Chapter 380

Chapter 380
### Chapter 380. The Overflowing Waves (5)

—

Hyeok-mu-gang was taking part in his seventh graduation ceremony as the Murim Alliance Leader, yet the occasion never failed to bring a fresh perspective. The students’ expressions vibrated with intense anticipation for the days ahead. Surrounding them were parents, relatives, clan leaders, and martial brothers who watched with deep-seated pride. Though joy takes countless shapes across the world, rare was an event where so much profound happiness gathered and spilled over all at once.

At every prior graduation, Hyeok-mu-gang would intentionally summon the latent internal energy he usually kept dormant to sharpen his sight. He wanted to vividly etch the features of the graduating youths and the faces of the audience into his memory. But this time…

“……Something is amiss.”

His voice was a hushed murmur, meant solely for the ears of Zhuge-so-myeong.

“The expressions on everyone’s faces are dark.”

Regardless of academic rank, graduation was supposed to be a celebration for all involved, was it not? Yet, not only the students but even the families who should have been beaming with pride sat with twisted, sour grimaces, as though trying to endure a foul stench. What in heaven’s name had transpired?

“More than half of the graduating class failed to secure a placement in their desired locations.”

“…….”

As if he had already unraveled the mystery, Zhuge-so-myeong continued to whisper back.

“A massive crowd swarmed toward a single martial pavilion, leaving a vast number rejected.”

Hyeok-mu-gang tilted his head in confusion. Normally, weren’t student assignments coordinated to some degree with their preferred choices through the influence of senior martial brothers and their respective sects?

“What do you mean by that? Did the seniors or the parent sects fail to guide the students of this tier—”

Zhuge-so-myeong’s eyes drifted toward the Elder Council. Following his partner’s gaze, Hyeok-mu-gang observed the prominent figures of the Elder Council. Sure enough, their countenances were just as decayed and bitter as those of the students and observers below.

“The disciples who were supposed to apply for the specific martial pavilions mandated by their clans…… it appears the vast majority threw their applications into the White Wolf Pavilion instead.”

“What did you say??”

“They acted completely on their own whims, throwing aside whether they belonged to the Jeongdo-hoe, the Baekdo-hoe, or the 12 Peaks and Castles. The organizations were utterly blindsided by the very youths they trusted.”

It wasn’t as if the entire student body had suffered mass food poisoning… Why would they suddenly rush to enter ‘that’ White Wolf Pavilion—a place that had securely held the absolute title of the most avoided department since the day it was founded—instead of anywhere else?

“Is there some rare Stalactite Milk flowing freely within the White Wolf Pavilion?”

“…….”

“I am asking you in dead earnest.”

Zhuge-so-myeong let out a soft sigh before replying.

“It appears the incident in Muk-rim played a heavy role. From a certain perspective, the newly appointed instructors are practically their immediate senior martial brothers within the Murim Alliance, are they not?”

“Ah……”

A betrayal executed by the very figures one trusted and revered like the heavens cuts deeper than any blade. Just as a child is left permanently scarred after being abandoned by their own flesh and blood, the tragedy in Muk-rim had clearly inflicted a deep, weeping wound upon these youths.

“According to the intelligence gathered by the Cheon-mok-gak, certain sects and families went so far as to hand out severe disciplinary measures and penalties to those who followed Jin-so-un into the Man-dok-mun.”

“What nonsense is this? Did the Alliance not explicitly decree that the entire affair would remain strictly off the record?”

Zhuge-so-myeong’s lips curled into a cold smirk, starkly contrasting his quiet, measured tone.

“How many individuals truly believe the Alliance’s mandates carry more weight than the internal laws of their own sects?”

suicide
“…….”

It was an incredibly wretched reality. It was equivalent to berating children who had barely managed to survive a horrific ordeal and return home, demanding to know why they had dared to make it back alive. It was entirely natural for the youths to grow resentful and rebellious. Yet, one nagging riddle remained unexplained.

