Chapter 302 - The Black Flame Dragon Reveals Himself (6)

The Art of War says that a victorious army first secures victory, then begins the war.

I truly liked those words, but I had never thought of them as a theory that applied in reality.

Because the idiots of the Murim Alliance had never once managed to put them into practice.

But now.

'Wow. So this actually works.'

To be honest, I could not help but admire the stage the Silver River Merchant Group had set.

Because no matter how earnestly the Silver River Merchant Group had invited anyone, or in what way, or how many times, none of that mattered anymore.

At the warrior's roll call, people entered the inner chamber one by one, paid respectful greetings, and presented gifts.

Then the Merchant Group Leader accepted the gift and offered a word of blessing.

Those who received his blessing all bowed their heads over and over as if they had heard some precious golden maxim, and some even shed tears.

And when it was the next person's turn, the warrior called out a new name.

The setting naturally created authority.

And so the Merchant Group Leader looked like an emperor.

Those sitting around him, and those waiting in the banquet hall.

Everyone accepted it as only natural.

"Yeo Mungak, the Nakjeong Sword of Guizhou Province, step forward."

Once the Silver River Merchant Group's own people had finished, it was the warriors' turn.

"Congratulations on the 180th anniversary of the Silver River Merchant Group. I could not prepare a gift worthy of the Silver River Merchant Group, so may I offer my humble skill in its place?"

"Hoho, the name of the Nakjeong Sword rings loud and clear beyond Guizhou Province and all the way here, yet you call it humble?"

"Thank you for saying so."

The warrior bowed lightly, then began to perform a sword dance to the music played by the dancers.

There seemed to be some among the Silver River Merchant Group who showed off their own talents as well, and a few even displayed the Silver River Merchant Group's unique martial arts.

I did not think warriors needed to pretend to be Daoist transcendents, but their servile attitude, as if they had turned themselves into toys and volunteered to be spectacles, went so far it made me think they had crossed a line.

"Brother Jin."

I turned my head and saw Wang Soso looking at me with a grave, stiff expression.

"Leave at once. This... This is no courtesy to the people attending."

Wang Soso could not hide her anger and fidgeted as if she might rush out at any moment.

I took my eyes off her and looked around.

'Hmm.'

There were martial artists who caught my eye.

They were not elite members of the Nine Sects and One Gang, but they had decent reputations, or were lay disciples of considerable renown.

Among such people, I saw some who could not hide their bewildered expressions.

'Were they invited the same way I was?'

Though their brows were slightly furrowed, none of them stood up and left on the spot.

Rather, when the warrior called them, they ultimately let out small sighs and acted just as the previous martial artist had.

Because they knew that if they acted out here, far from being able to point out the other side's discourtesy, they would suffer the backlash of damaging their own reputations instead.

On top of that, if they were tied to some transaction with the Silver River Merchant Group like I was, it was only natural that their actions would be even more restricted.

"Brother!"

Wang Soso grabbed my arm again and shook it, and I took her hand and patted the back of it a couple of times.

"If we storm out now, we will be moving exactly as they want."

"Then... I will go with you."

I shook my head.

"Do not worry. I have a plan."

I quietly examined the structure of the banquet hall and the inner chamber.

#

In truth, I had been curious about the Merchant Group Leader.

After causing such an uproar at the entrance, I had deliberately continued stirring up trouble at the annex as well.

I had thought that by this point, the Merchant Group Leader would surely summon me.

And if we faced each other like that, I would be able to learn what sort of person he was.

But my prediction missed the mark beautifully.

He neither called me nor gave me any warning.

As if someone like me was not even worth his attention in the first place.

And then, instead of setting up a place where people properly observed etiquette and requested a display of martial insight...

'He has laid out a stage for selling tricks like a wandering troupe, has he...?'

What a clever little scheme.

No matter what I said about the Silver River Merchant Group outside, people would ultimately think I had sold my tricks to the Silver River Merchant Group and eaten the crumbs they tossed me.

"Next is..."

The warrior was looking over the list when he flinched and stopped.

Then he looked in my direction.

"N-Next is Young Hero Jin Sowoon of the Taiyi Sect in Anhui Province."

I rose from my seat.

Then, just like those before me, I entered the inner chamber.

When I stood in the center, those sitting to my left and right looked at me with haughty expressions.

The Merchant Group Leader and Jeong Sogun were waiting for me to speak first.

"Was the Black Flame Dragon a mute?"

At the words of the person seated on the left, the people in the inner chamber began to snicker all at once.

"Perhaps he is using mind-reading."

