I Will Walk My Own Path
After hardening his resolve,
Han Cheong-un moved quickly.
The very first thing he did was...
"You're leaving?"
"Yes."
...quitting the Wulin Alliance.
Taken in by the Wulin Alliance as a homeless orphan, Han Cheong-un had lived his life as an apprentice warrior.
Now, he was suddenly declaring his departure.
The instructor in charge of the apprentices frowned.
"What is the meaning of this all of a sudden?"
"Exactly what it sounds like. I am leaving the Wulin Alliance."
The instructor's brow furrowed even deeper. Then...
"Do you think you can just leave whenever you please?"
"Yes."
The reply came without a shred of hesitation.
As the instructor faltered, caught off guard, Han Cheong-un asked nonchalantly,
"Why wouldn't I be able to?"
The instructor flared up and shouted,
"Do you think the Wulin Alliance is some low-life street gang that anyone can just wander in and out of?"
"..."
"There is a limit to how much you can mock the Alliance Code! How dare you spout such nonsense!"
The instructor bellowed, trying to intimidate him.
But Han Cheong-un didn't even blink.
The Alliance Code?
What a joke.
Did this man have any idea?
Did he know that the teenager standing before him had spent decades in the Alliance and had risen to the rank of squad leader?
Han Cheong-un smirked inwardly before speaking.
"Although I was taken in by the Alliance, I am still just an apprentice warrior, not a formal member."
"Even so..."
"And there is no regulation in the code that allows the Alliance to restrict the movements of someone who is not a formal member."
"W-what?"
The instructor stammered.
Han Cheong-un had cited the Alliance Code with absolute precision.
Publicly, the Wulin Alliance took in and cared for orphans purely as a charitable act to help unfortunate children.
Of course, the reality was different.
The children raised by the Alliance were graded based on their training performance. They were either employed as Alliance warriors or sold off as escorts for merchant escorts or soldiers for the military.
However, the Alliance could not publicly admit to raising children to use as military assets. Therefore...
"Once someone consumes the Lesser Clearing Pill, they are obligated to repay the Alliance's grace. To leave after that, they must undergo Severing Tendons and Rupturing Meridians to return the martial arts they received."
"..."
"But as of right now, I have no obligation to return anything to the Alliance."
"..."
The instructor's mouth flapped open and shut like a fish.
How does this brat know the Alliance Code so well?
To the utterly bewildered instructor, Han Cheong-un added,
"Ah, and according to the code, isn't there a clause that states a stipend must be provided to apprentice warriors who choose to become independent at an early age?"
"W-what?"
That was something even the instructor didn't know.
Looking at the panicked man, Han Cheong-un smirked.
"Article 8, Clause 7 of the Alliance Code."
"..."
"Feel free to look it up."
"..."
A short while later.
Han Cheong-un walked out of the Wulin Alliance's apprentice dormitory.
In his hand, he held only a single small pouch.
"Ten taels of silver."
Han Cheong-un chuckled.
The stipend he received was enough for an ordinary citizen to live frugally for about three months.
"This should cover my travel expenses."
Honestly, he was far more pleased by the look on the instructor's face—as if he had just chewed on a sour persimmon—than the money itself.
Having an apprentice leave his dormitory was already enough to warrant a reprimand, and now he had even been squeezed for money...
"Pfft..."
It felt great.
"It's not even that much..."
Yet, he couldn't stop his lips from curling upward.
The fact that the very first thing he did upon deciding to live a new life was swindle the Wulin Alliance brought him immense satisfaction.
But this was only the beginning.
To start his new life, the absolute first thing he needed to do was acquire power. Therefore...
"Let's go. To Guizhou."
His first destination was Guizhou.
Guizhou.
It was the territory of the Blood Hand Sect, one of the Sado-palmun.
Under normal circumstances, no member of the Orthodox faction would dare set foot here.
Yet, a young boy carrying a spear slung over his shoulder appeared in this very place.
"It took longer than I thought."
Naturally, it was Han Cheong-un.
He had suffered far more than expected on his journey here after leaving the Wulin Alliance.
His mistake had been setting off empty-handed in his haste to get moving.
Not long after he began his journey, he had run straight into bandits.
