I Shouldn't Have Joined the Martial Arts Alliance - Chapter 45

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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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Entering the Murim Alliance for No Particular Reason – Episode 45
Jegal Isoo moved with urgency toward Jegal Suyeon, who served as her aunt.
She had to convey something utterly absurd—something that was hardly less than a historic scandal for the Jegal Clan itself.
To Jegal Suyeon, the Military Strategist, who wielded power second only to the Alliance Lord within the Murim Alliance.
“Is the Strategist inside?”
The guard protecting the Military Strategist’s Office bowed with courtesy.
“Yes, she is.”
“Thank you.”
Without waiting for permission, Jegal Isoo burst through the door and stormed into the office where the Military Strategist Jegal Suyeon was conducting her business.
Creak!
“Aunt!”
The brow of Jegal Suyeon, who held the weighty position of Military Strategist in the Murim Alliance, furrowed involuntarily.
“What is this behavior from a grown lady?! I’ve told you time and again to be mindful—there are always eyes watching.”
“Yes, I’m sorry. But that’s not what matters right now!”
“What on earth could be important enough for such a fuss?”
Jegal Isoo opened her palm and showed the Military Strategist a shattered Ba Jin Array.
Jegal Suyeon’s eyes widened as she looked down at her niece’s hand—wide as lantern flames.
‘As expected.’
Jegal Isoo had anticipated exactly this reaction.
After all, she was the Murim Alliance’s Military Strategist.
She was someone who held the tremendous responsibility of commanding Baekdo Murim during wartime, orchestrating operations with a steady hand. Such a person rarely showed surprise. And in her years as the Alliance’s Strategist, she had seen and heard nearly everything imaginable.
Yet she had never once worn an expression of astonishment—nor should she have.
And yet, here and now, the Military Strategist Jegal Suyeon was profoundly startled.
The shock was plainly visible on her face.
“……This is……—isn’t this a Ba Jin Array?”
It wasn’t finely shattered; it was split cleanly in two, unmistakable at a glance.
And yet, despite the Ba Jin Array’s destruction, Jegal Isoo’s face bore a smile full of amusement.
“Yes, Aunt.”
“……Are you……—are you smiling right now?”
“Yes, because it’s so amusing. And fascinating.”
She had never heard of, nor seen, a Ba Jin Array broken in such a manner before.
In fact, even Jegal Suyeon found the situation remarkable.
“……Isoo, it seems you’ve taken leave of your senses. But tell me—how on earth did the Ba Jin Array come to be like that?”
With Isoo’s abilities, she lacked the martial prowess to deliberately destroy a Ba Jin Array even if she wished to.
Nor should she have dared.
Leaving aside the monetary value of a Ba Jin Array, it was an object that members of the Jegal Clan had to treat as carefully as their own lives.
If they were truly members of the Jegal Clan, that is.
And not all members of the Jegal Clan possessed one—only direct descendants and those holding important positions were permitted to own such a treasure.
“Some bastard destroyed the Ba Jin Array like this.”
Boom!
Suddenly, Jegal Suyeon shot up from her seat and slammed her desk forcefully.
“How dare they! Who dared to destroy a Ba Jin Array like that?! Speak, now!”
Jegal Isoo was startled by her aunt’s excessive reaction. She had only meant to say that a truly interesting opponent had appeared.
“……Aunt? It’s not something worth getting that angry about. It’s……”
“Not worth getting angry about?! How is it not?! What kind of fool dares to carelessly shatter the Jegal Clan’s precious Ba Jin Array?! Speak! I will tear that bastard’s limbs to shreds this very moment!”
“Oh my. When our aunt gets angry like that, it’s really terrifying, isn’t it?”
“Isoo!”
Jegal Suyeon was not playing around.
“Aunt, please calm yourself and listen to my story carefully.”
“Does it look like I can calm down right now?!”
“There’s something even more shocking that I’m about to tell you.”
“……What do you mean? There’s something more shocking than this?”
What could possibly be more shocking than a Ba Jin Array being destroyed? Unless the Demonic Sect launched an assault, or the Evil Sects invaded—only then.
And the Jegal Clan would hardly be on the verge of ruin.
Jegal Suyeon was seething with fury, while Jegal Isoo maintained her expression of amusement throughout.
“Exactly. So please sit down and listen to what I have to say.”
