Chapter 108: Chapter 108

Taoist Wang stared at Cho Sang-ryong with trembling eyes, hesitating unable to say anything. The shock seemed immense. Seeing him, Cho Sang-ryong said in a mocking tone:

“Why are you like that? Say a word of blessing to the disciple you haven’t met in seven years. Or are you saying I am no longer your disciple?”

“···Sang-ryong.”

“Yes, Master. Your first disciple, Cho Sang-ryong.”

Cho Sang-ryong put his hand to his chest and bowed lightly. But his eyes were cold without a trace of respect. Taoist Wang barely squeezed out his voice to ask:

“How did you survive? Back then, your dantian was clearly pierced by my sword···”

“You’re asking how? I already told you. By crawling like a bug with broken bones, by clinging to internal energy scattering from a pierced dantian, by nursing burning hatred.”

Cho Sang-ryong took a step forward and continued:

“Did you think I would die so easily? After receiving half-baked martial arts from Master and being used as a test subject for years, only to be struck down the moment I tried to leave for the world? Why did you do that? Was concealing Master’s Imperial Army origins that important? More important than your disciple’s life?”

Taoist Wang could not answer. A shadow of guilt crossed his face. Seeing that, Cho Sang-ryong’s smile widened even further.

“Look at that face. You do feel guilty after all. But Master, do you know? The martial art you threw away as half-baked was enough to make me survive. The internal energy that scattered from my pierced dantian reconstructed along a new meridian path thanks to the secret art Master taught me. Though my dantian was destroyed, internal energy now flows through my entire body!”

He raised his right hand, and a dark blue fist qi swirled around his fingertips. Seeing that, Taoist Wang’s eyes widened in shock.

“That is···!”

“Yes. The incomplete martial art Master abandoned. I completed it in the abyss of death. And with this power, I joined the Martial Alliance and became the captain of the Soaring Eagle Unit.”

Cho Sang-ryong lowered his hand and looked at Taoist Wang coldly.

“Now, tell me. Why did you try to kill me back then?”

Taoist Wang closed his eyes tightly, then slowly opened them and spoke in a heavy voice:

“···Because I was afraid. Afraid that if your martial art revealed its true nature in the Martial World world, the Imperial Army’s pursuers would trace it back to me. Back then, my mind was consumed by fear of the Emperor.”

Cho Sang-ryong burst into a loud laugh upon hearing Taoist Wang’s answer, then abruptly cut his laughter short. Returning to his initial cold demeanor as if swapping a mask, he spoke:

“So is that why you only taught Sang-woon that Primordial Manual? Because his talent was far superior to mine? To avoid creating a reason to stop him when he wished to enter the world?”

“···Yes, after teaching you that hodgepodge martial art did I realize it. If one steps into the martial world with it and earns fame, one is bound to catch the Imperial Army’s eye. Then not only you, but everyone close to you would become miserable. Had it been only me, it wouldn’t matter··· but I··· did not want Sang-woon and Yun to be hurt···”

With a frosty expression, Cho Sang-ryong looked up at Taoist Wang with tightly closed lips. Though his face was cold and expressionless, the rims of his eyes were flushing red.

“···You’ve grown weak. Where did the figure who sternly cast me aside seven years ago go? Was that merely a paroxysm born of paranoia fearing pursuit by the Imperial Army? You wanted to protect Sang-woon and Yun? As if even had I been captured by the Imperial Army, I would sell out my junior brother? Did you distrust me that much?”

Listening to that shout filled with anger and disappointment, Taoist Wang let out a deep sigh. And with that single sigh, his face grew calm as if washing away remorse.

“What point is there in blabbering further? If you wish to seek revenge, do so. But this old man cannot die so easily either.”

Cho Sang-ryong smirked coldly once more.

“I was seeing if you would offer a proper excuse, but in the end, what comes out is that sort of talk. My apologies, but my seeking out Master is not merely for revenge.”

“What?”

Taoist Wang wore a puzzled expression for a moment, then soon realizing its meaning, his face began to distort.

“···You desire the complete Imperial Army martial arts? How dare you···”

“I know everything about what Master was doing in this country bumpkin corner. Master tried to combine that Primordial Manual with your own martial arts. I know I was a victim of that experiment, and Sang-woon was a specimen to examine the Primordial Manual more accurately. I don’t know if you compiled a secret manual. Ah, by now Sang-woon and Yun must have married, so you might have already handed it over to them? Man, I should have visited them before Master.”

At Cho Sang-ryong’s words mentioning Dan Sang-woon and his wife, Taoist Wang’s face stiffened noticeably. Simultaneously, a blue glare flashed in his eyes, and the wooden roof of the house he stood on began to tremble rumble-rumble.

