Chapter 44
At Dan Cheong's question, Baek Yeon replied calmly.
"It seems to be the Martial Alliance."
"The Martial Alliance?"
"They had thoroughly organized all weapons and personal belongings to conceal their identities."
"They even cleared away their personal belongings?"
"That is correct. However, perhaps because they were not meticulous enough, every single item turned out to be from the Hao Clan."
Baek Yeon spoke with eyes full of conviction.
"Judging by the weapons and personal effects of the unit members, it is most likely one of the brigades under the Chief Strategist... either the Autumn Wind Unit or the Flying Cloud Unit."
"Hmm."
Dan Cheong, who had been staring down at his teacup with cold eyes, muttered.
"If the matter were to escalate, it would be all too convenient to pin it on the Chief Strategist acting alone rather than the Martial Alliance."
"Precisely. The information about this child would have been leaked by a Martial Alliance spy planted within the Demon Hall."
"Still, I do not understand. This child has only just entered Langya Pavilion."
"It must be because of the rumors that this child's talent is exceptional."
Baek Yeon let out a deep sigh.
"They intend to pull out the root before the grass grows thick. Because he will become a great enemy in the not-so-distant future."
"Hmm."
Dan Cheong, having sighed deeply, scratched his head.
He had not even properly learned martial arts yet... but Bu Eun-seol had already been marked not only by the Demonic Path Ten Gates, but also by the Demon Hall's Elders' Hall, and now even the Martial Alliance.
'Is this unavoidable?'
Dan Cheong, who had been deep in thought, shook his head.
'Trials follow heroes. No matter how fine the iron, it cannot become a good sword unless it is struck.'
Trials make a person stronger.
Dan Cheong believed without a doubt that the trials pouring down upon Bu Eun-seol would only make him stronger.
And in order to overcome those trials, he needed to learn powerful martial arts as quickly as possible.
'It cannot be helped. Since time is pressing... I have no choice but to teach him martial arts myself.'
Dan Cheong nodded as if he had made up his mind.
"Bu Eun-seol. You must learn Langya Pavilion's true martial arts as soon as possible. Are you aware of this?"
"Of course."
"Then you must have already decided who you will learn from?"
Even as he asked the question, Dan Cheong wore a benevolent smile as if the answer were obvious.
The greatest master in the pavilion, excluding the Pavilion Lord himself, was standing right before him. He did not doubt for a moment that Bu Eun-seol would choose him.
"I..."
But Bu Eun-seol said something unexpected.
"I want to learn martial arts through real combat."
"Hm? Real combat?"
"Did you not tell me before? That the foundation of practical combat martial arts is to see much, and to learn within it."
—The foundation of practical combat martial arts is the eyes. But once you reach a certain realm, you will be able to see through an enemy's movements just by watching, and even seize an enemy's techniques in the midst of fierce battle.
Dan Cheong, recalling his own words, furrowed his brows.
"So you are saying you will learn martial arts by experiencing real combat?"
"That is correct."
Bu Eun-seol nodded with a somber expression.
"Because the time remaining to me is... not much."
Jeok Bung had estimated that it would take Bu Eun-seol three years to learn all of Langya Pavilion's martial arts.
Which meant that the time actually given to Bu Eun-seol was far less than three years.
"If that is what you have set your mind to... very well. But by what method do you intend to experience real combat while learning martial arts?"
Bu Eun-seol spoke smoothly, as if he had already thought it through.
"Previously, Master Cheol told me about the Innovation Unit."
"The Innovation Unit?"
"Yes. He said it is the armed brigade that deals with those who harm the Main Pavilion or touch the Main Pavilion."
"And?"
As Dan Cheong furrowed his brows, Bu Eun-seol spoke calmly.
"Are the seniors of the Innovation Unit not the most accustomed to real combat in the Main Pavilion? I want to see their real combat with my own eyes."
"So... you mean to say you want to join the Innovation Unit?"
"That is correct."
At that, Baek Yeon, who had been listening quietly, shook his head.
"You. Do you know what kind of place the Innovation Unit is?"
Looking down at Bu Eun-seol, he spoke with a solemn expression.
"The Innovation Unit is made up of the roughest and most ferocious people in the Main Pavilion. They especially despise those without skill."
Baek Yeon's expression grew even sterner as he continued.
"Moreover, the personality of the Innovation Unit's leader, So-jeon, is unspeakably eccentric."
"I have heard. That he personally beat to death disciples of Langya Pavilion who lacked skill."
Baek Yeon opened his mouth in disbelief.
"You know that, and you still want to enter?"
"I am entering precisely because I know."
"You fool! A little talent and you're already full of arrogance. What you're saying right now is..."
At that moment, Dan Cheong, who had been listening silently, abruptly interjected.
"Now that I think of it. Wasn't the Innovation Unit's next target Wind Thunder Valley?"
"...That is correct."
