Chapter 138. Initiation (2)
“Ugh!”
The massive man staggered, blood running from his mouth, but quickly regained his footing.
He spat out the blood and glared at Kang Yujin.
“You bastard...!”
The man thrust both arms toward him.
This time, he was incomparably faster than before, and there was something unusual about the energy coming from him.
Internal energy!
He wasn’t simply a big man who relied on brute strength.
Realizing that, Kang Yujin drew up his own internal energy.
He wrapped both arms in [Protective Aura] and blocked the man’s attacks coming from either side.
THUD!
A heavy impact rang out as a shockwave spread through the dining hall.
Several people surrounding them were knocked backward and fell to the floor.
“H-How does a Korean bastard have this much internal energy?!”
“You’re pretty prejudiced.”
Kang Yujin struck the man’s arms from the inside and knocked them outward.
With his torso completely exposed, Kang Yujin drove a fist into him.
I can’t subdue this guy with a light hit.
He activated [Fa Jin] and increased the destructive force of the blow.
The moment his fist landed, the massive man’s body lifted off the floor.
“Guh...!”
Kang Yujin continued attacking before he could fall.
One blow.
Two.
Three.
Four...!
Being that big means there are plenty of places to hit.
After finishing the combination, Kang Yujin stepped back.
The man’s huge body crashed onto the floor.
THUD!
The entire area shook.
“How about it?”
Kang Yujin looked down at the groaning man.
“You want to keep going?”
“Y-You bastard...”
The man grabbed a nearby table and tried to pull himself up.
But the table tilted over, and he collapsed onto the floor again.
“If you want to stand up, I’ll help you.”
"...!"
Kang Yujin grabbed the man’s right hand and pulled.
The onlookers gasped when they saw Kang Yujin haul such a massive man to his feet in one motion.
“So we’re continuing, right?”
“W-Wait...”
The man raised a hand as if asking for a moment.
Kang Yujin had no intention of waiting.
He shoved the man away, twisted his body...
and slammed his upper body forward.
The Hwaseong Sect Shoulder Crash Jegal Geum had taught him exploded into the man.
“GRAAAGH!”
The huge man was launched backward.
He flew across the dining hall, smashed through several tables, and slammed into the wall.
“N-No way...”
“Wasn’t that the Shoulder Crash just now?”
“Boss actually got sent flying like that...”
The surrounding spectators stared in disbelief.
Kang Yujin swept his gaze across them.
“Next.”
“W-What?”
“Who’s next?”
He looked around again.
Everyone hurriedly took a step backward.
“W-Where...”
A voice came from the floor.
The fallen man struggled to raise his head.
“Where did you... learn martial arts...?”
“The Hwaseong Sect.”
“Hwaseong Sect...?”
“A martial sect in Korea. Its Sect Leader, Lord Jegal Geum, was my master.”
“I-I see. I’ll... remember that...”
The man no longer seemed interested in fighting.
“I admit defeat.”
He struggled for breath.
“And I apologize for my disrespect.”
“No need to apologize.”
Kang Yujin slowly approached and held out his hand.
The man flinched, but Kang Yujin simply grabbed him and pulled him to his feet.
“I came here because I was hungry. What’s good?”
"...!"
The man stared at Kang Yujin with wide eyes.
“You...”
“What?”
“That’s it? Aren’t you going to...”
Did he think Kang Yujin should demand a formal apology or punish him somehow?
There was no need.
Kang Yujin would be relying on the Black Dragon Society for a while anyway.
He would rather just end this as though nothing had happened.
“It’s fine.”
“R-Really?”
“Let’s just say nothing happened. That’s enough.”
"...!"
The man sucked in a breath.
“U-Understood. Then nothing happened.”
“Good.”
“Allow me to introduce myself properly. My name is...”
The man had just begun speaking politely when a sharp voice suddenly rang out from behind them.
“What the hell happened here?”
Everyone hurriedly turned around.
