Kwaaaaang!
The tree exploded as if it had been hit by a shotgun blast.
It wasn’t just broken—it had been shattered from within, releasing a shockwave.
This meant I had perfectly mastered the art of internal energy, capable of pushing it into an enemy’s body.
It was proof of being a peak expert.
‘It’s possible.
At this level, it’s possible.’
I could feel my internal energy flowing freely through the meridians that had been opened up to the upper dantian, as if it were racing down a highway.
In other words, I was no longer bound by form.
“Good. Next, I should go and repay that person’s kindness.”
His Majesty, the Demon King.
The one who had said he owed a debt to Jin Cheon-hee.
There was just one problem: I couldn’t go to meet him naked.
The thought of going to buy clothes while bare was horrifying.
Jin Cheon-hee ran using qinggong, not to the village near the White Scale Medical Hall, but to a village further away.
It wasn’t hard to distinguish which villages were connected to the White Scale Medical Hall and which were connected to other medical halls.
After all, he was the branch master of the White Scale Medical Hall, so it was possible for him.
When he entered the village naked, the gatekeeper blocked him with a spear.
The gatekeeper looked Jin Cheon-hee up and down, then clicked his tongue.
“Did you get robbed by bandits or something?”
Jin Cheon-hee took out a fake identification tag he had made at the Beggar’s Sect and handed it to the gatekeeper.
“Heavenly Dog (天犬)?”
The character for “dog.” Combined with the surname, it meant “Heavenly Dog.”
‘Sister Seolgae, you’ve gone too far with this joke.’
The fewer strokes a character had, the easier it was to forge, so they had reduced the strokes until it ended up like this.
“Go on in. You’re a handsome fellow, after all… tsk tsk tsk.”
As Sister Seolgae, the leader of the Beggar’s Sect, had said, he was able to enter without much suspicion.
Jin Cheon-hee blushed and headed straight for the cloth shop.
“Oh my!”
“Goodness!”
The sight of a handsome young man naked became quite the spectacle.
He wanted to bite his tongue and die.
But he couldn’t die.
‘I’ll die after I catch the Ten Thousand Year Flower.’
Jin Cheon-hee resolved to commit suicide as he entered the cloth shop.
“Please give me some clothes.”
“Tsk tsk tsk, these mountain bandits are really ruthless these days. They even took your underwear. Where did you get the money to buy clothes?”
Fortunately, they didn’t think he was crazy but rather pitied him as a victim of bandits.
It meant the bandits in this area were notoriously vicious, but for Jin Cheon-hee at that moment, it was just a relief.
He took out money, paid for the clothes, and changed into them.
“Thank you.”
“Well, at least your face is still intact, so that’s a relief. It’s better to lose your underwear than to get beaten and end up bedridden, right?”
They even comforted him.
“……Thank you.”
And so, Jin Cheon-hee got his clothes.
The blue robe gave him a clean and elegant appearance, with a touch of nobility.
The shop clerks blushed just looking at him.
Finally, he took out a coral ornament from the North Sea, a gift he had received from the Dragon Transport Bureau in the past, and placed it in his hair.
“I wouldn’t have recognized you. Hahaha.”
“I’m just grateful for the fine clothes you’ve provided.”
“No, no. You remind me of my son who left for work last year. Besides, I got paid for the clothes, so it’s all good. The clothes have found their rightful owner.”
The shopkeeper’s words prompted the clerks to chime in.
“Young master, you’re really handsome.”
“Of all the customers I’ve seen in my life, you’re the most dashing.”
Jin Cheon-hee smiled softly, his eyelids lowering slightly.
‘The people in this village are really kind.’
His already striking appearance, now enhanced by his transformation, shone brightly.
His beauty was so overwhelming that everyone fell silent, momentarily losing their composure.
Meanwhile, Jin Cheon-hee thought to himself.
Even though I was naked, they didn’t kick me out but instead showed sympathy.
What a good place.
Jin Cheon-hee bowed deeply and left the shop.
He didn’t forget to memorize the name of the cloth shop that had provided him with such fine garments.
Now properly dressed, Jin Cheon-hee headed straight for the Beggar’s Sect.
“What business does such a noble young master have in this beggar’s den?”
A beggar with three knots on his waist—a San-Geolgae—came to greet Jin Cheon-hee.
‘I thought he’d just swing his staff and yell at me, but he’s asking questions first.’
Instead of answering, Jin Cheon-hee took out a token.
Heavenly Dog (天犬).
A fake identification tag.
“Why do you have this…?”
“I need to send a letter to His Majesty, the Demon King.”
“Do you think we’re some kind of courier service? And what’s with this tag…?”
The San-Geolgae stared at the tag for a long time, then seemed to notice something suspicious and froze.
“Wait, just a moment…”
He took the tag into the hut.
Inside, there was the sound of shouting.
“Could it be that the Sect Leader…!”
Soon, the San-Geolgae, with bloodshot eyes, came out of the hut.
Then he asked:
“Please give me the letter. This beggar will deliver it by any means necessary.”
He didn’t ask what it was for or who Jin Cheon-hee was.
He had simply realized what this forged tag meant.
Jin Cheon-hee thought to himself.
‘The discipline of the Beggar’s Sect is stronger than I thought.’
The previous Sect Leader had once smacked Seolgae on the back of the head and said, “You’re still far from being able to lead the Beggar’s Sect.”
Now, Jin Cheon-hee understood what he meant.
