I try to ask Master Baek Wei to give me more martial arts, but I give up. Regardless, I obtained something more valuable than just martial arts. Now this guy wouldn’t suddenly attack the Low-Down Sect.
It wasn’t even a formal alliance but I’m satisfied with the fact that there would be no reason for a madman like him to kill my men for the time being. And so I abandon my greed.
The question is how to say goodbye…
Let me just stay still for now. The man says
“At least if you want to raise a swordsman you need to overcome Cult Leader first.”
I take a second to ponder his words. He means that because I had become a public enemy to the Cult Leader if I recklessly tried to take in disciples they could be targeted and killed by the Demonic Cult.
“Right.”
“Do you know what martial arts the Cult Leader uses?”
“I don’t know. Would I be alive if I bore witness? I am not one of the Three Disasters to know it.”
“What about him using Yin and Yang Qi martial arts like you?”
“I did expect it.”
Suddenly the guy grabs the white paper on the table with his thumb and forefinger and just holds onto it. Like he’s trying to show off his skills the paper just flutters around.
Come to think the same thing happened when he threw the table from the cliff before coming here.
And Master Baek Wei asks me.
“What do you think happened?”
I scratch my cheek with my finger and answer.
“It looks like you infused your qi into your thumb and forefinger conflicting qi energy.”
“Can you do it?”
To which I decide to answer in an honest manner.
“It is difficult right now.”
He tears off another piece of paper and puts it in between his thumb and middle finger and holds it out to me. It wasn’t like he was trying to burn it but they began to disintegrate.
“This is?”
“Three different types of qi.”
“Can you do this?”
“No.”
He nods.
“If you cannot do this you will not be able to block the attack of the Cult Leader. The Cult Leader uses the Five Elements Demonic Arts of metal water wood flame and earth. Do you know how you can use all five qi?”
“How would I know?”
“Right. Nobody knows. There is no such absurd form of martial arts in the 100 sects. It isn’t even the Kunlun and it isn’t even the martial arts of the Cult Leader. It isn’t even in the old Demonic Cult and even the young lords don’t know about it. Then what is the strongest martial arts which can counter this Five Elements Demonic Arts?”
After thinking for a moment I answer without much thought.
“The Alliance Leader’s Six Point Heavy Sword.”
“Why?”
“Because he can break down all five qi in an instant. It can happen.”
Master Baek Wei nods.
“Right. What will happen if the Sword Demon achieves a perfect sword strike and fights with his sword?”
“The state of the sword is a state in which the energy of metal spreads through the body so it must be weak to water or flame of the Cult Leader.”
“That is why the Cult Leader released Sword Demon. Then I understand why he is keeping you alive.”
I nod.
“I can get more energy from water and flame. Like a living pill.”
And this is where I question myself.
Then what is the exact identity of the Heavenly Pearl?
I don’t have time to ponder the thought because he cuts off my train of thought and asks
“Why does the Cult Leader prepare so thoroughly?”
“Isn’t it because he couldn’t surpass the other warriors belonging to the Three Disasters?”
To which he smiles.
“That could be the reason but it’s also because he doesn’t know everything. A cautious personality but I still cannot tell the difference between his character and attitude. Actually he must have already noticed the plan. Sect Leader you too. I am both your ally and enemy here. I you the Three Disasters. Cult Leader Kunlun Sect Im So-baek and those belonging to the warriors. Let us see who survives in all of this.”
I ask
“How did Kunlun survive against the Demonic Cult?”
“Kunlun is basically a scholar who understands the Five Elements. Survived with sword technique and the martial arts of old Kunlun.”
“Is the Heavenly Evil on your side?”
Baek Wei smiles.
“I have said it over and over again but the distinction between our enemies and our allies are too obscured. Those inside are both allies and enemies. A meaningless question too. But what I do know is the truth. But I cannot grasp the extent and path of Heavenly Evil. It is said that the emperor was seriously injured at the same time so he may still be recovering. He may have died during the recovery period or he may be undergoing closed training but the details are unknown.”
