Ten Paths of the Master - Chapter 41

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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 41. Master, Sect Leader, and Grand Sect Leader
The Incense Gathering, headquarters of the Hao Sect in Dian.
As Yang Hui turned from the busy market street into a quiet alley, a weathered signboard bearing the name “Incense Gathering” came into view.
Yang Hui, the sect master’s attendant, pushed open the door without hesitation.
Dan Ye followed close behind, wrapped in an odd tension.
For over a decade since his days at the Plague Horse Sect, he had imagined nothing but this moment—entering the true headquarters of the Hao Sect.
And perhaps, if fortune favored him, he might even see Bai You-hwa and the disciples again.
The thought alone set his heart racing.
The interior of the Incense Gathering, despite its weathered exterior bearing traces of time, was spacious and immaculate.
Shelves woven from aromatic wood lined the walls, each compartment holding bundles of incense and spice in vivid colors.
Below them, display cases overflowed with large and small jars of fragrant compounds.
‘No matter how I look at it, this is just an incense shop. Perfectly camouflaged.’
His eyes met those of the shop clerks, but none bore the mark of the Plague Horse Sect.
Dan Ye felt a flicker of disappointment, but did not abandon hope.
No one resembling a sect official had appeared yet.
Yang Hui proceeded unhurriedly through the interior and exited through a back door.
Beyond lay a spacious garden.
On the left side of the well-maintained grounds stood a building called the Fragrance-Seeking Pavilion, and on the right, one called the Tranquil Rest Hall.
As Yang Hui walked toward the Fragrance-Seeking Pavilion, he spoke by way of explanation.
“The Fragrance-Seeking Pavilion is where the sect master resides, and the Tranquil Rest Hall serves various purposes.”
“Ah—the sect master summoned me?
Dan Ye looked at Yang Hui with wide eyes.
He had assumed the “superior” would be the sect leader or perhaps the incense master, so this came as something of a surprise.
“I don’t know the reason. I was only ordered to bring you to the Fragrance-Seeking Pavilion.”
“I see…”
Just then, several figures emerged from the Tranquil Rest Hall.
Dan Ye’s eyes suddenly brightened as he glanced at them.
‘Wait—disciples from the Plague Horse Sect?’
The young man about his age was unmistakably a first-generation disciple of the Plague Horse Sect.
Though he couldn’t recall his name, his face was etched clearly in memory.
The moment their eyes met, the young man’s expression shifted slightly.
At first he seemed startled, but then his lips curled upward.
It was unmistakably a sneer.
Dan Ye forced a bitter smile and turned his head forward again.
Memories of what he had been like at the Plague Horse Sect came flooding back.
“Why are you grinning?”
At Ro Shim’s question, Jin Mu turned back to him.
“Remember Stone Monkey Dan Ye?”
“The one who got beaten every day?”
“They say the Plague Horse Sect closed, but he’s ended up here with us, apparently.”
“He didn’t go to the music house?”
“I just saw him heading into the Fragrance-Seeking Pavilion.”
“So what’s Dan Ye’s rank supposed to be? He must have come with the fourth generation. Surely he’s not trying to attach himself to us first-generation disciples?”
“How would we let that happen? Look at what we’ve endured.”
The position of the first-generation disciples within the Hao Sect was precarious.
From the second generation onward, all disciples came from families already within the sect.
None of them had to live with the pitiful powerlessness of a Hao Sect member with no backing.
Through endless discrimination, the first generation had fought tooth and nail for recognition.
Especially in the battle of Hadong Province, they had distinguished themselves with remarkable deeds.
Many had died.
Twenty-five had failed to return from Hadong Province.
Without that sacrifice, the first generation would never have secured their place in the Hao Sect.
And now they were supposed to treat Dan Ye as a first-generation disciple?
It was absurd.
Just then, Ro Shim’s brow furrowed as he spoke.
“Something feels off, though. We didn’t even see the sect master during the initiation ceremony, but that bastard goes straight to the Fragrance-Seeking Pavilion?”
“Right? Should we look into whether he’s got some backing?”
“Let’s do it.”
At Jin Mu’s words, Ro Shim nodded emphatically.
***
Heartscent Pavilion.
As Yanghui, the Deputy Sect Leader of Jiangmen, entered with Danyeop, all eyes in the room fixed upon him.
Yanghui clasped his hands respectfully and offered a bow of greeting.
“Sect Leader, I have brought Danyeop.”
Mok Unsaeng, the Deputy Sect Leader, gestured for Yanghui to leave.
Yanghui turned quietly and withdrew from the room.
Baek Chogong, the Sect Leader, studied Danyeop intently from his seat of honor.
