Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Secret Meeting
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So Ye-rin had only gotten herself into trouble by mouthing off unnecessarily.
Getting whacked on the crown of her head by some random bastard?
It hurt like absolute hell, and since he'd used a wooden staff, the sound had been thunderous and her mood was downright foul.
And on top of that, he was the one calling it a waste!
What kind of lunatic was this guy? The fact that he'd come out of nowhere made her blood boil even more.
So Ye-rin's temper exploded to its limits.
Her rage surged straight to the top of her head, her breathing grew ragged, and her internal energy naturally began to circulate, causing her pure qi to leak out rapidly.
Even if she looked like an ordinary woman, So Ye-rin was an absolute master who had crossed the wall.
The aura emanating from her entire body was naturally anything but ordinary.
As an intangible force poured out from her, a surge of azure thunder qi automatically stirred within Cheongun's body.
Pzzzt—!
When the manifested energies clashed, a deafening ring like tearing eardrums echoed out.
The friction grew more intense, the sound swelling until her ears went numb.
But Cheongun's expression remained utterly calm.
He was used to this kind of psychic standoff.
Instead, he even smirked, gripping the sheath of the demon sword at his waist to activate his trait.
So Ye-rin, however, couldn't help but be flustered.
Her internal energy activating on its own with the property of thunder?
And wasn't this kid a greenhorn who had only recently crossed the wall?
Yet the depth of his internal energy was on another absurd level.
This was beyond peak realm—it was comparable to a transcendent realm master.
It was only natural.
With his trait activated, Cheongun wielded the natural qi pervading heaven and earth as his own internal energy, rendering him limitless.
Thus, even against another peak realm expert, the gap in internal energy would be vast.
At that moment, Cheongun briefly channeled the Heaven-Earth Primordial Unity Qi Art.
The natural qi permeating the surroundings lost control upon contact with his power, transforming into his internal energy.
Soon, all that energy crackled with pajik! sounds, taking on the azure property of thunder.
The moment Cheongun raised his power, the entire space took on the nature of lightning, pressing down on So Ye-rin. To her eyes, it was as if a heavenly deity had descended.
"What..."
A sigh escaped So Ye-rin's lips.
As far as she knew, Cheongun was around twenty this year.
For a boy not even out of his twenties to wield such internal energy?
It would be impossible even if he'd started cultivating from the womb.
This felt less like martial arts and more like immortal arts.
"..."
So Ye-rin looked at Cheongun with troubled eyes.
No matter that the Filth Gate wasn't a martial organization.
She was still the head of a major faction, yet feeling such a overwhelming gap in power left her flustered.
Only then did So Ye-rin let out a sigh and release her power.
It was a clear sign of surrender.
The explosive clash of auras subsided.
Cheongun murmured faintly.
"Victory."
"..."
You bastard! Crazy fuck! Piece of shit!
So Ye-rin ground her teeth.
After clawing her way to this position, the thought of handing everything over to this intruder who barged in out of nowhere made her eyes sting.
So Ye-rin panted heavily as she asked Cheongun.
"Do you really have to devour the Filth Gate like this to be satisfied?"
"I've already devoured it."
"..."
What the hell was this guy's thought process?
Did he have to be that insane to be this strong?
From the atmosphere, it seemed he wouldn't back down.
If she couldn't convince him, the Filth Gate could be snatched away in an instant.
The problem was that this wasn't your average madman.
For the first time since stepping into the jianghu, she felt true tension.
So Ye-rin stared at Cheongun.
"Let me make a proposal."
"Proposal? No need..."
Cheongun was about to flatly refuse.
But he held his patience and waited.
You never knew.
He might pull out something massive like that Yi Gun-baek last time.
As Cheongun trailed off, So Ye-rin seized the moment and cut in.
"Do you know that the Filth Gate is a faction formed by society's dregs?"
"I know."
"The Filth Gate disciples are mainly divided into five groups."
Cha (carriages), seon (ships), jeom (inns), gak (legs), a (fangs).
Cha refers to coachmen, seon to boatmen, jeom to inn boys, gak to porters, and a to human traffickers.
Their common trait: all were day-laborers living hand-to-mouth.
"They can't have strong bonds by nature. Yet the reason the Filth Gate exists as it does is because I'm at its center."
"So?"
"Suppose you take the Filth Gate Lord's position. Do you think the rest will accept it?"
No matter that might makes right, for these bottom-feeders, survival trumped loyalty.
When a strongman seized the organization, only the powerful were favored, while ordinary coachmen or boatmen were sidelined.
"And that's not all. The Filth Gate has dozens of businesses. Grasping them all would be tough, let alone devoting your whole life to it like I have."
"Hmm."
