“After seeing your actions today, not a single Sacheon Outcast will want your help. I feel the same way.”
“…Hmm.”
There was a gravity in Jeong Cheol’s voice.
Justifications.
The justification of restoring the original martial ecology of Sacheon and saving the Sacheon Outcasts becomes critically flawed the moment they reject Jeong Cheol.
Therefore, Jeong Cheol cannot ignore me at all. I must avoid letting the justification fall apart before any scheme even begins.
“…I heard how you all have been doing lately. It’s said that there’s a personal match craze in Sacheon City now? A fair one-on-one without worrying about the sect’s background or connections. Hahaha… I’ve heard rumors that someone recently threw away their Black Rib during the martial arts matches.”
Jeong Cheol burst into laughter.
“How long do you think that match craze will last?”
Jeong Cheol’s words held a certain sharpness.
“The martial world is ruled by the powerful. Now, the sects in Sacheon City are focused on proving their own skills through competition, but what will happen once the mainstream is determined and the power gaps are unmistakable? Eventually, without any rivals in this Sacheon Martial World, the Sacheon Outcasts will once again be hunted down!”
“What will happen then? Can the Sacheon Outcasts, who have peeled away their masks of anonymity and reveal themselves in public, avoid such atrocities? You are intoxicated with immediate glory, shoving yourselves into danger! The Sacheon Outcasts are on the brink of extinction! How can I not step forward?”
“That’s just your personal opinion.”
“No, it will definitely happen. That is the very nature of the Sacheon people! It’s in their character to frame someone for killing a master simply because they won in a match! Those who send countless assassins to thwart my match to prove my innocence are those righteous factions! And behind them, there are those giant sects who condone and incite all this!”
…To speak coldly, Jeong Cheol’s argument was both persuasive and appealing. He was a victim of his time and had lived on in a position of persecution until the craze of personal matches came along.
However.
Listening to Jeong Cheol’s words, something within me boiled up.
“Yes. I understand how you suffered in the Sacheon Martial World back then. But what does that have to do with today’s Sacheon Outcasts?”
“What did you say…?”
“You admit that you became a Sacheon Outcast because you were swept away by the flow of the times. Yet today’s Sacheon Outcasts themselves chose the path of the Sacheon Outcasts.”
Someone who didn’t know a single thing about the Sacheon Outcasts viewed me—considered us—as foolish beings incapable of seeing beyond a step and claimed to lead.
“Have you ever thought about why today’s Sacheon Outcasts endure the scorn of the people of Sacheon while wearing Black Rib and cannot even gain an ounce of fame?”
The person who judged me for my evaluations had no clue what resolve today’s Sacheon Outcasts carried while wearing Black Rib.
“That’s because it is the extent to which we can walk and the path we can practice!”
Most of the Sacheon Outcasts were once Outcasts. They were nothing but immoral guys who swung their swords for whatever made money.
They were just Outcasts at heart. They were nothing more than people who would be looked down upon for anything they did. Therefore, walking the righteous path was no big deal. Using shadows to assault experts to steal secret texts or raiding merchant guilds for spiritual medicine, they became stronger by any means necessary, yet they had nothing to lose.
Though they could live recklessly in such a bloody mire, they chose to wear Black Rib, hide their identities, and endure the scorn of the Sacheon people to hone their martial arts.
Because they pursued the righteous way in their hearts.
Wanting to become strong without being ashamed of themselves.
They became Sacheon Outcasts and wore Black Rib.
“To forsake their own honor! To endure disgrace yet still wish to hone their martial arts through the most upright methods! They are the ones who wore Black Rib to walk the even slightly righteous path!”
Jeong Cheol.
The Sacheon Outcasts are not people you can lead, deemed useful for your own ends because you sit high and mighty!
* *
“Do you really think you can guide such Sacheon Outcasts? You have no right to do so!”
Seeing Ho Cheon-an passionately expressing this reminded me of Tang Guanglie, who had just been suppressing his rage moments before.
‘To my seniors, the Outcasts were family.’
Seeing Ho Cheon-an, who seemed to be boiling from within, Black Cat thought that.
Jeong Cheol, upon hearing Ho Cheon-an’s outcry, momentarily fell silent.
“Indeed, Sacheon Outcasts need a leader.”
“…What did you say?”
“How can you utter such groundless words? Upholding righteousness as an Outcast? Even if that were true, would the world’s view of Outcasts change? To change the world requires results and power! Even if you trained with such thoughts, the world will regard you as nothing but cowardly Outcasts!”
“That’s nonsense!”