He handed over the letter he had prepared.
The San-Geolgae bowed deeply.
“It will arrive within two days. In the meantime, please rest in a good place. I’ll guide you.”
Jin Cheon-hee spent his time in the guesthouse prepared by the Beggar’s Sect.
It was the largest and cleanest room.
With nothing else to do, he treated a few sick beggars, and the hospitality improved even more.
‘In this world, doctors are rare.’
As he spent his time like this, someone came to the guesthouse looking for Jin Cheon-hee.
When he went downstairs, he saw a tall man standing there.
Though dressed in plain clothes, his upright posture and confident gait made it clear he was a martial artist.
“Is the Heavenly Dog young master here?”
“That’s me.”
The man glanced around, then handed over a wrapped bundle.
“I was instructed to deliver this secretly. Be careful with it.”
This process was anything but secret.
Jin Cheon-hee realized this man was definitely not a martial artist who had survived the Sword Forest of Doom.
No one who wasn’t a government official could be so oblivious to the ways of the world.
The only saving grace was that this was a guesthouse under the Beggar’s Sect.
Jin Cheon-hee silently bowed.
‘Is it unfortunate or fortunate that my master is bedridden?’
He thought that if he kept this up for a few more days, he’d definitely get caught.
He could only pray that Yuho would keep his master’s eyes and ears well covered.
When he returned to his room and opened the bundle, he found a horse token inside.
It was a token that allowed him to use the relay stations.
It meant he could freely borrow horses.
There was also a short letter inside.
On red silk, bold black characters raced across the page:
-Go ahead and play to your heart’s content.
Just one short line.
Jin Cheon-hee let out a small sigh.
“I’m grateful, but it’s a bit scary.”
The weight of the horse token felt like a thousand pounds.
In the martial world, it’s said that the Beggar’s Sect has over a hundred thousand members.
Jin Cheon-hee had once read a passage in the Heavenly Demon’s Chronicles that directly mentioned the number of Beggar’s Sect members:
-You call yourself a Heavenly Demon? Everyone will know you killed the Sect Leader.
Two hundred thousand Beggar’s Sect members will be watching you!
Of course, that future had been averted.
Jin Cheon-hee had saved the Sect Leader.
In any case, according to that passage, the number of Beggar’s Sect members in the central plains of the Hua Empire was not a hundred thousand but closer to two hundred thousand.
In the martial world, there’s no other organization with such numbers.
The Beggar’s Sect is the largest sect in the world.
However, the Beggar’s Sect doesn’t dominate the world.
Even though there are nearly two hundred thousand beggars in the sect, the number of those who can actually be active in the martial world is less than twenty thousand.
Martial arts require rigorous training, and very few beggars can endure that and learn it.
After all, those with the bone structure and spirit to learn martial arts usually find other paths rather than becoming beggars.
Twenty thousand is already a generous estimate.
As a result, more beggars join the sect after falling into hardship rather than choosing to become beggars from the start.
In ordinary sects, children are trained in martial arts from a young age and are also educated in the sect’s identity, binding them to the sect.
But the Beggar’s Sect accepts the elderly and middle-aged alike.
This makes it chaotic and less unified than one might expect.
Even so, with nearly two hundred thousand members, no one wants to make an enemy of the Beggar’s Sect, regardless of their political stance.
The favor of saving the Sect Leader of such a sect was no small matter.
Thus, the moment Jin Cheon-hee asked for help from the Beggar’s Sect, an important order was issued:
Protect Jin Cheon-hee absolutely and fulfill all his requests.
There was a reason for this order.
The Beggar’s Sect had learned through government officials that information about Jin Cheon-hee was spreading.
It wasn’t that anyone had been bribed or anything like that.
From the perspective of the officials, they had no way of knowing what kind of impact this would have on the martial world.
And there were those who were most sensitive to Jin Cheon-hee’s movements…
“What? That guy suddenly appeared? When did he leave the medical hall?”
“Calm down.”
“But the White Scale Medical Hall was holding onto him so tightly. How did he manage to break free?”
“Hahaha, that’s just how disciples are. They don’t grow up obediently.”
As he spoke, the former Sect Leader, Il-Geol, looked at his disciple and current Sect Leader, Seolgae.
“Old man, don’t you know that constantly comparing people makes them resentful?”
When Seolgae grumbled, Il-Geol stroked his chin.
“Why, are you worried about that kid?”
“Jin Cheon-hee himself might not know it, but he’s already at the eye of the storm. With the Hao Sect’s grudges still unresolved…”
Jin Cheon-hee had left two things behind.
First, he had treated the Hao Sect Leader.
He had completely cured the Hao Sect Leader of syphilis, a feat thought to be impossible, without any aftereffects.
Second, he had exposed the Hao Sect’s use of gu and created a blood feud in the Fentian Valley.
The Demon King’s anger was not easily quelled, and in the process, the Hao Sect suffered heavy losses.
Many Fentian Valley lords and disciples had died in the process.
“Hahaha, that’s how it is. The mad dog is angry because he stepped in his own mess.”
“But you know better than anyone, old man. The ways of the demonic sects…”
“Yes. It’s something that can’t be judged by common sense.”
“…….”
Seolgae fell into thought.
It was Il-Geol who spoke first.
“That kid has even gotten permission to use the relay stations from the Demon King. He’ll be moving around a lot. Without knowing his destination, it’ll be hard to chase him. That goes for us and the Hao Sect.”
What will the outcome be?