Chapter 147
Chapter 147
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 147
Chapter Title: A Personal Organization
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A thin, long goatee, the corners of his mouth turned down in a fastidious frown, a high, narrow nose, and dark, distinct eyebrows and eyes.
He was a man who looked as if the very word ‘scholar’ had been molded into human form.
This was the Grand Chancellor, Yu So-pyeong’s father and the Chief Strategy Officer of the Nine Dragons Fortress.
As a top executive of a massive enterprise, he was a man who maintained his composure no matter the circumstances, but even he couldn't hide his agitation as he spoke now.
And his words were directed at me.
“I truly can’t believe this! For an executive of the Outer Hall, of all people, to cause an explosion in an unauthorized area! Have you completely lost your mind?”
“…I apologize.”
I never thought flicking a single nail would cause such a massive boom…
But rash excuses would only fuel his anger.
I did my best to fix my gaze on the tip of my big toe.
From the front, it makes you look like you’re reflecting on your actions.
“A Class-B emergency alert was issued throughout the entire Nine Dragons Fortress! Do you have any idea how many people were mobilized? Or how many signal flares were fired?!”
“…”
The scolding continued for the better part of an hour.
“Hoo…”
Having seemingly exhausted his tirade, the Grand Chancellor began to regulate his breathing.
Based on my past life experience as a notoriously infuriating son, I knew this was a sign that the lecture was winding down.
Sure enough, after catching his breath, he asked for the reason behind the incident.
“Explain what happened.”
This was the perfect time for an excuse.
I had to play this right.
One misstep could lead to the catastrophe of a pay cut.
“Ah, well, you see…”
Assuming the most subservient posture possible, I began to explain the sequence of events slowly and in great detail.
A short while later.
“…So, you’re saying this happened while you were testing a Grade-A artifact.”
“That’s right! It wasn’t my fault at all! It was all because of this little thing here!”
“I see.”
The Grand Chancellor nodded. I quickly rubbed my palms together and bowed my head.
“Hehe, thank you for your understanding.”
“Who said I understood? I just said I see.”
At his unexpected words, I looked at him with a questioning gaze. The Grand Chancellor replied nonchalantly.
“Three months of confinement. And that’s already a lenient sentence, considering So-pyeong.”
Confinement was a severe punishment that meant no salary and restricted movement outside.
“What?!”
I couldn’t hide my bewilderment.
After all that palm-rubbing, I still get confinement?
After how well I’ve taken care of Yu So-pyeong!
‘A betrayal! This is betrayal!’
A sense of betrayal surged, and I was about to protest.
‘Wait, confinement isn’t so bad, is it?’
I began to see the situation from a new perspective.
Of course, losing twenty-seven nyang, three months’ salary, was a shame.
Being unable to leave the fortress would also be incredibly stifling.
But I needed time.
My own time, to recover from the fatigue of Hanzhong.
And well, it was also about time I had my martial arts checked by my personal top-tier instructor, Master Bukgung.
‘I was planning to take a vacation anyway.’
Strictly speaking, I was in the wrong.
“Ahem, I am grateful for your generous処分.”
I meekly accepted his decision.
“…I thought you’d protest.”
“It was my fault, after all.”
“Have you matured? Your reaction is different from what So-pyeong told me.”
“…”
Just as I was about to express my confusion, the Grand Chancellor leaned in and asked.
“By the way, you said the thread from the Grade-A weapon cache and the nail you had combined?”
“Ah, yes. They merged on their own and became one.”
Hearing my answer, he let out a small laugh and muttered.
“As I thought, that was the Lightning Arrow.”
“The… Lightning Arrow?”
“It is a relic of a martial artist who vied for the title of the strongest under heaven five hundred years ago.”
“Th-This is such a treasure?”
I hastily looked down at the sewing kit in my hand.
“Wasn’t that thread the only thing without a name?”
“That’s right. Everything else had a name attached, but this one didn’t.”
“I believe its name was omitted because it was only half of the whole. But for some reason, you happened to have the other half.”
