Reincarnation of the Martial Emperor

Chapter 17: This? It's Life of solitude and purity.

I'm not very talented at appeasing people.

It was more comfortable and faster to persuade them by throwing a lavish drinking party, or to make them kneel at my feet by brutally brandishing a sword.

But Jaegal Yeong was family, who couldn't be approached in that way.

To an Underworld person, family is a hostage, a weakness.

That's why most Underworld people, like me, either don't marry at all, or if they do form a family, they hide it thoroughly.

Because I had never had to deal with family my entire life, I felt somewhat uncomfortable.

By now, the news that I had decided to take on the Nine Phoenix Gates must have spread throughout the clan.

It was as clear as day what that boy, who foamed at the mouth in opposition to the Nine Phoenix Gates, would think of me.

‘…….’

After various thoughts, when I arrived at his quarters, there were no servants to be seen.

Come to think of it, it was already the hour of the ox.

Clack.

As I opened the door without a sound, Jaegal Yeong, who was sitting at his writing desk, shot up in surprise.

What a stubborn boy.

To think he was still memorizing texts at this late hour of the night.

I strode in and sat down opposite him.

The boy, whose expression had returned to indifference, sat down again and began to memorize texts.

His intention was plain to see.

He dared to ignore his older brother?

“Now I see that ignoring things seems to be a habit of yours.”

I glared at him further with a faint smile.

“A guy who can't change anything with his own power, yet keeps his eyes closed. If you just ignore and deny reality like that, will your pathetic world change? Why don't you just leave home like those Taoist guys who prattle on about forgetting the secular world and living in harmony with nature?”

“……Brother!”

The boy was trembling, still holding his brush.

But my mouth was not one to close just because my opponent was trembling.

“Delaying the Nine Phoenix Gates test by hindering the children's growth? Does holding it in stop the shit from coming out? Does it make the idiotic actions of this Jaegal Clan disappear?”

I stared venomously at the boy's dazed face, then gestured with my eyes to a corner of the writing desk.

“To this Jaegal Clan, martial arts are like those scorched rice crumbs you hastily cleaned up. Something you have to secretly pick up and eat to survive. A lump in your throat you can't ignore. An inferiority complex. Resentment. If not that, then a yearning.”

Watching the boy stubbornly bite his lip, I was suddenly reminded of the Great Murim Alliance's strategist, Ghost Spirit.

The words he used to say to me like a habit.

-Sometimes, I really can't stand it.

-What?

-If I were as strong as you, Alliance Leader… what would it have been like?

Absolute Master.

Beings who lightly break through any obstacle, rendering all painstakingly prepared strategies and schemes meaningless.

The moment a strategist can't endure the most is when their strategies become useless like that.

Therefore, while they hate the strong enemies that render their strategies useless, they also simultaneously admire the demonic nature that power provides.

Naturally, this Jaegal Clan would be no different.

The reason this family of wisdom, which has assisted the Murim Alliance for hundreds of years, so recklessly dreams of military power.

I didn't have to look far for that point.

When yearning becomes excessive, one becomes reckless.

Even if it means grinding half of the clan's talents to death, they want to have that damn power first.

The power to not have to hide even from the stubbornness of those who possess it.

Although they had a long-standing reputation as a family of wisdom and strategy, this Jaegal Clan had never once claimed the fame of being the number one family under heaven.

The Nine Phoenix Gates was the very crystallization of that yearning.

The smarter one becomes, the more simply human one tends to become.

At that moment, Jaegal Yeong opened his mouth, his face flushed red.

“Are you saying that our clan… is a family that moves on inferiority… on resentment?”

“Your pride isn't filled by secretly hiding and eating scorched rice. Is there any difference between you and this Jaegal Clan?”

From my perspective, they were the same.

This boy and the Jaegal Clan, which has been secretly operating the Nine Phoenix Gates.

Will they truly become strong by chewing and swallowing the Demon Soul Pill left behind by the Demonic Cult and thoroughly hiding the true nature of the Nine Phoenix Gates with strict secrecy?

I wonder.

If the result is Jaegal Cheon, it seems hopeless.

“But… participating in the reckless actions of the clan… cannot be the answer.”

“What do you know?”

“Yes?”

“I'm asking what you know about the Nine Phoenix Gates.”

Jaegal Yeong answered with a frustrated expression.

“Those who have completed the Nine Phoenix Gates and acquired the title of True Blood can never speak carelessly about their experience. This is a clan regulation and a taboo.”

“Of course, since it's a shady business, they have to keep their mouths shut. Anyway, the conclusion is that you don't know.”

I rested my chin on my hand and stared at Jaegal Yeong indifferently.

Watching his trembling eyes, he was just a child, though his way of speaking was like a little old man.

“You've read so many books, you must feel like you know the whole world. But all things in the world have an answer only when you experience them firsthand. That's why armchair experts are no good. It's still premature for you to talk about worthlessness.”

“Even if that single experience… drives innocent children to their deaths?”

I laughed.

This boy, too, kept forgetting what kind of being he was.

“What if that experience makes you an absolute master? If you become stronger than anyone in the Shadowless Terrace, if you come to believe that you are more valuable than the entire Crouching Dragon Hall combined, what about the power of the words that come out of your mouth?”

“That is….”

“That is the Jianghu where you stand. A place of constant proof. What you need to do is not to protect your integrity in a corner of a room like this, but to move. Those who move like that dominate and manage the Jianghu. If you want to change this clan, it's only possible if you have that damn power.”

“Brother….”

I stood up and looked down at him indifferently.

