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Cheong always had no idea about anything, but this time, it was even more so when it came to this commotion.

I don’t know about Surochae. I don’t know about Janggang. I don’t know about Dongjeongho.

Buchal… something. The government official rank is ridiculously difficult.

A cannibal? I don’t remember those weaker than me.

I was just lured in by a free dinner, but in the end, I ended up being everyone’s hero.

Well, it’s not like I can say I caught a bad guy in someone’s place, because the cannibal was quite a strong one.

It was a good thing.

Janggang Surochae was a business that held power, and for that reason, they were extremely satisfied with their treatment of their benefactors.

They even prepared a special event for Cheong.

Surochaeju Bucha-hoon had no time to dwell on the grief of losing his son.

He had to stop the government’s intervention.

Fortunately, the Buchal Governor became a fool.

It became a reason to sort out the relationships.

Because there had to be a flaw in the upper ranks for the exchange of favors to be possible.

I had to pin the blame on the monster known as the ‘Unyeonyeong’ and find a new scapegoat.

So, Bucha-hoon transformed the grief of losing his son in a different way.

Through hatred towards the traditional evil factions.

The name ‘traditional faction’ itself was absurd.

We had always been thieves from the beginning, so the idea of living as thieves was absurd.

But words have to be kept.

Still, they had been someone’s friends all along, and they were descendants of the former leaders of Surochae, so I let them be.

Because I believed that they could change after experiencing a life of abundance and an honest profession.

Bucha-hoon’s trust was betrayed.

Now, Surochaeju’s beliefs were firm.

I was too wishy-washy when it came to innovation.

Innovation starts with bidding farewell to the older generation!

Ironically, it was an idea that drew a line in human history in a far future or a past of a different dimension.

This was the power that a group sharing the same culture for a long time possessed.

It was called ethnicity!

Thus, with a single-minded determination and a mission dyed in red, they were ready to break tradition.

The traditional evil factions were executed one by one.

The benefactors of Surochae volunteered to take responsibility for the executions.

The executioner, with a pleasant smile, swiftly severed the necks of those who had been untied.

That was the turning point.

When people began to show signs of reluctance.

Cheong sensed the atmosphere and thought.

These guys really can’t take a hint.

They were the ones who kept hitting me from behind.

They brought me here and put me in the same room as a lunatic.

They tried to sell me out when I exposed the identity of Unyeonyeong.

It was time for them to slowly disappear.

They said they were eternal benefactors or something.

But still, I liked the Dragon King’s Seal they gave me as a gift.

The Dragon King’s Seal was Janggang Surochae’s determination to treat its owner with the utmost respect.

There was only one way to show the utmost respect to the enemy.

They wouldn’t charge any toll fees under any circumstances.

The owner of the Dragon King’s Seal was not only exempt from boarding fees, but was actually treated with hospitality.

It was the pass to freely use the Janggang.

Cheong, who didn’t think deeply about anything, set sail on the river without much thought.

Meanwhile, for a series of moments, Cheong had been captivated by a certain thought.

Yes, that time.

When he used the Six-Character Great Bright Mantra of the Buddha, the Bodhisattva of Compassion.

So, something was different…

Something was a little like this…

Something was a bit like that…

Since then, Cheong had been constantly thinking about it.

It was something, quite literally something.

A frustrating feeling of almost grasping it but not quite catching it.

It was like not knowing what food you really wanted to eat, a much more intense ambiguity than the usual dilemma at meal times.

The Bodhisattva’s intervention was always well-timed.

But this time, it felt completely different.

My movements, usually mechanical, were now singing the end of the human world, as if trying to block something out, like, “Ah, damn.”

Yet, with a little more thought, there was a strong premonition that I might be able to understand it.

Cheong felt like he was going to suffocate, but in reality, this phenomenon was a precursor to a kind of enlightenment.

Cheong’s way of using the martial arts was more like a copy-and-paste method.

Unconsciously pulling out the martial arts forcibly imprinted on his body and mind.

However, Cheong’s way was not entirely unusual.

The warriors of the Myeongga clan also learned this way.

After repeating it tens of thousands of times and firmly imprinting it on their minds and bodies, they refined it through practice and real combat.

In this way, they built up their own martial arts, their own martial arts lineage.

In Cheong’s case, the only difference was that he compressed the basic ten-year imprinting process into one big blow.

And now, Cheong was right on the verge of embodying that vague knowledge, the realization of martial arts.

It had begun.

—-

Cheong’s way of speaking was, as Seomun Surin put it, “rougher than a bucking calf.”

Cheong had never seen a bucking calf.

So, that expression didn’t resonate with him at all.

Of course, there was also the fact that the standards of the Grand Dame leading the women’s paradise were very strict.

