The Jangan Branch Leader, Yu Dae-ung
I see.
As for himself, he had no feelings for Baek Yu-hwa, so that was probably why. But it would be different for the dunce Dan Yeop.
For the sake of the dunce Dan Yeop, who suffered fresh wounds every single day, the two personalities needed to merge as quickly as possible.
He spread out a sheet of white paper, stared at it in deep thought for a moment, then picked up his brush and wrote the characters in one fluid stroke.
Seonpyeongbang
Jipdanhyang, Jeommun Main Headquarters
Inside the Ansikheon
Dan Yeop, wearing his yeonangyeong, addressed the experts of the Seonmun branch.
“The True Heaven and Earth Saber Style is a slight modification of Haomun’s basic Heaven and Earth Saber Style. All of you have trained in Haomun’s arts your entire lives. Among those, you are the successors of the Hundred Flow Saber Style, famous for its depth. Learning the True Heaven and Earth Saber Style—the most basic of the basics—should only take a single day, correct?”
The Seonmun experts stared at Dan Yeop with stunned faces.
No matter how easy the True Heaven and Earth Saber Style was, a single day still seemed excessive.
That was the expression on every face, yet Dan Yeop offered no mercy.
First form of the True Heaven and Earth Saber Style.
Dan Yeop taught with complete sincerity and dedication.
However, the True Heaven and Earth Saber Style was an advanced art that even the Jeommun experts learned one form per day.
When the Seonmun experts failed to keep up, Dan Yeop unleashed a barrage of curses.
“Go Jwa-ryeong! You idiot! Can’t you do it right? Don’t you understand what ‘heavenly thunder’ means? Why is the tip of your blade pointing at the middle section? Is that your heaven? Is the height of the Seonmun’s sky really only this much!”
“Branch Leader Go Won-bang! This form carries the momentum of Mountain Severance! Are you having a domestic quarrel right now? Why are you cutting water? What is Go Jwa-ryeong supposed to learn by watching you? Go Jwa-ryeong! You! Do you think a mountain will split like that? If your lower body is too weak to generate power, then do it with pure grit and malice! Hey! You son of a bitch! I told you not to cut like you’re slicing water! How many times do I have to say it!”
Startled, Branch Leader Go Won-bang protested.
“Instructor Dan, no matter what, I am the leader of the Seonmun branch. Isn’t the cursing a bit excessive?”
“I was speaking to Go Jwa-ryeong, not to you, Branch Leader Go. Even if a junior makes a mistake, since he is your son, am I not allowed to curse at him?”
“Ah! No, I misunderstood. If they don’t follow what they’re taught, they deserve to be cursed. Go ahead. Curse them if it makes them into proper people.”
“Go Jwa-ryeong! You bastard! You lower your blade while I’m talking? Are you still a warrior of Seonmun after that? You fool around while a heaven-like instructor is personally teaching you? Are you ignoring me? Or are you ignoring the Jeommun branch’s True Heaven and Earth Saber Style?”
At Dan Yeop’s lion-like roar, Go Jwa-ryeong shouted without thinking.
“N-no! It’s not that I’m ignoring it… it’s just too difficult…”
“You fool around in front of your instructor because it’s difficult? When exactly do you plan to become a master! Do you want to die from a stray blade?”
“No!”
On the opposite side, Branch Leader Baek Cho-gong, who was training the True Hundred Flow Saber Style with the instructors, whispered to Vice Branch Leader Mok Un-saeng.
“Looks like Go Won-bang and his son Go Jwa-ryeong have been properly marked, huh?”
“I saw Go Jwa-ryeong together with Instructor Dan yesterday. The atmosphere was rather strange.”
“First time I’ve seen Dan Yeop angry. It’s terrifying.”
“My legs have gone weak too.”
Chapter 75: Jangan Branch Leader, Yu Dae-ung
Dan Yeop continued to torment Go Jwa-ryeong until training time ended.
Every time Dan Yeop cursed, Branch Leader Go Won-bang flinched.
It somehow felt as if the insults were aimed at him.
The Seonmun experts devoted themselves to training until sunset, but sadly they could not even digest the second form.
Dan Yeop, who had sheathed his saber, spoke to the Seonmun experts.
“A shame. We’ll try again tomorrow. I believe in the hidden strength of the Seonmun branch.”
Branch Leader Go Won-bang hurriedly opened his mouth.
