The Youngest Member of the Martial Alliance

The Poisonous Hand cursed inwardly.

He had been constantly training while traveling the world with the Divine Doctor. It was to create a poison that could cure the Poison King's dementia.

Thanks to that, his ability to handle ki had become surprisingly delicate, and he thought that if he did well, he could even deceive the hall masters of the Martial Alliance.

His prediction was correct. It was because he had succeeded in deceiving the Postal Hall Master and the Disciplinary Hall Master.

'But, to think that this king beggar would be in the Martial Alliance...'

The Poisonous Hand was not the type to contemplate for long.

He grasped the situation in an instant and made a decision.

'Let's bounce.'

And so, the moment the Poisonous Hand gathered ki at the tips of his toes.

"Do you think I can't chase you? Sit down. If you don't want to be beaten to death today."

"..."

The Poisonous Hand stealthily sat down.

The Beggar Lord was one of the few masters who could challenge the likes of the Poison King and the Sword King.

"At that time, it wasn't that you ran away. It was that I let you go because I thought I had beaten you enough. Why did you come to the Martial Alliance?"

"I was just going to have a quiet talk and then leave."

"So what talk?"

The Beggar Lord stared at the Poisonous Hand. Although he usually lived drunk, the Beggars' Sect was the most representative organization that revered chivalry in the Orthodox Path.

The Poisonous Hand, after asking for permission from the Divine Doctor with his eyes for a moment, told him the fact that he was trying to cure the Poison King's dementia.

A strange light flickered in the Beggar Lord's eyes.

"You hate the Poison King to death, don't you?"

"When you get old, even hatred gets diluted. We're both facing death, so don't you know?"

"Is blood thicker than water?"

The Beggar Lord clicked his tongue and then filled the Poisonous Hand's liquor cup. Even though the guy had a history of fearlessly putting poison in the Beggars' Sect, as the Beggar Lord, he knew the circumstances of the Tang family to some extent.

"Tsk, you're a pitiful guy too. Why are you going through all that trouble for that Poison King guy who kicked you out?"

"...Insolent words. Even if I can't face you right now, do you think I can't put poison on you for the rest of my life? Do you think you can sleep with your feet stretched out comfortably after provoking me?"

The Poisonous Hand, while spouting a chilling warning, filled the Beggar Lord's liquor cup in return.

And so, a drinking party naturally began.

Most of the conversation that went back and forth over the dining table was related to medicine. Surprisingly, the Beggar Lord was also quite knowledgeable in medicine, so the conversation did not stop.

Cheon Woojin was caught between the three old men, but since he had lived with two old men all his life, he did not feel very uncomfortable.

"The Divine Doctor and I have been traveling the world and have opened the heads of old men who have died of dementia."

"..."

The Beggar Lord stared at such a Poisonous Hand. At that, the Poisonous Hand was startled and hurriedly added.

"Of course, it was done with the permission of the bereaved family. Do I look like the ruffian I was in my youth? Anyway, as a result, we found that unlike those who had lived and died normally, there were strange things in their brains."

That 'strange thing' had a strange yin ki.

And that those things damaged the brain and caused dementia.

"Now, then what should we do about this?"

The Poisonous Hand, who had said so, threw the liquor in his cup on the floor.

At that, only a few drops of liquor remained in the cup.

Soon, the Poisonous Hand, while holding the cup, operated a poison ki with the nature of extreme yang.

At that, the water droplets inside the cup that had met the poison ki instantly evaporated, creating steam.

"This crazy bastard."

The Beggar Lord cursed and hurriedly waved his hand, blowing away the poison-laced steam at once.

The Poisonous Hand, while scratching his head awkwardly, continued.

"Anyway. If we burn those strange things by operating a poison ki with the energy of extreme yang, extremely delicately, it will be fine. This is the conclusion the Divine Doctor and I have reached."

The Beggar Lord looked on with an interested face, and Cheon Woojin, who had been silent all along, tilted his head and said.

"If you've reached a conclusion, why don't you just do it?"

"It's not that easy."

The Poisonous Hand gave a bitter smile. If it were something that could be done right away, why would he have come to the Martial Alliance instead of the Tang family?

"I have to make a much hotter poison than this. It's something that's only possible if I use the energy of extreme yang, at least something like a ten-thousand-year fire lizard or a sun-competing flower."