"Ah! They say he is called the Black Maitreya in the Underworld Murim, don't they?"

"You should be careful too. He may lay bare every last one of your hidden concubines."

"Uwahahahaha!"

For some reason, the contempt and mockery of the people around me did not feel unfamiliar.

'Well, of course. I went through this countless times when I was wiping Gye Cheolyeong's ass.'

Back then, I had suffered these insults countless times from the sons of the Nine Sects and One Gang or the Five Great Noble Clans.

Insults toward my parents, mockery toward my sect, and the helplessness of being unable to respond.

Anger that cannot be directed at the enemy turns toward oneself and kills oneself.

Because I had no strength.

Because I could not resist them.

"Congratulations... on the 180th anniversary of the Silver River Merchant Group."

I stood straight and cupped my fist.

Perhaps they disliked that sight, because this time someone on the right added a remark.

"Do you plan to congratulate him with words alone? Why did you come empty-handed?"

"Come now, man. What sort of great sect is the Taiyi Sect that it would prepare a gift? Even if they did prepare one, could it possibly satisfy the Merchant Group Leader? Haha!"

"True enough. Hey, Black Flame Dragon, why don't you show us a trick like the others before you go?"

They probably knew it too.

That I would choose to gain great profit through the Silver River Merchant Group by showing a humiliating side of myself just once.

That was why they could run their mouths so freely.

In my past life, if I had been in a place like this, I would have simply accepted the humiliation the other side forced upon me.

But there was one thing I realized through my past life.

No matter how great the profit, I must not become a pushover.

Responding with a stupid smile no matter what discourtesy the other party committed was nothing more than cutting down the respect I could receive with my own hands.

So, if I wanted to build a friendly relationship, I had to show them that I was not an easy man.

"That is correct. Though the Taiyi Sect has gone from eating two meals a day to three, we are still in a difficult situation in many ways. That is why we need the Silver River Merchant Group's help."

The people, who had been staring blankly at my honest words, suddenly burst into laughter.

"Kuhahahahaha!"

"Hahahahaha!"

"Puhahahaha!"

Was their laughter bursting out because they thought I had finally submitted?

Or was it laughter they could not hold back at the fact that the Taiyi Sect used to barely eat two meals a day?

The Merchant Group Leader at the highest seat silently drank from his cup, while Jeong Sogun wore a triumphant smile at the corner of his mouth.

Did they find it so pleasing that my insolent behavior had turned meek?

"It cannot compare to the fine warriors before me, but may I also offer what skill I possess in place of a gift?"

The laughter instantly died down, and everyone's gaze turned toward the Merchant Group Leader.

The Merchant Group Leader merely nodded without a word.

SHING.

I slowly drew Red Light and began to perform the Great Heaven Sword Technique.

SWISH, SWISH.

Since it was a sword technique performed without internal energy, it was slow, and no phantom swords appeared.

Unlike the warriors before me, the slow paths of my blade quickly brought boredom to those whose eyes had grown discerning.

"I wondered whether he had recovered some remarkable martial art, since they called him the top student of the Academy... Tsk, I suppose not."

"If even that level of skill can get someone into the Murim Academy, I should have sent my son too."

"Do you not know? He is the Black Flame Dragon who entered the Academy with the Underworld's help, heh heh."

Words of criticism sprang out as if no one cared who started, and I displayed clumsy movements to match.

SLASH.

I cut off one side of a table and deliberately froze in place.

Then I looked around, acting like someone unable to hide his panic.

"Good grief... We told him to show a trick, and now he is cutting up the Silver River Merchant Group's property."

I quickly acted like an idiot.

"I-I'm sorry. It is my first time performing in a place like this... I-I will show you again."

CRASH!

Then this time, pretending it was a mistake, I cut through the table and even the plates piled with food.

"Hey! You damned bastard...!"

"What kind of warrior swings a sword like that?!"

Amid the sharp rebukes of the people whose faces were scrunched up because of the food that had splattered onto them, I bowed my head deeply and spoke.

"I-I'm sorry. It is my first time controlling my strength..."

"You controlled your strength?"

Jeong Sogun's voice, full of displeasure, came from above my head.

"Are you saying you cannot display your true skill?"

"Well... There are many here who are not martial artists. And even if some of you are martial artists, you may still find it difficult to endure..."

"Hah..."

Perhaps he thought he had been insulted, because Jeong Sogun let out an incredulous sigh.

"Did you think the people here would be startled by the swordsmanship of a mere warrior?"

"A-Are they not?"

