Chapter 217: Chapter 217

The Distinguished Guest Invitation event began.

For about a week, the academy students would listen to abstruse lectures on martial arts and life from the invited distinguished guest, ask questions about martial theory, and hear answers.

In particular, since Wind Earl Sword-Breaker Murong Gang, who was famed as an absolute master, was attending this event, expectations rose even higher.

The academy’s atmosphere had already been stagnant after experiencing the incident in Sichuan, so everyone was encouraged by the liveliness that had come after so long.

Moreover, since the Righteous Path Association and Orthodox Path Association had sunk, the academy students no longer needed to be mindful of them.

And when the members of the Righteous Path Association and Orthodox Path Association showed a high participation rate in the event, the atmosphere grew even hotter.

After all, the name “Wind Earl Sword-Breaker” was far too heavy and enormous even for the academy students belonging to the Righteous Path Association and Orthodox Path Association to preserve their pride and refuse to attend the event.

Thus, with countless academy students participating, except for a few, the event was held, and the participants also seemed highly satisfied with the event……

They clearly seemed that way……

“That is just what you think, Young Master Jin.”

“……Huh?”

Seong Mo-ran, whose cheek was swollen as though she had been hit somewhere, spoke with a face full of dissatisfaction.

“Do you know that the Medical Hall is bursting with people right now?”

“……Teachings are originally painful to the bone.”

At my calm answer, almost like Il-gak’s usual attitude, Seong Mo-ran trembled.

“That does not mean bones should actually break!”

There had been a small problem.

It was none other than Murong Gang’s lecture method.

Since there were so many participants in the event, when we suggested dividing the lectures by date,

Murong Gang told us to bring everyone to the Grand Training Ground.

Then.

[I cannot prattle on with my mouth like some horse-nosed Daoist or bald monk.]

[A martial artist is a being who feels more in a single crisis of death than from hearing about enlightenment a hundred times.]

[Therefore, I will let you feel more.]

[Those who want to be hit first, come out.]

[No one is coming out? Then I will go.]

……After saying such things, he leaped into the academy students.

At first, the academy students were flustered by Murong Gang’s actions and had no idea what to do.

However.

Even those who hesitated because they could not bring themselves to reach out toward Murong Gang, an absolute master, began charging at him for some reason after blood burst from both of their noses and their eyes rolled back.

……In an instant, a scene of chaos unfolded.

In the midst of it, the disciples of certain sects who felt their competitive spirit roused used their final ultimate moves or launched joint attacks, but the ones bleeding and screaming were always the academy students.

[Tsk, tsk. What do you think the Orthodox Path’s greatest weapon is?]

[What? A righteous spirit? What nonsense are you saying!]

[Hah, you say justice? Do you know how much of a bastard your sect’s Sect Leader was when he was young?]

[You fools! The Orthodox Path’s greatest weapon is numbers! Whether it is the Black Path or the Unorthodox Path, no one can defeat the Orthodox Path in numbers, and that is why the Murim Alliance rules the murim! Do you understand now?!]

At Murong Gang’s teaching(?), the academy students began working together to unfold sword formations.

But when Murong Gang waited until the sword formations were complete and then shattered them in a single blow, the academy students could not regain their senses.

[Did you think I meant that if you fight with numbers, all you have to do is lump yourselves together? What exactly have you been learning all this time?]

[A combined attack formation is originally about matching hands and feet with one another. If you get drunk on your own greatness inside a combined attack formation and fail to match your strength, there is no reason to form a combined attack formation in the first place!]

[You do not understand? Do not worry! If you get beaten long enough, even Confucius’ words will begin to make sense.]

As the violence disguised as a lecture(?) continued, the academy students, sick of it, began dropping out of the event one by one.

Then Murong Gang, who somehow remembered every single one of their faces with incredible precision, raided their dormitories, dragged them all out, and bestowed(?) his lecture on them once more.

It was truly a tear-inducing passion.

“……But why did you not participate in the event, Young Master Jin?”

Namgung Seon-hwa, whose eyes had piously swollen black and blue, glared at me with a sharp gaze.

It looked really painful.

“Originally, does the representative not have no particular need to attend?”

“……Did you expect the lecture to proceed in this manner?”

Namgung Seon-hwa looked at me with eyes soaked in betrayal, as if she had been abandoned by her parents.

Unable to meet her eyes, I spoke as calmly as possible.

“Of course not……. I was unable to apply because I had already been beaten so much by the elder that my body was in poor condition.”

I pointed at my bruised eye, but the suspicious gazes still did not disappear.

