Martial Artist Lee Gwak - Chapter 50: True Worth Revealed in the Face of Crisis (4)

Light Novel: Volume 2 Chapter 25

Manhwa: Chapter 49

Lee Gwak left his home after spending fifteen days in seclusion.

He had only just stepped over the wall, yet the air felt different. The scenery he had seen countless times before felt different too.

Lee Gwak knew it.

It wasn’t the world that had changed, but himself.

Having stood still for a while, Lee Gwak then started walking towards the Jade Heaven Alliance.

He was the leader of Squad 13, and he felt he had neglected them for too long.

He felt sorry about that.

When Lee Gwak arrived at their quarters, the members of Squad 13 were sprawled out here and there like soaked cotton.

“Squad leader!”

The members greeted him happily.

While Lee Gwak was in seclusion, they had almost been in a state of suspension. Therefore, his appearance was all the more welcome.

Seok Yi-cheon teased Lee Gwak.

“What were you doing that you’re just coming out now? When I went to your house, the door was locked. Did you have a woman over?”

“No.”

“Then what?”

“Ah, brother! Why are you prying so much? Isn’t it enough that he’s come out now? Let’s respect his privacy.”

Seeing Seok Yi-cheon prying relentlessly, Ki Jinhwi couldn’t stand it anymore and intervened, rebuking Seok Yi-cheon.

At this, Seok Yi-cheon momentarily wore an embarrassed expression.

“Has anything unusual happened?”

“Hehe! Nothing at all, which was the problem. Well, thanks to that, I had a good rest.”

“That’s good then.”

Lee Gwak nodded at Ki Jinhwi’s answer.

His gaze then turned to Cheon-wol, who was standing on one side. Cheon-wol’s face was flushed red, probably from practicing martial arts before Lee Gwak arrived.

Lee Gwak silently patted Cheon-wol on the shoulder, bringing a bright smile to his face.

Lee Gwak spoke to the members.

“Please rest a bit more. I’ll go and report back to the hall leader and return.”

Squad 13 was still officially dispatched to the Creation Pavilion. To return to their original duties, they had to formally report back to Maeng Hee-cheon.

Lee Gwak left his quarters and headed towards the Outer Hall.

The streets to the Outer Hall were extremely busy. At a glance, it was evident that more people than usual were present.

‘Is it because of the Jianghu Grand Conference?’

As far as Lee Gwak knew, the only reason for a sudden increase in people was the Jianghu Grand Conference.

The Jade Heaven Alliance would try to keep it a secret until the conference, but in the world, secrets do not exist.

Especially with something like the Jianghu Grand Conference, where invitations are sent to many, the likelihood of keeping it secret was very slim.

Wherever many people gathered, incidents and accidents were inevitable. Dealing with the aftermath was the responsibility of the Outer Hall.

He had a feeling that they would be quite busy in the coming days.

Lee Gwak went to Maeng Hee-cheon and reported the end of their dispatch to the Creation Pavilion. Maeng Hee-cheon looked at him expressionlessly.

“You finished later than I expected.”

“I apologize.”

“It’s fine. Until further orders, you will return to your nightly patrols outside the fortress.”

“Nightly patrols?”

“There has been an influx of outsiders entering the city lately, causing all sorts of trouble. It will be a problem if it gets too noisy before the Jianghu Grand Conference even begins.”

A troubled look was evident on Maeng Hee-cheon’s face.

Despite the continuous efforts of the twelve squad units of the Outer Hall warriors, problems continued to arise.

If it were just a few lesser-known martial artists causing trouble, it could be handled easily, but the martial artists from the powerful sects were also causing a ruckus, making it hard for the entire Outer Hall.

Lee Gwak responded calmly.

“Understood.”

“Now, go”

“Yes!”

After bidding him farewell, Lee Gwak walked out.

The sun was still high in the sky. There was still quite a bit of time before the night patrol.

Lee Gwak returned to his quarters and informed his members about the night duty.

“Alright, then I’ll go out for a bit.”

“I’ll also go and return after handling some business.”

Ki Jinhwi and Seok Yi-cheon left to take care of their matters, while Go Cheon-gwang and Woo Il-yeong separately went out to eat.

