Chapter 123 - The Black Flame Dragon Who Gives an Opportunity (3)

-Respected Senior Brother.

Have you been well all this time, and is your health still as robust as ever?

As your younger brother, I never once doubted that you would become the academy's top student, but upon actually hearing the news, I wanted to run to Wuhan right away.

Please forgive this younger brother whose body is tied down here due to other matters.

The Taiyi Sect has been doing well without any issues.

Recently, those who were dispatched from the Mount Mao Sect completed the installation of the formation arrays and moved on to Wangga Manor.

I also have to go install the same contraption arrays at Wangga Manor after finishing the installation at the Taiyi Sect, but I don't know if I can make it in time.

Currently, the design of the contraption arrays is completely finished, but the reality is that there is no one with the skills to craft the components.

The External Hall Leader and the Lord of Wangga Manor are asking around everywhere to find skilled blacksmiths, but it doesn't seem like it will be easy.

My desire to finish everything as soon as possible and go see you is desperate, but you would be disappointed if this younger brother showed a lack of responsibility.

I will also perfectly finish my work and look forward to the day I can stand before you as a dignified man.

Fortunately, Senior Brother Eunho sent an image of your dignified appearance, which brings me much comfort. The golden letters of 'Top Student' wouldn't leave my eyes, so I have been staring at the canvas all day.

Senior Sister Wang called a master painter and asked them to draw the exact same picture even larger, and the Sect Leader said he would hang the painting Senior Brother Eunho sent right at the very front of the Grand Sage Hall, so many junior disciples...

Reading up to that point, I put down the letter as if throwing it.

THUD.

"... Where did Eunho go?"

Moyong Jaehwa cautiously poked his head up.

"If you're looking for Senior Brother Eunho, he left earlier when you started reading the letter."

"... That damn bastard."

Over the past few days, I had frequently seen him with someone I had never seen before, so I thought he had made a friend in the academy in his own way.

But to think that was a painter pretending to be a friend.

"This crazy bastard... Where did he get the money?"

Inside the academy where all food, clothing, and shelter were provided, what need would there be to spend money?

Furthermore, since things of a much higher quality than what they had at the Taiyi Sect were provided, I didn't know about others, but the Geum-eun-dong Brothers' satisfaction with the academy was at its absolute peak.

They hadn't exactly asked for money either, so apart from the small allowance I gave them, they shouldn't have any money.

"..."

"... Ugh, I feel so stiff. Should I go stretch my body a bit?"

Seong Moran suddenly stood up from her seat.

"Lady Seong."

Seong Moran flinched and trembled her shoulders.

She looked incredibly suspicious.

"... Oh, Seonhwa, do you want to go have a sparring match?"

"Did you know about it too, Lady Seong?"

"..."

"So you were the culprit, Lady Seong."

"N-No, I'm not. W-What are you saying...! I have nothing to do with it."

"..."

"I-It's true. I just gave Eunho some money when he said he was going to draw a few pictures."

"Eunho is still an academy student, so when did you expect to get the money back?"

"Ah... Aha, well, no. It wasn't that much money. You could say I received something in return... You could say money isn't really a big concern anymore..."

Seong Moran rambled, making no sense.

On top of that, for some reason, even Namgung Seonhwa was avoiding my gaze and fidgeting with her fingers, looking suspicious.

"A-Ah right! N-Now that I think about it, the monk Ilgak sent an invitation. Did you see it?"

Namgung Seonhwa was changing the subject very awkwardly.

I let out a small sigh and decided to play along.

"Are they holding a banquet too?"

This was already the third time.

The first to make a move was the Twelve Peak Stars, and then the Five Great Noble Clans. And now, even the Nine Sects and One Gang had declared they would hold a banquet.

"That's what I mean. The academy representative hasn't even held one yet."

Seong Moran fanned herself with her hand as if she found it absurd.

"More importantly, shouldn't we hold a banquet soon too?"

"Even if I held one, who would attend?"

Originally, once the academy's representative delegation was fully formed, the students' academic schedule would begin starting with the first banquet, but the others had hijacked that.

"But if things stay like this..."

It had been two weeks since the academic schedule began.

The academy's representative delegation's work gained more speed as we became proficient, and the document processing that seemed impossible with just us had all been completed.

But the real problem was that there was no one to attend the academic schedule I organized.

And if such an academic schedule continued for three months, I would eventually have to step down from the academy representative position. That was why the Three Purities Formless Sword had stepped down.

"They aren't people we can force to attend in the first place. With that kind of money, it's better to do something else instead."

