Yoryeong, Moyong Family—

“Hah…! Lord Yi. Why have you come?!”

A visit from a distinguished guest.

Lord Yi Geon-hee, the head of the Yi family of Shandong, who had entrusted his son to the Moyong family, had knocked on the Moyong family’s door for the first time in a while.

It was an unexpected visit.

To Moyong Baek, Lord Yi Geon-hee was not only the father of an external disciple but also an investor in the family and a business partner who was in the same boat with the ‘Ice Stone Distribution’ business, so even a sudden visit was a delight.

“Haha… Head of the Moyong Family. I have visited without sending word, so I hope I am not being rude.”

“Rude? Not at all. Hahaha!”

The two, who had politely clasped their hands in greeting, asked after each other’s well-being and exchanged pleasantries.

“But, Lord Yi. Why have you really visited? Did you perhaps come to see Baek-yi?”

“Hoho! Of course, I must see my son’s face. But the reason I visited Yoryeong today is because I have something to tell you about the processing and distribution of the ice stones.”

“Then…?”

As Moyong Baek asked with wide eyes, Lord Yi Geon-hee nodded his head.

“That’s right, Head of the Family. The processing of the ice stones mined by the first dispatch team is finished. Within a few days, the processed ice stones will be transformed into luxurious accessories and will be distributed throughout the Central Plains!”

“Lord Yi! You have worked hard. The products came out earlier than expected. As expected, the skills of the Yi family of Shandong are the best in the world! Hahaha!”

Moyong Baek also burst into a hearty laugh.

The <Ice Stone Distribution> business was, in fact, a matter of life and death for the Moyong family.

Moreover, since it was the long-cherished project of the great disciple, So-ah, it was a matter that Moyong Baek, who was not bright in financial matters, could not help but be concerned about.

Besides, recently, the scale of the family had grown five or six times larger than before, and the family was bustling with visitors from all over the Central Plains who wished to become Moyong family members and external disciples.

Considering the mountain of family members and the growing scale, a stable source of high income was desperately needed.

Moyong Baek felt as if a nagging tooth had been pulled out.

“Hoho! You are too kind, Head of the Moyong Family. Instead of this, let’s meet with the Grand Steward and Miss Yuk Jeong-ran together. I want to let them know as soon as possible.”

“Let’s do that, Lord Yi.”

The two headed to the <Cheong-a-ru> run by Yuk Jeong-ran.

***

At sunset…

Lord Yi Geon-hee, who had finished his meeting with Moyong Baek, Yuk Jeong-ran, and the Grand Steward at <Cheong-a-ru>, sat opposite his son, Yi-baek, at a simple table with drinks at a tavern in front of a deserted port (the roadside tavern in front of the ferry that So-ah often visited).

A bottle of Jukyeopcheong and two bowls of somen noodles.

The table with drinks, consisting of a few kinds of vegetables and tofu side dishes, seemed at first glance not to suit the chaebol, Lord Yi Geon-hee, but the quiet atmosphere and his unpretentious personality blended together to create a rather quaint charm.

“Baek-ah… I hear that the current situation in the martial world is very complicated. Your master, Young Hero Jin, is away to wipe out the White Lotus Cult, right?”

“Yes, Father.”

“You are having a hard time, having entered a martial family in a difficult time.”

Lord Yi Geon-hee said as he filled Yi-baek’s cup.

“No, Father. Isn’t the martial world originally like that? Since the martial world is a sea of blood where swords and blades fly, it’s only natural that there are no peaceful days.”

Seeing his son’s composed appearance, Lord Yi Geon-hee was inwardly impressed.

‘When he left the family, he was a skinny and pale child who looked sickly at first glance. He has changed a lot. Now, anyone can see that he has become a respectable martial artist.’

That was right.

The weak appearance of the past could no longer be found in Yi-baek.

The muscles that clung to his entire body and the ruddy complexion.

Moreover, the intelligence in his two eyes had completely transformed Yi-baek’s impression.

“Baek-ah.”

“Yes, Father.”

“Do you regret becoming a martial artist?”

“I do not regret it.”

“You are admirable.”

“Father…”

At his father’s praise, Yi-baek felt a complicated emotion.

