Chapter 202: Awl in a Pouch (2)
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“What?”
“That is…”
Illusion Snake gulped and spoke.
“The main masters of the Yama Room have been annihilated, and the Yama Room Master has been defeated.”
Defeated? This was another strange report.
The Yama Room was a faction he had personally seated in the last position of the Thirty-Six Factions. Although the faction’s combat power was at a level that would make one yawn, at least their mental strength and loyalty were genuine.
In other words, it meant it was a faction recruited with the intention of raising them. But even so, they were still nothing but a motley crew.
The Yama Room wasn’t even annihilated, and you report just because the room master was defeated?
‘There is something.’
Yang Cheon was a smart person. Rather than asking why such a report was being brought up as a waste of time, he was a person who knew how to ponder why this report was being made first.
“The Yama Room’s combat power is the lowest among the Thirty-Six Factions. The room master bastard was also nothing special. There are countless martial artists in Hunan Province who could defeat him.”
“That is certainly true, but the case was a little different this time.”
“Explain.”
“That is…”
Illusion Snake hesitated.
Yang Cheon frowned.
‘Why is this guy acting like this.’
Among those active under his command, the twelve called the Twelve Earthly Branches were masters who would not be an exaggeration to call the strongest of the Unorthodox.
Their boldness was as good as their martial prowess, and their ability to handle work was also excellent. But what was with Illusion Snake’s face?
“Is it difficult to explain?”
“Ah, no! However, I thought that some misunderstandings might occur in the process of me conveying this matter.”
Illusion Snake took out a letter from his chest. It was quite a thick letter.
“So I wrote down only the factual relationship clearly. Please forgive me for causing you trouble.”
The corners of Yang Cheon’s mouth went up.
Illusion Snake was a person who looked naive at first glance. However, he was deep in thought and cautious. In that respect, he was a subordinate Yang Cheon cherished.
Wuuung.
The letter that floated up was caught in Yang Cheon’s hand.
“Stand by for a moment.”
“Yes.”
Chwareureuk.
Yang Cheon unfolded the letter.
The letter was quite a long text. It seemed quite a lot of things had happened in the meantime.
Yang Cheon, who was reading the letter with an interested face.
Soon, his eyes became increasingly serious.
“Is it true?”
“I clearly wrote down only the factual relationship. It is content with all my personal opinions removed. I thought it was right for the Manor Lord to judge entirely.”
Interest arose on Yang Cheon’s face.
“Martial Ancestor Sect, you say?”
By now, it was a faction that almost no one remembered.
However, the Martial Ancestor Sect existed in Yang Cheon’s mind. It was because it was a faction with characteristics unique enough to be hard to forget.
It was said that the Martial Ancestor Sect was a faction created by masters of each martial art gathering.
The rumors were like that, but no one knew the reality. What was important was that the martial arts of masters from the Martial Ancestor Sect were all excellent, and their types and origins were all different.
‘I clearly heard they were annihilated a hundred years ago.’
Of course, how they were annihilated was also unknown. The group called the Martial Ancestor Sect was truly a group full of suspicion and mystery.
And the point worth noting now was.
“Hidden weapons…”
A faint smile was cast on Yang Cheon’s face.
‘This is really coincidental.’
Currently, he needed a person who could properly handle poison and hidden weapons.
He did not hope for techniques at the level of the Sichuan Tang Clan. Of course, it would be good if there were absolute arts of that level, but in the current Murim, there was not a single faction as well-versed in poison and hidden weapons as the Tang Clan.
Just a master of hidden weapon techniques outstanding enough to be counted on one’s fingers in Murim, excluding the Tang Clan, would suffice.
“They are also quick-witted.”
“Yes.”
The spies and informants of the Unorthodox were fundamentally different from the strong experts of the Orthodox.
Historically, the Unorthodox pursued stealth over strength and survival over skill. Naturally, their direction of development had to be different from the Orthodox.
The part where Yang Cheon was first surprised by the Unorthodox’s skills was also that part. It was because even when he had somewhat completed his martial arts, he did not know that a group of the Unorthodox was watching him.
‘In other words, those guys immediately noticed and killed the Unorthodox informants, whom even considerably outstanding masters would find hard to notice.’
A strong greed arose in Yang Cheon’s two eyes.
‘I want them.’
Outstanding hidden weapon techniques. Extremely keen discernment.
