Chapter 11: Another Pushover in My Life (4)
Chapter 11: Another Pushover in My Life (4)
Come to think of it….
Yes. There had been signs.
The loyalty he showed by staying until the very end, even when all the other fellow disciples had abandoned the Twin Dragon Sect and fled.
The benevolence of opening a medical clinic in the middle of a slum to treat the poor.
The kindness of being unable to turn away a pitiful child who begged to be taken in as a disciple.
And even the sheer stubbornness of attempting a reckless energy circulation method like the Twin Dragon Primordial Chaos Heart Method for that child’s sake, putting his own safety on the line.
[Hohoho. Truly magnificent. He is a descendant to be proud of….]
“Gaaah! Shut up!”
Patrick shouted abruptly.
As if to prove that birds of a feather flock together.
Patrick clutched his head in frustration.
“Ugh, another pushover. Another brand-new pushover in my life….”
He already had to force himself to do things he hated just to gather Causality for those damn quests.
And now, the Sect Leader was acting like a total pushover right in front of him.
For Patrick, who suffered from intense trauma regarding the existence of "pushovers," this was enough to drive him insane.
“Dammit, I can’t let it go on like this.”
His original plan was to focus on properly raising Moon Yul and leave the management of the sect to the Sect Leader.
If he hadn't acknowledged him from the start, it would be one thing.
But Patrick had already accepted Go Seok-hyeon as the Sect Leader.
In such a situation, if he started meddling in every little detail of the sect’s operations….
“Wait. Actually, that sounds good?”
No, that wasn't it.
“Tsk, is it a liiiittle bit of an overstep?”
Patrick let out a long sigh and spoke.
“It can’t be helped. In the end, I’ll just have to do something about it myself….”
And so, Patrick decided to lend a bit of his wicked wisdom to the management of the Twin Dragon Sect.
* * *
The next day.
Two young men arrived at the main gate of the Twin Dragon Sect.
“Hey. Are you really going to do this?”
“Of course. Do you want to spend your whole life as a mere merchant in a fabric shop?”
“Well, that’s….”
“If we learn the basics of martial arts here and reach the second-rate level, we can at least get a job as an escort at an escort agency. If we’re lucky, we might even get into a bigger sect. Then we’ll finally be people of the Jianghu.”
“Hmm….”
“A man should play in the big leagues. We can’t live like frogs in a well forever.”
“Dammit, fine. Let’s give it a shot.”
Driven by a longing for the Jianghu—or perhaps just a delusion—the two young men mustered their courage and visited the Twin Dragon Sect.
Without even telling their parents, of course.
Regardless, they boldly knocked on the door of the Twin Dragon Sect, and soon, the door opened. And then….
“How can I help you?”
“…….”
“…….”
The two men’s jaws dropped.
Why?
Because a Celestial Maiden had stepped out to open the door.
* * *
“The entrance fee is 20 nyang, and the training fee is 15 nyang per month. Additional charges may apply depending on the wooden sword and uniform provided.”
“…….”
“…….”
“Are you listening?”
“Yes. Yes. Of course.”
“We’re listening. You said the entrance fee is 20 nyang?”
“I’ll pay right now.”
“I’ll pay the training fee as well. So that’s 35 nyang?”
“Thank you. Everyone—ah! I should call you junior brothers now.”
“…….”
“…….”
The two men grinned from ear to ear.
Was the word "junior brother" always such a beautiful term?
“You two should call me Senior Sister.”
“Yes, Senior Sister!”
“Understood, Senior Sister!”
“Good. Then….”
In an instant, the smile vanished from Persona’s face. And then….
“Assemble at the training ground immediately!”
“…Pardon?”
“Um, Senior Sis—”
“Run!”
The moment Persona barked the command, the two of them reflexively shouted “Yes!” and sprinted toward the training ground.
And what they saw there was….
“Ugh… ugh….”
“Dammit….”
“Grrrgh….”
Dozens of men were circling the training ground, waddling in a duck walk with logs balanced on their shoulders.
Persona, arriving a step late, placed her hands on their shoulders and spoke.
“Now, if you have even a shred of situational awareness, you should know what to do given the atmosphere, right?”
This isn't what I expected.
As that thought began to sprout in their minds, Persona said:
“The logs are over there. Go join them.”
This really isn't what I expected.
Seriously, not this.
Regret is always both early and too late.
* * *
The number of disciples in the Twin Dragon Sect exploded.
And I mean exploded.
They were lured in with a honey trap, and once they were enrolled, they were put through the wringer.
Though some tried to quit halfway through because they couldn't take it, the entrance fee was, of course, non-refundable. As a result….
“Whee-hee-hee. The pushovers are biting one after another.”
Patrick wore a blissful smile as he counted the mounting entrance fees.
Watching him, Persona spoke listlessly.
“You’re already wealthy; do you really enjoy taking pocket change from kids that much?”
“Yes. I love it. It’s thrilling. It’s the best. The more money, the better.”
“…….”
He sounded so sincere that she had no words.
Go Seok-hyeon, who had been watching the two of them, spoke up cautiously.
“Um, Bong Gong….”
“Hmm? What is it, Sect Leader?”
“Well… I left things to you because you asked me to, but….”
“But?”
“I don’t think we should be doing this.”
Go Seok-hyeon looked troubled.
The way Patrick was currently squeezing money out of immature young men felt like it should be called a scam, no matter how one looked at it.
But I can’t just call it a scam to his face.
How should he put it?
Or rather, was he even allowed to speak up?
Patrick beat him to the punch as Go Seok-hyeon hesitated.
“Well, it’s not like I don’t understand the Sect Leader’s concerns.”
“Ah, is that so?”
“Of course. It must look like I’m only concerned with the sect’s finances. Isn’t that right?”