“The argument ends here. Regardless of what you say, I will repay the Sacheon Outcasts my way. Just wait and see. When you receive treatment you could never have imagined, you’ll admit my words were right.”
Everyone present realized clearly.
Ultimately, Jeong Cheol’s discussion of saving the Sacheon Outcasts was merely a facade—not sincere at all.
“…Is that so.”
“I will walk the path I deem correct. If you think it’s wrong… feel free to draw your sword and block my way. You said I’m unqualified to guide Sacheon Outcasts, right? I will prove that wrong. I won’t harm you, so come at me with everything you’ve got.”
“Very well.”
Tang So-yeol thought.
He acted like an adult trying to teach a child, almost like mocking Ho Cheon-an.
If this were an appropriate response from a grown-up to a child, it might have been acceptable. But are Ho Cheon-an and Jeong Cheol truly in such a relationship? They were not.
Ho Cheon-an, who had barely stepped into the peak, would never be subdued by such arrogance.
‘Is it breaking?’
Tang So-yeol thought while looking at Ho Cheon-an’s back. He felt a heat similar to that of a furnace radiating from Ho Cheon-an’s back. The chains that had been choking him were turning molten from the heat.
The difference of being a modern person in the martial world.
As a veteran in the martial world, knowing his growth and limits based on a status panel.
The scars of a heart that had been shattered after giving everything to break through the limit called ‘bloody vein’ over the past two years.
The passive mindset that considered he, a mere foreigner dropped into a game, shouldn’t actively intervene in the game’s flow.
Reason, experience, calculation, perception. And… mindset.
Tang So-yeol didn’t know the full significance of those chains, but he clearly saw through the power of the guan people that Ho Cheon-an was changing.
The scene where everything blocking Ho Cheon-an’s talents and capabilities melted away under the weight of rage.
Ho Cheon-an spoke.
“Jeong Cheol, you will not gain even a piece of this land of Sacheon.”
It was a declaration of hubris.
“I will make it happen, no matter what.”
Not even hubris, it was the understatement of the century. Many who had witnessed Ho Cheon-an’s declaration burst into laughter.
Stopping Jeong Cheol was synonymous with stopping the entire Sacheon Faction of Yunnan. It wasn’t a matter of a martial artist from the Sacheon Outcasts stepping forward. Even a master from Hyeong-gyeong couldn’t stop it.
However, those who had experienced Ho Cheon-an’s true abilities didn’t perceive that declaration as mere boasting.
“I will bind your hands and feet and crush you with my own. No one will dare to abuse the Sacheon Outcasts as an excuse for their greed anymore!”
“…I look forward to that.”
“Feel free to look forward to it. It will take time to catch up to you.”
Ho Cheon-an said while staring at Jeong Cheol with blazing eyes.
“But, I won’t keep you waiting too long.”
Silently, Jeong Cheol turned to leave. The members of the Evil Faction also retreated behind him.
One of the members approached Jeong Cheol and said.
“It’s just the beginning of the peak, yet it seems quite noisy. Shall we send someone to deal with it?”
“…Let it be. My intention to save the Sacheon Outcasts is genuine.”
“What? If that’s your reasoning… very well.”
‘That guy…’
Jeong Cheol recalled Ho Cheon-an’s appearance.
Jeong Cheol’s instincts whispered to be wary of the glint in Ho Cheon-an’s eyes. He was certainly someone who could become an obstacle someday.
‘I’ll tolerate it.’
However, Jeong Cheol decided to disregard Ho Cheon-an as an obstacle.
He had to face the orthodox factions from the Sacheon Martial World. Compared to those major opponents, Ho Cheon-an’s opposition was a trivial issue.
While checking underfoot to avoid stumbling over a stone was essential, it was more important now to resolve bigger issues.
“It’s going to be an intense battle.”
Jeong Cheol muttered as he quickened his steps.
* *
Members of the Tang Clan fled to the nearest grand villa. Being close to the Tang Clan, they received them, but with over a thousand clan members, there was a food shortage, and the villa was small.
Tang Clan martial artists and herbalists scavenged the mountains and fields to barely gather something to eat.
After a day, the injured began to recover gradually. Pale, but Tang Do-gyeong and Tang Do-yeon also dusted themselves off and stood.
I, Black Cat, and Miss Yeo Il-ye helped as much as we could. Well, the extent of my help was just using magic to calm down the children.
Rye-ah, despite her own struggles, energetically assisted me in performing magic tricks.
“The clan head is calling you.”
“Yes.”
