Chapter 102: Chun-bong's Return (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 102: Chun-bong's Return (1)
Jang-geuk was speechless.
To be honest, it wasn't that he couldn't understand the man's reasoning—he was just utterly dumbfounded.
"Bwahaha...! My bad, my bad. But come on, no matter how you look at it, you look like a damn bandit. How could I not misunderstand?"
Fist King Pae Jin-gwang. This monstrous man claimed he had attacked because he thought a bandit was trying to kidnap someone.
"I told you exactly who I was. Several times."
"And I said I was sorry! When you get to my age, people's words don't enter your ears so easily, you know?"
Pae Jin-gwang let out a boisterous laugh, his massive frame practically spilling out of the chair he had squeezed into.
Good grief.
Internally, Jang-geuk breathed a sigh of relief. After all, this man was a monster on par with his Lord. In fact, he was a monster who had been roaming the martial world for over a century.
Actually, if they were judging based on who was less human, his Lord was definitely the bigger monster... but that didn't matter right now.
It was enough just to be grateful they had moved past this without a bloodbath.
"Anyway, Ji-baek, are you alright? You look like hell. Why did a soft-hearted fellow like you get dragged into a war zone?"
"I am fine."
Ji-baek lowered his head slightly. Just as Pae Jin-gwang noted, his face was as pale as a ghost; he didn't look fine by any stretch of the imagination.
However, that was a wound of the heart, not the flesh. It was a burden he had to overcome on his own.
"By the way, Senior, did you come here after receiving word from the Murim Alliance?"
At Namgung Chang-hwi's question, Pae Jin-gwang shook his head.
"No? I just followed my gut."
"I... see."
"You're old enough to know better, yet you still trust the Murim Alliance's way of doing things? Even if that Jegal fellow works his ass off, his hands are tied. What authority does the Murim Alliance even have to make others listen?"
"Huh? Then what about me?"
Everyone's gaze shifted toward the sudden voice.
Flutter—
The tent flap was pulled back, and a man stepped inside. Jang-geuk's eyes widened. Didn't he just collapse earlier?
"Lord! Is it really alright for you to be up already?"
"Yeah, well. I'm perfectly fine. It's not like I suffered any major injuries."
At Seo-jun's words, Pae Jin-gwang laughed loud enough to burst their eardrums.
"Bwahahaha...! You're the only person in the world who could say that after getting his head lopped off!"
"H-head lopped off...!?"
Jang-geuk, who hadn't seen the details of the battle clearly, was horrified. Seo-jun, however, remained completely shameless.
"In life, your head might get lopped off once or twice. I just slapped it back on, and it stuck. See?"
"Wait, is that even allowed?"
"Why wouldn't it be?"
"Isn't it naturally supposed to not be allowed...?"
"Eh, whatever."
Seo-jun chuckled and plopped down into one of the remaining chairs.
"Anyway, more importantly."
"It's not just an 'anyway'!"
"Hush, Uncle Jang-geuk. Quiet!"
Seo-jun waved him off and turned to Pae Jin-gwang.
"As far as I know, I was dispatched here at the request of the Murim Alliance too. Are you saying the other sects just ignore the summons when they arrive?"
"Exactly. Well, it's not like they can help it. No matter how great a sect is, everyone is short on manpower these days."
"That's ridiculous. Then what about the Black Lotus Union?"
"That's a different story. Unlike the Murim Alliance, the Black Lotus Union is a singular power that reigns supreme over the Evil Sects."
"Aha."
Seo-jun nodded brightly. He felt like he should seriously consider defecting to the Demonic Cult.
"However... things are going to change quite a bit from now on. You know how it is during wartime. Surprisingly, those Righteous Faction bastards tend to band together pretty well when push comes to shove."
Seo-jun gave a rough nod and slumped deeper into his chair. His body felt heavy; his condition clearly hadn't returned to normal yet.
Because of that, he had zero desire to listen to any more headache-inducing politics.
Technically, it was rude of him to barge into a meeting and act like this, but... so what? He had made a massive contribution to the battle. He deserved at least this much slack.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Hmm?" Pae Jin-gwang gave a hearty nod. "Sure. In exchange, let me ask a few things too."
"Wait, I only have one question. Why do you get to ask several?"
"Then don't ask."
"Ugh...!"
Pae Jin-gwang stared blankly at Seo-jun. Seo-jun clicked his tongue.
