Chapter 258: Chapter 258
The strategist looked at Hyeon-do, who opened his two eyes wide as if surprised by the current situation, and held a faint smile at the corners of his mouth.
‘It went according to plan.’
The most needed thing in the soon-to-be-held Grand Martial World Conference was none other than the initiative.
And the one holding the key to the initiative was nowhere else but the Mount Hua Sect.
Because they, whose prestige pierced the sky after defeating the Green Forest, also had the justification regarding this war with the Four Black Alliances.
‘Because if I draw in Mount Hua there, I can also draw in the Beggars’ Sect as well.’
His gaze turned towards Dragon Pearl Beggar.
Although he was revealing an unwilling expression, he too would eventually follow his words.
‘Since there is a reason that he can catch the spies hidden in the Alliance, he will absolutely not be able to reject this.’
He would find it unpalatable, but as the Beggars’ Sect Leader, he had no choice but to accept this proposal.
‘Then, since I have won over the two most important ones in the Grand Martial World Conference…’
The strategist, who was looking at the two, raised his body.
“Then I will leave it in your care.”
“Are you leaving already?”
At Hyeon-do’s question, the strategist looked outside.
“Even if I stay here any longer, it will only concentrate people’s attention.”
Just as he said, the people outside were greatly buzzing at the appearance of the strategist.
“Why is the strategist at the residence of the Mount Hua Sect?”
“Are they discussing this Grand Martial World Conference?”
“Are we perhaps late…”
The martial artists of the Nine Great Sects and One Alliance who approached also showed an appearance of keeping him in check after discovering the strategist, and the strategist who confirmed this spoke.
“I will see you at the Grand Martial World Conference.”
Ending with those words, after the strategist bowed his head, when he was about to turn his body.
“Hmm? Are you going to just leave?”
The strategist could not help but stop at the sluggish voice that suddenly came hooking in.
“I thought you said you had something to repay me with.”
Turning his head, Cheon-hwi, who had been silently just listening to the conversation, was yawning and looking at him with teary eyes.
“I endured this boring conversation and kept waiting because of that.”
When Cheon-hwi, who gave a long yawn, spoke while wiping the tears formed in the corners of his eyes with his index finger.
‘Because things went well, I forgot for a moment.’
The strategist straightened his turned body and moved his lips.
“I am sorry. The story with the Young Taoist will be later…”
“Ey, what do you mean later. Let’s just talk now.”
Cheon-hwi cleanly cut off his words that seemed to slyly push it back.
“Whatever the story is, it wouldn’t be more important than what was just discussed anyway, wouldn’t it?”
“…”
The strategist’s eyes sank deeply.
It was because it looked extremely immature of him to bring up asking for his merits to be commended, even though he had heard how important the conversation they just shared was.
‘Did I evaluate him too highly.’
Having implicitly lowered his evaluation of Cheon-hwi, he spoke.
“Did you not make an illustrious merit of defeating the Green Forest Great Emperor this time. I called you to give a reward for that.”
“You said it was about the chivalrous deeds so far, but you only mention the Green Forest attack?”
Cheon-hwi let out a smirk.
In the end, the intention of those words was obvious.
Since the Martial Alliance failed to give help to the Mount Hua Sect, they were trying to give a reward.
‘They are trying to save face. And they purposely called me under the reason of giving a reward to find out about me.’
His inner thoughts were read clearly.
‘Although he probably had no intention of hiding it in the first place.’
The corners of Cheon-hwi’s mouth, looking at the strategist with a blunt expression, momentarily twisted.
“In other words, you mean it is a bribe to overlook the failure to help this time with this?”
“Cheon-hwi!”
“Hahaha! You show no mercy.”
Hyeon-do was startled, and Dragon Pearl Beggar laughed.
And the strategist.
“If you nitpick, that is so.”
He admitted it surprisingly calmly.
Cheon-hwi spoke as if throwing it out, seemingly finding such an appearance of the strategist uninteresting.
“So what are you going to give me?”
“I will give you an opportunity to take one item from the Martial World Secret Storehouse.”
“What? The Martial World Secret Storehouse?”
For a moment, Dragon Pearl Beggar’s eyes grew slightly larger.
“How could you open that place…”
Cheon-hwi asked Dragon Pearl Beggar, who was genuinely surprised.
“Is it some amazing place?”
“It is a place where only all sorts of divine weapons and rare artifacts gathered by the Martial Alliance for decades are kept separately. However, that place cannot even be entered without the Alliance Leader’s authority.”
