TAP. TAP. TAP. TAP. TAP.

Cheol Sunjik drummed the table rhythmically.

It was a habit of his that emerged whenever he was deep in thought.

After tapping for quite a while, his fingers stopped.

"Just what happened?"

After returning from Sichuan, Nam Hwaseong was the first to bring it up.

["Brother Cheol... what do you think about me joining the representative officers?"]

It was an unexpected remark, so Cheol Sunjik could not answer right away.

["Wouldn't the others try to join as well? I will go in early and figure out the internal atmosphere."]

Of course, if Jin Sowoon's currently shaky representative group managed to establish its position, it would be advantageous to claim at least one officer seat before then.

That way, they could do things that would be of at least a little help to the Twelve Peaks and Castles during the remaining academy term.

However.

["..."]

Even so, was it the right judgment to use Nam Hwaseong for a position that required entering enemy lines and playing politics?

["W-Why are you looking at me like that? Do you not trust me?"]

Just by seeing him unusually flustered and stuttering, anyone could tell he was unsuited for schemes.

It was like assigning Zhang Fei the role of a strategist.

Nam Hwaseong had a soft-hearted side that did not match his large build, and he often bent his own stubbornness when the opponent pushed him blindly.

As a general, he could be considered a decent card, but...

Moreover, Cheol Sunjik was curious about something else.

["Do you really want to do it?"]

Nam Hwaseong did not trust his own brains, so he never took the initiative in any matter.

For such a Nam Hwaseong to step forward himself and play the role of a spy, which didn't even suit him, was quite incomprehensible to Cheol Sunjik.

["W-When I experienced that guy in Sichuan this time... he was incredibly rough. Among the Twelve Peaks and Castles, if not me... ahem, who could endure such a grueling task?"]

The subject was omitted, but he immediately realized who it was talking about.

In the end, Nam Hwaseong submitted an application for the recruitment of representative officers.

The others in the Twelve Peaks and Castles expressed concern or worry over Nam Hwaseong's choice, but that was all.

They well knew what kind of impact his choice would have not only on Nam Hwaseong himself but also on the entire Samwon Sect moving forward.

"How amusing."

TAP. TAP. TAP. TAP. TAP.

His fingers moved once again.

The period Jin Sowoon and Nam Hwaseong had moved together had not even exceeded a week.

Just what in the world had Nam Hwaseong seen in Jin Sowoon during that time?

"It's not like Nam Hwaseong doesn't know my personality."

He was calculating and pursued perfection.

He was wary of variables and anomalies, and he controlled matters so they flowed exactly as expected.

In other words, he had a personality that did not welcome sudden proposals.

Even so, that timid fellow had stepped forward himself.

He himself had seen something special in Jin Sowoon, but it wasn't so incredible as to stake the fate of one's sect on it.

TAP. TAP. TAP.

Cheol Sunjik's fingers stopped moving.

"Or, did he feel something so incredible that he couldn't even afford to care about me?"

What exactly was this side of Jin Sowoon that Nam Hwaseong could see, yet he could not?

"Pfft! There's no way such a thing exists..."

Cheol Sunjik opened a report.

It was the movement analysis regularly sent by the members of the Twelve Peaks and Castles.

Written in it was information about the Orthodox Council falling into chaos due to the recent incident in Sichuan, as well as the moves the White Path Council was making.

They were nothing more than things revealed on the surface, but once such information fell into Cheol Sunjik's hands, it transformed differently.

"So the White Path Council is stepping up."

They had shrewdly aimed for the gap left by the Orthodox Council's absence.

However, he could not erase the feeling that they were being a bit hasty.

The momentum of Jin Sowoon, whose public evaluation had risen due to this incident, had not yet faded...

"They must be impatient. Heh."

A situation of the clam and the snipe fighting.

The Twelve Peaks and Castles merely had to wait for the clam and the snipe to exhaust each other, then pick up the prize.

"Though by then, there won't be a place for the Samwon Sect anymore..."

