Chapter 586: ...I have no intention of moving.
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 586: ...I have no intention of moving.
'This damn woman!'
Lee Jae-won felt a profound sense of betrayal toward Joo So-yang.
It was because she wasn't taking his side.
Who was Joo So-yang?
She was his first wife and the Matriarch of the Cheonmu Alliance.
So how could she not take the side of her husband, the Leader of the Cheonmu Alliance?
It was preposterous. It made no sense at all.
"I am aware that the Alliance Leader's arm has been severed. And I know well that you are grieving. However, even so, I cannot stand by and watch you dispose of him arbitrarily."
Joo So-yang continued, her expression calm.
"A proper verdict has not yet been reached regarding him. In such a situation, you intend to carry out punishment on your own? That is no different from a dictatorship."
Joo So-yang stared at Lee Jae-won with a sharp gaze as she spoke.
"My arm was cut off! Your husband's arm was cut off!"
Lee Jae-won glared at Joo So-yang with bloodshot eyes and screamed.
An uncontrollable rage surged within him.
Her words were the same kind of bullshit logic Lee Dae-gon and Heo Sam-gwan had used.
It was dog-shit not even worth listening to.
And now his own wife was spouting that same nonsense.
How could he not be furious?
"And yet you're defending that bastard? Are you in your right mind!?"
Lee Jae-won raised his voice, bellowing at her.
"I am not defending him... I simply wish for a proper verdict to be reached according to due process."
"You want to know what a proper verdict is? It's putting a goddamn hole in the throat of that bastard lying unconscious over there right now!"
"Isn't due process missing from that? Such an emotional decision by the Alliance Leader is nothing but tyranny."
"I am the supreme ruler of the Cheonmu Alliance! I will kill the bastard who cut off my arm as I please! Why are you trying so hard to stop me!"
Lee Jae-won pounded his chest in frustration and screamed.
He felt like he was going to get cancer from the stress caused by these damn Chinks constantly tripping him up.
"It is true that he severed the Alliance Leader's arm, but wasn't it the Alliance Leader who tried to kill him first?"
"I don't know how many times I have to say this. I never tried to kill him! As his senior, I merely intended to teach a junior some manners!"
Lee Jae-won spat out the lie with an expression full of grievance.
He hid his true motive: killing Jang Sun-woo, who was hogging everyone's attention, to reclaim the spotlight for himself.
"Did you not use the Heart Sword? What kind of senior disciplines a junior with the Heart Sword?"
Joo So-yang continued, her expression one of utter disbelief.
Lee Jae-won had tried to kill Sun-woo, even going so far as to use the Heart Sword.
And now he was playing innocent?
"Heart Sword? What are you talking about! I never used such a thing!"
Lee Jae-won screamed as if having a fit.
When it came to lying, momentum was everything.
To build that momentum, an expression of genuine victimhood and a "thief shouting 'thief'" style of yelling were most effective.
"You are lying, Alliance Leader."
Hearing his words, Joo So-yang spoke with a face that was cold as ice.
"What! Are you saying you don't believe me now!"
Lee Jae-won raised his voice even higher, roaring at her.
"You are telling such an absurd lie, so how can I possibly believe you?"
Joo So-yang looked at Lee Jae-won with eyes as cold as the bitter cold northern wind and opened her mouth.
"What!"
"I saw with my own eyes that the Alliance Leader used the Heart Sword, so how can you utter such a lie!"
Joo So-yang shouted, her face filled with anger.
Her irritation peaked at the blatant lie he was telling.
"How could you have identified the Heart Sword!"
Lee Jae-won spat out the words as if it were impossible.
It made no sense.
How could she feel a Formless Sword that couldn't even be seen?
Especially her, who had not yet reached the Half-Immortal Stage.
She had to be bluffing. It was definitely a bluff.
"Though I have not reached the Profound Realm, I can at least feel when someone has manifested their will to attack, Alliance Leader."
Joo So-yang continued with a calm expression.
"So how can you spit out such a ridiculous lie!"
Joo So-yang shouted as if rebuking him.
"............"
Hearing those words, Lee Jae-won shut his mouth tight.
He realized he had been caught red-handed, with no way out.
'Goddammit... seriously.'
