〈 Independent (1) 〉
A few days ago.
The outskirts of Yongzhong Mountain, where the Zhuge family’s headquarters is located.
There was a person who was hiding in a feature located quite far away from the mouth of the mountain and was quietly staring at a number of horsemen and carriages coming out of the living gate of the Jinbeop that surrounded the place.
‘That many people are going out at once… Then I heard that there will be a meeting of the Murim Alliance soon.’
Inyoung, who thoroughly hid his presence without being detected by the magicians of Jegalse, who periodically scanned the surroundings.
He held his breath on the spot until the people who had come out completely left the place, and only after confirming several times that everyone around him had completely disappeared did he slowly get up.
“Huu, is it also Zhuge Dynasty? “If I hadn’t prepared in advance, I would have been caught.”
A middle-aged man wearing an old and worn uniform, lying quietly in a crevice in the bushes, shook off the dirt from his body and sighed softly.
Afterwards, Cheong-gwan, the magician of the Mosan sect, who was loosening his stiff body by moving his arms and legs here and there, glanced at Yongzhongsan’s formation again and lightly frowned.
‘The people who had just left did not feel any discomfort. Then, are they still in the Zhuge family’s stronghold?’
It has been quite a while since he followed the traces and arrived here after feeling the power of a foreign spirit that was manifested against the bandits at Dongdong Lake.
In terms of magic, his monk, the Mosan School, was no less prestigious than Zhuge Emperor, but as a mere magician, it was unreasonable for him to get any closer to the opponent’s stronghold, so he just watched from afar… ‘That
‘s strange. Looking at his actions so far, there’s no way he could be this quiet.’
But even though time had passed, he still couldn’t get a clear clue.
There was no significant news from colleagues dispatched to other regions.
“Hehehe, this is true. By any chance, was it not this way but the direction of Mt. Wudang? No matter how I look at it, the bond of fate seems clearer here… I guess I was wrong about the frequency.”
But you can’t say you don’t know me now just because you don’t have any income.
Soon, he took out various ritual items from his backpack and sighed lightly.
It seemed like this wouldn’t end anytime soon.
And a few days after that.
However, another person from another world appeared in a place far away from the place where Zhuge Sega was and began his activities in earnest.
Not only Cheng Quan, who was still preoccupied with this, but no one in this world realized it.
***
“Well, I think this is enough. “Then shall we go to the next location?”
For Harley, who already had senses beyond common sense, finding a secret safe in the rubble of a collapsed building was nothing.
What’s the problem when you can understand the state of the ground in detail just by the vibration caused by the rolling of your feet and read the material of an object as if you were seeing it through your senses?
The valuables filled with “subspace storage,” the treasures delivered to Hubert for interpretation, and even several high-quality bodies that were selected and sent to Hans.
After roughly summarizing the situation, he left the scene with light steps.
With a harvest that was bigger than expected, my heart was full.
And after some time has passed.
A group of five or six people wearing uniforms cautiously approached the site where only the ruins remained.
“…What is this?”
“Huh, is this really the Sura Gate?”
“Nothing is okay. Then, what they say is true…”
They clicked their tongues and looked around the ruins of the ruins.
Since I heard news that was hard to believe, I was only planning to check the facts from afar, but looking at the current situation, it turned out to be more serious than I heard.
Naturally, their expressions could not help but gradually harden.
Collapsed buildings, corpses strewn all over the rough ground, and blood flowing from them.
The traces of fighting left here and there clearly showed how brutal the fighting had been here.
And…
“Look at this death penalty.”
“…The body is gone.”
“Yes, that number doesn’t seem to be that many. “Looking at the traces left behind, it seems like only the bodies of the strongest experts were selected and taken away.”
“In this situation, I wouldn’t have intended to bury them separately.”
The uneasiness they felt began to grow more and more as they examined the remaining traces.
“There are traces of digging through the collapsed rubble over here! It looks like he was looking for something…”
“Was the goal perhaps to take away something that Suramun had?”
