Heavenly Secret Scholar Zhuge Hyeonggeon
A heavy silence settled over the elders’ meeting room.
All the elders of the Jigeom Sect had gathered in a place that was rarely used. Four elders sat to the left and right of the sect leader, and I stood before them.
“Hyeonseong, a report has come in that you leaked the sect’s secrets to an outsider.”
The elders’ voices were grave and cold. Their gazes were filled with jealousy and envy. I let out an inward sigh.
So… this is how it ends.
I looked at the elders and said, “I’m not sure what you mean.”
As I answered calmly, Jang Semin stepped forward.
“Still denying it? There are witnesses saying you taught the sect’s inner art to an outsider named Jinu, and passed on an unknown martial art to Duseong and Hwaung.”
Beside Jang Semin, Jang Sejun chimed in. “And on top of that, you haven’t been fully disclosing the profits from beast hunts. Just how much wealth are you hiding?”
I gave a quiet snort to myself. So that was why they’d been sniffing around the beast hunting grounds lately.
“Witnesses, you say… whose testimony is this?”
Jang Semin wore a triumphant look. “Right here. Bring them in.”
At his signal, the door opened and two familiar junior disciples entered. They were the sort who usually kept close to the Jang brothers.
“We saw it with our own eyes. Elder Brother was teaching something to the outsider Jinu.”
“That’s right. And the sword techniques used by Duseong and Hwaung Elder Brothers were different from our Jigeom Sect’s.”
One of the elders frowned. “Hyeonseong, is this true?”
Before I could answer, the door flew open.
“Wait!”
Duseong and Hwaung burst in, slightly out of breath.
“We’re sorry, elders. But we have something to say too.”
Duseong cupped his fists and spoke. “Elder Brother only taught us the Jigeom Sect’s sword arts. He merely showed us more efficient ways to use them.”
Hwaung added, “And what he taught Jinu wasn’t martial arts. It was how to handle medicinal materials. All for the sake of our sect.”
Jang Semin’s face went red.
“Shut your mouths! What do you know—”
“That is enough.”
The sect leader raised a hand to stop him.
“We’ll end it here for today. Hyeonseong, step outside. I need to discuss something with the elders.”
I bowed my head and left the meeting room. Duseong and Hwaung followed after me.
“Elder Brother, are you all right?” Duseong asked worriedly.
“I’m fine. Thank you for coming.”
“We only did what was right.”
Hwaung clenched his fist.
“I’m really angry. Elder Brother has done so much for the sect…”
Duseong, who cared deeply for the sect as well, seemed thoroughly disappointed and spoke with suppressed anger.
“They don’t seem to realize who’s keeping the Jigeom Sect fed. Elder Brother, you’ve been making more and more progress hunting beasts, so it’s obvious the elders are getting greedy.”
He wasn’t wrong. Beast hunting was beginning to become a serious business. The elders of the Jigeom Sect had opened their eyes to the profits it brought.
Seeing a gain, they wanted a hand in it.
The elders’ greed was beginning to show.
Hm. Maybe I should leave the Jigeom Sect sooner than I thought.
Truthfully, I had no intention of leaving yet. But beast hunting was going more smoothly than expected. Duseong and Hwaung were improving rapidly, and I had even gained a remarkable talent in Jinu.
At this point, there was no reason for me to remain tied to the Jigeom Sect.
I should start clearing things up.
I patted both of them on the shoulder.
“Don’t worry too much. Go back and rest.”
***
The next day, an unexpected visitor came looking for me.
Zhuge Clan.
A prestigious family based in Hubei, where the Jigeom Sect stood. The Zhuge Clan specialized more in formations, strategy, and tactics than in martial arts. Of course, that only meant their martial strength was weaker than the great sects; compared to the Jigeom Sect, the difference was like heaven and earth. Yet this Zhuge Clan had reached out first to a tiny, insignificant sect far away in Donghu.
“The Zhuge Clan? What sort of inquiry did they make?”
“They asked whether we could sell them all of the Ironclad Tiger skin we had. It seems the merchants told them you’d wiped out every last one in the area.”
Since we’d sold so many of the Ironclad Tiger’s other byproducts to the shops around Donghu, rumors spreading was only natural. But after hearing the sect leader’s words, my expression turned faintly strange.
They shouldn’t know yet that Ironclad Tiger skin can be used to build formations.
I couldn’t assume the Zhuge Clan had asked because they already knew its properties. Still, if it was the Zhuge Clan, there was a chance they had simply figured it out.
“If they want to buy it, there should be room to bargain. Did they say anything else?”
“Ahem… well, someone from the Zhuge Clan is waiting here in person.”