"Something else?"

The information in my head wasn't solely useful for the document processing of the academy's representative delegation.

I knew how to get the Mantong Bureau, which managed and implemented the budget, to operate, and I knew very well how it should be used.

"There's no need to beg them to attend. We just have to make everyone so desperate to attend that they can't stand it, wouldn't you say?"

And I had no intention of stepping down from the representative position easily.

* * *

"What is all this!"

Zhuge Somyeong yelled as if he was annoyed, but no bureau members reacted to him.

Especially with the academy's standard exam over, there was no work and everyone was just waiting for their vacation, yet as many documents as during the standard exam had arrived at the Mantong Bureau.

"These came up from the Murim Academy."

"The academy? Since when did those guys handle work like this."

"Not from the academy's side, but from the academy's representative delegation."

"What?"

Zhuge Somyeong absentmindedly flipped open a document.

"..."

The clearly organized documents were perfectly flawless without a single unnecessary detail.

"How many times did this go back and forth?"

"It was processed in one go."

"What?"

Even the academy's representative delegation needed time to learn the Murim Alliance's procedures. It was normal for reports to be rejected countless times and undergo several revisions before a barely presentable report came up.

But didn't this feel as if it had been processed by an administrator who had gone through all those processes and gained a ton of experience?

"Did that bastard Maeng Ju-won decide to help the academy's representative delegation?"

When he muttered to himself, thinking that must be what happened, the bureau member shook his head.

"What do you mean? Manager Maeng even created useless documents just to give Jin Sowoon a hard time."

"He processed all of that too?"

"Yes."

Amidst the mountain of documents, Maeng Ju-won sat slumped with a blank expression on his face.

"Furthermore, he suddenly requested a massive budget, stating it was necessary for the academic schedule."

"What?"

"Look at this."

Since the academic schedules planned by the academy's representative delegation were mostly about fostering fellowship, the majority of them involved holding banquets or inviting famous figures of Murim to boast their connections.

"T-Thirty thousand gold taels?"

However, since that guy wouldn't have any connections worth bragging about, Zhuge Somyeong assumed he had simply requested a budget for a banquet.

But the amount was enough to make Zhuge Somyeong, who was rarely surprised by anything, gasp in shock.

"... Crazy, is he planning to hold a banquet and invite all the top ten experts of the world or something?"

The member merely chuckled without answering. There were occasional cases where excessive lecture fees were requested to invite famous figures, but there was no way Zhuge Somyeong would tolerate that.

"Obviously not."

"Um... But I think we'll have to pass it."

"What?"

"Here are the plans he wrote for spending the budget."

The clearly organized report endlessly detailed why the budget was needed, where it would be used, what effects it would produce, and what benefits the Murim Alliance would gain from the events.

And it was so elegant that not a single sentence snagged the eye along the way.

"..."

"Do you really think we don't need to give it to him?"

It was on a completely different level from those from the Elder's Hall or martial pavilions who would just barge in and throw a tantrum demanding a budget increase.

This was something they couldn't refuse to fund even if they wanted to.

No, it was at the point where they had to give him the money even if it meant cutting the budgets of other departments.

"Haha, this guy is really..."

Zhuge Somyeong even felt that Jin Sowoon's capability was enough to be entrusted with the position of Vice Manager of the Mantong Bureau right away.

'Vice Manager? No, he could probably take on the role of Simhyeon Pavilion Master.'

While Zhuge Somyeong was dreaming his own hopeful dream, the bureau member continued to speak.

"Anyway, because of this, the amount of work we need to verify has also increased like this. That's why Manager Maeng is in that state."

"Tsk, tsk, that's what he gets for creating more work for himself."

Maeng Ju-won, who was blankly staring at the mountain of documents around him, suddenly snapped to his senses and slowly turned his head.

The sight of it was so bizarre that just as Zhuge Somyeong was about to step back.

"C-Chief Strategist..."

"I'm not helping you! You reap what you sow!"

"Chief Strategist!!!"

Maeng Ju-won scrambled over on all fours and grabbed Zhuge Somyeong's pant legs.

"I said I'm not helping!"

"Did you see this? This?"

Maeng Ju-won spoke while shaking the budget increase application the member had shown earlier.

"Jin Sowoon must absolutely join the Mantong Bureau after graduation. No, he must join right this instant. Please give him my Manager position. I will become the Vice Manager, no, a regular member."

"T-This crazy bastard..."

"Chief Strategist!!!! Please!!!!! Jin Sowoon!!!!"

