Chapter 140
Martial Alliance Headquarters, Alliance Leader's Office—
"Alliance Leader. Two letters have arrived..."
"Letters? Where are they from?"
"One is from Branch Leader Myo-seon, who has gone out to Liaoning as the temporary branch leader, and the other has arrived from the leader of the Eighteen Fortresses of the Green Forest!"
Abbess Hongryeon's brow furrowed.
'Myo-seon is one thing, but why the old mountain chief...'
But she soon accepted the two letters and dismissed her subordinate.
"You may leave and attend to your duties."
"Yes!"
And then, she first read Myo-seon's letter.
「...」
...The contents of the letter were truly astonishing.
'!!!'
The fact that the Eastern Depot, an imperial organization, was cooperating with the White Lotus Cult and interfering in the affairs of the martial world was a surprising event that broke with convention...
At the fact that they had tried to kidnap Myo-seon because she was suffering from the Nine Yin Severed Meridians, she was filled with concern for her disciple for a moment.
Also, when she read that So-ah had single-handedly defeated 30 of those Eastern Depot masters and had gone to catch their mastermind, Eunuch Han, she was so dumbfounded that she even let out a laugh.
But.
Nevertheless, what surprised Abbess Hongryeon the most at this moment was.
'The... the Sunflower Manual!'
...the mention of the peerless divine art called the <Sunflower Manual>.
'I had forgotten about it since it has been lost for a long time... Yes! There was definitely a martial art called the Sunflower Manual. There was a time when I too had searched for the whereabouts of the Sunflower Manual...'
That's right.
Since Abbess Hongryeon herself was a person who suffered from the Nine Yin Severed Meridians, she too had looked into the mysteries and whereabouts of the Sunflower Manual.
But since she could not find any trace of it anywhere in the martial world, she had soon dismissed the Sunflower Manual as a 'legend' passed down through oral tradition...
'If the person named Eunuch Han really possesses the Sunflower Manual... and if So-ah can retrieve the Sunflower Manual!'
Her disciple's Nine Yin Severed Meridians could be completely cured.
'Myo-seon could be reborn as a peerless, absolute master who surpasses me!'
The dazzling growth of her disciple who had learned it was needless to say.
'But even so...'
Even so, there would be many problems.
First, she could not know whether the Sunflower Manual that Eunuch Han was said to possess was genuine.
Second, there was no complete guarantee that So-ah could take the Sunflower Manual from him.
Also, even if all those parts were met, to receive such a peerless divine art from So-ah for free?
That too was not only something that was hard to accept from a common-sense point of view, but Abbess Hongryeon's conscience would not allow it.
'First, I'll think about that later!'
Great expectations lead to great disappointments.
Since she was not so foolish as to be obsessed with delusions because of things that had not yet happened, she set aside the matter of the Sunflower Manual and began to review the support for the Liaoning branch.
In the meantime.
'Hmm...'
Another letter that she wanted to tear up immediately caught her eye.
'Why on earth is that old mountain chief... could it be a matter related to the political situation of the martial world?'
Even though she knew it wasn't, she was already 'rationalizing' it to herself.
At the same time, she opened the letter from the King of the Green Forest, Jang Beon-pal.
「Chun-mae... The harsh winter has passed and a full spring has come. Are you well, Chun-mae darling? I have recently instructed the twelve main fortresses and seventy-two strongholds of the Green Forest to prohibit tolls on civilians and to lower the tax rate on tolls for transport companies and martial artists, and I have even gone so far as to re-educate all the Green Forest bandits not to commit crimes.
After meeting Young Brother Jin and you, Chun-mae darling, I somehow felt that I should do so.
You are a person who makes me live as a good person.
...(Omitted)...
...From an old man who lives with the green mountains and rivers as his darling, to the leader of the Martial Alliance」
Jang Beon-pal's letter gave Abbess Hongryeon a shock of a different form from the letter she had received from Myo-seon.
"Th-This crazy old geezer!"
Finally, she could not hold back and shouted.
In that moment.
"Alliance Leader!"
"What is the matter?!"
The subordinates who had been standing outside the Alliance Leader's office rushed in and asked with worried faces.