When I tilted my head like an innocent idiot, Jeong Sogun trembled.

"How dare a thing like you look down on us?"

As Jeong Sogun ground his teeth, the Merchant Group Leader raised a hand to stop him.

And for the first time, he opened his mouth.

"Since you have come this far, it would be laughable not to show your skill. Young Hero Jin, show us everything you can do."

He arrogantly jerked his chin, as if daring me to try.

At that, the guards standing behind him pressed close and surrounded him.

'Does that mean he expected me to release killing intent, at least?'

Well, killing intent was one of the threats martial artists often used against civilians.

For a seasoned old fox like him, it would not have been difficult to predict.

Either way, I had gotten the answer I wanted.

Hmm, still, it would be better to confirm it one more time.

"Are you truly... s-sure it is all right for me to show everything?"

"... Do so."

As if making everyone there my witness, I deliberately looked around once.

"Then I will show you to my heart's content."

I sheathed the Red Light Sword, then slowly drew it again.

Unlike before, a distinct red light revealed itself, and even those who had looked away began to focus one by one.

When I drew up my killing intent with my will, it felt as if a terrible scream rang in my ears.

SCREEEEAM!

The others must have felt the same thing, because all of them wiped away their smiles and began to look tense.

"This... is the true Great Heaven Sword Technique of the Taiyi Sect."

SHING-SHING-SHING.

The blade spread like the ribs of a fan and scattered in all directions.

Starting from a space as narrow as a flower bud, I began unfolding the blade into an ever wider area.

And just as the blades began approaching within a hair's breadth of the people...

SWOOSH.

I changed it once more and wildly scattered phantom swords in every direction.

And amid that, I mixed in the Lesser Heaven Sword Technique and began cutting through the tables and food.

SLASH.

SLASH.

"W-What is this?!"

"W-Wait!"

The people, who had been so tense from the killing intent that their mouths were clamped shut, showed startled expressions, and their guards, like the Merchant Group Leader's guards, moved forward to protect their masters.

Of course, it was useless.

I raised the intensity of my killing intent in earnest.

A killing intent strong enough that the Geum-eun-dong Brothers had grown tense even while using moving cultivation.

The coarse, rough killing intent that the demonic practitioners of the Demonic Cult had scattered.

"Urghhhh!"

"Uwek!"

"S-Stop!"

Once the mistake I had shown at first connected with the intentional mistakes afterward, the phantom swords moving between the spectators' necks and heads began to feel like a perfect threat to them.

Someone on Jeong Sogun's level could distinguish between phantom swords and real swords, but there was no way people who had spent their whole lives reading books could distinguish phantom swords from real swords, right?

SHING-SHING-SHING-SHING!

I drew up even more killing intent and unleashed the phantom swords more boldly.

I did not forget to cut through tables, plates, and wine cups here and there either.

Moreover, this was an inner chamber sealed on all sides.

The killing intent I released had nowhere to flow out.

As if trapped in a narrow space where their heads would be severed if they moved so much as an inch, the people could not move a muscle in their fear.

The same was true of the guards who tried to protect their masters.

"U-Uhhh... P-Please!"

"S-Stop! Stop!"

"S-Spare me!"

Just as wails spread in every direction...

I withdrew all of the Great Heaven Sword Technique I had unfolded.

CLACK.

When the Red Light Sword returned to its sheath, the people gasped for the breath they had been holding.

"Haa, haa, haa."

"Kuh-heok!"

Some even lay sprawled on the floor, their minds dazed.

I scratched the back of my head with the most harmless expression I could manage.

"Ah, dear... I did try to control my strength. Was it too much?"

Moisture spread beneath the tables to my left and right.

Along with it came the smell of piss.

I pinched my nose.

"I'b sorry. I did'n know such great peoble would be this fragile..."

I slowly walked toward the Merchant Group Leader.

Then, looking at the piss stain wetting the floor beneath him, I picked up a wine cup.

Still, out of courtesy, I lowered the hand that had been pinching my nose.

"I showed you a trick, so surely you will treat me to a cup of wine?"

"..."

The Merchant Group Leader's body trembled, perhaps from just how angry he was.

Unable to hold back any longer, Jeong Sogun slammed the table with a bang and shouted.

"How dare you commit this outrage here of all places?!"

I widened my eyes and tilted my head.

"You told me to show you a trick, so I showed you a trick... Have I done something wrong?"

With an expression that said I truly did not know.

Honestly, it was your fault for being overwhelmed by my killing intent and failing to stop me.

"Ah... Of course, I apologize for overestimating you because I was told you were great people. But that is not entirely my fault, is it?"

