Chapter 9
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Translator: MJK
Chapter: 4.2
Chapter Title: Chapter 4. Heavenly Mechanism Child
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"The momentum of a general who successfully quelled the rebels is truly terrifying."
With that kind of authority, even high-ranking officials wouldn't dare oppose him.
The king must have realized this was his last chance, as he greatly expanded the scope of that warrant.
Originally, a warrant like this could only target officials with salaries below 2,000 piculs.
"This king is no ordinary man. To extend that authority not just to officials above 2,000 piculs, but even to members of the royal family!"
Punishing members of the royal house was fundamentally different from punishing high officials.
It could severely undermine the king's own authority if mishandled.
"Yet he expanded the authority to that extent, which means he trusts the White Crane Elder that much. It also signifies just how deeply the royal house has been corrupted."
Rotten flesh must be cut away decisively.
Otherwise, it spreads and eventually leads to death.
"The White Crane Elder wielded that warrant with remarkable boldness."
He punished all corruption in line with the king's will, slicing it clean.
Among those punished were even supreme commanders of the first rank.
One look at that showed just how bold and ruthless his blade had been.
"What's astonishing is that these measures have actually restored the normal flow of national governance."
With so many officials lost to corruption charges, things should have ground to a halt.
"Yet governance swiftly returned to normal. There's one reason: the White Crane Elder filled the gaps single-handedly."
A transcendent being.
An Hoe was convinced that if his suspicions were right, the White Crane Elder was one such figure.
To battle the entrenched corrupt forces devouring the nation for so long while single-handedly managing the resulting vacancies—what could be more fearsome?
"...It's nothing short of miraculous."
The White Crane Elder's achievements surely owed something to An Hoe's own contributions.
Not just the tip about the rebels.
Before that, the White Crane Elder had gained profound insight and intuition thanks to An Hoe's enlightenment.
Someone already far beyond the ordinary had ascended even higher, so in a sense, calling him transcendent was no exaggeration.
"All I did was provide a stepping stone for him to take one more step forward."
Even though it was no small feat, An Hoe didn't think much of it.
After all, such enlightenment had been possible only because the Elder possessed the necessary aptitude.
"Above all, that was merely a side benefit."
There was one true reason he could achieve such revolutionary reforms that upended the government.
He had long harbored the resolve in his heart and cultivated the abilities to match it.
Without that, no amount of transcendent insight could have piled up accomplishments like these.
"Hahaha. Must be chaos everywhere."
He was referring to the rebels lurking in various corners, watching for an opening.
They'd thought the royal house a toothless tiger, only to learn it was still a fierce beast—how shocked they must have been.
An Hoe knew the truth.
'The punitive expedition overseen by the White Crane Elder back then was a one-time affair.'
Having witnessed the royal house's fall in his previous life, he understood the reality.
The strike against the rebels had been to set an example.
And it had worked perfectly.
Tax revenues, long delayed under various excuses, had surged as if by magic.
'They must have seized the assets of those corrupt officials too. That's enough to stabilize the nation.'
This was good for An Hoe as well.
Not simply because he belonged to the country.
Rather, it directly aided the An Family Merchant Group.
Indeed, as the chaos plaguing the nation subsided, An Yeong had begun pursuing long-postponed plans.
"I'm thinking of expanding into the southern region."
"...You mean Yeonam?"
An Hoe showed clear reluctance at his mother's mention of Yeonam.
In terms of intent alone, it was the right path.
'Mother truly has a gift for commerce.'
She also had a knack for attracting talent.
The merchants she'd gathered from all over were exceptionally skilled and loyal.
On top of that, she had the backing of the Jang Family Clan.
'We should have been twice this size by now.'
Yet instead of reckless expansion, she'd chosen to stockpile funds for the clan. The reason was simple.
The royal house had weakened, and the nation was in turmoil.
In such times, contracting commerce was the wiser move.
An Hoe's report to the White Crane Elder about the rebels had been partly to create such an opportunity.
"Even without that gain, it was something I should have reported to him."
Considering how much the Elder had given him in his previous life, it was only right.
Still, expansion into Yeonam right now was unwise.
Yeonam housed the great city of Juyang, and the entire area around it had fallen to rebels.
"The largest force I know of."
In the original history, the royal house had been decisively shaken because the rebels rising from Juyang had gained overwhelming momentum.
"Who could've guessed the Mi Family Clan harbored such ambitions..."
When the truth came out, the martial world of Honam erupted in outrage.
The Mi Family Clan was one of the Honam Five Great Clans, alongside the Jang Family Clan.
This clan, boasting a long tradition, had produced many military generals over generations.
"That background might be why they're dreaming of rebellion."
A long-standing clan meant accumulated power.
With so many military ties, they had the ingredients to topple the nation.