"What are you doing? Pull him off right now!"

Only after four or five members rushed in was Maeng Ju-won finally peeled off, and he screamed desperately at Zhuge Somyeong as the man left the Mantong Bureau.

"Chief Strategist!!! Jin Sowoon must definitely come to the Mantong Bureau!!!"

* * *

"..."

"I really can't understand why you refuse to wear this."

The head maid let out a long sigh.

But for me, I absolutely couldn't back down.

"... I almost died wearing this."

"Pardon? What do you mean..."

"I felt so ashamed of my appearance reflected in the bronze mirror that I wanted to throw myself into the lake."

"... H-How could you say that? This was embroidered over a hundred days by Geumbun, the best embroiderer in Hubei Province..."

"Exactly, it's not even a formal event, so why must I wear this?"

The head maid was still trying to dress me in that same 'Top Student' outfit.

"Regardless, isn't it a gathering where not only the academy students but also famous figures of the Murim Alliance will be present? You absolutely must wear this eye-catching attire."

"I will never wear it this time, even if it kills me."

With that, as I used the Taiyi Eighty Thousand Divine Steps, the maids who tried to grab my afterimage fell to the floor.

"W-Wait! I understand! So please don't say you'll go wearing that dull martial arts uniform that seems entirely devoid of aesthetic sense."

"..."

I briefly looked down at my martial arts uniform.

Because I had only recently gotten it made, there were no traces of mending yet, and since I hadn't had to roll on the ground lately, there weren't many stains either.

How on earth was this dull?

"... I have an outfit prepared just in case."

As the head maid nodded with a face that looked ten years older, the other maids brought out new clothes.

"Please, at the very least, wear this when you attend."

It was the same black color I usually wore, but it looked much more luxurious, giving off a sheen as if it was made from high-quality fabric, with thin silver embroidery running down the sleeves.

"... You should have brought this out sooner."

I wasn't the type to care much about attire, but this was decent enough to wear. To be honest, my black martial arts uniform did look far too plain compared to the other academy students.

When standing among them, there were times when it was confusing whether I was there as the representative or as a servant brought in to wait on them.

The top had long, draped sleeves like a traditional coat, and the silver embroidered patterns on the back flashed brilliantly every time I took a step.

"If I had known it would come to this, I would have embroidered letters on this one as well."

It seemed the middle-aged head maid still hadn't given up on the word 'Top Student'.

"If you did such a thing, I would never wear this outfit again either."

"Why do you hate showing yourself off so much? Isn't that why you're having a hard time with your academy life?"

For some reason, the middle-aged head maid's words made it seem like she knew my situation well.

When I didn't reply, the middle-aged head maid's eyes widened like a rabbit's.

"I apologize. I misspoke."

"Well, I wouldn't really call it misspeaking."

Because she wasn't exactly wrong.

* * *

I headed toward the banquet hall hosted by the Nine Sects and One Gang.

The path leading to the banquet hall was brightly decorated with lanterns.

People walked along the lantern-lit path in groups of three or four.

Half were those who appeared to be academy students.

And the other half were people who attended such banquets to form connections with them.

Every single one of them wore luxurious clothing and ornaments, indicating their extraordinary status.

There was still quite a distance to the banquet hall, but the sound of festive music could already be heard.

Since the weather had warmed up with the passing of winter, drinking tables had been set up here and there outside the banquet hall as well, and the disciples of the Nine Sects and One Gang seemed busy moving between those tables, exchanging greetings and building friendships.

"You've arrived."

Turning my head, I saw Zhuge Jeonggi lightly offering a fist-and-palm salute.

"Did you come alone?"

"Everyone said their stomachs weren't feeling well."

In truth, it was me who stopped them when they insisted on following.

Knowing full well that we would receive uncomfortable glares at a gathering like this, wouldn't it be enough for me to endure that discomfort alone?

"You're a remarkably considerate person."

Zhuge Jeonggi gave an enigmatic smile.

"By the way, are you attending the banquet of the Nine Sects and One Gang?"

"As you know, the Nine Sects and One Gang and the Five Great Noble Clans are not enemies."

"But they can't exactly be seen as one body either, can they?"

If they weren't enemies, then why had they engaged in such a brutal, scheming war in my past life?

"You could call it a strategic alliance."

"But to call it that, isn't your common enemy a bit too pathetic?"

"Are you pretending not to know? Or do you really not know?"

"..."

"Young Master Jin, you are a 'symbol'. And the symbol of quite a massive crack at that."

"I am?"

