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They had heard about me beating up Song Hwa-rin. Song Woo-gyeong was also at our house.

“You fool! You utterly hopeless idiot!”

Mother rushed over and mercilessly slapped the back of my head. Father tried to stop her.

“Dear, please calm down!”

Come to think of it, I remembered the day I woke up in Byeok Ri-dan’s body. I was beaten by Mother like this then too.

Ah, the life of these pitiful men – getting hit when they’re hit by women, and getting hit when they hit women.

“Why on earth did you do such a thing?”

Mother was truly furious. She had been hoping for things to go well between Song Hwa-rin and me, so instead of bringing gifts, I had beaten her up. It was truly shocking news.

Father and Song Woo-gyeong probably felt the same way, even if they weren’t showing it outwardly.

Of course, the angriest person would naturally be Song Woo-gyeong.

“I’m sorry.”

I thought it was actually a good thing. It would be an opportunity for my parents and Song Woo-gyeong to let go of any lingering attachment to our marriage, even if just a little.

Especially Father, who had an expression of incomprehension. When I had comforted him about the Ma Jeongsu incident and drank with him, I was far from this kind of behavior.

Song Woo-gyeong approached me. It was truly a situation where I wouldn’t be surprised if he threw a punch. I was prepared to take it if he hit me.

But instead of throwing a punch, he calmly asked:

“Why did you do it?”

“I wanted to have a formal duel with Rin. Rin is strong, so I had to give it my all, and that’s how it ended up.”

“Is that really all?”

He was probably asking if it wasn’t revenge for what happened last time. I had told Su-ran, Song Hwa-rin’s guard, that it was revenge for last time, but that was said hoping it would reach Ma Jeongsu’s ears. I couldn’t bring myself to say that to Song Woo-gyeong.

“Yes, that’s all it was.”

“Are you being honest?”

“Yes.”

After staring at me for a moment, Song Woo-gyeong’s stern expression softened, and he burst into laughter.

“Hahaha! Our son-in-law, turns out he was very strong!”

I was greatly taken aback by these unexpected words.

Song Woo-gyeong looked at Father and said:

“As you know, my daughter’s martial arts achievements are not insignificant. But to win so one-sidedly against Rin. Isn’t this truly remarkable?”

Good heavens! To think he would even praise me.

Father shook his head and said:

“Still, hurting Hwa-rin is clearly wrong.”

“Injuries often happen during duels.”

“That’s why he should have been more careful. The boy deserves punishment.”

Song Woo-gyeong nodded and said:

“Yes, he should be punished. Leave it to me.”

He turned to look at me again.

“Are you prepared to accept punishment?”

“Of course.”

“Good. When Rin recovers, meet with her often from now on. That’s your punishment. Understood?”

In the current atmosphere, I couldn’t possibly say no.

“I’ll try my best.”

Saying I’d try my best was closer to saying it would be difficult, but Song Woo-gyeong accepted it with a smile.

“That’s fine then.”

He looked at Father in a good mood and said:

“Let’s have a drink after a long time.”

Mother, who had been watching anxiously, looked more at ease.

“I’ll show off my skills after a long time. It’s been a while since you’ve tasted my cooking, right?”

Song Woo-gyeong made a slightly awkward expression and looked at Father. It was a distress signal. Mother was fine in every other aspect, but her cooking skills were honestly not great. ‘Not great’ is a filial evaluation; objectively, it was the worst.

Father looked back and forth between the two, but unable to say anything, he turned his head towards the window. How could Father’s tongue be any different? He just couldn’t say anything due to his deep affection for Mother.

Song Woo-gyeong said to Mother:

“There’s no need to go to such trouble.”

“Right now, Sect Leader’s expression looks like he’s facing someone trying to force-feed him poison.”

“Haha. How could that be? You’re misunderstanding.”

As Song Woo-gyeong became flustered, Mother finally laughed and said:

“I was joking. I’m well aware of my cooking skills. The only time my cooking is needed is when preparing a feast for enemies.”

“It’s not that bad.”

After saying that, Song Woo-gyeong realized his mistake. That statement already implied that her cooking skills were terrible.

Mother smiled and said:

“You fall for it too easily, it’s not fun.”

Belatedly, Song Woo-gyeong laughed heartily.

“Hahaha. I’ve always been a boring fish, haven’t I?”

