Ten Paths of the Master - Chapter 25

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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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Episode 25. The Hundred-Year Plan shall continue
Munsan, Gwannae Province.
Around midnight.
Masked warriors gathered silently at the mouth of the valley.
Their number reached thirty-one.
Above their masks, the warriors’ eyes blazed with killing intent.
The leader gestured for his men to draw near.
“From this moment on, kill anyone who crosses your path. In exactly half an hour, when you hear the horn, stop what you’re doing and withdraw immediately. Regroup at this location. Hesitation will cost you your life—strike fast, retreat faster. Is that clear?”
The masked men, seasoned in such work, nodded instead of speaking.
The leader added a final caution.
“No freelancing. If you spot a pretty woman and abandon formation, I’ll kill you myself. Speed and precision—that’s the entire operation. No distractions. Understood?”
The masked men nodded vigorously.
The leader glanced up at the moon, then bolted forward.
Thirty men in masks raced after him.
Whoosh—
The masked warriors vanished into the cave.
Byeongma Chong had only one entrance.
Three Ha-O-Mun disciples stood guard at it.
The narrow passage allowed only single-file passage.
The situation heavily favored Ha-O-Mun, but fortune smiled on the masked intruders.
The three Ha-O-Mun disciples, drowsy and nodding, failed to spot them.
One by one, the masked warriors slipped inside.
Moments later, three of them exchanged glances and moved forward silently.
At the critical moment, one of the masked men stepped on the Maleumsoei.
“Ugh!”
The involuntary scream jolted the drowsy Ha-O-Mun disciples awake.
“Enemies!”
A shout erupted, and combat between the Ha-O-Mun disciples and the masked warriors broke out.
Clang-clang-clang!
The clash of blades rang out deafeningly.
The three Ha-O-Mun disciples fell to the ground in moments.
Lights began to flicker to life around the darkened Byeongma Chong.
Like moths to flame, the masked warriors rushed toward the glow.
“Ahhh!”
“Kyahhh!”
“Enemies!”
“We’re under attack!”
“Everyone up!”
The silent fortress erupted like a disturbed nest.
Dan Yeop, who had been in deep sleep, snapped awake at the commotion outside.
“What—what is this?”
He scrambled from his bunk, dressed hastily, and rushed out into chaos.
Trainees ran wildly, shrieking in panic.
“Flee!”
“Assassins!”
“Alert the instructors!”
In the distance, screams and the sound of clashing blades echoed.
Panic seized Dan Yeop, and he bolted for the Amun training hall.
Only Dan Bulwi, his instructor, could protect him now.
As he reached the Amun training hall, Dan Bulwi called out, his face alight with urgency.
“Dan Yeop! Get in here!”
Dan Yeop burst through the door, breathing hard.
“Gasping—what is happening?”
Gwan Gujong answered from behind.
“Hadong Province sent assassins! They mean to slaughter every trainee in Byeongma Chong!”
“What—what do we do?”
“Hold the line! The Yuk-mun disciples are gathering in their training hall now.”
Dan Yeop began to understand the situation.
Since everyone except him was from Yuk-mun, they had fled to their own training hall.
He glanced around—only a dozen trainees had gathered in the Amun hall.
Perhaps for this reason, Dan Bulwi, who stood guarding the entrance, bore a dark expression.
Dan Yeop asked Gwan Gujong quietly.
“How many students does Amun normally have?”
“More than fifty.”
…….
In that moment, a chill ran through Dan Yeop.
Just then, a band of masked figures rushed into the Amun training hall.
Dan Bulwi shouted at the Amun disciples.
“Don’t panic! Hold your ground! Reinforcements will come if we wait!”
At once, a fierce exchange erupted between the masked intruders and the Amun disciples.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Screech!
Sparks flew in the darkness as steel clashed against steel.
The older fourth-generation students gripped their Jikdo and fell into line behind Dan Bulwi.
Dan Yeop reluctantly took his place among them.
Fortunately, Dan Bulwi held his ground at the front, managing to repel the masked figures effectively.
When their resistance proved fiercer than expected, some of the masked attackers shifted their focus elsewhere.
The narrow entrance meant standing idle in the back, so they changed their approach.
As a result, the pressure on the Amun training hall eased slightly.
But it was too soon to relax.
One of the disciples guarding the entrance took a blade and stumbled backward, blood streaming.
