The Righteous Will Unit Commander, Ji Makpyeong, was brewing tea as usual. Among his peers, including the Black Tortoise Unit Commander, Cheol Jiak, Ji Makpyeong was the one who had been promoted the fastest.
His martial skill was quite good, but his most outstanding points were politics and social skills. He was fundantally quick-witted. Also, he had a good ability to judge whether to grab the rope in front of him or to cut it.
He filled two teacups and placed them in front of himself and the man sitting opposite him. The man sitting in front was a rope he had to grab.
"Family Head Gu. I've handled the matter well, so don't worry too much."
The man called Family Head Gu was wearing a monk's robe made of black fur. His strong features and slightly raised eyebrows gave him a rather fierce impression.
He was a man who strangely exuded the unique scent of a martial artist who had rolled around in the black path his whole life, rather than a master of the white path.
Gu Yongbaek, the head of the Gu family, looked at the teacup in front of him for a mont and then said.
"What will happen to Ink Guest?"
"He tried to kill an applicant for the selection exam. Furthermore, he involved a rather large black path in the incident. He'll probably have the tendons in his limbs cut and his dantian destroyed, and then be imprisoned in the brain prison. He won't be able to co out for at least thirty years. It's unavoidable."
The Righteous Will Unit Commander said so while watching his expression. Although Gu Yongbaek was his friend, he was also a fearso man.
"I took asures to ensure that your son would not be hard as much as possible. I wanted to protect Ink Guest as well, since the Gu family must have spent money raising him as a guard, but I couldn't help it because a long tail is bound to be stepped on. I'm sorry."
But the Gu family head, Gu Yongbaek, calmly nodded his head.
"Cut his tongue as well."
"...Hmm?"
"Handle the matter properly. You know ."
The Righteous Will Unit Commander suddenly t Gu Yongbaek's gaze and instinctively lowered his eyes. He felt as if he was facing a wild dog that had lived its life tearing people's limbs apart.
"Ahem, Family Head Gu. I'm asking just in case, so don't take it the wrong way. Did you really not know?"
At the Righteous Will Unit Commander's cautious question, Gu Yongbaek's eyebrows twitched.
"I didn't know. If I had known, would I have handled it so carelessly? The fact that the guy nad Cheon Woojin or whatever was dead probably wouldn't even be known yet."
The Righteous Will Unit Commander nodded his head. Certainly, the Gu Yongbaek he knew was a man who would do that and more.
Gu Yongbaek, who suddenly thought of his son, clicked his tongue.
"Tsk, pathetic fool."
When he first heard the report, he had doubted his ears.
He had sent his son to the Martial Alliance to shed the long history of staying between the righteous and the evil and to be properly recognized by the righteous faction. But there, he had committed a more black path-like act than anyone else. And in a very pathetic way.
"But what on earth is that Cheon Woojin guy like."
Apart from his son, Gu Jinseok, being stupid, his martial talent was very outstanding. So, he had sent his eldest son, Gu Jinseok, to the Martial Alliance, leaving his brilliant second and third sons behind.
But for Gu Jinseok to be so jealous.
He couldn't even guess how much talent the guy nad Cheon Woojin had.
The Righteous Will Unit Commander nodded his head.
"He's a pretty amazing kid. I was also surprised when I retraced his steps while investigating this incident. He practically annihilated the West Heaven Society single-handedly."
"The West Heaven Society?"
Gu Yongbaek's brow narrowed. He was well-versed in the affairs of the black path. The West Heaven Society Leader was an insignificant man, but the Asura Demon Lord, a disciple of the Dark Heavenly Son, was there.
"That can't be. There must have been an accomplice."
However, the Righteous Will Unit Commander firmly shook his head.
He had investigated more thoroughly than ever before, for fear that he would ss things up if he did not fully grasp Gu Jinseok's evil deeds.
"It's certain information. He annihilated the West Heaven Society single-handedly."
"The martial skill of a re applicant is that much?"
Only then did he seem to vaguely understand why his son was jealous. Gu Jinseok was a man who had grown up hearing that he was a genius and a monster his whole life.
But, having faced an overwhelming martial artist of his age, Gu Jinseok, with his usual personality, must have had a fit.
Of course, a man who would imdiately attack the West Heaven Society and annihilate it single-handedly would not have bowed down to his son.
"I roughly understand the situation."
Gu Yongbaek grasped the overall flow with just fragntary information. In the end, it was clear that Gu Jinseok had done it, and the best thing to do now was to disguise it as Ink Guest's doing and cut off the tail.
Gu Yongbaek stood up from his seat and said to the Righteous Will Unit Commander again clearly.
"Make sure to cut that guy's tongue. No. Cut his fingers as well so he can't write."
"Still, he's a martial artist who ate from the sa pot as you in the family, so do you have to go that far..."
