Chapter 49

"We need to come up with a plan."

Im Mu-yeol was taking the situation seriously.

"Look at this."

Im Mu-yeol presented a sword.

"This is a sword delivered by Three Harmony Ironworks this time."

Jeong I-chu, who had been carefully examining the sword, frowned.

"It's the lowest quality."

"Yes. More than seventy percent of the swords that came in are unusable."

"Is that true?"

Jeong I-chu was taken aback. It was possible for a few inferior products to be mixed in, but more than seventy percent?

"Did Three Harmony Ironworks do this intentionally?"

"Palm Heart Clan must have put pressure on them. One way or another, the Azure Gate kids are getting restless."

Jeong I-chu's heart was heavy. He had lived a smooth life after taking over the Righteous Sword Sect. There hadn't been any particularly memorable big fights.

After the Spring Breeze Inn incident, Jeong I-chu was prepared for a showdown with Palm Heart Clan. If they came out that blatantly...

If he couldn't avoid it, he would have to fight. It was something he didn't want to do, but he had no choice.

As was the way of the Martial World, it would always be lenient to the victor.

Even if he died unfairly, he wouldn't be able to complain.

Perhaps sensing his weak heart, Im Mu-yeol expressed confidence.

"If we prepare ourselves with determination, we won't be easily defeated by those guys."

He felt that just not being easily defeated wasn't enough. Even if they were defeated with difficulty, being defeated was still being defeated.

Im Mu-yeol opened his mouth a little more cautiously.

"I believe we need external assistance."

He was being careful because he thought it might touch Jeong I-chu's pride.

Jeong I-chu was silently staring at the table.

"Then I'll take my leave now."

After a light bow, Im Mu-yeol left the room.

Walking down the hallway, Im Mu-yeol let out a light sigh. To be honest, he hadn't liked Jeong I-chu when he was younger. First of all, he didn't match his personality. He, who wanted to live life to the fullest, and Jeong I-chu, who was cautious to the point of being timid, were different from the start.

But as time went on, he came to understand him. The biggest reason was that he realized that living like a crazy colt was futile in the end when it came to Martial World Affairs.

Now, Jeong I-chu's self-cultivation didn't seem like a cowardly act, at least. The reason he hadn't left the Righteous Sword Sect and had stayed there his whole life was because of that change of heart. They had been lucky so far, but now things were definitely different.

Could Jeong I-chu withstand this pressure?

At the end of the hallway, Hwa Ryeon greeted him.

She sometimes looked pathetic as she struggled to protect the Sword Clan in every way. She was definitely smart, but that alone wasn't enough. In the end, everything in a small to medium-sized Sect was decided by the logic of martial prowess. A great strategist only shines when they have the power to support their mind.

Hwa Ryeon entered Jeong I-chu's room.

"Mu-yeol was here."

Jeong I-chu told her about the Three Harmony Ironworks incident. Hwa Ryeon asked with a serious expression.

"So, what did Uncle Im say?"

"He suggested we find someone to help us from the outside."

It was an issue that needed to be handled carefully.

Hwa Ryeon spoke with a serious face.

"Palm Heart Clan's movements are unusual right now."

"What?"

"They're even summoning external Martial Artists all at once."

"Are they targeting us?"

Jeong I-chu asked in surprise.

"I don't think so. They wouldn't do something like that with the Dragon Phoenix Gathering and the Heavenly Dragon Battle coming up."

Hwa Ryeon and Jeong I-chu couldn't know the exact situation of Palm Heart Clan. Palm Heart Clan, which had been robbed by Ancient Sword Merchant and even the ironworks, was now on full alert.

"But they're going to move in even more underhanded and cowardly ways. We can see that clearly enough from recent events. They might come at us in full force after the tournament is over."

Jeong I-chu closed his eyes tightly again.

The situation was getting worse day by day.

Hwa Ryeon said carefully.

"As Uncle Im said, now that things have come to this, I think it's right to ask for help from a new place."

"Is there really such a place?"

"Realistically, there's only one place."

Jeong I-chu thought of one place, and Hwa Ryeon's thoughts were the same.

"Father, you should meet the Dragon Tiger Gate Lord in person."

"Dragon Tiger Gate..."

"There are rumors that Dragon Tiger Gate is also having difficulties these days due to Palm Heart Clan's pressure. They won't refuse our offer to form an alliance."

Jeong I-chu agreed with that opinion.

"Won't they demand something?"

