Chapter 230. Nothing Happened.
The Jecheon Alliance Leader stood in the center, with his officers lined up to either side.
“It has been a very long time since someone challenged me so boldly.”
A belated flatterer spoke up.
“Alliance Leader, allow me to test my mettle against the Hao Sect Master first.”
The Jecheon Alliance Leader answered curtly.
“The words have already left my mouth.”
“Yes, sir.”
The Jecheon Alliance Leader removed the thick outer robe he wore and handed it to an officer, then asked me.
“I would prefer that we not use blades. What do you say?”
I nodded.
“Let’s do that.”
One corner of the Jecheon Alliance Leader’s lips rose as he slowly walked toward me. The name Ju Geuk gave the impression of some scrawny fellow impishly swinging an iron skewer around, but up close, Ju Geuk’s build was quite large.
Ju Geuk looked at one of his officers and said,
“Check whether there are reinforcements outside and keep watch.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Everyone, step back. There is a risk the Hao Sect Master may deliberately run wild and destroy the Jecheon Alliance’s property.”
“Yes, Alliance Leader.”
The Jecheon Alliance Leader looked at me.
“This place is more than spacious enough, so I would rather you not fight while running away. I am telling you in advance. Is this not sufficient?”
Ju Geuk calmly eliminated every variable. It had been a long time since I had seen a man who used his head this well before a fight.
“Do as you like.”
“If you show some courtesy in that way of speaking as well, I will not take your life. Seeing that one part of my heart feels uneasy, I do not think there is any need to go so far as to kill you.”
He spoke in a refined tone, even choosing words that would dampen my fighting spirit.
Had he grasped my disposition completely?
Perhaps because the man had risen by trampling over experts of the Black Path to become the Jecheon Alliance Leader, he gave off the air of someone who had often dealt with men like me.
I accepted it all.
“Let’s do that. This is how I talk by nature, so let that slide.”
“Do you speak this way to Alliance Leader Lim as well?”
“I showed a little more courtesy over there. I couldn’t speak carelessly to the Murim Alliance Leader, who toils day and night without rest.”
Ju Geuk let out a sigh, then said something unexpected.
“Let us make this clear before we proceed. If I killed my subordinates every time they occasionally failed a mission, how could I command this many people? They died because they accepted a commission from a young master of the Demon Cult without reporting it and caused trouble.”
“Aha.”
“When I looked into the matter in detail, your name also came up. The problematic remark reached my ears as well. Do you understand? Since the hall masters tend to run their businesses freely, problems arise from time to time. However, the Jecheon Alliance also has rules. Concealing business and failing to report it brings about serious trouble. Because once they cross the line, I cannot stop them. Do you understand?”
“Confirmed.”
“That is fortunate. Even so, your words crossed the line. I called you here to confirm that. First, believe this: I am not the Demon Cult’s lackey. I am someone who dislikes being beneath anyone. Is that not why I remain an Alliance Leader without joining the Murim Alliance? Hao Sect Master, Yi Zaha.”
I nodded.
When he came at me this logically, I had nothing to say, and when I had nothing to say, my fighting spirit subsided and my combat ability fell with it.
For now, I counterattacked with my mouth.
“Good. I’ve received the circumstances. Then now I only need to prove one thing.”
“What is that?”
“Proof of my statement that I can kill eighty percent of the Jecheon Alliance. Speaking the truth as it is can’t be a problem.”
The Jecheon Alliance Leader laughed through his nose.
“That proof is simple.”
“What is it?”
“All you have to do is not die by my hand. If you are a man I cannot kill, then I believe you would be more than capable of massacring eighty percent of the Jecheon Alliance. That should prove it for both of us, no?”
To say he would beat me to death in such an elegant way—what an unpleasant bastard. I rubbed my hands together and said,
“Confirmed.”
As I stirred the Baekjeon Sipdan Gong in both hands and rubbed them together, a pleasant crackling sound burst out. It was like the sound of thunder on a rainy night that brought peace to the mind.
Suddenly, one of the officers uttered nonsense.
“Alliance Leader, he is a man with spirit, so please spare his life. They say far and wide that this man is mad. He does not seem related to courtesy.”
Ju Geuk raised a hand as though telling him not to open his mouth anymore. As the room fell silent, Ju Geuk spoke again.
“I hear you have mastered a consummate technique that causes great damage. It will be difficult to use. This is, first and foremost, you and me. A one-on-one duel. Do not try any other tricks. Hao Sect Master, do you understand?”
At this point, I was a little dazed.
“……”
As if he had figured out where I intended to place every piece on the janggi board, the Jecheon Alliance Leader was pretending to be a genius.
But why was it so funny?
As I listened to the Jecheon Alliance Leader’s words, laughter burst out of me on its own and I cackled. Trying to laugh alone in such a serious atmosphere made it even funnier.
An officer accurately assessed my condition.
“Has he lost his mind?”
I evaluated myself from the position of a third party.
“Seems so. Looks like I’ve gone mad. I understand, so stop flapping your mouth and challenge me. Jecheon Alliance Leader.”