"Bwahaha! Hand over everything you have, and we might just spare your life!"
It was absurd.
To think a pathetic band of only four or five bandits would target him.
"If you don't want to die, run away. Then I might just spare your lives."
The bandits were dumbfounded by Han Cheong-un's calm provocation.
What was this kid, who looked barely wet behind the ears, relying on to act so cocky?
One of them, who seemed to have some backbone, stepped forward and shouted,
"I'll teach you a lesson!"
Standing a full head taller than average and wielding a massive falchion, the burly man looked like he was born to be a bandit.
He judged that he could easily cleave this kid, who was barely half his size, with a single stroke.
"Die!"
But his judgment was fatally flawed.
The moment the blade swung down, Han Cheong-un moved.
Or rather, to be precise, only Han Cheong-un was moving.
Domain.
It was a supernatural power Han Cheong-un had acquired as a reward for surviving a living hell in his past life.
When he activated this power, time slowed down for him.
The world transformed as if submerged deep underwater, and within it, only Han Cheong-un could move, albeit with some difficulty.
In the past, through relentless training, Han Cheong-un had been able to take three steps within the Domain.
Having a three-step advantage in actual combat was an overwhelming edge.
With this ability, he had even slain martial artists who were two realms higher than him.
So, against a mere bandit like this...
"Huh?"
Han Cheong-un gasped in shock.
He couldn't move.
Well, it wasn't that he couldn't move at all, but he was moving far too slowly compared to his prime.
The self that once freely strode three steps within the Domain was nowhere to be found; now, taking even half a step was a struggle. Soon...
"Ugh..."
The Domain shattered.
At the same time, the attack aimed at the crown of his head narrowly grazed his forehead as it swept past.
"Heh. You managed to dodge that. But you're not out of the woods yet!"
Another attack followed immediately.
Han Cheong-un grit his teeth.
Activating the Domain consecutively placed a heavy burden on his body, but now was not the time to be picky.
Once again, the world slowed down as if submerged in water.
The opponent was frozen, but he...
Damn it, why am I so slow?
He could barely manage a tiny movement.
Deciding he had to make the most of even this, he positioned his hand along the optimal trajectory. As a result...
Thud!
"Aaargh!"
The sword-wielding bandit screamed.
Han Cheong-un's palm strike had driven upward into the bandit's elbow.
A palm strike that precisely targeted the joint.
Normally, the arm should have shattered.
Unfortunately, Han Cheong-un lacked the destructive power to achieve that now.
"Damn it, so you know a trick or two, huh?"
The bandit snarled, looking vexed.
And Han Cheong-un...
"This is driving me crazy."
...truly had nothing to say.
He was struggling against a small-time thug who could barely even be called a third-rate martial artist.
He couldn't believe this reality. What was worse...
"Hey! This kid's got some moves. Attack him all at once!"
The situation grew even worse.
One was already a handful, and now the rest of them were joining in.
Even for a legendary hero of the Orthodox faction who had once shaken the world, this was a crisis.
"Pant... pant..."
Han Cheong-un gasped for breath.
He looked back, but there was no one there.
It seemed he had successfully escaped.
Relieved, Han Cheong-un muttered,
"I'm glad I quit the Wulin Alliance."
He didn't have to worry about the Alliance calling him a coward or weak for running away from bandits.
If the odds were against him, he could just run.
That was fine. It was fine, but...
"Damn it, to think I've become this powerless."
It was frustrating.
That he had to flee so pathetically from such low-level thugs.
He possessed the experience and insights of his past life.
And his supernatural ability remained. But the physical power required to utilize them was severely lacking.
His internal energy was practically non-existent, and his body, which hadn't finished growing, lacked physical strength.
The only reason he had survived was thanks to the remnants of his supernatural power.
Yet, he couldn't even manifest that to his satisfaction. As a result...
"I almost died."
Even when he deployed the Domain, taking half a step was his limit, let alone three.
And the stamina drain from using the Domain was far greater.
After using it just three times, it felt like his heart was going to burst.
In the past, he could have used it over thirty times a day.
"Whew..."
In any case, he was alive.
And he had learned a valuable lesson.
The memories of his past self were so dazzlingly brilliant that he had been ignoring reality...
