Chapter 132: Not Even a Human Being
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Shaanxi region.
Within the orthodox martial world here, there existed two pillars of great power.
One was Mount Hua Sect, belonging to the Nine Great Sects, and the other was Ximen Family, belonging to the Seven Great Families.
Eleven years ago.
After the annihilation of the Namgung Family – a prestigious swordsmanship house of the orthodox faction that had boasted a history and tradition of over two hundred years – the rankings of the Seven Great Families were reorganized.
Ximen Family rose rapidly from that time.
Originally mid-tier among the Seven Great Families, with current family head Whirlwind Sword Lord Ximen Jwa at the helm, his three sons below him also achieved dazzling growth, and the family’s prestige climbed steeply.
As they say, blood doesn’t lie – the martial aptitude of the eldest, second, and third sons was truly outstanding.
Since childhood, all of them had shown talent equal to their father Ximen Jwa’s younger days and even mastered the difficult family sword arts.
Thus, all three earned martial world aliases early on and received the spotlight of the orthodox martial world, and Ximen Family rose to the upper ranks of the Seven Great Families.
In particular, family head Ximen Jwa was counted among the representative supreme masters of the Shaanxi region – the so-called “Evil Emperor” – due to his consummate martial prowess.
Adding Wings to a Tiger.
Just as that saying means adding wings to a tiger, the current Ximen Family had reached a level no lower than second or third among the Seven Great Families, considering not only their combat strength but also their prestige and wealth.
As long as no internal strife occurred in the future, it was clear their position would not waver in the slightest.
Just after noon.
Heavenly Wind Sword Wolf Ximen Yue arrived at Ximen Family along with his Swift Wind Unit members and entered through the main gate.
After passing by the wide training grounds on both sides of the main road, tall buildings and pavilions lined up like clouds appeared before the group.
Ximen Yue stopped at the middle gate and let out a quiet voice.
“Squad Leader Nu stays. The rest, dismissed.”
Shortly after the dozen or so Swift Wind Unit members gave their greetings and disappeared.
Ximen Yue and Nu-heum headed into an imposing grand hall beyond the middle gate.
It was where the current Ximen Family Head Ximen Jwa conducted his business.
When Ximen Yue and Nu-heum entered the rectangular inner room, a man in his fifties with an air of solid elegance rose from his desk and spoke.
“Hoho. You’ve finally come?”
A figure with an imposing physique and tall stature – Whirlwind Sword Lord Ximen Jwa, the current family head.
Ximen Yue, who had closed the door, quickly bowed his head deeply.
“Yes. I apologize for being away, Father.”
“No, it’s fine. Going out to see, hear, and experience things is also part of the martial achievement process. So, since I’m seeing your face, let’s sit down and talk. Squad Leader Nu, sit here too.”
“Yes.”
Ximen Yue and Nu-heum answered in unison, then sat by the desk and exchanged various talks with Ximen Jwa.
Some time passed.
As the conversation was wrapping up, Ximen Yue began to voice what he had kept in his heart.
“Father, actually there is one favor to ask.”
“A favor? What is it?”
“Please permit me access to Divine Wind Hall.”
“Divine Wind Hall…?”
“Yes. I gained enlightenment while out this time. About life, and about martial arts… I truly felt what it means when they say the continent is vast and talent is plentiful. Though I may have earned a decent martial reputation, I reflected on whether I had become complacent with it. As you know well, my martial level has been stagnant for the past year, hasn’t it? Therefore… I wish to begin secluded training for the time being.”
“Hoho, seeing the look in your eyes, you seem to have already made up your mind on the way here. But access to Divine Wind Hall requires asking your grandfather once. And we must also obtain the elders’ council’s consent.”
Grandfather – meaning the Grand Family Head of Ximen Family and Ximen Jwa’s own father, Ximen Gyeol.
Ximen Yue spoke with a faint smile.
“Yes. That’s why I’m asking Father to put in a word… Your son is thirsty. Not thirst for personal martial achievement, but thirst over how I can contribute to our family’s future development. To properly support my eldest brother who will become the next family head, shouldn’t I prepare from now?”
“You want to expand your capacity?”
“Yes. I know well that my ability still… Cannot compare to my eldest brother’s. To be of help on the path my eldest brother will walk going forward, I believe secluded training is absolutely necessary.”
“How modest. People already compare your talent to the eldest. Very well, if you insist, I will specially permit it by authority of my position as family head.”
“Thank you!”
Ximen Yue expressed his thanks with an elated face, then pointed to Nu-heum beside him and added.
“Father, may I proceed with the secluded training together with Squad Leader Nu?”
“Ha, very well. Understood. Go ahead.”
When Ximen Jwa readily permitted even that, Ximen Yue expressed his thanks again and left the hall with Nu-heum.
“Young Master, now all that remains is completing that martial art.”