“Then…… what explains the miserable expressions on the children who actually got assigned to the White Wolf Pavilion?”

If they had swarmed the White Wolf Pavilion as a grand gesture of defiance, they had achieved their goal. Why look so utterly defeated? This time, Zhuge-so-myeong’s lips curved with genuine amusement.

“According to those very youths, they claim the entire purpose of entering the White Wolf Pavilion evaporated because their Squad Leader was stripped away from them.”

“Squad Leader?”

“I am referring to Jin-so-un.”

“…….”

Hyeok-mu-gang stared blankly at Zhuge-so-myeong, entirely losing track of the ongoing graduation ceremony.

“……Did you not deliberately remove Jin-so-un from the White Wolf Pavilion?”

“That is precisely the irony. According to the White Wolf Pavilion Master, Jin-so-un personally sought him out, begging to be permitted back into the White Wolf Pavilion.”

“…….”

It was utterly bewildering. He had intervened to extract Jin-so-un from the White Wolf Pavilion purely for the boy’s own benefit, yet that very action had caused aggrieved individuals, including the boy himself, to be scattered in frustration across the board. Right then, Zhuge-so-myeong leaned in close and murmured.

“Even so, do not fret. I have taken strict measures to bind everyone’s tongues so that the fact that the Alliance Leader personally interfered will not leak out—”

Hearing those words, Hyeok-mu-gang bolted upright from his chair.

“Was it not you who commanded the entire operation, Chief Strategist! How can you brazenly utter such words…… ahem……”

“…….”
“…….”
/“…….”
“…….”

The high-ranking dignitaries of the Alliance, including the Elder Council seated across the elevated platform, and even the visiting diplomats from the Saheuk-ryeon, were all fixing their gazes upon Hyeok-mu-gang with profound bewilderment.

“Um…… Alliance Leader…… did I commit some error in protocol?”

Even the grandmaster of ceremonies hosting the graduation was dripping with cold sweat and visibly shaken. While Hyeok-mu-gang stood frozen, half-risen and deeply embarrassed, Zhuge-so-myeong spoke up with an entirely unbothered, placid demeanor.

“Is this not a monumental occasion? Let us conduct our discourse quietly at a later time.”

He felt a surge of irritation at the sight of Zhuge-so-myeong sitting there with such a flawless facade of innocence, but Hyeok-mu-gang had no choice but to lower himself back into his seat as if nothing had happened. After all, this Academy graduation ceremony carried far more geopolitical weight than any that had come before. Naturally, he did not neglect to cast a concentrated thread of telepathy (*Jeon-eum*) straight to Zhuge-so-myeong.

-We shall settle this the moment this concludes.
-…….

Predictably, no response returned.

In my past life, when I had arrived for my mandatory service at the Murim Alliance somewhat ahead of schedule, I had been dragged along to witness the Academy graduation ceremony. I remembered sitting in the spectator stands, grasping a poorly made banner provided by the Gye-ryong Merchant Guild, forcing myself to offer empty applause for Gye-cheol-yeong. In a sense, I was experiencing the exact same graduation ceremony for the second time, but the context had shifted entirely. I was no longer a forgotten face in the spectator seating. Furthermore, the members of our Tae-eul Sect were not frantically weaving through a sea of hundreds of students just to catch a glimpse of Gye-cheol-yeong.

“He looks remarkably grand.”
“He truly…… truly does.”

Their eyes were locked onto me, occupying the seat reserved for the student representative, gleaming with immense pride. Naturally, that wasn’t the sole divergence. The overarching energy of the graduation itself was completely distinct from my previous life. Whereas the past ceremony had been loud, chaotic, and festive from start to finish, this current graduation was unfolding under a distinctly muted, heavy atmosphere.

If I had to pinpoint the catalyst, it was undoubtedly the presence of an unexpected, uninvited entity. I had previously wondered why banners belonging to those underworld thugs were draped right at the Academy’s threshold.

“…….”

