The World’s Greatest Junior Martial Brother - Chapter 7

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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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Cheonha Jeil Sajae (7)
I’m the senior brother.
It’s not getting through to him!
Even after running through the Bukhae Mupa forms and reciting other secret techniques from the sect’s archives, Baekri Unhak rejected Jin Muok’s case with a single sentence.
“To think Master taught you even that.”
I’m losing my mind.
“That’s not what I mean!”
“Your words, then.”
Baekri Unhak cut in and drew the words out slowly.
“So you’re saying Master, who perished alongside the main force of the Demonic Cult at Sipman Daesan, transcended ten years and came back to life as a ten-year-old boy?”
Exactly what I’m saying!
Jin Muok, about to eagerly agree, was cut off by Baekri Unhak’s long, weary sigh.
“What era do you think this is? Spouting such nonsense.”
“It’s not nonsense!”
“Even the storytellers in the pleasure quarters no longer claim that a man who fell off a cliff found a fortuitous encounter and became the greatest master under heaven. Where did you pick up such a ridiculous tale?”
He doesn’t believe me.
Well, I wouldn’t believe it either.
Understanding Baekri Unhak’s state of mind, Jin Muok hesitated for a moment before producing his trump card.
Whatever else, he won’t be able to deny this.
“Look at this.”
Slowly raising his wooden sword, Jin Muok took the opening stance of the Bukhae Mupa once more.
“You said the opening stance, aimed at the space between heaven and earth from a middle-level posture, was half-baked, and you proposed a different direction.”
Swoosh—.
He lifted the sword tip that had hovered at midpoint up to the middle heavens, shifting into a commanding high guard as he began to unfold the form.
“You insisted that when opening a form, thinking about defense first leads straight to defeat, and that one must seize the initiative.”
Shhhk!
Without a single drop of inner power, Jin Muok’s wooden sword stirred no force whatsoever.
And yet…….
Boom! Rrrumble!
A storm wind from somewhere let out a long, howling cry that brushed faintly past Baekri Unhak’s ear.
“So you turned the Bukhae Mupa into an all-out offensive, discarding defense altogether, and yet—”
Shuu-shuu—.
The sword tip, which had been surging fiercely forward, suddenly swept hard across the right side, and Jin Muok’s flank was naturally wrapped in a shield of sword qi.
“And you boasted that you wouldn’t neglect defense like this, either.”
Jin Muok grinned, and Baekri Unhak stared back at him, dumbstruck.
It’s accurate!
That must be the Bukhae Mupa Baekri Unhak reinterpreted ten years ago!
A secret known only to Jin Muok and Baekri Unhak.
That was the variant form of the Bukhae Mupa.
“S-Master…….”
Now it’s finally getting through!
After ten long years, Jin Muok spread his arms wide, ready to embrace his disciple in a tearful reunion.
“Master must have been alive until just recently!”
What?
“I assumed you had acquired the Bukcheon Sinmun’s martial arts through Master’s teachings. But since you know even these minute details, you must have heard them directly from him.”
How did this conversation take such a turn?
Flustered, Jin Muok stammered, and then Baekri Unhak’s brilliant deduction began.
“At the moment of absolute crisis, Master must have sunk into a long slumber through the Bukcheon Yeonhon Daebeop, like hibernation. When he opened his eyes after ten years, he happened to meet you by chance.”
The Bukcheon Yeonhon Daebeop is indeed a superb life-saving art, but it can’t sustain a person for ten years on its own!
“His mind was perfectly clear, but his body was shattered, unable to move a single step. Fortunately, pleased by meeting you, a child of rare and heaven-given talent, he passed everything on to you, and—”
Baekri Unhak let out a sigh as long as ten years.
“Master must have passed on to the next world. Now every question is finally answered.”
What’s there to be answered, exactly!
Baekri Unhak, having conjured Jin Muok’s fate on his own, opened his mouth while suppressing his agitation.
