At her cautious question, Dan Hyung-u looked at her again.
"I know how to use a sword, how to breathe, and how to move my body."
He answered as if it were nothing, searching his memory. Come to think of it, people might have called that martial arts. But the memory was too old to be certain.
"If I remember correctly, it was called the Three Talents Sword Technique."
Jo Seol-yeon nodded. She knew the Three Talents Sword Technique well—no, anyone involved in the martial world would.
It was a sword technique well suited for beginners. Because it also helped in understanding advanced techniques later, most swordsmen learned it.
Even those who didn't specialize in swordsmanship usually learned it at least once—it was the most basic of basics.
"I know the Three Talents Sword Technique really well. I studied it very diligently."
Jo Seol-yeon said with a smile. Dan Hyung-u nodded as he listened. That seemed plausible.
There was no rule saying others couldn't learn the same sword technique he had learned. After all, when he first learned it, hadn't a hundred people started together?
"Uncle Sama said that mastering the thirty-two forms would be a huge help. I think so too."
That made even Dan Hyung-u pause.
"Thirty-two forms?"
"Yes—why? Don't tell me…"
Jo Seol-yeon realized too late. She had never even considered the possibility that Dan Hyung-u hadn't mastered all of the Three Talents Sword Technique. She worried she might have offended him by getting ahead of herself.
"I only learned three forms."
Jo Seol-yeon fell silent. The Three Talents Sword Technique was extremely simple. With only three forms, it was impossible to apply or adapt it in any meaningful way.
"I-it's okay! I'll teach you the rest!"
She spoke energetically. Teaching the Three Talents Sword Technique was hardly difficult.
"Don't worry—it's not hard at all. And later, you'll have a chance to learn the escort agency's martial arts too. Henan Escort Agency's techniques are truly impressive—they'll definitely help you a lot."
Dan Hyung-u looked at her quietly for a moment.
"It took me three years just to take my first steps with those three forms."
He had never felt the need to learn the rest. With just those three forms, he had survived hell and returned alive—and he had made them completely his own.
What use was having powerful techniques if they weren't truly yours? Techniques that weren't your own only became poison.
You could tell just by looking at Jo Seol-yeon. She had learned all thirty-two forms, yet no matter how you looked at her, she didn't seem strong.
But Jo Seol-yeon interpreted his words very differently. Taking three years to learn just three forms of the Three Talents Sword Technique was simply unbelievable.
No matter how lacking in talent someone was, that was too much. She became convinced that Dan Hyung-u must be misunderstanding something.
"I-I'm sorry."
The apology slipped out reflexively. Dan Hyung-u stared straight at her. When their eyes met, Jo Seol-yeon's face flushed red.
"Don't say that again. Ever."
His tone was firm and unyielding. Jo Seol-yeon nodded vigorously without realizing it.
Just then, Sama Cheol approached.
"So this is where you were. Come with me—I'll show you to your lodging first."
At Sama Cheol's words, Dan Hyung-u nodded. Jo Seol-yeon could only stare blankly at his back as he walked away with Sama Cheol.
As he walked with Dan Hyung-u following behind, Sama Cheol fell into thought. Three years to learn just three forms of the Three Talents Sword Technique—no matter how you looked at it, that was far too extreme.
I wanted to teach him martial arts and have him work as an escort, at least for Seol-yeon's sake… but it looks impossible.
With that thought, Sama Cheol led Dan Hyung-u toward where the porters were gathered.
Hubei , Wuhan .It was the place where the Martial Alliance—called the pillar of the orthodox martial world—was located. Naturally, whether openly or subtly, the influence of the Martial Alliance weighed heavily upon the city.
And now, Wuhan was in great turmoil due to rumors related to the Martial Alliance.
Because the Martial Alliance was based there, numerous martial artists inevitably gathered in the city, and many members of the martial world stayed for extended periods. There were those who wished to enter the Martial Alliance as warriors, as well as spies from groups like the Evil Path factions who walked a different road from the Alliance. Compared to other regions, the number of martial artists present was overwhelmingly large.
Among them, a rumor spread like wildfire—that the Martial Alliance had recently obtained the Heavenly Mechanist's treasure.
The Heavenly Mechanist's treasure was said to consist of three things:a martial art powerful enough to shake the world,a poison capable of controlling anyone,and a weapon said to be the greatest under heaven.Even such concrete details were circulating.