"Chaos begins from that small crack, doesn't it?"

"..."

Zhuge Jeonggi watched me closely before letting out a small sigh.

"Anyway, why haven't you held a banquet, representative? Since the academy representative hasn't hosted one, doesn't it make those of us who held ours first lose face?"

"... Do you have any intention of attending if I hold one?"

"Of course I have no intention of going. But you never know, right? There might be people secretly supporting the academy representative."

Looking around, I made eye contact with Cheol Sunjik, who was standing beside Nam Hwaseong.

For some reason, they stared at me with stiff expressions before slowly turning their heads away.

"So you should hurry up and hold your banquet. If you keep delaying it day after day, won't you eventually become an academy representative who was forced to step down without even starting the academic schedule or hosting a single banquet?"

"May I ask you one thing?"

I looked at his smirking face.

"Yes. Ask anything."

"Why haven't you asked about Zhuge Cheongi?"

"..."

For the first time, his expression stiffened completely.

"From what I know, the Zhuge Clan determines its successor through meritocracy rather than primogeniture. Are you wary of Cheongi because of that?"

"... It is our family's affair. It's not something Young Master Jin needs to concern yourself with."

"Or is it perhaps because Cheongi is the symbol of a crack?"

"..."

Zhuge Jeonggi's face, which had been full of relaxed confidence until now, twisted like a demon's.

"Young Master Jin, you are quite a toxic person. The problem is that you yourself are unaware of it."

In my past life, Zhuge Jeonggi had never even viewed me as a fellow human being, so had I moved up in the world?

"And you believe that everyone else in the world is wrong, rather than yourself."

Zhuge Jeonggi's voice grew steadily louder.

The surrounding gazes began to gather on us one by one.

"That is why you are a dangerous person, Young Master Jin. Do you understand?"

Just then, a group of middle-aged men approached us.

"What is this commotion at someone else's banquet?"

The middle-aged men were all wearing luxurious clothing with flashy jewel-encrusted sashes, and as if it had been choreographed, they were each fanning themselves with folding fans in one hand.

Seeing them, Zhuge Jeonggi flinched in surprise and quickly offered a fist-and-palm salute.

"I greet the supreme elders of the Murim Alliance. I am Jeonggi of the Zhuge Clan."

The person standing at the very front of the middle-aged men looked at Zhuge Jeonggi for a moment before turning his gaze to me.

I slowly and lightly offered a fist-and-palm salute in return.

"I offer my greetings. I am Jin Sowoon."

"If you don't state your affiliation or where your roots lie, how am I supposed to know who you are?"

The one at the front of the middle-aged men deeply furrowed his brow.

"Do you not know me?"

"Why would I claim to know you?"

"Didn't you just call this 'someone else's banquet'? Didn't you say that because you know that not only Zhuge Jeonggi, but also I myself do not belong to the Nine Sects and One Gang?"

"..."

The deeply furrowed faces of the middle-aged men—no, the elders who practically served as the starting point for the Murim Alliance's internal power struggles—contorted heavily.

* * *

"... Young Master Jin. Do you know who this person is to commit such insolence?"

The man with a shaved head wearing monk's robes spoke with quite a surprised expression. It was Ilgak of the Shaolin Sect.

"I am Jin Sowoon of the Taiyi Sect."

When I spoke while lightly offering a fist-and-palm salute again, Daoist Myeonghyeon scoffed.

"Hmph, so the rumors that the Black Flame Dragon backed by the Underworld Murim has a terrifying momentum are indeed true."

"Something that isn't true has become accepted as fact because of you, Elder Myeonghyeon, so I've been experiencing quite a bit of trouble."

"Are you saying it's my fault that you can't properly perform your duties as the academy representative?"

"How else could the factions of the Nine Sects and One Gang, the Five Great Noble Clans, and the Twelve Peak Stars ignore me so blatantly? That all happened because the elders interfered with my events."

"Ha, what?"

An unusual atmosphere settled over the area, and pressure could be felt from all directions.

"Have you not learned that spouting such words in Murim will cost you your life?"

Because not only Daoist Myeonghyeon but also the elders standing around him simultaneously unleashed their hidden qi as if they shared a single mind, it was hard just to breathe, let alone answer.

Standing beside me, Zhuge Jeonggi was startled and grabbed his own throat with both hands, unable to hide his panicked expression.

Unable to move due to the powerful pressure closing in around him, his face quickly turned pale blue, looking as if he was on the verge of death.

I quickly drew upon the Taiyi True Scripture with full force and pushed away their hidden qi.

