Pretending to be from a prestigious family.
"Honestly, that kind of thing is pretty common."
The five great families, including the Namgung family, had numerous branches due to their immense influence, and they often used the family name to gain all sorts of benefits.
Among them, there were many fraudsters.
To put it bluntly, even the medicine peddlers in the marketplace often mentioned the nine sects and five great families to sell their wares.
"The Martial Alliance doesn’t go around investigating every single one of those cases."
The Martial Alliance wasn’t that idle of an organization, and they couldn’t investigate everything, nor was there a need to.
Such things were trivial.
But what if someone pretended to be from the Namgung family and taught demonic martial arts?
"Huh? Namgung Wook, the great hero? Why do you look so pale? You look like you need to visit the outhouse."
"You little brat..."
Namgung Wook gritted his teeth at my sarcasm.
He couldn’t hide his panic and was sweating profusely.
"Y-you’re going to report this to the Martial Alliance? What do you think will change by doing that...?" "It seems there’s some misunderstanding. I just wanted to brag. There’s a martial instructor in this village teaching the divine techniques of the Namgung family. The power is so great that it nearly killed someone. Saying it’s demonic martial arts was just a joke. A joke."
Everyone knew it wasn’t a joke—I knew it, Namgung Wook knew it, the goat-bearded man over there knew it, and even my father, Baek Muheun, standing beside me with a strange expression, knew it.
"The more prestigious the family, the more they despise being associated with demonic sects."
Honor and prestige.
The orthodox sects stake their lives on those two things.
Of course, behind the scenes, they’re all sorts of hypocrites, but at least on the surface, they act with righteousness and chivalry.
That’s why they absolutely cannot tolerate any insult to their sense of justice.
"Your joke is going too far!" "Oh, come on. You think the Martial Alliance will kill me, no, kill you, just because of a little joke?" "Huh...!" When I made a gesture of slitting my throat, Namgung Wook’s face turned pale.
For such a big guy, he’s surprisingly naive. [What on earth are you thinking?] It was then that my father’s voice transmission reached me.
I glanced sideways and saw him frowning at me. [Are you sure they’re teaching demonic martial arts? Are you confident enough to say that?] Since I couldn’t use voice transmission yet, I gave a slight nod. ‘I’ll handle this, so just stay quiet.’ I wasn’t sure if my message got through, but it seemed my father decided to watch the situation unfold for now.
I looked around at the spectators and spoke.
"Just to be clear, I’ll report this to the Martial Alliance and also to the Namgung family. Let’s congratulate the great hero Namgung Wook for opening a martial school here. And while we’re at it, let’s have the divine techniques Yang Sam learned verified too..."
"Shut your mouth!" Namgung Wook’s face turned red at my blatant sarcasm.
If looks could kill, he would have killed me dozens of times already.
I smirked.
"Why? Are you scared?" "You little brat, do you really want to die...!" He twitched as if he wanted to attack me right then and there, but the many eyes around him stopped him.
He brought this upon himself.
The crowd buzzed.
"What’s going on? Is Namgung Wook a fraud?" "Tsk, these martial artists and their sharp tongues. If they want to fight, just fight. If not, then stop talking."
"Exactly. I came here to watch a fight, not listen to chatter."
"Wait a bit longer. It looks like they’re about to throw down..."
The spectators, if they had any sense, could tell that things were taking a serious turn.
As public opinion turned against him, Namgung Wook’s expression changed like a dog that needed to relieve itself.
He glanced sideways without realizing it.
The place where Namgung Wook’s gaze landed was where the goat-bearded man was narrowing his brows. ‘So, he’s the real deal.’ It was strange from the start.
This bandit-looking guy didn’t seem like the type to think things through.
Sure enough, the goat-bearded man stepped forward.
"Young man."
I calmly met the goat-bearded man’s gaze.
He was smiling softly at me.
But I could feel the killing intent hidden behind that smile.
"Can you take responsibility for what you just said?" "Responsibility?" "You accused us of using the Namgung family’s name to teach demonic martial arts. Do you realize what could happen if you make such claims without evidence?" If this matter escalated and rumors spread, it wouldn’t end with just an investigation by the Martial Alliance.
