Chapter 72
Baek Mu-Gun returned back to the Baek Sword Sect after spending a night at the Sea Dragon Archipelago. He then called the other four squad leaders, including Baek Cheon-Gi, to the training hall to check their skills. Starting with Cheon-Gi, Mu-Gun sparred with the squad leaders one after another. Taking the Heavenly Medicine Pill had a clear effect. They had improved significantly.
Baek Cheon-Gi, Baek Cheon-Ho, and Baek Cheon-Ung were now on the verge of advancing into the Upper Peak Realm. And despite being inferior to them, Baek Soo-Kwang, the White Leopard Squad Leader, demonstrated superior capabilities around the Peak Realm. Baek Jin-Won, who was dispatched to the Sea Dragon Archipelago as the head instructor, would be on par with Soo-Kwang.
Mu-Gun was satisfied with the squad leaders’ skills. His three uncles would likely reach the Upper Peak Realm by polishing their swordsmanship and consuming the spiritual pill one more time. If they were lucky, they could even go beyond the Upper Peak Realm and reach the Absolute Realm. To do so, they would require a high level of martial arts enlightenment. Hence, Mu-Gun decided to convey his deep understanding of martial arts to the four squad leaders as soon as time permitted.
After inspecting the squad leaders’ skills, Mu-Gun objectively evaluated the Baek Sword Sect’s combat forces. The Baek Sword Corps currently had just over two hundred members. Among them, less than twenty were in the First-rate Realm. The Seven Great Families aside, their forces were terrible compared to even mid-sized clans.
In retrospect, the Baek Sword Sect had a decent number of high-ranking masters. Within their rank were two Absolute Realm masters, Baek Cheon-Sang and Baek Mu-Gun, and three Peak Realm masters on the verge of advancing into the Upper Peak Realm. They might not be on par with the Seven Great Families, but their forces weren’t far behind other mid-sized clans. Mu-Gun’s existence, in particular, played a big role. His strength was similar to the combined strength of two or three Absolute Realm masters. Putting that into consideration, the Baek Sword Sect’s combat power was actually quite strong.
Nevertheless, they wouldn’t be able to become a powerful clan with only a few people. That was why the Baek Sword Sect was trying to become the Zhejiang Martial Alliance leader. However, Mu-Gun had to find a way to increase the Baek Sword Sect’s power itself as well. Having been thinking about how to do that for quite some time now, he finally found a way—recruiting masters whom he had a connection with in his previous lives to the Baek Sword Sect.
In his previous reincarnation just before this, Mu-Gun met many martial artists and built friendships with them while fighting with the Hell-Blood Demon Sect. He was eventually betrayed by the Seven Saints—the former patriarchs of the Seven Great Families—but unlike them, many warriors were loyal to their friendship. Among them were masters who moved independently instead of being a part of a specific force.
The Sunset Sword, Jin Yoo-Sung.
The Tempest Saber, Yang Cheol-Gon.
The Nine Dragons Fist, Hwang Rei.
The Thunderous Wind Palm, Han Baek.
Those masters were revered as the Four Peerless Wanderers back then. Mu-Gun used to scour the battlefield and fight the Hell-Blood Demon Sect’s demonic cultivators with them. As they went through life and death together, Mu-Gun and the Four Peerless Wanderers built a friendship deep enough to entrust their lives to each other.
Unlike Mu-Gun, who lost his life when the Seven Saints betrayed him after the final battle, the Four Peerless Wanderers survived until the very end and were still renowned for their martial arts until the present day.
If the Baek Sword Sect could recruit them, the Baek Sword Sect would possess the same power as the Seven Saints in terms of masters. The question was whether Mu-Gun could recruit them, who were unrivaled even though they weren’t affiliated with any factions.
Mu-Gun was prepared to reveal the secrets of his previous life if it meant being able to recruit them. He believed that if they found out that he was the Heavenly Thunder God's Swordsman in his previous life, the Four Peerless Wanderers would be willing to lend their strength for the sake of the Baek Sword Sect.
That was how deep the loyalty between Mu-Gun and the Four Peerless Wanderers was in his previous life. The problem was that he didn’t know where they were located right now. After the fight against the Hell-Blood Demon Sect had ended, they appeared in murim every now and then.
However, they had rarely been seen in the past decade. Some said that the Four Peerless Wanderers were already dead, but Mu-Gun was convinced that they were still alive and were hiding somewhere, choosing to not appear in murim. In his previous life, they were all in their early and mid-thirties, so they should just be a little over sixty years old right now. Their status would’ve been uncertain if they were ordinary people, but they were masters with a high level of martial arts, so they should still be at their peak. Considering they had Upper Peak Realm martial arts, it was unlikely for them to have become sick or died to another martial artist. In other words, it wasn’t entirely groundless to believe that the Four Peerless Wanderers were still alive.
