Chapter 5. If You Can't Do That, Why Bother?
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Instructor Seok had been under pressure from his superiors lately.
“Instructor Seok, we haven’t secured enough talent in the last few years.”
“I have no excuse.”
The succession structure of the Ten Thousand Evil Alliance was divided into four major factions.
First, the faction of the First Young Master, Jong Wi-cheon, joined by the Hall Master of the Gold Treasury, who managed the alliance’s finances.
Second, the faction of the Second Young Master, Jong Yu-gang, joined by the Hall Master of Education, who oversaw the training of talent and martial arts research.
Third, the alliance between the Third Elder and the Hall Master of Tongrin.
Finally, the faction of the Hall Master of Law Enforcement, who was the right-hand man and second-in-command to the Ten Thousand Evil Alliance Leader.
Instructor Seok belonged to the Second Young Master’s faction.
“The competition to determine the next Ten Thousand Evil Alliance Leader will only grow more intense. How many outstanding recruits you can bring in is a symbolic measure of each faction’s influence.”
“That is correct.”
“Given your position as an instructor, you are in a place to watch the recruits closely and build bonds with them. Yet, these are the results.”
“I apologize.”
“Setting aside the First Young Master, falling behind the Third Elder or the Hall Master of Law Enforcement is a blow to our dignity.”
Of course, there were plenty of excuses. Beyond the First Young Master, who held the legitimacy of being the eldest son, the experience and reputation of the Third Elder and the Hall Master of Law Enforcement were still difficult for the Second Young Master to overcome.
‘If it’s decided by bloodline, the First Young Master leads. If by skill and experience, the Third Elder and the Hall Master of Law Enforcement are ahead.’
He had worked hard, too.
Using his position as an instructor, he had approached the top-performing recruits behind the scenes, but—
His attempts never yielded a definitive answer. Every batch, the top recruits ended up in the arms of other factions.
They knew it, too. Instructors were just instructors, and the real power brokers who would decide their future success in the Ten Thousand Evil Alliance were elsewhere.
‘Besides, the entire Hall of Education isn’t filled with the Second Young Master’s people.’
Harassed from above and met with indifference from below.
It was truly a grueling life in the dusty world of martial arts.
And yet, a treasure had suddenly appeared. A kid who had never been approached behind the scenes, one who had originally received no significant attention.
“How is it that you, who were trembling like a newborn calf just yesterday, are acting like this?”
Instructor Seok watched Mok Ju-gyeol, who had been showing a changed demeanor since yesterday, with keen interest.
“It seems I have finally grasped the knack for using my body, thanks to your guidance, Instructor.”
At Mok Ju-gyeol’s calm reply, Instructor Seok’s eyes glinted.
‘Look at this guy.’
Yesterday, he had surprised him with astonishing insight, and today, he had finished the run with a record that had no rival among the recruits. Yet, what was this indifferent attitude?
‘Mok Ju-gyeol, joined the alliance with mid-tier results in the selection exam.’
He recalled the personal file on Mok Ju-gyeol he had checked last night.
‘A former wandering warrior, lacking internal energy and depth in martial arts. However, possesses excellent comprehension and is faithful to orders from superiors. Does not like to stand out and lacks boldness. A talent suited to being a second-in-command rather than a leader.’
Considering Mok Ju-gyeol’s past life, it was an incredibly insightful evaluation.
However, the current Mok Ju-gyeol, who had returned after living forty years, had long since broken out of that shell.
“Are you trying to play word games with me? Do you think your stamina could improve that much just by learning a few tricks to using your body?”
Instructor Seok raised his voice. Any other opponent would have flinched at least a little.
“Instructor, if I may.”
But Mok Ju-gyeol’s eyes were deep and calm enough to make even him flinch.
“Is there something I have done wrong?”
“……!”
This, too, was a reaction unimaginable from the previous Mok Ju-gyeol. Was he implying that he was not in a position to be interrogated?
Yet, it was different from the defiance of young men who couldn’t control their hot-headedness.
‘This kid.’
Instructor Seok clicked his tongue inwardly. Since he was the one in need, it wasn’t wise to show a coercive attitude that would invite resentment.
“That’s not it, but anyone would find your appearance suspicious, not just me.”
Mok Ju-gyeol bowed his head slightly.
“If my tone was disrespectful, I apologize.”
Showing a firm stance without offending the other party.
It was a strange pressure, as if he were dealing with a seasoned master who had survived long in the martial arts world.
‘What am I thinking?’
Instructor Seok shook his head slightly.
“Impressive. Go back and continue.”
“Yes.”
Instructor Seok watched Mok Ju-gyeol’s back, which seemed a little broader than yesterday, and thought.
