episode_0056

Volcano Faction!

People did not hesitate to regard volcanoes as great swordsmen.

Of course, whenever this was mentioned, someone who belittled the Shaman Faction would appear.

From then on, they did not hesitate to fight each other.

It was the beginning of a fierce debate.

“The volcanic Jaha Sword is truly a miraculous martial art.”

Are you ignoring the Jaha Sword now?

“However, do you not know the true essence of the Taoist Taegeuk?”

Yes, Taegeukhyegeum, reflection.

And when emotions ran high, they would even appoint themselves as representatives of the unrelated major factions in the martial world and engage in proxy battles.

It was the moment when the spectators cheered the most.

It was just like the rare entertainment in ancient primitive China.

Nevertheless, if you were to choose the most outstanding swordsmen among the numerous factions in the martial world, the Volcano Faction and the Shaman Faction would naturally stand out.

That was the position the volcano held in the martial world.

However, to Cheong, whether the Volcano Faction was above or below did not matter.

What mattered was that they were deceived.

“The mountain is beautiful, so what about the volcano?”

The rugged mountain scenery, one of the Five Mountains of the Central Plains, evoked polite feelings in people.

There are no cliffs on the volcano.

There are only sheer cliffs.

White represents cliffs, red represents trees.

It was a description of the autumn volcano scenery.

It had been a month-long journey to the Volcano Faction.

In Cheong’s opinion, there had been a significant change during that time.

Changbin finally finished her babbling and started speaking!

Of course, she still did not know how to properly use honorifics or even look someone in the eye when talking, but at least she had overcome her speech impediment through her own efforts, so she could be understood.

Changbin still had room to grow.

Here, as the leader of the group, she needed to nurture Changbin with warm eyes and interest…

“The Volcano Faction is on Jaso Peak, so a little further…”

“No, where is the volcano, not the Volcano Faction? I can’t see any smoke. Is it an inactive volcano?”

Changbin smiled mischievously.

It was a somewhat mischievous smile.

It was as if she was showing off her own house.

“Seomun Soldier, making such a cliched joke. The old master has heard it dozens of times already…”

Changbin looked at Cheong seriously and trailed off.

“Is the joke correct…?”

Cheong maintained his serious expression.

It was a great response.

Cheong shouted in frustration.

“This is too much, really! My volcano! My lava!”

“Seomun Soldier, if you make such a loud noise…”

“When did the volcano become yours?”

Pangdaesan interjected.

“It could be. This is just a pure fishing! My volcano! I wanted to see the lava! The flowing fire! The scorching heat! But what’s good here? What kind of restaurant is this?”

“…?”

The smooth transition of the topic was like the harmony of Yin and Yang.

In its mysteriousness, Pangdaesan was momentarily taken aback.

“Haha, Geomu, the volcano is not a restaurant. And in the first place, the cuisine of the Taoist faction is not good. You’ll be disappointed if you expect anything.”

“Uh, the food at the Divine Maiden Gate is delicious. It’s all prejudice.”

In reality, the food at the Divine Maiden Gate was delicious.

Even just the wild vegetables that came out were appetizing, with a deep flavor and aroma.

Unlike the men who would devour meat and shed tears of joy, for women, food was a serious matter.

Anyway, the group did not have any complaints about Cheong’s attitude.

After all, even though he grumbled, Cheong was actually enjoying the scenery of the volcano.

His gaze constantly scanned the surroundings.

As the village girl reached the majestic and picturesque place, she stopped to look around, her stroll through the mountains was unmistakably leisurely.

In truth, the volcano was a very treacherous mountain.

No one should wander around carelessly as if on a leisurely stroll.

However, among the group, there was no one who wasn’t skilled.

And finally reaching the summit, the entrance of the volcano sect came into view.

For a sect of the volcano, it was surprisingly close to the secular world.

Actually, quite closely connected.

Upon joining the sect, one’s name would be recorded in the register.

This was called initiation, a ceremony where one would abandon their secular name and receive a new name, a Taoist name.

However, there were disciples who did not abandon their secular names even after being initiated.

They were called secular disciples.

Each sect had different criteria for accepting secular disciples.

For example, the Divine Maiden Sect did not accept secular disciples.

Instead, if a man and a woman agreed to marry, or if a woman couldn’t live without a man, they would only break the vow and return the name.

It was surprisingly merciful.

Other sects would cut off a piece of the disciple’s flesh and stamp the Taoist seal firmly on it.

The volcano sect carefully examined a person’s character and qualities before accepting them as disciples.

There was a rumor that one could gain a significant advantage in character points based on the amount of donation.

There was no official answer to this.

In this regard, the volcano was famous for its generous evaluation, to the extent of overlooking the flaws of the same sect.

Decent qualities and not a bad person? Pass.

Very good qualities? Pass.

But, your house is really nice? Pass.

The volcano probably had something to say about it.

In a village where a neighbor had taken all the land, even if it was a secular disciple, they had to earn something.

