Chapter 136: Chapter 136
The Emperor cleared his throat repeatedly.
Although he thought he had spoken naturally enough, a rather awkward silence hung over the dining table.
Even if he was the Son of Heaven, he was also a young man of similar age to Cheon Woo-jin and the members of the Hidden Dragon Squad.
Usually, it was enough to suppress others with imperial authority, but this man named Cheon Woo-jin seemed like someone who cared nothing for such things.
Thinking so, the Emperor waited for Cheon Woo-jin’s answer.
Unlike the tense members of the Hidden Dragon Squad, Cheon Woo-jin calmly moistened his throat with liquor before asking back nonchalantly.
“Grand Preceptor?”
“The teacher of the Crown Prince or the Emperor is called the Grand Preceptor. It is a position that no one within the imperial court can dare ignore.”
“I know that. But I have nothing to teach Your Majesty.”
Cheon Woo-jin had not met the Emperor many times, but he had already grasped what kind of person he was. He was closer to a scholar well versed in the philosophies of Confucius and Laozi, and because he sat at the center of power, complicated power struggles constantly erupted around him.
Cheon Woo-jin had no knack for teaching him scholarship, state affairs, or how to handle people. All he knew how to do was beat people to death with a fan and an iron staff.
“Do you not possess something in which you are exceptionally superior to others? You only need to teach Us that.”
“Are you talking about martial arts?”
“Seeing how you answer immediately, it seems you know very well that you are exceptionally stronger than others.”
“Ahem. Yes, well…”
Cheon Woo-jin nodded with a reluctant look.
How could he not know? Since coming down from the mountain, the only person worthy of being called an opponent was the silver-haired man who looked just like the Emperor.
Although he had not yet seen the Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult, the Alliance Leader and the Lord of the Black Overlord Castle, who were collectively called the Three Pillars Under Heaven, were not particularly strong martial artists compared to his two masters either.
The Emperor smiled gently. A young man of similar age who did not show even a hint of tension before him. To someone who had spent his entire life surrounded by old men, simply being together was immensely intriguing.
In particular, the fact that he was the disciple of the previous Grand Preceptor, Black Elder, stirred the Emperor’s heart even more. To him, the Grand Preceptor had been his only master in life, his friend, and the person who took the place of his father who had passed away early.
“Become Our martial arts master. Of course, that does not mean you must teach Me with utmost dedication like in the martial world. You just need to visit occasionally to look over My martial arts, be a conversation companion, and help each other as master and disciple when difficult situations arise.”
He also added that this was an offer incomparable even to the Death-Exemption Token he had bestowed earlier.
At those words, the members of the Hidden Dragon Squad were even more astonished. Everything the Emperor uttered was astonishing, but what surprised them most was that it was a proposal offered as person to person rather than an imperial decree.
Cheon Woo-jin fell into thought for a moment.
In the past, he would have rejected it flatly.
Even the position of Hidden Dragon Squad Leader was more troublesome than expected, so just thinking about becoming the Emperor’s master felt bothersome.
However, he was currently determined to make the Martial Alliance truly worthy of the name, just as his masters wished.
‘The more swords, the better.’
Thinking so, Cheon Woo-jin soon nodded.
“Yes, I understand. I will teach you martial arts.”
Even at a glance, he did not seem to have any talent, though.
Since the Emperor was not going to become a martial artist anyway, teaching him a move or two was not a difficult task.
When Cheon Woo-jin agreed, a bright smile blossomed across the Emperor’s face. Although the Emperor had always worn a solemn expression, his current smile suited a young man in his twenties remarkably well.
Soon, the Emperor rose from his seat.
Cheon Woo-jin merely watched him impassively, while the members of the Hidden Dragon Squad wore disbelieving expressions.
As the saying went that the unbelievable always happens, the Emperor brought his clasped hands to his forehead. Having newly formed a master-disciple relationship, he intended to show propriety to his master through the Rite of the Nine Bows.
“Uh, uh…!”
The moment the Emperor lowered his posture, the terrified members of the Hidden Dragon Squad leaped up and prostrated themselves on the floor. How could they sit on chairs and look down upon the Emperor?
In this way, four young men, including the Emperor, ended up flat on the floor in the middle of eating.
“…”
Cheon Woo-jin simply stared blankly at this. Having served his masters since birth, Cheon Woo-jin knew little about the Rite of the Nine Bows. His expression merely wondered why these people were suddenly doing something strange.
Soon, the Emperor performed the courtesy a total of nine times.
Originally, the traditional Rite of the Nine Bows had nothing to do with the actual count. However, among martial artists, it was commonly understood as performing nine bows, so the Emperor had respected the etiquette of martial artists.
The Emperor’s breathing became slightly ragged. Because his body was weak, simply bowing nine times was enough to make him short of breath. There was a reason Shaolin made deep bows a form of cultivation.
