Chapter 222. The First Step onto a Pure White Snowfield.

I was about to tell the White-Clad Scholar to hand over more secret manuals, but I stopped. In truth, I had obtained something more important than any manual. This bastard would no longer suddenly attack the Hao Clan out of nowhere.

It was not quite an alliance, but I was satisfied with the fact that a madman of this caliber would not be killing my subordinates for the time being, and let go of my greed.

The problem was how to say farewell……

When I remained still, the White-Clad Scholar said,

“At the very least, if you intend to raise chivalrous heroes, you will have to surpass the Cult Leader.”

I pondered for a moment what he meant, and realized that since I had already become the Cult Leader’s enemy, if I carelessly made a show of raising disciples or heroes, they might all be killed by the Demonic Cult first.

“I suppose I will.”

“Do you know what kind of martial arts the Cult Leader uses?”

“No. If I’d seen them, would I still be alive? It’s not like I’m one of the Three Calamities.”

“What about the fact that he uses martial arts of yin and yang, like you?”

“I expected that.”

Suddenly, the White-Clad Scholar picked up a sheet of paper from the table between his thumb and forefinger and held it out. Just as I thought he seemed to be trying to show me something, the paper shattered into countless pieces and scattered.

Come to think of it, the same thing had happened when he threw the table from the hill before we came here.

The White-Clad Scholar asked me,

“How do you think I did it?”

I scratched my cheek with a finger and replied,

“It looks like you infused your thumb and forefinger with opposing qi, and they met within the paper.”

“Can you do it?”

I answered honestly.

“It would be difficult right now.”

The White-Clad Scholar tore off another sheet of paper, then this time held it with his thumb, forefinger, and middle finger and extended it toward me. Though he was not using Samadhi True Fire, the paper vanished as if it had been erased.

“And this?”

“Three different kinds of qi.”

“Can you do it?”

“No.”

The White-Clad Scholar nodded.

“If you cannot even do this, you cannot block the Cult Leader’s attacks. The Cult Leader uses the Five Elements Demonic Art. He uses all the qi of metal, water, wood, fire, and earth. Do you know why he can use all five kinds of qi?”

“How would I know?”

“Exactly. No one knows. Such an absurd martial art does not exist even among the Hundred Schools of Thought. It is not in Kunlun, nor is it a martial art of Tibet. It did not exist in the old Demonic Cult either, and even the Grand Dukes do not know. Then what martial art in the martial world could at least contend with the Cult Leader’s Five Elements Demonic Art?”

I thought briefly, then answered without much difficulty.

“The Alliance Leader’s Six-Battle Great Sword.”

“Why?”

“Because in an instant, it would destroy all five qi. It could harmonize with them.”

The White-Clad Scholar nodded.

“Correct. What would happen if the Sword Demon, having achieved a perfect state of blade-and-sword invulnerability, fought while holding the Sword of Radiance?”

“The state of blade-and-sword invulnerability means the energy of metal has spread throughout the whole body, so he would be weak against the Cult Leader’s water- or fire-type qi.”

“That is why the Cult Leader let the Sword Demon roam free. Then you must also understand why the Cult Leader is keeping you alive.”

I nodded.

“He could obtain more water and fire qi. As if I were a living elixir.”

At this point, a question occurred to me.

Then what exactly is the true nature of the Heavenly Jade?

With the White-Clad Scholar before me, I had no time to ponder deeply.

The White-Clad Scholar asked me,

“Do you know why the Cult Leader is preparing so thoroughly?”

“Is it not because he cannot surpass the other masters among the Three Calamities?”

The White-Clad Scholar smiled.

“That may be one reason, but it is also because he has not fully grasped us. He is cautious by nature, yet he still cannot distinguish friend from foe. In truth, he must have noticed that this is our strategy. Clan Leader, you are the same. I am both your enemy and your ally. The Cult Leader, Kunlun, Im So-baek, the Ten Great Masters to which the Emperors belong, me, and you. Let us see who survives.”

I asked what I was curious about.

“How did Kunlun survive against the Demonic Cult?”

“Kunlun is, fundamentally, a sect that understands the Five Elements. They survived through their sword formation and the martial learning of that old man of Kunlun.”

“Is Heavenly Evil on your side?”

The White-Clad Scholar smiled faintly.

“I repeat, but for us, the line between enemy and ally is vague. Even those within are both enemies and allies to one another. It is a meaningless question. However, what I know is true. But I cannot keep track of every move Heavenly Evil makes. Since they say the Three Calamities were all gravely injured at the same time, he may still be recovering. He may have died during his recovery, or he may be in closed-door training, but I do not know the details.”

I asked the White-Clad Scholar something I had wondered about across both my previous life and this one.

“Just who is that one person? I heard the title Three Calamities became better known because three people fought.”

“Surely there is someone you suspect as well.”

