I Became the Hidden Ruler of the Martial World

Zhuge Hyun approached the Kunlun Sect among the martial artist groups and immediately performed a fist-and-palm salute.

"Greetings, Taoist friend."

The Kunlun Sect martial artists were initially puzzled by Zhuge Hyun's approach, but their guard was lowered at the words 'Taoist friend'.

"Do you also study the immortal way, Taoist friend?"

"I do. I was personally studying the immortal way and came here after hearing rumors about Kunlun."

Hearing Zhuge Hyun's polite answer, the Kunlun Sect martial artist looked Zhuge Hyun over.

'His appearance is outstanding, and his intelligent, polite, and neat attire is fitting for a Taoist priest of Kunlun.'

The martial artists of the Kunlun Sect were pleased with Zhuge Hyun's appearance.

And Baek Sowol, who saw that from a distance.

'With Senior Brother's personality, I thought he would beat them all up and make them vomit blood, so why is it so peaceful?'

Baek Sowol wondered if Zhuge Hyun had developed some chronic illness.

Whether that questioning gaze reached Zhuge Hyun or not, Zhuge Hyun was still bowing and scraping to the Kunlun Sect martial artist.

"Your physiognomy is clearly lofty, so you must hold a considerable position in Kunlun."

"Hoho, you also look young, Taoist friend, but you seem to be full of intelligence, so you will surely enter the path of an immortal in the future."

And so, as Zhuge Hyun and the Kunlun Sect martial artists were exchanging pleasantries, an elderly man from the Kunlun Sect looked at Zhuge Hyun and asked.

"But why did you intervene, Taoist friend?"

Upon receiving that question, Zhuge Hyun smiled benevolently.

A benevolent smile that was unparalleled in the world, a heavenly smile that seemed to melt not only the hearts of the Kunlun Sect martial artists but also the hearts of the other forces around them.

However, only one person was inwardly terrified upon seeing it.

'Heeik!'

In Baek Sowol's memory, a storm had raged after Zhuge Hyun had shown such a smile.

He had shown such a smile when he met a group of incorrigible ruffians in the mountains, and that group had ended up in a miserable state where it would have been better to die.

'It would be more benevolent to just cut their throats cleanly like Master!'

Baek Sowol, trying to erase the terrifying scene from her mind, observed Zhuge Hyun, trembling with anxiety about what would happen next.

Zhuge Hyun had secretly scanned the relationship between the three groups with his eyes and had finished his assessment.

'The Kunlun guys seem to be displeased with the Namgung guys who suddenly rushed in and are trying to exercise their force in their territory.'

Zhuge Hyun's gaze turned to the Namgung family martial artists and the ruffians who were exchanging some kind of gaze.

'The ruffians are watching the Namgung guys' expressions, so there must be some relationship.'

Having organized his thoughts once more, Zhuge Hyun immediately performed a polite fist-and-palm salute and opened his mouth.

"Those ruffians are nothing to look at, but it seems there is a big misunderstanding between the Kunlun Sect and the Namgung family, and I was so saddened by that that I stepped forward."

Having finished his answer, Zhuge Hyun immediately turned his head to the Namgung family and performed a polite fist-and-palm salute.

"I greet the direct descendants of the great Namgung family."

"We are not direct descendants..."

The Namgung family martial artists frowned at Zhuge Hyun's greeting.

Because although they belonged to the Namgung family of Anhui, they were far from being direct descendants.

Zhuge Hyun quickly grasped their psychology and smiled benevolently.

"From my perspective, living in a land far from Anhui, you look like direct descendants, so I said so. I apologize if I made you uncomfortable."

"Young hero, you speak as if you have a relationship with Namgung."

"Yes, although I am not of the direct bloodline, I use the surname of Namgung as a distant branch."

Zhuge Hyun's face was a confident one, as if there was not a single lie.

"My name is Namgung Hyun-o."

Baek Sowol was watching that from a distance with a dumbfounded face.

'Wow, how can a person lie so shamelessly...'

She wanted to keep watching to see how shameless a person could be, but fearing that she would make eye contact with a Namgung family martial artist, Baek Sowol quickly turned her head.

