I Shouldn't Have Joined the Martial Arts Alliance - Chapter 105

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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 105
Jang Hye-in and his unit members were equally at a loss.
Witch Jang Ryeo—in other words, Sa U-rin’s mother—should have spoken up long ago if she’d been at the Cholgangaekjsan, they thought.
And the warriors of the Baekri Family, who had occupied the Cholgangaekjsan to kill Sa U-rin, heard Jang Chun’s words as well.
Of course, the middle-aged man heard them too.
‘……Damn it.’
He’d made absolutely certain…….
He’d spent considerable time preparing to kill Witch Jang Ryeo’s son. Naturally, he hadn’t neglected to scout the surroundings either.
‘But when exactly…….’
When had Witch Jang Ryeo arrived at this Cholgangaekjsan?
No.
‘Perhaps…….’
Could it be that the innkeeper was lying?
To escape the current situation.
‘That’s it.’
The odds of that were very high. He’d checked several times—how could the witch have suddenly appeared?
But unlike the middle-aged man, the will that had been burning so fiercely in the hearts of the Baekri Family warriors within the inn was now beginning to waver and fade.
‘……The witch is here…….’
‘……We finally believed we could have our vengeance…….’
If Witch Jang Ryeo was here, wasn’t nothing impossible?
That was right.
If Witch Jang Ryeo was truly at this Cholgangaekjsan.
‘To die so uselessly…….’
They didn’t want to die.
They had come prepared for death, but they hadn’t imagined dying without even achieving their vengeance.
So the middle-aged man opened his mouth to his subordinates.
“Don’t believe that bastard’s words! There is no witch here! If she were, she’d have shown herself by now. He’s scrambling to stay alive—don’t let yourselves be swayed by his lies!”
Then.
“That’s right!”
“Yeah!”
“There’s no witch here!”
“Let’s kill the witch’s son!”
“Let’s end the Baekri Family’s vengeance!”
The Baekri Family warriors rekindled their will.
But then.
From behind the inn, where a separate building lay, footsteps echoed through the interior of the inn.
Step.
Step.
Mere footsteps, yet they reverberated through the inn’s interior. It meant Internal Energy was channeled into each footfall.
Being able to channel Internal Energy into each step like that…….
Meant this was no ordinary master.
Step, step.
But it wasn’t just one person. The footsteps were telling them that.
At last, the sources of those footsteps revealed themselves.
The corners of Jang Hye-in’s and his unit members’ mouths rose sky-high. Then they composed themselves with the utmost courtesy and respect.
Otherwise they’d hear unwelcome remarks again.
And Sa U-rin also showed proper respect.
Because more than just his mother was present there.
Those who appeared in the inn were Witch Jang Ryeo, Supreme Elder of the Sacheon Dang Family and the absolute master known throughout Gangho as the Poison King Dang Mo-jun, Cheol-gae the leader of Gaebang called the greatest among beggars, the former Murim Alliance Leader Hyeon-wi, Chu-yeop, and Dang Mo-jun’s granddaughter Dok-hwa.
Sa U-rin, showing proper respect, lifted his head and opened his mouth.
“Mother, you were here?”
“Yes. I knew you would come here. So we held a gathering here.”
Though it seemed like a rather mismatched gathering.
Didn’t it?
Two elderly men with white hair and his mother, who despite her years still displayed a radiant beauty, with Hyeon-wi wedged between them—expelled from the Murim Alliance—and Chu-yeop, like his mother’s errand boy, and finally Dok-hwa with her whole future ahead of her.
Could such a configuration for a gathering possibly exist in Gangho?
Anyway.
“But how did you know?”
It seemed the Baekri Family men were waiting here because they also knew he would come.
But there was no way his mother had told them.
“Isn’t it obvious?”
Sa U-rin always came to Cholgangaekjsan, and often at that. Especially on days like today, when he’d been away and finally reunited with his comrades—he was bound to show up here without fail.
“Ah, I see.”
The Witch Jang Ryeo set her son Sa U-rin behind her, turning her gaze toward the middle-aged man.
“Have you all lost your minds?”
Wanting to die like this.
The middle-aged man from the Baekri Family clenched his teeth so hard blood threatened to spill.
‘Curse it all.’
How was he supposed to handle this?
No answer came to him.
“Why the silence?”
Words wouldn’t come. His breath had simply left him.
Then Dang Mo-jun, standing nearby, stepped forward and spoke.
“What brings the leader of the Baekri Sword Unit to this place? I distinctly remember commanding the Baekri Family to seal its gates.”
Baekri Yeon-u, master of the Baekri Sword Unit—the Baekri Family’s most formidable martial force.
Only then did the master of the Baekri Sword Unit open his mouth.
“Dang Mo-jun, could you sit idle before such a grudge?”
“How could I?”
The Sacheon Dang Family was known to repay vengeance tenfold.
“But you’ve made a grave error.”
“Nonsense!”
“It seems you’ve lost all sense of hierarchy and reason.”
To speak so recklessly in the presence of Dang Mo-jun himself—it was madness.
“True enough. When you’ve accepted death, there’s nothing you won’t do. But you’ve crossed a line. When you tried to topple our family through my grandchildren then, and now as well—that grudge should have been directed at the Witch, not her son.”
“A line? You speak of a line?! Where in Gangho is there such a thing?! Victory is all that matters! Death of the enemy is all that matters! Strength is all that matters in Gangho! And the Witch knew this too!”
