Family Reunion
Shaanxi was the very heart of the Central Plains.
The great orthodox sects of Mount Hua and Zhongnan had sunk their roots deep into this land, where countless minor factions thrived and even the Murim Alliance—guardian of martial order—made its home.
For all these reasons, it was rightly called the center of the righteous Murim.
And the city that held the purest essence of Shaanxi was none other than Xi'an, the provincial capital that had inherited the glory of ancient Chang'an.
Our party now stood before the gates of that very city, staring blankly at the towering walls and the immense throng of people flooding in for the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.
"Boss, what are you doing? Fiddling with your staff like that."
While we waited in the long line, Ilhong eyed me curiously as I kept turning the staff over in my hands.
"You can't go swinging it, okay? Cause a scene in a crowd this size and they'll haul you off."
"What exactly do you take me for?"
I shot her a look of pure disbelief.
Still, it was true that my body had been itching since last night. Watching someone break through into the Peak Realm right in front of my eyes had that effect. Any martial artist who witnessed something like that simply could not stay still.
I wanted nothing more than to find an empty lot and put the staff through its paces, but the place was packed solid—there was nowhere suitable. On top of that, while helping Jo Harang with her enlightenment I had gained a small insight of my own. I was dying to settle it properly, and soon.
"Mujin!"
Jo Harang's elegant black hair swayed as she gave my shoulder a friendly clap. No matter how many times I saw her, those soft purple eyes always left an impression.
"They're selling roast chicken back in the merchant line! Let's go eat!"
Whenever a queue stretched this long, vendors inevitably set up stalls. She must have caught the smell of sizzling meat, because she was already tugging hard on my arm.
"Go by yourself."
"Whyyy? Come with me."
"I've got a lot on my mind right now."
I had piled up far more good karma than necessary lately, and I had finally seized the thread leading to Peak Realm. That was why I could stand in a line this endless without getting bored—my head was too full of thoughts. This was no time to be gnawing on chicken legs.
"Hey, come ooon~"
She could have gone alone, yet she kept clinging and dragging at my arm. And of course, one certain someone was having an absolute meltdown over the unnecessary contact.
Kill! Kill! Kill!
Salsung hissed and bristled like a wildcat that had just met its natural predator.
There was a special reason she was even more unhinged than usual. It had everything to do with the secret Jo Harang had carefully revealed last night after her breakthrough.
How had she opened that conversation again?
"…Mujin, there's something I've been hiding from you."
Right. She had blindsided me with that out of nowhere.
Judging by the talent she had shown so far, she was the favorite to win the upcoming Dragon-Phoenix Gathering, so I had been pouring on the flattery with genuine enthusiasm. Then, right in the middle of my golden praise, her face had turned complicated and she had spoken those words.
"You're my benefactor, so I feel like I should be honest with you… The reason my martial progress has been this fast is actually something else."
"What reason?"
Her tone made it sound as if her achievements owed more to luck than pure skill, so I sipped my tea and told her to keep going. She explained that she possessed a special constitution that granted her this talent, but that she might not be the pure martial genius I had imagined.
"I was born under a baleful star called the Purple Micro Star."
"…Pfft!"
The tea I had been drinking sprayed straight out of my mouth.
"Ugh, again?"
This was the second tea shower. She frowned while wiping herself off with a cloth.
"You're the Purple Micro Star…?"
"Yeah. You've heard the rumors about the Heavenly Killing Star and other baleful stars, right? That brightest one among the Big Dipper? That's me."
She pointed to a star that burned with holy light, utterly unlike the pitch-black Heavenly Killing Star.
Of course I had heard of the Purple Micro Star. After the Nangabong Madman incident, Hwang Geolgae had specifically warned me about other baleful stars and told me to be most careful of this one. If the Heavenly Killing Star was the star that brought heavenly punishment down upon the earth, the Purple Micro Star was the one that stood against it and protected everything under heaven.
It was the destined nemesis—and natural predator—of the Heavenly Killing Star, a rivalry that had spanned generations. Throughout the long history of the Central Plains it had already slain the Heavenly Killing Star more than once.
And last night I had personally helped that very fated enemy awaken as a Peak Realm expert.
…Well. I'm screwed.
That was the conclusion I reached after careful thought. How could things possibly go this sideways?
Idiot.
Moron.
Naturally the baleful star inside my head was throwing a spectacular fit over the situation.
Shut up already.
She had been the one who first helped me reach First-class Realm and bestowed that kindness. I had simply returned the favor like a decent human being. Who could have predicted it would turn out like this?