‘Was he hiding his strength? Or did he suddenly break out of his shell?’
No matter how much he asked, Mok Ju-gyeol wouldn’t answer.
‘Looking only at the records, his stamina is already beyond that of a member of the Martial Force Unit.’
Furthermore, seeing how he acted yesterday, the description of him having excellent comprehension was an understatement.
He looked at the other instructors, who were exchanging strange glances, and thought.
‘I must approach him again separately.’
If he was even a little late, he would be snatched away again.
— — —
* * *
— — —
“Did you eat something wrong? You couldn’t even meet Instructor Seok’s eyes properly before….”
I let Ma Cheon-bo’s fussing slide past me and shoveled breakfast into my mouth.
-So, what exactly is that plan?
Myoseonja also urged me from inside my robes.
-Can’t you just quietly train in martial arts and rise to a position of authority in the alliance?
‘It’s not the time to be that relaxed. I want to rise to power as quickly as possible before the Alliance Leader gets too old, and I want to become strong as quickly as possible to change the landscape.’
I looked back at the familiar faces of my peers. They were exhausted, but their eyes sparkled with expectations for the future.
‘Most of them died on missions or became enemies as the factions split.’
Those who survived until decades later were but a handful.
‘But this time, at least, I won’t let anyone die due to infighting between factions.’
Could Jong Wi-cheon become the Ten Thousand Evil Alliance Leader without me?
He could not. Because I would stop it.
‘The ones to be removed are Jong Wi-cheon and his faction. The others are innocent.’
I wouldn’t let their blood be shed. The Ten Thousand Evil Alliance needed to be more tightly knit.
-Mok Ju-gyeol, you seem to respect the Ten Thousand Evil Alliance Leader very much.
‘Of course.’
However, even a tiger father can have a dog for a son.
Alliance Leader Jong Yu-gang wanted to determine the next leader through fair competition, and he duly accepted the results even when the cruel-natured First Young Master, Jong Wi-cheon, won.
That was the high-minded will of the Alliance Leader, who sought to manage the alliance based on principles.
‘The child did not understand the father’s will.’
Jong Wi-cheon, who ascended to the position of the third Ten Thousand Evil Alliance Leader, eventually began to wield the alliance through schemes and malice.
I had struggled to dissuade him from that path. Jong Wi-cheon had listened to me, at least. It was only after I was imprisoned in the Brain Prison of the Martial Alliance that he began to run completely wild.
‘In a much more extreme direction than I had feared.’
What was the look in Jong Wi-cheon’s eyes when he looked at me in his later years?
-You must have had a hard time in the middle.
‘You have no idea. Compared to then, I’d even miss the days I spent in the Brain Prison.’
-Then are you planning to get locked up in the Brain Prison again?
‘Are you crazy? I’m going to Yeongneung County.’
-What! Wasn’t that a place of exile?
‘That was then, but not now.’
Yeongneung County in this era was one of the most developed cities in the entire Hunan Province.
However, a few years after I was locked in the Brain Prison, it would be caught up in a great bloodbath called the Yeongneung Blood Incident, and the entire city would be reduced to ruins.
-Why Yeongneung of all places?
‘Of course, there is a reason. First of all….’
It was right then.
“Mok Ju-gyeol. The seniors have come to eat, and you’re just sitting there stuffing your face without even getting up?”
A group of alliance members surrounded me.
-What are these things now?
The man standing in the middle had a very sinister look.
His slanted eyes were full of unrefined killing intent, and half of one ear was missing, sliced off by a blade.
‘Dam Yun-sang.’
A senior from the batch one year ahead of us, and a power broker who led his own group among the peers.
The reason I remember this guy so clearly is….
‘Finally, he’s here. He’s here to recruit me.’
This guy belonged to Jong Wi-cheon’s faction. Right now, he was in the position of an operative recruiting useful talent among the new recruits.
‘Normally, it would have taken a month to approach me, but it seems today’s events moved it up.’
If he takes the bait this quickly, I’m grateful. Because inducing this situation quickly was a prerequisite for my reckless plan.
‘Lucky.’
“What are you staring at blankly? Get up right now!”
-This is absurd. Is this how you recruit people?
‘They crush your spirit first, then quietly coax and soothe you later.’
It was a violent but effective method. Of course, he did it according to his own judgment of people.
“Senior Dam, this guy must be a bit tired today.”
Ma Cheon-bo stepped up to defend me, acting like a peer.
“You, shut up.”
“……!”
But as a murderous glare flew at him, he had no choice but to pull his head in like a turtle.
-How pathetic. A guy as mediocre as someone you’d trip over on the street is acting like a senior….
