Chapter 18: Chapter 18
The venue stirred with commotion.
It was the award ceremony for the selection examination held once every three years.
Applicants and the officials who managed the examination. Or even Martial Alliance members who came out to watch what kind of youngest recruits had entered the Alliance this time.
It was truly a gathering where many people had assembled.
Pushing through that massive crowd of people, there was a man striding in with dignified steps.
The wrinkles around his eyes and his deep glare harmonized, giving an atmosphere as if he saw through the very essence of the world. While he wore a benevolent smile, he somehow possessed an impression that made it difficult to treat him carelessly.
In addition, there was even a faintly wafting foul odor.
Seeing this, Song Yi-yeon’s eyes shone.
“Disciplinary Hall Master…”
Even Song Yi-yeon, who had not yet entered the Alliance, knew him.
The Disciplinary Hall Master of the Martial Alliance. Chu Pung-gae, who was also called the next Sect Leader of the Beggars’ Sect, was one of the most famous martial artists in the Alliance.
His position was a high position, but it was because his temperament was exceedingly peculiar, carrying the moniker ‘Mad Dog’ because once he bit, he would never let go.
With Disciplinary Hall Master Chu Pung-gae at the lead, martial artists with sharp and ominous atmospheres followed behind him.
All of them were martial artists of the Disciplinary Hall.
The Martial Alliance officials present at the scene needlessly avoided meeting their eyes, even though they had done nothing wrong.
Originally, that was how it was. Just as one’s heart somehow pounded when government constables approached, even without wrongdoing.
Of course, Gu Jin-seok, who actually had wrongdoing, went without saying.
Thump, thump!
The sound of his heartbeat felt like thunder. Gu Jin-seok watched the people around him in fear that the sound might be heard by others.
Soon approaching, Chu Pung-gae swept his eyes over Gu Jin-seok from top to bottom as if looking at an attraction.
Even if he was the scoundrel of the Gu Clan, he could not open his mouth before the Disciplinary Hall Master. Everyone held their breath and waited for the Disciplinary Hall Master’s words.
To Gu Jin-seok, that fleeting moment felt like an eternity.
Soon, Chu Pung-gae calmly continued speaking.
“Solicitation of murder by attempting to harm a fellow member of the Martial Alliance, concealment of the incident after the matter came to light, and even illicit solicitation while the investigation was underway.”
“…”
While Chu Pung-gae’s words continued, people’s gazes turned toward Gu Jin-seok. Everyone clearly understood what his words meant.
Gu Jin-seok tried to kill Cheon Woo-jin.
He even tried to pin the blame on his escort, Muk-gaek.
For this purpose, he offered bribes to a high-ranking official.
“The nature of the crime is exceedingly foul.”
The light in Chu Pung-gae’s eyes flashed as he said that. It was the moment his benevolent impression transformed in an instant into that of a mad dog. His gaze looking at Gu Jin-seok seemed to say:
‘You are thoroughly bitten.’
Gu Jin-seok felt as if his breath stopped for a moment. He instinctively realized it. That he could no longer deceive people’s eyes.
Gu Jin-seok looked at his father, Gu Yong-baek. It was truly a desperate gaze. Now that everything had come to light, he could not escape the Martial Alliance’s punishment. If so, utilizing the Gu Clan’s power to weaken the severity as much as possible was the best option.
Gu Yong-baek, who met his son’s gaze atop the platform, let out a low sigh.
‘The situation has become difficult.’
With the appearance of the Alliance Leader, the atmosphere completely shifted at once.
Gu Yong-baek was someone who had seized the atmosphere among the many officials atop the platform with his distinctive rough presence.
Yet now, that momentum could not be found anywhere, no matter how hard one looked.
Even if Gu Yong-baek was a remarkable martial artist of a remarkable clan, the hollow-looking man pressuring him was the leader of the largest and strongest alliance under heaven.
Watching the scene below the platform together with Gu Yong-baek, Bukli Cheon asked in a calm voice.
“Did you truly not know of this matter? Since your son attempted to harm a fellow applicant, in accordance with the Alliance laws, his tendons and meridians will be severed, his dantian crippled, and he will live in the prison for decades.”
“…”
Inside Gu Yong-baek’s mind, his son’s future was instantly painted. A state where he would die in the pitch-dark underground prison of the Martial Alliance as a complete cripple.
It was at that moment.
“Father!”
