Invitation to the Chatroom of the Gods - Chapter 128



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Episode 128 – The World in Turmoil (1)

The absurd rumor that the shaman’s officer, Jin-in, has died.

It was now spreading throughout Hubei Province, but no one believed it.

As expected, they just treated it as ‘bullshit’ and kept quiet.

“Hey, you little punk! You need to make sense!!”

That would be the case. Who on earth is the shaman’s officer?

The Taesanbukdoo of the Jeongpa martial arts world.

He is the number one shaman and head of the Gupailbang.

He is one of the five best masters in the world, so what is he doing?

“If you’re kidding, stop it right now! It’s not fun at all.”

“Hey, tsk, I lost all the taste of alcohol.”

Most people weren’t even interested.

But if not, will there be smoke in the chimney?

There were some who were half-incredibly curious.

“If that’s true, then who? Who killed Janggyo Jinin?”

“No, well! I heard that Hwa-ryong-dae-hyeop killed Jang-gwan-jin!”

And then I heard the words ‘Fire Dragon Great Knight’.

“What, what did you say?!”

“The Great Swordsman of Hwalong is a military officer?!”

In just a few letters of that name, the word ‘dog talk’ quickly turned into ‘credible rumor’.

I still can’t believe that Jang Gwang-jin is dead.

However, if he was the Great Swordsman of the Fire Dragon who defeated the leader of the Demonic Cult and the King of the Yangtze River who controlled the Yangtze River, then such an absurd thing was entirely possible.

“This won’t work. I have to see it with my own eyes!”

Eventually, those who could not contain their curiosity took off their shoes and went to Mt. Mudang.

Those who went to Mt. Mudang and found out the truth of the rumors returned again.

“Oh, so what! Was the rumor really true?”

“I didn’t see it. The shaman’s temple was locked tightly.”

However, they too could not confirm the truth of the rumor.

And while not all rumors can be true, if you follow the smoke, you’ll always find traces of fire.

“But there was one strange thing.”

“Strange? What do you mean?”

“Well, Mt. Mudang was burned to a crisp, what do you think?”

“Will Mt. Mudang be completely burned?”

“Yes. There was no vegetation at all, just piles of ash.”

“What that means is that something definitely happened to the shaman?”

“That’s right! Look at it right now. The whole of Hubei Province is in an uproar, but the shamans aren’t saying anything.”

If you think about it, that’s what it was.

The rumor that the shaman’s officer Jin-in had died was fatal to the shaman.

That’s why I had to yell at him right away and tell him to stop talking nonsense.

But the shaman remained silent.

Instead, it just locks the door to the temple.

“Well, then···?”

“I guess the rumors are true.”

It was the moment when doubt soon became certainty.

“So, so! Does that mean that Hwa-ryong-dae-hyeop is one of the five best swordsmen in the world?!?”

Furthermore, it was the moment when Cheongun proudly entered the list of the five best masters in the world, the Five Absolutes of the World.

But not all doubts turned into certainty.

Among them, there were some that turned into ‘distrust.’

“No, but why on earth···?”

“Why did Hwa-ryong-dae-hyeop get Janggyo-jin-in···?”

Why did Cheongun defeat Janggyo Jinin?

No, why did you ‘kill’ him instead of just defeating him?

If you simply wanted to compete in martial arts, then you could have just done a ‘comparison’.

However, I couldn’t understand why he killed Jang Gwan-jin. It was understandable, because the shaman was the Taesanbukdoo of the Jeongpa martial arts world.

You killed Jang Gyo-jin, the number one shaman?

This is no different from a challenge to the entire ‘Jeongpa Murim’ beyond shamans.

“Well, well···?”

“Until then, we were fine···.”

The questions grew, but no one gave answers.

Rumors lacking truth.

“What the hell is going on?”

Rather, it only added to the confusion that lingered in Hubei Province.

* * *

Namjonmudang, the Shaolin monk of Bukchong.

In the north, Shaolin martial arts are revered, and in the south, shaman martial arts are revered.

Shaolin and Mudang, known as the two great mountains of the martial arts world, were the two great mountains and pillars that supported the world of martial arts.