“Instructor Dan! Teach us like you do the Jeommun branch—one form per day. The True Heaven and Earth Saber Style doesn’t seem like something that can be mastered in a single day.”
“Is that so? Then we’ll do as Branch Leader Go requests. From tomorrow onward, I will teach only one form per day. You’ve all worked hard.”
As soon as Dan Yeop finished speaking, the Seonmun experts collapsed to the floor and let out sighs of relief.
A short while later, when Dan Yeop left the Ansikheon, Go Jwa-ryeong hurriedly chased after him.
“Senior Dan Yeop!”
Dan Yeop stopped, frowned, and said, “Go Jwa-ryeong, can’t you distinguish between official and personal matters?”
“I’m sorry! Instructor!”
The past version of Dan Yeop no longer existed in Go Jwa-ryeong’s mind.
Throughout the day, Dan Yeop had demonstrated the True Heaven and Earth Saber Style countless times before the Seonmun experts.
He had mostly used only the forms, but once or twice—to display its true power—he had infused it with Taeulgi.
The emission of blade qi was a given.
After that, Go Jwa-ryeong began to revere Dan Yeop as if he were the sky itself.
“What do you want?”
“How can I become strong like you, Instructor?”
“Train until you become strong. If you still can’t become strong after that, then your training was simply insufficient.”
Of course, that was a lie.
Dan Yeop’s personality had split due to the side effects of the Divided Mind Technique, and one of those personalities had met the Rain Master Red Pine and entered the Taego Sect.
In short, he had grown strong through a continuous string of miraculous encounters.
He simply gave a principled answer because he could not reveal the truth.
Go Jwa-ryeong nodded his head vigorously with a deeply moved expression.
“Yes! I will train until I become strong! I respect you, Instructor!”
Dan Yeop pushed his slightly slipping yeonangyeong back up with a fingertip and turned away.
Left alone, Go Jwa-ryeong muttered with an entranced face.
“Wow! Fuck! That’s so cool.”
Dan Yeop, walking along the snow-covered main road, shifted his eyes.
He had felt someone’s gaze upon him.
What is this?
Nevertheless, he casually entered a tavern alley.
For the genius Dan Yeop, that level of quick thinking was nothing difficult.
When Dan Yeop suddenly vanished from sight while walking through the tavern alley, the man chased after him using his light footwork.
The man, who had just leaped into a deserted alley, froze.
The Dan Yeop he had been tailing was standing right there, waiting for him.
Dan Yeop examined the middle-aged man carefully.
His shabby clothes and disheveled hair made him look exactly like a beggar at first glance.
“Beggar Sect?”
The middle-aged man smiled bitterly.
“Tsk! I thought it would be easy because he was a newcomer to the gangho, but I suppose being from Haomun makes a difference. That’s right. I am Yu Dae-ung, the Jangan branch leader. I am also called the Wind and Cloud Beggar. Your tone is rather short, though.”
“Why would I speak politely to someone who’s been tailing me?”
Since Dan Yeop held no particular grudge against the Beggar Sect, he immediately switched to polite speech.
“Isn’t that the kind of work both Haomun and we do? You people also dig into others’ affairs whenever you’re bored, so why the reaction?”
Dan Yeop was stunned by Yu Dae-ung’s shamelessness, but since it wasn’t wrong, he did not argue.
“Why did you tail someone like me—a newcomer to the murim?”
“Obviously because you’re the martial arts instructor of the Jeommun branch. I truly cannot figure Haomun out. What exactly are the criteria for appointing an instructor? Background? Money? Or appearance?”
“I have something I’m curious about as well. How about we take turns answering each other’s questions?”
“Fine. You answer first. How did you become an instructor?”
“That’s obviously because my martial arts are outstanding. Now it’s my turn. You said you are the Jangan branch leader—can you prove it?”
Yu Dae-ung laughed.
“Puhaha! What a truly newcomer-like question. I’ll show some generosity to this fresh-faced chick. Look closely at my clothes. What do you see?”
“You’ve patched them here and there?”
“Oh! You have sharp eyes. You’ll survive a long time in the gangho. Correct. The ordinary beggars of the Beggar Sect are called Coarse Cloth Beggars. They wear ragged clothing. They can sew their clothes but cannot add extra patches. Yet my clothes have added patches, correct?”
“Ah! Yes, they do.”
“Beggars who can sew clothes with added patches like this are called Patched Cloth Beggars. Only branch leaders are permitted to add different fabric when patching. This is a real secret, but we may add one more piece every three years. I’m telling you this as a special favor.”
