Martial artists appeared from all directions. Their numbers weren’t too many, but each one of them was clearly exceptional.
“Is that guy… the Grim Reaper of Yunnan?”
“Isn’t that the Flame King of Gaksu Sect?”
“Why are the outcasts from Yunnan here…!”
The cries of the Tang Clan martial artists were filled with confusion.
I was just as confused as they were, if not more.
Such events did not occur in the Martial World. There had never even been an event similar to this. I had never seen or heard of an event where the Tang Clan was assaulted by poison and attacked by the outcast faction of Yunnan.
So what kind of situation is this?
[You guys?]
The familiar voice of the Poison Doctor pierced my ears.
The Poison Doctor.
[You dare to raid the Tang Clan’s poison storage and even threaten the bloodline of the Tang Clan?]
A green aura began to rise from the Poison Doctor, who had stepped out from among the Tang Clan members.
The Poison Doctor was unleashing lethal toxins with all their might.
[By the name of the Sacheon Tang clan, I swear that anyone who aids this raid will regret being alive!]
“That would be troublesome.”
Sshhhhkk!
The voice I had heard earlier rang again, and a sword shot toward the Poison Doctor.
The Egiya Sword!
The Poison Doctor, who had intended to blow away the outcasts encircling the Tang bloodline with their toxic energy, frowned and ceased the release of poison, instead forming a toxic weapon in their hand.
Boom!!
The Egiya Sword was no meaningful attack to an expert of Hwa-gyeong. To take down someone beyond the Peak Stage, powerful energy was essential.
However, the Poison Doctor’s expression twisted as they deflected the Egiya Sword.
The mere fact that the Egiya Sword had been fired proved that its wielder had reached the stage of Hwa-gyeong, so there was no choice but to frown.
The sword that the Poison Doctor had fired was sucked into the sheath of the mysterious man in black who had suddenly appeared.
“Are you the leader of this group?”
This time, Tang Guanglie, the family head, stepped forward.
“Leader feels a little too formal. How about ‘comrades’ instead? Family Head?”
“Such talk doesn’t matter.”
Tang Guanglie was cooler than ever.
That calmness seemed like a cold fury that had completely passed its boiling point.
“Kindness will be doubled, while resentment will be tenfold. The outcast scum here and even you guys will all become enemies of the Tang Clan.”
It was a declaration that left one breathless. Even the outcast masters who had shown up, prepared to become enemies of the Tang Clan, swallowed dryly at its gravity.
However, the mysterious man in black simply adjusted his black attire leisurely.
“I had anticipated this from the moment I raided the Tang Clan.”
“If you anticipated it, stop pretending to be a Sacheon Outcast and reveal your true identity.”
“Hahaha! Pretending? Oh, how nice! I can’t take off this black robe, but allow me to introduce myself.”
The man in black calmly revealed his identity.
“I am Jeong Cheol of the Nangya Sword.”
“…Jeong Cheol!”
…That was a name I had expected. In fact, it was somewhat predictable.
It wasn’t that there were no Sacheon Outcasts who had reached Peak Stage. Among them, it was certainly possible someone had touched Hwa-gyeong.
However, they would not claim the title of Sacheon Outcast.
Peak Stage Sacheon Outcasts had all abandoned their identities and left Sacheon, each pursuing their own goals.
With Jeong Cheol revealing his identity, my head became even more chaotic.
The scenario of the game “Martial World” changes fluidly based on the player’s actions, but some things remain unchanged.
Jeong Cheol belonged to that unchangeable flow.
Throughout my experiences in Martial World, Jeong Cheol’s action pattern had been singular.
Once he reached the level of Hyeong-gyeong, he would descend and claim to be the leader of the Sacheon Outcasts, taking over Sacheon City. Even if players belonging to the Righteous Faction attacked Yunnan, he would merely appear as the third force of Sacheon.
So why was he joining forces with the outcasts to invade the Tang Clan?
