Chapter 7 - A Third-Rate Warrior Defending His Sect's Honor

There was no grand reason for the grudge between the Iron Sword Sect and the Taiyi Sect.

It was simply because they had both settled down in Hefei.

In truth, from the Taiyi Sect's perspective, this alone was enough to make them jump in maddening frustration.

The Taiyi Sect was a stagnant pool with a history of nearly five hundred years, whereas the Iron Sword Sect was a fresh sprout barely pushing one hundred and fifty years.

From the Taiyi Sect's point of view, it looked like a bunch of upstarts acting arrogant when the sap hadn't even dried on the pillars of their buildings yet.

But because an outstanding figure named the Ghost Sword Hermit, Seong Hyeonbaek, had laid down a solid foundation one hundred and fifty years ago, they were now in a position where they had to walk on eggshells around those greenhorns.

As an organization grows, even a hundred-room palace feels cramped. The Iron Sword Sect always wanted to expand their influence, and our Taiyi Sect was a stumbling block in their way.

Holding the title of one of the '108 Peaks' was like having a big brother named the Murim Alliance backing you. No matter how frail the opponent seemed, they couldn't be touched easily, so the Iron Sword Sect constantly wanted to oust the Taiyi Sect and take that spot for themselves.

"They must have been especially pissed off that they couldn't receive the 'special admission' privilege."

Considering how difficult the standard exams to enter the Murim Academy were to begin with, the benefit of a special admission must have felt like an undeniable privilege, even to a rising star like the Iron Sword Sect.

How many of the 108 Peaks took in countless outsiders under the title of 'lay disciple' during the period when the Murim Academy opened?

It was naturally infuriating for the Iron Sword Sect every time the Taiyi Sect, which was already a thorn in their side, enjoyed the benefits of special admissions.

At any rate, despite that situation, we attended the 60th birthday banquet at the invitation of the Iron Sword Sect Leader, and my father fell to his knees.

"But it is a bit questionable."

In truth, it wasn't a big deal when you thought about it.

Hong Saryeon, Gye Cheolyeong, and I attended a nighttime tea gathering for those our age, but due to a sudden outburst from the Blood Wolf Iron Sword, the grandson of the current Sect Leader, we ended up having a sparring match the next day.

I was going to step into the sparring match to vent my frustration, even knowing I would lose.

But upon learning of this, my father put an end to it by kneeling and apologizing in front of everyone attending the banquet.

"It would have been fine if it just ended with me getting beaten up."

Because of this incident, the Taiyi Sect's name was once again dragged through the mud, and the Murim Alliance assigned us far more 'mandatory service personnel' than usual.

Honestly, even looking back now, I don't think I did anything wrong that evening.

How could anyone dodge a bastard springing forward with full force, charging with the momentum of a fired arrow?

'…Is it because I spent too much time with those bastards in the Minor Orthodox Unit? My choice of words is getting cheaper by the day.'

Suddenly realizing that my speech had degraded to the level of a street-roaming Haomun disciple, I gathered my wits and resumed my train of thought.

They probably just needed an excuse to trample the Taiyi Sect once.

If I had held it in that day, they would have picked a fight over something else the next day, and if I had endured that too, they would have probably criticized the gift we brought.

'The best course of action would be not to attend at all.'

If I thought about it, there were several methods.

I could turn the Taiyi Sect upside down with the Ascension Form of the Lesser Heaven Sword Technique, then push them frantically to redefine their martial arts.

There was also the method of returning with a money-making scheme to divert the attention of the Taiyi Sect's Hall Leaders toward that instead.

But the problem was that I was taking this as a matter of pride.

Thinking about it coldly, rather than going to the Iron Sword Sect to bicker for a few days and spending time cleaning up the aftermath, it would be much more constructive for me to spend that time gathering another spiritual elixir or hunting another demonic beast.

"But if I just leave those fucking bastards alone, I don't think I'll be able to sleep at night for a while."

