The Two Uninvited Guests from the Heavenly Martial Alliance
Yoo Eunhyeon’s eyes widened in shock. “The greatest in the world?!”
He could not help but exclaim. If someone had told him the leaders of the Demonic Cult and the Heavenly Martial Alliance would visit his farm, he would never have believed it.
Up until their arrival, he had cared little about the two visitors. Judging only by their clothing and bearing, he had assumed they were high-ranking members of either faction and let it go at that.
When Yoo Eunhyeon failed to hide his surprise, Yeo U-hui added an explanation, as if to soothe him.
“Ah, I see… your nephew naturally knows nothing of this world. Let me put it simply. Those two are currently the strongest in the Murim—the Thousand-Year Dark Demon Sa Unsik and the Twin Immortals of Sword and Blade So Biwon. We cannot say which is stronger, but one of them must be the greatest in the world. Yet they learned something from you? How to farm? Really?”
Yoo Eunhyeon nodded vigorously as Yeo U-hui questioned him with obvious doubt.
“It’s true. I don’t even know how this happened. Originally, as a farmer, all I know is farming.”
It was true. The two men had not taught him Inner Energy Circulation or any martial technique, yet it seemed they had taken something from his farming wisdom…
As a complete novice in martial arts, Yoo Eunhyeon had no way of knowing exactly what he had given them.
In truth, he had only just begun practicing martial arts, and while the parallels with farming were noticeable, they were hardly enough for anyone to reach the pinnacle of the world. The world would still belong to the farmers if that were the case.
“I see… that must be it. They really only learned how to farm. If one reaches that level, perhaps they can comprehend the principle behind it as well.”
Yoo Eunhyeon fell silent for a moment, lost in thought, as Yeo U-hui murmured to herself.
‘That must be why those who came that day spoke of such things. Then truly…’
A sudden thought flashed through Yoo Eunhyeon’s mind.
“Wait a second… so I’ve been taught martial arts by the leader of the Demonic Cult and the leader of the Heavenly Martial Alliance? Is this… acceptable? Did Sa Unsik order me to hide the fact that he taught me martial arts? Because it was the Demonic Cult’s technique?”
Of course Yoo Eunhyeon panicked, but it was too late. The Inner Energy he had received from Sa Unsik’s Inner Energy Circulation already flowed freely through his body.
And the martial arts he had learned from So Biwon had become impossible to forget, no matter how hard he tried.
When Yeo U-hui noticed his stiff expression, she asked again in a gentle tone.
“And then? Nothing else happened?”
“Um… well, yes. After that they just left. They seemed a bit rushed, though.”
In the end, Yoo Eunhyeon decided to keep the fact that he had received martial arts from the two men a secret. There was nothing to gain by having it discovered.
“Hum… then? Well, it could have been much worse. The Heavenly Martial Alliance, yes, but the Demonic Cult is an unpredictable bunch.”
“They destroyed the field in this state. It’s clear they were the bad guys.”
“Destroying the field itself was probably not the goal. There must have been some other reason… I don’t know. You have no suspicions?”
“I don’t. It wasn’t anything special about our field…”
Yeo U-hui looked thoughtful, but Yoo Eunhyeon shook his head.
Even reaching the conclusion that the field had been burned to pull him into the Murim felt impossible to him.
“Speaking of which, I have something to tell you.”
“Go ahead.”
Nodding, Yoo Eunhyeon spoke in a calmer voice.
“Can you take me to where my mother, Su Hwa-seon, is?”
Yeo U-hui’s face showed surprise at the direct request. She had expected something, but she had not anticipated this.
Yoo Eunhyeon’s expression, however, was resolute. In the letter she had received, Su Hwa-seon had been told to wait and tend the farm, but with the field destroyed, farming was impossible for the foreseeable future.
Moreover, Yeo U-hui knew where Su Hwa-seon was, and this was the perfect chance for Yoo Eunhyeon to meet her.
“Mm. Yes. The outside is in chaos right now. You couldn’t possibly be farming like the letter said. Lucky you. If you had insisted on staying here, I would have dragged you away by force.”
“What? Why?”
“You still know nothing. What happened here today is no small matter. The Heavenly Martial Alliance and the Demonic Cult started a fight. The scale of the casualties suggests it is no minor incident. They may not escalate to a full-scale war, but the damage inflicted will be significant, and there is no way to overlook it.”
Yeo U-hui paused after speaking, then took a sip of tea. Yoo Eunhyeon asked in alarm.
“So… we just don’t fight back?”
“Even though it’s quiet out here for now, investigators will be sent at any moment. Your nephew would be dragged into it. Of course, it won’t come to that, but it will be… no, very troublesome. Especially with the Heavenly Martial Alliance. They may follow at least the minimum of decency, but expecting the same from the Demonic Cult is unrealistic. In such cases, it’s best to simply stay out of sight.”
Yeo U-hui spoke with grave seriousness, and Yoo Eunhyeon’s face drained of all color.
He had never considered that part at all.
Even if a single ordinary person were killed, it would still be treated as a murder and investigated. But here, tens—perhaps hundreds—of dead men lay before them. And since it was a fight between martial artists, any mistake could result in silent elimination without a trace.
“Then… we’d better hurry, right?”
“Technically yes, but we cannot simply leave. If we depart leaving a trace, we may be tracked. Let’s erase every sign we can and leave. Come, we must move quickly. From now on, do exactly as I say.”
