The old man asked again with a fierce glint in his eyes.
“What’s your purpose?”
“Purpose? What purpose?” the man replied with a smirk. “Seeing a beggar like you, neglecting begging to trade information under the guise of a prestigious sect, makes my stomach turn…”
His words were cut off.
Whoosh!
The old man, or rather, Homin Hall Leader Jeong Nosam, struck like lightning, aiming for the man’s heavenly pivot acupoint.
“Hmph.” With a sneer, the man twisted his body, dodging the old man’s hand aimed at his neck.
But it was a feint. As if waiting for the dodge, Jeong Nosam unleashed a dozen fist techniques in a single burst.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The man couldn’t evade the barrage and was struck across most of his body.
“Nothing special!” Jeong Nosam exclaimed, gleefully pummeling the man.
But his expression soon turned strange. Despite landing precise blows, it felt as if he were hitting a bundle of cotton—no resistance at all.
“You…” Realizing the man had cleverly redirected the force while pretending to take the hits, Jeong Nosam’s mouth gaped.
“Getting weak in your old age, huh?” the man said with a grin, clenching his left fist.
Whoosh!
A strange sound echoed, as if the surrounding air was being sucked in, followed by an immense surge of fist energy.
“Ugh!” Jeong Nosam let out a startled cry, eyes wide.
The man’s fist technique was not only lightning-fast but covered a range of over ten paces.
‘I can’t dodge it!’ Thankfully, the fist energy grazed his cheek, splitting a large garden stone beside him in half.
Rumble.
Jeong Nosam, frozen like ice, stared at the shattered stone, swallowing hard. Had that force hit him, it would’ve been his head split open.
“Live honestly and beg from now on. Stop meddling in pointless affairs,” the man said with a sly smile, turning away.
Jeong Nosam trembled, lips bitten, unable to speak.
***
Staggering out, the man climbed into a waiting carriage in front of Seolhyangwon.
Clatter, clatter.
As the carriage moved, the man reclined comfortably, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
Crack.
His facial bones rippled like waves, slowly reshaping his eyes and nose.
A divine, handsome visage emerged—it was Bu Eunseol.
“Are you sure this is okay, Young Master?” Black Leopard, driving the carriage, asked with concern. “That scared old man might immediately summon Beggar Sect masters.”
“Those in intelligence organizations always confirm their opponent’s identity before acting,” Bu Eunseol replied.
“He’s the Homin Hall Leader, reporting information to the Beggar Sect’s headquarters…”
“Exactly.” Gazing out the window, Bu Eunseol smiled faintly. “He won’t act rashly until he has precise information about me.”
Bu Eunseol’s ultimate goal was a one-on-one duel with Geul Wang.
But Geul Wang rarely appeared in the martial world, his movements elusive and hard to track.
If he can’t be found, make him come to you.
By publicly shaking and humiliating the Beggar Sect, Geul Wang would surely seek Bu Eunseol out. The first step was exposing Homin Hall’s corruption in Buzhong, shaming them.
“But it’s surprising,” Black Leopard said with a sigh. “The Beggar Sect, supposedly one of the most upright sects, is actually as wealthy as the top orthodox factions.”
Bu Eunseol replied calmly, “The Beggar Sect’s reputation for integrity is just a facade under the Nine Great Sects’ shadow. In reality, they’re as greedy as their numbers suggest.” His gaze deepened as he stared out. “Exposing their true face will reveal the factions dissatisfied with them.”
Today was just the beginning.
Step by step, Bu Eunseol would dismantle the Beggar Sect’s influence, drawing out Geul Wang from wherever he hid.
In the days that followed, Bu Eunseol, Black Leopard, Hyeok Sojin, Myo Cheonwoo, and Yoo Unryong roamed Buzhong, provoking key Beggar Sect figures.
Their identities must be exposed, and they must be humiliated in public.
Bu Eunseol set principles for these provocations: target the Beggar Sect’s covert intelligence units or leaders and expose their corruption before crowds.
The Beggar Sect is rotten…
Known for their purity and simplicity, the Beggar Sect’s reputation plummeted as Bu Eunseol’s group exposed their hidden corruption.
***
Inside Iwha Manor, silence reigned.
