Volume 2, Chapter 9
“Come! Please, come inside. I will have tea brought out shortly. You must at least have a cup of tea before you go, so the Sincerity Gate isn't criticized for being inhospitable.”
“Haha! Very well. Any tea will do, so don't trouble yourself too much. Excessive courtesy is no different from discourtesy, wouldn't you say? I would gladly drink even plain water. Now! What are you all waiting for? Let's go inside.”
Then, following Lee Hoo's skillful guidance, the Clan Head of the Jangheon Clan and his children passed through the main gate of the Sincerity Gate and entered.
“Hah...!”
Muak could only stare at the scene in bewilderment.
After all, Muak was also a guest.
The host was welcoming guests inside; what could another guest possibly say?
“You shameless brat...!”
There was nothing he could do but mutter quietly at Lee Hoo.
It was Muak's own form of protest.
“Are you telling me to offer those people something in exchange for my keep?”
His intentions were so obvious.
And it was Lee Hoo who had induced this transparently motivated action.
Grrrk!
He ground his teeth.
“Even if you pull these tricks, this humble Taoist will never teach them!”
But what was even more frustrating was,
“Is that so?”
Lee Hoo's confident attitude.
“I thought you were a good kid, even if you have a cunning side! Did you plan to make me your guest just to use this chance to grow the Sincerity Gate?”
There was one benefit Lee Hoo would gain from this.
The growth of the Sincerity Gate. The expansion of its influence.
With Muak at the Sincerity Gate, other Murim sects desperate for even a single word of his teaching would have no choice but to be mindful of the Sincerity Gate.
Furthermore, they would have to concede more and give more to get into the Sincerity Gate's good graces.
“...”
Thud!
At Muak's words, Lee Hoo stopped walking.
“It would be a lie to say I don't hope for the Master to pass on even a small teaching to those children.”
The bright smile he wore while greeting the guests vanished.
‘What's with that serious expression...!’
Muak flinched at the sight of Lee Hoo's smileless face.
It wasn't like a child at all.
Just as his sly act had been, Lee Hoo's serious expression was unnervingly grave and solemn for his young age.
“But how could I possibly force the Master to teach?”
“...So you're saying it doesn't matter if I teach them or not?”
“Yes.”
Lee Hoo's answer to Muak's question was concise.
There was no hesitation.
“I have merely created the opportunity. Whether the children of the Jangheon Clan catch the Master's eye or not is beyond my control. Therefore, the decision is the Master's to make.”
Muak let out a short laugh.
“Nevertheless, it's an unchanging fact that you will still profit from this.”
Whether Muak taught the Jangheon Clan's children or not, the Sincerity Gate would still benefit.
“My Master is the Immortal Cloud Sword.”
The reply was unexpected.
“If this were for profit, my Master's name alone would be more than enough. At least here in Ansang Prefecture, my Master is the greatest.”
Moreover, he was filled with conviction.
There wasn't the slightest hesitation in calling his master the greatest.
He was confident.
And,
“W-well, that's true.”
It wasn't wrong, either.
When the Immortal Cloud Sword first made his name in the Murim, he single-handedly annihilated five Black Way Gangs.
Furthermore, he recently proved he was still in his prime by bringing about the Annihilation of the Chagon Gang.
So, at least in Ansang Prefecture, he is the best.
There is no one who can stand against his sword.
Comparing the Martial Prowess of Yu Hyeonjun that Muak had seen with that of the other Martial Artists in Ansang Prefecture, this was indeed the case.
In this small prefecture called Ansang, Yu Hyeonjun was a dragon and a tiger.
He was the absolute ruler.
“I-I see.”
He felt strangely outmaneuvered, but what the boy said wasn't wrong.
Whether it's the Orthodox Faction, the Black Way, or the Demonic Path.
There is only a difference in their principles and methods, and in the direction their blades point.
In the Murim, a powerful individual was, in and of themselves, a huge advantage.
After all, the Murim was a world where the strong survived.
It wasn't for nothing that people struggled desperately to learn Martial Arts and strained to become even a little bit stronger.
Seen in that light, the Sincerity Gate could already take any advantage it wanted.
At least, here in Ansang Prefecture.
Furthermore, that meant there was no need to borrow Muak's name.
At this point, he became curious.
“Then why on earth are you doing this?”
If you're not seeking profit, there's no reason to go to such lengths.
Muak knew his own value, at least vaguely.
To exaggerate, a single word of his advice carried enough weight to change the fate of a sect.
It was tantamount to presenting a new path for a sect's Martial Arts.
Therefore, if not for profit, one would never share Muak's teachings with another sect.
In the Murim, other sects were rivals.
There was nothing good about a rival taking a step forward and becoming stronger.
But then, why?
Muak's gaze was filled with puzzlement.
At his gaze, Lee Hoo smiled.
“Because we all need to get better together. We all need to become stronger.”
“We all... need to get better together?”
“Yes.”
Seeing Lee Hoo nod without hesitation, the question clouding Muak's face only deepened.
“Why must that be? There's no benefit in it for the Sincerity Gate, which you belong to.”
“No. It is beneficial. Very much so.”
To Muak's question, Lee Hoo's answer was again firm.
“Master.”
This time, Lee Hoo spoke first.
“Master, don't you think the peace in the Murim has been maintained for too long?”
At Lee Hoo's question, Muak's expression stiffened.
“Are you saying you intend to overthrow the Murim?”
