episode_0060

Rin Soye only suffered a harsh fate for acting up for nothing.

To get hit on the crown of her head by some random guy?

It hurt terribly, and to make matters worse, she was hit with a wooden temple block, making a loud noise and putting her in a terrible mood.

On top of that, he even said *he* was being wasted!

What kind of crazy bastard is this? He was an unexpected madman, which made her even angrier.

Rin Soye’s temper flared completely.

Her anger truly soared to the top of her head, and as her breathing grew rough, her internal energy naturally circulated, causing her true energy to rapidly leak out.

Even though she looked like an ordinary woman, Rin Soye was undoubtedly an absolute master who had crossed a boundary.

The aura emanating from her entire body was naturally extraordinary.

As an intangible aura surged from her, a vibrant blue lightning energy naturally stirred within Cheongun’s body as well.

Crackling!

As the materialized energies clashed, a tearing tinnitus rang out.

As the friction intensified, the sound grew louder and louder, to the point where her ears felt deafened.

But Cheongun’s expression was calm.

He was accustomed to this kind of psychological warfare.

Instead, he chuckled, then gripped the scabbard of the demonic sword at his waist to activate its special ability.

However, Rin Soye couldn’t help but be flustered.

His internal energy, operating on its own, possessed the nature of lightning?

Moreover, wasn’t he just a young squirt who had recently crossed the boundary?

Yet, the profoundness of his internal energy was unbelievable.

At this level, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him a master of the Illumination realm, not just a peak master.

It was natural.

When his special ability was activated, Cheongun could manipulate the natural energy spread throughout the heavens and earth as his internal energy, thus having no limit to his internal energy.

Therefore, even among peak masters, the difference in internal energy was bound to be significant.

At that moment, Cheongun instantly activated the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi Art.

As the natural energy spread around him came into contact with Cheongun’s cultivation power, it lost its control and became Cheongun’s internal energy.

Immediately, all that energy simultaneously crackled! With a sound, it began to take on the nature of vibrant blue lightning.

The moment Cheongun raised his cultivation power, the entire space took on the nature of thunder and lightning, pressing down on Rin Soye. To her eyes, it was as if a celestial being had descended.

“What in the…”

A gasp escaped Rin Soye’s lips.

As far as she knew, Cheongun was only twenty years old this year.

For a mere twenty-year-old boy to wield such immense internal energy?

Even if he had accumulated internal energy since he was a fetus in his mother’s womb, it would be impossible.

At this level, it seemed less like martial arts and more like observing immortal dao techniques.

“…”

Rin Soye looked at Cheongun with bewildered eyes.

Even if the Haomun wasn’t a martial force.

Still, as someone considered the master of a large sect, she was simply flustered to feel such a devastating difference in their levels.

Only then did Rin Soye let out a sigh and release her cultivation power.

It was a clear sign of surrender.

The intense friction of their auras subsided.

Cheongun said vaguely.

“Victory.”

“…”

“Bastard! Madman! Son of a bitch!”

Rin Soye gritted her teeth.

To think that she had to hand over everything she had built up to this sudden intruder, after all she went through to reach this position, made her eyes sting.

Rin Soye gasped, “Huu, huu,” and asked Cheongun.

“Do you truly need to seize the Haomun in this manner to be satisfied?”

“I’ve already seized it.”

“…”

What kind of twisted way of thinking does this bastard have?

Does one have to be this crazy to be so strong?

Judging by the atmosphere, he doesn’t seem likely to retract his words.

If she couldn’t convince him, it meant the Haomun could be taken over in an instant.

The problem was that he wasn’t just any madman; he was extraordinarily insane.

This was the first time she felt nervous since she first set foot in the Jianghu.

Rin Soye stared at Cheongun.

“I’ll make you an offer.”

“An offer? No need for…”

Cheongun was about to blurt out that he didn’t need it.

But he waited patiently.

Who knows?

Like Lee Gunbaek last time, he might suddenly propose something incredible.

As Cheongun trailed off, Rin Soye seized the moment and cut him off.

“Do you know that the Haomun is a sect formed by people of the lower strata?”

“I know.”

“The disciples that make up the Haomun are mainly divided into five types.”

Cha, Seon, Jeom, Gak, A.

Cha refers to carriage drivers, Seon to boatmen, Jeom to shop assistants, Gak to porters, and A to human traffickers.

Their characteristic is that they all live day-to-day, earning just enough to survive.

“By their nature, their cohesion cannot be strong. Yet, the reason the current Haomun can exist is because I am at its center.”

“So?”

“Let’s say you’ve taken over as the Haomun Master. Do you think the remaining people would accept that?”

Even if the word of the strong is law, for those living lives of the lower strata, survival takes precedence over loyalty.

If a powerful person comes and takes over the organization, ultimately only those strong in martial arts will be favored, and ordinary disciples like carriage drivers and boatmen will be treated with contempt.

“Is that all? The Haomun has dozens of businesses. It’s difficult enough to grasp them one by one, so can you really devote your entire life to the Haomun like I do?”

“Hmm.”

Cheongun couldn’t give a definite answer.

Cheongun, who had invested 20,000 hours into the original work, had also experienced starting the Haomun multiple times.

However, the Haomun itself was inherently complex in structure, so as she said, there was no time to pay attention to other sects.

“You, too, would rather absorb the Haomun as it is now, wouldn’t you?”