The White-Clad Scholar looked at me, then proposed a deal.

“If you want to know, you should reveal one of your secrets. The Golden Turtle Wandering Art, the Kwaedang, or the Zaha Divine Art. You should reveal one of the three to me. Will you make the trade?”

“Hmm……”

So that was why this bastard had been running his mouth so smoothly. He had been scheming all this time. Making me as curious as possible before prying into my secrets……

It was enough to drive a man mad.

“Having your curiosity satisfied is not necessarily a good thing. Once you hear it, it may turn out to be nothing special. Still, if you want to hear it, I’ll tell you. So tell me who the last of the Three Calamities is.”

The White-Clad Scholar replied in the same tone as me.

“Even if you learn who it is, you will not be surprised. You speak first. There is an eight or nine out of ten chance you will lie.”

“I happened to hear it while I was lying around asleep in the Musan Gorge. The name Kwaedang.”

The White-Clad Scholar let out a sigh.

“You truly are an utter madman.”

“Why?”

“Are you saying that is all?”

“It’s the fault of you Kwaedang bastards for blabbering.”

“Who was blabbering?”

“I cannot reveal that, since they might die by your hand.”

“Or perhaps you simply do not know who it was?”

“As if. I remember their appearance and clothing perfectly. Who is the last of the Three Calamities?”

“Do you think this is a question-and-answer exchange worthy of a trade?”

“You have a long tongue.”

The White-Clad Scholar gave a hollow laugh, then replied,

“Noshin’s master.”

“Now that is surprising. That beggar bastard’s master was that extraordinary?”

The beggar bastard’s master had been a man with no presence whatsoever in the martial world, even in my previous life.

“Noshin is the fastest in the Beggars’ Sect. If he is the master of such a man, he ought to be extraordinary.”

“If he was the Chief of the Beggars’ Sect, he would have been no ordinary famous figure, so how was it not known that he was one of the Three Calamities?”

“What kind of people would rate the beggars’ chief so highly? Those who witnessed the fight were ordinary folk, so there was no way to know. It’s not as if he was a man who would boast of it, and the very fact that he fought was a rare occurrence.”

To my memory, the identity of the Cult Leader—a member of the Three Calamities—had been revealed by the Demonic Path instead. The existence of Heavenly Evil was revealed even later than that. There had been speculation that the last figure was a master of the Righteous Path, but no one had known the truth that he was the leader of the Beggars’ Union. Probably, even Im Sobaek hadn’t known.

Because the Sovereigns among the Ten Great Experts had all denied it, the member of the Three Calamities had been an unknown figure, so hearing the words “leader of the Beggars’ Union” from the White-Robed Scholar’s mouth left me bewildered as well.

Because even after learning of the Three Calamities, he had possessed no sense of presence.

Should I believe it?

I suspect it might be something that even the Beggars’ Union itself does not know.

At any rate, from the fact that the White-Robed Scholar knew the Three Calamities accurately, I was convinced that Heavenly Evil was a figure on the scholar’s side. The circumstances indicated as much. I could not shake the feeling that he was a weapon who had inherited the malice and hatred of the Hundred Schools’ disciples, and mastered all of their martial arts.

Only then would the alias “Heavenly Evil” fit perfectly.

The White-Robed Scholar spoke.

“The matter of my sharing information with you and even handing over books will become known internally as time passes. If you wish to avoid quarreling with the other library administrators, there is only one way.”

“What is it?”

The White-Robed Scholar said in a flat tone.

“Join the Kuaidang. When the Kuaidang’s general assembly begins later, I shall summon you, so attend. There will be many who wish to compete in lightness arts, but handle it as you see fit.”

“I shall join. Then who is the Kuaidangju?”

The White-Robed Scholar blinked and asked me,

“Are you saying you will tell me the story of Geumgu Soyogong?”

“Ugh, you damn smartass scholar bastard.”

I had never met such a meticulous businessman before. He was the type who only gave something when he received something first. By this point, having received three secret manuals was growing increasingly uncomfortable.

The White-Robed Scholar said.

“Listen here, Gate Lord. Make sure to hold onto those three divine arts well. This is my diversified investment. If a problem arises on our end, the books here will be destroyed. If your forces are annihilated by the Cult Leader, the risk of the three divine arts vanishing increases greatly. It is unlikely both sides will suffer simultaneously.”

“You’re thorough. If you want to diversify your investment, hand over more.”

“Are you a thief? Know some restraint.”

“Acknowledged.”

“If news spreads that No Shin has become the new leader of the Beggars’ Union, you should take it to mean that a member of the Three Calamities has fallen. The Cult Leader will likely move even faster.”

I searched through my previous life but had never heard such news. Come to think of it, it seemed this bastard had intentionally approached No Shin because the Three Calamities stood above him.

