Ch. 20
[Are you sad?]
"It's not particularly that, but I'm sad to just leave."
[Hahaha. You must have liked this place.]
"Yes. I've never seen a place as peaceful and leisurely as this in my life."
Cheongun thought that if there was a paradise on earth, this might be it.
The Blood Emperor also looked around and said softly.
[After you've finished all your revenge, it wouldn't be bad to come here and settle down.]
"Yes. I'll think about it."
He didn't know how things would turn out in the future. But if he were to find a place to rest after finishing everything, it was a place worth considering.
Cheongun strode towards the stone house.
He came out with a simple bundle and a sword.
"Let's go."
[Alright, this is the beginning.]
It felt like just yesterday that he had entered the nameless valley of the Taihang Mountains, but a year had already passed.
The year he had gotten from the Emperor was enough to make Cheongun strong.
It was a two-day journey to the imperial city where the Emperor was if he used his lightness skill quickly.
Cheongun immediately sent his internal energy to his Yongcheon acupoint and kicked the ground strongly.
Thump!
Flying Heaven Shadowless Divine Step
The divine step used by the legendary great thief, the Shadowless Divine Thief, was shown to the world again after three hundred years.
He was a man so bold that he would send a notice and steal, saying the world was too small.
His divine step was like a ghost, so much so that he could leisurely escape the inescapable net spread by martial arts masters.
It was a tremendous divine step that was talked about in legends, and now it was passed on to Cheongun.
With just a few leaps, Cheongun's figure became a dot in the distance and disappeared.
* * *
Cheongun had a secret audience with the Emperor.
The Emperor sitting on the dragon throne was unchanged.
"Your Majesty! I, your subject Lee Cheongun, have returned."
Cheongun had an audience with the Emperor while prostrating himself.
The Emperor was greatly pleased to see the dignified Cheongun.
"Hahaha. Are you really the Samwon?"
"That is correct. All of this is Your Majesty's grace."
"Raise your head. You have truly returned in a year. And you've become so strong that I can't even recognize you."
The Emperor was surprised when Cheongun broke through the Jinyiwei and landed in the courtyard.
Although he looked ordinary, as if he hadn't learned martial arts, he showed infinite trust when he showed his amazing divine power.
"It's a miracle. How can you show such amazing divine power in just one year? Are you not truly a genius sent by heaven?"
The Emperor looked down at Cheongun and nodded his head. It was a great fortune that a genius sent by heaven had appeared during his reign.
The Emperor, who was in a good mood, immediately began to unfold what he had prepared.
"Samwon Lee Cheongun, receive the order!"
Thump.
Cheongun bowed his head and waited for the Emperor's order.
"I appoint Samwon Lee Cheongun as the Emperor's direct Northern Pacification Envoy. It is a special position that can manage all thirteen provinces. I entrust that authority to you until this rebellion is settled!"
The Emperor gave Cheongun a title on the spot.
The Pacification Envoy was a position that did not have to listen to anyone's orders other than the Emperor's. Since it was directly under the Emperor, it was an all-powerful position that could investigate and punish anyone without being bound by rank.
Cheongun immediately bowed to the Emperor and shouted.
"Long live, long live, long live! Long live the Emperor!"
A thrill ran through Cheongun's entire body when he received the title of Pacification Envoy.
He couldn't believe the official position that had been given to him.
Originally, the Jinyiwei was divided into the Northern Pacification Envoy, which was in charge of criminal justice, and the Southern Pacification Envoy, which was in charge of military affairs.
If the Southern Pacification Envoy was in charge of the Emperor's protocol and security, the Northern Pacification Envoy investigated someone on the Emperor's secret order and executed the sentence if a crime was revealed.
The Blood Emperor, who was next to him, tilted his head and said a word.
[I don't know what the Emperor is thinking. From what I hear from the eunuchs, the Northern Pacification Envoy is usually only involved in a designated area or at most one province. But to give you the power to control the entire Central Plains. What is this guy thinking?]
