At Yeon Woo Jin’s words, Sima Cheon burst into loud laughter.
“Kuhahaha! You really are sothing else. You’re turning even the spies sent by the enemy into your own people?”
“Well, if they hand them over, why wouldn’t I take them? I hope they send more.”
He was referring to Wongwang, Hope, and Ganpyeong—those who had been sent by Jungcheon.
“Kekeke... You’re terrifying. Your grandfather used to wipe out enemy spies without hesitation.”
“Why waste them? If you turn them to your side, you not only confuse the enemy but also gain usable talents.”
“Kekeke... You’re not wrong. So? Have those kids beco your people?”
At Sima Cheon’s question, Yeon Woo Jin smiled.
“Almost.”
There was no way they could escape from him now.
They had already tasted the sweet fruit.
****
“Huff... Huff...”
“Haa... Haa...!”
Ragged breaths echoed from every direction.
This was the Baekyaksa Training Hall.
The lowerclassn were gasping for breath as they imrsed themselves in training.
The training here was entirely different from anything they’d done before.
At first, they thought they were being abused. But over ti, they realized they were wrong.
It was a training system that systematically developed the body.
Not to ntion the Yugayeokgeunjin.
At first, they were terrified and hesitant. But now, they were the first to jump into the Yugayeokgeunjin.
Thanks to that, the cultivation stages that had been stagnant for so long were finally starting to show signs of advancing.
When break ti ca, Wongwang, Hope, and Ganpyeong gathered in one place to talk.
“Whew... What do we do? I don’t think I can leave this place anymore.”
“I can’t even bring myself to spread false rumors anymore... Should I just pledge allegiance to Baekyeong completely?”
At those words from Hope and Ganpyeong, Wongwang stayed silent for a mont, then ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) opened his mouth.
“I want to too... but you know what would happen if we did.”
“Yeah... They’d drag us back to the Hyeok Ryeon Clan.”
“Exactly. They don’t care whether we live or die. I really like it here too, but... if we want to survive... we have to do what we ca here to do.”
Wongwang’s words darkened Hope and Ganpyeong’s faces.
Then Ganpyeong looked up and said,
“What if we ask Senior Un for help? The Shin Clan might be willing to protect us.”
“You really think the Shin Clan would make enemies of the Hyeok Ryeon Clan just to protect us?”
Of course not.
“Still... I like Baekyeong. Let’s at least talk to him about it.”
Now even Hope was siding that way. Wongwang sighed.
“Senior Un won’t be able to help us either.”
“Still... there’s no harm in asking, right?”
“And if he says no? Then our identities will be exposed. We’ll be hunted by both Baekyeong and Hyeok Ryeon. As sorry as I am to Baekyeong... we have to do what we ca here to do.”
“What do you an ‘do what we ca here to do’?”
A voice suddenly interrupted their conversation.
“Huh?!”
“W-Who’s there?!”
A face they’d never seen before had suddenly joined in.
“I was just listening, and it sounded like my cute juniors had sothing heavy on their minds.”
Wongwang quickly checked the man’s attire.
It was the uniform of a senior student.
A face they had never seen.
“This is the first ti we’ve t. May I have your na, senior?”
“Woo Jin.”
“Woo Jin?”
A na they hadn’t heard before.
“I told the lowerclassn not to talk about . That’s probably why you don’t know.”
Wongwang gave a faint scoff.
“You speak as if you were the first seat of Baekyeong, senior.”
At that, the man who introduced himself as Woo Jin smiled and nodded.
“I am. I’m the true first seat of Baekyeong.”
At that answer, Wongwang and the others imdiately stood up.
When a senior’s words don’t make sense, the best thing to do is avoid him.
As they tried to leave, Woo Jin followed them with a cheerful smile.
Once they got to where the other seniors were, soone would deal with him.
Thinking that, they ignored him and kept walking.
As expected, Woo Jin followed for a while, then sat down in a corner.
Wongwang scoffed.
“Knew it. All talk.”
“Exactly. The whole world knows the first seat of Baekyeong is Senior Sunwoo Baek.”
“Right. He’s clearly not in his right mind.”
“Let’s just ignore him and keep training.”
“Yeah.”
Ti passed as they resud their training, and eventually, so mid-grade seniors showed up.