Given that the White-Robed Scholar was such a madman, if he had not thrown himself into the Martial Arts Alliance, he probably would have entered the Beggars’ Union. To obtain the martial arts of the Three Calamities. However, it appeared he had chosen the Martial Arts Alliance because it would have been exceedingly difficult for the scholar to abide by the beggars’ rules.

Realizing the scholar would not offer any more books, I tucked the three secret manuals into my bosom and stood up.

“I’m off.”

As I walked toward the cave entrance, the White-Robed Scholar slowly followed from behind. Walking through the gradually narrowing cave with my back exposed to an expert like the White-Robed Scholar sent a chill down my spine.

Suddenly, I stopped walking and looked up at the mural in the passage.

“…….”

It was a painting vividly depicting scholars in white robes falling into pits, being beheaded, and pierced by spears. If a man spent all day admiring such paintings in a place like this while transcribing texts onto bamboo slips, what man wouldn’t go mad?

I walked near the entrance, then turned around and looked at the White-Robed Scholar.

“Scholar.”

The White-Robed Scholar answered with his hands behind his back.

“Speak.”

“……Erase the murals. Put away the paintings in the study as well.”

“Why?”

Watching the White-Robed Scholar’s expression, I spoke in a calm tone.

“There is an old man in Haomun who likes paintings; he can draw flowers and trees. He can paint water bottles and yongmopagi as well. He draws maps well, and sometimes seems to paint mountains and rivers.”

“What nonsense are you trying to say?”

“A life is too short to seek out and paint only beautiful things. Why do you insist on staring only at paintings depicting death? Foolishly. Wasting time. Stop staring at death and paint your own life instead. Your disciples may be your slaves, but you are no different from a slave to the old Hundred Schools’ disciples. Reflect upon yourself while staring at the walls of your cave.”

The White-Robed Scholar stared at me blankly for a moment before answering.

“Gate Lord, save such insolent words for your subordinates. Be careful.”

The moment I thought, “Careful of what……,” the White-Robed Scholar extended his right hand toward me. The instant I thought light was erupting from three fingers, I instinctively countered with the Yeomgye Daesuin.

By the time a thunderous roar erupted, my body was already floating in midair.

‘That son of a bitch…….’

The White-Robed Scholar, smiling at the entrance, placed his hand to his own forehead and spoke to me.

“Gate Lord, see you alive.”

I twisted my body in the air, then stared down at the ground as I fell. Even after repeatedly unleashing the Daesuin’s force in the form of wind, my speed did not decrease sharply. At the last moment, I released all strength from my entire body, and just as I was about to touch the ground, I swung the Tugye’s force in a half-moon shape to bounce back into the air, then descended and landed on the ground again from a suitable height.

I turned my head to check the cliff, but it was already obscured by clouds and nothing could be seen.

However, the White-Robed Scholar’s voice carried clearly to this place.

“Do not come looking for me until I call.”

For a moment, I considered blasting the cliff away with Ilwol Gwangcheon, but I barely restrained myself. He wasn’t a normal man, so such behavior didn’t even feel strange. Rather, because I had exchanged inner force with the White-Robed Scholar, I had much to ponder. Walking along the road, carefully reviewing it, I realized it was not inner force but finger technique.

In other words, it had been a finger technique attack using the thumb, index finger, and middle finger, just like when the paper had been annihilated. Though it did not possess a drastic transformation on the order of white to crimson, the color of the finger technique shining from each finger was slightly different.

White, gray, and dark gray, one might say?

It was different from the Ilwol Gwangcheon I had created. Rather, it made me think it might be similar to the Five Elements Demonic Art the White-Robed Scholar had mentioned as the Cult Leader’s martial art. Whatever the scholar’s intention had been, I memorized that technique.

.

.

.

The White-Robed Scholar pressed the mechanism on the desk, then watched the disciples appear through the flipping wall. When the disciples entered the study and waited quietly, the White-Robed Scholar pointed at the corpse with his chin and spoke.

“Clean it up.”

“Yes.”

“And for the time being.”

The moving disciples stopped simultaneously and looked at the White-Robed Scholar once more.

“Yes, Master.”

The White-Robed Scholar looked around at his subordinates and said,

“Do not touch Haomun. Recall those who were waiting in ambush as well.”

“Understood.”

Without asking a single question, the disciples began cleaning up the corpses. While the disciples moved the dead disciples and wiped up the blood splattered everywhere, the White-Robed Scholar held a brush and stared endlessly at a blank sheet of paper.

After a moment, the White-Robed Scholar squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them.

“…….”

He found himself flustered, thinking that even placing a single dot on a blank sheet of paper was difficult. The White-Clad Scholar took a deep breath, then touched his brush to the paper.

The White-Clad Scholar’s heart felt strangely restless, as though he were taking his first step onto a field of pure white snow.