Chapter 211

The duties of the Leader of the Martial Alliance are quite busy. At least that’s how the Leader thinks.

However, the people around have a slightly different opinion. The Leader’s work mostly involves greeting guests, eating meals together, having tea, or chatting with sweets all day long.

Then, when the sun sets and the visitors stop coming, they pretend to work for a bit and just stamp some documents here and there.

How cruel is that?

Jo Hyun-ryang, the Leader himself, spends his entire work hours on welcoming guests he doesn’t even want to see, only to waste his precious personal time later staring at old documents after dinner.

Now, with just four days until the Martial World Tournament—and after tonight, only three days left—he thinks once the tournament is over, he’ll finally have some free time again. Then he can train, which he has been putting off for too long.

Yeah, let’s just lock myself away for over a month! After the Martial World Tournament, a Leader ought to do some training too. The Leader of the Martial Alliance is a warrior too, after all!

Dreaming of his post-event training getaway, he set out for the grand duel today, belly full of tea.

“Hey, Jo Hyun-ryang.”

Jo Hyun-ryang’s spine tingled.

It’s funny how a person’s voice doesn’t change much with age—unless lazy workers start puffing on big leaves or something.

He instantly recognized the voice’s owner.

“Sulin? Didn’t you say you weren’t coming? I’m sure that brat Seomun Qing mentioned that…”

“I wasn’t going to come. After all, it’d be embarrassing for this old lady to intrude. I’m still in a dilemma, which is why I snuck in here.”

Jo Hyun-ryang’s expression contorted.

“Damn it! Everyone else is staying home and slacking off, while I’m stuck playing the Leader role even at my age! It’s ridiculous!”

Seomun Sulin snickered coldly.

“Hmph. Who asked you to take it upon yourself? Didn’t you see this coming?”

Jo Hyun-ryang felt unjustly wronged. Who’s to blame here?!

But he couldn’t exactly admit he stepped up to prevent her from becoming the Leader.

Then, he caught sight of Seomun Sulin’s face and was taken aback. What’s this? She looks younger!

If she’s at a level like Hyun-gyeong, it must mean she’s achieved something significant, aging backward!

“Are you already nearing the peak of Hyun-gyeong?”

That meant she was past the early stages of Hyun-gyeong, which the last he heard was twenty years ago—before she holed herself up in the Divine Maiden Sect.

“It’s been about seven years. After achieving it, I realize that Great Master Muhak really is something else. It’s no longer just a step; each step feels like a cliff I can’t climb anymore. I think I’ve hit my limit—I just wasn’t cut out for it.”

Seomun Sulin’s expression grew serious.

When she says Great Master, she’s talking about the famous Great Master Muhak of Shaolin, the number one in the world.

“Hm, so you’ve been training a disciple? Yeah, I saw that kid. Apparently, they’ve gathered their friends to train all day. Where on earth did you find such a good child? I had no idea you had a talent for raising disciples!”

“Really? That kid?”

Seomun Sulin’s lips curled into a gentle smile.

Jo Hyun-ryang’s expression was mixed—half envy, half annoyance. In old age, your only pride comes from your kids or disciples, so what can you do?

“By the way, do you have some secret for raising a good character? My great-grandson is going wild over girls, and no amount of scolding seems to work. Seomun Qing seems to behave herself nicely.”

“That kid was good-hearted from the start, exceptionally talented too. She boldly called out injustice even with two skilled masters beside her.

“Hmm. There’s got to be something more to it.”

“Well, whether back then or now, the best way is to give them a good scolding when they misbehave.”

Jo Hyun-ryang snorted.

He had softened a bit with age—once, he wouldn’t have said such a thing. Back in the day, he’d bragged about how just beating up the disobedient would sort them out, but now he acts all dignified like a wise elder.

He must have shed most of his radical opinions, thinking men should be beaten up every three days to straighten them out.

“By the way, what’s happening lately? Didn’t you say you wouldn’t even show your face?”

“I’m thinking about raising an agenda for the Martial World Tournament. Seriously, how long are we going to let these Blackspots roam free? They’re vermin causing chaos; surely the Martial Alliance should clean them up?”

“…Why bring up the Blackspots all of a sudden?”

Jo Hyun-ryang’s expression turned sour.

Sure, those Blackspots were causing trouble, but saying they need to be dealt with felt stretched. While their filthy dealings—like human trafficking, dealing in stolen goods, and cannibalism—couldn’t be ignored, they often stayed contained in one place.

Plus, they were the only front where one could casually buy banned goods from the authorities.

“I heard those lunatics put a bounty on my disciple. Something like ten thousand coins?”

“…Ugh.”

Jo Hyun-ryang groaned uncomfortably. Why are these lunatics poking at his well-behaved disciple?

But, he couldn’t decide the Martial Alliance’s agenda on his own, and honestly, he wasn’t that inclined anyway.

So instead of a clear answer, he diverted the topic.

“We’ll talk about that during the Martial World Tournament. Your disciple is at Muchen Pavilion, so let them share some quality time together. No need to mention this grim topic right before the event, right?”

—-

Qing’s injuries have now stopped bleeding completely; what remains is just the lingering pain.

It seems to have healed somewhat, though looking closely, it still feels like it’s been about half a month since the incident occurred.

Superhuman health comes with remarkable recovery speed too.

Unfortunately for him, it’s still a loss.

After having his taste adjusted to honeyed milk, he now feels repulsed by the mere smell.

Thus, after a full six days, the meal finally served was truly a banquet of emotional tears.

Even if it was porridge, it was still a feast!

“What’s this? Is it really that delicious? Your eyes are so red.”

Qing nodded vigorously.