Finishing the Rite of the Nine Bows, the Emperor sat down with an overwhelmed expression. After wetting his throat with liquor, he smiled brightly and spoke.
“Then I shall call you Grand Preceptor from now on. I know that the Grand Preceptor has much to do in the martial world as well. I will not hold you for long, so please stay for just one day to commemorate our forging of this master-disciple bond.”
“Yes, I will.”
Cheon Woo-jin nodded.
The Emperor laughed repeatedly like a child, taking turns filling the cups of the Hidden Dragon Squad members, including Cheon Woo-jin.
* * *
Upon returning to their quarters in the Brocade Guard, Song Yi-yeon and Namgung Jin immediately passed out. Since they could not dare show signs of intoxication in front of the Emperor, they had held out through sheer willpower.
With their level of cultivation, they could have expelled the alcohol poison, but doing so after drinking wine bestowed by the Emperor was an extremely impious act.
Jin Un, who did not drink alcohol because he was a Daoist, properly laid the two on the bed and then brought a water bottle from somewhere.
Cheon Woo-jin thought Jin Un was going to give the two some water to drink, but after pouring water into a basin, he untied his hero’s headband and began hand-washing it.
“…”
Cheon Woo-jin wore an incredulous expression.
No wonder that pure white hero’s headband never got stained; it seemed he did this every day.
Meanwhile, someone carefully knocked on the door.
It was a martial artist of the Brocade Guard.
He explained what had taken place while Cheon Woo-jin dined and drank with the Emperor.
How the military funds had been divided among the Peng Clan, the Great General, and the Eastern Sea Ghost was revealed in complete detail.
Because the amount was not small, it was said that the Great General’s head was chopped off. Naturally, the vanished Patriarch Peng and the Eastern Sea Ghost also had to be punished under state law, so the imperial palace stirred into motion.
The terror of the imperial palace did not lie in the Brocade Guard or the Eastern Depot. What was truly terrifying was the army of a million soldiers that moved solely upon the command of the Son of Heaven.
Unless they left the country, there would be nowhere to hide for more than seven days and nights, and even if they fled beyond the borders, the top masters of the Eastern Depot and the Brocade Guard would pursue them relentlessly.
“Of course, the Hebei Peng Clan could not avoid paying the price either.”
The Peng Clan was subjected to closed-door seclusion. All the profits they had unlawfully obtained were confiscated, and businesses conducted inside and outside the clan were forcibly halted.
Usually, when a martial power of the Peng Clan’s caliber entered seclusion, they maintained a few businesses because they had many dependents.
But this was seclusion by imperial decree. For at least the next five years, and at most several decades, not even a single ant would be able to pass in or out.
All of this had happened in merely half a day.
It was the result of the Brocade Guard and the Eastern Depot, which had the nature of intelligence organizations, investigating in fierce competition as if staking their honor and pride.
In this manner, the Hidden Dragon Squad succeeded in their mission.
They had finished clearing out all the martial factions connected to the founding of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance.
It was something that had transpired only a month or two after Cheon Woo-jin began taking action in earnest.
“Now only one place remains.”
The Tang Clan, the Peng Clan, Murong, Zhongnan, and Qingcheng.
The Ten Thousand Gold Manor, said to be their money source.
As the foremost banking house under heaven, the Ten Thousand Gold Manor had surely dreamed of the day they would stand atop the new order known as the Righteous Heavenly Alliance.
At the soliloquy Cheon Woo-jin uttered while recalling the Ten Thousand Gold Manor, the Brocade Guard tilted his head and asked.
“Do you perhaps require the assistance of the Brocade Guard?”
“Hm?”
“The Regional Commander instructed us. If the venerable Heartless Wanderer, who has newly become the Grand Preceptor, needs assistance, we are to step forward immediately. Ah, I am Battalion Commander Nam In-hoe.”
A battalion commander referred to a military officer who could arbitrarily command up to a thousand men under his wing, including Brocade Guards and soldiers.
He was truly a powerful figure second only to the Regional Commander, but what caught Cheon Woo-jin’s attention was something else.
“Calling me venerable elder is a bit…”
Even at a glance, the battalion commander was past forty years of age.
The battalion commander scratched his head in embarrassment. Inside the imperial palace, it was natural to address someone holding high office as ‘venerable elder’ regardless of age, but on second thought, it made sense that the Grand Preceptor, being fundamentally a martial artist, would find the imperial court’s etiquette unfamiliar.
“There is no other way to call… ahem, then shall I call you Great Hero?”
Cheon Woo-jin felt that was awkward as well, but thinking it was better than ‘venerable elder,’ he simply nodded.
A few days later, ‘Great Hero’ in the imperial palace soon became a term referring exclusively to Cheon Woo-jin.
.
.
.
After Battalion Commander Nam In-hoe left.
