Chapter 363: I Used to Be the Most Impatient Person in Murim

TL: FoodieMonster007

Geom Mugeuk returned to the safehouse.

Bi Sayin had waited the entire time for Geom Mugeuk to come back.

"How did it go?"

Bi Sayin was so curious about the meeting between Geom Mugeuk and the Evil Alliance Chairman that he wanted to grab Geom Mugeuk by the collar and shake him.

"Let me catch my breath. I just met the fearsome Evil Alliance Chairman, not some random person. Let me get some water."

"I'm sure you were terrified. So how did it go?" Bi Sayin asked, limping anxiously after Geom Mugeuk.

"You'll be using movement arts again soon."

"I'm in agony right now. Stop teasing me and tell me what happened."

Geom Mugeuk took a refreshing drink of water and turned to Bi Sayin.

"As you can see, I didn't come back beaten up."

"So what did the Chairman say? Did he believe us?"

"He was half-convinced and half-doubtful."

Bi Sayin would have preferred complete trust, but their situation was far too disadvantageous.

He felt relieved that the Chairman believed even half of it. Right, Geom Mugeuk went, so how could he have failed? I believe him. Who else would I believe? He was certain Geom Mugeuk had explained things better than he ever could have.

"How was the Chairman? Was he hurt anywhere?" Bi Sayin's voice trembled slightly. Worry for his master showed clearly on his rugged face.

"The Chairman is safe, so don't worry."

Only then did Bi Sayin feel relieved. Now that Hyeok Sagun was confirmed as an enemy, he couldn't help but worry. He wanted to run to the Chairman's side and protect him right now, but he could only lament the reality that stopped him.

"You've worked hard. Please rest."

He wanted to ask if the Chairman had mentioned him, but he couldn't bring himself to speak. If he heard the words, 'He said nothing of the sort,' he would feel needlessly disappointed. It was only natural, since his innocence was not yet proven. The human heart was a funny thing.

Just as Bi Sayin started to turn away, Geom Mugeuk said the words he had been waiting for.

"The Chairman had a message for you."

Bi Sayin spun around in surprise. Expectation and fear mingled in his heart.

"What did he say?"

Geom Mugeuk stared at Bi Sayin and relayed the Evil Alliance Chairman's exact words.

"Don't get used to it."

At first, Bi Sayin tilted his head, not understanding.

"That was the message the Chairman sent. He said you'd understand if I told you."

"Don't get used to it? Don't get used to it."

As Bi Sayin repeated the words, he flinched. A storm of emotion crossed his face as he remembered when he had heard that phrase before.

"The Chairman was hoping you'd recover quickly."

Geom Mugeuk should have said, 'He was probably hoping,' but he could feel that Baek Jagang had been genuinely worried about Bi Sayin.

"Thank you."

Bi Sayin knew it. Geom Mugeuk going alone had produced the best possible result. His Master's words proved it. If Baek Jagang had been in a bad mood, he never would have sent that message.

Bi Sayin returned to his room. He entered and immediately drank the medicine that had been left to cool. He remembered the day the Chairman had said those words to him. On that day, too, he had been in a room filled with the smell of medicine.

It was the day he returned injured from a mission for the alliance. He was greatly trusted as the Chairman's disciple, so the failure shocked his spirit more than it injured his body.

The Chairman had come to the medical ward. He stood next to Bi Sayin, who lay on the bed.

[Don't get used to defeat.]

The moment came back to him vividly. The moment his master looked at him and spoke.

[If you get used to defeat, your life becomes third-rate.]

Tears burst from his eyes the instant he heard those words. The shame of failing the mission swallowed his heart, overwhelming any gratitude he felt for the Chairman's visit. He was at an age when embarrassment paralyzed reason.

[Are you frustrated?]

[Yes.]

He wiped his tears and tried to sit up.

[I will go back and succeed. I will definitely succeed this time.]

His Master gently forced him to lie back down.

[Who isn't frustrated when they lose? But if you act out just because you're frustrated, that's also third-rate.]

[What must I do to become first-rate? How can I keep winning?]

Instead of answering, his master picked up the medicine beside him and changed his bandages.

He didn't know it then, but he thought he understood now. Don't be swept away by emotion. Tend to your body first. You should be changing your bandages, not drawing your sword. His Master had answered by wrapping the bandages, showing that one could become first-rate only by learning to calmly control one's emotions and look after oneself.

"Ah! Master."

Back then, he hadn't understood that deep meaning. He was just frustrated and ashamed, wanting only to succeed in the mission again.

Just like right now. He felt the exact same way. Hurry, hurry, hurry. I have to hurry and get rid of those bastards. I have to hurry and prove my innocence to the Chairman.

