Chapter 74
Chapter 74
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Moon Shadow (4)
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Sudden appearance of Cheongun had frozen both Jin Mu-seong and Black Orchid in place.
Black Orchid had first declared a temporary surrender to sort out the situation, then immediately invited Jin Mu-seong and Cheongun's group to a formal secret meeting and prepared a place for them.
And so, now.
Silence flowed between Cheongun and Jin Mu-seong, who sat facing each other across a round table.
Jin Mu-seong spoke first.
"It's been a while."
"Your unworthy disciple greets his master."
Jin Mu-seong clicked his tongue.
He seemed quite flustered by Cheongun's sudden appearance.
"Have you been well?"
"It's still a century too early for my disciple to worry about his master. Rather, I should ask you— you've seemed to have your hands full."
Jin Mu-seong's eyes narrowed.
In truth, his concern was more than justified.
Wasn't he his precious direct disciple?
Every time that guy went rampaging around, Central Plains factions were getting wiped out one by one, shaking the entire martial world.
If you're going to go mad, at least do it quietly— but no, the kid was sweeping through everything while wearing every hat imaginable: division leader, sect master, chief inspector. It was a mountain of worry for him.
In fact, his anxiety went beyond that. The disciple had always resembled his younger self in his madness, so he constantly fretted that the boy might cross a line one day.
Of course, the disciple wasn't one to get pushed around anywhere, so the master had never sought out the disciple first.
But the rumors lately were far from ordinary, so once he finished his business at this secret conclave, he'd planned to fly straight to the kid on his flying sword.
But fate from three lifetimes apart, it seemed— the disciple had come to the master first.
Jin Mu-seong's expression grew subtle.
"What brings you here, Un?"
He seemed to be asking sternly at a glance, but his face betrayed an irrepressible smile of joy at seeing his disciple after so long.
"I have a request for you, Master."
"Is that so? Then what's with the hostage you brought along?"
"Moon Shadow. She's the Secret Conclave's info broker."
"...Moon Shadow?"
"Yes. Do you know her?"
"How could I not? Isn't she the leader's own sister?"
Jin Mu-seong let out a low chuckle.
"You caught her well. I was planning to track her down after cleaning up here and punish her myself, so this works out perfectly. Is that why you came to see your master?"
It was a ridiculous misunderstanding.
Jin Mu-seong had no idea that Cheongun intended to take over the Secret Conclave in fulfillment of his promise to Moon Shadow.
He simply thought that Cheongun, who had already provided info on the Secret Conclave and their bases, had gone the extra mile by dragging the leader's sister right to him— a sign of his deep devotion to his master.
With that, Jin Mu-seong suddenly grabbed Cheongun's wrist and checked his pulse.
The meridians had changed. The qi flow, the depth of the dantian— before, it had been like a raging river overflowing, but now it was a serene lake. Yet deep. Impossibly deep, calm, and pure.
It seemed like a minor shift, but it was a change on the level of heaven and earth turning upside down.
"...You've crossed the wall."
Jin Mu-seong smiled with satisfaction.
"Un, how old are you now?"
"Nineteen? Twenty? Not sure."
"Ha ha, how long has it been since you reached the peak, and you've already crossed the wall? Not even a few years have passed. Ha ha, even seeing it with my own eyes, it's hard to believe. Incredible, truly incredible."
"It's all thanks to my talented disciple."
"Bah! Without your master's hint on the path to crossing the wall, even your genius would have wandered for years more! It's all because of your master's great fortune!"
Honestly, it wasn't wrong.
Cheongun, at a loss for words, just nodded vaguely.
"Did the dual cultivation technique work?"
"No. Not at all."
"Hm, that can't be. Then how did you cross the wall? Your eyes don't show any demonic arts either."
"I obtained a Millennium Ice Crystal."
Jin Mu-seong exclaimed in admiration.
"You've had a stroke of fortune."
"Something like that."
Jin Mu-seong glared at Cheongun.
"Your aura and qi depth could pass for a Flower Realm master, but you're still hovering at the Transcendent stage. How far have you progressed in flying sword arts?"
"Up to Air-Seizing Grasp."
"Excellent. No matter how far past the peak you are, Air-Seizing Grasp requires innate sensitivity to qi. Your natural talent shone again. Gain one more enlightenment and cross the wall again, and you'll taste the true essence of flying swords."
He was so thrilled that his disciple had crossed the wall that he suddenly grew talkative and smiley.
"Alright, I've heard the updates. Now tell me— what brings you here?"
"Business with the Secret Conclave."
"Business? What kind?"
"Want to hear it?"
"Recite it."
The Secret Conclave would be annihilated if left as is.
By whom? His extremely pissed-off master.
Honestly, if the monstrous master before him had already resolved to smash the Secret Conclave, even Cheongun couldn't be sure he could stop it.
How do you block a madman who floated dozens of sword auras in the air and controlled them like drones?
"One thing I'm curious about first. What do you plan to do with the Secret Conclave?"
"What else? Erase it. Every trace, every existence."
"Figured as much. That's why I came."
"You came for that? Planning to stop your master?"
Cheongun nodded.
"Tell me your reason."
"I need the Secret Conclave."
"Need?"
