These Little Spies

Something had been off about these two people since the moment they started talking. Even if you're a martial artist, it's human instinct to be surprised when someone much larger than you burst into a room.

But these two, their shock didn't seem to originate from that, as during the silence before Pyo Kang and Pyo Yong explained the situation, their vocal cords were moving, but not words were being spoken.

And during the silence that befell the room when I said I was the incarnation of a dragon, their vocal cords did the same thing. These two people were clearly martial artists, but why would they be talking to each so secretly like this during moments of confusion that would contradict the Namgung clan's information on me.

That, and they didn't even question Pyo Kang and Pyo Yong's position as my disciples. They just moved straight on with their act to try and escape with whatever information they had acquired alongside the dragon horn blade.

The nail in the coffin, however, was their reaction when I mentioned the Namgung clan. As instead of instantly denying any relationship to them as any Orthodox clan or Demonic Cult executive would, these two exchanged telepathic messages for the third time in my presence.

"Cult leader, we're not in relationship with the Namgung clan. However, we are from a clan within the Unorthodox Alliance."

They're not in a relationship with the Namgung clan, but they're in the same alliance that the Namgung clan is in, and potentially ruling? That's it, I'm done with these shenanigans.

I raised out of my chair and picked up the dragon horn blade resting on the desk, pointing it at the neck of what seemed to be the leader of the two men. My qi slowly began to exude around me as my eyes stared daggers into his soul.

"Enough with the telepathic messages, from this point forward anyone who uses telepathic messages loses a limb."

Gulp!

The only noise to occur within the building after I spoke was the two men's gulps. Neither of them dared use telepathic messages, knowing very well that the aura I was exuding was not that of someone who was joking.

"Now, I'll ask again, what is your relationship with the Namgung clan? If you're honest, I might let you leave with your lives intact."

However, a grave mistake was made.

The second man who was in the room tried to send a telepathic message to his friend. Such a bold move, but a move that benefited me perfectly.

Heiik!

Thud!

With a slash faster than either of the two men could perceive, I cut down the second man's left arm. I avoided the right arm to make it seem like I was lenient, since the right of a martial artist is considered to be equal to one's life.

But the truth was I wanted to give them hope that only their left arms would be taken, only to take it away when it was time to decide if they lived or died.

"Your friend was a fool. Now answer the question, or you're next." I said, pointing the dragon horn blade at the leader's neck once more.

"W-we're members of the Namgung clan! We're far down the line in terms of lineage however, so far down as to not even be considered as related to the main family."

Finally, a shred of honesty from someone, and since my suspicions were right, I think it's time I made my move.

"So, you're from the Namgung clan then. Pyo Kang, stop that one's bleeding, this talk is going to take a while."

"Yes, Master." Pyo Kang replied, swiftly moving over to the man and sealing his pressure points.

"So, how would you two like to join us instead of being dogs of the Namgung clan your whole lives?"

"...Huh?" Replied everyone in the room.

If these two were so low in the Namgung clan as to not even be considered family, they were certainly on the same level as those spies that were sent after us during our training. And if that was the case, why not convert two abused dogs to a place where they'd be used and treated much better?

"The Namgung clan treats you like you're a shit-stain on the side of the road, no? They send you out on life threatening missions that have little to no reward, they don't even treat you like family, and if you died, they wouldn't even hold a funeral for you, no?"

Torturing those spies was a benefit~. All the information they gave me about how they were treated and the overall structure of this Unorthodox Namgung clan so helpful to turning their lower-level members against them.

"Y-you're not wrong... But why would you offer us a position by your side if you hate what the Namgung clan is doing?"

"It's simple, an enemy of an enemy is a friend, not a foe. The lower-level members of the Namgung clan all hate the high-ranking members, so why not give those lower-level members a chance to get their revenge?"

You see, all the clans of Jianghu have it wrong, even those in the Mount Song Sect are wrong to a certain degree.

There isn't such thing as talent in martial arts. There are only those who are lucky, and those who are not. Those who are lucky are called talents because they progress faster than those who are unlucky. Those who are unlucky are called worthless beings because they must put in a hundred times the effort to get a fraction of the results.

But the human body is like a high carbon steel, malleable when impurities remain within, but a good beating with some heat and pressure will turn it into the best steel in the world for regular swords.

"O-oh... I see. But why are you so confident we'll be able to get revenge on the Namgung clan if we join you? We know you're trying to stop the clan's plans, but it's not possible to win against the sect leader."

"You want to know why I'm so confident? Take Pyo Kang and Pyo Yong for example, in a year and a half I turned them from shitty first-rate warriors into Supreme Realm and Transcendence Realm beings. And I turned myself from a martial artist with no qi and no background into a Supreme Realm being, I killed some middle-aged elder of the Namgung clan, got the favor of the Wudang clan, and recently I killed that sorry excuse for an old man known as Namgung Jiwoo, so you tell me why I'm so confident."