Having stirred up the Kaifeng region, Bu Eunseol now secluded himself in the pavilion with Hyeok Sojin, Myo Cheonwoo, and Yoo Unryong.
“What’s the Leader doing?” Won Semun, frustrated by their days-long seclusion, asked Black Leopard. “And why are those two with him?”
“They’re studying martial techniques,” Black Leopard replied quietly. “All three have been provoking and fighting Beggar Sect masters, so they’re analyzing their techniques together.”
Bu Eunseol had confronted Beggar Sect masters, deciphering their techniques.
Even for unfamiliar ones, he deliberately took hits to understand them.
As a result, he uncovered much of the Beggar Sect’s diverse techniques and variations, though not their ultimate arts. He was now studying these with Hyeok Sojin, Myo Cheonwoo, and Yoo Unryong.
“That’s… possible?” Won Semun asked.
“Yes,” Black Leopard said proudly. “The Young Master can even deduce techniques just by examining scars on corpses.”
“Scars… right,” Won Semun recalled. Bu Eunseol had once taught them Marauders’ saber techniques and Shaolin and Mount Hua swordsmanship, deduced on the spot.
“I thought he was just well-versed in orthodox arts… but he figured them out instantly.”
“Black Leopard,” Hyeok Sojin called, poking his head out as the door opened. “The Leader wants you inside.”
***
Inside the pavilion’s secret room, candles burned brightly, and stacks of paper covered the table.
The top sheet was filled with strange diagrams and lines, studied intently by Bu Eunseol, Hyeok Sojin, Yoo Unryong, and Myo Cheonwoo. Black Leopard entered quietly, standing aside to avoid disrupting their focus.
“The Beggar Sect’s martial arts are utterly chaotic,” Myo Cheonwoo said, tongue clicking as he studied the diagrams.
These were the Beggar Sect’s techniques, gleaned from fights or corpse examinations.
The Beggar Sect’s arts were as varied as their numbers, blending numerous methods. Bu Eunseol had long studied their arts, excluding their supreme techniques, Dog-Beating Formation and Soaring Dragon in the Heavens.
“Impressive,” Myo Cheonwoo said. “To steal so many of their techniques in such a short time.”
“Not stolen—just observed from traces left behind,” Bu Eunseol replied.
Beast Way. This ultimate sensory ability allowed him to see traces invisible to the eye.
“Hm.” After over an hour, Myo Cheonwoo’s eyes grew tired from the complex techniques.
Scribble, scribble.
Bu Eunseol began filling a sheet with diagrams, depicting the Hundred Forms Palm and Heart-Shattering Dagger techniques commonly used by Beggar Sect disciples.
“Can you do it?” he asked.
Myo Cheonwoo nodded gravely. “About seventy percent.”
A master of Annihilation Palm, he aimed to teach these Beggar Sect techniques perfectly to the Death Shadow Corps.
“Make it over eighty percent,” Bu Eunseol said. “So no one doubts they’re Beggar Sect traces.”
Able to discern techniques from scars, Bu Eunseol had toppled the Marauders this way and now aimed to provoke the Beggar Sect similarly.
“Black Leopard,” he called.
“Yes, Young Master.”
“This is the Beggar Sect’s movement art, Twin Swallow Flight,” Bu Eunseol said, handing him a manual. “It’ll be tough alone. Work with Bangs and teach it to the second team.”
“Bangs” referred to Wi Cheongyeong, the second team’s leader.
“Understood,” Black Leopard said, carefully taking the manual.
Bu Eunseol handed Hyeok Sojin and Yoo Unryong manuals for the Reed Staff and Dragon Spring Staff techniques.
“Teach these to the third team. Ensure no one suspects they aren’t Beggar Sect techniques.”
“Understood,” Hyeok Sojin said, accepting the manual.
Yoo Unryong hesitated, then asked, “Bu Eunseol, how do you gain such an ability?” He shook his head, incredulous. “Even if it’s just technique variations, how can you instantly grasp each sect’s martial arts?”
“…”
“If all Nangyang masters had this ability, they’d dominate the martial world.”
“It’s not a Nangyang secret,” Bu Eunseol said calmly. “Their martial principles help me see more clearly, but…”
He paused. “I was a mortician.”