After such a boisterous exchange of banter, our parents left the room.

Probably, Song Woo-gyeong’s true feelings aren’t as cheerful as he’s showing. What father in the world could laugh happily when his daughter is lying injured?

He’s just trying to pass it off in a good mood, considering his friendship with Father and Mother.

Anyway, it seemed certain that at least this incident wouldn’t interfere with their friendship.

***

The next day at dawn, I was sitting in the cave in the mountains where I had previously broken through the Ren and Du Meridians. Since the cave was located in such a secluded place cut off from people, I often came here when I had important matters to attend to.

I learned two important facts from this banquet.

First, that he was targeting Song Hwa-rin, and second, that Ma Bonggi was behind this incident. In other words, it meant that Ma Bonggi, that is, the Heavenly Blade Sect, had systematically begun to spread its influence in the Central Plains.

Would they have only come to Shandong? I don’t think so. I’m certain that his blood relatives have scattered throughout the Central Plains and started pulling similar tricks.

Even in a situation where I might have been poisoned, I didn’t go crazy with revenge. There was a reason beyond not having recovered my martial arts. After living as long as I had, I just wanted to forget everything and live this new life well. I was willing to let most things go…

But this is not okay.

This was the Central Plains I had protected, losing sleep over it.

Those who bully and trample on the weak just because they have some money and power, how hard have I worked to prevent such people from running wild?

And now these good-for-nothing bastards are stirring things up before the scent of my death has even faded?

This wasn’t something that could be resolved by just sighing. I need to quickly build up my strength and set things right. You sons of bitches, you’ll all die.

Calming my boiling anger, I looked down at the leather bag in front of me.

This was what I had taken from Ma Jeongsu’s safe, the first spoils of this fight. I didn’t even know what I had grabbed from the safe. That’s why my heart was pounding even more. Even more than when I had the Thousand-Year Broken Yang Herb in front of me before.

I carefully opened the leather bag.

First, I took out the Heavenly Creation Sword that caught my eye.

Ching.

How long had it been since I held the Heavenly Creation Sword?

To be honest, the Heavenly Creation Sword wasn’t a sword I frequently used. It was a precious sword passed down from the previous Alliance Leader, so I had used it for a while. Later, I had kept it stored in the Martial Righteous Alliance’s treasury, and now it had come into my hands like this.

Holding the Heavenly Creation Sword brought back memories.

Precious swords have their own power. Just holding this Heavenly Creation Sword would make me about 30% stronger than holding my current sword.

But I can’t use this Heavenly Creation Sword as it is, since too many people would recognize it.

I have three choices:

Should I just bury it here on the cave floor, sell it in the black market, or modify it so it’s unrecognizable?

First, I ruled out selling it in the black market.

Although it was a time when I needed a lot of money, selling the Heavenly Creation Sword felt burdensome.

It wasn’t easy to put a price on it due to its value as the Alliance Leader’s sword, and even though the black market prioritizes customer safety and secrecy, they might take an interest in me because of the Heavenly Creation Sword.

It was a completely different matter from going there with several tens of thousands of taels to buy spirit herbs.

I wasn’t worried about Ma Jeongsu’s side searching the black market. The black market itself is such a large organization that they wouldn’t even blink at ordinary pressure.

To overturn the black market, the Martial Righteous Alliance would have to step in. And anyway, I would go wearing a human skin mask, so there’s no worry about being tracked.

Now there are two choices left:

Hide it or modify it?

In the end, I decided to modify it.

If this sword had been my unique weapon, the Asura Bright King Sword, I would have hidden it in a safe place. I had no intention of clumsily tampering with that. I would have wielded it later when I perfectly regained my former martial arts.

But at least for me, the Heavenly Creation Sword wasn’t that precious. It’s enough if it helps me in my current situation.

Since my inner force is still lacking, the Heavenly Creation Sword will be a great help.

I put the Heavenly Creation Sword aside for now and opened the leather bag again.

This time, I took out some banknotes.

There were high-value notes and small-value notes. Counting them, the total amount was 82,000 taels.

50,000 taels were in high-value notes, and the remaining 32,000 taels were in small-value notes that could be used immediately.

I couldn’t freely use the high-value notes that could be traced.

The only way to use them was to wear a mask, go to the black market, and buy something very expensive. Of course, the black market wouldn’t leak customer secrets, but to prepare for the one-in-a-million chance, it would be safest to buy something that leaves no trace when consumed, like elixir.

