I Prayed for a Murim Reincarnation, But I Was Born as the Youngest Imperial Prince - Chapter 68

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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 68
The Zhuge Clan Head decided to actively assist King Wuryong as he traveled All Under Heaven’s Martial World to correct corrupt practices.
Long ago, Zhuge Liang assisted the King of Hanzhong, Liu Bei, and after his death, assisted Liu Shan again, defending a country with only the Shu region left until the day he died.
Although he could not achieve the Northern Expedition, considering the gap between the two forces at the time, that alone was truly a magnificent feat.
‘And now that it has reached my generation, if I can assist King Wuryong to grow the power of our family, is that not also an honor?’
Compared to the situation Zhuge Liang faced, the current situation is much easier.
And right now, I have also received as many as fourteen of those precious Spiritual Pills….
“However, you must ensure that my true identity is absolutely never revealed.”
“Of course, that is how it will be.”
“If the secret spreads from the Zhuge Clan….”
“There will never be anything to disappoint you.”
The Zhuge Clan Head was going to keep this matter a secret even from his other children besides Jun.
And….
‘The world calls our family the weakest among the Five Great Clans.’
It is true.
In terms of Martial Arts.
They say our Formations and Strategy are useful, but even so, there is a limit.
It is true.
No matter how well the Zhuge Clan operates on its own, there is a limit.
But what if we serve someone with immense power who can properly utilize that strategy?
‘Although Zhuge Liang ultimately failed….’
If heaven had given him just a little more military strength, things would surely have been different.
I will prove that now.
* * *
After the Clan Head left first, Seonwu talked briefly with Jun alone.
“Hey, you know. Why don’t the Zhuge Clan voluntarily clear out whatever needs to be cleared out right now?”
Jun chuckled.
“In the first place, our family is the weakest among the Five Great Clans.”
“Really?”
“As of now, yes. And being the weakest means one of two things.”
“Either you go reckless trying to climb up from there.”
“Or conversely, you act the most cautious. Our main house is the latter.”
Seonwu nodded.
If that was the case….
“But when people think of the Zhuge Clan, you guys are famous for strategy and Formations, yet you’re the weakest?”
“If the Wulin Alliance existed and our family could at least act as military strategists, we might hold some power, but that’s not the case either, is it? Then no matter what you say about strategy, it naturally follows the pure martial strength you possess.”
“I see.”
“Besides, our main house is in the same Hubei Province as Wudang Mountain.”
“Ah!”
Did they say two tigers cannot live on the same mountain?
Of course, Hubei is not just one mountain, and just because it is Wudang does not mean they control everything in Hubei, so they coexist somehow, but….
There was inevitably a limit to Zhuge’s expansion.
“They say Sichuan has three forces—the Tang Clan, Emei Sect, and Qingcheng Sect—but first of all, Sichuan is larger than Hubei, and honestly, Wudang is a mountain whose scale is larger than Emei and Qingcheng combined.”
“I understand.”
“Well, even so, our main house isn’t afflicted by the Curse of the Sovereign.”
“The Curse of the Sovereign….”
Seonwu understood Jun’s words, which left a bitter taste in his mouth.
‘Namgung is afflicted by the Curse of the Sovereign, so they consider the extortion they do from below to be a completely natural tribute.’
Those who are on top often exploit those below viciously, yet lack any awareness of it.
Because to them, it is merely the exercise of a completely natural right.
Some people in power commit absurd corruption without even thinking of it as corruption.
In their worldview, it is the minimum exercise of rights for their livelihood.
Similarly, the Namgung Clan, who demanded the Horn of Qingjuebiao from him, did not feel the slightest bit ashamed of it.
They were just confident.
‘If they at least knew how to be ashamed, I could fix them and use them.’
It cannot be helped.
If my Namgung is not behaving like Namgung, I can just make them act like Namgung, right?
Shouldn’t I just clean—purge—everything up once and then let new sprouts grow?
Seonwu grinned.
Seeing that, Jun got goosebumps, but for now, he held his tongue.
‘It’s not my business.’
* * *
Absolute Shadow asked his lord.
