This Is My Power (4)
“Even Dark Bow has been killed.”
At Baek Seok’s report, Cheon So-Seon said nothing. With the Three Beasts of Yunnan and Dark Bow, he had expected they would be enough to kill Gal Sa-Ryang.
It was not because they were especially outstanding compared to the forces that had been sent in until now. It was because of their combination.
If masters at the level of the Three Beasts of Yunnan fought at the front, and Dark Bow, who had been hiding and waiting for an opportunity, fired an assassination arrow at the perfect moment, who in the world could block that attack?
When it came to assassinating one person, there could be no better combination than this.
But the mission had failed. The fact that none of them had returned meant that all of them were dead.
The astonishing fact was that even Dark Bow had died. He possessed movement skills as great as his archery. There was no way to close that distance and kill Dark Bow. Since those bastards had even cleaned up all the corpses, there was no way to know how he had died.
“Is the person attached to Gal Sa-Ryang supposed to be the Strongest Under Heaven or something?”
After saying it, he felt a chill. They were words he had spat out in anger, yet they did not feel out of place at all.
Baek Seok spoke carefully.
“I believe it is now meaningless to pour troops in recklessly.”
That was certainly true.
But Cheon So-Seon recalled the old man he had met before in the cave.
If you want to become truly strong, you must become simple. Do not enjoy half-hearted dangers.
He had told him to crush them with overwhelming force and eliminate them. They had sounded like advice, but they were an order. An absolute order that had to be followed. Now was not the time to withdraw. It was the time to press forward.
“Yes, there is no need to think of it so difficultly. When putting out a fire, there is no rule saying we must only draw from our own well.”
Cheon So-Seon said to Baek Seok,
“Contact Ma Ryeong-In.”
A single carriage raced along a forest road.
There were three people inside the carriage. They were Ma Ryeong-In, Ma Yang-Hwa, and Ma Gung-Tae.
Ma Yang-Hwa and Ma Gung-Tae looked noticeably tense.
The two had gone to Ma Ryeong-In again and desperately begged him to tell them a way to survive.
Then Ma Ryeong-In had loaded the two of them into a carriage and set off somewhere.
Since they were in the position of asking for help, they could not bring themselves to question him closely, but they could not hide their unease.
In the end, Ma Gung-Tae could not hold back and asked,
“Where exactly are you taking us?”
Ma Yang-Hwa sent him a look telling him not to provoke him carelessly, but she was just as curious.
Ma Ryeong-In looked at the two of them. The smile at his lips openly revealed that he was enjoying the situation.
“We are on our way for me to tell you the third method.”
When the two had first come to him, he had said there were two methods by which they could survive even if Ma Cheol-Gun became Alliance Lord. Either become the Sect Leader of the Heavenly Blade Sect, or abandon everything and enter the mountains.
Ma Gung-Tae and Ma Yang-Hwa looked at each other and exchanged glances. Those glances contained the meaning that whatever that method was, they should join forces.
A trace of contempt passed over Ma Ryeong-In’s lips. It was because he knew better than anyone how easily that alliance would break.
From somewhere, the sound of a flute could be heard.
As if that were a signal, the carriage slowed down, and before long it stopped.
When the three people got out of the carriage, a man was sitting on a boulder in the distance, playing the flute. He was none other than Cheon So-Seon.
At his handsome appearance, Ma Yang-Hwa let out an admiring sound.
“Ah.”
Truly, she had never seen such a handsome man before. On top of that, his skill at playing that sorrowful melody was excellent.
A little while later, when the performance ended, Ma Ryeong-In bowed deeply to him and spoke respectfully.
“It has been a long time since I saw you.”
Ma Gung-Tae and Ma Yang-Hwa were startled. This was the first time Ma Ryeong-In had ever shown such a respectful attitude toward someone. He had never acted this respectfully toward Ma Cheol-Gun, of course, nor even toward his father, Ma Bong-Gi.
That sight alone naturally made them feel fear toward Cheon So-Seon.
Looking at the two of them, Ma Ryeong-In said,
“He is the person who will tell you the third method.”
Though they did not show it outwardly, the two were honestly bewildered. They had not expected that someone who could help them would be this young.
Ma Gung-Tae and Ma Yang-Hwa cupped their fists and greeted him.
“I’m Ma Yang-Hwa.”
“I am Ma Gung-Tae.”
Cheon So-Seon smiled and said,
“I am Cheon So-Seon. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
As soon as the greeting was finished, Ma Gung-Tae asked,
“We are not in a position to exchange pleasant conversation, so I will ask directly. You said you would tell us a way to live?”
“Could that possibly be true?”
“What?”
“Should there not be something coming in if something is to go out? Then I will also ask directly. Do you truly want to live?”
No answer came easily. Telling someone they were meeting for the first time that they wanted to live was, in any case, humiliating.
