Chapter 67
The Drunken Moon Elite lived his life however he pleased.
He too was a genius, like the other martial artists who had survived until now.
He learned martial arts several times faster than others and had superior combat instincts.
At one point, he had been the Heir Apparent (Hu-gae) to the leadership position of the Beggars’ Sect.
Of course, he stepped down from that position because he adamantly declined becoming the leader of the Beggars’ Sect.
Fifty years ago.
When he was forty years old, the Dragon Head Leader of the Beggars’ Sect at that time had tried to discipline the Drunken Moon Elite more strictly.
Considering his martial arts skills and his position in the hierarchy, he should have been playing an important role in the Beggars’ Sect, but he was only focused on wandering the martial world.
But then the Righteous-Evil War broke out.
The evil faction declared war on the righteous faction, who had been trying to control them in order to prevent them from exploiting ordinary citizens and to maintain order in the martial world.
At that time, five heroes appeared like divine beings.
The Sword Saint Namgung Mu-ryong of the Namgung family.
The Taoist Priest Paeng Gil-san of the Northern Paeng family.
Master Juwon of the Shaolin Temple.
The Sword Emperor Yuyeop-jin-in of the Wudang Sect.
And the Drunken Moon Elite of the Beggars’ Sect.
These five, who had already been close friends, displayed remarkable prowess during the Righteous-Evil War, each fighting like a hundred men as they eradicated the evil faction.
Though the righteous faction was initially overwhelmed by numbers, they ultimately achieved victory in the Righteous-Evil War through the spectacular efforts of these five masters and their allies.
In the process, the leader of the Beggars’ Sect at that time was killed in battle.
As a result, the plan to bring the Drunken Moon Elite to his senses was abandoned.
The next appointed leader was someone who had become a beggar on the same day as the Drunken Moon Elite.
Simply put, they were peers.
He too tried to persuade the Drunken Moon Elite to settle down somewhere.
But the Drunken Moon Elite ran away for 20 years, and eventually, the Justice-Demon war War broke out.
The Justice-Demon war War was different from the Righteous-Evil War.
Unlike the evil faction, which had overwhelming numbers but fewer absolute masters, the demonic sect had fewer members, but each one was a fearsome expert.
But once again, the five led by the Drunken Moon Elite performed brilliantly.
Showing even greater improvement than during the Righteous-Evil War twenty years prior, they defeated the demonic sect’s masters one by one, ultimately disbanding the demonic sect.
The problem was that the leader of the Beggars’ Sect died in this war too.
Thanks to that, the next leader—the current Dragon Head Leader, Heavenly Beloved Divine Beggar—was elected, but he was one rank lower than the Drunken Moon Elite in the Beggars’ Sect hierarchy.
And since the Drunken Moon Elite was revered as a hero throughout the entire martial world…
In the end, there was no beggar left in this world who could admonish the Drunken Moon Elite.
Whooosh—
An unseasonable gale blew through Kaifeng in Henan Province late at night.
More precisely, at the Beggars’ Sect headquarters in Kaifeng.
That wind passed over the large and small huts where the beggars lived.
Tap tap tap
That wind was the Drunken Moon Elite.
He increased his speed as he stepped very lightly across the tops of the huts.
It was an extraordinary footwork technique that far surpassed the realm of “running on grass without leaving a trace.”
The beggars sleeping in the huts couldn’t even sense what was passing by.
‘These fools. I should teach them a lesson someday. First-level or second-level disciples might be excused, but from the third level up, they’ve eaten enough martial rice to know better. How can they not notice someone jumping on their heads?!’
The Drunken Moon Elite was casually thinking something that would have appalled the disciples of the Beggars’ Sect if they had heard it.
Detecting his “First in the Martial World” footwork technique wasn’t easy even for supreme masters, but that wasn’t his concern.
After going deeper into the beggars’ den for quite some time, he came across an unremarkable hut against a cliff.
The Drunken Moon Elite rushed straight toward that hut.
Swish—
Swoosh—
At that moment, two beggars appeared in his path, blocking his way.
Both had six knots tied at their waists.
“Stop!”
“Beyond this point is not… Elder?”
“Ji-hwan. No-sak. Have you been well?”
The Drunken Moon Elite greeted them cheerfully.
Six knots represent a quite high position within the Beggars’ Sect.
The sixth-level disciples are Law Beggars, directly selected by the Beggars’ Sect elders for their trustworthiness, martial prowess, and righteousness. They ensure that Beggars’ Sect members follow the rules and are responsible for judgment and execution. The sixth-level rank is also bestowed upon those who serve as bodyguards for the Dragon Head Leader or Heir Apparent.
