I Shouldn't Have Joined the Martial Arts Alliance - Chapter 26

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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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Joining the Murim League for no good reason — Episode 26
Knock, knock, knock.
“Clan Leader. The items you asked for are ready.”
“Very well, come in.”
Dok Wang looked puzzled.
“We have more than enough delicacies. Why did you prepare something else?”
“No, Father. The truth is, tomorrow—or rather, today now. Today we thought to share a modest meal with the Sunyeong Prefecture branch members and our Sa U Rin to express our small token of gratitude to this friend, but since circumstances have shifted, I felt it fitting to show our respect now instead.”
“Well done.”
Si Bi entered and set an elegant large tray on the table beside the clan leader, then withdrew.
On the tray sat a single elegant box the size of a human torso, arranged neatly alongside nine boxes the size of a fist.
Dok Wang could tell from their appearance and fragrance alone.
“Spiritual Elixirs.”
“Yes, Father.”
The faces of Team Eleven’s members, which had grown gloomy for a moment because of Sa U Rin, suddenly brightened.
‘…Spiritual Elixirs…!’
‘…Such fortune falling from the sky!’
‘…This is everything….’
‘Thanks to the youngest…!’
‘I love you, youngest!’
‘I’ll never curse at him again!’
‘I trust only you till the day I die!’
And so on.
Clan Leader Dang Won Hu picked up one of the fist-sized boxes and began handing them out, starting with Jang Hye In.
“Come now, take one.”
“But what exactly is this?”
Hadn’t Dok Wang just called them Spiritual Elixirs? Still, she wondered what kind of elixir it was.
Spiritual Elixirs varied wildly in quality and value.
“Socheon Dan.”
“Socheon Dan? That means…”
In monetary terms, you’d need to pay at least three hundred silver taels to acquire it. To understand how much three hundred silver taels was—a single martial artist from the Murim League would need to save continuously without spending a coin for forty full years to manage it.
So for Team Eleven’s members to ever lay eyes on Socheon Dan was beyond even dreaming.
Of course, having money didn’t guarantee you could obtain it either. And Socheon Dan was famous for having very few impurities among all Spiritual Elixirs.
That made it harder to acquire, and all the more precious.
“Indeed. Your Internal Power will increase by roughly ten years’ worth.”
Ten years in name, but what this really meant was that Internal Power normally requiring a full decade of dedicated cultivation could now be gained instantly from a single Spiritual Elixir.
Moreover, even dedicating oneself to cultivation didn’t guarantee you’d accumulate Internal Power at that rate.
So how could one overstate how precious this was?
Jang Hye In’s delicate hands trembled slightly as she accepted the box containing the Socheon Dan.
“T-thank you so much.”
“No, I’m the one who should be grateful. Come now, take yours as well.”
And so the members of Team Eleven found themselves holding precious Spiritual Elixirs that they had only dreamed of consuming.
A low sound escaped.
Clenching teeth. It felt as though tears might burst forth at any moment.
A breath.
Tears of overwhelming emotion seemed ready to cloud their eyes.
“Is this…?”
Could it be anything but a dream?
“It is.”
Being called a Master felt as though it were just around the corner.
All of Team Eleven’s members imagined a brilliant future in their hands with a single Socheon Dan.
Then Dok Wang spoke up.
“Ah-beom, isn’t that a Cheonnyeon Sam?”
Even without looking directly, he could tell from the rich fragrance alone.
Cheonnyeon Sam was something whose value lay in simply being asked for. If even one of these were released into the market, all martial artists would throw their lives away rushing toward it.
Truly a Spiritual Elixir worthy of staking one’s life on—it increased Internal Power by thirty years, after all.
Clan Leader Dang Won Hu spoke with certainty.
“Yes, that is correct.”
“Surely you’re not giving this to Sa U Rin?”
“That is precisely my intention.”
Team Eleven’s members looked from the Socheon Dan in their own hands to the box containing the Cheonnyeon Sam meant for Sa U Rin, their eyes bulging with barely contained emotion.
‘…giving such a precious thing to the youngest…’
‘No, he deserves it.’
‘Right. We got the Socheon Dan because of him, after all.’
‘Greed begets catastrophe.’
“But what of it?”
“…What of it? What do you mean, sir?”
I couldn’t make sense of it.
“You wouldn’t know about the Honwon Gong that this fellow has cultivated, so it’s only natural.”
“…Father?”
I mean, what are you saying?