Although his father boasted a benevolent personality, he tended to be stingy with praise, so he was bewildered.

However.

To top it off, Lord Yi Geon-hee patted his son’s shoulder with eyes full of pride.

“Baek-ah. The reason I told you and your brother to learn martial arts was to make you realize physical pain. Even a person with a strong mind is bound to collapse like a sandcastle in the face of physical pain. I hoped that you and your brother would endure and bear such pain and grow even more. Do you know your father’s will?”

“Yes. I know, Father.”

“Then that’s enough. Until now, you have trained strictly under a tiger-like master with a sickly body. Your inner self and soul must have matured even more. So, you can return to the main family now.”

This was sincere.

Of course, Lord Yi Geon-hee had no intention of opposing his children even if they lived the life of a martial artist.

Because for even the top chaebol family in the Central Plains, producing one great martial artist from the family was a more glorious thing than producing a successful past exam candidate.

But his philosophy was that a person could be happy only when they did what they wanted to do.

Now, if his son wanted, he was planning to have him return to the family and develop his capabilities as a businessman.

However,

“Father.”

“…”

“I am the second son of the Yi family of Shandong. I will one day become a great merchant who will surely bring glory to the family.”

“Baek-ah.”

“But, you see.”

“?”

“Not now.”

“…”

“Right now, I am an external disciple of the Moyong family and am living the life of a martial artist, Yi-baek, who has a place in the martial world. I have no intention of leaving the Moyong family yet.”

Yi-baek’s eyes, as he said that, were transcendent and calm, but because of that, they felt even more sincere.

‘As expected…’

The corners of Lord Yi Geon-hee’s lips curled up slightly.

‘You were that kind of child.’

The second son, Yi-baek, whom Yi Geon-hee remembered, was the weakest among his siblings because he was frail since childhood, but once he started something, he would see it to the end.

He was also the son who resembled him the most.

‘Please grow up to be a great martial artist, my son!’

Lord Yi Geon-hee and Yi-baek toasted and drank their cups.

***

“Y-You… you!”

Yoon Gyeon-oh.

As one of the law enforcement officers of the White Lotus Cult, he was a man who wielded great influence in Potala Palace.

Of course, he was currently just a hostage who had been kidnapped by the suddenly appeared So-ah.

“What on earth is your identity…?”

Yoon Gyeon-oh didn’t even dare to speak informally to So-ah.

He himself was at a considerable level of martial arts and had the skill to kill and destroy a decent martial artist of the Orthodox Path without a trace, but.

The strong killing intent flowing from So-ah’s body now was a murderous and shocking aura that he had never experienced before.

‘This person’s martial arts… is by no means inferior to the Cult Leader’s! Surely, he can kill someone like me with a flick of a finger.’

He was afraid.

So as not to be frightened by the enemy.

Although he had completed mental training to be able to commit suicide in case of an emergency, it was of no use in front of So-ah’s killing intent.

“I told you. The number one spy of all time. Or, the Hell Instructor.”

“What… what is that…”

“Now, this instructor will let you experience hell, so take it sweetly. It’s a good opportunity, isn’t it? Hell is something you can’t even see with money.”

“?!’

At the same time—

With So-ah’s signature technique, the mountain peak honey chestnut.

It was the moment the true education began.

***

“P-Please spare me! Didn’t I tell you everything I know in detail! So please!”

“Keuk!”

It didn’t even take a moment.

For Yoon Gyeon-oh to spill all the information about Potala Palace and to get on his knees and beg for his life.

“You have some nerve. What?! Spare you? You guys kill people when you’re told to kill. You cut open their intestines when you’re told to cut them open. You’ve kidnapped men, women, old, and young, and have done all sorts of dirty things. What? Spare you-u-u-u?”

“G-Great Hero!”

“Keu-a-a-a-a-a-ak!!”

As So-ah grabbed Yoon Gyeon-oh’s hands, which were rubbing together like a fly, and bent the joints in the opposite direction, a murderous sound of breaking bones came out.

“Ah!”

At the same time, So-ah stretched out his two fingers in a straight line, and the direction his fingers were pointing was Yoon Gyeon-oh’s eyeballs.

A mushy sensation was felt at his fingertips.

Yoon Gyeon-oh’s eyeballs burst like a watermelon.

