Chapter 148

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 148

Chapter Title: Baek Liyeon's Melancholy (1)

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Since ancient times, what kind of existence is the Martial Alliance Leader?

As a towering pillar of the orthodox martial world, they must fulfill the role of the great elder who supports all martial artists like a beam, allowing them to bask in peace.

And if villains like those from the demonic cults or unorthodox sects rise up, they must immediately charge to the front and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠decisively chop off their heads.

At the very least.

I don't think it's someone who relies solely on their looks, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠idles around doing nothing, and pops up out of nowhere like this pint-sized menace.

"Alliance Leader?"

"Ah, right! Lady Yuwol, have you been well?"

"Euhuhut...!"

Today, my heart felt unusually generous.

It was the kind of mood where even if Lady Seol popped out shouting "Bbuing bbuing," it wouldn't come off as pathetic but as adorable charm.

The power of a century-old flirt...

"Lady?"

"Come to think of it, why is this kid... no, our Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's Young Cult Leader so curt with words?"

"Young Cult Leader. That's me."

Not exactly a compliment.

Why are you so proud of that statement?

.

.

.

I sent the time bomb that could explode at any moment back to the dorms for now.

"Hmph."

The original Little Heavenly Demon puffed out her cheeks in protest.

But in the harsh martial world, power is authority.

She couldn't compete with the Peak Realm Luri, who was now a blooming twenty-one-year-old, no matter how childish her actions were, against that old monster who claimed to be on the verge of Profound Realm.

"Awooo!"

"Kyaaang!"

And so, she was forcibly sent home with a wolf pup in her mouth.

"...So, what brings you here?"

"You made a huge mess in the middle of the city and thought you could hide the aftermath?"

"..."

As expected.

It was the fallout from the Invincible Meteor Strike.

"You even wrecked Hyuncheol? What are you going to do about that? Oh, by the way, I've invested a lot in the Hundred Flowers Academy too?"

"...I'll compensate..."

"That's all?"

"I'll restore it to original condition..."

"Ahem. That's a given."

Her expression was so infuriating.

With a devilishly wicked grin like she was about to chant "Worthless♡ grovel♡ grovel♡," Dan Yuwol looked down at me.

But what could I do?

She was flaunting her superiority while floating high in the sky... I had no choice but to yield...

"Anyway, why did you really come, Lady?"

"Hehehe. Hehe. Curious? Shall I tell you?"

"Yes, please do."

Then Dan Yuwol suddenly misted her eyes with melancholy and began a long, long tale from ancient times.

"Right, it was 18 years ago..."

Hearing a story from 18 years ago flow smoothly from someone who didn't even look 18 felt oddly dissonant.

But pointing that out would shatter the goodwill stack I'd built by swallowing my pride and calling her "Lady."

I listened intently with a very serious expression, nodding along.

The conclusion.

Baek Liyeon is the last survivor of the Baekli Family, which was wiped out.

And as Alliance Leader, she came to check on that matter.

It flowed out like a grand epic saga, reminiscent of some boy's life story with a lightning bolt mark on his forehead.

"I see."

"Exactly. So I already swung my Alliance Leader authority to prepare a private dorm for her!"

I held back from saying that sounded like abuse of power.

Impressive, me!

"So, you need to cooperate a bit too. You're the Student Council President, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠right? And you should pay up for monopolizing the training hall."

"Isn't that abuse of power... Oof."

This really hurts...!

"Better listen up before I invoke the Academy Head's name?"

As I thought about her even selling out the Academy Head's authority,

Dan Yuwol raised her nose with an expression like she wanted to smack me again.

"Hehe. This lady is about to quit being Alliance Leader!"

She even puts "lady" in her own mouth.

"Then who becomes the next Martial Alliance Leader? Maybe Hero Yuwol Sword?"

"No? Why him? It's Wol Song."

"The current Academy Head?"

"Yep."

What a rotten orthodox martial world cesspool.

Passing positions around among themselves.

"You seem to be thinking something very insolent. I opposed it? But unfortunately, I'm not the highest elder in the martial world."

"Alliance... Are there experts above Lady?"

At my question, Dan Yuwol slightly furrowed her brow.

The two names from her mouth.

The previous Shaolin Temple Abbot and Mount Hua Sect's previous Sect Leader.

"Hate to admit it, and it's not official, but... those old fogeys reached Profound Realm, apparently. That's part of the reason too. The Alliance Leader has too much work, but the Academy Head is leisurely? Just make the underlings do it. Euhit."

Dan Yuwol muttered more to herself,

But my brain could simultaneously produce soulless reactions and accelerate its thinking.

The Alliance Leader seems unrelated to the Azure Heaven Society.

One of the experts above her must be the final black curtain of the Azure Heaven Society.