The moment Dragon Pearl Beggar glared at the strategist with doubt.
“The Alliance Leader also permitted it.”
The strategist answered as if he had been waiting.
“The Alliance Leader…?”
The furrow dug in Dragon Pearl Beggar’s brow deepened.
The Martial World Secret Storehouse being opened was to the extent it could be counted on one hand even during his not-short lifetime.
But to open such a place meant…
‘Is the Alliance Leader paying attention to this guy?’
Meanwhile, Cheon-hwi, who had no intention of considering the detailed inner thoughts, stroked his chin recalling Dragon Pearl Beggar’s words.
“A place gathering divine weapons and rare artifacts, you say?”
His eyes, as he whispered, shone.
It worked out well. I was just in need of a sword anyway.
Cheon-hwi nodded his head and stood up.
“If so, let’s go right now.”
“…Do you mean now?”
“There is a saying to pull out the bull’s horns at a single stroke. Wouldn’t it be better for each other to finish it quickly rather than needlessly delaying it?”
The strategist intently looked at Cheon-hwi, who seemed to have no thoughts.
The situation was the situation.
However, the child named Cheon-hwi in front of him seemed busy taking care of his own things without paying the slightest attention to such matters.
‘He is young.’
His head, clicking his tongue inside, spun rapidly.
‘No, did it actually turn out well? Since I’ll be able to easily use him later.’
Who is the easiest person to use in the world.
It was none other than an ignorant and strong person.
The strategist, who judged the Cheon-hwi in front of him to be such a person, sprang up from his seat without needing to think further.
“Follow me.”
Subsequently, the moment he turned his body and went out of the pavilion without delay.
“Strategist!”
“Why are you here…”
“It has been a while.”
A commotion arose outside.
Meanwhile, Cheon-hwi wore a cold smile on his lips looking at his back going ahead.
“I will be back.”
Cheon-hwi, who greeted Hyeon-do, stepped out of the pavilion without even listening to an answer.
Then, a bout of commotion arose in the surroundings once again.
“…You are?”
“The Plum Blossom Divine Hero?”
His gaze entangled with the people of the Nine Great Sects and One Alliance who were wondering looking at the strategist.
Most of them were people he was seeing for the first time, but he was acquainted with a few.
‘Oho, they have quite thick skin.’
Cheon-hwi purposely pinpointed and looked at Taoist Cheong-wu of Zhongnan and Taoist Mok-yeong of Wudang, whom he had clashed with last time, and spoke.
“It has been a while.”
“Ahem. I-It has been a while.”
“Ahem. It has been a while.”
The two people coughed repeatedly and stealthily turned their heads as if they were in a difficult situation.
‘It seems they still have a conscience though?’
Cheon-hwi, who smirked inside, tried to walk past them. But at that time, there were people blocking his way.
“Amitabha.”
“Infinite Life Buddha.”
They were a monk wearing a red kasaya and an elderly Taoist wearing a blue Taoist robe.
“Nice to me…”
“Is Taoist Friend the Plum Blossom Divine…”
At the moment the two were about to start a conversation.
“Those who came because they have something to say, please come in.”
Hyeon-do’s voice was heard from inside.
Hyeon-do, who was looking at the situation outside through the window, had brought up words to them for Cheon-hwi’s sake.
“Ahem.”
“Excuse us.”
The two who had blocked the path half-heartedly looked at Cheon-hwi and went inside for their priority goal.
‘Funny bastards.’
Cheon-hwi, watching the people entering like a swarm of ants, naturally made a sneer.
Their appearance of running in a flurry was funny.
‘They change faster than flipping a palm.’
When he visited the Martial Alliance before, they ignored and looked down on the Mount Hua Sect.
But how is it now.
They were hurriedly approaching as if competing with each other, like fire had fallen on their insteps.
Some were even running mixing in footwork.
And the situation changing like this was because the Mount Hua Sect took down the White Ghost Castle and stopped the attack of the Green Forest.
“What chivalry. As expected, to receive recognition in Jianghu, having strength above anything else is the best.”
Cheon-hwi, who let out his inner thoughts out loud, quickly chased behind the strategist going ahead.
* * *
It was not called the Martial World Secret Storehouse for nothing.
The strategist went into the most massive pavilion in the Alliance and passed through doors several times.
And the opened final door.
There was an endless staircase there.
“Follow me carefully.”
Following the strategist who carefully went down, Cheon-hwi continued to go down the staircase that led downwards, and lightly dug his ear.
‘I thought I was going to die from the noise.’
