The World’s Greatest is Dead

Martial arts fundamentally divided practitioners into levels based on how they utilized their inner qi.

If one could only twist their qi in their dantian, they were considered third-rate.

If they started to infuse their qi into their sword, they became second-rate.

Once the qi began to take form within the sword, they reached first-rate.

Beyond that? I had no idea.

Even if the qi supposedly manipulated the body at the pinnacle, it had nothing to do with me.

I was just a run-of-the-mill third-rate martial artist, which meant—

It meant I was at the bottom of the food chain when it came to martial arts.

In normal circumstances, a martial artist of my caliber shouldn’t even have been able to join the Murim Alliance.

That was where I had stood, but now…

“What am I even doing…?”

I rubbed my neck, still feeling where the blade had been pressed. A close call where I might have died if things hadn’t gone just right. The memory of those eyes staring at me under the moonlight came to mind. They were so fierce, I almost wet myself.

Although I had believed he wouldn’t kill me, and he ultimately didn’t, it wasn’t an experience I wished to repeat.

“Are you satisfied now?”

I turned to ask, and there stood an old man with bright eyes, smiling widely at me.

『Not bad. Yes, this should do.』

“Isn’t it meaningless if he doesn’t listen?”

I grumbled about posture and weight.

The old man’s goal was to give some pointers to Yun Sochun.

Taking advice from a ghost about martial arts? That was a first.

“Since it’s my mouth that spoke those words, isn’t it fundamentally pointless?”

I questioned the old man, expecting a quick answer.

『The child will listen.』

“Why are you so sure?”

『Because it’s worth listening to. The child needs to hear it, trust me.』

His certainty left me puzzled.

“Alright, if you say so.”

I had no further reason to be involved. Almost dying and ruining my relationship with Yun Sochun was more than enough.

“I’ve fulfilled your request. I hope you rest in peace or peacefully move on… I’m leaving.”

As I tried to move away without any lingering attachment, the old man looked at me with a peculiar expression.

『Child.』

“Yes?”

『Why don’t you ask anything?』

“Huh?”

What was he suddenly talking about?

“What do you mean?”

『Why don’t you ask why I made the request, or what my relationship with that child is, or who I am?』

“Ah.”

I nodded as I understood what he meant. When it came to those kinds of questions, I already knew the answer.

“I’m just not interested.”

『Hmm…?』

“I don’t really care about unsolicited advice, nor do I understand it.”

No matter how much he talked about posture and movements, it was beyond me.

“As for relationships, it’s probably a grandfather and grandson or a master and disciple sort of thing.”

It certainly wasn’t a husband and wife or lovers’ relationship.

Even if it was, my options were limited.

“Whatever it is, I have no intention of getting involved.”

I wasn’t a fool. I knew enough to recognize that the old man was no ordinary ghost. Such spirits were often significant figures in life.

Given my past experiences, I could tell. This old man must have been someone important.

『Interesting. A martial artist and you don’t wish to learn from me?』

There was a significant amount of pride in his voice when he referred to ‘learning from me.’

I was mildly curious about what kind of person he had been to harbor such confidence.

“Well, that sounds like a tempting poison chalice. No, I definitely don’t want it.”

I intended to avoid unnecessary entanglements with ghosts. It didn’t matter how remarkable the old man was; I wasn’t about to dive into that mess.

‘Live quietly and steadily; don’t overreach.’

That was still my motto.

Though, I was a bit concerned about my damaged relationship with Yun Sochun. Even if it was forced upon me, I had overstepped, and I was fortunate it ended as it did.

『Hmm, I see.』

The old man showed a peculiar reaction to my resolute stance.

“Anyway, please keep your promise.”

I had made him vow not to mention me to any other ghosts.

『Yes, yes.』

The old man nodded, and I sighed inwardly.

『But, child. I’m curious about something.』

The old man questioned me.

『My request is over, but what if the roles were reversed?』

“… What do you mean, reversed?”

『You might need to ask something of me someday.』

That was unexpected.

Me asking a favor of the old man?

No way.

I shook my head.

To ask a favor from a ghost? That would never happen.

“If that’s the case, I’ll grant all your wishes.”

