Chapter 644

Ding. Ding. Ding.

System

• A new Quest, Tribal Grand Council, has been created!

Quest

Tribal Grand Council

You have become the first outsider in the history of the Nanman Beast Palace to earn the right to attend the Tribal Grand Council.

This is an achievement that even the Fire Gate Clan’s fifth Sect Leader failed to accomplish.

Why? Because he destroyed the Five Poisons Sect and left before the council could even begin!

At this momentous meeting, where the major and minor affairs of Nanman will be decided, you must achieve the best possible result you can right now!

Grade: Supreme Peak

Restriction: Jin Taekyung

Mission: Nanman Beast Palace’s entry into the alliance (Incomplete)

Reward: ???

Failure: ???

I stared at the Quest window and sighed inwardly.

Public opinion might have turned in my favor, but getting the Nanman Beast Palace to join the alliance? That was every bit as tough as the Quest’s Supreme Peak Grade suggested.

And what was that bit about the fifth Sect Leader…?

That was the Fire Gate Clan for you.

A venerable sect of thugs, passed down from one person to the next for hundreds of years. I’d heard that some of its Sect Leaders had lived long lives in seclusion, while others had gone out into Murim, burned like flames, and died young. But every last one of them had been a monster whose might placed him among the top five in the world.

That’s probably one reason I’m allowed to sit here.

It might have been over two hundred years ago, but the Nanman Beast Palace and the Fire Gate Clan had a fairly close connection.

By K-Murim logic, it was basically a sect founded by Grandfather Dangun’s best friend.¹

The problem was, I had a talent for beating people up and none whatsoever for persuading them.

Still, I have to do my best.

I straightened my back and looked around at the thirty-two chieftains seated at the table.

The Beast Miao King occupied the seat of honor. To his left and right sat the great chieftains Baeksang, Yohi, and Heugung, in that order. The others seemed to have been seated without regard to the strength of their tribes.

There weren’t many of them, but each chieftain commanded anywhere from several hundred to tens of thousands of tribespeople. In that sense, this gathering was Nanman itself.

As I studied their faces, the Beast Miao King broke the brief silence.

“Well, then.”

His expression was solemn, his gaze dignified. The moment he opened his mouth, the air in the hall drew taut as a bowstring.

Radiating all the authority of the master of the Nanman Beast Palace, the Beast Miao King delivered the historic words that would open the council.

“Did everyone eat before coming here?”

“…?”

“We’ve had some unpleasant things happen lately, but you still shouldn’t skip meals. Chief Jang, you in particular look a little thinner than you did last year.”

“…!”

Historic, my ass.

What did I just hear?

I was still doubting my ears when Chief Jang—the first to offer me a cupped-fist salute earlier—answered.

“As expected, nothing gets past the Palace Lord’s keen eyes. I have lost a little weight.”

No. He’s actually going along with this?

“I thought so. But a chieftain can’t neglect his health. You have to take care of yourself for your tribespeople’s sake. How old are you again?”

“Sixty.”

“You’re still in the prime of life. Eat more.”

“Jonmyeong.”²

Now I was hearing things, too. Jonmyeong sounded like jonmang—“fucked.”

Nanman is fucked.

Was this really the Tribal Grand Council I’d imagined?

I stared at the thirty-two chieftains in disbelief.

These people represented all of Nanman. Yet the Beast Miao King’s opening words had apparently been their cue to start conversations all over the hall that made my spirit shrink just listening to them.

“Chief Gal, I heard the news. Your sixth child had their coming-of-age ceremony?”

“My seventh.”

“I got them mixed up. If only you’d stopped at one or two. I don’t care how vigorous you are—fifteen children?”

“Seventeen.”

“…You definitely had fifteen at last year’s council.”

“We had two more. Twins.”

“Oh.”

On one side, a super-sperm man seemed to be working toward founding a Nanman soccer league.

“Chief Gu. Return the livestock you stole a while ago.”

“What livestock?”

“The fifty-two dairy cows that vanished from the pasture. You think I don’t know your tribespeople took them?”

“I have never done such a thing.”

“Of course you’d say that. Return them while I’m asking nicely.”

“Oh, come on! I’m telling you, we didn’t take them!”

“I said hand over the cows while I’m asking nicely, you cow-udder bastard!”

On another, a furious argument raged over who had stolen all those cows.

“I remember it as if it were yesterday. The day you bastards trespassed on our tribe’s land.”

“Oh, this again? Every damn year. You’re barely forty. Why do you keep bringing up something that happened eighty years ago?”

“Because I inherited the spirits of my ancestors. So give me the land.”

“How does that make sense? Our predecessors settled this!”

“Give me the land.”

“No, seriously…”

“Give me the land.”

Elsewhere, a land ghost insisting he had been reincarnated continued his back-and-forth struggle.

As I watched it all in disbelief, someone’s Sound Transmission reached my ear.

—That’s a funny expression.

I turned my head slightly and met Yohi’s eyes. She was watching me with an amused smile.

—The Tribal Grand Council is always like this. Everyone’s scattered across Nanman and only gets together once a year, so I suppose it’s natural.

I thought for a moment, then answered honestly.

—Even so, this is a complete shitshow.

—The Tribal Grand Council handles all of Nanman’s affairs, major and minor. Minor means the small ones come up, too.

—……That matter is way too small, though.

—How else are thirty-two tribes supposed to live together in harmony? They settle things one by one when everyone’s gathered. It lets them clear up old grudges.

Crash!

“You son of a bitch!”

“Is this bastard out of his mind…?”

“You think your martial arts are that strong? Shut up and come outside.”

The two chieftains arguing over the cows had finally grabbed each other by the collars. Yohi looked at them and added:

—Of course, there are exceptions.