After giving Jeong Sogun a faint sneer, I held the wine cup out in front of the Merchant Group Leader's face.

"You will pour me a cup, won't you?"

"..."

"H-How dare...! Bring me my spear!!!"

I stared fixedly at Jeong Sogun.

"Senior... Do not ruin the mood at such a fine gathering."

"What are you doing?! I said bring me my spear at once!"

A warrior came rushing over in a fluster and handed him a silver spear.

Jeong Sogun snatched the spear and growled.

"Today, I shall teach you that there is a heaven above heaven!"

Holding the Silver River Spear wrapped with golden tassels, Jeong Sogun kicked off the floor and leaped over the table.

With a cup in one hand, I drew the Red Light Sword and blocked the spear strikes he scattered.

The Silver River Spear, releasing killing intent, thrust toward my vital points in an instant.

CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!

I blocked the spear strikes and stepped back, then spoke to Jeong Sogun.

"Senior Jeong, I will tell you one last time. Stop."

"Shut up! Did you think you could do such a thing in the Silver River Merchant Group and return alive?!"

I twisted my body to avoid the spearhead stabbing toward my chest, and at the same time, I slipped into his guard and drove the hilt of the Red Light Sword into his vital point.

Jeong Sogun immediately drew his body back, stepped on the table, leaped into the air, and plunged down like a meteor.

Meteor Spear Jeong Sogun's supreme technique, Thunderbolt Meteor.

Having soared all the way to the ceiling, he constricted every gap in all directions and poured down blue spear energy.

PAPAPAPAPAK!

Normally, the best way to deal with something like this was to dodge, but instead, I poured a large amount of internal energy into the Red Light Sword.

When showing one's strength to an opponent, it was necessary to show an overwhelming display, even if it took some strain.

HUM.

Instead of the murderous Red Light, a golden glow shimmered and formed Sword Force.

The Sword Force thus created shattered every last bit of the spear energy pouring down without a single gap.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

Seeing his spear energy broken helplessly, Jeong Sogun quickly tried to raise Spear Force as well.

'See, if you were going to make a move, you should have done it decisively.'

The Red Light Sword had already crossed his chest.

SLASH.

Instead of being stained with red blood, his chest was merely left with his clothes torn to shreds.

Jeong Sogun's body, which had been rushing toward me like an arrow, slammed into the wall at a speed even faster than when he had flown in.

THUD!

"Keuheok..."

The impact must have been tremendous, because he lost consciousness at once.

I leisurely rested the Red Light Sword on my shoulder and addressed the gathering.

"Senior Jeong offered great assistance to help his junior shine. Everyone, give him a round of applause."

"..."

But the room was silent.

Hmm, did they not hear me?

I drew up my will and summoned killing intent.

Then...

"Hiiik!"

"Kuh-heok!"

"Th-That madman is doing it again...!"

The officials looked as though they would roll their eyes back and faint at any moment.

I smiled brightly at them.

"Every. One. I told you to give him a round of applause. Is that so difficult? Are you not making Senior Jeong Sogun feel embarrassed?"

Clap, clap clap, clap clap clap.

Only then did applause ring out, and I withdrew my killing intent.

While the applause echoing through the chamber gradually grew louder, I stood before the Merchant Group Leader once more.

"Merchant Group Leader, I showed you such a trick, and you truly will not give me even one cup of wine?"

"..."

In his bloodshot eyes, I could glimpse the will to kill me right then and there.

Huh, this old man still has not come to his senses.

I lightly shook the wine cup and murmured in a low voice.

"If... this had not been a place for merely showing tricks, Senior Jeong would have been struck by the edge of my blade, not the flat."

"... Had that happened, the Taiyi Sect would have been annihilated."

"Haha, that is precisely why you and I are treating each other with courtesy, Merchant Group Leader."

"..."

After we exchanged gazes for a moment...

The Merchant Group Leader bit his lip hard, slowly lifted the wine bottle, and filled my cup.

I drained the cup in one go and said,

"I. Look. Forward. To. Doing. Business. With. You."

Leaving behind the Merchant Group Leader, whose hands were trembling, I came out of the inner chamber.

"..."

"..."

Everyone in the banquet hall was staring this way with dazed eyes.

Hm? Oh dear, oh dear, the mood is ruined, isn't it?

"What the hell? Why did the music stop on such a joyous day? Who is in charge here? Tell whoever is in charge to come out!!!"

The musicians hurriedly resumed playing.

Yes, now it finally feels like a banquet.