A middle-aged woman stood at the dining hall entrance, glaring furiously.
It was Zhang Qinghe, captain of the Nautilus and Contractor of the S-rank Constellation ‘Captain Nobody.’
“You lunatics...”
“S-Sis!”
The man who had been about to introduce himself hurriedly raised his voice.
“I-I can explain. This was...”
“Hey, Guo Yunzhao! This was you again, wasn’t it?! I specifically told you that everyone else can drink aboard the ship, but you can’t!”
“Well, you see, I was just greeting our new guest...”
“You destroyed the furniture while greeting him?! You know we have to remove everything in here before I release the Constellation Armament, right?! When are you going to clean all this up?!”
“C-Can’t we just leave it here when you dismiss the Armament? Then it’ll all sink to the bottom of the sea.”
“Don’t give me that crap! All of you, get garbage bags and clean every last piece up! If there’s even a speck of dust left after you get off this submarine, you’re all dead!”
Watching Guo Yunzhao and the other Black Dragon Society members get thoroughly scolded, Kang Yujin quietly tried to slip out of the dining hall.
“Mr. Kang Yujin.”
“Ah. Yes?”
“You’re cleaning too.”
“Yes...”
On a ship, there was no choice but to obey the captain.
“Of all people, you got into a martial arts fight with Guo Yunzhao... Do you actually want to sink this submarine? Hmm?”
“I said I was sorry...”
Kang Yujin shrank slightly under Ma Taesu’s criticism.
Using martial arts while fighting inside a submarine had definitely been a stupid thing to do.
He had no excuse.
“Those people aren’t ordinary sailors or porters. They’re Captain Zhang’s direct guard unit, responsible for protecting her and the submarine in emergencies.”
"..."
“They’re not people you should casually start fighting.”
Ma Taesu sighed.
“Still... I suppose it was partly my fault for leaving you alone.”
He leaned back.
“Anyway, there’s still plenty of time before we reach China. I might as well explain more about the situation there.”
“All right.”
That was welcome news.
Kang Yujin had nothing else to do anyway, and he wanted to learn more about China before arriving.
“You already know Korea effectively fell into anarchy after the central government collapsed.”
Ma Taesu continued.
“Japan’s government also collapsed, and the Tenka Restoration Association ruled the country through military force.”
“But China is different.”
“The government still exists?”
“The old Communist Party government collapsed when Beijing was occupied by Pandemonium. But a replacement system was established around Shanghai.”
Ma Taesu spoke calmly.
“Most of southern China is currently relatively stable.”
"..."
“And beneath that government, the Contractor factions are fighting for influence.”
“The government remains neutral and doesn’t interfere in those conflicts.”
Ma Taesu raised two fingers.
“Chinese Contractors are broadly divided into the Orthodox Faction and the Unorthodox Faction. I mentioned that before, right?”
“You did.”
The Orthodox Faction consisted of forces that opposed Pandemonium and wanted to eradicate it.
The Unorthodox Faction consisted of those willing to cooperate and interact with Pandemonium.
“The Black Dragon Society belongs to the Unorthodox Faction.”
“That’s right. The Black Dragon Society on the mainland has absorbed many smaller organizations and is currently the largest force within the Unorthodox Faction.”
“I still don’t have a good sense of how big ‘large’ actually means.”
“Hmm...”
Ma Taesu thought for a moment.
“About ten times the size of the Eight Guardians’ faction in the Capital Region.”
“That big?”
“China is a large country.”
Ma Taesu shrugged.
“Meanwhile, among the Orthodox Faction hostile to us... the largest organization is the White Forest Alliance.”
“White Forest Alliance...”
“The Unorthodox Faction centered around the Black Dragon Society, and the Orthodox Faction centered around the White Forest Alliance.”
“Depending on the region, one side may be stronger than the other.”
He continued.
“But in Shanghai, where we’re heading, their influence is roughly equal.”
“So lots of organizations are mixed together?”