『Is that so?』

The old man who heard these words grinned.

That smile was quite unnerving.

『Alright then. See you next time.』

The old man waved his hand and soon disappeared. It didn’t seem like he had ascended, and given how freely he moved, he didn’t appear to be an earthbound spirit either.

Watching this, I scratched the back of my neck for some inexplicable reason.

“Next time…?”

‘See you next time.’

Those words lingered.

Ghosts couldn’t directly influence the living world.

Knowing that full well, he still felt unease for some reason.

‘…Oh well. Nothing will happen, right?’

He thought there wouldn’t be any significant changes.

With that thought, he spent the night.

“Well… how… how on earth did you do it?”

‘Oh dear.’

As quickly as I sensed it, a problem arose.

* * *

It was the morning right after my night watch.

Unfortunately, my night watch ended just before dawn, leaving me hardly any sleep.

Even though I came outside looking scruffy.

Someone immediately grabbed my tired body.

“Bang… Young master Bang.”

Wondering what was going on, I checked the assailant.

‘Yun Sochun?’

It was Yun Sochun who had grabbed me, the very person who had held a knife to my neck just yesterday.

While scrutinizing him to figure out the reason, I noticed something odd.

“What’s going on? Member Yun, haven’t you slept?”

Yun Sochun’s appearance was quite bizarre.

His hair was somewhat disheveled.

Shadows hung beneath his eyes, casting a pall over his skin.

He looked exhausted, to say the least.

‘Did he really train all night?’

He had heard that once you reached a certain level, not sleeping for several days wouldn’t be a big issue.

But his condition didn’t seem solely due to training.

At that moment.

Clench-!

“Huh?”

Yun Sochun gripped my shoulder firmly.

“…Member Yun, what’s the matter with you?”

“What on earth is your… your true identity…?”

“Pardon?”

True identity?

“What do you mean by…”

As I was about to reply, he squinted his eyes.

Ah… this is probably.

‘Yesterday’s incident.’

The words I have relayed to Yun Sochun, borrowing the old man’s words. I hadn’t thought they would be of much help, but it seemed that, just as the old man said, Yun Sochun followed through.

Did he gain some enlightenment because of that?

‘But judging by his appearance…’

If he had gained insight, he should have been happy.

Yet Yun Sochun’s condition was far from it.

Seeing him act this way, it seemed he did gain something, but…

‘Just what happened?’

It was clearly a troublesome situation.

How to escape this… I quickly thought.

“Waist, my waist…”

Meanwhile, Yun Sochun kept muttering about his waist repeatedly, as if something had broken inside him.

Watching this, he scratched his cheek.

“Just like Young master Bang said… really…”

“Member Yun.”

I had interrupted Yun Sochun’s words.

“Yes…?”

“The carriage has already left.”

With a blank face, he continued.

“Yesterday, you explicitly told me to never approach you again.”

“…!”

Yes, yesterday Yun Sochun had told him exactly that.

There was no next time.

He had warned me sternly.

The fear I felt at that moment was intense.

So much that I had to check my pants to see if I’d wet myself.

…well, that was then.

‘Now is the time to use it.’

Now was the time to make use of the words Yun Sochun had said to me.

“The words I had for Member Yun ended then. I will abide by your request, so don’t worry.”

“That, that’s…”

Yun Sochun’s expression darkened.

Whatever enlightenment he was seeking, it wasn’t my business. The same went for the old man’s case.

“Just think of it as a dream in the middle of the night. I will live that way too. What could a third-rate martial artist possibly know? I was momentarily out of my mind.”

As I was speaking, I waved my hand dismissively, trying to pass by, but Yun Sochun didn’t let go of my arm.

“Could you please let go of this…?”

“… It’s impossible that you didn’t know anything.”

“Really, I didn’t…”

“If you hadn’t learned the same thing as me, you couldn’t have identified my problem. I’m not a fool. Which means… you are also from there.”

“Oh, wait! Stop talking!”

Yun Sochun’s mouth was forcibly shut.

“Are you crazy?”

“… Hmph.”

Though Bang Sung-Yun didn’t know where ‘there’ was, he silently prayed for Yun Sochun to stop speaking.

