Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Becoming the Grand Branch Master!
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“But when I just circulated my energy, my wounds were healed.”
“How much were you healed?”
I was curious to see just how effective the Medical Scripture of the Central Heaven was.
“After being injured, I took a blow from you, Team Leader, and passed out thinking I might die.”
“I imagine so.”
“I apologize. I think I’ve recovered about thirty percent.”
“Thirty percent…”
“To have recovered thirty percent after wandering the brink of life and death is incredible. It’s nothing short of a miracle.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, it is. Third Team Leader, how on earth did you do it?”
“I just treated him.”
“I see.”
Sang Gang-jo once again looked at me with eyes full of admiration.
In his nearly thirty years in the martial world, he had never seen a case like this. No, he had never even heard of one.
To treat someone on the verge of death and have them recover thirty percent in a short time was not just surprising; it was phenomenal.
The growing respect Sang Gang-jo felt for me was written all over his face.
I started walking toward the main road.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
It seemed that ‘dignity’ was also being added to my newly forming personality.
An immature, clumsy dignity, but dignity nonetheless.
* * *
“Third Team Leader, are you feeling unwell?”
It was a considerable distance to the Dong-ro Branch, and he must have found it strange that I was just trudging along instead of using my lightness art.
But what could I do? My internal energy wouldn't manifest when I was moving without a specific purpose.
And so, we walked side by side along the main road for about an hour until we reached the Dong-ro Branch.
On the way, Sang Gang-jo cautiously explained the current situation of the Martial Alliance.
He seemed to be under the misunderstanding that I was acquainted with the former Alliance Lord, and he likely hoped a reclusive master like me would help the Martial Alliance.
If he knew my true feelings about the Martial Alliance, he would probably faint.
In any case, from Sang Gang-jo’s explanation, it was clear the Martial Alliance was in dire straits, surrounded on all sides.
* * *
Upon arriving at the Dong-ro Branch, I called for Yang-rim, a branch member who also served as a steward.
“This man needs to recuperate. Please see to it.”
Yang-rim was the one who had taken care of me when I first arrived unconscious at the Dong-ro Branch.
“I understand.”
Yang-rim guided Sang Gang-jo to a separate annex.
“This way, please.”
As I turned, Yeon-cheong came running out of the Third Team's hall.
“Team Leader! The Branch Master has been looking for you!”
As I headed toward An Do-pil, Yeon-cheong trotted along beside me.
“Team Leader, where did you go with that gentleman?”
Yeon-cheong was so beautiful he’d put any belle to shame. With his petite frame and delicate voice, he looked exactly like a woman.
Even the Red Flying Swallow Sword had disguised herself as a man and vehemently insisted she was one.
I stopped walking and looked at Yeon-cheong.
“What is it? Is there something on my face?”
Looking closely, I could see the faint, dark shadow of a shaved stubble under his nose and on his chin.
“Why… are you looking at me like that?”
I reached out and stroked Yeon-cheong’s chin.
“Ah!”
“!”
I felt something coarse against my fingertips.
*Smack!*
“What are you doing?”
Yeon-cheong slapped my hand away and shrieked sharply. Even that was just like a girl.
But I was wrong. It was a shock to realize that this person, who looked and acted just like a girl, was a man with rough stubble.
“You were a man?”
“What did you think I was?”
“I thought you were a girl.”
Yeon-cheong yelled back.
“If I were a woman, what you just did would have been very strange!”
“Well, if you’re not, then it’s fine.”
I started walking again.
Yeon-cheong scurried over and tapped my shoulder with a cute little fist.
“Don’t do that again.”
How revolting.
*Shove!*
“Stay back.”
When I pushed him away, Yeon-cheong shot me a coquettish glare.
“Hey~! Why?”
Yeon-cheong stopped in front of the First Team's hall and called inside.
“Branch Master! The Third Team Leader is here!”
Then he lightly tapped my shoulder again and skipped away.
“Go on and have your talk!”
He was the kind of person who would simply call An Do-pil ‘Branch Master’ but add an honorific to my title, calling me ‘Third Team Leader-nim’.
* * *
“Third Team Leader, where did you go with that man?”
An Do-pil asked as soon as I sat down.
Both he and Hyeong In-geol stared at me with tense expressions.
“I went to deal with the pursuers.”
“The pursuers?”
An Do-pil and Hyeong In-geol were startled. They assumed that anyone pursuing the Chief Hall Master of the Martial Alliance headquarters must be formidable experts.
“Wh-what happened? Is he safe?”
“Are you more worried about him than me?”
“That’s not it…”
Hyeong In-geol tried to explain.
“We were relieved because you look perfectly fine, Third Team Leader.”
The two of them were on edge. They regarded me as someone from a different world.
An Do-pil, looking extremely tense, asked again.
“Is he safe? Where is he now?”
“He’s fine. I told him to rest in the annex.”
“How many pursuers were there?”
“About fifty or so.”
“F-fifty…”
The color drained from their faces. A single pursuer could likely wipe out a place like the Dong-ro Branch, so fifty was beyond their imagination.
I gave them a rough summary of what had happened.
The moment I began my explanation, An Do-pil and Hyeong In-geol shot up from their seats, looking so shocked they seemed about to faint.
Their mouths were agape, as if their hearts might leap out.
I remained seated and calmly finished my account.
After a long moment, An Do-pil, having calmed down slightly, managed to speak.
“S-so… are you saying you dealt with all the pursuers, Third Team Leader?”
“Not all of them. I killed twelve, and Jo Gang-sang killed nine. We left before their reinforcements arrived.”
Since Sang Gang-jo had told the branch members his name was Jo Gang-sang, I used that name as well.