Seeing that, Cho Sang-ryong wore an even deeper smirk.

“As expected, you’ve grown weak. Did Sang-woon and his wife happen to have a child? Why? Seeing those brats, did they feel like blood relatives you never had?”

“You—bastard—!”

As Taoist Wang roared, a fierce wind swirled around his body. Yet seeing him, Cho Sang-ryong wasn’t intimidated in the slightest, shouting back:

“I also thought of you like a father—! But you thought of me as nothing more than a foolish tool to cast aside anytime just to conceal a scrap of martial art! Now—! Feel directly what that tool can do to you—!”

Drawing the sword on his back without hesitation, he shouted to the martial artists standing surrounding the area:

“Soaring Eagle Unit! Attack—!”

The Martial Alliance’s main strike squad, the Soaring Eagle Unit, leaped into the air at that shout. In Taoist Wang’s eyes reflected their countless spears and swords rapidly drawing close in an instant. Recalling his eccentric disciple and the children he regarded like grandchildren, he unleashed the internal energy already boiling within him all at once.

Out of nowhere in the cloudless, dry night sky, thunder resounded.

* * *

Jang Geon’s eyes gazed at the sun rising brightly over the eastern plain’s horizon. Gazing at it for a moment with squinted eyes, Jang Geon soon turned around and mounted Jojo’s saddle.

Afterward, while gently scratching the nape of Jojo’s snorting neck, Chae-yun approached and handed over a small cloth bundle.

“What is this?”

“I packed some of the pastries you ate yesterday. Since you seemed to like them.”

Accepting the bundle, Jang Geon offered a slight smile.

“There was no need to prepare something like this.”

“Truth be told, the lodging fee you gave earlier was too much. Returning it felt awkward, so consider this instead.”

Beside her, the young brother and sister looked up at him while rubbing sleepy eyes. Greeting the little ones, both children waved their hands, wiggling their palms. Watching that with gratification, Dan Sang-woon walked out from the warehouse side. In his hand was the item he introduced yesterday as the Fire Canister.

“Here, take this, Brother Jang. If it doesn’t light well, pull out this main body and soak the cotton inside with oil. It’s the smallest one I’ve made among my inventions, so carrying it around will be convenient.”

Indeed, that Fire Canister had a cleaner appearance than the one seen before and was smaller than a palm. Of course, the method of pulling off the top cap and striking flint with it wasn’t much different. Truth be told, it was an item Jang Geon, who could use Samadhi True Fire, hardly needed.

However, Jang Geon accepted the Fire Canister. An item does not necessarily have to be useful. This small piece of metal was a token representing his bond with this genius inventor, and an item that might enter a museum centuries later as an early invention of Dan Sang-woon.

“I shall make good use of it.”

“Haha! Don’t mention it. When you visit next time, I’ll show you that mechanism operating. Having talked with Brother Jang yesterday, many ideas popped into my head. Look forward to it.”

Exchanging farewells, Jang Geon wore his bamboo hat and gave a light nod to the Dan couple and children.

“Until next time.”

The Dan couple bowed in return to say goodbye, and the children waved their hands saying bye-bye. Leaving the inventor’s family at the farm behind, Jang Geon lightly kicked Jojo’s flanks and clicked his tongue. Jojo began running across the open field as his reins guided.

The small farm rapidly receded into the distance. Glancing back subtly, the farm family, shrunk small, could be seen entering inside the house.

Jang Geon ran for a long while under the glaring sun, then slowly slackened his pace. Jojo panted lightly, shaking his head. He looked as if running since morning was killing him with exhaustion.

“How much have you even run, kid.”

Jojo let out a snort as if grumbling. Fearing that if the horse sulked from the start of the journey, today would become tedious, Jang Geon gave a casual scratch on his neck. Whether because he was simple or the touch felt refreshing, Jojo ambled along without saying much afterward.

Setting his direction roughly by looking at the sun rising in front, Jang Geon slightly lowered his bamboo hat. What he told Taoist Wang yesterday about traveling to Gowon City was no empty word. Though he didn’t know how long it would take to reach the eastern end city of the New Continent, Jang Geon intended to go for now.

Advancing at such a leisurely pace for a long while, Jang Geon suddenly sensed a presence and raised his head. Far beyond the heat haze over the plain, horses and people were charging over in a crowd.

Jang Geon lightly adjusted Azure Dragon strapped to his waist and tugged Jojo’s reins. Spotting those people as well, the horse began trotting lightly. Rather than meeting those people head-on, the two moved around at a slight distance.

However, those charging people, having spotted Jang Geon, had no intention of simply passing by and approached toward his side instead of staying on their path. Jang Geon let out a small sigh.

