A Name Carved in Chivalry
"Well now, you noticed me?"
"You didn't exactly try to hide yourself, did you?"
"Still, your companions seem to have been completely oblivious."
"I would appreciate it if you didn't lump me in with these two."
"Fair enough. You certainly don't seem cut from the same cloth."
A man ambled casually toward Namgung Yun and his companions.
"...A beggar?" Namgung Geol muttered under his breath.
With greasy, matted hair and tattered rags hanging from his frame, the newcomer was the very picture of destitution. Anyone would have dismissed him as a common vagrant, yet neither Geol nor Yeon dared look down on him.
Draped at his waist was a hemp cord woven with deliberate, measured knots.
"The Beggars' Sect..."
Alongside the Five Great Clans, the Nine Factions and One Sect formed the venerable pillars of the Orthodox realm—and that knotted cord was the unmistakable hallmark of the Beggars' Sect. What was more, there were seven distinct knots tied into the rope.
An Elder of the Beggars' Sect...
Even Namgung Yun had not anticipated crossing paths with an elder of their order in a place like this. Yet the encounter stirred not the slightest tremor of alarm within him.
Even back when I ruled the Divine Cult, I never paid any mind to the Beggars' Sect.
That had held true in his later years, when the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult reigned supreme over the realm, just as it had during the height of their bloody invasion of the Central Plains. The Beggars' Sect was famed not for individual martial prowess, but for the vast web of intelligence spun by its sheer multitude of members. When the Cult marched, the sect's role was largely confined to scouting invasion routes, tracking troop numbers, and identifying dangerous masters who demanded caution.
Naturally, beggars had swarmed like flies around the fringes of the invading forces.
At least, I never gave them a second thought.
What did it matter if they obtained intelligence? At most, they could deploy defensive garrisons along the path or prepare ambushes. And all of that could simply be shattered by force.
Mm-hmm. That is how the truly strong ought to act.
To cleave through every trial and adversity with a single blade—that was the true hallmark of authentic strength. Scheming to deceive the enemy or shifting tactics in response to their maneuvers had never suited the tastes of the man once known as the Unfeeling Sword Demon, nor had it appealed to the fiercest warriors of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
Thus, he had simply ignored the beggars trailing his vanguard. In truth, he had practically handed them information on a platter.
That way, they'd deliver strong foes right in front of our blades without delay.
That was not to say the Beggars' Sect was entirely devoid of combat capability.
Even in decline, they are still one of the Nine Factions and One Sect. They have had their fair share of masters.
As the sect boasting the largest headcount in the entire Central Plains, how could it lack talent entirely? Backed by legitimate martial arts legacies, they were fully capable of producing formidable experts.
And this old man is surely one of them.
Namgung Yun clasped his fists in a proper martial salute.
"Namgung Yun, a humble junior of the martial world, pays respects to Senior."
Namgung Geol and Namgung Yeon snapped to attention, hurriedly echoing his salute.
"Namgung Geol, a junior of the martial world, pays respects to Senior!"
"Namgung Yeon, a junior of the martial world, pays respects to Senior!"
"Bwahaha! With such fine pillars of talent, the future of the Namgung Clan—and indeed the entire Murim—is dazzlingly bright!"
"Pardon my presumption, but would Senior grant this junior the honor of knowing your esteemed name?"
"I am called Hong Jong."
A sudden jolt of tension flashed across Geol and Yeon's faces.
"It is an immense honor to meet the renowned Eccentric Outstanding Celestial Beggar of the martial world!" Geol blurted.
Yet in Yun's mind, the name rang no bells.
Did the original Namgung Yun have no recollection of this man?
Still, judging by the reverence painted across Geol and Yeon's expressions, the man was undoubtedly a figure of immense renown.
And that assumption was entirely correct.
The Eccentric Outstanding Celestial Beggar, Hong Jong. He was indeed one of the foremost masters representing the Beggars' Sect. Yet his fame was derived far less from his martial arts than from his peculiar inclinations.
He was a man who showed up wherever catastrophe struck, gleefully reveling in the chaos.
He insisted he acted out of senior duty to the Orthodox faction, lending aid to allies and arbitrating disputes between brother sects. In truth, he had notched a considerable number of genuine achievements. Yet his track record of pouring oil onto existing fires was equally formidable.