Mu-Gun decided to get the Heavenly Secret Hall’s help in finding the Four Peerless Wanderers, so he immediately headed to the Flower Honor Manor. He could have made a request through Baek Mu-Ok, but he chose to go personally this time because it was a personal request. He also wanted to see Dan Seol-Young again after so long. As soon as Mu-Gun arrived at the Flower Honor Manor, Seol-Young came to greet him just like before.
“Welcome.” Seol-Young, who kindly greeted Mu-Gun, was still as beautiful as ever.
“How have you been?”
“I’ve been doing fine. Please come inside.”
“You’re not even going to ask how I’m doing?” Mu-Gun asked, sounding disappointed.
“I heard from the Second Young Master that Young Master Baek has been doing well.”
“At least you still seem to be curious about me, considering you heard updates about me through Mu-Ok.”
“Don’t get me wrong. I did not ask. The Second Young Master told me about you of his own volition.”
“Does that mean Lady Dan isn’t curious about news regarding me?”
“What answer do you want to hear?”
“Since you asked, I would prefer if you said you were curious.”
“I don’t think that’s something a person who already has a woman should say.”
“What should I do if Lady Dan is also in my heart?”
“You’re too greedy.”
“But I am serious about liking both you and that woman, Lady Dan.”
“Just because you are serious doesn’t mean it’s acceptable.”
“I know that very well. I don’t intend to force my true feelings on you. Rather, I just hope to convey them.”
“I understand your true feelings very well, Young Master Baek, so let’s stop here and go inside.”
Mu-Gun went inside without saying anything more when Seol-Young drew a clear line. Seol-Young guided Mu-Gun into Cheon Yu-Hwa’s room.
“Welcome.”
“Have you been well?”
“Yes, I have. Considering you came in person, you likely have something important to say.”
“Haha. Hearing that makes me feel like I only come whenever I need your help. I apologize.”
“Don’t be. I know very well that Young Master Baek is busy, so you don’t have to worry about that sort of thing. Anyway, what brings you here today?”
“I have a piece of information I would like to request the Heavenly Secret Hall to look into.”
“What is it?”
“Do you know the Four Peerless Wanderers?”
“We, the Heavenly Secret Hall, handle information regarding murim, so how could we not know them? Do you want to know information about them?”
“I want to know their current whereabouts.”
“The Four Peerless Wanderers have not shown themselves in murim for the past decade. Even the Heavenly Secret Hall will find it hard to find them.”
“I know. However, I came here anyway because the Heavenly Secret Hall is the only one I can ask about this.”
“Why are you looking for them anyway?”
“I will tell you the reason when you find them.”
“So we have to succeed in this task first before you tell us why you’re looking for them.”
“Will you do it?”
“It will take a lot of manpower and effort to find the Four Peerless Wanderers.”
“I will pay you accordingly for the trouble you’ll have to go through.”
The Baek Sword Sect paid the Heavenly Secret Hall 100,000 silver nyang annually in exchange for information. However, finding the Four Peerless Wanderers was not part of that deal since this had no relation to the Baek Sword Sect. This was a personal request from Mu-Gun. Furthermore, as Yu-Hwa said, it would require a lot of manpower and effort to find the Four Peerless Wanderers. Hence, it was only natural to pay an information fee.
Yu-Hwa pondered for a while, then quoted a request fee. “If you pay 2,000 silver nyang as a deposit, and another 2,000 nyang for each of the Four Peerless Wanderers we find as a completion fee, we will accept Young Master Baek’s request.”
The deposit had to be paid even if they couldn’t find the Four Peerless Wanderers. For a deposit, 2,000 silver nyang was quite expensive, and combining that with the completion fees made an exorbitant total price. That was how difficult Mu-Gun’s request was.
However, if the Baek Sword Sect could find and recruit the Four Peerless Wanderers, 10,000 silver nyang would be a bargain. To obtain such masters, Mu-Gun was willing to invest even 100,000 silver nyang. Moreover, it just so happened that he had 10,000 silver nyang to spare, which he had won as the sparring competition prize at the Zhejiang Martial Alliance’s regular meeting. Mu-Gun decided to use that money to find the Four Peerless Wanderers.
“Okay. I will pay 2,000 silver nyang as a deposit.”
