Chapter 9: Another Pushover in My Life (2)
Chapter 9: Another Pushover in My Life (2)
The Heaven-Shattering Martial Emperor.
He was a figure who had appeared suddenly fifty years ago, as if he had dropped straight from the heavens.
His sectarian origins were unclear, and the source of the martial arts he practiced was unrecognizable. The only thing certain was that he was incredibly strong.
In truth, when he first appeared, the Martial World didn't pay him much mind. The Jianghu is vast, and occasionally, masters from mysterious, single-successor sects emerge to make a name for themselves.
But such fame is usually fleeting. Eventually, the gilding wears off, and the limits of their skill are exposed.
However, the Heaven-Shattering Martial Emperor was different.
As soon as he appeared, he single-handedly crushed the Six Ghost Gang—a titan of the Unorthodox Faction—and took over their territory. He had dismantled a massive power comparable to the Nine Great Sects all by himself.
He continued to expand his influence, tearing through Unorthodox sects both large and small. Wary of his relentless expansion, several factions formed an alliance to attack him.
But no one could stop him.
By the time he had seized over thirty sects, he unified them into a single organization. That was the beginning of the Hegemon Sect.
Naturally, the Heaven-Shattering Martial Emperor became the supreme sovereign of the Unorthodox Faction.
Having effectively brought the Unorthodox forces under his thumb in such a short time, he didn't stop there. He declared war on the Murim Alliance.
Everyone thought it was reckless. At the time, the Orthodox Faction was at its peak, with the Murim Alliance exerting control over eighty percent of the entire Martial World. It was widely believed that the Hegemon Sect had zero chance of victory.
The consensus among gossips was that even if the Emperor’s martial arts reached the heavens, the best he could hope for was a draw.
The result, however, was different.
The Hegemon Sect, led by the Heaven-Shattering Martial Emperor, emerged victorious in the war against the Murim Alliance. More than half of the leaders of the Nine Great Sects and the heads of the Five Great Families—including the Alliance Leader himself—lost their heads.
Ultimately, the Murim Alliance surrendered unconditionally.
Through this, the Hegemon Sect rose to become the greatest sect of the Unorthodox Faction and the Number One Sect Under Heaven. Naturally, the Heaven-Shattering Martial Emperor himself was hailed as the strongest man in the world...
* * *
"Aaaaagh... This is driving me crazy. Absolutely crazy."
What? Why? What's bothering you now?
Patrick, who had been listening to Moon Yul’s explanation, spoke with an expression that suggested his blood was boiling.
"The strongest man in the world?"
"...Yes."
"Some Unorthodox hack?"
"The Heaven-Shattering Martial Emperor isn't someone who can be dismissed as just 'Unorthodox'—"
"Unorthodox is Unorthodox. What, is he Orthodox then?"
"Well, no... that's not it, but..."
No, he wasn't. But still, he was the strongest in the world. Is it right to treat him like a hack just because he was Unorthodox? Shouldn't he feel some sort of respect or awe as a fellow martial artist?
As Moon Yul pondered this, Patrick clicked his tongue and spoke.
"Tsk, tsk. The world is ending. Truly ending. How can an Unorthodox brat be the strongest in the world? How embarrassing."
"..."
"If I had been there, I wouldn't have let such a disgraceful thing happen. Sigh... Seriously, this Jianghu just doesn't run properly without me. Pathetic fools."
"..."
Moon Yul thought for a moment before continuing.
"Regardless of whether he was Orthodox or Unorthodox, the Heaven-Shattering Martial Emperor's martial prowess was the real deal."
"Yeah, still Unorthodox though."
"Even the Murim Alliance Leader of that era couldn't defeat him."
"The Alliance Leader must have been pathetic then."
"He even challenged and broke Shaolin’s 108 Arhat Formation all by himself!"
"...Huh? Really?"
This actually surprised Patrick a little.
During his days as the Radiant Dragon Hero, Patrick had taken on many reckless challenges himself. And he had succeeded in almost all of them. However, one of his few failures was Shaolin’s 108 Arhat Formation.
"So... he had some skill, I guess?"
Patrick slightly adjusted his evaluation of the Heaven-Shattering Martial Emperor. If he had broken the 108 Arhat Formation alone, his martial power had to be ranked, at the very least, just below the Four Grandmasters.
'Wait, then maybe...'
Patrick looked at Moon Yul with a serious expression.
"Where can I find this Heaven-Shattering Martial Emperor guy?"
"You can't."
"It's fine. Just tell me the place. I'll go there, beat him senseless, and drag him out."
"No, I mean you literally can't see him. He died twenty years ago."
"Huh? From what?"
"The reason is unknown. However..."
Moon Yul calmly explained what he knew from rumors.
