Ten Paths of the Master - Chapter 54

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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 54. I Shall Take Byeongmatong
Geumcheonbang, in Useong, the right sector of the western districts.
The main hall of Heukru.
Around the hour of Si, near mid-morning, three men came to a halt before the grand gate of the estate.
The elderly one was Baek Chogong, Sect Leader of Jeommun; the middle-aged man was Dan Bulwi, Chief Instructor; and the young one was Dan Yeop.
Before crossing the threshold, Sect Leader Baek Chogong still felt uneasy and spoke up.
“Chief Instructor Dan, wouldn’t it be better to turn back now? You speak of vengeance, but if you offer compensation, the matter could be buried and forgotten.”
“No, sir. If Haowen suffers losses because of something I’ve brought upon them, it will be held against them for years to come.”
Dan Yeop refused.
Now was when Haowen needed to gather people and resources.
He did not want to give Sect Leader Ha Soran leverage over him through this matter.
‘And she’s surely already plotting something…….’
On the first day of the first lunar month, the Sect Leaders of the Six Sects were scheduled to convene.
At that gathering, the matter of Chief Instructors and Instructors would be raised in earnest, and he could not afford to tarnish his position before the discussion even began.
Understanding Dan Yeop’s meaning, Sect Leader Baek Chogong did not press further.
Soon after, when he knocked, a scarred man emerged.
“Who goes there?”
“I am Baek Chogong, called here at the Master’s behest.”
“Haowen?”
“Indeed.”
“Damn! Freezing my ass off out here, and you couldn’t come any earlier. I’ve been guarding this gate since before dawn for nothing. Come on in.”
The man opened the gate only partway and stepped aside.
Sect Leader Baek Chogong, Chief Instructor Dan Bulwi, and Instructor Dan Yeop entered.
“This way.”
The man, closing the gate behind them, shuffled ahead into the interior.
The group from Baek Chogong followed quietly in his wake.
Crossing the courtyard, the man called out before Hyeoneumgak.
“People from Haowen have arrived!”
Then Seo Cheonjin, the Village Master of the Outer Hall, emerged from Hyeoneumgak.
He looked at Dan Yeop and asked.
“Are you Dan Yeop?”
“I am.”
“Hmph! A bold one, aren’t you? That’s how you dared lay hands on Jong Yo. Come inside.”
With those words, Seo Cheonjin turned back into Hyeoneumgak.
Hyeoneumgak.
The moment he stepped inside, Sect Leader Baek Chogong, surveying the interior, let out a suppressed sigh.
‘Damn. All the masters have gathered.’
In the hall stood seven masters of Heukru in total.
Yu Gwanghyeon the Bloodstained Trace, Master; No Jinggeon the Chain-Heart Breaker, Protector; Gang Rim the Shadow Guest, Patrol Officer; Wei Hongran the Blood Eater, Inner Hall Hall Master; Jang Mok the Shadowless Killer, Outer Hall Hall Master; and Seo Cheonjin the Shadowless Number, Village Master of the Outer Hall, and Jong Yo the Sorrow-Haunted Ghost.
Over nothing but Jong Yo’s severed wrist, the entire core of Heukru had assembled.
The more Sect Leader Baek Chogong thought on it, the darker his outlook became.
They killed people at their whim, and yet they threw all this turmoil over a single wrist!
In such an atmosphere, it seemed neither Dan Yeop nor he himself would emerge unscathed.
He quickly clasped both hands before him and bowed deeply.
It was an exaggerated gesture of respect, one fit for an audience with an emperor.
“This humble Baek Chogong of Jeommun pays his respects to the illustrious Blood-Stained Trace Master and the heroes of Heukru, whose names ring throughout the realm.”
At this, Gang Rim, the Patrol Officer, let out a cold laugh.
“Hmph! Your words flow like honey, but in truth you look down on us Heukru. That’s why you ambushed Jong Yo and severed his wrist.”
“No, absolutely not, sir. That day’s events were…….”
As Sect Leader Baek Chogong tried to explain, Jang Mok, the Outer Hall Hall Master, lunged forward and kicked him.
With a sharp crack, Sect Leader Baek Chogong’s body flew backward.
Rolling across the floor, Sect Leader Baek Chogong scrambled back to his feet and returned to his former position.
Jang Mok, the Shadowless Killer, furrowed his brow sharply and spoke.
“The Patrol Officer wasn’t finished speaking—where do you get off wagging your mouth? And you claim you don’t look down on Heukru?”
“Never, I swea—!”
Sect Leader Baek Chogong’s face snapped to the side.