At Nu-heum’s whispered words, Ximen Yue gave a slight nod and sneered internally.
‘Ha, how revolting. Just because I said I wanted to help the eldest born of the legitimate wife, he permits everything from Divine Wind Hall access to whatever else?’
Indeed.
Unlike the eldest and second sons born of the legitimate wife, Ximen Yue was a concubine’s son, born of an outside wife.
That was a wall of reality that couldn’t be crossed no matter how outstanding one’s talent was, and the position of next family head had long been given to the eldest, Ximen Ang.
Ximen Yue was furious.
However.
He had never shown it until now.
A concubine’s son born of lowly blood was destined to fall out of favor the moment he revealed his ambitions.
‘If I hadn’t formed ties with Sun Moon Demon Cult… I would have lived my whole life cleaning up after your family while abandoning my grand dreams.’
Ximen Yue strode along while sending a covert sound transmission.
<We go into Divine Wind Hall tonight. Since we’ve already received his permission, there’s no need to delay.>
Nu-heum, following behind, immediately replied via sound transmission.
<Understood. Ha, the family head will probably be shocked. When he learns that Young Master’s current power alone is already more than he can handle… I look forward even more to when the secluded training ends.>
<The moment I obtain the final secrets of Sun Moon Demon Arrival Art, this revolting family will be submerged in blood and perish.>
<Yes. And beyond that, the martial world of the current realm too.>
<Indeed.>
Having answered briefly, Ximen Yue suddenly recalled what Yeom Sang-ah had said before.
-The day Young Master Ximen perfectly achieves that power, the one at the top will eventually have to surrender his seat and disappear.
‘Sun Moon Demon Cult’s Patriarch… Good.’
His silently laughing eyes were full of bloody, ambitious light.
* * *
A young man of twenty, walking along a tree-lined path, broadly smiled as he looked at the entrance of a city some distance ahead.
‘Ah, finally…!’
A disciple of White Peak Sword Sect the same age as Cheol Ryu-heun, the young man who had first succeeded at projecting sword energy – Gwak Woon-bi.
The large-scale city that had appeared before his eyes was Zhanzhou, the southernmost city in the Hunan region.
‘Mother, I’m coming soon!’
His two legs moved even more hurriedly.
Each time he stepped forward powerfully, his mother’s beloved face seemed to enlarge and waver like a vision before him.
In truth, Zhanzhou was not a good city.
At least for Gwak Woon-bi himself.
Because of his mother, who had been born deaf, he had always suffered teasing and ostracism from peers, and even bullying accompanied by beatings…
Moreover, his family circumstances were bad, so there was no way to relieve that injustice.
But whenever such things happened, his mother always embraced her only child with a smiling face.
Don’t cry, my precious son, my treasured son, my son who is my life… It’s this mother’s fault that you suffer instead.
Though his mother couldn’t hear and thus could barely speak, she tended the wounds on her child’s heart with warm love, mixing in gazes and gestures.
Thanks to her devotion, Gwak Woon-bi grew up without succumbing to the malicious behavior directed at him and became an upright person.
What if life is poor?
At least my heart is rich.
Gwak Woon-bi always thought that way, never losing his positive attitude, and trained harder than anyone else.
And finally, that fruition had appeared in the recent sword energy training, hadn’t it?
Now when he met his beloved mother, he would excitedly boast.
That her worthless son was no longer worthless; that along with his growth as a martial artist, he had received a massive reward and could now be filial…
-Don’t live life just taking hits. You’ve been oppressed long enough.
Recalling Cheol Ryu-heun’s words, Gwak Woon-bi grabbed hold of his excited heart and began to run faster.
‘She’s probably at the marketplace? Let me hurry and buy her something delicious first!’
* * *
“Ugh, damn!”
With the sharp cry, a basket piled high with vegetables tumbled to the ground.
Simultaneously, the gazes of passersby focused on them.
Three armed young men in their twenties were surrounding a woman who appeared to be around fifty, kicking at her vegetable basket and causing trouble.
But no one stepped in to stop them.
Because the three young men were members of Black Ox Hall, one of the notorious unorthodox faction powers in Zhanzhou.
The reason was a demand for stall fees.
Recently, Black Ox Hall had been routinely roaming this marketplace, causing trouble.
An order had come down from Broken Mountain Sword Manor – the supreme and strongest power in Zhanzhou, led by one of the Five Supreme Martial Experts of Hunan Province from the unorthodox faction – to reorganize the marketplace.
In fact, Black Ox Hall was essentially a subordinate group to them.
The three hall members glared with threatening eyes while intimidating the woman selling vegetables.
“I’ve really been lenient because I was friends with Woon-bi when we were kids, but if you keep this up, we’ll be in trouble!”
“Damn! Why can’t she understand what we’re saying? Oh wait, right. She can’t understand. Because she’s a deaf cripple.”
