The World’s Greatest Martial Arts Instructor - Chapter 499

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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 499. A Variable Has Come Into Play

 

 

“Do you even properly understand what you’re doing right now?”

“Of course. It’s for the glory of our noble family.”

Zhuge Yi-jong answered while tearing off duck leg meat.

That sight was quite irritating.

So.

Whoosh.

He snatched the duck meat back using his aerial manipulation technique.

“Ah…”

Zhuge Ming was startled by Ha Mu-baek’s sudden action.

“It seems you need to starve a bit more.”

He didn’t know what the glory of the Zhuge family was supposed to be, but for someone who had destroyed the peaceful life of an entire village, his behavior was far too shameless.

Though his face was full of dissatisfaction, he didn’t dare attack Ha Mu-baek.

He had witnessed with his own eyes just what kind of monster he was.

The sight of him slaughtering two hundred elite Blood Cult warriors was no different from a demon from hell.

When Ha Mu-baek waved his hand again, Zhuge Yi-jong could feel his body stiffening rigidly.

“You won’t be able to move properly. You’ll barely be able to move one arm enough to drink water. After about seven days, you might feel even a fraction of what you’ve done.”

Ha Mu-baek used his aerial manipulation to float Zhuge Yi-jong in midair and shoved him back into the cave.

Then he threw him the water container he had brought.

If he rationed it carefully, he wouldn’t die from lack of water.

“W-wait. Abandoning me like this won’t solve anything! I haven’t sent a messenger bird to the family for three days already! The family must know something has happened to me. People from the family will come to this village soon!”

Zhuge Yi-jong cried out desperately.

Ha Mu-baek sent out a finger wind to strike his pressure points.

He could no longer say anything more.

Ha Mu-baek turned and began walking away.

‘He was sending daily reports to the Zhuge family?’

The Zhuge family.

They weren’t one of the sacred mountains or heavenly branches.

So they probably hadn’t anticipated that Ha Mu-baek would appear in this small village.

However, befitting a sacred mountain, they had taken precautions.

Messenger birds sent to the family daily.

Probably not just one bird at a time.

He hadn’t thought it would be possible to send messenger birds from this small village.

‘I suppose I’ll have to go to Yungjoong Mountain.’

That’s what he decided.

Even if he dealt with the Zhuge family members who would come to check on Zhuge Yi-jong’s safety, they would just keep sending others.

It seemed faster to eliminate the root cause.

Ha Mu-baek changed direction.

 

***

 

Many changes had come to Gyoryong Hall as well.

At the immediate news that they would no longer select Maengryong Corps members, Zhuge Ming smiled slightly.

Because things were heading in the right direction.

Zhuge Ming glanced toward the direction where Sanwol Demon Forest was located.

“Instructor Ha. You’re amazing.”

Zhuge Ming.

He had struggled just to raise the survival rate of Maengryong Corps cadets even a little.

Creating and teaching shield techniques.

That was all he could do.

But what about Ha Mu-baek?

He had completely erased Sanwol Demon Forest and the Blood Cult.

Of course, the detailed circumstances hadn’t been conveyed from the Jeongcheon Alliance, but Zhuge Ming could sufficiently guess what had happened behind the scenes.

When the Academy Director showed them the official document stating that Maengryong Corps selection was suspended due to the resolution of the Blood Cult and Sanwol Demon Forest.

Zhuge Ming and Peng Do-yul wore similar smiles.

Because the two could guess what had happened there.

What had been different from before.

That was Maengryong Corps Leader Ha Mu-baek.

However, he had never imagined that Sanwol Demon Forest would be resolved in such a short time.

“What were all those years and the people who were sacrificed…”

He even questioned the Jeongcheon Alliance’s actions.

Because instead of sending someone with such ability to Sanwol Demon Forest from the start, they had demoted him to be an instructor at Gyoryong Hall.

Though that had led to an unexpected direction that ultimately resulted in resolving Sanwol Demon Forest.

More concerning was the letter that had come from the family.

It was a letter instructing him to finish all Jeongcheon Alliance affairs and return to the family quickly to focus on family matters.

“Hmm.”

A troubled sigh escaped.

The family.

Grandfather.

They were beings that could never mix with Zhuge Ming.

Zhuge Ming was born as the legitimate son of the Zhuge family.

His grandfather was the Family Head, and his father was the Young Family Head.

Though he had an older brother, he was the grandson of the Family Head.