Cheon Woo-jin sat cross-legged out of habit and spread his qi sense widely. It already felt real that he had become the Grand Preceptor. The gazes discreetly surveilling around his quarters had vanished in an instant.
Soon, he expanded his qi sense further, encompassing the entire imperial palace.
And with that, the sheer vastness of the imperial palace struck him anew.
Compared to the hut where he had lived serving his two masters, the headquarters of the Martial Alliance had felt as massive as an ocean. When he first saw it, he thought such an enormous manor actually existed in the world, yet compared even to that Martial Alliance, the imperial palace was easily several times wider.
Yet, in the very middle of that vast expanse, he sensed the energy of the Emperor sitting blankly.
Looking at the imperial palace as a whole, there were many people coming and going, but around the Emperor’s residence, not a single soul was present save for a few escort warriors.
Perhaps because of that, the energy of the Emperor sitting alone in this vast house felt immensely desolate and lonely.
From what he heard, the Emperor had neither family nor close friends to speak of.
At best, only the heads of the Brocade Guard and the Eastern Depot occasionally kept him company.
After a brief moment of thought, Cheon Woo-jin brushed himself off and rose.
Stepping directly outside the quarters, the Brocade Guards who were training even on this moonlit night looked at him with expectant eyes.
The story of a Brocade Guard who had broken through his realm after receiving brief guidance from Cheon Woo-jin was already famous.
But much to their disappointment, Cheon Woo-jin merely brought over a wooden staff mounted in a corner of the training ground using the subtleties of Telekinetic Attraction.
“I shall borrow this for a moment.”
* * *
The place Cheon Woo-jin headed to was the Emperor’s private training ground.
Since the Emperor was not a martial artist, the training ground’s floor and walls were as sleek and polished as if they had just been built.
Standing face to face with Cheon Woo-jin, the Emperor let out an awkward laugh.
“Haha, the intoxication has not even faded yet, so I did not expect you to propose training so urgently.”
In response, Cheon Woo-jin unleashed palm force toward the Emperor.
The shocked Emperor widened his eyes.
Soon, a gentle breeze swept across his entire body, and all of a sudden, the Emperor’s mind became crystal clear.
He had forcibly expelled the alcohol poison.
“My masters said that cultivation knows no particular time.”
Having said that, Cheon Woo-jin lightly tossed the wooden staff.
Barely catching it, the Emperor wore a strangely overwhelmed expression. If they were Cheon Woo-jin’s masters, were they not the peerless chivalrous hero White Flower Sword Immortal and the former Grand Preceptor Black Elder?
Thinking about it, they were none other than his grandmasters.
“I have two masters. They were called Black Elder and White Elder respectively, and each pursued a different training method. Which master’s training would Your Majesty like to experience first?”
“Naturally, the training of the darker side.”
The Emperor retorted as if it was not even worth contemplating. The training method of the former Grand Preceptor. Expectation welled up immensely within him.
Had the members of the Inspection Hall who already experienced Black Elder’s training been here, they would have desperately dissuaded the Emperor.
But regrettably, only two people, the Emperor and Cheon Woo-jin, were in this vast training ground.
Cheon Woo-jin smirked. At that, the Emperor laughed along as well. Since his usually taciturn Grand Preceptor showed a smile, he felt good for no reason.
Without knowing what that smile meant.
Swish!
Cheon Woo-jin charged.
The Emperor merely felt that something blurry had drifted close aboard the wind.
Soon, a cheerful sound followed.
Thwack!
Clutching his forehead, the Emperor rolled backward.
At once, experts of the Eastern Depot descended from the pitch-black night sky. In their hands, silver daggers were held respectively. They were eunuchs guarding the Emperor from the shadows.
Rubbing his forehead, the Emperor got up from the ground. Unleashing a loud roar of anger at them, he sternly ordered that no one should enter the training ground until permission was granted.
Soon, only the two remained in the training ground once again.
The Emperor gripped the wooden staff quite firmly, while Cheon Woo-jin spun his Crescent Moon Staff before charging in.
Thwack! Thump! Crack! Thump!
In between, sounds that should not have been heard were occasionally mixed in.
Suddenly, the Emperor spoke as if feeling wronged.
“I have a wooden staff while the Grand Preceptor holds an iron staff, so is this not too unfair?”
“Ah.”
With a look as if that made sense, Cheon Woo-jin tossed over the Crescent Moon Staff. The Emperor accepted it with satisfaction, but…
Crash!
Embracing the Crescent Moon Staff, the Emperor rolled across the floor. Ten-Thousand-Year Dark Iron was the hardest and simultaneously the heaviest metal under heaven.
And the weapon created by a peerless master artisan who had extremely condensed and re-condensed it over decades was none other than this Crescent Moon Staff…
Pinned beneath the Crescent Moon Staff, the Emperor flailed, begging for his life.