In the meantime, Zhuge Hyun's shameless act continued.

"From what I see of the current situation, it seems that the people of the Kunlun Sect think that the martial artists of the Namgung family have invaded the territory of Kunlun."

"Uh, that's..."

"But that's not the reality, is it? The people of the Namgung family just happened to witness an injustice and jumped in by chance to practice justice."

At Zhuge Hyun's words, the Namgung family martial artists assessed the situation.

The Kunlun Sect martial artists, no matter how you looked at them, did not seem easy.

Although it was the first time they had heard that there was a martial force group in Kunlun, their achievements did not seem low enough to be ignored.

A situation where considerable damage was expected if they clashed.

In such a situation, a young man who used the surname of Namgung stepped forward to mediate.

"You have seen correctly."

Of course, this was something they had to accept.

Seeing that, Zhuge Hyun smiled benevolently again and turned his gaze to the Kunlun Sect.

"As you have heard, all of this stems from a misunderstanding. I, who practice the Tao and at the same time have inherited the bloodline of Namgung, guarantee this fact, so how about we resolve this smoothly for my sake?"

The martial artists of the Kunlun Sect and the martial artists of the Namgung family nodded their heads at once at Zhuge Hyun's words.

If someone else had said the same thing, they would have thought it was a scam, but the sight of Zhuge Hyun with a benevolent smile like that of a Buddha was enough to instill great trust in the two forces.

"We have heard the fair and wise advice of Taoist friend Namgung, so what else is there to think about? Would you also advise us on the subsequent measures?"

"Although you are in a place far from Anhui, you have dealt with it wisely, as befits the name of Namgung. What is there for us to say?"

The eyes of the two forces were full of trust.

'Wasn't Senior Brother in Kunlun, but in a pseudo-sect?'

Baek Sowol, who was watching that from a distance, was just dumbfounded.

Whether that was the case or not, Zhuge Hyun, who saw the trust-filled gazes of the two forces, stroked his beard with satisfaction and opened his mouth.

"Since this matter stems from a misunderstanding, wouldn't it be right to return to the right path and resolve it?

Since it is the front yard of the Kunlun Sect, it seems there would be no problem if Kunlun resolves the problem of that wicked group of ruffians, right?"

"Uh, that's..."

The martial artists of the Namgung family were flustered at Zhuge Hyun's words.

This whole thing was a staged act prepared by the Namgung family.

Of course, the group of ruffians was also on their side.

If the group of ruffians were dragged away by the Kunlun Sect group here and the ruffians were to speak carelessly.

'Not only will the image of the family be tarnished, but the other forces in the martial world will find fault for no reason.'

But to refute the words of the scholar-like young man who was smiling so benevolently, there were too many eyes around.

'Damn it, things are getting complicated.'

Namgung Yeonjun, who was leading the martial artists of the Namgung family, his mind, which had been momentarily lost, snapped back.

'With the scholar-like young man in the public eye, there's nothing I can do right now.'

After racking his brain for a long time without a word, he finally came to the conclusion that there was nothing he could do right now.

'For now, I will retreat. Then I will look for an opportunity to silence the ruffians.'

Having made a decision, Namgung Yeonjun quickly sent a hand signal to the martial artists of the Namgung family to retreat and approached the Kunlun Sect martial artists.

"We have been very rude."

"It's alright. We understand."

After that, he politely greeted the Taoist priests of the Kunlun Sect and quickly left the tavern.

After the Namgung family martial artists left, the Kunlun Sect martial artists politely performed a fist-and-palm salute towards Zhuge Hyun and bowed their heads.

"Thanks to Taoist friend Namgung, a place where there could have been a dispute has been resolved smoothly."

"I have only done what was natural."

Zhuge Hyun and the Kunlun Sect martial artists exchanged warm pleasantries and parted ways.

After everything was over, Zhuge Hyun returned to his seat with a face as if nothing had happened.

"Wow, how can a person lie so shamelessly..."

Baek Sowol, who saw that, couldn't close her mouth.

"What, what do you want me to do?"

The benevolent smile from before had disappeared from Zhuge Hyun's face as if it had never been there, and his usual crooked smile was in its place.

