The night after Cheonyeong and Lee Cheongik's match, a drinking party was once again held at the Tang Family's lodging.

"Family Head, Family Head."

Around the time the drinking party was getting lively, a voice called from outside, and Cheonyeong opened the door to look.

It was a young Taoist boy, who looked to be just over ten years old.

"Who is it?"

"My name is Cheongsu."

"Cheongsu?"

The name of the Taoist boy who took care of the Tang Family's lodging was Cheongin.

"It seems my junior brother Cheongin is slacking off again."

Cheongsu looked around and frowned prettily.

The sight of a ten-year-old Taoist boy scolding his junior brother was quite cute.

"Isn't he at that age? As his senior brother, you should understand."

Cheonyeong smiled and defended Cheongsu, showing respect to the young Taoist boy.

"But what brings you here?"

"The Master of Cheonsadong wishes to see you."

"The Master of Cheonsadong?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"It is a tradition in the Blue Green Sect to give a blessing to the participants before the final match. The young master of the Yu family has already gone."

"Hmm..."

At Cheongsu's words, Cheonyeong tilted his head.

A blessing from the Blue Green Sect?

But it was a tradition.

"Why? What's going on?"

Baekta, who was in the middle of the drinking party, came over and asked.

"They say they'll give me a blessing."

"Who?"

"A Taoist called the Master of Cheonsadong."

Cheonyeong smacked his lips.

"Shall I get ready?"

As Yongcheon stood up, Cheonyeong glanced inside the lodging and waved his hand.

"No, just stay."

"Pardon?"

"If you come along, it'll make things awkward. And it's just a blessing. It won't look good if we all go in a group."

The lodging was in the middle of a drinking party.

The topic, of course, was his and Lee Cheongik's match.

Perhaps because he had spent quite a long time with Baekta, Lee Cheongik was chattily rambling on about today's match.

He was so excited, even though he had lost.

Anyone who saw him would think he had won.

And his storytelling was so good that everyone was engrossed in his story.

"Stay. If I'm not here, you, as the Vice-Family Head, should entertain the guests."

At Cheonyeong's words, Yongcheon frowned deeply and nodded.

"Still, though. Should the main character be missing?"

"Main character?"

At Baekta's words, Cheonyeong smirked and looked at Lee Cheongik.

From Gwak and Go to Hwang Jeongmun.

He's completely mesmerized them.

Anyone could see that the main character of tonight's drinking party was him.

"It looks like it'll be fun even without me, so what's the big deal."

"Well..."

Baekta didn't bother to deny it.

"But do you really need a blessing?"

"Why, can't I receive one?"

Cheonyeong asked back, pointing at himself with a finger as if he were dumbfounded.

"Actually, it's a bit like that. Why are you getting a blessing? Only Yu Seongyeon, who will be in danger because of you, should receive it."

This bastard...

Cheonyeong, who suddenly felt a sense of defiance, got up from his seat.

"I'll be right back, so keep eating. Myeongseon, you think about that matter too. How is it that there's no progress? No progress at all. Are you really from the Beggars' Sect?"

"You son of a bitch! Do you think I like this? The Wild Cats have been digging all this time, but nothing's coming out, so what do you want me to do?"

"Hah..."

"I admit it, I admit it. That my reasoning was wrong."

"That might be the case."

It was something he had also been thinking about to some extent.

The Wild Cats, the Green Warrior Unit, and Cheonyeong and the others.

This many people had observed all the participants and their attendants they had met since participating in the preliminary rounds of the Assembly of Elders until now.

But no trace of Jingagu was found anywhere.

If that was the case, then they weren't there.

Hadn't the investigation started from Baekta's vague guess, based on the circumstances the Wild Cats had found out?

"But one thing is certain."

"What is it?"

"The Blue Green Sect..."

"Hey!"

As Baekta was about to say the same thing again, Cheonyeong shouted to stop him and made a pathetic expression.

A guy from the Beggars' Sect, and so clueless.

The Blue Green Sect's Taoist boy was listening.

"I'm telling you, it's true. My intuition tells me so."

At Baekta's confident expression, Cheonyeong shook his head.

A conspiracy theorist chatterbox.

It's all because he lost.

If he had won, look.

This kind of suspicion would have disappeared in an instant.

"Huh!?"

"...What now?"