—…

—It’ll be settled soon. The real grand council starts after that.

“Ah, give me the land. I said give it to me.”

“Oh, you Thousand-Year Spider bastard.”

“Come to think of it, a thousand years ago, our ancestors…”

“Stop! Stoooop!”

It’ll be settled soon, she said.

Hmm. I had my doubts.

Are these people really just a bunch of barbarians…?

I kept that thought to myself. But just as Yohi had said, the chaos began to subside, one dispute at a time, and new matters came up.

“Thirty Man warriors were wounded and twenty-two were killed in this year’s ferocious-beast hunt. The beasts seem to have become especially rampant lately, so before the losses grow any larger, we request that the Inner Palace take action……”

“Sudden torrential rain caused a flood. The pasture and around fifty nearby homes were submerged……”

“I report that the dispute between the Huang and Dong tribes has been resolved. Both sides have drawn up an official written agreement and will maintain peace for the next ten years…”

Ferocious-beast hunts. Floods. Tribal disputes.

The appetizers were over. Now the main dishes were coming out.

And among those reports was something that deserved serious attention.

“They say a strange figure has appeared in the northeast.”

A strange figure?

As the question arose in my mind, the Beast Miao King—who until then had merely nodded along with short replies—straightened his posture and spoke.

“A strange figure. This is the first I have heard of it.”

“W-well…”

The chieftain who had raised the matter looked uncertain.

“The information hasn’t been confirmed, so I can’t speak with confidence…”

“Where did it come from?”

“Three days ago, we captured a Han Chinese man who crossed the northeastern border. He told us an unidentified man had appeared out of nowhere and was leaving a trail of blood through Guizhou.”

Guizhou was a border region touching Nanman, along with Sichuan and Guangxi. With a little exaggeration, it was practically close enough to trip and bump your nose against.

But some strange man suddenly appeared in Guizhou?

Something felt off. More than off—it nagged at me. And I wasn’t the only one who sensed there was more to this than the stranger’s unknown identity.

“Tell me more.”

The chieftain swallowed at the sight of the Beast Miao King’s frown.

“Neither his name nor his age is known. They say he’s bald like a monk from the Central Plains and carries a Zen staff. He’s beaten several hundred people to death in Guizhou alone. That’s apparently why they call him the Blood Monk.”

“The Blood Monk?”

“Yes. The Han Chinese man we captured seemed to be a fairly skilled martial artist himself, but he couldn’t hide his fear when he spoke of him.”

The sobriquet was grim enough. Its owner had to possess astonishing martial arts.

Guizhou is orthodox faction territory. The Murim Alliance wouldn’t have just stood by.

Yet the Blood Monk had killed several hundred people and made a name for himself. Without at least Supreme Peak-level martial prowess, that would have been impossible.

It also bothered me that he’d appeared in Guizhou, right beside Nanman.

Could it be…?

An unidentified man appearing at such a strange time. Strong enough to rampage alone through Guizhou, a stronghold of the orthodox faction.

I couldn’t help thinking of Dark Heaven. He might not be a major figure on the Southern Heaven Demon Empress’s level, but the possibility was there. The Blood Lord and the Western Heaven Demon Lord had commanded Supreme Peak masters like the Yin-Yang Twin Ghosts and the Qilian Three Fiends.

And what if the Blood Monk is headed for Nanman?

For the first time, I spoke to the chieftain.

“Do you know where the Blood Monk is going?”

“I wanted to ask him myself, but there’s no way to know now.”

“What do you mean?”

The chieftain shook his head with a faint sigh.

“The man died.”

“What?”

“He died before I could ask anything else. He was badly injured to begin with, and I don’t think he adapted to the sudden change in environment. Then the heavy rain brought a flood, and we couldn’t take proper measures.”

“…!”

The Blood Monk’s appearance. And the death of our only witness.

Silence settled over the hall. Then someone who had said nothing since the council began spoke up.

“Injury, endemic disease, and death. They happen often enough.”

Everyone turned toward the voice.

Baeksang.

“The Slaughter Saint appearing in the Central Plains is no different. Han Chinese have always been that way. Though they are one people, they’ve kept their world going by killing one another. In short…”

His tone and expression remained perfectly calm. His voice was cold.

“There’s no reason for Nanman to concern itself with affairs in the Central Plains. None at all.”

I did not know whether the thought that came to me then was merely a misunderstanding. But one thing was certain: something about his words felt strange and out of place to me.

Baeksang was the great chieftain of the Bai people, who possessed Nanman’s second-largest faction and the second-largest population. And yet he was trying to ignore an event unfolding right beside him.

I watched him for a moment, then spoke.

“What if the Blood Monk is heading south?”

The chieftains who grasped my meaning widened their eyes. Baeksang answered without a trace of hesitation.

“Nanman isn’t the only place bordering Guizhou. Beyond Guangxi lies the open sea. With a favorable wind, one can sail to Hainan in ten days.”

“So you think it’s unlikely the Blood Monk will enter Nanman?”

“Why would he come all the way here? Rather than face venomous beasts, ferocious beasts, and countless Nanman warriors, he could go through Guangxi to the sea…”

“There is a reason. One clear reason. But…”

I forcefully cut him off before he could continue, fixing Baeksang with a grave, steady gaze as I went on.

“Strangely enough, you seem to be the only one who doesn’t know it.”

“What?”

“Or did you agree with someone to pretend you didn’t know from the start?”

At that moment—

Fwoosh. Whoomph.

The wavering torchlight went out.

In the darkness that fell over the vast hall, a pair of eyes radiated a piercing chill.

“You have finally crossed the line.”

Whoosh!

“Well.”

An immense wave of qi bore down on me from every direction, squeezing my entire body. I spoke calmly.

“I think you’re the one crossing it.”