“The traces have almost disappeared!”

Tsk, the problem with the medicine Sama Jeong prescribed was that it worked too well.

Although various complaints came from among my companions, most of them participated in the event until the end.

The sight of them going to Murong Gang every day, dragging bruised faces and aching bodies, was even moving.

Thanks to showing the highest participation rate, they also received the most teachings.

Among them, Geum-pyo and Dong-ryong even set aside separate time to receive personal instruction(?).

“Hah, how fascinating. One was born with Heavenly Yang Divine Bones, and one was born carrying the Heavenly Killing Star.”

I had known very well about Dong-ryong’s Heavenly Killing Star, but this was my first time hearing about Geum-pyo’s Heavenly Yang Divine Bones.

“Hmm…… It is understandable that you would not know. It is not a very well-known constitution.”

“Is it good?”

“If he learns decent outer arts, then under most circumstances, his bones will not break and his skin will not be damaged. It is truly a naturally rock-like constitution.”

I had thought he had endured pain and blows so well until now because he had good patience, but to think his constitution itself was sturdy.

Then did it become only natural for him to stand at the very front in battle from now on?

Geum-pyo somehow had the feeling that a sad future was being drawn before him.

Dong-ryong looked at Murong Gang with teary eyes.

“E-elder, I am a little uneasy. I do not know when my control might come undone.”

When Dong-ryong asked about the anxiety he had been carrying alone all this time, Murong Gang spoke as though it was nothing special.

“There is no need to worry. You will be able to control it sufficiently through training. As it happens, the two of you can do the same training.”

“The same training?”

Murong Gang nodded broadly.

“You get beaten a lot. Heavenly Yang Divine Bones will have its skin and bones harden, and the Heavenly Killing Star will have its patience increase.”

“…….”

“…….”

At first, the academy students who had been jealous because Murong Gang was giving advice only to Geum-pyo and Dong-ryong watched the two truly get beaten over every inch of their bodies without exception.

After seeing that, they began to think that it would be best if they never received personal instruction.

The seven days of lectures that everyone had waited for with such expectation ended.

As soon as the lectures ended, the academy students were busy fleeing to their dormitories or outside the academy, and the Medical Hall was still overflowing with patients, tormenting Sama Jeong.

Of course, that had nothing to do with me.

***

“Thank you for your hard work.”

When I clasped my hands, Murong Gang’s eyebrow twitched.

“The fellow called the academy representative did not come to see me even once during the seven days.”

I tilted my head with an innocent expression.

“Did I not already receive a great deal?”

“……Even so, I want to give you instruction.”

Crack.

Crack.

Murong Gang loosened his body by cracking his hands and neck.

……Could that really be called the appearance of someone who wanted to give instruction?

“Then please teach me that.”

“What are you talking about?”

I waved both hands around wildly.

“You know, that thing where space distorted like this.”

“You mean the Void-Annihilation Fist?”

“Yes!”

A roar burst from Murong Gang’s mouth.

“You brat! That is the realization of my entire life!”

“Either way, you still owe me compensation for the beating, do you not?”

“What did you say! Did I not already give the lecture! I am Murong Gang! Do you think I would ever display martial arts in front of these worthless things?”

Seeing Murong Gang rage wildly, I let out a hollow laugh.

“Did I not find the core principle of the Murong Clan for you? Is the core principle I found for you truly so insignificant?”

“…….”

“Moreover, even if it is the realization of your entire life, is it not a realization from the position of Sword-Breaking? Now that you have gained the eyes of Shattering Heaven, you should aim for something higher.”

At the sight of me saying only correct things, Murong Gang, who indeed had the temperament of a thug, trembled his lips as if furious.

“That move you showed back then was definitely the Sword Demon’s sword form, was it not?”

“……I will not answer.”

“Hmph! I can tell just by looking at your expression. I do not know how you learned it, but with the Taeul Sword Emperor’s martial scripture and that Sword Demon’s sword form alone, you will have few rivals among those your age.”

At some point, Murong Gang’s gaze had sunk calmly.

“……But why are you so obsessed with martial arts?”

I was silent for a moment before answering him.

“Because it is not enough.”

“Not enough?”

At my answer, doubt appeared on Murong Gang’s face.

Endless numbers of Demonic Practitioners pouring in.

Demonic Beasts that would not break no matter how much one struck them.

Witchcraft that confused the mind, and Demonic Arts that defied the natural order.

The future in my memories was hell.

And the current me was not enough to endure such a hell.

I looked straight into Murong Gang’s eyes.

“I mean that it is not enough to protect those I wish to protect.”

