I Shouldn't Have Joined the Martial Arts Alliance - Chapter 85

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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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085화 – Why Rashly Enter the Murim Alliance
Je Gal Su-yeon cleared her throat and, after a brief sidelong glance to gauge Jang Ryeo’s mood, finally spoke.
“An Elder Council meeting was held earlier.”
At that, Jang Ryeo couldn’t help herself and opened her mouth again.
“You! Did you really just speak to me in that tone? You want to die? Huh?!”
Every hair on Je Gal Su-yeon’s body stood on end.
“That is…….”
Je Gal Su-yeon glanced at Sa U-rin, silently asking for his help. Again asking him to hold her back.
But this time Sa U-rin said nothing.
Because speaking disrespectfully was, admittedly, a fact.
“Why are you silent?!”
“……I apologize.”
“Speak properly. Remember — you’re a strategist in the Murim Alliance, not here.”
“……Yes.”
“Then go ahead. Continue.”
“……Understood.”
Je Gal Su-yeon steadied her breathing and resumed.
“The Elder Council’s agenda concerned the succession of the next Martial Alliance Leader, but as the elders held differing opinions, it was decided that whichever sect wins the Blue Dragon Martial Arts Tournament shall be granted the authority to assume — or be recommended for — the position of Martial Alliance Leader.”
“What nonsense.”
It was Jang Ryeo. So Sa U-rin stepped forward again.
“Mother.”
“Son, let’s just transfer to the Sa Doryeon instead. What is all this absurdity? The position of Martial Alliance Leader isn’t some street gang recruitment.”
“Mother, please hear the rest first before you speak.”
“……Very well.”
A brief silence fell. Rather, it was difficult for Je Gal Su-yeon to continue, so no one could tell when she should pick up again.
“What are you doing? Go on. Speak.”
“……Ah, yes. And it was also decided that our Murim Alliance’s warriors will participate in this Blue Dragon Martial Arts Tournament.”
This time Jang Hye-in cut in.
“What? Our Murim Alliance warriors have never participated before, have they?”
The tournament drew geniuses called from every corner of the Orthodox Sects. For a lone Murim Alliance warrior to excel in such a gathering was as impossible as plucking stars from the sky — which was why they’d never entered until now.
Apart from experience, it would only damage their pride.
“That’s right. I proposed it.”
“Surely not?”
“Yes. To have U-rin compete.”
Jang Ryeo opened her mouth again.
“That was well done. This should be interesting.”
Jang Ryeo too was curious about where her son U-rin’s martial prowess stood in the Gangho.
The Blue Dragon Martial Arts Tournament could be seen as a competition of talents who would lead Baekdo’s martial world in the future, so one could determine exactly where Jang Ryeo’s son Sa U-rin stood.
So Jang Hye-in posed another question.
“Then, hypothetically speaking, if U-rin were to win the championship, what would happen?”
In other words, he was asking: if the Murim Alliance produced the victor, who would assume the position of Martial Alliance Leader?
Because Jang Ryeo herself couldn’t possibly take that seat.
“Would the Je Gal House then assume the position of Martial Alliance Leader?”
Jang Ryeo threw cold water on Jang Hye-in’s question.
“Do you wear your rank of Deputy Commander just for show?”
Deputy Commander Jang Hye-in had considerable confidence in his own intellect within the Murim Alliance. So he wanted to respond strongly to Jang Ryeo’s words, but he couldn’t quite manage it.
“I’m sorry? What do you mean…….”
“Would the Elder Council be fools to allow such a thing?”
“Ah. I see your point.”
“So you’re not a complete idiot.”
Seeing as he grasped it immediately.
“……Yes. Thank you.”
There was nothing to thank her for, but Deputy Commander Jang Hye-in wanted to slip past safely however he could.
Just then, the former Martial Alliance Leader Hyun Wee interjected, his expression deeply puzzled.