Looking at him, it was clear that Yun Sochun had come to hide his identity. No, most in the Alliance probably knew. They just pretended not to.

But for some reason, this fool tried to reveal his identity to Bang Sung-Yun.

“I’m not going to listen.”

He didn’t want to get entangled.

By the looks of it, this seemed unnecessarily suspicious.

“Whatever you’re thinking, I’m really not involved. I don’t know what it is, but please don’t involve me in such matters.”

“…”

The more Bang Sung-Yun spoke, the more an inexplicable certainty filled Yun Sochun’s eyes.

‘Oh no, this seems like bad luck no matter how I look at it.’

‘The old man just asked me to pay attention because something felt off for a moment.’

What the heck did that old man make me do?

A few seconds passed in silence.

Slide.

Yun Sochun released the arm he’d been holding.

“Al… right.”

Despite his words, it was evident he didn’t really understand. He was reluctantly letting go.

Though his persistence was quite concerning.

‘What can I do?’

With nothing more he could do, Bang Sung-Yun ignored him and walked away.

He never expected Yun Sochun to show up first thing in the morning.

As he walked, he felt the persistent gaze on him.

He ignored it.

With the old man gone and no sign of him coming back, it was finally time for peace as the hours passed.

He just hoped for no more trouble.

He wished for a peaceful day today as well.

Thus, Bang Sung-Yun walked away and disappeared.

“…”

Watching him walk away, Yun Sochun murmured.

“… Pungyeon.”

– Yes, Young Master.

Upon hearing his guard Pungyeon’s secret communication, Yun Sochun continued to speak.

“What you told me last night. Is it true?”

– Yes, there is no lie.

Pungyeon repeated exactly what he told Yun Sochun the previous day.

– He definitely noticed that I was watching him.

Yesterday afternoon, right after Bang Sung-Yun splashed water on Yun Sochun, Pungyeon had secretly followed Bang Sung-Yun.

Though Yun Sochun forgave him, Pungyeon couldn’t let go of what he did and planned to frighten him without revealing his identity.

‘… What is it?’

Bang Sung-Yun, who was alone, turned his head and looked at the hidden Pungyeon.

He nonchalantly uttered words.

At that moment.

Saaaa–!!

An unknown sensation swept through Pungyeon’s entire body.

Feeling it, Pungyeon instinctively knew.

This was a warning.

A definite warning that he was being watched, so he shouldn’t try anything.

Pungyeon was a master in the absolute peak state.

An expert whose level was a sky and ground difference above the first-class warriors.

If even he could feel such power…

“Are you saying Bang Sung-Yun is a master in the absolute peak state?”

-… I am not certain, but there’s a possibility.

At Pungyeon’s words, Yun Sochun furrowed his brows.

“Then why were you so late in reporting it?”

Bang Sung-Yun had left, striking with his sword as a shocked Yun Sochun struggled to grasp the situation. It was only later that Pungyeon made his delayed comments.

Had Pungyeon mentioned it earlier, Yun Sochun would not have let Bang Sung-Yun go so easily.

-… I apologize. I thought it was a misconception but became certain afterward upon assessing the situation.

Yun Sochun bit his lip lightly at Pungyeon’s words.

He’d heard that Bang Sung-Yun hadn’t even reached adulthood yet.

If he truly was a master in the absolute peak state, it defied logic.

Moreover…

‘There was nothing when I touched him.’

When he grabbed his arm to assess his level by using inner qi, he felt nothing but the inner qi of a below third-class warrior from Bang Sung-Yun.

No other qi was felt from him.

‘Was he hiding his power?’

Did he notice Yun Sochun trying to use inner qi and deliberately hide his level?

… But that would be too thorough.

It was perfect to the degree that it was more believable that he was just a third-class warrior.

Nodding his head, Yun Sochun thought.

‘Whatever it is, if he’s from that place, it all makes sense.’

All suspicions about Bang Sung-Yun could be explained if he was from that place.

Why he endured all the humiliation and suppression while hiding his level.

Why he tried to give tips to Yun Sochun.

Why a person from Yoryeong was specifically here in ‘Anhui’.

“……Got it.”

Yun Sochun widened his eyes as though he understood everything.