The source of the tension sat prominently on the high stage, right alongside the Alliance Leader and the Chief Strategist. It was the Chief Strategist of the Saheuk-ryeon, Dam-ak. Dam-ak, who by all rights should have stepped in as the brains of the Murim Alliance during Zhuge-so-myeong’s absence in the previous timeline, had plunged into the *Gangho* far earlier this time around, seizing the mantle of Chief Strategist for the Saheuk-ryeon instead. And now, he had already begun carved his terrifying reputation across the lands.

“This is quite a grand view.”

Given that he was occupying a prestigious seat at a major function of the Murim Alliance—effectively their sworn adversary—the boiling resentment among the attendees was bound to be massive.

‘……What under the sun is going through his mind?’

I could piece together the broader geopolitical puzzle. As individuals operating under the guise of the Blood Cult and various underworld syndicates multiplied within the Orthodox Murim, and the friction between the White Path and the dark world grew perilous, the leadership of both the Murim Alliance and the Saheuk-ryeon were likely attempting to forge a non-aggression pact. It was a mutual warning against impersonating the underworld, while putting on an outward show that relations between the two factions remained stable.

‘Even so, for the Chief Strategist to arrive in person crosses a significant line.’

A standard diplomatic envoy would have sufficed, just as the Murim Alliance had utilized. Even if one accounted for the absolute worst-case scenario that could unfold, bringing a scholar who possessed not a shred of martial arts training was a gambit that felt excessive by any metric. As I remained mired in these thoughts, a silent thread of telepathy struck my mind.

-I am currently operating as an escort for the Saheuk-ryeon delegation. The Chief Strategist wishes to convey a message to Young Hero Jin, and thus I am transmitting his exact words to you.

I flicked my eyes up toward the high platform and caught sight of Dam-ak whispering directly into the ear of the guard flanking him.

‘Telepathy right in the middle of the formal graduation? Is there an entirely different motive behind Dam-ak’s personal arrival?’

A suffocating weight settled on my chest, wondering what could possibly be so vital that it needed to be delivered under these circumstances. The moment Dam-ak finished dictating, the escort nodded slightly and parted his lips.

-The Chief Strategist states, ‘I find myself in a position where I look down upon this graduation ceremony from the highest canopy of shade, while you find yourself in a position where you are only just stepping out of the Academy gates.’

“…….”

Pardon? What sort of gibberish was this meant to be……

-The Chief Strategist states, ‘When you journeyed to the Saheuk-ryeon acting as a diplomatic envoy, I truly believed you had achieved significant feats within the Gangho. Were you merely a freshly hatched chick (*haet-byeong-ari*) who has yet to even take his inaugural stride?’

Was he intentionally picking a quarrel? Finding the situation entirely preposterous, I fired a telepathic reply straight back to Dam-ak.

-What exactly do you think you are doing at this very moment?

Upon receiving my message, Dam-ak leaned over and whispered into the escort’s ear once more.

-The Chief Strategist states, ‘I am mocking you, naturally.’

An utterly ridiculous retort came back. I glared toward Dam-ak out of sheer disbelief; the edges of his mouth were twitching violently as he fought to suppress a burst of laughter. Immediately after, Dam-ak dictated another message to his guard, clearly enjoying himself.

-The Chief Strategist states, ‘Seeing as I am the Chief Strategist and you are naught but a fledgling who has barely placed a single foot into the Gangho, it is entirely appropriate for me to speak to you with familiar ease, is it not?’

Ha, look at this fellow go.

-Did you truly travel all the way from the stronghold of the Saheuk-ryeon just to engage in this petty behavior?

-The Chief Strategist states, ‘Indubitably. Is this not a golden window to mock you that presents itself but once in a lifetime? Regardless of the inherent perils, I simply had to attend in person.’

-…….

Evidently unable to conceal the upward curve of his lips which threatened to reach his ears, Dam-ak covered his lower face with the back of his hand, his torso trembling slightly with suppressed mirth. Was this absurd character truly the brilliant mind who had stepped into Zhuge-so-myeong’s vacant shoes and single-handedly propped up the collapsing foundations of the Murim Alliance in my past life?