Above all, his mere presence was a harbinger of disaster—proof that a grave crisis had erupted—to the point that some martial artists treated him like a walking plague.
Whispers even circulated that his sobriquet should not be the Eccentric Outstanding Celestial Beggar, but rather the Eccentric Beggar Inciter.
Even the Beggar Sect Leader suffered unending headaches because of him. Yet Hong Jong's generational seniority exceeded that of the current Sect Leader, leaving the sect head powerless to rein him in.
"Mere empty flattery," Hong Jong chuckled, waving a dismissive hand in false modesty before fixing his gaze intently on Yun. "So, you are the rumored Namgung Yun."
"I know not what rumors have been circulating, but it is true that I am Namgung Yun of the Namgung Clan."
"No need to be so modest. There isn't a soul in the Jianghu today who doesn't know your name. Aren't you the one who struck down those legendary Jiangshi?"
"Whether the creator's skills were lacking or Jiangshi are inherently brittle creatures, it was hardly an arduous task."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. If you seek more detailed intelligence, you would be far better served inquiring directly with the clan."
"Weren't you the very person who stood on the front line? Wouldn't it be better to ask you directly?"
"To obtain a visceral, eyewitness account, speaking with someone on the scene is best. However, the true essence of any incident invariably lies behind the veil. The gathering, filtering, and synthesis of intelligence, along with the conclusions derived from it—those are rarely visible from the battlefield itself."
Having once presided over the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, Yun understood the true value of information better than anyone. While that might seem at odds with his disregard for the Beggars' Sect in his past life, ignoring intelligence by choice because of an ethos was vastly different from being ignorant of its power. Back then, he and his cult had simply conducted themselves according to their cherished doctrine: Respect for the Strong.
"As an Elder, you surely understand this far better than I, Senior."
"Heh, well said. Even in decline, I still hold the seat of an Elder in the Beggars' Sect, after all."
"If you wish, I can escort you to the clan estate."
"No need for that. The Murim Alliance is already looking into the matter, so I can review their reports later. Today, I simply came to catch a glimpse of you."
"If there is anything you wish to ask, I will answer."
"Nay, that is quite all right. It's not that I have no questions, but interrogating you out in the open like this wouldn't satisfy my curiosity anyway. For today, meeting you in person is enough. We shall meet again."
With that, Hong Jong turned on his heel and sauntered away, his ragged silhouette vanishing down the road.
"...Why on earth did he come all this way?" Geol asked, scratching his head.
The elder had probed with a few pointed remarks, yet he had departed without obtaining anything substantial.
He said he came to see Hyung-nim, but... To exchange merely a few pleasantries and vanish felt thoroughly bizarre.
"Is there any need for us to dwell on it? If he wants something, he will seek it out in his own time," Yun said casually.
Whether the Eccentric Outstanding Celestial Beggar was an elder of the Beggars' Sect or not meant nothing to the current Namgung Yun.
"Let us return to our duties."
"Yes, Hyung-nim!"
"Understood!"
Flanked by his two cousins, Yun resumed his daily patrol through the streets.
Having parted ways with Yun's party, Hong Jong strolled lazily until he reached a narrow stream skirting the edge of the city. Beneath a stone bridge spanning the water sat a crude hovel, pieced together from discarded timber and rotting reeds.
Hong Jong pushed aside the coarse straw mat serving as an entrance and stepped inside.
"Wake up, you lazy hound!"
A solid kick landed right on target.
"Aargh!"
A beggar sprawled across the dirt floor jolted awake, clutching his ribs where Hong Jong's foot had connected.
"Who the hell dares—!"
His furious bellow withered instantly the moment his eyes registered Hong Jong's face. He tucked his tail between his legs with practiced speed.
"A-Aigoo, Elder! If you have business, couldn't you simply wake me with words? Why must you kick a man?!"
"A beggar who can't even be bothered to beg, snoring like a pig in broad daylight? Have you lost your mind?!"
"Elder, do you think I was sleeping for fun?! I've been running ragged gathering intelligence these past few days! My limbs were about to fall off, so I only closed my eyes for a fleeting second—!"