The Blood Emperor stared at the Emperor who had given him an unbelievable official position.
Cheongun quickly composed himself.
The official position given to him was so enormous that he had to be on his toes.
The Emperor burst into a hearty laugh when he saw Cheongun's flustered expression.
"Hahaha. Even the Samwon, who is called the number one genius in the world, can be flustered."
"I am sorry."
"No. I am glad that you seem to know how heavy the official position given to you is."
"I will devote my life to loyalty."
Cheongun prostrated himself again and expressed his gratitude to the Emperor.
The Emperor smiled and continued to speak. The gift he was going to give was not over yet.
The Emperor had selected one hundred Jinyiwei members to move with Cheongun and had them on standby. They were all first-class or higher skilled people, and there were four masters who had reached the peak.
"They are the chosen ones from the Jinyiwei, so they will be the Samwon's hands and feet."
The Emperor turned his head to the Grand Eunuch Jeongwon who was next to him.
The Grand Eunuch Jeongwon was holding something.
He approached Cheongun and handed him the object he was holding.
Thwack.
It was a golden plaque.
Cheongun carefully received it.
The Great Ming Golden Plaque.
It was a golden seal that symbolized the Emperor.
With the golden seal, he could give orders to the Jinyiwei of the garrisons distributed in each province.
He had become a Pacification Envoy who did not have to receive the orders of the Da Yingban, the head of the Jinyiwei.
* * *
A small festival was held in the south market of the imperial capital. The streets were lit with lanterns, creating a city that never sleeps.
The lights lit by countless merchants drove away even the darkness.
But it wasn't a particularly grand festival. It was a small festival of the south gate merchants that was held twice a year.
People attracted by the red lanterns flocked to the festival. The festival, where the streets were crowded with people, was exciting.
Right at the scene of that festival, a man was walking down the street with a swagger. The man, who was wearing a worn-out hemp garment, had his bangs half-undone. His roughly tied hair covered half of his face.
The man walked down the street and repeatedly looked around. He was like a single leopard searching for prey.
A smile appeared on the face of the man who had been looking around for a long time and pushing through the crowd.
Grin.
"Found you."
The corners of the man's mouth opened, and he smiled so brightly that his teeth showed.
The man who had been searching for someone was Cheongun.
After becoming a Pacification Envoy, he did not immediately set off for Henan Province. Although he wanted to go and punish those bastards right away, the Emperor had ordered Cheongun to rest for a few days before going.
He had given a little rest to Cheongun, who would have trained without rest for a year.
Thanks to that, Cheongun had come here to resolve a matter that had always been on his mind.
Cheongun strode towards a man.
It was a man with a large green dragon saber on his back. The man, who was over six feet tall, had a muscular and solid body.
Cheongun quietly approached the man who was watching the festival in a daze and stood next to him.
Then he looked up slightly at the man's face, which was about half a span taller, and grinned.
"Is it fun?"
"Huh? Gasp! You're...?"
The muscular man turned his head at the sudden voice from the side and was surprised to see Cheongun.
Shik, bbak!
A dull sound rang out loudly.
The big man's face turned back. He couldn't dodge the punch that Cheongun had thrown.
Cheongun consecutively kicked the man's stomach.
Thwack! Crash.
The man floated slightly in the air and then crashed into a stall that was lined up on one side. A small cart was smashed because of the big man.
Cheongun looked down at the fallen man and said a word.
"You've become a weakling in the year I haven't seen you."
The man shook his head vigorously and glared at Cheongun.
He soon burst into a strange laugh and made a happy expression.
"Kekeke, for a greeting after a long time, it's thrilling, isn't it? You've grown up a lot, you even know how to make a surprise attack."
The man brushed off the things on his clothes and got up from his seat.
Although it was an attack that would have made an ordinary person faint, the man acted as if nothing had happened.
At the sight of such a man, Cheongun said as if he were enjoying himself.
"Not bad. In the old days, you would have fainted. Have you been training with your senses lately?"