The position of the Twelve Peaks and Castles was different from that of the Nine Sects and One Gang or the Five Great Noble Clans.

The members of the 108 Peaks could become the Twelve Peaks and Castles at any time, and they could climb to the top through competition.

Knowing this, the other members of the Twelve Peaks and Castles had not actively stopped Nam Hwaseong.

"Heh... I'm going to be quite busy from now on. I'll need to reorganize the structure as well."

TAP. TAP. TAP. TAP. TAP.

Cheol Sunjik's fingers began to move once again.

* * *

The Inspection Pavilion.

The supreme enforcement agency of Alliance laws.

It was the place feared most by Alliance members who otherwise feared nothing in the world, and at the same time, a place whose infamy was widely spread externally.

In fact, it was often referred to as another institution of absolute power within the Murim Alliance.

"The Inspection Pavilion?"

At that word, which induced discomfort just from the sound of its name, the man glared at me.

"Come with me."

My clothes, which had been roughly yanked, stretched taut as if they would tear at any moment.

Truly, he was ignorantly brutish beyond compare.

"... Let go of this."

When I sighed, the guy's eyebrows shot up.

"Did you not understand my words?"

A sense of entitlement could be felt from his hand.

That it was okay to do this.

That this was only natural.

In my past life, whenever I was dragged here and there, I had felt such rough, brutish hands countless times.

At first, I used to get scared preemptively, but later I realized something.

The fact that they were nothing more than the cowardly, weak hands of those who would run away faster than anyone else in the face of death.

I tilted my head to look down at his hand, then met the guy's eyes once again.

"I told you to let go."

"..."

As if my words had offended him, a vein bulged on his brow.

SQUEEZE.

My clothes let out a tearing sound, as if they would rip apart at any moment.

"Do you think that pathetic authority of an academy representative will protect you..."

He couldn't finish his sentence.

"Ugh!"

Because I used the very force he was gripping my collar with to lift him up and hurl him to the ground.

THUD.

Having slammed his back against the dirt floor, the guy couldn't breathe, likely due to the shock to his lungs.

So what if he couldn't breathe from the shock?

I had no intention of ending it here.

SMASH. SMASH. SMASH. SMASH. SMASH.

I stomped on his face until white fragments flew out of his mouth.

"Kugh— How dare you attack an official of the Inspection Pavilion..."

Seeing him still full of life and citing the Inspection Pavilion made me let out a scoff.

I grabbed the guy by the hair and lifted his battered face.

"Are you someone from the Ak Clan?"

"... What?"

His eyes wavered.

Just as I thought.

"Impersonating the Inspection Pavilion is a grave crime."

"What do you—"

"The Inspection Pavilion never moves alone."

Even as I looked around, only onlookers had gathered due to the sudden fight; there was no one who seemed to be this guy's companion.

I did not miss the moment a look of panic flashed across his eyes.

"And they always show their identification tag first. Because that alone is enough to suffocate their opponent."

"..."

"What is your name?"

"..."

"So you won't talk, is that it?"

I immediately threw two punches right into his face.

Blood streamed from his nose, and another white fragment shot out of his mouth.

"Eek!"

The guy scattered the Phoenix Wind-Catching Hand and retreated backwards.

He quickly connected three iron rods at his waist to form a single spear.

"You really were someone from the Ak Clan."

"I came here as a proxy for the Inspection Pavilion."

A scoff escaped me at that ridiculous excuse.

"Who sent you as a proxy?"

"..."

The guy rolled his eyes nervously.

It certainly wouldn't be easy for him to blurt out someone's name here.

"You can't say it in front of people, can you?"

The name of the 'Inspection Pavilion' was an object of fear for everyone.

People trembled and were easily swayed by the mere name of the 'Inspection Pavilion'.

It was the same for me in my past life, the same for the Minor Orthodox Unit, and the same for the White Tiger Pavilion.

"And you lot must have taken advantage of that."

