The old man was slowly descending through empty air as though an invisible staircase lay beneath his feet.
He passed over the heads of his four guards, who watched him with awed admiration, and approached Jeok Wigang’s group.
Jeok Wigang and the others, however, looked thoroughly unimpressed.
“He’s actually showing off because he can Void-Step.”
“Looks like all he can do is walk down slowly.”
“Guess everyone used to drop to their knees the moment he showed them that.”
Their utter lack of reaction left the old man more bewildered than anything.
What is this? They see me walking through empty air and don’t even react? Are these ignorant fools so uncultured they don’t know what Void-Stepping is?
It was exactly as Jin Muryang, Ye Yahyeon, and Baek Ryeongso had guessed.
Until now, merely displaying this much had been enough to terrify people into prostrating themselves and trembling.
Watching that happen had always been rather satisfying.
Yet these men gave him none of that pleasure.
Even if they did not know the technique, how could not one of them marvel at the sight of a man walking where there was nothing beneath his feet?
His mood soured.
He had heard that Cheon Hyanghwa was fond of one of these men, so he had intended to give them a mild scare and send them on their way.
Now he found them insolent.
CLACK—
The moment the old man °• N o v e l i g h t •° reached the ground, the four guards closed ranks behind him.
With his hands clasped behind his back, he stopped before Baek Ryeongso.
His gaze passed slowly over not only Baek Ryeongso, but everyone around him.
None of them looked particularly remarkable.
Their martial arts seemed mediocre as well.
Birds of a feather truly did flock together. Every last one of them had an unpleasant face.
Except for the one young man.
According to the reports, the others traveled while serving that young man.
“I hear you are their master. Where do you come from?”
The old man was looking directly at Jeok Wigang.
Jeok Wigang gave a faint chuckle.
“I heard the Thousand Flowers Sect is an intelligence organization expanding its influence with the goal of becoming the greatest in the Central Plains. Isn’t it a little embarrassing that you couldn’t even uncover my identity?”
Baek Ryeongso flinched in shock.
The Thousand Flowers Sect?
Where in the world had Jeok Wigang obtained that information?
Baek Ryeongso had already suspected that the Drunken Blossom House was no ordinary pleasure house.
He had likewise suspected that Cheon Hyanghwa was no ordinary woman.
But identifying the organization behind them was another matter entirely.
The instant Jeok Wigang finished speaking, all four guards tensed, ready to draw their weapons at a moment’s notice.
The old man’s expression turned icy.
“So you did approach Hwa deliberately, with ulterior motives.”
WHOOOOM—
A tremendous surge of energy erupted from him, whipping his robes around his body.
“Who are you people? If you know who we are, you must make your living from information.... Judging by your faces, you hardly look like Beggars’ Union men.... Are you from the Lower Gate?”
“We’re from the True Martial Merchant Company. We heard there was a man here who made extraordinary clothing, so we came to recruit him. We succeeded, signed an agreement, and now we travel together.”
“The True Martial Merchant Company? The one belonging to the True Martial Sect in Hunan?”
“Yes.”
“Then you should have kept your mouth shut and gone quietly. Why reveal that you know who I am? Surely you are not acting this way because you trust in the True Martial Sect.... Are you relying on Heavenly Martial Castle?”
“No. I’m relying on myself.”
“How did you learn that we are the Thousand Flowers Sect?”
“Through the Lower Gate.”
The old man ground his teeth at the name.
“So it was those bastards after all.”
That settled one thing.
The Lower Gate had already uncovered their identity.
As expected, they were formidable.
Meanwhile, the Thousand Flowers Sect possessed only extremely limited information about the Lower Gate.
The sense that he had somehow lost was souring the old man’s mood further when Jeok Wigang continued.
“The Thousand Flowers Sect. Your main sect is near Mount Hocheon. Its Gate Master is Yi Hwabaek, known as the Heavenly Flower White Sword. Roughly three hundred disciples reside at the main sect, and if you include those stationed at pleasure houses throughout the Central Plains, you have around three thousand. You have three disciples under you. Cheon Hyanghwa is the youngest, as well as your adopted daughter. And the reason you were particularly fond of your youngest disciple and eventually adopted her... was because she resembles your late wife. Correct?”