Goosebumps covered his entire body. He realized the emotions he felt now were no different from the impatient feelings of his youth.

"Master!"

Tears welled up in Bi Sayin's eyes. That day he had cried from frustration, but now he cried because he missed the Chairman. He cried from immense gratitude that his master remembered a day he himself had completely forgotten. Tears fell because he was so sorry.

Bi Sayin slowly unwrapped his bandages and applied new medicine. As he calmly examined his wounds, he recalled the fight. New thoughts on how he should have handled his opponent came to mind.

This wound was telling him how he could become first-rate, even without rushing in like a madman unable to overcome his anger.

"…Master."

Bi Sayin slowly wrapped the new bandage around his wound.

Baek Jagang sat on the grand chair in the Chairman's Hall. After meeting Geom Mugeuk, one person kept coming to his mind.

Geom Woojin.

Meeting Geom Mugeuk had felt like meeting Geom Woojin. It was as if Geom Woojin was not holding out a sword and asking, 'How is my swordsmanship?' but rather, 'How is my son?'

Naturally, the image of Geom Mugeuk came to mind.

[Please buy me a meal.]

Baek Jagang wondered if Bi Sayin could really handle such an absurd fellow. He needed to be taken down a peg.

Of course, this all assumed that Hyeok Sagun was the mastermind, just as Geom Mugeuk had said.

Just then, the voice of the bodyguard Captain, In Gung, echoed from the air.

"Strategist Hyeok has arrived."

"Let him in."

A moment later, Hyeok Sagun entered the hall. Baek Jagang silently watched him approach with his small yet proud eyes.

"How long has it been since you joined the alliance?"

"This year marks the seventeenth."

"And how long have you been Head Strategist?"

"It's been almost two years."

"Has it been that long already?"

Hyeok Sagun sensed that Baek Jagang was different from usual. However, he didn't find it strange. In the current situation, it would be stranger if Baek Jagang were the same as always.

"Where have you been? When I came to see you earlier, I was told you had left the alliance headquarters."

"I went out for a meal for the first time in a while."

Hyeok Sagun knew there was a restaurant Baek Jagang frequented.

"The situation is precarious, so please be careful for the time being."

He had been monitoring the Chairman's movements. However, if the Chairman moved secretly with only the bodyguard Captain, as he did today, Hyeok Sagun was bound to lose track of him.

Hyeok Sagun was not in a good mood. Everything needed to proceed smoothly under his plan, and unexpected situations should not keep arising.

"I've found out who ordered the raid on the safehouse."

This was the very matter he had been told to watch, to see who Geom Mugeuk would name.

"Who was it?"

"It's Commander Beon of the Extreme Army."

The moment he heard those words, qi erupted from Baek Jagang's body. He, who rarely showed emotion, now displayed his anger for all to see.

The Extreme Army was the most elite organization directly under the Chairman. After the original Commander, Yayul Han, stepped down, the new Commander, Beoncheon, had shown immense loyalty to Baek Jagang.

He points to Beoncheon?

If Beoncheon was the mastermind, it was like having his own right arm cut off. At the very least, what Geom Mugeuk had said was true. He had said Hyeok Sagun would use this as an opportunity to eliminate a political rival.

"Is there proof?"

"It is here. The Demonic Cult was behind it."

Hyeok Sagun walked up the steps and handed the documents he had brought to Baek Jagang. For a traitor, he was far too calm. He didn't even get goosebumps. It meant either he wasn't lying, or he was a person on whom this sense did not work.

After handing over the evidence, Hyeok Sagun returned to his original spot and bowed his head with a look of shame.

"It seems the Young Alliance Chairman has fallen for the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult."

If Baek Jagang hadn't met with Geom Mugeuk beforehand, he would have listened to this report with a different mindset. With such clear evidence, would he not have suspected Bi Sayin?

He thought not. He would have believed that Bi Sayin had gone over to the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult.

The thought was chilling. It was chilling to think that this Hyeok Sagun had betrayed him, and just as chilling to think that Geom Mugeuk had framed this Hyeok Sagun as a traitor.

Of course, Baek Jagang still stood in the middle. This could all still be a grand scheme by the Demonic Cult.

"How should we handle this?"

"We must relieve Commander Beon of his position and make him step down from the Extreme Army."

"Do so. However, let's handle it after I've met the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult."

"As you wish. Then I shall take my leave."

As Hyeok Sagun bowed politely and turned to leave, Baek Jagang spoke.

"I can't believe it. The fact that Sayin joined hands with the Demonic Cult."

"I feel the same."

"Organize your opinion on who to choose as the next successor and report to me."

"Understood."

A faint smile appeared on Hyeok Sagun's face as he turned and walked away.

Of course, he did not know.