There were no signs last time when I gulped down the Great Return Pill.

For the Academy Head to go all the way to Alliance Leader...

No way, is the final boss Shaolin Temple?

* * *

Picked up a meteor strike.

Became the Alliance Leader's slave.

That summed up today's events perfectly.

Well, technically I didn't pick it up or become a slave, but psychologically, it felt about right.

My head was a bit complicated from all the info I'd gleaned,

But I still had to do what needed doing.

"Whew."

Due to unavoidable circumstances, the second-year training hall was unavailable.

So I borrowed the first-year one as a temporary measure, finished evening practice,

And mulled over what Dan Yuwol had told me earlier.

Excluding the headache-inducing Azure Heaven Society stuff.

The culprit who destroyed the Baekli Family. Illusion Demon.

I'd heard about him from Elder Tang Wuryang.

The Blood Cult had seven people, including himself, with "Demon" attached.

Though he joked he wasn't worthy of such a grand title, only to get his beard yanked by Miri-nae, shedding a handful and tears like chicken droppings.

Anyway.

Surprisingly, I'd crossed paths with four of them.

Lecher Demon Yeon Hongun, Poison Demon Tang Wuryang, Ghost Demon Hong Sundok, and Mad Demon.

I hadn't met the other three face-to-face,

But none of the people I'd met so far were normal anyway.

Well, my prospective father-in-law was just guilty of a minor ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠slip-up, atoned quickly, and returned to justice's embrace, so he's the exception.

Then how to measure their sins.

The righteous modern martial world had the perfect tool to delve into past misdeeds: the Merit Mirror Platform!

The repository of knowledge, Martial World Wiki!

"Sigh."

I ego-searched once a day, but my name still wasn't listed on the Martial World Wiki.

A bit relieving,

Yet a bit disappointing.

How to put it.

Seeing "Geum Sihyeon" and "Golden Mystery Sect Leader" pinned right there would inexplicably boost my self-esteem...

Well, that wasn't the goal of ego-searching and self-actualization.

Skipping past the petty criminals without individual pages, to Illusion Demon.

"This guy's a real psycho."

He'd wiped out three families: Sima Family, Baekli Family, Gongson Family.

And so many mid-to-small sects that you couldn't count them on two hands, uprooted entirely. Quite the illustrious record.

If I meet this bastard, I'll blow his head off without question.

While I'm at it, let's check others with individual pages.

Why is the Mutube channel listed?

Distorted info.

I corrected the real name from Hongryeon to Hong Sundok.

Next, Mad Demon.

"Whoa."

This one even had his recent rampage near Xi'an and hasty escape documented.

Too up-to-date.

Who investigates and adds this stuff? Hao Clan? Beggars' Sect?

Curious, I checked the edit history.

[r34 (+47) IWANTGYOMI (Updated recent activities)]

"...Sigh."

This is, well.

Contributing to Martial World Wiki updates feels way better than zipping around galleries being a happy harasser...

Out of curiosity, I checked our Chicken Lady's page too.

[(Reverted to r277) r333 (+68) NokrimYangsim]

[r332 (-68) IWANTGYOMI (False info and defamation)]

Still battling the Green Forest's conscience.

This time, not just the spinster hysteria part, but even more aggressively concealing her age.

Why is everyone around me abnormal?

Or does the internet make people abnormal?

I miss Narang...

"This is... pretty tough..."

For the past few days,

Regret had been welling up in Baek Liyeon.

Life at the Hundred Flowers Academy wasn't particularly romantic, fun, or even youthfully vibrant as she'd imagined.

- Last year's students memorized this much, so from this year, I'll double the amount.

She didn't know why martial artists had to study classics, and homework left no time for anything else.

Having entered the advanced class on a whim, she was dying matching techniques in spars instead of just meditating.

- You're number one? Impressive for a survivor of a wiped-out family.

And because she'd smashed the skull of some bastard spouting nonsense,

She'd grown distant from classmates who were starting to warm up,

And now faced disciplinary action for violence.

She even thought secluded training in the cultivation cave, eating only dry rations without sunlight, was better.

"Haa..."

As she lay sighing in a quiet grassy field,

"The ground's gonna cave in, junior."

The culprit who dragged her to the Hundred Flowers Academy, the black curtain behind all this.

Geum Sihyeon brazenly showed his face again.

"...What now?"

Her sharp retort was too prickly for a junior to a senior, but Geum Sihyeon smiled as innocently as possible, unperturbed.

"Junior. Got caught in a ghost story rumor?"

"If you're here to advise, just leave. I can handle──"

As Baek Liyeon snapped back and turned,

Geum Sihyeon's hand naturally gripped her wrist.

"Oni... no, become Student Council, Baek Liyeon. Then I'll protect you."