“No matter what, I’m doing this all by myself…? “Maybe there was another helper?”
“…But the remaining traces clearly match the testimony…”
A shadow fell on the faces of those investigating the scene.
The fugitives’ rapturous statements were repeated in their minds.
A muscular giant wearing a bizarre outfit suddenly appeared.
His maniacal laughter, the clan that began to be destroyed by just one person, and the final sight of the masters desperately rushing towards him.
Their consistent statements were so specific that it could not possibly be considered an illusion.
“…Wouldn’t it be good for your brother to join Zhuge family? “I heard he’s not far from us right now.”
“I think so too. This is because there is a strange man walking around who can destroy Suramun with just one person. “I don’t think it would be safer that way…”
“…Let’s go back first. “The decision will be made by the Four Baek.”
After a long conversation, the shamanists quickly turned to the scene of the tragedy, carefully putting their hands together.
To join the main unit as quickly as possible and inform them of the situation here.
And the shaman faction, who confirmed the facts through them, eventually decided to make contact with Zhuge Se’s side.
Although they were continuing their exchanges in their own way, it resulted in bringing together the envoys of the two powers, who were implicitly wary of each other and had been in awe of each other.
***
“Huh Suramuni?”
“I was wondering why it suddenly became so quiet. “Did something like that happen?”
“If that’s true, aren’t we in danger too? Suramunju Gwangakpaedo is an expert in flower painting. If we destroyed the sect that had someone like that, there’s no way we could handle it even if we join forces with the shaman sect…”
“But you can’t just sit still, can you? First of all, we have to do something….”
The atmosphere became somewhat chaotic due to the sudden contact with non-partisans.
Hugo, who had heightened his senses and grasped the whole story, slowly nodded.
‘…That’s how it happened.’
So, to put it simply…
‘This is my fault too.’
Feeling embarrassed, I quietly scratched the back of my neck.
The headquarters of the Mudang faction and the Zhuge family were not far away.
If we were to just measure the distance in a straight line, it would be about a hundred kilometers.
Naturally, their movements were bound to overlap to some extent, so it was not surprising that they found traces left behind by Harley.
In fact, if both parties wanted, they could have joined earlier and gone together.
‘I didn’t do that, so I guess it’s an adult’s situation. By the way, they are warriors of the Shaman faction.’
He slowly turned his gaze to look at the leaders of both camps talking to each other from a distance.
An elderly Taoist monk with an innocent look, facing the elder of the Zhuge family and saying something with a serious expression.
‘…Hwagyeong? Is it really a shaman who is the two major mountain ranges of the political faction and the martial arts faction? There is a difference starting from the level of the leader.’
Even though the Zhuge family is not a family famous for its military power, seeing them side by side like this made comparisons inevitable.
With Hugo’s original senses, he wouldn’t have been able to notice it, but as his sense of energy had greatly developed after gaining the “Heavenly Qi Body” a while ago, he was able to vaguely guess its level.
‘Skill performance is clear. The speed of absorption of the elixirs that had been stored up due to slow digestion has become ten times faster. ‘If things continue like this…’
I was watching the situation go by with inner satisfaction.
“…!”
Before I knew it, the eyes of the shaman elder turned in this direction and Hugo’s gaze momentarily met. My
senses
sharpened, and at the same time, goosebumps appeared all over my body.
Even though it was only for a short period of time, it felt like my whole body was scanned in an instant.
Immediately after, Hugo, seeing Lee Chae’s younger gaze, smiled awkwardly and slowly turned his head.
‘…Oh, I should have managed my gaze properly.’
I had let my guard down because I had just defeated Suramunju, a fellow fire fighter, just before.
‘But it was a Harley, so it was possible. Hugo is still far away.’
If Hyeongyeong is a level that transcends human beings, Hwagyeong is actually a level that can be said to be the limit that a human can reach.
Hugo, who could not even reach the wall yet, was not an opponent he could dare to touch.
Not yet.