Yoo Unryong didn’t fully understand, but Bu Eunseol’s eyes hinted at the truth.
It wasn’t being a mortician that gave him this ability—it was relentless effort and unyielding determination. ‘That guy probably honed something even while cutting meat,’ Yoo Unryong thought, shaking his head.
Bu Eunseol spoke solemnly. “From now on, lead the Death Shadow Corps to provoke the black gangs dissatisfied with the Beggar Sect.” He addressed the group gravely. “The Beggar Sect grew with the common people’s support. If they turn away, it’ll collapse uncontrollably.”
Exposing the Beggar Sect’s corruption had revealed factions hostile to them—black gangs ruling the underworld. The Beggar Sect, mingling with the lower classes through begging, meddled in these gangs’ interests covertly.
“Soon, the Beggar Sect will come to us,” Bu Eunseol said.
The group nodded firmly, ready to draw out Geul Wang.
***
A month later, Kaifeng’s underworld stirred.
The Beggar Sect had long suppressed black gangs in areas with honest merchants, especially in Kaifeng, their headquarters. But now, as if determined, they attacked hidden black gang strongholds to uproot them entirely.
“What’s this about?”
The black gangs resisted fiercely. “What did we do wrong?”
“We’re eliminating parasites draining the people!” the Beggar Sect masters declared, attacking mercilessly.
Black gangs inevitably existed in commercial hubs.
Though resentful of the Beggar Sect’s interference, they couldn’t challenge a major martial sect and had always yielded. But now, with the Beggar Sect aiming to eradicate them, they fought back fiercely, only to be overwhelmed by the sect’s superior martial arts.
Eventually, Kaifeng’s black gangs ceased operations, scattering.
Soon, strange rumors spread: merchants linked to the Beggar Sect were exposed. These merchants, while running businesses, passed rumors and information to the sect, gaining benefits in return.
“Those bastards!” The resentful black gangs rallied, targeting inn workers, porters, and Hao Clan members who fed the Beggar Sect information.
Even the Beggar Sect couldn’t control every underworld incident.
As their informants collapsed, the flow of information to their headquarters dwindled.
***
In the Beggar Sect’s underground secret chamber, the Eight Paths’ leaders and Deputy Leader Haepung stood with grim faces.
With Leader Nobong weakened by illness, Haepung handled most sect affairs.
“Everything that’s happened is the work of the Death Shadow Corps, a third-tier unit from Majeon,” said Jeong Sam, leader of the Small Beggar Path, in a heavy voice.
“Death Shadow Corps?” Haepung asked.
“Yes. A recently formed third-tier unit,” Jeong Sam said. “They bought an abandoned manor in Buzhong’s outskirts, setting up a base.”
“Hm.”
“They’ve provoked black gangs hostile to us, inciting fights.”
“I don’t understand,” Haepung said, shaking his head. “Who were the masters attacking the black gangs?” Those attackers reportedly used Beggar Sect techniques, fueling the black gangs’ resentment and disrupting the sect’s intelligence network.
“It’s unclear, but likely linked to Majeon,” Jeong Sam said, taking a deep breath. “They may have trained masters to mimic our techniques.”
“No way,” Haepung said, incredulous. “That would mean Majeon planned this long ago, training masters in our arts. That’s absurd.”
As he shook his head, Lee Simhwa, leader of the Beggar Corps, spoke. “It’s possible.”
“What?”
“There was a master in the Martial Alliance who could replicate techniques after seeing them once.”
“Hm.” Haepung narrowed his eyes.
Rumors spoke of a mysterious master in the Martial Alliance, skilled in demonic arts and breaking techniques, whose identity was unknown due to wearing a mask.
“Then, could this be the Death Shadow Corps Leader’s doing?” Jeong Sam asked.
Haepung shook his head. “How can you compare that mysterious master to a third-tier Demon Sect leader?” He sneered. “If they had such ability, they wouldn’t be a mere third-tier leader.”
After a moment of thought, Haepung said firmly, “No need to overthink. You, Corps Leader, take the Beggar Corps to Iwha Manor.” His eyes gleamed sharply. “Wipe them out completely, so Majeon never dares such nonsense again.”
At Haepung’s stern command, Lee Simhwa clasped his hands deeply. “Understood.”
