Chapter 215
The old man fixed him with another piercing glare as he demanded:
"Tell me what your purpose is."
"Purpose? What purpose?"
The man chuckled dryly before replying.
"Seeing beggars who've forgotten how to beg properly—then watching so-called noble sects exploit their numbers to trade information like merchants—it turned my stomach so badly that..."
His words trailed off unfinished.
Whoosh!
The old man—no, Jeong No-sam, leader of Tiger Warriors Hall—moved like lightning, striking toward the man's Celestial Rush Point.
"Hmph."
The man snorted derisively as he twisted his body, narrowly avoiding the old man's fingers that sought his throat.
But it had been a feint. As if waiting for this exact evasion, the old man unleashed over a dozen fist techniques in rapid succession.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The barrage of punches proved unavoidable, and most found their mark across the man's body.
"Nothing special after all!"
Jeong No-sam's triumphant expression suddenly twisted in confusion.
Though every strike had clearly landed, his fists registered no impact—as if he'd been pounding a bundle of cotton.
"You little—"
Only then did he realize the man had been faking the hits while skillfully redirecting the fist energy. His mouth gaped soundlessly.
"Age must've weakened your hands."
The man smirked as he clenched his left fist.
Whiiiiiing!
A strange hum filled the air as if the surrounding atmosphere was being sucked inward—then an overwhelming surge of fist energy erupted.
"Guhk—!"
Jeong No-sam's eyes bulged as he choked on his own shock.
Not only was the man's fist technique lightning-fast, but the range of his fist energy extended over a hundred feet in all directions.
'No dodging this!'
Yet by some miracle, the energy only grazed Jeong No-sam's cheek before cleaving clean through a massive garden rock beside him.
Crrrrrack. Rumble.
The old man stood frozen like ice as he stared at the bisected boulder.
Gulp.
His throat moved involuntarily.
Had that energy been aimed at him, it would have been his skull split in two instead.
"From now on, stick to honest begging. No more pointless schemes."
With a mocking grin, the man turned away.
Jeong No-sam could only tremble violently, biting his lips too hard to speak.
Staggering outside, the man boarded a carriage waiting before the Snow Fragrance Pavilion.
Click-clack.
As the carriage departed, a radiant body light flickered in the man's eyes while he reclined comfortably.
Crreeeak.
Simultaneously, his facial bones rippled like water—eyes and nose gradually reshaping.
Slowly, the visage of a celestial being emerged: none other than Bu Eun-seol.
"Are you sure this is wise, Young Master?"
Heuk-pyo, seated in the driver's perch, called back with concern lacing his voice.
"That old man looked properly terrified. He'll likely mobilize the Beggars' Sect's experts immediately."
"Those entrenched in intelligence organizations share one trait—they never act until confirming their opponent's identity beyond doubt."
"But as Tiger Warriors Hall leader, he reports directly to the Beggars' Sect's headquarters—"
"Precisely."
Bu Eun-seol gazed out the window, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"He won't make reckless moves until obtaining precise intelligence about me."
Bu Eun-seol's ultimate goal remained a one-on-one confrontation with the Beggar King.
Yet the elusive king rarely appeared in the martial world, his movements so unpredictable that tracking him proved impossible.
—If you can't find someone, make them come to you.
By publicly shaking the Beggars' Sect's foundations and humiliating them, the Beggar King would have no choice but to seek out Bu Eun-seol himself.
Exposing the Tiger Warriors Hall's corruption at the Bu Estate had been merely the opening move.
"Still shocks me though. Who'd have thought the Beggars' Sect ranked among the wealthiest orthodox factions?"
At Heuk-pyo's sighing remark, Bu Eun-seol responded flatly:
"Their reputation for integrity exists solely because they hide beneath the shadow of the Nine Great Sects and One Gang. In truth, their greed matches their numbers."
Bu Eun-seol's gaze through the window deepened.
"And by revealing this truth, we'll identify all factions harboring grudges against them."
Today marked only the beginning.
Step by step, they would dismantle the Beggars' Sect's power structure—smoking out the Beggar King from whatever hole he crouched in.
From that day onward.