"Hup."

A gasp erupted from behind Daoist Myeonghyeon, and I finally gained some room to breathe.

Daoist Myeonghyeon looked at me with quite surprised eyes.

"You definitely didn't get in by pure luck."

With Daoist Myeonghyeon's words, the hidden qi that had been pressuring the surroundings vanished all at once, and Zhuge Jeonggi, who had been clutching his throat, collapsed to the floor with a *THUD* and panted heavily for quite a while.

Seeing Zhuge Jeonggi collapse while I appeared perfectly fine in the same space, a strange light began to gleam in the eyes of the onlookers.

I also wanted to immediately gasp for air just like Zhuge Jeonggi, but I gritted my teeth and endured it.

"Alright, from what I hear, you haven't started the academic schedule or even held a banquet under the name of the academy representative yet?"

"For whom should I throw a party that is nothing but empty formalities?"

"This is why the uneducated are... tsk."

Daoist Myeonghyeon clicked his tongue and gave a cold sneer.

"Then why did you request a budget of thirty thousand gold taels?"

At the words coming from Daoist Myeonghyeon's mouth, gasps erupted from all directions.

"T-Thirty thousand taels?"

"Such an amount is given to the academy representative?"

"Just what in the world is going on?"

Because of Daoist Myeonghyeon's words, not only the academy students attending the banquet but also those hoping to form connections with the Nine Sects and One Gang were all focusing on me.

"Of course, it is for the academic schedule."

"Thirty thousand gold taels?"

"Yes."

"Are you planning to hand out a golden ingot to everyone who attends the banquet?"

When I paused before answering, the venue grew as silent as a forest after a heavy rain.

"Of course not."

"Then where on earth do you plan to spend that much money? If you're perhaps thinking of embezzling it and sending it to your sect as a secret fund, it will be impossible as long as I am here."

"You really view us as nothing but beggars."

"Then reveal exactly what you plan to spend that money on."

The music in the banquet hall had already completely stopped playing. It wasn't my intention, but thanks to Daoist Myeonghyeon, things were working out easier than expected.

Infusing my voice with internal energy, I began to speak.

"Everyone here surely remembers the nightmare that occurred at the Demonic Spirit Plateau."

"..."

"The horrifying death array that turns anyone trapped inside into a wandering ghost, regardless of their level of martial arts."

Every time I took a step, hundreds of gazes followed me.

"To ensure that nightmare is never repeated, I have decided to share the solution to the Boundless Indestructible Soul-Extinguishing Array. And right now, the Boundless Indestructible Soul-Extinguishing Array is being constructed at the Murim Academy's grand equestrian ground for that very purpose."

Groan-like gasps erupted from all directions.

"Ha..."

"No wonder, I thought it was strange that some weird structure was being built."

"He's going to teach us that?"

"Even the Mount Mao Sect said there was no real way to break the array..."

The brief commotion vanished like a shadow meeting the light the moment I opened my mouth.

"As some of you may know, I am the only person who traveled through that Soul-Extinguishing Array and saved people. If you attend this academic schedule, you will be able to save your own lives even if you end up trapped in the Soul-Extinguishing Array in the future."

The murmuring voices grew louder and louder.

"In addition, you might also be able to obtain clues on how to install the Soul-Extinguishing Array in your own sects."

As soon as I finished speaking, the commotion flared up once again.

Just then, a single person asked a question from within the crowd.

"Can anyone attend?"

Looking toward where the voice came from, I saw it was Cheol Sunjik, who was standing with the Twelve Peak Stars.

I docilely nodded my head.

"Of course. Because this event is for all academy students."

I paused for a moment before continuing.

"However, since the facility is not perfect, there will be limits on time and the number of participants. On a first-come, first-served basis, only two hundred people over ten days will be able to learn the solution to the Boundless Indestructible Soul-Extinguishing Array."

The moment my words ended, the commotion in the venue intensified.

The banquet had already become an afterthought to the crowd, and everyone was busy sharing what had happened at the Demonic Spirit Plateau.

Daoist Myeonghyeon, the elders, and the academy students of the Nine Sects and One Gang were glaring at me with blazing eyes.

I lightly ignored them and approached Zhuge Jeonggi.

"Did you call me a crack?"

"..."

He had a face that still hadn't recovered from the shock of the pressure he felt from the hidden qi earlier and the things I had just said.

I whispered softly into his ear.

"You saw accurately. I am indeed a crack. And that crack will become the very first hole to shatter the solid dam you all have built."