"Good. Then relay this to So-jeon. When they go to Wind Thunder Valley, tell him to include this one as a unit member as well."
In an instant, Baek Yeon's face hardened stiffly.
"Deputy Pavilion Lord. Are you saying this because you do not know that man's temperament?"
"I know it well. I am sending him precisely because I know it well. Besides, he will not be a formal unit member, merely a temporary one."
"Absolutely not."
Baek Yeon spoke with a resolute expression.
"Even if So-jeon suppresses his temper and accepts him, this mission is at a level where even the Innovation Unit members themselves must stake their lives."
"I am well aware of that as well."
"And yet you still intend to send him?"
At that, Dan Cheong grinned.
"Baek Yeon. Why don't you try trusting that child, just this once."
In that instant, Baek Yeon closed his mouth.
For those were the very words he himself had said to Dan Cheong before sending Bu Eun-seol to Demon Hall.
"I trust that child's judgment. Seeing him speak so boldly before me... he must have agonized countless times, and then concluded that there was considerable possibility."
"Hmm."
Baek Yeon let out a groan, a bitter expression on his face.
Just as he himself had once believed in Bu Eun-seol's potential, this time Dan Cheong was trying to believe in it.
"I see."
Baek Yeon, who had been glancing at Bu Eun-seol's burning gaze, clasped his hands together.
"I shall go and relay it to So-jeon personally."
The Innovation Unit.
It was the armed brigade of Langya Pavilion, composed of thirty members in total.
The martial arts level of each unit member had all reached the Peak Realm, and the martial arts of the unit leader So-jeon and the deputy unit leader Je Un were known to be comparable to the level of dominators who ruled over an entire region.
And now they were to include Bu Eun-seol, who had only just entered Langya Pavilion, as a unit member?
Naturally, So-jeon could not accept such an order.
Inside Langya Pavilion, the second-floor honored guest room of Myriad Prosperity Inn.
"Are you joking with me right now?"
So-jeon, the leader of the Innovation Unit, who sat facing Baek Yeon before a set table of drinks, glared with wide eyes.
"Take that greenhorn to Wind Thunder Valley? Does this So-jeon look like a nursemaid who looks after snot-nosed brats to you?"
As if he were the incarnation of Zhang Fei himself, So-jeon bristled his stiff beard, and Baek Yeon shook his head.
"It is an order given directly by the Deputy Pavilion Lord."
"Then I shall go see the Deputy Pavilion Lord and refuse him directly."
"There is no need."
Baek Yeon produced a token engraved with a single wolf from his pocket.
It was the Sky Wolf Token, symbolizing the Deputy Pavilion Lord of Langya Pavilion.
"This is..."
As So-jeon hesitated, Baek Yeon spoke coldly.
"He says he already has a mountain of troublesome matters piled up, and does not wish to bicker back and forth with you."
Dan Cheong, knowing So-jeon would come to protest, had simply sent Baek Yeon with the token in hand.
"So in the end, you mean I must take that greenhorn with me."
"He is no mere greenhorn."
Baek Yeon, who had drained his cup, spoke.
"That child went alone into Demon Hall this time, and shattered the conspiracy of the Fire Rain Sword Sect and White Horse Temple before coming out."
"Whatever that fellow did, it is none of my concern."
As if he still did not acknowledge Bu Eun-seol as a disciple of Langya Pavilion, So-jeon's attitude was firm.
"I have no choice. Look at this."
Wearing a bitter smile, Baek Yeon took a small letter from his bosom and held it out.
"Senior Brother Neung Gak, who is at Demon Hall, also saw this child and sent a letter to the Main Pavilion asking that special care be taken of him."
"Neung Gak... Senior Brother, you say?"
So-jeon's eyes wavered as he received the letter.
Neung Gak was the Hall Leader of Celestial Scheme Hall, which could be called the chief strategist of Langya Pavilion.
But the Lord of Demon Hall, having recognized his peerless talent for martial scholarship early on, had personally recruited Neung Gak to Demon Hall and appointed him as the leader of the Mystery Faction.
In particular, So-jeon had learned the most martial arts from Neung Gak, and so was the most devoted to him.
"I have no choice."
So-jeon drained the cup filled with liquor in one long gulp.
"No, perhaps this is for the better."
Wiping his mouth, he flashed his eyes while still gripping the cup.
"I had been meaning to see that greenhorn soon anyway."
Baek Yeon, having caught the meaning behind So-jeon's words, spoke firmly.
"He is a child who has returned after crossing the threshold of death many times. Do not even think of that test you have in mind."
"A test? There's no need for a test."
Clack.
So-jeon set down the bowl he had been holding and grinned, baring his fangs.
"If you can survive this expedition, I'll acknowledge you as a disciple of Langya Pavilion."
Wind Thunder Valley.
A sect derived from the Veneration Cult, it was a place that honed martial arts through Body Strengthening Techniques and human modification.
