Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: The First Journey into Jianghu
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After the intense farewell with Maeng Yeon.
Baek Hyun spent the rest of that day packing the necessities needed for his departure to Hubei Province, and just like that, the day he set off arrived swiftly.
"Then I shall be off, Master."
"Yes, I trust you. Make the name of Starpoint Sect resound throughout the world. I hope the other disciples will also work hard for the prosperity of our sect."
"“““Yes, Sect Leader!!””””
Having fully prepared for departure, Baek Hyun exchanged final farewells with his master, whom he wouldn't see for at least several months, alongside the various senior and junior brothers who would accompany him on the journey.
This trip to Hubei wasn't just for Baek Hyun to participate in the Yongbong Assembly; it also aimed to greatly expand Starpoint Sect's business ventures, so the entourage was quite large in scale.
This was because they had to escort not only the merchants dispatched from Starpoint Sect's affiliated families, including the Heavenly Fragrance Merchant Group, but also the various goods and attendants they brought along.
Around Baek Hyun stood the leader of the group, Strategy Pavilion Master Mok Seon, along with two First-Generation Disciples and dozens of Second-Generation Disciples, all lined up and ready to set out.
"Mok Seon, take care of Hyun."
"Yes, senior brother. Worry not."
As Mok Seon and Mok Hyeon exchanged their final greetings.
Soon after, dozens of luxury carriages prepared by the Heavenly Fragrance Merchant Group arrived to carry them, and Starpoint Sect's disciples boarded them all at once.
Among them, Baek Hyun carefully placed his hard-earned bundle in the luggage compartment and flashed a smile filled with anticipation.
His historic first journey into the jianghu.
From now on, he would step out of the safety of his sect and face the raw, unfiltered jianghu head-on.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that his true murim life began at this very moment.
'I wonder just how spectacularly chaotic it'll be.'
Baek Hyun decided to eagerly await the tumultuous events that lay ahead.
-Rattle, rattle
Inside the gently rocking carriage.
Baek Hyun gazed at the scenery beyond the window with a faint smile. Watching him, Strategy Pavilion Master Mok Seon, who was tending to his personal brush, spoke first.
"This is your first time venturing into the jianghu, right?"
"Ah, yes. It's my first time even leaving the Yunnam Province area, so I'm really looking forward to it!"
"It won't be as fun as you expect. You'll spend the entire day cooped up in the carriage until we reach our destination, only stepping out briefly during rest stops."
"Eek."
At those words, the excitement swelling on Baek Hyun's face rapidly cooled.
No matter how different expectations and reality might be, the best part of any trip was the pre-arrival buzz—and here was someone casually dousing that with cold water...
'That guy's definitely a total T type.'
Baek Hyun secretly became convinced.
"But make the most of it and gain as much experience as you can. You can quietly admire the scenery like now, or watch the attendants prepare for camp later.
Try anything you can as long as it doesn't disturb the others.
No matter the form, new experiences will become assets for the future."
Mok Seon wrapped his tidied brush in a clean cloth and slipped it into his sleeve before continuing.
After his earlier buzzkill remark, this surprisingly sentimental and meaningful advice made Baek Hyun stop his secret grumbling and listen attentively once more.
"Even experiences that seem trivial at first glance accumulate to form wisdom and mature gravitas.
If you hole up in the sect and only train, you might become an excellent martial artist, but not an excellent person. That's why you sometimes see grown adults in the jianghu acting more childishly than kids.
Nothing is harder to forgive than someone not living up to their age, so keep that in mind."
"Kh... Yes, I understand."
Seeing Mok Seon shake his head with a look of genuine distaste, Baek Hyun barely suppressed the laughter bubbling up.
He'd thought the man was an emotionless T psychopath, but he could express feelings so transparently too.
He seemed more human than expected.
"I have to coordinate the entire group, so if you need anything, come to the lead carriage. And show your face an hour before we camp."
"Understood, Elder."
With that, Mok Seon finished adjusting his attire and stepped out of the carriage, leaving Baek Hyun suddenly alone in the spacious luxury carriage.
The only sound was the regular rattle echoing through the empty, boring space.
It was the perfect environment for tackling the tasks he'd been putting off.
Just like how even cleaning feels fun during exam season.
In such settings, even activities one usually loathes become enjoyable.
Baek Hyun began unpacking the bundle he'd prepared for this very moment.
