I Shouldn't Have Joined the Martial Arts Alliance - Chapter 108

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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 108
The Witch Jang Ryeo—once the supreme lord of the Sa Pa, now a member of the Orthodox Faction.
Dang Mo-jun, the Grand Elder of the Sacheon Dang Family and an Absolute Expert counted among the top ten of the Orthodox Faction.
Cheol-gae, the king of beggars scattered throughout the whole of Gangho and likewise an Absolute Expert among the top ten of the Orthodox Faction.
Hyeon-wi, once the Murim Alliance Leader, who had risen from the ranks of the Melma Squad but was forced to step down from his position by the Invisible Hand—and yet another Absolute Expert counted among the top ten of the Orthodox Faction.
And Jegal Su-yeon, the Supreme Military Strategist of the Murim Alliance, along with Bi-ryeong, Commander of the Bi-yeong Division.
Chu-yeop, who unfortunately stood at the threshold of the Absolute Realm yet could not ascend.
And finally, Jang Hye-in, Deputy Commander of the Patrol Division’s Bi-ryong Squad under the Murim Alliance, and his men.
Oh, and truly the very last—Dok-hwa, granddaughter of Dang Mo-jun, clung tightly to Sa U-rin’s side with an expression full of displeasure.
Cheol-gae, the Lord of Gaebang who manipulated the information of Gangho as deftly as kneading dough, opened his mouth with an expression of utter bewilderment.
“Ha-ha. Well, well. With this force, we could even aim at controlling the Orthodox Faction. Ha-ha.”
It was merely something said in jest, but it was not without truth.
There were as many as three Absolute Experts counted among the top ten of the Orthodox Faction, and on top of that the Sacheon Dang Family and Gaebang would join forces, and moreover, did they not have a military strategist of the Murim Alliance?
With this force and these connections, what could they not accomplish if they set their minds to it?
And so Jegal Su-yeon spoke up.
“If you harbored such intentions, these people would not have gathered here like this, Lord of Gaebang.”
“Ha-ha. That’s just a way of speaking, you understand.”
And so the Witch Jang Ryeo also interjected.
“Still got some ambition in you, you beggar. Why, want to give it a try?”
“Witch, you wench…….”
“What? Did you just call me a wench? You want to die, you beggar? Huh? I’ve held back all this time because of that old fool Dang Mo-jun, but this won’t do. Time I taught you some manners.”
With that, Cheol-gae, the Lord of Gaebang, sprang to his feet and rolled up his sleeves.
“Fine by me. How you flew and crawled in the Sa Pa, I wouldn’t know, but this is the Orthodox Faction. Let’s see if your power holds sway here as well.”
“Ho-ho. The beggar’s got some mettle. Good. I’ve kept my distance from beggars till now because of the stench, but today I’ll catch myself one beggar.”
With that, the Witch Jang Ryeo also sprang to her feet.
This was not what they had gathered for…….
Jegal Su-yeon grew flustered. How was he to stop the Witch Jang Ryeo and the Lord of Gaebang from fighting?
And so Jegal Su-yeon approached Sa U-rin’s side and jabbed him in the ribs.
There was no one here but Sa U-rin who could stop the Witch Jang Ryeo.
“What is it, Strategist?”
“Try to stop her.”
“Let them be.”
“What? Let them be? Then…….”
Those who had gathered with the same purpose stood to gain nothing from fighting one another, did they not?
Moreover, the Witch Jang Ryeo and Cheol-gae, the Lord of Gaebang, were Absolute Experts. If the two of them were to fight…….
Would not something beyond imagination unfold?
Yet even so, Sa U-rin remained still, saying to let it happen.
“……You don’t mean to say you’re hoping for that, do you?”
“Yes.”
These people who had gathered like this were ultimately one organization. And an organization necessarily possesses hierarchy.
It was the natural order of things.
“Still, it’s far too dangerous. This is…….”
