Chapter 81

Chapter 81

The deep shadows beneath his eyes made Cheongsol’s complexion appear even paler. Seeing Cheongsol with such profound sorrow in his eyes, Youngho felt sympathy arise within him where none had existed before.

“Uh….”

At Cheongsol’s utterly wretched appearance, Youngho found it difficult to speak easily.

“What is the matter?”

“I brought someone to help with Chief Aide Cheongsol’s work.”

Even at Youngho’s words that he could offer help, Cheongsol spoke without blinking once.

“Fifth Young Master, I am quite competent. To keep up with my work capacity, one cannot be at a mediocre level.”

Youngho finally heard the words he had been waiting for and smiled knowingly.

“Just test her first. Yeongmong. You introduce yourself.”

“Yes.”

Yeongmong stepped forward and stood beside Youngho as she spoke.

“My name is Yeongmong. I mainly handle administrative duties, am skilled at cleanup work for Martial Artists, and I know a little about military strategy as well.”

Her words were extremely concise, and precisely because of that, they were all the more substantial. Cheongsol felt a slight interest toward Yeongmong, who had not embellished herself with a single unnecessary word.

“It is late at night, but would you be willing to take a test?”

“Gladly.”

At Yeongmong’s bold reply, Cheongsol selected several tasks that were light in nature yet extremely exhausting in their cleanup and handed them to her.

“Process all of these documents within one Quarter-Hour.”

Yeongmong nodded, and Cheongsol immediately returned to his own work. Meanwhile, Youngho watched the scene with great interest.

‘This is interesting?’

Cheongsol still did not know much about Yeongmong. It was only natural since they had just met, but it was said that outstanding people could recognize one another.

Cheongsol had likely glimpsed something about Yeongmong, even if only faintly.

When One Dakyung had passed, Yeongmong carried the documents toward Cheongsol.

Without giving Yeongmong even a glance, Cheongsol opened his mouth.

“Have you finished?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Let me take a look.”

As Cheongsol examined the documents Yeongmong had processed, his eyes widened.

“Huh….”

He let out an exclamation and, without realizing it, began to laugh.

“Ha, hahat!”

His trembling laughter made him look no different from a madman, but Youngho merely grinned.

“How is it? Is this enough?”

Cheongsol grasped both of Youngho’s hands and said,

“Fifth Young Master, this is truly the honor of three lifetimes. I never imagined such a day would come for me. You said her name is Yeongmong? I will take excellent care of this child. With her alone, my work processing time will decrease severalfold. To finish this murderous stack of documents in merely One Dakyung, and with such perfection….”

Seeing that he would continue endlessly if not stopped, Youngho casually cut him off.

“That’s enough. Shadow has taken in a disciple.”

Cheongsol, who had been muttering as if possessed by a ghost, fell silent. Then his eyes widened greatly.

“Shadow has taken in a disciple?”

“Yeah.”

“What is his name?”

“Black Shadow.”

“So Shadow named him himself.”

“How did you know?”

“Shadow once said that if he ever took in a disciple, the name would absolutely be Black Shadow.”

“He’s secretly quite amusing, isn’t he?”

Youngho chuckled briefly before speaking again.

“Chief Aide Cheongsol wouldn’t do such a thing, but I’m saying this just in case.”

“Do not worry. They are treasures obtained for the first time. No matter what happens, I will protect Yeongmong and Black Shadow well.”

At Cheongsol’s words, which perfectly grasped his intention, Youngho smirked.

“Good enough. Then keep up the good work.”

As Youngho turned to leave, Cheongsol spoke.

“The First Young Master will emerge from Closed-Door Training tomorrow.”

Thud.

For an instant, Youngho’s body stiffened. No—rather than stiffened, it was more accurate to say he stopped.

“Hmm….”

After letting out a brief nasal sound, Youngho smirked.

“What is there to worry about?”

“I am worried that the shrimp’s back will burst when whales fight.”