“So, what’s your offer?”

At his words, Rin Soye smiled suggestively.

“Haomun Master? You can be it. But I, too, will be the Haomun Master.”

Cheongun rarely blinked his eyes.

So, did she mean to be co-leaders?

“Exactly! You can continue living recklessly as you are now. If you need the Haomun’s name, you can borrow it anytime. But you can leave all the troublesome and complex practical matters entirely to me.”

“Just suck out all the sweet honey [an idiom for only taking the benefits/cream of the crop]?”

“You catch on quickly!”

Cheongun rubbed his chin.

Indeed, it was quite an attractive offer.

“Above all, the Haomun is not an independent force.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. You might not know, but there’s a force called the Secret Meeting.”

“I know.”

“What?”

At Cheongun’s words that he knew, Rin Soye blinked her eyes.

There are countless shadowy forces in the Jianghu.

If you were to pick the largest among them, it would undoubtedly be the Secret Meeting.

They existed completely beneath the surface, but if they decided to act, their influence was so immense that they could overturn the entire landscape of the Jianghu.

However, as a shadowy force, they operated while hidden beneath the surface, and the force they needed for that was precisely the Haomun.

At the time, it was a relationship that began as a collaboration due to their converging interests, but currently, the roles of “A” and “B” had completely reversed, making the Haomun effectively a subordinate force of the Secret Meeting.

“The Haomun getting involved with A was also because of them.”

“You mean human trafficking?”

“Exactly.”

Hmm, indeed.

To cleanly take over the Haomun, he would have to cut out the unsavory parts.

At that moment, Rin Soye spoke confidently.

“You’ll need my help to deceive the Secret Meeting. How about my offer? You can have the Haomun, and you can have me too!”

Cheongun fell into thought.

He considered it in various ways, but there was only one conclusion.

“Not bad.”

“Yes! Now we’re talking!”

“However, there’s one thing you’re mistaken about.”

“What?”

Cheongun said in an indifferent voice.

“There’s no need to deceive the Secret Meeting.”

“…Surely you’re not thinking of becoming hostile with them?”

“No, rather than that…”

How should I explain this?

He just threw out the conclusion appropriately.

“They’re going to collapse soon.”

“…”

“Because I released a piece of information.”

Information no one else knew.

Information that only Cheongun, who had played the original game, knew.

****

Meanwhile.

“Haha.”

Red Night Sword Sovereign Jin Mooseong.

He walked somewhere, with his hands behind his back, as if playing the role of an immortal.

In the middle of the empty wilderness stood a single manor.

As he slowly walked, a flash of light gleamed before his eyes, and then an old man wearing a bamboo hat appeared as if he had leaped across space.

He was so fast that it seemed as if all the processes were omitted, and only the result of his appearance here was visible.

He then scanned Jin Mooseong up and down, before cupping his fist in a salute.

“This old man, at the age of a hundred, greets the peerless Sword Sovereign.”

“Haha, no need for such formality.”

The old man in the bamboo hat discreetly observed Jin Mooseong.

For a martial artist, it would be normal to feel even a slight flow of qi, but no flow of qi was felt from the old man before him.

Only his form appeared blurry, as if seeing a wandering spirit in the nine heavens.

The old man swallowed hard and asked.

“What brings you all the way here?”

“I ask you. Do you know a name, Namgung Yul?”

At those words, the old man nodded.

“That child is my disciple.”

“Indeed?”

“Yes. She’s the child of a close friend I’ve known since childhood. Someone I wouldn’t be pained to put in my eyes [an idiom for loving someone so dearly that you wouldn’t feel pain even if you put them in your eye, meaning extremely cherished].”

The old man bowed his head and listened quietly.

“It’s been some time, but that child almost died.”

“…”

“She was almost killed while being pursued by the Black Forest Gate, I heard. If it weren’t for the gold-obsessed boy who happened to be passing by, she would already be dead.”

“…”

“Isn’t it strange? Who do you think leaked the information?”

At that, the words abruptly stopped.

Jin Mooseong thought.

At first, he had intended to exterminate those Black Forest Gate bastards.

However, his disciple had already made the first move and suddenly became the Black Forest Gate Master, making even that impossible.

But then, one day, he heard something from Cheongun.

The source of the information that Namgung Yul was a spy for the Black Forest Gate was none other than the Secret Meeting, one of the shadowy forces.

“You know, don’t you?”

“What…?”

“You know.”

“…”

As the old man subtly gestured, black shadows wearing bamboo hats sprung up like mushrooms after rain from all directions.

It was then.

“Haha.”

Jin Mooseong laughed and lightly waved his hand.

Simultaneously, countless Qi Spheres appeared in the air like mushrooms after rain.

They repeatedly separated and gathered, forming the shape of pure white swords.

They were white glowing sword energies.

To be precise, they were sword-controlling energies.

In no time, the sword-controlling energies filled the sky so densely that the blue sky could no longer be seen.

If one were hit by those, their skin and bones would literally be ground into powder.

At the sudden sight, the minds of everyone wearing bamboo hats went blank.

“What are you doing! Please stop! We know nothing about this!”

“Quiet.”

Jin Mooseong chuckled, streaks of vibrant blue light emanating from his eyes.

“Alright, time to die.”

As if those words were a signal.

The sword-controlling energies that filled the sky rained down like a torrent.