‘Don’t be like that. Even a third-rate martial artist acts like a supreme master among the local underworld.’
“Mok Ju-gyeol, I guarantee you, if you don’t get up by the time I count to three, you’ll be washing your face with sewage today.”
I looked at Dam Yun-sang blankly and slowly rose to my feet.
“Are you smiling?”
Was he asking for a beating?
In truth, I was still angry because of the betrayal I had suffered from the two father-and-son villains, Jong Wi-cheon and Jong Un-yang. It was fortunate that this guy appeared just in time.
“Senior Dam. I’m eating a pleasant meal, so what’s this about sewage?”
At my crooked reply, Dam Yun-sang raised his eyes in a glare.
“Look at this bastard.”
From his tone, he was literally no different from a street thug, with not a shred of martial artist etiquette to be found.
‘To think I was so naive that I fell for this guy’s methods and joined Jong Wi-cheon’s faction.’
-But is it okay for a low-level grunt to act like this so openly?
‘The Alliance Leader often goes into seclusion. Whenever that happens, the First Young Master, who has been delegated full authority, and the factions aiming for the succession often run wild.’
This was precisely that time.
"Does the Alliance Leader not know of this?"
"He knows, but he condones it. In the end, the victor will be decided by that very struggle."
Even if the successor decided that way is not to his liking.
"Because he was that kind of man—a man who treated his word as a principle—I respected him."
But Jong Wi-cheon, your words were always barbed and easily twisted. No one could ever take what you said at face value. They feared, misinterpreted, and distrusted your words, never knowing what hidden intentions lay beneath.
"To serve under a man like that? Out of the question. I cannot repeat the same mistake twice."
"What will you do? Are you going to openly defy him?"
"Yes."
To insult this man in front of everyone, when traced back to its root, ultimately signifies a challenge to Jong Wi-cheon himself.
"Do you have the confidence to handle the consequences?"
It was a question that made me want to laugh. If I weren't capable of that, what reason would I have had to return to the past in the first place?
"Myoseonja, beating this fellow here today carries a very significant meaning."
It is because this act will completely burn the bridge back to the past where I served Jong Wi-cheon as my lord.
"Let's see if you can still smile after getting beaten to a pulp!"
Dam Yun-sang’s fist flew toward me.
*Whoosh!*
It was so slow that I felt I could have dodged it with my eyes closed.
"What is this? Why is it so slow?"
"Did I not tell you there would be minor functions? It is an ability that makes time feel slower."
"Amazing."
This was the conversation Myoseonja and I shared in the fleeting moment the fist was flying toward me.
*Swish!*
I lightly twisted my body to evade the strike, and Dam Yun-sang immediately transitioned into a claw technique, aiming for my collar.
"Not a chance!"
I snatched his wrist with a擒拿 (Qin-na) technique and twisted it.
"Aaaargh!"
Dam Yun-sang’s body coiled like a snake.
"You were the one who struck first."
"Let go of me!"
I continued, fully aware of the people gathering around us.
"Senior, where in the Alliance laws does it state that a junior member must stop eating and stand up when a senior enters?"
"Shut up!"
As Dam Yun-sang violently shook his arm, I let go, pretending to be overpowered.
"If I have committed a fault against the laws or tarnished the name of the Ten Thousand Affairs Pavilion, I will gladly accept your instruction. However, I find it difficult to accept being needlessly intimidated and assaulted by a senior like this."
"I told you to shut up!"
After clarifying who was at fault for this situation with a few words, I deliberately infused my voice with internal energy.
"If you continue to use force, I will not hold back either."
There is nothing more infuriating than when you are enraged, only for your opponent to respond calmly.
"Die!"
Finally, having lost his senses, Dam Yun-sang attacked me with the fifth form of the Stone-Shattering Fist.
*Thwack! Crack!*
In a single breath, I struck his Danjung Pressure Point, Hyeopshim Pressure Point, and Amun Pressure Point, sending him crashing down.
*Thud!*
Dam Yun-sang fell backward, foam bubbling at his mouth.
"What!?"
"Dam Yun-sang!"
"This madman, how dare he!"
I cupped my hands in a salute toward the people who were aghast at the sudden catastrophe.
"My apologies, seniors. Since he initiated the attack, I had no choice but to retaliate."
"Kwahahaha!"
Myoseonja burst into laughter.
"That was refreshing. How do you intend to clean up this mess now?"
"It is not a matter of cleaning it up or not."
"Then?"
"On the contrary, this was a necessary act. I need to cause trouble first to create a pretext for being banished to Yeongneung County."
"……What is that supposed to mean?"
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