“Ugh-a-a-a-a-ak!”

A terrible scream that made one’s hair stand on end just by hearing it poured out of his mouth.

Nevertheless, So-ah did not stop the punishment.

“That’s what I’m saying, you bastard!”

So-ah’s sharp elbow, which could tear even steel like a piece of paper, stabbed Yoon Gyeon-oh’s Adam’s apple.

As if his vocal cords had been shattered, not even a groan flowed from Yoon Gyeon-oh’s mouth anymore.

“You should have lived like a human.”

Yoon Gyeon-oh had reached his physical limit.

He could no longer stand or sit.

He collapsed like a rotten old tree and rolled on the floor.

His ears were slapped, and blood gushed out from his ears like a fountain.

Because of that, his sense of balance was paralyzed, and his whole body was swollen from the repeated beatings, as if it would burst at any moment.

“Hey! You brat. Breathe, breathe. What are you going to do if you die already?”

So-ah lightly poked Yoon Gyeon-oh’s side with his finger.

Unfortunately, Yoon Gyeon-oh did not even stir.

Because his breath had been cut off.

“…Is this for real?”

Only then did So-ah realize how much stronger he had become in the process of overcoming the third trial.

Clearly, the level of martial arts that So-ah had seen in Yoon Gyeon-oh had surpassed the first-rate.

But ridiculously, he had not even used one-tenth of his internal energy while beating him up.

In other words,

“I just beat him up simply, so what am I supposed to do if he dies? You bastard!!!”

With just a level of beating that was meant to fix his bad habits, he had one-sidedly killed a first-rate master without even allowing him to resist.

‘Is it really okay to be this strong? Phew!’

Although he himself was dumbfounded, a smile bloomed on his face.

‘Now, let’s go cause a ruckus. I’ll make them completely terrified. Hehehe!’

So-ah’s body cut through the sky, leaving a thick afterimage.

***

In the dead of night…

So-ah, who had perfectly reproduced Yoon Gyeon-oh’s face, skeleton, and even his voice using a disguise technique, stealthily infiltrated the kitchen of Potala Palace like a thief cat.

For the past few days, So-ah had learned the general location of Potala Palace and the schedule within the palace through stealth techniques, and had finally been able to gather detailed information by torturing Yoon Gyeon-oh.

As a result, So-ah had come to build a truly terrifying.

A legendary intelligence operation that was unprecedented in history.

‘Kilkilkil! With this, you’re all f*cked, you bastards!!’

In the palace kitchen, there were plenty of ingredients to be used for the cult members’ breakfast the next day.

Seeing that, the corners of So-ah’s lips curled up with satisfaction.

‘It’ll be a sight to see. That’s right!’

So-ah took a step towards the ingredients.

Soon…

He took out a divine wooden box from his bosom.

And again, from the divine wooden box, he took out something else.

What So-ah took out was a medium-sized box containing a white powder.

At the same time, So-ah began to sprinkle the white powder on all the ingredients like a spice.

‘Ugh… it’s a bit dirty when I imagine it.’

While saying it’s dirty.

Why is his mouth still smiling?

A strange thing happened.

As soon as the white powder touched the food, it split on its own, and before he knew it, wasn’t it completely and transparently absorbed?

‘It’s perfect, it’s perfect! Wow!!’

No matter how excellent a person’s eyesight was, they would never be able to tell.

It was a mysterious powder with the characteristics of being colorless, tasteless, and odorless.

‘Brother Woo-chi. Perhaps before you arrive, I might take over Potala Palace by myself?’

So-ah burst into a triumphant smile.

‘Have a good shit! As much as you want! You pseudo-bastards!’

The white powder that So-ah had ambitiously prepared was…

Not a hallucinogen that scattered the mind.

Not a poison that destroyed the dantian and internal energy.

Not an aphrodisiac that confused the soul.

It was just,

‘A “miracle drug” with full efficacy, personally procured from the Manchu Pharmacopoeia in Qinghai, which is called the best medical family in the Central Plains.’

It was none other than the best ‘laxative’ in the world, which the divine doctors of the Manchu Pharmacopoeia had painstakingly brewed, baked, and ground into a powder.

(End of Chapter)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep