Chapter 109
Chapter 109
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: Where's the First Place to Go? (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
At this time, among the people residing in the Murim Alliance, there was only one whom Nangong Yun called his little uncle.
'The Hundred Factions Council's Vice Chairman, Nangong Uk.'
The Hundred Factions Council was the Murim Alliance's consensus decision-making body.
'In simple terms, like a future congress or parliament? Hmm... maybe similar to the UN Security Council?'
It consisted of representatives from prestigious great sects forming the upper house and those from minor factions forming the lower house. Through meetings, they mediated major issues in the martial world or determined the Alliance's role within those matters.
If we imagine the current Murim Alliance as one massive person?
'Let me see.'
The Alliance Leader, who oversaw the entire Alliance territory, commanded the executive branch, and served as the face of the Alliance in external events, would be like the heart.
The Military Affairs Department, interpreting intelligence flying in from all corners of the land, was the right brain.
The Hundred Factions Council took those interpretations and made direct decisions, so it was roughly like the left brain.
'The rest are hands and feet.'
Though the Hundred Factions Council's Chairman was supposed to be concurrently held by the Alliance Leader, the Leader had a duty of neutrality, making the Vice Chairman the de facto head.
'If that old man is indeed Nangong Uk, then his position as Vice Chairman fits too.'
How long had I been lost in such thoughts?
Just then, a servant who had hurriedly followed laid out shoes for the barefoot old man, confirming my guess.
"Vice Chairman! You came without shoes!"
At the servant's words, Haseong, standing beside me, whispered slyly.
"Someone from the Murim Alliance called Vice Chairman must be the Hundred Factions Council's Vice Chairman, right?"
I tilted my head at whether the old man truly deserved the honorific 'sir,' and Yin Xia Lian seemed to share my sentiment, unconsciously muttering under her breath.
"Sir? More like a raccoon dog."
Well, it wasn't incomprehensible.
The Nangong family and Silver Radiance Merchant Group shared the same base in Anhui Province.
Haseong had learned the Nangong family's Heavenly Thunder Sword Art and its accompanying method, so they weren't without ties, and the Silver Radiance Merchant Group's position in the merchant world was unparalleled.
However, in the Hundred Factions Council, they could only belong to the lower house, and whenever interests overlapped, the Nangong family wielded vetoes at every turn, so bad blood was inevitable.
Still, it wasn't something for a merchant like her to voice aloud.
'Is it because I've gotten involved?'
The original Yin Xia Lian's personality had definitely changed a bit.
In any case, I brought my index finger to my lips.
"Shh."
Yin Xia Lian realized and clamped her mouth shut.
"...Ah."
Well, I'd just reined her in out of old habit.
It wasn't really a problem.
Her voice had been tiny, and over there, they were busy exchanging greetings between grandfather and grandson.
"Heh heh! Look at my absentmindedness! I forgot my shoes. Little Yun, this old man has been so scatterbrained lately!"
"Are you eating your meals properly?"
"Yes, yes."
And honestly, her description was spot on.
"So, are those kids your friends, Yun?"
Even now, it was evident.
There was a designated group leader for us from the academy.
'Nangong Uk couldn't possibly be unaware of that.'
It was an annual event, and with all the messengers and correspondence for background checks and schedule coordination, he absolutely knew.
So this old raccoon dog Nangong Uk, fully aware, had lumped the rest of us together as 'your friends' to subtly elevate Nangong Yun.
'Wow. What a sly old fox.'
Normally, when a grandfather like Nangong Uk opened that way, the grandson would respond, 'Yes, my classmates,' and introductions would follow.
But Nangong Yun, deflated from the journey here, seemed unsure if 'friends' truly fit our relationship with him.
"...Friends?"
He only muttered to himself.
Nangong Uk quickly chimed in.
"The introductions are late. I am this child's little uncle, once called the Thunderbolt Sword as I roamed the jianghu. Now, overly graciously, I hold the Hundred Factions Council's Vice Chairman position. I've droned on with this old man's empty title too long. Come in, come in, everyone. You must be tired from the long trip; let me treat you to some tea."
A kindly grandfatherly face.
The fame of Thunderbolt Sword, his blood tie as the Nangong family head's younger brother, and his title as Hundred Factions Council Vice Chairman.
Any naive person would have been charmed and crossed the Murim Alliance threshold at the old man's bidding.
But I wasn't naive.
"Lowly Murim Academy student Eon Yong-un greets the Hundred Factions Council Vice Chairman."