“I am your senior brother, you know.”
This is driving me insane!
Jin Muok crouched down and clawed at his hair.
Watching his violent reaction, Baekri Unhak moved his pale lips.
“Do you refuse to acknowledge me as your senior brother?”
With a disciple turning into a senior brother overnight, who’d be happy about that!
Jin Muok was still digging through his head.
“Are you really my master, come back to life?”
“Of course!”
“After ten years?”
“That’s what I’m saying!”
“In the body of a ten-year-old?”
“Need you even ask!”
Baekri Unhak studied Jin Muok’s unwavering face with deep, searching eyes, then asked, as if seeking confirmation.
“Is this your master’s will?”
“Who else’s would it be, when I’m the master here!”
When Jin Muok finished, Baekri Unhak closed his eyes and murmured slowly.
“I see.”
“See what?”
Thump!
Baekri Unhak shot to his feet, stepped into the back room, and came out holding the Wooden Doll and a small bundle of belongings.
“Where are you going?”
Halting at Jin Muok’s question, Baekri Unhak glanced back at the thatched hut with a wistful expression.
“I’ve been wondering why our master broke the principle of Ilin Jeonseung to take you as his disciple, and now I think I finally understand.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Finding me lacking in talent, our master expelled me from the sect and entrusted Bukcheon Sinmun to you. So he issued a decree that I am not to be recognized as Senior Brother.”
I never said anything like that!
Startled, Jin Muok hurried to block Baekri Unhak’s path, but Baekri Unhak nudged him aside with a gentle smile.
“Expecting to be treated as Senior Brother when I haven’t even mastered the sect’s martial arts… I really am a pitiful creature.”
“W-wait!”
“I’ll cheer you on from afar, so go make Bukcheon Sinmun shine.”
Jin Muok stared at Baekri Unhak, who was about to leave with a casual air, then hurried forward to stop him.
“So you’re really leaving?”
“Since that’s our master’s will, I have to leave this place.”
“I never gave any such order, I’m telling you!”
“You’re still going on about being our master, I see.”
Baekri Unhak shook his head and strode forward, so Jin Muok spread both arms wide to block him and shouted, with the desperate resolve of someone who has nothing left to lose.
No matter what words he used, there was no persuading him.
Even a white lie, a kind one, would have to do to keep him here.
“Fine! Fine, already!”
“Fine with what?”
“I’ll treat you as Senior Brother, all right? So don’t leave!”
“What use is such empty ceremony, really?”
How could he answer in exactly the same way you would?
Jin Muok’s shoulders sagged as he mumbled under his breath.
“Se… nior… Brother…”
“What was that?”
“Senior Brother…”
“I can’t hear you.”
“Senior Brother! Senior Brother! Happy now?”
“That boy and his mouth. He’s a little old man through and through.”
Fifty is plenty old enough!
Baekri Unhak looked down at Jin Muok, who was silently protesting, then burst into a hearty laugh and tousled his hair roughly.
“What am I to do with this brilliant little junior of mine?”
The parting of ten years ago was playing out all over again.
Jin Muok stole a sidelong glance at Baekri Unhak, who was beaming with joy at their reunion, then let his head drop forward.
What’s in a title, anyway.
All I have to do is fulfill the duties of a master that I failed to fulfill ten years ago.
* * *
Much like what Baekri Unhak had guessed, I had to hastily concoct a story about meeting a mountain boy and passing down Bukcheon Sinmun’s martial arts to him.
If I tried to separate the me of ten years ago from the me of today, I might just master the Yangsim Singong, but that’s hardly an option.
There’s nothing for it but to live as two Jin Muoks.
“You’re saying the Sipdae Hobeop and even the Blood Demon have appeared in Sipman Daesan?”
Baekri Unhak’s lips twisted in shock.
“Then the Demonic Cult hasn’t lost its strength all this time! Wait, no…”
After a moment’s thought, Baekri Unhak knit his brows.