I ask the man as I am curious about the past and present life.
“Who is that one person? I know that the nickname ‘Three Disasters’ is known because three people competed.”
“Isn’t there someone who you expect something from?”
He looks at me and offers.
“If you want to know you need to reveal an equivalent secret. The three martial arts you know of. One of the three should be revealed. Would you like to trade?”
“Hmm…”
I wondered why this bastard was taking so long to answer. Asking for a secret in exchange he was trying to build my curiosity so I would give him something in return.
Time to indulge.
“It isn’t necessarily a good thing to have all my curiosities answered. After hearing it it isn’t just a big deal. If you still want to hear it I will speak. Tell me who is the last person in the Three Disasters.”
To which he sees me and says
“I wouldn’t be surprised if anyone knew who it was. Talk. You are likely to lie 9 out of 10 times.”
“I heard it by chance while sleeping in a gorge. The name Crazy Troops.”
To which he sighs.
“You truly are a mad man.”
“Why?”
“Is that all there is to it?”
“It is your fault for making so much noise.”
“Who made noise?”
“I cannot reveal it because they could die at your hands.”
“You don’t know who?”
“No. I remember what they look like and their outfit. Who is the third one?”
“Do you think that this is a tradeable question?”
“You have such a long tongue.”
He laughs and says
“The Master to Noh Shin.”
“Shocking. The master of the beggar is that great?”
The Beggar Union’s Master was a man who had no presence in Kangho in the previous life.
“Noh Shin is the fastest in the Beggars Union. The master to such a bastard must truly be amazing.”
“If he is the leader of the Beggars Union how is the Third Disaster not known?”
“What kind of guys would rate the Beggar Union’s Leader so highly? The people who witnessed the fight as normal people wouldn’t know. He isn’t a man to brag about things anywhere and it is rare for him to fight.”
From my memory the identity of the Cult Leader the member of the Three Disasters was rather well-known from the Demonic Cult side. The existence of Heavenly Pearl was known after that. There was this speculation that the last person would be a warrior of the Orthodox Sect but no one knew that it would be the Beggars’ Union. Perhaps Im So-baek didn’t know too.
Since all the warriors belonging to the top ten warriors said that it wasn’t the unknown member of the Three Disasters came out in this manner. Saying that it was a Beggars Union member makes me embarrassed.
Because even after knowing that he was the Third Disaster there is no sense of fear.
Should I believe this?
Maybe it is something he wasn’t too sure of.
In any case I am convinced that the Heavenly Evil is a person who is on the same side as this man and that he also knew the Third Evil. Under the given circumstances it is likely. It is because I cannot erase the feeling that a disciple is being trained with the intent of fueling their malice and hatred and to pass on their martial arts.
Only then can the Heavenly Evil actually fit into the category.
Master Baek Wei says
“The fact that I shared information with you and even handed you a book will become known over time. There is only one way to avoid clashing with others.”
“What is that?”
To which he says
“Join the Swift Troops. I will contact you when the troops have a meeting set so attend it. There are a lot of people who want to compete with footwork but you do it on your own.”
“I will and then who is the leader of the troops?”
To which he blinks his eyes and asks me.
“Do you plan to reveal to me how you got the Strolling Golden Turtle technique?”
“Ah you disgustingly smart man.”
He is the first man I’ve ever encountered to be this thorough. At this point receiving three of my secrets as an exchange feels odd.
And he says
“Here Sect Leader. Make sure to keep those new skills well. This is my diverse investment in you. If something goes wrong on our side the books here will all be taken down. If your forces are annihilated by the Sect Leader the risk of losing the skills will increase. Both sides will rarely be attacked at the same time though.”
“You are so thorough. Give me more diversity.”
“Are you a thief? Control yourself.”
“Confirm.”
“If news spreads that Noh Shin is the leader of the Beggars Union it can be understood as meaning that one of the Three Disasters have collapsed. The Cult Leader will move faster.”
