NOVEL WEB What do the people of Sacheon think about the Sacheon Outcasts?
Well, it probably varies by individual, but the consensus is likely that while they acknowledge the abilities of the Outcasts, they find their behavior despicable. After all, they frequently issue martial arts invitations and smash the sects in Sacheon City, so there’s no choice but to recognize their power.
If there are any questionable aspects about the matches, they’re likely to be accused of using sorcery or underhanded tactics, but after hearing such accusations repeatedly, it’s natural for some to become curious.
What exactly is the sorcery that the Sacheon Outcasts use?
“The Sacheon Outcasts are immoral guys who, despite their weak martial arts, possess bizarre sorcery, making them difficult to deal with.”
That’s the evaluation that anyone from Sacheon has surely heard about the Outcasts, and those living in Sacheon City would have occasionally witnessed the immoral appearances of the Outcasts and their martial arts displays.
However, when it comes to the “sorcery of the Outcasts,” there are only rampant rumors. The Outcasts don’t perform sorcery, so there wouldn’t be any witnesses. Still, because the rumors are so prevalent, those curious about what the Outcasts’ sorcery is wouldn’t want to miss the chance to see it firsthand.
The Outcasts are feared, yet those curious about their sorcery gather in droves at the intersection in front of the Hwang Gold Clan.
“Hey you! What are you all doing here?”
“This is the front of the great Hwang Gold Clan! Everyone disperse!”
The gatekeepers came out, frothing at the mouth.
“Did you pay for the street space? Shut up and get lost.”
The onlookers had ignored the gatekeepers. They were curious about the sorcery being displayed, willing to brave their fears to gather here. So naturally, they couldn’t help but look at the gatekeepers with disdain.
Even if there were onlookers drawn by the intriguing sight of the Outcasts performing bizarre acts, that didn’t change the fact that they had come to see something. The gatekeepers, feeling the crowd’s negative stares, couldn’t bring themselves to act violently and hurried back inside the Hwang Gold Clan.
We should start before the gatekeepers come in to disrupt things.
Clap. Clap.
I clapped my hands to draw everyone’s attention.
I wanted to write on the flyer that it was a magic show by the Sacheon Outcasts, but since improperly using the character for ‘magic’ could ignite the martial artists of the Martial Artists of the Nine Great Sects to come after me with fiery eyes, I compromised with ‘sorcery.’
First, let’s set the stage. It would be great if it all ended in one go, but who knows how the Hwang Gold Clan will react, plus Bu-rin might do something stupid out of foolishness…
If I create an odd setting, the message meant for the Hwang Gold Clan might get muddled.
“Hehe, I am the Sacheon Outcast who performs sorcery with the power of the Ghost Jeon-gwi living in the Gouhae Hell.”
Gouhae Hell is essentially where those who cause commercial issues in Buddhist cosmology are punished. I subtly hinted to Bu-rin that a lion would soon show up to turn his life into hell, so if he didn’t want to suffer, he should quickly surrender and spit out my money.
“Realize the greatness of the power possessed by the Ghost of Gouhae Hell, foolish mortals! Behold! Tremble in awe!”
Striking a pose akin to praising the sun, I let out an amused chuckle and observed the crowd as they seemed to quiver slightly in fear at my performance.
I had set the stage well enough, and now I just needed to offer an element of interest to dispel their fear. After all, they had merely come to see some entertainment, not to become victims of the Hwang Gold Clan’s antics or the bizarre curses of the Outcasts.
If the interest wanes, people will leave like a receding tide.
“You!”
As I waved my finger, people around me flinched and stepped back. The target of my finger was a slightly scared-looking child.
I’ve been rolling around in this Sacheon ground for a whopping 7 years now. Whenever I needed to pass on martial arts invitations or caught people’s attention, I would buy snacks for kids and give them simple tasks.
By mingling with the children like this, I’d grown familiar with some kids, and among them, there were those who would accept a personal request from me.
In the world of children, just getting snacks from the Outcasts would be enough to turn into legendary tales.
On my way here, I had recruited a shill in an alleyway.
As a reward, after the job was done, I decided to give them some taffy and a portion of the rice cake I had prepared today.
Seeing as they had brought rice balls and dumplings, it felt like they were going to watch the performance while munching on snacks, and after the show ends, boasting to me about the snacks they received and claiming their throne as the king of the alleyways.
Or maybe not.
The kid, probably had no idea they would be performing a task amongst hundreds of crowds, and was stiffly frozen. Did they think becoming the king of the alleyways would be easy?
They seemed to have paled out of fear at my sudden transformation from my usual harmless self to an evil cultist-like figure.
“Ahahaha, the Ghost Jeon-gwi loves little children. Other ghosts enjoy screaming children and savoring them from their toes, but the Jeon-gwi whispers to you of the food it has in store.”
Receiving the taffy, the child seemed to regain their senses and nodded their head.
“Offer money to the Jeon-gwi!”
The child pulled out the coin handed to them in the alley and gave it to me.