Dragged away with both arms bound by the martial artists of the Disciplinary Hall, Gu Jin-seok desperately called for his father.
At that, everyone’s gazes turned toward Gu Yong-baek.
In an instant, his mind worked busily. For the Mad Dog to step forward on such a grand scale meant that he had seized definitive proof.
Whether it was Muk-gaek’s testimony or the account books of the Unorthodox Path.
Gu Yong-baek stood at a crossroads of choice.
‘Should the Gu Clan step forward on a large scale to protect my son until the end, or…’
Organizing his thoughts, Gu Yong-baek closed his eyes tightly.
He had turned away from his son’s gaze.
“I learned of it belatedly. Nevertheless, because he was my son, I could not turn a blind eye, so I made a request to my old friend, the Benevolence Division Head.”
“Look here, when did I ever…!”
Overwhelming the flared-up Benevolence Division Head with his glare, Bukli Cheon calmly nodded.
“And so?”
“Alliance Leader, since I have committed a sin punishable by death, please throw me into the prison along with my disgraceful son.”
Everyone present, excluding Gu Yong-baek and the Alliance Leader, opened their eyes wide. It was not only because Gu Yong-baek confessed his crime himself, but he even knelt down on his knees.
A peculiar light flashed across Bukli Cheon’s deep eyes.
‘I thought he was a fellow like a wild dog, but seeing him now, he is a fox.’
Gu Yong-baek was acting while precisely grasping the Alliance laws and his own reputation. Gu Jin-seok would entirely shoulder the crime of solicitation of murder. Since it appeared that Gu Yong-baek truly did not know at the time.
Gu Yong-baek was in a situation where he only needed to bear the crime of illicit solicitation. Naturally, there was no chance he would be locked in the prison.
Moreover, since there were already many people who pointed fingers at the Gu Clan as a family originating from the Unorthodox Path, there would be no major blow to his reputation either.
‘It would merely add a few more fingers pointing in criticism.’
Bukli Cheon inwardly clicked his tongue while marveling. Gu Yong-baek had made the best judgment he could choose at the moment in an instant.
Of course, coldly turning away from one’s son was not an easy thing to do. That was why the vast majority would fail to execute it even while knowing.
To put it differently, Gu Yong-baek was a man who could abandon even his own flesh and blood depending on the situation.
‘I was underestimating the Gu Clan.’
Alliance Leader Bukli Cheon felt that Gu Yong-baek’s cold expression as he looked at his son would be remembered for quite a long time.
“I see. The treatment of your son will proceed as mentioned earlier, and the punishment regarding you will be decided through a meeting of the leadership.”
Gu Yong-baek lowered his head without a word.
If he withdrew from the Martial Alliance, he could avoid receiving punishment. Of course, at that point, it would become ‘retribution’ rather than ‘punishment.’
Having bowed to the Alliance Leader, Gu Yong-baek turned around without delay. His expression was neither ominous like a malevolent deity of disaster nor steeped in sorrow.
It was merely serene. That was why to some, it felt even more terrifying. It was like watching a pure white flame burning silently.
“Father! Father!!”
Gu Jin-seok’s sorrowful wailing continued. He too had come to know the punishment he would suffer in the future. Severing his tendons and meridians and crippling his dantian meant a complete death as a martial artist.
All he possessed were the background of the Gu Clan and heaven-bestowed martial talent. Due to a moment’s mistake, everything had vanished.
Even at his son’s cries, Gu Yong-baek did not cast a single glance. At that sight, people shook their heads.
Calmly enduring everyone’s blatant gazes as he walked out, Gu Yong-baek suddenly brushed past Cheon Woo-jin.
In an instant, the gazes of the two men met in midair.
In that brief moment.
Gu Yong-baek realized.
‘…It was an inevitable outcome.’
The Righteous Path bastards criticized the Gu Clan, but feared them. Because it was a clan rooted in the Unorthodox Path, if things went horribly wrong, they might do something contrary to the common sense of the Righteous Path.
Yet even in this situation, when he passed right in front of him, a mere applicant did not bat an eye. Far from being afraid, he looked straight at him as if observing his actions.
Moreover, there was no wavering in his momentum. Rather, even without any distinct movement, he was subtly dominating the surrounding air.
Without any particular intention, all the surrounding people and even the air were walking on eggshells around him.
In the martial world, they called this an ‘expert.’