"Twenty years ago, the Heaven-Shattering Martial Emperor died suddenly, and after that, his disciples..."
"Did they start infighting and tear the Hegemon Sect into dozens of pieces?"
"Oh? How did you know?"
"That's just how Unorthodox people are. It's predictable."
Patrick spoke as if it were obvious. Unlike the Orthodox Faction, which valued justification and tradition, the Unorthodox Faction was a place moved solely by the Rule of the Strong. When the tiger leaves the mountain, the jackals immediately start biting each other—that was the nature of the Unorthodox Faction.
"Ahem, thanks to that, the Orthodox Faction, which had been suppressed by the Hegemon Sect, managed to catch its breath."
"Hrrrrm..."
"However, the Unorthodox Faction is still dominant in the current Jianghu."
"Urrrrm..."
"Even though the Heaven-Shattering Martial Emperor is gone, the disciples he left behind are more than worthy of being called masters of the Martial World."
"Uuuuuuuurrrrrm..."
As he listened to Moon Yul’s explanation, Patrick seemed to be deep in thought. Then, he looked at Persona.
"Doesn't seem like it, right?"
"Probably not. They say he's dead."
"Right. Then he was probably just one of those Unorthodox guys who lived a short, turbulent life."
Patrick completely dismissed the Heaven-Shattering Martial Emperor. Whether his name was Heaven-Shattering or Heaven-Sautéed, if he was already dead, there was no way he was that person. In that case, there was no need to worry...
"He's not someone you can just dismiss like that!"
Moon Yul shouted, looking like he was about to burst with frustration. But Patrick didn't care. He gave a long yawn and spoke to Moon Yul.
"Yul. Little Yul. From now on, carve the words of this great and handsome Bong Gong into your very bones."
Moon Yul bristled.
"Why should I listen to you? I am only my Master's disciple. Even if you are—"
Just as the seeds of rebellion were about to sprout within Moon Yul...
"Ahem! Yul, you brat!"
His master, Go Seok-hyeon, scolded him sternly.
"How dare you open your mouth when a Great Elder of the sect is speaking? Is this how I taught you?"
"Master... it's not that..."
"Ahem! You're still talking back?!"
"..."
"Do I really have to pick up the switch... Cough, cough..."
When Go Seok-hyeon erupted in anger despite his unrecovered body, Moon Yul finally prostrated himself.
"I am sorry, Master. This disciple was in the wrong."
"Cough, cough... Ahem, don't apologize to me. Apologize to the Bong Gong! Now!"
Moon Yul bowed politely toward Patrick.
"This disciple has made a mistake. Please forgive me, Bong Gong."
Patrick smiled broadly.
"It's fine, it's fine. Though it's true you made a mistake. A very clear, undeniable mistake."
"..."
"But since I am so merciful and generous, I will gladly forgive your blatant blunder."
"..."
"Well? Aren't you grateful? Doesn't the grace of your sect elder just sink into your bones?"
"..."
What is this? Why do my insides feel like they're twisting into a Dragon Scale Whirlwind? As Moon Yul’s lips began to pout, his master shouted again.
"Ahem! Yul, you brat! Can't you answer properly?"
"...I am grateful for the Bong Gong's generosity."
This is so miserable.
But what could he do? His master told him to do it.
At Moon Yul’s words, Patrick’s grin reached his ears as he chuckled.
"Heh, yes. This is it. This is the one. This Confucian seniority logic where rank solves everything. I've missed this."
The Way of Confucius and Mencius was dead. No, it was worse than that. It was being exploited by a devil.
* * *
Despite everything, Moon Yul didn't give up and continued to explain the dangers of the Blood Saber Sect. But there was no way Patrick would care.
"Enough, enough. They're just Unorthodox trash anyway."
"But—"
"If they come, I'll just beat them up then."
"..."
Persuasion is a rational and logical method that occurs between humans. It didn't work on a devil. Eventually, Moon Yul gave up on persuading him and slumped his shoulders in despair.
Then Patrick spoke.
"More important than those brats from the Blood Saber Sect or whatever is for our Twin Dragon Sect to stand firm once again."
"Hmm..."
"To do that, we—or more precisely, you, Moon Yul—need to get stronger."
"The Bong Gong's words are truly correct."
The sect leader, Go Seok-hyeon, vehemently agreed with Patrick. Moon Yul also slowly lifted his head and gave a slight nod.
Wait, what? Why is he saying something so perfectly sensible and right?
Thinking about it, it was true. In principle, no matter what external threats came their way, if the Twin Dragon Sect stood firm and recovered its peak strength, they could protect their place. Wasn't the Jianghu a place ruled by the law of the strong to begin with?
But for that to happen...
'I have to get stronger?'
Moon Yul spoke cautiously.
"This disciple is very lacking."
"Yeah, I know."