“Do I look like a shrimp to you?”

“That is not what I meant, but….”

Cheongsol hesitated briefly before continuing.

“I am concerned that the backs of those beside Fifth Young Master might burst.”

“Well, that is true.”

Youngho did not deny it. He was strong. But just because Youngho was strong did not mean those around him were as well.

Even Sopyung, whom Youngho cherished, had not learned even the slightest bit of martial arts.

Thus, Youngho spoke with even greater confidence.

“It simply means I must make the backs of my people sturdier.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“There’s something like that.”

As if he had nothing more to say, Youngho left. Cheongsol stared blankly at his departing figure for a moment before sitting back down.

“Yeongmong. I look forward to working with you from now on.”

“Yes, Chief Aide.”

Yeongmong also sat before Cheongsol and began processing documents. Why the Lord of the Unorthodox Alliance was not present here was no longer important.

What mattered was that Yeongmong had now obtained a workplace she could be satisfied with.

‘It’s much better than I expected?’

There was a lot of work, but it was not as difficult as she had anticipated. The same went for Cheongsol.

From now on, the only thing Yeongmong needed to worry about was the mountain-like pile of paperwork.

It was the moment when the first Deputy Chief Aide was born within the Unorthodox Alliance.

And as usual, the next day dawned.

“Now, just swing ten more times. Let’s keep it up.”

At Youngho’s carefree tone, those swinging their swords cried out.

“Aaaagh! You said just ten more swings earlier too!”

“This is already the third time!”

If the Asura Squad Members receiving Youngho’s training had merely been swinging their swords, they would have done so in silence.

“How many Geun is this thing?!”

However, extremely heavy weights were attached to the swords they had to swing.

Youngho smiled wickedly as he spoke.

“Do you think simply swinging a sword will make your body stronger? And something like this—I could lift it with chopsticks.”

“It feels like I’m lifting three grown men! Why is this tiny weight so heavy?!”

“Of course it is! That weight is made of Dense Iron I specially requested from a blacksmith! It should be heavy!”

“I seriously want to punch you right in the philtrum!”

At Hyeon-gang’s shout, the Asura Squad Members spoke up.

“Ah… that’s a bit much.”

“How could you punch Young Master’s face….”

“Hm?”

Sensing something strange, Hyeon-gang looked at Youngho. Youngho wore a very benevolent smile as he spoke.

“I’ll attach one more weight to Hyeon-gang’s body, and you and I will have a Sparring Match.”

“Pardon? Young Master?”

“You’re not even swinging your sword properly, yet you dare to act up?”

From the courtyard of Youngho’s residence, Hyeon-gang’s desperate scream rang out.

“Now then, let’s eat.”

Thud.

No sooner had Youngho finished speaking than the Asura Squad Members dropped their swords.

“Wow, I’m dying. I’m seriously dying.”

“Even if calluses form, why are my palms still tearing?!”

Lightly ignoring their complaints, Youngho picked up a Chicken Leg and said,

“Not eating? I’ll eat it all.”

“We’re eating! Just please don’t eat everything!”

Those already accustomed to Youngho’s training were stuffing food into their mouths the moment it was served.

The ones voicing complaints were merely those who had yet to adapt to Youngho’s new training.

Watching his little brats(?) gradually taking shape, Youngho smiled with satisfaction.

“Sopyung. How are the ingredients Chief Aide Cheongsol is sending?”

Sopyung, who had Wheat Noodles stuffed in her mouth and was chewing, jumped in surprise.

“Dey’re all perfec!”

“Finish swallowing before you speak.”

Sopyung gulped down the Wheat Noodles and said,

“They’re all top-grade! But why is Chief Aide personally sending the food ingredients all of a sudden?”

At Sopyung’s openly puzzled expression, everyone avoided her gaze.

Even Youngho was no exception.

“……I asked him to. Recently, it seemed like a few ‘impurities’ had gotten mixed into the food ingredients.”