"Yes. To stand against the Divine Cult, I need them."
For a moment, Jin Mu-seong let out a groan.
He knew his disciple was entangled in an unfathomably deep grudge with the Demonic Cult's vile spawn.
Any faction even slightly tied to the Divine Cult would set his eyes ablaze as he charged in— impossible not to know.
"I don't get it. If you need an info network, there's the Beggars' Gang and Filth Gate."
"Beggars' Gang is neutral."
"Still a sect under the Alliance."
"Being in the Alliance doesn't mean they'll help or have to. Plus, you know my relationship with the Beggars' Gang is rocky in many ways."
"What about Filth Gate?"
"Filth Gate's true nature is the Secret Conclave. Filth Gate without Secret Conclave is like red bean paste-less steamed buns."
Jin Mu-seong let out a deep sigh.
"So. For that reason alone, you're going to block your master from exacting his vengeance personally?"
Jin Mu-seong's anger gauge spiked instantly.
When a transcendent master who had crossed walls upon walls flew into a rage, the mere fact made the walls tremble, space vibrate, and air crush down on the body.
Under the immense pressure, Cheongun grinned sheepishly.
He smiled with the most innocent face he could muster.
At that sight, Jin Mu-seong's skyrocketing fury paused for a moment.
Right— no matter how impudent, he was still his disciple.
How deep must the grudge with the Demonic Cult be for this kid, who usually avoided his master like the plague, to come here bracing for a scolding?
Moreover, Cheongun was the one who first provided the Secret Conclave's intel to aid his master's revenge.
Sudden opposition like this must have its reasons.
Jin Mu-seong steadied his breathing with a "hoo."
His rage had somewhat subsided thanks to having already razed over half the Secret Conclave's bases on his way here.
Cheongun, who had been slyly gauging his master's mood, seized the moment and struck first.
"I'm sorry. But it's necessary."
"Hoo, fine. Alright. You're not one to do this without reason."
Jin Mu-seong waved his hand dismissively.
"The Secret Conclave is a trash organization that sells info to anyone— White Path, Black Path, Demonic— and dabbles in every filthy deed. What do you plan to do by taking them over?"
"Merge them with Filth Gate."
"And what changes then?"
"First, the Demonic Cult loses its info source. Meanwhile, we gain more ways to get theirs."
"And?"
"All the wealth they've hoarded comes into our hands. Obviously massive, given what they've been up to."
Jin Mu-seong's expression softened further.
"Selling to anyone and everyone, it won't be small."
"Exactly. More money is always better. Plus, I was heading to Dongting Lake anyway."
"Dongting Lake? What business in that den of depravity?"
"The Alliance wants me to find the Jinju Workshop."
"Just ignore it."
"I planned to at first. But there's signs of contact with the Demonic Cult. And if their corpse puppet arts fall into Demonic Cult hands, it'll be a huge pain. Dongting Lake is vast— who knows how many years it'd take to search it all?"
"Time is gold. Indeed."
"Right? And conveniently, the Secret Conclave is the only group that traded info with the Jinju Workshop."
Jin Mu-seong burst into hearty laughter.
"You'll need the Secret Conclave's help desperately."
"Yes."
"So, planning to take the Jinju Workshop the same way?"
"Nah, I'm no thug punk. Just sweet-talk them into not doing stupid stuff."
"Why not merge them all and found a sect?"
"Too much hassle."
"And yet you obsess over factions?"
Well, Cheongun's ultimate goal was overthrowing the Demonic Cult, after all.
Wasn't his active cheat mode called "Overthrow Demonic Cult"?
To Cheongun, factions were nice to have but not essential.
But to face the Demonic Cult properly, preparation was needed.
Having heard the explanation, Jin Mu-seong smiled all the more benevolently.
"Good. Quite reasonable. Alright, we'll do as you say."
Jin Mu-seong's gaze warmed further.
To eliminate the Demonic Cult's scum, his disciple had gone to such lengths— as a master, he couldn't hinder it even if he didn't cheer it on.
Seeing that look, Cheongun unwittingly relaxed.
Tension eased, and a sudden urge to chat bubbled up.
But Jin Mu-seong still had more to say, grinning at Cheongun.
"One last question."
Suddenly?
Cheongun listened attentively.
"Do you know what the martial world calls you lately?"
"What?"
"The Three Madmen. A title for the three craziest in the world."
"Ooh."
Jin Mu-seong continued grinning.
"Guess who the other two are."
"Who?"
"Don't you have that bald monk friend?"
"Jong Dae?"
"Yes. Bang Jong-dae. That's one."
"Then the last one?"
Jin Mu-seong chuckled at Cheongun's question.
"Me."
"...You?"
"Me."
"Master?"
Jin Mu-seong nodded.
"You're so mad, they figured your master who taught you must be worse, so they lumped us together."
"Ooh."
Cheongun exclaimed in admiration.
And unwittingly chattered on.
"That's not because of me, right? Master's past must be plenty flashy. Everyone thinks alike. As expected of Master. I'm still far from surpassing you, but..."
A vein bulged on Jin Mu-seong's temple.
And then— smack!!
With a crunching snap, Jin Mu-seong's fist came down on the crown of Cheongun's head.