Survival Guide for the Reincarnated - Chapter 245

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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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Chapter 245
“…Is Captain Ham Jang-sik of the Beggar Sect involved?”
“He is.”
“Given Cheonsu-sa’s nature, he will certainly hold Captain Ham Jang-sik responsible. That will hardly be peaceful, so there’s a high probability of a grudge arising between the Beggar Sect and Cheonsu-sa. However, since the Seong Jak Alliance didn’t involve itself in this matter, and only Cheonsu-sa personally bears the grudge with the Beggar Sect, they will target only Cheonsu-sa. Am I correct?”
“Precisely.”
Baek Mu-jin of the Ihwageomseonchong is renowned.
There was no way the Beggar Sect didn’t know he had entered Seongchakju.
Moreover, it wasn’t just Baek Mu-jin—the Ihwageomseonchong had also sent four martial artists of the Harmony Realm.
If they hadn’t known this, that would have been an even greater problem. Furthermore, the fact that the Beggar Sect didn’t know about the members of the Seong Jak Alliance planning to strike at Seol Woon-hwi alongside Baek Mu-jin was simply inconceivable.
It made no sense whatsoever.
Their eyes were everywhere.
After all, the Beggar Sect branch here in Seongchakju was truly vast.
“…You’ve drawn a line for my sake and for the Seong Jak Alliance.”
“In the worst case, the Seong Jak Alliance could disappear entirely. As I promised you, I intend to preserve your authority. As you well know, that authority can only be maintained while one lives. Once dead, authority gradually fades, and another takes its place.”
“….”
“Is it not said that a man’s word is worth a thousand gold? I keep my promises. Now that your question is answered, you should go.”
Pung Mu-hwi shook his head.
In this moment, he became certain.
Seol Woon-hwi.
This man is worthy of serving.
The very vessel of his character existed on an entirely different plane than Pung Mu-hwi’s own.
Pung Mu-hwi drew his sword sheath and laid it on the ground.
As Seol Woon-hwi’s expression turned puzzled, Pung Mu-hwi dropped to his knees.
“What does this mean?”
“It means what you think it does.”
Pung Mu-hwi raised his head, looking up at Seol Woon-hwi.
“I will not speak at length. I wish to stand beside the Great One.”
“You mean me?”
“I wish to become your blade.”
Seol Woon-hwi slowly approached and knelt on one knee.
“I hold you in high regard.”
“….”
“Above all, I have no doubt that you can clearly distinguish whether this decision of yours stems from a momentary surge of emotion or something deeper.”
“It is not a momentary impulse.”
“Are you certain?”
“I have received your favor more than once. Beyond that, you posed the topic of Pung Shin’s Divine Realm, and through it I gained profound enlightenment. Though I could not ascend to the Heaven-Human Realm, I clearly glimpsed the path forward. Is it not the way of a martial artist to repay received favor?”
That could not be denied.
“Though my current realm as a martial artist surpasses yours, I dare not claim that my vessel equals yours. Even now, in this very moment, you overwhelm me both as a martial artist and as a human being. I believe that the best way I can repay the favor I’ve received from such a person is through this path.”
Seol Woon-hwi, who had been thinking quietly, spoke softly.
“Your resolve seems unwavering.”
“Yes. I am resolute.”
Seol Woon-hwi nodded and handed the Divine Ginseng Smoke he had been holding to Pung Mu-hwi.
As if he had been waiting, Pung Mu-hwi accepted it and inhaled the smoke deeply.
The wounds he had sustained in his final confrontation with the Green King continued to throb with pain, but as he smoked the Divine Ginseng Smoke, that agony transformed into a refreshing sensation.
“There is a saying: ‘The virtue of humility and deference.’ Yet regrettably, when modesty exceeds its bounds, it becomes deception.”
Pung Mu-hwi listened intently to my words while drawing steadily on the Divine Ginseng Smoke.
“As you said, I am exceptionally talented. I do not underestimate my own worth. But the path I walk is inevitably one of blood where someone must die. In that process, my people may fall—and that someone could be you.”
“If a martial artist can die in service, is that not a good death?”
“It is a good death. But no one truly wishes to die prematurely, do they?”
“That is true.”
“I am telling you that things will only grow more perilous ahead.”
“….”
“Can you bear it?”
A smile blossomed at the corners of Pung Mu-hwi’s lips.
“Of course, Great One.”
I rose from my seat.
“Pung Mu-hwi, from this day forward, you are my man.”
He knelt and performed the Cupped Fist Salute.
“Thank you!”
“I give you your first command. The Fragrant Group and Iron Ship Hall of the Seong Jak Alliance have betrayed me. Go and annihilate those two organizations, then absorb them into Punggeom Hall. Can you do this?”
“Of course, Great One.”
“You have one month. Within that month, absorb them all, and….”
I paused in thought before continuing slowly.
“Prepare to enter Cheon Ryong Palace.”
“Among the members of Cheon Rak Bu, there are martial artists from Iron Ship Hall and the Fragrant Group. How should we handle them?”
“They are comrades who crossed the threshold of death with us. From what I can see, this was done without their knowledge, so it would be unjust to hold them accountable. Proceed in a way that preserves their lives as much as possible, but let your judgment guide all decisions. I will bear the responsibility.”
“Understood.”
I withdrew ten of the highest-grade Divine Ginseng Smoke and Divine Ginseng Pills from my robes and handed them to Pung Mu-hwi, then departed with Manager Seong.