A fourth-generation student behind him rushed to fill the gap, taken by surprise.
Yet the young student could hold the position only for a handful of exchanges before falling to a sword.
Gwan Gujong stepped into the breach next, but he too couldn’t maintain it long.
Wounded by a blade, Gwan Gujong fell back, and it became Dan Yeop’s turn.
The moment Dan Yeop stepped forward, trembling, a second wave surged in from the side.
“Die!”
“You bastards!”
The Dangju and their supporting Hyangju poured in as a tide.
The tide of battle turned in an instant.
To claim the seat of Dangju, one must prove themselves a master in Ha-O-Mun.
The three Dangju prowled among the masked figures like tigers.
At their ferocity, the intruders began to give ground, step by step.
Then, from the distance, a sharp blast of the Hogak echoed out—”Peeee!”
In that instant, the masked figures broke and fled.
The Ha-O-Mun disciples roared with triumph as they chased the intruders down.
Dan Yeop’s legs gave out beneath him, and he collapsed to the ground.
His mind could hold nothing.
Scattered among the bodies of the slain students lay the corpses of the masked assailants.
The blood-soaked floor and the metallic stench of slaughter turned his stomach.
As he sat there, hollow and numb, he heard a groan escape from somewhere.
Suddenly returning to himself, he scrambled to his feet.
He turned to see Gwan Gujong lying on his side, moaning softly.
He rushed over to check the extent of the injury.
His flank was gashed open in a long, deep cut.
Dan Yeop tore a length of cloth from his own robe and bound Gwan Gujong’s wound tightly.
Gwan Gujong, his voice thin as death, whispered:
“Thank you, senior…….”
Dan Yeop wanted to say something, but his words would not come.
The other younger students, like Dan Yeop, began tending to the wounded.
Perhaps half an hour had passed?
Dan Bulwi, who had been pursuing the masked figures with the Dangju, returned.
He checked Dan Yeop’s condition first.
“Are you hurt?”
“No…….”
“That’s good. Sleep here in the Amun training hall tonight, just to be safe. The other students will rest in the Yuk-mun hall.”
“Yes. What happened to the masked ones?”
“They all fled.”
“Ah…….”
“But a good number of them couldn’t escape Byeongma Chong and perished.”
Ha-O-Mun had not fought so skillfully to earn such a victory.
The masked infiltrators milled about in confusion at the narrow entrance and suffered heavy casualties.
It was because their leader commanded his subordinates with nothing but a signal horn, lacking any coherent withdrawal strategy.
A common blunder committed by martial sects that had never studied military tactics.
***
The next day.
The casualties at Byeongma Chong came to light.
Of the two hundred twenty disciples in total, a staggering one hundred fifty had perished.
Nearly seventy percent of their numbers.
The losses among the instructors managing Byeongma Chong were no less severe.
Two head instructors, eight senior disciples, and twelve regular disciples had fallen.
The massive casualties brought Byeongma Chong, which had operated for fourteen years, to a complete standstill.
Around midday, the sect leaders of Yuk-mun rushed to Byeongma Chong upon receiving word.
The sect leaders of Yuk-mun held an emergency meeting regarding the operation of Byeongma Chong.
Ha Soran, the Gimun sect leader and de facto leader of Yuk-mun, spoke first, her face grave.
“Those who attacked Byeongma Chong last night were Hukseonbang from Hadong Province. I had my doubts, but it seems they’ve finally accepted a commission from Hadong Province’s Amun.”
Thereupon Ma Yeongdal, the Chamun sect leader, erupted.
“While Hadong Province’s heterodox sects expanded into Gwannae Province, what were the orthodox sects of Gwannae doing? Is Hyeonmugwan blind?”
Hong Sogwang, the Amun sect leader, muttered with obvious discomfort.
“Would they have entered Gwannae Province without Hyeonmugwan’s permission? They’d face annihilation if they tried…….”
“Are you saying they received Hyeonmugwan’s permission?”
“Even if they did, would I speak of it? What would befall me if I did?”
You cannot speculate without evidence on a matter of such gravity. This concerns the very survival of Ha-O-Mun in our province.”
As Ma Yeongdal, the Chamun sect leader, pressed relentlessly, Hong Sogwang, the Amun sect leader, fell silent.
Truthfully, he possessed only suspicion and no proof whatsoever.