Wongwang whispered to Hope and Ganpyeong again.
“Don’t say anything stupid.”
“Got it.”
That’s when it happened.
“Un! These three over here have sothing to say to you!”
That crazy guy was calling out to Shin Dowoon.
What the hell is this lunatic doing?!
Make sothing up.
Wongwang quickly sent a silent transmission to Hope and Ganpyeong.
Shin Dowoon approached and asked,
“What is it?”
“It’s nothing. That senior must have misheard sothing.”
“Misheard?”
“Yes.”
“That senior over there?”
“Yes, that one.”
Shin Dowoon’s expression began to harden.
Then Woo Jin’s voice rang out.
“I told them I was the first seat of Baekyeong, and they didn’t believe .”
Wongwang laughed to himself.
He's digging his own grave.
Now Shin Dowoon would recognize he was insane and just walk away.
But Shin Dowoon’s response was... strange.
“Y-You’re letting tell them?”
“Yeah, go ahead. They’re going to be part of our family now anyway.”
“Understood.”
He wasn’t brushing the crazy guy off—he was showing him deference.
Even if he’s insane, Baekyeong still treats him with respect...
Truly worthy of their reputation as the new elite school.
Shin Dowoon glared coldly at Wongwang.
“So, what did you want to say to ?”
“There’s nothing, really.”
“You didn’t hear what that senior just said?”
“...Sir?”
“I said, DID YOU NOT HEAR?!”
“W-We heard...”
“What did he say?”
“...He said he’s the first seat of Baekyeong...”
“So you’re saying my lord just lied to ?”
“Wh-What?! That person is... the first seat? But Baekyeong’s first seat is—”
“It’s not Senior Sunwoo Baek. That man is the true first seat of Baekyeong—Senior Yeon Woo Jin. Bow your heads!”
“Wh-What are you saying?!”
“You don’t believe ?”
“How can we when you’re suddenly telling us sothing like this...?”
Shin Dowoon turned to the mid-grade students and asked,
“Who is that man?!”
“He is the true first seat of Baekyeong—and our lord!”
Everyone stopped what they were doing and shouted in unison.
“You heard it. That man is the real first seat of Baekyeong—and the one I, Shin Dowoon, will serve with my life. This is your final warning. Go and greet him.”
Murderous intent flickered in Shin Dowoon’s eyes.
Wongwang, Hope, and Ganpyeong all flinched and scrambled toward Yeon Woo Jin.
But then—
“Hey, hey. Don’t scare the kids too much.”
“I apologize! Even after I revealed your identity, these brats failed to understand...”
“I wouldn’t believe it either. It’s understandable.”
Shin Dowoon bowed and stepped back.
“If you can’t speak to Un, just talk to .”
Yeon Woo Jin smiled as he said it, and Wongwang, Hope, and Ganpyeong stared at him in a daze.
All around them, the other lowerclassn were staring at Yeon Woo Jin with stunned expressions.
They had just learned that the real first seat had been hidden among them all along.
Just how strong was this man?
And to think—he was soone the Young Lord of the Shin Clan served as his lord.
An unbelievable sight was unfolding before their eyes—one impossibility after another.
“What the hell? What’s with this atmosphere?”
The upperclassn had arrived.
Shin Dowoon answered the question.
“Senior has revealed his identity to the lowerclassn.”
“Oh yeah? Then congratulations. That ans you’ve been acknowledged.”
“Right. Congrats. You’re lucky—you’ve been chosen by the next True Martial God.”
“Let’s get along from now on, cute juniors.”
The upperclassn accepted it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
What did that an?
That Yeon Woo Jin really was the true first seat of Baekyeong.
The upperclassn looked on at the stunned lowerclassn with amused expressions.
****
Wongwang, Hope, and Ganpyeong were seated in a quiet place, speaking with Yeon Woo Jin.
“Looks like you’ve got a bit of a problem on your hands, huh?”
“T-That is...”
“Relax. Just say it. You three were sent here by Hyeok Ryeonho, weren’t you?”
“Gasp—!”
The three of them flinched in shock.
“Co on now. Did you really think I wouldn’t know sothing so obvious?”
The three lowered their heads.
He had approached them already knowing their identities.
It wasn’t to ss with them—it was just a fact.
There was no way out.