“Uh, um…”
“Evil guy! How dare you extort money from a child!”
The adults who were about to raise their voices in outrage fell silent.
I had rolled up my sleeves. The crowd seemed to think I was preparing to act violently as I rolled up my sleeves to free my hands.
They were wrongfully intimidated!
Of course, that was not my intention.
I organized my sleeves and opened my hands wide. My intent was to clear up the messy sleeves to reveal my wrists.
The crowd might have had doubts about me pretending to not have anything up my sleeves. By clearing things up ahead of time, I eliminated any ambiguities.
“Sometimes, foolish people deny the power of the Jeon-gwi as mere tricks. Hehe… behold! The power of the Jeon-gwi!”
Ah!
A coin vanished from my hand. People were staring at my right hand with wide eyes. Some rubbed their eyes in disbelief to verify what they thought they saw.
“The coin just given by this child has been dedicated to the Jeon-gwi! Oh…! I can feel the satisfaction of the Jeon-gwi…! Child! You are lucky today! The Jeon-gwi has granted you a reward!”
Slowly extending my hands out for everyone to see, I then waved my left hand.
In my left hand, a silver coin appeared out of nowhere.
“No way!”
“It came from an empty hand!”
“Sorcery! Sorcery!”
The sight of the coin transforming into a silver coin seemed to ignite a fiery passion in the crowd.
A coin becoming a silver coin? Well, of course, people would flip out.
Gambling tricks are part of magic. Hiding and switching cards without anyone noticing. Manipulating psychology. When it’s done without the audience noticing, it’s magic, and when the gambling table can’t figure it out, that’s trickery.
In the Martial World, there’s a big difference between gambling and modern gambling. Modern gambling is usually fixed on cards, while various forms like gambling with dice, shells, etc., are prevalent here.
That means there are plenty of tricks one can apply.
I, Ho Cheon-an, am unmatched in gambling techniques! There may be peers of equal standing but none can surpass me!
In terms of techniques used in gambling, I am also the world’s greatest magician.
No modern person is unaware that magic is produced using sleight of hand, visual angles, and psychological tricks.
But even so, it’s fascinating! Magic is always fascinating. Even when you understand it, it seems to disappear before your very eyes, how can that not be amazing? Especially when the magic isn’t on a screen but right in front of you.
With countless forms of entertainment flooding, and the understanding that magic doesn’t exist, rather it’s purely skills and psychology, even people in modern society can’t help but be entranced by it.
But what happens when someone with no knowledge, hearing that the Outcasts supposedly wield sorcery, performs the most amazing magic tricks?
If their skills are unprecedented?
How surprised would the folks in these Central Plains Martial World be?
* *
Who’s doing such bizarre acts?
I don’t know why, but that was the feeling of Yeo Il-ye after receiving the striking flyer. Stepping out the main gate, people were gathered like clouds.
“Wow, I’ve never seen such sorcery!”
“I heard the Outcasts were casting sorcery, and it’s true!”
Despite using such a harsh term as ‘sorcery,’ seeing the excited and eager faces of the crowd made Yeo Il-ye frown.
Sorcery?
Having heard the term, as a member of the Jeomchang Daoist Sect, it wasn’t something she could easily overlook.
Those casting sorcery? The Outcasts? What are they up to now?
As she raised her internal energy to soar above and enhance her power, familiar figures came into view amidst the throng.
“…Honorable Person?”
“Ahaha, look everyone! What do I hold in my hand?”
“A flute!”
Cheers erupted from all around. Yeo Il-ye frowned at the sight of the thick bundle of cards, which had two large red dots. Why were so many people gathered to watch this card? And what exactly was the Honorable Person doing?
A female Outcast behind her threw some taffy to those who had shown active reactions. It was then that Yeo Il-ye realized why these people were so enthusiastically gathered here.
‘Is it because they’re getting snacks?’
But that doesn’t explain the intense atmosphere. Yeo Il-ye became worried for the Honorable Person, Ho Cheon-an. Why, of all places, was this happening in front of the Hwang Gold Clan?
‘If it’s the Honorable Person’s power, they won’t suffer harm. But weren’t they being secretive about their identity?’
In Yeo Il-ye’s mind, the nameless honorable Ho Cheon-an was a hidden supreme martial artist. Capable of opening the doors of peak mastery with a mere word, they were of a level far beyond ordinary martial artists.
While she couldn’t picture Ho Cheon-an losing to the martial artists of the Hwang Gold Clan, lurking in the shadows could lead to undesirable outcomes. Yeo Il-ye resolved to keep an eye on Ho Cheon-an, ready to intervene if anything occurred.
Ta-tak.
Lightly expediting her martial arts, Yeo Il-ye leaped onto the rooftop of the nearest house right in front of Ho Cheon-an.
The figures of Ho Cheon-an and the cards that had been obscured by the crowd came into view with a single glance.
Though it was a fair distance away, with the power of a peak expert, it felt almost like nothing.