“Unlike Korea, one particular organization doesn’t take full responsibility for governing and managing a specific territory.”
“There’s still an actual government, after all.”
“Hmm...”
“That’s why you need to be careful after we reach Shanghai.”
Ma Taesu gave him a serious look.
“It’s the kind of place where members of organizations that hate each other can casually run into one another on the street.”
“There’s something I’m curious about.”
Kang Yujin recalled what he had heard previously.
“The Unorthodox Faction, including the Black Dragon Society, plans to fight Pandemonium from now on too, right?”
“If so, couldn’t you reconcile with the Orthodox Faction?”
“That’s true.”
During the previous battle, the Black Dragon Society Korea Branch had fought Pandemonium in Kaesong.
Ma Taesu had implied that it wasn’t a unilateral decision by the Korea Branch, but something that reflected the wishes of Black Dragon Society headquarters.
“Pandemonium is preparing to restart the war.”
Ma Taesu continued.
“The Black Dragon Society has maintained good relations with Pandemonium until now, but if things continue like this, that relationship will become difficult to maintain.”
“Then...”
“But from the Orthodox Faction’s perspective, joining hands with the Unorthodox Faction is hard to accept.”
Ma Taesu gave a dry smile.
“They’re basically asking, ‘After everything you did, now you suddenly want to join forces and fight Pandemonium together?’”
“Ah. Fair enough.”
From the Orthodox Faction’s point of view, groups like the Black Dragon Society probably looked like opportunists who switched sides whenever it benefited them.
“The dominant opinion within the Orthodox Faction is that they should swallow the Unorthodox Faction before the real war begins and then confront Pandemonium as one united force.”
“Of course, there are people within the Unorthodox Faction who believe the opposite.”
“So what happens in the end? Do the two sides fight until one wins?”
“Who knows?”
Ma Taesu shrugged.
“For now, it’s a stalemate.”
It sounded extremely troublesome.
“Now, for the matter you’re probably most interested in.”
Ma Taesu lowered his voice.
“Ha Mina.”
"..."
“As you already know, the Church of the Morning Star had expanded into China as well as Japan.”
“If we identify people with deep connections to the Church of the Morning Star, we may find a lead.”
He frowned as though the issue was giving him a headache.
“But as far as I know, the Church had connections with the upper leadership of both the White Forest Alliance and the Black Dragon Society.”
“Then...”
“Yes.”
Ma Taesu nodded.
“We have to suspect both the Orthodox and Unorthodox Factions.”
In a corner of the Spirit Realm.
The A-rank Constellation ‘Fairy Who Controls Water,’ Princess Longji, sat in her throne consumed by despair.
“Ugh... Kang Yujin and Lee Jukheon are being separated... This is terrible...”
Although she had been focusing heavily on Korea lately, Princess Longji’s main sphere of activity had originally been her homeland of China.
She had planned to support Kang Yujin and Lee Jukheon in every possible way once they came to China.
She never imagined Kang Yujin would be coming alone.
“What if some other man starts flirting with Kang Yujin... He’s surprisingly popular with men already...”
She muttered while flailing her arms and legs.
Then a communication window suddenly opened.
“I-I wasn’t doing anything! I’ve been sitting here elegantly and gracefully this entire time!”
“What on earth are you talking about?”
“Ah...”
She had assumed Wen Zhong was contacting her again without reading the room.
But another Constellation appeared in the window instead.
Princess Longji cleared her throat and spoke again.
“What is it, Nata?”
Nata.
One of China’s most famous youthful heroes, a powerful figure whose exploits appeared across many eras and stories.
Like Princess Longji, he had once belonged to the Chan Sect and earned numerous achievements fighting Wen Zhong and the others.
“I heard Kang Yujin is coming to China.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Hmm. Is that so...”
Inside the communication window, Nata rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
“Then I should give him a proper welcome.”
“Wait, Nata. What exactly are you planning?”
“What do you think?”
Nata grinned.
“It’s been a while. I should open an Event for him.”
