Chapter 47: Chapter 47

Chapter 47. The Invincible Sect (1)

Huaihua, Hunan Province.

After passing through the city gates, four figures finally appeared on the outskirts of the city.

They had done their best not to look shabby, but they couldn't completely hide the traces of long nights spent outdoors. They were Lee Byeok and the rest of the Flying Dragon Squad.

“Kehehek! A city! Food! Meat! Alcohol! All the alcohol in this town is mine! Kehehe, ehehehe!”

Pa Jin-seong stretched his arms high above his head and made a commotion.

In fact, everyone felt pretty much the same.

Because they had sparred over and over again throughout the journey, it had taken them over a month just to reach the edge of Hunan Province.

“…I'm getting sick of sleeping outdoors.”

“Ahaha, in retrospect, it was a reckless thing to do.”

As Lee Byeok spoke, Eon Mi-hee replied.

Following Gongson Su’s wishes, the party had stopped at a branch of the Dark Shadow Pavilion in the middle of their journey.

There, Gongson Su seemed to have reported on the clash with the bandits.

And since then, the party had not passed through a single city.

Let alone a city, they often deliberately avoided the villages on their route.

It was difficult to spar freely where there were watching eyes. As a result, they had come to prefer sleeping outdoors.

“But it was worth it. …Of course, it’s all thanks to you, Young Master.”

“…That’s not quite right.”

Her warm gaze towards Lee Byeok was filled with an immeasurable amount of goodwill.

The three had competitively requested spars with Lee Byeok, and Lee Byeok had not avoided them.

As a result, the three had achieved some accomplishments.

Pa Jin-seong and Gongson Su, who were at the entrance of the first-rate, seemed to have clearly recognized their weaknesses.

They had improved as individuals, but especially their joint attacks sometimes surprised Lee Byeok a little.

But it was nothing compared to Eon Mi-hee.

Eon Mi-hee, who was already a level above the two, had begun to move beyond the skilled stage of the first-rate and towards completion.

It seemed she had found some clue.

Considering that the wall blocking the way becomes higher and thicker as one's realm rises, her talent was extraordinary.

The more he crossed hands with Eon Mi-hee, the more Lee Byeok was reminded of his martial brothers from the Falling Sword Sect.

Although it had nothing to do with achievements, the sparring was somewhat helpful to Lee Byeok as well.

He had swung his sword until he was sick of it.

Thanks to that, he was able to avoid being overly preoccupied with thoughts of what had happened in the village.

“Orabeoni. It’s our first proper meal in almost a month, is there anything you want to eat~?”

Gongson Su grabbed Lee Byeok's arm.

If he let his guard down, he would be caught. Her surprise attacks seemed to be improving along with her stealth-focused martial arts.

“Just say the word! For my beloved Orabeoni, I will buy you anything!”

“…Miss Gongson, stop it, every time. You’re making the Young Master uncomfortable, aren't you?”

“Unni, what on earth are you thinking?”

“Actually, I've been curious for a while.”

Gongson Su looked back and forth between Lee Byeok and Eon Mi-hee with a slightly sulky face.

“So what exactly is the relationship between you two?”

“Wh-what do you mean……?”

“Where did the ambiguous title 'Young Master' come from? In the first place, you said Orabeoni isn't even from the same Rogues' Guild as you, Unni?”

Eon Mi-hee closed her mouth.

Lee Byeok also averted his gaze.

There was no proper way to explain. He couldn't carelessly bring up stories about Lee Jincheon or the Guardian Squad.

“Well, whatever. If it's a sensitive issue within the sect, I won't pry any further.”

“Instead, just tell me, Unni. Are you planning to pursue Orabeoni as a woman before a comrade?”

“Ah, of course, I am. It's nothing new to say at this point.”

Afterward, a silence fell.

While no one could speak, Gongson Su let out a small laugh and continued.

“So you'd better make your attitude clearer too, Unni. Leaving me aside, women will be clinging to him annoyingly no matter what town we go to in the future, you know?”

“Well, it’s obvious, isn’t it? He’s already at the Peak before he’s even twenty, and his sect isn't a great faction, he's a dragon from a stream… from the perspective of a martial family's daughter, he’s the number one groom candidate in the world to marry into the family.”

“And on top of that, his face isn’t bad either. Well, his being a bit too stoic at times is a bit of a flaw, but it’s not a bad thing for a martial artist.”

When his face was being praised so openly , he had nothing to say.

