Chapter 218
“Ha. The work never ends. It really never ends.”
Jin So-baek's right-hand man, Bae Cho-jin, grumbled.
Jin So-baek, who was beside her, gave a small chuckle.
“The Taechon Alliance's founding ceremony is just around the corner now. Let's keep at it a little longer.”
Creating an alliance was no easy task.
Naturally, work had piled up.
But since Hao Mun wasn't the only one handling that work,
“Why does it feel like we're the only ones who are especially busy?”
“Everyone's busy.”
“It doesn't look like they're working without even sleeping the way we are.”
“That's because not everyone handles intelligence the way we do.”
They had decided not to establish a separate headquarters for the alliance just yet.
Centered around the Hebei Peng Clan, the five Clan Heads would jointly serve as the Alliance Leaders, and barring unavoidable circumstances, nothing would proceed unless at least three of them approved it.
Each family would entrust its affairs to its chief stewards and heirs, with reports to be submitted at regular intervals.
That made it seem as though everything had been taken care of, but in reality, that was not the case.
They still needed to collect and classify all sorts of information about the martial world required by the alliance.
They also had to sift through it and select what absolutely needed to be reported to the higher-ups.
The martial world to come would very likely be, quite literally, an information war.
A new configuration would take shape alongside the emergence of a new era and a new organization.
And,
“Above all, Hao Mun isn't an orthodox sect.”
“Pardon?”
“What is it? You look as though you're wondering why I'm making such an obvious statement sound so significant.”
“You saw right through me. What exactly does that mean? What does our not being an orthodox sect have to do with being busy?”
“It seems the Righteous Alliance has noticed that we're working with the Five Great Families.”
“!”
“Then it won't be hard for them to find out that Hao Mun will also be joining the Taechon Alliance.”
“Could it be the Beggar's Sect?”
“Most likely?”
They had managed to uncover something Hao Mun had deliberately gone to such lengths to conceal.
It certainly showed why they were one of the Nine Great Sects and the largest single organization in the Central Plains martial world.
Their intelligence network truly exceeded all imagination.
“Because of that, the Taechon Alliance is going to be saddled with a considerable burden from the very beginning.”
In the eyes of other orthodox martial artists, this fact was bound to look like a fairly serious flaw.
An alliance of an ambiguous hue, neither orthodox nor unorthodox.
How exactly were people supposed to view it?
That was why Jin So-baek, anticipating this, had said it would be best to conceal for a while, as much as possible, the fact that Hao Mun belonged to the Taechon Alliance.
Of course, that could also be advantageous when it came to gathering information.
But the fact that the Righteous Alliance already knew all of that meant Hao Mun's plan had gone up in smoke before it had even begun.
In that case, Jin So-baek now found himself in a position where he had to prove that Hao Mun working together with the Taechon Alliance would bring more benefits than harm.
The Five Great Families, including Yeo Un-hwi, probably didn't see it that way, but this was a matter of Jin So-baek's pride.
He absolutely did not want Hao Mun to be reduced to a burden on them.
He took pride in the fact that Hao Mun was more than merely that, and wanted it to become a dependable, trustworthy ally.
Of course, ‘that person’ would probably tell him not to worry because Hao Mun was already doing more than enough as it was.
“I see.”
Only then did Bae Cho-jin look as though she understood.
“So let's work a little harder.”
“Yes. Leave it to me.”
Before long, Bae Cho-jin's eyes had changed completely.
Jin So-baek watched her, nodded, and soon rose from his seat.
He then gathered up several bundles of papers.
“Hmm? Where are you going?”
“Oh. I have something to ask, and I might as well give a report while I'm at it.”
“Who?”
“Who else?”
Jin So-baek smiled.
“Someone who lives ten times busier than we do.”
***
“Hmm? He's not here right now?”
Jin So-baek, who had come eagerly to see Yeo Un-hwi, looked disappointed.
“He went out for a stroll, saying he was taking the day off.”
Had that man ever taken a break?
It was strange.
I thought he knew nothing but work.
But then,
“Out for a stroll? With whom?”
“Ah, well…”
Soon, after hearing the servant's explanation, a smile spread across Jin So-baek's lips.
“Oh-ho. Is that so?”
***
“Waaaaah!”
A beautiful flower carriage was flying through the sky.