The Righteous Will Unit Commander shut his mouth. Because Gu Yongbaek's black pupils were truly nacing.
"...Alright. I'll do that."
Just as Gu Yongbaek was about to leave the office.
The Righteous Will Unit Commander mustered up the courage to say the words that had been lingering in his mouth the whole ti.
"Ah, your son will be disqualified from this exam."
Gu Yongbaek's steps ca to a halt.
The Righteous Will Unit Commander instinctively prepared to run away.
A montum slowly rose from Gu Yongbaek's entire body.
How much money and ti had he invested in this exam.
He had bought information about the exam, bought and fed him all sorts of elixirs, and invited masters of the white path to teach Gu Jinseok. The most annoying thing was that he had to pretend to be friends with the worthless Righteous Will Unit Commander and play along.
'But he's disqualified?'
The exam cycle was three years.
It ant that he had to do that for at least three more years.
Gu Yongbaek turned his body and glared at the Righteous Will Unit Commander.
"What do you an by that?"
The Righteous Will Unit Commander hurriedly made an excuse.
"No, still, Ink Guest was your son's guard. We can't just let it go. Originally, your son should also be punished, but I made an effort to prevent that."
Gu Yongbaek, who was looking at the Righteous Will Unit Commander, said in a low voice, as if chewing on the letters.
"Then you should have made more of an effort to get him to pass this exam."
"...Even for , that's impossible."
Gu Yongbaek's head throbbed for a mont.
Unlike other families, the Gu family exerted a strong influence on both the black and white paths. In other words, it ant that there were twice as many things to worry about.
Gu Yongbaek was a man of the black path through and through. He had tried to suppress his rough nature and establish himself in the white path. The reason was simple. When the family was small, the sinister business of the black path was more profitable, but as the scale grew, the influence as a white path family made more money.
Gu Yongba-ek's rough nature montarily exuded a nacing montum. He felt like he wanted to smash the heads of his son and the Righteous Will Unit Commander and live as a mber of the black path.
The Righteous Will Unit Commander, who t that dangerous gaze, sucked in his breath.
In that precarious atmosphere like thin ice, the Righteous Will Unit Commander cautiously opened his mouth.
"...If we manipulate the incident too much, it might reach the alliance leader's ears. Can you handle that?"
Just as a frightened monk seeks Buddha and a Taoist priest desperately calls upon the Primordial Heaven-honored One, the Righteous Will Unit Commander instinctively ntioned the alliance leader.
At the sa ti, Gu Yongbaek's gaze sank low, and the dangerous montum that had gripped the room disappeared as if washed away. Soon, Gu Yongbaek let out a sigh.
"Alright. I'll do that."
He had to take comfort in the fact that it was a disqualification, not a failure. A failure could be retried in the next exam, but a disqualified applicant would never be able to set foot in the Martial Alliance again.
Soon, Gu Yongbaek left, and the Righteous Will Unit Commander, who was left alone in the office, let out a long sigh as if his tension had been released.
"Have my senses dulled?"
For so reason, he was not sure about the rope he had grabbed this ti. The man nad Gu Yongbaek was too dangerous, and most of all, the guy nad Cheon Woojin kept bothering him.
He was a guy with no school or background.
But there was sothing. The problem was that he didn't know what that sothing was.
* * *
Thud- The office door closed firmly.
Cheol Jiak, who had been left outside alone, scratched his head and then left, sensing the mood.
A strange silence fell on the scene.
Cheon Woojin, who was left alone with the alliance leader, felt a pang of guilt inwardly.
'How did he know.'
He had planned to kill Gu Jinseok after the selection exam was over. He could not just turn a blind eye to a martial artist who had thrust a sword at him to kill him. This was not in the teachings of the Black Master or the White Master.
The Martial Alliance Leader, Beili Tian, who was looking into Cheon Woojin's pupils, continued calmly.
"If you live this life for a long ti, you get to see more than others."
"..."
"In your pupils, good and evil coexist. It's not the kind of eyes a person who has fully received the teachings of the White Master senior would have..."
Beili Tian, who was thinking deeply about sothing, nodded his head.
"I see. You also received the teachings of the Black Master, didn't you?"
"...How did you know?"
Cheon Woojin readily admitted it. There was no reason to hide it, and he did not want to lie to his master's junior.
"When the White Master senior suddenly left the martial world, the Black Master, the greatest villain of the era, also disappeared. Furthermore, seeing that dark staff on your back, I knew at once."
Cheon Woojin caressed the Crescent Moon Staff.
The alliance leader, who was staring blankly at it, continued.
"There are few who rember the Black Master's martial arts in the world now. Furthermore, a dark iron staff is a rather common weapon, and the Crescent Moon Staff itself was sothing the Black Master only used briefly in his later years, so the risk of being caught is low, but..."
