Chapter 146: Naming Hall (2)
A martial artist bearing the title Blood Wolf Sword already existed within the cult.
But the only reason this man came all the way to Naming Hall and acted so persistently was simple.
‘That’s only because the original Blood Wolf Sword is a warrior who’s reached a level far beyond his reach—peak master level.’
If he truly had the skills to be worthy of that title, there’d be no reason for him to come this far.
“As you know, the fastest way would be to challenge the great hero Dan Maehak, the one who bears the Blood Wolf Sword title, to a duel.”
The fairly seasoned Blood Cat Sword chuckled heartily as he said this.
“Haha, that’s true. But he and I belong to the same clan. Would it really be proper for us to fight over just a mere title?”
‘And yet he’s acting this petty over that same title?’
I really wanted to fire that back at him, but unlike Ghost Dog Blade from the Six Great Demonic Clans, I couldn’t insult Blood Cat Sword without cause. He was from the Blood Dragon Demonic Clan, after all.
No matter how high my status was, if the Ma Clan caught wind of this, they’d use it against me in an instant.
“There isn’t really another method. Unless Blood Wolf Sword himself requests to have his title revised.”
“Hahaha! That would be the best-case scenario.”
‘…This bastard, seriously?’
Was he actually asking us to go to Blood Wolf Sword, his senior, and try to convince him to give up his title?
Was he insane?
I doubted his mental state, but his eyes shone with unwavering sincerity.
Judging from the way Gwak Hoe was watching me nervously, it seemed this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.
I replied coldly to the man.
“That’s impossible.”
“There’s nothing in the world that’s impossible.”
If only that damn Ma Chulsoo wasn’t off in seclusion, I would’ve loved to royally screw this guy over.
After the grand funeral that was recently held within the Blood Dragon Demonic Clan for Ma Jinyoon, Ma Chulsoo had gone into near-closed-door training to prepare as the successor.
‘If that weren’t the case, I’d have crushed him by now.’
That’s when a clever idea flashed through my mind.
“Earning the title Blood Wolf Sword is impossible.”
“I believe it’s possible.”
“But... another title might be.”
Blood Cat Sword frowned, shaking his head.
“Another title? I have no intention of giving up the name ‘Wolf’.”
Sure, Blood Dragon Sword was out of the question since it was symbolic of the clan, but something like Blood Tiger Sword or Blood Lion Sword was still very much available.
As far as I knew, no one had taken those titles yet.
But what I was about to offer was something entirely different.
“Heavenly Wolf Sword. What do you think of that?”
“H-Hmm?!”
This title, meaning Heavenly Wolf Star (天狼星), was honestly more valuable—provided he could let go of his obsession with the ‘Blood’ prefix symbolizing the clan.
“Hmm! That’s not bad at all. But isn’t it a bit too grandiose?”
“…”
Wanting to steal the Blood Wolf Sword title from someone already holding it isn’t grandiose, but calling yourself the Heavenly Wolf Sword is shameful?
I smiled and replied smoothly.
“It’s a title well-suited for someone of your stature, a member of the Thirty-Four Demon Squads.”
Of course, it was a bit much for someone who wasn’t even at squad leader level, but still.
“H-Hmph! If it’s to that extent, then... How will the processing be handled?”
“I’ll take care of it today using the Vice Pavillion Master’s authority.”
“Hoho! I owe a great debt to my Vice Pavillion Master!”
And so—
Blood Cat Sword left, very pleased with his newly acquired title Heavenly Wolf Sword.
Once he was gone, Gwak Hoe turned to me, visibly uneasy.
“Um, Vice Pavillion Master. Are you sure this is okay?”
“What is?”
“No matter how you look at it, giving someone like Blood Cat Sword a title like that is too much. If something goes wrong, it could lead to serious problems.”
Bestowing titles was one of Naming Hall’s core responsibilities.
It should go without saying that the most important aspect in granting a title was making sure it matched the individual’s skill level as closely as possible.
A title that didn’t suit the recipient could cause damage not only to the individual, but to Naming Hall’s reputation as well.
“If the Heavenly Thunder Corps finds out about this later…”
“Ah, it’s fine.”
I waved my hand, cutting Gwak Hoe off mid-sentence.
He still looked puzzled.