Dan Yeop, who had been counting the patched sections on Yu Dae-ung’s clothes, asked as if confirming.
“Then, since you have added five patches, does that mean you have been a branch leader for fifteen years?”
“Correct. Remember that in the Beggar Sect, one’s clothes are one’s identity.”
“Aha! Ragged clothes for ordinary members, patched clothes for branch leaders?”
“Now it’s my turn. Are you also from Byeongmachong?”
“Yes. You seem to know quite a lot about me.”
“Do not underestimate the Beggar Sect’s intelligence network. There is no place the eyes of beggars cannot reach.”
“I will ask as well. I want to know about the ranks above the Patched Cloth Beggars—above branch leaders.”
“Above that… Those individuals maintain a truly excellent beggar appearance that anyone would recognize. There are the Ragged Beggars and the Filthy Beggars.”
“You must tell me their actual positions as well.”
“The Ragged Beggars are the elders, and the Filthy Beggars are the bangju and the protectors.”
“So the dirtier one is, the higher the rank?”
“Obviously. A beggar must look like a beggar to truly be a beggar.”
“Those are excellent words.”
“My turn. I saw experts from the six branches coming and going from Amun and Jeommun. Are you and Chief Instructor Dan Bul-wi teaching them martial arts?”
“Yes. My turn now. Is the Cheondo Association choosing not to capture the Blood Emperor? Or are they unable to capture him?”
“……”
Yu Dae-ung could not answer that question immediately.
Looking at Dan Yeop with a strange gaze, Yu Dae-ung asked, “Do you believe it is possible that the Cheondo Association might be choosing not to catch the Blood Emperor?”
“Considering the Cheondo Association’s capabilities, isn’t that only natural?”
“Hmm! I had never considered that, but it is not entirely wrong. However, if you wish to live a long life, do not speak such words to others.”
Dan Yeop looked at Yu Dae-ung with renewed eyes.
It somehow felt as if the man was looking out for him.
“I will keep that in mind. Thank you for the advice.”
“If you are thankful, tell me what martial arts you and Dan Bul-wi are teaching.”
“What else would they be but Haomun’s martial arts?”
“Haomun’s martial arts? You are certain they are not from another faction?”
“Yes. I can swear it if you wish.”
“If you and Dan Bul-wi are teaching martial arts from other factions, you may face great disaster in the future.”
“You mean the Cheondo Association will not stand by idly?”
“The Cheondo Association does not wish for Haomun to grow. Of course, our Beggar Sect feels the same.”
“The Beggar Sect dislikes it because we are competitors, that much is understandable. But why does the Cheondo Association so strongly oppose Haomun’s growth?”
Before they realized it, the two had stopped taking strict turns and were simply conversing.
“The current Haomun is like a dog on a leash. But if Haomun grows larger, it will break that leash and gain freedom. An increase in stray dogs would also become troublesome for the Cheondo Association.”
“Does that mean the Beggar Sect is also a stray dog?”
“To speak honestly, the Beggar Sect is desperate to join the Cheondo Association. But because the Five Great Sword Factions refuse to accept us, we live as stray dogs. Hehehe.”
Yu Dae-ung laughed self-mockingly.
From the sound of it, he seemed quite dissatisfied with the Beggar Sect’s current path.
“Has the Blood Emperor returned to Gangnam?”
“He is wandering through Gangnam. That is why I cannot tell whether they are not catching him or cannot catch him. How are they supposed to catch a demon who sleeps in one house and eats in another?”
“Thank you for telling me.”
“This is merely my personal curiosity, but was it you who killed both the Chain Heart Palm and the Shadowless Killer?”
“Is the Chain Heart Palm dead?”
Dan Yeop had cut both of No Jin-geon the Chain Heart Palm’s wrists but had not known whether the man had died.
“He starved to death with both wrists severed. The black path does not take care of those who have become useless.”
“Tsk, I only cut the Chain Heart Palm’s wrists. It was my adoptive father who killed the Shadowless Killer.”
“I had my suspicions, but to think you cut off the Chain Heart Palm’s wrists! Now that I see it, you are quite a fearsome person.”
“It happened while I was trying to survive. I could not simply die when someone attacked me with the clear intent to kill, could I?”
“Be careful. For now the black path is keeping quiet, so few know, but no secret lasts forever. If the Cheondo Association learns of your martial prowess, the pressure on Haomun—”