I Shouldn't Have Joined the Martial Arts Alliance - Chapter 47

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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 without good reason — Squad 47
was bold,
or reckless,
or perhaps just mad…….
It was an amusing moment, as Jegal Isoo had said.
Amusing, certainly, but…….
A mere martial artist daring to propose directly to a commander without hesitation?
Had such a thing ever happened in the history of the Murim Alliance?
Jegal Suyeon could declare with certainty that it had not. It was an impossible thing.
‘……Where did such a fellow crawl out from?’
Wasn’t he absurdly reckless?
Young as he was, with blood running hot, he ought to know the difference between sense and nonsense.
Yet interest stirred within him.
He wanted to know more. No — he felt he had to know.
“Very well. Speak.”
“Sir, I would like to fight another Martial Match, as you said the first one ended too quickly.”
Now he understood what his father had meant. The Murim Alliance truly was rotten. Now that he knew it, shouldn’t he also know how to cut away the rot? By what method could he save it?
First, he needed to know if it could be saved at all.
At that, the members of Squad 11 breathed silent sighs.
‘Oh no.’
‘Youngest, please.’
‘We agreed you wouldn’t do this.’
‘Again. Again with this!’
‘Does he think the Murim Alliance is his playground?’
‘I’m losing my mind. Truly.’
‘Why does he always have to spoil what’s already done?’
Even Jegal Suyeon tilted his head in bewilderment.
“You won the Martial Match, yet you wish to fight again? That seems reckless to me.”
“It is not, sir.”
Because of you, your squad leader will now be promoted to Unit Commander, and you and your squad members will be promoted to the Unit Commander’s guard. But if you lose this second Martial Match, what then?”
“That won’t happen, but if it does, I will accept the outcome. That is what it means to be a martial artist.”
“A martial artist?”
How long had it been since he’d heard such words?
A martial artist.
This single word held much meaning. Yet in Kangho, it had long been forgotten.
Jegal Suyeon himself had learned martial arts and trained relentlessly. Certainly, he was a martial artist. But he had never thought of himself as one.
So he found himself moved.
“Yes, sir.”
“Then good. I am impressed by your spirit, and I will give you the chance to choose your opponent directly. However, as I said, if you lose this Martial Match, the promotion opportunity will vanish — just as you said you would accept the outcome. Understood?”
“Understood.”
“But tell me — have you looked at your squad members’ faces?”
The faces of Squad 11’s members were rotting from anxiety. Yet Saurin didn’t even glance at them, seemingly unconcerned.
“It’s fine.”
“They don’t look fine to me.”
“This isn’t the first time something like this has happened. There’s no need to worry.”
Jegal Suyeon found it all so absurd that he simply laughed.
“Hahaha.”
Just as his nephew had said, a truly entertaining fellow had appeared.
And true enough, the squad members’ faces grew more sour, yet they did nothing — only shuffled their feet anxiously, as if dancing in place. Was this not proof that they had already placed their faith in this young one and followed him willingly?
That much was clear.
So he laughed.
Was it not utterly bewildering?
Envy and jealousy — he couldn’t spot them even if he searched. Their faces were growing worse, yet something about them shone with resolve. Their eyes showed they were steadfast.
Impossible without deep trust and faith supporting them all.
Wasn’t this what they called camaraderie?
It had been so long that he wasn’t even certain the word fit this moment.
It was far too rare a sight.
“Ah, I see. So I was fretting over nothing. Thanks to you, I’m departing with much to think on today. I’m grateful.”
“Not at all. I was grateful for your fairness — it allowed me to fight with an easy heart.”
He could confirm once more what schemes the Patrol Chief had been weaving all along.
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“Ha. But I’m curious about one thing. Why take such a risk to participate in another Martial Match?”
It seemed utterly pointless—unless one was a fool, which he clearly was not.
Anyone clever enough to dismantle an Illusion Formation so easily couldn’t possibly be an idiot.
So there had to be a reason behind this choice.
Yes, there was.
Saurin had proposed a second Martial Match precisely to provoke this question from the strategist.
“Any Martial Artist dreams of growing stronger.”
“That’s true.”
Though the reasons for wanting to grow stronger varied from person to person.
“I wish to grow stronger by fighting the strong without end. Not through hollow exhibitions like this one, but through desperate, real combat—battles fought with genuine stakes.”
“So you’re saying your chosen opponent possesses that desperation and is capable of waging a fierce, genuine battle. Have I understood correctly?”
“You have.”
“Then naturally Squad 47 will be desperate indeed—they’ll want both revenge and advancement.”
“And there is another reason.”
“Tell me.”
“To cut away the festering wound of the Murim Alliance that I cannot bear to witness any longer.”
In that moment, silence swept through the hall. No one had anticipated such words from Saurin’s lips.
Not Jang Hyein, who had spent a year alongside him. Not the members of Squad 11.
“To cut away the festering wound of the Murim Alliance….”
How familiar those words sounded. Jegal Suyeon harbored the same thoughts.
Yet he had only worried—never dared imagine actually cutting it away. He couldn’t.
The wound was too vast; excise it and nothing would remain. Or rather, he himself would be torn away in the process.
But now, standing before him was this young friend speaking of Martial Artists and
speaking of cutting away the Murim Alliance’s festering wound.