I decided to use these 50,000 taels that way. I decided to keep the remaining 32,000 taels in a money house as emergency funds.

I trust Gong Su-chan, but he could make mistakes too. Also, I might need money. It’s annoying to ask Gong Su-chan for money every time. It’s a pity I can’t grow it through investments, but I needed money for emergencies.

Next, I took out a few sheets of paper. Looking at them, they were some documents related to the establishment of the martial arts school.

They were completely unnecessary for me, but Ma Jeongsu would be a bit troubled without them. Of course, the establishment of the martial arts school wouldn’t stop just because these were gone. He was the one with the power, after all.

This time, I took out a box about the size of an adult’s forearm.

Boxes with unknown contents should be opened carefully. They could explode or release poison.

But I didn’t think this was like that. They wouldn’t have stored such dangerous things together with money and documents.

Still, just in case, I held my breath and slowly opened the box.

“Ah!”

I let out an exclamation of joy when I saw what was inside.

Nine blue leaves, clear and mysterious white leaf veins, surprisingly, what was inside was the Divine Spirit Nine-Leaf Grass.

It was a spirit herb with better effects than the Thousand-Year Broken Yang Herb I had taken before. If the Thousand-Year Broken Yang Herb gave ten to fifteen years of inner force, the Divine Spirit Nine-Leaf Grass[1] was an elixir that gave fifteen to twenty years of inner force.

I had bought the Thousand-Year Broken Yang Herb for 44,000 taels, so this was worth at least 70,000 taels.

It might have been offered by one of the Shandong families, or it could have been something he brought down this time. It was truly an unexpected harvest.

“Hahahahaha.”

Laughter of joy burst out. Thinking that this belonged to Ma Jeongsu made me even happier. I really felt like shouting hurrah.

After savoring the joy for a moment, I looked down at it with a calm mind.

I really want to give this to my parents and even to Gwangdu, but now is the time for me to become stronger.

If it would be more efficient for them to take it than for me to take it, that would be different, but for now, my efficiency is incomparably greater.

I immediately consumed the Divine Spirit Nine-Leaf Grass.

Not wanting to miss even a bit of its energy, I chewed and swallowed it carefully. I didn’t miss anything, from the roots to the leaves. The tingling taste of the spirit herb filled my mouth.

I immediately circulated the Heavenly Martial Heart-Guarding Technique and absorbed the energy of the Divine Spirit Nine-Leaf Grass.

Sssssss.

The Divine Spirit Nine-Leaf Grass began to melt into my body.

This time too, I absorbed all the effects that the Divine Spirit Nine-Leaf Grass possessed. I absorbed it faster and more certainly than last time. Now, the Heavenly Martial Heart-Guarding Technique had perfectly adapted to Byeok Ri-dan’s body.

After circulating my true qi a few times and regulating my body, I checked my danjeon.

Originally, I had twenty-four years of inner force.

And at this moment, the inner force in my danjeon was forty-four years. I had absorbed a full twenty years of inner force from the Divine Spirit Nine-Leaf Grass.

“Hahahahaha.”

Again, laughter of joy burst out.

Now I had sixteen years left until I reached sixty years of inner force. At my current rate of cultivation, it wouldn’t even take two years.

Moreover, I had 50,000 taels that I was planning to spend in the black market.

If I’m lucky and there’s elixir in the black market, my inner force will increase even more.

Please let there be elixir.

I tried to calm down my rising excitement. At times like this, I need to stay calm.

I looked into the leather bag again.

The rest were a few medicines. Wound-healing medicine, internal injury medicine, antidotes for several representative poisons, all of them were top-grade medicines. Just the wound-healing medicine in that small container was worth several hundred taels. Of course, their effects were worth the price.

I’ll put these to good use too.

There won’t be any problem if I just change the containers when I go down. They’re very expensive, but they’re sold all over the Central Plains.

I burned and destroyed all the documents. They were useless to me anyway, and they were things I shouldn’t be caught with. They would only trouble him.

I put the sword, banknotes, and medicine bottles in the leather bag and left the cave.

The sun was rising over the distant mountains. It was the most brilliant and pleasant sunrise I had ever seen.

After gazing at it for a moment, I hurried down the mountain.

There were many things I had to do before today was over.