Chapter 17: Chapter 17
Rumors had already spread widely throughout the entire Martial Alliance.
‘The Gu Clan’s escort commissioned an assassination of an applicant.’
Of course, no one believed the rumor literally. Everyone anticipated that Gu Jin-seok was involved. However, as there was no clear proof, no one spoke directly to Gu Jin-seok.
Even while receiving people’s glaring eyes, Gu Jin-seok acted as if his face were coated with iron plating. He did not care in the slightest about the gazes of ignorant fools. His only thought was to enter the Martial Alliance, lean on the Gu Clan’s backing, and aim for the position of Alliance Leader in the future.
The Gu Clan had spent hundreds of years staying between the orthodox and unorthodox paths, only fully incorporating into the Righteous Path in recent times. Within the Righteous Path, there was an undercurrent of looking down on and despising them.
If they produced a Martial Alliance Leader in such a situation, the three characters of Gu Jin-seok’s name would truly be remembered in the Gu Clan for a very long time.
“The third examination has been cancelled. The results will be announced tomorrow.”
It was a low yet heavy voice that carried an aura of intimidation. Seated before him was a robust middle-aged man no less imposing than the inherently large Gu Jin-seok.
With an uncharacteristically tense expression, Gu Jin-seok nodded his head.
“Yes, Father.”
It was Gu Yong-baek, the family head of the Gu Clan. Watching his pathetic son, he let out a deep sigh.
At that sight, Gu Jin-seok flinched and spoke.
“…I am sorry.”
“For what?”
“Because I committed such a useless act…”
“You are wrong.”
Gu Jin-seok opened his eyes wide and looked at his father.
Gu Yong-baek continued speaking.
“Your fault does not lie in trying to kill that applicant fellow. Truly failing lies in failing to handle the matter thoroughly, and showing such an unconfident appearance just because you suffered a slight failure.”
“Father…”
Gu Jin-seok’s shoulders slumped limply.
Seeing this, Gu Yong-baek clicked his tongue and continued speaking.
“That fellow will be disqualified tomorrow. He will not even be able to participate in the examination again.”
Instantly, Gu Jin-seok’s face brightened considerably.
Gu Yong-baek found even that appearance pathetic. He was not at all pleased that the fellow who would lead the Gu Clan in the future was swayed by joy and sorrow over a mere greenhorn.
“You must enter the Heavenly Tiger Squad by all means. You know that the top five among the applicants are given the right to choose their combat squad, do you not?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Excluding the three young masters of the Five Great Clans and the Nine Great Sects, the only noticeable young generation talents were you, Song Yi-yeon, and that fellow Cheon Woo-jin. But if Cheon Woo-jin is disqualified, who else would fill that spot?”
Gu Jin-seok’s heart seemed to thump.
The Heavenly Tiger Squad. The foremost combat squad of the Martial Alliance, and the place that had produced the most Alliance Leaders throughout history. Belonging to that squad was something the young masters of the Righteous Path desired more than anything.
The day he would be incorporated into that Heavenly Tiger Squad was approaching right before his eyes.
At the same time, an abrupt sense of anxiety crept in.
“What if Muk-gaek tells the whole truth? I hear the torture of the Martial Alliance is exceedingly harsh…”
“Pathetic fool. Is this the time for you to worry about such nonsense?”
“I-I am sorry…”
Pointing his index finger forcefully at his son, Gu Yong-baek spoke.
“How could that fellow Muk-gaek possibly betray us? Do not pay attention to such nonsense and focus all your attention on being incorporated into the Heavenly Tiger Squad!”
In the end, Gu Yong-baek burst into an angry roar.
Of course, the room was thoroughly surrounded by an internal energy barrier, so sound would not leak out.
He felt terribly frustrated with his son.
Unlike his clever second and third sons, this fellow was not only harsh in personality but also foolish.
However, because his innate martial talent was more than worthy of being called the Celestial Martial Physique, he had poured everything into Gu Jin-seok.
Teaching worldly conduct to a high-ranking expert was far easier than turning a clever fellow into a master.
Having sent him to the Martial Alliance like that, he only caused accident after accident, and even in this situation, he could not even grasp what was important, so Gu Yong-baek could not help feeling suffocated inside.
Soon, Gu Yong-baek abruptly rose from his seat and spoke.
“You are the man who will become the family head of the Gu Clan. Please do not act like a petty scoundrel, but think and act like a family head and like a man. If you are going to kill a person, kill them thoroughly, and if you are going to spare them, spare them thoroughly! Do you understand?”
“…Yes, I will keep that in mind.”
Gu Jin-seok bowed his head deeply, and Gu Yong-baek roughly opened the room door, only to be greatly shocked and slam it shut again.