“I know of your past well. You declared you would return only once you had defeated all the martial artists of Sacheon, right? Is this the ‘defeating method’ you were shouting about?”
“The members of the Tang Clan have no right to criticize me.”
Even under Tang Guanglie’s sarcasm, Jeong Cheol remained unshaken.
“What?”
“Family Head, who do you think made the current Sacheon Martial World? I believe it is the Tang Clan.”
Jeong Cheol continued calmly.
“Kindness doubled, resentment tenfold. Where in the world is there such a principle? However, the arrogance of the Tang Clan has turned that principle into reality, which led to the twisted state of the Sacheon Martial World today.”
“The struggle for power between the Righteous and the Outcast Factions is merely commonplace in this Martial World. But how did the Tang Clan respond? By saying they should repay their resentment tenfold, they gathered all the Righteous Factions in Sacheon and wiped out the Outcasts.”
“Because you guys wiped out the Outcasts, the Sacheon Martial World has become a bizarre place. And then, the Sacheon Outcasts were dragged into this bizarre state of Sacheon Martial World and forcibly victimized!”
“…Are you asserting the claim of the Sacheon Outcast?”
“It’s not a claim; it’s a fact. If the Tang Clan hadn’t wiped out the Outcasts tenfold, would the sects desperately seeking to grow in Sacheon have sacrificed the Outcasts?”
Jeong Cheol’s words were specious.
While his argument that the Righteous and Outcast factions should respect one another and preserve their roots seemed to align with the current realities of the Martial World, the truth was entirely different.
The Righteous and Outcast factions were constantly eager to devour each other.
Who would want to keep their enemies close in their territory?
The reason neither faction was completely wiped out in a region was merely due to their inability to fully eradicate the other.
Unless one eradicates fully, it’s better to bide one’s time, which has become an unspoken rule.
However, Jeong Cheol’s argument could stand as a justification.
…It was because everyone in Sacheon knew that he was truly a victim due to the distortion of the current Sacheon Martial World.
“You’ve crossed the line.”
The current head of the Tang Clan, Tang Guanglie, condensed Jeong Cheol’s assertion into a single statement.
Indeed.
No matter what justification Jeong Cheol put forth, his actions now had completely crossed the line.
He had raided the Tang Clan’s storeroom, releasing deadly substances.
To threaten the Tang Clan’s bloodline, which included not only martial artists but also innocent children and women, was behavior beyond reprehensible.
“Thanks to your reckless actions, poison has seeped into the land of the Tang Clan. Whether that land can truly recover now is known only to heaven. Furthermore, you even resort to persecuting those who do not practice martial arts, including children and women?”
“Hah, I merely made an unembarrassed choice as a martial artist.”
“…What?”
“The masters of the outcast faction I brought along are merely accompanying me as my guards. Did any of the outcasts present here touch a single hair on the Tang Clan’s members? It was all my actions, and I never harmed anyone who isn’t a martial artist, so saying I oppressed women and children is an exaggeration.”
“You…”
“Is it not the Tang Clan that should be embarrassed?”
Jeong Cheol continued speaking.
“A duel between martial artists is simply about the confrontation through martial arts. Even if using hidden weapons and poison defines the Tang Clan’s uniqueness, is relying on continuously building up extreme poison over generations in order to defeat enemies the true posture of martial artists?”
“You brat…!”
“You accused me of being a rogue who persecutes those who don’t practice martial arts, but are those artisans and healers among them truly innocent? As long as they produce hidden weapons and poison, they are merely part of the Tang Clan’s power! I cascaded the Tang Clan’s extreme poison and released the deadly toxins to avoid the sacrifice of innocent people and to uphold the duel between martial artist and martial artist.”
His justification was impeccable.
The foundation of the Tang Clan’s strength lay in the artisans and those who produce poison. Because the hidden weapons crafted by the artisans and the poisons made by the healers are thoroughly trained in the hands of the direct and branch families, the Tang Clan wields immense power.
