I Prayed for a Murim Reincarnation, But I Was Born as the Youngest Imperial Prince - Chapter 37

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 37
There is a Beggars’ Sect Branch Office in Sangdang County as well.
That didn’t mean, however, that there were actual beggars there…
It was a fact that had deeply shocked Seonwu when he first learned of it.
Surprisingly, the vast majority of the Beggars’ Sect within the Great Long Empire were not beggars at all.
Why?
The government was stable, and thanks to the Grand Array of Heavenly Peace and Harmony created by the Emperor, the climate was stable too.
To put it simply, farming was consistent, and while taxes weren’t entirely without shadows, they weren’t a complete mess to the point of discussing the Disorder of the Three Systems.
In short, there was no reason for anyone with able-bodied limbs to live as a beggar.
Yet, choosing to live forced as a beggar just because one belonged to the Beggars’ Sect?
That would immediately violate the first rule of being an intelligence agent:
Don’t stand out too much.
Second, people would criticize them, asking why they were planning to beg for food when there was no shortage of jobs.
One could only receive sympathy if they were truly a beggar with no other way to make a living.
Third, rather than core disciples who mastered martial arts, it was the vast number of ordinary beggars acting as informants who served as the eyes and ears.
But there were no ordinary beggars available to run such errands.
Since the country was functioning well and beggars were scarce, relying solely on them would genuinely cause the sect to go ruinous.
Thus, ten years into the founding of the Dragon Empire.
The Sect Leader of the Beggars’ Sect made a tremendous decision alongside the Elders.
They boldly leaped into the exact same field as the Haoma Gate.
The beggars all found employment here and there, and they approached those who previously took orders from the Haoma Gate to pass information to the new Beggars’ Sect instead.
Naturally, a territorial dispute erupted.
However, the Beggars’ Sect overwhelmingly outmatched the Haoma Gate in both the number of masters and the level of martial arts.
Compared to the Beggars’ Sect, whose connections reached the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Noble Families, the Haoma Gate had no friends of that caliber.
Even if the Haoma Gate tried to utilize the unique capabilities of a bottom-tier information network, the Beggars’ Sect was already a veteran powerhouse in that regard.
Ultimately, twenty years into the founding of the Dragon Empire.
The Haoma Gate waved the white flag and completely merged into the Beggars’ Sect.
If you can’t beat them, join them!
Seonwu had been so utterly shocked when he first discovered that fact.
“My Beggars’ Sect…”
As Seonwu muttered that to himself, the politically clueless Grand Scholar Jin praised the Emperor.
“For the Beggars’ Sect to abandon their very identity as beggars, is that not proven proof of how exceptionally well His Majesty governs the realm?”
“…I suppose so.”
It wasn’t that Seonwu wanted the country of his birth to be overflowing with beggars.
That wasn’t it, but…
Still, for the Beggars’ Sect to be one in name only while its members acquired, merged, and transitioned from the Haoma Gate, what on earth did that mean!
The name was the Beggars’ Sect, but weren’t they actually closer to the Haoma Gate?
No, but then how did their ultimate techniques still happen to be the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms and the Dog Beating Staff Technique?
‘My Beggars’ Sect…’
Anyway, while the Beggars’ Sect hadn’t gone ruinous because of it, the Dragon Empire in Seonwu’s mind had.
Therefore, the members of the Sangdang County Beggars’ Sect Branch Office were not beggars either; one worked as a porter, another as a teahouse clerk, and yet another as a restaurant waiter.
They were gathering information while working in those kinds of roles.
Naturally, this recent incident at Myeongwolru caught their attention.
“Who on earth are those two?”
“Do you really know absolutely nothing either?”
Gathered together, they exchanged words and tilted their heads in confusion.
As those in charge of the Sangdang County Branch Office, they held the names of the reasonably famous masters of Anhui Province in their heads.
At the very least, they knew everyone of the Peak Realm.
According to the Beggars’ Sect’s estimations, there were roughly around a thousand Jeoljeong Gosu within the Wulin.
Of course, there might be a few omissions, but there wouldn’t be any massive errors.
While that complete roster could only be viewed by someone of high rank within the Beggars’ Sect, they still knew the names of the Peak Realm masters restricted to Anhui Province.
In the first place, even without the Beggars’ Sect, a master of the Peak Realm would command great renown within their respective province, even if they couldn’t shake the entire empire.
Since there weren’t even a hundred Peak Realm masters in Anhui Province alone, anyone walking the path of the Wulin would come to know the top one hundred masters of the province they resided in.
“Hmm, first of all, they’re too young.”
“Yeah, remarkably young.”
Of course, young Peak Realm masters did exist.
Like the successors to sect leaders or family heads who were deliberately nurtured by places like the Nine Sects and One Gang or the Five Great Noble Families.
Or perhaps a successor pushed forward with everything by a sect that fell slightly short of those giants could achieve it.
But would they really fail to recognize such individuals?
“Are they from another province?”
“If it’s another province, did they come over from Henan Province?”
“That’s the highest possibility… but regardless, this isn’t something for us to judge at our level. Let’s scrape up as much as we can and send it up.”
However, there was very little information worth scraping up.
“Their names are Seonyeong and Jeolyeyong. Hmm, is it a generation rank using ‘Yeong’ as a shared character?”
Rather than their real names, were they names bestowed upon them by a sect?
“Or are they actual brothers?”
“No. They called each other senior and junior disciple. If they were real brothers, they wouldn’t use those terms.”
“True. Then it seems to be that way.”
But this was far too little information.
“The senior disciple’s martial arts are unknown. To the Heuksa Sect, he seemed to be at the High-Ascending Realm level.”
“Yet the junior disciple, who is at the Peak Realm, was seen treating him with absolute respect.”
“It’s also baffling that Magistrate Ji Hyun, who came at the request of Zhang Youji, ended up siding entirely with those two in his judgment.”
“Ugh, it’s not like we can just go ask Magistrate Ji Hyun what happened.”
“Come on, let’s stop here. Realistically, when it comes to information on a Peak Realm master, doing anything beyond collecting rumors is impossible at our level.”
Everyone agreed on that.
There was such a thing as status.
Furthermore, he was a ‘young’ Peak Realm master.
That meant there was a high probability he would reach Transcendence Realm in the future.
How could a mere county branch office properly handle detailed information on such a master?
“If we send it up to the prefecture, they’ll handle it from there.”
“I bet the prefecture will just send it straight up to the province.”
“If it’s the Peak Realm, isn’t that a matter to be handled at the prefecture level?”
“You have to consider their age. Moreover, it’s not just one person; though it’s a bit ambiguous, there’s also the senior disciple, right?”
“Hmm, that’s true. This is a matter worthy of being handled at the provincial level.”
There was a saying.
When a new master of the Realm of Creation appears, the power balance of the entire Wulin shifts.
When a Transcendence Realm master appears, the dynamic of an entire province changes.
And a Peak Realm master alters the strength of an entire prefecture.
Though called a single prefecture, it was a region where seven or eight counties gathered with a population of six hundred thousand.
It meant the ripple effect was just that massive.
Furthermore, with a matter involving such a young Peak Realm master along with a senior disciple whose identity was even more obscure, it was well worth being handled by the main Branch Office that oversaw the entirety of Anhui Province.
“The peaceful Anhui Province is going to get noisy.”
“Still, if the tyranny of the Unorthodox Factions gets corrected by this, the common people will love it.”
“Come to think of it, several houses that were ruined because of the Heuksa Sect right here were saved this time, right?”
The Heuksa Sect was classified as an unorthodox faction that didn’t cause ‘major problems.’
Stripping away the wealth of a few outsiders who settled down without knowing any better in the cold, harsh Wulin was merely dismissed as a ‘minor problem.’
To the common people involved, however, it was a matter concerning their very lives.
* * *
Around that time.
The Heuksa Sect, groaning in pain after sending Seonwu away, was also talking back and forth about the identity of the two.
“Master, who on earth do you think they are?”
“How should I know? At my age, I should be the one receiving care, yet here I am taking care of my disciples.”
Of course, it wasn’t that the master, Zhang Youji, was actually looking after the three of them individually.
Such tasks were naturally the duty of subordinates and the physician, but his mere presence staying there to guard against any potential ambush was a form of care.
“We are sorry, Master.”
“Just focus on healing quickly. We were unlucky this time, so it’s a relief it ended at this.”
“But Magistrate Ji Hyun’s demeanor was quite unusual, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, even the junior disciple possessed an aura where I couldn’t guarantee victory… but the senior disciple, who looked entirely empty, is the one I suspect to be more dangerous.”
“He didn’t seem to be a master of that caliber, though.”
“That is precisely why he is more dangerous. Think, use your head.”
At his master’s scolding, the eldest, who was the Munju, shut his mouth.
Only the third seemed to understand, nodding his head.
A tiger as large as a house?
Naturally, it was a terrifying threat.
But a cat being served by that tiger?
That was far scarier.
That was ‘something.’
Something completely unknown.
“But if they’re pushing forward with the path of chivalry like that, aren’t there plenty of bastards out there who will get caught much worse than us?”
If someone like the owner of Myeongwolru heard this, he would have foamed at the mouth and collapsed, but the Heuksa Sect genuinely believed they were quite a decent unorthodox faction.
First of all, they didn’t really mess with the locals of Sangdang County, did they?
Of course, they collected protection fees from merchants and those working at the bottom, but what unorthodox faction didn’t collect at least that much?
In fact, they collected while properly maintaining the line so that no one would go crazy enough to file a lawsuit with the government.
If you looked closely, even those orthodox bastards just didn’t openly call it a protection fee; they earned their money in far more devious ways.
Otherwise, where on earth would the Namgung Clan get all those spiritual medicines right away, and where did the money to wear silk clothes and employ servants in a massive mansion come from?
It was just like how influential figures like the Lee Clan Manor collected tenancy fees from tenant farmers.
They had merely collected protection fees in the county.
If Seonwu had heard this, he would have clicked his tongue, questioning why the Heuksa Sect was collecting taxes when the state already did…
Anyway, since the government also took into account that the Heuksa Sect was established there to prevent other forces from entering and running rampant in Sangdang County, it wasn’t completely nonsensical.
This wasn’t a democracy; it was the Wulin, where might ruled.
Zhang Youji, the Black Snake Elder, nodded his head.
“Was An’ye County the place the two of them headed toward?”
“Yes.”
“The White Moon Sect over there is going to catch hell. Hehehe.”
Zhang Youji did not have a good relationship with the Sect Leader of the White Moon Sect.
Though he had no intention of seeing blood at his age to settle old scores.
It wasn’t that deep of a grudge to begin with.
Even so, their relationship remained poor.
“Exactly. If we got beaten like this, the White Moon Sect will catch several times more hell. Kuhaha.”
Following their master, the three disciples also did not get along well with the White Moon Sect.
While exercising their power in Sangdang County and An’ye County, they hadn’t crossed each other’s boundaries, but…
If I am hurting this much, shouldn’t those bastards hurt twice or thrice as much?
Since one of his own shoulders was ruined, it was only fair that both of theirs got ruined.
Even while in pain, the four of them laughed joyfully.
The misfortune of someone they hated was instantly their own happiness.
“The news of what happened here hasn’t reached the White Moon Sect yet, right?”
“Heheh, could it possibly be faster than a Peak Realm master? Though information will trickle over following traveling merchants or escort agencies, the White Moon Sect will be a bit late to hear it.”
In times like this, a difference of a single day could determine life or death.
“Khehehe, we must make sure to find out what kind of disaster unfolds.”
“If we ask the Beggars’ Sect, they’ll find out and bring us the news nicely.”
* * *
Just as the Heuksa Sect anticipated, Seonwu was traveling toward An’ye County, where the White Moon Sect was located.
He wasn’t going there because of any specific information.
It was simply that the major direction Seonwu was currently heading in was toward the Namgung Clan, and An’ye County happened to be on the way.
If they resolved to sleep outdoors, they could shorten the distance a bit more, but he had no intention of doing so.
“We’re going to sightsee at the Namgung Clan, but the minor incidents along the way are all delightful experiences too. Isn’t that right, junior disciple?”
“Yes, senior disciple.”
At Ji Hyun’s overly rigid tone, Seonwu let out a chuckled laugh.
‘Answering a bit more casually would make it seem more plausible.’
But expecting him to act to that extent would be asking too much.
“I wonder if there are bastards causing trouble in An’ye County too?”
If there weren’t, they would just sightsee.
If there were? Naturally, a chivalrous xia had to step forward.
How could two young, justice-filled chivalrous xia witness such things and just pass on by?
“Is the reason senior disciple travels the world to personally inspect and punish the evils that the government has failed to properly crack down on?”
“Precisely. That’s exactly it.”
If the country cannot properly establish justice, then I shall establish it!
Was this not the true romance of a chivalrous xia?
Of course, since he was the one who held the title of King, the highest rank after the Emperor in that very country, things were a bit tangled…
To put it bluntly, if things weren’t functioning properly in Henan or Anhui, it ultimately meant his own governance was lacking.
‘But whether it’s Henan or Anhui, they are all the people of this country.’
Then why was he touring Anhui Province first instead of Henan, which was his actual responsibility?
‘Shaolin must be saved for the very end.’
That was it.
Seonwu was the type of person who ate his favorite side dish last.
Therefore, his plan was to travel the entire world, hit Shaolin at the very end, and then return to his Prince Mansion.
On top of that, there was also something he wanted to confirm regarding Namgung.
“We don’t have our branch office in An’ye County yet, right?”
“Yes, however, there is information that an unorthodox faction called the White Moon Sect holds powerful influence in that area.”
That much was information collected by the branch leader of Sangdang County.
“Oho, what is the nature of that unorthodox faction? Are they bastards like the Heuksa Sect?”
The moment they were classified as an unorthodox faction, it already meant they weren’t orthodox, right?
“Word has it that the owner of Myeongwolru is currently collecting detailed information, but for now, the evaluation is that public sentiment is even worse there than it is for the Heuksa Sect.”
“Oho, that sounds like a sect a chivalrous xia absolutely must stop by.”
Seonwu’s visit was decided in a moment the White Moon Sect could never have imagined.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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