"Of course not. I was born strong. I'm strong even if I don't train particularly. You, on the other hand, must have been in seclusion training somewhere underground."
A cold energy went back and forth between the two. It was not killing intent. It was a huge fighting spirit.
At the man's sarcasm, Cheongun smirked and said.
"Training, what... I was just patting the buttocks of courtesans in a brothel. Ah! You, with your free-spirited looks, probably can't enter a brothel."
The man's face hardened slightly. It was the first insult he had ever received in his life.
"W-what are you talking about. This is disappointing. Whenever I go near a brothel, the owners run out and fight to serve me."
"Hahaha, of course. A sucker has appeared."
"What?"
The man burst into anger.
As expected, patience did not suit him.
He couldn't beat Cheongun in a war of words in the past either. So he had beaten him, and beaten him, and beaten him again.
But this time was different.
The atmosphere of the guy who had only been talking was strange. Or he had finally gone mad.
Sure enough, Cheongun threw a word at the man.
"Lump of meat, we don't have time, so let's stop the wordplay here."
"Ho... the madman of the imperial capital has changed a lot in the time I haven't seen him. That's what I wanted. The words were too long."
With his words, a huge internal energy erupted from the man's body.
Hwaaaak!
A strong and fierce energy swept through the surroundings.
The internal energy swirled around his body like a whirlwind.
The internal energy, which showed a heavy and strong characteristic, was not common in the martial world. No, it was a characteristic that only the unique mind method of one family had.
Primordial Chaos Thunder Divine Art.
The unique mind method of the Hebei Peng family, known as the number one in the martial world.
The fact that he was unfolding the unique mind method of the Hebei Peng family, one of the five great families, meant that the man was a direct bloodline of the Peng family.
That's right. The man was the young master of the Peng family, Peng Docheon.
A year ago, the two of them would meet every night and fight until they were bloody.
Then Cheongun had met the Emperor and suddenly entered the Imperial Palace Armory, so they couldn't meet.
Peng Docheon's skills were far superior.
At their first meeting, it was Cheongun who was beaten one-sidedly. But the next day, he would appear with a fresh look and attack again.
At first, Peng Docheon, who had thought he was cleaning up a corpse, was surprised to see Cheongun, who had a fairly tough body.
He had fought him moderately and used his hands just enough to make him faint. But as time passed, Cheongun's skills improved by leaps and bounds. And at some point, he was on par with Peng Docheon.
Peng Docheon was terrified by the fact that that time was only about twenty days.
Moreover, the fight with Cheongun was also a great help to him. So he didn't show a displeased expression and went out to find Cheongun every night.
Then at some point, Cheongun's figure disappeared from the imperial capital as if by magic.
He had looked for him, but Cheongun's figure was nowhere to be seen.
He was worried about Cheongun, who had disappeared without a trace. But he was so happy that he had appeared again like this.
Of course, he planned to repay the blow he had received soon.
"Let's start lightly."
The huge Peng Docheon attacked Cheongun like a leopard. He moved in a zigzag pattern and threw punches from the left and right without a break.
[It's the Peng family's Heaven and Earth Divine Palm and Armor-Piercing Thrust. With that guy's personality, he'll unfold the Primordial Chaos Thunder Palm at a critical moment, so be careful.]
The Blood Emperor's advice continued without fail. He stuck close to Cheongun and dodged Peng Docheon's attacks with Cheongun. Sometimes it was the same movement as Cheongun, and sometimes it was the opposite.
This movement of the Blood Emperor was a great help to Cheongun. Although it was not yet time to review, Cheongun's mind was already quickly assessing Peng Docheon's martial arts.
"You eel-like bastard. Did you only learn how to dodge?"
Hung, shwaek!
Cheongun dodged Peng Docheon's ruthless attacks as if he were taking a walk. It was Peng Docheon who was in trouble at Cheongun's response.
'This bastard, what has he been doing for a year and come back?'
(End of Chapter)