Chapter 47
Once Recruitment Ends, the Adventure Begins (2)
The following day, ten martial artists were seconded from the Secret Pavilion.
Some had originally belonged to the Secret Pavilion, while others had been recruited from outside by the Murim Alliance Leader and On Byeokhwa.
Baek Socheon gathered them in the training ground together with the Iron Sword Corps warriors who had arrived the previous day.
He asked the Secret Pavilion martial artists,
“Did any of you volunteer to come here?”
Three of the ten raised their hands.
All three had followed him faithfully during his tenure as Master of the Secret Pavilion. Although they had technically been seconded, volunteering for the Hyeoncheon Unit under the current circumstances could not have been an easy decision.
“Thank you.”
The remaining seven had come under the Secret Pavilion Master’s orders.
“I will send you back once our mission is complete, so do not worry.”
One of them stepped forward.
“I am Wang Ho.”
He had been recruited from outside the Alliance.
With a muscular build and a rugged face, he resembled a tiger, just as his name suggested.
“I do not serve anyone weaker than myself as my leader. That has been my lifelong principle!”
“Is that so?”
“May I test your strength, Captain?”
“Very well.”
Baek Socheon readily agreed, then added,
“But before that, there is one thing I should make clear.”
He addressed everyone standing behind Wang Ho.
“You have all lived by the blade long enough to understand this. A leader must establish his authority at the beginning. When someone sets the stage for me like this, I actually welcome it.”
Of course, this case was somewhat exceptional.
Most of those present had come because they respected Baek Socheon, so there was little need for him to assert his authority over them. The ones he intended to subdue were the remaining few.
“Wang Ho, I respect your principle, but I intend to make an example of you.”
Wang Ho’s expression stiffened at the words “make an example.”
“After fighting me, you probably will not be able to move properly for about a month. During that period, will you take charge of the Hyeoncheon Unit’s training?”
“What?”
Wang Ho stared at him in disbelief.
In other words, Baek Socheon was saying that once Wang Ho had been beaten so badly that he could no longer participate in active duty, he should supervise everyone’s training instead.
It was a proposal Wang Ho had never expected.
“Do you still wish to proceed? You may withdraw your challenge now. Everyone here will understand both your position and mine.”
“No. I will fight. Since you have spoken so boldly, I should make one thing clear as well.”
“What is it?”
“I will show no mercy either. I intend to fight as though this were a real battle from the very first move.”
“Naturally. A man’s word?”
“Is worth a thousand pieces of gold.”
“Good.”
The observers formed a circle, and the two men stood at its center.
Everyone watched with keen interest.
The Secret Pavilion martial artists knew exactly how strong Wang Ho was.
He was a Peak-level master, and he never hesitated in his attacks.
There were also rumors that Baek Socheon had completed an Extreme-difficulty mechanism course without internal energy.
Clang.
Wang Ho drew his sword.
Baek Socheon stood a little over ten paces away, his arms hanging loosely at his sides as he watched Wang Ho.
He appeared relaxed, but his entire mind was focused.
Just from the way Wang Ho had drawn his sword, Baek Socheon could tell that his opponent was exceptionally skilled.
Baek Socheon regarded this as a trial he would inevitably have to face.
The situation with Chung Yang had been the same, and so was this challenge.
It was the price he had to pay for wandering aimlessly for the past three years.
He had to fill the void left by that absence.
If he merely covered it up without filling it properly, it would eventually collapse beneath him like a hidden pitfall.
In a flash, Wang Ho closed the distance and charged.
He was extraordinarily fast.
Baek Socheon employed his movement technique and evaded the attack.
He used Sea Without Rising Waves, a defensive form of the Second Fist of the Nine Fists of Overturning Heaven.
As Baek Socheon’s body spun smoothly to the side, Wang Ho’s sword swept past his chest.
The experienced Wang Ho sensed that his attack had missed and twisted his sword.
It was an exquisite change in direction that only a Peak-level master could execute.
Swoosh!
The attack was every bit as fast and threatening as it sounded.
It was so fierce that relying solely on one’s physical strength to evade it became a dangerous gamble.
This was the power of a Peak-level master whose skills had fully matured.
Baek Socheon did not simply endure the attack.
This time, he executed Wind Lies Below, another form of the Second Fist.
His body tilted as he swiftly retreated beyond the sword’s reach.
The blade cut through empty air.
When his attack missed again, Wang Ho grew impatient.
The fact that someone without internal energy had avoided his decisive strike caused his concentration to waver for an instant.
‘He has been deceiving everyone about having no internal energy!’
Swoooosh!
Wang Ho’s sword once again flew toward Baek Socheon’s chest.
However, Wang Ho immediately changed direction and pulled the sword back.