The Martial Alliance was already powerful as it was, and now it supposedly possessed the Heavenly Mechanist's treasure as well—no wonder people were in an uproar.
Because of these rumors, the Martial Alliance itself was growing increasingly frustrated. No matter how much they denied it, the rumors refused to die down.
"Hoo… this is truly suffocating. Who in the world made this matter blow up so badly?"
At the sigh of Alliance Leader Dokgo Un, the nine elders remained silently seated. There had been plenty of opportunities for rumors to spread—after all, a considerable number of people had been involved in the incident.
But this went too far. Exaggerating things that didn't even exist only put the Martial Alliance in an awkward position.
"There must be someone behind this," one of the elders finally spoke. "Otherwise, there's no way the rumors could have covered all of Hubei in such a short time."
Dokgo Un nodded heavily in agreement.
"I think the same. The question is—who is behind it?"
For a moment, everyone fell into thought. Then Zhuge Jungcheon spoke cautiously.
"When you think about it, there are many strange points surrounding this incident. For one, the fact that the Evil Path factions and the Green Forest knew about it and moved in advance…"
At Zhuge Jungcheon's words, Dokgo Un and the elders' eyes sharpened. Indeed, there was no way the Heavenly Mechanist had created multiple treasure maps.
"Then that means someone is deliberately trying to throw the martial world into chaos."
The elders stirred at Dokgo Un's statement.
"Alliance Leader, isn't that a bit too much of a leap?"
"Yes. How can you reach such a conclusion from that alone?"
Despite their objections, Dokgo Un's expression didn't change.
"Then do you deny it? If we hadn't brought the Black Tortoise Unit when we went to retrieve the Heavenly Mechanist's martial art, we would have suffered a devastating loss. The goal of the Evil Path and the Green Forest was never the Heavenly Mechanist's martial art. It was to annihilate us who were there."
Zhuge Jungcheon nodded and added,
"They showed no intention whatsoever of entering that place themselves."
The elders fell silent. He was right.
If—unlikely as it was—the Ascending Dragon Unit and Azure Dragon Unit had been wiped out and even the Alliance Leader killed, the martial world would have plunged into the great chaos of an orthodox-versus-evil war.
No—perhaps such a war would have been inevitable sooner or later anyway. Had they not already clashed violently once?
"And this incident as well," Dokgo Un continued. "No matter how fast rumors travel, it makes no sense for them to spread across all of Hubei this quickly. At this rate, it won't take long before they engulf the entire realm. Someone is deliberately spreading them."
"But what chaos can be stirred up by mere rumors?" an elder asked.
Dokgo Un looked calmly at the elder who spoke.
"Is the content of those rumors trivial? And we cannot ignore the inscription left by the Heavenly Mechanist either."
On the desk before Dokgo Un lay a small wooden box and a bundle of papers that looked like rubbings taken from stone. The elders had already read them all.
"Hoo… it's hard to believe, considering it was left by the Heavenly Mechanist of all people. And this so-called Blood Demon—he's someone we've never even heard of."
The contents claimed that a world-shaking figure called the Blood Demon intended to plunge the martial world into chaos and asked that he be stopped. To that end, the Heavenly Mechanist claimed to have trained one hundred peerless masters. And to command them, one was instructed to make proper use of the Yin–Yang Gu contained within the box.
Everyone had also examined the contents of the box. Inside was a single small insect—a Yang-type Gu among the Yin–Yang Gu.
"And yet, you said there was neither the Heavenly Mechanist's martial art nor the hundred peerless masters there. Only broken remnants…"
The elders' expressions suddenly changed.
"Th-then does that mean someone found the place before us?"
Dokgo Un and Zhuge Jungcheon nodded gravely.
"Then doesn't that mean the Yin–Yang Gu is useless as well?"
Dokgo Un shook his head.
"No. This Yang Gu, at least, seems not to have been discovered by them. It may be the only way to counter the hundred peerless masters who may still exist somewhere."
"Then…"
"This was hidden extremely well. I doubt anyone other than myself could have found it."
The elders looked puzzled, but Dokgo Un's expression was full of certainty.
"The Heavenly Mechanist arranged it so that only someone who had mastered the Forbidden Demon Art could naturally find it. As you all know, the Forbidden Demon Art is an extremely unique inner technique. At present, I am the only one in the world who has mastered it."