The Beggar Lord showed a troubled expression.

Both the mentioned spiritual beast and spiritual herb were not easy to obtain.

In particular, the sun-competing flower was a flower that had a hot energy that could literally be compared to the sun in the sky.

"The last time the sun-competing flower was discovered was at Mount Emei in Sichuan. It was more than fifty years ago. If you're going to look for it, it has to be a high mountain close to the sun, and since there should be no shade, there will be few trees, and the soil should be closer to heat-retaining rocks than dirt."

The Poisonous Hand and the Divine Doctor let out a groan. How many such mountains were there in the world? Even if they searched all those mountains, there was no guarantee that there would be a sun-competing flower.

Also, that was not the only problem.

"Crucially, to operate that large energy so delicately that it doesn't damage other parts of the brain, you need a tremendous operational ability. Because of that, I've been training a lot recently, but it's not easy."

The Poisonous Hand, who had said so, this time slightly tilted his cup and poured a drop of liquor on the table.

"How much operational ability is needed? I calculated thoroughly because a person could die with even a very small mistake. As a result, I came to the conclusion that I should be able to write at least five characters with this one drop of liquor using the mystery of telekinesis."

The Poisonous Hand, who had said so, moved the water droplet through the mystery of telekinesis. But he only managed to make the single character for 'poison', let alone five characters.

Next, the Beggar Lord stepped up. Soon, the water droplet spread in all directions and then formed the characters for 'chivalrous hero'. It was an operational ability twice that of the Poisonous Hand, but it was infinitely insufficient compared to the goal of five characters.

Since water has a tendency to spread, it was also difficult to maintain the shape after making the characters.

By the time the Beggar Lord's face had turned quite red, the characters made of the water droplet finally scattered.

Naturally, everyone's gaze turned to Cheon Woojin.

"If even three or four characters are possible, it would be worth a try, taking the risk. Of course, if it fails, it's not about curing dementia, but about going to the other world. That guy has lived long enough, so he probably doesn't have much attachment to life."

Of course, it was the Poisonous Hand's personal opinion, which did not consider the Poison King's own thoughts.

In the meantime, Cheon Woojin slightly raised his hand.

Soon, as he exuded his ki, the round water droplet on the table trembled.

Everyone held their breath and observed this. Could the disciple taught by both the Black and White Masters reach five characters?

Soon, the water droplet spread wide at a tremendous speed.

On the table, characters were written with a very thin fine brush.

"..."

Everyone blinked.

In heaven and on earth, I alone am the honored one.

The eight characters were written very clearly.

An awkward silence flowed.

Soon, Cheon Woojin, who had scattered the characters, said awkwardly.

"I couldn't think of any other phrase that came to mind..."

* * *

After that, the drinking party did not last long.

The Poisonous Hand and the Beggar Lord, who had witnessed those eight characters, suddenly said they had to train and hurriedly left.

If the Poisonous Hand and the Divine Doctor created the poison of extreme yang, Cheon Woojin promised to perform the procedure himself.

Since the Poison King was a martial artist whom even the White Master had cherished, it was well worth it.

And so, Cheon Woojin returned to the Hidden Dragon Unit.

It seemed the Hidden Dragon Unit members had also had a busy day. The training ground was hot with heat, and Jinun and Namgung Jin were drenched in sweat, as if they had trained intensely.

"Ah, Commander, Young Master. Did you enjoy your conversation with the elders?"

Jinun said, calling him by the strange title of 'Commander, Young Master', and Namgung Jin, as always, spoke with his eyes.

"Phew, I'll go wash up first. I'm sticky because I sweated too much."

Jinun, who had said so, was about to head to the bathhouse provided in the Hidden Dragon Unit. At that, Namgung Jin grabbed his shoulder and stopped him.

"I'll wash first. I also sweated a lot."

"I said it first."

A staring contest broke out out of nowhere.

Originally, the Mount Hua and the Namgung family, as the sects and families that represented the sword, had a subtle sense of competition.

Moreover, thanks to the day-long spar, that sense of competition seemed to have been further ignited.

Cheon Woojin, who had no way of knowing this, said with a bewildered expression.

"The bathhouse is also wide, so you can just wash together."