Sunwoo Baek and Jang Woon—known as the first and second seats of Baekyeong—stood at attention behind Yeon Woo Jin, eyes sharp and unblinking.
The very fact that those two stood silently at his back revealed his standing.
The words “first seat of Baekyeong” had sounded like madness before, but now they knew it was real.
“...We’re sorry. We really had no choice.”
“Th-That’s right. We actually like Baekyeong. That’s why... we were going to tell Senior Un everything and ask for help.”
“If it was the Shin Clan... maybe they could protect us from the Hyeok Ryeon Clan...”
“I believe you.”
“...What?”
“You... you believe us?”
“Of course. You’re my people now.”
“...Huh?”
“You didn’t realize? The fact that I’m talking to you like this, face-to-face... that ans I’ve acknowledged you.”
Yeon Woo Jin smiled, and that smile was... beautiful.
“If my people are struggling, of course I’ll help them. Isn’t that obvious?”
He looked to Sunwoo Baek and Jang Woon, and both nodded without hesitation.
“Of course.”
“Obviously.”
“You heard them. They said it’s obvious.”
The three of them trembled ever so slightly.
This was a first.
No one had ever treated them this way.
No one had ever listened to them.
No one had ever acknowledged them.
He’d said his people.
They had never heard such warm, kind words before.
They had always been treated as tools.
Tools for the Hyeok Ryeon Clan.
Living weapons who were expected to throw away their lives at any ti for the clan.
But now, soone had called them “his people” and listened to their concerns.
“Don’t worry. The Hyeok Ryeon Clan won’t be able to touch you.”
“...Is that even possible?”
“It is. Because no one in this world can lay a finger on you without my permission.”
It was arrogant—brazen.
Saying no one in the world could touch them?
“First, we’ll take care of the most imdiate issue.”
“...And how do you plan to do that?”
“Before long, you’ll be free. Don’t worry.”
What did he an by that?
“But before that... tell what Hyeok Ryeonho ordered you to do.”
At Yeon Woo Jin’s question, Wongwang swallowed hard, then opened his mouth and confessed everything.
Yeon Woo Jin grinned.
“So they’re out here trying to hand a justification on a silver platter, huh? Alright—do exactly what they told you.”
“...Excuse ?”
“Spread the rumors, just like they said. Everywhere. To everyone. That way we’ll have the justification we need to strike Jungcheon. What kind of man just sits there and takes it when his pride’s been trampled?”
At his words, Sunwoo Baek and Jang Woon chid in.
“Exactly!”
“We were wondering how to fabricate a justification, but looks like they’re taking care of it for us.”
What were they talking about?
...Wait.
“W-Wait... Does Jungcheon count as part of Mushincheon’s unification... too?”
“Well, of course. It’s still a High Division. This is the unification of all of Mushincheon’s High Divisions, so obviously it’s included.”
“Right. If they didn’t want to be included, they shouldn’t have called themselves a High Division in the first place.”
Unbelievable.
It was real.
“Still, charging in without justification would’ve looked bad. But now? They’re building it up for us.”
“The people will love it. A clash between a humiliated Baekyeong and Jungcheon, the final fortress of the High Divisions.”
“It's irresistible.”
Wongwang and the others stared, dumbfounded.
Yeon Woo Jin spoke again.
“Don’t just sit there—help us out. Make sure the rumors spread fast.”
“Should we?”
“I’ll tell the kids tomorrow. Tell them to spread it far and wide.”
He was even adding fuel to the fire.
****
The strongest High Division is still Jungcheon.
If Jungcheon were allowed to act freely like the others, Baekyeong wouldn’t even stand a chance.
Baekyeong doesn’t dare even glance toward the central region because it fears Jungcheon.
As long as Jungcheon stands, Baekyeong can never be called the true number one.
These rumors were spreading like wildfire throughout Mushincheon.
Especially in the southern region, where Baekyeong was based—there wasn’t a soul who hadn’t heard them.
“Kuhahaha! These kids are doing even better than expected!”
“They say the Military Office issued a special decree—Jungcheon is now allowed to accept challengers.”
“Kekeke... Everything’s falling into place. We’ve even been given official permission to attack Jungcheon. If we hold back now, it’ll only make the rumors feel more real. But if they try to co at us? They’ll be obliterated! A perfect checkmate! Kuhahaha!”
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