Chapter 45 :

# 45. <First-Rate Warrior Gathering People (4)>

In one corner of the Jegal Family.

There stood a small hall built in a special square shape.

The people of the family called the hall the “Scarlet-Gold Prison.”

There was already a Golden Prison beneath the family where the demon heads of the murim world were imprisoned, but this “Scarlet-Gold Prison” had been built for a special prisoner who had never existed before and would never exist again.

Inside a small space barely large enough for one person to live in, a red-faced boy was endlessly drawing pictures, blueprints, and formulas without distinguishing between walls and floor.

“Young Master.”

Then he froze at the sound coming from the ceiling.

“Yeongyeong. If you keep coming in here, the grand elder will scold you harshly.”

Yeongyeong.

A shadow-like being who followed only Jegal Cheongi.

Since he did not know when he would leave the Golden Prison, he had told her to return to her original post, but this loyal shadow continued to linger around Jegal Cheongi.

“There is someone who came to meet that grand elder.”

“The grand elder is always busy.”

“He came looking for you, Young Master.”

“For me? Why?”

Jegal Cheongi looked up at the empty ceiling.

“They say he came to request your dispatch.”

“Why me…?”

“He said he wants to install your mechanical formations in his sect.”

“What!”

Jegal Cheongi was startled.

While the family members and countless intellectuals of the murim world all spoke in unison about the uselessness of mechanical formations, someone had come saying he wanted to install his mechanical formations.

“Moreover, do you know who that person is?”

“Who? Is he someone special?”

“You know about the recent incident in Hunan, right?”

“I know.”

“They say he is Great Hero Black Flame Dragon, who distinguished himself there.”

“Great Hero Black Flame Dragon!”

Yeongyeong sometimes told him about what was happening in the outside world, and among the recent stories he had heard, the one Cheongi was most interested in was the story about Black Flame Dragon.

No matter how many times he heard the story of how he had performed inside the legendary Boundless Indestructible Soul-Extinguishing Formation, he never grew tired of it.

If he were not locked in the Golden Prison, he would have wanted to go meet him immediately.

Because he wanted to know exactly how that man had broken through the Boundless Indestructible Soul-Extinguishing Formation.

“Someone like that came to meet me?”

Jegal Cheongi instantly forgot the surroundings and people’s criticism that had made him depressed over the past several months.

He had so many things he wanted to ask him right away.

“…Ah, ah.”

Then he remembered the existence of the grand elder again.

“It will probably be difficult…”

“Yes? What are you talking about?”

“The grand elder is not an easy person.”

“…”

“Yeongyeong, if I cannot meet Great Hero Black Flame Dragon, could you deliver my letter to him?”

“Please do not say that. Young Master, I am sure he will come to meet you.”

#

“Hah!”

Jegal Jeong let out a sound that was impossible to tell whether it came from amusement or anger.

“I heard Hunan Province was noisy with rumors about Black Flame Dragon, so I wanted to meet him once, but as expected, he was a ruffian of lowly roots.”

Most of what Jegal Jeong said was irritating, but among it, the words “Black Flame Dragon” irritated me the most.

“Black Flame Dragon?”

Seeing my expression, Jegal Hyeonun raised his eyebrows and said,

“You did not know? That is the byname the murim world is calling you by.”

“…”

I could roughly guess the origin of the character “flame.”

And as for being given the excessive character “dragon,” which was usually attached only to someone outstanding among the young talents of famous sects, I could only feel humbled.

But “black”?

Was that not a character unsuitable for a young talent of the righteous murim?

Moreover, when the three characters were combined, the nuance was strangely bothersome.

‘Why?’

In any case, I decided to think about the byname later and continued speaking.

“Do you not like the proposal I offered?”

“Do you not know how much your proposal insults the Jegal Family?”

I tilted my head.

“You say this proposal insults the Jegal Family?”

“Do you think the Jegal Family does not catch the Iron-Armored Black Python because we lack strength? It is all because of proper order.”

“Is there anyone in the murim world who does not know that?”

“What?”

They could catch it well enough, but if they stepped forward for free, the value of their name would fall, so unless greater damage occurred or someone else pushed them forward, they could not step out.

“Actually, from that perspective, should you not be more ashamed of putting Jegal Cheongi in the Golden Prison?”

When experimenting with strange-gate formations, many accidents occur.

In severe cases, people suffer from illusions and hallucinations inside formations, develop mental illness, and live the rest of their lives with their reason lost.