Jegal Suyeon settled back into her seat as Isoo instructed.
“……Very well. Go ahead.”
Jegal Isoo recounted the events that had just occurred with Sa Urin in a manner both entertaining and grave.
It was, after all, no ordinary matter.
However, Military Strategist Jegal Suyeon’s reaction was far different from what Jegal Isoo had expected.
“Isoo.”
“Yes, Aunt?”
No, surely she should be surprised and immediately curious about who this friend was—but instead.
Jegal Suyeon let out a light laugh as if exasperated.
“Really, I’m at a loss for words. Isoo, are you trying to escape responsibility for your mistake with such an absurd excuse? Do you truly think this makes sense? When you take a seat as Military Strategist and lead Baekdo Murim in the future, is that the best fabrication you can manage? Truly? I’m genuinely disappointed. Your aunt is.”
“But I—”
Jegal Isoo was truly dumbfounded. She couldn’t even form her words properly.
So frustrated, she began bouncing up and down where she stood.
“Aunt! How could you think I made that up?”
“Then you’re saying what you told me is the truth, not fabrication? Such an absurd claim— Never mind. Stop this and leave. Tell the clan about the Ba Jin Array and fetch it again. But listen! From now on, never use such excuses again. That only diminishes your own worth. Do you understand?”
Jegal Isoo’s mouth fell open.
“Wow. This is unbelievable.”
“Yes, it is unbelievable.”
“No, it really happened, Aunt!”
Jegal Suyeon fixed her gaze on Jegal Isoo, piercing and unwavering.
‘…Is she truly telling the truth?’
No, to believe such a thing, at least it would need to be a plausible story.
For a boy not yet twenty to escape the Illusion Formation on his own was already a remarkable feat, and yet she claimed he not only dissolved the formation but the shock shattered the Ba Jin Array itself?
Was this boy becoming the Murim Alliance Master?
If that were the case, it would be entirely possible. But hadn’t her niece Isoo said this person was merely a common soldier in the Patrol Group, not the Alliance Master?
Yet weren’t Isoo’s eyes insisting that it was the truth?
So she asked again, a flicker of doubt in her mind.
“…Isoo, are you truly saying what you told me was fact?”
“Yes, really it’s the truth. It all happened right in front of me. If you don’t believe me, we can call that Sa Urin to verify. Or we could call Dang Iyeong to confirm.”
With witnesses offered up for verification, how could she not believe it?
But if her niece Isoo was truly telling the truth….
‘Ah, yes. Sa Urin, was it?’
In the report she’d reviewed just earlier, she’d seen the name Sa Urin among the squad members participating in tomorrow’s promotion martial competition.
And this Sa Urin was a member of Squad 11 connected to two major incidents that had occurred in Sacheon….
‘…There’s something here, isn’t there….’
It was the intuition of Military Strategist Jegal Suyeon, blessed with a mind called genius.
“Very well. You may go now, Isoo.”
“Huh? You believe me, don’t you? Right? But what is it? Aunt seems to have caught onto something. There is something, isn’t there? Aunt, couldn’t you let me in on it too? Please?”
“You’ve always been sharp.”
In that one respect, Jegal Isoo surpassed the Military Strategist Jegal Suyeon.
Being sharp meant having good intuition. That too was an ability.
“Fine. Return here after you’ve finished breakfast tomorrow.”
“Really? You’re really going to include me?”
“Yes. Remember that and withdraw.”
“Yes, Aunt! But… couldn’t you tell me what this is about? I’m so curious I won’t be able to sleep tonight.”
“One night without sleep won’t hurt you. Now go.”
“Ugh. Fine.”
So Jegal Isoo headed to her quarters, bursting with curiosity.
* * *
A day passed, and the martial competition for promotion drew near. The competition grounds were set to the Patrol Group Leader’s personal training hall, for his exclusive use.
It was a calculated move by Patrol Group Leader Jo Injun to prevent word of the competition from leaking out.
Members of Squad 11 and Squad 47 stood facing each other across the training hall, their eyes locked in anticipation. Watching them was Byeok Angyu, commander of the Biryong Squad under the Patrol Group.
Commander Byeok Angyu had come not only to judge today’s competition but was also assigned the role of observer.
Put simply, Biryong Squad Commander Byeok Angyu was the one who would report back to the leader.