“But something feels quite off to me.”
So Jang Ryeo asked.
“What is?”
“Doesn’t something seem strange to you?”
“Just say it. This is why I hate the mouths of these Orthodox Sect bastards. Why do you have to ask again when you could just speak your mind? It’s irritating.”
“Quite so. My temperament——” He paused. “I see. I’ll speak plainly. Don’t you find it strange that they haven’t interfered in this matter of selecting the next Martial Alliance Leader?”
The Witch Jang Ryeo shakes her head, her expression exasperated.
“Why do you say that? Then, does the Witch here know?”
“Sigh. How tedious, how absolutely tedious. These people here, fine, let them be. But you—haven’t you sat in the highest seat of the Orthodox Sects? And a man who’s done that doesn’t know this either? Truly?”
“……I confess I don’t.”
“Of course. That’s why you went up the mountain alone to die.”
“That is…….”
At this, Je Gal Su-yeon and Bi Ryeong exchange bewildered glances, their faces clouding with confusion.
“What do you mean by that?”
From the sound of it, it seemed he’d attempted to take his own life.
“……Surely that’s not true?”
There’s no reason for such a thing, is there?
To choose suicide simply because he was stripped of his position as Martial Alliance Leader?
How absurd would that be?
Sa U-rin steps forward.
“Commander, I will speak of that matter separately later.”
“……Ah, very well.”
She wanted to hear it then and there, yet she could sense it was true without hearing it. From Sa U-rin’s words and the bearing of the former Martial Alliance Leader Hyun Wee, it seemed to be fact.
“But Mother, it appears you know the reason behind it?”
“Son, must you truly continue tying yourself to this Murim Alliance? Look around you. They’re all as frustrating as they come.”
“Mother. Didn’t you just speak of the Orthodox Sects’ mouthpiece a moment ago?”
It simply meant: stop speaking and answer the questions asked.
“Hmm.”
“Mother?”
“I understand, you fool. You wouldn’t know this, but when you’ve climbed to the summit as I have, you see clearly. Like looking down on the villages below from a mountain peak all at once. You come to understand easily when to act and when to refrain.”
To put it simply, it’s like this.
A fight breaks out next door. Loud noise carries back and forth. Yet from sound alone, it’s difficult to judge how serious the fight is, how dangerous, or if it’s something that will pass easily.
But when you look down from above, you see it all.
A third party can tell at a glance whether a couple is merely having a lovers’ quarrel or whether the husband holds a blade and truly means to kill his wife—a genuinely perilous situation.
Then one can easily decide whether that fight should be stopped or left alone.
Everyone nods in agreement.
“I see. Then, Mother, what do you believe is the reason they’ve withdrawn their hands from this matter of the new Martial Alliance Leader?”
“Nothing much. They’re simply letting loose the leashes. Releasing all the dogs in the neighborhood to frolic in the snow field. In simplest terms, they’re creating chaos. From within that chaos, naturally the strongest dog becomes the leader, and around that leader, all the dogs move as one unified force. Then, at that point, they can use that lead dog to easily control countless others.”
The former Martial Alliance Leader Hyun Wee asks.
“Yet they haven’t done this until now, have they?”
“They waited until all the powers were balanced. It’s no fun to watch when things are easy, after all. Fights are only entertaining when the sides are evenly matched, aren’t they?”
“……I see. But why didn’t I perceive such things?”
He wanted to know.
The shortcomings within himself.
“Because you’ve never truly stood at the summit. No—you’ve never even acknowledged yourself. You carry the marks of one who’s always lived under another’s command. That’s all.”
“Doesn’t everyone pass through such a stage in childhood?”
“True words, yet false in execution. Look at my son alone—doesn’t he insist on doing everything his own way? Despite having barely a shred of martial power. Well, I was the same, and Sa Cheol-gang was similar too.”
Jang Hye-in and his officers nod vigorously.
“That’s right.”