"Cheonyeong, by any chance..."

Baekta, who had suddenly glanced at the Taoist boy, approached Cheonyeong and whispered in his ear.

"Could the blessing also be a conspiracy by the Blue Green Sect?"

"..."

"Before the finals tomorrow, they call you over. And wham!"

Baekta's words were just ticklish.

"Hey, get away."

"Huh?"

"I said get away, you crazy bastard."

"Ah! Sorry."

"I thought my ear was going to die from the itching."

Cheonyeong frowns deeply and picks his ear.

"Cheonyeong-ah."

"Stop. Stop it. I'm tired of it now."

"Hey, think about it. This makes sense. The situation is like that, the situation. It's so obvious. If we do it right, we can get the Blue Green Sect's weakness..."

"Tsk!"

"..."

"Myeongseon, please don't be so petty. It's not that I don't know your position, but it's the Blue Green Sect, the Blue Green Sect."

At Cheonyeong's scolding, Baekta pouted with his lips sticking out.

In fact, how could he not know his feelings?

He had expected it from the moment he had mobilized over a hundred Wild Cats.

He wasn't even a successor, just a candidate for successor, so how could he have mobilized so many people?

He must have asked for help from above.

Even if not the Sect Leader, he must have borrowed the hand of his master.

The extermination of the assassins who had infiltrated the Blue Green Sect.

Where could there be a better achievement than this?

And now that all of that was turning into bubbles.

Baekta would want to grab onto anything.

So that he could save face.

But no matter how much, to think of grabbing someone else's weakness and shaking it.

It was the Blue Green Sect, the core of the Central Plains' Taoism. And the Changlim Sword Saint, a great elder of the martial world.

Even he, who would not shy away from any means for his purpose, would not think of such a thing.

"Excuse me. The Beggar Dragon of the Beggars' Sect, Baekta-nim."

"..."

"Stop talking nonsense and just drink your liquor. I'll be back soon. Okay?!"

"Hmph!"

At Cheonyeong's teasing words, the completely sulking Baekta trudged back to his seat.

That one, that one, he's just old. He's a child, a child.

How did someone like that become the hero who later shook the entire martial world, the Drunken Immortal?

A guy who only knows how to dig up other people's weaknesses, what's with the 'Immortal'?

Rather, as Nam Gwangro of the Sanggun said, 'Little Devil' is a perfect fit.

"Ah, Doh-sa-nim. I've taken too much time. I'm sorry for making you wait."

"Immeasurable Life Buddha, don't mention it."

Cheonyeong apologized to Cheongsu, who had been waiting the whole time.

Why else would he be a descendant of the Mandeok Estate?

Although he seemed cold and indifferent to others, he was originally a kind and considerate person. As long as you didn't make an enemy of him.

"Then shall we go?"

"I will escort you."

The path he took, following Cheongsu.

The steps that had moved away from the Tang Family's lodging walked through the darkness.

Cheonsadong was quite far from the lodging.

The middle of the Blue Green Mountain.

He had to pass a long mountain path, but Cheonsadong was also within the Blue Green Sect's sphere of influence, so what could possibly happen...

Clearing his mind with the wind, Cheonyeong walked towards Cheonsadong, relying on the lantern held by Cheongsu.

Hwiii...

A cold wind brushes past the surrounding trees.

And a part of the darkness moved as if it were alive, following Cheonyeong.

***

Cheonsadong.

It is an old cave behind the Sangdogwan, located at about the seventh ridge of the Blue Green Mountain, below the summit.

A place where one of the old founders of the Blue Green Sect had lived and preached the Tao.

Therefore, during the day, many people came to offer incense.

But.

"I have brought him."

"Good work."

The person standing in front of Cheonsadong put money in the hand of Cheongsu, who had been guiding the way with a lantern.

"Then I will be on my way."

"Alright."

The child who had taken the money ran down the mountain in a hurry.

Cheonyeong stared blankly at the sight.

"Heh, my goodness."

A hollow laugh escaped him.

At the fact that he had fallen into a cliché trap.

My, my, I prided myself on being one of the smartest people in the world.

Looking back, there were more than one or two strange things.

The changed Taoist boy.

The sudden blessing.

Nevertheless, the reason he had foolishly fallen into the trap was.