Not just Bu Eun-seol and Heuk-pyo—Hyeok So-jin, Myo Cheon-u, even Yu Un-ryong began roaming the Bu Estate, picking fights with the Beggars' Sect's key figures.
—Their personal details must be exposed, their humiliation delivered in crowded venues.
Bu Eun-seol established clear principles for these provocations.
Targets limited to the Beggars' Sect's Information Warfare Unit or high-ranking information officers.
And their corruption must always be exposed before large audiences.
—So even the Beggars' Sect rots...
Known for their lack of greed and simple lifestyles, the Beggars' Sect's reputation plummeted as Bu Eun-seol's group exposed previously hidden scandals.
Silence reigned within Pear Blossom Villa.
Having stirred up chaos throughout Kaifeng, Bu Eun-seol now remained secluded in the estate's pavilion with Hyeok So-jin, Myo Cheon-u, and Yu Un-ryong—none venturing outside.
"What exactly is the leader doing?"
After days of this seclusion, an exasperated Won Se-mun confronted Heuk-pyo.
"Why are those three holed up with him too?"
"They're researching martial technique forms."
"Martial technique forms?"
Heuk-pyo answered in a low voice.
"Until now, haven't the three of them been picking fights with the Beggars' Sect masters just like the Young Master? And fighting them? That's why they're all studying the Beggars' Sect's martial arts together."
Bu Eun-seol had provoked each of the Beggars' Sect masters one by one, dissecting their martial technique forms.
If there was a form he didn't recognize, he even deliberately let himself get hit.
As a result, though it wasn't the Beggars' Sect's true core martial arts, he had managed to grasp a considerable portion of their various technique forms and transformations from the surface level.
And now, he was studying them together with Hyeok So-jin, Myo Cheon-u, and Yu Un-ryong—all of whom had fought the Beggars' Sect masters.
"Such a thing... is even possible?"
"Yes."
Heuk-pyo spoke with a proud expression.
"In fact, the Young Master can even grasp martial arts to some extent just by observing the scars on corpses."
"Brands... Ah, I see."
Only then did Won Se-mun recall how Bu Eun-seol had not only taught the Demon Transfer Sect's saber techniques to the unit members but also the sword arts of the Zhongnan and Mount Hua Sects.
"I thought he was just deeply knowledgeable about orthodox martial arts... Turns out he was analyzing them on the spot."
"Heuk-pyo."
At that moment, the door creaked open, and Hyeok So-jin abruptly stuck his head out.
"The Great Leader says you should come in too."
Inside the chamber, candlelight burned brightly, and large sheets of paper were stacked in layers on the table.
The topmost sheet was covered in strange diagrams and lines, which Bu Eun-seol, Hyeok So-jin, Yu Un-ryong, and Myo Cheon-u were examining with grave expressions.
Heuk-pyo, who had entered, stood carefully to the side so as not to disturb their concentration.
"The Beggars' Sect's martial arts are far too disorderly."
Myo Cheon-u clicked his tongue as he studied the diagrams and lines.
These were all the martial arts of the Beggars' Sect that Bu Eun-seol had grasped—either by fighting their masters or by examining corpses.
The Beggars' Sect's martial arts were as varied as the number of its disciples, with countless techniques jumbled together.
Bu Eun-seol had spent a long time wandering the martial world, deeply researching their martial arts—excluding only the two supreme arts, Dog-Beating and Subduing Dragon.
"Still, it's truly impressive. To steal this much of the Beggars' Sect's martial arts in such a short time."
"I didn't steal them. I merely observed the traces they left behind."
Empty Mind Spirit Perception.
Using the extreme sensory state of the Way of the Beast, he could examine traces that would otherwise be impossible to see with the naked eye.
"Hmm."
After staring at the diagrams for a while, Myo Cheon-u's vision blurred.
The fatigue of scrutinizing the intricate transformations of the Beggars' Sect's martial technique forms for so long was weighing on him.
Scratch, scratch.
At that moment, Bu Eun-seol picked up a brush and began densely filling the paper with another diagram and lines.
He was sketching the transformations of the Hundred Knot Palm Method and the Heart-Shattering Secret Hand—the most commonly practiced techniques among Beggars' Sect disciples.
