Chapter 136
The emperor kept letting out dry coughs.
He thought he had spoken quite naturally, but a rather awkward silence was flowing over the dining table.
Even though he was the Son of Heaven, he was also a young man of the same age as Cheon Woojin and the Hidden Dragon Unit members.
Usually, he could just press them down with his authority, but this man named Cheon Woojin seemed to be a man who did not care for such things.
The emperor thought so and waited for Cheon Woojin's answer.
Cheon Woojin, unlike the nervous Hidden Dragon Unit members, calmly moistened his throat with liquor and then asked back nonchalantly.
"Grand Tutor, you say."
"The teacher of the crown prince or the emperor is called the Grand Tutor. It is a position that no one in the imperial palace can ignore."
"I know. But I have nothing to teach Your Majesty."
Cheon Woojin had not met the emperor many times, but he had grasped what kind of person he was. He was a type close to a scholar who was well-versed in the ideas of Confucius and Laozi, and because he was sitting at the center of power, complicated power struggles were constantly occurring around him.
Cheon Woojin had no ability to teach him scholarship, state affairs, or people. All he knew how to do was to beat people to death with his fan and iron staff.
"You have something that you are exceptionally better at than others. You can just teach me that."
"Are you talking about martial arts?"
"Seeing that you answered right away, it seems you know very well that you are exceptionally stronger than others."
"Ahem. Yes, well..."
Cheon Woojin nodded reluctantly.
How could he not know? Since coming down from the mountain, the only one who could be called his rival was the silver-haired man who looked exactly like the emperor.
He had not yet seen the leader of the Demonic Cult, but the Alliance Leader and the Black Plaque Star Lord, who were also called the Three Lords of the World, were not very strong martial artists compared to his two masters.
The emperor smiled. A young man of the same age who was not nervous at all in front of him. To him, who had lived surrounded by old men all his life, just being with him was very interesting.
In particular, the fact that he was the disciple of the former Grand Tutor, the Black Master, made the emperor's heart flutter even more. To him, the Grand Tutor was the only teacher in his life, a friend, and a person who had taken the place of his father who had passed away early.
"Become my martial arts teacher. Of course, it's not a story that you have to teach me with all your heart and soul like in the martial world. You can just come and check my martial arts from time to time, be a conversation partner, and help each other as master and disciple when difficult things happen."
He also added that it was a proposal that could not be compared to the pardon plaque he had given before.
At those words, the Hidden Dragon Unit members were even more surprised. All the words the emperor had just uttered were surprising, but the most surprising thing was that it was a proposal made as a person to a person, not an imperial order.
Cheon Woojin was lost in thought for a moment.
In the past, he would have refused in a single stroke.
The position of the Hidden Dragon Unit Commander was also more troublesome than he had thought, and the thought of being the emperor's teacher was just annoying.
But he had decided to make the Martial Alliance as it should be, as his masters had wished.
'The more swords, the better.'
Cheon Woojin, who had thought so, soon nodded.
"Yes, I understand. I will teach you martial arts."
Just by looking, he didn't seem to have any talent, but.
Since the emperor was not going to become a martial artist, it was not a difficult task to teach him a move or two.
As Cheon Woojin accepted, a flower bloomed on the emperor's face. Although he was an emperor who always had a solemn expression, the smile now was a smile that suited a young man of twenty very well.
Soon, the emperor got up from his seat.
Cheon Woojin just looked at him dryly, and the Hidden Dragon Unit members had an expression of "don't tell me."
As they say, what you fear comes true; the emperor put his two hands together and placed them on his forehead. Since they had newly formed a master-disciple relationship, he was going to pay his respects to his teacher through the nine bows.
"Uh, uh...!"
As the emperor lowered his body, the greatly alarmed Hidden Dragon Unit members shot up and prostrated themselves on the floor. How could they look down on the emperor while sitting in a chair?
And so, the four young men, including the emperor, who had been eating, prostrated themselves on the floor.
"..."
Cheon Woojin just looked at them blankly. Since he had served his masters since he was born, he did not know much about the nine bows. He just had an expression that said, "Why are these people suddenly doing a strange thing?"
Soon, the emperor offered a total of nine bows.
Originally, the traditional nine bows had nothing to do with the number. But among martial artists, it was common to offer nine bows, and the emperor was respecting the etiquette of martial artists.
The emperor's breathing became slightly rough. Since he was a weak person, just bowing nine times made him out of breath. It wasn't for nothing that Shaolin had made the great bow a type of training.
