Would You Like a Cup of Tea?
“This subordinate was told I didn’t suit the Amun branch and should look elsewhere.”
“Do you believe you belong in the Jeommun branch?”
“I have been working hard to become a proper member of Jeommun.”
Seeing nothing out of place, Vice-Leader Mok Un-saeng turned to Leader Baek Cho-gong.
This time the Jeommun leader spoke.
“How are things at the fabric shop? Manageable?”
“Yes, sir.”
After a brief silence, Baek Cho-gong got to the point.
“Dan Bul-wi requested a promotion duel from the Amun branch today. Did you know he would do that?”
“I did not.”
“Today Dan Bul-wi defeated two hall leaders and a vice-leader before claiming the position of chief instructor. It seems he intends to teach the Haomun members a new martial art. He calls it Jin-sam-dae-do-beop, the True Three Great Saber Techniques. I hear you spent nearly two months with him recently. Do you know anything about this art?”
“Yes.”
In that instant, a sharp light flashed in the eyes of Leader Baek Cho-gong, Vice-Leader Mok Un-saeng, Patrol Leader So Wol-hwa, and Hall Leader Wi Ji-cheon.
The reason was obvious: a mere district leader had used that very art to defeat a vice-leader.
Even Hong So-gwang, leader of the Amun branch, had praised the technique as comparable to the supreme skills of the Five Great Sword Sects.
“Is Dan Bul-wi’s Jin-sam-dae-do-beop truly a Haomun art?”
“Yes. It is.”
“Do you know where and how he obtained it?”
“He did not obtain it. Chief Instructor Dan Bul-wi personally refined the three great saber techniques of Haomun.”
“What?”
“Nonsense!”
“So the Amun bastards have resorted to outright fraud now!”
The listeners burst out one after another.
A district leader creating his own martial art? It sounded ridiculous even before seeing it.
Dan Yeop watched the commotion in Jeommun as if it were a fire on the far side of a river.
In truth, the idea to credit Dan Bul-wi as the creator had been his own. It would be difficult to convince Haomun members who knew him well, and he had no desire to draw the world’s attention.
Simma had told him to remain quiet until he reached the pinnacle. The old master never explained why, but he had left similar instructions many times.
That was why he had put Dan Bul-wi forward as the founder.
Always causing trouble and then acting like it’s someone else’s problem…
Once the uproar died down, Baek Cho-gong spoke again.
“Did you also learn the Jin-sam-dae-do-beop from Dan Bul-wi?”
“Yes. He taught me during the two months we traveled together.”
“Hmm!”
A low groan escaped Baek Cho-gong’s lips.
Any clever person would have denied it for their own advantage, yet the boy openly admitted it.
Then Dan Bul-wi really did refine the techniques…
The more he listened to Dan Yeop, the more confused he became.
While the leader was lost in thought, Patrol Leader So Wol-hwa asked, “If he taught you, how far did you progress?”
“I learned everything.”
Baek Cho-gong stared at him as if to confirm. “So you’re saying you can perform the Jin-sam-dae-do-beop?”
“Yes.”
“Then show us right now. So, lend him your blade.”
“Understood.”
Patrol Leader So Wol-hwa unfastened her horizontal saber and handed it to Dan Yeop.
Without hesitation, Dan Yeop accepted the weapon and stepped into the center of the hall.
He had known this demonstration would be required the moment Dan Bul-wi announced he would teach the Jin-sam-dae-do-beop to all of Haomun.
Standing before Baek Cho-gong and several high-level experts, he felt far less nervous than expected. His growth during the journey to and from the Baekwol Kingdom had been nothing short of explosive.
Dealing with people was still difficult, but he no longer shrank before a crowd.
At last, his lips parted.
Heavenly Thunder Falling Slash
The horizontal saber moved with graceful precision, rising into the air before plunging downward with a chilling shriek.
Shwaaaaack—!Thud!
The moment the blade wind struck the floor, latent force erupted and dust exploded outward.
During the second form, Horizontal Sweep Mountain Severance, the spectators scrambled to avoid the sweeping blade wind.
And when the third form, Wind and Clouds in Harmony, was unleashed, the windows could not withstand the pressure and shattered completely.