A vein bulged on the forehead of the Jecheon Alliance Leader, who had maintained his composure until now, and he charged at me.
‘Palm technique? Fist technique? Leg technique?’
Driven back by the Jecheon Alliance Leader’s momentum, I retreated and met his palm force head-on. Feeling the foolishness of exchanging palm force while stepping backward, I flew far behind me. The instant I twisted my body in midair and landed, the Jecheon Alliance Leader was before my eyes.
‘Palm technique? Fist technique?’
A knife-hand flew toward my neck, a kick thrust toward my abdomen, and the moment I spotted his fist, I saw a fist wind no less powerful than palm force. The instant I met the fist wind with both palms, I realized that the stance I had been holding was poor and was pushed back.
‘Palm technique? Fist technique? Ah, a flying kick?’
As I dodged the Jecheon Alliance Leader’s foot repeatedly as it surged toward my face, I heard the sound of a wall collapsing.
An enlightenment, suddenly here?
I realized that if I endured somehow, since the Jecheon Alliance Leader’s martial arts were also lofty, all the Jecheon Alliance’s household property would be smashed to pieces.
In other words, this was proof that I was not the only violent person in this world. The Jecheon Alliance Leader was also an extremely violent bastard. In that instant, the Jecheon Alliance Leader’s fist thrust into my abdomen.
Feeling a chill that told me all my internal organs would rupture if I took this hit, I crossed both palms and barely blocked the fist.
Pak!
I could withstand it!
Without even being able to think, Thank goodness, I blocked a kick and, breaking through the wall, arrived without warning in the outer courtyard I had passed through earlier.
It was not of my own will.
Covered in dust, I rolled, then got up and looked at the Jecheon Alliance Leader.
Was that truly the cave I had just broken out of? Instead of a person, a tiger was emerging from the cave with a leisurely air. To stop the tiger’s advance, I spoke in a deliberately relaxed tone.
“Not bad. Heh heh heh.”
I bought myself a moment to breathe as I brushed the dust off my body. It wasn’t the best decision, since the dust I’d brushed off was being sucked right up my nose.
Just then, one of the Jecheon Alliance executives appeared in midair and landed on the wall, only for it to collapse with a thunderous crash. It was already split and cracked, so of course it crumbled the moment he stood on it. As soon as the startled executive touched down on the ground, I berated him mercilessly.
“You stupid bastard, you’re wrecking all the household goods. Won Gaseong died for a slip of the tongue, but you’ve brought down a wall in the Jecheon Alliance headquarters. At this rate, it’s a death sentence.”
The executive bastard replied.
“Shut up.”
I spoke to the Jecheon Alliance Leader, who still seemed relaxed.
“Judging by your personality, it’d be only right to kill that fellow first before we continue. I’ll wait. Deal with him.”
The Jecheon Alliance Leader let out a sigh, then answered.
“……Sect Leader, is this the extent of your skill? With this level of ability, you cannot handle eighty percent of the Jecheon Alliance.”
“Why? No? I haven’t even displayed twenty percent of my skill yet. Eight plus two is ten, you bastard, so hurry up and come at me.”
To buy time, I drew my wooden sword. When I drew it, the Jecheon Alliance Leader said,
“Wouldn’t drawing a weapon only increase your chances of dying?”
“Is that so?”
I slowly sheathed the sword again.
“…….”
In the meantime, my breathing returned to normal. Breathing properly is this difficult. Only someone with as much battle experience as I, having gone through all manner of hardships, could maintain his composure.
While widening the distance, I rubbed my hands together like a fly again and looked around. Of course, Baekjeon Sipdan-gong was coiling around both hands, so a crackling roar rang out as naturally as everyday background noise.
‘I’m trembling.’
As I rubbed my hands, I sounded out the Jecheon Alliance Leader.
“Shall we go back into the inner courtyard and fight there?”
“Don’t stall. It won’t work.”
“Sharp fellow.”
At that moment, one of the executives burst into laughter, then hurriedly raised a hand to cover his mouth.
“Mm…….”
I looked at the executive with a startled expression.
“You’re laughing? How dare you laugh while your Alliance Leader is fighting?”
Fortunately, the Jecheon Alliance Leader also turned his head with an unpleasant expression and glared as if he would kill the man covering his mouth.
“……!”
I interpreted the true feelings contained in the Jecheon Alliance Leader’s gaze on his behalf.
“You’re dead. Your promotion is gone now. Pitiful. All those years of devoted loyalty, blown away so emptily—such is the bitter taste of life. Kill yourself. I know from just fighting him, the Jecheon Alliance Leader is a terrifying man. Won Gaseong died because he nitpicked at a few words. Come to think of it, I was the one who said those words, so why did Won Gaseong die? That’s how cruel your Alliance Leader is.”
The Jecheon Alliance Leader, who had been glaring at his subordinate all this time, turned his head and shouted fiercely at me.
“Shut up!”
A tiger roared.
In that brief opening, I had already been rubbing my hands together out of habit—of course, it was not Baekjeon Sipdan-gong. Since I had been rubbing my hands the whole time, no one noticed anything strange about my movements.