Yoo Eunhyeon swallowed hard and nodded. Following Yeo U-hui’s instructions, he hurriedly tidied the area with her, then both left the house at once.
*
Half a day had passed since the two departed.
Two men appeared beneath Yoo Eunhyeon’s house.
“Huff… huff… I’m dying from exhaustion.”
“The young one should exercise a bit. No, more like he’s been climbing mountains. Are you even a martial artist?”
One was a middle-aged man with a rough beard, the other a slightly more refined-looking young man.
While the middle-aged man chewed on a piece of wood he had found somewhere, as if on a stroll, and twirled it around, the young man was breathing heavily.
The grumbling of Gu Pyo, a brand-new recruit in the Jeongeumdae Hwangeumdan division who had only been with Go Ji-han for a week, reached a higher pitch.
“I thought being in the Hwangeumdan meant we’d sneak in and do some cool spy work, but this is just plain hard labor.”
“Oi? If anyone heard that, they’d think we were good at infiltration. Come on. Is infiltration easy? If you get flustered, the Demonic Cult members will kill you on the spot. This is infiltration duty. You haven’t suffered enough yet. Stop complaining and do some hard labor here. At least you won’t die.”
As Go Ji-han had said, the Hwangeumdan’s infiltration mission meant entering enemy territory, so danger was inevitable.
“Still, my comrades went to the Samwondae or the Cheonyadae. Why am I the only one like this?”
“Hah, look at your big mouth. Listen here. Those who go there are from the Great Sects or the Five Major Families. And can you even handle that place? Are you stronger than those who went before?”
“I’m weak now, but I’ll get stronger. Only strong people are chosen, so how am I supposed to become strong like you… Our Heavenly Martial Alliance needs to change.”
“No way. The Great Sects become Great Sects for a reason. And change? Forget it. It’s been the same then and now. In another year the Heavenly Martial Alliance will have been around for a hundred years. A hundred years. For a hundred years they’ve been fighting the Demonic Cult.”
“Ugh, don’t exaggerate. Even Big Brother didn’t belong to the Heavenly Martial Alliance during the Battle of Breaking the Tribulation thirty years ago.”
“What? Exaggerating? Listen here. It would have been better if he had. I was only twelve at the time. I had to experience the Battle of Breaking the Tribulation with my own body at such a young age. Just thinking about it now makes me shiver. The Demonic Cult members were terrifying.”
“But they only fought the Demonic Cult for thirty years, and it was nothing more than minor disturbances.”
The Battle of Breaking the Tribulation had been a major clash between the Demonic Cult and the Heavenly Martial Alliance thirty years earlier. Countless martial artists had spilled blood. Although the leader of the Demonic Cult and the leader of the Heavenly Martial Alliance had each claimed victory, neither side had achieved a final resolution.
Since then, the Heavenly Martial Alliance and the Demonic Cult had deliberately avoided full-scale war and settled for minor skirmishes, each side testing the other’s limits.
“Move already. When your mouth runs faster, your legs slow down? If you can’t go fast in both, it’s better to move your legs quickly and survive.”
Though Gu Pyo grumbled at Go Ji-han’s warning, he began circulating his Inner Energy again.
Before long, the two men reached the start of the path where the Cheonhwang Paeundae had ascended. As they crested the ridge of the mountain, both frowned.
“Terrible. The situation is bad.”
“The mountain beasts devoured them all. You, count the bodies while I wander around nearby. I’ll examine more closely.”
“Understood.”
After about half a shichen, Gu Pyo returned and shook his head at Go Ji-han.
“Due to the poor condition, it’s not exact, but from a quick scan I estimate around ninety bodies. It looks like the whole unit has been wiped out.”
“The strength of the Cheonhwang Paeundae and the Jeongeumdae is nearly equal, so… damn it. The worst possible outcome. This is no ordinary matter. Have you heard anything about this mission?”
“Nothing. It must be a very secret task.”
“It’s probably better to think that way. And it seems they clashed with the Cheonhwang Paeundae while carrying out the mission.”
“What kind of mission could it have been…”
“We don’t know the details, but we know who issued it.”
“Really?”
Gu Pyo was startled, and Go Ji-han tapped his forehead as if to say, “You didn’t know this?”
“It’s obvious. We received a sealed order. And only a few people can issue sealed orders directly to the Jeongeumdae.”
Go Ji-han paused as if thinking of something, then looked up. He shouted loudly.
“By the way, I heard that the Master is around here. Could the Master…?”
Raising a hand to stop him, Go Ji-han ordered silence. Gu Pyo quickly closed his mouth.
“Well then, what were the Demonic Cult members trying to do here?”
“Ah, I think I know. There are signs of battle, but unlike the Jeongeumdae, the Demonic Cult members seem to have focused on thorough destruction of the surroundings.”
Go Ji-han scanned the area and frowned.
“These idiots… it doesn’t seem like they were fighting. They destroyed the field completely.”
“What was it? It’s true. So were the Jeongeumdae trying to stop the Demonic Cult members from destroying this field?”
“Even if you think about it, the Cheonhwang Paeundae or the Jeongeumdae wouldn’t have been able to stop them like that…”
Gu Pyo had also found it unbelievable, but all the evidence pointed in that direction.
No matter how unlikely the conclusion, Go Ji-han had taught him that if the information showed it, one had to believe it.
Yet Go Ji-han remained serious and lost in thought even after hearing Gu Pyo’s words, then started walking without answering. Gu Pyo trailed behind in silence, following Go Ji-han toward the house where Eunhyeon lived, not the field.