To suddenly say that the peace in the Murim has lasted too long.
Usually, those who spoke this way sought to shatter that peace.
But Lee Hoo shook his head.
“No. On the contrary, it is precisely for that reason that I wish to protect them more. Myself and my Master. My junior brothers and sisters. And the Sincerity Gate and Ansang Prefecture.”
Lee Hoo's voice was filled with sincerity.
“To protect, one needs strength. Our Sincerity Gate alone is not enough. All the Murim sects of Ansang Prefecture must become stronger.”
Moreover, he was filled with conviction.
“Hah...!”
From the mouth of Lee Hoo, still just a young boy, came a discussion of a heavy topic.
And Muak was not unaware of the sincerity and conviction embedded within it.
And so, he was impressed.
Furthermore, his deep question turned into a different kind of doubt.
“Then? Are you saying that a great disaster is about to befall the Murim?”
He had said that peace had lasted a long time.
He also said they needed the strength to protect themselves. To do that, he said not only his own Sincerity Gate, but all of Ansang Prefecture had to become stronger. In other words, this meant that the boy before him believed the peace of the Murim would soon be shattered.
“Yes. The signs are already appearing.”
Again, there was not an inch of hesitation in Lee Hoo's reply.
It was firm.
“Hmm!”
And so, Muak too became serious.
“The signs are already appearing...? I am curious as to why you see it that way.”
“They say there are conflicts between sects in the neighboring prefecture.”
In response to Muak's question, Lee Hoo retraced the memories of his past life.
The friction between the Seowon Noble Family and Suwonjang.
When he recalled his past life, that was the beginning of the cracks that appeared closest to home.
“Haven't conflicts between Murim sects always been a common occurrence?”
“But they don't overdo it. They always maintain a reasonable line. However, the Seowon Noble Family is different now. They are gathering an excessive number of Wandering Warriors.”
The situation in the present had not changed much from what Lee Hoo remembered of his past life.
It was the same this time.
He had heard a bit about it from his master, who had returned from a meeting.
That was the problem.
In his past life, the Seowon Noble Family had recruited Wandering Warriors, citing their friction with Suwonjang as the reason. The scale of it was quite excessive.
And for good reason, as the friction with Suwonjang was merely a superficial pretext.
During the peace of the Martial World, the Seowon Noble Family had accumulated power for a long time. And they expanded their influence. While accumulating power in peacetime was not difficult, there was a limit to expanding one's influence.
“What the Seowon Noble Family wants is expansion. If they can't release the power they've accumulated during peacetime, internal discord is inevitable. Plus, they must have their own ambitions and confidence.”
“You state it with such certainty.”
At Muak's words, Lee Hoo nodded.
“Yes. That's right.”
Because he was certain.
Having lived one life already was good for times like these.
At least in the areas he knew about, he could be confident.
Because it had actually happened.
Moreover, the Seowon Noble Family's actions were no different from back then.
He was sure of it.
The Seowon Noble Family will begin to move for expansion, just as they did in his past life.
They must, if only to vent their internal dissatisfaction and the power they have built up for so long.
The beginning will be Suwonjang, but next it will spread to the entire prefecture. And in his past life, they had set their sights on the neighboring Ansang Prefecture and began accumulating power again. Around the time the balance in Ansang Prefecture collapsed after his master, Yu Hyeonjun, passed away, and Ansang Prefecture fell into chaos due to the Chagon Gang, the Seowon Noble Family had thrust their blade forward.
It will be the same this time.
But this time, he had to prevent that from happening.
It was a story he had never told anyone until now.
“It's not just the Seowon Noble Family. There are plenty of Murim sects that have accumulated power during the long peace.”
As long as the peace has been, the Murim will be plunged into ever-greater chaos.
For now, they were merely small incidents, but they were omens of a great chaos. Having already lived through it once, he was not ignorant of the results that chaos would bring.
Despite that, he deliberately did not bring up the story of the Blood Cult.
Even if he did, he had no way to prove it to Muak.
So he chose to speak of the matters at hand instead.
“We need the strength to protect ourselves.”
Lee Hoo was serious.
“And then? What next? Let's say the Martial World falls into chaos as you say, and you manage to protect yourselves and survive it. What do you plan to do after that?”
At Muak's question, Lee Hoo smiled.
“I'm going to play and eat.”
“...What? Play and eat?”
“Yes. After protecting it so well, it'll be time to play and eat. I'll have gone through all that trouble to keep it safe, so what else would there be to do but enjoy myself?”
His eyes were clear.
His bright smile held no ulterior motive.
It was only natural.
Because that was what Lee Hoo truly wanted.
Unlike his past life, this time he would protect the Sincerity Gate. And after that, he would comfortably play and eat, leaving all the complicated matters to his junior brothers and sisters.
Surely, they wouldn't treat their Eldest Brother poorly, would they?
“Hah! Hahahahaha!”
At Lee Hoo's heartfelt answer, Muak burst into a roaring laugh.
As if expelling every last breath from his body, Muak's laughter was loud and unrestrained.
Then, after a long moment, Muak stopped laughing and his gaze fell upon Lee Hoo.
“What a peculiar fellow you are.”
Muak's gaze, as he looked at Lee Hoo, was also clear.
“Indeed, you truly are a bizarre one!”
His laughter ceasing, Muak suddenly asked.
“Tell me. What in the world are you?”
As if to pierce right through Lee Hoo, Muak's gaze was deep and sharp.
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