Furthermore, even the boldness to confidently shout in front of a Unorthodox faction that he wanted to meet the Combat King.
‘It is arrogant, but rather, I like that arrogance.’
To be exact, this was far from arrogance.
Yang Cheon, who examined the contents of the letter once more, imagined the young man among them who was said to have taken down the main master of the Yama Room with bare-handed fist combat.
“They ruined them to the point of being irreversible… The methods are cruel. But his skills are really good. He overwhelmed that many enemies at an age just reaching twenty.”
Since he cultivated high martial arts at a young age, it was understandable for him to become arrogant.
However, as a result of reading the detailed contents written in the letter several times, he felt that there was something else to this guy.
‘This guy has no hesitation.’
If he knew of the Combat King’s existence, it meant he also knew the situation on this side to some extent.
In other words, he was equipped with his own information power. Then, he couldn’t possibly not know about the martial prowess of the Saintly Heaven Thirteen Seats.
No matter how blood-boiling a young person was, finding someone who could unhesitatingly spit out the words that they wanted to meet the Combat King was hard to find even when combining the Unorthodox and the Orthodox.
‘I can’t be certain with just the letter. However, if my guess is correct…’
Yang Cheon’s face flushed slightly. He was quite excited.
“This guy, uses fist combat?”
“Yes.”
“His actual combat ability is excellent and his fundamental martial arts skill is also good. With this level of skill, he wouldn’t lack compared to the One Dragon and Three Phoenixes that the Orthodox bastards praise so much.”
A girl who wields extreme hidden weapon techniques with the discernment to see through the Unorthodox’s informants.
Possessing the martial arts of the Orthodox’s best rising star level at the age of twenty, of course, and the boldness to proudly shout that he wants to meet the Combat King.
“He wants to meet me? Good. I must let him meet me.”
An unusual light circled in Yang Cheon’s eyes.
“However, that is if they really are the descendants of the Martial Ancestor Sect.”
* * *
“W-what?!”
“Please lower your voice.”
Ga Deuk-sang looked around his surroundings.
Fortunately, Tang Sang-ah and Zhuge Ah-yeon were not nearby. Only Pae-yul was beside them.
Ga Deuk-sang frowned.
“If so, was the reason you brought Lady Tang because you knew Yang Cheon wanted a master of hidden weapons?”
“That’s right.”
Yeon Ho-jeong still treated him like an Eldest Senior Martial Brother, but Ga Deuk-sang was different. He was not in the right mind to play along.
Pae-yul asked.
“Why does that gentleman want a master of hidden weapon techniques?”
Of course, because it was like that in the past as well.
But leaving that aside, Yeon Ho-jeong would also have done so if he were in Yang Cheon’s position.
“It is because of the problem of efficiency.”
“Efficiency?”
“Yes.”
“Explain it in detail.”
“The Unorthodox’s background of growth is different from the Orthodox’s. You know that, right?”
I don’t know…?
Pae-yul glanced at Ga Deuk-sang.
Ga Deuk-sang explained with a displeased face, but in the most polite tone possible.
“The Orthodox, that is, the Orthodox factions, is a moral utopia created from the wishes of the people.”
“A moral utopia?”
“The highest values of the Orthodox are chivalry and justice. It pursues an ideology concentrated on breaking down evil on the side of the weak and benefiting the world, so to speak, a peaceful world that the majority of humans desire.”
Pae-yul nodded.
He had only claimed the path of the Orthodox, the Righteous Path, but had never thought deeply about it. However, hearing it like this, he definitely understood.
“That’s right. That’s why they also value benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom.”
“Yes. However, the Unorthodox is different. The Unorthodox can be seen as the remnants of wishes that failed to soar to a moral utopia.”
“That’s quite a headache-inducing term. Remnants of wishes?”
Yeon Ho-jeong took Ga Deuk-sang’s words.
“If the Orthodox is the people’s utopia, the Unorthodox is the people’s reality.”
“Reality…”
“Stealing, killing, violating, and oppressing. That is no different from the beast’s world. From the perspective that humans are also one species making up Mother Nature, the Unorthodox can be called a world that maximizes human nature, the beast’s instincts.”
“Hmm.”
It was a unique explanation.
No one had ever explained the Orthodox and the Unorthodox in this way. So it was interesting, and amazingly, it was easily understood.