For now, I set those thoughts aside and headed for Mount Songak in Jeongwon.

It was marked in the Jianghu Spiritual Elixir Record as a location where the Single-Horned Fire Python appeared. Originally, I wouldn't have tried to take it, but thanks to the Jade Dragon Bracelet, I could absorb even a poison-filled core without any post-processing, so there was no reason to pass the beast by.

SSSS!

There wasn't even a need to hunt it properly.

The moment the beast coiled its massive body around me and tried to swallow me whole in one bite.

All I had to do was activate the Jade Dragon Bracelet.

SCREECH!

Letting out a bizarre shriek, the beast began to shrivel up in an instant, ultimately turning into a pathetic husk that resembled a dried-up root.

I clicked my tongue in awe once again at the Jade Dragon Bracelet's ruthless power.

"If I ever get caught using this, becoming a public enemy of Murim is a guaranteed deal."

I lightly snapped off the Single-Horned Fire Python's golden horn and tucked it into my robes.

The beast's horn was a decorative material that could fetch a good price.

It would be good to sell, or if I met a skilled blacksmith, it would serve nicely as an ornament for my weapon.

'Roughly forty years' worth.'

Although it was a faint amount, my internal energy had increased once again.

From now on, I had to start slowly hiding my internal energy.

"Because it would be all too easy to draw suspicion if a mere disciple of the Taiyi Sect possessed 60 years' worth of internal energy before even reaching the age of twenty."

It didn't worry me much, because fortunately, one of the members of the Minor Orthodox Unit possessed miscellaneous skills that were close to being the best in the world in this regard.

"I wonder if that guy is working as an assassin around this time?"

Having come down from Mount Songak, I stopped by the village, bought a bundle of necessary items, and headed back to the Taiyi Sect.

"Senior Brother Jin!"

"Senior Brother!"

"Senior Brother!"

The young junior disciples, looking like a flock of little chicks, spotted me as they came out of Busaeng Hall and rushed over in a hurry.

"Senior Brother! Where on earth have you been?"

"Senior Brother! I'm relearning the Lesser Heaven Sword Technique!"

"Senior Brother! Have you eaten?"

Right around the time I was patting the heads of the chirping, chattering kids one by one.

Gye Cheolyeong and Hong Saryeon appeared.

"Where the hell have you been wandering around before finally dragging yourself back?"

Gye Cheolyeong was brimming with irritation, looking extremely displeased about something.

"Oh? Senior Brother Gye. You look somewhat different. The efficacy of the Snow Plum Pill must truly be amazing. Just at a glance, you exude the aura of an expert so strongly that I hardly dare meet your eyes. Have you completely digested the spiritual pill?"

At my words, Gye Cheolyeong's face twisted like an evil spirit.

"That's none of your damn business!!"

Roaring like that, Gye Cheolyeong shoved past the young junior disciples and stormed off.

"Why did you provoke him? Didn't you hear the story about his Snow Plum Pill being stolen?"

"I heard. That's exactly why I brought it up."

Hong Saryeon let out a sigh.

"What in the world have you been doing all this time?"

"Just wandering around here and there, eating good food and seeing good sights."

"…Where did you get the money for that?"

"I did some hunting, and some work."

The Taiyi Sect would be flipped completely upside down if I told the absolute truth, but I answered honestly anyway.

"…The Sect Leader said there's no need to walk on eggshells around the Gyeryong Merchant Group anymore. So you can come back now."

"Huh?"

"He decided to attend the Iron Sword Sect Leader's 60th birthday banquet this time. And… as you know, the Gyeryong Merchant Group has been too busy with the Snow Plum Pill issue to even visit the Taiyi Sect much. There's no need to be mindful of them anymore."

Uh… That makes things awkward for me.

Saryeon seemed to be deeply misunderstanding something.

I was going to have to keep wandering around outside anyway. Regardless, that wasn't the pressing issue right now.