“It seems you've forgotten, being buried in texts. Don't mistake yourself for a scholar. This is the Jianghu. And you are just common chick number one in that Jianghu.”

Gradually, a fire began to kindle in his eyes.

“Then in the end, your decision is… to prove yourself! So this clan! This Jaegal Clan…!”

Somehow, another misunderstanding was piling up.

I let out a chuckle and gestured towards the outside with my eyes.

“What are you doing? Not getting up yet.”

“Yes?”

“Let's go. There should still be a few lumps of cold rice left.”

“…….”

His small shoulders trembled.

Instinctively, I sensed that he was changing right now.

Of course, people don't change easily.

But that's a story for when no catalyst is given.

“If that is your decision, brother… this Jaegal Yeong will follow your will! Thank you so much! For telling this foolish younger brother all of your true feelings!”

Jaegal Yeong's determined gaze.

Soon, a more relaxed smile bloomed on his face.

“Anyway, you're saying you'll eat.”

“I thought I was going to die while secretly chewing on scorched rice. Do you know how I've survived for the past month? Why didn't you come?”

“……I forgot.”

“Yes….”

Unable to bear the awkwardness, I offered him the bottle of strong liquor, but in the end, I shook my head.

Come to think of it, this boy was still only thirteen.

Gulp, gulp!

“Kuhh… let's go! To eat!”

“Brother? Don't tell me that's alcohol?”

Heh.

“To a man, this stuff is Life of solitude and purity.”

***

The tedious daily life repeated itself again.

Moyong Baek was groaning with a stone on his stomach as always, and I was watching him and establishing my Martial Soul.

The Six Viscera Strange Disease was not yet completely cured, so unbearable pain would sometimes rush in, but it wasn't to the point of losing consciousness like before.

And a small problem had arisen, which was that Jaegal Yeong would visit at all hours.

He was so full of questions that I sincerely regretted that day's visit.

I had no choice but to seek him out since there was no one else to feed him.

If I had known beforehand that he was such a talkative person, I would have seriously considered it that day.

He would call me whenever a clue seemed to be emerging, and one time I almost really had a beatdown.

“Brother!”

I can't even hit a boy whose body hasn't even matured yet, it's driving me crazy.

“Brother! Please tell me more about how the Yangtze River Water Fortress fell!”

What he was obsessed with were the old rumors of the Jianghu or the history of the Murim for the past three hundred years.

This boy, in particular, showed a lot of interest in the Underworld.

“Have you ever been beaten?”

“Yes?”

“I'm asking if you've ever been beaten up.”

“……Are you perhaps thinking of hitting me?”

As I rolled up my sleeves, he nodded his head cheerfully with a determined look in his eyes.

“If you are to punish me, brother, there must surely be a reason! I will take it! I must take it!”

When he came out like that, it was actually harder to hit him.

In the end, I gave up and sat down.

“Hoo… what kind of brother am I to you for you to be like this.”

I knew nothing about the history between Jaegal Hwi and this boy.

Just as I cherished the brothers of the Great Murim Alliance, it seemed these two also had something deep, and I needed to find out about that first.

Suddenly, his eyes shimmered with a warm light.

“You were a back to look up to for a lifetime.”

“What?”

The words about looking at my back my whole life strangely made my fists clench, but in the end, I understood the many things contained in his words.

A boy's admiration.

An idol whose every aspect one wants to emulate.

Jaegal Hwi was none other than that boy's world.

“I am so glad that you have become as talkative as you were in the old days, brother.”

“Really? Then I should shut my mouth again.”

“Am I perhaps a bother to you, brother?”

“Yeah. You are. A lot.”

“Aah…!”

At that moment.

My father was walking from the direction of the detached courtyard.

Seeing that the Old Man of Heavenly Wisdom and the First Young Master Jaegal Cheon were coming with him, he must have brought the news I had been waiting for. For origınal chapters go to novel⟡fire.net

“Go and wait in the Crouching Dragon Hall.”

“Yes, brother.”

He could have questioned why I was chasing him away, but there was not a hint of hesitation in him.

I shook my head and stood up from my seat.

I stood there silently and observed my family's expressions.

Jaegal Cheon, biting his lip tightly.

The Old Man of Heavenly Wisdom, his eyes full of laughter.

And my father's face, trying hard not to show his emotions.

This was much easier to figure out than I thought.

“I will eat it with gratitude.”

“Hah? Uhehehehe!”

While the Old Man of Heavenly Wisdom was laughing heartily, bent over at the waist, my father's solemn voice was heard.

“I will announce your meritorious deed to the clan and award you the Great Cycle Pill. When will you enter the Nine Phoenix Gates?”

“Since my mind is made up, is there a need to weigh the pros and cons? The sooner the better.”

“Alright. I will prepare it.”

My father, who had been turning to leave, suddenly stopped and looked at me intently.

“The Namgung Clan Head wishes to see you.”

What?

I furrowed my brow and asked back.

“Did you inform the Murim Alliance and the Namgung Clan that I was the one who designed this whole affair?”

“It is an announcement to the clan. News spreads in an instant.”

I hadn't thought of it, but this was not a good situation.

The Underworld had moved north as if to strike the Namgung Clan.

But they had stopped by a temple, offered some incense, and returned.

This was a clear deception.

It was as clear as day what Namgung Sejin would think of me, the one who had designed all of this.

“He'll definitely think he got stabbed in the back, won't he?”

The Old Man of Heavenly Wisdom's eyes curved into his characteristic crescent moon shape.

“Isn't that why he wants to see you! He's curious about the face of the one who made a fool of the great Namgung Sejin! Uahahaha!”

Ah.

For some reason, I have a bad feeling about this.