"Phew...! It's nothing. By the way. Ahem! I will hold an officials' meeting immediately, so please summon the elders. They say there has been a disaster at the Liaoning branch."
"Yes..."
"We understand, Alliance Leader!"
Although the subordinates were bewildered, they soon left the room to carry out the order.
Only after watching them leave did Abbess Hongryeon close her eyes tightly.
'What? Darling? Darling?! You crazy old mountain chief! Just you wait until I see you! I'll pull out your beard, I will!'
She could not control her rapidly rising blood pressure and had to grab the back of her neck.
***
"Y-You are?"
"Me? If you're talking about me."
Sometimes, a single action is a more perfect means of expressing oneself than a hundred words.
So-ah thought that now was that 'time'.
Therefore, he answered by striking the head of the villa keeper with all his might with the justice club.
And...
"Kek!"
In just a single blow, the villa keeper (who was also a member of the Eastern Depot, despite being called a villa keeper) foamed at the mouth and collapsed on the floor.
But.
'You're quite lucky. To be knocked out in one blow. Yes... just stay like that, asleep.'
The hostage man of So-ah, who had now come to have a seizure at the mere sound of the two words 'salt' and 'ointment', envied his fallen comrade.
Just then.
"Eol-le-ri~ kkol-le-ri~ eol-le-ri~ kkol-le-ri~ Eunuch Han is~ a eunuch!"
The Eastern Depot man momentarily doubted his own two ears.
'Wh-What is this?!'
But So-ah's novel and unidentified song continued without stopping.
"Eol-le-ri~ kkol-le-ri~ Eunuch Han is~ a eunuch~ a eunuch!"
At a glance, the sight of So-ah, who was swaying his body and savoring the insulting lyrics that were hard to even say.
'See! This bastard, he's a devil!'
...was not imprinted as a human in the man's eyes.
Soon, the main character of the lyrics.
Eunuch Han, with a pale face, revealed himself.
***
"You're a brat with a swollen liver. You dare to trespass into the secret area of the Eastern Depot, an imperial organization, and not only that, but you also insult this old man."
Unlike the content of his words, Eunuch Han's voice was surprisingly calm.
But So-ah immediately sensed the 'true anger' hidden in that calm voice.
Because a subtle tremor, which was hard to identify with the naked eye, had seeped into Eunuch Han's shoulders.
'Kya. It's a perfect score, a perfect score!'
The so-called 'Eol-le-ri Kkol-le-ri' tune.
So-ah, who had realized the effectiveness of this psychological tactic, which he had improvised and used effectively at Lord Nam's house in Sodamgol, made a vow to use it often in the future and stared at Eunuch Han with an arrogant gaze.
"Wow. When I saw you at the Heroes' Tournament, I thought you were a bit... what should I say? A psychopath who is engrossed in a cult and considers himself a savior? I thought of you as something like that. The way you were swaggering next to No Yeong-myeong without any skills was quite annoying. Ah! I also thought you looked disgustingly ugly!"
"...Are you talking about me right now?"
"Of course."
'Ugh...!'
The Eastern Depot man writhed in agony.
He had felt a sense of shame for betraying his organization and guiding the evil hand to the villa, but So-ah's eloquence and psychological warfare were crossing the 'line'...
'Eunuch Han... I'm sorry.'
He felt a pang of guilt for Eunuch Han, who was on the receiving end.
But fortunately, Eunuch Han did not even glance at the man.
Because So-ah's eloquence was at such a bizarre level.
"I have already seen that your skills are outstanding. But to think that you can do something to me with that is extremely arrogant."
"Aww! There you go again. Why do villains always say such cliché lines? If you have a head, try thinking a little. I handled the 30 Eastern Depot members that you used like your own limbs by myself. Do you really think I can't catch one old man?"
"...!"
In an instant, Eunuch Han's eyes widened in astonishment.
And then, he shifted his gaze to the hostage man.
"Is what that guy said true?"
"I-It's true, Eunuch Han."
'Crazy!'
Only then did Eunuch Han realize that So-ah was a possessor of a martial art that far surpassed his expectations.
'...How on earth can he defeat the members of our Eastern Depot single-handedly!'
It was a story that was hard to understand from a common-sense point of view.