The wrong that Jegal Cheongi committed was not a very serious problem within the Jegal Family.

The real problem was that Jegal Cheongi, one of the direct descendants, had tried to preach the usefulness of mechanical formations rather than strange-gate formations.

Jegal Cheongi could have left the Golden Prison long before.

There was only one condition: to give up mechanical formations and swear to devote himself to the development of strange-gate formations.

Because he refused to fulfill that condition, Jegal Cheongi spent eight years in the Golden Prison.

Because of that, he could not even take the Murim Academy’s regular examination, and after performing mandatory service in the Murim Alliance, he eventually came all the way to the Small Elite Squad.

“I truly cannot understand. You belittle mechanical formations, yet you apply an excessively high standard to someone who came seeking to use those mechanical formations. Is such an inescapable chaotic contradiction not something one would experience only inside a strange-gate formation?”

Jegal Jeong’s face turned bright red.

Just when I thought the entire matter might collapse,

“Grand Elder, I do not think this friend is wrong.”

“Family Head!”

The fact that the family head had to persuade the grand elder, and that the grand elder’s influence could sometimes be stronger, was a scene rarely seen in the murim world, but at the same time, it was also a unique form only the Jegal Family could have.

“To begin with, this young hero is right. If people learn that we are setting such a harsh standard for someone who is not an official spell master, would they not think our standards are based not on rationality but on personal stubbornness?”

Jegal Jeong seemed deeply displeased that Jegal Hyeonun was taking my side.

“That is because the Family Head sees Jegal Cheongi as his child!”

“…!”

In the end, he made a mistake.

Because the Jegal Family decided major and minor family affairs based on rational opinion, even the family head’s opinion could sometimes weaken.

But that did not mean one could go so far as to disregard the family head.

“That is true. He is certainly my child. Then let me ask in return. Why is the grand elder imposing such harsh punishment only on my child?”

“…Th-That is because he is a successor of the family head. If that child disregards strange-gate formations, then it means the Jegal Family disregards strange-gate formations.”

“Cheongi has never once disregarded strange-gate formations. He merely had great interest in mechanical formations.”

After saying that, Jegal Hyeonun crossed his arms and sealed his mouth shut.

Because of the mistake he had suddenly made, Jegal Jeong found himself in a difficult situation.

If he continued stubbornly insisting here, then it would truly become a matter of him disregarding the family head and imposing harsh punishment on his child.

“Oh, was that how it was?”

“Be quiet! This is not your place to interfere.”

The people of the Jegal Family, who did not let any issue pass if it lacked rationality, had no reason to look kindly upon Jegal Jeong.

In the current situation, if I opened my mouth and organized things, his dignity would not be damaged, and the situation could be neatly settled. But because I knew that, I deliberately said nothing and looked at Jegal Jeong.

Jegal Jeong glanced at the family head once, glared at me once, then looked at the ceiling for a moment before speaking with a cold smile at the corner of his mouth.

“Fine. I will accept your condition.”

One of Jegal Hyeonun’s eyebrows rose.

His crossed arms slowly began to loosen.

“At least you possess the minimum rationality.”

“…However, there is a condition.”

Instead of answering, I nodded.

“To pass the Jegal Family’s standard means being acknowledged as a prestigious sect in the murim world. Therefore, you can be considered the representative of the Taeul Sect. Through you, we must see the level of your sect.”

“That is right.”

“Therefore, you must catch the Iron-Armored Black Python alone, without help from warriors or hunters.”

“Grand Elder!”

Jegal Hyeonun and I were both startled.

“Family Head. Even this is a major concession from me.”

“Even so, how can he catch the Iron-Armored Black Python alone?”

“That is for that child to choose. What do you say? Will you do it?”

As expected, he was a cunning old man.

In this Jegal Family overflowing with outstanding talents, taking the position of master of the Craftsman Hall despite being from a collateral line had not happened by luck alone.

I searched through the library in my mind for a moment.

And perhaps because the time I spent thinking looked like hesitation to Jegal Jeong, a cold smile formed at the corner of his mouth.

Then, after checking a book about demonic creatures and spirit beasts in the library in my mind, I obediently answered.

“Understood.”

“…You will do it?”

Perhaps my answer made him a little uneasy, because he quickly continued speaking.

“The sword and the items worn on your arm look unusual. You may not receive help from such artifacts either. I will lend you an ordinary iron sword.”