Indeed, meals must have a salty taste.

Sweet, spicy, or hot come after the core salty flavor is in place! Meals need to be salty! Sweetness is out of the question!

And after ages without chewing anything, he finally realized the importance of teeth among life’s blessings.

The thick stew had seaweed and was boiled down until the rice was nearly mushy, even diluted with more water.

But to Qing, this was heaven!

Then his heart began racing, so he took a break, at least just to avoid overdoing. They’d gotten so used to sparring amongst themselves that Qing, awkwardly in a corner, felt a little left out.

Plus, his skills are stuck with no progress!

What a pain!

Without even a bit of advancement, there’s no fun in training, right?

His status screen can boost his physical abilities, but it can’t touch his mental ones, leaving Qing with the same destructive sense of form.

Despite possessing remarkable physical potential, it felt as useless as a tool; just because one has good tools doesn’t mean everyone becomes an artist.

It depends on the natural talent given to each person.

Of course, some inherently good at one thing tend to excel at others as well, but overall, this distinct disparity means some are just born to shine in their talent!

In the myths of the Central Plain, those were split between finely crafted individuals and slapdash creations.

It’s said that when the goddess Nüwa created humanity, she molded each one beautifully in her own likeness.

But after making a few, she realized it was no easy task to fill the world one by one, so she simply made a clay statue by smashing clay around, making people from the mud that splattered everywhere.

For Qing, all that splatter hit him sans any aesthetic value, and so, with great skill, he busied himself making culinary disasters!

After long discarding all his satisfactory tools, now with the leash loosened, he doesn’t hold back any longer even if his tongue’s a bit sore.

Throwing himself into the fray, rolling and getting hit while feigning a break from Dan Nan-ah’s scolding, Qing started properly limbering up while barely maintaining a win rate of one out of ten.

On his way to the bathing room, he even gave a polite nod to Cheon Yu-hak before returning refreshed to burst through the Guest Hall door.

Without any prior notice, a guest occupying the spot turned their attention towards him.

And instantly, Qing’s face bloomed wide like a flower!

“Ah, Master!”

Without even taking off his shoes, Qing dashed forward and leapt into his master’s embrace, sticking to her like glue.

“Hey now, come on, a grown girl should be ashamed! What’s with this behavior?”

Seomun Sulin said, though the corners of her eyes crinkled with pleasure.

“Hehe. I missed you!”

“Hmph. How long has it been since you left?”

As she patted Qing’s head, Seomun Sulin suddenly tilted her head in confusion.

Has this girl always been so affectionate?

Sure, she’s always been warm and overly familiar with her master, but this feels different—when has she been so clingy?

Though she never hesitated in showing affection to her master, Qing seemed to keep a bit of distance before.

But Seomun Sulin shrugged it off, musing that having grown up alone, perhaps Qing is just getting used to showing emotion.

“By the way, I’ve heard you’ve been really diligent in your training. Have you achieved anything noteworthy?”

“Um, well, I’ve been studying the mysterious principles lately.”

“Good! That’s excellent! You’ve been a bit lopsided, leaning too heavily toward the river, after all. So, have you found the Taeguk Sword?”

“Not quite yet, but ah, I did learn the Emperor’s Sword Form by chance.”

“Really? Have you learned anything else?”

“Well….”

It was a bizarre conversation.

If anyone overheard, they’d surely raise a brow as they heard such casual talk about training.

In that moment, Seomun Sulin noticed something at the corners of Qing’s lips.

“…Disciple? What happened to your mouth? Goodness, what on earth happened?”

“Oh. I got cut a bit while training. Oh right, do you know about sword training? It’s for mastering the mysterious principles…”

Qing blabbered on, forgetting Dan Nan-ah’s previous warnings.

And so, highlighting how dedicated he was based on insights from the suspected skilled teacher and detailing the unfortunate accident that happened due to excess enthusiasm—

Thwack!!

“Ahhh!!”

Qing clutched his head as he rolled across the luxurious carpet of the top suite in Muchen Pavilion at high speed.

Ouch, this really, really hurts!

Even when his tongue was cut before, it didn’t hurt this bad, and amidst the pain, he was more embarrassed than anything, covering his mouth and bowing his head low.

But upon facing Seomun Sulin, any notions of embarrassment vanished under the sheer pain.

Only the sensation of agony filled the void, making it feel rather like a form of enlightenment.

“Gah, this really, really hurts….”

A teardrop rolled down from Qing’s eyes—the only moment when the proud Seomun Qing shed tears.

“What’s this about boasting in front of your master about damaging your tongue…!”

Veins still bulged from Seomun Sulin’s forehead.

“Haah. Stick out your tongue.”

“Yes…”

Qing prudently stuck out his tongue.

Only it was nothing but a half-hearted kind of prudent since attempting to show deference while sticking out his tongue left it looking totally unimpressive.

“What in the world happened? At this rate, hmm. Can your tongue even move properly? It doesn’t seem like it’s slurring, but can you taste things? You, who love food so much.”

Seomun Sulin’s voice was filled with worry.

Qing reassured her with a sly smile.

“Don’t worry. I heard from Nan-ah that the muscles of the tongue got tangled up, so this isn’t a problem. Oh, and guess what? I can also move it separately! Look!”

With a tongue that’s split at the tip, he wiggled it enticingly.

Certainly, this was not the scene he should show his master, especially now when she hasn’t calmed down with the veins still pulsing on her forehead.

What an unnecessary skill to flaunt!

Thwack!!!

Qing froze with his mouth wide open, realizing how pain can increase another’s pain—the truth behind the fact that when truly hurt, one’s brain is deprived of rational thought, losing awareness of their surroundings.

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