“Elder, what brings you here?”
“Is it wrong for an elder of the Beggars’ Sect to come to the sect’s headquarters?”
When the Drunken Moon Elite frowned, No-sak waved his hands and answered.
“Ah! Absolutely not! It’s just that you don’t usually come here, so I was asking. I wondered if there was some urgent matter.”
“Hmm… Is that so?”
“It’s true.”
The Drunken Moon Elite looked No-sak up and down with suspicious eyes, but soon nodded.
“Very well. Has the Sect Leader retired to his chambers?”
“Not yet. He was at the training ground until just now.”
“Is that so? That’s fortunate. I won’t have to wake him up.”
Though it was called a training ground, it was merely a large open space, but since they practiced martial arts there, calling it a training ground wasn’t incorrect.
“Is there such an urgent matter that you need to see the Sect Leader at this hour of night?”
The beggar called Ji-hwan asked with a worried tone.
He thought there must be a good reason for the Drunken Moon Elite to come all the way here, when he usually wouldn’t come to headquarters even when called and would only send messages through other disciples.
“It’s not something I should discuss with you two. I’m going in to see the Sect Leader, alright?”
“Yes, understood.”
The Drunken Moon Elite leapt toward the Sect Leader’s hut without waiting for their response.
“Sect Leader. This is the Drunken Moon Elite.”
His voice outside the hut was quite solemn and respectful.
Although the Drunken Moon Elite appeared to be someone who wouldn’t know about etiquette, for some reason he showed respect to the Sect Leader who was lower in rank than himself.
“Elder?”
A gentle voice was heard from inside, and soon a martial artist emerged.
Unlike typical martial artists with firm, muscular bodies, he had a warm, round physique like a friendly neighbor, with kind round eyes.
Despite being the Sect Leader, he didn’t wear particularly fine clothes.
Like other beggars, his hair was disheveled and he wore rags, yet there seemed to be a profound aura emanating from him.
“Elder Drunken Moon Elite, to see the Dragon Head Sect Leader.”
The Drunken Moon Elite said with a deep bow.
Anyone watching would have taken him for a loyal subordinate.
“Elder…? What brings you here… No, why are you being so frightening toward me?”
“Frightening? I don’t understand. I was merely greeting you respectfully with the utmost admiration.”
“That’s precisely it. That’s what’s frightening. Please treat me as you normally would. Like normal!”
The Drunken Moon Elite raised his head.
There was a slight smile on his face.
“Shall I do that?”
“Yes. Please.”
The Drunken Moon Elite chuckled.
“Sect Leader. You know better than anyone how busy a person I am, don’t you?”
“Yes. That’s why I’ve been considerate enough to let you only take on the missions you want.”
“Haha! I’m grateful for that. And aren’t you a very busy person yourself, Sect Leader?”
The Heavenly Beloved Divine Beggar retorted with disbelief.
“Someone who knows that, at this hour of night…”
“Exactly! That’s why I’m getting straight to the point. I have a favor to ask.”
“A favor?”
The Heavenly Beloved Divine Beggar’s eyes flickered.
The Drunken Moon Elite rarely asked for favors.
And whenever he did say “favor,” he would come with unreasonable requests.
‘Twenty years ago, what was it…? He said he found a place where civilians who suffered during the Justice-Demon war War had gathered, and that we needed to provide financial support, so he took ten taels of silver from this beggars’ den… And ten years ago, he said he didn’t want to attend the annual headquarters gathering anymore…’
Just thinking about these things gave the Heavenly Beloved Divine Beggar a headache.
Gritting his teeth, he said:
“Please, tell me what it is.”
“I’m thinking of taking on a disciple.”
“A disciple?!”
The Heavenly Beloved Divine Beggar, wondering if he had misheard, unconsciously dug in his ear.
But all that came out was earwax.
“Yes. I’ve found a child I want to take as my disciple. If you’ll permit it, I’d like to raise them diligently.”
“Th-That’s wonderful news! If someone can carry on your legacy, it will be a great strength to our Beggars’ Sect!”
The Heavenly Beloved Divine Beggar felt his headache clearing at once.
He thought that if the Drunken Moon Elite took on a disciple, perhaps his wanderlust would subside a bit.
But then something struck him as strange.
“But why are you asking for my permission? You could have taken on a disciple and just informed me later. Why go so far as to make it a ‘favor’?”