Moreover, with outstanding talent, he had received all the family’s expectations, but the path the family wanted to take was different from Zhuge Ming’s thoughts.

Because they pursued the path of dominance rather than righteousness.

Disgusted by the atmosphere that prioritized only the family’s prosperity rather than taking the right path, he had devoted himself to the Jeongcheon Alliance.

But even there, the family’s influence had reached.

Because what the family wanted was Cheonmok Pavilion.

Eventually, Zhuge Ming had volunteered to come as an instructor at Gyoryong Hall and was spending meaningful days in his own way.

But suddenly such a letter from the family.

‘What exactly are you plotting? Grandfather, Father.’

Zhuge Ming picked up his brush.

Though he had deliberately turned his eyes away from family affairs, he felt he needed to investigate in detail.

He began secretly writing a letter to his youngest sibling, who had the most similar disposition to his own in the family.

 

***

 

“Family Head Zhuge Nam-cheon. What exactly are you thinking?”

Gongsun Dan-gyeong frowned as he read through the reports spread before him.

While pretending to be the Demonic Cult’s actions, they had scattered clues everywhere that revealed the source was the Zhuge family.

As if they wanted people to realize it was the Zhuge family’s doing.

All the facts discovered this way pointed to Yungjoong Mountain.

Like an invitation asking them to come there.

The influence on Gangho right now was too great to ignore.

This was because the influence of the Sese Guanyin Sect was spreading like wildfire among the noble families.

If left unchecked, it might truly emerge as a new force called the Guanyin Sect rather than the Zhuge Family.

The Zhuge Family.

He was well aware that Gongsun Dan-gyeong recognized him as a lifelong enemy.

It was because of Cheonmok Pavilion.

The Cheonmokgak Leader position had been almost monopolized by the Zhuge Family within the Jeongcheon Alliance.

That was until So Hwi-ung ascended to the position of Alliance Leader.

One of the first things So Hwi-ung did upon becoming Alliance Leader was to install Gongsun Dan-gyeong as the Cheonmokgak Leader.

The scale was too large to be something done just to bring down someone like himself.

He had also checked the movements of the other Five Great Families and Nine Sects and One Alliance, but they showed no particular changes.

The Yeon Family and Gongdong Sect were too busy dealing with the aftermath of the Sanwol Demon Forest and Bongma Corps incident.

It was clearly something the Zhuge Family had done alone.

Should he call them the Divine Mountain Zhuge Family indeed?

Though they were one of the Five Great Families, the scale of what they had currently undertaken was too massive, even for one of the Five Great Families.

Had they truly calculated even something like this?

“How troublesome.”

Gongsun Dan-gyeong muttered while holding his head.

 

***

 

Zhuge Go-pung sought out Zhuge Nam-cheon.

“What is the matter?”

“Contact with Yi-jong has been cut off.”

At Zhuge Go-pung’s answer, Zhuge Nam-cheon frowned.

“That thunderbolt of a fellow has finally…”

As the child of his Second Son, he too was Zhuge Nam-cheon’s grandson.

Unlike the Zhuge Family bloodline, he was reckless and unpredictable.

That’s why he had been excluded from this affair, but somehow learning of it, he had stubbornly insisted on participating in the great undertaking, so they had given him an easy task.

He had been assigned to spread the Sese Guanyin Sect mainly in small villages without major sects or strong forces.

Until now, he had been performing his assigned role well without incident, but suddenly his communications had ceased.

“What do you think might have happened to that fellow?”

At Zhuge Nam-cheon’s question, Zhuge Go-pung answered carefully.

“The probability is low. We sent him to a place we considered multiple variables for. However, there might have been variables we failed to anticipate.”

Zhuge Nam-cheon fell into thought after hearing his nephew’s answer.

“What do you think?”

“There’s insufficient information to make a clear judgment.”

Zhuge Nam-cheon could only frown.

Lack of information.

This was what held the Zhuge Family back.

When Cheonmok Pavilion was in their grasp, such things didn’t happen.

Information from all under heaven flowed directly into Cheonmok Pavilion.

“What about from Cheonmok Pavilion?”

Though they had secretly placed connections, since Gongsun Dan-gyeong had Cheonmok Pavilion under near-perfect control, there was hardly any useful information.

“Nothing significant.”

Just then.

“Family Head. There’s a letter from the Young Family Head.”

