The Path of My Own Choosing
Although he kept his composure, Dok-go Cheon was deeply bewildered.
Until now, whenever the topic of taking a disciple arose, it was Dok-go Cheon who had delivered the cold, swift rejections.
Martial artists of Sadocheon, heirs of the most prominent unorthodox factions, and even the direct descendants of the Central Plains' three greatest merchant groups—
'Every last one of them practically begged to become my disciple.'
Yet here he was, facing the exact opposite situation.
It was the first time he had ever offered to take a disciple, and he had never imagined he would be rejected so flatly.
It felt a bit vain to think it, but to reject the chance to become the disciple of the Lord of Sadocheon—the undisputed strongest man of the unorthodox path...
'...Why on earth?'
He couldn't comprehend Jeok-un, who was scowling at him as if he had just heard something utterly offensive.
After a moment of contemplation, Dok-go Cheon came up with a plausible reason and spoke tentatively.
"Is it... because of the pressure? If that is what concerns you, do not worry—"
"Pressure? Not at all. To put it simply, I just don't want to be your disciple."
"...?"
Jeok-un rejected the offer with absolute, unembellished clarity.
He simply had no desire to be his disciple.
At Jeok-un's blunt refusal, Dok-go Cheon's eyes shook as if struck by a sudden tremor.
Yet, this seemingly unbelievable choice was the result of careful calculation on Jeok-un's part.
'There are certainly benefits to becoming the disciple of the Lion Blade Emperor, but the drawbacks far outweigh them.'
In the orthodox faction, which obsesses over lineage and seniority, simply becoming the disciple of the Murim Alliance Leader—a position comparable to the Lord of Sadocheon—would guarantee immense respect.
That was the power of the hierarchy that ruled the orthodox world.
But the unorthodox faction operated under a different set of rules.
They valued individual strength above all else. If one ran rampant by relying on another's authority, they would never win the respect of the unorthodox martial artists.
'Who would sincerely follow a fool who relies on borrowed authority the moment he arrives?'
Applied to his situation, it meant the others might bow to him out of fear of Dok-go Cheon, but they would never truly accept him.
It was a complex issue tied directly to his background.
As a member of the Jegal Family—one of the Seven Great Families of the orthodox faction, whose influence rivaled the Nine Great Sects—his sudden elevation would only invite intense hostility and resentment.
Before his regression, he had been cast out of his family as a cripple. He had crawled through the mud alongside the dregs of the unorthodox path, forging genuine bonds that minimized their hostility toward him.
Now, however, the circumstances were entirely different.
Secondly, if he became the disciple of the Lion Blade Emperor, his internal enemies would hesitate to attack or assassinate him.
One might wonder why he would want to invite such danger, as if he had a death wish.
But Jeok-un intended to run even wilder than he had when dealing with the No brothers. He wanted his internal enemies to swarm toward him like moths to a flame.
Why wouldn't he want that?
They would be handing him the perfect justification to slaughter them.
'Do Ye-cheon. I hope that old fox is the first to bite.'
Do Ye-cheon's face flashed in Jeok-un's mind.
The father of Do Ju-man—whom Jeok-un had personally broken in the dungeon—and the greatest internal enemy he would have to face on his path to seizing control of Sadocheon.
'Before my regression, he was the one I fought most fiercely against to claim the throne of Sadocheon.'
Compared to his deep-seated enmity with Do Ye-cheon, his clash with the No brothers was child's play.
But above all...
Even setting all those strategic reasons aside, the primary reason he refused the offer was simple.
'Me? Under Dok-go Cheon? Why should I?'
A disciple was, by definition, a subordinate of lesser skill.
In short, his pride simply would not allow it.
He acknowledged that the current Dok-go Cheon was a formidable master, but that did not make him superior.
'He is merely a man of equal status and realm whom I respect.'
After all, Jeok-un had also been the strongest master of the unorthodox faction in his past life, a man who had staked his life and the fate of the Jianghu to fight the Heavenly Demon.
He had returned to Sadocheon because it was his home, not to become Dok-go Cheon's underling.
Thus, he had no intention of accepting a master.
'Of course, it is true that my duel with Dok-go Cheon helped me break through my limits.'
But that did not mean he would discard his own path to learn Dok-go Cheon's martial arts.
When the Heavenly Demon eventually made his move, the only power capable of opposing him would be Jeok-un's own Overlord's Divine Art.