-You truly have far too much leisure on your hands……

“Student Jin-so-un! Control your conduct!”

The very instant I prepared to shoot back a sharp telepathic retort, a stern reprimand from the assistant instructor overseeing the rows echoed out. Tsk, he must have spotted my jaw moving. Under the instructor’s sharp gaze, I had no option but to clamp my jaw shut. Despite witnessing my predicament, Dam-ak’s telepathic onslaught persisted.

-The Chief Strategist states, ‘What is a reputable drinking establishment in the vicinity of Wuhan? To mark your graduation, I shall purchase a round of alcohol for you.’

Well, given that he possessed the basic decency to offer congratulations, I briefly entertained the thought of overlooking his behavior, but……

-The Chief Strategist states, ‘Ah! Reflecting upon our respective seniority within the Gangho, would it not be rather inappropriate for me to share a table with an unranked youth? Given my exceptionally elevated status…… I must apologize. I should not have broached the matter. Haha.’

He completely incensed me all over again. This bast—no, this individual. To squander such an extraordinary intellect on such absolute nonsense. Hah! Unbelievable. Did he honestly believe I would lose my composure over this……

-The Chief Strategist states, ‘How about I dine upon the third floor of the establishment while you take your meal on the ground floor? Would that not serve as an acceptable compromise?’

……Damn it.

-The Chief Strategist states, ‘This is a rare privilege that a greenhorn (*Gangho-cho-chul*) of your standing would rarely encounter, so I advise you to weigh the offer with immense care.’

Was this human always such an unhinged bast—no, such an eccentric character? In my previous existence, he had consistently projected an aura as immovable as a mountain peak and as razor-sharp as a legendary blade.

-The Chief Strategist states…….

I felt an overwhelming urge to strike him squarely across the face just once.

Leaving behind a graduation ceremony that had completely blurred past without my notice due to Dam-ak’s relentless pestering, I transitioned to a banquet with the gathered members of the Tae-eul Sect. The feast organized by the institution was spread across the Academy’s primary dining hall and the grand pavilion. Exclamations of congratulations and the exchange of commemorative gifts were unfolding in every direction.

“Hey! Where has the second boy wandered off to! The artist has arrived, go fetch him this instant! We must capture a portrait together!”
“Let us go drink!!!”
“Um…… the truth is, I have held you deep within my heart for a very long time……”
“Let us go drink!!!”

The chaotic, bustling energy infused the air with a strange, vibrant vitality. Everyone was preoccupied with attending to their kin and sharing parting words with their fellow disciples. Having experienced the previous life’s event merely as a detached onlooker, I now allowed my gaze to slowly sweep over the entire scene from the perspective of a graduate. As I was busy imprinting the faces of the people into my memory one by one.

“……!”

My vision locked onto a particular silhouette standing amidst the ocean of people, and my entire frame turned to ice. A figure who belonged exclusively to the darkest archives of my past life. A being whose very existence served as the prologue to an absolute nightmare for me.

“*Dae-sahyung*? What has caught your attention?”

Eun-ho’s voice called out from my flank, but I mindlessly thrust the celebratory bouquets and presents into his arms and began pursuing the figure as if completely mesmerized.

‘How…… how can that individual…… be standing here?’

Without question, an excessive number of variables had deviated from my past life. The reality that I stood here in place of Gye-cheol-yeong at this graduation was not merely the product of shifting one or two isolated events. It was because an astronomical number of alterations had accumulated over time, transforming the present reality. And based on the revised strategy I had implemented.

‘……It makes no sense.’

That specific individual was someone who possessed absolutely no reason to be present in this place. Because.

“*Dae*…… *Dae-sahyung*!!!”

In my previous lifetime, he was one of the cold-blooded executioners who had slaughtered the already incapacitated Je-geum-hak and Zhuge-so-myeong.