Chapter 228
Oh, dear.
Honestly, it was so absurd that all Jin So-baek could do was let out a hollow laugh, but he somehow calmed himself and gathered his thoughts.
“Let me get this straight. The Justice Alliance's secret weapon has decided to defeat one of the Ten Great Experts, Mu-myeong, as an example so he can make a name for himself quickly. Is that what you're saying? Right now?”
And so Baek Gwang briskly nodded in response to Jin So-baek's question.
“Exactly!”
“And the reason is that you're so restless waiting for the martial arts tournament that you can't stand it?”
“That is correct!”
……”,
Jin So-baek lost his words again.
This fellow kept leaving him speechless.
It was even worse because the so-called secret weapon standing before him had eyes sparkling with excitement.
“You should have gone to the Beggar's Sect instead. Since you're with the Justice Alliance, it would have been closer.”
“Erm. I have my reasons.”
Baek Gwang scratched his head and looked troubled at Jin So-baek's words.
Because if he asked the Beggar's Sect to handle this, everything he was planning to do would reach the ears of the heads of the Nine Great Sects—in other words, his masters.
Then he would surely be summoned and subjected to a long scolding before he could even get anything started.
What Baek Gwang wanted was to make his name known throughout the martial world through this affair, not kneel before his masters and get chewed out for ages.
So how could he go to the Beggar's Sect?
He might be simple, but he had enough sense to work that much out.
“Phew. All right, I understand that. But I have one more question.”
Jin So-baek continued, his face utterly serious.
“Answer me honestly. It will all come out if we investigate afterward anyway, so there's no point in lying.”
What on earth was he planning to ask?
Baek Gwang's eyes widened.
But he had already said everything there was to say and had nothing to hide, so he nodded.
“Ask me anything.”
“Have you ever secretly killed an innocent person, carried out a mass slaughter, or done something that could never be forgiven?”
“Huh? Are you asking about me or Mu-myeong?”
“Of course I'm asking about you.”
What kind of question was that?
Baek Gwang tilted his head at Jin So-baek's strange question.
He could not even begin to understand why Jin So-baek was asking such a thing.
“Of course not.”
“Are you sure?”
“I've spent my entire life since childhood being dragged around by my masters and training myself half to death. I never had time for that.”
Was he saying he would have done it if he'd had the time?
His answer was a little odd, but at least Jin So-baek had confirmed that he was not an irredeemable villain.
In that case, there was nothing more to think about.
“…Forget it.”
Jin So-baek shook his head with a sigh.
Since he was not someone who deserved to die, Jin So-baek would count it as an act of great magnanimity and let him live.
“Huh? What is it?”
“I'm saying this for your sake.”
“?”
“Why go looking for a stranger you've never even met? You don't hold any grudge against him. Besides, Mu-myeong is the man who single-handedly defeated the Ghost God Lord, who had committed all manner of evil deeds, and made his atrocities known throughout the martial world. His reputation is fairly good, you know. Trying to make such a person a sacrifice to your bid for fame doesn't look very good.”
Jin So-baek was extremely satisfied with what he had just said.
Hadn't he explained in an impeccably logical manner why Baek Gwang must not fight Mu-myeong?
Surely anyone with a brain would realize that what he was doing was not going to do him much good.
But then,
“Hahahaha!”
Baek Gwang suddenly burst into loud laughter at Jin So-baek's words.
He even pounded on the table as he laughed, startling Jin So-baek himself.
“Why are you suddenly laughing?”
“You're talking nonsense! It's not as if I hold a grudge against him either. Of course I'm planning to do this to make a name for myself, but I have a bigger reason than that!”
“What is it?”
Baek Gwang gave a crooked grin at Jin So-baek's reluctant question.
For some reason, Jin So-baek felt a vague sense of foreboding from that smile.
“I want a battle that sets my heart ablaze! My youth, my blood, they demand it!”
……”,
He's an idiot.
A hot-blooded idiot so hopelessly impossible to reason with.
Jin So-baek knew all too well that people like this never listened to reason once they decided they were going to fight.
His predecessor as Sect Leader had been exactly the same.
Which was why he had died young.
“And I'm not being completely reckless. It's just that, among the Ten Great Experts, he seemed the most suitable. Besides, I'm quite strong—stronger than you'd think. I told you earlier, didn't I? I'm the Justice Alliance's secret weapon. I can win, I tell you. Want to bet?”
……”,
He was grinning from ear to ear, looking so confident that he did not doubt his victory in the slightest.
‘What am I supposed to do with you?’
He was absolutely certain he could win that bet, one hundred times out of one hundred. You little greenhorn.
Of all ten, how had the kid managed to pick Mu-myeong of all people?
“Heh, heh heh heh.”
“Hahahaha!”
“Why don't you challenge the Twelve Sovereigns of the World instead?”
“I plan to, once I've built up a little more strength. Hahaha!”
……”,
He's insane.
There was no point in dealing with him any further; it would only give Jin So-baek a headache.
Having reached that conclusion, Jin So-baek nodded obediently.
“Phew, anyway. I understand. I'll let you know.”
“Please do it as quickly as possible! And don't worry about the money!”
As if money were the only thing to worry about. It was your life I was worried about, you moth to a flame.
Jin So-baek was using every ounce of his strength to hold back the curses rising to his throat—and the urge to smack the back of Baek Gwang's head.
And so, the man who had come to see Jin So-baek left.
Once he had completely disappeared, Jin So-baek's carefully maintained expression twisted horribly.