But in the end, even Seomun Surin came to accept it.

There was also the blame on the old man who felt subtly lonely, and the softness towards the beautiful disciple who approached without hesitation.

But the biggest reason was the insight that the old man who had lived in the world for a long time possessed.

Cheong wasn’t incapable of speaking like a woman.

He just didn’t do it.

Cheong didn’t really realize that fact.

But it was a world where bodies, genders, and even names had changed.

Even the world itself was a strange and unfamiliar place.

The way he spoke, which sounded strange to the people of the Central Plains, was a protective barrier in the subconscious realm, striving to protect the memories of his former self.

Because of this, there were times when it was even more difficult for Cheong.

It was the time of the women’s moon.

Unable to bear it on the ship, Cheong immediately disembarked in the anchored city.

Rushing to the apothecary, the landlady looked at Cheong with a knowing gaze.

It was a sympathetic gaze that Cheong didn’t want at all.

So, he bought a lot of Gwangmokcheon.

“Damn it…”

Every joint ached.

It was difficult to keep the muscles attached to the bones still, and moving was exhausting.

Even the favorite delicacies lost their appeal at this time.

Among the disciples in the Shingyeom, there were those who groaned in pain due to illness. For Cheong, the pain was not severe, just a dull ache all day long.

His stomach hurt.

His chest hurt more than his stomach. Like a bruise.

But above all, this feeling was dirty.

Ah. Really. I want to kill someone! Where’s that damn madu!

For these reasons, Cheong was on edge.

The bad guys who caught him at this time often ended up in a fight even though they didn’t start it.

Being cooped up in the room was unbearable.

So he went outside, only to feel irritated again.

It was almost like a mental illness.

What to do in this situation?

Showing off the bad guys’ skills was the best, but it was impossible in the city.

Instead, I should drink some alcohol and be a little dazed.

I need to reach the peak as soon as possible!

As Seomun Surin said, reaching the peak and going through a transformation would make the women’s time just pass by without much significance.

But what the hell do you want from me? Look at me. Look at me!

Cheong forced down her screams with alcohol.

It was as if she was trying to forget her other pains by burning her insides with the bitter, cheap liquor.

Meanwhile, in a tavern, a bomb without a fuse was slowly heating up.

So, in today’s case, there was no fault on the part of the Taepyeong Inspection.

As usual, they were just here to collect this month’s protection fee.

However, it was after the innkeeper tried to expand his business and forcibly attract new customers.

“If you’re talking about this month’s protection fee, we’ve already given it to the gentlemen from the inn….”

“Is that so?”

The inspector paused for a moment before asking, “But what does that have to do with us?”

Thanks to him, the innkeeper was perplexed.

“What do you mean by that….”

“If you’ve made a deal with the inn, what does that have to do with us Taepyeong Inspection? We have our own separate contract.”

“Then why are you asking for the protection fee….”

“Listen here, Innkeeper. Hm. Something seems off. It seems like we’re being extorted. Since Taepyeong Inspection is protecting you, shouldn’t the amount we’re asking for be reasonable?”

The innkeeper looked distressed as he replied, “Then what about the protection fee we paid to the inn?”

The inspector asked with a puzzled expression, “Why are you asking me?”

A surge of anger rose within the innkeeper.

If that’s the case, then what was all the protection fee paid up until now for? Wasn’t it all for nothing, constantly offering money to the likes of the innkeeper to keep them away!

However, the innkeeper pleaded with a humble expression.

The one with the sword is the king, and it was the fault of the innkeeper without a sword.

Furthermore, this was not even a proper incident.

In the Central Plains, it was a common occurrence.

In severe cases, there were even businesses in the martial arts world that paid protection fees to four different factions.

The innkeeper, who was ambiguously positioned between two factions, had made a mistake.

It was all the innkeeper’s fault.

Cheong felt genuinely sorry for his appearance.

Not only in modern times but even within the martial arts world, she did not sympathize with the hardships of struggling small business owners.

It was all because of the despicable businesses of the unscrupulous martial artists.

The Taepyeong Inspection claimed to uphold the principles of the White Path, and they were not as bad as one might think.

The worst of them was -56, and the best of them was around -3. They were decently behaved individuals for swordsmen.

They were more upright than the men who had remained in the Hwaseon during the time of Sir Seomun’s exile.

So Cheong deliberated.

The standard she firmly set was to eliminate businesses involved in malicious activities with at least three digits.

If she compromised even once, it would inevitably spread uncontrollably, turning into a lunatic murderer.

So, really, if that were to happen.

Wouldn’t it be okay to give them a little beating?

After all, if you do something bad, you should be punished, right?

Especially those so-called factions.