The neighbor had taken all the land, and even though they were a legitimate Taoist sect, the ancestral rites were never-ending throughout the year.

Anyway, for this reason, the disciples of the volcano were spread all over the central plains, and as a result, the volcano sect was prosperous, with people overflowing even in their main mountain.

The result was a grand hall spread out on the summit of the volcano.

Cheong looked surprised as she gazed at the sight.

Wow. How can a sect be this big?

The Divine Maiden Sect was a complete joke.

Changbin looked at Cheong with a proud smile.

The volcano disciples guarding the sect’s main hall warmly welcomed Changbin.

“Great Master, have you returned?”

“Pang Sohye and Namgung Sohye. We met before, right? Oh, but the soldier next to you…? Could it be?”

“Indeed, Great Master! We believed in you!”

“A Taoist who can captivate any woman in an instant! How did the world create women and then give birth to Changbin! Named as the Changbin of the volcano!”

It was because Changbin’s behavior was usually vulgar.

To the priests, Changbin was a great man who, when he said “drink,” the beauties of the central plains would politely line up to receive their numbers.

Changbin’s face turned red.

“N-no, it’s not like that. Here is Soldier Cheong, a distinguished guest, coming to greet the main hall…”

“Greeting the main hall! Are we offering you candy?”

“Wow, candy! Kids! The Great Master is giving out candy!”

“Wait, priests, wait…”

And before Changbin could stop them, they ran inside shouting for candy.

The successful scent of the high-grade incense of the volcano sect slipped smoothly among the people.

The expression of receiving candy meant the same as eating galbitang in modern Korean vocabulary.

In ancient primitive China, candy had to be distributed to guests at a wedding celebration.

Why did that troublemaker Changyeon have to be at the main gate today?

The rumor would spread like wildfire within the day.

Awkwardly retracting the hand that Changbin had reached out, Cheong glanced around.

“That’s right. Hm. So you’re the younger brother of Pang? Please don’t look at me with such a fierce gaze, it wasn’t intentional. But still, I am your senior…”

It was when he had raised his cup in the banquet hall and had just taken a sip of tea.

He received a rare message to come up immediately.

It was truly an unusual occurrence.

Normally, when it came to the banquet hall, there was a certain weight to it, and the guests wouldn’t come out nervously when called to see them.

Moreover, in the ancient Chinese culture of dignity, there were guests waiting in line according to their urgency.

Changing the order of the line could be a great insult to the guest.

Nevertheless, the senior of the banquet hall called the future successor immediately.

The reason was simple.

Changbin was twenty-nine years old this year.

It was already well into autumn.

In just a few months, he would become a late bachelor.

Usually, a man should have a family.

Becoming a head of the family and enjoying the affection of blood relatives was not only a good thing but also helpful in establishing a firm foundation for reaching the peak.

At such a time, bringing a woman as a disciple was unacceptable.

So, the senior of the volcano faction, Jung Cheol-mae, quickly greeted the guest.

“Oh, so you’re that child.”

“Do you know me?”

“I just heard about it. Yes, the aura in your eyes is definitely from the Dao… The aura… Um. The aura is overflowing… Hmm. It’s not just overflowing with aura…”

Jung Cheol-mae thought to himself.

What is this child?

The eyes with the unique aura of the Dao were not ordinary.

But the sinister madness hidden in between was something else.

It was definitely not normal.

There was a kind of indescribable creepiness.

“Uh…”

As Jung Cheol-mae struggled to find the words, Changbin quickly added an explanation.

“Master, this is Sojeo from the Western Gate. He is the honored disciple of the Grandmaster Seomun Surin.”

“Ah! Seomun Senior’s!”

A thunderbolt struck Jung Cheol-mae’s mind.

The honored disciple of Seomun Surin!

Then it’s possible for there to be a bit of madness in his gaze.

Hmm. Whether it is or not.

Jung Cheol-mae immediately understood.

Seomun Surin’s female-centric ideology had become very gentle as she aged.

Only the senior masters of the past knew how extreme the evil of the top female warrior who once shouted for female rights was.

At the same time, he realized another fact.

He’s the sudden youngest brother of the main line!

And unlike Seomun, his face was endlessly bright and smiling.

Jung Cheol-mae, who suddenly had a younger sister who seemed to be more than ten years younger, smiled warmly.

“Hehe. I didn’t expect to see the youngest here. How are you, Seomun Senior?”

“Hello. You were well the last time we met.”

“Yes. But it seems like the youngest’s achievements are not low. Could you tell me about it?”

“I’ve only reached the post-peak stage.”

“Wow! A great talent has emerged in the Baekdo sect!”

Jung Cheol-mae couldn’t help but admire.

A girl who is only twenty has reached the post-peak stage.

It seemed that Seomun Senior was raising a monster.

Even the senior of the Mu Cheon sect did not stop at the mid-peak stage.

Jung Cheol-mae’s gaze became even gentler.