The World’s Greatest Martial Arts Instructor - Chapter 402

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 402. What? This Country Bumpkin?

 

 

 

 

 

“Is this place the Central Plains?”

 

The middle-aged man looked at the land spread before his eyes with wonder.

 

Ground he was stepping on for the first time in his life.

 

He had lived his entire life only within the rugged and treacherous Tianshan Mountain Range.

 

To him, the fertile land of the Central Plains was nothing short of a fantasy.

 

That fantasy had now become reality, unfolding before his eyes.

 

Land as vast as it was fertile.

 

Honestly, it exceeded his imagination.

 

Won Pyeong-sam of the Ten Horses.

 

He had come to survey the situation in the Central Plains under the Supreme One’s orders.

 

The moment he set foot in the Central Plains, he couldn’t help but be amazed.

 

Who would have thought such land could exist so extensively in this world.

 

“Where should I start going…”

 

Having crossed Jade Gate Pass and entered Gansu Province, he felt utterly lost.

 

Since this was his first time in the Central Plains, he had no idea what to do or how to proceed.

 

If the opportunity arose, he was also told to find the one who lit Manhwang’s fire.

 

But for now, adapting to the Central Plains seemed to come first.

 

Thus Won Pyeong-sam spent time in Dunhuang, gradually adapting to the culture of the Central Plains.

 

It was fortunate that he had brought plenty of money, expecting it would take a long time.

 

Of course, there were two occasions when he nearly lost all his money to cunning Central Plains folk.

 

Those bastards who failed to recognize their opponent were all now fallen to hell.

 

Won Pyeong-sam’s hand had not forgiven them.

 

The time he spent in Dunhuang was ten days.

 

He didn’t know how much he had adapted in just ten days.

 

But Won Pyeong-sam, having gained some confidence, left Dunhuang and began moving in earnest toward the heart of the Central Plains.

 

The place he arrived at after such movement was Lanzhou, the capital city of Gansu Province.

 

A strategic point located on the trade route with the Western Region, where commerce was developed and prosperity knew no bounds.

 

Won Pyeong-sam, having crossed Lanzhou’s city gate.

 

Literally became a stone statue.

 

No, saying he froze would be a more accurate expression.

 

Won Pyeong-sam was so shocked by Lanzhou’s bustling appearance that he couldn’t move for a while.

 

He had never imagined such a place could exist.

 

Even Dunhuang’s appearance had been a tremendous shock to him.

 

“What’s with this country bumpkin? What’s he trying to do, standing there blocking the road?”

 

Passersby who had crossed the city gate and entered Lanzhou looked at Won Pyeong-sam, who was standing dazed in the middle of the road, with disapproving eyes as they passed by.

 

“I say, brother. There in the middle of the main road. If you stay like that, you’ll be a hindrance to people passing by, so come over here.”

 

Then someone pulled Won Pyeong-sam’s sleeve and moved him.

 

Without even checking who it was, Won Pyeong-sam shuffled along, being dragged to the roadside.

 

How long had he been like that?

 

Less than an hour’s time.

 

Won Pyeong-sam finally came to his senses.

 

“Huh, what in the world… Is this truly a place where people live…”

 

At Won Pyeong-sam’s muttering as he looked at the main road with a face that still couldn’t believe it.

 

“If it’s not a place where people live? Does it seem like a place where goblins live?”

 

Won Pyeong-sam’s eyes turned toward the voice that suddenly came from beside him.

 

There, a middle-aged beggar was grinning.

 

“You seem to have come from beyond Jade Gate Pass?”

 

The middle-aged beggar asked.

 

Won Pyeong-sam nodded.

 

Then the middle-aged beggar nodded as if he understood.

 

“Those who lived beyond Jade Gate Pass and came to the Central Plains for the first time, reaching this Lanzhou, often show such reactions. Ah, I’m called Gang Hyo-wol.”

 

At Beggar Gang Hyo-wol’s words, Won Pyeong-sam finally recognized that the person before him was the one who had led him here earlier.

 

“I’m called Won Pyeong-sam. Thank you for helping me.”

 

Won Pyeong-sam, recalling the disgraceful behavior he had shown, offered a cupped fist salute and expressed his gratitude.

 

At that greeting, Gang Hyo-wol grinned broadly.

 

“If you’re grateful, how about treating me to a meal?”

 

Gang Hyo-wol held up an empty bowl before him and shook it.

 

That appearance was unmistakably that of a beggar.

 

Won Pyeong-sam looked at even that sight with wonder.

 

The existence called a beggar, who begged from others without doing any work.

 

In his eyes, this too appeared as a symbol of abundance.

 

It had to be so.

 

In the Tianshan Mountain Range, such people would starve to death.

 

Not because people lacked compassion.

 

Since everyone was barely managing to feed themselves, there was no capacity to help those who did nothing and just begged.

 

It meant there was absolutely no surplus food.

 

Of course, the great Sect was different.

