The day of departure for the Namgung Family.
Dong Bongsu, with simple travel preparations, led Yeoro out of the family grounds at an early hour.
Was it because he had woken up too early? Not a soul was in sight yet.
A tranquil morning.
As always, a good time for contemplation.
Gripping Yeoro's reins, he quietly continued the contemplation he had started the day before.
How should he go about learning martial arts?
For now, he had no choice but to imitate what he had seen and learned by observation.
The previous evening, he had tried to reproduce the martial arts he remembered, relying on his memories of the movements of the Unorthodox Faction's leaders and the family warriors he had seen.
He could follow the forms, but it didn't work well.
It was, quite literally, mimicry.
Nothing more, nothing less.
In the end, it meant the only way to learn martial arts was to be taught.
Then what was he to do?
He had to either read books or learn from a master.
Of the two, the former was the inferior plan, and the latter, the superior one.
Whatever the pursuit, it was always faster to learn from someone who had already been broken and torn, rather than learning alone by getting broken and torn yourself.
That way, one could advance to the next stage without repeating the same mistakes.
Dong Bongsu reflected on himself.
In his current state, he would not be welcomed by anyone.
From the perspective of not drawing attention, the appearance of the half-mute hired hand, So-sam, provided the best camouflage, but it was an unsuitable form for learning anything.
It would not be easy to run away from the Danri Family as he was and become someone's disciple.
After all, he was already eighteen by the age here, and from what he had heard, it was difficult to start learning martial arts anew at this age.
Even if someone were to accept him, they would likely not be an exceptional master.
'For now, let's set this problem aside.'
He hadn't even properly experienced the Murim yet.
When it came to learning something like martial arts, it wouldn't be too late to decide after experiencing a bit more of the Murim.
This trip to the Namgung Family would surely broaden his horizons.
There, he would likely find a solution to this matter.
If it really didn't work out, he could just learn from books.
He cleared his mind again and stood quietly, waiting for the others to emerge.
However, this was only his outward appearance; he was by no means standing still.
Hidden by his clothes, grains of sand were constantly appearing and disappearing all over Dong Bongsu's body.
It was the practice of his Inventory Divine Art.
Although it wasn't a skill with proficiency or levels, looking back on his survival so far, it had been his most useful technique.
The Inventory Divine Art was a skill superior even to the ones given at level up.
In addition to that.
He had recently realized that this skill could also be advanced.
That was to take out or put in two objects at the same time.
He hadn't perfected it yet, but it was becoming somewhat possible.
Perhaps with more time, it would become possible to take out or put in three or four items at once.
Just as a duck furiously paddles its feet beneath the water to glide smoothly on the surface, he stood in place, steadily training his Inventory Divine Art.
How much more time passed like that?
As the sunlight slowly began to warm the earth, the people who were to depart for the Namgung Family began to show their faces one by one.
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First, the Black Crow Corps members came out and quietly lined up in front of the family's main gate.
They were likely waiting for Gi Daehyo and Gi Manji.
Dong Bongsu, keeping an eye on them, quietly moved to a corner and stood there.
It was to remain faithful to his role as So-sam.
So-sam would have surely done so.
A short while later, Gi Manji, neatly dressed in the uniform of the Black Crow Corps, appeared and checked the departing personnel.
"The entire Black Crow Corps has assembled."
After counting all the members of the Black Crow Corps, he glanced over at Dong Bongsu.
"Yeoro is here too."
To him, Dong Bongsu as So-sam was nothing more than an appendix to Yeoro.
Gi Manji then checked the congratulatory gifts for the Namgung Family, aside from Yeoro, and the number of people assigned to transport them.
There were no problems there either.
"Hmm. No issues. Who hasn't come out yet?"
"Everyone is here except for the Young Master and the Young Lady."
One of the Black Crow Corps members answered Gi Manji's question.
The Young Master he referred to was Danri Cheonwoo's eldest son, Danri Ganghae, and the Young Lady was the second daughter, Danri Hui.
Gi Daehyo had not yet appeared, but since he was the one Gi Manji would report to after gathering everyone, he was not mentioned at all.
Although Danri Ganghae and Danri Hui were not seen, Gi Manji did not think much of it.
Their tardiness was a common occurrence, something he had expected anyway.
"Then everyone is here."
Gi Manji quickly did another headcount with his eyes and went back inside the family estate.
Not long after, he came back out.
The difference was that, unlike when he went in, Gi Daehyo now stood at the forefront.
As soon as Gi Daehyo came out, he walked forward through the ranks of the Black Crow Corps members without a word.
It was a silent signal to depart.
In Gi Daehyo's stead, Gi Manji shouted loudly.
"Let's go."
At his words, the entire group followed Gi Daehyo and began their journey to the Namgung Family.
Though the two most important people were missing, no one found it strange.
Dong Bongsu was no different.
Everyone in the Danri Family knew very well what kind of people Danri Ganghae and Danri Hui were.