“Even if your lips are twisted, your words should be straight. No matter how desperate the hour, it remains true—the Witch punished only those direct descendants of the Baekri Family who sought to kill her son. Is that not so?”
“Lies!”
“Is it? Then by your own logic, tell me this—do you truly believe you can leave this place alive?”
“It doesn’t matter! We came here prepared to die!”
“So you shall. But tell me—how do you think your deaths will be remembered in people’s minds?”
“I’ve said it. Such things don’t matter!”
“True. I’m only wasting my breath.”
Dang Mo-jun shook his head and turned to address the Witch Jang Ryeo.
“Witch, do as you see fit. There’s no reasoning with them.”
“If there had been, I wouldn’t have come here in the first place. You’re exasperating, you know.”
Even so, Dang Mo-jun had been searching for a way to spare these men’s lives.
The Witch Jang Ryeo approached the master of the Baekri Sword Unit.
“You came here intending to kill my son, didn’t you?”
“Just as you did, so shall we!”
“And is that possible now?”
“We’ll stake our lives on it if we must—”
“It’s impossible. Which is precisely why I’m giving you that chance.”
The master of the Baekri Sword Unit, Baekri Yeon-u, froze in confusion.
“What do you mean—”
Giving them a chance to kill her own son?
That was no act befitting a mother.
At this, Dang Mo-jun, Cheol-gae, Sa U-rin, and all the warriors turned to stare at the Witch Jang Ryeo in bewilderment.
“…Mother?”
“Stay quiet.”
“…Yes.”
She must have her reasons.
The Cheonryong Murim Tournament was nearly upon them, after all.
The Witch Jang Ryeo continued.
“What will you do?”
The master of the Baekri Sword Unit was not one to pass up such an opportunity.
“I accept.”
Though he couldn’t fathom why she was doing this mad thing.
“In exchange, you and I will sit out this fight.”
It was a shame that the master himself would withdraw, but with the Witch Jang Ryeo also stepping back, it was an unparalleled opportunity.
“But what becomes of the rest, then?”
“My son and his comrades, and every warrior of the Baekri Family gathered here—they will fight.”
An incredible condition. No—this was a battle where it was no exaggeration to say the witch’s son would die ninety-nine times out of a hundred.
And on top of that, dragging his comrades down into the swamp of death as well…….
“……You’re serious?”
“I am.”
So Sa U-rin turned back to his mother.
“……Mother?”
What stroke of calamity was this?
It wasn’t only Sa U-rin.
‘No.’
‘Why us?’
‘We haven’t done anything wrong, have we……?’
They couldn’t understand why she was pushing them toward the cliff’s edge of death.
So the witch Jang Ryeo opened her mouth.
“Think of it as your final training.”
Haven’t you never faced real combat with the Jang Family Manor’s Poongyun Sword?
And no matter how gifted Sa U-rin might be, it was impossible to master the Poongyun Sword perfectly in just a single year of training.
In such cases, there is no better training than actual combat. And surely Sa U-rin knew this as well.
“……Yes.”
Sa U-rin accepted this as part of his training. But Jang Hye-in and the others could not.
‘……Why drag us into this……?’
“You are comrades who will die with our U-rin if death comes, and live with him if life comes—so follow my word.”
There was no defying the witch Jang Ryeo. Whatever came of it would only be another death.
“……Yes.”
The witch Jang Ryeo turned to address Baekri Yeon-u once more.
“But not today.”
“……What do you mean?”
“We fight tomorrow at this hour, before Cholgangaekjsan. If you do not accept my terms, you all will die here at my hand.”
In short, she was saying: defy the witch Jang Ryeo’s will, and you die.
“……Understood.”
The witch Jang Ryeo gave orders to Chu-yeop behind her.
“You—keep your men awake through the night and watch these people. Not a single one leaves this place. If anyone does, you have my leave to kill them on the spot.”
“Understood.”
* * *
A day passed at Cholgangaekjsan.
Enormous crowds poured into Cholgangaekjsan.
Exactly as the witch Jang Ryeo had desired.
That was it.
The witch Jang Ryeo had set the battle for the next day precisely for this reason.
The Cheonryong Murim Tournament was stirring up the entire Gangho. At its center stood the Jang Family.
And at that center stood the witch Jang Ryeo. And on top of that, her son Sa U-rin—both were on everyone’s lips.
But as the Cheonryong Murim Tournament drew nearer, all eyes narrowed on one question: who would claim victory?
For the winning sect would claim the seat of Murim Alliance Leader.
And in this shift, Sa U-rin was beginning to fade from the spotlight.
Since Sa U-rin was barely past coming-of-age, many were excluding him from the list of contenders for the tournament’s championship.
Of course, Sa U-rin was not shaken by any of it.
But the witch Jang Ryeo was concerned by the fact that his opponents did not take him seriously.
Wasn’t an underestimated opponent even better?
Of course, it could be. For most of them.
But for the true contenders, it was different. Rather, the higher one rose in fame and reputation, the more often the opponent would be crushed beneath that very fame, unable to display their true strength.
Simply put, one had to win the psychological battle first.
So the witch Jang Ryeo meant to seize this opportunity: she wanted to establish her son Sa U-rin as a powerful contender for the Cheonryong Murim Tournament, before the tournament even began.
And so, she had spread word quickly that today Sa U-rin, the witch Jang Ryeo’s son, would face off against the grudge of the Baekri Family—and countless people, upon hearing this rumor, had flocked to Cholgangaekjsan.
With the King of Beggars standing beside him, spreading word through the Murim Alliance vicinity—a mere day’s walk away—was nothing.

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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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