The old man—Heavenly Flower White Sword Yi Hwabaek—stood frozen.
“You inherited the Thousand Flowers Sect from your wife after her death, and ever since then, you’ve worked to fulfill her dream of making it the greatest intelligence organization in the Central Plains.”
Yi Hwabaek stared at Jeok Wigang.
“H-how could you possibly know even that...?”
He had believed they were close to overtaking the Lower Gate.
Now he realized how deluded he had been.
The Lower Gate was an enormous mountain far beyond his reach.
“Have the Lower Gate and the True Martial Sect joined forces?”
Jeok Wigang shook his head.
“No. They didn’t join forces. The Lower Gate came under the True Martial Sect. Impressive piece of intelligence, isn’t it?”
Yi Hwabaek’s face twisted.
He thought Jeok Wigang was mocking him for having his entire organization exposed.
What kind of organization was the Lower Gate?
It was the very target the Thousand Flowers Sect aspired to surpass.
Its public reputation might have been miserable, but even the Beggars’ Union had to concede its superiority when it came to intelligence. And a poor reputation did not mean its actual strength was weak.
Anyone capable of surviving in the brutal martial world, building a name, and making a living through information necessarily possessed considerable foundations.
And the proof was right before him.
The Thousand Flowers Sect had believed its existence thoroughly concealed, yet the Lower Gate knew virtually everything about it.
And now what?
That incredible organization had supposedly placed itself beneath the True Martial Sect?
Even the Heavenly Martial Emperor had failed to bring the Lower Gate under his command, yet some mere True Martial Sect had managed it?
The True Martial Sect was only a sect beginning to make a name for itself in Hunan.
Yi Hwabaek remembered it for precisely one reason.
Its Gate Master was the youngest son of the Lord of Heavenly Martial Castle.
Other than that, there was nothing remarkable about it.
So when this young man claimed such a sect had brought the Lower Gate beneath it, Yi Hwabaek could only assume he was being mocked.
“Are you making sport of me? Do you have a death wish?”
KWAAAAAA—
Killing intent rolled off the old man, as though he might strike Jeok Wigang’s head from his shoulders at any moment.
“I’m only telling you the truth. Why are you getting so worked up?”
“You continue to insult me to my face! Men! Bind these bastards at once and force them to kneel before me!”
At his command, the guards sprang into motion.
At that instant—
WHOOOOM—
A breeze seemed to brush past.
Then—
WHOOOOOM—
A violent blast of wind struck from behind.
“Hngh!”
Yi Hwabaek hastily raised an arm to shield himself.
When the wind finally subsided, he turned around to see what had happened.
His eyes went wide.
A portion of the mountain behind him was simply gone.
What... happened?
What happened just now?
With trembling eyes, he slowly turned back.
Jeok Wigang stood with one fist extended.
No.
Surely he didn’t blow away part of a mountain with a punch?
While Yi Hwabaek stared in horror, Jeok Wigang spoke.
“Feeling calmer now?”
“I showed you my strength. So? Do you believe me now when I say the Lower Gate is under me?”
Yi Hwabaek’s head turned back toward the mountain.
The sight remained every bit as unbelievable the second time.
Could he produce that kind of power if he went all out?
His head shook before he even realized it.
Impossible.
That single strike alone could erase an entire sect.
He looked back at Jeok Wigang.
Had that been his full strength?
No.
There was not the slightest sign of exertion.
If anything, it had looked as though Jeok Wigang had merely thrown a casual punch.
There was only one word Yi Hwabaek could think of.
Monster...
He glanced around and saw one of his guards sitting on the ground, too shocked to remain standing.
He understood.
His own legs were trembling.
“I’ve introduced myself properly now. Are you willing to talk? Or would you like another demonstration?”
“N-no.... We can... talk.”
Jeok Wigang smiled pleasantly.
“Good. You’re going to become my younger brother’s father-in-law, after all. I’d rather not treat you too roughly.”
Yi Hwabaek had not agreed to anything yet.