Suspicions piled up and intertwined, leading to a result.

“He’s also a disciple of Blue Moon Sect.”

Bang Sung-Yun was a disciple from the same place as him.

Or a successor.

Yun Sochun was certain of that.

* * *

Just before noon.

I was summoned to the grand room within the branch office.

Not just me, but most of the members of the second squad I belonged to were also gathered.

“An order has been issued.”

At the leader’s words, everyone pricked up their ears.

“There’s a report of sightings of Mountain Sky Demon in the nearby area.”

“……What?”

“Mountain Sky Demon!?”

“Leader, is that true?”

The members reacted with astonishment.

I was equally surprised.

‘Mountain Sky Demon…?’

Mountain Sky Demon, Geoyulwi.

An unregistered martial artist in the Murim Alliance, notorious in the Anhui and Zhejiang regions.

In other words, an Evil Faction member.

He was said to wield a greatsword.

His level of skill was supposed to be at its peak.

In the past, he had killed a martial artist from the Namgung family, one of the Five Great Families, before going on the run.

‘……Why did he have to be found in this area?’

I had no luck whatsoever.

Ah, of course, I was talking about myself, not Mountain Sky Demon.

‘Damn it, if he had to run, why not run far away?’

It would have been so much better if he was found in Shandong or Hebei.

The Murim Alliance’s branch office management there was supposed to be decent, but why did he have to be found stuck here in Anhui?

‘There are no calm days in life.’

I barely managed to stifle a sigh.

“The first squad will handle the suppression… our second squad and the third squad will be in charge of the search.”

I felt a little relieved at the leader’s words.

Right, with the combat squad out there, we wouldn’t be involved.

As long as we didn’t go searching too hard, we wouldn’t run into him.

No, we shouldn’t.

‘A peak martial artist, are you kidding me?’

Even a first-rate martial artist was considered a human weapon, so what kind of human was he at the peak level?

From what I knew, he could go beyond sword qi and use sword force.

They said he could slice through rock like it was tofu.

‘……I really don’t want to face him.’

The thought alone was horrifying.

I didn’t even want to do the search, but I couldn’t avoid it, could I?

Before I could even consider that further.

“The branch head has high expectations for this mission, so make sure to give it your all.”

‘Damn it.’

The leader made it clear there was no backing out.

To think the branch head would be mentioned here.

‘Is he salivating just because the Namgung family is involved?’

The reason they stirred up such a fuss to catch Mountain Sky Demon was obvious.

It wasn’t just some random faction’s enemy; it was the Evil Faction that the Namgung family wanted to capture. If our branch office could catch him, it would secure a significant standing for us.

So naturally, they were mobilizing every member to catch him.

“I’ve pre-assigned the roles, so go out and prepare for the mission.”

“Chung-!”

“Chung-!”

“……Chuuung….”

I alone responded with a dying voice.

Perhaps there was somewhere I could hide and kill some time.

As I was considering this, I suddenly felt a hot gaze on the back of my head.

It was a gaze I had sensed since coming to the grand room.

Feeling it, I steadied my mind.

‘Just don’t turn around.’

The owner of the gaze was none other than Yun Sochun.

He had been glaring at me ever since the incident in the morning.

Even during training, eating, and coming here.

Continually!

‘I’m going to get indigestion from this.’

I wondered how long it would take for that gaze to fade away.

Though I ignored it, it wasn’t easy at all.

‘……It’s fine. If I just stay still, it’ll all pass within a month.’

Whatever misunderstanding existed, it would diminish soon unless something big happened.

Maybe Yun Sochun would disappear by then too.

For now, I just had to think about how to avoid him.

‘I’ll just hide today under the pretext of the search and only worry about tomorrow.’

No way we’d be grouped together, right?

Humans would line up to join Yun Sochun’s group after all.

‘Yeah, that sounds good.’

I figured I’d always be paired with Yu Hyung-In, so I shouldn’t have to deal with him.

Feeling reassured, I nodded, but then, only five minutes later…

“Nice to meet you, Young master Bang.”

I had to drag my hand down my face as I looked at the white-haired young man greeting me.

“…Oh, life.”

Nothing ever went right.