The emperor, who had finished the nine bows, sat down with an overwhelmed face. After moistening his throat with liquor, he smiled brightly and said.
"Then I will call you Grand Tutor from now on. I know that the Grand Tutor also has many things to do in the martial world. I won't keep you for long, so please stay for just one day to commemorate the bond of master and disciple."
"Yes, I will."
Cheon Woojin nodded.
The emperor, who was constantly smiling like a child, filled the liquor cups of the Hidden Dragon Unit members, including Cheon Woojin, in turn.
* * *
Song Yiyeon and Namgung Jin, who had returned to their residence in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, immediately passed out. Since they could not show that they were drunk in front of the emperor, they had endured with extreme mental strength.
With their realm, they could have expelled the alcohol poison, but it was a very disrespectful act to do so after drinking the liquor given by the emperor.
Jinun, who had not drunk because he was a Taoist priest, laid the two on the bed and then brought a water bottle from somewhere.
Cheon Woojin thought that Jinun was going to give the two some water to drink, but he received the water in a basin, untied his hero's headband, and began to wash it by hand.
"..."
Cheon Woojin had a bewildered expression.
For some reason, he had thought that that white hero's headband did not get dirty, but it seemed he did that every day.
In the meantime, someone cautiously knocked on the door.
It was a martial artist of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
He explained what had happened while Cheon Woojin was eating and drinking with the emperor.
It was revealed in detail how the military funds were divided among the Peng family, the Grand General, and the Eastern Sea Ghost.
Since the amount was not small, the Grand General's head had been cut off. Of course, since the disappeared Peng family head and the Eastern Sea Ghost also had to be dealt with by the national law, the imperial palace had moved.
The fearfulness of the imperial palace was not in the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot. It was the million-strong army that moved only on the Son of Heaven's order that was fearsome.
As long as they did not leave this country, there would be no place to hide for more than seven days and nights, and even if they fled to a foreign country, the top masters of the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard would chase them relentlessly.
"Of course, the Hebei Peng family could not escape the consequences either."
The Peng family was sealed. All the profits they had illegally acquired were confiscated, and the businesses they had been conducting inside and outside the family were also forcibly stopped.
Usually, even if a martial world faction of the Peng family's level was sealed, they would maintain a few businesses because they had many family members to support.
But it was a sealing by imperial order. For at least the next five years, and for as long as several decades, not even an ant would be able to come and go.
All of this had been accomplished in just half a day.
It was the result of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot, which had the nature of an intelligence organization, investigating as if competing with their honor and pride on the line.
And so, the Hidden Dragon Unit had succeeded in their mission.
They had finished organizing all the martial world factions related to the establishment of the Righteous Heaven Alliance.
It was something that had happened in just one or two months since Cheon Woojin had started to move in earnest.
"Now there's one place left."
The Tang family, the Peng family, Murong, Zhongnan, and Qingcheng.
The Ten Thousand Gold Fortress, which was their source of money.
The Ten Thousand Gold Fortress, the number one fortress in the world, must have been dreaming of the day they would stand on top of the new order called the Righteous Heaven Alliance.
At the words Cheon Woojin had muttered while thinking of the Ten Thousand Gold Fortress, the Embroidered Uniform Guard warrior tilted his head and asked.
"By any chance, do you need the help of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"
"Hmm?"
"The Commander has ordered. If the newly appointed Grand Tutor, the Emotionless Guest, needs help, we should step in immediately. Ah, I am Nam Inhoe, the Thousand-Household Commander."
A Thousand-Household Commander meant a military officer whose subordinate troops, which he could operate at will, reached a thousand, including the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the military.
He could be called the next in power after the Commander, but what Cheon Woojin was stuck on was a different part.
"Elder is a bit..."
Just by looking, the Thousand-Household Commander was over forty.
The Thousand-Household Commander scratched his head awkwardly. Although it was natural to call someone who had reached a high official position 'elder' regardless of age in the imperial palace, come to think of it, the Grand Tutor, who was essentially a martial artist, might be unfamiliar with the etiquette of the imperial palace.
"There's no other word... ahem, then shall I call you Great Hero?"
Cheon Woojin also found that awkward, but thinking that it was better than 'elder', he just nodded.
From then on, not many days passed before 'Great Hero' became a word that referred to Cheon Woojin in the imperial palace.
.
.
.
After the Thousand-Household Commander, Nam Inhoe, had returned.
