Ten Paths of the Master - Chapter 115

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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 115. A Stone Jutting from the Ground
Jang An City.
Somewhere within it.
An elderly man with the bearing of an immortal sat in a high pavilion, writing something.
It was a poem.
The old man, who had been composing the verses in one fluid stroke, paused and set down his brush.
Shortly after, footsteps approached, and two men appeared below the pavilion.
It was Jung Wun, the Chief Administrator, and Hong Jin, who bore another name.
“My lord, I have brought Hong Jin, the Dharma Master.”
At a gesture from the old man, Jung Wun bowed respectfully and withdrew.
The old man glanced at Hong Jin’s face and opened his mouth.
“Your complexion is troubled.”
“I beg your pardon. I attempted to persuade Dan Yeop, but my skill proved insufficient, and I failed.”
“You were defeated by a Pokwae from Haowen?”
The old man looked down at Hong Jin with an expression of disbelief.
Among Cheonryeon’s Thousand Buddhas, there was not a single mediocre master.
The Dharma Masters were transcendent experts who oversaw those thousand.
To him, therefore, the word “failure” seemed impossible.
Hong Jin lowered his head and answered.
“I had presumed myself to be half a level, perhaps a full level, superior to Dan Yeop. Yet when our hands met directly, I found the opposite to be true.”
“And yet you lived to return?”
He spoke with Bul Yeom Seonja’s recent death at Dan Yeop’s hands in mind.
“I detected no hostility toward Cheonryeon in Dan Yeop. It seemed his actions stemmed from a personal grudge with Hyeol Je alone.”
“So he spared your life for that reason?”
“Shamefully, yes.”
A sharp click of the tongue.
The old man clicked his tongue with a look of exasperation.
‘If persuasion fails, kill him’—yet here stood Hong Jin with a result that satisfied neither objective.
Since Dan Yeop was stronger than the Dharma Master, only the True Child could move against him.
But the True Child was Cheonryeon’s last bastion.
If Dan Yeop and Cheonryeon were mortal enemies sworn to mutual destruction, it might be worth it.
But to deploy the True Child merely to dispose of one Pokwae who harbored no real hostility toward Cheonryeon—the logic did not hold.
‘He is simply a Pokwae performing his duty, nothing more.’
If the problem were merely that, there were countless solutions.
Cheonryeon had followers in every corner of the world.
One could exclude the Pokwae Dan Yeop from Cheonryeon’s affairs entirely, or conduct the operation outside the jurisdiction of Jang An County.
He had no intention of devoting all his energy to uprooting a small stone jutting from the ground simply because it slightly impeded his step.
***
Seonpyeongbang in Uxing, the old name Xishou region.
The Main Hall of Jeommun.
Around noon.
Dan Yeop visited the Main Hall for the first time since becoming a Pokwae.
He passed through the front establishment and entered the back courtyard, where Simhyang Pavilion and Ansik Heon came into view.
Before meeting with Baek Chogong, the Sect Leader, he made his way to the Ansik Heon, where he had trained with the sect disciples throughout the winter.
Upon opening the door and stepping inside, he felt a moment of surprise.
The training hall had been filled entirely with incense and aromatics.
Though only a few months had passed, the storage room felt as though centuries had elapsed.
A sudden wave of nostalgia washed over him.
Only a few months away, and such a transformation?
Just then, a familiar voice called from behind him.
“Vice Chief Dan?”
He turned to find So Weolhwa, the Patrol Hall Master, standing with a look of surprise.
“Hall Master So.”
“My goodness, it really is you, Vice Chief Dan. What brings you here? Don’t tell me you’ve quit being a Pokwae and come back?”
Dan Yeop quickly dispelled So Weolhwa’s misunderstanding.
“No, I’ve come to meet with the Sect Leader. I was feeling nostalgic and thought I’d visit Ansik Heon, but it seems we no longer train here?”
“Ah, that’s because the transmission of the True Martial Art to the Hall Masters and Village Masters has been completed. The Village Masters have dispersed and are now teaching the Sect Soldiers and talented disciples. We couldn’t risk the Haowen disciples coming and going from the Main Hall too frequently—it might expose our identity.”
“I see. So you’ve already advanced to the True Seven Phases Technique?”
“Vice Chief Dan Bulwi worked so hard. He came all the way here every single day without fail to provide instruction.”
“That must have been demanding for him.”