So-ah's age was now just twenty-two.
Even the God of War, Moyong Cheon, or the Heavenly Demon, Wi-ji Un, who were considered the number one in the world of the previous generation, would not have been able to show such a martial art at an age just past their coming-of-age.
'Dangerous...'
Eunuch Han instinctively felt that this young and audacious young man might be the grim reaper who would lead him to his death.
But the realization came too late.
"Eunuch old man. Let's have a little fight first. Huh?"
***
"Keu-heut!"
The hostage man let out a groan and curled up his body.
Because hundreds of transparent threads had shot out from Eunuch Han's entire body in all directions and had caused the entire villa to collapse.
Fortunately, So-ah had saved the man from the debris.
...and had leaped into the air, stomping on the villa that had turned into ruins.
'He's no ordinary person. I have to be tense.'
Although he had been mocking Eunuch Han from beginning to end, So-ah actually knew that his martial arts were at an earth-shattering level.
The martial prowess of Eunuch Han, who had destroyed the villa in a single blow and had taken advantage of the chaos to escape, was truly amazing.
"Hey! No Yeong-myeong's lackey. Are you running away? Running away?!"
"You madman!"
But So-ah, utilizing the speed of his lightness skill, which had developed to the point where it was not inferior to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's Heavenly Demon Reigning Steps or the Kunlun Sect's Cloud Dragon Eight Great Forms, was able to block Eunuch Han's path and succeeded in stopping him.
"You can't just go. Even if you go, you have to leave the manual, you eunuch old geezer."
"What? The manual?"
"The Sunflower Manual."
"..."
"Give it to me!"
"Die!"
Eunuch Han changed his strategy.
Because he had keenly felt that he could not shake off So-ah with his lightness skill and footwork.
Also, perhaps it was because he had never dreamed that So-ah would be after the Sunflower Manual, and he was enraged.
From Eunuch Han's body, hundreds of transparent threads once again shot out, imbued with a radiance, and flew towards So-ah's body like a flash.
In an instant, So-ah, who had exposed his body, could not help but be astonished.
Although his body was harder than black steel, and by now, he had naturally maintained a protective ki for 12 shichen a day...
Eunuch Han's peculiar weapon, which had the shape of a skein of thread, had pierced through that protective ki and had struck So-ah's body nicely.
'Crazy. I thought it was just a thread made of heavenly silkworm thread... it's incredibly sharp, and it's even imbued with a powerful ki.'
But his surprise was brief.
So-ah, who had sensed that the opponent's power was not to be trifled with, did not hesitate and drew out the latent power of his 'awakening'.
At the same time, his twin hands, which held an unprecedented great power, created a lightning and were able to snatch a few strands of the transparent thread that were repeatedly flying like a snake.
'...To catch the Vajra Heavenly Silkworm Thread, which contains the mysteries of the Sunflower Manual, with his bare hands! Is this even possible!'
Eunuch Han's two eyes were filled with astonishment.
When he had heard that he had defeated 30 elite Eastern Depot members by himself, he had known that So-ah's martial arts surpassed his own, but he still could not comprehend this 'strange phenomenon'.
His weapon not only used Vajra Heavenly Silkworm Thread as a raw material, but also boasted a sharpness that could cut steel like tofu through a special refining process.
Therefore, it was Eunuch Han's judgment that it was impossible to achieve such a thing even if it were a Vajra Copper Man.
But.
The thought was like a moment.
Before he knew it, So-ah, who had grabbed the transparent thread, pulled it with all his might...
Eunuch Han's body, as if it had encountered an irresistible force of nature's gravity, was helplessly sucked towards So-ah.
'Wh-What is this!'
Only then could Eunuch Han see it.
The blue-green light that was exploding from So-ah's two eyes, and his face, which was dyed red as if it had swallowed lava.
And...
Eunuch Han had to feel the impact of a heavenly thunderbolt striking his head.
The source of the impact was the 'Iron Head Art', which was the most linear and simple of the Ten-Second Invincible Arts, but was considered the best in terms of destructive power.
"Kwa-a-a-a-ak!"
A terrible scream, mixed with a metallic and hoarse sound, spread through the mountain pass.