To someone who knew that transferring the absolute power of the Inspection Pavilion to an outsider was completely unacceptable, they wouldn't have dared to impersonate them so recklessly.

'It just means they saw me as an easy target.'

In this life, I had risen to prominence as a promising prospect, yet in their eyes, I probably didn't look much different from my past self, who had merely been from the Minor Orthodox Unit.

"Jin Sowoon! Are you not afraid of the consequences after doing such a thing?!"

"Consequences?"

I tilted my head.

"A person who impersonated the Inspection Pavilion revealed neither the name of their principal nor their own affiliation."

"..."

"Could it not be that you are a spy from the Underworld?"

"What are you..."

As if I had reached a great realization, I spoke in an intentionally loud voice so that it echoed all around.

"Right! You're a spy from the Underworld Murim who came to kidnap the Murim Academy's representative by impersonating the Inspection Pavilion. Or perhaps you're a Blood Cult spy who survived in Sichuan."

Murmurs began to rise from the surroundings.

The atmosphere had been set.

SHING.

I drew the Black Dragon Sword and raised my inner qi.

BOOM.

As I exuded a sense of pressure that felt like it would burst my martial robes, the onlookers surrounding us stepped back.

I packed as much righteous spirit into my voice as possible and shouted.

"To dare enter the territory of the Murim Alliance without fear. As the academy representative, I shall judge you and then hand you over to the Inspection Pavilion!"

As the mood took a strange turn, the guy twisted his body as if making a final desperate struggle.

"... Eek! I am someone from the Shandong Ak Clan!"

The Phoenix Soaring Spear Technique unfolded from the man's spear.

The heat-infused spear tip shot out, thrusting toward my vital acupoints. But so what?

By nature, a single sentence was enough to incite a crowd. Countless pieces of evidence for an explanation could easily be fabricated as fakes anyway.

"To steal even the Ak Clan's spear technique and masquerade as one of them. You truly are a terrifying bastard."

While scattering the Twin Heaven Sword Art with the Black Dragon Sword, I unleashed the Ten Thousand Transformations Invincible Fist with my remaining left hand.

CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!

As he stepped back and parried the Twin Heaven Sword Art, he then neutralized the incoming Ten Thousand Transformations Invincible Fist using the Phoenix Flying Heaven Palm.

However—

He could not properly neutralize the Flying Dragon Claw that I shot out from between the strikes of the Ten Thousand Transformations Invincible Fist, and he stared at the Heavenly Silkworm Thread coiled around my arm with astonished eyes.

"W-When did you...!"

"You really are a spy without a doubt. There's no way someone from the Shandong Ak Clan would be this clumsy."

SWISHHH.

As the Flying Dragon Claw was pulled taut, the man, unable to withstand the pain, was ultimately dragged toward me.

Then, he immediately tried to use the momentum to counter by thrusting his spear tip at me.

I slightly twisted my body and lightly deflected it.

"Your quick thinking was good... but such a simple movement only makes you prey for your opponent."

Infusing the Black Dragon Sword with the profound principle of the Lotus, I lifted him up along with his spear a half-turn and slammed him down.

SMACK.

Rolling on the dirt floor for the second time, the guy groaned and twisted his body as if he had no strength left to get up.

Then I adjusted my grip on the Black Dragon Sword and began to strike the man with the flat of the blade.

THWACK— THWACK— THWACK—

In the surroundings that had grown silent in an instant, only the sound of flesh being battered rang out.

The man could not even endure for fifteen minutes before finally passing out.

Looking down on an opponent when one lacked both skill and justification was the stupidest thing a martial artist could do.

"Or maybe he was just overconfident in his background."

Searching through his robes, sure enough, a name plaque of the Ak Clan emerged.

Fourth Group, Oh Ungyeong.

Seeing that it didn't specify which institution he belonged to and his surname wasn't 'Ak', he wasn't from the direct line of the Shandong Ak Clan.

I finished searching his clothes, taking his coin pouch, and checked to see if he had any bank notes.

Various murmurs began to pass between the onlookers.