Indeed, with that smooth appearance, he was unmistakably a courtesan’s adopted brother.
He had the face of someone destined for great success in the Technique schools—yet why had he come to Jiangmen instead?
Then Mok Unsaeng, the Deputy Sect Leader, spoke.
“Danyeop, what is your relationship with Danbulwi of the Amun?”
“Danbulwi took me on as his adopted son when he was stationed at Byungma Fort.”
“Hmm. Then why didn’t you go to the Amun and come to us at Jiangmen instead?”
“Danbulwi said I was not suited for the Amun and asked me to look elsewhere.”
“Do you believe Jiangmen is the right place for you?”
“I am doing my best to become a true member of Jiangmen.”
Finding nothing amiss, Mok Unsaeng, the Deputy Sect Leader, turned to Baek Chogong.
This time, Baek Chogong opened his mouth.
“How is the work managing the fabric shops?”
“It suits me well enough.”
After a moment of silence, Baek Chogong moved to the heart of the matter.
“Danbulwi requested a promotion duel from the Amun today. Did you know he would do this?”
“I did not.”
Today, Danbulwi defeated two sect leaders and a deputy sect leader, and finally ascended to the position of Grand Sect Master. It seems he will be teaching the martial disciples of the Amun a new technique—the True Triple Sabre Method of the Amun, he calls it. I heard you spent two months with Danbulwi recently. Do you know anything about this technique?”
“Yes.”
In that instant, the eyes of Baek Chogong the Sect Leader, Mok Unsaeng the Deputy Sect Leader, Soyurhwa the Patrol Master, and Wijicheon the Sect Master all gleamed with sharp interest.
It was because a mere Incense Master had climbed high enough to defeat a deputy sect leader through this technique.
Hong Soguang, the Sect Leader of the Amun, had even praised this technique as comparable to the pinnacle methods of the Five Mountains Sword Technique.
“Is Danbulwi’s True Triple Sabre Method genuinely a technique of the Amun?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Do you know where and how Danbulwi obtained it?”
“He didn’t obtain it—Danbulwi, or rather Grand Sect Master Dan, personally refined and improved the Triple Sabre Method of the Amun.”
“What?”
“Nonsense!”
“So now those Amun dogs are trying to deceive us!”
Those listening let out remarks one after another.
A technique created by an Incense Master was obviously too convenient to believe.
Danyeop watched Jiangmen’s uproar with detachment, as if watching a fire across a distant river.
In truth, the decision to have Danbulwi credited as the creator of the True Triple Sabre Method had been his own.
It would be difficult to convince even the Amun disciples who knew him well, and he had no wish to draw public attention to himself for this.
Simma had written to him repeatedly: “Keep quiet until you reach the highest realm.”
She had never explained why, but her instructions had been consistent across several letters.
That was why he had put Danbulwi forward as the founder of the True Triple Sabre Method.
‘That man always stirs up trouble while I’m trying to stay hidden…’
After a moment, when the commotion settled, Baek Chogong spoke.
“Did you also learn the True Triple Sabre Method from Danbulwi?”
“Yes, he taught me during the more than two months we spent together.”
“Hmm.”
A contemplative sound escaped Baek Chogong’s lips.
He would have known it was advantageous to deny learning it, yet he admitted it openly.
‘So Danbulwi did make improvements after all…’
Hearing Danyeop’s words only deepened the confusion in his mind.
While he sat lost in thought, Soyurhwa, the Patrol Master, spoke.
“If he taught you, how much of it did you learn?”
“All of it.”
Baek Chogong, listening, pressed further.
“Then you’re saying you can demonstrate the True Triple Sabre Method?”
“Yes.”
“Then show us now. Patrol Master So, lend him a blade.”
“Of course.”
The patrol master of Sowol Faction handed his broadsword to Danyeop without ceremony.
Danyeop accepted it without hesitation and stepped to the center.
His demonstration of sword technique had been inevitable from the moment Dan Bul-wi said he would teach the Three Great Techniques to the main hall.
Standing before Baek Cho-gong the sect leader and numerous masters, he felt far less nervous than expected.
His time in Baek-wol Kingdom had brought about leaps in his cultivation.
Dealing with people was still difficult for him, but he no longer shrank before their gaze.
His mouth opened.
“First form of the Heavenly Earth Sword Technique: Heavenly Thunder Descending Slash.”
The broadsword moved fluidly along the pathway, then shot upward into empty air before plummeting downward with a bone-chilling sound of splitting wind.
Screeeech—! Boom—!
Where the sword wind struck the floor, latent force erupted with a sound, and dust scattered in all directions.
In the second form, Horizontal Sweep Absolute, the crowd had to dodge the sword wind.