Before they could even attempt anything, this gathering might dissolve entirely.
“It’s still necessary, though.”
Jegal Su-yeon, who served as the brain of the Murim Alliance, could not possibly fail to understand this.
Only, determining the hierarchy among Absolute Experts was far too difficult.
Why else would Gangho lump them together and call them the Top Ten Experts, the Top Hundred Experts?
Because without engaging in a Life-and-Death Battle directly, one could not determine the rank of masters.
In the end, establishing hierarchy was tantamount to saying they would need to wage a battle akin to a Life-and-Death Battle here and now, was it not?
And in such a clash, one of them—no, both of them—could suffer lethal wounds or die.
Such a misfortune ought to be prevented, should it not?
“Is there no other way, Sa U-rin?”
It seemed that Sa U-rin might be able to find some alternative method.
“There is.”
“……There is, but you stayed silent?”
“Yes.”
It was exasperating.
“……Why?”
“Because Mother will end it quickly anyway.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
The Head of Gaebang, flabbergasted, burst out in protest.
“What! This bastard’s taking his mother’s side! A man without children—how could he bear to live? Cursed, pathetic life! Damn it all!”
The witch Jang Ryeo chimed in mockingly.
“A pauper living a pauper’s life—that’s only natural.”
“What?! You witch, you—never mind. You, listen here. Say it plainly. This business about your mother beating me easily. How exactly does your mother beat me so easily?”
The witch Jang Ryeo snorted, past the point of explaining.
“Hmph. If you can’t see it, how would you know?”
Sa U-rin picked up the thread.
“That’s right.”
“Right?! What exactly is right about it?!”
Dang Mo-jun, the grand elder of Sacheon Dang Family standing beside Cheol-gae, wondered about this too. So he asked.
“Yes, U-rin. Explain yourself. How does your mother beat Cheol-gae so easily?”
They were all Absolute Experts—the idea that one could beat another “easily” made no sense.
“As expected, even you don’t see it, sir.”
“…What are you saying?”
But then Dang Mo-jun’s eyes snapped wide as lanterns, and he shot to his feet.
“It can’t be…”
Dang Mo-jun’s gaze fixed on the witch Jang Ryeo. Still, he couldn’t see it.
Not clearly, anyway.
She appeared little different from Cheol-gae or himself…
“…Witch, you… y-you’ve reached… the Hyeon-kyung Realm…”
He couldn’t finish. The absurdity of it choked him off. In the centuries of recent memory, no martial master had ascended to the Hyeon-kyung Realm.
It was a height no one had seriously imagined possible. The Hyeon-kyung Realm.
Sa U-rin answered in his mother’s stead.
“Yes. The Hyeon-kyung Realm. I cannot be certain, but that is what appears to be true. Even if mother has not reached that pinnacle, the gap between her and the Head of Gaebang is vast and unmistakable.”
“…And me?”
“You as well, sir.”
Cheol-gae, the Head of Gaebang, glared fiercely.
“Unbelievable! Who would believe such a thing! And you—how could you possibly see such things? It makes no sense. No matter how skilled you are, you’re still far too green, boy. Yes, that’s it! This is a scheme between mother and son to crush me beneath them. A scheme! You, Dang Mo-jun—don’t be fooled. Does any of this make sense? Does it?”
“Keep quiet for a moment.”
Cheol-gae looked at Dang Mo-jun with wounded eyes.
“…You too? Really?”
“That’s not what this is about…”
“Then what? Are you saying you believe that boy’s words right now?”
“That boy doesn’t speak falsehoods. So let’s hear him out first, then judge. Yes?”
“…Damn it! I never thought you’d be like this. You used to say I was the only one. Cursed…”
In that instant, the eyes of all who heard shifted with confusion. Had someone misheard, they might have taken it for the quarrel of devoted lovers.
The only one? He’d said that?
And from Dang Mo-jun, no less.
“You madman. Why bring that up now! In any case, this fool…”
“What?”
