Scholar Demon Venerable

Several days passed quickly.

The imperial capital was once again in an uproar over the Zirong Palace issue.

The righteous path also increased the intensity of its pressure. They requested that a mere official, using the position of Pacification Envoy, had stained the long-standing righteous path Zirong Palace with blood, and in the process, had driven numerous people to their deaths, and that he be dismissed.

Master Miao Qing sent a letter to the masters of the nine great academies.

He asked for help, saying that his disciple and scholar, Cheongun, was being threatened by those lawless martial artists.

The masters of the nine great academies, who had received the letter that had been written in detail about the matter related to Cheongun, became furious.

Here, as the descendants of Confucius in Qufu, Shandong, sided with Cheongun, the scholars who had been hesitating also joined.

-The cunning martial artists ambushed and tried to kill the scholar who had achieved the top rank in three exams, and in the process, they even killed dozens of the Emperor's personal guards, the Jinyiwei! If this is not a rebellion, what is it!

-If we pretend not to know and just let this pass, the powerless scholars and officials will have to live under the oppression of the martial artists with swords in the future!

Fear shook the hearts of tens of thousands of scholars.

The officials who were related to the righteous path also began to be careful and to watch their words as the scholars rose up.

As the academies and scholars throughout the country rose up like a wildfire, the pressure of the righteous path also loosened.

Thanks to that, Cheongun's actions had some leeway.

Cheongun was relieved to hear that the situation in the imperial capital, which had been turning urgently, had calmed down.

In fact, he had not paid much attention to the flow of the imperial capital.

He had nothing to fear from the politicians. He was not afraid of being dismissed either.

In any case, the official position was something he had needed to get revenge and to raise his family.

Now that he had gained the power to get revenge even without an official position, he could throw away the good-looking official position at any time.

The problem was that his master could be involved in his work. He could never tolerate his master getting hurt.

But it was a relief that it had calmed down.

Cheongun, who knew that the matter of the imperial capital had stabilized, decided to focus on handling the Yongfeng Manor.

But at that time, he learned an unexpected fact.

A night when the clouds were thick as if it would rain.

Three men were sitting around a table, drinking tea and talking.

They were Cheongun, Gong Xian, and Jo Gwang.

"Yongcheng is located too far out. It's better to buy a manor in the center of the Central Plains, establish a center, and increase our power."

"My thoughts are a little different from Scholar Jo's. Although this place is on the outskirts, it is easy to move to the surrounding provinces such as Anhui and Shandong. Moving the headquarters is something to think about."

"Even to reduce the logistics costs, we have to establish a place in a prefecture like Luoyang, Zhengzhou, or Kaifeng."

Gong Xian and Jo Gwang were in sharp opposition.

Cheongun smiled bitterly.

At first, he and Jo Gwang had been talking about the art of changing one's face. But as Gong Xian had come in and had started talking about the caravan, the conversation had flowed in a strange direction.

Jo Gwang, who had been listening quietly, had suddenly jumped in and had started to give his own thoughts.

Then, in the end, Cheongun had been left out, and Gong Xian and Jo Gwang had had a fierce argument, giving and taking.

Cheongun, who had been listening to their conversation for a long time, put a period to their conversation, which seemed as if it would not end.

"I have heard both of your thoughts well."

It was a consumptive argument.

The person who was leading the caravan was Gong Xian, after all. Jo Gwang was just a guest who had come to play for a while.

"Moving the headquarters is also a good idea, but to do that, a huge amount of funds must be invested. For now, I think it's more important to secure the profit structure of the existing caravan."

"You are right, young master."

Gong Xian nodded his head and welcomed Cheongun's opinion.

On the other hand, Jo Gwang twitched his lips a couple of times and did not say anything more.

"Then please rest. I will be going now."

Gong Xian stood up from his seat before Jo Gwang could speak again.

As the two were left, Cheongun asked Jo Gwang.

"Brother Jo, do you know much about caravans?"

"I was originally from a merchant family. I played with an abacus since I was young."

"Ah! I see."