It had taken days to pack, but surprisingly, Baek Hyun hadn't brought much.
He'd originally planned to bring all the gear for camping and cooking, but later learned that the Heavenly Fragrance Merchant Group would handle all the miscellaneous trip needs.
So he only packed a few changes of clothes and basic necessities for himself, filling the rest of the space with items to pass the time in the carriage.
Those items were books recording all the teachings he'd received so far.
In technical terms, 'notebooks.'
'It was about time to organize them anyway.'
Once a diligent exam student in 21st-century Korea, he actively used notebooks for his martial arts training.
Normally, such notes were avoided except by those aiming for mastery, due to the risk of leaking martial secrets.
But Baek Hyun wrote everything in 'Hangul,' eliminating any chance of leakage.
'Is this some cipher passed down in the imperial palace of the Dai Li Kingdom?'
'Uh... well, it's letters made by the king, yeah.'
Even Mok Heon, who had seen Hangul with his own eyes and verified its cipher-like nature, had permitted Baek Hyun's note-taking.
His notebooks came in two types.
The first was the 'memorization notebook,' compiling all the teachings and advice from his master, seniors, and grand-seniors.
For each martial art he was learning, Baek Hyun created a corresponding memorization notebook, neatly organizing related teachings, advice, and oral formulas in one place.
When he encountered confusing parts during training, he'd immediately open the notebook to mull over the relevant teachings, advice, and formulas.
He'd add his personal interpretations and side notes, seizing 'enlightenments' on his own without relying on fortunes or opportunities.
The second was the 'answers notebook,' compiling the insights gained from that reflection process.
Since enlightenments were rare opportunities, he made it for review to avoid forgetting them.
Someone might ask how one could forget such precious insights.
But Baek Hyun knew well that one common murim enlightenment cliché was 'returning to basics'... i.e., 'remembering what was forgotten.'
Even those ridiculous awakening sequences happened because of slacking on reviews.
The 'answers notebook' was made to prevent such disasters.
Right now, what Baek Hyun reached for was the 'memorization notebook.'
'Too many side notes and interpretations cluttering it up.'
Of course, gaining enlightenment didn't diminish the value of the memorization notebook.
Until he achieved 'great success' in the martial art, he'd need to keep using it, so reorganizing the contents neatly midway was convenient in many ways.
Adding new content was something he did anyway, so it wasn't quite an 'update.'
'Remake' was more fitting.
'Alright, let's start with this one.'
Among the many memorization notebooks, Baek Hyun pulled out the one with by far the most overwhelming volume.
It was for the new supreme martial art of Starpoint Sect that he had discovered.
But due to its hellish difficulty, it had been a white elephant for years.
The memorization notebook for 'Vast Cold Moon Shadow Step.'
Even though he hadn't touched the art in years, the notebook's volume was overwhelming because.
The Martial Pavilion Master had spent years thoroughly dissecting, analyzing, savoring, and enjoying this art, then handed over an entire interpretation filled with his own insights.
It was like a university professor writing your assignment report for you.
'He seems a bit fierce, but he's really serious about martial arts.'
In fact, among the notebooks, the especially voluminous ones were mostly the Martial Pavilion Master's work.
Thanks to that, content that would have required starting from scratch now had a cushion to land on—practically a freebie opportunity, an absurd privilege.
'I couldn't be more grateful. But...'
Couldn't he have written it a bit more simply?
Baek Hyun sighed softly as he flipped through pages dense with arcane phrasing.
Even as an interpretation of the oral formulas, it was written to the standards of Starpoint Sect's top expert on supreme arts, the Martial Pavilion Master, so it still read like alien script to him.
Each phrase was so intuitive that it contrasted sharply with his master's teachings, which required no deep thought to absorb.
If his master's felt like being lovingly spoon-fed homemade baby food.
The Martial Pavilion Master's was like being tossed a freshly hunted cow whole.
'Still a hundred times better than hunting it myself.'
Yet whether easy to digest or not, it was all precious teaching.
To grow into a sturdy murim denizen, he had to devour it all without discrimination.
'Let's give it a shot.'
Baek Hyun immersed himself in organizing the notebook amid the rocking carriage.
During camps, he used himself as a light source to continue.
In between, he took in new environments, accumulated unique experiences of this era, and still found time to wield his brush and create new notebooks.
Thus, the arduous journey spanning several months continued.