That is why the province that received and understood the news related to shamans the fastest was Shanxi Province, which is quite far from Hubei Province.

Among them, it was the ‘Wulimmaeng’ located in Taewon City.

“······What did you just say?”

The leader of the martial arts world, Deung Gwang-hyeok, opened his eyes in surprise at the report of the leader of the non-standing faction.

The secret party was an organization directly under the leader and was an organization created by the leader personally, and was not officially affiliated with any organization.

In this way, he was able to deal with the dark affairs that the Murim Alliance could not address, and through this, he was able to naturally access various news and information from the Murim world.

As of now, the place that has been in charge of the role of an ‘information agency’ that searches for, gathers, and records the history and information of the martial arts world is Biseondang (秘線堂).

The information power of the secret party was comparable to that of Gaebong, which was considered the best in the world, and the secret party leader was the person in charge of the secret party, and his identity was always hidden behind the curtain.

Since the secret party had to deal with the affairs of the Murim Alliance that could not be dealt with, it would not have been good if its identity was revealed.

Therefore, even in the Murim Alliance, very few people knew about the true identity of the non-elite faction.

“Your Majesty, I have to interrupt the meeting to report an urgent matter. I apologize.”

But why does such a non-elected leader come to me in person and report to me like this?

Moreover, the General Assembly, the highest meeting of the Murim Alliance, was currently in full swing.

The leaders and elders of the Murim Alliance gathered together to discuss issues and agendas that would determine the future of the Murim world.

“Is this something that really needs to be reported now?”

That is, there are many eyes watching and ears listening here.

Although it was not too late to report after the general meeting, the non-elected party leader was firm.

“The matter is serious and urgent.”

From what I could see, it didn’t seem like an emergency at all.

If the head of the secret society is saying something like that, then it is not only a serious matter, but something has happened that will shake up the entire martial arts world.

Deung Gwang-hyeok gestured as if to tell me to speak.

The non-senior leader swallowed his saliva once and slowly opened his mouth.

“It is said that the shaman’s officer, Jang Gong-jin, has passed away.”

And then came silence.

It was not a stillness that arose from emotions such as surprise.

Most of it was silence over hearing nonsense like, ‘What did you just say?’ or ‘What the hell is going on?’

And Deung Gwang-hyeok was not much different from him.

“The shaman’s officer Jin-in is dead······?”

What the hell is this nonsense?

Even the soldier of the Murim Alliance, Jegal Yang-baek, who was listening to the story from the side, just made a face as if he didn’t know what was going on.

So, Deung Gwang-hyeok wanted to yell at him to stop talking nonsense and get out of here.

If the person who submitted this report now had not been the head of the secret party, it would have been reported long ago.

And maybe he would have turned the entire secret society upside down.

Perhaps the non-elected leader knew about it in advance and came to report it himself.

In any case, there is no way that a non-elected party would submit a false report.

Still, I doubted whether it was really true.

I wonder if it is not just a groundless rumor, or if the non-elected party leader was fooled by it and did not properly judge whether it was true or not.

All sorts of doubts and distrusts arose indiscriminately.

No matter how much I think about it, how could the shaman’s officer Jin-in have died······?

“Are you saying that you have been living in Waseok Jongsin?”

I will die in bed.

To put it simply, it means dying after enjoying one’s destiny.

If that’s the case, I could completely understand.

Jang Gyo-jin, who had been the number one shaman for a long time, was old enough to leave.

In fact, didn’t the former shaman’s officer Jin-in join Waseok Jongshin 20 years ago?

Since then, the shaman had been serving as a shaman for five years.

But what the heck.

“It is said that he died while fighting a battle of life and death on Mt. Mudang.”

······That’s not it.

It is said that he was ‘murdered’ by someone, not by natural causes.

Of course, since it was a death through a life-or-death decision, the expression ‘murder’ is not appropriate, but in any case, it means that it was not a natural death.

So, it happened in my living room, which is also the shaman’s headquarters.

If so, that doesn’t mean only the officers were affected.

It would be safe to say that this affected all shamans.

······No, what the hell is this?

Is that even possible?

Of course, if we consider only the possibility, it is possible.

