I Shouldn't Have Joined the Martial Arts Alliance - Chapter 12

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

Entering the Murim Alliance for no particular reason was Chapter 12
a first in my life.
Having to rely on someone else’s strength. Ultimately, having to bow my head to someone.
Unfortunately, isn’t the situation precisely that?
There’s a saying: “If you can’t avoid it, enjoy it.” But I can’t enjoy this at all. And avoiding it is even less possible.
Yet there is one sole method to break free from this situation. That one single method, of all things, lay in Jang Hye-in’s hands.
Unless the sky were to split in two this very moment.
Sa Urin glances up at the sky for a moment.
‘……Of course.’
A perfectly clear sky has no reason to split in two.
Even if lightning struck from above right now, there’d be no escaping this. Then I have no choice but to rely on that final method.
My father said it.
In Kangho, there can be no such thing as “Heaven Above, Earth Below, Only I am Supreme.” No matter how supreme one claims to be, a single person cannot rule Kangho alone, nor can they stand against all of Kangho and emerge victorious.
Kangho’s history, spanning thousands of years, bears this out. To this day, no one has ever ruled Kangho alone or triumphed against it entirely.
If someone were to reach a realm never before attained, perhaps it might be possible—such thoughts cross my mind. Yet Kangho’s history itself testifies that no martial master has ever reached such heights.
That is why my father taught me the importance of cultivating relationships with people.
But of all people, it had to be this woman to establish a relationship with…….
Even Heaven is without mercy.
Sa Urin withdraws his gaze from the cloudless sky and turns it toward Jang Hye-in, who stands beside him wearing an expression of utter ignorance.
“……Excuse me?”
Jang Hye-in’s lips curl upward of their own accord.
“What is it?”
A sigh.
How does she manage to see through situations with such uncanny precision? It’s baffling. A spirit certainly didn’t whisper it in her ear.
For the first time, Sa Urin feels how transparently his defeat shows.
He truly hates to lose like this.
So he turns his head and glances toward where the Unweol School Master and his son stand motionless.
‘……Of course.’
Again, of course.
One Unweol School Master alone might be manageable……, but there are thirty more besides him.
“Why so quiet? If you’ve nothing to say, we’ll be on our way. We should move aside since we have a guest.”
How much better it would be if they truly were guests.
How vexing. How utterly vexing.
“……The offer you made just now—is it still valid?”
Jang Hye-in’s large, sharp eyes gleam with cunning.
“The offer I made just now?”
Jang Hye-in tilts her head, feigning poor memory.
“Just now—do you mean moments ago, or do you mean earlier just now?”
“……No…….”
Sa Urin’s teeth clench involuntarily.
But what can I do? The situation has already tilted, the scales have turned.
“I’m asking if the offer to join your organization still stands.”
“Ah. You mean to enter under me?”
What do you mean, under?
Just moments ago, she was going on about circumstances, overwhelming martial prowess, this and that.
Now? Under?
Remarkable.
The situation changes and the words change with it.
“……Well, in any case.”
“It remains valid.”
Remains valid? That’s not all—
I was about ready to cling to her pant leg and negotiate further.
“So you’re saying you’ll enter under me now?”
I’ve never once dreamed of placing myself under someone else…….
Yet hadn’t I already aimed to become the Murim Alliance Leader and build a proper Murim Alliance?
If that were the case, naturally I would need to join the Murim Alliance, and it stands to reason I’d need to start under someone.
Unless I entered directly as Murim Alliance Leader.
Distasteful as it is, what can I do?
“……Well, yes. But I have a condition.”
“A condition?”
“Yes.”
“If there’s anything I can do for you.”
Given the chance, I’d pluck the stars from the heavens and lay them at your feet.
“It’s simple. Just have the Unweol School Master removed from here.”
Jang Hye-in’s eyes widened suddenly.
“……Removed? Surely you don’t mean……killed…….”
“No. Just removed, that’s all—nothing more.”