At that, a look of contempt flickered in Namgung Jin's eyes.

"Me? With this guy?"

"Hah, you don't seem confident, do you? Well, a person can't be perfect. It's fine. You wash first. I suddenly have some free time."

Jinun said, looking Namgung Jin up and down. At that, Namgung Jin, his face flushed, jumped up and got angry.

In the end, the two headed to the bathhouse together.

It seemed their competition was not over yet.

Cheon Woojin, thinking that they were very strange people, reviewed the conversation he had had at the tavern.

A ten-thousand-year fire lizard or a sun-competing flower.

'Both are spiritual medicines that my masters brought...'

The ten-thousand-year fire lizard had been served as sashimi by the Black Master, and the sun-competing flower had been served as a seasoned vegetable by the White Master.

If he had known, he would have saved them.

Just as Cheon Woojin was letting out a sigh of regret.

The gate of the estate was opened with extreme force.

Soon, Song Yiyeon, who had been kidnapped by the Postal Hall Master, walked in, half-dead. His fair and smooth face was very gaunt.

"What on earth did you do?"

"I went to the Wudang Sect."

"...Why there?"

Cheon Woojin thought that many absurd things had happened today.

Song Yiyeon sat next to Cheon Woojin and continued.

"The Postal Hall Master said he would teach me his unique movement technique. It wasn't a proposal. I had no choice but to learn it by force. I ran with him to Mount Wudang and vomited three times in the middle. But, I couldn't stop. Why?"

"..."

"The Hall Master put money on a certain distance. If I ran that distance, he would put money in my pocket. He had completely figured me out in advance. I hate to admit it, but the merchant's instinct engraved in my bones made my legs move. So I earned a total of ten taels of gold."

Song Yiyeon, who had said so, took out ten gold coins full of dirt from his pocket and handed them to Cheon Woojin.

"Let's use this for our activity expenses for the next mission. I've done my part as a member of the Hidden Dragon Unit."

Song Yiyeon, who had said so, said he had to wash up and went into the bathhouse. That night, Namgung Jin and Jinun went to sleep with somewhat sullen faces.

* * *

Half of the month had passed.

Song Yiyeon became less and less tired, and recently, he was quite energetic. Naturally, thanks to the training method of surpassing his limits dozens, hundreds of times, his movement technique had become very fast.

Namgung Jin and Jinun also improved their skills day by day through their emotion-filled spars.

In any case, all three of them had lived with the modifier of 'genius' since the Martial Alliance's selection test.

Song Yiyeon, as always, opened the door with force and returned.

But what was different from usual was that the sun had not yet set, and Song Yiyeon's expression was very dark.

Not only Namgung Jin and Jinun, who were in the middle of a spar, but also Cheon Woojin looked at Song Yiyeon with a puzzled look.

"...The training is over for today."

"There are still fifteen days of vacation left."

"The Postal Hall Master is heading to the Demonic Cult. I heard that three Postal Hall martial artists were caught in the Heavenly Net while gathering information in the Demonic Cult's territory. So, the Hall Master said he would go and rescue them himself."

Jinun and Namgung Jin were startled.

The Heavenly Net of the Demonic Cult was literally a siege net so dense that it covered the sky.

It was made up of hundreds of demonic people, and it was famous that once caught, even a considerable master could never escape.

"It seems that a few elders of the Demonic Cult were even deployed in this Heavenly Net."

Only then could everyone understand Song Yiyeon's expression.

How could he not be worried when the Postal Hall Master, who had even passed on his unique movement technique, was going to a place that might be a place of death?

.

.

.

Another fifteen days passed from then.

It was the end of the one-month vacation.

The atmosphere of the Martial Alliance was darker than ever before.

The three Postal Hall martial artists who had been caught in the Heavenly Net had returned safely. Although they all had major and minor injuries, it was a miracle that they had returned alive.

However, the Postal Hall Master had not returned.

The Hall Master had sacrificed himself to send his subordinates first, and he himself had been caught in that dense and fearsome net.

A loud roar erupted from the Alliance Leader's office.

"Why on earth can't I! The Postal Hall Master is the fastest and most stealthy martial artist in the Martial Alliance. He is not a person who will be easily defeated. He must be alive, so I must go and rescue him myself!"