Hall Master Jang Mok had struck with lightning speed, his palm whipping across the man’s cheek.
“Damn dog, now you’re cutting me off too? A so-called Sect Leader with a liver this swollen—no wonder your disciples don’t know their place and act so recklessly.”
……
Sect Leader Baek Chogong stood pale and silent.
If he answered, Jang Mok would cut him off anyway, so he was simply waiting it out.
But his opponent was a heretical sect master well versed in the art of tormenting others.
With a sharp crack, Sect Leader Baek Chogong’s face snapped toward the other side.
This time the blow landed properly, and Sect Leader Baek Chogong crumpled to the ground.
His blood ablaze, Hall Master Jang Mok rushed in and began kicking him relentlessly.
“You worthless cur! Know your place! Don’t you dare bite the hand that feeds you! You’re a dog! A dog! We raised you for menial tasks, and look at you—snapping at your master! Did you think you’d survive after biting your master?”
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Sect Leader Baek Chogong instinctively curled into a ball.
Chief Instructor Dan Bulwi narrowed his eyes but did not intervene.
This was merely what Haowen typically endured, being marked as a heretical sect by the Heukru.
But Dan Yeop was different.
Watching the elderly Sect Leader Baek Chogong take these blows made his heart uneasy.
The root cause of this entire affair was his own doing.
“Perhaps that’s enough.”
…….
At Dan Yeop’s words, Hall Master Jang Mok’s kicking ceased.
A strange silence descended over the hall.
A mere boy from Haowen had dared to contradict the Heukru’s proceedings.
Hall Master Jang Mok turned toward Dan Yeop.
“What did you just say?”
“I said perhaps that’s enough. This whole thing started because I cut off Jong Yo’s wrist, didn’t it? So why take it out on Sect Leader Baek? If I scared you that much, you should’ve summoned me instead. Why torment the man who’s already involved?”
“You mad bastard…….”
Hall Master Jang Mok could only blink at Dan Yeop’s utterly unexpected retort.
He was too dumbfounded even to muster anger.
In his stead, Village Master Seo Cheonjin descended on Dan Yeop like a hawk.
“You filthy dog……. Ack!”
Dan Yeop dodged Seo Cheonjin’s fist and grabbed him by the throat.
Seo Cheonjin’s face drained of color.
As his body convulsed, Dan Yeop hurled him backward with a flick.
He crashed hard to the floor.
Seo Cheonjin lay sprawled, gasping for breath.
Hall Master Jang Mok forced a smile and spoke.
“So there’s something to trust after all. Are you also from the Byeongmatong?”
He was fishing, having heard rumors that “martial artists from the Byeongmatong are quite skilled.”
“You’re well informed. I’m a graduate of the Byeongmatong.”
“Ha! Damn it, anyone hearing that would think Haowen was the Five Evil Blade Sect. The only thing worth anything from Haowen is the Chamber Arts of their courtesans. A boy learns a few parlor tricks and suddenly thinks he’s reached the heavens.”
But despite his words, Hall Master Jang Mok made no immediate move.
‘Haowen is that strong?’
It made no sense that a Haowen disciple could subdue Village Master Seo Cheonjin so effortlessly.
He suddenly turned his gaze toward Village Master Jong Yo.
Jong Yo’s eyes quickly shifted away.
‘That fool lied to me.’
Meanwhile, Sect Leader Baek Chogong rose from the ground and took his place beside Chief Instructor Dan Bulwi.
Seeing that conflict was now inevitable, Chief Instructor Dan Bulwi stepped forward.
“Hall Master Jang Mok! I was an Instructor of the Byeongmatong martial arts. You said ‘the only thing worth anything from Haowen is courtesans’ Chamber Arts’? Do you wish to die?”
In an instant, Hall Master Jang Mok’s face flushed purple with rage.
“Dan Bulwi, you fool! As they say, when the squid dances, the flatfish dances too—you two are a perfect pair! A mere Village Master of the Amun dares flap his lips? Is it you who wants to die?”
Dan Yeop, whom Hall Master Jang Mok had found troublesome, now swiftly became a secondary concern as Jang Mok shifted his focus to Dan Bulwi.
Dan Bulwi’s martial skill was widely known throughout the heretical sects.
The Master seated at the head table and the Protectors and Patrol Officers of the Inner Hall below watched with keen interest.
Dan Yeop was young and could thrash about like a wild thing, but with an experienced fighter like Dan Bulwi doing the same, their curiosity was naturally piqued.
Rather than speak, Dan Bulwi slowly drew his saber.