"Hmm. I must admit, I did not foresee this turn of events."
"You certainly think highly of yourself, don't you?"
"But surely you realized it when our blades clashed. The essence of your sword and my blade share the same nature. If you become my disciple and follow the path I lay out, you will progress far more rapidly."
Dok-go Cheon's tone was resolute.
He wasn't entirely wrong.
Yet, Jeok-un's response was simple.
"My path is already engraved in my mind. A ship with two captains is bound to run aground."
"...!"
It was a declaration so bold it bordered on pure arrogance.
Dok-go Cheon was taken aback by the youth's audacity, but Jeok-un's next words surprised him even further.
"Besides, we don't need a master-disciple bond to be of use to one another."
"Oh?"
"Well, if the Lord of Sadocheon desires my company that much..."
Jeok-un smirked.
"I wouldn't mind being a drinking buddy to a lonely old man."
"...!!"
Anyone else witnessing this would have fainted from shock.
Who was Dok-go Cheon?
He was the supreme ruler of Sadocheon, one of the absolute strongest masters in the entire Jianghu.
Yet this youth dared to treat him with such casual insolence.
One would expect the Lord to fly into a rage at such disrespect, but...
'Ha. He wants us to converse freely, unbound by status or hierarchy.'
Dok-go Cheon actually found the idea appealing.
In truth, a master-disciple relationship would have stifled any genuine dialogue.
Dok-go Cheon would be forced to lecture, and Jeok-un would be forced to defer.
But without those rigid boundaries, they could speak as equals.
Without even waiting for a response, Jeok-un spoke up.
"Now, let's put away this lava-hot tea and pour something a bit stronger."
"...You are remarkably shameless for a boy who is still wet behind the ears."
"They say that in the old days, when He Zhizhang met a brilliant junior, he was so delighted that he pawned his golden turtle ornament just to buy wine and drink the night away. Have you learned nothing from the classics?"
Pawning the golden turtle for wine.
He truly was a Jegal.
Even in the unorthodox faction, he couldn't help but spout scholarly anecdotes.
"Heh. If I am He Zhizhang, does that make you the Poet Sage, Li Bai?"
"Haha. Perhaps Li Bai was merely my predecessor."
Dok-go Cheon let out a dry chuckle, utterly dumbfounded.
Yet Jeok-un puffed out his chest with absolute confidence.
'If I count my years before the regression, I was in my mid-thirties. That makes us only fifteen years apart.'
Of course, while a fifteen-year gap was better than thirty, it was still a significant difference.
"..."
Dok-go Cheon fell silent for a moment.
Then, a smirk played on his lips.
"Well, He Zhizhang and Li Bai were said to be forty years apart. I suppose our gap is slightly narrower."
"Haha. See? I am a very reasonable man."
"If you truly have a conscience, you will start using proper honorifics."
"Fine, fine. You are the Lord of Sadocheon, after all. I can manage that much courtesy."
"Haha. You are a madman."
The moment Jeok-un finished speaking, Dok-go Cheon flicked his wrist, sending the teacups sliding smoothly across the table.
They glided effortlessly to a nearby side table without spilling a drop. A moment later, a bottle of liquor flew out from a hidden compartment behind his grand chair.
"We shall start with Jiannanchun."
"Ah! Now we're talking!"
It was a flawless demonstration of the Telekinesis technique.
Jeok-un smiled faintly at the display.
In that moment, Dok-go Cheon, a man in his fifties, and Jeok-un, a youth barely out of his teens, truly became drinking buddies.
As the cups were filled and emptied, a warm, pleasant buzz began to settle over them.
"To obtain two divine artifacts when most struggle to find even one... Truly remarkable."
"I was simply fortunate."
"But do not rely too heavily on their power. One can easily become intoxicated by their tools and lose sight of the essence of martial arts."
"Ah, that is such an old-fashioned way of thinking. They say a master calligrapher does not blame his brush, but if two masters of equal skill compete, the one with the finer brush will always produce the superior stroke."
"Well, even if that is true..."
No matter how trivial their conversation began, it inevitably drifted toward the philosophy and principles of martial arts. Their debate flowed seamlessly from one concept to the next.
It was a debate that could never have a simple conclusion.
The martial theories they had built were reflections of their own lives and character.
The enlightenment they had achieved was not a single, absolute truth, but merely different paths leading to the same summit.
'How can a youth who has lived such a short life possess such profound enlightenment? It is not as if he retains memories of reaching the Profound Realm in a past life...!'