 

But there was no reason for the great Sect to care about the lives of such lowly people.

 

The Sect was simply waiting for the day that would someday come.

 

The day when all Manhwang would light their fires.

 

For that day, the Sect had to gather everything.

 

That’s why the Sect was splendid and abundant.

 

Only the Sect in the Tianshan Mountain Range.

 

That’s why Won Pyeong-sam was shocked when he entered Lanzhou.

 

In the Tianshan Mountain Range, only the Sect was an abundant place.

 

But here, all the scenes spread along the main road looked far more abundant than even the Sect.

 

It was no different from one of Won Pyeong-sam’s worlds being brutally shattered.

 

Seeing complex light appear in Won Pyeong-sam’s eyes, Gang Hyo-wol shook his bowl with missing teeth here and there.

 

“What’s wrong? First time seeing a beggar?”

 

“Ah, no. Let’s go. I’ll treat you to a meal.”

 

It wasn’t his first time seeing a beggar here.

 

He had seen them while crossing Jade Gate Pass.

 

He just didn’t know they were beings called beggars at that time.

 

He learned that too after entering Dunhuang.

 

“Then follow me well. Don’t space out.”

 

At Won Pyeong-sam’s answer that he would buy food, Gang Hyo-wol smiled pleasantly and headed toward the restaurant where he often went to beg.

 

Arriving at the restaurant, Won Pyeong-sam had another curious experience.

 

Gang Hyo-wol didn’t enter, saying where would a beggar eat in a restaurant.

 

So he bought food from the restaurant and ate with Gang Hyo-wol on the street.

 

Eating on the street.

 

Passersby glanced at them, but at Gang Hyo-wol’s utterly nonchalant appearance, Won Pyeong-sam just silently brought food to his mouth.

 

‘It’s delicious.’

 

It was.

 

All the food he had eaten since entering the Central Plains was rich and delicious.

 

It was different from the rough and tasteless food of the Tianshan Mountains.

 

That place was land where farming was difficult.

 

Meanwhile.

 

‘This person. How interesting.’

 

Gang Hyo-wol, who had been casually eating all the food Won Pyeong-sam brought by dumping it into a bowl, brightened his eyes as Won Pyeong-sam seemed to fall into thought again.

 

‘He seems to have something about him…’

 

Wasn’t it as if he was experiencing the world of human society for the first time?

 

No matter how much this was his first time visiting a capital city like Nanzhou, this wasn’t the usual behavior.

 

A person sharing a meal with a beggar on the street.

 

Either he was no ordinary eccentric, or he was ignorant of worldly affairs.

 

In Gang Hyo-wol’s opinion, it was the latter.

 

The intuition he had gained from observing countless human types after joining the Beggar Sect told him so.

 

‘I should observe him more.’

 

He thought this while diligently scooping rice from his bowl.

 

He had stayed in Nanzhou for a long time to monitor the movements of the Gongdong Sect.

 

But that place showed no particular changes.

 

Nanzhou was prosperous, but it was a place without any notable changes.

 

This was inevitable.

 

Gansu Province could be called a frontier region in the Central Plains, and the Gongdong Sect was the only major sect established here.

 

Since it was also distant from the territory of the Four Seas Alliance, there weren’t many sects that could be called unorthodox either.

 

It was truly a quiet and peaceful city.

 

A small stone had fallen into this calm lake, creating ripples.

 

At least in Gang Hyo-wol’s mind, this man called Won Pyeong-sam was that small stone.

 

‘The second ripple.’

 

There had been a small ripple not long ago, but it had become calm again before he knew it.

 

He had observed carefully just in case, but nothing had happened.

 

The Gongdong Sect showed no reaction, and Haomun also showed no different behavior.

 

Even while continuing to scoop rice from his bowl, Gang Hyo-wol’s mind worked rapidly.

 

‘Where could it be? Outside Yumun Pass, where could people like this fellow live?’

 

Though ignorant of worldly affairs, his outward appearance was decent.

 

Moreover, he didn’t seem financially struggling, as the dishes he had bought and brought from the restaurant were quite expensive ones.

 

Gang Hyo-wol, who had only eaten food from this restaurant through begging, had never tasted them.

 

“Wow. This is really delicious! Thank you so much. Thanks to you, brother, I get to try all of this. I’ve only ever smelled it before!”

 

Thoughts were thoughts.

 

The taste was genuinely amazing.

 

This was a restaurant whose taste he had always admired even while eating through begging.

 

“It’s delicious.”

 

Won Pyeong-sam nodded in agreement at Gang Hyo-wol’s excitement.

 

For him too.

 

This was the first delicious food he had ever tasted in his life.

 

However.

 

‘He says it’s delicious even eating it like that?’

 

He couldn’t understand Gang Hyo-wol’s behavior of pouring all the food he had brought into a bowl and mixing it up randomly to eat.

 

And the passersby couldn’t understand this bizarre scene of a beggar and a country bumpkin on the street.