"Can you do it?"
At Bu Eun-seol's question, Myo Cheon-u nodded seriously.
"About seventy percent."
Myo Cheon-u was a master of Fist and Palm Learning, having deeply trained in the Annihilation Palm.
He intended to perfectly impart the palm and hand techniques Bu Eun-seol had analyzed to the Death Shadow Squad.
"You'll need to raise it to at least eighty percent. Enough that anyone who sees it will believe it was left behind by a Beggars' Sect master."
Bu Eun-seol could decipher martial arts from scars and traces.
With this ability, he had crushed the Demon Transfer Sect. And now, he intended to provoke the Beggars' Sect using the same method.
"Heuk-pyo."
Only then did Bu Eun-seol call out to Heuk-pyo, who had been standing aside.
"Yes, Young Master."
"This is the Beggars' Sect's Body Movement Martial Art—Twin Swallow Flight."
This time, Bu Eun-seol sketched out a movement manual and handed it to Heuk-pyo.
"You won't be able to do it alone. Call Bangs and study it together, then pass it on to the Second Squad's members."
Bangs was the nickname of Wi Cheon-gyeong, the leader of the Second Squad.
"Understood."
Heuk-pyo carefully accepted the manual.
Then, Bu Eun-seol handed Hyeok So-jin and Yu Un-ryong manuals for the Cutting Tail Staff Technique and the Dragon Spring Palm Staff Method.
"Teach them to the Third Squad's members. Make sure no one doubts that these are traces left by Beggars' Sect masters."
"Understood."
As Hyeok So-jin accepted the manual, Yu Un-ryong hesitated before speaking.
"Bu Eun-seol."
"Speak."
"Just how does one acquire such an ability?"
Yu Un-ryong shook his head as if he couldn't believe it.
"Even if it's just technique transformations... How can you instantly grasp the martial arts of each faction like this?"
"..."
"If all the masters of Langya Pavilion had this ability, the world's greatest would have all come from Langya Pavilion."
"It's not our pavilion's secret technique. Though our martial arts foundation does allow me to see more clearly."
Bu Eun-seol spoke indifferently.
"I was an undertaker."
Yu Un-ryong couldn't understand with just that one sentence. But looking into Bu Eun-seol's eyes, he faintly grasped it.
It wasn't because he had been an undertaker that he gained such an ability.
It was something achieved through bone-grinding effort and iron-melting persistence.
'Well, that bastard would've done something even while butchering meat.'
Just as Yu Un-ryong shook his head, Bu Eun-seol spoke in a solemn voice.
"From now on, you will lead the Death Shadow Squad and provoke the Black Syndicates—the gang organizations that hold grudges against the Beggars' Sect."
With a grave expression, he addressed the group gathered before him.
"From the very beginning, the Beggars' Sect grew by riding on the support of the common folk. If those very people turn their backs on them, their collapse will be unstoppable."
By exposing the Beggars' Sect's corruption and humiliating them, they had managed to find factions hostile to the sect.
Those factions were none other than the Black Syndicate forces that ruled the back alleys.
The Beggars' Sect, which wandered the streets begging, had deep ties with the lower classes.
In secret, they had been meddling in the Black Syndicate's interests.
"Soon enough, the Beggars' Sect will come looking for us on their own."
At Bu Eun-seol's words, everyone in the room nodded firmly.
Now, the real battle to draw out the Beggar King would begin.
A month later, the back alleys of Kaifeng began to stir.
The Beggars' Sect had always suppressed the Black Syndicate's influence in areas where honest merchants gathered.
Especially in Kaifeng, where the Beggars' Sect Headquarters was located, their interference with the Black Syndicate had been particularly severe.
But this time, it seemed the Beggars' Sect had made up its mind—they were determined to uproot the Black Syndicate entirely, raiding every hidden organization they could find.
—What the hell is this?
The Black Syndicate forces operating in Kaifeng fiercely resisted the Beggars' Sect's attacks.
—What exactly did we do wrong?
—Our sect is merely purging the parasites sucking the blood of the common folk!
The Beggars' Sect's masters showed no mercy as they struck down the Black Syndicate forces.