“Huh…”

At the sight of Jegal Jeong, who had now become like a child throwing a tantrum without any rationality left, Jegal Hyeonun let out a hollow laugh.

“Understood. Are there any other restrictions?”

“You must not set the mountain on fire or cause harm to the surrounding villages either.”

“Anything else?”

I was beginning to wonder just how far this old man could degrade himself.

“…Items like Thunderbolt Bombs are not allowed either.”

“Can I even obtain those? Please continue.”

“…”

“Is there nothing else?”

“…”

As I removed my scabbard and the Flying Dragon Claw, I spoke to Jegal Jeong, who was still spreading anger as if something made him uneasy.

“Elder, do you know the term ‘ugliness in old age’?”

“…You bastard!”

“When I first heard the evaluation regarding the standard, I was pleased, thinking a good opportunity had arisen to raise the Taeul Sect’s name.”

I looked back and forth between Jegal Jeong and Jegal Hyeonun.

“But now, I find myself wondering whether passing that standard and receiving the Jegal Family’s recognition truly holds much meaning.”

#

Even after Jegal Jeong stormed out of the room, Jegal Hyeonun remained silent for a long while.

“I am sorry for showing you such an unsightly scene.”

A sigh naturally escaped Jegal Hyeonun.

It was hard to imagine a greater disgrace than this.

Unlike the heads of other families, Jegal Hyeonun had ascended to the position of family head several decades early.

That was because his father, Jegal Somyeong, had taken the post of chief strategist of the Murim Alliance.

It would have been good if that father had at least cleaned up matters within the family, but what his father had actually said was:

“If you lack the ability, give it to someone else.”

It could be called heartless, but that too was the custom of the Jegal Family, and it was also the foundation that had allowed the Jegal Family to enjoy fame for hundreds of years.

“It is fine.”

The young man before him.

When Jin Soun defended Jegal Cheongi, Jegal Hyeonun had been so grateful that he had wanted to leap from his seat and embrace him.

It also felt new that this young man, an outsider, acknowledged Cheongi when no one in the Jegal Family did.

‘Cheongi might gain a good older brother.’

After all, he had always been especially isolated even among his siblings.

But that was as far as it went.

He had to stop what the young man was trying to do.

Catching the Iron-Armored Black Python was difficult enough, but catching it while enduring all those restrictions was, from his perspective, no different from suicide.

“I will speak to the grand elder. So please return.”

“I need Young Hero Jegal Cheongi.”

“Thank you for saying that. Cheongi would probably be very grateful if he heard those words as well. However, catching the Iron-Armored Black Python alone is absurd. Moreover, without using any artifacts? A sword circulating in the market would not even pierce its skin. The grand elder is playing a nasty trick to force you into surrendering.”

Jegal Hyeonun stared intently at Jin Soun.

He himself had heard until his ears hurt about the achievements Jin Soun had displayed at Mareung Plateau.

He had lamented that the Jegal Family could not step forward, and on the other hand, he had admired the rumors of Jin Soun’s feats.

He wanted to ask how he had passed through the formation and research it together, but as the family head, he could not do such a thing.

Because he felt that much goodwill toward him, he did not want a promising young man to abandon his life out of stubbornness.

“Once the grand elder sets his mind on something, he bites down on it until the end. He will probably attach an observer to you as well, so that you cannot do anything else.”

“That is all within my expectations.”

As they spoke, Jegal Hyeonun felt a strange sense of discomfort.

“…Are you not afraid?”

“I am afraid.”

The young man named Jin Soun did not show even the slightest tension, as if he knew how the ending would turn out.

‘Come to think of it.’

Jegal Jeong was one of the most renowned figures under heaven.

Yet this young man, who was not even of age yet, had pointed out contradictions before such a Jegal Jeong and even criticized him as showing ugliness in old age.

“You do not look that way at all.”

“I am afraid, but I have several ways to catch the Iron-Armored Black Python.”

“…Several ways?”

“I am thinking of catching it using the method that will annoy the grand elder the most.”

Then Jin Soun showed his teeth in a bright grin.

Jegal Hyeonun wondered where he had seen that familiar smile before, and then realized that children wore such smiles when they were about to play a prank.

‘He is thinking of playing a prank in this situation?’

Jegal Hyeonun had never once thought himself lacking, but at this moment, he could not even guess what Jin Soun was thinking.