Martial Artist Lee Gwak Episode 82

On the way home (1)

Novel- Martial Artist Lee Gwak

“I think this should be enough?”

“That’s far from enough. On the frontline, we consume goods equivalent to twenty carts a day. With our current supplies, it’s hard to even last two months. We need at least twenty thousand gold per month”

“But it’s unreasonable for our Myriad Merchant Troupe to bear all the expenses. The Jade Heaven Alliance has its own trading companies, so I don’t understand why they are imposing such a burden on us.”

“Are you serious?”

At Lim Sobo’s provocative question, the young man sitting across from her frowned slightly. It was evidence that he was feeling uncomfortable with Lim Sobo.

In a flash, a sharp light appeared and then vanished in Lim Sobo’s eyes.

‘That’s it.’

The young man in front of her was Eun Il Myeong. In the Jianghu, he was known as the Prince of Ten Thousand Gold.

He was Eun Won Ho’s eldest son, the supreme lord of the Myriad Merchant Troup, and occupied one of the seats of the Ten Lesser Skies.

He was negotiating on behalf of Eun Won Ho with Lim Sobo and Woon Dae Yon.

In fact, Woon Dae Yon did very little; he simply sat by Lim Sobo’s side and made his presence felt. The actual negotiations were left to Lim Sobo.

Both Eun Il Myeong, seasoned in the trading world, and Lim Sobo, trained in military strategies by the genius strategist Yeo Joong Wol, were formidable negotiators.

Lim Sobo, aiming to secure more, and Eun Il Myeong, trying to minimise losses, had been in a tight negotiation for the past few days.

Woon Dae Yon, who had been watching their negotiations from the sidelines, was experiencing severe fatigue.

‘It would be better to fight with a sword.’

Their sharp tongues were more lethal and vicious than the swords of many martial artists, yet they maintained at least a minimum of courtesy.

In contrast to the beginning, Woon Dae Yon now looked extremely tired, while Lim Sobo was still full of energy.

The seemingly endless negotiations between the two were about to enter their final phase.
Lim Sobo appeared confident, ready to negotiate further, while Eun Il Myeong could not hide his exhaustion. Even Woon Dae Yon, not directly involved in the negotiation, could easily discern who had the upper hand.

Eventually, Eun Il Myeong surrendered, his expression conceding defeat.

“Phew! Fine. We’ll take on the burden of twenty thousand gold per month. But in return, we’ll take the rights to the distribution of the black salt, as we discussed earlier. Agreed?”

“Hehe! Okay.”

Only then did Lim Sobo smile broadly, while Eun Il Myeong shook his head in disbelief.

“Have you ever seen such a little devil?”

“Oraboni, You’re not offended, are you?”

“Offended or not, what’s there to say? Negotiation is a public domain.”

“I knew you would say that.”

“But still, go easy next time. It’s hard to breathe when you push so hard.”

“You seemed to breathe just fine. You’re okay now, aren’t you? Hehe!”

At Lim Sobo’s nudge, Eun Il Myeong smiled wryly and looked at Woon Dae Yon.

“Woon Dae Yon Hyung! Next time you come, please leave this little devil behind.”

“Haha! How wonderful it would be if it were up to me. Anyway, I’m glad this tedious negotiation is finally over. I thought I was going to develop sores from just sitting and doing nothing.”

“What are you making a fuss about? I’ve sat in one place for ten days straight without moving before. For us folks who deal with money, this is quite normal.”

“I’m not a merchant, so please cut me some slack.”

Eun Il Myeong smiled at Woon Dae Yon’s jesting.

In fact, before coming here, the two men had almost no acquaintance. Eun Il Myeong had been too busy handling the affairs of the Myriad Merchant Troupe on behalf of his father, Eun Won Ho, and Woon Dae Yon rarely left the Jade Heaven Alliance.

Despite their completely different temperaments and circumstances, they were quite compatible, and were now very close.

Woon Dae Yon asked Lim Sobo.

“Now that the negotiation is over, we can have a drink, right?”

“Of course.”

“Let’s go, Eun Hyung! Let’s drink to our heart’s content, making up for all we missed.”

“Haha! Let’s do that. My throat has been dry, so this is perfect.”

With Lim Sobo’s permission, the two men left arm in arm.

They were going to drink heavily, compensating for the days they had abstained.

“Men always…”

Lim Sobo shook her head.

She leaned her forehead on the table, feeling exhausted.

In reality, she was extremely tired.

Her eyes were red and bloodshot and her mouth as dry as a parched rice field.

And her mind felt muddled. She had expended considerable mental energy over the past few days.

Lim Sobo turned her head to look at the door through which the two men had exited.