In reality, these outbursts happened because Dan Yeop’s mastery was still shallow. Unable to control the power at will, he could not adjust its intensity, resulting in uncontrolled surges.
The instant Dan Yeop finished demonstrating the True Heaven and Earth Saber Style, Baek Cho-gong shouted.
“Wait!”
Dan Yeop, about to transition into the True Hundred Flow Saber Style, looked at the leader with puzzled eyes.
“That… that is unmistakably our Jeommun branch’s Heaven and Earth Saber Technique! How is this possible? How can the Heaven and Earth Saber Technique rival the Plum Blossom Sword Art of Mount Hua?”
“I simply learned it from Chief Instructor Dan.”
“I am not scolding you. It is simply too good. So good that I can hardly believe it.”
“……”
Dan Yeop offered no reply.
Since they had decided to credit everything to Chief Instructor Dan Bul-wi, it was best to stay silent.
Vice-Leader Mok Un-saeng, who had finally regained his composure, spoke up.
“Leader, has Chief Instructor Dan Bul-wi not spent a full fourteen years training inside Byeongmachong? It seems he gained profound insight during that time. We must support him without reservation. The martial world will laugh at us if we continue leaving the instruction of our members to mere wandering masters.”
Baek Cho-gong nodded.
“You’re right. We should back Chief Instructor Dan Bul-wi. Leader Ha So-ran will be displeased, though.”
Until now, Ha So-ran of the Gimun branch had recruited three wandering experts.
Yet today the Amun branch had suddenly and unilaterally established a chief instructor.
Ha So-ran had been acting as the de facto head of the unified sect, but Hong So-gwang had overturned that arrangement.
By all rights they should side with Ha So-ran, but after witnessing the True Heaven and Earth Saber Style, it was impossible.
Vice-Leader Mok Un-saeng continued, “Leader, I worry this may create friction between Leader Ha So-ran and Leader Hong So-gwang.”
“Friction?”
“Leader Hong So-gwang created the chief instructor position without consulting the other leaders. In effect, he has set himself against Leader Ha So-ran. You know she is not the type to sit still and accept it.”
“Even so, we have no choice this time. Leader Ha So-ran will be angry, but the chief instructor position must be conceded to the Amun branch.”
As the conversation between leader and vice-leader grew lengthy, Dan Yeop quietly retreated a few steps.
Patrol Leader So Wol-hwa seized the moment.
“Leader, why don’t we establish our own instructor position while we’re at it?”
At those words, Baek Cho-gong’s gaze turned toward Dan Yeop.
The Heaven and Earth Saber Technique was Jeommun’s exclusive art. It had once been treated as worthless, but the refined True Heaven and Earth Saber Style was different. It could now be called a supreme technique of the martial world.
If the Amun branch has Dan Bul-wi, then we have Dan Yeop…
Even if the chief instructor seat was given to its creator, the regular instructor position was still worth claiming. The only problem was that doing so might earn Ha So-ran’s enmity, since her ultimate goal was to elevate the wandering masters to those same positions.
When Baek Cho-gong’s deliberation stretched on, Vice-Leader Mok Un-saeng interjected.
“In any case, the Jeommun disciples will end up learning from Dan Yeop. This is not the time to worry about Leader Ha So-ran’s position.”
He was suggesting they appoint Dan Yeop as instructor.
Suddenly Baek Cho-gong turned to the young man.
But wasn’t Dan Yeop supposed to be a dunce?
A person who had failed to comprehend even the basic Heaven and Earth Saber Technique after thirteen years—how had he mastered the far more difficult Jin-sam-dae-do-beop?
“Dan Yeop, your talent was so poor you could not even leave Byeongmachong… How did you manage to learn Haomun’s Jin-sam-dae-do-beop?”
“When I was still inside Byeongmachong, Chief Instructor Dan Bul-wi told me, ‘Water dripping from the eaves can pierce a hole through stone.’ I started later than others, but in the end a hole was pierced in this thick skull of mine as well.”
The simple, clear answer made the Jeommun experts nod in understanding. There was no other plausible explanation.
Baek Cho-gong spoke with a moved expression.