Jeong Cheol claimed he had thrown the entire Tang Clan into chaos in order to cut off the supply of poison and hidden weapons and exclude the non-martial artists from the fight.
“I declare here and now! I, Jeong Cheol, shall return the twisted Sacheon Martial World created by the Tang Clan to its original form! To the original appearance where the Righteous and Outcast factions compete for mastery! Thus, I will rescue the suffering Sacheon Outcasts!”
“…Are you truly set on this path?”
“One must complete what they’ve started.”
Tang Guanglie seemed eager to spring into action but could not commit to it.
With the Poison Doctor and the family head present, it would be possible to wipe out the majority of the outcast faction’s masters here.
Even though the outcasts were deployed, it didn’t seem like any Hwa-gyeong-level figures were present.
However, if a battle broke out here, all of the Tang Clan family members would be dragged into it. No matter how angry they may be, neither the family head nor the Poison Doctor would make such a choice.
“It seems we have exchanged all we need to say.”
Jeong Cheol also seemed confident, only wanting to depart after delivering his message.
So,
“You said you’d save the Sacheon Outcasts?”
It was time for me to step in.
The movements of the Yunnan outcast experts, who were trying to loosen their encirclement, halted.
And Jeong Cheol’s movement, which was about to turn around, also froze.
I pushed through the Tang Clan members and stepped forward, showing my right to speak to Tang Guanglie.
“I apologize, Family Head. Allow me to express my regrets for stepping out presumptuously as a guest.”
“…It’s fine. You’re also a Sacheon Outcast, so I suppose it cannot be ignored.”
“May I have a moment to speak with the author?”
Tang Guanglie stared at me for a while thoughtfully before silently taking a single step back. Though he acted courteously, he probably read the strong intention within me that I needed to speak with Jeong Cheol.
I too stepped forward, holding the black robe like Jeong Cheol, emphasizing that I was indeed a Sacheon Outcast.
“Right, you said you’d save the Sacheon Outcasts?”
“Correct.”
“The Sacheon Outcasts do not need your help.”
“Hoh, do you claim to be their representative?”
“The Sacheon Outcasts are merely a collection of individuals. Who could represent the Sacheon Outcasts? As a seven-year veteran of the Sacheon Outcasts, I’m just anticipating the reactions of the Outcasts.”
I acknowledged that I could no longer grow past the level of Iryu, yet I continued to cling to the identity of a Sacheon Outcast.
The reason I chose to remain a Sacheon Outcast was that it allowed me to grow quickly through real combat.
However, why did I remain as a Sacheon Outcast knowing I could never become a top-tier martial artist?
Was it simply a case of giving up and living as an aimless Outcast?
Was it easier to gather funds for gambling?
While those were part of it, fundamentally, the reason I clung to the identity of a Sacheon Outcast was because of a sturdy shield named Jeong Cheol, who would arrive in the future.
Jeong Cheol would appear at the right moment, having reached the level of Hyeong-gyeong, and would become the leader of the Sacheon Outcasts.
If I kept my title as a Sacheon Outcast, it meant that in an extreme situation where I could die like a fly among the lesser martial artists, I would still be under the protection of a Hyeong-gyeong expert.
Therefore, if one day Jeong Cheol emerged, claiming the position of the Sacheon Outcast leader, I would be in a position to welcome him.
Until today, when Jeong Cheol showed up and triggered this calamity.
I saw Tang Do-yeon and Tang Do-gyeong collapse, spitting blood.
I saw a child the same age as Rye-ah walking anxiously, holding onto their parents’ hands.
I witnessed the pain in the Tang Clan’s members as they looked at the Tang Clan, now consumed by poison.
If the price of receiving your protection was this,
If your recurring antics under the pretense of saving the Sacheon Outcasts continued,
Then I will reject you, Jeong Cheol.
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