"Ah, so you're the one called Eon Yong-un?"
"I am grateful you pretend to know this lowly one's name. However..."
"You have more to say? Speak."
"Yes. According to the academy's briefed etiquette before departure, upon arrival, we begin the inspection by reporting the headcount to the Alliance Leader before the main hall. Thus, I gratefully accept your kind offer in spirit alone for now."
There was no need to mince words.
In this moment, I wasn't just the Murim Academy's lowly student Eon Yong-un; I was the academy's envoy to the Murim Alliance.
Representing the Righteous Martial Academy, age and personal hierarchy took a backseat.
'Plus, this is part of that sly fox's scheme.'
The same thing happened in the original story.
The group leader escorting the inspection team back then was Jeong Hyeon.
'In the original, Jeong Hyeon, true to his temperament, refused Nangong Uk's offer just like me.'
But Nangong Uk's true intentions, later revealed, showed that this small act of inviting them inside was layered with schemes.
'It won't work on me, though.'
Having devoured the original multiple times and hardened by human relations, my flawless response left Nangong Uk momentarily speechless.
My master, a novice in such matters, cleared his throat curiously and sent a mental question.
-What's with all the fuss over crossing a threshold? That Hundred Factions or whatever Vice Chairman seems high up, so if he allows it, isn't that fine?
'It's not that simple. Following that old man inside would skip the Alliance Leader entirely. For example, Master, if someone came to see you but greeted your servant Hyeok Ryeon-geum first and chatted laughingly in your room without paying respects to you...'
-Hyeok Ryeon-geum?
'Yes. Would that not annoy you?'
-It would piss me off, yeah. Heh, hiding such petty malice behind a trivial gesture.
Well, Alliance Leader Gongson Mu-gyeol, who laughed at Paeng Mu-hyeok's jokes, wouldn't sulk over something so minor.
But others wouldn't see it that way, leading to accusations from breaching etiquette to all sorts of ill talk.
'In the original, Nangong Uk keeps wheedling to push his scheme through, right?'
The gist was something like...
'The Leader is busy, so reporting might be delayed; wait inside and word will come; he's not one to nitpick procedures or hold grudges over such things.'
But here, something different from the original occurred.
'Well, me stepping up instead of Jeong Hyeon changes things from the start.'
In any case.
Zhuge Seolji, who had merely observed Jeong Hyeon's handling in the original, suddenly spoke up.
"Yun? As Young Master Eon Yong-un said, until we formally report the headcount to the Alliance Leader, we represent the academy here. Now that you've caught up with your grandfather, please return to formation?"
Hm?
At Zhuge Seolji's unexpected action, absent from the original, I consulted my master, who had encountered more types of martial artists than I.
'Why do you think Zhuge Seolji is acting up like that, Master?'
He replied confidently.
-He probably hates seeing that Nangong clan's old fogey belittle you, his inwardly acknowledged rival. When an ignorant geezer disrespects a rival you've lost to, it boils the blood sometimes—feels like it diminishes you too. Isn't Seolji that competitive type?
In any case.
At Zhuge Seolji's words, Nangong Yun flinched and returned to formation.
Nangong Uk then addressed the others, not me or Zhuge Seolji.
"Heh heh. You're embarrassing this old man. Do the other cadets agree?"
This was a ploy to test my leadership.
But everyone seemed satisfied with my command during the trip to Luoyang.
"This one shares Young Master Eon's view. As they say, a good start is half the battle—how could I carelessly begin the inspection just to rest a bit longer? We appreciate the concern, but thanks to Young Master Eon's leadership, we arrived safely and without fatigue."
Starting with Jeong Hyeon, who said the exact same line as in the original incident, the honorary little brothers including Dang Ok-gi, the other little brothers, and even the Blue Bamboo Hall cadets followed suit.
"I agree as well. Thank you for the consideration, Vice Chairman Nangong, but we'll excuse ourselves."
"Yes! I'll gratefully accept in spirit alone!"
Paeng So-jin and Paeng So-cheon.
"This beggar agrees with his fellow disciple."
Cheon Jang-ho.
And Nangong Yun...
"......"
...well, he said nothing.
Anyway, with everyone holding position, it worked out perfectly for me.
And at that moment.
As if watching from afar, Alliance Leader Gongson Mu-gyeol appeared crisply.
"The Alliance Leader arrives!"
At the Murim Alliance's south gate, the inspection group had arrived intact, and the reporting ceremony began to transfer our affiliation to the Alliance temporarily.