But if you ask who can make it possible······ Well.

First of all, Deung Gwang-hyeok was not confident.

It’s hard enough to deal with just one officer. And now you have to deal with even the shamans?

No matter how good the odds are, it won’t work.

“How on earth? No, who on earth···?”

“That······.”

Deung Gwang-hyeok asked, and everyone gathered at the general meeting focused on the non-elected leader.

The non-executive seemed to hesitate for a moment, then slowly opened his mouth.

“It’s called Hwa-ryong-dae-hyeop······.”

Fire Dragon Great Swordsman.

At the mention of that name, the absurdity of everyone gathered at the general assembly rose and a new enemy was found.

For a long time, no one opened their mouth.

After a long time, the voice that broke the silence was none other than Deung Gwang-hyeok’s.

“What is the Hwa-ryong-dae-hyeop···?”

“It’s a clear cloud.”

“Cheongun···?”

Deung Gwang-hyeok closed his mouth tightly and returned to silence once again.

But this time the silence didn’t last long.

“What is it?!”

“Cheongwoon killed the shaman’s officer, Jang Gwanjin?!”

The elders of the Murim Alliance gathered at the general meeting shouted.

They rolled their eyes here and there with surprised expressions.

I felt like I was quickly calculating on an abacus in my head······.

“How could you do such a shameless thing!!”

“This must never be tolerated!!”

Those who finished calculating began to shout one by one.

Cheongun’s actions were already irritating.

How can we restrain Cheongun, who has been running wild throughout the martial arts world, but we have not dared to even try to touch him because of the emperor.

But Cheongun made up an excuse on his own.

“The author named Cheongun attacked a shaman and killed Janggyo Jinin!!”

That’s right! The elders of the Murim Alliance were busy biting each other.

Anyway, there were no snakes like that, but the problem was that this time, Deung Gwang-hyeok had nothing to say.

Of course, behind Cheongun there is an emperor.

If you touch Cheongun, the royal family will definitely step in.

And even if it is the Murim Alliance, it cannot stand against the royal family.

It is a defeat that can be said to be inevitable.

But this time, things were different.

Cheongun destroyed the shamans who were the core of the Jeongpa martial arts world.

What’s worse, he even went as far as to directly murder the officer in question.

This is clearly a matter of martial arts, and could be a sufficient excuse to bring up the inviolability of officialdom.

The imperial family was absolutely unable to prevent the intervention of the Murim Alliance.

“No matter how strong the Emperor’s threats are, isn’t this not the case?”

“excuse me-.”

“In particular, this matter is entirely a matter of the martial arts world! It is a matter that must be handled by the martial arts alliance in accordance with the inviolability of official duties!”

“No, please finish my report-.”

“That’s right! This is a serious issue that affects the very existence of the Murim Alliance!”

“More than anything, this is no different from a challenge to our sect’s martial arts world!”

“That’s not it-.”

“How is that any different from a wicked devil!”

“Right now, the Great Swordsman of Hwalong-! No, what the heck is a Great Swordsman! We must announce that Cheongun bastard as a public figure in the martial arts world!”

“There is a considerable misunderstanding-.”

“That’s right! We must immediately eradicate that demon named Cheongun, our leader!”

As expected, the elders of the Murim Alliance each raised their voices and shouted.

“Hmm···.”

And Deung Gwang-hyeok had nothing to say in refutation of that.

Cheongun killed Jang Gyo-jin, the leader of the Taesanbukdoo faction of the Jeongpa Murim.

To be honest, I would have nothing to say even if Cheongun was made into a public figure in the martial arts world right away.

Even if an order to kill Cheongun was issued, there was really nothing to say.

No, it had to be done that way.

bang!

Suddenly, the non-executive slammed the table hard.

The table was thus split in two.

Judging from the fact that he was able to make a table that was a foot thick with his bare hands, it was not for nothing that he was chosen as the head of the secret party.

Anyway, I wondered what kind of commotion it was, but the face of the non-elected leader looked as if he was really frustrated and about to explode with anger.

And as soon as all eyes were on him, the non-standing leader shouted as if he thought this was the moment.