“Well done. You truly are a man of unbreakable perseverance. I have one request for you. I will appoint you as instructor of Jeommun. Teach our disciples the Jin-sam-dae-do-beop.”
42. Would You Like a Cup of Tea?
To Baek Cho-gong’s proposal—“Become Jeommun’s instructor”—Dan Yeop answered.
“I will do so.”
He did not refuse.
That level of position had been within his expectations anyway. He could not continue working at a mere fabric shop after displaying martial prowess that surpassed the hall leaders. Only a fool would choose to live that way.
Besides, if he wanted to meet Baek Yu-hwa, he needed to swim in larger waters.
When Dan Yeop accepted, the corners of Baek Cho-gong’s mouth rose.
There was a saying: the right time creates heroes.
Even after the unification of the six branches, the Haomun of Guannei Circuit had not abandoned the dream of becoming the single ruler of the Ten Blades Haomun.
Until now, Ha So-ran had led the six branches. Her martial prowess was known to be quite high. The leaders of the five branches had accepted her command without ever fighting her.
Yet because they had never fought, they had never fully submitted. Hong So-gwang in particular had constantly looked for faults.
And then, right when Ha So-ran was recruiting wandering masters, Hong So-gwang had caused a major incident.
Baek Cho-gong was not without ambition himself. He planned to raise Dan Yeop as his champion and make his own voice heard.
I am here as well!
“I will have an instructor’s iron plaque prepared within a few days. On the day it is ready, I will officially introduce you to the members.”
For a brief moment, the eyes of Vice-Leader Mok Un-saeng and the hall leaders wavered.
Haomun had five types of identification plaques. The leaders of the Ten Blades held silver plaques, vice-leaders held iron plaques, hall leaders held bronze plaques, district leaders held wooden plaques, and basic members held bamboo plaques.
A youth of only eighteen had become the second-in-command of Jeommun.
Yet neither the vice-leader nor the hall leaders raised any objection. The martial display they had just witnessed from Dan Yeop had far exceeded their expectations.
After the conversation ended, Dan Yeop left Simhyang Pavilion alone.
Immediately after he departed, Baek Cho-gong told Vice-Leader Mok Un-saeng, “You heard me. Hurry and make the iron plaque. It must be finished within three days at the latest.”
“Leader, there is one thing that still concerns me.”
“What is it?”
“Dan Yeop left Byeongmachong only four months ago. All he did there was train.”
“And?”
“Those who came from Byeongmachong have survived countless life-and-death battles in Hadong Province. I worry whether the others will truly follow Dan Yeop when he lacks real combat experience.”
“So that’s what you think.”
“To be honest, I cannot say the concern is groundless. Patrol Leader So, Hall Leader Wi, what do you two think?”
“I share the same worry. The blade of someone who has experienced real combat and the blade of someone who has only trained are completely different.”
“I feel the same.”
“Do you veterans believe you could defeat Dan Yeop if you fought him?”
Vice-Leader Mok Un-saeng answered rather grumpily, “Whether something is long or short can only be known after measuring it.”
“Perhaps. In any case, let us leave that problem to Dan Yeop himself. If he cannot overcome even that much, he will be devoured by Leader Ha So-ran.”
Recalling Ha So-ran, Baek Cho-gong let out a sigh.
Damn it. Looks like free drinks at Chwiseon Pavilion are off the table now.
Even when he tried to pay, Manager Im So-seon would always refuse, saying, “We’re family. How could I take your money?” Of course that wasn’t the only reason he had followed Ha So-ran, but it seemed he would no longer hear such warm words.
Maybe I should stop by one last time today…
Dan Yeop walked slowly across the garden after leaving Simhyang Pavilion.
On his way to the main building of Jipdanhyang, he glanced toward the Ansik Pavilion, but in the end he could not bring himself to go there.
Could Baek Yu-hwa be inside?
After catching a glimpse of that familiar face earlier, an embarrassing amount of anticipation had swelled inside him.
Yet he lacked the courage to enter Ansik Pavilion and search for her.
In the end he entered the back door of the main building with slumped shoulders.
The moment Dan Yeop stepped inside the shop, he was so startled he nearly forgot to breathe.
A few steps ahead of him stood Baek Yu-hwa.