“The Honwon Gong that Sa U Rin has cultivated renders poison useless, but also renders Spiritual Elixirs useless.”
“What does that mean…?”
In other words, Sa U Rin couldn’t benefit from a Spiritual Elixir no matter how much he consumed.
It was both the greatest advantage and the worst disadvantage of the Honwon Gong.
Looks of sympathy turned toward Sa U Rin from all sides.
“Master Dok Wang is right. Which is why I don’t need this Cheonnyeon Sam. It would be better to give it to your children instead.”
“Ha, ha. Is such a thing possible?”
Truly, who would have thought of such a thing?
In all of Jianghu, he’d never heard of a martial master whose body couldn’t process Spiritual Elixirs. There were those with Heavenly Poison Immunity or All Poison Immunity—he’d heard of them, even seen them—but this was different.
“I’ve already set aside separate portions for I Su and I Ryeong. So what do we do with this?”
Dang Won Hu and Dok Wang couldn’t consume it either. There was no point. At their level of mastery, a Spiritual Elixir could marginally increase Internal Power, but the benefit was so slight that accumulating Impurities would make it worse than useless.
“If I may suggest, sir—why not give it to my colleagues here?”
‘That’s it!’
‘Our youngest is brilliant!’
‘I told you our youngest is like this.’
‘Only our youngest could do it!’
‘The man has character. Real character.’
‘His character’s different. That’s the root of it!’
“Didn’t they already receive the Socheon Dan?”
Dok Wang stepped forward then.
“A good thought. If they grow stronger, Sa U Rin will be safer for it.”
Dang Won Hu nodded at Dok Wang’s words.
“I see your point.”
“He takes after his father—the boy has manners.”
When did he ever have a sharp tongue with me?
“You decide, Sa U Rin. Who will you give it to?”
Sa U Rin’s gaze swept across the members of Unit Eleven. Each of them met his eyes with bright, eager expressions.
The answer seemed already clear.
If Unit Eleven faced grave danger, who would be the greatest strength? And whose body could maximize the Spiritual Elixir’s effect most completely?
“The unit leader should take it.”
Jang Hye In broke into a smile. The other members couldn’t hide their disappointment.
“…Really?”
“Yes. I think it’s right that the unit leader takes it.”
‘This brat… embarrassing me… did he really have to go that far…?’
I didn’t know the youngest’s heart was capable of such tenderness.
Then Dang I Ryeong, feeling oddly irritated, spoke up.
“But why has your face turned red?”
“My face?”
“Yes, yours.”
“Oh. It must be from the alcohol.”
“No, it just turned red suddenly.”
“The alcohol must be hitting me all at once.”
“It’s not that…”
‘Damn. This woman knows too much!’
A woman can tell when another woman blushes, can’t she?
Dang I Ryeong’s instincts were ringing all the alarms.
The corners of Jang Hye In’s mouth curved upward.
‘Jealousy? From her?’
Did she think being young meant she had an advantage?! I have maturity, after all.
Maturity! Tsk.
In the strange atmosphere, Dok Wang splashed cold water on his face and spoke toward Sa U Rin.
“U Rin.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You must not become like your father.”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand your meaning.”
“Don’t live so rigidly by the rules. If you ever find yourself unable to resolve something on your own, come to me and to the Sacheon Tang Family at any time. Then we will help you with all our strength. Better yet, think of us as your sword—wield us as you see fit. Do you understand?”
“I shall remember your words.”
Jang Hye In and all eleven of the unit members were taken aback.
Use the Sacheon Tang Family like a sword?
‘Oh……’
‘……surely not……’
‘He must just be speaking in figures of speech……’
Yet there was no way to know for certain. The look on Dok Wang’s face was genuine.
And so Jang Hye In’s lips curved into a smile.
‘Either way, this is excellent.’
Whatever the case, wasn’t Dok Wang saying that the Sacheon Tang Family would become a strong backing for Sa U Rin?
Sa U Rin was her fellow unit member, after all. Which meant the Sacheon Tang Family would become a strong backing for Jang Hye In herself as well—what could be better than this?
And wasn’t this exactly what Jang Hye In had always dreamed of? Moreover, thanks to her youngest brother, she had now obtained a tremendous Spiritual Elixir.
If she consumed the Cheonnyeon Sam and gained thirty years’ worth of Internal Power……
she would become a master incomparable to her current self. She would be faster, her strength greater, her control of Internal Power far more refined.
Perhaps through that, she might even attain yet another level of enlightenment. Not immediately, perhaps, but the time to reach it would be vastly accelerated.