Cheongun couldn't give a firm answer.
Having sunk 20,000 hours into the original game, he'd started with the Filth Gate multiple times.
But as she said, its complex structure left no room for other factions.
"You'd want to absorb the Filth Gate as-is anyway."
"So, what's the proposal?"
At that, So Ye-rin grinned slyly.
"Filth Gate Lord? You take it. But I'll be Filth Gate Lord too."
Cheongun blinked both eyes, a rare reaction.
Co-leadership, then?
"Exactly! You keep living wild like now. Borrow the Filth Gate's name whenever you need it. Leave all the tedious admin to me."
"Just sucking the sweet juice, huh?"
"Quick on the uptake!"
Cheongun stroked his chin.
It was a pretty enticing offer.
"Above all, the Filth Gate isn't independent."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah. There's this faction called the Secret Conclave. You might not know."
"I know."
"What?"
So Ye-rin's eyes blinked at Cheongun's casual response.
The jianghu was rife with shadowy powers.
Among them, the largest was undoubtedly the Secret Conclave.
They operated perfectly beneath the surface, but if they emerged in force, they could upend the entire jianghu.
True to their shadowy nature, they stayed hidden, using the Filth Gate as a key front.
It started as a mutually beneficial partnership, but now the Filth Gate was essentially their subordinate.
"Even the Filth Gate dipping into human trafficking was because of them."
"Human trafficking, you mean?"
"Exactly."
Hmm, fair point.
To cleanly take the Filth Gate, he'd have to excise those shady parts.
Then So Ye-rin declared boldly.
"To fool the Secret Conclave's eyes, you'll need my help. What do you think of my proposal? You get the Filth Gate, and so do I!"
Cheongun fell into thought.
After weighing it from all angles, his conclusion was clear.
"Not bad."
"Good! Finally, we're talking sense!"
"But you're mistaken about one thing."
"What?"
Cheongun spoke in a bored tone.
"No need to fool the Secret Conclave's eyes."
"...You planning to go to war with them?"
"No, more like..."
How to explain this?
He just tossed out the conclusion.
"They're about to collapse soon anyway."
"...?"
"I leaked some info."
Info no one else knew.
Info only Cheongun, who'd played the original, knew.
Meanwhile.
"Heh heh."
Crimson Night Sword Sovereign Jin Mu-seong.
With hands clasped behind his back, he strolled along as if enjoying a leisurely outing.
In the middle of an empty wasteland stood a manor.
As he approached slowly, a flash flickered before him, and an old man in a bamboo hat appeared as if leaping through space.
It was so fast that the process itself seemed skipped, leaving only the result.
The old man scanned Jin Mu-seong up and down, then cupped his fists.
"This old one, at the age of a hundred, greets the Sword Sovereign of this era."
"Heh heh, no need for such formalities."
The bamboo-hatted elder subtly gauged Jin Mu-seong's mood.
A martial artist should show some flow of qi, but this old man before him had none detectable.
His form was merely hazy, like a soul wandering the nine heavens.
The elder swallowed hard and asked.
"What brings you all the way here?"
"I'll ask. Do you know the name Namgung Yeol?"
The elder nodded.
"That child is my disciple."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. The child of a close friend I've known since childhood. I wouldn't mind if she poked out my eyes."
The elder bowed his head and listened quietly.
"It was a while ago, but that child nearly died."
"..."
"Chased by the Darkwood Sect, she almost perished. If not for a mad youth from the Gold Ingot House passing by, she'd be dead."
"..."
"Isn't it strange? Who leaked that info?"
His words cut off there.
Jin Mu-seong pondered.
He'd initially planned to eradicate the Darkwood Sect scum.
But his disciple beat him to it, becoming their sect leader, making even that impossible.
Then one day, he heard from Cheongun.
The source of the leak about Namgung Yeol being a Darkwood Sect spy was none other than the Secret Conclave, one of the shadowy factions.
"You know, right?"
"Know what...?"
"You know."
"..."
As the elder glanced sideways, black shadows in bamboo hats poured out from all directions.
That was when it happened.
"Heh heh."
Jin Mu-seong chuckled and lightly waved his hand.
At the same instant, countless sword orbs materialized in the air.
They split and merged repeatedly, forming the shape of pristine white swords.
It was gleaming sword qi.
More precisely, sword orbs.
Soon, the sky was filled so densely with sword orbs that no blue was visible.
Anyone struck by them would be ground to dust, skin and bone alike.
The sudden sight left the bamboo-hatted men dazed.
"What is this?! Stop! We know nothing!"
"Shut up."
Jin Mu-seong's eyes flashed murderously as he cackled.
"Come, time to die."
As if on signal.
The heaven-filling sword orbs rained down like arrows.