Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Wheel-Breaking Society
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"W-Wait, really!? You're the Sect Leader's personal disciple!?"
"Haha, you heard everything already, so why ask again?"
"I half-expected it, so it wasn't that surprising. I was just reacting out of courtesy."
"If it's courtesy, at least pretend to be shocked all the way through, you punk."
The Sect Leader had returned from his discussion with Baek Hyun and immediately announced in front of the First-Generation Disciples and Third-Generation Disciples that Baek Hyun had become his personal disciple.
Being the Sect Leader's disciple meant he was the designated successor to lead the sect next, so this was likely intended to spread the word as quickly as possible and plant the idea in everyone's minds that Baek Hyun was the heir.
"You got taken in as a disciple by Elder Mok Sun too, right? See, I told you you'd be fine."
"Phew... I seriously aged ten years. I thought I'd been completely overshadowed compared to you!"
"If you'd gone after me, you would've been buried. Lucky you tested first. Congrats, man!"
"If you're gonna congratulate me, don't add crap like that first, you jerk."
After exchanging their usual banter, Baek Hyun and Jang So-ya finally began a proper conversation.
"Now that you're a True Mountain Disciple... what happens next?"
"Since you went under Pavilion Master Jae Kyung, you'll probably live with her and learn martial arts and duties from her."
"Oh, so you'll train under the Sect Leader too?"
"Nah, I think I'll be joining the subjugation of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace."
"W-What!?"
Baek Hyun recalled the words his master had just shared with him.
'You may or may not know, but lately, the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace has been going too far with their bullying of the Starpoint Sect.'
'Yes, I've heard they've been up to immoral deeds. Some of our disciples have even lost their lives...'
'Exactly. It's gone beyond what we can overlook. With the entry trials so close, we held back from aggressive action, but now that they're over, there's no reason to hesitate.'
'Master, does that mean...'
'The bulk of our sect's forces, myself included, will punish the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace. You'll accompany us. It's a bit intense for a first lesson, but it's necessary experience for leading the Starpoint Sect someday.'
Normally, a newly initiated Third-Generation Disciple wouldn't be mobilized for full-scale conflict between factions.
But Baek Hyun wasn't an ordinary disciple—he was the Sect Leader's personal disciple, designated as the next Sect Leader of the Starpoint Sect.
It seemed the Sect Leader wanted him to experience the battlefield between martial artists through this event.
'Sudden, but actually, it's for the best. The Southern Barbarian Beast Palace has been suspicious anyway.'
There were roughly two days until departure.
He had to prepare for the battlefield in that time.
Well... not so much preparation as handling some errands.
"You mentioned someone tried to contact me before?"
"Oh, yeah. After you went into closed training, one person showed up. They even left contact info, saying they'd wait for a reply... But wait, you're seriously heading to war with the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace!?"
"I'm not fighting directly—just observing from the rear. Though I might have to fight if things go south..."
Would something like that even happen?
Baek Hyun judged the odds of actually fighting there as extremely low, based on realistic calculations.
"Anyway, contact that person who wanted to meet me. Let's say tomorrow, near the Starpoint Sect."
"What? You know who it is?"
"Not for sure, but I have a pretty good idea. They probably know who I am too."
Baek Hyun flashed a smile full of anticipation.
The reason he'd treated the entry trials as a turning point.
Finally, time to connect with another possessor.
"Kyaa~ As expected, worldly food sticks perfectly to your palate!"
Baek Hyun was in a private room at a high-class inn near the Starpoint Sect, devouring a mountain of food.
The historic first day he could leave the sect and move freely.
Baek Hyun was savoring the long-lost freedom and the antique atmosphere unique to the murim world, which he hadn't felt in the past two years.
It wasn't filled with flashy modern billboards like in his previous life, but the scenery—remodeled just right from ancient Chinese lifestyles—made for delightful sightseeing.
It finally felt real that he'd come to a murim world.
"Mm... but when's this person showing up?"
The person presumed to be another possessor's subordinate, contacted via Jang So-ya's Heavenly Fragrance Merchant Group, had messaged that they'd come right away if in the city.
So he'd waited leisurely for about an hour...
'Did they not find me yet?'
As Baek Hyun harbored reasonable suspicion and went to pop a whole dumpling into his mouth—
-Srrrrk, clack.
One of the chopsticks on the table rolled to the floor.
No wind, no shaking table.
"What? Why'd it fall all of a sudden?"
Baek Hyun hurriedly went to pick up the fallen chopsti—
-Kwaak!!
"You thought I wouldn't notice? Playing tricks."
...not the chopsticks, but seized the shadow trembling under the table.
The mysterious shadow tried to slip away in panic.
-Puhwaak!!
Baek Hyun yanked the shadow out like drawing a sword and naturally sat it in the seat beside him.
Then casually fed a dumpling into the shadow's mouth.
With the natural attitude of picking up a person instead of fallen chopsticks, even the shadow momentarily failed to grasp the situation.
"Are you the liaison? You kept me waiting too long."