Where did Aka go?
If it were Chun-bong, she would have played along with the banter.
Grumbling, Seo-jun asked, "Anyway. Are you really only at the Second-rate Realm, old man?"
"Huh? Well, if you have to categorize it, yeah. Why? You curious about that?"
"Of course I am."
Even if a martial artist's Realm and their actual combat power were two different things, common sense dictated that raising one's Realm was the fastest way to get stronger.
Why bother twisting your body into knots trying to maximize Sword Qi when you could just break through to Sword Astral Qi and crush everything with sheer power?
Hearing Seo-jun's words, Namgung Chang-hwi let out a hollow laugh.
"It would be best if you didn't say such things elsewhere. If martial artists who are stuck at a bottleneck heard you, they might try to kill you, Young Master."
"That's just because they don't put in enough effort."
"Ugh..."
Namgung Chang-hwi pressed a hand to his forehead in exasperation. Pae Jin-gwang laughed at the two of them, then flexed his arm, causing his massive muscles to bulge grotesquely.
"Kid, look at this. What do you think?"
"It's gross."
"Hey now... this is exactly why I can't stand people who only dig into internal arts!"
Pae Jin-gwang stood up abruptly and struck a bodybuilding pose. His massive, undulating muscles were clearly defined like carved granite. Seo-jun grimaced.
"Ugh."
"This is muscle! You hear me? It's the exact same as internal energy! If you can do it with internal energy, you can do it with muscle!"
"Wow, really?"
Seo-jun gave a half-hearted response, but he couldn't actually bring himself to deny it.
After all, wasn't this the same crazy old man who had shattered space with a simple punch? He had already proven his own words.
"Oh? Wait a minute. But your actual Realm is still Second-rate."
"In terms of the Realm of Muscle, you could say I'm practically at the Transcendent Realm!"
"No, stop bullshitting for a second. What about your lifespan, then? You can't do anything about that without raising your actual Realm, right?"
Pae Jin-gwang scoffed.
"Didn't I just tell you! Muscle is the same as internal energy! Sufficiently developed muscles can overcome aging itself!"
"What the hell is he even talking about, seriously."
It made absolutely no sense.
Of course, Seo-jun was the only one in the room completely oblivious to the fact that everyone else looked at him with that exact same expression.
Seo-jun glanced at the people around him. After a brief moment of hesitation, he asked, "By the way, did you see it?"
At the vague question, the others gave him puzzled looks.
However, Pae Jin-gwang, who strangely understood perfectly, spoke up.
"Are you talking about the Emperor Sword Form?"
"Ugh, this crazy bastard, seriously."
Seo-jun had a minor fit, but Pae Jin-gwang just snorted.
"Nobody cares anyway. Except for the Namgung lot. Those old farts over there might have a stroke, though."
Seo-jun raised his middle finger at the Fist King, then looked over at Namgung Chang-hwi.
The man gave a bitter smile and nodded.
"Quite a few people probably saw it."
"Damn."
Was this going to get annoying? Just as Seo-jun started to worry, Namgung Chang-hwi spoke up again.
"I will try to keep word from spreading as much as possible, but even if it does, there likely won't be any major trouble."
"Really? It doesn't seem like something that would be brushed off so easily."
"Of course, if it reaches the ears of the Elders or the masters of the previous generation, they might try to cripple your Dantian and cut out your tongue and wrists."
"What the... Hey, you just said there wouldn't be any major trouble!"
"And in response, the Family Head would challenge them to a Life-and-Death Duel. Seeing as the Family Head even taught you the Emperor Sword Form, it seems he truly regards you as family. And the Family Head is the type of person who would storm the Black Lotus Union all by himself if someone touched his family."
"Wow."
As expected of my father-in-law. Seo-jun clapped in admiration.
However, Pae Jin-gwang tilted his head.
"That airhead? Is the current Namgung Family Head still Namgung Jin-cheon?"
"Hey, you bastard. What did you just call my father-in-law?"
"Hoho, you little brat. I've known that fellow since he was a babe in arms."
"What a total fossil..."
"Fossil? What's that?"
"You don't need to know, old man."
Seo-jun ignored Pae Jin-gwang's confusion and gave a bright smile to the rest of the room.
"So, when are we going home?"
*
To make a long story short, they were finally able to leave Daedong Prefecture about four days later.