Cheongun still did not know much about Jo Gwang.

He didn't even know if Jo Gwang was his real name or a pseudonym.

He just knew that he had a grudge against the Zirong Palace and that he was a giant scholar who was preparing for the metropolitan examination.

"Is your studying going well?"

"To be honest, I don't know what to do first."

At Jo Gwang's groaning sound, Cheongun smiled.

"The metropolitan examination is in a way more difficult than the palace examination. But it's not that difficult. The most important thing is how magnificently you write the eight-legged essay... and there are a few ways."

The eight-legged essay that Cheongun had mentioned referred to a form of writing that imitated the style of the ancient sages and was written according to the rules.

"Usually, the examiners pay a lot of attention to the format. They don't even look at writings that are not easy to explain and do not fit the rhythm. In particular, if the style of the ancient sages is clearly present, it's an automatic pass."

Looking at Cheongun's smiling face, a slight blush seemed to appear on Jo Gwang's face.

Cheongun gave Jo Gwang strength, telling him not to worry.

"Let's have breakfast together from tomorrow. After breakfast, I will tell you a few styles. After that, study on your own and then go to the Yundang Academy in the afternoon. The teachers of the Yundang Academy are people with high academic knowledge, so they will definitely be a great help."

In fact, Cheongun's academic knowledge was higher than theirs. But he could not hold on to Jo Gwang all day and teach him.

Jo Gwang stood up abruptly and cupped his hands in a fist to Cheongun.

"Thank you, I will not forget this favor."

Cheongun patted such a Jo Gwang's shoulder and encouraged him.

Whenever his hand patted his shoulder, Jo Gwang's eyelids trembled.

"Haha, since it's the field I'm most confident in, let's do our best."

"Yes... I... also... agree."

After the conversation with Cheongun was over, Jo Gwang returned to his residence.

After Jo Gwang had left, the Blood Emperor smiled with satisfaction.

[Hmm. He's charming.]

"What?"

Cheongun made a puzzled expression at the Blood Emperor's muttering.

[What's wrong?]

"What do you mean, what's wrong? Blood Emperor, by any chance, do you like men?"

[What nonsense are you talking about?]

The Blood Emperor got angry. He frowned, saying where he was talking such nonsense.

At such a Blood Emperor's reaction, Cheongun narrowed his two eyes and said with a suspicious look.

"I'm saying it because the way you look at Brother Jo is like looking at a woman."

[Wh-what? Brother Jo? Aigoo, you clueless bastard. And aren't you the one who likes Xiaojian Jeong?]

"No, why is Xiaojian Jeong coming out from there? You know it's not true, so why are you doing this? Xiaojian Jeong and I are friends who share a friendship regardless of status and age."

This time, Cheongun jumped up and down.

As if he wanted to tease such a Cheongun, the Blood Emperor rolled his eyes and said.

[I'm sure that's right! Go to the imperial palace and grab anyone who is passing by and ask. What kind of relationship the two have.]

"Blood Emperor!"

[Why are you shouting? If it's not true, then it's not.]

The Blood Emperor just said what he had to say and turned his body.

It was the Blood Emperor's action when he didn't want to talk anymore.

Thanks to that, Cheongun just glared at the back of the Blood Emperor's head with a red face.

* * *

The surveillance on the Yongfeng Manor was being conducted thoroughly. Since the Beggars' Sect members were spread out in Yongcheng, they could not avoid their eyes.

And finally, the thing Cheongun had been waiting for happened.

"There is news that the Yongfeng Caravan is going on a long journey."

"They're finally moving!"

Cheongun was happy to receive the report from the third elder, An Dal.

The only suspicious part among the things the Yongfeng Caravan did was the long journey they went on once in a while.

If it hadn't been for that, he might have really attacked the Yongfeng Manor.

"They say they will leave early tomorrow morning. The destination is said to be Chengdu in Sichuan Province."

"Sichuan Province... I heard they go there often, but have you found out the final destination?"

"It seemed they didn't know that far."

The Beggars' Sect had roughly grasped the destination of the long journey by grilling the porters. The problem was that they did not know the final destination.