Hall Master Jang Mok drew his saber in turn and stepped forward to face Dan Bulwi.
The two men stared at each other for a moment before their blades flashed out like lightning.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang—!
Sparks erupted between Dan Bulwi and Hall Master Jang Mok.
At first they seemed evenly matched, but soon Hall Master Jang Mok began to give ground.
Pressed into defense, Hall Master Jang Mok had no choice but to unleash the Dokmun secret technique.
Jang Mok’s saber gleamed as it flew toward Dan Bulwi’s throat.
It was the Shadowless Flash, the technique that had earned him his reputation.
The flashing blade light was an illusion; the true strike was aimed at his core.
Knowing well the temperament of Jang Mok, Dan Bulwi met the attack with the fourth form of the Jinchilsang Saber Method—Four Injury Form Break.
Dan Bulwi’s saber moved half a beat late.
Yet within that delay lay the subtlety of striking after the opponent commits.
Flash—!
For an instant, Jang Mok and Dan Bulwi stood motionless, as though carved from stone.
Clang.
The severed tip of Jang Mok’s saber fell to the floor with a metallic ring.
Soon after, a thin line appeared across Jang Mok’s neck, and his head tumbled away.
“You monster!”
“How dare you!”
The Protector No Jinggeon and the Patrol Officer Gang Rim rushed toward Dan Bulwi.
But Dan Yeop was hardly the type to stand idle and watch.
Drawing his saber, Dan Yeop brought it down in a sweeping arc from overhead to ground.
It was the first form of the Jinchenji Saber Method—Heavenly Thunder Falling Slash.
Crackle-crackle-crackle—!
Two ribbons of saber energy descended upon the heads of Protector No Jinggeon and Patrol Officer Gang Rim.
Alarmed, Gang Rim raised his saber to deflect the energy.
Shockingly, his saber was cleaved clean in two.
In that instant, Gang Rim scrambled toward the Master.
But No Jinggeon was not so fortunate.
A master of palm techniques, he countered the saber energy with the Escape Life Palm, a signature Dokmun skill.
In that moment, both his hands were severed cleanly at the wrist.
Crimson blood sprayed from the stumps.
“Ahhhhh! My hands! My hands!”
Protector No Jinggeon, seized by panic, shrieked and bolted from the hall.
A heavy silence fell over the great hall.
Saber in hand, Dan Yeop walked steadily toward the upper dais.
Chief Instructor Dan Bulwi and Sect Leader Baek Chogong followed in his wake like an honor guard.
Master Yu Gwanghyeon, who had been seated on the dais, rose awkwardly from his place.
As Dan Yeop drew near, Yu Gwanghyeon quickly performed the gesture of respect and spoke:
“Young Hero Dan! You have achieved truly remarkable feats at the Terracotta Army Tomb. I, Yu, hold your martial prowess in sincere admiration.”
“Didn’t you summon me here to settle the matter of severing Jong Yo’s wrists?”
“Disputes are commonplace in the Martial World, are they not? Having witnessed your skill, I consider it a stroke of fortune that the matter ended with mere wrists. I did summon you, that much is true, but only to settle the dispute—no other intent lay behind it.”
Yu Gwanghyeon was clearly signaling that he had no intention of fighting.
Dan Yeop, who had been listening quietly, now turned his gaze toward Patrol Officer Gang Rim.
“You seem to harbor considerable resentment toward me. Is that why you beat Sect Leader Baek like a stray dog?”
Patrol Officer Gang Rim shook his head vigorously.
“No! Absolutely not!”
“Then why did you do something so vicious?”
“That was… that was….”
Patrol Officer Gang Rim’s mind raced desperately for an explanation, but none came.
At that moment, Dan Yeop spoke.
“A naturally brutal disposition?”
“…Yes. It’s true my nature tends toward violence, and I acted without restraint. But I swear to you—it had nothing to do with resentment toward Young Hero Dan. Please believe me. I would stake my ancestors’ souls on it.”
Desperate now, Patrol Officer Gang Rim even sold out his forebears.
One glance at Jang Mok’s rolling head and the blood scattered across the floor left him no choice.
Dan Yeop’s calm voice echoed through Hyeoneumgak.
“I am an Instructor of Jeommun. Sect Leader Baek is the face of our Jeommun. When you struck him, you struck all of Jeommun. Is that not so, Sect Leader Baek?”
“Your words are just, indeed.”
Dan Yeop fixed Patrol Officer Gang Rim with an unwavering stare and asked:
“You see? He agrees I’m right. You struck not only me and Chief Instructor Dan—you struck him as well. How will you atone for that crime?”

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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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