"Right now, I am weak."
The Murim was a world where the strong devoured the weak.
A weakling could do nothing. Forget carrying out one's will; even keeping oneself alive was a struggle.
So, what kind of audacity had possessed him to set off on a journey all by himself?
Arrogance and carelessness.
Today's humiliation was a fitting price to pay.
"Han Cheong-un, you idiot..."
Afterward.
Upon arriving at a town, Han Cheong-un bought a weapon first.
It was an extremely ordinary spear, but it was enough.
Experience taught him that simply carrying a weapon was enough to deter most petty thugs.
He also ensured his safety by tagging along with merchant caravans, helping them carry luggage along the way.
He accepted his weakness and did everything he could to stay safe.
Perhaps because of that?
He was indeed able to reach Guizhou Province without any major incidents after that.
"Well, I made it this far."
Han Cheong-un let out a sigh of relief.
He had achieved his primary goal of safely arriving in Guizhou.
He had decided to abandon the Orthodox path.
But to live this life without regrets, he still needed power.
Unless he planned to leave the Murim entirely...
And since he had no intention of doing so, power was essential. What the martial artist Han Cheong-un needed most desperately right now was...
"Internal energy."
External techniques required his body to grow more and could only be built through continuous training.
That meant he needed time.
The same was true for internal energy, fundamentally.
However, when it came to internal energy, there was a shortcut to gaining it all at once without diligent cultivation.
"Which is why I came to Guizhou."
For now, he needed to rest today and start moving in earnest tomorrow.
Han Cheong-un checked into a shabby inn, washed his body with cold well water, and collapsed onto the bed to sleep.
As he lay down, the pungent smell of sweat wafted up from the sheets.
What could one expect from a lodging that cost only five copper coins? But...
It's fine.
Right now, he just needed to relieve the fatigue in his body.
And if his plan went smoothly, today would likely be the last.
The last time he would close his eyes as a weakling.
The next day.
Han Cheong-un went to a nearby market and bought a few days' worth of dry rations, beef jerky, and a long rope.
With this, the stipend he had squeezed from the Wulin Alliance was completely gone.
At this moment, Han Cheong-un was officially penniless.
Yet, Han Cheong-un left Guizhou Province without hesitation. He stepped straight into the desolate mountains.
From here on, it's critical.
Two years from now.
Countless martial artists, both Orthodox and Unorthodox, would gather here in Guizhou and trigger a bloodbath.
An event that would come to be known as the Guizhou Bloodbath.
The cause was a spiritual elixir discovered by a herb gatherer.
The gatherer was just a simple man digging for herbs in the mountains when, one day, he stumbled upon something astonishing.
Human-Shaped Heavenly Ginseng.
A treasure counted among the rarest of spiritual elixirs, capable of granting at least sixty years of inner force the moment it was consumed.
It was only natural that the people of the Murim would lose their minds over it.
The herb gatherer who first discovered it and his family were quickly found dead.
Afterward, torrents of blood flowed because of martial artists blinded by greed for the elixir.
The Wulin Alliance, unwilling to stand by and watch, dispatched an investigative squad.
"Investigative squad, my foot..."
Climbing the mountain path, Han Cheong-un smiled bitterly.
He knew the situation back then all too well.
Because back then, he had been one of the low-ranking warriors in the investigative squad sent by the Wulin Alliance.
It was his very first mission after becoming a formal Alliance warrior, so it was impossible to forget.
Han Cheong-un had investigated the case diligently.
How the old herb gatherer had first found the elixir, who he had revealed it to, and who had brutally murdered him and his family.
When he meticulously investigated those details and reported them, the leader of the squad had said:
"That is not what's important."
"Excuse me? Then what is...?"
"What matters most right now is who currently has the Human-Shaped Heavenly Ginseng. Find that out!"
...the leader had said.
In truth, the investigation was merely a convenient excuse.
From the very beginning, the Wulin Alliance's sole objective was securing the Human-Shaped Heavenly Ginseng.
Han Cheong-un, who had investigated everything literally without realizing this, had been treated as a clueless fool.
"What a shitty memory."
It truly was.
But thanks to that...
"I know the exact location of the elixir."
Han Cheong-un's lips curled into a wide smirk.