Unfortunately, the Heavenly Beloved Divine Beggar knew the Drunken Moon Elite all too well.
He had a strong feeling that this wasn’t just about taking on an ordinary disciple.
The Drunken Moon Elite grinned, showing his teeth.
“Sect Leader. Don’t you think our Beggars’ Sect needs to make further progress?”
“Progress is good. It’s the method that’s the issue.”
“So here’s my proposal: what if we start accepting secular disciples?”
“Secular disciples?!”
The Dragon Head Sect Leader’s brow furrowed instinctively.
And his mind began racing.
The Dragon Head Sect Leader is the head of the Beggars’ Sect, the martial world’s foremost intelligence organization.
The qualities required of a Dragon Head Sect Leader include powerful martial arts as a basic requirement, as well as a brilliant mind capable of processing various information and the memory to retain all that information.
And he had risen to his current position as Dragon Head Sect Leader because all those qualities had been verified.
He recalled a name from his memory.
“Could it be Namgung…”
“Hahaha! If you already know, this will go quickly. I’d like to teach a child named Namgung Ha Hyeon.”
Then suddenly, the Heavenly Beloved Divine Beggar had a question.
“But that child is the Sword Saint’s…”
“You don’t need to worry about that. Mu-ryong and I have already discussed everything.”
“But we don’t accept secular disciples…”
“There’s nothing in the sect rules that says we can’t accept secular disciples. If Ha Hyeon grows well and makes a name for himself in the martial world, our Beggars’ Sect’s name will rise with him. This beggar can guarantee it.”
The Drunken Moon Elite spoke as if he had prepared for this, cutting off the Heavenly Beloved Divine Beggar’s questions.
His face suggested that the matter was already decided.
“Haah…”
The Heavenly Beloved Divine Beggar let out a deep sigh.
Honestly, the moment the Drunken Moon Elite said he wanted to do something, the discussion was essentially over.
As long as it didn’t violate the sect rules, the Drunken Moon Elite always managed to do what he wanted to do.
“Then I have several conditions…”
“Please speak!”
“First, since he’s a secular disciple, even though he’ll be your disciple, he won’t qualify to be the Heir Apparent. Do you agree?”
The Drunken Moon Elite nodded with a broad smile.
He never had any interest in positions like Heir Apparent or Dragon Head Sect Leader in the first place.
“Second. As your disciple, you’ll teach him everything, but you must not teach him the Dragon-Subduing Eighteen Palms. You understand the reason without me explaining, right?”
The Drunken Moon Elite nodded without hesitation again.
The Dragon-Subduing Eighteen Palms is originally the Dragon Head Sect Leader’s martial art.
He learned it because the previous Dragon Head Sect Leader, before dying, had told him the formula to pass on to the Heir Apparent, but he had no intention of teaching it to Ha Hyeon in the first place.
“Finally, third. Even though he’s a secular disciple, I want him to be a member of our Beggars’ Sect. I’m not saying he should dress like a beggar like us, but I’d like him to formally join the sect.”
This time, the Drunken Moon Elite didn’t answer immediately.
He seemed to be contemplating something.
After a moment, he shook his head.
“Sect Leader. I’m afraid that won’t be possible.”
“Why not?”
“The child I’ve been watching is a member of the Namgung family. And he has established his place there with difficulty. I don’t want to change his circumstances because of my selfishness.”
It was a truly solemn expression on the Drunken Moon Elite’s face, unlike the playful one from just before—one not seen for a very long time.
While the Heavenly Beloved Divine Beggar was unable to respond, the Drunken Moon Elite said:
“However, I will teach him to consider himself affiliated with the Beggars’ Sect in matters not related to the Namgung family. I will ensure he has respect for the sect as the martial school of his master. Please grant me this permission.”
As he finished speaking, he bowed his head to the Sect Leader.
This, too, felt sincere, not like his earlier playfulness.
“Hehe… Elder…”
The Heavenly Beloved Divine Beggar couldn’t help but laugh at the sight.
After thinking for just a moment, he nodded deeply and said:
“Very well. Since it’s something you’re doing, Elder, I trust you’ll handle it properly. But could I meet the child sometime soon? I’d like to see what kind of child has captivated you so.”
“Haha. Thank you. I’ll bring him soon. I’m sure you’ll like him.”
Affection seemed to be dripping from the Drunken Moon Elite’s face.
The Heavenly Beloved Divine Beggar, seeing such an expression on his face for the first time in his life, couldn’t help but stick out his tongue in amazement.
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