As he said this, the sect leader’s face visibly brightened. The Zhuge Clan. It was a name every martial sect in Hubei wanted to be on friendly terms with. So of course Leader Ji Pyeong would react like this when someone from that place had come all the way to the Jigeom Sect.
“I see. Then I should meet them.”
My calm response seemed to surprise him a little. I was still this composed even after hearing the name Zhuge Clan. At that moment, a clear voice came from beyond the inner office.
“Thank you for granting us the meeting.”
Behind a folding screen at the back of the sect leader’s office was a reception space used for meeting guests. From there, a young man and a middle-aged man who seemed to be no ordinary figure stepped out. The young man had refined features and a slender build, and his eyes sparkled with startling intelligence as he looked at me.
He gave a light bow. “My name is Hyeonggeon of the Zhuge Clan.”
The young man was Zhuge Hyeonggeon. The moment I heard his name, I couldn’t hide my surprise.
Could he be that Zhuge Hyeonggeon?
After the appearance of the Illusion Gates and the beasts, Murim had thrown itself into all manner of research: the cause of the gates, the nature of the beasts, methods for hunting them, and more. The first to truly study these matters was Kunlun, who had encountered the Illusion Gates first, and the next was the Zhuge Clan. Even though the Zhuge Clan entered the field relatively late, they caught up to Kunlun in no time thanks to their extraordinary intellectual power.
Among them, there was one figure who stood out above all the rest.
Zhuge Hyeonggeon, the Heavenly Secret Scholar.
He was a genius among geniuses, especially when it came to developing formations and devices from the byproducts obtained from beasts. Seeing such a man in person was astonishing. In my previous life, I would never have had the chance to meet him like this.
Of course, he probably isn’t famous yet.
I steadied myself. I set aside the surprise of meeting someone who would become renowned in the future and turned to the question of why he had come looking for me.
“Greetings. I am Hyeonseong, the eldest disciple of the Jigeom Sect. It is an honor to meet a distinguished young master of the Zhuge Clan.”
At once, I felt a faint surge of inner energy. The middle-aged man standing beside Zhuge Hyeonggeon was subtly releasing his aura to gauge my level. Normally, I should not have been able to feel it. That man was clearly of the Zhuge Clan, and his cultivation was far beyond mine. But I had the Dragon Pearl, a divine treasure in my dantian. It allowed me to sense the energy the middle-aged man was sending out.
After briefly testing my cultivation, the middle-aged man cupped his fists and greeted me. “Greetings. I am Zhuge Ho, Hyeonggeon’s uncle.”
As expected, he was a member of the Zhuge Clan. But just from his name, I couldn’t place exactly who he was.
“Greetings. It is an honor to meet someone from the illustrious Zhuge Clan.”
In Zhuge Ho’s eyes, I could see a hint of surprise. It must have been astonishing to find a disciple at the Peak Realm in a low-ranking sect like the Jigeom Sect. After all, even the Jigeom Sect’s sect leader was only at the Peak Realm.
“So you are Hyeonseong. I’m pleased to meet you as well. I had no idea such talent was hidden in the Jigeom Sect.”
At Zhuge Ho’s praise, the sect leader’s expression brightened.
“I am nothing compared to those of the Zhuge Clan. I’m not worthy of such kind words.”
“You’re modest as well.”
Leader Ji Pyeong slipped into our conversation. “Then shall we move to another room and discuss the purpose of your visit today?”
Zhuge Hyeonggeon nodded toward Zhuge Ho. “Uncle, this may take a while, so please return to the lodging and wait for me there.”
“Understood.”
Zhuge Ho obeyed without objection.
It might have seemed odd, but the hierarchy of martial families could not be judged by seniority alone, so I let it pass. The three of us—Zhuge Hyeonggeon, the sect leader, and I—took our seats in one corner of the office. Normally, tea would have been brought out, but the Jigeom Sect’s circumstances were not good. The sect leader only cleared his throat awkwardly. Understanding the situation, I spoke first.
“May I ask the reason you came to see me?”
“I came today because of the Ironclad Tiger skin. I heard that Young Master Hyeonseong possesses a considerable amount of it.”
“That’s true. I do have a large quantity of Ironclad Tiger skin.”
“Did you hunt the Ironclad Tigers alone?”
“Yes. I did it alone.”
Zhuge Hyeonggeon let out a small gasp of admiration. “Incredible. Ironclad Tigers must be quite difficult to hunt.”
“They certainly aren’t easy. But once you know the method, they’re not difficult to catch.”
“I see. It hasn’t been long since beasts began appearing, and yet you’ve already figured out how to hunt them. That’s astonishing.”
“I just happened to figure it out.”
“And you hunted the Ironclad Tigers alone as well?”