Lee Jae-won cursed inwardly.
Unlike Heo Sam-gwan, who had judged it to be the Heart Sword based on the circumstances, Joo So-yang had directly witnessed the manifestation of his will to attack.
He realized it was futile to keep stubbornly denying it in this situation.
"Fine, you're right. I did try to kill him. Using the Formless Sword."
Lee Jae-won's eyes glinted with murderous intent as he continued.
"But what's the problem with that?"
Lee Jae-won asked her back, looking as if he truly didn't understand.
"What!?"
Joo So-yang asked back, her face aghast.
How could he be so shameless after trying to kill an opponent who had already surrendered?
"That bastard brought indelible disgrace upon me, the Leader of the Cheonmu Alliance. The prestige of the Cheonmu Alliance has been dragged through the dirt! I only tried to kill him for the sake of the Alliance's dignity!"
Lee Jae-won glared at Joo So-yang, his face flushed bright red.
"You mean for the sake of the Alliance Leader's ego."
Joo So-yang countered with a cynical expression.
"The Alliance Leader's dignity is the dignity of the Cheonmu Alliance! Upholding my honor is the same as upholding the Alliance!"
Lee Jae-won delivered his heated speech, the veins in his neck bulging.
In any group, if the leader isn't respected, the group looks pathetic.
If a man who isn't respected is made the leader, how ridiculous would the members under him look?
"You're wrong."
Hearing that, Joo So-yang shook her head.
"The Alliance Leader is not the Cheonmu Alliance. The Leader is just the Leader. Do not equate your personal honor with the Cheonmu Alliance."
Joo So-yang continued in a voice colder than the bitter cold northern wind.
"What!"
Lee Jae-won flared up.
He was enraged by Joo So-yang's attitude, which completely negated his argument.
"The Cheonmu Alliance is not an organization that exists for the sake of the Leader. It is a group for the realization of justice, one that reveres and practices chivalry. Do not mention such a place for the sake of your own honor."
Joo So-yang glared at Lee Jae-won with eyes full of fury.
The Cheonmu Alliance was not a private organization for Lee Jae-won's personal greed.
It was an organization for the realization of justice, where the world's chivalrous heroes gathered.
He should not abuse such an alliance for his own selfish desires.
Slap!
Snap!
A sharp cracking sound rang out, and Joo So-yang's head snapped to the side.
Enraged to the limit by her sharp tongue, Lee Jae-won had struck her fair cheek with all his might.
"You've finally gone mad! Joo So-yang!"
Lee Jae-won screamed, his face contorted with rage.
He was feeling an immense anger that he couldn't even begin to calm.
He felt as if everything he had achieved was being denied.
The Cheonmu Alliance was his own paradise, built for his own desires.
And yet, this bitch in front of him was denying that paradise to his face.
How could he not be angry?
How could he not be irritated?
"I am the Leader of the Cheonmu Alliance! I am practically the Alliance itself! And yet you spout such reckless words!? You, the woman who is supposed to be the Matriarch of the Alliance!?"
Slap!
Snap!
This time, Joo So-yang's head snapped to the other side.
His anger, fueled by a sense of betrayal, drove him to strike her cheek again.
He was feeling an overwhelming sense of betrayal.
Joo So-yang was the first wife he had ever taken.
She was also the first woman he had slept with, excluding Ok-ryeong.
And she was the first woman he had ever loved.
That woman...
The woman he had first loved...
Was now negating everything he had built.
How could he not feel betrayed?
He was furious. He was livid.
"You bitch!"
Slap!
Lee Jae-won struck her cheek once more.
Hitting her only twice wasn't enough to vent his rage.
She needed to be hit more. Much more.
'Yeah, fuck it. They say you have to beat black-haired beasts to make them listen! Especially if it's a Chinese bitch!'
Slap!
Snap!
Lee Jae-won struck her cheek again.
Her head snapped back to the other side, unable to withstand the sheer force of the impact.
Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!
Lee Jae-won began to use his hands even faster.
Powerfully, pouring all his rage into each strike.
Slap!
'Haaa... this is it...'
With every sharp crack that echoed, he felt his anger begin to dissipate slightly.
It felt as if his strength...
His superiority...
