Published at 7th of June 2026 8:23 pm

Chapter 443

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The Beggar's Union, commonly known as a den of vagrants, isn't entirely so if you dig deeper.

It's true that every martial artist in the Beggar's Union is, without exception, a beggar.

But not every beggar in the Central Plains belongs to the Beggar's Union.

Moreover,

'Not just anyone can become a Beggar's Union beggar.'

It is the sect with the greatest number of members among the Nine Great Sects.

The important point here is that the Beggar's Union is one of the Nine Great Sects.

Nine sects and one Union. Of all the many, high, and mighty sects, only ten.

Being counted among them was proof enough of their prestige.

If you examine their standing, the Beggar's Union did not rise through martial might.

If you had to recall a frequently-used phrase about them,

"The eyes and ears of the Alliance."

That was an apt description.

If the brain of the Murim Alliance is now Heavenly Insight, then the eyes and ears of the Alliance could be said to be the Beggar's Union.

All information in the Central Plains begins and ends with the Beggar's Union.

There is no secret they don't know. When pressed for information, they never answered "We don't know," but rather, "We can't tell you."

Unrivaled in intelligence.

Their strength may not be the best, but by other means, they have ascended to the top, and that's what the Beggar's Union has done.

The Beggar's Union's master, in turn, was no ordinary man.

Ta Bong Woo Ah-seok.

The Beggar's Union's leader, and likewise a martial artist said to dwell in Heaven Beyond Heaven.

Although the Beggar's Union didn't directly take part in the Great Demon War, it was he who monitored the movements and power of the Demonic Cult, enabling Heavenly Insight to issue orders faster and more accurately.

In the midst of this, Woo Ah-seok, unlike other members who relayed information, was the only one to take part in battle.

The Iron Old Man who crushed the heads of demonic beings with a heavy iron staff.

They said that a few swings of his staff could level an entire hill.

'But for all that...'

I found myself lost in thought as I looked at the old man crouched before me. For someone called the Iron Old Man, he looked rather frail.

A scrawny physique with every bone visible. I was momentarily shocked by his appearance.

"How did you know?"

At the sudden change in his voice and mood, my heart leapt. No, despite my earlier unease, it seemed the person before me was indeed who I expected.

"How could I not recognize the great leader of the Beggar's Union?"

"Hohoho."

Swwwk—

He straightened his body from where he'd been prostrate. The old beggar spoke to me.

"I'm not one for wordplay. Answer me, brat."

Wuuuung.

Was it just my imagination?

The pouring rain seemed to have slowed a little. The raindrops could almost freeze midair.

"How did you recognize me?"

His wet hair obscured his gaze, but I could tell.

I could feel that look from within his hair, glaring as if to pierce right through me.

"... Is this person really the leader of the Beggar's Union?"

Yu Yul asked, sounding as if he couldn't quite believe it.

Hearing that, I steadied my breath.

"Yes. This is Ta Bong Woo Ah-seok, the great hero."

Heaven Beyond Heaven.

And along with the Shadow Sovereign, one of the least-known figures.

Looking at him, I spoke.

"The first reason I recognized you, sir, isn't all that remarkable."

I pulled a letter from my robe and handed it to him.

"This is a letter from the Strategist. I was instructed to deliver it to you here— that's why."

"You recognized me just by the meeting location? Was that just a guess?"

"No. The second reason is that you, sir, approached me directly."

"Hm?"

"No beggar would so easily grab the trouser leg of a martial artist carrying a sword and beg, not even in this downpour."

The rain fell onto sodden ground.

Who in their right mind would try to beg from such an obvious martial artist in this unpleasant weather?

A situation perfect for blood to soak into the earth unnoticed, even if you were killed?

There can't be many beggars with such nerve.

And especially not in Henan, of all places.

"And also—"

The second reason aside, the third was,

"There are too few beggars on this street."

"Ho?"

"Regardless of the weather, beggars will always beg. You see?"

I looked up at the downpour.

"I doubt all the beggars would have gone home just because of this rain."

"Are those all your reasons?"

He sounded a bit disappointed. Smiling, I replied,

"No. There's one more. This is probably the most important."

The fourth reason— simple, but something only I could sense.

'His spirit form is too refined.'

The power of his spirit is so controlled that it might as well be undetectable.

Normally, with someone like this—

'It's one of two things.'

Either someone who truly possesses nothing, or

'A being who's fully transcended.'

Someone whose spirit is utterly unshaken, having attained all the karma they could in this life.

Taken together, with the previous reasons, it wasn't difficult to tell who he was.

As I gathered these thoughts,

"What's your last reason?"

He asked, sounding curious.

"That's a secret."

"What?"

I chose to keep that to myself.

"There's no reason I need to reveal everything."

"... Hohoho."

Woo Ah-seok laughed softly.

And at that moment—

Fwoosh-!!

His hand darted towards me.

Untrimmed nails, caked with grime. A sharp motion that seemed as if it would gouge my eye out.

But it stopped, right at the tip of my nose.

"Those eyes. You've got the exact blend of those two old fiends I hate the most."

"Old fiends?"

My eyes narrowed at his words.

"The Sword Saint. Heavenly Insight. Wretched things all mixed together."

"... Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"Hohoho. What do you think?"

"It doesn't sound flattering at all."

"That's the first answer I actually like."

His fingers slowly drifted away.

"The one behind you there— put down your sword. I was just having a bit of fun, so there's no need for caution."

