Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Vanquishing the Black Hegemon Saber Gang
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Sang Gang-jo asked.
“Are you telling me to teach them martial arts, not just techniques?”
Under my orders, Sang Gang-jo had been teaching the members of the Dong-ro Branch fighting techniques.
“That's right.”
“I understand.”
Fighting techniques involved fists, kicks, and the use of weapons, while martial arts were different, involving the mastery of heart arts to build internal energy, which then formed the basis for learning fist, sword, and saber techniques.
Jang Ung bowed his head respectfully.
“Thank you, my lord.”
“Elder Sang will be teaching you.”
“Thank you.”
Jang Ung bowed to Sang Gang-jo as well.
Once we were alone, Sang Gang-jo held out a letter.
“Please read this.”
It was the letter from the carrier pigeon that had arrived for Sang Gang-jo earlier.
After a quick glance, I handed the letter back to Sang Gang-jo.
“A chick?”
“Yes. It's an abbreviation for 'phoenix chick'.”
I smiled faintly.
“It seems the Martial Alliance finds me useful.”
“Indeed.”
“In what way am I useful?”
“The Martial Alliance…”
“And you, Elder Sang? Do you find me useful?”
I already had an idea why the Martial Alliance needed me. It was because I was crushing the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union and the Ten Heavens of the Unorthodox Path in this backwater town of Dong-ro.
But more than that, I was curious about what Sang Gang-jo thought of me.
“I wish to be a person of use to you, Third Team Leader.”
“What's your reason?”
“I admire you.”
A shiver ran down my spine.
“Are you into men?”
“Into men? What are you talking about? Absolutely not!”
Startled, Sang Gang-jo waved his hands frantically and spoke with sincerity.
“I mean that I sincerely respect, trust, and wish to follow you, Third Team Leader.”
“But you're the Chief Hall Master of the Martial Alliance, Elder Sang.”
I suddenly noticed how gaunt Sang Gang-jo's face had become. It seemed he had been wrestling with something. He was probably about to speak of it now.
The letter was likely from the Martial Alliance headquarters to Sang Gang-jo, something he shouldn't have shown to anyone, yet he showed it to me.
I knew what that meant. Sang Gang-jo trusted me that much.
“Please grant my request.”
“What is it?”
Sang Gang-jo was incredibly serious.
“I want to become your close aide, Third Team Leader.”
“Is it because of the letter?”
Sang Gang-jo didn't answer immediately, pausing for a moment.
“It's half and half.”
It was an honest answer, meaning half by his own will and half by circumstance.
I gently reasoned with him.
“Hmm! But you're a man of the Martial Alliance, aren't you, Elder Sang?”
“I joined the Martial Alliance to realize justice, but I never pledged my loyalty to any single person.”
Sang Gang-jo was not the type to be petty or persistent. His insistence meant he was truly desperate.
“Then why not come to me after you leave the Martial Alliance?”
“For now, I cannot, for two reasons.”
“And what are they?”
“First, if I don't become your aide now, I will miss the opportunity. Second, I still have duties to fulfill in the Martial Alliance.”
“Because of your mission?”
“Yes. Only after I have cleanly resolved that mission can I come to you fully, Third Team Leader.”
“Hmm!”
“Aren't you curious about what my mission is?”
“I'm not curious.”
Sang Gang-jo, already standing straight, straightened his posture even more.
“Please give me your permission.”
“I don't need you, Elder Sang.”
A muscle twitched in Sang Gang-jo's face.
“It is because I need you, Third Team Leader.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Sang Gang-jo said earnestly.
“A person has both a public and a private life. For me, my public life is the Martial Alliance, but I have no private life. I now wish to fulfill my private life.”
“Hmph!”
“My private purpose is to serve a lord whom I can respect with both body and soul.”
I nodded.
“I'll think about it.”
I felt this wasn't something to be accepted or rejected on the spot.
One subordinate, Jang Ung, was enough for me. But Sang Gang-jo wanted to be a close aide. An aide isn't necessarily a subordinate; they could be a companion who stays by your side, even a friend.
***
The next morning, as I was leaving the Third Team Hall, Dam Geum-hu followed me out.
“Captain, I have something to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“I want to become your official subordinate.”
“What would you do as my subordinate?”
“I will be your hands and feet, Captain.”
“I have my own hands and feet.”
As I walked to the gate, Yang Rim quickly opened it for me.
I couldn't just accept everyone who wanted to be my subordinate. During my two years and five months as a low-ranking warrior in the Martial Alliance, I had learned the hard way that forming bonds with people is the most difficult thing in the world.
I pretended not to notice Dam Geum-hu silently following behind me as I walked through the streets of Dong-ro.
But then, a few passersby looked at me, startled, and bowed respectfully.
‘Why are they doing that? Did they mistake me for someone else?’
However, as I continued on my way, more and more people began to greet me. They would point at me, whispering amongst themselves and nodding.
On a street lined with shops, people even rushed out to bow respectfully to me.
I was a little flustered by the unexpected scene.
People bowed to me from both sides as I walked.
Some even prostrated themselves on the ground, while others shed tears of joy.
“Why are they all acting like this?”
Dam Geum-hu, as if finally seeing his chance to speak, said respectfully.
“It's because you drove out the Dong-ro branches of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union and the Ten Heavens of the Unorthodox Path, Captain. The people of Dong-ro no longer have to pay tribute and taxes. You are a savior and a hero to all the residents of Dong-ro.”
“Hah!”
It was something I hadn't expected at all, and my face flushed with embarrassment.
“The people of Dong-ro were struggling to even feed themselves because of the excessive tributes and taxes.”
“Couldn't they just leave Dong-ro?”