“A hundred times correct, ma’am.”
“You see? Not everyone is like you.”
“……I believe I understand now.”
Though it is regrettable.
Je Gal Su-yeon, who had been listening in silence until now, interjects with worry clouding her eyes.
“Then……. Did I fan the flames of that chaos?”
Win the Blue Dragon Martial Arts Tournament, and one could seize the seat of Martial Alliance Leader.
The Nine Sects and One Gang, the Five Great Clans—not to mention renowned great sects and smaller powers—all would strain every fiber, strive with their dying breath to claim that seat.
In simple terms, it was no different from fanning a house already on fire.
“You could say that.”
“Thank heavens.”
The Witch Jang Ryeo’s lips curl upward.
“Impressive. So you anticipated that as well.”
A great fire is sometimes extinguished by setting a counter-fire—one method among many. Or rather, more than a method, a quite effective one at that.
The Witch Jang Ryeo continues.
“So what is this Je Gal woman thinking? It seems you’re planning to raise quite a blaze.”
Indeed.
No—rather, she was envisioning not merely a great fire, but one vast enough to engulf the whole of Gangho.
Which was precisely why her hands and feet trembled. Her heart went without saying.
She couldn’t imagine what calamity would befall her the moment she spoke aloud what was turning in her mind.
“That is to say…….”
And so the words wouldn’t come easily.
“What are you doing? Spit it out already. Don’t make me start cursing.”
‘……All right.’
If she was going to be cursed at either way…….
She might as well be cursed at for something worthwhile…….
Perhaps…….
Perhaps it might not end in mere curses—and this thought alone was what held her back, paralyzed in deliberation.
If it were anyone but the witch Jang Ryeo standing before her, she could speak it plainly enough.
‘Perhaps…….’
Je Gal Su-yeon found herself questioning whether she was harboring something far too ambitious.
“Hey! This woman!”
At last, the witch Jang Ryeo’s patience snapped.
“……I apologize. Let me gather my thoughts.”
“Fine. But only briefly.”
“……Yes.”
‘……All right.’
You had to draw your blade before you could fight.
Whether it was overreach or not—that would only be settled once you’d drawn steel and stood face to face with your opponent, wouldn’t it?
Without drawing the blade, you could do nothing—fight or otherwise.
Je Gal Su-yeon steadied her breath.
“Now I will speak.”
“Go ahead.”
“My plan is this: I mean to sow chaos among those of the Invisible Hand—chaos they could never have foreseen. To accomplish this, I must recommend someone no one has considered, someone beyond their imagination. And so I have agonized over this. Who could possibly be someone capable of causing them the sort of disorder they could never manage?”
The witch Jang Ryeo, patience exhausted, opened her mouth again.
“You’re making a simple thing sound impossibly long.”
“Mother.”
“Isn’t it too drawn out?”
“Even so.”
“Fine, fine. Have it your way.”
Je Gal Su-yeon continued.
“Forgive me. I mean only to provide sufficient justification for what I’m about to propose.”
“I’ve heard you. Now finish what you’re saying.”
“Yes. I have reached a conclusion, and I am certain of it: I believe that if the person I have in mind assumes the position of Martial Alliance Leader, it would cause them tremendous upheaval. Of course, before that happens, Sa U-rin must first win the Blue Dragon Martial Arts Tournament.”
At this, the witch Jang Ryeo interjected once more.
“Don’t worry about that. I can make it happen.”
And so Sa U-rin asked.
“How?”
“There is a way.”
In that moment, Sa U-rin felt an inexplicable unease. From his mother.
“……Mother?”
“You’ll find out later.”
“……I understand.”
“So who are you recommending? Try as I might, I can’t think of anyone.”
“Nor could I, at first.”
The witch Jang Ryeo, impatience rising, pressed the question.
“Well then—who is it?”
At that, all eyes turned toward the witch Je Gal Su-yeon.

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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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