 

What kind of strange affair was this?

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

At Namgung Yu’s answer, Namgung Hu looked at her.

 

“Blood Jiangshi? Because their teeth were pulled out?”

 

Namgung Hu asked as if he couldn’t understand.

 

His knowledge about the jiangshi of Sanwol Demon Forest was virtually nonexistent.

 

On the other hand.

 

Namgung Yu had gathered information about the jiangshi of Sanwol Demon Forest in the meantime.

 

Though there wasn’t much publicly available, she had obtained considerable non-public information through the family.

 

“Being bitten by a Blood Jiangshi would be a real disaster. Especially if such a thing happened during training within Gyoryong Hall.”

 

“If you die after being bitten by a Blood Jiangshi, do you become a Blood Jiangshi like how Death Jiangshi work?”

 

Namgung Hu recalled what Ha Mu-baek had said when he first introduced the Death Jiangshi.

 

Having heard those words, hadn’t he been convinced when he saw that all the Death Jiangshi’s teeth had been pulled out?

 

“No. You become a Blood Jiangshi shortly after being bitten. Whether you’re alive or dead doesn’t matter. Usually, you become a Blood Jiangshi while still alive.”

 

Though Namgung Yu’s words were calm.

 

The content was shocking.

 

This meant that those the Maengryong Corps was currently fighting fiercely against might also be victims who had become jiangshi while still alive.

 

“What kind of place is Sanwol Demon Forest exactly?”

 

At Namgung Hu’s words, Namgung Yu shrugged her shoulders.

 

Though Namgung Yu was Namgung Hu’s elder sister and served as his strategist, even she couldn’t find out that much.

 

It seemed there was no way except to go there directly.

 

What was known.

 

It was the Blood Cult’s stronghold, a hellish land where countless jiangshi gathered.

 

That was about it.

 

Few knew the detailed reality.

 

Even martial artists from the Bongma Corps didn’t say much about it.

 

This part was strange.

 

Martial artists usually liked to boast about their heroic deeds.

 

But strangely, no one talked about Sanwol Demon Forest.

 

Though they hadn’t known this before.

 

When they tried to find out, they could.

 

The Namgung Family Estate also had retainers who were former Bongma Corps members.

 

Half of the information Namgung Yu obtained came through him.

 

She also learned why former Bongma Corps members didn’t talk about Sanwol Demon Forest.

 

Their experiences there weren’t something to boast about.

 

Especially the Bongma Corps.

 

They often threw the Maengryong Corps as sacrifices to the jiangshi to save their own lives.

 

They didn’t want to recall that hell again.

 

It was also a place where they had left behind their own shame.

 

‘But with those guys, such things probably won’t happen.’

 

Namgung Yu took another look at the Maengryong Corps.

 

At them, boldly blocking the Blood Jiangshi’s attacks.

 

“Silent Iron Jiangshi, Dark Blood Jiangshi. These are said to be even more terrible. And there might be more unknown jiangshi as well.”

 

Namgung Hu’s gaze, which had been directed toward Namgung Yu, turned back to the Maengryong Corps.

 

“Block it!”

 

They were still fiercely facing the Blood Jiangshi.

 

“Blood Jiangshi are harder, faster, and stronger compared to Poison Jiangshi.”

 

Namgung Yu said while watching the Maengryong Corps from the side.

 

Namgung Hu nodded.

 

Even without being told, he could tell just by watching their current battle.

 

“Stop!”

 

At that moment.

 

Ha Mu-baek shouted loudly.

 

Then, as if by magic.

 

The Blood Jiangshi’s movements stopped.

 

It didn’t just stop.

 

As if bound tightly by something invisible, it lowered both arms and trembled violently.

 

A sight already seen during training with the Poison Jiangshi.

 

“It’s a monster, a real monster.”

 

Though he had seen it several times, Namgung Yu muttered quietly at the sight he could never get used to.

 

 

 

“Huff, huff.”

 

“Is, is it over?”

 

Before they knew it, half an hour had passed.

 

It was probably the longest half hour since they were born.

 

“Not bad.”

 

At the words that flowed from Ha Mu-baek’s mouth, smiles appeared on the faces of those sitting collapsed here and there.

 

Since they had started training with that monster Instructor.

 

It was the first praise they had heard.

 

Ha Mu-baek was genuinely impressed.

 

Even while releasing the Blood Jiangshi.

 

He had released it suddenly without revealing its identity because it was necessary training.

 

He hadn’t expected them to endure this well.

 

He had thought there would be at least two or three injured.

 

But everyone was fine.

 

So even Ha Mu-baek had no choice but to praise the Maengryong Corps.

 

“Now I’ll tell you about the ones you faced.”

 

At those words, the Maengryong Corps’ gazes focused on Ha Mu-baek’s mouth.

 

Those who had faced them directly knew best.

 

That these were creatures on a completely different level from the jiangshi they had faced before.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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