‘Well, from the beginning, Hugo has never learned anything other than Kang Hwan-gye’s techniques, so it doesn’t really matter. …Be more of a shaman than that. If you do this well.’
The opponent was a master of flower sutra who not only had a background as a shaman who was the Taesan Bukdu of the martial arts faction along with the Shaolin temple, but also rose to a high position as a martial artist.
Being able to watch him right next to him can be said to be a great opportunity in many ways.
‘Of course, my understanding of martial arts may be a little lacking to figure it out right away, but there are a lot of step-by-step teaching aids out there.’
Just then, the shaman elder who had finished the conversation turned around and was heading back to where his companions were gathered.
In that gap, Hugo’s gaze, paying attention to his eyes and facial expressions, passed by as if licking that direction.
‘Do they want anything good?’
Zhuge Emperor had already looked into the skills of warriors, but as expected, there was nothing that appealed to him in terms of martial arts.
Of course, he was able to get some pretty good ideas from their unique fighting style that combined fighting techniques and techniques, but what he needed most right now was pure martial arts.
In that sense, the leaders of the independent faction could be seen as the optimal opponents.
‘If you have it, don’t just use it between you, let’s share it together.’
There is still more than half of the way to the destination, Shaolin Temple.
And in the current situation, creating the necessary opportunities was not that difficult for Hugo.
***
“Huh—what a waste. What a waste.”
Right after finishing the conversation with Zhuge Segal.
Unhyeonjinin, an elder of the shaman sect, returned to the place where the group was gathered, sighing and shaking his head.
“Why are you doing this? Is there any problem?…”
Then one of the soldiers accompanying him tilted his head, but he did not respond, but closed his eyes and thought of the young man he had seen a little while ago.
He has excellent muscles and a great body that he has not neglected in training. He must have consumed a lot of elixirs, but he has profound endurance that is not suitable for his age.
What was most amazing was his unique constitution that seemed to communicate with the energy of the world through his whole body.
It was reminiscent of the legendary Gongnyeongjiche (空靈之䫔), who becomes one with the world and the limits of inner strength disappear.
‘Of course, we really can’t compare to him, but if that young man grows to the end and surpasses his limits, you never know.’
So it can only be a waste.
If raised well, it is clear that he will become a pillar that will enhance the name of the sect, but looking at the situation, doesn’t it seem like the late Jisoo was deliberately raised by the Zhuge family?
Even though they were within the boundaries of the same faction, the martial arts faction, strictly speaking, they were no different from rivals located just a stone’s throw away, so it wasn’t a very pleasant experience.
Even if it were in the past, I would still feel sick to my stomach, but isn’t this a time of confusion where we can’t predict the future?
‘But… the problem was that his personality seemed arrogant.’
He could vaguely feel it because he had learned the Jeongjong Naegongsim method of cultivating the mind.
That young man doesn’t think much of himself as an elder of the shaman faction… No, not only that, but I was unconsciously looking down on everyone present.
Rather than looking down on anyone in particular, it was a subtle gaze that seemed to naturally look down from above—as if appreciating a child’s antics.
If you were an absolute master who left the police force after reaching the police department, it was definitely not the kind of look in your eyes that would suit a young man like that.
‘If I had met a guy with a bad temper, he wouldn’t have been alive until now. It looks like he was raised with great care by the Zhuge family.’
Perhaps the Zhuge family sent him to this place to try to fix that aspect?
Since the talent he has is a waste, I want to kill his arrogant nature by letting him experience this wide world.
“Hehe, but I still want to see your skills…”
Unhyeonjinin muttered to himself while stroking his beard.
For some reason, he was a talent that kept getting on my nerves.
I don’t know whether he will become a giant that will lead the world in the future or whether he will eventually be left behind by his own talent.
I couldn’t help but feel like I wanted to see what kind of accomplishment I had achieved right away.
“It would be nice if we could somehow create an opportunity.”
In the end, he too reached the same idea as someone else, but it remained to be seen whose way things would go in the end.