“Then does the Zhuge Clan Head and that fellow… Jiryong Prince also know Your Highness’s identity now?”
“The Clan Head knows, but it’s still a secret to Jun? The fewer people who know a secret, the better.”
Seonwu felt sorry to Absolute Shadow, but he lied.
‘With Absolute Shadow’s personality, if I tell him Jun acts so comfortably even while knowing my identity, I feel like he won’t be able to tolerate it at all.’
Even if I explained that it was to disguise ourselves since we are traveling incognito, I had a feeling he would still yell “Please grant your profound consideration” while barely managing to behave properly only in front of others.
Because by the common sense of this era, it would be close to something utterly unacceptable.
‘So it’s better to just lie.’
“Is that so.”
Absolute Shadow felt it was a pity.
If that slick fellow from the Zhuge Clan knew the lord’s identity yet behaved rudely using incognito travel as an excuse, he could have picked a day to firmly establish discipline.
‘What a shame.’
Sensing something close to murderous intent radiating from Absolute Shadow as his eyebrows twitched, Seonwu became certain his judgment was correct.
‘I must continue to keep it a secret that Jun knew my identity from the very beginning.’
Right now, the party traveling together consists only of Absolute Shadow and Jun.
If the two of them growled like cats and dogs every day, it would give him a headache too.
Of course, if he commanded strictly, it was not as if Absolute Shadow would disobey, but….
Rather than making him constantly look for an opportunity to remonstrate using justification, it was better to eliminate the seeds of such discord from the start.
In that way, the meeting with the Zhuge Clan was primary settled.
* * *
Seonwu had finished his agreement with the Zhuge Clan Head, but he did not leave the clan right away.
Since he had come all this way, shouldn’t he see everything there was to see at the Zhuge Clan before leaving?
He pestered Jun.
“Hey, show me some of your Martial Arts and Formations.”
“How much will you pay for the admission fee?”
Jun called out for a counter-offer.
Absolute Shadow seethed from behind.
[That insolent fellow. If His Highness wishes to see, it is only proper to consider it an honor and display it!]
As one designated among the Five Great Clans, how many benefits have they already received from the country?
Of course, it cannot be helped since he does not know the true identity of His Highness who is traveling incognito, but….
Jun desperately ignored the sharp gaze he felt from behind.
I don’t know Seonwu’s real identity!
I’m doing this because I don’t know, so what can you do about it!
This is the limitation of this country’s judicial system!
“Hey, it’s not like it wears out, so show me that much for free. Don’t be so stingy.”
In fact, by the common sense of the Wulin, Seonwu was talking nonsense.
What sect would submissively let a guest appreciate their Martial Arts?
In particular, secretly peeking at a Martial Arts training scene was a truly dangerous rudeness.
Though right now, he was not peeking secretly but demanding to be shown confidently.
Of course, they intermarry, exchange with each other.
They hold Martial Sparring, and sometimes they truly fight.
Since they are bound to see each other’s Martial Arts through such processes, the experience of seeing the Signature Technique of opponents among the Nine Sects and One Gang and the Five Great Clans was by no means small.
However, that is literally a case where they have exchanged for a long time as force against force.
Where does a mere guest from an unknown sect dare to ask to be shown Martial Arts or Formations?
And that too, without any contribution.
[Hey, it’s not that I don’t want to show you, but if we look at it from the outside, it will look too strange, that’s why.]
[Is that so?]
[You’re a guy who has read way more Wuxia Novels than me, and you don’t know that?]
[Novels are novels, and reality is different. In fact, it’s different for every novel.]
[True, although I doubt an Imperial Prince ever learned all the customs of the Wulin….]
Amusingly, the one who knew the various customs of the Wulin in this Great Long Empire better right now was not Seonwu, who was a wuxia geek, but Jun, who had only coincidentally read a few recommended works.
Because Zhuge Jun needed to know many things.
[Then can’t I see it?]
[Hey, think about it. If we show you such secrets, other places will wonder why the Zhuge Clan is treating two young Martial Artists from an unknown sect so sumptuously.]
[That makes sense.]
If that happens, his identity might be exposed before his incognito travel even ends.