“…You have the nerve to say such things to my face.”

“Being honest is my strong point. Isn't it cute?”

The single sentence Lee Byeok managed to squeeze out was meaningless.

An icy silence fell again among the party members walking down the street.

At that moment, Pa Jin-seong, who was walking ahead, snorted.

Twet, he spat. Judging by his crumpled brow, it seemed his mood had quickly soured.

“Young Master Pa, are you jealous?”

“Keheng! Jealous my ass! In the markets of Hainan, you know! The women who like me just line up!”

“Perhaps the night market?”

“Well, if a rich and stupid pushover appears, isn't it natural for the women of the brothels to line up for him?”

Pa Jin-seong turned his head away with a huff.

“Young Master Pa, are you sulking? Just kidding~”

Laughing heartily, Gongson Su patted Pa Jin-seong's shoulder.

“Ah, don't! Shibal, you're disgusting, for real!”

“It's okay~ Even though you're ugly, Young Master Pa, if you work hard and become a Peak Master, you can become popular~”

The relationship between the two seemed quite casual.

Whatever the case, after experiencing real battles and sparring and getting in sync, the distance between them seemed to have narrowed considerably.

Pa Jin-seong was a disciple of the Hainan Sword Sect.

But in the minds of the party members, that awkward fact was gradually being forgotten.

A relationship that went beyond first impressions.

Gongson Su and Pa Jin-seong were beginning to mean more than just companions to Lee Byeok as well.

Lee Byeok looked back at Eon Mi-hee.

But the moment their eyes met, Eon Mi-hee audibly averted her gaze from Lee Byeok.

Lee Byeok was a little flustered.

He noticed that cold sweat was running down Eon Mi-hee's slightly pale neck.

It was just as Lee Byeok was thinking of what to say.

“Kehe, what's with this town? It’s starting to feel a little crappy.”

“Um… Orabeoni? Unni? Something’s strange here.”

Pa Jin-seong and Gongson Su, who were walking ahead, spoke in quite different voices.

“…Somehow, we’re being openly shunned by people.”

Only then did Lee Byeok and Eon Mi-hee look around.

And they confirmed that the crowd around them had noticeably thinned compared to a moment ago.

Although it was well past noon, the sun had not yet set. But people were busily disappearing.

If they happened to make eye contact with the party, they would hastily bow their heads and walk away with quick steps.

Whenever the party passed by on the street, the sound of doors being locked could be heard from here and there without fail.

At that moment, Pa Jin-seong, standing in front of an inn on the main road, suddenly started knocking on the door.

There was no response.

“Aish, shibal! Are you not open for business?!”

When he kicked it, the door opened.

As the party, led by Pa Jin-seong, entered, the man inside, presumed to be the owner, was startled.

“Hey! Isn’t this an inn?!”

“Yes? W-well, it is, but……”

“Ah, I'm hungry! Why the hell are you locking the door when people are passing by! I'm getting dizzy, so hurry up and take our order!”

As Pa Jin-seong glared, the owner's gaze fell on Pa Jin-seong's waist.

The moment he confirmed the sword hanging there, his complexion turned pale and the owner bowed his head.

The party sat around a table.

After ordering a few dishes, they watched the owner disappear into the kitchen in a hurry.

“…It seems they’re shunning not ‘us’ but ‘martial artists’.”

“Well, from a commoner’s perspective, it’s not incomprehensible to want to keep a distance from martial artists. But this town is a bit peculiar… I wonder what’s going on.”

“Hmph, who cares? We’re not some hooligans, we’re paying for our food, so why are we being treated ? Huh?!”

“That’s a fair point. But Young Master Pa? When we met in Guiyang, why were you acting like that?”

“…Kehe, please stop talking about that……”

While a few words were exchanged among the party, the meal was prepared by the owner.

It seemed there were no other waiters.

The party tried to strike up a conversation, but the owner just kept repeating that he knew nothing and walked away, shaking his head.

Putting aside the strange feeling of unease, the party began their meal.

Apart from the atmosphere, the taste was not bad. It was hard for it to be bad, as it was their first proper meal in almost a month.

Pa Jin-seong devoured his food greedily. Eon Mi-hee and Gongson Su also busily moved their chopsticks in the gaps.

Lee Byeok also enjoyed the meal.

Belying the phrase ‘a mealtime,’ the meal ended in about a quarter of an hour. Pa Jin-seong let out a huge burp.

His stomach full, he seemed to be in a much better mood, patting his stomach as he spoke.