“There is evidence that the shaman’s officers are in collusion with the demonic cult!!!”

Then, the elders of the Murim Alliance suddenly became silent.

It really was an instant before the conference room, which had been like a market floor, became quiet.

* * *

The Dochalwon (都察院) was an imperial inspection agency that supervised and monitored local officials as well as investigated incidents and accidents occurring in the local areas.

The officials belonging to such a royal inspectorate were officials directly under the imperial family, and ‘Ju Gwan-cheon’ held the position of Vice-Minister of the Royal Inspectorate, the second-highest ranking official in the royal inspectorate.

“Umm······.”

The Zhougwancheon had the power to inspect and monitor what was happening in all 23 provinces.

The main job of such a Ju Gwan Cheon was to deal with corruption among local officials and punish them.

At the same time, he was also responsible for observing the world’s affairs and looking after the people’s livelihood.

If the Imperial Special Forces and the Golden Guard were the Emperor’s ‘hands and feet’, then the Imperial Guards could be called the Emperor’s ‘eyes and ears’······.

“The shaman collapsed?”

Joo Gwan-cheon slowly looked over the report in his hand.

A shaman known as the Taesanbukdoo of the Jeongpa martial arts world.

Since it was only a ‘muri-rim (武林) affair’, no one paid much attention to it, but if it was a huge group like Gupa-il-bang, even the imperial family couldn’t help but take notice.

Among them, since it was the work of a shaman who was said to be the head of the Gupailbang, Ju Gwan-cheon could not help but be interested.

“Hmm···.”

Even taking that into account, Ju Gwan-cheon was particularly interested in this report, as it was none other than the person who had brought down that shaman······.

“It is said that Cheongun defeated a man named Jang Gwanjin.”

It was because it was none other than ‘Cheongun’.

For some reason, Ju Gwan-cheon’s body started to shiver at the thought of the name Cheong-un.

A smile automatically appeared on my lips.

Blood flowed throughout my body and I felt energetic.

That’s why I was even more disappointed.

“Why of all people. Ugh···.”

The government and the military could not break the unwritten law of non-interference between the government and the military.

Of course, the inviolability of official duties is the imperial generosity and distribution that allows you to support each other, fight, and figure things out on your own.

But even so, it is not a good thing for the royal family to interfere in every single matter of the martial arts world.

This means that.

“There is no justification. There is no justification······.”

There was no justification for the royal family to be involved in this incident.

Since Cheongun intervened, there was something to be done, but there was no reason for Ju Gwan-cheon to intervene.

Of course, it would have been possible if we had intervened forcefully.

But as expected, the appearance isn’t very good.

In particular, the Inspector General is an inspection agency directly under the imperial family, so like the Imperial Guard, its actions are regarded as the actions of the emperor.

What if I make a mistake and things go wrong?

If you protest at the Murim Alliance, it will be quite a headache.

It is no different from smearing His Majesty’s face, so we cannot help but be more cautious in our actions.

“······I can’t help it.”

Therefore, this incident was entirely under the jurisdiction of the ‘Murim Alliance’ and it was right to leave it to the Murim Alliance.

So, it was not possible to report it to the Emperor.

It was not enough to irritate the Emperor, who was already busy with all kinds of state affairs.

Joo Gwan-cheon folded the report with a look of great disappointment.

Then suddenly.

I could see a single phrase passing by.

[There is a situation where a person named Jang Gyo-jin is in collusion with the ‘Demonic Cult’······.]

The devil’s cult.

The disappointed eyes of the main character flashed.

I opened up the report I was about to fold, read through the contents in detail, and savored each and every one of them.

I read and re-read the report over and over again without missing a single thing.

“Big. Big…! Aah. Aah.”

Joo Gwan-cheon calmly cleared his throat.

I wonder if I can do it well.

I’ve never tried it in real life though.

Ju Gwan-cheon tried hard to calm his trembling heart.

I’m sure you can do it.

Didn’t you learn some special martial arts for this day that will come someday?

Didn’t you go up the mountain every day and practice and practice?

Ju Gwan-cheon closed his eyes and observed the inside.

I felt that there was a dantian (丹田) where my internal energy was stored.