“Halt!”

Jang Geon brought his horse to a stop for now. If they were bandits, he could fight, and if they were asking for directions, he could tell them. They halted at a suitable distance in a group. Glancing up under his bamboo hat to verify, all of them were martial artists wearing high-class martial robes and armed with spears and swords.

One among them stepped forward slightly and asked:

“We are the Martial Alliance’s Soaring Eagle Unit. Apologies for stopping your path, but where are you heading?”

Looking at the one who stepped forward, Jang Geon silently pulled out a small metal emblem from his chest and flicked it with his thumb. The one who stepped forward reflexively caught it and wore a somewhat surprised expression. What Jang Geon flicked over was a Martial Alliance medal—and a medallion bestowed directly by the Alliance Leader at that.

“Captain···”

“Hmm.”

He handed it to someone beside him, and the one called captain examined it with meticulous eyes. Meanwhile, Jang Geon was also scrutinizing them.

First off, there were thirteen mounted men. However, behind them were three riderless horses, upon which bundles wrapped in white cloth were loaded one by one. It seemed the owners of those horses were riding atop them as corpses.

The remaining thirteen were not so clean either. Two had pale complexions and were trembling lightly, and two or three had bandages wrapped around their arms and legs. The rest also appeared lightly covered in dust.

And instinctually imagining a battle against them, Jang Geon felt it would not be easy.

All thirteen warriors were experts. Even if some appeared slightly injured, if all of them were masters above average caliber, Jang Geon would have to risk his life. Of course, a fight wasn’t fought on momentum alone, and it was true that one couldn’t know the opponent’s definitive skill until directly clashing blades.

However, after consuming the spirit medicine as a reward from the native spirit, Jang Geon was feeling his internal energy size expand greatly and his qi perception grow keener day by day. His five senses combined with that sensitive qi perception warned him that fighting them right now would bring more harm than gain. They were warriors qualitatively different from ordinary bandit mobs who only knew brute force.

“Only one person received this medal recently. Pleasure to meet you, Young Hero Jang. I am Cho Sang-ryong, Captain of the Soaring Eagle Unit.”

The man called captain examined the medal, greeted Jang Geon thus, and approached him. Accepting the medal handed back to him, Jang Geon replied:

“Jang Geon. A wanderer.”

“A wanderer? How could a man wise enough to expose the corruption of an Imperial Army officer and brimming with enough chivalry to step forward for the revenge of innocent people call himself a simple wanderer? You are a warrior with no lacking to be called a chivalrous hero.”

Jang Geon chuckled softly at that compliment. Meeting someone who knew him wasn’t very familiar. The New Continent was vast, people were few, and the circulation of information was sluggish. But it seemed he had left a clear impression on the Martial Alliance through the previous incident.

“Right, where are you traveling to?”

“I have no distinct destination. I’m just traveling east.”

Cho Sang-ryong nodded at those words, then out of some thought, asked with a peculiar expression:

“If I may ask, where were you coming from?”

“Since I’m heading east, I was coming from the west.”

At Jang Geon’s dull response, Cho Sang-ryong smiled with that same peculiar look.

“That is also true. Ah, seeing you travel alone despite receiving that medal, I already know what answer you’ll give, but I must ask anyway. Do you have any intention of joining the Martial Alliance? Young Hero Jang’s joining would be a great strength to the Alliance.”

Jang Geon slowly shook his head while looking at Cho Sang-ryong under his bamboo hat. As if he had guessed that answer, Cho Sang-ryong nodded and waved his hand at the subordinates behind him.

“Then I shall not hold your busy path further. I only hope that if you come to New Sichuan next time, you will drop by the Alliance. Farewell then.”

With those words, they passed Jang Geon in a crowd and departed.

Watching their receding backs for a moment, Jang Geon soon tapped Jojo’s flanks and began walking east again. Jojo’s pace was leisurely, and Jang Geon didn’t rush him. Advancing thus for a short while, Jang Geon ultimately pulled Jojo’s reins and brought him to a stop.

Stopping Jojo, Jang Geon raised his head to look at the sky.

Looking up at the sky, Jang Geon muttered:

“···I paid way too much for lodging after all.”

Hearing that muttering, Jojo let out a snort. It was as if scolding him that with that money, he could have rolled around in an inn for a week. Jang Geon pulled out a small cloth bundle stored in his saddlebag. Taking out one of the pastries packed inside, he put it in his mouth and chewed.

“Sweet.”

Tucking the remaining pastries neatly back into the bundle, Jang Geon turned Jojo’s reins around. They began galloping back along the path they had passed until moments ago.