Danri Ganghae was, without a doubt, in some inn in the bustling streets of Soaring Sun, drinking and fondling women's bodies, while Danri Hui would still be inside the family estate.
She pathologically hated traveling with people of lower status.
The other Black Crow Corps members who were to follow her from a distance, aside from the ones gathered here, were likely still in the family grounds.
She would follow the group a little later, after they had left.
The group continued to walk along the road.
Before long, they arrived at the bustling streets of Soaring Sun.
"Everyone halt. We'll wait here for a moment."
At Gi Manji's word, the group stopped in their tracks.
The reason for the halt, as everyone knew, was to pick up Danri Ganghae.
As it was still early, the streets were quiet.
Except for one place.
Udatangtang.
From inside an inn with a finely hung sign that read 'Apricot Tiger Inn,' a loud noise erupted, as if someone was fighting.
"Again?"
Gi Daehyo muttered under his breath and walked towards the inn.
Though he was the one who spoke, everyone else, except Dong Bongsu, was echoing the same words in their minds.
Danri Ganghae, the eldest son of Danri Cheonwoo, was a martial arts prodigy with outstanding insight and talent.
Although Soaring Sun was not a large walled city, everyone would agree that the greatest prodigy in Soaring Sun was, without a doubt, Danri Ganghae.
However, his character was frivolous, and he loved wine and women far too much, so ill rumors always followed him.
That was also why Gi Daehyo had told Danri Cheonwoo yesterday that 'the Namgung Family might not want either of them.'
Danri Ganghae's skills were excellent for his age, and his foundation was superb, so in terms of ability, he was not lacking to enter the Namgung Family as an outer disciple.
The problem was his character.
He had no choice but to carry out this task due to the Family Head's order, but frankly, Gi Daehyo was not expecting much.
The only thing he could count on now was Yeoro, the Blood-Sweating Treasured Horse known as the Heavenly Horse.
He could only pray that the rumors of Namgung Byeok collecting fine horses were true.
Gi Daehyo shook his head once and approached the inn.
In the meantime, the sounds of fighting from inside the inn did not cease.
Peobeobeobeok!
Walking toward the entrance of the inn, Gi Daehyo felt quite puzzled.
Who on earth in this Soaring Sun City could fight with Danri Ganghae like that?
Regardless of his character, Danri Ganghae was a fairly well-known rising star in Anhui.
Among the members of the small and medium-sized sects in Soaring Sun, there was no one who would dare to challenge him, let alone anyone who could withstand so many of his moves.
Recently, because there was no one to stand up to his rampages, the inns he frequented were rather quiet.
'Who could it be?'
The moment that thought crossed Gi Daehyo's mind.
Udangtang!
With a loud noise, someone shot out of the inn and tumbled to the ground.
A young man whose face was flushed from drinking, but who still boasted handsome features.
It was Danri Ganghae.
"Hmm!?"
An exclamation filled with surprise escaped Gi Daehyo's lips.
What had happened? The person inside the inn was not just trading blows with Danri Ganghae but had even routed him.
A sudden, ominous feeling brushed past his mind.
On the other hand, Dong Bongsu, who was watching this situation in contrast to Gi Daehyo, was feeling something different.
He had already stopped the training of his Inventory Divine Art, which he had been practicing continuously since leaving the family estate.
> [ SYSTEM MESSAGE ]
> An enemy with a level difference of 10 or more has approached within 20 meters. 20...
It was because his Spiritual Eye had activated.
Needless to say, the target of the Spiritual Eye was undoubtedly the one who had thrown Danri Ganghae out of the inn.
"Damn it! I'll kill you, you bastard!"
Danri Ganghae cursed as he pushed himself up.
The target of his words was, without a doubt, the one who had driven him out of the inn.
As he got halfway up, Dong Bongsu saw a brown-robed figure fly out of the inn like a bolt of lightning.
Parararak.
The hem of the brown figure's robe fluttered, and the friction between the fabric and the air created a peculiar air-rending sound.
As soon as the brown-robed man appeared, he rushed towards Danri Ganghae.
Then, before Danri Ganghae had a chance to dodge, he stomped on his neck.
"Keok!"
The moment Danri Ganghae, pinned by the brown-robed man, was forced back to the ground from his half-raised position, Dong Bongsu looked at Gi Daehyo.
Chachachang!
As expected, upon seeing Danri Ganghae being attacked, Gi Daehyo drew his sword without a moment's hesitation.
"Stop!"
The brown-robed middle-aged man turned to look at Gi Daehyo, his foot still on Danri Ganghae's neck.
Only then could Dong Bongsu see the brown-robed man clearly.
He was a middle-aged man of medium height with a cold and harsh impression.
A chill emanated from his eyes, making his personality seem ruthless, regardless of his level of martial arts.
With a voice as cold as his face, he spoke to Gi Daehyo.
"What is it?"