"The problem is the current royal house lacks the strength to crush them..."
If they tried, they could probably dismantle the Mi Family Clan.
But the cost wouldn't be light.
It might destabilize the fragilely recovering nation.
"It's too soon. We should wait at least a year."
This one-year timeline accounted for the Elder's transcendent efficiency.
Without that, it'd be five years at minimum—no, ten.
One thing was certain: war would lay the region to waste.
"Any branch we've painstakingly established would vanish in an instant."
Not just goods, but personnel losses too.
A hit to our reputation was inevitable.
War was that terrifying.
"It's not without solutions."
War, after all, was a human endeavor.
More precisely, it arose because certain people sought gains from it.
Disrupt those people, and the war might be averted or greatly delayed.
However...
"The issue is that the Mi Family has the Blade Lord."
A title bearing "Lord" meant he was a hegemon dominating his region.
And that wasn't wrong.
Among the countless martial artists of Honam, he alone qualified as the strongest.
"Word has it he reached the Transcendent Realm during the Honam Great War. That was 34 years ago, so he's surely honed power befitting his title by now."
With some stroke of fortune in between, he might even be called Blade King.
'That's why he's indulging in such ambitions.'
Yet something still didn't add up.
It related to the Mi Family Clan being a martial clan.
Despite many members serving in the military, they presented as a martial house, not a general's lineage.
That preserved and grew the clan better.
"They're exploiting the taboo against government and martial world interference."
The state upheld that principle for one reason.
Collision between the two would mean mutual destruction.
Breaking it would hand the opposing side a perfect justification.
It seemed minor, but the reality differed.
"Justification is that crucial. Even common folk with little to gain from war will fight foreign invaders to the death if they have the moral high ground."
That's why the Honam martial world exploded when the Mi Family Clan rebelled.
They feared the flames of war spreading to the entire martial world.
"The Mi Family Clan can't be ignorant of that backlash. So why pursue rebellion?"
Was it mere greed blinding them?
If the rebellion succeeded and they founded their own dynasty...
Then yes, the immense sacrifices would be worthwhile.
But An Hoe rated those odds low.
"Which points to another force backing them?"
Perhaps powers outside Honam.
'Maybe the Jin Kingdom or Song Kingdom, on bad terms with the Yeon royal house.'
It was plausible.
Neighboring states always profited from chaos next door.
"Even if so, it changes nothing. Ultimately, we just need to sway the Blade Lord or those around him."
The way to handle such people was simple: physical persuasion.
'Why bother teaching them bit by bit? For scum like this, physical therapy is the answer!'
It hadn't taken long to realize his old friend Park Si-young's half-joking words were pure truth.
These were selfish sophists, and the only cure for their behavior was a beating.
At minimum, make them realize crime brings personal loss.
'What about those immune to beatings?'
Of course, repeated doses built tolerance.
When asked the counter, Park Si-young had looked exasperated.
'What do you mean? Kill them. Why keep trash like that alive? To make soup?'
'They're cancerous growths! Leave them be out of pity, and you die with them!'
'...'
'Sigh~. Listen, friend. Justice is fine, but think if it's for the greater good or just soft-hearted morality.'
Coming from a half-ruined world, perhaps?
Park Si-young's words were boldly ruthless, but where law and order failed, they rang true.
"The martial world is exactly that kind of place."
Recalling his old friend after so long brought a smile, but An Hoe soon shook his head with a tsk.
He knew well how hard it was to administer such "therapy."
His current realm was first-rate.
Considering he'd reached four stars in a supreme art like the Nine Yang True Scripture, it seemed odd.
But this was intentional on An Hoe's part.
"With the strain from introducing the Second Hierarchy into my body, raising my realm further might overwhelm this growing frame."
The best approach was to advance his realm after perfecting the Nine Yang Adamant Body.
Above all, he believed first-rate was plenty.
This wasn't naive thinking.
His first-rate realm was based on the Second Hierarchy, not the Third.
"A Second Hierarchy first-rate martial artist can aim beyond peak Third Hierarchy, even touching early super-peak."
This was possible due to one thing.
"The ability to manifest sword ki."
Not every first-rate martial artist could wield it, though.
It required arts at the peak level.
In contrast, manifesting sword ki in the Third Hierarchy was far harder.
"You must pierce the Conception and Life Gates—also called the Governor and Conception Vessels—to reach super-peak and meet the basic conditions."
Even then, you need super-peak level arts to finally wield sword ki.
"For super-peak martial artists, whether they can wield sword ki is critical."
Those who can't handle only two peak martial artists at most.
But one who can takes on three or four peak experts simultaneously.
Numerically, combat power nearly doubles.
"Sword winds at the peak realm are threatening enough, but they pale against sword ki."
Not just in depth of martial learning—the sheer power was like adult versus child.