“Thanks to that, Jeommun’s martial prowess has improved by leaps and bounds. The Sect Leader will be amazed when he sees the disciples.”
Dan Yeop smiled wryly at her words.
It was only natural—when martial skill rose, the hands and feet grew restless for action.
The reason Haowen had caused such trouble that it nearly paralyzed the affairs of Jang An County lay precisely in that.
So Weolhwa, the Patrol Hall Master, noticed Dan Yeop’s expression only belatedly and asked carefully.
“What is it?”
“Ah! Today the Hyeonwi called me in and said that Haowen disciples have been causing so much trouble, they can’t overlook it any longer.”
“Oh my, I knew something like this would come eventually. So it’s finally happened. Is that why you’ve come to meet the Sect Leader?”
“Yes. We need to find some way to resolve this. If things continue like this, the disciples who caused trouble may have to be sent into exile.”
“Exile……, that mustn’t happen. Let’s hurry and go meet the Sect Leader.”
So Weolhwa, the Patrol Hall Master, with fire at her heels, led the way.
***
Simhyang Pavilion.
Four men and women sat facing each other across a table.
Baek Chogong, the Sect Leader; Mok Unsaeng, the Vice Sect Leader; Dan Yeop; and So Weolhwa, the Patrol Hall Master.
Dan Yeop related to them everything he had heard from Do Gyeom, the Hyeonwi, without omission or embellishment.
“……If the word gets out that only Haowen is being shown favor, it will be troublesome, so they say the disciples must be disciplined.”
So Weolhwa, the Patrol Hall Master, backed up Dan Yeop’s account.
“To avoid suspicion, they’ll enforce the law soon. Haowen has no backer, so they’ll receive exile labor just as before, they said.”
Even when they fought identically and inflicted the same injuries, members of the proper sects received beating punishment, while Haowen disciples and street riffraff were sentenced to hard labor.
That was how it had been until before Dan Yeop became a Pokwae.
But in the past few months, Haowen disciples too had been beaten and released.
Needless to say, it was all thanks to Dan Yeop’s advancement to Pokwae.
When So Weolhwa, the Patrol Hall Master, finished speaking, Baek Chogong, the Sect Leader, spoke.
“Actually, I was planning to meet with Dan soon about that very matter. The disputes with minor factions are really a result of the disciples’ increased martial prowess. In the old days, the disciples would have kept their heads down of their own accord, but now they’re holding them high, and trouble was bound to follow.”
……
Dan Yeop listened in silence, already having anticipated as much.
“As long as the minor factions treat Haowen disciples the way they’ve been doing, disputes will not cease in the future.”
Mok Unsaeng, the Vice Sect Leader, sensing the mood, added his words.
“Our disciples are perceptive enough that they don’t cause trouble with places like Janwol Pavilion, Sahae Faction, Heuklu, or Yuk Union. But the minor factions like Obangs, Jukbang, and Mukbang keep belittling them as if they amount to nothing……, so they can’t bear it.”
In truth, Haowen disciples who had learned the True Three Pathways Technique were superior to the minor factions.
Their martial strength was still comparable now, but with time, the gap would only widen.
The minor factions did not yet realize it, but the Haowen disciples dimly sensed the change coming in the future.
Their own martial prowess was advancing daily—one would have to be a fool not to see it.
They bowed their heads to the famous factions of the Heterodox Path out of ingrained fear, but they felt no such compunction toward the minor factions.
“So, are you saying you’ll leave the disputes with the minor factions unattended?”
Baek Chogong, the Sect Leader, reading the restrained emotion in Dan Yeop’s voice, hastened to respond.
“How could I do such a thing? Who do you think is causing Dan to suffer his work in Jang An County? I’m not shameless enough for that. I’m planning to send away the troublesome Village Masters and Sect Soldiers far from here.”
“Send them away?”
“The Sect Leaders of Yukmun have been troubled by that problem all this time. Then Ha Soran, the Sect Leader, came up with a clever scheme.”
“How do you plan to proceed?”
“There are Haowen branches in Nongwu Province that are not enemies of us. There are Haowen disciples willing to join our cause.”
In that moment, Dan Yeop understood what Ha Soran’s clever scheme was.
“Are you perhaps planning to dispatch people to them?”
“Exactly. After all, we’ll have to teach them martial arts once we unify Haowen anyway, so let’s teach them in advance and have them contribute to our strength. If we dispatch the troublemakers among the Village Masters and Sect Soldiers as instructors, things in Nongwu Province will settle down.”
