This Is My Power (1)
White Stone was walking across the courtyard.
Like Ju Cheol-Ryong in the past, White Stone was also extremely tense.
Whenever he came here, he naturally became tense.
The manservant sweeping the courtyard was stronger than him, and he was not confident he could win if he fought the maidservant who brought tea.
In this place, where he could not know how many experts there were, Cheon So-Seon was present.
Today, he was sitting in the backyard with his eyes closed, like a high monk in meditation.
Even when White Stone arrived, he did not open his eyes. White Stone stood to one side, suppressing even the sound of his breathing, and waited for him to open his eyes.
Time passed like that, but Cheon So-Seon showed no reaction.
One might have become angry, wondering what kind of nonsense this was after calling someone over, but White Stone did not show even the slightest sign of that.
At a glance, Cheon So-Seon looked like a handsome rising star from a prestigious family who was good at playing the flute, but White Stone could assert that this was the greatest misconception in the world.
Cheon So-Seon was by no means an easy person. Not only was he not easy, he was someone who could not be predicted. White Stone knew that better than anyone.
Half an hour passed, then two hours passed.
Even until then, Cheon So-Seon remained still like a stone statue. White Stone became worried that perhaps he had suffered qi deviation.
But if it was the Cheon So-Seon he knew, there would be absolutely no need for such worry.
‘Damn it! Is he punishing me?’
White Stone had no choice but to interpret it that way.
Cheon So-Seon opened his eyes only after nearly four hours had passed. Until then, White Stone had stood in place without moving an inch.
The next moment, Cheon So-Seon stretched his finger straight toward the air.
Shuuuuuuung!
From his fingertip, blue astral qi, like sword energy, was released. The thing that flew from his fingertip stretched out and shot into the sky.
White Stone, who was watching, opened his mouth wide. While living as a person of the Jianghu, he had experienced the finger winds of many experts. He had also seen more than once the finger winds of experts who could pierce an opponent’s heart with a single stream.
But the move Cheon So-Seon had just shown was something he had never seen even once.
It flew so far that it could no longer even be seen. And it was so fast that it could barely be seen at all. In this Jianghu, just how many people could avoid that astral qi?
“Did you wait long? If you had arrived, you should have made your presence known.”
“No. I just arrived.”
“I see.”
How could White Stone not know that he had arrived four hours earlier?
This was exactly how Cheon So-Seon handled people.
“How are the preparations going?”
“Everything is going smoothly. Lin Yan-Qing arrived safely and is preparing the Great Rite.”
“And the Alliance Lord’s inauguration ceremony?”
“It will proceed without a hitch.”
Up to that point, he could report confidently. The problem was what came next.
“Gal Sa-Ryang?”
White Stone’s head bowed on its own.
“We have not yet found the expert behind him.”
“Is Gal Sa-Ryang hiding him that tightly? Or are you, White Stone, incompetent?”
White Stone swallowed dryly and bowed his head even lower. He knew very well that one slip of the tongue could cost him his life.
“Even if we look at the identities of our experts who were defeated by him, he is not someone we can take lightly.”
Cheon So-Seon’s gaze flew coldly toward him.
“So let us keep finding him difficult? Why not simply bring Gal Sa-Ryang here and make him our strategist instead?”
“I apologize.”
White Stone lowered his head. Truly, if he could do so, he wanted to.
A displeased gaze flew at him, but it did not lead to killing intent. Cheon So-Seon also knew that the opponent was not easy for White Stone to deal with.
It was then. A maidservant came and delivered a message.
“The elder is looking for you, Young Master.”
As Cheon So-Seon walked out of that place, he said,
“You go back and properly assist Lin Yan-Qing’s work.”
“Yes. I will devote myself completely.”
Only after Cheon So-Seon left did White Stone finally let out a sigh of relief. After Black Stone died, every day felt like walking on thin ice.