"Anyway, thank you. I was honestly worried I'd slam into the Peak wall and fall into heart demons… I swear I'll repay this debt!"
Helping someone break through the Peak wall was a kindness on an entirely different level from guiding a Second-class martial artist into First-class. Gratitude shone clearly in Jo Harang's eyes.
I had gone past simply helping people and was now actively assisting my future rival. The old me would never have done something this insane. As if to prove it, an unprecedented amount of good karma began surging up inside my chest.
"Hey, then instead of a debt, how about you grant me one wish?"
The deed was done and there was no undoing it. If that was the case, I needed to dig myself an escape tunnel for later.
"Sure, sure. What kind of wish?"
"Hypothetically speaking… if it ever comes out that I'm actually a really bad guy and you end up having to kill me…"
"Hmm? But you're not that kind of person."
She smiled brightly and declared it with absolute certainty.
"…How would you know that?"
"Oh, I never told you? I can see the good karma a person has accumulated. And ever since I first stepped into the jianghu, I've never met anyone as righteous as you."
"…"
So just as I could see killing karma, the Purple Micro Star could see through a person's goodness. The irony was almost poetic. The good karma I had been stockpiling for the sake of longevity had just saved me once again.
"Right. Anyway, if that situation ever comes up, just look the other way once. That's all I'm asking."
Whether she trusted her ability to read good karma or simply thought I worried too much, she clapped me on the shoulder with cheerful force.
"Of course. That's nothing."
She agreed without the slightest hesitation, completely unaware of the true nature of the situation she was in. We would just have to wait and see whether that promise held.
In any case, that was how I spent the entire night carving out a path to survival. It had been one hell of a night.
"Hey, what are you two doing?"
A clear, ringing voice cut through my thoughts. I turned to find Dang Yeohye standing there—still short, yet radiating an outsized presence.
"…You were thinking something rude just now, weren't you?"
"No, of course not."
I flinched. Don't tell me she was some kind of baleful star that could read minds too.
"Hmm… Whatever. Just follow me. Escort Leader Jo managed to open a path."
Apparently Escort Leader Jo had slipped the gatekeeper some silver and secured a side route. If we went that way we could skip the line entirely, Dang Yeohye explained. That was the Central Plains for you—money still opened every door.
"The real problem is after we get into the Murim Alliance. Mujin, do you know anyone familiar with the layout inside?"
"How would a homeless former beggar know anything about the Murim Alliance?"
Both of us were showing up with nothing but a single tournament pass and zero backing or connections. Unlike the orthodox martial artists who regularly came and went, we had no experience with the place. And with the top young talents of every major sect gathered there, one wrong move could brand us as weirdos and make it that much harder to land clients later.
"Hey, don't worry about that. This big sister knows the Murim Alliance inside and out."
Seizing the chance to play the older sister, Dang Yeohye of the Sichuan Tang Family promptly started showing off and telling us to trust only her.
Come to think of it, we did have someone who belonged to the orthodox mainstream—second daughter of one of the Five Great Clans and a Peak expert to boot. Suddenly her compact frame looked extremely reliable.
"Wow, so you must know a lot of people inside too?"
Ilhong's pure curiosity as she listened from the side.
"…Of course."
Dang Yeohye nodded slowly.
I had heard there would be a grand banquet before the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering. Entering with Dang Yeohye should at least spare us any real embarrassment.
"Shall we go, then?"
Having one solid big sister on our side suddenly made the center of the orthodox world feel a lot more navigable. Placing our faith in Dang Yeohye, we decided to throw ourselves into the unknown of the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering banquet hall.
We said our farewells to Escort Leader Jo and headed straight for the Murim Alliance.
The escort leader and his children had looked at me with faint envy when they learned I had received a tournament pass and would be competing in the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering. They even asked if they could tag along. I told them not to do anything foolish, just enjoy watching the matches, collected my remaining fee, and turned on my heel.
And so we strode boldly into the manor where the grand banquet was already in full swing.
Jo Harang and I presented our tournament passes—one stamped with Chilji Gate, the other with some obscure sect neither of us recognized. Moments later we were assigned seats in the farthest, emptiest corner of the banquet hall.
"…"
Well, it made a certain amount of sense. With countless clans, sects, and great families gathered in one place, the central and prime locations naturally had to go to them. That meant someone with weak credentials got pushed to the outer edges. I wasn't a child; I had no intention of wasting time fretting over the inevitable.
Besides, I still had one card I was counting on: Dang Yeohye, core of the Nine Great Sects and Beggar Sect circle and a genuine power player among the rising talents.
"…Well. You know. That happened."