“By the way, did the two of them get along so well? It’s strange that Il Myeong oraboni conceded so easily…”

She had been prepared to negotiate for a few more days.

Considering her opponent was Eun Il Myeong, she had expected it to take this long to reach an optimal agreement.

She felt something was off but couldn’t pinpoint exactly what.

Lim Sobo suddenly shook her head vigorously.

“I don’t want to think about it anymore!”

Even if she had a brilliant mind, she was still a young girl. It was impossible for her to expend any more mental energy.

Suddenly, Lim Sobo’s head shot up.

She thought of someone she wanted to see.

“Hehe!”

A smile formed on her lips.

Lim Sobo quickly got up and left the main hall.

Her destination was the quarters of the Thirteenth Squad.

“Oh? Miss Lim!”

“Is the negotiation over?”

Ki Jin Hwi and Seok Yi Cheon greeted Lim Sobo with delight.

The fact that Lim Sobo had come was proof that their endless wait was over.

Lim Sobo nodded and looked around the courtyard,

Two people were missing.

“Where are Gwak oraboni and Cheon-wol oraboni?”

“Gwak went out and hasn’t returned, and Cheon-wol is holed up in his room.”

“Do you know where Gwak oraboni went?”

“No!”

“Hmm!”

Lim Sobo frowned for a moment at Seok Yi Cheon’s answer. But she soon put the thought out of her mind and walked briskly to the room where Cheon-wol was.

She was curious about Lee Gwak’s whereabouts, but it wasn’t as urgent as seeing Cheon-wol.

Lim Sobo knocked on Cheon-wol’s door.

“Oraboni!”
＊＊＊

“Gasp! Gasp!”

Lee Gwak lay on the ground, gasping for breath.

His whole body was a mess. His clothes were torn, and there were traces of blood in various places.

The training ground where he lay was in ruins. The bluestone on the floor was cracked, broken, and overturned, and there were deep pits everywhere.

These were the scars left by the spar between Lee Gwak and Mo Yong Shin.

Right in front of him, Mo Yong Shin was looking at Lee Gwak with a look of disbelief in his eyes, and there was a long gash on his shoulder. Only the muscles were slightly torn, but the bones and nerves were intact. Even so, Mo Yong Shin couldn’t hide his surprise.

It had been a long time since he had been wounded by someone else.

If he judged coldly, Lee Gwak’s martial arts was far inferior to him. It was admirable that he had cultivated to such a level on his own, but there was still a huge gap between him and the renowned young masters from prominent martial clans.

However, Lee Gwak possessed an incredible fighting spirit that was not found in other young masters. He fought fearlessly, unafraid of being wounded.

His audacity was so intense that even Mo Yong Shin was taken aback.

But no matter how bold, the stark disparity in martial prowess was hard to overcome.

That’s why, at the beginning of their spar, Mo Yong Shin had been somewhat complacent.
However, as the fight prolonged, Lee Gwak’s swordplay became frighteningly sharp and penetrated into the smallest openings.

Absorbing the experience of the intense battle like a sponge, Lee Gwak rapidly accumulated practical experience.

Lee Gwak had always longed for such moments.

Having trained in martial arts alone, he had never fought others, lacking the opportunity to accurately gauge his capabilities.

The spar with Mo Yong Shin was an opportunity he had dreamed of. Lee Gwak was determined not to let this chance slip away.

He unleashed all the techniques of the Eight Sects Sword Art.

Mo Yong Shin, befitting his reputation as a renowned master in the Jianghu, effortlessly parried Lee Gwak’s attacks. Now that Lee Gwak had seen what he was capable of, he had no reason to hesitate.

Lee Gwak gave his all.

He unleashed everything he had developed on his own toward Mo Yong Shin.

As he executed each technique, he gained insights, and while receiving Mo Yong Shin’s counterattacks, he acutely felt his shortcomings. He adapted and improved his techniques in the spur of the moment.

During the confrontation with Mo Yong Shin, Lee Gwak experienced complete freedom.

The numerous constraints that bound him in the Jade Heaven Alliance were non-existent here.

Lee Gwak fought beyond his limits against Mo Yong Shin.

As the head of the Heavenly Escort Establishment, Mo Yong Shin’s martial arts were beyond the peak, approaching the realm of absolute mastery. With the right trigger or enlightenment, he could cross that threshold.

His sword moves were not bound by form but were free. Such unbound swordplay showed Lee Gwak a new world.

It was a world of true masters, different from his own.

As the fight with Mo Yong Shin went on, there came a moment when Lee Gwak’s eyes and ears suddenly opened wide.

Whoosh!

The cry of the blade was clearly audible.

Lee Gwak responded to the call of the blade and entered a state of no-mind.