"You impudent scoundrel! Do you think I don't know you dump all the actual labor onto your underlings while you slack off?!"
"Oww!"
A heavy knuckle crashed down upon the beggar's skull, bringing stinging tears to his eyes.
Hong Jong trudged across the hovel and slumped onto a worn reed mat. The bruised beggar crept forward with cautious deference, kneeling across from him.
"So... where have you been, Elder?"
"I went to take a look at that Namgung Yun boy."
"Ah. The Little Chivalrous Hero."
Hong Jong let out a hearty belly laugh.
For a youth of Yun's age to have already earned a martial sobriquet was rare indeed, but that was not what amused him. The true novelty lay in the title itself.
"A chivalrous hero... Just how long has it been since someone bore the word 'chivalrous' in their sobriquet?"
"At least in my lifetime, I have never once heard of such a thing."
This was an era where even the Orthodox sects had cast aside righteousness and chivalry to worship raw might alone. In today's Jianghu, righteousness and chivalry were scoffed at—derided as naive, obsolete relics of a bygone age.
Yet now, a youth had emerged bearing a title that explicitly proclaimed him a hero of chivalry.
Even in the days when the Orthodox faction genuinely revered righteousness and chivalry, precious few ever had the word bestowed upon them.
What made it all the more remarkable was that this title had not been concocted by clan elders or fawning sycophants to inflate the boy's reputation. It had been granted organically by the ordinary common folk, deeply moved by his deeds.
"Have you finished your investigation into Namgung Yun?"
"I gathered what I could, Elder, but there is shockingly little to find. He only began distinguishing himself very recently. In the past, far from displaying martial prowess, he was treated as an outright castaway by his clan."
"Isn't the boy the Patriarch's own flesh and blood?"
"He is. And yet, by all accounts, he was an incorrigible coward. In his early childhood, he showed a glimmer of talent and briefly raised expectations, but that faded in the blink of an eye. Until recently, he was known as the disgrace of the Namgung Clan—openly humiliated and tormented."
"And such a boy suddenly advanced by leaps and bounds, even resolving a Jiangshi crisis single-handedly? What, did he stumble upon some miraculous encounter?"
"That seems exceedingly unlikely. One has to actually roam the world to encounter serendipity. The boy was confined within the clan estate the entire time. There is simply no way he chanced upon an ancient legacy or rare elixir. However..."
"However what?"
"The instigator behind the Jiangshi crisis, Seo Won-gil, once treated Namgung Yun. It was immediately following that treatment that Yun began displaying absurd strength."
"Do you suspect a connection?"
"Hard to say. Personally, I believe it was nothing more than sheer coincidence."
"Your reasoning?"
"If Seo Won-gil possessed the power to bestow such strength, would he have been wandering around with a handful of rudimentary Jiangshi that a single First-rate master could wipe out?"
Hong Jong conceded the point with a nod.
"Just how fast did Namgung Yun's cultivation progress?"
"Only a month ago, at his age, he was still languishing in the Third-rate realm. Now, he appears to have crossed beyond the entry stage of the First-rate realm."
"Hoh. That is terrifyingly swift."
Small wonder rumors were running rampant about secret legacies or illicit dealings with Seo Won-gil. Even Hong Jong, having traversed the four seas and witnessed countless wonders, found the thought crossing his mind.
"Still, as I mentioned, it is far more probable that his dormant talent simply bloomed. When he was brought to Seo Won-gil for treatment, he had been beaten black and blue, lingering unconscious for days on end. Perhaps brushing against death shattered his shell and triggered a complete transformation of his mindset."
"Indeed. For a martial artist, a shift in heart can overturn heaven and earth." Hong Jong nodded in agreement. "Still... who could have beaten a child of the main family so savagely?"
"One of his own clan kin. A youth named Namgung In—Yun's older cousin, and the son of the Azure Sky Single Sword."
"Namgung Myeongcheon? The Patriarch's younger brother?"
"The very same."
"Good grief. No matter how much of a disgrace they considered him, to beat your own blood cousin within an inch of his life?"
"It seems Namgung Yun had made himself an unbearable thorn in their side."
"Why? What did he do?"
"He went around loudly declaring that true members of the Orthodox faction ought to uphold righteousness and chivalry."