Truly, the training hall gave off the unmistakable air of a competition whose outcome had already been decided—exactly as Sa Urin had anticipated.
And finally, Patrol Group Leader Jo Injun appeared.
The members of Squad 11, Squad 47, and the Biryong commander all bowed in respect to the leader.
In their hearts, Squad 11 members wanted to hurl filth at the leader’s face instead of offering courtesy, but such thoughts could only be visualized in their minds as they kept their heads bowed.
As the Patrol Group Leader took his seat, his eyes met those of Squad 47’s leader, Doo Junchul.
“Has it been decided who will compete?”
With promotion now within reach, Squad 47’s leader Doo Junchul’s mind and tongue had both grown light.
“There’s no need to decide, sir. Any of our members can crush the Squad 11 soldiers.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, Leader.”
“You look confident. I like that.”
“Thank you.”
“Still, we ought to begin the competition, so someone must step into the arena, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Quite right, sir.”
Doo Junchul, the captain of Squad 47, signaled his team with a nod. At that, Sang Doo rose from among the squad members and walked forward with confident strides, bowing respectfully to the clan leader and the Biryong Squad commander before heading toward the arena.
They’d said there was no need to decide on an opponent before the clan leader, but that wasn’t how it actually worked.
Sang Doo, now thirty-five, possessed the strongest martial prowess in Squad 47 aside from Doo Junchul himself. Had he belonged to a different squad, his power would have been more than sufficient to command as a captain.
As Sang Doo took his position in the center of the arena, he caught Doo Junchul’s eye. Doo Junchul nodded, signaling him to proceed as planned.
Sang Doo then pointed his finger toward the members of Squad 11.
But the moment he moved to do so, someone appeared in the Patrol Group commander’s private arena, forcing Sang Doo to lower his hand.
It was none other than Dang Sunyeon, a member of the Sacheon Clan and currently seated as an elder of the Murim Alliance.
And Dang Iyeong followed behind him.
At Sa Urin’s request, Dang Iyeong had persuaded her uncle to appear at this gathering.
At the elder’s sudden arrival, Patrol Group Commander Jo Injun narrowed his eyes and his expression darkened.
‘That woman’s meddling will accomplish nothing.’
But he soon relaxed his features again.
‘Do they think this will change anything?’
Absolutely not. Nothing would change.
Though the elders wielded considerable influence over the Murim Alliance, technically an elder was not the Patrol Group commander’s superior.
They could not be anyone’s superior. Therefore, the Patrol Group commander had no reason whatsoever to defer to Dang Sunyeon in conducting this matter.
He hadn’t obtained his position through the Sacheon Clan’s favor either, which made it all the more irrelevant.
The Patrol Group commander’s lips curled upward in a smile as he rose from his seat to greet Elder Dang Sunyeon.
“Well, well. What brings such a busy man to our humble arena?”
“Ha ha ha. I couldn’t resist my lovely niece’s insistence. If it’s not too much trouble, might I observe the proceedings?”
“Ha ha ha. Of course, sir. We have a seat right here next to me. Please make yourself comfortable.”
“Thank you kindly.”
Dang Sunyeon settled himself into the seat beside the clan leader. Dang Iyeong, finding no chair available, stood beside her uncle.
The moment Dang Sunyeon sat down, he spoke again.
“Clan Leader, a word. I hear the competition rules seem rather unfair. How did that come to pass?”
He was essentially calling out Jo Injun on the questionable arrangements.
“Ha ha ha. Word travels fast, it seems. But I assure you, there’s nothing unfair about it. The truth is, the captain of Squad 11 wagered against the captain of Squad 47, and Squad 11’s captain lost. Thus, matters proceeded as they did. Ha ha ha.”
It was a wager, if one considered “who offers the greater tribute to the Patrol Group commander” to be a legitimate wager.
From Jo Injun’s perspective, it was.
“Ha ha ha. I knew nothing of such a bet. Well then, shall we proceed?”
Even knowing that Elder Dang Sunyeon was aware Jo Injun was spouting nonsense, there was nothing left to challenge.
“Ha ha ha. Then we shall commence.”
But at that very moment—
Another figure was approaching the Patrol Group commander’s arena.
And when Jo Injun caught sight of who was coming, his face flushed crimson.
‘Damn it all!’
How was this possible?
Why was the Military Strategist coming here?!

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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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