“Which Haowen branches in Nongwu Province are willing to join our cause?”
Dan Yeop asked without thinking, then wondered if he’d overstepped, and gauged Baek Chogong’s reaction.
Fortunately, Baek Chogong’s face showed no displeasure.
“Nongwu Province and Yungnam Province.”
“Those are quite distant places.”
“Which is why, once we begin dispatching the troublemakers, Nongwu Province should stabilize quickly.”
“Understood. When do you plan to begin the dispatch?”
“It seems we must hurry, so after consulting with the Sect Leaders of Yukmun, we’ll implement it immediately.”
“However, that will only be a temporary measure. Ultimately, the disciples need to find somewhere their strength can be put to use, or the problem will never be resolved.”
It was to say that Haowen’s long-term foundation had to be set in motion.
“Once Nongwu Province and Yungnam Province are ready next spring, such an opportunity will arise.”
“Then I will trust only in you, Sect Leader. I sincerely hope no disciples have to face exile.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll send them away by today or tomorrow.”
“Thank you for understanding such a difficult request.”
“It’s work for our Nongwu Province Haowen—there’s no need for thanks. By the way, Cheonryeon has been quiet lately. Do you happen to know why?”
“I’m not certain. You said Cheonryeon has been acting like she barely exists all this time, haven’t you? Perhaps she intends to do the same again.”
Cheonryeon had a pattern of causing trouble now and then, then falling quiet for stretches.
“But didn’t she claim she’d be bringing down Heaven’s Calamity this time? For all the ominous rumors, it seems to have ended rather quickly.”
“The magistrate’s office doesn’t know the reason either.”
With Cheonryeon suddenly going quiet, it was the vagabonds who flourished.
They loafed about the estates of high officials, collecting coin without lifting a finger.
“Still, Dan Yeop, do your work carefully and keep a low profile. For now, Cheonryeon only kills corrupt officials, but if they decide you’re interfering with their interests, they might come after you.”
“I understand. I’m doing my best to exercise restraint.”
There had been calculation behind Dan Yeop’s decision to spare Hong Jin the Buddhist monk.
***
Gangnam Province.
Fengjing County in Xishou.
Bai E Gate.
The Bai E Gate in Fengjing County was a martial faction founded by disciples of the Huangshan Faction.
Though the Huangshan Faction had not been admitted to the Five Evil Sword Sect, it remained a prominent house in Gangnam Province.
The Huangshan Faction had ordered Bai E Gate to support the Cheon Do Society.
As a result, Gongsun Chan, the Cheon Do Society’s chief strategist, and the society’s masters could remain encamped in the guest quarters for an extended period.
On a certain late-summer day.
Yi Wonho, the Provincial Inspector of Gangnam, came to find Gongsun Chan.
“The imperial court hopes that the Cheon Do Society will take up the task of eliminating Cheonryeon.”
“Your Excellency, Hyeol Je, whom the Cheon Do Society pursues, is also Cheonryeon. We can say we are already engaged in conflict with Cheonryeon.”
“Stop merely pretending to fight, and show real commitment.”
“Pretending? That is absolutely not the case.”
“Then show results. Don’t just trail behind Hyeol Je like a shadow.”
“Hyeol Je is no ordinary Demon Lord. The fact that the Cheon Do Society has pursued him for years now——”
“Bah! Do you take me for a blind and deaf fool? The Cheon Do Society came to Bai E Gate because Hyeol Je is in Huangshan, isn’t that so?”
……
“Then why have you been sitting idle at Bai E Gate for months?”
“That is——”
“No excuses. Kill Hyeol Je at once and move against Cheonryeon. If there is no change after this, the imperial court’s favor toward the Five Evil Sword Sect will be withdrawn.”
With that, Yi Wonho rose abruptly and left the guest quarters.
Gongsun Chan, who had been sighing, stood gazing toward Huangshan and murmured.
“There’s no more time to delay.”
To avoid falling out of imperial favor, tangible results were necessary.
Fortunately, since Hyeol Je was an infamously wicked Demon Lord, the Five Evil Sword Sect would face no reproach from the people for killing him.
Dozens of carrier pigeons took flight from Bai E Gate.
From that afternoon onward, masters of the Five Evil Sword Sect arrived at Bai E Gate in steady streams.

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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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