'To interpret that concept in such a way! The more we speak, the more inspiration I find to refine my own martial arts.'
As the night wore on and the cups kept flowing, their mutual respect only deepened.
Eventually, they abandoned the bottles entirely, moving on to empty whole jars of wine.
Suddenly, Dok-go Cheon glanced out the window.
The sun had set long ago, and a cool night breeze was whispering through the cracks in the door.
"Hold on a moment."
"What, are you surrendering already?"
"Hardly. Let us settle the matter of your reward first, then we can resume."
"Ah, right."
Jeok-un blinked, suddenly remembering.
Indeed, this meeting had been called to decide his position within the faction.
He had been so engrossed in their martial discourse that it had completely slipped his mind.
"Hmm. The greatest reward I had intended to offer was discipleship... Since you have refused, is there something else you desire? Given the gravity of your achievements, I will appoint you as a Squad Leader in any division you wish."
"...!"
Jeok-un's eyes gleamed.
A Squad Leader position.
And anywhere he wanted.
The implications of those two conditions were crystal clear.
Even if he demanded a position within the elite Ten Heavenly Squads, Dok-go Cheon would grant it without hesitation.
'The old man really wants to tie me to his faction.'
Jeok-un suppressed a smirk.
It was obvious that Dok-go Cheon wanted him to fill the vacancy in the Ten Heavenly Squads left by No Hwang-mun's defunct Geum-wol Squad.
Currently, the Ten Heavenly Squads were divided between those loyal to the Lord, Dok-go Cheon, and those aligned with the Vice Lord, Do Ye-cheon.
If Dok-go Cheon appointed him to lead one of these elite squads, the entire faction would view Jeok-un as the Lord's loyal subordinate.
Without a moment's hesitation, Jeok-un spoke.
"I do have a place in mind."
"...!"
A spark of curiosity flared in Dok-go Cheon's eyes.
He wondered what choice the youth would make.
Leaning forward with anticipation, Dok-go Cheon watched Jeok-un's lips part.
"The position I want is in the Outer Heavenly Squads."
"...?"
"Specifically, I wish to be the Squad Leader of the White Night Squad."
"...?"
Dok-go Cheon blinked, wondering if his ears were playing tricks on him.
The request was completely out of left field.
'...Didn't he say he coveted my throne? Why on earth would he want the Outer Heavenly Squads, a faction practically discarded from Sadocheon's hierarchy?'
It was as the name implied. The Outer Heavenly Squads were the low-ranking combat units stationed in the outer city, completely separate from the elite Ten Heavenly Squads of the inner city.
While the outer city units far outnumbered the Ten Heavenly Squads, their quality was incomparable.
The martial artists assigned to them were of a vastly inferior caliber.
The White Night Squad, in particular, was notorious for having the lowest combat capability among all the outer units.
It was a dumping ground for vagabonds and rogue martial artists, recruited for quantity rather than quality.
Yet, Jeok-un had a very specific reason for requesting this bottom-tier squad.
'First, if I become the leader of an outer squad, outsiders will assume the Lord thinks of me as nothing but trash.'
That meant his internal enemies would feel no hesitation in coming after him.
'Come at me. I'll slaughter every last one of you.'
The second reason was that the fastest path to becoming a Division Leader lay through the White Night Squad.
'A Squad Leader position is merely a stepping stone to become a Division Leader, which is the prerequisite to challenging the Lord of Sadocheon.'
Unlike the Ten Heavenly Squads, which were bound by strict protocols and duties, the Outer Heavenly Squads enjoyed immense operational freedom. Exploiting this would allow him to rack up achievements and secure a promotion to Division Leader in record time.
And finally, the most crucial reason of all.
Though the White Night Squad was currently dismissed as the worst of the worst, it held a secret that no one in this era knew.
It was a piece of information Jeok-un had unearthed from his memories of the past life—the location of his future right-hand.
'The Blood Empress is currently in the White Night Squad.'
Before his regression, the brilliant pearl who had served as his Chief Strategist—the Blood Empress—was currently buried deep in the mud of the White Night Squad.
Securing her loyalty alone was more than enough reason to take command of the squad.
But Dok-go Cheon, entirely ignorant of Jeok-un's hidden motives, could only stare.
"Well? If you're going to go back on your word, you can forget about me using honorifics."
"?!"
He could only blink in utter bewilderment at the youth standing before him.