“Ah. But what’s the connection? A vendetta, perhaps?”
From the Unweol Master’s expression, it was obvious this was no cordial relationship.
“Something like that, yes.”
“It won’t be easy, but let’s give it a try.”
It was hardly an impossible task.
As Sa Urin and Jang Hye-in’s conversation seemed to end, the Unweol School Master stepped forward with a deeply displeased expression and spoke.
“What brings a Branch Director to this place?”
Strictly speaking, Jang Hye-in was the Branch Director of Shuning County in Sichuan Province—though the Organization Members had taken to calling her the branch commander instead.
Besides, once she returned to the Murim Alliance proper, the title of Branch Director would cease to exist anyway.
“I’m constantly pulled in different directions with my duties, so I find myself everywhere without much choice. But tell me, Master—what brings you here? Surely the Unweol School didn’t gather all these people just to seize a single gambling den?”
“How could that be? We came only to settle a vendetta of our own.”
Jang Hye-in’s eyes widened with feigned surprise, her expression perfectly composed.
“A vendetta?”
“Indeed.”
“But there’s no one here the Unweol School would have cause to hold a grudge against. How very strange.”
The Unweol School Master’s brow furrowed.
‘This woman……’
He had seen her conversation with Sa Urin clearly from the front. Sa Urin also seemed to know why he had come here.
For reasons he couldn’t quite grasp, it felt unmistakable that Jang Hye-in was blocking his purpose.
But what could he do?
After all, Jang Hye-in was unquestionably the Branch Director of a Murim Alliance branch. A mere master of a minor-to-middling sect couldn’t act carelessly toward a Murim Alliance Branch Director.
“Does a vendetta choose its victim? You know better than to ask such things.”
“You’re right, Master. Your point is well taken. So tell me—who is it that the Unweol School holds such a grudge against?”
The Unweol School Master gestured with his chin toward Sa Urin.
“There—standing beside the Branch Director.”
Jang Hye-in gasped, her eyes going as wide as lanterns, her finger pointing at Sa Urin.
“This man?”
“That’s right. So step aside.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
The Unweol School Master’s fists clenched hard.
“What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said. This man here is one of my subordinates. If you’re seeking to kill my subordinate, I cannot simply step back and let it happen. That makes no sense. And surely you understand well enough what would happen if you killed a warrior of the Murim Alliance?”
No matter how grave the crime, a warrior belonging to the Murim Alliance must be judged according to the Alliance’s laws, within the Alliance itself.
Of course, the great powers that move the Murim Alliance could circumvent such laws.
But the Unweol School was merely a minor-to-middling sect based in Sichuan Province—though it was indeed affiliated with the Murim Alliance.
The Unweol School Master ground his teeth.
“Is this truly the case?”
“It is. Why would I fabricate falsehoods for you, Master?”
She had nothing to fear.
“Then show me the proof that this wretch is a Murim Alliance warrior.”
Any warrior of the Murim Alliance carries a plaque bearing the Alliance’s mark.
“About that—I’ve only just completed his recruitment, so he doesn’t yet have his Certification Plaque. You’ll have to wait until the Alliance issues one.”
They were not in the heart of the Murim Alliance now, but in Sichuan Province. And Certification Plaques could only be made within the Alliance.
For Sa Urin to receive his plaque would take at least several months.
“No proof to verify, then.”
“There is proof. I and my subordinates here—we are the proof.”
‘Damn this woman……!’
He had come here with joy in his step, thinking he could finally erase the pain that had carved itself into his heart—a vendetta long nursed.
But he had run into an unexpected obstacle that now threatened to unravel everything.
No, he had to accept it: his revenge was already lost.
Yet, having looked upon Sa Urin’s face, he could not bring himself to retreat now.
“If what you say is false, the responsibility will fall on you, Branch Director.”
Most warriors of the Murim Alliance—from the lowliest foot soldier all the way up to the Murim Alliance Leader himself—had a marked tendency to shirk from the word “responsibility.”