The Namgung family’s warriors might come here themselves.
If Namgung Wook (the self-proclaimed one) really taught demonic martial arts, he would lose his head to the Namgung family’s sword.
But if he didn’t? "Do you know how dangerous what you’re doing is? The Namgung family won’t let you off just for spreading dirty rumors about them."
That’s right.
I might be the one facing backlash.
After all, I’m spreading baseless rumors about the Namgung family.
The goat-bearded man turned and bowed to my father.
"Master Baek. It seems emotions are running high today. To avoid any unnecessary trouble, let’s keep what was said here quiet and settle this another time, shall we?" In other words, the goat-bearded man was saying, ‘You think we’re teaching demonic martial arts? If you keep spouting nonsense without evidence, you’ll end up dead too.
So back off.’ Martial arts aren’t something you can easily categorize as orthodox or demonic just by looking at the traces.
Orthodox martial arts can have cruel techniques, and demonic martial arts can have rigid, orthodox-like techniques.
Unless you know the口诀 (secret口诀) and see the techniques firsthand, it’s almost impossible to distinguish the type of martial arts.
But ‘almost’ means someone can do it.
I chuckled.
"Do you think I’ll be scared by that?" "Young man..."
"You demonic sect scum, what kind of nonsense are you spouting?" Even though I was once from the Blood Sect, the pinnacle of demonic sects, let’s overlook the small stuff. "!!" At my words, the goat-bearded man’s expression hardened like stone.
I had no intention of backing down.
I was certain that the martial instructor was teaching demonic martial arts to his disciples.
How could I be sure without seeing the techniques? ‘Well, I was an instructor who taught demonic martial arts for over ten years.’ The subtle movements Namgung Wook and the goat-bearded man made without realizing it.
The tense postures of the disciples standing behind them.
To me, all of that was evidence.
"Which sect are you from? Looking at you, it seems like you disguised yourselves as local martial instructors to expand your influence."
This is a common tactic used by demonic sects.
"... Ha."
The goat-bearded man looked at me with a defeated expression.
Then, he suddenly burst into laughter.
"Haha... Puhahaha!" The intense killing intent made my skin itch.
His laughter, infused with internal energy, made my ears hurt.
The goat-bearded man’s aura and posture began to change.
Thud, thud! His hunched back straightened, and his scholar-like body transformed into a muscular one. ‘No wonder his posture looked unnatural.
He was using the Reverse Bone Technique.’ The now burly man glared at me as if he wanted to devour me.
He looked almost like a different person, but the goat beard remained.
I gauged his level. ‘He’s probably at the early stage of the first-rate.’ In a remote place like this, finding someone of his level is rarer than finding a wild ginseng.
Having no intention of hiding his identity any longer, the man exuded killing intent as he glared at me.
"You’re no ordinary brat. How did you figure out our identities?" "That’s a trade secret."
At my playful tone, his eyebrows twitched.
"You still don’t understand the situation, do you? Fine. Let’s see how long you can keep acting cocky." —Thud! He stomped his foot, leaving a large footprint on the stone training ground.
"Listen up! Anyone who takes even a single step from now on will die!" Thick killing intent filled the training ground.
Before anyone realized it, some of the disciples standing behind the goat-bearded man had moved to block the main gate of the martial school.
The spectators, sensing the unusual atmosphere, turned pale.
"P-please spare us!" "We didn’t see anything!" "We won’t say a word!" Some people, unable to withstand the killing intent, collapsed and begged for their lives.
Among them was Mr. Jang from the fabric shop, holding his son tightly.
The boy struggled in his father’s arms and shouted, "You bad guys! You’re all going to die by Master Baek’s hands!" "You brat! Be quiet!" The goat-bearded man glanced at them before turning back to me.
A vicious smile formed on his lips.
"Kid. Because of you, everyone here is going to die."
Killing to silence.
Those whose identities were exposed were determined to kill all witnesses.
"I’ll show you clearly what happens when a weakling acts tough."
The goat-bearded man smirked and strode toward me.