The elders nodded, marveling at the Heavenly Mechanist's foresight. Whether by chance or design, the Yang Gu—which could control the Yin Gu—was now in the Martial Alliance's hands.
"They definitely only took half," Zhuge Jungcheon said. "There's no way they would leave a hundred peerless masters unattended. Of course, they won't be able to control them."
Everyone nodded. The outline of the situation was finally becoming clear. They all acknowledged that someone was manipulating things from the shadows—and that someone could use those hundred peerless masters to throw the martial world into chaos. Even without full control, that would be more than enough.
"Then shouldn't we also suspect the Jo family, who brought the treasure map in the first place?"
At that, Dokgo Un and Zhuge Jungcheon nodded grimly.
"Jo Gajangju isn't that kind of person, but there's no harm in being cautious. We should send suitable people to the Jo family and keep a discreet watch."
Everyone agreed. In truth, most of the elders already suspected the Jo family. Even if they weren't the mastermind, they could very well be one arm of the one behind it all.
After that, things moved swiftly.
It was decided that the Alliance Leader himself would absorb the Yang Gu. Given its nature, Dokgo Un—having mastered the Forbidden Demon Art—was the most effective choice.
That characteristic was also recorded in the Heavenly Mechanist's writings. He hadn't left inscriptions only on the stone walls of the cave.
Inside the box containing the Yin–Yang Gu, he had also left a letter detailing how to use them properly, along with a plea to safeguard the future of the martial world.
Dokgo Un absorbed the Yang Gu, and it was decided that promising young talents from the Ascending Dragon Unit would be dispatched to the Jo family. In the end, the two vice unit leaders, Namgung Jin and Paeng Cheol-yeong, set out for the Jo estate.
The porters of the Henan Escort Agency were divided into two groups.One consisted of porters officially affiliated with the agency—those who lived, ate, and worked there.The other were temporary hires, brought in during busy periods.
Naturally, the affiliated porters received far better treatment. But where many people gathered, a hierarchy inevitably formed.
And establishing such a hierarchy usually involved violence. The Henan Escort Agency had stricter order than most—and accordingly, better.
Upon entering the main gate, one first saw a vast courtyard—large enough to line up dozens of wagons. All work was carried out here.
The porters' quarters were located at one corner of the courtyard, allowing them to head out for work at a moment's notice.
Sama Cheol personally led Dan Hyung-u there. Never before had the head of the escort agency personally escorted a mere porter.
"H-huh?! The Chief is here!"
The porters who had been lounging around sprang to their feet and hurriedly bowed when they spotted Sama Cheol. To them, the agency head was like the heavens themselves—the man who held their livelihoods in his hands.
Sama Cheol swept his gaze across them. He had met countless people over the years, and his eye for such things was sharp. In an instant, he identified the man leading the porters.
After staring intently at one porter with a subtle gaze, Sama Cheol finally spoke.
"You there. What's your name?"
The porter who met his eyes flinched and trembled slightly. It was because he had something to hide. Though shocked to be singled out, he answered nonetheless.
"Jong Chil."
Sama Cheol nodded and introduced Dan Hyung-u.
"He's new. Take good care of him."
Trembling, Jong Chil bent so deeply that his forehead nearly touched the ground.
"Leave it to me."
Sama Cheol nodded and added,
"He's lived in the mountains all his life, so he'll be clumsy with most things. Teach him properly."
With that, Sama Cheol turned and left. Dan Hyung-u watched him briefly, then stood still.
Once Sama Cheol was gone, the porters let out relieved sighs and went back to lounging about. But Jong Chil—having received a direct request—could not.
"Damn it, things just got complicated. What's your name?"
"Dan Hyung-u."
At his answer, Jong Chil's eyes turned fierce.
"Short answers, huh?"
Jong Chil clenched his fist.
Just as Sama Cheol had predicted, Jong Chil was effectively leading the porters of the Henan Escort Agency. It wasn't official, but both the escorts and the senior escorts acknowledged it—it made work much easier that way.
Jong Chil had risen to the top not only because he'd been at it a long time, but because he was incredibly strong.
Countless newcomers had tried to show off their strength—but none had ever broken through Jong Chil's wall.
Naturally so. Jong Chil had been secretly learning martial arts from one of the agency's escorts.
His goal was to become an escort himself—an escort of the great Henan Escort Agency. Mere strong porters were no match for him.