What was peculiar about Wind Thunder Valley was that it was a reckless ruffian even among the Demonic Path, shunned by all.
This was because it kidnapped children for research into human modification and did not hesitate to engage in human trafficking for money.
Having committed all manner of atrocities in the martial world for a long time, the factions of both the Orthodox and Unorthodox Paths were grinding their teeth at it.
Yet the reason Wind Thunder Valley remained unshaken was that it was, in the truest sense, a natural fortress.
One had to cross between sheer cliffs fitted with all sorts of mechanical devices and hidden weapons, and then pass through Ice Crystal Lake, just to enter.
Because of this, even the Innovation Unit of Langya Pavilion—who could each be called a warrior worth a hundred—was hesitating to enter at the entrance.
"It's considerably farther than I'd heard."
A sheer cliff.
So-jeon, who had been gazing at the cliff they needed to cross to the other side, furrowed his brow.
Between the cliffs, nothing more than a single thick rope had been strung.
At that moment, a unit member standing beside So-jeon spoke.
"The bigger problem is that tremendous gusts of wind blow around the rope bridge. And..."
He pointed to a small building erected near the cliff on the opposite side.
"A watch post like that has also been set up."
The watch post was made of stone, and instead of windows, a very small gap was visible.
It seemed that, to prevent the sentry from being caught in a surprise attack, it had been built so that the opposite side could only be monitored through that tiny gap.
"If we reveal ourselves, the sentry inside will simply cut the bridge."
So-jeon, who had been staring at the cliff with his arms crossed, narrowed his eyes.
"Je Un."
"Give your orders."
"Is it possible?"
"I'll have to try."
Je Un, the Deputy Unit Leader, cracked his neck with a pop and drew two Willow Leaf Flying Blades, thin as leaves, from within his robes.
Then he fixed his gaze on the watch post with extremely solemn eyes.
'He intends to throw the flying blades from here?'
Bu Eun-seol, who had been watching, opened his eyes wide.
From here to the watch post on the opposite side was at least seven hundred feet. From the other side, the watch post would appear as no more than a tiny dot.
Moreover, the gap made in the watch post was so narrow that one could barely see outside through it. And yet he meant to send those light Willow Leaf Flying Blades all the way over there?
Swoosh.
To throw a hidden weapon a great distance, one normally needed a large motion.
But Je Un's posture did not change in the slightest.
'Could he have achieved Unity of Mind and Blade.'
Unity of Mind and Blade. A state in which the blade and the mind are one.
Upon reaching such a realm, one is not bound by the limitations of the physical body when executing blade techniques. Even if seated or lying down, one can unleash them just the same.
'It was a good thing I entered the Upper-Level Hall of Fire Rain Sword Sect.'
Had Bu Eun-seol not learned the profound principles of Sword Studies from Dan Cheon-yang, the instructor of the Upper-Level Hall, he would not have been able to appreciate such a realm.
Fwit.
At last, the Willow Leaf Flying Blades in Je Un's hands shot into the air.
The two flying blades, streaking in twin lines, were sucked precisely into the gap of the watch post over seven hundred feet away.
"..."
Silence hung for a time.
So-jeon, standing still, glanced sideways at Je Un.
"Do you think it worked?"
"I'll have to confirm."
Je Un narrowed his eyes and stared at the watch post.
"Even if the sentry is dead, there may be mechanical devices installed on the rope strung between the cliffs."
"I see. We mustn't allow any mishap, after all."
So-jeon, who had nodded calmly, pointed at Bu Eun-seol.
"You cross the bridge."
Judging by his tone and attitude, So-jeon did not consider Bu Eun-seol part of the Innovation Unit's combat strength.
In other words, he thought it would not matter if Bu Eun-seol died, and so he intended to send him into danger first.
"Understood."
But Bu Eun-seol stepped forward without a word of protest.
Whooosh!
In the gusting wind, the rope strung between the cliffs swayed violently.
Tap.
Bu Eun-seol, having stepped up onto the rope, took a deep breath and raised his internal energy.
The rope swayed constantly with the wind, so unless he exerted the Suction Principle through the soles of his feet, there was no way he could cross.
Swoosh, swoosh.
Bu Eun-seol walked across the rope with an extremely cautious expression.
For if he made even the slightest mistake, he would plummet from the Ten-Thousand-Zhang Cliff and his body would be shattered to pieces.
"His internal energy is quite solid."
Je Un, who had been watching, let out a note of admiration.
"Seeing that he can properly exert the Suction Principle against the rope."
So-jeon did not reply, merely watching in silence.
Slowly but steadily, step by step, Bu Eun-seol advanced. When he had passed roughly the midpoint,
Clank.
Suddenly, a section of the wall of the building near the watch post opened,
Shhhhhhhk!
And all at once, a swarm of hidden weapons, like a hive of bees, blanketed Bu Eun-seol's entire body.