Moon-Shadow Sword Emperor

Episode 193

“This is the Changin Dojo. “He is one of the first disciples of the Jeomchang sect and followed the progress of Cheongmyeong Dojang, the elder of the sect.”

A conference room in the Yunnan branch.

I introduced Changin Dojo to the group sitting around a long table.

Changin Dojang bowed his head with a frozen look on his face.

Everyone gathered here were renowned figures of martial arts.

It was not unreasonable to feel nervous.

Yang Ho-Gon, the elder of the Shinchang Yang family, stared at the Changin seal and asked.

“Are you the support staff sent by the Jeomchang Sect?”

Although it was not evident on his face, the disappointment he was feeling was conveyed through the atmosphere.

The reason Yang Ho-gon asked questions with obvious answers was simple.

‘I bet you don’t believe it.’

His question contained the true meaning, ‘You’re Jiwon from the Jeomchang faction, so you didn’t just send a kid like that, right?’

“yes. Three additional Jeomchang Five Swords are scheduled to join in the future.”

“Jeomchang Ogeom? “That’s good news.”

Hwang Bo-gyeong, the elder of the Hwangbo family, nodded with a subtle smile on his lips.

It was a completely contrasting reaction to the indifferent reaction shown earlier when Changin Dojang was introduced.

Changin Dojang looked shocked at that blatant change in attitude.

How could he, who had the status of a disciple of the Old Daemun Sect, receive such poor treatment?

“There is one thing we need to discuss about that.”

“Tell me.”

“I think we need to adjust personnel.”

“…….”

Silence fell in the conference room.

Hwang Bo-kyung’s eyes became sharper.

he asked, tapping his index finger on the table.

“May I ask what it means?”

“I mean it literally. As I said before, we will be visiting the Beast Palace as envoys dispatched by Meng. However, if the size of the envoy becomes too large, the Beast Palace may become wary.”

“…You have a point.”

“The current number of people in the group is thirty-four. Including the Changin Dojo and those scheduled to join later, there are a total of 38 members. “There are too many.”

At least it wouldn’t have been possible if the situation in the South had been peaceful.

There was no way to know what kind of problems would arise if one provoked the currently noisy Beast Sign due to the competition for successor.

Everyone nodded as if they agreed with my story.

After a pause, I spoke in a low voice.

“Three Hwangjang members, four Changgung swordsmen, and two Hwagon members. “I think the people I just mentioned will have to leave the Yunnan branch and go to the Beast Palace.”

“…!”

“I think everyone knows what the decision was based on.”

Hwang Bo-kyung, Namgung Seong-hoon, and Jin Hyeong-gon hardened their expressions one after another.

They could not help but feel repulsion.

I heard that the Samun warriors would be excluded from their missions, so how can I feel good about it?

Hwang Bo-kyung, who had been silent for a while, opened her mouth, glaring at me with an expression that seemed to suppress her anger.

“I don’t think so, but I’ll ask just in case. I’m sure you’re not doing this out of spite toward me and the Great Hwagon, right?”

“What does it mean.

“Didn’t we come forward to test your capabilities some time ago?”

“I don’t think about that.”

“Really?”

“It would be even more strange if a much younger junior took command and no one felt anxious. Isn’t this a very dangerous mission? Even if I were in the elder’s position, I would have wanted to test the leadership’s capabilities.”

“…….”

“Also, if the decision was made for that reason in the first place, there is no way to make a decision to exclude the warriors of the Namgung family who supported me from the group, right?”

Hwang Bo-kyung sighed and crossed her arms.

It seemed like he was very uncomfortable, as he leaned against the backrest and closed his eyes.

The reaction of Jin Hyeong-gon, the Great Lord of Hwagon, was also very different.

Even Namgung Seonghun stared at me with a slightly sad expression, then sighed and nodded as if he understood.

Everyone knew.

That I had selected and eliminated those with relatively low skills.

It was a natural decision.

In order to maintain balance, isn’t it possible to exclude Shaman Seven Swords or Jeomchang Five Swords instead of Hwangjangdaewon?

“I know that this is a topic that is not very pleasant and can be unpleasant in some ways. However, I had no choice but to make a decision to increase the chance of success for the mission. “Please understand.”

Starting with Namgung Seong-hoon, Hwang Bo-kyung and Jin Hyeong-gon expressed their approval one by one.

It was a discussion whose conclusion had been decided from the beginning.

The three of them might not like the current situation, but they couldn’t go against the trend.

‘I’m glad the backlash wasn’t as big as I thought.’

Still, arrangements were made so that one person could be brought along to assist the three people.

I wanted to exclude them from the group, but I thought it would be difficult to deal with it, so I decided not to.

As the meeting was coming to an end.

The Great Master of Hwagon slowly raised his hand and said.

“I have something I would like to ask the Sacheon branch leader.”

“Please speak.”

“I know this is not the place to discuss equity. What must take priority above all else is the completion of the mission. But… if there is a need to reduce the number of people as much as possible, wouldn’t it be right to leave those brought by the branch leader at the Yunnan branch?”

“I know what you want to say, but you don’t have to worry. These are people who have been carefully selected. “Nothing will interfere with their mission.”

“That answer misses the point. “We also select people based on strict criteria.”