"Is that person really an Underworld spy?"

"But to say that, his martial arts and clothes are too much like the Ak Clan's, aren't they?"

"Wait, isn't he a real Ak Clan person...?"

They were pointlessly anxious even though it wasn't their own business.

As for me, I wasn't too worried.

'I knew what I was getting into from the start, anyway.'

It might have been a daily occurrence for them, but the fact that they had been masquerading as the Inspection Pavilion was something people from other institutions would make a huge issue of if they found out.

In truth, they sincerely wouldn't want to blow this matter up.

"Anyway, this has become annoying. To think the Ak Clan made a direct move..."

Just when I thought I could wrap things up and live a peaceful academy life, another incident occurs.

My past life was one thing, but was my fate in this life really this harsh too?

"... This is all because of Yayul Geuk, that rude bastard."

I cursed the guy, who was likely groaning in his dorm while forcing out congested blood, once more before heading to the meeting place.

* * *

Guided by the waiter, I stepped into the annex, but the atmosphere of those who had arrived first was peculiar.

"Ahem..."

"..."

"..."

What was the reason?

Hmm, I had ties with Jang Ujae from fighting together in Yueyang, and we had no grudges against each other to begin with.

In that case, the culprit behind this mess of an atmosphere was...

"Nam Hwaseong really came."

"... Goddammit."

Whatever he was dissatisfied with, Nam Hwaseong crumpled his face like a piece of paper.

"Y-You're the one who contacted me to come!"

That bastard really has no tact at all.

"That's because you're part of the representative officers. But I didn't think you'd actually show up."

"... Damn it."

Nam Hwaseong's face flushed red, looking as if he would explode at any moment.

But from my perspective, I genuinely never expected him to come.

Until the incident in Sichuan, Nam Hwaseong had been an existence directly at odds with our representative group.

"Well, I suppose you have your own circumstances too?"

"..."

As I took a seat, the chaotic atmosphere more or less settled down.

I looked around at the gathered people one by one.

"The existing members of the representative officers all know each other, right?"

The personnel sitting across from Jang Ujae and Nam Hwaseong politely stated their names and exchanged greetings one by one.

As expected, my companions never did anything to be faulted for, wherever they went.

I smiled with satisfaction and looked across from me.

"Everyone knows this person, right? Jang Ujae of the Yujang Sect."

"I will formally greet you once more. I am Jang Ujae of the Yujang Sect. Regarding the matter in Yueyang... thank you again."

As he bowed politely, the original companions smiled brightly and waved their hands.

"Don't mention it. Are the elders in your sect doing well?"

"Yes. They are working day and night to rebuild the foundation of the Yujang Sect."

"That's a relief."

At Namgung Seonhwa's words, everyone nodded, but Nam Hwaseong, the only one unaware of the incident in Yueyang, put on a dumbfounded expression.

"What happened?"

"..."

"..."

Nam Hwaseong asked a question, but no one answered him.

Feeling awkward, Nam Hwaseong lowered his head and vigorously scratched the back of it.

That's what he gets for pointlessly forcing his way into an uncomfortable setting.

Since I couldn't just leave it be anyway, I quickly moved on to introducing Nam Hwaseong.

"This over here is Nam Hwaseong of the Samwon Sect."

Suddenly, Nam Hwaseong leaped up from his seat and formed a fist salute.

"A pleasure to meet you. I am Nam Hwaseong of the Samwon Sect. Let us wash away past events down the Yangtze River and write a new history together."

His booming voice echoed throughout the annex.

They still gave him an awkward round of applause.

I continued my explanation about Nam Hwaseong.

"He's from the Twelve Peaks and Castles and entered the representative officers as a spy. So don't discuss any secrets in front of him."

"..."

The air instantly turned cold.

Nam Hwaseong blinked and stared at me, looking like a cow that just got its fodder stolen.

"What? Why?"

"..."

If they were going to plant a spy, they should have planted someone at least a little smarter.

I had no idea what Cheol Sunjik was thinking either.