An Do-pil and Hyeong In-geol could accept that Sang Gang-jo had killed nine pursuers, but the fact that I had killed twelve was so shocking it felt like their hearts were turning inside out.
They wouldn't think I was lying. It would all come out eventually, anyway.
Regardless, it meant that I was stronger than Sang Gang-jo.
Did that even make sense? That I was stronger than the Chief Hall Master of the Martial Alliance headquarters?
When I had decimated the Dong-ro regional branch of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union, An Do-pil and Hyeong In-geol had been astounded.
Back then, they couldn't even begin to fathom the depths of my martial arts. How could they, when I didn't know myself?
But they had never, not for a single moment, imagined I could be stronger than Sang Gang-jo.
Though I had explained it briefly and simply, An Do-pil and Hyeong In-geol were not so slow as to misunderstand.
“Were you injured?”
“I’m fine. Jo Gang-sang was badly hurt.”
The fact that I was unharmed while Sang Gang-jo was seriously injured was even more astounding.
“How badly was he hurt?”
“I treated him, so he’s fine now.”
“Who treated him?”
“Who else but me?”
“You, Third Team Leader?”
An Do-pil only called me ‘Third Team Leader’ because that was my official position. If I had called myself the Jade Emperor, he would have addressed me as such.
“That’s right.”
“You know medicine?”
“I know a little.”
An Do-pil and Hyeong In-geol were speechless.
The fact that I also knew medicine and had treated Sang Gang-jo must have made me seem less than human to them.
An Do-pil and Hyeong In-geol rushed off to see Sang Gang-jo.
“Wait here!”
* * *
An Do-pil and Hyeong In-geol went to the annex to see Sang Gang-jo and returned about thirty minutes later.
When they came back, they didn't sit down but stood side by side, cautiously watching me.
It was obvious they had heard a vivid account of my exploits from Sang Gang-jo.
Knowing Sang Gang-jo’s personality, he wouldn't have exaggerated, simply describing what he had seen and felt.
He was already completely captivated by me, this reclusive master, so I could imagine what he must have told An Do-pil and Hyeong In-geol.
Furthermore, if they heard that I had made the Red Flying Swallow Sword, the Grand Leader of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union's Sword Demon League, flee with just a few words, they must have been shocked enough to faint.
I had given a lazy, brief account of that situation, but Sang Gang-jo had explained it in much greater detail, filled with his own wonder and respect for me.
Seeing the two of them standing there fidgeting like puppies needing to pee, I almost laughed, but I could understand their reaction.
For a branch master and a team leader from a rural backwater, a situation like this would be difficult to handle.
I stood up.
*Ssk!*
“I’ll be going.”
“We have something to tell you!”
An Do-pil flinched and then shouted.
“What is it?”
“How long will you be staying at the Dong-ro Branch?”
At some point, An Do-pil had started using extremely formal speech, but I pretended not to notice. Sang Gang-jo might have told them to be respectful to me.
“I don’t know.”
“Why are you here?”
“I have nowhere else to go.”
An Do-pil and Hyeong In-geol exchanged glances. They probably thought it was because a reclusive master like me had returned to the mortal world after a long time.
An Do-pil gathered his courage, his jaw tightening.
“Then there is something you must abide by while you are here.”
“Me?”
“Y-yes.”
An Do-pil’s words and actions were exceedingly polite.
“You must speak informally to us.”
“Informally?”
“We heard you spoke informally to the Chief Hall Master.”
“It wasn't completely informal. In any case, he’s a member of the Third Team.”
In other words, if I could speak informally to the Chief Hall Master, who was like a god to An Do-pil and Hyeong In-geol, then it was only natural that I do the same to them.
“But I’m just a team leader, aren't I?”
“If you desire the position of Branch Master, we will gladly give it to you.”
“I don’t need it.”
“Please, consider our situation.”
An Do-pil and Hyeong In-geol both bowed their heads.
“Is that your only condition?”
“Please, lead us.”
“I can barely manage myself.”
“In that case, what about becoming an elder?”
An elder in a rural branch like this? It was laughable.
“Do I look that old to you?”
“N-no, not at all!”
The two of them waved their hands frantically.
An Do-pil was on pins and needles.
“In any case, you must be above me, honored sir.”
He was calling me ‘honored sir’ now. Still, An Do-pil wouldn't back down.
“If you will not grant my request, then please leave.”
“You’re telling me to leave?”
“I-I’m sorry!”
*Thud!*
An Do-pil dropped to his knees as if collapsing, pressing his forehead to the floor. Hyeong In-geol hastily followed suit.
The two of them were prostrated side by side, trembling.
I didn’t want to make things difficult for them.
“So what do you want me to do?”
An Do-pil, his forehead still on the floor, barely managed to speak.
“Please become the Grand Master.”
‘Grand Master’ was something he must have squeezed out of his mind as a last resort. That was the limit of An Do-pil’s thinking.
“Grand Master?”
The title ‘Grand Master’ denoted the highest position in any organization or group.
It was so absurd I felt a yawn coming on.
“If I’m to become the Grand Master of the Dong-ro Branch, are you asking me to become the Grand Branch Master?”
Grand Branch Master. It was a title so ridiculous, anyone hearing it would laugh until they foamed at the mouth.
An Do-pil and Hyeong In-geol said in unison.
“Please become the Grand Branch Master!”
But they were completely serious. The two of them had clearly discussed me after visiting Sang Gang-jo.
I just wanted to end this troublesome situation quickly. Whether I was the Third Team Leader or the Grand Branch Master, it didn't matter as long as I was staying at the Dong-ro Branch.
“Fine.”
“Thank you! Grand Branch Master!”
The two raised their heads, only to prostrate themselves once more. To them, I was like a god.
Today, I became the Grand Branch Master of the Martial Alliance's Dong-ro Branch.