The sword wind from the third form, Wind and Cloud in Harmony, dislodged a window entirely.
In truth, this occurred because Danyeop’s level of cultivation was still shallow.
His footwork was not yet fluid enough to control the strength and weakness of his strikes, so he had inadvertently lost control.
When Danyeop finished his demonstration of the Heavenly Earth Sword Technique, Baek Cho-gong the sect leader cried out.
“Wait!”
Danyeop, about to move into the Genuine White Willow Sword Technique, looked at the sect leader with bewilderment.
“That—it truly is our sect’s Heavenly Earth Sword Technique! How is this possible? How could the Heavenly Earth Sword Technique rival the Plum Blossom Sword Method of the Fire Mountain School?”
“I have simply learned from the Sect Leader Dan Bul-wi.”
“I am not reproaching you. It is simply too remarkable—I find it difficult to believe, and that is why I speak.”
…….
Danyeop did not answer.
Since it was attributed to Dan Bul-wi the sect leader, it was enough to let the matter rest.
Mok Un-saeng, deputy sect leader, spoke after belatedly collecting himself.
“Sect Leader, did not the Sect Leader Dan Bul-wi train at the Army Fortress for fourteen years without cease? It appears he gained profound insights in that process. We have no choice but to support him fully. We must support the Sect Leader Dan Bul-wi. If we entrust the instruction of our disciples only to wandering masters, we shall become the mockery of all the martial sects.”
At this, Baek Cho-gong the sect leader nodded.
“Yes, supporting the Sect Leader Dan Bul-wi is the right course. The Sect Leader Ha So-ran will surely feel slighted.”
Until now, the sect leader Ha So-ran had recruited three wandering masters.
Yet today, the main hall had unilaterally appointed a sect leader.
Ha So-ran the sect leader had been serving as deputy sect leader, but Hong So-gwang the sect leader had overturned this decision.
By principle, he ought to have sided with Ha So-ran, but after witnessing the Heavenly Earth Sword Technique, he could not possibly do so.
Mok Un-saeng, deputy sect leader, spoke.
“Sect Leader, might this not create friction between Ha So-ran the sect leader and Hong So-gwang the sect leader?”
“Friction?”
“Did not Hong So-gwang the sect leader appoint the sect leader without consulting the other sect leaders? In effect, he has set himself in opposition to Ha So-ran the sect leader, and surely Ha So-ran is not one to take such treatment lying down?”
“Even so, there is nothing to be done about this matter. Ha So-ran the sect leader may be angry, but he must yield this position to the main hall.”
As the conversation between the sect leader and deputy sect leader grew lengthy, Danyeop quietly withdrew.
At that moment, the patrol master of Sowol Faction stepped forward.
“Sect Leader, what if we too appoint a head instructor at this opportunity?”
At those words, Baek Cho-gong the sect leader’s eyes turned toward Danyeop.
The Heavenly Earth Sword Technique was the exclusive secret art of the Sowol Faction.
In the past, it had been undervalued, but the Genuine Heavenly Earth Sword Technique was different.
It could truly be called the pinnacle art of the martial world.
‘If the main hall has Dan Bul-wi, we have Danyeop…….’
The position of sect leader might be yielded to the founder, but that of head instructor was worth pursuing.
However, doing so would put him at odds with Ha So-ran the sect leader.
Ha So-ran the sect leader’s ultimate goal was surely to elevate the wandering masters to both head instructor and sect leader positions.
As Baek Cho-gong the sect leader’s contemplation lengthened, Mok Un-saeng, deputy sect leader, interjected.
“In any case, Danyeop will end up teaching the disciples of the Sowol Faction. There is no point in considering Ha So-ran the sect leader’s position.”
It was a proposal to make Danyeop the head instructor.
Suddenly, Baek Cho-gong the sect leader turned his gaze to Danyeop.
‘But was Danyeop not said to be a fool?’
A man who had not grasped even the Heavenly Earth Sword Technique in thirteen years—how could he master the far more difficult Three Great Techniques?
“Danyeop, you lack talent to such a degree that you could not even complete your trial at the Army Fortress—how did you manage to grasp the Three Great Techniques of the main hall?”
“When I was at the Army Fortress, the Sect Leader Dan Bul-wi told me: ‘Rainwater dripping from the eaves bores holes through stone.’ My mind was slower than others, but eventually a hole was bored through mine as well.”
At those simple, clear words, the masters of the Sowol Faction nodded.
In truth, there was nothing else to suppose.
Baek Cho-gong the sect leader spoke with admiration in his eyes.
“Excellent. You are a man of unbreakable spirit. I must ask one thing of you: I shall appoint you as head instructor of the Sowol Faction. Teach our disciples the Three Great Techniques.”

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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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