As if he absolutely intended to hear those words, Cheon So-Seon waited for their answer.
The two looked at Ma Ryeong-In. Ma Ryeong-In shrugged and said,
“Whether you believe him or not is for each of you to judge. In the end, it is your own life.”
That answer, spoken as if it were nothing important, instead increased their trust in Cheon So-Seon even more.
In the end, the first person to answer was Ma Yang-Hwa.
“I want to live.”
Ma Gung-Tae followed after her.
“I want to live.”
Cheon So-Seon looked back and forth between the two and said,
“If you kill Gal Sa-Ryang, I will personally take responsibility and let you live. Even if Ma Cheol-Gun becomes Alliance Lord, he will never kill you. You will continue to live while enjoying power just as you do now.”
Ma Yang-Hwa and Ma Gung-Tae looked back at Ma Ryeong-In again. To their desperate question of whether they could believe those words, Ma Ryeong-In answered,
“I told you earlier, didn’t I? Judge for yourselves. But I will tell you one thing. The person here made Father the Alliance Lord.”
Ma Yang-Hwa and Ma Gung-Tae were shocked. They were not fools, so they had guessed that someone powerful had helped their father.
But this person?
Judging from the atmosphere, it did not seem to be a lie.
After Ma Yang-Hwa and Ma Gung-Tae exchanged a few words through sound transmission, they made their decision.
“Good. We will kill Gal Sa-Ryang.”
While Ma Yang-Hwa said that to Cheon So-Seon, Ma Gung-Tae looked at Ma Ryeong-In and said,
“If you do not keep the promise, I will kill you first.”
Ma Ryeong-In merely snorted.
Cheon So-Seon said to them,
“Many masters will gather for the Alliance Lord’s ascension ceremony. At that time, mobilize everything you can mobilize. I clearly warn you, there is a truly tremendous master around Gal Sa-Ryang. If you take him lightly, even you may die.”
A little while later, after Ma Yang-Hwa and Ma Gung-Tae had left, only Cheon So-Seon and Ma Ryeong-In remained there.
“Though they are pathetic things, the power they possess is still tremendous. In order to survive, they will definitely kill Gal Sa-Ryang.”
In contrast to Ma Ryeong-In’s certainty, Cheon So-Seon was negative.
“On the contrary, they may die.”
“Well, that could happen too.”
“You really are heartless.”
“Isn’t the bottom of a succession fight always like that?”
The respect Ma Ryeong-In had shown earlier was gone. Cheon So-Seon was also treating him with an attitude different from before.
“When the lips are gone, the teeth grow cold. After them, it may be you. Are you not uneasy?”
“Isn’t life something where you might die after being hit by a stone kicked up from a carriage on the road, or from an icicle falling on your head?”
Cheon So-Seon stared silently at Ma Ryeong-In, then laughed loudly.
“Hahaha.”
Whenever he laughed like that, even Ma Ryeong-In, as another man, thought that he truly looked impressive. Impressive enough to make him jealous.
Cheon So-Seon wiped away his laughter and spoke as if rebuking him.
“Why did someone this clever commit such an act?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I am asking why you tried to kill Ma Cheol-Gun on your own. And even dragged in outsiders to do it.”
“I could not simply keep my eyes open and watch my position be taken from me. When you pulled me in, did you not promise me? That you would give me the highest position.”
“Just as your patience is lacking, you still lack the qualities to become Alliance Lord.”
“You should fill in the parts I lack. If not, why would I be loyal to you?”
The gazes of the two men tangled in the air.
Ma Ryeong-In was not afraid of Cheon So-Seon. It was not because he could not tell heaven from earth. Ma Ryeong-In could feel it. The other man was not the type who could be swayed by flattery. Rather, he despised servile opponents.
Say what must be said, and in return, thoroughly carry out what must be done. He instinctively knew that acting so boldly gave him a higher chance of survival.
“There are things that cannot be filled in by human power.”
“That is a lack of ability on the part of the one doing the filling. I am not that lacking.”
“Where in the world does that groundless confidence of yours come from?”
Cheon So-Seon laughed again.
He liked the evil that Ma Ryeong-In possessed. At the very least, this bastard’s evil was not half-hearted.
“I offered those two up, so you should tell me as well.”
What Ma Ryeong-In wanted was not merely to survive.
“The fourth method by which I can become Alliance Lord.”
Cheon So-Seon nodded and said meaningfully,
“That is right. There is always a fourth method.”
Read only on MugenCodex
Meanwhile, Ma Yang-Hwa and Ma Gung-Tae, who were leaving that place, could feel that they had faced the greatest crisis of their lives.
“Do you trust Ryeong-In?”
“Are you insane?”
At Ma Yang-Hwa’s question, Ma Gung-Tae raised his voice.
“I feel the same. But that man called Cheon So-Seon…… I felt as if I could trust him.”