It transcended mere amusement—it was delightful.
He wanted to applaud such boldness and courage.
What was it?
The unwavering footsteps of a Martial Artist, the soaring spirit of endless challenge and triumph—could he not feel it?
It was beautiful.
If Jegal Suyeon himself were twenty years younger—no, even fifteen—he would have surrendered everything for such a cause.
Because of this, he felt an unbidden shame, a shy embarrassment.
Of course, this young friend alone could never cut away all the Murim Alliance’s festering wounds. That was impossible.
But the visible wounds before them now could be excised and healed. As long as they weren’t too severe, such work lay well within Jegal Suyeon’s capacity.
Jegal Suyeon spoke again.
“What festering wound did you witness?”
He wanted to hear what had transpired. So Saurin recounted the Squad Leader’s account—the events of yesterday that he had heard and experienced—in meticulous detail.
With each word that fell from Saurin’s lips, the Chief’s heart stirred, and Squad 47’s hearts felt wrung in an invisible fist.
As Jegal Suyeon listened quietly, his gaze never once turned toward the Chief or Squad 47.
He looked only at Saurin.
Was this courage that no one else possessed?
Or merely youthful recklessness born of ignorance?
So he asked.
“Are you prepared?”
The Chief stood here, and Squad 47 stood here.
If Jegal Suyeon himself turned a blind eye and let it pass, this young friend would have no path forward.
That is, he would have been accepting death itself.
And beyond that?
All of Squad 11 would be placed in jeopardy. Yet they showed no great alarm.
So they must already know.
“I don’t believe readiness is required for correcting what is wrong.”
“Ha ha ha ha!”
Laughter erupted.
Right—why should one need resolve to name a wrong as wrong?
In that instant, Jegal Suyeon, who had believed himself a genius until now, seemed suddenly foolish.
And so, Jegal Suyeon turned his gaze toward Jang Hyein.
“Squad Leader Jang Hyein. Will you follow your Squad Member’s will?”
As the leader of Squad 11, it was only right to ask his intention.
“I have no wish to stop him.”
He wouldn’t listen to dissuasion anyway. And Jang Hyein held absolute faith in Saurin.
That he would never lose.
And for some reason, his chest felt lighter.
“I understand.”
‘As expected.’
The squad leader’s boundless trust in this young man came through clearly in his words.
And so, increasingly, Jegal Isoo grew curious. What exactly did this young man possess that made all the Squad 11 members trust and entrust him so completely?
‘Squad 11…….’
A subject of study.
Jegal Isoo’s gaze turned back to Saurin.
“Then, everything is settled. All that remains is for you to name your opponent. But before that, I shall impart something you must keep in mind.”
“Please, go ahead.”
The brightness that had lit Jegal Isoo’s face moments before vanished as if it had never been, replaced by a grave expression befitting the dignity of the Murim Alliance’s military strategist.
“This Martial Match is no ordinary match. It will be a Life-or-Death Battle fought with real blades. And there is one more thing. If you win in this Life-or-Death Battle.”
Jegal Isoo’s grave gaze suddenly fixed on the Patrol Chief.
“Then you, Patrol Chief, must resign from your post. Do you understand?”
In that instant, the Patrol Chief’s face drained of color. He would lose everything he possessed in a single moment.
This was a complete betrayal—like having your nose cut off while your eyes were open.
“Military Strategist……how could you…….”
“Do you wish to contest his word? If so, you shall accompany me to the Dharma Enforcement Hall.”
The Dharma Enforcement Hall was where the Murim Alliance and Kangho investigated criminals, interrogated them, and administered appropriate punishment.
In simpler terms, it was a place where people were tortured to the brink of death.
Of course, if one confessed and admitted all their crimes before torture even began, such things need not happen.
Jegal Isoo asked the Patrol Chief once more.
“What will it be?”
‘Damn it……how did it come to this!’
The Patrol Chief’s savage gaze poured down upon Saurin.
‘That little bastard…….’
He had ruined everything. This wasn’t supposed to spiral like this…….
He wanted to rush forward and cut the boy’s throat right then and there. But doing so would only escalate matters further, so he could not.
There was a path to survival; there was no reason to walk a bloody, difficult road when one didn’t have to.
‘……Damn it all.’
“……I shall abide by your words, Military Strategist.”
“As you should.”
Unless one was a fool.
Then the strategist’s gaze turned once more toward Saurin.
“What do you think? Does it please you?”
“More than I expected.”
Father had done nothing but curse the Murim Alliance day after day. He had never once mentioned that such people existed within it.
So, truthfully, he was somewhat……no, quite surprised.
And the Squad 11 members were not merely surprised by Jegal Isoo’s words—they were flabbergasted.
In all their time at the Murim Alliance, they had never witnessed anything like this. Naturally, they had never even heard of such a thing.
‘Wow!’
‘Insane!’
‘Our youngest…….’
‘……pulling off something like this!’
‘I knew our youngest had it in him!’
Did they really know?
In any case.
As the cheers of Squad 11 echoed behind him, Jegal Isoo spoke once more.
“But should you lose, then everything that has happened here and everything I have heard shall be as if it never was.”
Such is the strength of a schemer.
That is Kangho.
The strong possess all things.
The strong are what is right.
A trap left behind and a principle created by countless souls who walked the paths of Kangho.

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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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