"If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold. They must know that they're next in line."

"I understand. I'll do as you say."

The two discussed some details.

As Hwa Ryeon was about to leave the room after the discussion, she suddenly remembered something and asked.

"By the way, what are you going to do about Young Master Jeok? Hyang Yi says that the two of them have already applied for the Dragon Phoenix Gathering."

"You know Charyeon's stubbornness, don't you?"

"So you're just going to leave it as it is?"

Of course, that wasn't the case. If Jeok Leegeon went to the Dragon Phoenix Gathering like this and suffered humiliation, it would greatly hinder Charyeon's marriage prospects in the future. It was something he had to stop somehow.

"I need to come up with something."

Hwa Ryeon sighed.

"Something's going to happen."

"What do you mean, something?"

"They're still young. There's no guarantee they won't fall for each other."

"Hahahaha! Who? Charyeon? With Young Master Jeok?"

After laughing heartily, Jeong I-chu said seriously.

"Is your sister a fool?"

"You're a fool, aren't you?"

Jeok Leegeon said, looking at the weapon Jeong Charyeon had chosen at the armory.

"You want to buy that for thirty nyang?"

What she had chosen was a throwing knife hanging on the wall. Six throwing knives were lined up in a luxurious leather case. She thought it would look cool to wear it on her arm.

"I'm not saying I'm going to buy it. As you know, I don't have any money."

Because she lost the bet.

After emphasizing that Charyeon had no money, she looked at the throwing knife again.

"I've wanted something like that for a while."

Due to the Heavenly Dragon Battle and the Dragon Phoenix Gathering, many merchants had entered Infinite, and the most numerous among them were the merchants selling weapons. The place where the two had entered was not originally an armory. They had temporarily rented a store to set up an armory.

The two were on their way home from the inn when they were drawn in by the owner's solicitation to take a look.

"So you're saying you'd buy it if you had money?"

"The important thing is that I don't have money now."

The owner slyly joined their conversation.

"You have a great eye. It's a really good item."

The store owner, with an impressive mustache, gave Charyeon a smile and Jeok Leegeon a disapproving look.

"If you don't have enough money, I can give you a discount. How much do you have on hand right now?"

"That's ridiculous."

Jeok Leegeon looked at the owner indifferently.

"Selling something that costs less than five nyang for thirty nyang."

Then Charyeon and the owner shouted at the same time.

"That's impossible!"

Jeok Leegeon looked at Charyeon and said.

"Is he your long-lost father? Why are you saying it's impossible too?"

"Well..."

She thought it wasn't likely that he would rip them off that much. Moreover, the leather case alone, not to mention the throwing knives, seemed to be worth at least ten nyang.

"What nonsense are you talking about? If you don't want to buy it, just leave!"

Then Jeok Leegeon glared fiercely.

"I'm not leaving because I don't want to buy it, I'm leaving because I never intended to buy it in the first place. But did you just say nonsense?"

The owner was startled by his momentum and took a step back.

"I didn't mean that... I just meant that the cost isn't that low."

"That's ridiculous."

Jeok Leegeon took out the throwing knives one by one and handed them to Charyeon.

"Look. The weights are all different, right?"

"They look similar to me?"

"That's why I'm saying you're a fool."

"Say 'fool' one more time?"

"I can tolerate that they weren't tempered properly. But I can't tolerate this."

Jeok Leegeon lined up the throwing knives on his index finger, using the blades.

"Be careful!"

"I won't get hurt by these defective products."

Six throwing knives were lined up on his finger. The fact that he could line up the throwing knives like that was amazing in itself.

"Hey, what do you see?"

Charyeon carefully examined them.

"Ah! The balance points are all different."

Indeed, the throwing knives were balanced at different positions.

"You're charging thirty nyang for this kind of thing? This trash that feels different every time you throw it, as a set? Novices will all die if they use this."

The owner couldn't say anything after he had proven it with his eyes.

Charyeon was secretly impressed. Jeok Leegeon had found the flaws as soon as he saw them.

Jeok Leegeon threw the throwing knife he was holding at the owner.

Whoosh!

The flying throwing knife grazed the owner's head and hit the back wall.

The owner screamed and sat down on the spot.

"If you get caught by a really bad-tempered guy, you could really die. So get rid of this and that, and that one."

The owner was secretly surprised. The ones Jeok Leegeon had picked out were the cheapest items at wholesale price. Of course, he hadn't priced them cheaply when he was selling them.