Baek Sowol couldn't close her mouth, dumbfounded by Zhuge Hyun's appearance, which had changed like flipping a page.

'How can a person be so shameless?'

After pouring out all sorts of words in her mind for a long time, Baek Sowol finally organized her thoughts and let out a deep sigh.

"Sigh, so it's over now, right?"

"Over? What's over?"

"What? Isn't the situation sorted out?"

At Baek Sowol's question, the corners of Zhuge Hyun's mouth went up even more crookedly.

No matter how you looked at it, it was a sight that seemed to contain all of human malice, and Baek Sowol swallowed dryly.

"Wh-what are you going to do?"

"What am I going to do? Of course, I have to confirm the true identity of that Kunlun Sect or Kunlun-whatever and either smash them or do something."

Zhuge Hyun's current appearance was the very essence of human malice, the very appearance of a demonic master, a term commonly used to refer to an evil martial artist.

Baek Sowol couldn't say anything else and just rolled her eyes here and there, and Zhuge Hyun looked at Baek Sowol's appearance with amusement and continued.

"Anyway, I have something to do, so my accompaniment ends here."

"What?"

"Didn't I teach you everything I could on the way? It doesn't seem like you'll get beaten to death somewhere if you travel alone, so from now on, go your own way."

"What?"

"What do you mean, what? Your martial arts are usable, but that clumsy mentality of yours just won't be fixed."

"No, what do you mean, clumsy...?"

Baek Sowol lost her mind at Zhuge Hyun's words and just spouted nonsense for a long time.

And so, Baek Sowol, who had been lost in thought for a moment, came to her senses and asked Zhuge Hyun.

"You don't even know where I'm going, do you? But is it okay to separate?"

"What's the point of asking a brat who has no intention of telling me? If we're fated, we'll meet again."

Zhuge Hyun answered as if it were truly no big deal.

'Was my arrogant thought that these people might get involved in my affairs if I told them my destination just my own?'

At that sight, Baek Sowol pondered inwardly for a long time.

'No, come to think of it, for people like Senior Brother or Master, getting involved in my problems might not be a big deal at all.

Seeing as he thinks of it as such a trivial thing, maybe it's okay to just tell him?'

Having finished her pondering, Baek Sowol looked at Zhuge Hyun's expression and carefully opened her mouth.

"I am heading to the Heavenly Mountains to meet my family."

"Right? I see. Got it. I'll only tell Master this."

"Thank you?"

At Zhuge Hyun's truly nonchalant answer, Baek Sowol felt that all her worries had been foolish.

'To these people, all the affairs of the world might not be a big deal.'

It seemed her heart had become somewhat at ease.

As her heart became at ease, Baek Sowol thought of the matter of the sects from before, not her own problem.

"Senior Brother, but aren't you handling the matter of Kunlun from before too cumbersomely?"

"Cumbersome."

Hearing Baek Sowol's question, Zhuge Hyun looked up with a benevolent smile.

"There is surely an easier solution, but if it were him, he would have chosen a direction to handle the matter perfectly, even if it meant enduring such trouble."

Hearing Zhuge Hyun's words, Baek Sowol also looked up at the ceiling with a distant look.

Although it was just the ceiling of a tavern, for some reason, it seemed as if the blue sky was unfolding before her eyes, and on top of it, Baek Yoonjun was smiling benevolently.

* * *

"First, it's important to sweep the scene when something happens. Disciple number two."

"Isn't that too aggressive?"

"Aggressive? What are you talking about? The moment something happens, the more time you delay, the higher the probability of future trouble."

"That's true. A disease also gets bigger the more you neglect it."

The time when Zhuge Hyun and Baek Sowol finished their conversation and parted ways.

"That's right. The occurrence of an event is like the spread of a disease. Once it starts to spread, if you don't catch it early, it will grow out of control."

"I understand."

"Right, since you understand, that's a relief. So if the opponent is an evil person, just go for the neck first."

"I don't think that's right. I'm a doctor. It's right to save them first."

Baek Yoonjun was down at the foot of the mountain, outside his house, with Tang Yuhwa.

(End of Chapter)