He had noticed Baek Socheon slipping inside his reach to seize his wrist.
But Baek Socheon’s movement had been deliberate.
The instant Wang Ho moved to protect his sword, an opening appeared.
Baek Socheon’s knee slammed into his side.
He had executed Long Wind Breaking the Waves from the Third Fist.
The technique was originally meant to create an opening and attack with the shoulder or elbow, but Baek Socheon had adapted it in actual combat and used his knee instead.
Thud!
With a heavy impact, Wang Ho staggered backward.
He swung his sword to stop Baek Socheon from following him, but in the end, it proved unnecessary.
Baek Socheon had remained where he stood.
Wang Ho understood why his opponent had not pursued him with a chain of attacks.
“Ugh.”
A short cry escaped his lips.
The previous blow had cracked one of his ribs.
Clutching the lower part of his chest, he let out a pained groan.
He tried to tell himself that he could endure this much pain and charge again, but then his eyes met Baek Socheon’s.
Baek Socheon was watching him impassively.
From that gaze, Wang Ho understood that if Baek Socheon had not restrained himself, several of his ribs would have been broken.
Baek Socheon had truly inflicted an injury that would take almost exactly one month to heal.
“I have lost.”
Everyone was astonished.
Baek Socheon had subdued Wang Ho, a prominent martial artist of the Secret Pavilion, in fewer than five or six exchanges.
In truth, Baek Socheon had ended the fight as quickly as possible not because the difference in their skill was overwhelming.
Rather, he knew that the longer their exchange continued, the more disadvantageous it would become for him, so he had forced a swift conclusion.
Judging coldly, before learning the Nine Fists of Overturning Heaven, fighting Wang Ho barehanded would never have been easy.
He would have needed to engage in a life-or-death struggle, and victory could not have been guaranteed.
“Do you acknowledge your defeat?”
“I do. I will also keep my promise.”
Wang Ho lowered his head, his speech now respectful.
“Until I return to the Secret Pavilion, I will serve you with loyalty.”
The technique Baek Socheon had displayed was truly remarkable.
It had been a clean, flawless move that would have been difficult to block even if Wang Ho had known it was coming.
He had also realized the instant he was struck that the attack contained no internal energy. It had been delivered entirely through physical strength.
That impressed him even more.
A man who had trained so relentlessly that he could defeat Wang Ho without internal energy deserved respect as a martial artist, regardless of rank.
“Go and receive treatment first.”
“Yes.”
Wang Ho bowed.
His declaration that he would only serve someone stronger than himself had not been an empty excuse to provoke trouble. It was truly his principle.
Baek Socheon addressed the others.
“For the time being, you will train under Wang Ho’s command. In the future, there will be many occasions when you must risk your lives. Do not wait until death is upon you and regret that you should have trained harder. Understood?”
Everyone answered thunderously.
They were seeing more and more of the Baek Socheon they remembered from the past.
And so, through two demonstrations and two spars, the Hyeoncheon Unit was formed from warriors of the Iron Sword Corps and the Secret Pavilion.
Its total strength was twenty-five.
***
Baek Socheon had secluded himself in the Ten Thousand Books Repository since early morning.
The Ten Thousand Books Repository.
It was said to contain every book in the world.
According to legend, any book that could not be found there simply did not exist.
For that reason, it proudly carried the title of the greatest library in the Central Plains.
Any martial artist of the Murim Alliance could enter the first archive.
It was enormous, with hundreds of shelves filled with every kind of book imaginable.
Naturally, it also contained martial arts manuals.
Of course, not every secret manual was stored there. The manuals in the first archive ranged only from beginner to intermediate level.
The martial artists were not permitted to borrow them.
If they needed a particular passage, they had to memorize it before leaving.
Many martial artists sat reading the manuals as though they were studying for an examination.
The next archive was accessible to unit captains.
It contained manuals of a higher level than those in the first archive—advanced-grade martial arts texts.
The following archive was open to corps leaders, while the final archive could only be entered by pavilion masters.
It contained fewer books, but they were correspondingly more precious and of far higher quality.
Baek Socheon was reading a secret manual there.
Ever since recovering his health, the manual he had studied most consistently was the Immovable Wisdom King Heart Method, said to be the greatest internal cultivation method of all time.
However, because he could not circulate internal energy, there was a limit to what he could achieve no matter how many times he read it.
The next manual he had memorized was the Nine Fists of Overturning Heaven.
Of its nine fists, he had thoroughly mastered the first three.
The manual he was reading now was one he had never paid attention to before.
He had seen it on the shelf several times, but had never once taken it out.
At that moment, someone interrupted his complete immersion in reading.
“So this is where I find you.”
Unexpectedly, the person who addressed him was Secret Pavilion Master On Byeokhwa.