“I don’t get it… If Blood Cat Sword gets challenged because of the Heavenly Wolf Sword title, we’ll be held accountable too…”
“That challenge is exactly what I’m aiming for.”
“Whaaat?!”
I called out toward the air.
“Gu Chil.”
“Yes, Young M— I mean, Vice Pavillion Master.”
My loyal subordinate, Gu Chil, appeared like a shadow.
“Deliver my letter to the Thousand-Day Pass.”
Gu Chil, in his usual earthy tone, asked back,
“Who should I send it to?”
With a faint smile, I spoke a name.
“Ma Jinseong.”
---
Ma Jinseong, a branch member of the Blood Dragon Demonic Clan, had recently experienced a surge in his martial abilities.
Though he’d always had talent, there was no denying that being with me had significantly accelerated his progress.
Lately, he’d grown enough to manifest sword qi with ease, and that growth surely raised his status within the clan.
I wrote a detailed letter about today’s incident with Blood Cat Sword.
At the end of the letter, I added a request that he be sure to pass this information on to Blood Wolf Sword.
“Even if he’s from a branch family, he’s still of the Ma bloodline. And being a rising star within the clan, Blood Wolf Sword definitely can’t ignore him.”
“And Blood Wolf Sword’s pride will take a huge hit too.”
“Exactly. Even if he tries to deny it, it won’t matter. As promised, I’ll officially change the guy’s title to Heavenly Wolf Sword today.”
What kind of reaction would Blood Wolf Sword have once he heard about what happened?
If it ended with just a protest, he might think it was just a brat making noise and ignore it. But if the title actually got changed?
It wouldn’t be surprising if he challenged the guy to a life-or-death duel.
“With this, one pain-in-the-ass complainant is taken care of. If that guy comes back later, just send him to me. I’ll turn him into paste.”
“A-Amazing, Vice Pavillion Master!”
Gwak Hoe clasped his hands together, his face filled with awe.
Even the Head of Naming Hall couldn’t have pulled something like this off.
When I looked around, I noticed that not only Gwak Hoe but also the other scribes and escort martial officers were staring at me with eyes full of admiration.
"What’s the point of having power if you don’t use it in moments like this?"
“Th-this is what a real man of power looks like!”
“That’s right, take a small taste of what real authority feels like.”
I tossed Gwak Hoe a few gold bars, under the pretense of covering the scribes’ dinner gathering expenses.
Naturally, not just Gwak Hoe, but even the others around him widened their eyes and lowered their heads as if they were about to go wild in gratitude.
Returning to my original seat, I let out a satisfied sigh, feeling a subtle sense of transformation.
‘Things sure have changed since the first day.’
It hadn’t even taken a month for me—who looked young and easy to push around—to seize full control of Naming Hall.
Sure, the Pavillion Master of Naming Hall had bent the knee to me on the very first day, but still.
I could never forget how hundreds of eyes had glared at me with distrust.
“Huhuhu… Cheon Jumyeong. I bet you’re sitting there smirking, imagining me failing miserably right now.”
It’s true that the position of Vice Pavillion Master of the Seventeenth Party was excessive for someone like me, even now.
But exceptions always exist.
That bastard probably wanted to see me get all hopeful after earning the Vice Pavillion Master title, only to fall into despair when I realized what it really meant.
However!
There was no way someone like me, who had served as the Chief Administrator in my past life, wouldn’t know exactly how hellish Naming Hall could be.
‘It’s one of the top two departments people avoid the most—alongside Medicine Hall, where you constantly have to deal with lunatics and madmen.’
Especially in a place like this, where people like Gwak Hoe had to handle persistent complainants, it was so extreme that vacancies occurred frequently due to the difficulty of the job.
‘Which makes it easier to take over—there’s less territorial nonsense.’
When everyone’s struggling to survive, as long as you don’t get in their way, that’s considered decent enough.
And if you’re even competent on top of that? Whether you’re young or not, people will naturally pledge loyalty to you.
‘From here, I’ll rise quickly. Next is the Nine Demon Halls, and after that, the main base of the Heavenly Thunder Corps.’
Ultimately, my goal was to take Cheon Jumyeong’s head—the current leader of the Heavenly Thunder Corps—and seize that seat for myself.