“Enough. Let’s hear what he has to say properly.”
“Hmph. Do as you like.”
“At your age, still acting like this. With so many eyes watching too. Let it go. Tsk, tsk.”
Only then did the Head of Gaebang, Cheol-gae, glance nervously at those around him.
“What? You all think something of this?”
Everyone’s gaze slipped away. He was, after all, one of the Top Ten Experts of the Orthodox Faction, and quite clearly the Head of Gaebang.
It was only natural to mind one’s dignity.
Dang Mo-jun turned his attention back to the witch Jang Ryeo and asked.
“Is it the truth?”
“How should I put it?”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“I could say I’ve reached the Hyeon-kyung Realm, and it would seem right. I could also say I haven’t, and that would seem right too. It’s unclear. I myself have no certainty—not yet. But U-rin.”
“Yes?”
“When did you first notice?”
No matter how much Sa U-rin could perceive through Honwon-gong, perceiving actual realms was beyond him. He only felt and judged for himself.
“I felt it during my training at Sega.”
“Ah, when you died a hundred times?”
“Yes. It felt different from what I sensed in the Deputy Commander and the former Murim Alliance Leader.”
“I see. Truth be told, I think I broke through that wall by killing you a hundred times over.”
“Truly? Then I suppose I deserve some credit.”
“Does it really work that way?”
“Yes. That’s exactly how it works.”
“Thank you, my son.”
“Please, think nothing of it.”
Everyone shook their heads in disbelief. What in heaven’s name was this?
But Cheol-gae was different. He opened his mouth again.
“Don’t just talk about it—show us. If you’ve reached the Hyeon-kyung Realm, you should be able to do something we cannot.”
Sa U-rin spoke up at once.
“I can demonstrate that for you.”
“You? Fine. How exactly will you prove it?”
So Sa U-rin drew upon his Honwon-gong.
A water droplet the size of a fist rose from the Reservoir below the Pavilion, drifting toward where they all stood.
Cheol-gae’s mouth curved into a grin, and he turned to Jang Ryeo.
“That’s all? Both Dang Mo-jun and I can do that much. Though I admit, we couldn’t make it so perfectly round.”
It was true.
The water droplet hung perfectly spherical and beautiful.
Yet both Cheol-gae and Dang Mo-jun could achieve the same—moving water, though only in turbulent, formless quantities, not with such elegant precision.
After all, moving water itself was the same technique, was it not?
For the record, moving water from a reservoir with such exact precision was a fundamentally different art than simply shifting objects through Void Sealing.
It was a higher realm of martial cultivation, demanding a far more refined spiritual foundation.
Jang Ryeo, exasperated, turned on Cheol-gae.
“What are you babbling about, you wretch? I didn’t do that. My son U-rin did.”
Everyone gasped.
‘That?’
‘U-rin did it?’
‘…Insane! That’s not human.’
‘We already established he’s not human.’
‘…Right, true.’
‘But even so—this is beyond the pale!’
It made no sense.
This was something only possible after crossing into the Absolute Realm.
Yet Sa U-rin was a martial artist who hadn’t even approached the threshold of the Absolute Realm.
So Dang Mo-jun asked, stunned.
“…You really did that yourself, U-rin?”
“Yes.”
As though it were the most natural thing in the world.
Sa U-rin understood why everyone was amazed. So he explained.
“This is only possible because of the Honwon-gong I’ve mastered. So there’s no reason to be so shocked.”
“But…”
What would a martial artist of Kangho be shocked by, if not by something like this?
So Dang Mo-jun pressed further.
“…Then. If that child over there has also mastered Honwon-gong, wouldn’t she be capable of the same?”
He meant So Seol-ru.
So Seol-ru waved her hand in denial.
“No, I cannot. This is only possible because it’s U-rin.”
What did she mean by that?
She wasn’t saying it was possible because she’d mastered Honwon-gong—she was saying it was possible simply because he was U-rin?

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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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