Was being proven.
Despite being over forty, Joo So-yang was still young and beautiful.
Furthermore, as a woman, she had reached a realm equal to or even greater than the sect leaders of the Nine Sects.
And yet, such a woman was being beaten helplessly by him.
This woman, born with such superior genes, was being trampled by him.
'Haaaa... this is the best...'
Lee Jae-won felt an immense sense of conquest.
A woman so superior that he wouldn't have even been able to look at her back in the modern world was now completely at his mercy.
He could beat her, and he could violate her.
It felt so good.
He wanted to hit her more.
He wanted to feel this sense of superiority even more.
Slaaaap!
How long had he been slapping her cheeks?
Eventually, Lee Jae-won slowly withdrew his hand, which was now stained with blood.
'Now I can breathe. Fuck.'
The base rage that had been coiling through his body had been somewhat resolved.
Lee Jae-won slowly raised his gaze to look ahead.
Before him stood Joo So-yang, her cheeks swollen red and her face covered in blood.
It seemed her delicate skin had been wounded by his violent touch.
'Did I go too far?'
Seeing her like that, Lee Jae-won felt a slight twinge of worry.
He thought she looked in worse shape than he had intended.
Joo So-yang was a woman who enjoyed absolute support from the elders of the former Murim Alliance.
Many had been moved by the character of the previous Alliance Leader, who had revered chivalry.
If it became known that Joo So-yang had been reduced to such a state, he began to worry that it might be politically disadvantageous for him.
'No, fuck it. I need to make an example of her so the others will crawl.'
But Lee Jae-won soon shook his head.
He decided that an example was necessary.
Lately, there had been too many bastards talking back or resisting him, which was becoming a nuisance.
Someone of Joo So-yang's stature would serve as a perfect warning to them.
'The wounds will heal quickly anyway.'
Since she was a master who had reached a high realm, such wounds were nothing.
A bit of rest and a few days, and she would be fine.
"Joo So-yang, watch your behavior. I am your husband and the Leader of the Cheonmu Alliance."
Lee Jae-won spoke as if giving a warning, looking at the battered Joo So-yang.
It was a warning to know her place and serve him.
Then, he began to move his feet again.
Now that he had finished venting his anger and "disciplining" her, he intended to achieve his original goal.
Step.
At that moment, the bloodied Joo So-yang moved.
She once again blocked Lee Jae-won's path, standing right in front of him.
As if she would not permit him to go any further.
"What is the meaning of this?"
Seeing this, Lee Jae-won's face crumpled into a scowl.
"......It's exactly.....what it looks like."
Joo So-yang spoke, enduring the extreme pain radiating from her cheeks.
"Haa... fuck... this is unbelievable..."
Lee Jae-won spoke with an expression of utter absurdity.
He was flabbergasted by Joo So-yang's attitude, blocking him again even after such a beating.
And soon, that absurdity began to turn back into rage.
Rage toward Joo So-yang for defying him yet again.
"Are you really not going to move?"
Lee Jae-won asked, staring at her with cold eyes.
"......I have no intention of moving."
"Haa... seriously... you keep making me the bad guy."
Lee Jae-won spoke with an irritated expression.
He had tried to be kind, at least to his wife.
But she just wouldn't help him.
How could he not be annoyed?
"Since you brought this on yourself, take it all. It's all your fault."
Lee Jae-won slowly raised his hand.
It seemed that what she needed wasn't discipline, but taming.
Vroooooom!
Soon, his entire palm was saturated with the Great Void One-Qi Art.
A massive amount of internal energy began to pour out incessantly.
'This should hurt like hell.'
Lee Jae-won nodded slightly, satisfied with the amount of energy gathered in his hand.
With this much internal energy, even Joo So-yang, who had reached the Upper Stage of the Transcendent Realm, would have no choice but to feel significant pain.
Whoosh!
Lee Jae-won swung his hand.
Toward her blood-stained cheek.
But then, Lee Jae-won was forced to stop his hand mid-air.
Shiver.
Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine.
Tingle, tingle.
And immediately after, a tingling sensation began to spread throughout his entire body.
'W-What!?'
In an instant, Lee Jae-won's face filled with bewilderment.
What on earth was happening?