But somehow, he could not bring himself to say so.
More importantly—
Younger brother?
Only then did Yi Hwabaek sense something strange and look up questioningly.
“Ah. There’s a story behind that. They saw my strength and decided to acknowledge me as their Elder Brother.”
“Ah.... I see.”
That made sense.
They might call him Elder Brother, but in practice, it was little different from serving him as their lord.
Wait.
If he called Baek Ryeongso his younger brother...
“Then you already knew that man before coming here.”
“That’s right.”
Yi Hwabaek had wondered how the man who had refused every merchant company that courted him had suddenly agreed to a contract.
Now the mystery was solved.
He looked back at the mountain once more.
The enormous hole through it confirmed that what he had seen was no illusion.
The difference in strength was so overwhelming that the thought of resisting never even arose.
Now he understood perfectly why the Lower Gate had submitted to this man.
Had they refused, the Lower Gate itself would probably have vanished into history.
Then something occurred to him.
Yi Hwabaek turned back to Jeok Wigang.
“I would like to know your name.”
Jeok Wigang grinned.
“I’m Jeok Wigang, eldest son of the True Martial Sect.”
Jeok Wigang.
Yi Hwabaek knew information about him.
Hadn’t he been born with a body incapable of learning martial arts?
And hadn’t he gone to take the imperial examination in hopes of gaining fame and status that way?
Yi Hwabaek looked at the mountain again.
That was the strength of a man who could not learn martial arts?
He had been deceived.
Making a living from intelligence was hard.
Yi Hwabaek asked, “What did you wish to discuss?”
Jeok Wigang glanced at Baek Ryeongso.
“Obviously, the marriage between my younger brother and Cheon Hyanghwa.”
Baek Ryeongso nearly jumped out of his skin.
“W-what are you talking about?”
“Why? You’re not planning to marry her? Are you only seeing her casually?”
“N-no! Absolutely not! My feelings are not casual!”
“Then marry her. How old are you? Why drag this out?”
“W-well, that’s...”
“Stop making excuses and marry her while you still can.”
“Yes....”
Baek Ryeongso was secretly delighted.
Jeok Wigang was pushing the marriage forward this openly. What was there not to like?
Jeok Wigang turned to Yi Hwabaek.
“What do you think? He seems like the perfect son-in-law.”
“W-well...”
“And he isn’t merely good at making clothes. He’s in the Divine Transformation Realm—”
“What?!”
Yi Hwabaek recoiled.
The Divine Transformation Realm?
Did he think the Divine Transformation Realm was some stray dog anyone could find on the street?
Across the entire history of the martial world, the number of people to reach that realm could be counted on one hand.
As far as Yi Hwabaek knew, the Heavenly Martial Emperor was currently the only person in the martial world to have reached the Divine Transformation Realm.
And now he was being told that a textile-shop owner had as well?
That was even harder to believe.
If someone at that level wanted to run a textile shop, shouldn’t the shop itself be the size of an entire city?
“He’s also a master of formations. Take him as your son-in-law, and the Thousand Flowers Sect will become an impregnable fortress no one can breach.”
Baek Ryeongso corrected him.
“Not no one. You would have to exclude Elder Brother. You destroy the formation itself.”
He destroys the formation itself?
What was that supposed to mean now?
Jeok Wigang shrugged.
“Obviously I don’t count. We’ll be family. Why would I ever attack the Thousand Flowers Sect?”
“True.”
Yi Hwabaek suddenly came fully alert.
An unbelievable monster who seemed like a heavenly god descended to earth would become part of his family?
This marriage absolutely had to happen.
“I-I agree.”
“What?”
“The marriage! I-I’ll have them married immediately!”
“Oh! So you give your permission?”
“Yes!”
Jeok Wigang turned to Baek Ryeongso.
“What are you standing there for? Hurry up and pay your respects to your father-in-law.”
At once, Baek Ryeongso flattened himself against the ground in a deep bow.
Aside from Jeok Wigang, Baek Ryeongso had never knelt or bowed before anyone in his life.
But today, his knees felt lighter than air.

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