Cheon-hwi, who was recalling the situation he experienced coming all the way here, clicked his tongue, ‘Tsk.’
People’s attention was too concentrated.
If it was obvious, it was obvious.
Since he, the Plum Blossom Divine Hero who was making the current Jianghu ring loudly, and the strategist who had been remaining indoors until now were moving together.
It would rather be strange if attention was not concentrated.
At that time, the strategist asked.
“What does the Young Taoist think about this war with the Four Black Alliances? Do you want to go to war? Or do you want the talks of making a pact with the Four Black Alliances to be scrapped?”
Cheon-hwi smirked looking at the strategist’s back as he asked without even looking back.
“Why do you ask that?”
“I wanted to hear the opinion of the one who defeated the Green Forest Great Emperor.”
“Well, if you tell me to choose one of the two, fighting is better.”
“That is a relief.”
At the moment the strategist, who spat out meaningful words, nodded his head.
“We have arrived.”
Along with the end of the endlessly continuing stairs, a brilliant light entered his eyes.
‘They must have suffered quite a bit to dig this.’
Cheon-hwi examined the surroundings.
It probably wasn’t a natural cave, and it looked like an artificially dug underground tunnel, but the surroundings were well decorated with wood, and silks were wrapping the walls everywhere.
‘It feels like the Heavenly Demon Archive.’
After a brief moment of looking around like that.
“Hmm?”
Cheon-hwi, who felt something, looked across.
There were two massive iron doors.
And there was a single chair in the center of the two doors, and an old man full of white hair was sitting and dozing off.
‘Is he a gatekeeper?’
Cheon-hwi, who glanced at the old man, asked.
“But there are two doors?”
“The right door is the Martial World Secret Storehouse the Young Taoist will enter, and the left door is the Secret Heaven Archive, where the Martial Alliance has gathered martial arts manuals.”
“A place where martial arts manuals are gathered?”
Cheon-hwi immediately looked at the left door.
Curiosity naturally arose at the words that it was martial arts manuals gathered by the Martial Alliance for a long time.
“It seems you have an interest in martial arts manuals.”
“The manuals do draw my eyes more.”
Cheon-hwi immediately stared at the strategist.
“Can’t I go in there?”
“Unfortunately, it is already a decided matter.”
“Tsk, it is really a pity.”
At the time Cheon-hwi smacked his lips as if he felt it was a pity, the strategist approached the old man.
“Elder.”
“Oigu, I dozed off for a moment.”
The old man, who rubbed his eyes and opened his wrinkled eyes, met eyes with the strategist.
“Hmm? Is this not the strategist?”
“It has been a while.”
“Hoho, it has been a while indeed. But what brings you all the way here?”
“I brought a guest.”
“Hoho, a guest?”
The old man slowly got up from his chair.
“Egugu.”
The old man, who tapped his waist along with a faint groaning sound, smiled looking at Cheon-hwi.
“Well, it is a young guest.”
The old man looked up at the strategist.
“Where is he going in?”
“It is the Martial World Secret Storehouse.”
“The number of items?”
“It is one.”
“I see.”
The old man nodded his head, then approached the right door and moved his hand.
At that moment, Cheon-hwi flashed his eyes.
‘Is it a formation? He is loading a peculiar internal force?’
At the time he was examining the door with shining eyes, the closed iron door began to open.
Rumble…
The floor and ceiling shook as if an earthquake had occurred.
Then before long, the iron door opened wide and fully revealed the sight inside.
‘Oh, this is quite amazing.’
Beyond the iron door, there was likewise a cavern, and all sorts of weapons were neatly arranged there.
The old man, going inside, spoke.
“Follow me well.”
The moment Cheon-hwi went inside.
Rumble…
The opened iron door began to close again, and the strategist outside opened his mouth.
“I will be going first.”
The moment those words ended, the door closed.
When darkness was about to descend due to that.
Pah!
Luminous pearls shone light from all directions.
The old man scanned the weapons scattered around, then put his hands behind his back.
“Now, look around to your heart’s content.”
“You don’t mind if I touch them, right?”
“Hoho, I do not mind. However, you will have to touch them carefully. Since among these, there are items with demonic energy or imbued with ghost qi.”
Cheon-hwi smirked.
Even without being told, he knew well.
And rightly so, because sharp energies were exuding from a few of the many weapons in this space.
‘It will be fun to examine them one by one.’
Cheon-hwi, who held a twisted smile at the corners of his mouth, soon moved his feet inward.
“Shall I take a look to my heart’s content then.”