What a coincidence.
As I was feeling utterly dumbfounded, the Grand Chancellor clapped his hands and said.
“Congratulations. You’ve become the master of a divine weapon, one of a kind in this world.”
“…”
“However, don’t get too excited. A treasure, you see, can bring danger to its owner if they lack the strength to match it.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
“Still, very few would know its form and features, so you should be fine if you just change its name.”
“Ah, as for that, I just thought of a name.”
“Oh? Already? So, what do you plan to call it?”
He spoke with a look of great anticipation.
“The Battle Lord Arrow. I’m thinking of calling it the Battle Lord Arrow.”
I gave the Lightning Arrow a new name, the name of a city with a very rich tradition.
As it happened, I was craving bibimbap.
* * *
‘The Battle Lord Arrow, Master of the Battlefield… A very arrogant name, but a fitting one.’
Leaving the Grand Chancellor with a firm misunderstanding, I walked back home.
I stared at the Battle Lord Arrow, or more precisely, at the palm on which it rested.
‘Finally!’
Is the curse of my terrible luck finally broken?
That’s right.
On my very first try, I had pulled an SSS-grade item worthy of contending for the title of the strongest under heaven.
*Bzzzz.*
A tremor of excitement ran through my entire body, and tears welled up in my eyes.
How much had I suffered all this time because of my rotten luck?
‘To finally be compensated for it now…’
*Pshooo.*
As if responding to my joyful mood, the Battle Lord Arrow flew from my hand and began to circle around me.
Watching it move as my eyes directed, as my mind imagined, I suddenly felt a twinge of regret.
‘Pouring more energy into it doesn’t make it faster.’
The speed of the Battle Lord Arrow was governed by the speed at which I could channel my energy, not the amount.
If its speed had increased as well, I would have obtained an unstoppable weapon.
I could have surpassed the Red Dragon Hall and become the world’s greatest assassin… no, that’s a bit much.
Still, infusing it with more energy did increase its destructive power, so it wasn’t a massive disappointment.
When I pushed my energy into it to its limit, the destructive force was comparable to a full-powered Explosive Death Force.
‘By the way, what is the principle behind this?’
I thought as I looked at the thread of the Battle Lord Arrow tied around my little finger.
Infuse it with energy, and it moves according to your will.
The mechanism felt like going from A to D, and then straight to Z.
It’s not like it had some kind of brainwave analyzer attached.
However, I had one guess.
‘Imbuing ki with will.’
Ki has a nature to disperse once it leaves the body.
But upon reaching the transcendent level, one can imbue their will into their ki. By using this to hold the dispersing ki together, one creates an aura.
So, what about the Battle Lord Arrow?
*Pshooo.*
It executed my will with 100% accuracy. Absolutely perfectly.
Just like the internal energy circulating within my body.
Which meant…
The thread of the Battle Lord Arrow acted as a meridian, and the nail as a blade.
“No wonder they call it a divine weapon worthy of vying for the strongest under heaven.”
The more I looked at it, the more I was filled with admiration for this object—no, this treasure.
Having obtained such a treasure, I had to take even better care of it.
I adjusted the Battle Lord Arrow, securing it inside my clothes so I could fire it at a moment’s notice.
With a contented heart, the place I sought was…
Home.
Being under confinement, I couldn’t just wander around on the first day.
I should at least wait until tomorrow’s sun rises before I start roaming.
* * *
The next day.
To commemorate my confinement, I woke up late. Brushing off Cheong So-so’s nagging to help out at the clinic if I had nothing better to do, I headed to Bukgung Baek’s house.
Now that we had formally established a master-disciple relationship, wasn’t it time for me to start properly soaking up everything I could to make up for my master-less sorrow?
Especially when that master was none other than the Combat King, one of the Ten Great Masters of the Realm.
“…”
However, after exchanging just a few words with him, I instinctively knew my thinking had been flawed.
“You know the War King Arts better than I do, don’t you?”
Bukgung Baek was slacking off from the very first lesson.