Only Lee Gwak and Cheon-wol remained in the quarters.

“Cha-ah!”

Even though no one told him to, Cheon-wol was diligently practicing martial arts.

He was executing basic techniques against a wooden dummy.

Although Lee Gwak knew and understood them, the basic techniques of the Jade Heaven Alliance weren’t anything extraordinary. They provided quick progress up to a certain point, but they had clear limits.

As the name suggests, they were good for laying the foundation, but the path to the next level was blocked.

Lee Gwak had once diligently practiced the basic techniques too. However, he realized its limitations and stopped practicing the techniques at some point.

Watching Cheon-wol reminded him of his past self, making him feel ashamed. If he hadn’t met the Lunatic Pugilist, he might still be living aimlessly like that.

Even though they were both new members, Go Cheon-gwang and Woo Il-yeong weren’t as enthusiastic about martial arts as Cheon-wol. They practiced moderately and played moderately. However, that didn’t mean they were bad or lazy.

Most of the warriors in the Outer Hall lived like those two.

In fact, it was Cheon-wol’s passion for martial arts that was abnormal, at least in the Outer Hall.

Cheon-wol’s determination to continue practicing even when he was out of breath moved Lee Gwak.

“You need to center your weight on your left foot there.”

Cheon-wol was startled momentarily by Lee Gwak’s sudden advice but he soon nodded and followed his guidance.

“Channel the energy from your toes up to your waist. Yes, like that!”

Bang!

Cheon-wol’s waist spun like a top, intensifying his momentum.

“Focus the power transferred to your waist entirely to your fingertips.”

Pop!

Suddenly, the wooden dummy’s waist burst.

Cheon-wol opened his eyes wide in surprise.

He hadn’t expected that his single punch would shatter the wooden dummy.

He hadn’t used any special technique— he just followed Lee Gwak’s advice to gather and transfer more power. But the result was astonishing.

“Squad leader?”

“Keep going. We still have plenty of time.”

“Yes!”

Cheon-wol nodded vigorously and resumed his training, followed by further guidance from Lee Gwak.

“Bend your knees more. Correct posture is important.”

Time flowed like water between the two.

* * *

Squad 13 set out for their night patrol.

Lee Gwak in the lead, followed by Go Cheon-gwang, Woo Il-yeong, Cheon-wol, Ki Jinhwi, and Seok Yi-cheon in that order.

Their patrol area for the night was in the northern district. This area, close to the slums, was notorious for its never-ending incidents and accidents.

They even had heard that just last night, someone died, and Squad 12 had a hard time handling it. While Squad 12 had enough members to manage the situation smoothly, it would be a busy night for the less populated Squad 13 if something similar happened.

The streets, though shrouded in darkness, were extremely vibrant.

Colorful lanterns hung from brothels, and their windows opened to reveal beautiful courtesans tempting passersby.

“Hey there, strong sir. You look so sturdy. Come here, and I’ll treat you well. Hoho!”

“My name is Jin-hyang. Please come looking for me.”

The drunken men couldn’t resist the courtesans’ allure and staggered into the brothels in twos and threes.

Lagging at the back, Seok Yi-cheon clicked his tongue at the sticky atmosphere of the street.

“Wow! The vibe is something else. The brothels are really thriving.”

“How about it, brother? Shall we visit after our duty?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The brothels, of course. Come on, brother! Even if I speak gibberish, you should understand it perfectly. Hehehe!”

Seok Yi-cheon frowned at Ki Jinhwi’s words.

“Enough! By the time our duty ends, it’ll be morning. Where will you find a brothel open at that time?”

“Hehe! If there’s one open, would you consider going?”

“Well…”

As Seok Yi-cheon hesitated and mumbled, Ki Jinhwi whispered something in his ear. Seok Yi-cheon then smiled brightly and nodded.

Even without confirmation, it was clear what kind of conversation had transpired between the two.

“Hoo!”

Woo Il-yeong looked at the two and shook his head. However, because of the huge age difference between them, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything.

He left the two lagging behind and hurried to catch up with Lee Gwak

Lee Gwak didn’t care if two of his squad members were talking or not, he just kept his focus and walked straight ahead. How long had he been walking like that?