Of course, the crackling sound was similar as well.
But this was a bizarre sound created by combining Geumgu Soyogong and Wolyeong Mujeong-gong.
Naturally, it was on a completely different level and of a different class from the palm-rubbing I had produced with Baekjeon Sipdan-gong. The moment I cast the taiji of Ilwol Gwangcheon and shaped it into a sphere, I wrapped it in the lightning energy of Baekjeon Sipdan-gong as well. To think I’d end up opening a jianghu laboratory in the headquarters of the Jecheon Alliance.
Craaaaaackle!
What an astonishing sound effect.
Extreme yang qi and extreme yin qi collided, and atop it the lightning energy of Baekjeon Sipdan-gong writhed like seasoning sprinkled over pork backbone, making it a sight worth seeing. At a glance, it had taken on an appearance that seemed far more powerful than the old Ilwol Gwangcheon.
“Delicious Ilwol Gwangcheon has arrived. Ilwol Gwangcheon that is not good for your health has arrived, is what I’m saying.”
The joke wasn’t funny, and the atmosphere was terrifying, so no one laughed. In truth, I am a man who is more often unfunny than funny, so I didn’t mind.
The Jecheon Alliance Leader, who had been taking a step toward me, stopped with his eyes wide open. I warned him.
“You’ve got some sense. This is the very technique that sent the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon Cult flying all at once. It’s already too late. What does that mean? It means even I can’t handle this thing.”
In that instant, I sensed the Jecheon Alliance stirring uneasily. The Jecheon Alliance Leader warned me in a grave tone.
“If you unleash that, you will certainly die.”
I nodded.
“I’ll die, but more than eighty percent of you will die too. Especially anyone nearby will certainly die. There’s no avoiding it. We were not born on the same day, but we will die on the same day. Let’s go to the next world and swear brotherhood in the peach garden. It was the same with the Demon Cult. Only the lucky ones who had corpses overlapping them and coincidences piled on top of coincidences barely survived. That was probably around twenty percent? I’ll tell you again. No matter what forces come, I can finish off eighty percent of them with my own hands. Whether that’s the Demon Cult or the Jecheon Alliance, it’s none of my concern.”
Perhaps someone was trying to approach from behind me, because the Jecheon Alliance Leader shouted.
“Stop!”
A man standing alone in enemy territory with Ilwol Gwangcheon coiled around both hands—that was me. I looked around and said,
“If you’re confident, then strike me.”
Just then, someone’s voice came from the air.
“I cannot allow you to die.”
Then the Beggars’ Sect Leader, dressed in shabby clothes, suddenly appeared in midair and landed before the Jecheon Alliance Leader, who was facing me down.
I glared at the Beggars’ Sect Leader.
“Senior…….”
The Beggars’ Sect Leader, Divine Beggar, asked me,
“Are you planning to destroy yourself? I will not permit it.”
Naturally, I had not even the slightest intention of destroying myself, but there was nothing suitable I could say in response. Fortunately, the Jecheon Alliance Leader seemed not to have recognized the filthy beggar’s identity and uttered some impudent words.
“Who are you?”
In that instant, the Beggars’ Sect Leader turned and struck the Jecheon Alliance Leader with the back of his hand. Startled, the Jecheon Alliance Leader raised his right hand high and protected his face with his forearm.
KWA-A-A-A-A-A-A-ANG!
A streak of light flashed, and the Jecheon Alliance Leader went flying even after smashing through the wall, rolling around in an unsightly state.
When the Beggars’ Sect Leader looked around, the entire force of the Jecheon Alliance wore expressions as if they had been struck by ice arts.
The Beggars’ Sect Leader opened his mouth.
“Ju Geuk.”
The Jecheon Alliance Leader, who had been sent flying beyond the wall, sprang to his feet and hurried back, then respectfully clasped both hands before the Beggars’ Sect Leader.
“Yes, Senior.”
The Beggars’ Sect Leader said,
“It has been a long time.”
“I thought you had retired.”
“Retirement tastes best when it’s taken back. And to be precise, it was seclusion. Not retirement. Why are you deciding on your own that I retired?”
“Yes.”
“You wait there for a moment.”
The Beggars’ Sect Leader suddenly approached me with both hands extended and said,
“Sect Leader, you must not die recklessly. Stay still.”
I had already completed the Sun-Moon Radiant Heaven and was holding it in both hands when the approaching Beggars’ Sect Leader extended his own hands, wreathed in light, and lightly grasped both my wrists.
“Jaha, what on earth do you intend to do with this?”
“……”
The man called Samjae suddenly smiled as if he, too, found the situation troublesome.
“If it goes off like this, I think I’ll get hurt as well, so do something about it. I’ll help you.”
I had already succeeded once in withdrawing the ultimate technique, so I was not particularly worried. It was just that the appearance of the Beggars’ Sect Leader, who had possessed no presence until now, was so unexpected that I, too, was somewhat surprised.
I exchanged glances with the Beggars’ Sect Leader with an impassive expression, then answered briefly.
“……Confirmed.”