The man who'd instantly exposed the perfectly hidden shadow—Baek Hyun—questioned the shadow first.
At his bold-to-the-point-of-brazen demeanor, the suddenly extracted shadow blinked a few times before politely bowing its head.
"My apologies. It took time to confirm you were the one who sent the letter to my master."
Baek Hyun swallowed the dumpling in his mouth and observed the unidentified black-clad figure that had emerged from under the table.
Unusual attire covering every part of the body, including the eyes.
The slender voice and feminine curves made it obvious she was a woman, but other details were hard to discern.
He could learn more by probing her dantian, but Baek Hyun saw no need to pry that deeply into the woman's info.
"No need to apologize. First, tell me who your master is? I'm the only one in the dark here."
"I can't reveal their direct title, but my master said to say 'Kim Sam-soon,' and you'd understand."
"Ahh, so it was that guy after all."
Baek Hyun picked up another dumpling from the table and smiled in relief.
Based on the actions so far, he'd figured the possessor was Kim Sam-soon, but hearing confirmation made his heart feel solid.
"Anyway, let's get down to business. Your master didn't send you just to sightsee my face, right?"
"Yes, my master had several pieces of information to relay. Top secrets that absolutely can't leak, but they said you're trustworthy."
-Ttak!
With that, the black-clad snapped her fingers, overlaying the area with a thin barrier blocking sound.
Baek Hyun was briefly impressed by the exquisitely precise internal energy control.
"First, information on an organization called the Wheel-Breaking Society."
"Wheel-Breaking Society... quite a grandiose name."
Baek Hyun instantly realized this was the name of this world's shadowy cabal, his eyes sharpening.
A gathering to shatter the fate of the realm—perfect for the final black curtain organization.
"The Wheel-Breaking Society is an ultra-secretive group. Their goal is to found a new nation through rebellion."
In the process, they plan to subjugate or eradicate any obstructing martial forces."
At those words, Baek Hyun recalled the intruders who'd gifted him a fortune.
The black-clad muttering about how only 'that one' could ascend to emperor.
He'd half-guessed, but they were lackeys of the shadowy faction.
"Sounds like the guys I know. I spotted them sneaking around like rats near Starpoint Mountain. Killed them all, though."
"They're just a tiny fraction. Their goal is absurd... but the problem is they might actually have the power to achieve it."
Of course they did.
They weren't the final boss for nothing.
Even peak experts revered across the land were mere pawns to them.
"They're so secretive they're not well-known, but their influence is deeply rooted across the realm, we suspect."
We haven't gauged their full scale yet... but after persistent investigation per my master's orders, we've uncovered their basic organizational structure."
"Oh, that's genuinely useful. You figured that out in just a few years?"
When facing enemy forces, organizational structure and hierarchy were indispensable— the foundation for all strategies and actions.
"They revere a figure called the 'Crown Prince' as their leader. Presumably, the emperor of the new nation they aim to create."
"Ha, there's already a crown prince parked in Beijing. What a joke."
The 'Crown Prince' was likely the one those intruders called 'that one.'
For now, highest odds that this Crown Prince was the final boss.
"Under the Crown Prince are top cadres called 'Heir Apparents,' and below them, the lowest executives 'Great Lords.'"
"Great Lords are the bottom rung, but they're the real power moving the Wheel-Breaking Society now. One per province, commanding the local branch."
"One per province... so Yun'nan Province has a Great Lord executive too?"
"Likely."
Having heard the full hierarchy, Baek Hyun could only let out a deep sigh.
It certainly helped grasp their scale and might, but that very fact made things feel even more daunting.
Who'd have thought they stationed an executive per province...
'Can just two of us really stop this?'
Reading his expression, the black-clad liaison spoke again.
"Truth be told, while we uncovered the hierarchy, we have zero progress beyond that."
"Can't even guess the number of 'Heir Apparent' cadres, let alone glean any personal details or identities."
"...Even after Kim Sam-soon went all-in, that's all? Guess from Heir Apparents up, they're core figures even to them."
"Yes. But my master said that very fact yields a deduction."
"To our systematic intel network, an organization leaving zero traces up to this level... there are only two in the realm capable."
Hao Alliance.
And Beggar Clan.
The murim's top intel groups, one from righteous, one from unorthodox.
"My master tentatively concludes one of these two's leaders is a Wheel-Breaking 'Heir Apparent' cadre. Possibly both."
"Makes sense if true, but..."
This is way too strong.
Post-clear multi-runs made intel groups irrelevant, but in the first playthrough like now, they were crucial.
If one—or both—of the world's top two intel orgs was with the shadows...
'Damn, highest difficulty is one thing, but this is overkill.'
Daunting.
Like being blind in unknown territory.
This bad, best to grind runs—but here, reality meant one shot left.
Even with Kim Sam-soon, could two really stop the Wheel-Breaking Society?
As Baek Hyun despaired—
"But my master said the situation isn't that dire."
"...What? This isn't dire?"
"I don't fully get it, but... my master said this:"
The possessors... aren't just two.