“Aaah!”

“Save me!”

Suddenly, screams erupted from the windows of an inn in front of them.

“Phew!”

Lee Gwak sighed. He sensed that the situation he had feared had happened.

The expressions of the other members of Squad 13 mirrored Lee Gwak’s.

“Let’s go inside.”

Lee Gwak led the way into the inn, and the members of Squad 13 followed.

As they had expected, the inside of the inn was in a complete mess. Dozens of martial artists were writhing on the floor. But the expressions on their faces were strange.

“Argh!”

“Sorry, so sorry. Please forgive me!”

“Ahhh! Get away!”

They mumbled or drooled, staring into empty space as if seeing hallucinations.

Their eyes lacked focus, and their faces were filled with terror. The bizarre appearance of these men puzzled the members of Squad 13.

“What’s this?”

“Have they all gone mad?”

It was safe to say that most people who had mastered martial arts had strong minds and bodies. So the likelihood of ten or so such individuals going mad all at once was virtually nil.

Lee Gwak’s gaze then shifted to an elderly man in his early sixties, sitting alone at a table in the center of the inn. The old man was dressed in a Taoist robe with eight trigrams drawn on it and had a small box with a flag attached to his back.

The old man was sitting alone with his back facing them, drinking his own sake. His appearance was out of place and out of sync with his surroundings.

His appearance and demeanor did not match the atmosphere in the inn.

Lee Gwak thought the scene inside the inn must be related to the old Taoist.

At that moment, Ki Jinhwi walked up to Lee Gwak’s side and whispered in a low voice,

“He’s a Taoist monk of the Maoshan Sect, squad leader!”¹

“Maoshan Sect?”

“A school of martial arts that focuses on incantations and talismans.”

The Maoshan Sect was a school of martial arts established long ago that originated in Mount Mao, hence the name.

Uniquely, the Maoshan Sect focused more on developing and passing down talismans and Taoist magic spells or incantations rather than martial arts like swordsmanship or Daoist techniques.

At its peak, the number of its practitioners reached thousands, but as sects closer to martial arts, such as Mount Hua Sect or Wudang Sect, grew in prominence, the Maoshan Sect gradually entered a period of decline.

After centuries of decline, it was barely maintaining its existence, making the sighting of a Maoshan Sect Taoist in the Jianghu extremely rare.

“Tsk! Looks like those fools didn’t know better and provoked a Maoshan Sect Taoist.”

Ki Jinhwi clicked his tongue.

Maoshan Sect Taoists were known for their eccentricity, largely because their realm of expertise was more spiritual than physical.

Although few in number, the pride of the Maoshan Sect Taoists was said to reach the heavens, and they were known not to tolerate any insult.

Judging from the situation inside the inn, it seemed clear that the warriors had insulted the Maoshan Sect Taoist, who then used his talismans to punish them.

Ki Jinhwi whispered,

“It’s best not to interfere in the affairs of the Maoshan Sect, squad leader!”

“But we can’t just ignore it and walk away, can we? We’re already inside the inn.”

“Damn it!”

Ki Jinhwi grumbled in response to Lee Gwak’s words, but he knew Lee Gwak was right.

As long as they were members of the Jade Heaven Alliance’s Outer Hall, they could not simply ignore the situation.

Lee Gwak walked towards the old Taoist.

At that moment, the old Taoist lifted his head to look at Lee Gwak. A chilling glare immediately flashed from his eyes/

“What do you want?”

SoundlessWind21’s Notes:

If there are any errors, whether it be grammatical, spelling, translation, or website-related issues, feel free to let me know. (´◡`) Anyway, thank you for reading!

1. Maoshan Sect. Raws: 모산파(茅山派). In the manhwa, this was translated as Mount Mo Sect. However, since this sect is also mentioned in Reaper of the Drifting Moon (i.e. Chapters277 and 416)— I decided to use the translation Maoshan Sect for consistency. This is a sect that also exists in real life, you can read more about it here.
   • 茅山 Máo Shān – Mt Mao, Daoist mountain southeast of Jurong county
   • 派 pài – school / group / faction

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