"Now, the cadet representative will report the headcount."
The Murim Alliance was such a busy place that few from the Alliance attended.
From the Leader's direct departments: the Secret Intelligence Bureau Chief who arrived with Gongson Mu-gyeol, the direct strike team's captain, and First Pavilion members.
A Military Affairs Department secretary handling the proceedings in place of the busy Grand Marshal.
Plus Hundred Factions Council Vice Chairman Nangong Uk, already present, and upper and lower house representatives filling seats late.
"Eon Yong-un, participating as cadet representative in this year's Righteous Martial Academy freshmen Murim Alliance inspection, hereby reports on behalf of the academy to the Alliance Leader."
"Report."
"Eon Yong-un plus nineteen others. Total twenty. No absences. Current headcount twenty. All arrived safely."
"You've worked hard coming here."
The procedure itself was simple.
But plenty of commoners had gathered for the spectacle.
"So, who's that Eon Yong-un whose rumors are everywhere, the current top cadet?"
"Hey, when they say 'Eon Yong-un and others,' isn't the guy himself Eon Yong-un? That tall, handsome young hero at the front must be him!"
"Heh, they say the world's top later-generation talent is so dashing, but now I see Eon Yong-un is no slouch either?"
"No wonder—his mother is the daughter of Shaanxi's Golden Peng, the famed Yi Yeong-yeong of the Three Beauties back then!"
"Whoa, the ceremony's over while you were yapping. I wanted to see Little Martial Phoenix Zhuge Seolji and Thousand Gold Smile Yin Xia Lian too! Anyway, young dragons and phoenixes, spread your wings wide!!"
"Spread them wide!"
In any case.
After the ceremony, we entered the Murim Alliance, leaving the cheering crowds behind.
Amid that, Nangong Uk, now stuck to Nangong Yun's side, said something that coincidentally reached my master and me.
"Yun. Don't lose heart. The spring inter-dormitory tournament values tradition, and you only competed in one match, right? Even that, this Eon Yong-un avoided a direct confrontation with you."
"......"
"Tsk. Why so deflated, lad? This inspection group has many Blue Bamboo Hall cadets, and that Eon Yong-un made them champions, so he's popular with other later-generation talents. But the people here in the Alliance will judge jade from stone objectively. The results will show soon enough."
My master sent me a question.
-Disciple, what did that Nangong clan's old coot say? Judging jade and stone objectively?
'Hm. Probably referring to the invitation plaque distribution.'
-Invitation plaques?
While inspections could extend with host approval, the basic schedule—excluding travel time—was exactly seven days.
To truly learn or experience something from each department meant allocating at least a day per, but with seven departments in the Alliance, covering all was impossible schedule-wise.
'So cadets apply to the places they want to inspect.'
-They also hand out plaques inviting visits?
'Yes. Righteous Martial Academy selects top talents for Alliance inspections, so departments offer plaques hoping we'll prioritize theirs. But to avoid burdening cadets, each department issues only one plaque. So with those...'
-The more you get, the more coveted a talent you are.
'Exactly.'
That was when it happened.
As I was explaining invitation plaques to my master.
People with "Alliance" embroidered on their belts but different badges approached, each holding an ivory plaque.
"Ahem. You've made time amid your busyness—good work."
Nangong Uk stepped forward with a cough.
"Some must be here for our Yun, right? My grandson might need help, so I'll accept a few on his behalf."
But Nangong Uk had completely misread the room.
"Ah, Chairman. Sorry, but our White Tiger Corps is here for Cadet Eon Yong-un."
"Elixir King's Hall seeks Cadet Eon Yong-un as well."
"Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise, Azure Dragon—you too?"
"...Yes."
Soup from kimchi.
Afterward, invitation plaques piled up on my hands like snow, and for some reason, my little brothers wore smug expressions.
"Even the direct strike team? First Pavilion Chief Myeong Tae-seong, you're here for Eon Yong-un too?"
"'Even' is a bit much—we've had our eyes on Cadet Eon Yong-un since before the academy entrance exam."
Nangong Uk staggered, blood pressure rising, but Myeong Tae-seong merely steadied his arm briefly before turning to me.
"Long time no see."
"Ah, yes, Pavilion Chief Myeong."
"Here's our department's invitation plaque. You'll come first, right?"
"Sorry, but I have a prior commitment."
"Heh. Us being pushed back? Where to first, then?"
Where else?
The Elixir King's Hall, flowing with milk and honey.