It was a maid’s notification that a letter had arrived from Zhuge Gang-ha, Zhuge Nam-cheon’s son who was an elder of the Jeongcheon Alliance at the Main Alliance.

“Bring it here.”

The maid carefully delivered the letter and left.

Zhuge Nam-cheon broke the seal, unfolded the letter, and read it carefully.

“A variable has come into play.”

Frowning, he handed the letter to Zhuge Go-pung.

Zhuge Go-pung’s expression also twisted after checking its contents.

“I apologize. This is my oversight.”

Zhuge Go-pung bowed his head.

“No. Neither you nor I anticipated that the Maengryong Corps would relocate there.”

In the first place, they hadn’t expected that damned monster Ha Mu-baek to become the Maengryong Corps Leader.

Ha Mu-baek’s actions made a mockery of the title Divine Mountain.

“It seems sending him to Gyoryong Hall was our mistake.”

Ha Mu-baek’s demotion to Gyoryong Hall.

Though the Yeon Family had led the initiative, it was the Zhuge Family that had advised on that scheme.

Zhuge Go-pung spoke with a devastated expression.

“It’s probably that bastard Ha Mu-baek’s doing, isn’t it?”

“There are villages that Yi-jong was responsible for along the route from Luoyang to Seobok.”

He answered Zhuge Nam-cheon’s question as if he shared the same thought.

Seobok in Gangxi Province.

A moderately-sized city located at the border between Gangxi and Hunan provinces, positioned directly east of Hyeongsan Mountain.

It was the region the Maengryong Corps would be responsible for, and if Ha Mu-baek, who had recently appeared in Luoyang, was moving there, he would likely pass through the village where Zhuge Yi-jong had been.

“In the process, Yi-jong must have noticed what that fellow was doing.”

“Correct.”

Though it was a slim probability, an existence like Ha Mu-baek who defied calculations could easily cause such incidents.

“He’ll come.”

Zhuge Nam-cheon muttered with certainty.

Zhuge Go-pung also nodded slightly as if in agreement.

They couldn’t be unaware of what was happening in the villages where the Sese Guanyin Sect was spreading.

And knowing Ha Mu-baek’s temperament as they did, he wouldn’t remain idle after witnessing such scenes.

“Tsk. This is why those without proper background are…”

Zhuge Nam-cheon clicked his tongue softly.

“What about Myeong-i?”

“No response.”

At Zhuge Go-pung’s answer, Zhuge Nam-cheon responded as if he had expected as much.

“That stubborn fellow would do exactly that. Still, he’ll move to figure out what’s happening. Keep a close watch on So Rin. He’ll surely contact that child.”

“Understood.”

“Since that bastard will come, we need to prepare thoroughly. How is the core of the overlapping formation?”

“No problems.”

At Zhuge Go-pung’s answer, Zhuge Nam-cheon smiled broadly.

The core of the overlapping formation.

The moment they discovered it, they began to dream of the Zhuge Family’s rise.

“Good. Things are going better than expected. Even we couldn’t calculate that the people of Gangho harbored such great dissatisfaction with the current world.”

“Yes.”

“If this affair ends properly, it won’t just be about leading the Five Great Families. We might even open the era of Zhuge supremacy.”

At Zhuge Nam-cheon’s words, Zhuge Go-pung bowed his head.

Zhuge Nam-cheon’s eyes gleamed with desire.

“Put even more effort into spreading the Sese Guanyin Sect.”

“Understood.”

One might say the roles had been reversed.

The Sese Guanyin Sect had certainly been nothing more than a means.

But looking at its current expanded influence, it had become a powerful force that would be perfectly adequate as an end rather than a means.

Though it was a force composed of common people rather than martial artists, their numbers were already tremendous.

This too was a miscalculation by the Zhuge Family, but it was a pleasant error.

“What should we do about Lee Jong?”

Zhuge Go-pung, who had been about to withdraw, asked as if he had just remembered.

“Looking at Ha Mu-baek’s recent actions, if they’re not Blood Cult or Demon Cult members, he deliberately avoids getting blood on his hands, so he probably didn’t kill him.”

“Yes.”

With that, Zhuge Go-pung slowly withdrew from the Family Head’s office.

Left alone, Zhuge Nam-cheon’s eyes gleamed with a mysterious light that was difficult to define clearly.

“Hehehe. Zhuge All Under Heaven, Zhuge All Under Heaven indeed.”

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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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