Once the quarrel between the two subsided, Baek Chogong, the Jeonmun sect leader, spoke.
“There is merit in what the Amun sect leader says. Do you think Hukseonbang doesn’t understand that if Hadong Province’s heterodox sects expand into Gwannae, it will turn everything upside down? Would they destroy a sect for a few coins from Hadong Province’s Amun? That’s an absurd speculation.”
The faces of the five sect leaders darkened.
Just as Baek Chogong said, Hukseonbang’s entry into Gwannae Province was a grave matter.
It could only have happened with the tacit approval of Gwannae Province’s orthodox sects.
Go Wonbang, the Seonmun sect leader, posed a question to the assembled leaders.
“Let us assume that Gwannae Province’s orthodox sects tacitly approved Hukseonbang’s expansion. Why would they do such a thing?”
Baek Chogong, the Jeonmun sect leader, answered.
“Naturally, to crush Ha-O-Mun of Gwannae Province. They resent our unity.”
“Granted. Then what are we to do now? Byeongma Chong was assaulted and we’ve lost seventy percent of our disciples. It is as though our roots have been severed. Yet must we continue pushing forward with the Baeknyeon Daegye? Or should we abandon it?”
Lee Jangwon, the Gakmun sect leader, voiced an objection.
“Neither advancing nor retreating is simple. We lack the strength to advance, but if we abandon the endeavor, will the sect leaders of Ha-O-Mun in other provinces simply stand idle? Even Hadong Province’s Ha-O-Mun would seek to devour us…….”
“Alas!”
“Indeed!”
“Ugh!”
“Sigh!”
Sighs spilled from the lips of Yuk-mun’s sect leaders.
They were trapped in a situation where neither advance nor retreat was possible.
Then Hong Sogwang, the Amun sect leader, spoke.
“We have lost disciples, yet no one speaks of vengeance.”
……
The five sect leaders said nothing, merely biting their lips.
When the five leaders fell silent, Ha Soran, the Gimun sect leader, stepped forward.
“I intend to close the Byeongma Chong training grounds today. Since word of the underground royal tomb’s location has reached Hadong Province, government forces will arrive soon. And…….”
After a moment of troubled silence, Ha Soran continued.
“I believe we must continue the Baeknyeon Daegye. We cannot abandon it simply because the sects of the Gangho oppose it. Rather, I find my conviction growing—we must unify all the more because of such opposition. Don’t you all feel the same?”
Hong Sogwang, the Amun sect leader, asked in return.
“Do you have a strategy?”
“First, I will negotiate with Hadong Province’s Ha-O-Mun to settle this matter. Then we will quietly build our strength and join hands with those Ha-O-Mun that share our vision. The Ha-O-Mun in other provinces will surely feel the weight of this incident.”
The fact that Hadong Province’s heterodox sects struck at Gwannae Province’s Ha-O-Mun was an earth-shattering event.
Any thinking person would recognize the orthodox sects’ hand behind it.
Ha Soran intended to turn that very fact to her advantage in her dialogue with Ha-O-Mun in other provinces.
―See? The orthodox sects do not want Ha-O-Mun to unite! How long will you remain their pawns?
Anyone with even a modicum of sense would rally to her cause.
Just as Ha-O-Mun in other provinces had formed alliances to resist Gwannae Province’s Ha-O-Mun, Gwannae Province’s Ha-O-Mun could now form alliances with Ha-O-Mun elsewhere.
Hong Sogwang, the Amun sect leader, was the first to voice his agreement.
“Very well. I wish to avenge the disciples we lost at Byeongma Chong.”
Though he had not named his target for vengeance, the Munjs of Amun did not press him on it.
After the council concluded, the Munjs of Yuk-mun departed first.
Ma Sang, the Dangju in charge of Byeongma Chong, summoned the four surviving Gyodunim.
“The Munjs of Yuk-mun have decided to close Byeongma Chong. Word of the underground royal tomb will spread, and government forces will descend upon us soon enough. Make haste—gather your trainees and return each to your respective factions.”
Ma Sang’s gaze then turned toward Dan Bulwi.
“As for Dan Yeop, our first-generation disciple—what are your thoughts on his placement within Yuk-mun, Gyodunim?”
Dan Bulwi answered without hesitation.
“He wishes to go to Jeonmun.”
“Then let it be so.”
The day Byeongma Chong closed its doors, Dan Yeop’s dream came true.

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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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