"It's already been decided that we're attending the Iron Sword Sect Leader's 60th birthday banquet?"

"Yes. The Leader of the Gyeryong Merchant Group must have begged earnestly. Asking the Sect Leader to attend, if only as a favor to him."

"Are you attending too, Ryeon-mae?"

"…"

"Hm? Are you not going?"

"You keep calling me Ryeon-mae, and it makes my skin crawl, so don't call me that."

"What's wrong with it? I like it."

"…I said stop. Anyway, I am attending. Senior Brother Cheolyeong will be attending as well."

Even in my past life, my attendance had originally not been part of the plan. I had just begged to go because I wanted to see the Twin Wolf Iron Swords.

"But what's with that bundle?"

"Ah… This."

I called over the junior disciples whose heads I had been patting and opened the bundle.

"Whoa!"

"Whoa! It's candy!"

The eyes of the kids, who had been covered in sweat and brimming with exhaustion, began to sparkle brightly.

"Now, now, share them nicely. Any brat who hogs them all for themselves is going to get a severe beating!"

""Yes! Senior Brother.""

Chirping happily, the junior disciples rushed over in a swarm with the bundle and began passing them out one by one.

Fortunately, I didn't see anyone trying to eat more than their fair share.

"…What's with the candies?"

"Hm? I was at the market and thought of them."

"…With what money."

For some reason, Saryeon's expression didn't look very bright.

"Senior Brother, Senior Brother. Senior Brother Jin."

Just then, Dongryong, a junior disciple, tugged at the hem of my robes.

"What's wrong? Did the other kids not give you any candy?"

"No. No. It's not that. Here, this."

Shaking his head, he reached into his robes and held out a small wad of paper that had been folded over several times.

"Hm?"

"You haven't gotten to try this delicious treat, Senior Brother."

When I unfolded the paper, a piece of rice cake, so hard that it was impossible to tell how many days had passed, sat inside.

"The other senior brothers said it was a really delicious rice cake."

Standing next to me, Saryeon covered her mouth.

"This is what Senior Brother Gye passed around."

"…You didn't eat it?"

"I'm okay. I ate a lot of meat that day."

How difficult must it have been for a child of this age, from a family without much wealth, to hold back from eating a treat?

Dongryong was looking up at my face with sparkling eyes.

With the same eager anticipation I felt when consuming a spiritual elixir, I popped the rock-hard rice cake into my mouth.

"How is it? Is it delicious, Senior Brother?"

"Yeah. It's incredibly delicious. In fact, it's so delicious that I have to eat all of it. Dongryong, you go and have some candy."

"Yes! I'm perfectly happy just eating candy."

Looking satisfied, Dongryong ran off toward the candies.

"…Isn't it hard because it's old?"

"It's like a rock… But it's delicious."

"…Ugh."

"As expected, it makes absolutely no sense for such a wonderful martial sect to be disgraced by thugs, right?"

"…What are you talking about?"

"It's just something on my mind. I can go to the Iron Sword Sect too, right?"

"…You want to go there?"

"I'll get to see the Twin Wolf Iron Swords, and won't there be people coming from the Namgung Clan as well?"

When I gave the exact same excuse I used in my past life, Hong Saryeon shook her head in exasperation.

"Do whatever you want. The External Hall Leader is attending anyway."

* * *

The procession of carriages from the Gyeryong Merchant Group heading toward the Iron Sword Sect was as extravagant as could be.

Around the time Gye Cheolyeong was beginning to learn martial arts, the Iron Sword Sect had offered him a position as a lay disciple, but a lay disciple position without the 'special admission' privilege was not a very sweet deal for Gye Cheolyeong or Gye Yeonseok.

Even so, anyone doing business with Hefei as their base couldn't avoid minding the Iron Sword Sect, and the price of that appeasement manifested in the form of this flashy golden carriage.

As we neared the Iron Sword Sect, Kang Chaeseok, the Hall Leader of the Kwaehwa Hall, shoved his fierce-looking face toward me.