“So the two paths developed in completely different directions. In the Orthodox, which stretched out straight with the people’s wishes, a clear system emerged, such as strength if strength, formality if formality, and law if law.”
“The Unorthodox is different.”
“That’s right. The Unorthodox doesn’t have such things. They do not look far and only value immediate survival. If they can survive for today, that is enough. Since their world is not stable, they also have no time to safely stockpile power.”
“Why?”
“Because the laws have collapsed.”
Pae-yul’s eyes shone.
“I see. Even if one luckily obtains an absolute art of antiquity, they might die from getting stabbed by a thief while cultivating it.”
“Yes.”
“They are truly those with no leisure. Is that also because the laws have collapsed?”
Bitterness lingered on Yeon Ho-jeong’s face.
“People say. The world must become fair and just. If you interpret those words conversely, it means the world is still unfair and unjust.”
“…!”
“The ideals politics pursue have always been like that. And they have always failed. Reality has not improved. Rather, only the gap between ideals and reality has grown larger.”
“That’s a bit of a… sad story.”
“Still, we must pursue ideals. If we don’t reach out because we can’t touch the sky, everyone will just become beasts wandering under the earth. The minimum rules will collapse.”
“Hmm.”
Yeon Ho-jeong shone his eyes.
“Coming back to the Unorthodox, in the end, they can never defeat the Orthodox with strength. Not unless the fundamental problems are resolved.”
“Because there are no minimum rules, they cannot even grow their power.”
“Yes. And Yang Cheon will know that too. The Unorthodox’s information power and survival ability are incredible, but in order to truly fight against enemies, substantial power is needed.”
At that moment, Pae-yul burst into an exclamation.
“Ah! So hidden weapons?!”
“Yes.”
Yeon Ho-jeong raised his fist.
“Even a child who hasn’t learned a handful of martial arts can kill a master if given poison and hidden weapons. If Yang Cheon has any thoughts, he would try to fix the Unorthodox’s chronic problems from the root, but the problem is time.”
“In order to guarantee survival until the Unorthodox is completely armed, they need poison and hidden weapons with the highest killing power in Murim.”
“Yes.”
Pae-yul smacked his lips.
“I understand the reason you brought the Tang Sect’s daughter.”
“…”
Ga Deuk-sang glared at Yeon Ho-jeong with scary eyes.
“Young Master Yeon.”
For this time only, even Yeon Ho-jeong couldn’t treat him like an Eldest Senior Martial Brother.
“Please speak.”
“You are my friend. And I thought that even if you make radical judgments, you are not a person who would make a wrong judgment.”
“…”
“But you went too far this time. Lady Tang came without knowing anything, didn’t she. It’s like you dragged in an unrelated person with just one word asking her to come because you needed her.”
“What about it?”
“W-what?”
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes became cold.
“If I were to nitpick, I have a lot to say, but I will say just one word right now.”
“…”
“To deal with those who fight without rules, this side must also lay down morals for a moment.”
Ga Deuk-sang shouted in anger.
“That’s a problem for when we clash with them! Even though you could have explained it to Lady Tang beforehand…!”
“What if she said she wouldn’t come?”
“Then we should have devised another method!”
“I can’t do that.”
“Why!!”
“Because we can’t fail.”
Ga Deuk-sang, who was looking at Yeon Ho-jeong with eyes full of anger, sharply turned his body and left.
Pae-yul cleared his throat.
“That guy, he secretly had a temper.”
“He is a good person.”
“Huh?”
Yeon Ho-jeong smiled. It was a strange smile mixed with bitterness and stubbornness.
“That justice and plainness of the Successor of the Beggars, hidden within his comical and rough impression, is exactly the symbol of the Orthodox.”
“…”
“That’s why I like the Successor of the Beggars. Because the Successor of the Beggars is a true chivalrous warrior who is indispensable in this world.”
“But it seems that the chivalrous warrior guy was disappointed in you, the leader of the practical group. What will you do if it hinders the mission?”
“There will be no hindrance.”
“Are you confident?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Yeon Ho-jeong closed his eyes.
“Because I believe the Successor of the Beggars will understand me anyway.”
Two days later.
Seven masters, their whole bodies wrapped in black cloaks, appeared at the Yama Room that Yeon Ho-jeong’s group had seized.
“Who are the guys claiming to be the descendants of the Martial Ancestor Sect?”