.”

When the White-Clad Scholar struck a certain spot on the table irritably, one wall of the study flipped over.

Two men emerged from there and spoke to the White-Clad Scholar.

“……You called for us?”

The White-Clad Scholar pointed at me.

“This is Haomun Leader I Jaha. Show him courtesy.”

The men gave me a cupped-fist salute.

“Sect Leader, I am Ogeom.”

“Sect Leader, I am called Yukdo. I have often heard of your fame.”

I looked over the men, who were older than me, and then nodded.

“Good. Nice to meet you. You two must be the senior brothers right above Chilgyeom. I heard a lot about you from Chilgyeom too.”

“Is that so?”

“I doubt that fellow would have run his mouth carelessly.”

I spouted as much nonsense as I possibly could.

“He said your skills are decent, but both your personalities are so goddamn awful that he doesn’t want to treat you as senior brothers. Isn’t that you two? Ogeom and Yukdo, right. He said you look like a squid and a baby octopus. Nice to meet you. You look fascinating.”

Ogeom and Yukdo looked at each other, then laughed as if dumbfounded. Seeing how freely they expressed their emotions, it was clear that they were powerful experts among the White-Clad Scholar’s disciples.

The White-Clad Scholar said,

“Sect Leader, I will give you a choice. If you can prove just one of three things, I will treat you as a guest for the time being. I am yielding greatly because I have judged you to be a genius unlike any other under heaven. But if you cannot prove even one of the three, I will treat you as a slave for now, so know that. You should be grateful I am letting you live…….”

Ogeom and Yukdo had, at some point, blocked the entrance leading to the cliff.

I asked the White-Clad Scholar,

“Isn’t going from guest to slave a bit too radical? What are they?”

The White-Clad Scholar picked up a brush and spoke as he wrote.

“First, the story of how you came to learn Geumgu Soyogong. Second, the reason you know of Kwaedang. Third, reveal whether the divine art you created is real. I am not asking you to show me the ultimate technique with which you annihilated the Demon Cult troops. Since you described it with your own mouth as a divine art, it must be a divine art. Ogeom and Yukdo.”

“Yes, Master.”

“If the Sect Leader cannot answer, leave him barely alive. I will keep him alive somehow. He is strong, so do not let your guard down.”

“Understood.”

I held out my hand.

“Stop.”

To be honest, Ogeom and Yukdo were not the problem. The greatest danger was that the White-Clad Scholar might ambush me while I was fighting. In such a cramped space, facing experts like these three against one would be difficult even for me.

I asked the White-Clad Scholar,

“What will you do if I show you the divine art?”

The White-Clad Scholar nodded and answered.

“If this divine art is meaningful enough to be recorded in our history, then I should not kill you immediately. That is our role. Prove your own worth.”

I pointed at the White-Clad Scholar with my finger.

“Confirmed.”

With his own mouth, the White-Clad Scholar confessed what I had been guessing.

“It would have to be at least on the level of Im Sobaek’s unique martial art.”

“Of course. It should.”

I laughed, my shoulders shaking. Honestly, this was a situation where I could simply die, but since the White-Clad Scholar was not merely a gracefully insane bastard, he was presenting me with a way out. The problem was that this way out was extremely narrow.

‘A divine art, huh…….’

I had exactly one such divine art. Far from being complete, it was one I had only recently begun. I drew in a deep breath, then stared quietly at the White-Clad Scholar with my hands clasped behind my back.

“…….”

The White-Clad Scholar asked me,

“What are you doing?”

“Shut up. I’m concentrating. I am an emotional person. That means the martial art I created is emotional too.”

The White-Clad Scholar wrote down my words and answered.

“Is there such a thing in this world as an emotional martial art? You truly are not normal either.”

I answered the White-Clad Scholar’s words with sincerity.

“Of course there is. Scholar, do you know why I’m not normal? Do you know the reason why I’ve lived all this time half out of my mind, often being called a madman?”

The White-Clad Scholar said with a laugh,

“How would I know that? You were probably born a madman. Is that not so?”

Feeling all my complicated emotions sink into sorrow, I answered.

“It’s because of you.”

Because of this bastard, my past life, in which I had been unable to live normally, flashed past like a revolving lantern. I remembered what Sambok had said when he checked my condition at Cheolli Inn and was startled.

‘Sect Leader, you’re acting a bit strange.’

It felt similar to back then, but slightly different. I was going mad with a calm mind. In that instant, as though something had covered my eyes, the colors of the world shifted slightly.

When I looked at the White-Clad Scholar with an indifferent expression,

The White-Clad Scholar, who had risen from his seat, asked me,

“……Just what martial art is that?”

Of course, I could not confirm my own state. All I felt was that I was drawing power from Cheonok. But Ogeom and Yukdo’s expressions were not much different from the White-Clad Scholar’s.

It seemed the look in my eyes was not exactly normal right now.

I answered the white-robed scholar’s question.

“This is the Zixia Divine Art (紫霞神功).”