Inside it, Yul-i was looking around with an utterly excited expression.
Peng Seo-yeon also had her eyes wide with wonder.
“Good heavens…”
The previous night, when her husband had suddenly suggested that they go out for some fresh air with the family after so long, Peng Seo-yeon had imagined nothing more than a nearby market or a stroll around the neighborhood.
But to think they would have such an incredible experience.
Who could ever have imagined it?
That a flower carriage would be flying high across the sky.
It was possible only because he was Yeo Un-hwi.
Yeo Un-hwi asked while looking at Yul-i nestled in his arms.
“Yul-i, are you having fun?”
“Yes! Yes! I love it! This is so much fun! It feels like I can reach out and touch the clouds!”
Yul-i was so happy that they hardly knew what to do.
And with good reason—this was more special than anything they had ever experienced.
Seeing Yul-i like that, Yeo Un-hwi smiled brightly too.
In fact, Yeo Un-hwi had returned from work late the previous night and found Yul-i asleep after waiting for Dad.
He had suddenly wondered whether he was spending far too little time with his family.
So he had immediately taken an entire day off and come out like this.
Peng Seo-yeon also looked extremely happy, though she did not say so.
Seeing that made Yeo Un-hwi feel better too.
From now on, no matter how busy he was, he thought he would have to make time like this more often, even if he had to force himself.
Meanwhile, Peng Seo-yeon was looking at him with a peculiar look in her eyes.
“Why?”
“I was just thinking that once you reach a high enough realm, even things like this are possible.”
She was simply amazed.
This was far beyond anything she had considered possible.
“Just how strong are you, anyway?”
It was the first time anyone had asked him such a direct question.
Yeo Un-hwi was lost in thought for a moment, then spoke playfully.
“Well, as far as I know, there isn't anyone I could lose to, right?”
No matter how many of them there were.
At Yeo Un-hwi's slight smile, Peng Seo-yeon let out a hollow laugh.
She had thought that was probably the case, but hearing him say it himself left her feeling somewhat dazed.
“Sometimes it doesn't feel real. That you've become such an incredible master. In a way, it's funny, too.”
“Hmm? Funny?”
Yeo Un-hwi looked at his wife as though he had no idea what she was talking about.
“Well, as far as I knew, you were the most upright and charming weakling I'd ever known.”
“What? Me? Come on. I wasn't that bad.”
Peng Seo-yeon burst out laughing, as though Yeo Un-hwi's reaction amused her.
“You really were. Whenever you caught a cold, you took several days longer than anyone else to recover and spent all that time looking sickly, didn't you? You also got indigestion often, and now that I think about it, you were a little dramatic about it…”
“Ahem. Ah, I get it. I'll admit defeat gracefully, so let's stop there.”
Yeo Un-hwi, flustered and unsure what to do, promptly surrendered to Peng Seo-yeon.
The only woman in the world who could force a surrender from the strongest Martial God and Heavenly Demon, a man afraid of no one under heaven, was his wife.
In any case, their private flight continued high above the heavens, in a place unknown to the world.
“Woooow…”
Yul-i's eyes were filled with the beautiful blue sky and clouds.
Even then, Yul-i remained nestled tightly in Dad's arms, with no intention of letting go.
Yul-i loved Grandpa and Grandma, and everyone in the Peng Clan, but Dad and Mom were still Yul-i's favorites.
After savoring that time with Dad, Yul-i soon drifted off to sleep in his arms.
Holding the sleeping Yul-i and gazing at the beautiful sky beyond, Yeo Un-hwi and Peng Seo-yeon quietly enjoyed some time alone together.
It was only that evening that the flower carriage returned to the Peng Clan.
And the next day.
At last, news of the Taechon Alliance's formation spread throughout the martial world.
***
“Is the Beggar's Sect still not here?”
In a large room,
the people seated around a round table were engaged in a grave discussion.
They were the leaders of the Nine Great Sects who had founded the Righteous Alliance.
In response to the words of the Wudang Sect's Leader, Heo Geukjin, who served as Vice Alliance Leader, the Qingcheng Sect's Leader, Jong Jihak, spoke.
“Yes. They said they needed a little more time.”
“No, what on earth are they thinking at a time like this?”
Everyone clicked their tongues in frustration.