Cheon Woojin, as was his habit, sat cross-legged and spread his ki sense wide. He could already feel that he had become the Grand Tutor. The gazes that had been secretly monitoring the surroundings of his residence had disappeared in an instant.
He then gradually spread his ki sense wider and encompassed the entire imperial palace.
At that, he felt anew the vastness of the imperial palace.
Compared to the hut where he had lived with his two masters, the Martial Alliance's main headquarters had felt as vast as the sea. When he had first seen it, he had thought, "Is there such a huge estate in the world?", but even compared to such a Martial Alliance, the imperial palace was at least several times wider.
But, in the middle of that wide space, he felt the ki of the emperor sitting alone.
Looking at the entire imperial palace, there were many people coming and going, but there was no one around the emperor's residence except for a few bodyguards.
Was it because of that? The ki of the emperor sitting alone in this wide house felt very lonely and desolate.
He had heard that he had no particular family or friends.
At most, only the heads of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot would occasionally be his conversation partners.
After a moment of thought, Cheon Woojin got up from his seat.
As soon as he went outside his residence, the Embroidered Uniform Guard warriors who were training even on a moonlit night looked at him with expectant eyes.
The story of the Embroidered Uniform Guard warrior who had surpassed his realm after receiving a little guidance from Cheon Woojin was already famous.
But to their disappointment, Cheon Woojin just brought a wooden staff that was placed in a corner of the training ground with the mystery of telekinesis.
"I'll borrow this for a moment."
* * *
The place Cheon Woojin headed for was the emperor's personal training ground.
Since he was not a martial artist, the floor and walls of the training ground were as slick as if they had just been built.
The emperor, who was facing Cheon Woojin, let out an awkward laugh.
"Haha, I didn't expect you to ask for training so urgently when the alcohol hasn't even worn off yet."
At that, Cheon Woojin poured out his internal energy towards the emperor.
The greatly alarmed emperor's eyes widened.
Soon, a gentle breeze brushed past his entire body, and suddenly, the emperor's mind became clear.
He had forcibly expelled the alcohol poison.
"My masters said that there is no particular time for training."
Cheon Woojin, who had said so, lightly threw the wooden staff.
The emperor, who had barely caught it, had an overwhelmed expression. If it was Cheon Woojin's master, wasn't it the unparalleled hero, the White Flower Sword Immortal, and the former Grand Tutor, the Black Master?
Come to think of it, they were his grandmasters.
"I had two masters. They were called the Black Master and the White Master, and they each pursued different training methods. Which one's training would Your Majesty like to experience first?"
"Of course, the training of the dark side."
The emperor answered as if it were not even worth contemplating. The training method of the former Grand Tutor. He was so full of expectation.
If the members of the Inspection Hall who had experienced the Black Master's training had been here, they would have desperately stopped the emperor.
But unfortunately, there were only the emperor and Cheon Woojin in this wide training ground.
Cheon Woojin let out a smirk. At that, the emperor also laughed along. Since the usually taciturn Grand Tutor was smiling, he also felt good for some reason.
Without even knowing what that smile meant.
Swish-!
Cheon Woojin rushed in.
The emperor just felt as if something blurry had been carried on the wind and had approached in a flash.
Soon, a cheerful sound followed.
Thwack-!
The emperor grabbed his forehead and tumbled backward.
At that, the masters of the Eastern Depot descended from the dark night sky. In their hands were each a silver dagger. They were the eunuchs who guarded the emperor in the dark.
The emperor got up from his seat, rubbing his forehead. He let out a loud roar at them and then strictly ordered that no one should enter the training ground until permission was granted.
Soon, only the two were left in the training ground again.
The emperor gripped the wooden staff quite firmly, and Cheon Woojin, after swinging his Crescent Moon Staff, rushed in.
Thwack-! Thwack! Jjeok! Thwack!
In the middle, sounds that shouldn't have been heard were occasionally mixed in.
Suddenly, the emperor said, as if he were wronged.
"I have a wooden staff, and the Grand Tutor is holding an iron staff, so isn't it too unfair?"
"Ah."
Cheon Woojin, with a face that said it made sense, threw his Crescent Moon Staff. At that, the emperor, as if satisfied, caught it...
The emperor rolled on the ground, hugging the Crescent Moon Staff. The Ten-Thousand-Year Dark Iron was the hardest and at the same time the heaviest metal in the world.
The Crescent Moon Staff was a weapon made by a legendary master who had extremely condensed and condensed it over decades...
The emperor, crushed under the Crescent Moon Staff, struggled, shouting for help.
(End of Chapter)