“It's the same no matter where you go in the world. There's no place untouched by the hands of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union and the Ten Heavens of the Unorthodox Path.”
The Demonic Emperor's Grand Union and the Ten Heavens of the Unorthodox Path were the same cancerous presence they had been thirteen years ago.
“You drove out all those bastards, Captain, bringing peace to Dong-ro. How could the residents not be overjoyed? You are the hero of Dong-ro.”
It was good that peace had come to Dong-ro, but it soured my mood to hear that the entire world was groaning under the tyranny of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union and the Ten Heavens of the Unorthodox Path.
‘Who do those bastards think they are, tormenting the people?’
It made no sense for them to harass and threaten the livelihoods of people who had done them no wrong.
‘They deserve to die.’
A simple rage began to simmer within me.
***
I was on my way to see Jang Ung. I could have summoned him to the Dong-ro Branch, but I'd come out for a walk.
But about a dozen paces from the Peerless Sect building, something unexpected happened.
From across the bustling street, someone let out a thunderous shout.
“Get back!”
As the startled crowd scattered, five figures walking slowly down the middle of the street came into view.
“Captain, I think they're enemies!”
Dam Geum-hu said, his voice taut with tension.
Among the five approaching men, the large figure in the center seemed to be the leader.
I could tell because he was the first one to catch my eye.
All five carried sabers on their shoulders. The bear-like man in his forties in the center wore a red silk robe, while the others were dressed in red martial arts attire.
The five of them stopped ten paces away, and one of the men in red martial arts attire spoke arrogantly, looking at me and Dam Geum-hu.
“Which one of you is the Fire Dragon Sword?”
Since the weapon I use is the Fire Dragon Sword, they were probably looking for me.
When I remained silent, Dam Geum-hu spoke up confidently.
“Who are you?”
“And who are you?”
“I am this man's subordinate!”
“Subordinate?”
Another man in red jerked his chin toward me.
“Then is that bastard the Fire Dragon Sword?”
“This man is not the Fire Dragon Sword, he is the Grand Branch Master!”
Dam Geum-hu didn't know anything about a 'Fire Dragon Sword'.
“You mean the Grand Branch Master of the Martial Alliance's Dong-ro Branch?”
“That's right!”
Dam Geum-hu was speaking formally, but the other man's crude, informal speech told me they were definitely not from the Orthodox Faction, nor were they from the Demonic Path.
Even those of the Demonic Path have some sense of courtesy. That meant these men were from the Ten Heavens of the Unorthodox Path.
It was only last night that I killed twelve experts from the Ten Heavens and one got away.
This meant they weren't sent by the Ten Heavens, but had come on their own accord.
“For what reason have you…?”
Dam Geum-hu trailed off as he saw me walking slowly toward them.
The four men in red attire looked surprised, but the man in the red silk robe in the center showed no change in expression.
He must be the leader, then. Leaders are usually composed.
I didn't stop, continuing to walk slowly until I was just seven paces from the leader, but I still didn't stop.
Once a fight breaks out, my anxiety will naturally flare, and my martial arts will activate. That was my belief.
I had to push forward with guts; without them, I'd be nothing. Wasn't my ambition to be the strongest under the heavens?
Six paces, then five. As I drew closer, the tension mounted, and my anxiety flared.
‘There it is! Skynet’s Sense!’
I suspected these five hadn't come alone, so I activated Skynet's Sense, a technique of Skynet's Ultimate Reach.
Fwoooosh!
My anxiety must have flared properly, because Skynet's Sense activated instantly.
My internal energy spread out in all directions, carrying my senses with it. Within a single step, I detected everything—the thumping heartbeats, the pulsing veins, the ragged breaths thick with tension, and their exact locations.
‘One hundred and twenty men on the rooftops of the buildings on both sides of the street! These bastards brought a whole crowd.’
They were probably one of the Unorthodox Path sects under the command of the Ten Heavens in Zhejiang Province.
“You bastard! Stop, or you'll die!”
Shhhhiing!
As I closed the distance to three paces, the four men in red drew their sabers and attacked fiercely.
Their saber techniques were a jumbled mess, impossible to identify.
Swoosh!
Instead of retreating, I ducked slightly and smoothly weaved my way into their midst.
Shweeeek!
Amidst the flurry of four descending sabers, my two fists danced.
Fwoooong!
‘Heh! The Divine Fist of the Arhat!’
The Divine Fist of the Arhat, the pride of the Shaolin Temple.
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
“Kuaack!”
“Gak!”
“Ugh!”
My fists never made direct contact; instead, the wind from my punches slammed into the four men's faces and chests, sending them flying like autumn leaves.
Then, I placed my fist against the chest of the man in the red silk robe, who stood one step before me, and grinned.
Thump!
“You want to try?”
“Huh!”
The man in red froze, his right hand halfway through drawing the saber from his shoulder.
He hadn't even seen what technique I'd used to send his four men flying.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
The dull thuds of the four men landing far behind me could be heard.
The man in red's face turned pale. He was still trying to process what had happened, but one thing had become crystal clear.
‘I've stepped in shit!’
Swaaaaaa!
Shhhhhhhiing!
Just then, the one hundred and twenty masters of the Unorthodox Path hidden on the rooftops poured down into the street like a sudden storm, drawing their sabers.
I looked at the man in red, who was about my height, and spoke.
“You, who are you?”
“Umm!”
The man in red's face turned the color of a rotten pig's liver, a dark, bruised purple.
“Are you going to wait until you're in the afterlife to answer King Yama?”
“You bastard!”
The man in red's eyes widened in a desperate glare.
But in truth, I wasn't curious who this guy was, so I didn't know why I was even asking.
Tired of even asking, I released a short burst of fist wind from the punch pressed against his chest.