‘Just where on earth did such a fellow come from…’
Even if the Alliance Leader had not intervened, the one who died in the end would have been his son, not Cheon Woo-jin. Gu Yong-baek’s intuition was saying so.
After Gu Yong-baek had moved quite far away.
Only after confirming this did Song Yi-yeon open his mouth.
“What are you staring at, damn it.”
“…He has already moved far away.”
“That is why I said it.”
Cheon Woo-jin looked at Song Yi-yeon as if he were absurd.
Meanwhile, Gu Jin-seok, bound by the Disciplinary Hall martial artists, completely disappeared from the venue, and subsequently, Chu Pung-gae grabbed the Benevolence Division Head by the collar and dragged him down from the platform.
“Urgh! H-Hall Master! First let go of this hand…”
“Heh heh heh, Mak-pyeong. I clearly warned you before. If you are going to do something bad, please do not get caught by my eyes.”
Unable to overcome the shame and fear, Benevolence Division Head Ji Mak-pyeong momentarily flared his momentum. However, the smile hanging on Chu Pung-gae’s mouth only deepened.
“Splendid!”
Crack!
Within Chu Pung-gae’s grip, a sound that should never be heard echoed chillingly. Simultaneously, Ji Mak-pyeong’s body went completely limp.
“H-He killed him!”
Song Yi-yeon was appalled. Suddenly glancing at him, Chu Pung-gae smiled with a face that had turned benevolent once more and spoke.
“He is not dead. I merely put him to sleep.”
“…”
In truth, he could not believe it, but he felt no will to dare refute the Disciplinary Hall Master’s words.
Song Yi-yeon struggling to nod his head, and Cheon Woo-jin beside him looking at Ji Mak-pyeong with a dry face.
Holding the two in his eyes for a moment, Chu Pung-gae wore a peculiar smile, then soon disappeared while dragging Ji Mak-pyeong along.
Song Yi-yeon shivered.
“Did you see that just now? It was a terribly frightening smile.”
“He merely looked pleased to me.”
Cheon Woo-jin just shrugged his shoulders.
Although he had only watched Chu Pung-gae briefly, he was a truly unique man.
‘A man who wears Master Black Elder’s expression while having an atmosphere similar to Master White Elder.’
Since it was the first time he had seen such a type after coming out into the martial world, there was quite a pleasure in observing him.
Suddenly, a burning gaze was felt from the side.
Casually turning his head, it was Alliance Leader Bukli Cheon. From atop the platform, he was looking over with a truly fierce gaze.
‘The justice of the Martial Alliance is alive.’
It was as if he were definitely saying that.
It did not particularly resonate with him.
Cheon Woo-jin suddenly looked up at the sky.
‘Masters, what kind of place is the Martial Alliance?’
A moment later, it seemed as if the voices of his two masters could be heard clearly.
Of course, they were fiercely putting forward differing arguments.
Cheon Woo-jin let out a chuckle.
Seeing that smile, Song Yi-yeon shook his head from side to side.
‘Truly, an incomprehensible Young Hero.’
* * *
The award ceremony concluded under the observation of the Alliance Leader.
The top five accepted applicants, including Cheon Woo-jin and Song Yi-yeon, were granted the opportunity to select their combat squad.
Although nominally given a week of time to contemplate, it was self-evident that all of them would choose the Heavenly Tiger Squad.
The Heavenly Tiger Squad was the foremost elite unit with the deepest history in the Martial Alliance. There were as many as five former Alliance Leaders who hailed from the Heavenly Tiger Squad.
Clack. Setting down his teacup, Alliance Leader Bukli Cheon spoke.
“Do you also intend to apply for the Heavenly Tiger Squad?”
Having been summoned by the Alliance Leader right after the award ceremony ended, Cheon Woo-jin shook his head.
“I am contemplating.”
Somehow, Alliance Leader Bukli Cheon felt that the contemplation was not about choosing a combat squad, but about whether to stay in the Alliance or leave.
Bukli Cheon quietly gazed at Cheon Woo-jin, who picked up his teacup.
‘Truly fascinating.’
He was unmistakably Senior White Elder’s disciple. Even the energy he harbored and the martial arts he used resembled White Elder identically.
Yet Black Elder’s appearance was also clearly visible. From his distinctive ominous atmosphere to the dry gaze with which he had looked upon the father and son of the Gu Clan.
‘It is as if Senior White Elder and Black Elder painted their respective colors on a pure white sheet of paper with all their might.’