At times, he even envied Black Stone, who had gone first with peace of mind… No, he did not envy her. No matter how hard it was, this dog-shit field here was better.
I was standing in an empty space filled with silence.
It was a space where no end could be seen. There was nothing around. Not a single stone, not one blade of grass. It was an extremely artificial space.
This was a space created by a formation. It was an advanced formation named the Black Darkness Bone-Saw Formation, which Gal Sa-Ryang was making bit by bit while also using it for training.
The Black Darkness Bone-Saw Formation was being installed in the front courtyard of a newly prepared residence near the main headquarters.
Once the date of the inauguration ceremony was decided, Gal Sa-Ryang became free.
Of course, the Justice Pavilion was still busy. But most of it was work for subordinate strategists, not something the Chief Strategist had to do.
Moreover, because talk was openly spreading that a new strategist would replace him, he had even more leeway.
The formation was installed in the front courtyard of the residence, and in a situation where the formation was activated, the moment one stepped into the courtyard, they would enter this space.
I was using this place for one purpose. I was training Martial Arts here.
Because I could use a vast space without paying attention to my surroundings, it was perfect for Martial Arts training.
Of course, I trained the Soul-Chasing Asura Sword Art using only the forms, without using internal energy.
If the Black Darkness Bone-Saw Formation were complete, even the Soul-Chasing Asura Sword Art would not work. The stronger one’s Martial Arts were, the more helpful it would be in finding the Gate of Life, but it could not be broken through with force alone.
However, right now it was still in the middle of being made, so if I unleashed too powerful a form from within, the formation could be broken.
After finishing one round of training, I moved my feet.
After arriving at a specific place, I began walking the prescribed steps.
Six steps forward, two steps left, seven steps forward again, twelve steps right…
As I walked along the Life Path, at a certain moment, the scenery before my eyes changed completely.
This time, I was standing on a path between enormous walls.
Walking along the path between the walls, I struck the bricks on both sides in the proper order.
How long had I been striking them like that?
The moment I struck the final prescribed brick, the towering walls on both sides disappeared as if it had all been a lie.
This time, a sandy desert appeared, and in that place, one person was bending over and working on something.
It was Gal Sa-Ryang.
“You have come?”
Straightening his back, Gal Sa-Ryang greeted me.
He had been making the formation from inside this place. When creating an advanced formation, it did not end with merely installing it from the outside. There were also things that had to be made from the inside.
Even while busy, Gal Sa-Ryang had been splitting his time whenever he could and immersing himself in making the formation. More than some purpose like how it would be used later, he was purely immersed in the charm of formations.
“The formation is gradually becoming complete.”
“It is only in a state where the skeleton has been set. There is still a long way to go.”
The spaces I had passed through earlier were the same.
Once the formation was complete, each space would become a completely different space from what it was now. Whether it would become a maze, a sea swept by heavy rain, or a jungle full of venomous insects and fierce beasts, I could not know. As for the two enormous walls from earlier, I could not know whether they would press inward and crush the person standing between them, or whether the walls would collapse.
At least one thing was certain: if one did not know the Gate of Life, it would become a space of death from which one could never escape.
“This is not merely a formation for defense. If we lure enemies in and trap them, we will be able to inflict tremendous damage.”
“Do not overdo it.”
“No. I am simply doing it as a pastime. After sitting all day, moving my body like this actually seems to make me healthier.”
“If that is the case, then I am relieved.”
“Now, please come this way. Follow my steps.”
I followed Gal Sa-Ryang’s movements exactly.
Then the surroundings changed again.
This time, a flower garden filled with beautiful flowers in full bloom spread out. In the middle of it was a pavilion. I had never come to this place before. It seemed to have been made again recently.
“Since we are here, let us speak here.”
“I wonder how dangerous such a beautiful place will become.”
“It may be better that you do not know.”
“Hahaha.”