"Of course not! Not only has the aftermath of the Righteous Heaven Alliance not yet subsided, but the movements of the disciples of the Dark Heavenly Son are also unusual. Alliance Leader, you must protect this position unless a war between the righteous and the demonic breaks out. Why do you ask why not? It is because you, Alliance Leader, are the center of this Martial Alliance!"

The Alliance Leader roughly slammed the table.

The Alliance Leader had said he would go and rescue the Postal Hall Master himself.

But the Chief Strategist had stopped the Alliance Leader, saying that if the Alliance Leader left his position, the entire Orthodox Path martial world would be shaken.

The Alliance Leader clenched his fists. He clenched them so tightly that blood was about to flow from his palms.

"Damn it. This is not why I became the Alliance Leader. What kind of Alliance Leader is a position that can't even save one subordinate?"

The Alliance Leader then seemed to understand why the White Flower Sword Immortal had not become the Alliance Leader.

The war of words between the Beili Tian Alliance Leader and the Sima Hui Chief Strategist, as always, ended with Sima Hui's victory.

The great cause of the Alliance Leader, who wanted to save his subordinate even at the cost of his life.

Similarly, the great cause of the Chief Strategist, who wanted to protect the stability of the Orthodox Path martial world even at the cost of his life.

It was because the Chief Strategist's great cause was greater and more desperate.

If the Alliance Leader went, the Chief Strategist himself would immediately retire, and at that firm response, a rescue team was formed with others instead of the Alliance Leader.

.

.

.

The rescue team, ahead of their departure, gathered at the main gate of the Martial Alliance.

The Alliance members gathered to watch this.

The rescue team was composed of martial artists who had each established a high position in the entire martial world.

The Beggar Lord of the Beggars' Sect, a martial artist who had reached Heaven Beyond Heaven.

His disciple and the Disciplinary Hall Master, Chu Punggae.

And the Sword King's younger sister and the actual head of the Namgung family, the Sword Princess, Namgung Ihwa.

To break through the Heavenly Net, a very small number of masters had to be deployed. The moment a large number of martial artists participated, there was a high risk of it breaking out into a war between the righteous and the demonic.

They were three martial artists who had been selected and selected again.

Since they had also sent a letter to the Sword King, who was always wandering around, he might also join in the middle.

And so, while the rescue team was about to depart.

Cheon Woojin glanced at Song Yiyeon.

It seemed he wanted to go with them. Even though it was only fifteen days, since he had been taught the unique movement technique, he was no different from a master.

But he probably couldn't bring himself to say it.

Since the rescue team was composed of masters who had at least reached the peak, how could a mere Alliance member, no matter how much he was called a genius, say that he would follow?

Cheon Woojin, who had been watching this for a moment, said.

"If you want, I will go with you. However, you might die during the mission. I have never experienced the Heavenly Net either."

Of course, it was a warning that Song Yiyeon, not Cheon Woojin, could die.

As he said so, everyone's gaze turned to Cheon Woojin in an instant.

The Martial Alliance had not been able to include Cheon Woojin in the rescue team. Not because he was the emperor's teacher, the Grand Tutor, but because they were too ashamed to ask for more, considering the missions he had recently solved.

But, Cheon Woojin had stepped forward first.

Everyone just waited for Song Yiyeon's answer.

"...Actually, I want to go. It's a hundred times better to die saving my master than to live long while ignoring the situation."

"If you have that kind of determination, you should go."

Cheon Woojin shrugged.

He then unilaterally decided to join. It was beyond the authority of a commander, but no one said it was arrogant; rather, they kept their mouths shut, lest he change his mind.

Such was the existence of a master of Heaven Beyond Heaven in the martial world.

Suddenly, Jinun said that he could not send only Young Master Song to a place of death and that he would go with him.

At that, Namgung Jin said to have a safe trip.

"..."

The Sword Princess's gaze turned to Namgung Jin.

Sometimes, his aunt, the Sword Princess, was more scary and difficult than his father, the Sword King.

"..."

Cheon Woojin's gaze also turned to Namgung Jin.

What was more difficult than such a Sword Princess was Cheon Woojin.

Soon, Namgung Jin's expression crumpled.

"Damn it, I'll go too."

(End of Chapter)