To put it nicely, it was colorful, but to put it differently, it was chaos.
Bukli Cheon wanted to keep such a Cheon Woo-jin in the Martial Alliance.
Cheon Woo-jin’s talent went without saying.
It was by no means lacking to be called the Celestial Martial Physique.
Including Senior White Elder, Black Elder, and even himself. None of them had achieved such a realm at Cheon Woo-jin’s age.
If he grew uprightly, he might become a hero surpassing Senior White Elder. Yet on the other hand, it appeared he could walk Black Elder’s path at any time.
‘If a genius endowed with such talent walks the Unorthodox Path…’
Dangerous.
His intuition as the Martial Alliance Leader warned him so.
Perhaps not a successor to Black Elder, but another Dark Emperor might be born. It might be an excessive thought, but Bukli Cheon did not disregard his intuition.
Tap, tap.
Tapping the tea table with his index finger, Bukli Cheon muttered to himself.
“Did Senior White Elder truly not know?”
He was someone whose eye for judging people was superior to anyone else.
Regarding Cheon Woo-jin, with whom he had lived in close quarters, he would have grasped him more accurately than Bukli Cheon himself.
‘Deliberately sending to me a man who could become a villain of the era or an upright hero means…’
Somehow, Bukli Cheon felt as though he had received a request from the senior he respected most in the world.
Soon, Bukli Cheon spoke as if having resolved his mind.
“White Elder. No, Cheon Woo-jin, disciple of the White Flower Sword Immortal.”
When Bukli Cheon mentioned White Elder’s true moniker, Cheon Woo-jin rose from his seat and assumed the etiquette of a junior martial artist.
“Yes, Alliance Leader.”
Soon, Bukli Cheon spoke with a face more serious than ever before.
“As the Alliance Leader, and as a junior who respects your master, I formally make a proposal. Will you not remain in the Martial Alliance and establish the righteous spirit of the Righteous Path together with me?”
He was the Martial Alliance Leader, also called the head of the Righteous Path.
He was proposing to a mere applicant that they look toward the same place and move forward together.
Had someone in the Alliance heard it, they would have been shocked out of their wits.
However, Bukli Cheon was certain. Harboring ancient talent, this man before his eyes had learned martial arts from the foremost masters of the previous generation.
‘A being who will stir up a gale in the martial world in one way or another.’
If so, standing side by side with him and sweeping through the Unorthodox and Demonic Paths with a pure white gale of the Righteous Path was the right thing to do.
Because the Alliance Leader’s demeanor was exceedingly serious, Cheon Woo-jin also clasped his hands in greeting with an equally serious expression and posture.
“Yes, I will not.”
“Splendid. Naturally, if one is Senior White Elder’s disciple, one should… What?”
Alliance Leader Bukli Cheon blinked his eyes.
Simultaneously, his face was turning hot.
‘Good grief…’
For the past ten-odd years, he had been called one of the foremost swordsmen of the Righteous Path, and had ultimately become the leader of the Martial Alliance, the largest coalition under heaven.
Without background or connections, it was an achievement accomplished solely through his own abilities.
Even though Bukli Cheon always guarded against arrogance, the thought that a mere applicant could not possibly refuse his proposal was fundamentally underlying his mind.
Endeavoring to disregard the rushing embarrassment, Bukli Cheon asked.
“Why?”
Cheon Woo-jin answered right away without contemplation.
“It is troublesome.”
“…Huh?”
Alliance Leader Bukli Cheon wore a face of sudden realization.
Upon the blank paper named Cheon Woo-jin, Senior White Elder and Black Elder had painted their colors with all their might. They were two masters exceedingly different from each other, but there was a point where they were surprisingly alike.
‘Both of them were free spirits who disliked being bound.’
Even though Senior White Elder could have become the Alliance Leader if he had put his mind to it, he did not do so, and even though Black Elder could have inherited all of the Dark Emperor’s true teachings, he turned against him instead.
It was obvious what the disposition of their disciple, Cheon Woo-jin, would be like.
Gazing intently at such a Bukli Cheon, Cheon Woo-jin calmly continued speaking.
“Following my masters’ words, I merely stopped by because I wanted to confirm what kind of place the Martial Alliance was. I have no intention of dedicating myself here for eternity. At least, not yet.”
At the words ‘not yet,’ Bukli Cheon’s eyes opened wide.