“What the?”
Some slickly handsome fellow was standing in front of the room.
Of course, since he had deployed an internal energy barrier, the fellow could not have eavesdropped on the conversation, but it was uncomfortable nonetheless.
Gu Yong-baek opened the door again.
Through the gap, Song Yi-yeon’s face appeared.
“Do you have something to say?”
“Oh my. Why do you speak informally upon our first meeting?”
“Hah, what?”
Gu Yong-baek glared intently at Song Yi-yeon’s face, then let out a hollow laugh.
“Are you the offspring of the Anhui Song Clan?”
That outstanding face looked exactly like that detestable Song Clan Head fellow. At that inquiry, Song Yi-yeon smirked.
“Yes, I am the proud eldest son of the Song Clan.”
“I am a close friend of your father. If you saw me, you should have bowed in greeting first, so why on earth are you standing there blankly?”
“Aha.”
Bowing his head perfunctorily before raising it back up, Song Yi-yeon spoke.
“My room is over that way, and as I was passing by, the door opened so roughly that I was startled.”
“Ahem.”
“Well then, have a good time with Young Hero Gu Jin-seok.”
Having said so, Song Yi-yeon walked past down the hallway with light steps. Watching that retreating figure, Gu Yong-baek’s heart could not have felt more uneasy.
* * *
Clutching his trembling heart, Song Yi-yeon headed straight to his room.
“Damn, the family head really came.”
He knew from his father how terrifying a man he was. If Gu Yong-baek stepped forward, it meant that trouble was brewing.
Even in this situation, Song Yi-yeon spoke to Cheon Woo-jin, who was casually looking out the window.
“Young Hero, we are in big trouble. Right now, the Gu Clan Head has come here and is having some conversation with Gu Jin-seok. He even put up an internal energy barrier.”
Song Yi-yeon contemplated.
‘Should I just run away with the Young Hero?’
First, they would secure safety, then plan for the future.
Although he and Young Hero Cheon would fail the examination, what could be more important than a friend’s life?
Glancing at Song Yi-yeon, who was suddenly restless, Cheon Woo-jin casually spoke.
“Is the Gu Clan Head that remarkable?”
“He is remarkable. Remarkable indeed. Even his face looks terribly frightening.”
“Is he a man more remarkable than the Alliance Leader?”
Song Yi-yeon knitted his brows with a serious expression.
“No way. Where on earth in the world would there be a martial artist more remarkable than the Alliance Leader?”
Cheon Woo-jin broke into a chuckle.
“If so, I shall watch and see.”
“See what?”
“What kind of place the Martial Alliance is.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Cheon Woo-jin let out a soft laugh as his gaze turned toward the window once more. Only Song Yi-yeon, who did not know the situation, felt his insides burning up.
* * *
Early morning.
Several hundred young generation martial artists were gathered in the spacious training ground of the Martial Alliance.
It was the day the examination results were announced. Of course, the Martial Alliance officials who were in charge of the examination were also present. White Dragon Squad Leader, who took charge of the announcement, stepped forward and spoke.
“As everyone knows, due to a certain incident, the third examination has been cancelled. However, since sufficiently meaningful results were achieved through only the first examination, grade assignment, and the second examination, I hope everyone will understand.”
Having said that, the White Dragon Squad Leader bowed his head toward the young martial artists. In this moment, rather than an unimaginably senior figure of the martial world, he was merely a martial artist standing before the future heroes who had thankfully applied for the examination.
The White Dragon Squad Leader’s words continued.
“This time, truly good martial artists have gathered in abundance, so I feel both grateful and regretful. In particular, the five who achieved the highest grades are granted the qualification to apply to the combat squad of their choice… Regrettably, among those five, a disqualified applicant has emerged.”
The venue stirred with commotion.
Everyone implicitly watched Cheon Woo-jin and Gu Jin-seok.
Of course, Gu Jin-seok was struggling to hide his smile because he already knew about Cheon Woo-jin’s disqualification.
While the announcement of the results proceeded like that.
“Heh heh.”
Watching this, the Black Tortoise Squad Leader let out a snicker. Standing beside him, Benevolence Division Head Ji Mak-pyeong looked at the Black Tortoise Squad Leader with eyes that seemed to look at something disgusting.
‘Why does this bastard look so pleased?’
Receiving the Benevolence Division Head’s piercing gaze, the Black Tortoise Squad Leader merely picked his nose. Soon, the White Dragon Squad Leader’s announcement of results continued right away.
Fifth place, Jin Un of the Mount Hua Sect.
Fourth place, Tang So-yeon of the Sichuan Tang Clan.