Mu-Gun immediately took out two pieces of the credit notes he received at the Wind Saber Sect and gave them to the Heavenly Secret Hall as a deposit. Each credit note was worth 1,000 silver nyang.
“If I knew you would gladly pay this amount, I would have charged a higher fee.”
“Haha, would you like to increase the price now, then?”
“I can’t do that. I’ll simply charge higher next time.”
“I should be more prudent with my next request, then.”
“Hoho, this isn’t even a big deal, but I don’t know why I enjoy talking to Young Master Baek so much. Am I making a fool of myself?”
“No. I also enjoy talking to you, Hall Leader Cheon.”
“Even if it’s lip service, thank you.”
“I mean it. They're not empty words.”
“Can you visit me occasionally and keep me company in the future, then?”
“I would be happy to.”
“Thank you. On another note, I have an urgent favor to ask of you too, Young Master Baek. Can you do it for me?”
“What is it?”
“As the Thunder God’s successor, you likely know the origin of the Heavenly Secret Hall very well, don’t you?”
“That’s right. As far as I know, the previous Thunder God’s Successor, the Undern Sect’s Supreme Monarch, realized the limitations of the Undern Sect’s information power and created an intelligence syndicate that specialized in dealing with information regarding murim. That syndicate became the Heavenly Secret Hall.”
“You’re right. Do you also know about the Heavenly Martial Hall, which was created alongside the Heavenly Secret Hall?”
“Of course I do. Wasn’t it a combat organization created to protect the Undern Sect from the other forces of murim?”
“That’s correct. However, after the Undern Supreme Monarch passed away, the Heavenly Martial Hall lost its power and no traces could be found of them anymore today. I hope that Young Master Baek can revive the Heavenly Martial Hall.”
“You want me to bring back the Heavenly Martial Hall?”
“I’m asking you this favor because I believe it’s entirely possible if it’s you, the descendant of the Undern Supreme Monarch and the Thunder God’s successor.”
“May I ask why you want to revive the Heavenly Martial Hall?”
“It’s for the sake of protecting the Heavenly Secret Hall. As you know, the Heavenly Secret Hall was helpless when we faced off against the Great Sima Family’s martial prowess since we don’t have the power to protect ourselves. If it wasn’t for Young Master Baek, the Heavenly Secret Hall’s organization would have fallen to their hands... No, we would have fallen to the Nine Celestial Demons Sect. To prevent such an incident from happening again, the Heavenly Secret Hall has to possess the power to protect itself.”
“The Baek Sword Sect has already promised that we would protect the Heavenly Secret Hall.”
“For now, at the very least. However, nothing lasts forever in this world. How long will the Baek Sword Sect protect us? Moreover, with all due respect, the one I believe in is Young Master Baek, the Thunder God’s successor, not the Baek Sword Sect. It is uncertain whether the Baek Sword Sect will continue to respect and protect the Heavenly Secret Hall as they are doing right now even after our relationship with Young Master Baek ends. Of course, regardless of the Heavenly Martial Hall’s existence, the Heavenly Secret Hall will stand on Young Master Baek’s side until the end.”
Mu-Gun nodded, fully convinced upon hearing Yu-Hwa’s response. There was no eternal camaraderie in murim. Therefore, the way to survive in murim was to have the power to protect yourself.
“To revive the Heavenly Martial Hall, martial artists are needed first and foremost. Do you have any martial artists prepared?”
“There are some martial artists who have been trained as Heavenly Secret Guardians. Will it be fine if we start with them?”
“How many members do you have?”
“A little over a hundred people.”
“With that many people, we can lay the foundation.”
“Will you help rebuild the Heavenly Martial Hall, then?”
“I will, but I have a condition.”
“Tell me.”
“Please allow the Baek Sword Sect to use the Heavenly Martial Hall’s combat forces as a mercenary force. Of course, we’re willing to pay for their services.”
Mu-Gun’s ulterior motive was to supplement the Baek Sword Sect’s martial prowess, which was lacking in numbers, through the Heavenly Martial Hall.
“Is that your only condition?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm, understood. However, as the Heavenly Martial Hall has to put the safety of the Heavenly Secret Hall first, please promise that the Baek Sword Sect won’t use the Heavenly Martial Hall’s forces if the Heavenly Secret Hall’s safety is threatened.”
“I promise. If needed, I will write you a memorandum.”
“Speaking of which, let’s write an agreement on the matters regarding the Heavenly Martial Hall.”
“Let’s do that.”
Mu-Gun and Yu-Hwa drew up an agreement on the revival of the Heavenly Martial Hall and the mobilization of their combat forces. Afterward, Mu-Gun returned to the Baek Sword Sect.
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