In truth, wherever commerce thrived, the Black Syndicate's presence was inevitable.
Until now, the Black Syndicate had resented the Beggars' Sect for interfering even in underworld affairs, but they had never dared to challenge one of the great orthodox sects of Murim.
They had always bowed their heads and submitted—so why were they suddenly being uprooted?
—You damn beggars!
Though the Black Syndicate resisted fiercely, they were no match for the Beggars' Sect's masters and their superior martial arts.
In the end, the Black Syndicate forces in Kaifeng had no choice but to halt their operations and scatter.
But not long after, strange rumors began circulating in Kaifeng.
It was revealed that certain merchants had ties to the Beggars' Sect.
While maintaining their livelihoods, they had been passing along rumors and information to the sect.
In exchange for their cooperation, they had received various benefits.
—So it was those bastards!
The Black Syndicate forces, their resentment boiling over, began grinding their teeth and gathering their strength.
They started threatening the inn attendants, porters, and even the Lowly Gate members who provided information to the Beggars' Sect.
No matter how powerful the Beggars' Sect was, they couldn't possibly control every single incident in the underworld.
Eventually, as the intelligence network sustaining Kaifeng crumbled, the flow of information to the Beggars' Sect Headquarters began to plummet.
In an underground chamber beneath the Beggars' Sect Headquarters,
the leaders of the Eight Routes—who oversaw the sect's intelligence—stood with grim expressions, alongside Deputy Sect Master Hae-pung.
With the aging Sect Master No Bong nearing the end of his strength, most of the Sect Council's duties had fallen to Hae-pung.
"Everything that's happened so far was the work of a Demon Hall unit called the Death Shadow Squad."
"The Death Shadow Squad?"
"Correct."
Jeong Sam, leader of the Little Beggar Unit, spoke in a grave voice.
"They're said to be a newly formed third-tier unit under the Demon Hall."
His tone was heavy.
"They purchased an entire abandoned manor on the outskirts of the Bu Estate and turned it into their base."
"Hmm."
"And then they provoked the Black Syndicate forces who held grudges against our sect, inciting conflict."
"That makes no sense."
Hae-pung shook his head.
"Then who were the masters that attacked the Black Syndicate?"
The masters who had attacked the Black Syndicate forces had all reportedly used the Beggars' Sect's martial arts.
Because of this, the Black Syndicate had nursed their hatred, moving through the back alleys and disrupting the sect's intelligence network.
"That hasn't been confirmed yet, but it's likely connected to the Demon Hall."
Jeong Sam took a deep breath before continuing.
"It's possible the Demon Hall has been secretly training individuals capable of replicating our sect's martial arts."
"Impossible."
Hae-pung shook his head in disbelief.
"That would mean the Demon Hall has been planning this for years, raising masters specifically trained in our techniques... That's absurd."
As he scoffed, I Sim-hwa, leader of the Beggar Corps, spoke up.
"It's not impossible."
"What?"
"The Martial Alliance... didn't they once have a master capable of replicating any martial art after seeing it just once?"
"Hmm."
Hae-pung's eyes narrowed.
There had long been rumors of a mysterious master within the Martial Alliance, one not only deeply versed in Demonic Path martial arts but also possessing an extraordinary ability to dismantle techniques.
And when the Great Righteous Experts had actually trained under this figure, the rumors were proven true.
However, this master always wore a mask and never revealed their identity.
"Then... could that also be the Death Shadow Squad commander's doing?"
Hae-pung shook his head again.
"How can you compare that mysterious master to some third-grade Demon Hall commander?"
He let out a dry laugh before continuing.
"If they truly had such an ability, they wouldn't remain stuck as a mere third-grade commander."
After a moment of deep contemplation, Hae-pung spoke in a decisive tone.
"There's no need to overthink this. Corps Leader, take the Beggar Corps to the Pear Blossom Villa."
A sharp, solemn light burned in Hae-pung's eyes.
"And leave none alive. Wipe them out completely—so the Demon Hall never dares such nonsense again."
As Deputy Sect Master Hae-pung's stern command fell, I Sim-hwa clasped his hands together and bowed deeply.
"Understood."