The owner could only nod in surprise.

The two left the armory.

"Real weapons aren't sold in places like that."

"Real weapons?"

"The kind that gives you goosebumps just by drawing them."

"Where do they sell them?"

"Why? Do you want one?"

She didn't want one so much as she was curious if there was a place that only sold such good weapons. Especially after the last battle, her interest in weapons had increased significantly.

"Okay, I'll buy you one. Follow me."

With that, Jeok Leegeon strode ahead.

"You said you've never been to Infinite before, right?"

"Yeah."

"But you know a place?"

"There are things you know even if you've never been there before."

"Huh?"

"The Martial World is the same everywhere."

That's how Jeok Leegeon took her to the Great Peace Pavilion, of all places.

"Why are we here? Don't tell me you want to eat meat again after eating so much earlier?"

"Hehe, it's not that. Let's eat meat for dinner."

Oh dear.

Jeok Leegeon didn't go inside the Great Peace Pavilion. Instead, he looked at the wall next to the Great Peace Pavilion. The wall was stained with various graffiti.

"This is it."

Jeok Leegeon made a satisfied expression as he looked at the graffiti on one side of the wall.

"What is it?"

"It's a map."

Jeok Leegeon explained to the puzzled Charyeon.

"There are many organizations in the Martial World. Among them, there are those who can't operate openly. Those organizations always leave their location in code on the wall next to the biggest tavern in the village."

"Really?"

That was a big cultural shock to Charyeon. She had never paid attention to the walls of inns in her life. Was this the other world he was talking about?

"This is the sign of the Dark Electric Merchant Guild."

"Dark Electric Merchant Guild?"

Jeok Leegeon pointed to a broken arrow drawn on the wall. The letters "Azure" and "One" were written on the tip of the arrow. At first glance, it was just meaningless graffiti.

"Black is north, white is south, azure is east, and red is west. This means you just have to go one li to the east."

It was simple, but it was a code that no one who didn't know the meaning could understand.

They were probably people who sold weapons.

"Then why do they sell weapons so secretly?"

It wasn't illegal to sell weapons or Hidden weapons to Martial Artists. Like that armory earlier.

Jeok Leegeon grinned.

"You'll know when you get there."

Jeok Leegeon strode ahead.

"Wait, hold on!"

She hesitated because she smelled something dangerous, but in the end, Charyeon followed Jeok Leegeon. She was curious, and she thought it would be okay if she was with Jeok Leegeon.

She was trusting him again.

A strange but somehow familiar trust.

The day was passing too fun with this strange guy.

"I had something to do there anyway. It worked out well."

"Why?"

"Something I've been looking for for a long time is there."

The two walked about one li east as the sign indicated.

There were several shabby stores lined up there, and Jeok Leegeon entered a hardware store among them.

"Welcome."

A scruffy old man greeted them.

Jeok Leegeon asked abruptly.

"Do you fix broken arrows here?"

Then the old man's eyes changed.

"What kind of arrows?"

"The kind that can kill anything in the world."

The old man's eyes changed once again.

Charyeon felt that the two were exchanging Secret Language.

The old man shouted, looking inside.

"Hwa-ah!"

Then a woman came out.

She was a woman with dark skin and a sharp impression.

She was definitely a Martial World woman who had learned Martial arts.

"This way."

Her tone was a little blunt, which gave a hint of her personality.

The two followed the woman. After passing through a narrow hallway, they came to a backyard filled with junk.

The woman opened the locked warehouse in the backyard and went down to the secret passage on the floor again.

Charyeon's mouth dropped open as she went down to the underground warehouse.

The walls and display cases on all sides were filled with various weapons, which were on a different level in terms of quantity and quality from those in the armory she had seen during the day.

The woman asked.

"What kind are you looking for?"

She had originally intended to buy a throwing knife to use as a Hidden weapon, but when she saw the many weapons here, she wanted to buy something special.

The woman looked a little puzzled when she saw her hesitating.

The people who used this place were limited.

Jeok Leegeon had explained it to Charyeon as if it were a place that was common in the Martial World, but in fact, very few people knew about this place. Moreover, the Secret Language he had exchanged with the old man earlier was a Secret Language that only those with reliable credit knew.

That's why most people who came here had already decided what to buy in advance. This wasn't a place to look around and browse. It was more common to request what you needed and pick it up.

Jeok Leegeon grinned.

"Recommend a few good ones. This is my friend's first time here."