"Have you contacted Chengdu?"

"I have already contacted the Chengdu branch, and I have dispatched additional masters."

The Beggars' Sect was adding a lot of power, so much so that it felt excessive.

Cheongun also did not not know the purpose of the Beggars' Sect.

It was probably the instruction of the Mad Dog Divine Beggar, Yeom-ak, who was aiming for the Flying Heaven Shadowless Divine Step.

But Cheongun still had no intention of giving the Flying Heaven Shadowless Divine Step.

Yeom-ak also knew that and had taken a lot of silver instead.

Cheongun, who had suddenly become curious, asked.

"What is the Beggars' Sect leader, Yeom-ak, doing?"

"It's always the same. He's chewing on a dog bone and is engrossed in the Jin'e Divine Fist you gave him last time."

It was the manual that Yeom-ak had taken from the Shangqiu Zhang family's used bookstore.

He had used the manual that contained the unique martial art of E Yichu, who had been famous as the Hebei First Fist fifty years ago, to lure Hyeokryeon Hui's party.

At that time, Cheongun had offered a high-class manual as a price for his help, and Yeom-ak had requested a fist art manual, saying that since the Beggars' Sect members had to learn it, a bare-handed art was better than a weapon.

And now, he was learning it himself first.

As the third elder returned, Cheongun also prepared to move.

For them to go to Sichuan Province in this situation meant that it was that important a matter.

* * *

There is a main road that passes through Xixia at the western end of Henan from Yongcheng at the eastern end and then crosses over to Shaanxi Province.

Generally, one goes to Sichuan Province through Chang'an and Hanzhong in Shaanxi.

But Cheongun had no intention of following them that far.

He just had to confirm the items they were transporting and know who they were trading with.

Cheongun ambushed in a forest about a hundred li from Yongcheng and waited for the caravan of the Yongfeng Manor to pass.

As the afternoon languor was transmitted throughout his body, dozens of people pulling five oxcarts and one covered cart appeared in the distance.

Deureureuk. Deolkeong, deolkeong.

The sound of the oxcarts being pulled was heard regularly. At the sound that was getting closer, Cheongun also prepared.

Eudeuk, eudeuk.

Cheongun's face gradually contorted and twitched. The muscles changed strangely and began to take shape.

The face that was revealed after the twitching had stopped was Cheongun, who was known as the Thunder God Dragon.

Cheongun sat in the shade of a tree next to the main road and waited for the caravan to pass.

Eventually, as they approached Cheongun's vicinity, one of the porters recognized him and was startled.

"Huk! It's the Thunder God Dragon!"

At his shout, the warriors who were leading the escort mission drew their swords and were on guard.

Cheongun stood up from his seat at their reaction.

Since it was a short distance, he did not move a few steps and was able to stand in front of them.

"It's been a long time. Did you deliver my message well at that time?"

The person who had recognized Cheongun was the porter whom Cheongun had told to deliver a message at the inn last time.

"Y-yes, of course."

The porter trembled in fear. The opponent was a master who had slaughtered the fearsome warriors of the Yongfeng Manor.

Cheongun left such a porter and said to the warrior in front.

"I have an urgent matter in Shaanxi, so I'm on my way back now, and I met you in a place like this."

It was an action to make it look like a chance encounter. The problem was that no one from the Yongfeng Caravan believed Cheongun's words.

Cheongun also did not care whether they believed him or not.

The ones who liked to talk would spread the rumor. He just hoped that it would be inflated here and there and would change into something plausible.

"There's no need to say things that don't make sense. What business do you have to be blocking our way?"

"This is disappointing. I thought you had come to find me."

The warrior's eye muscles twitched.

And he had been looking for the Thunder God Dragon because of the death of his close colleague. He thought it was natural to get revenge for his friend. But since he had met him again like this, he could not just let it pass.

"Shall we see your skills?"

Pabat.

The warrior kicked the ground and shot forward.

He lowered his body and swung his sword diagonally, digging into Cheongun's bosom.