It was because of the complacency that the place called the Blue Green Sect gave, and the arrogance that he would not be easily deceived by others.

Cheonyeong, who had been looking in the direction the kid who had called him out under the name of Cheongsu had fled, turned his head.

Cheonyeong's cold, cooled eyes looked at the person who had called him.

A person with a masked face.

As if that wasn't enough, a person dressed in black clothes that resembled the darkness.

Before he knew it, in addition to the person in front, ten masked men had formed a siege around Cheonyeong.

Come to think of it, he couldn't feel any other presence around.

Since Cheonsadong was an important place for the Blue Green Sect, it was only natural that there should have been Taoists managing it day and night.

But now, it was just him and the masked men.

Does this make sense?

No, it might make sense.

They were punks who had set a trap at night, wearing masks, and had lured him by disguising a child as a Taoist boy.

They must have made that much preparation.

"What are you guys?"

At the question asked with a cold face, the masked man said.

"Those who have a grudge."

"A grudge?"

"You should not have treated the young master like that."

At the masked man's words, one of Cheonyeong's eyes twitches.

Why are you so confident?

Isn't this no different from openly saying that I'm from the Blue Serpent Sect?

His bewilderment was sky-high.

Seureureung.

The masked man, as if he had no intention of talking anymore, immediately drew his sword.

Because the moon was hidden by the clouds, the blade did not glint, but a sharp edge could be felt in the darkness.

"My, my. Amazing, amazing. The Blue Serpent Sect."

Although his body could have shrunk from the edge felt from all sides, Cheonyeong shook his head with a hollow laugh.

"The Blue Serpent Sect disciples have quite a lot of loyalty. And they're bold too. You guys... have you forgotten that this is the Blue Green Sect?"

"..."

"Do you not know what happens if you cause a murder in the Blue Green Sect's Taoist temple, and in a place that is no different from the founder's cave?"

"It doesn't matter. We just need to avenge our young master!"

Pa-ak!

As soon as the words were finished, a sword strike rushed in.

Swi-ik!

The edge that cut through the space, closing the distance in an instant, is quite sharp.

The moment he jumped back.

Sa-sa-sak!

"...!"

The masked men who had formed a siege swung their swords at Cheonyeong's back.

"Tch!"

These bastards are attacking from behind, cowardly?

Cheonyeong, who had quickly twisted his body, swung his hand with Samyang True Qi.

Kaa-a-ang!

A rough metallic sound.

The moment Cheonyeong, who had deflected the sword, was about to attack.

Swae-aek!

A sword that flew from behind again stops his action.

"Damn it! So this is how it is? Good! Then I can't just stand by either!"

Cheonyeong, who had clenched his teeth, raised his Samyang True Qi to its limit and stomped the ground with all his might.

Kku-deuk! Kku-u-u-ung!

As the internal energy contained in his foot dug into the ground and exploded, the surrounding earth shook violently.

Pa-a-ak!

In the end, the ground, which could not withstand the Samyang True Qi, shot up fiercely around Cheonyeong.

Ta-da-da-da-dak!

"Dodge!"

The masked man, who was suddenly attacked by rocks and dirt, swings his sword wildly and retreats.

"Hoo..."

Cheonyeong, who had calmed his rough breathing from the rapidly raised internal energy, glares at the masked men.

He was still surrounded by them.

But the atmosphere was different from before.

The ground for about five feet around him was hideously dug up, and at that sight, the masked men's eyes were full of surprise.

They hadn't expected it.

That his internal energy would be at this level...

"Now, how about it?"

"...?"

"That was a pretty big sound, wasn't it? Enough to be heard even from the summit."

Cheonyeong grinned.

Last time, hadn't he experienced it when the Ghost Hand had come to see him?

The Blue Green Sect's night patrol.

When he had exchanged about twenty blows with the Ghost Hand, they had come, hearing the commotion.

So if they had detected the shockwave just now, they would come soon. Even if it was Cheonsadong, located at the seventh ridge.

"Damn it, you cunning punk! Attack!"

The leader of the masked men, who was worried about the patrol's intervention, shouted with all his might, and a pale blue sword qi rose from all sides and jumped at Cheonyeong.

Peol-leok!

As Cheonyeong spread his clothes, he brought both hands to his inner garment.

Soon, his hands were full of hidden weapons.

(End of Chapter)