Seonwu also understood Jun’s concern.
Even so, he did not give up.
[Still, I’ve come all the way here, how can I leave without seeing it! Show me!]
[Oh boy, alright. Alright. I’ll try to figure something out, so just wait. Ah, you annoying bastard.]
[You promised?]
Knowing how much of a geek Seonwu was, Jun realized there was no way out of this tantrum.
‘Yeah, he’s a guy who literally reincarnated after wishing for a Wulin reincarnation, so if I don’t grant it, he’ll pout.’
* * *
Even so, it is not something that can be shown immediately.
Jun went to find his father, the Clan Head.
“Father.”
“What is the matter.”
“Seonwu… His Highness expressed his desire to experience the Martial Arts and Formations of our main house, so what should we do.”
Jun barely managed to hold back wanting to say “that bastard Seonwu.”
“How dare you speak of His Highness’s name so frivolously?!”
The Clan Head, Zhuge Ganyun, was horrified.
“No matter if it is just the two of us right now, you must watch your words!”
If you pick up such a speaking habit badly, you might make a mistake in front of others too.
“I am sorry.”
“Be careful.”
The Zhuge Clan Head clicked his tongue.
‘This child is not usually such a frivolous fellow.’
It seems that while matching the fifth prince who is traveling incognito and treating him like a real close friend, he has picked up a bad habit.
“In serving His Highness, even if he is traveling incognito, is it not right to show a bit more etiquette?”
“Even if I try to do so, His Highness commands that part so resolutely.”
Jun subtly pushed it onto Seonwu.
In reality, if Seonwu were to say “reincarnation is reincarnation, and am I still your friend now?” and look serious, he was fully prepared to bow down submissively.
Is there not a saying that where you stand changes what you see?
However, since Seonwu is not decreeing the end of their friendship, if he alienates him first, Seonwu would also be disappointed.
‘And unlike me, that guy probably has no friends now except for me.’
Zhuge Jun can make friends of a similar rank.
But King Wuryong….
No matter how closely he treats a subject, it stops right there.
“Sigh, since that is His Highness’s will, what choice do we have… but still, be careful.”
“Yes.”
“Anyway, he wants to experience the Martial Arts and Formations of our main house. He certainly granted this much Spiritual Medicine because he trusts our main house, but he must want to personally check our skills with his own eyes. Because he does this Wulin incognito travel precisely because he wants to check everything directly rather than just trusting rumors and reputation. In that case, we should at least show him the Divine Wind Eight Trigrams Grand Formation….”
Feeling it was a pity that his father was showing signs of over-preparing and wasting effort, Jun tossed out a word.
“It seems like he just wants to watch for fun rather than as an inspection, so don’t exert too much effort and just show him something moderately appropriate.”
“How can you, who even earned the alias of Jiryong in the Jianghu, suddenly speak nothing but such foolish words?”
“No, since I am sticking closer to his side, I would know better….”
“You foolish boy, just because those above treat you comfortably, do you think it is truly comfortable!”
Zhuge Ganyun was truly frustrated.
‘I thought this child was smart, but he is still immature.’
He drastically marked down Jun’s score internally.
‘This is the problem with Wulin martial artists.’
The high officials of the Imperial Court constantly encounter absolute power, so they know well how to bow their heads before the dragon of heaven.
But because those in the Wulin live like small kings in their own regions, there are many who do not know how high the sky is.
Of course, they know that they need to offer a certain amount of Tribute Bribe to the officials, but they do not know well beyond that.
‘Do you think King Wuryong is an opponent you can just appease by feeding some Tribute Bribe like a Prefect.’
“Since the greatest among the formations protecting our main house is the Divine Wind Eight Trigrams Grand Formation, it is right to show him this.”
“But Father, that one has expensive activation costs and requires a lot of labor, so going that far is….”
That’s really troublesome, you know?
“Having witnessed by his side how many Spiritual Pills His Highness has bestowed upon us, how can you utter such words.”
“…That is true, but….”
That fellow Seonwu wouldn’t use that to show off.
Jun could not bring himself to put those words into his mouth.

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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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