‘Responsibility’ is no different from gambling with one’s position.
What happens when you lose at gambling?
You lose everything and end up on the streets.
So most people have no choice but to shirk responsibility to preserve their position.
The Unweol School Master was counting on that. After all, this wasn’t some longtime subordinate—just someone he’d recently recruited.
So he wouldn’t risk his own position over some worthless youngster.
And he was right, wasn’t he?
Jang Hye-in’s eyes widened.
“…Responsibility?”
Confident in his gambit, the Master’s lips curled upward.
“Indeed.”
“Responsibility… you’re talking about responsibility…”
‘Does this bastard have connections to the Alliance? Could he?’
As far as Jang Hye-in knew, the Unweol School was nothing—truly nothing. It hadn’t even existed for fifty years yet.
She glanced heavenward for a moment, then turned her gaze back to Sa Urin’s face.
‘The damn fool is… actually beautiful.’
Enough so that an age gap could easily be overlooked.
No, wait. What am I thinking?
Jang Hye-in shook her head, scattering the stray thoughts. She fixed the Unweol School Master with an unwavering stare.
‘That’s right! Life is a gamble!’
Nothing can be achieved without taking a chance. Even a stray dog knows that much.
And she was human, wasn’t she?
“Now listen here, Master. Are you trying to threaten me? Really?”
As if some powerless petty sect leader had any authority to speak to her like this.
‘Damn.’
The Unweol School Master’s eyebrows twitched at the unexpected response.
‘No choice, then.’
He had no option but to play his last card—the one that always worked.
“If that sounded like a threat, I apologize. As a gesture of goodwill, I’ll give your branch five hundred silver coins. How’s that?”
‘Five hundred silver coins to back off?’
It was a considerable sum.
Jang Hye-in glanced sidelong at Sa Urin’s face once more.
‘Damn it. I could sell just that face for twice that much!’
So it was a laughable amount.
Did Jang Hye-in recruit based on a face alone?
She’d bent her pride to bring Sa Urin in precisely because he possessed martial prowess beyond his years—surely she wasn’t doing it for his looks?
Of course, money was nice. Who in the world didn’t like money?
But in Kangho, money wasn’t everything. You needed power to protect it. If money alone could give dominion in Kangho, would there be so many martial artists running the place?
Never.
The merchants would be in charge.
So money right now was worthless.
Jang Hye-in’s lips quirked upward.
“Listen here, Master.”
“Fine. I shouldn’t have laid it out so plainly. I’ll keep my mouth shut and slip it to you quietly.”
“No, that’s not what I mean.”
“…Then what?”
“You’re underestimating this young man’s abilities. Do you think I’d have traveled all this way, wearing out my shoes to recruit him, if that weren’t the case? Think about it.”
The Master’s eyebrows twitched.
‘So you want to line your pockets handsomely?’
If it meant getting his way, he’d pay whatever it took.
“How much do you want?”
Jang Hye-in paused as if considering, then spoke smoothly.
“Ten thousand gold coins would be the fair price, wouldn’t it? What do you think? Can you manage that?”
The Master’s face contorted with fury.
‘Damn bitch!’
It was the same as asking him to sell the entire Unweol School and still come up short.
In other words, an outright rejection.
And it meant she’d been playing games with the Unweol School Master himself the whole time.
“Branch Director. I won’t forget what happened today. Let’s go.”
The Unweol School Master left with his son and the thirty subordinates he’d brought, heading back to the Unweol School.
And accepting yet another grudge in the process.
Jang Hye-in, watching their receding figures, wore a smile brimming with triumph.
“So? Have I wrapped this up cleanly enough?”
Sa Urin exhaled in relief and looked down at her as he spoke.
“Thank you.”
“Then our deal stands?”
“……Yes.”
At least she was alive, wasn’t she?
Someone had once said it.
That even a dung heap in this world was better than the grave beyond.

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