The Righteous Alliance was currently waiting for the Beggar's Sect to join.
But for some reason, the Beggar's Sect did not seem particularly pleased with the idea.
Even so, they could not simply leave the Beggar's Sect out.
Besides, the Beggar's Sect had already publicly announced that it would join them.
Then Muhyeo, the Righteous Alliance's Alliance Leader, recalled the face of the shabby old man whose hair had turned white.
He was the Beggar's Sect's leader, and also an old friend of his.
‘He tried so hard to stop us from creating the Righteous Alliance.’
But he had no regrets.
Establishing the Righteous Alliance was unavoidable in the current state of the world.
Muhyeo let out a quiet sigh.
“I will go and meet the Beggar's Sect Leader in person soon.”
Everyone nodded.
But that was not the only problem they faced now.
“This is giving me a headache. I never imagined the Five Great Families would form a separate alliance of their own.”
“Indeed.”
Jo Jinbung, who had gone alone to the Peng Clan, where the heads of all five Great Families had gathered, had returned furious and given his own distorted account of what had happened there.
He said that he had rebuked them for associating with the Evil Path and proposed that they join the Righteous Alliance, only for them to threaten him and drive him out, saying that their paths were different.
At his words, the other Sect Leaders were left dumbfounded.
And then came the news of the Taechon Alliance.
Everyone except Jo Jinbung was simply bewildered by the current situation.
“Perhaps they feel slighted.”
The Huashan Sect's Leader, Hyeon Gong, who had been quietly lost in thought, spoke.
The Hainan Sect's Leader, Im Jisan, tilted his head.
“What do you mean?”
“If you think about it, didn't we create the Righteous Alliance among ourselves without saying a word to them? It was different from when we created the Orthodox Alliance, the predecessor to the old Martial Alliance, long ago.”
“They certainly could feel that way. In truth, we ended up like this because the Martial Alliance had become utterly hopeless, and then we rushed things after hearing news of the Heavenly Demon, didn't we?”
“But even so, it is strange. Why would they think that our paths were different? Isn't that taking it too far?”
There was some truth to what he said.
Naturally, everyone present turned their eyes toward the Jeomchang Sect's Leader, Jo Jinbung.
“Did something else happen there?”
“N-no, how could that be? I merely relayed the conversation exactly as it happened. They were the ones who came at me that way from the beginning. I was simply bewildered myself.”
At Jo Jinbung's excuse, Muhyeo let out a brief sigh.
‘I suppose I should have gone myself after all.’
He even wondered whether he should have sent one of the other Sect Leaders instead.
But Jo Jinbung had volunteered so insistently to go himself that it had been awkward to stop him, and letting him go had led to this situation.
A brief silence followed.
With the Martial Alliance gone, they had expected the proposal to begin anew together, just as they had when the old Martial Alliance was first founded, to be warmly welcomed by them as well. But the response was not what they had expected.
Of course, it was true that they were disappointed by the rumors that some of them had recently been associating with the Evil Path, but the significance and power of the Five Great Families in the orthodox martial world could not be ignored, and it was also true that they needed them.
Muhyeo regretted that, if the Heavenly Demon had not appeared and prompted them to hurry, perhaps they could have soothed them and brought them into the fold more gently.
“In any case, this won't do.”
“Indeed.”
“We should embrace them as well, but it seems we also need to set things in order.”
“What should we do?”
“Didn't we already have something prepared?”
Hyeon Gong soon smiled as though he had come up with a brilliant idea.
Then he pointed to a phrase written on the round table.
Everyone's eyes soon widened.
“As the saying goes, martial artists can open their hearts to one another in earnest at a gathering where they display and test their skills. If possible, soothe their wounded feelings there, while also making the points that need to be made perfectly clear.”
“But that gathering was not intended to showcase ‘those children.’”
“That is true. But in any case, we were planning to invite the Five Great Families as well, weren't we? Nothing has changed. It would also serve as a good opportunity to persuade them by showing them that day ‘what’ we have been preparing all this time in anticipation of the day the martial world falls into crisis.”
“Oh. That makes sense.”
Everyone nodded at Hyeon Gong's words.
A phrase had been written on the round table.
It was written in elegant calligraphy: ‘The World's Number One Martial Arts Tournament.’