"..."

Glancing back, I saw Yu Yul already had his hand on his sword.

"So, Blue Moon Sect's new blood... I heard this time you've finally produced some useful ones. Seems the rumor was true."

Tap, tap. Woo Ah-seok patted his back as he stood up.

"Come in."

With that, he disappeared into his quarters. We followed after.

* * *

Inside, the floor was bare earth, the roof thrown up hastily.

There was another old man inside, and Woo Ah-seok addressed him,

"Out you go. No sense in continuing the act, we've already been found out."

"... Sect master?"

"Hohoho. Turns out this kid is even more perceptive than I thought."

It seemed he'd set up a decoy. The man, eyes wide, left, and I settled onto a chair.

"You're not expecting tea from a beggar, are you?"

"No, I'm not much for tea myself."

"Hohoho. That's a relief."

Hwaaaak.

Even as he spoke, I felt a heat radiate out.

The clothes Woo Ah-seok wore, sodden from the rain, dried instantly in a rush of warmth.

He must have used his ki to dry his body and clothes.

"I heard you're the seed of Heavenly Insight. It seems like that assessment holds true."

"...'Seed' sounds a little off, honestly."

I'm not a direct descendant—just a maternal grandson.

"But the blood runs strong, doesn't it? And you do look quite similar. That same nasty look in your eye."

"I don't think my eyes are that fierce..."

Neither my mother nor my father had eyes that slanted up like that.

"It's that uniquely tired, arrogant gaze you have. That's what's similar."

"... Ah."

Yeah, tired is accurate. I can't agree with arrogant, though.

"Didn't expect you to see through me so quickly. Took me a hit."

"Shall I redo it, pretend not to recognize you?"

"Enough with the jokes. You're sharper than the young head of the Jaegal Family. He couldn't recognize me. So—are you interested in succeeding Jaegal family? I think you'd suit it more."

"... Sorry, but I'd need to change my surname for that."

To think about successor talk—what a terrifying notion.

"That so? Hm. Pity."

Sarak.

Woo Ah-seok muttered as he looked over the letter I had handed him from Heavenly Insight.

Our whole reason for coming was to deliver that letter to the union leader.

"Hm."

Once he'd finished reading, Woo Ah-seok sparked flames at his fingertips.

Fwooosh!!!

The letter burned to nothing.

"Always making me do pointless things. Damn old fiends."

"..."

"And thanks to you, brat, the Beggar's Union has had no rest."

"Me?"

"We've got more work than ever thanks to your scrap with those from the Demonic Cult."

"Ah."

He must be talking about my fight with the young cult leader.

"It's taken everything I've got to make use of our beggars just to manage that. Now I'm getting roped into all kinds of nonsense."

"..."

"Are you curious?"

"No."

I answered without hesitation.

Not even a bit. I didn't want to know.

'Probably better if I don't.'

No thanks. No reason to get myself into more trouble.

"Hoho."

Woo Ah-seok laughed at my answer.

"Good. Who knows how that one would react if I told you."

"...'React'?"

"He's not the type to share his weak points lightly—surprising business. What did you do to that one, brat?"

"... Me? To whom, exactly?"

"You really don't know?"

"No."

"Good then. That makes it more entertaining."

What on earth is he talking about? I nervously chewed my inner cheek.

"Well, enough of that."

Crack. Woo Ah-seok's body issued a bone-deep creak as he moved, then he asked,

"All right then, ask me something."

"Ask what?"

He wanted me to ask—ask what, suddenly?

I cocked my head at this unexpected question. Woo Ah-seok continued,

"Heavenly Insight used up your opportunity. Brat, from this moment, you can ask me anything, just one thing. I'll answer with the gold-level standard."

"...!"

The gold-level standard. My eyes widened at that.

The "gold" he referred to was the tier of questions and answers you could get from the Beggar's Union.

Green, blue, red, violet, gold.

These are the grades of information you can request from the Beggar's Union, green being the lowest.

Gold is the highest grade, a privilege said to be reserved for elders or high-ranking members of powerful sects.

"... You're giving that to me?"

"That's right."

Heavenly Insight gave me the opportunity of a gold-level question?

"He earned it by helping the Beggar's Union with a difficult matter. Now he's passed it to you—a privilege unused for ten years."

"..."

Why? That was my first thought. Was there really a need for that?

'Well, it's a good thing.'

It was an opportunity.

At best, I would have been able to scrape together a red-ranked question on my own.

Gold was way out of my reach.

"So I only need to ask, right?"

"Correct."

"... Senior."

As soon as I spoke, Yu Yul got up as if he'd been waiting.

"Can you wait outside?"

"..."

The ever-perceptive Yu Yul whistled as he left, even bowing to Woo Ah-seok as a bonus.

Wuuuung.

A ki barrier formed.

"Hohoho. You're setting up a barrier for just one question?"

"You told me to ask—so I'll ask, without hesitation."

I'd wanted to ask about this anyway.

"Sect master."

"Yes?"

"Please tell me about the Bang Family of Liaodong, and their master, Bang Chunho."

"..."

At my words, Woo Ah-seok's body stiffened.

"... Oh, my."

Surely he'd answer since it was a gold-level question, right? Or so I thought.

"That's too expensive. The price doesn't match. Ask me something cheaper."

What I heard exceeded all of my expectations.

TL's Corner:

Platinum grade? Diamond Grade? Master? Grandmaster? Challenger?

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