"..."
This guy...
Though they hadn't known each other long, Moon Yul was starting to get the feeling that the Bong Gong in front of him was definitely not a normal person. No, he was certain of it.
Patrick spoke to the sulking Moon Yul.
"But listen. Whether your talent is lacking or brilliant doesn't matter at all."
"..."
"That is a trivial, even pathetic, issue."
"..."
Patrick looked at Moon Yul with stern eyes.
"You are a member of the Great Twin Dragon Sect and the only direct disciple of the Sect Leader. Therefore, it is only natural that you must become strong."
"But I am still young and lacking."
"Young, you say... Hah."
At Moon Yul’s words, Patrick looked up at the sky, let out a deep sigh, and spoke.
"How old are you?"
"I am fifteen."
"Right. Fifteen."
"Yes, that's... AGH!"
Whack!
He finally got hit. He didn't know what hit him or how, but as Moon Yul clutched the top of his head, Patrick spoke as if spitting fire.
"You brat! At that age, you should be thinking about supporting your master and making his life easy. Lacking? Lackiiiiiiing?!"
"Huh? Ah... well..."
"So what if you're lacking? Does your life end there? Where do you get off making excuses?! Huh?"
"..."
"Listen, kid! From the age of ten, for the sake of my sect and my family, I earned money myself, hunted down Unorthodox thugs, slaughtered King Ogres... I did it all, you brat!"
"..."
Every word of this was actually true.
"Ugh... just thinking about it makes me mad again."
Patrick spoke as if he were fuming. The intense past where he had to run around frantically because he couldn't leave his master's and father's pushover tendencies alone—just thinking about it almost brought tears to his eyes.
And yet? A fifteen-year-old saying he can't do it because he's young and lacking?
This was laziness, sloth, and a dereliction of duty.
Patrick said with a straight face.
"Starting tomorrow, I'm taking charge of your training."
"Wait, what does that..."
"The Sect Leader will allow it, right?"
"Of course."
"No, Master!"
Moon Yul tried to protest vehemently. He had no evidence, but his survival instinct was screaming at him that he should never receive training under this man called the Bong Gong. However...
"Hahaha. It would be an honor to have the Bong Gong personally bestow teachings upon my disciple."
Go Seok-hyeon had already given his permission. Therefore, the disciple, Moon Yul, had no right of refusal.
Patrick glared at Moon Yul as if he were about to devour him.
"Hehehe. You can look forward to it."
"..."
"I will make you a master, no matter what it takes."
"..."
"No. Matter. What. It. Takes."
What is this? Usually, you're supposed to be happy when someone says they'll make you a master, so why am I so anxious?
'Should... should I run away?'
For the first time, Moon Yul considered leaving the Twin Dragon Sect.
* * *
The next day.
As soon as Moon Yul woke up in the morning, he went out to the training ground.
His Senior Sister was already there waiting for him. The Bong Gong was nowhere to be seen. Moon Yul let out a sigh of relief inwardly.
"Senior Sister, are you awake?"
"Yes. Good morning, Junior Brother."
Looking at his brightly smiling Senior Sister, Moon Yul thought:
'Is Senior Sister perhaps a Celestial Maiden?'
When else in his life would he see such a peerless beauty? Though there were many women famous as the "flowers of the Jianghu," Moon Yul was certain they would be nothing compared to her.
Then Persona spoke.
"The Master has some business to attend to, so I'll be overseeing your training today."
"You will, Senior Sister?"
"Yes. It's just basic training, so I'm more than enough. You can keep up, right?"
"Yes! Of course!"
Moon Yul answered energetically. Persona nodded and spoke.
"Good. Then first, ten laps around the drill—I mean, the training ground. Start!"
"Ten laps?"
"Why, is it too hard? Should I reduce it a bit?"
"No, not at all. This much is nothing..."
Moon Yul chuckled. The Twin Dragon Sect's estate was somewhat large, but ten laps around the training ground was nothing. Moon Yul, who had been very nervous because they said they would give him hellish training starting today, felt the tension drain away.
'This much is easy.'
"Then, I'll begin."
"Right. Do your best."
And the moment Moon Yul took a single step into the training ground...
Thump!
"Urgh..."
Suddenly, his steps felt heavy. It was as if his body weight had increased several times over.
"Se... Senior Sister, what is this?"
"I laid down a magic circle on the training ground. I've increased the gravity to five times the normal amount."
"Wh... what does that mean..."
"You don't understand?"
"My knowledge is lacking..."
"Right. Then just don't try to understand."
"..."
"You just have to run, Junior Brother."
"..."
"Simple, right?"
Moon Yul swallowed hard. Suddenly, his beautiful Senior Sister began to look not like a Celestial Maiden, but like a Rakshasa.
And so, the gates of hell opened.