There was still somewhere I needed to go.
The blood spilled today
must naturally include that of the beggar whelp.
* * *
The proposal I had made to Ham Jang-sik was truly enticing.
To sit in a position that controlled all information of the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance, surpassing the Seongchakju itself?
Above all, it was a realistic proposition.
Without looking far, this place called Seongchakju was truly vast. Among the territories under the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance’s jurisdiction, it was the largest, richest in resources, and most strategically positioned—controlling it was equivalent to seizing the very heart of the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance.
It was no coincidence that martial artists of the Heaven Earth Four Realms had been so abundant here.
That I had dominated this place and brought the Seong Jak Alliance to its knees as Cheonsu was undoubtedly an achievement.
An achievement that few could accomplish, and my standing within the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance would surely skyrocket.
No—it had already skyrocketed.
Therefore, Mae Wi-dong, acting as the Alliance Leader of the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance, would regard me highly and would certainly accept my proposal.
This was not an unrealistic notion whatsoever.
That very night, after I accepted the deal.
Ham Jang-sik received a visitor.
Baek Mu-jin of the Ihwageomseonchong.
Those who understood how the board was moving sought to monopolize the Information Organization in whatever way they could.
Baek Mu-jin was no exception.
The difference was that Baek Mu-jin had received orders, while I made my own judgment and moved independently.
That was the distinction.
Suddenly presented with a choice, Ham Jang-sik engaged in deep conversation with Baek Mu-jin and began scheming with the cunning characteristic of the Beggar Sect.
The crux was simple.
Could Baek Mu-jin deliver what I had promised to give?
Unfortunately, Baek Mu-jin lacked the authority to decide that on the spot.
So he sent a premium-grade messenger bird to Jang I-cheong.
Before the drinking session ended, the answer came.
Manhwa Geom-je Jang I-cheong staked his own name and promised to take responsibility for Five Knot Beggar Ham Jang-sik, elevating him to Six Knot Beggar status.
Right then, Ham Jang-sik made his decision.
To turn his back on me.
He gazed up at the sky.
By now, the results should have come in.
From what he’d heard, they wouldn’t kill me—they’d turn me into a puppet instead.
It was somewhat ambiguous.
Had he sent some beggars to provide military support, he could have demanded something greater, but Baek Mu-jin’s side had rejected that notion.
That was confidence itself, so it would succeed.
Not long after, a Two Knot Beggar came rushing in frantically.
“B-Branch Chief!”
“Yes, speak. What became of the result…”
“It failed, sir.”
His mind ground to a halt.
“What…what did you say?”
“Baek Mu-jin has failed. And…right now, Seol Woon-hwi and Seong Yang-ho are slaughtering every beggar near Seongchakju!”
He was at a loss for words.
Damn it.
That crazy bastard.
Is he really trying to wage war against the Beggar Sect?
“Immediately bring the Dog-Beating Staff…no, wait.”
Reason returned for a moment.
“…Tell all the beggars to withdraw.”
“…Withdraw…sir?”
“Withdraw. If we engage, Seong Yang-ho is a monster of the Divine Transformation Realm, and Seol Woon-hwi is an existence for whom realm distinctions are meaningless. If Baek Mu-jin fell…then Cheon Rak-bu and Pung Mu-hwi may yet move, so order them to flee at once.”
“…I understand.”
Ham Jang-sik watched Yi Gyeol-gae dash outside, then quietly took his seat.
* * *
The path leading to the Gaebangsaekjuk Branch was drenched in blood.
Seol Woon-hwi was no fool.
He had never harbored goodwill toward the beggars of the Beggar Sect from the start, but he maintained a certain degree of respect for them.
Even parasitic creatures possessed the capability to survive in the Murim, after all.
But that was only when there was no ‘direct involvement.’
After making a deal with Ham Jang-sik, all the Beggar Sect disciples under Seongchakju had become my associates.
Yet they stabbed me in the back.
I never let such things slide.
I would punish them thoroughly and exact my revenge.
This is the Murim.
In the Murim, when one who has been wronged remains silent, it is no different from openly declaring oneself weak.
And the Murim never leaves such a person alone. It drains them dry while they live, and continues draining them even after death.
To break that vicious cycle.
To prevent such situations where one is constantly looked down upon.
That is why I am doing this.
My sword grazed past Il Gyeol-gae’s neck.
*Shing—!*
His head fell to the ground.
I moved forward again.
Corpses of beggars lay scattered in my wake.
Those who tried to relay information, those who tried to flee, those who pleaded.
I cut them all down without discrimination.
“Cheon… Cheonsu-sa…! I know nothing….”
Manager Seong’s hidden dagger appeared from behind in an instant, severing the beggar’s neck.
With a shing, the last beggar’s head rolled across the floor.
“All cleared, Young Master.”
Manager Seong’s tally exceeded mine.
If I had killed ten, Manager Seong had slain nearly fifty or more.
Of course, this was not all.
We had killed over two hundred Beggar Sect disciples on the way here.
It had only been half a shichen since the massacre at Cheon Ryong Palace, yet there would surely be none who viewed this slaughter favorably—but it mattered not.
I paid no heed to such things.
Respect springs from fear.
I would rule Seongchakju through fear, and it would naturally transform into reverence.
I slowly sheathed my blood-stained sword and stood before the entrance to the branch chief’s office within the Gaebangsaekjuk Branch.
As if waiting, Manager Seong kicked the door open.

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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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