Ma Cheol-Gun had notified us that he would appoint Master No as the new Chief Strategist. Everything was as expected. Considering that the force behind the scenes did not stop that matter, it seemed Gal Sa-Ryang’s usefulness in the Murim Alliance had ended.
Now, they would probably use Ma Cheol-Gun and begin plotting in earnest.
I was on high alert in case they tried to assassinate Gal Sa-Ryang, but Gal Sa-Ryang himself, the person involved, was calm.
“Considering that they have left me alone until now, I do not think they will touch me before the inauguration ceremony. After all, if the Chief Strategist dies before the inauguration ceremony, it will become a major problem.”
“Even so, I am worried.”
“They are probably feeling burdened about killing me.”
Until now, the experts and forces that had been blown away while trying to kill Gal Sa-Ryang had been tremendous. Now they could no longer simply give an order to kill that fellow just because he was an eyesore.
The most certain method was to clearly show my power.
But I felt it was still too early. If they mobilized the Murim Alliance to eliminate us, it would bring unnecessary sacrifices.
Looking at the butterflies flying among the flowers in the garden, Gal Sa-Ryang said,
“What on earth is their goal?”
I had experienced various greed and desires. I had gone through countless people, but in the end, what they wanted was not much.
Power and money.
The most common reasons were those two, and the other reasons were romantic entanglement and revenge.
What reason was it this time?
They possessed enough power to manipulate the Murim Alliance Lord. Moreover, judging from the organizations they mobilized, it was clear that tremendous financial power had been used.
If it was not power or money? Was it romantic entanglement? Revenge?
Or was it greater power and more money?
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Cheon So-Seon walked into the cave.
In that place, filled with mysterious energy, stalactites that must have formed over a very long period of time hung like icicles, and stalagmites and stone pillars created by water droplets falling from the ceiling rose here and there.
There was one person who suited that place perfectly, a place that truly made one feel the passage of endless ages.
He was an old man whose face, and even the backs of his hands, were full of wrinkles. He looked at least a hundred years old. He was truly an old man whose age was difficult to guess.
Before the old man, who revealed a tremendous presence, even Cheon So-Seon shrank back.
“You have come?”
Because it was a cave, the voice echoed and added an even more mysterious feeling.
“Yes, Grandfather.”
“Come closer.”
“Yes.”
Cheon So-Seon approached the old man.
The old man brought his face very close to Cheon So-Seon’s face. Staring at Cheon So-Seon with eyes that seemed to pierce even the heart, the old man suddenly said,
“A problem has arisen.”
“Yes. There is something that is not going well.”
“If the matter were easy, other bastards would have been in this position instead of us.”
It meant that their task was that difficult, and at the same time, it was also a statement that elevated themselves.
“When doing great work, many obstacles are bound to arise. What did I tell you to do at times like this?”
“You told me not to think too deeply. You also told me not to try too hard to do well.”
Those words were also words Cheon So-Seon had once said to Ju Cheol-Ryong.
Only then did the old man smile.
“That is right. You remember properly. Then why are you piling up anger?”
“There is someone different from my intuition.”
“Eliminate him.”
The old man’s words were quick and firm.
“Mercilessly remove anyone who raises doubt. Trample him down with greater power without even letting him breathe.”
After a brief pause, Cheon So-Seon answered.
“Yes, I understand.”
The old man guessed the reason an answer had not come immediately.
“Does it not appeal to you because it is too simple a solution? But you must know this. Countless ambitious men have failed because they could not put this simple solution into practice. They showed clumsy pride and needlessly used their heads. Those things will take your life.”
“I will keep it in mind.”
“To become truly strong, you must become simple. Do not enjoy half-baked danger.”
The old man slowly moved his steps. Cheon So-Seon walked behind him.
In the middle of the cave was a bed made of blue jade, and on top of it lay a naked boy. He was asleep.
The old man’s eyes as he looked down at the boy were filled with an uncontrollable passion.
“Especially when we are about to accomplish something no one in the history of the Jianghu has ever achieved.”
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