I have been ruminating on what I know from the past life but I never heard such a thing. Come to think of it the reason why this guy is friendly with Noh Shin seems to be intentional because he is associated with the Three Disasters.
This guy is so insane that if he hadn’t committed himself to the Alliance he would have stepped into the Beggars Union in order to obtain the martial arts of the Three Disasters. However it seemed like he chose the Murim Alliance because it is too difficult for someone of his nature to follow the Beggars and their rules.
Realizing that the man won’t give more books I get up after tucking the books away.
“I am leaving.”
As I walk to the entrance of the cave he follows me from behind. I feel a chill as I walk through this narrow cave with my back exposed to him. Suddenly I stop and look at the paintings and murals.
“…”
This vivid depiction of the man in white robes falling into the pit heads being cut pierced by spears. In a place like this what kind of man wouldn’t go insane especially if they were admiring such paintings all day?
I walk up to the entrance and turn around to look at him.
“Master.”
To which he answers
“Yes.”
“Erase these murals here. Clear the paintings in the study too.”
“Why.”
Looking at his expression I speak in a calm tone.
“There is this old man in Low-Down Sect who likes to draw and he knows how to draw flowers and trees. And a couple more things too like rooms and plans. He is good at painting maps and sometimes manages to draw mountains and rivers.”
“What are you going on about?”
“Even if you find and draw beautiful things it is a life where we don’t have time to really enjoy it. Why bother looking at the pictures of death? Stupid waste of time. The disciples are your slaves but you are no different from being enslaved to the old ones. Look at the walls of the cave and reflect on yourself.”
He just looks at me.
“Sect Leader save your ramblings and cheeky words for your subordinates. Be careful now.”
Careful how… as soon as I ask myself this he reaches his hand out to me. The moment I see light shine from his three fingers I feel it right then and respond with Fiery Beast technique.
A roar explodes with my body already flying through the air.
‘This bastard…’
He smiles and puts his hand on his forehead and says
“Sect Leader let’s meet again. Alive.”
I move in the air and fall staring at the ground. Even though my body was fortified with qi the speed at which I was falling didn’t look like it was going to decrease any time soon. As soon as I get close to hitting the floor I swing my arm in a half-moon shape to cushion my fall. I bounce into the air to descend back down to the ground.
I turned my head to check the cliff but it was already obscured by the clouds so I couldn’t see a thing. But I was able to hear his voice.
“Do not come until I call?”
For a moment I think of blowing up this cliff but I endure and hold back. I am not a normal guy so such behavior isn’t strange to me. Rather there were many things to think about after exchanging blows with him. When I analyzed what had happened while walking down the road I came to the conclusion that my defense wasn’t the issue.
In other words it was an attack of three fingers just like when the paper was destroyed. It didn’t have a rapid change from white to red but the color shining on each fingertip was just slightly different.
White gray or dark gray?
It is different from the Light Sky of Sun and Moon. Rather I think it was similar to the five element arts that Master Baek Wei mentioned. Whatever his intentions were I remember the trick.
.
.
.
After pressing the table master Baek Wei looks at his disciples who appear there when the wall rotates. When the disciples enter the study and wait master Baek Wei points to the corpses with his chin.
“Clean it up.”
“Yes.”
“And for the time being.”
The disciples who were moving stop at the same time and look at him.
“Yes master.”
Master Baek Wei looks around at the subordinates and says
“Do not touch the Low-Down Sect. Call those who have been sent to stand by.”
“I understand.”
The disciples begin to remove the bodies without a question. While the disciples are carrying the dead ones and wiping the blood off the ground Master Baek Wei looks at the blank paper with brush in hand.
And for a while he closes his eyes before opening them
“…”
He was a bit embarrassed because he thought it would be difficult to put even a single dot on the white sheet. After taking a deep breath Master Baek Wei stamps the white paper with the brush.
Master Baek Wei feels restless. It felt as if he was taking his first steps in a field of white snow.