“I will certainly place this card in the middle of this bundle.”
Having confirmed the half-inserted position of the flute among the thick bunch of cards to the crowd, Ho Cheon-an pushed the last card deep inside and left everything untouched on the table.
“Now then, if the flute appears on top, you commoners will have no choice but to recognize the bizarre power of the Jeon-gwi.”
“That’s impossible! How could a card that was mixed in not do anything somehow rise to the top?”
“Exactly! Exactly!”
“Hahaha! That’s the reaction I wanted! You foolish people brought the ire of the Jeon-gwi upon yourselves!”
A comedic act? Yeo Il-ye thought so.
Having visited Sacheon City frequently every chance she got to catch an Outcast, she often saw tricks akin to circus performances. Initially, it was amazing, but once peak experts like Yeo Il-ye heightened their internal energy, any of those tricks were laid bare for all to see.
In this sense, she watched Ho Cheon-an closely to catch any signs of trickery.
So she couldn’t help but view it as a hilarious farce.
Though the progress of Ho Cheon-an mirrored acts from traveling circuses, doing absolutely nothing while having the cards would’ve been impossible.
Ho Cheon-an flipped over the top card.
Yeo Il-ye questioned her own eyes.
“It’s the flute! It really is the flute!”
“No way!”
The card with the two red dots had risen to the top.
Ho Cheon-an began to flip over the rest of the cards one by one. The remaining thirty-one cards laid in a row. Those who thought maybe there were several flutes jumped forward to confirm.
“No way! There weren’t several flutes in there either!”
‘Am I being played?’
Or did he genuinely perform some mysterious technique? Yeo Il-ye felt a surge of curiosity. Was this genuinely a gambling trick or some bizarre art that defied all common sense?
‘Is he not just a martial artist but a transcendent being?’
Yeo Il-ye’s internal rating of Ho Cheon-an soared once again. She poured all her internal energy into her eyes, focusing hard. No matter how skilled one’s technique was, if I couldn’t sense even the particles in the air, then that should be called magic.
“With the power of the Jeon-gwi already gifted to these cards, the laws of the universe are of no matter! Hahaha!”
Ho Cheon-an laughed as he gathered the cards again, placing the flute on top. Then he flipped it once to show the flute and laid it back down. On his second flip of the card…
“No!”
“How can it be the flute again?”
There was no time to be surprised. When the second card hit the ground, the third card flipped too, showing the flute, and the fourth and fifth cards—also with the flute still showing. By the time there were thirty-one cards on the table, the last card remained in Ho Cheon-an’s hand, and the surroundings fell silent.
“Hahaha!”
The last card was also the flute.
“Unbelievable!”
“How on earth could it keep turning up!”
“Hahaha! Did I not tell you! The power of the Jeon-gwi denies the laws of existence!”
As Ho Cheon-an again collected the cards, he continuously flipped the first card.
Nothing was mixed; they were merely being turned over, yet the card shapes continued to change.
“Oooooooh!!”
“Oh mighty primordial lord!”
Even Yeo Il-ye was left bewildered. It seemed like a sleight of hand… but why couldn’t I catch it? Was that actual sorcery? The speed of his hands, though fast for a commoner, seemed almost painfully slow to the eyes of a peak expert.
Once reaching a level of peak mastery, one could use their mental force to stretch the time available for perception. While time wouldn’t truly slow, with a finely tuned sense surpassing commoners, Yeo Il-ye poured her attention into Ho Cheon-an’s hands—and couldn’t discern his tricks.
‘Indeed, the honorable one possesses skills far beyond my grasp!’
The rumors of Ho Cheon-an being an honorable person were dismissed, but his rating certainly didn’t go down.
Yeo Il-ye finally understood why the people were so excited after witnessing the second sorcery from Ho Cheon-an. A technique unknown even to herself, a peak expert incapable of deciphering what appeared right before her, naturally left her buzzing with anticipation.
Though she wished to keep watching Ho Cheon-an’s performance, it was time to move.
The actions of the powerful inside the Hwang Gold Clan had been sensed.
‘It would be better if I stepped in to gracefully wrap this up.’
Directly opposing the martial experts of the Hwang Gold Clan could lead to complications.
While the intentions behind the Honorable Person’s actions were unknown, judging by the crowd’s reactions, he had secured quite the outcome.
At this point, stepping back would be the best course of action for the honorable one.
“[Once again, the Sacheon Outcast creates chaos among us.]”
Yukhapjeonseong.
If Jeun-eum tech is creating sound waves with internal power, Yukhapjeonseong is a technique that creates sound and voices solely using the power of internal energy.
The Yukhapjeonseong echoed loudly in front of the Hwang Gold Clan, a warning sent to the martial artists within.
“[To show your faces in front of this Yeo Il-ye of the Red Bamboo Swordswoman, do you think you have two lives to spare?]”
It was a signal that the ten prodigies Yeo Il-ye would take charge of this situation, so mind your own business.