What Great Lord Hwagon wanted to say was simple.

Are the people you brought with you better than Hwangjangdae, Changgung Sword, or Hwagon?

I put a faint smile on my face.

He then made a suggestion as if throwing it to the Great Master of Hwagon, who had a puzzled expression on his face.

“Then would you like to try it?”

“……?”

“If you would like, I will prepare a place for you. “I will ask the head of the Yunnan branch to let me borrow the training hall.”

“Why is the training center…?”

“The idea is to have samurai fight among themselves over the right to join the delegation.”

* * *

“The winner, Hong Seong-hyeon.”

“Winner Yeo So-ok.”

“Winner Hwang Ho-jin.”

Zain Dojang, the female Taoist priest who took on the role of referee, let out a laugh.

The elites of the Hwangbo family, the Guangdong Jin family, and the Namgung family knelt one by one to the leaders of the Sichuan branch.

There was no such surprise.

‘Amazing.’

It has not been revealed until now because it was obscured by the skills and reputation of the Sacheon branch manager.

It turned out that the leaders under his command were also powerful men who could not be ignored.

‘Strictly speaking, the blood flower sword is not a blind sword.’

Hong Seong-hyeon is at least a somewhat well-known figure as he has won a place in the top ranks of the Yongbong branch.

Hwang Ho-jin was literally an unknown minor.

It was surprising that a person of this size had not yet become known.

Even Yeo So-ok, the wife of Prince Changmyeong (彰明弓), was an expert at transcendental control.

‘Now I understand with what confidence the Sacheon branch manager proposed the secret service.’

No one expected it.

It was unexpected that the three men and women would win so overwhelmingly.

Zain Dojang glanced sideways at the two people leaning against the wall side by side.

When I saw Hwang Bo-kyung and Jin Ho-gon with dumbfounded expressions, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“If there is anyone who is more willing to challenge, please come forward.”

Zain Dojang was busy, but everyone just watched and no one stepped forward.

After catching his rough breath, Hwang Ho-jin took off the gauntlet from his hand and breathed a sigh of relief.

“If there’s nothing more, let’s end the dance with this.”

The declaration of closure of Zain Dojo has been made.

Damwoon, who was staring blankly at the back of Hwang Bo-kyung as she left the training ground in a huff, drew a wry smile at the corner of her mouth.

-I don’t know if it will be okay.

-What part are you talking about?

-Hwang Bo-kyung and Jin Ho-gon. Aren’t these people who already have bad feelings towards the branch leader? I wonder if the relationship will turn into a completely hostile one…

Yeonsun burst into laughter.

He also agreed with the opinion that there was nothing good to come from conflict with the martial arts figures.

However, it was greedy to want there to be no noise while leading the group.

-Isn’t there any other way?

-Yes, that is true.

-It is best to definitely deal with these issues. And even if those two people have animosity towards me, it won’t be a big problem. Even if you try to raise your voice, there will be no one to back you up.

-At this time, you also had an idea to reduce the position of Hwangbo Segawa and Guangdong Jinga.

-Isn’t it obvious?

Yeonsun glanced back in the direction where Hwang Hojin was.

He seemed quite nervous as he suddenly had to compete against the elite of the Five Great Powers, but he did not display the shame of not being able to show off his skills and losing.

I was worried that I would be weak in real combat because I learned martial arts on my own, but it turned out to be unfounded.

I felt like I could do my part well even if I took him with me.

‘by the way.’

The corner of Yeonsun’s mouth slightly curled up.

As I turned my head, the figure of Changin Dojang, standing in the corner of the training hall with a stern expression, came into view.

He must have realized this while watching Bimu.

That there is not a single person here that he can look down on.

* * *

“Changin Dojo.”

After most of the onlookers left the training ground.

I approached Changin Dojang and spoke to him.

Changin Dojang looked back at me with wary eyes.

It seemed as if he was asking, ‘What are you planning?’

“At this time, I would like to check the Dojo’s skills. “Would you like to do a little rubbing?”

“…You don’t know about my skills. “We faced each other at the Yongbong Branch before.”

“Hasn’t more than half a year and two months passed since then? If you hadn’t neglected your training, you would have made significant progress. Isn’t it?”

“…….”

Although he had asked Jang Mun-in of the Jeomchang Sect to keep Chang-in Dojang by his side, he could not treat him as he had treated Cheon-woo Dojang in the past.

Basically, the Changin Dojo was obedient to me, unlike the Cheonwoo Dojo of the past.

Not only is he in a position where he needs to be forgiven by me somehow, but he has already lost to me once.

‘The situation is different from when Dojang Cheonwoo joined the group. Of course, the mindset of the parties involved will also be different.’

The strategy of instilling awareness through frequent assaults could not be used.

Beating without justification only causes backlash.

‘There is no need to obsess about beating up. The point is to lower the target’s self-esteem.’

Confidence and arrogance that naturally arose due to his status as a disciple of the Jeomchang school and the support he received from people around him.

This was the first task to break it down.

“Is this what you and Bimou want to do that much?”

“You misunderstood what I said. “I am not the one to do the dojo and dance.”

“……?”

“Didn’t you say you wanted to check your skills? If possible, it would be best to observe it from a third party’s perspective. “You can dance with the three people I designate in turn.”