And so the wine gathering under the moonlit night continued until dawn broke. When it ended, the eleven unit members and Sa U Rin returned once more to the Sunyeong Prefecture branch.
* * *
A month had passed.
The Sacheon Tang Family ceased their search for the first wife and her son. That they had not found them by now meant the two had already gone into deep hiding—continuing to search would only waste time and resources.
And it was not as though they could tear apart all of Joonwon in pursuit.
So the Sacheon Tang Family decided to treat the first wife and son as a rotting wound that had been cut away.
With that, the position of family head passed to Dang I Su, the second son. It happened swiftly because Dang I Ryeong, the third, chose not to compete.
Dang I Ryeong had other matters she wished to devote herself to besides her own growth.
And all dealings with the Yeocheon Trading Company—the family of the first wife, Yeo Mi Hui—were severed completely. Harsher measures could have been taken, but without the first wife and first son in hand, it was impossible to push the matter further.
Yet the Yeocheon Trading Company would suffer tremendous damage from the mere severing of their dealings with the Sacheon Tang Family in Sacheon Province.
In fact, it was possible that in a few years, the Yeocheon Trading Company would find itself facing closure.
Meanwhile.
The Baekli Family, who had been searching for Yeo Mi Hui and Dang I Hyeok while watching the Sacheon Tang Family’s movements, no longer needed to conduct their search in secret.
Of course, they still had to be cautious, but it was true that finding those two had become far easier.
The Baekli Family could not stop searching because they had to kill those two without fail.
Baekli Family head Baek Ri Hyeon, his younger sister Baek Ri Hyang, and Baek Ri Ga Jin, the son of the family steward, arrived in Sungdo.
The three of them had come to enjoy the leisure of the city and happened to meet by chance at an upscale tavern, exchanging greetings warmly before taking their seats.
Baekli Family head Baek Ri Hyeon spoke naturally.
“I wish we had new information. But we don’t, do we?”
“We don’t.”
“Neither do I.”
“This is troublesome. At this rate, we might never find them.”
“If only that were so. But I fear it won’t be that easy.”
“True. If those wretches are still alive, they will inevitably be revealed eventually.”
“If they’re going to live in hiding like this, they might as well have taken their own lives and spared us the effort.”
“If those cursed creatures had possessed that much courage, they wouldn’t have fled in the first place.”
“That’s fair. Oh, by the way, brother, I heard an amusing story on my way here.”
“Do tell.”
“Apparently the people at the Murim League’s Sunyeong Prefecture branch received Socheon Dan as a reward from the Sacheon Tang Family.”
“Socheon Dan?”
“Yes.”
“What feat did they accomplish to warrant such a reward?”
“Well, the Sacheon Tang Family captured the Heavenly Demon’s son at one point, didn’t they?”
“They did. Which allowed them to deal with a branch of the Demonic Cult. Surely you don’t mean——”
“Yes. Those people from the Sunyeong Prefecture branch were instrumental in capturing the Heavenly Demon’s son.”
“I see. But they didn’t directly capture him themselves, so awarding them Socheon Dan seems excessive, don’t you think?”
“I thought the same, brother.”
“That’s not all, either.”
“Is that so? Then continue. Tell me the rest.”
“He played quite a substantial role in this incident, or so I’ve heard. And one of the branch members at that. A remarkably young one, too.”
“Do the people not know what kind of incident this is?”
The Sacheon Tang Family had said nothing about the Yin-Yang Artifact.
“True enough. But we know, don’t we? We know exactly what this incident is.”
They couldn’t very well pretend ignorance of their own scheme.
“That’s… so. But as you say, how could such a young boy have played any significant role in that incident at all?”
“I don’t think he could have, brother. There’s nothing he could do. How would a boy even learn of it in the first place, and even if he had, how would he have removed it? It makes no sense. I wish Dok Wang had been the one to resolve it.”
“Indeed.”
“But we received a Socheon Dan. Isn’t that strange, brother?”
“It is rather odd.”
“Brother, shall we head to our Sunyeong Prefecture branch?”
“To do what?”
“Who knows? We might find some clue there. Or perhaps we should vent our frustrations on whoever orchestrated this whole business.”
“Ha. That’s a fair point. Alright then, let’s go.”
And so Baek Ri Hyeon, Baek Ri Hyang, and Baek Ri Ga Jin set out toward the Murim League’s Sunyeong Prefecture branch.

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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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