Third place, Song Yi-yeon of the Anhui Song Clan.
Second place, Namgung Jin of the Namgung Clan.
Most of it proceeded as anticipated.
The question was who took first place.
Everyone knew. Either Gu Jin-seok or Cheon Woo-jin would be first, and the remaining person was the disqualified applicant mentioned by the White Dragon Squad Leader.
“First place is.”
“…”
Tense air filled the venue.
Pausing for a brief moment, the White Dragon Squad Leader firmly continued.
“Applicant Cheon Woo-jin.”
Instantly, silence descended.
In particular, Gu Jin-seok’s face froze hard.
Bang!
Unable to contain his fury, Gu Jin-seok slammed his fist down.
Nonetheless, the White Dragon Squad Leader glared straight at him and continued the announcement.
From sixth place, seventh place, eighth place, all the way past the final accepted applicant at fiftieth place, So-and-so. Nowhere was Gu Jin-seok’s name to be found.
Only then did Gu Jin-seok have to face the reality he had tried hard to ignore. That the disqualified applicant mentioned earlier by the White Dragon Squad Leader was not Cheon Woo-jin, but himself.
With a stiff face, Gu Jin-seok strode toward Cheon Woo-jin.
Song Yi-yeon hurriedly squeezed between Cheon Woo-jin and Gu Jin-seok to block him. It was not out of worry for Cheon Woo-jin. It was because he feared that Cheon Woo-jin might beat Gu Jin-seok to death inside the Martial Alliance.
The officials in charge of this examination were watching that scene from afar. The Black Tortoise Squad Leader burst into a truly hearty laugh.
“Bwahaha! What a complete mess, a total mess.”
Benevolence Division Head Ji Mak-pyeong grabbed Cheol Ji-ak by the collar.
“It is you. You did this, did you not?”
“Hey, Division Head. What did I do for you to act like this? Speak after letting go. There are many watching eyes.”
Cheol Ji-ak did not hold back the chuckles leaking out and burst into laughter. Unable to suppress his anger, the Benevolence Division Head grabbed Cheol Ji-ak by the throat altogether. At that, Cheol Ji-ak turned serious and lowered his voice as he spoke.
“Will you not let go?”
“…”
It was at that moment. There was a man striding toward where the two were standing. Confirming his face, the Benevolence Division Head turned pale.
A man approaching while reeking of a dangerous aura like a malevolent deity of disaster.
It was his friend and the Gu Clan Head, Gu Yong-baek.
Seeing this, Cheol Ji-ak casually spoke.
“Look here, Clan Head. Non-members of the Martial Alliance are not permitted entry here…”
However, ignoring his words, Gu Yong-baek headed straight for the Benevolence Division Head. Soon, he spoke in a voice that was truly chilling.
“Explain.”
“…No, it is not that, I do not know either.”
The Benevolence Division Head blurted out an excuse. Although he was a friend, Gu Yong-baek was also an exceedingly terrifying man.
“You are the person responsible for the examination, so if you do not know, who does?”
“No…”
The Benevolence Division Head felt terribly wronged, but had no way to explain.
While he wore a tearful face, Gu Yong-baek’s chilling voice continued incessantly.
“Right, it does not matter who took first place. But my son was disqualified?”
“…”
“Did you make it so that the eldest son of the Gu Clan can never set foot in the Martial Alliance for the rest of his life?”
“Look here, first listen to my…”
“Do you dare insult our Gu Clan!”
The Benevolence Division Head’s face turned sallow. He knew all too well how cruelly the Gu Clan had tormented and dried up their enemies back when they were entrenched between the orthodox and unorthodox paths.
“L-Look here. It is a misunderstanding. Just wait a moment. Something seems to have gone awry, so I will look into it again…”
“What is so strange?”
A calm voice that came out of nowhere from behind.
Simultaneously, the rough energy of Gu Yong-baek that had been faintly dominating the area vanished as if washed away.
Taking a deep breath and composing his expression, Gu Yong-baek turned his head.
“Alliance Leader.”
The man who had ascended to the position of Martial Alliance Leader solely through his own abilities, without supporting factions or a power base, Bukli Cheon.
That man, whom everyone in the Righteous Path never ceased to revere, was glaring at Gu Yong-baek with exceedingly deep eyes.
Gu Yong-baek unconsciously swallowed hard.
No matter how remarkable the Gu Clan was, the Alliance Leader was one of the supreme masters representing the Righteous Path.
‘Why on earth has the Alliance Leader suddenly come here…’
Soon, observing the atmosphere between the Benevolence Division Head and Gu Yong-baek, Alliance Leader Bukli Cheon asked once more.
“I asked what on earth is so strange. Why is everyone silent?”