Tang Guanglie, the clan head, was sharing a cramped room. With the Elder and the clan head, our meeting nearly filled the space.
“First, it would be proper to apologize to you. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for you to experience such things as a guest of the clan.”
“Why would this be the clan head’s fault? If someone is at fault, it would be me.”
At my statement, both the Elder and the clan head’s eyes widened.
Having been with the children for a day, my mind had cooled down.
With a clear head, I analyzed the current situation.
No matter how I looked at it, now wasn’t the time for Jeong Cheol to appear. Even if he ascended to Hyeong-gyeong as quickly as possible, my judgment was he still needed a couple of years.
But why was Jeong Cheol showing up now?
Especially taking the extreme choice of teaming up with the Evil Faction.
“The plan to hunt down bandits seems to have provoked Jeong Cheol.”
The tier system arising from credit claims for defeating bandits became individual rank matches. Because of this, Sacheon City had no need to continue the play involving hiring Sacheon Outcasts.
Jeong Cheol, consumed by his ambition to climb to the absolute realm of Hyeong-gyeong and become the leader of the Third Faction.
What would he think upon hearing about the ongoing changes in Sacheon City?
He realized upon receiving that news.
If the individual matches continued to be established, the plans he’d envisioned in his head would crumble.
The longer the individual matches went on, the more the identity of the Sacheon Outcasts would blur rapidly. Without anonymity, and the risks that need to be endured, there is no longer a reason to wear Black Rib. The characteristics of the group known as ‘Sacheon Outcasts’ would vanish, their members becoming mere ‘individual martial artists’.
I conveyed my thoughts to the two.
“Therefore, if there is any blame, it belongs to me.”
I had never expected Jeong Cheol would act with such extreme madness driven by a lust for power. Still, I could not free myself from responsibility in this situation.
“Hahaha…!”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Hearing the two chuckle incredulously, I hung my head.
“Do you think you’re wise enough to be a sage?”
…Tang Guanglie, the clan head, suddenly pressed me with a statement I hadn’t predicted.
“Eh?”
“I know your talents are considerable, but this seems too arrogant to me. Do you think you should’ve foreseen Jeong Cheol’s appearance when devising a plan to hunt down bandits? No matter how excellent you are, it would be impossible to consider today’s issues back then.”
“However…”
This time, the Elder opened his mouth.
“I find your attitude extremely appealing. You admit your plan’s outcome brought this disaster, so you feel a sense of responsibility. Jeong Cheol’s assault on our Tang Clan stems from his vile nature seeking power, not because of you.”
“Tang Clan cannot claim to be innocent either.”
The clan head chuckled heartily.
“Even with injustices happening in Sacheon City, our Tang Clan turned a blind eye to the power struggle in Sacheon City while flaunting our family motto of repaying kindness twofold. As a result, we created a victim named Jeong Cheol.”
“Jeong Cheol had some truth in his words. We aimed to repay kindness twofold and repay resentment tenfold, yet we should have been prepared to bear more responsibilities. The Tang Clan should keep this in mind moving forward.”
“…Elder.”
“Haha. Do you know why we called you here?”
I lightly shook my head.
“It was to test your resolve. To see if you truly intended to join the war led by Jeong Cheol and the Yunnan Evil Faction.”
“The words I spoke in front of Jeong Cheol were sincere.”
“Looks that way. Now that we’re in this mess, I’ll be frank. Though it embarrasses me to say it, the ideal conclusion is for the Sacheon Outcasts to crush Jeong Cheol.”
That was the case.
Jeong Cheol’s rise had caused the Evil Faction of Yunnan to rally around him. In this situation, even if the Sacheon Outcasts defeated him, the underlying flame of his justification would persist.
If the righteous faction forcibly suppresses Jeong Cheol, it will only mark the beginning of new resentments.
The Evil Faction would use it over and over as a justification to target Sacheon.
…And the more that happened, the more precarious the position of the Sacheon Outcasts would become. They would likely be blamed as the cause of moral wars, facing ostracism and persecution.
However, if the Sacheon Outcasts rejected Jeong Cheol and defeated him through sheer power?
It would mean the Sacheon Outcasts reclaiming the justification that Jeong Cheol laid out, which would be the cleanest conclusion.
“So, as the clan leader, I am curious how you will act. If you have a plan and there’s a part I can assist with, I am willing to help.”
Plans…well, there are some.
“I plan to leave the Tang Clan for now.”
If Jeong Cheol was making moves with the Yunnan Evil Faction for his own ambition.
I would move the entire [Martial World] itself.