Still, having the Taiyi Sect's strongest martial artist, Kang Chaeseok, accompany us was the Sect Leader's way of showing consideration in case of any unforeseen emergencies.

"There is something you must abide by when we get to the Iron Sword Sect."

"What is it?"

"Absolutely do not act rashly."

"I don't act rashly, though."

"Tch. You're already acting rashly."

Kang Chaeseok said, glaring fiercely.

"You know exactly what I am talking about."

"I want to hold it in, but what am I supposed to do if the people around me keep provoking me?"

"That is exactly what I'm telling you not to react to!"

Normally, this kind of nagging would have been my father Jin Taesan's job. But for some reason, Jin Taesan had been unable to shake the heavy expression off his face.

"Understood. But what if they keep picking fights with me over and over again?"

"You little punk?!"

"Ah, understood. Then even if they insult our sect and disrespect our founding patriarch, I will be sure to swallow it and let it go."

"…You brat, are you in a rebellious phase?"

"Then what do you want me to do?"

As long as we were going to the Iron Sword Sect, it was a given that the Taiyi Sect would be insulted.

There is no such thing as a flawless subordinate under a superior who is dead set on finding a fault, after all.

"Act like a gentleman as much as possible, and don't go out of your way to step in shit."

"Yes, yes, understood."

"…"

At the entrance of the Iron Sword Sect, a massive crowd was already lined up to get inside.

There were various lines for those without baggage, so they weren't too long, but there was only one line for the carriage procession, making it quite lengthy.

We took our place in the carriage line and had no choice but to wait for a good long while.

"I heard the Iron Sword Sect's prestige was incredible, and it truly is."

Jin Taesan's words were filled with a profound bitterness.

"How is this the Iron Sword Sect's prestige? Since they announced that the Murim Alliance's Chief Strategist and an elder are attending, these people probably just came hoping to show their faces and make an impression on them."

"Hehe, I wonder if we'll be able to invite them to our Sect Leader's 60th birthday as well?"

"Heh. As the External Hall Leader, do you think you could handle a crowd like this?"

"Even if I couldn't handle it, I'd love to experience it at least once."

While they were chatting like that for quite some time, another carriage and procession came rushing in from the distance, kicking up a dust storm.

"Look here. Step aside so we can cut in."

At the absurd demand, the Leader of the Gyeryong Merchant Group yelled furiously.

"Stop spouting nonsense and go to the back of the line. Do you have any idea how long we've been waiting?"

"The friend standing in front of you is an escort warrior from our Jacheong Merchant Group. If you keep being this uncooperative, things won't end well for you."

Beside the man who appeared to be the representative of the Jacheong Merchant Group stood a line of warriors dressed in matching blue martial uniforms.

Judging by their presence and demeanor, they were not ordinary escort warriors.

Among them, a man who seemed to be their leader stepped forward and clasped his fists in a martial salute.

"I am Yoo Munchung, the Blood Bamboo Squad Captain of the Cheongjuk Fortress from Nanjing. Fatigue has piled up from our long journey, so we sent someone ahead to hold a spot. Please be understanding."

The moment the Cheongjuk Fortress was mentioned, Gye Yeonseok's pupils began to tremble violently.

The Cheongjuk Fortress was one of the most renowned sects in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province.

For a rough comparison, could they be considered the equivalent of Nanjing's Iron Sword Sect?

"…"

While Gye Yeonseok stood there, unable to do one thing or another.

Brushing past the Cheongjuk Fortress Squad Captain, a young man stepped forward with a swaggering gait and spoke in a provocative tone.

"Hey! Looks like you're just some small merchant group. If you don't want to see your lackeys beside you get hurt, you better step aside."

The bastard's gaze remained firmly glued to Hong Saryeon's face.

And a triumphant smirk formed on his lips.

'This bastard knows.'

I could be certain of it.