I paused for a moment before answering.
“Yes, that’s right. I hunted them by myself. In fact, if you know the method, it’s more convenient to hunt them alone.”
“Hm… that makes sense. Ironclad Tigers have a tendency to gather in greater numbers when more humans are present.”
I looked at Zhuge Hyeonggeon quietly. The genius before me had perfectly understood the implication of my single remark. That was despite the fact that very little was yet known about the Ironclad Tiger.
“It seems you’ve learned quite a lot about them.”
“I’m especially interested in matters like this. Beasts are going to change the balance of Murim in a major way. That means whoever gets there first can reap enormous profit.”
Without thinking, I nodded. There was nothing wrong with his judgment.
“At present, beasts may seem like a new threat, but Murim has always been the kind of place that overcomes threats and turns them into new value.”
“Your insight is excellent.”
“Thank you. It seems Young Master Hyeonseong already understands this as well, considering you’ve gathered so much Ironclad Tiger skin.”
It seemed Zhuge Hyeonggeon found it curious that I had sold all the other parts of the beasts I’d hunted while keeping only the skins. Considering the Jigeom Sect’s circumstances, even selling every byproduct of the Ironclad Tigers would hardly be enough. I held my tongue for a moment in response to his question.
What I say now could make things more troublesome.
Still, building a connection with Zhuge Hyeonggeon would not be a bad thing. The Zhuge Clan was known to be generous to those who treated them well. Zhuge Hyeonggeon had already singled out Ironclad Tiger skin as something he needed, which meant there was a good chance he already knew how he intended to use it.
“It wasn’t for any other reason. I only set them aside because I sensed something special in the Ironclad Tiger skin.”
“Oh? Is that so? As expected, then. Yes, that’s right. The energy contained in Ironclad Tiger skin is especially compatible with talismans. That is also why I wish to purchase it.”
“May I ask what sort of talismans you have in mind?”
Zhuge Hyeonggeon answered with obvious excitement. “This is still only a hypothesis of mine, but if talismans are made from Ironclad Tiger skin, I think we may be able to construct a formation that can keep beasts at bay.”
As expected, Zhuge Hyeonggeon was already thinking of using talismans made from Ironclad Tiger skin to create a beast defense formation. He seemed to have thought of this much earlier than I’d realized. But the truth was that the formation he would eventually create came much later.
So he must have struggled quite a bit before completing the beast defense formation.
Having an idea and putting it into practice were entirely different things. Right now, Zhuge Hyeonggeon had only just come up with the concept; he still seemed to lack a concrete method to execute it. For a moment, I hesitated. Selling the Ironclad Tiger skin was a simple transaction.
But I did know something about the beast defense formation.
In time, after Zhuge Hyeonggeon completed it, it would become so widely known that almost any sect could use it. Of course, there would be a price to pay to the Zhuge Clan for using the formation. In that case, I could solve the very issue Zhuge Hyeonggeon was worrying over.
Hm… it’ll be a bit of a hassle, though.
If I helped bring the beast defense formation into existence, I could make a tremendous amount of money. I let the corner of my mouth lift slightly and said to Zhuge Hyeonggeon, “Then I’ll sell all the Ironclad Tiger skin to you, Young Master Hyeonggeon.”
“Oh! Thank you. I’ll give you a very generous price, so you needn’t worry about feeling shortchanged. How much do you have?”
“About a hundred skins.”
Zhuge Hyeonggeon’s eyes widened. “A hundred? You really wiped out every Ironclad Tiger in the area?”
“Yes. That’s how it turned out.”
“I’ll need ten silver taels per skin.”
“That price is reasonable.”
Ironclad Tiger skin would eventually be sold for a lower price later on. Ten silver taels each wasn’t quite as expensive as I’d expected, but it certainly wasn’t cheap. Considering my relationship with Zhuge Hyeonggeon, I’d say I sold it at a fair middle price.
“Heh… ten silver taels per skin…”
Upon hearing the price, the sect leader stared blankly. It was a figure so outrageous that the Jigeom Sect could hardly imagine it. Leader Ji Pyeong swallowed hard and looked at me with unmistakable affection in his eyes.
I said to Zhuge Hyeonggeon, “Then, since we’ve settled the price, I’ll hand over the skins right away.”
“Would it be all right if I paid with a draft from the Cheon Geum Merchant House?”
“A draft from the Cheon Geum Merchant House is trustworthy enough. Let’s do that.”
Zhuge Hyeonggeon smiled and took a draft from his robes. I looked at him and said, “By the way, aren’t you curious about how to use the Ironclad Tiger skin?”
At my question, Zhuge Hyeonggeon’s eyes sparkled.
“You know about that?”