He didn’t know what techniques he was using; he simply let his body move
as the sword led.

A great serpent seemed to surge through his spine, coursing through his major meridians, supplying him with tremendous power, while a smaller serpent wriggled, opening his inner sight.

Through the confrontation with Mo Yong Shin, Lee Gwak leaped to the next level. Thanks to this, he pushed beyond Mo Yong Shin’s expectations to the extreme.

As a result, Mo Yong Shin, forgetting his initial intention to restrain his internal energy, exerted his full strength.

Consequently, Lee Gwak collapsed, bearing numerous wounds. Yet, he was oblivious to the pain of his injuries. The thrill he experienced in his duel with Mo Yong Shin was that immense.

Once his breath settled a bit, Lee Gwak rose and assumed a formal martial salute towards Mo Yong Shin.

“I sincerely thank you for granting me this and for the restraint you showed in your techniques. I will never forget this kindness.”

“No need for that! Today, I too have had a great awakening. Just realising that there is a junior rising formidably from places unknown to me is enough of a gain. It has been such a stimulus, so I will also strive even harder in return.”

“I am just grateful that you think so.”

“You were truly remarkable.”

Mo Yong Shin patted Lee Gwak on the shoulder.

The goosebumps on his body had yet to subside. Such was the lasting impression Lee Gwak’s duel had left on him.

Lee Gwak’s final move had been genuinely chilling. He felt the threat of death and retaliated with all his might.

He was fortunate that the injury on his shoulder was superficial; otherwise, it could have been much more severe.

His hand was still trembling.

Part of it was the exhilaration of having a proper duel after a long time, but it was also a testament to the high level of tension.

There seemed to be something more in Lee Gwak. It felt like his own capabilities were insufficient to draw out everything Lee Gwak possessed.

This was a lingering regret.

Suddenly, he thought of someone.

‘If Il Myeong had even a fraction of this passion…’

Eun Il Myeong, the young master of Myriad Merchant Troupe, was acknowledged as a prodigy across the world.

His talent in martial arts was truly fearsome, capable of mimicking any complicated technique after seeing it just a few times.

Due to his immense talent in martial arts, he showed little enthusiasm for it. With minimal effort, he achieved tremendous success, especially with the substantial support of the Myriad Merchant Troupe, which allowed him to cultivate his martial arts nearly to their limits.

In fact, after becoming one of the Ten Lesser Skies, he had not focused much on martial arts. Instead, he found more joy and focused on increasing the Myriad Merchant Troupe’s wealth.

That’s why Mo Yong Shin, who felt this was a pity, was all the more impressed by Lee Gwak’s determination.

“Only those who feel thirsty dig wells with all their might.

Mo Yong Shin thought of Lee Gwak as such a person.

“You are truly impressive. Not many in the world have cultivated such martial arts on their own. But you still have much to learn. Do you acknowledge that?”

“Yes!”

“I would like to help, but it seems beyond my capabilities.”

If Lee Gwak had chosen to leave the Jade Heaven Alliance and join the Myriad Merchant Troupe, Mo Yong Shin would have used any means to take Lee Gwak as his disciple. However, he knew that Lee Gwak had rejected Lee Shin Chung’s offer outright, so he restrained his desire.

‘It’s a pity, but let’s be content with having influenced the gemstone a little.’

Mo Yong Shin thought it was enough that he contributed to Lee Gwak’s development.

“I hope that one day a great master will appear to guide you on the right path.”

“Thank you.”

Lee Gwak bowed deeply to express his gratitude to Mo Yong Shin.

For Mo Yong Shin, it may have been just a moment of leisure, but for Lee Gwak, it was a moment of invaluable teaching he had never experienced before.

Lee Gwak had a feeling
.
He felt that, starting from today, he would grow significantly.

Mo Yong Shin patted Lee Gwak’s shoulder.

“Your achievements will remain a secret known only to me.”

“Sir?”

Eun Gwang Ho or Lee Sin Chung merely vaguely guessed that Lee Gwak might be strong, but they didn’t know his exact capabilities.

The only person who truly knew Lee Gwak’s skill was Mo Yong Shin. The fact that he would keep it a secret was deeply appreciated by Lee Gwak.

“It’s an honour to know such a formidable junior. Let’s share a drink and exchange our spirits.”

“Yes, Sir!”

That day, Lee Gwak spent the night sharing drinks with Mo Yong Shin.

I need your help

Lee Gwak’s first fight is about to begin? Can’t wait until Monday to read the next chapter? Try to become my Patreon here or buy me a coffee here, you will get instant access to 13+ chapters with (2+1) chapter updates for a month.

I am in a funds crunch and need support to keep the translation going, so please consider supporting me if you can! Thank you