At my answer, Murong Gang stroked his chin for a moment and fell into thought.

“Hmm, is that all?”

“……What do you mean?”

His eyes flashed sharply.

“I am asking whether you do not wish to protect them, but to rule them.”

I shook my head.

“I have no greed for power.”

“Then what you have now is enough.”

I shook my head again.

“There are many people I must protect.”

“……Madman. Are you saying you intend to protect every person under heaven?”

I gave no reaction to those words. I knew very well from the beginning that such a thing was impossible.

At my silence, Murong Gang clicked his tongue.

“To think you dare covet my realization and yet refuse to speak properly.”

But then…….

The corners of Murong Gang’s mouth began to twist strangely.

“As expected, you are exactly the kind of material that suits our Murong Clan.”

“…….”

What was that smile? Why did he like this? It was scary.

Without erasing the smile from his lips, Murong Gang asked me,

“Why does a martial artist learn an Inner Arts Heart Method?”

What was this man saying all of a sudden when I was dying from how busy I was?

My ear itched for a moment, so I picked it with my little finger and said,

“……Please skip the principles and teach me the oral formula and method of qi operation.”

“You ill-mannered brat!”

Thwack!

The back of my head burned, and my skull shook.

“H-how did you do that?”

Last time, I had thought I could not feel it because he had been far away, but even when he was close, I did not feel the movement of qi from his body.

I wanted it.

I wanted it far too much……!

I asked urgently,

“Could it be the Heart Sword?”

“Heeeeart Sword?? You must have read too many novels, brat. Did you think that would be materialized like this……”

I hurriedly interrupted him and clasped my hands.

“The reason a martial artist learns an Inner Arts Heart Method is to accumulate qi internally and use it freely.”

Perhaps he liked my answer, because Murong Gang’s gaze softened.

“……Are you finally in the mood to listen properly?”

“I have been learning with a sincere attitude from the very beginning.”

This martial art was even more amazing than I had imagined.

To think one could use energy without emitting any presence at all.

The methods of utilizing it were endless.

Murong Gang stroked his chin and said,

“Then I will ask you. What is the difference between the energy inside you and the energy spread throughout the world?”

“Well, for one thing, it is refined through the heart method, and each heart method has different characteristics, does it not?”

“Then is the energy stored inside you fundamentally different from the energy of the world?”

At Murong Gang’s words, one part of my mind began to feel itchy.

“No Inner Arts Heart Method can erase the fundamental nature of the energy of the great natural world. Even those who use heaven-defying martial arts cannot erase the energy of nature.”

It was a stifling feeling, as though if I only had some clue, I could release it outward like a sneeze tickling my nose.

“Then what reason does a martial artist have to use only the energy that exists in his own qi center?”

It was a theory that denied the very foundation of martial arts itself.

But I could not say what he said was wrong.

Because that too was one of the principles of nature.

“Martial arts try to resemble the Dao of nature, yet do not try to become one with the Dao of nature. Can the Dao of martial arts and the Dao of nature not become one?”

The more his words, filled with profound mystery, continued, the more the stifling feeling grew.

My heart pounded violently, and my breathing became rough.

“An attempt to unite the Dao of martial arts and the Dao of nature as one. That is the Void-Annihilation Fist.”

It was a principle that could only be realized by one whose rebellious nature had seeped into his bones and who denied even the foundation.

It was a concept only Murong Gang could think of.

I felt a thirst, as though my throat were burning.

“Th-then what is the oral formula? What about the qi operation? Is the inner arts consumption enormous?”

I threw out questions hurriedly, like a beggar trying to fill his starving stomach.

Murong Gang looked at me and smiled crookedly.

“The teaching ends here.”

When I made a flustered expression, Murong Gang grinned.

“If you wish to learn more, become a person of the Murong Clan.”

“…….”

No, he was cutting it off here?

Are you perhaps a gangster?

***

Murong Gang, who had appeared with a storm like his alias, also returned in a noisy manner when he left.

‘Still, no matter what, to leave after cursing the Alliance Leader in the middle of the Murim Alliance…….’

If an Alliance member or an outsider had done that, they would have been dragged to the Execution Pavilion and tortured harshly, but there was no one in the Execution Pavilion or the Inspection Pavilion who could catch Murong Gang.

Murong Gang returned to the Murong Clan like that.

As the Distinguished Guest Invitation event ended stably, the number of people in the representative delegation also increased.

After all, to leave even a slightly good record in one’s academy life record, it would be good to participate in representative delegation activities.