Ma Gung-Tae nodded as well. There was some authority about that man that could not be approached.
“Even so, we must be careful. Since that bastard Ma Ryeong-In is involved.”
“Yes. If we split apart in a situation like this, it would be like dancing to his tune.”
“That is so.”
“We absolutely must join forces. We must never stab each other in the back.”
Ma Gung-Tae returned Ma Yang-Hwa’s suspicion exactly as it was.
“Of course. You should make sure you do it properly, Elder Sister. If by any chance you break the promise, I will not let anyone off. You know my temper well.”
After making even that promise, the two began calling in the greatest masters they could mobilize.
Time passed quickly.
The days during which everyone in the Grand Martial Alliance was busy went by, and the month of the ascension ceremony arrived.
Heroes gathered from all over the Central Plains to watch the new Alliance Lord’s ascension ceremony. Previously, invitations had been issued so that only prestigious sects could attend, but this time, that was not done. All people of the Jianghu were allowed to attend freely.
Because of that, an enormously large place was needed, and it was decided that the ascension ceremony would be held outside, not inside the Grand Martial Alliance.
The Demonic Cult was quiet. As if it had promised not to cause trouble during that time.
Gal Sa-Ryang and I behaved as we usually did.
Gal Sa-Ryang devoted himself to formations, and I too learned formations over his shoulder while devoting myself to Martial Arts training.
Except when he was inside a formation, I did not leave his side for even a single moment.
We now spoke comfortably about Cheon Ha-Jin. Thanks to that, I sometimes reminisced about my past self, and sometimes reflected on myself.
In any case, once the ascension ceremony ended and the new Master No became the new Chief of the Hall of Justice, we would leave the Grand Martial Alliance.
The person most eagerly awaiting the day of the ascension ceremony was none other than Ma Cheol-Gun.
For several days, he had not been able to sleep properly.
He could not sleep because of the thought that he would finally become the Alliance Lord he had dreamed of. Truly, all of this felt like a dream.
‘I am to be the Murim Alliance Lord?’
He was about to ascend to a position that anyone of the Jianghu would have dreamed of at least once, a position that existed only in dreams.
‘Once I become Alliance Lord?’
He would eliminate everyone who had tried to manipulate him. He was different from his father. He would not be taken advantage of so easily. That was what he believed.
Because he could not sleep, he had thought he would drink only one simple cup, but already an entire bottle was nearly empty.
Tomorrow, too, many busy schedules were lined up from morning onward. He had to sleep quickly, but he simply could not fall asleep.
At that moment, someone spoke from one side.
“Now you will become the master of this Jianghu.”
Startled, he turned his head, and at some point a woman was standing inside the room. It was the beautiful woman who had previously informed him of the Demonic Cult’s movements.
“You! How in the world!”
She came and went from his room truly like a ghost.
The core message shown by this action was this.
I can kill you at any time.
It truly put him in a bad mood. But that anger was being buried beneath her beauty. Even in this moment, his curiosity about her came before his anger.
“What is your name?”
At that, the woman smiled.
“Is a name important?”
“Then what is important? The fact that you can enter my room and kill me at any time?”
“That is right. Things like that are important. Someone who will become Alliance Lord should not consider something as trivial as a mere woman’s name important.”
Ma Cheol-Gun snorted. She was far too unsuitable for the word “mere.”
Honestly, he even felt fear.
Murim Alliance Lord.
His dream was to become an Alliance Lord like Cheon Ha-Jin.
The Iron-Blooded Alliance Lord, stronger than anyone else, whose name alone evoked respect and fear. He wanted to become like that too.
And yet, just as he was about to ascend to that position, there were people trying to manipulate him like this.
“Could it be that you also manipulated Cheon Ha-Jin like this?”
He already knew that his father had been manipulated by them.
At that, the woman formed a strange smile.
“What do you think?”
“I asked first.”
“Cheon Ha-Jin was not a man who could be easily manipulated.”
Ma Cheol-Gun shouted angrily,
“Neither am I!”
His pride had been pointlessly hurt. Normally, his emotions would not have been shaken by a provocation of this level.
Was it because he was nervous? Or because the woman was too beautiful? Without realizing it, he had flared up.
“I know what kind of person you are.”
The woman smiled and approached.
Ma Cheol-Gun flinched inwardly, but he did not move from where he stood. It was because he wanted to look bold.
She slowly extended her hand. Her pale, long fingers were truly beautiful. With that hand, which seemed as though it would come to his cheek, she picked up the wine bottle and filled an empty cup.
“Congratulations on becoming the master of the Jianghu.”
From her small, pretty mouth, as she held out the cup for a toast, came the words he wanted so badly to hear.
“I told you before, didn’t I? You will become an even greater Alliance Lord than Cheon Ha-Jin.”
— Read only on MugenCodex —