The gaze of Baek Jagang watching his back was not that of a Chairman, but of King Yeomra holding a scale, watching to see which way it would tip.

Geom Mugeuk stood on a thousand-foot cliff. He looked down into the bottomless abyss, then fearlessly threw his body off the edge.

SWIIIIISH.

Geom Mugeuk plummeted rapidly. He fell defenselessly, as if he had lost consciousness. Even for him, a fall from this height without any defense would surely mean death. He was doing something so perilous to test how the Heavenly Demon Defense Art would react.

Hey, Defense Art, I'm going to die if I keep falling like this. Are you just going to watch?

Geom Mugeuk trusted the Heavenly Demon Defense Art.

However, the Heavenly Demon Defense Art did not activate. Are you trusting me? Could it be that you know this isn't a real crisis? Or are you supposed to let me crash into the ground and be half-dead before you step in to save my life?

It was time to circulate his inner arts and use his movement arts. Geom Mugeuk held out until the very last moment.

I'm really going to die at this rate!

Then, at the very last moment, the qi inside Geom Mugeuk's body moved on its own.

"……"

He twisted his body in mid-air to right himself as his hands and feet moved automatically. He used the Heavenly Demon Flight Step he had already learned, instantly reducing his falling speed before landing lightly. The Heavenly Demon Defense Art itself, having reached complete mastery, had performed the movement.

"Hooo."

Geom Mugeuk let out a sigh of relief.

"You punk, I almost died of shock."

But soon after, Geom Mugeuk cheered. He had been happy in front of Baek Jagang, but that was not even a tenth of his true joy. Geom Mugeuk jumped up and down at the bottom of the cliff, delighted.

"This is the martial arts of the Heavenly Demon!"

His voice echoed thunderously. Regardless of his life before regression, Geom Mugeuk was a martial artist. An achievement in martial arts made him happiest. Since it was the unique martial arts of the Heavenly Demon, his joy was beyond words.

Now that he had achieved complete mastery, it would wake him automatically if it sensed killing intent while he slept. It would also react more reliably to protect him in dangerous moments. Not only that, but there were likely other benefits of complete mastery that he had yet to experience.

"I'll be counting on you from now on, my dear Defense Art."

His father had said it. Once you achieve complete mastery of the Heavenly Demon Defense Art, you will never die. It was as if he had gained another life.

He also believed that the complete mastery of the Heavenly Demon Defense Art would positively influence the Nine Calamities Demonic Art. The two martial arts were fundamentally very close.

Now, only the Twelfth Star complete mastery of the Nine Calamities Demonic Art remained.

If only I can manifest the Heavenly Demon Soul before my very eyes. Not the Heavenly Demon Soul of the tenth star, but the one that has achieved the Twelfth Star complete mastery.

For that moment, he had to raise the level of the Heavenly Space Secret Art even further. At this rate, there wasn't enough time.

I am moving forward like this, one step at a time.

Perhaps because he had achieved complete mastery of the Heavenly Demon Defense Art, he missed his father even more today.

If I told him I achieved complete mastery, he would clench his fists and say, 'Shall we test it out?' I wouldn't even mind being hit by that tremendous fist.

Father, I miss you!

The next day, Geom Mugeuk left the safehouse to meet the Evil Alliance Chairman.

"Be careful."

"Your eyes are very swollen."

"More nonsense! We don't know what Hyeok Sagun might have plotted!"

"It's not a matter of what he might have plotted. He's probably already done it. He would have given the Evil Alliance Chairman evidence that you and I conspired together. That's the only way he can drive me away from you."

Bi Sayin sighed lightly.

"If only I could go, I would want to follow you."

He wanted to see the Evil Alliance Chairman. This was the first time since meeting Baek Jagang that he had ever missed him this much.

"Don't rush. The opponent has spent many years crafting this conspiracy. Don't try to catch up to it all at once."

Bi Sayin could see that Geom Mugeuk and Baek Jagang had something in common. They tried to be calm, especially in crucial moments. They didn't look for answers from the outside. They trusted themselves and found the answers within.

"If you get a chance, please tell the Chairman that I will live according to the words he gave me."

"I will."

With that, Geom Mugeuk left the safehouse. Bi Sayin didn't go back into his room but watched him leave. Just then, the Evil Eccentric came and stood next to Bi Sayin.

"Don't be too anxious. An opportunity will soon come for the Young Alliance Chairman as well."

"It's alright if an opportunity doesn't come. Until two days ago, I was the most impatient person in this murim, but not anymore."

Bi Sayin gave a relaxed smile to the Evil Eccentric, who looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"Because now is not the time to draw my sword, but to wrap my bandages, and the sword drawn by a man who has wrapped his own bandages will be far more terrifying."