“So, what are we going to do now? What are we supposed to do in this shitty town?”

“Well… we’ll have to go visit the local evil faction. To ask them to entrust their precious disciple to our Flying Dragon Squad.”

The reason they had come all the way to Hunan Province in the first place was to build up the forces of the Flying Dragon Squad.

Hunan was originally part of the Paewang Family's territory, but since the Paewang Family had closed its doors and ceased its external activities, the division of territory had become somewhat meaningless.

But for that very reason, it was also the optimal place to increase their forces while avoiding the intervention of the Black Heaven Gang or the Hainan Sword Sect.

“The local evil faction is……?”

“Yes, Unni. So… it's said that a faction called the Invincible Sect is the strongest around here.”

Psik, Pa Jin-seong laughed.

“Kehe! The Invincible Sect. That’s a grandiose name, isn't it? But why have I never heard of it?”

“Despite its name, it’s the most recognized sect in the western part of Hunan Province. Well, to be honest, it’s probably nothing special.”

Haa, Gongson Su, who was continuing her words, suddenly let out a sigh. She propped her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her hands.

“Now that I think about it, I’m not even sure if it’s right to accept guys who will be lucky not to hold us back, let alone help, into the Flying Dragon Squad.”

Building strength can be explained in two dimensions.

And if the goal is to revive the Paewang Family and prepare for the power struggle within the Evil Faction Alliance, then simply increasing the scale has sufficient meaning.

This is because it has a strong meaning of not just increasing the headcount of the Flying Dragon Squad, but also tying the said sect under the influence of the Paewang Family.

Of course, it would not be easy.

The Black Heaven Gang, for its part, would not stand by and watch the Flying Dragon Squad, which had been ‘snatched away,’ grow.

Also, it was unknown whether the forces of Hunan, which had been virtually neglected by the Evil Faction Alliance, would now obediently cooperate.

But Gongson Su was confident.

She would put Lee Byeok, who had the support of Hyuk Gun-ak, the leader of the Evil Faction Alliance and the head of the Paewang Family, at the forefront.

Even now, three years after the Paewang Family had ceased its activities, the weight of that name was by no means light.

The symbolism was sufficient.

The succession and revival of the Paewang Family.

Whether it was actually so or not, it was enough for other factions to perceive it that way.

And that… would ultimately result in quelling the internal strife within the Dark Shadow Pavilion.

That was why Gongson Su had bet on Lee Byeok and remained in the Flying Dragon Squad, risking danger.

Thud, in a village of no importance, she had met a peak-level bandit who used sword force and almost died.

It was impossible not to be shocked.

But what was more frightening than the incident itself was the existence of the force that might be behind it.

Gongson Su touched her forehead.

For nearly fifty years since the Righteous and Evil Alliance defeated the Demonic Cult, the Murim had been relatively peaceful.

But what if, by some chance, an unknown great force was rising under the guise of bandits, and now was that time?

Justification would become meaningless in the face of overwhelming military power that could command Peak Masters as its limbs.

She hoped it was an overthinking…….

She had to move with both possibilities in mind: the peaceful Murim of the past and a Murim that was not.

Gongson Su sighed again.

It was impossible for her shoulders not to feel heavy.

“…What’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?”

At that moment, Lee Byeok spoke.

Gongson Su looked back at Lee Byeok.

If there was any consolation, it would be that choosing this man had been an absolutely correct decision. Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn novelꞁire.net

An unparalleled talent who had reached the peak realm at only sixteen and defeated another Peak Master.

Throughout the entire history of the Murim, the number of people with such talent could be counted on one hand.

In the first place, if it weren't for that talent, the name Flying Dragon Squad would have been buried as a corpse in some nameless mountain.

“…It's nothing, Orabeoni.”

A dragon. She had to catch it.

A rough commotion erupted from outside the door, cutting off Gongson Su’s complicated thoughts.

It was the sound of a crowd of footsteps.

At a rough guess, there were more than dozens.

Moreover, it didn't seem to be a single group. The sound of footsteps echoing from both directions of the main road was getting closer to each other.

And the voices, shouting something noisily, began to get tangled up. The voices were full of hostility towards each other. And then.

Soon, a crash sound erupted.

A group and a group collided.

And for a while, the sounds of breaking and being broken continued noisily. The meaning was clear.

The party members looked at each other's faces.

“…It seems the cause of this town’s chaotic atmosphere is right outside now.”