“Kaaaaagh! Ptooey! Bring me some salt! Salt!”
Soon, Jin So-baek began scattering salt all over the floor with furious abandon.
As though to ensure Baek Gwang would never come back.
***
“…He's looking for me? And the Justice Alliance's secret weapon at that?”
“Yes. Strictly speaking, he's looking for Mu-myeong.”
“Really?”
After Jin So-baek told him the whole story, Yeo Un-hwi laughed as though he found it amusing.
The Justice Alliance's secret weapon, no less. He had actually called himself that.
Yeo Un-hwi could not help laughing.
True or not, he had to be extraordinarily confident in his abilities to make such a boast.
Then again, he was young enough to boast that he would take down one of the Ten Great Experts.
“Interesting.”
“You should just pretend you never heard this. I'll say we investigated as thoroughly as possible but couldn't find anything, and leave it at that. He may grumble that the Hao Sect isn't worth its reputation, but there's nothing we can do.”
Jin So-baek had reported it, but he had already decided how to handle the matter.
He would tell Baek Gwang that it was impossible to uncover any information about Mu-myeong, no matter what they did.
And it occurred to him that, going forward, it would be easier to respond to inquiries about Mu-myeong in the same way.
Yeo Un-hwi was already busy enough; Jin So-baek could not burden him with something so trivial.
But then,
“No.”
An unexpected answer came from Yeo Un-hwi.
“I want you to leak some information to him. Tell him we've found where Mu-myeong is.”
“Pardon? What do you mean…?”
Jin So-baek was dumbfounded by the answer he had never expected.
"This is a good opportunity to see for myself what the fellow the Justice Alliance raised as its secret weapon is like.“
Yeo Un-hwi was genuinely curious just how formidable this secret force they had cultivated was.
Besides, hearing that had brought certain people to mind.
“Set a date as soon as possible.”
Yeo Un-hwi gave him an enigmatic smile.
“I suppose it’s time I wore the mask you gave me again, after all this time.”
***
“I've heard that the Guandong Great Hero will be participating in this martial arts tournament.”
“The Fire Dragon Swift Sword and the Silver Flash Spear have also sent word that they will be participating.”
“Oh, oh.”
They were not the only ones.
The Wine-Guzzling Tyrant Fist, the Iron-Handed Young Master, the Twin-Handed Swift Sword, the Black Lion, and even the Sword Saint Sect had applied to participate in the World's Greatest Martial Arts Tournament.
More powerful figures were gathering than they had expected.
Smiles spread across the faces of the Justice Alliance's executives, who were also the heads of the Nine Great Sects.
Everything was going according to plan.
They had even put up a lifetime's worth of money, along with the Heavenly Dragon Sword, the treasured weapon of Wi Ji-ak, the Sword Ghost—an irresistible prize for any martial artist.
And with a high-ranking position in the Justice Alliance promised on top of that, what martial artist would not be tempted?
Once everyone's attention was focused on the World's Greatest Martial Arts Tournament, the Justice Alliance intended to show off everything they had prepared and firmly impress upon everyone's minds that the orthodox martial world should unite around the Justice Alliance.
Not only the other factions, but also the martial artists of the Five Great Families belonging to the Taecheon Alliance, would see it clearly.
Who the true master of orthodox martial arts was.
To that end, the three disciples they had secretly raised as their joint successors needed to soar even more spectacularly.
Thus, they were ambitiously preparing the World's Greatest Martial Arts Tournament.
Without even knowing what one of their prized disciples was doing—or where.
***
Oh-ho.
Word reached Baek Gwang, who had been staying at an inn nearby after visiting the Hao Sect.
A note had somehow been placed in front of Baek Gwang as he sat eating in a corner of the inn.
It was a message from the Hao Sect.
‘Already? As expected of one of the Central Plains' finest intelligence organizations.’
He marveled at the Hao Sect's outstanding intelligence network.
He had expected them to find Mu-myeong, but not this quickly.
The note cut straight to the point and stated where Mu-myeong was, omitting all unnecessary details.
It even said he could give the money to the attendant at the inn where Baek Gwang was staying.
But the location was unexpected.
“Are you Mu-myeong?”
In a secluded clearing on a certain mountain stood a small house.
In front of it, a man wearing a mask was quietly reading a book.
Only the man's eyes were visible behind the mask.
The man set down his book and looked at Baek Gwang without answering.
“Oh-ho. Looks like I found the right place.”
The man's mere presence was enough to create a sense of tension, and Baek Gwang became certain that this man was Mu-myeong.
“Ha… This is going to be much more interesting than I expected.”
……”,
“I'll say this in advance: I bear no malice.”
Baek Gwang began loosening his neck and arms with a series of cracking sounds.
His round, prominent eyes were sparkling brightly, and a confident smile spread across his lips.
“Of course, I don't want to hurt you badly. But you must serve as the first step in my martial-world career, which will become legendary. I ask you to exchange one move with me.”
Without bothering to size up his opponent, he went all out from the start.
That was Baek Gwang's way.
Soon, a whirlwind began to swirl around him.
Woooooosh.
Oh-ho.
Yeo Un-hwi's eyebrows rose slightly.
Baek Gwang's power, revealed in full, was truly impressive.
It was enough to justify the confidence with which he called himself a secret weapon.
To think someone so young possessed such strength.
“This is interesting.”
Mu-myeong—or rather, Yeo Un-hwi—grinned.
“I bear no malice either.”