“They say he tried to summon the legendary Blood Demon! That means the Demonic Cult’s power was stronger than ever!”
Yeah, that’s what they say.
“So Master chose Dong-gwi-eo-jin with the Blood Demon, and at the last moment saved his life with the Bukcheon Yeonhon Daebeop.”
Imagination is free. Doesn’t cost a thing.
“After Master miraculously woke, he met you and passed on his martial arts, didn’t he?”
Then why bother asking.
Jin Muok watched Baekri Unhak answer his own theories one by one, then dug a finger into his ear.
“Anyway, about that Bukjin Gwangpung…”
“You little brat!”
Baekri Unhak barked.
“I told you, it’s Gunsabuilche! How dare you carelessly mention Master’s sobriquet!”
Slowly, he lifted his gaze.
Looking up at Baekri Unhak, Jin Muok opened his mouth in a calm tone.
“I never entered a Gubae Jirye bond with Bukjin Gwangpung.”
“Still!”
“That’s why.”
Cutting through Baekri Unhak’s words with weight, Jin Muok moved his lips.
“To me, he’s only Bukjin Gwangpung. He himself acknowledges that much.”
Jin Muok added, briefly.
“I won’t give up on this.”
Woong—.
Overwhelming command of the room!
How could a ten-year-old boy give off such an aura!
Momentarily overpowered, Baekri Unhak couldn’t help but draw in a breath.
‘Remarkable.’
So this is why Master took the boy in as a disciple of Bukcheon Sinmun, breaking even the principle of Ilin Jeonseung.
This junior is special. More than anyone.
When Baekri Unhak’s expression showed understanding, Jin Muok changed the subject.
Right now, the urgent thing was to get a read on the Demonic Cult and that Sima Yan bastard.
“So what happened to those Demonic Cult bastards?”
Following the battle at Sipman Daesan, the Demonic Cult was dissolved, and its power was scattered among ten clans.
The Sipdae Mabeol.
Seven martial houses, two strategist houses in charge of strategy and tactics, and one merchant house were split apart, so the Demonic Cult’s strength had grown noticeably weaker than when it had stood as a single force.
“The demonic path no longer poses a threat to the Righteous Path.”
“That can’t be right—!”
“…that’s what’s officially known, but I don’t see it that way, junior.”
Before Jin Muok could protest, Baekri Unhak pressed on ahead of him.
“The Demonic Cult is as cunning as a serpent and has a vitality tougher than sinew. They wouldn’t retreat like this.”
His sharp eyes fixed on the direction of Henan Province, Baekri Unhak let out a sudden sigh.
“Yet our Righteous Path is split into two factions, fighting each other now that the Demonic Cult is gone as a common enemy.”
“Unhak, which side did you—”
“You little brat!”
Ah, that doesn’t roll off the tongue at all.
“Which side did you pick, Senior Brother?”
“What a nasty way of talking you have.”
Clicking his tongue with a displeased look, Baekri Unhak shook his head.
“I’m a training instructor attached to the 3rd Mobile Squad of the Murim Alliance, so it’s hard for me to take either side.”
The Murim Alliance is divided into One Source, Two Halls, and Three Pillars.
The One Source refers to the Wonnorowon, and the Two Halls are the Naedang and the Oedang.
The Oedang consists of eight mobile squads under the Oedang Master, and the Naedang consists of four research institutions under the Naedang Master.
And each of the eight mobile squads of the Oedang keeps three training instructors under its squad leader.
Lastly, the Three Pillars, the direct institutions under the Alliance Leader, are divided into the Noksingak, which handles finances, the Bihapgak, which gathers intelligence, and the Jipbopgak, which is responsible for discipline.
This is the structure of the Murim Alliance.
“Then why are you—I mean, Senior Brother—just a mere instructor?”
At the very least, you should have become a squad leader!