“To be honest, yes. We are supposed to be an Orthodox Faction, so I don’t think it’s right to be so obsessed with worldly money.”
“As expected of a pushover.”
“Pardon?”
“No, nothing. Ahem….”
Patrick cleared his throat before continuing.
“Of course, your words have merit, Sect Leader. But thinking coldly, a sect cannot stand firm without a solid financial foundation.”
“That may be true, but….”
“Think of the Nine Great Sects or the Five Great Families. Do they lack money just because they are Orthodox? They all solidify their finances through various means, don't they?”
“Hmm….”
He wasn't wrong.
Even the Beggars’ Sect has enough money to move enormous sums if they put their minds to it.
“In a sect, healthy finances are like having solid ground beneath your feet. It’s an aspect that can never be ignored if you want to revive the sect.”
“I understand what you’re saying, Bong Gong. But I’m not sure if this is the right way to secure those funds.”
“Now, now. Did we threaten anyone with a blade? What did we do wrong? They all entered the sect and paid their entrance fees vol-un-tar-i-ly, didn't they?”
“Uuuugh….”
“It’s all to save the sect. For the sake of the sect.”
“Uuuuuuugh….”
He was almost convinced.
“But doing it this way…. I don’t think I could face the past Great Masters.”
“Hahaha. That’s not true. The founder of our Twin Dragon Sect would be extremely satisfied.”
“Would he really?”
“I guarantee it.”
He was dead serious.
The founder of the Twin Dragon Sect would truly feel a surge of pride from the depths of his soul seeing this sight.
Why?
Because I am that founder. Jincheon, the Radiant Dragon Hero, is extremely satisfied. Mwahahaha.
[I am not. I am not happy at all about reviving the sect this way.]
Huh? What was that? I can’t hear you very well.
[As someone who claims to be of the Orthodox Faction, even if the path is difficult and grueling, one must walk the righteous path, not the wicked—]
Hello? Hello? Wow, the connection is really bad today.
[You little…!]
In this way, the Twin Dragon Sect was being rebuilt—slowly, but surely.
* * *
A sect is only a sect when it has people.
Thanks to Patrick’s schemes, the number of disciples in the Twin Dragon Sect surpassed 100 in an instant.
Though most of them were lured in by Persona’s beauty.
Under Patrick’s instructions, Persona led their training.
Of course, she had asked Patrick for the training policy beforehand.
[What should I teach first? Internal energy methods? Footwork?]
[Internal energy? Fooootwork?]
Patrick snorted.
[Forget that and build their stamina first. Martial arts come after that.]
[Which means….]
[Work them like dogs.]
[Yes! Master.]
And so, the hellish training began.
It was the same training Patrick had used on the Double Dragon Knights and Orc warriors back in the Schneider Grand Duchy—a level of torture… no, training, that would make an ordinary person quit and run away within an hour.
Naturally, some tried to quit. But Patrick handled those cases personally.
“You won’t give me a refund?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, how is that fair?”
“It’s fair here. Why? Got a problem? Want to go a round?”
“Well, that’s….”
“Shut up and get back to the training ground. You’re doing double today.”
A place that was easy to enter but hard to leave.
That was the Twin Dragon Sect.
The training ground became a site of brutal physical conditioning that resembled a living hell.
“Huff…. Huff…. Huff….”
“Dammit….”
“Grrrgh….”
Men were circling the training ground while doing handstands, sweat pouring off them. The sweat running down their bare chests had already soaked the ground. Eventually….
“Ugh….”
One man collapsed.
Persona approached the fallen man’s head and spoke.
“Junior brother? Is it hard?”
“I… I think I’m going to die, Senior Sister.”
“You don’t even have the strength to lift a finger? Is this your limit?”
“Yes, Senior Sister.”
Please, give me a break.
Please, save me.
As he looked up at her with eyes full of desperate longing, Persona said:
“That’s good. The real training starts from there.”
“…….”
“One more lap before you recover!”
“I… I can’t….”
“Do you want to die? Do you want to do another lap? Or….”
Persona pointed to one side with her thumb.
“Do you want to join that?”
Where Persona was pointing….
“DIEEEEE!”
“Oh, you’ve developed some grit, haven’t you?”
Thwack! Crack! Bam-bam-bam!
A scene of horrific beatings and brutal violence was unfolding in real-time.
It was the sight of Patrick personally training Moon Yul.
Crunch!
“Aaaaaagh!”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. You couldn't even dodge that? Your arm’s broken.”
“Ugh… ugh….”
“It’s not over. If you don’t want to die, keep coming at me.”
“You… you demon!”
“Right. That’s the spirit.”
Moon Yul lunged at him with murderous rage, forgetting all about "Bong Gong" or whatever, and Patrick was smashing him to bits—just short of killing him.
Even when limbs were broken and Moon Yul spat out blood mixed with bits of internal organs, Patrick showed no mercy.
Patrick’s wooden sword struck Moon Yul’s entire body without a shred of compassion.
Watching that scene, the other disciples thought:
So there are different levels of hell.
I never want to go over there.
Wasn't he like that yesterday, too? How can he do it again today?
They had no way of knowing, but Moon Yul underwent this brutal training every day and was immediately treated with artifacts every evening.
It was thanks to this that such abnormal practical training was possible.
From Moon Yul’s perspective, it was both a blessing and a curse.
He got to train in real combat against Patrick every single day until he reached his absolute limit.
“I’ll count to three. If you don’t get up, you’re going over there—”
Zip!
Before Persona could even start counting, the man who had been collapsed immediately flipped into a handstand and began to run.
Indeed, it seemed humans could do anything when their lives were on the line.
In any case, the Twin Dragon Sect was being steadily rebuilt.
However, an external threat was approaching the sect.