Thanks to that, the people who had already been working in the representative delegation also began dividing up the work and got a chance to breathe.

And I had even less to do.

The peaceful life of going to work at the academy representative office, sitting in a luxury chair, and drinking Seven-Colored Flower tea.

An unexpected time of rest had come.

“But now you have to go to work at Mantongbu.”

At Eun-ho’s words, which ruined the mood, I frowned hard.

“Do you break out in rashes all over your body when you see your Eldest Senior Brother resting?”

Eun-ho answered with an extremely calm expression.

“How could that be? I simply hope you will hurry to work at Mantongbu and distinguish yourself. For the sake of the other junior brothers, that is.”

Huh, look at this guy.

“……Come to think of it, you must have been the one who wrote the letter in Jae-hwa’s place, right?”

“How could that be? I only wrote what Jae-hwa dictated. Jae-hwa said his handwriting was so poor that it seemed likely to provoke his grandfather’s anger.”

“…….”

Eun-ho sent me an ambiguous gaze, one I could not tell was glaring or simply staring.

“And you should not have made Jae-hwa a sacrificial victim in the first place.”

……Since I had committed a sin, I could not bring myself to press Eun-ho.

For some reason, ever since that day, Jae-hwa, who had clung to me every day like a puppy, seemed to be slowly avoiding me too.

Eun-ho drove the nail in triumphantly.

“Hurry and go to work at Mantongbu. Because of you, Eldest Senior Brother, Mantongbu keeps finding fault by saying there are not enough documents.”

Even without Eun-ho urging me, I had to go to Mantongbu.

Maeng Ju-won had been sending messages several times a day, and as if that were not enough, he was visiting the dormitory once a week.

‘Ugh, what a persistent man.’

I had already been thinking of doing some work at Mantongbu anyway.

I also needed to compare the current events that had changed because of me with the past, and predict what influence those events would have on the future.

‘Moreover, those people are there too.’

The damned Elder Council.

They would not easily entrust me with budget-related work, but if I handled documents strictly, I would be able to harass the Elder Council. Huhu.

Since tens of thousands of documents that would be written in the future were already stacked inside the archive of my head, there was no need to suffer separately while learning the work.

My short-term goal was to show that I had completed the handover as quickly as possible and reduce my attendance to one day a week.

If I did that, I could rest at the representative delegation, rest on weekends, and make room for martial arts training separately.

After finishing organizing my thoughts like that, when I entered Mantongbu, Maeng Ju-won and Jegal So-myeong greeted me.

“Welcome! Welcome! You have returned safely to your home.”

It had never been my home in the first place, yet Maeng Ju-won looked so happy he seemed unable to contain his joy.

“Have you been well all this time?”

When I greeted Jegal So-myeong, he furrowed his brow deeply and said,

“Do you think I have been living comfortably?”

Since I had done wrong, my body naturally bent.

“You are of advanced age, so please preserve your precious body.”

“Nine-tenths of my worries are all because of you.”

If I kept opening my mouth about this, I would be the only one losing out.

I quickly changed the subject.

“What should I do first? Please entrust me with anything.”

At my words, Maeng Ju-won tried to pull me away, but…….

“Leave him for a moment. There is something I must entrust first.”

“Pardon?”

“…….”

For some reason, although I was standing still, Maeng Ju-won looked even more shocked.

Whether Maeng Ju-won wore that expression or not, Jegal So-myeong handed me a document.

It was a long document rolled into a scroll.

As I quickly read the document, I tilted my head.

“Are you telling me to help build an alliance with the Black Thought Alliance?”

When I summarized it briefly, Jegal So-myeong nodded.

But questions still remained.

“Are we sending an envoy delegation?”

Seeing that it used the character sa for “thought,” it did not seem to be a Black Path sect.

‘Could this also be a sect newly created because of me?’

No matter how much I searched the archive in my head, there was no sect called the Black Thought Alliance.

“This is the first time I have heard of a sect called the Black Thought Alliance.”

“Of course it is. It is newly created.”

Then it was even stranger.

If it was a sect that had only just been created, what reason did the Murim Alliance have to go out of its way to build an alliance with it?

As I tilted my head, Jegal So-myeong added an explanation.

“You know it well, do you not? It is the new name of the Black Path alliance established around the Four Emperors Peak Lord, who is close to you.”

“Do not tell me……”

“Attend the founding ceremony of the Black Thought Alliance.”

“……Eeeh??????”

Jegal So-myeong drank his tea as though there were nothing unusual about it.

Anyone watching would think he had told me to go buy a block of tofu at the neighborhood shop.