The alliance leader, who trailed off, stood up from his seat and strode over. Soon, he placed his hand on Cheon Woojin's shoulder and said.
"Still, there are many who have deep grudges against the Black Master. Most of them are people who are still maintaining their positions in the martial world. There's no harm in being careful."
"...I will keep that in mind."
"So, are you really going to kill Gu Jinseok? If you're a Martial Alliance mber, it's right to punish him according to the alliance's laws..."
The Martial Alliance Leader, Beili Tian, who trailed off and stared blankly at Cheon Woojin, soon nodded his head.
"I see. You have no intention of staying in the Martial Alliance any longer."
"Yes. Since I have achieved all my goals for coming to the Martial Alliance."
"Did you have other goals besides informing
of the White Master senior's news?"
The Martial Alliance Leader, Beili Tian's eyes narrowed. Apart from the fact that the disciple of the White Master senior was lovely, if a master of this level had visited the alliance with a purpose, it was his duty to grasp that purpose.
As the alliance leader, and as the White Master's junior.
Cheon Woojin thought for a mont and then said calmly.
"My White Master said that the Martial Alliance is a league of chivalrous heroes. A place where they can uphold the order of the world by putting fairness first, protect the common people, and establish the value of good."
The Martial Alliance Leader, Beili Tian, smiled with utter satisfaction.
"Hahaha, that's right. The value of good is what the White Master senior and I have tried to protect our whole lives."
"But my Black Master said otherwise."
Beili Tian's eyebrows twitched.
Even though Cheon Woojin saw this, he just said calmly.
"A group of disgusting hypocrites. The ones who pretend to be righteous in the light and commit injustice in the dark are more hideous than the ones who openly commit evil deeds."
"..."
It was not sothing to be said in front of the Martial Alliance Leader. But Cheon Woojin was not a man who cared about such things.
"So, he told
to see for myself. What do you think, Alliance Leader?"
Beili Tian shot up from his seat. Even though he did not take any particular action, a firm and tyrannical montum dominated the surroundings.
Beili Tian looked straight into Cheon Woojin's pupils and said in a confident tone.
"Of course, the White Master senior's words are right."
"Is that really so?"
The air between Cheon Woojin and Beili Tian beca taut.
Cheon Woojin was asking this.
'Are you going to say that even though you know full well that injustice is being committed in the face of the Gu family's power?'
Beili Tian also knew the inner aning of the words, so he felt a sharp pain in his chest. Soon, Beili Tian, who let out a sigh, said.
"...Now that I know, it will be different."
"Is the alliance leader the Martial Alliance? Even if the alliance leader is an upright person, would it have any aning if the water below is all rotten."
Every word of Cheon Woojin beca a dagger and pierced Beili Tian's chest. Because he could not completely refute those words.
It was true that corruption was happening in the Martial Alliance.
Beili Tian, who hated it extrely, was cracking down on it like catching mice, but injustice could not be completely cut off in the affairs of people.
Especially since Cheon Woojin, who had been directly hard, was saying so, Beili Tian had nothing to say even if he had ten mouths.
At the sa ti, anger at himself for not noticing the situation in advance and anger at the Righteous Will Unit Commander for handling the matter in such a way in the face of the Gu family's power welled up.
After a brief staring contest, Beili Tian finally sat down and let out a long sigh.
"I'll admit it. The Martial Alliance is a group that pursues good, but things like this happen from ti to ti. But that's not all there is to the Martial Alliance. You haven't seen the true face of the Martial Alliance yet."
The alliance leader wanted to prove it. That the words of the great evil, the Black Master, were wrong, and he did not want the disciple of the White Master senior to judge the Martial Alliance as a hypocritical and shaless group.
Cheon Woojin was indifferent, and only the Martial Alliance Leader, Beili Tian, continued to talk. For so reason, a picture of the alliance leader making excuses to a re applicant unfolded.
"Let's talk again after the incident is over. Even for you, you're not thinking of killing Gu Jinseok within the Martial Alliance, are you?"
Cheon Woojin nodded his head. He had no intention of seeing blood within the Martial Alliance. Anyway, this Martial Alliance was the place his White Master had cherished the most.
Soon, Cheon Woojin bowed his head and left the office. The Martial Alliance Leader, Beili Tian, who was watching his back, clenched his fist. His feelings were clearly felt from his finely trembling fist.
Beili Tian also knew that the Righteous Will Unit Commander and the Gu family head were friends. Beili Tian, who was thinking of the two, said in a low voice to the outside with a nacing look.
"Bring the head of the Punishnt Hall imdiately."
The Punishnt Hall was an institution that made and executed the alliance's laws, and it boasted absolute power. Even the elders of the alliance would tremble if they beca the target of the Punishnt Hall, so a re commander-level person would not be able to handle it.
(End of Chapter)
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