“Impurities? That can’t be right. I definitely selected good ingredients.”

Despite Sopyung’s confusion, Youngho could not bring himself to say that Hanryeong had put poison in the food.

“……Too pure.”

“Yes? What did you say, Young Master?”

“It’s nothing. Just finish eating.”

“Yes!”

Jongpal, who had been devouring his meal, seemed a little full and spoke with a grin.

“By the way, I heard the First Young Master has come out of Closed-Door Training?”

“…Where on earth do you even get information like that?”

“I’m pretty friendly with people, you know.”

“That’s true.”

Unlike his beggar-like name, Jongpal was on good terms with a wide range of people.

‘Still, isn’t this too fast?’

His information network was beyond imagination.

“When the First Young Master comes out of Closed-Door Training….”

Jongpal hesitated, as though the next words were difficult to say.

Seeing him hesitate, Youngho smiled.

“Jongpal, there are two ways to make someone angry.”

“What are they?”

“The first is to stop speaking midway, and the second is….”

“What’s the second?”

When Youngho said nothing further, Jongpal finally realized and let out a sigh.

“Fine, I’ll say it.”

Jongpal slurped up Beef Noodles and spoke.

“If the First Young Master and you fight, who wins?”

An instant silence fell. The sound of smacking lips, the slurping of Wheat Noodles—even breathing itself—every sound ceased.

However, the silence did not last long, and at Jongpal’s words, Elder Hyeok burst out laughing.

“Hey, you brat! What kind of nonsense is that…!”

“I win.”

Drip.

At Youngho’s words, Beef Noodles slipped from Jongpal’s mouth, and Elder Hyeok’s eyes bulged. The reactions of the other Asura Squad Members were no different.

Only those who had traveled the Martial World with Youngho continued eating as though it were nothing.

Elder Hyeok asked in a trembling voice,

“Y-You truly would win?”

“Yeah.”

As if unable to understand what ridiculous question was being asked, Youngho put a piece of Dongpo Pork into his mouth and said,

“I told you. I’m in the Transformation Realm.”

“Wasn’t that a lie?”

Youngho glared at Jongpal.

“Did it look like a lie to you?”

As Youngho’s eyes sharpened, Jongpal shrank back and said,

“No, I thought you were joking… You haven’t even reached Coming-of-Age Age yet—how could you have reached the Transformation Realm….”

Youngho let out a deep sigh.

“You still doubt it?”

“Of course. How can I believe that? The only person in this world who reached the Transformation Realm before Coming-of-Age Age was the Heavenly Demon.”

“That’s right. That bastard is a monster.”

It seemed he would have to show them a little for things to be easier going forward.

Youngho pointed at Jongpal with his index finger. Startled at being singled out, Jongpal spoke in an uneasy voice.

“Why are you pointing at me, Young Master?”

“Watch carefully, you bastards.”

Youngho concentrated his Internal Energy into his index finger. A needle-thin, elongated form of Qi appeared at his fingertip.

“Now, this is ordinary Qi.”

“Yes.”

“Then from here, I’ll compress it.”

“W-Wait, that’s Hardened Force, isn’t it?”

Ignoring Jongpal’s question, Youngho slowly began compressing the needle-like Qi.

Wooooong.

A deep, resonant hum rang out from his finger. The Qi gathered there gradually compressed, transforming into solid Hardened Force.

When they saw Hardened Force manifest at Youngho’s fingertip, the onlookers cried out in shock.

“Holy shit!”

“What the hell? That’s really Hardened Force?”

“Is that actually Hardened Force?”

“How would I know? I’ve never seen it before!”

Youngho then withdrew the Internal Energy he had infused and spoke.

“Do you believe now that I’m in the Transformation Realm?”

The expressions of the Asura Squad Members gradually stiffened.

As if unable to believe it. As if they had just witnessed a miracle.

Each of them sank into their own thoughts.