The bastard definitely knew exactly who we were and which sect we belonged to.

It was likely no coincidence that out of everyone standing ahead of us, there wasn't a single sect inferior to ours.

If you brushed this off as a simple coincidence, you could never survive in the treacherous world of Jianghu, where schemes ran rampant.

Stretching your legs without looking for a safe place to lie down in Murim, where the sword speaks before the law? That was the perfect way to get your ankles chopped off.

The situation was slightly different from the past, but if we showed weakness right from the start here, we wouldn't be able to accomplish a single damn thing once inside the Iron Sword Sect.

What was more, that insolent bastard was already someone I knew.

As I tried to step forward, Kang Chaeseok stopped me.

"Didn't I tell you not to act rashly?"

"But he's insulting our Taiyi Sect right now. I have to step up."

"No, you couldn't even match him in the first—"

I didn't listen to Kang Chaeseok's words any further and stepped forward.

The Bamboo Flame Young Master of the Cheongjuk Fortress, Guyang-sa.

Right now he was just a kid who couldn't tell shit from piss, but later on, when he went to the Murim Alliance, his arrogant personality would perfectly match Gye Cheolyeong's, and the two would run around causing havoc like sworn brothers.

Naturally, it wasn't just once or twice that he treated the Taiyi Sect's junior disciples like his own subordinates.

Currently, his martial arts level was only slightly better than Gye Cheolyeong's.

"It's true that the Gyeryong Merchant Group is a petty, beggar-like merchant group. But we're not people to be looked down on by someone from some no-name place like the... Purple Bamboo Fortress, was it?"

"Hah, how dare you!"

As if he had been waiting for this, Guyang-sa uncrossed his arms and tried to draw his sword without delay.

Moving a step faster than Guyang-sa, I approached him and cast the Lotus, a Flower-Grafting Technique of the Flowing Cloud Sect, shoving his sword back into its scabbard and spinning him around once to plant him facing the opposite direction.

"Whoa!"

"Oh! Which sect is that young man from?"

The people who had been waiting in boredom let out exclamations of awe as if a spectacle had just broken out, and in direct proportion to that, Guyang-sa's face flushed bright red.

The moment Guyang-sa tried to draw his sword once again, I spoke.

"Are you trying to spill blood at someone else's banquet? It seems you really are from a sect without any roots."

"…You bastard, how dare you…"

Just as Guyang-sa, who had only half-drawn his sword, was about to spring forward as if he didn't mind resorting to a fistfight instead.

A clear and elegant voice echoed across the area.

"Stop."

A youthful beauty with a flushed complexion parted the crowd and appeared.

People couldn't take their eyes off her as she stood there adorned in makeup and wearing splendid formal robes.

It was Seong Moran, the younger sibling of the Twin Wolf Iron Swords.

"It's the Beautiful Wolf Iron Sword!"

"Is the Blood Wolf Iron Sword with her?"

The Beautiful Wolf Iron Sword Seong Moran looked around the area before speaking to Guyang-sa.

"Did you come to see blood spilled on my grandfather's birthday?"

"…Ah, w-well, that is."

The bastard who was brimming with thuggish arrogance just a moment ago was nowhere to be found; his face was completely red, and he stammered, unable to give an answer.

"Furthermore, the Iron Sword Sect has not established any rule allowing people to save spots in line in advance. So please go to the back and wait your turn."

Even though they were the words of a girl who had not yet even reached twenty years of age, the weight behind them was heavy.

As if they had just received a severe scolding, the Jacheong Merchant Group and Cheongjuk Fortress sloped their shoulders and headed to the back of the line.

"I heard you are the guests from the Taiyi Sect and the Gyeryong Merchant Group."

The Beautiful Wolf Iron Sword Seong Moran's gaze slowly swept across the surroundings.

"I apologize for what just happened. I know it isn't much of a compensation, but may I escort you inside?"

Everyone standing in the long line looked at us with eyes full of envy.