“Captain Baek and a library do not seem to suit each other.”
“You mean I look unintelligent?”
“Haha, of course not. I merely meant that a sword suits you better than a book.”
“Thank you for sending your subordinates.”
“There is no need to thank me. It is all for the sake of the martial world. I heard a rumor that you won Wang Ho’s loyalty on your very first day.”
“Warrior Wang went easy on me.”
“Was it not Captain Baek who went easy on him?”
Baek Socheon knew little about her.
Naturally, he had heard rumors of her achievements, but he did not know what sort of person she truly was.
Since the Alliance Leader had personally brought her into the organization, the two of them must have shared a very close relationship.
Had the Alliance Leader told her anything about Baek Socheon?
On Byeokhwa broke the silence and changed the subject.
“May I ask what book you are reading?”
“Of course.”
Baek Socheon readily showed her the manual.
Great Art of Recasting the Bones and Replacing the Body.
On Byeokhwa was startled when she read the title.
She had never imagined that Baek Socheon would be reading a book related to bodily rebirth.
“Why are you so surprised?”
“I did not expect you to be reading such an absurd book. Ah, calling it absurd may have been rude.”
“Not at all.”
There were only a handful of records throughout the history of the martial world claiming that someone had undergone a complete bodily transformation.
Even among those, most could not be verified as true.
For that reason, many martial artists dismissed bodily rebirth as a ridiculous legend.
“My situation is what it is. I have to grasp at even the vaguest possibility.”
On Byeokhwa smiled.
“And has it helped?”
“No. This book alone has been of no help whatsoever.”
Her eyes moved to another book lying beside Baek Socheon.
Compendium of the Ten Greatest Soul-Ensnaring Arts of the Martial World.
“I did not know you were interested in soul-enchanting arts.”
“There is something I need to investigate. What brings you here, Pavilion Master?”
“I also have something I need to look up. Then I will see you again later.”
She walked farther inside.
Baek Socheon continued reading.
When On Byeokhwa later left, she passed by silently because Baek Socheon was completely absorbed in the book.
Several double-hours later, Baek Socheon closed the final page.
Beneath the title Great Art of Recasting the Bones and Replacing the Body, he saw the author’s name.
Ban Yunsaeng.
It was the name of the man the grotesque woman in the underground prison had told him about.
***
Baek Socheon separately assigned duties to Im Chung and Beon Saeng.
“From now on, Im Chung will manage the intelligence sent by Hyeoncheon Pavilion, organize it, and report it to me. I would also like you to handle all administrative matters for the Hyeoncheon Unit.”
“In other words, I will be the administrator of the Hyeoncheon Unit.”
“Someone has to do it, and I believe you are the right person.”
“Yes, understood.”
In some ways, this was the most important responsibility of all.
For that reason, it had to be entrusted to the person Baek Socheon trusted most.
Fortunately, Im Chung’s previous work as a branch leader had also been administrative in nature.
Handling the Hyeoncheon Unit’s administration was therefore perfectly suited to him.
“Beon Saeng will assist Im Chung while training diligently so that he can join the Hyeoncheon Unit in the field as soon as possible.”
“Yes, understood.”
With his exceptional talent for martial arts, Beon Saeng would likely be able to join field operations before long.
“The martial world, and especially the Murim Alliance, is overflowing with people skilled in martial arts. What I need is not merely someone strong, but someone I can trust.
“Someone who will never lie to me, no matter the circumstances. Someone who will believe in me regardless of what happens.
“I hope the two of you will become such people.”
They knew Baek Socheon was not merely saying something pleasant for their benefit.
He truly wanted people he could trust.
Even surrounded by so many experts, he was still searching for trustworthy companions.
Beon Saeng spoke, his voice overflowing with emotion.
“Elder Brother, looking back, it was an absurd thing for me to suggest, but we nevertheless formed a bond as brothers. Even if I die, I will never betray you.”
“The same is true for me.”
Baek Socheon had saved the lives of Im Chung’s wife and son.
Im Chung already regarded his own life as belonging to Baek Socheon.
“Yes. Thank you.”
Baek Socheon patted each of them once on the shoulder.
“And take this training plan to Wang Ho.”
It was a training schedule Baek Socheon had personally prepared.
It contained detailed instructions explaining what training should be conducted each day and how it should be carried out.
“I will be away for a while. Take good care of the Hyeoncheon Unit in my absence.”
“Where are you going?”
Baek Socheon gave no answer to Im Chung’s question.
That night, carrying in his heart the answer he had not given earlier, Baek Socheon quietly left the Alliance.
‘I am going to test my luck.’
His destination was Mount Qilian, where Ban Yunsaeng was said to have gone into seclusion.