Although I did not learn the secret method separately, my internal energy was sufficient thanks to the elixir I picked up and drank that rolled around in the imperial vault.

Ju Gwan-cheon slowly took deep breaths and guided the internal energy of his danjeon.

As he exhaled the internal energy that was drawn from deep within his body along the energy and blood vessels of his entire body, an animal-like howl burst out of Ju Gwan Cheon’s throat.

-Phewh …

A lion’s roar that resonates throughout the imperial city.

It was a peerless martial art that reached beyond the vast Imperial City and even the Imperial Palace where the Emperor resided, and its voice struck every corner of the city.

-SOOO …

That day, everyone in the imperial city could hear the news about Cheongun and the shaman.

-I have something urgent to tell you right now─ Keu, keuk!! Heuk!

······No, I had to force myself to listen.

* * *

Ouch!

My body began to tremble involuntarily as a sudden surge of murderous intent rose up.

I expanded my senses to confirm the identity of the living being. However, I felt no momentum around me. I also felt no other particular threat······ I didn’t feel anything in particular.

‘Is this a mistake?’

It was a bit strange to simply say that. Something like the sword of the officer’s heart was clearly flying towards me, aiming for my life.

To be exact, it was an extremely threatening murderous intent that urged death······.

“······It seems like you’re not feeling well.”

It seems like my body is not feeling as well as I thought.

It’s already been ten days since the fight with Janggyo Jinin.

But my condition still wasn’t very good.

The fight with the officers was truly a tough one.

If I had not attained the new state of the Cheon-dun sword technique, the realm of truth, it would have been me, not Jang-gwan-jin, who would have fallen in defeat.

Of course, thanks to that, I didn’t use my innate energy or faint, but that doesn’t mean my body was in good condition.

“If there was a daughter-in-law······”

Then, an injury like this could have been treated quickly.

As the saying goes, it wasn’t even using innate energy, so it was done in one stroke of Dang So-hyang’s hand.

But unfortunately, Dang So-hyang was not here at the time. She had headed to Sacheon Dangmun with the Jang Gang Hyeopgaekdan.

By now, they would have arrived and even more than that, and even if they had finished negotiating, it would have been a long time.

Was that why?

“······Are you okay?”

So, I was quite worried about whether ‘Sacheondangmun’ would be safe.

I didn’t know what kind of trouble the Jang Gang Hyeopgaekdan would cause… no, what kind of mischief they would commit.

Even the shaman, who was already a tough guy, was practically destroyed by my hands.

But the swordsmen are destroying the Sacheondangmun Gate, the fifth largest dynasty?

“I wonder who the devil is.”

It was truly something that could become a public achievement in the martial arts world.

Of course, the Jang Gang Hyeopgaekdan are not thieves and they won’t start a fight out of nowhere.

“They were thieves······.”

······Come to think of it, they were thieves.

To be exact, they were numbers, but that’s it.

“Hey, it’ll be okay.”

I shook my head hard to shake the thoughts away.

Not only would worrying not make a difference, but there were a lot of things to worry about right now.

The shaman who disappeared after being arrested.

Above all, the shaman who was revealed to be in collusion with the Demonic Cult was a beacon of hope on the verge of extinction.

I had been racking my brain for ten days, not knowing what to do about it, and to be honest, the biggest problem was the squirming movement in one corner.

Boom!

None other than the little boy who is slowly starting to come to his senses.

I knocked him out several times because he was causing so much trouble, but he woke up very quickly as if he wasn’t tired.

Well, that makes sense······.

└[Hyeonhyeonja (玄玄子) Jang Sam-bong]

: Wouldn’t it be great if the youngest could lead the shaman? It would be great if the youngest could lead the shaman. If the youngest could lead the shaman, the old man would have no more wishes!

@청운 @청운 @청운 @청운 @청운 @청운 @청운

Senior Jang Sam-bong said that there was no chaos like this one.

└[Hyeonhyeonja (玄玄子) Jang Sam-bong]

: Now our shaman belongs to the youngest!!! Thump thump thump!

@청운 @청운 @청운 @청운 @청운

······It’s really to the point where I wonder why it’s like that.