“Well…”
Just then, a commotion arose outside the thatched hut.
“Instructor Baek-ri, are you in there?”
“Squad Leader Namgung?”
Startled, Baekri Unhak jumped to his feet, handing the wooden doll he’d been holding over to Jin Muok.
“What brings the Captain all the way out here?”
Baekri Unhak stepped up to the man seated in the palanquin and offered a precise salute with clasped fists.
“That instructor of yours has been bedridden, so what kind of captain would I be if I didn’t come check on him?”
Silk slippers, a sash weighed down with trinkets, and a sword gleaming with jade fittings.
The man, who had been lounging with a smirk, flicked his chin, and the bodyguards behind him set something down.
“And what is this?”
“A tonic. They say even a sickly chick gets back on its feet after one course of this, so start taking it today, you hear?”
“Your concern is more than enough…”
“Take it!”
The man who had been wearing his arrogance like a fine robe tore off his mask of civility.
“Just swallow the damned thing and get back to your post!”
Jin Muok recognized him at a glance as he rose from the palanquin, trembling with fury.
‘Namgung Ildo?’
Namgung Ildo commands the 3rd Mobile Squad, which belongs to the Murim Alliance’s Naedang. In other words, he is Baekri Unhak’s direct superior.
And yet ten years ago, he was…
“What kind of spineless wretch talks about ‘feelings’ like that?”
Namgung Ildo planted himself in front of Baekri Unhak and glared as though he meant to devour him whole.
“My squad was flawless until you came along, and now a nobody with no traceable roots is ruining it with his so-called sickness! You’re making a complete mess of everything!”
Jab!
Namgung Ildo snapped his folding fan into Baekri Unhak’s solar plexus and narrowed his eyes.
With that much force, the fool should be doubled over and groveling by now.
But.
Baekri Unhak did not budge an inch from where he stood, and Namgung Ildo’s lips twisted.
‘Doesn’t this bastard feel pain?’
Of course he does. A blow to the solar plexus should be choking him and sending a scream clawing up his throat.
Yet, with superhuman will, Baekri Unhak endured the agony and forced the words out through clenched teeth.
“I’ll… return shortly.”
“And when would that be?”
Cutting off Baekri Unhak’s words, Namgung Ildo began circling him, round and round.
“Is that what your sect taught you?”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Falling sick whenever you feel like it.”
Wearing a blatant sneer, Namgung Ildo tapped Baekri Unhak’s cheek with his fan.
“All you must have learned at the Bukcheon Byeongmun is how to wheeze and moan on a sickbed.”
“And the Bukcheon Sinmun?”
Lifting his head, Baekri Unhak smiled faintly, thin as a thread, as if recalling someone.
Huh—.
“That’s not a sect you should be speaking of, Captain.”
“What did you say?”
“Insult me all you like. Criticize me, I don’t mind. But the Bukcheon Sinmun is not a name for someone like you to mention.”
“This son of a bitch? What did you just say to me?”
Thwack! Thwack!
Namgung Ildo pummeled Baekri Unhak mercilessly with his fan.
“A sick wretch who can do nothing but get beaten, and he dares to talk back to me, the eldest son of the greatest family under heaven?”
His vulgar lashings split Baekri Unhak’s face and sent bits of flesh flying, yet he never once wiped the smile from his lips.
Master…
“You’re smiling? Are you really smiling, you sickly fool?”
Enduring contempt that went far beyond insult, Baekri Unhak kept the faint, knowing smile of the Flower Sermon.
Huh—.
Watching him, Jin Muok let a gentle smile bloom across his face.
Senior Brother did his best.
Kwoooo—.
When Jin Muok rose to his feet, it felt as though a mountain had surged up behind him, yet no one paid him the slightest attention.
So from here on, leave it to me.
“Look at me.”
“What?”
Thwack!
Namgung Ildo turned his head and was struck by a thunderclap of a slap, sending him flying in a heap into the corner.

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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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