“Well, yes, but since they’re from the same martial lineage, there must be some common ground…”
“The Black Dragon Hand is a martial art derived from the War King Arts. A tributary of a river can never be wider than the main stream, though it may not be as deep.”
“What kind of bullsh—Ugh!”
*Fwip. Craack!*
*Crash.*
I barely managed to block the Black Dragon Hand that flew at me in an instant, but I couldn’t disperse all of its force and was sent flying over ten meters.
As I shakily lifted my head to look at Bukgung Baek, he smirked and said.
“I’ll now explain the reason why.”
“You could just explain from over there, why are you walking over?”
“I don’t know how to teach with words.”
Suppressing a feeling of unease, I asked.
“…Then how?”
“Through practice.”
“No.”
This guy, everything comes back to this.
A short while later.
“You’ve improved a lot.”
“…You flatter me.”
“Do you understand now?”
“Yes, I think I understand a little.”
Understand, my ass. I didn’t get a thing, but I just nodded along.
“No need to be humble. It’s an outstanding achievement for your age. Perhaps.”
With me beaten to a pulp before him, Bukgung Baek offered praise as he tilted his cup of wine.
“I might even be looking at a future number one under heaven.”
What is this? Is he dealing damage and then healing me?
“…”
Bukgung Baek’s voice grew low as he spoke.
“The more you move, the stronger you become; the more you fight, the stronger you become. That is the only advice I can give you right now.”
It was the kind of tone a master in a martial arts movie would use to teach his disciple, but…
“Ah, yes. I see…”
I couldn’t hide my disappointment at the less-than-helpful advice.
It felt like asking the top student in the school, ‘How do you study so well?’ and getting the answer, ‘Focus on the textbook.’
“You look dissatisfied.”
I was, very much so, but I quickly changed my expression and replied.
“Oh, not at all. Oh dear! Your cup is empty. Allow this disciple to pour you a drink.”
“Go ahead.”
After a few more rounds of drinks, he suddenly started clearing his throat repeatedly.
It seemed he had something to say but was too concerned with his pride to bring it up first.
As a dutiful disciple, I spoke politely.
“Why stand on ceremony now? Please, just do as you wish.”
“…”
He shot me a cold glare and opened his mouth.
“I was thinking that, as a member of the Bukgung family, you ought to display some authority.”
“Authority…?”
“Don’t be so dense. This is the Bukgung family that shook the world, known as the Hegemons of the West. Naturally, you must show authority, no?”
The Bukgung family went defunct ages ago…
Still, they were the words of my venerable master, so I listened with a semblance of attention.
“What exactly do you want me to do?”
“First, it would be good to assume the appearance of a powerful figure.”
“My martial arts are already quite…”
He shook his head, cutting me off.
“The power I speak of is not your own, but the strength of a group.”
“…But, Master, you always travel alone, don’t you?”
“My body may be alone, but my comrades who share my will are scattered across the world. It’s a well-known fact.”
I don’t think so… He’s a 100% loner…
It was completely unbelievable, but I couldn’t openly deny it.
Especially when that master was a fiery demon king from hell, one had to be extra cautious.
“I-I see.”
“You don’t seem convinced.”
“Not at all! How could this disciple ever doubt his master’s words?!”
“Then it is settled.”
He said with a faint sneer.
“It wouldn’t be a bad idea to form a personal organization. Or perhaps even start a small sect of your own.”
“Will the fortress allow it?”
Martial artists who received a salary from the Nine Dragons Fortress were legally forbidden from forming private organizations without the Lord’s permission.
When I questioned his grand-scale proposal that involved the Lord of Nine Dragons himself, Bukgung Baek spoke as if it were nothing.
“You can.”
“Why?”
“Because you have me.”
“Ah…”
As expected, in the martial world, having connections and power is everything.
“In that sense, today I shall teach you about judging people’s character. When selecting subordinates… their martial skills… and character are of course important… and so, depending on what you do…”
As Bukgung Baek’s speech dragged on, I began to regret coming here.
‘I came here to learn martial arts…’