Hehehehe!
I let out a sly laugh inwardly as I began scribbling down paperwork.
“That’s amazing.”
“What is?”
Gu Chil seemed genuinely fascinated watching me work.
“That Young Master is so proficient with administrative tasks…”
“What’s with the ‘that’ in front of Young Master, Gu Chil?”
“Hehe, forget I said anything. But really, where did you learn all this?”
Where else? I learned while getting strangled by the Grand Elder and abused by the Outer Chief Administrator.
“This is just how I am.”
“…Normally I’d call that obnoxious, but honestly, it just looks cool, so I have no comeback.”
I let out a light chuckle at Gu Chil’s comment and turned my gaze back to the documents.
I mean, only a year or two ago, I was wandering around brothels and binge-drinking with my friends. That was my entire life.
From Gu Chil’s perspective, it was as if I’d done a complete 180.
Anyway, that aside—
‘Most of today’s work is done, so now it’s time to get into the real stuff.’
The Vice Pavillion Master seat in Naming Hall was merely a bonus that came along.
The real reward I was after began now.
‘The Heavenly Thunder Corps roster…’
Due to its nature, Naming Hall held information on all martial artists of the Heavenly Demon Cult who possessed titles.
Even the Cheon Clan couldn’t escape this, and unless someone like the Ten Demonic Prohibitions had completely given up their public title, there was no slipping out of this personnel record.
‘The pinnacle of the Cheon Clan is the Seven Elders Council, but there are plenty of Master-level Elders who don’t belong to it.’
The problem was that these individuals were extremely passive.
‘They support Cheon Yura and entered the Heavenly Thunder Corps by the Cult Leader’s order, but have no intention of doing anything proactive.’
My next task was to gather these people and form a proper faction.
‘How should I approach this…’
How could I approach them, and in what way should I present myself to get them to listen?
I folded my arms and dove deep into thought.
That’s why I didn’t notice right away.
That Gu Chil had been staring at me with an expectant look.
“…What is it, why are you still here?”
Gu Chil, who was supposed to deliver the letter I gave him to Ma Jinseong, was still standing there.
He hesitated for a moment.
“Well, um…”
“What is it?”
Gu Chil wasn’t the type to hesitate, so this made my stomach turn cold for a moment.
“Don’t stall—spit it out.”
“Young Master, it’s about the Underworld King’s Unit.”
“Underworld King’s Unit? What about them?”
Weren’t they supposed to be in the secret base of the Yin-Yang Fist Demon, swallowing up my precious gold and undergoing intense training by now?
“It seems we’ll need to recruit more instructors.”
“More? I told you not to be stingy with the recruitment budget.”
Gu Chil frowned as he responded.
“There are major issues with quality. This isn’t something money can solve.”
“…”
I temporarily set aside my thoughts about the Heavenly Thunder Corps and unfolded my arms.
“I see… So that’s how it is.”
To be honest, this had been one of my concerns ever since I first considered rebuilding the Underworld King’s Unit.
The quality of the instructors.
The Underworld King’s Unit I envisioned wasn’t just a regular squad like the Thirty-Four Demon Squads. It aimed to be the strongest assassination unit in the cult—on par with the Divine Ghost Unit.
Naturally, the instructors in charge of their training had to be of the highest caliber in the cult.
“Are we really that short?”
“At this rate, their level will be three steps below expectations.”
“…That won’t do.”
The best option would be to recruit retired members of the Ghost Command Unit.
But…
‘Damn that Massacre Spirit Command!’
Due to the Massacre Spirit Command, which wiped out all current[a] Ghost Executioners, even the retired assassins from the previous generation had gone into hiding.
It had already been over ten years since that happened, so trying to find retired top-class assassins now was like trying to pluck stars from the sky.
“Gu Chil. Right now, if we want instructors at the level we need, where’s the best place to look?”
Gu Chil hesitated slightly before answering.
“It would have to be… the House of Assassins.”
“Ugh. I figured as much.”
The House of Assassins.
The elite training ground that produced not only the Ghost Command Unit but also the most elite assassins throughout the cult.
It was run directly by the Hidden Shadow So Clan, one of the Six Great Demonic Clans.
And—coincidentally—it also happened to be Gu Chil’s hometown.
[a]past