Except nobody came looking for the famous Poison Claw Mountain Blood, Dang Yeohye. This was the Sichuan Tang Family we were talking about, and she was a Peak expert. I hadn't expected people to line up to greet her, but this level of indifference was something else.
"You told us to just trust you, noona."
"Ahem. I meant trust me for directions."
She certainly knew the internal layout of the Murim Alliance cold. But that hadn't exactly been what we were hoping for.
I silently glanced toward Uncle Neungsam.
"You know our young lady's personality, Young Master. Among martial artists her age she is already known as the Poison Dog—and thoroughly avoided."
"Hey! Shut your mouth!"
In the early days, when people still didn't know her well, her doll-like looks had earned her the title Poison Phoenix. Then that vicious temper of hers had ruined everything.
"Hmm. Indeed, indeed…"
"Don't you start agreeing too, you bastard."
Dang Yeohye bristled when I nodded in understanding. But what was I supposed to do when it made perfect sense?
"Ehh, so we're just going to sit here and watch the banquet, Boss?"
On the sunlit main hall, martial artists in splendid silk robes had gathered in little clusters, chatting animatedly. With neither convenient transport nor communication devices in this world, only events of this scale let people meet face-to-face and catch up on old news. Young and old, even the elders of the orthodox factions were all present, raising cups together. I could finally understand why Escort Leader Jo had wanted so badly to come. This place was a treasure trove of connections and the very heart of networking.
"Why? You want to join the orthodox mainstream too?"
Ilhong had been looking over with a touch of envy, but after thinking over my question she shook her head.
"Hmm. Now that I think about it, it's not exactly a priority."
Her top priority was almost certainly hunting down that Sangha whatever-his-name-was and taking her revenge.
"Mujin, try this spring roll. It's so crispy—really good."
Jo Harang already seemed fully adapted to the situation. I should take a page from her book.
"Hmph. A martial artist proves herself in the matches."
And there was Dang Yeohye, snorting and vowing to settle things on the tournament floor.
As for me, I was only competing as a side trip on my way to collect a bounty, so I didn't particularly care. Networking was clearly a bust, so I decided to at least eat my fill of the Murim Alliance's food and started shoveling it down with gusto—until someone approached and spoke to me.
"Young Hero Dan Mujin, why sit so lonely in this remote corner?"
It was none other than the Beggar Sect disciple who had been concealing his identity—Young Hero Ma Jungcheon, the Divine Wind Hero.
"You tell me."
"This is a rare social occasion. You cannot simply sit here gnawing on meat. You must go out and make acquaintances, Young Hero."
"Appreciate the thought, but it sounds like a pain."
Even if I went out and introduced myself as the Unchilsamhyeop, all I would get back was laughter at that ridiculous moniker.
"Young Hero, snap out of it. You must not start resembling that man even in this regard."
Resemble who, exactly? Don't tell me he meant Hwang Geolgae. I was still more normal than that old man, thank you very much.
"Then allow me to introduce you to my own network, Young Hero. You may find it troublesome now, but later on these very ties and connections will become a great strength."
After everything that had happened, the young Beggar Sect disciple seemed to have half-decided I was already a junior beggar under their banner. He became unusually kind whenever he saw me, clearly worried I might grow into a lazy, unreliable Dragon Head Sect Leader just like Hwang Geolgae.
And so, under Ma Jungcheon's introductions, I found myself in an unexpected exchange with the rising talents of the Murim. It did not take long, however, to realize that their interest was far more focused on Jo Harang beside me—who was cheerfully crunching through chicken bones—than on me. Apparently Ma Jungcheon had used the newly ascended Peak expert, Jo Harang, as bait to lure people over.
So I'm just the free side dish, huh.
Honestly, if a young, beautiful female expert of outstanding martial skill were sitting next to me, I wouldn't have given me a second glance either.
"My word, that level of martial prowess at her age."
"With talent like that, the race for the title of Greatest Under Heaven may well shift…"
People kept marveling at the news that a woman who had not even fully come of age had already reached Peak Realm. And that rumor eventually moved a true heavyweight from one of the great noble families.
Thud. Thud.
From a distance, a middle-aged man approached with measured steps, carrying the aura of a sturdy old tree.
Young Hero Ma Jungcheon wore a proud expression as he announced he had brought the most difficult person of all to meet. The moment I confirmed the man's face, I nearly felt my eyes roll back into my skull.
What the hell is he doing here…?
The man who had sent Moyong Cheonghye to kill me. Clan Lord Moyong Cheon, who should have been in Liaoning Province, was looking down at us with an utterly indifferent gaze.
"So you are Jo Harang?"