The martial artists who arrived for the rotation set up camp in a nearby city instead of the original garrison.
In truth, it was only natural.
In the past, they hadn't dared to return to the city due to the frequent skirmishes, but a battlefield was no place to linger once the fighting stopped.
As soon as the handover was complete, the group headed south toward the Yellow River. It was around there that they finally parted ways with the Beggar Sect and Shaolin.
"I shall see you again."
"Bye-bye."
Seo-jun exchanged farewells with Great Master Jibaek and spent quite a while saying his goodbyes to the others as well.
Compared to when Seo-jun had first arrived at Daedong Prefecture, the number of martial artists had decreased significantly. The beggar who had vowed to avenge the Drunken Dog Beggar was nowhere to be seen, leaving a bitter taste in Seo-jun's mouth.
"What the hell are those Black Lotus Union bastards thinking? They were living just fine, and then suddenly they pull this war bullshit."
"They claim it's because the overall standard of martial artists has dropped too low. They say they want to spill some blood for the sake of Murim's development. And they aren't entirely wrong. Murim has certainly been a bit too peaceful lately."
"Ridiculous."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You don't need to know."
"Kids these days..."
Pae Jin-gwang naturally tagged along with Seo-jun. Along the way, perhaps realizing that Seo-jun's grasp of common sense was utterly abysmal, the Fist King occasionally gave him uncharacteristic lectures on general knowledge.
"From the Black Lotus Union's perspective, there's nothing to lose by starting a war. Those bastards probably only care about refining the corpses of Transcendent Realm martial artists to surpass their own limits."
"What?"
"I heard it helps quite a bit. You'd better watch your back."
His tone sounded far more suspicious than genuinely worried. When Seo-jun frowned at him, Pae Jin-gwang just let out a hearty laugh.
"Seeing what you did on the battlefield, it wouldn't even feel out of place if you ate a person whole!"
"Hmm, our Lord is a bit like that."
"Uncle Jang-geuk, even you...!"
Seo-jun, who had jumped in feigned betrayal, suddenly had a thought.
Wait... if it looks like we're going to lose the war, maybe turning a Transcendent Realm master into a spirit herb and eating them wouldn't be such a bad idea?
They say it acts as a spirit herb for breaking through from the Transcendent Realm to the Profound Realm. But wouldn't it also be a huge help in rising from the Super Peak to the Transcendent Realm?
Honestly, even a Super Peak human spirit herb wouldn't be too bad.
If he reached the Extreme Demon stage and joined the Demonic Cult, couldn't he easily secure a high-ranking position?
Completely unaware of Seo-jun's sinister inner thoughts, the group checked into an inn for the night and dispersed to their respective rooms.
Later that night.
BOOOOOOM────────!!!
Lying in bed, Seo-jun blankly watched the wall in front of him violently explode.
"Seriously... what is wrong with this guy?"
The Fist King stood in the rubble, steam rising from his bulging muscles as his eyes darted around.
"I sense an assassin!"
"Ah, yes. I know."
Whether he had sensed the assassin like Pae Jin-gwang or was simply woken by the massive explosion, Namgung Chang-hwi knocked on the door a moment later. Seo-jun just told him to go back to rest and sent him away.
Jang-geuk merely poked his head through the doorway, clicked his tongue at the mess, and went back to bed.
Sighing, Seo-jun got out of bed and opened the window.
"Hey. If you don't come out soon, this crazy old man is going to tear down the entire inn. Could you just hurry up and pop out?"
"Hehe, shall I?"
A woman emerged gracefully from the darkness outside the window.
"Hello, handsome Young Master."
"Ah, yes. What can I do for you?"
At Seo-jun's nonchalant greeting, Pae Jin-gwang shouted, "Why else would an assassin be here, you idiot!"
Ignoring the hulking man, the woman smiled. "I just came to deliver some news."
"Really? Want something to drink?"
"Oh, would you?"
The woman stepped into the room, casually cleared away some of the rubble from the shattered wall, and took a seat on a surviving chair.
Pae Jin-gwang stared blankly at the bizarre scene.
"What the... Do you two know each other?"
"It's our first time meeting."
Seo-jun's casual answer made the situation even harder for Pae Jin-gwang to process.
"...Is this some kind of new culture among young people these days?"
The Fist King simply couldn't wrap his head around it.