“If you can’t pay the stall fee, just go to that bastard Woon-bi! That whatever it is, supposedly making money as a disciple at White Peak Sword Sect or whatever.”
The woman on the ground… Gwak Woon-bi’s mother blinked back tears as she grabbed one hall member’s pants and moved her mouth imploringly.
“Let go! Disgusting!”
When the hall member shook his leg hard to throw her off, the mother was pushed to one side and fell.
“Uh-buh… Uh-uh-buh…!”
“What’s she saying? Look at that uh-buh, uh-buh. Pfft. It’s hilarious.”
When the hall member mocked her, the other two also muttered something and laughed.
Right then.
“Stop!”
Gwak Woon-bi appeared through the crowd and quickly helped up his fallen mother.
“Woo-waa… A-oo…”
His mother caressed Gwak Woon-bi’s cheeks with a very startled face.
“Yes, Mother. I’m on vacation. I’ll handle this, so please step aside for a moment.”
With that, Gwak Woon-bi forcibly separated himself from his tearfully protesting mother and stared at the three hall members.
They were all familiar faces.
Of course they were… Those three had persistently tormented him in childhood.
Mocking his mother, beating him until he trembled, urinating on him when he fell, even smearing dog feces on his face… Later they even came to his house and wrote all sorts of curses on the doors and walls… It was simply impossible to forget.
“You guys, all this time you’ve been tormenting Mother like this! Was I not enough! Is this… Something humans do!”
When Gwak Woon-bi’s voice exploded with fury, the three Black Ox Hall members instead looked angry.
“What’s wrong with this bastard, did he eat something rotten? Long time no see and you forget our faces? Want us to help you remember the old days?”
“Your bitch mother wouldn’t pay up, so things ended up like this. What, think you can swing a sword because you’re supposedly a martial artist?”
“Pay the stall fee instead of your mother? I hear you’re with that ruined White Peak Sword Sect? Can a guy like that even buy a single shoe?”
The three sneered while placing their hands on their sword hilts, but Gwak Woon-bi didn’t back down easily.
“Apologize!”
“Fuck, where does this bastard get off shouting and throwing a fit!”
As one hall member advanced with sword in hand, Gwak Woon-bi also drew the sword at his waist and faced him.
SWISH SWISH, SWISH- CLANG, CLANG CLANG, CLANG-!
The hall member’s skill wasn’t that weak, so Gwak Woon-bi gradually retreated while exchanging blows.
Still inadequate skill, but.
CLANG-!
With the metallic sound, the hall member suddenly stepped back several paces.
It was because of the strong power of true energy that suddenly infused Gwak Woon-bi’s sword.
The effect of internal energy that had risen sharply due to Cheol Ryu-heun’s arrangement.
‘Urgh, what!’
When the flustered hall member gave a look, the other two joined in and roughly pressed Gwak Woon-bi.
CLANG, CLANG CLANG, CLANG-!
Metallic sounds burst out in succession.
Gwak Woon-bi’s hand movements quickly became disordered, and he ended up wounded with cuts on his left forearm and leg.
“Urgh!”
Right after, one of the hall members grinned while shouting.
“Try acting up again!”
A sword thrust aimed at the right shoulder area.
Simultaneously, sensing danger, Gwak Woon-bi instinctively extended his right hand, and a clear white sword energy shot out like a large awl.
‘Oh!’
The moment that hall member was shocked, the white sword energy collided with his blade, creating a short explosion.
BOOM-!
“GACK!”
The hall member who made the pained sound retreated far back, then soon kneeled and coughed up blood.
DRIP DRIP.
The aftermath of internal injury.
Gwak Woon-bi was inwardly astonished.
‘Ah! I…’
Because what he had just executed was a sword stroke from the early-middle section of White Peak Sword Formula that he had never once actually performed.
Entirely unintended – literally a result triggered by instinct in the face of crisis.
Meanwhile, the two hall members who saw that charged while hurling curses.
“A cripple bitch’s spawn acting like he wants to die!”
“Drop dead! Defective product from a womb, how dare you…!”
Enraged, Gwak Woon-bi swung his sword to face them, but gaining the upper hand against two was difficult.
Eventually.
THWIP, THWIP THWIP-!
With sharp sounds, he staggered as additional cuts were added to his side and forearm.
‘Urgh… This is too much!’
Just as his startled mother shook off the hands of nearby people and tried to move toward Gwak Woon-bi in his crisis.
CRASH-!
Suddenly, a figure crossed through the air and dropped down between Gwak Woon-bi and the hall members.
The buzzing marketplace was suddenly engulfed in silence.
The two hall members who had frozen, and the internally injured one behind them, tilted their heads as they stared at that figure.
‘Who is… That guy?’
Meanwhile, Gwak Woon-bi was aghast the moment he identified the figure standing with its back to him.
“GAH! S-Sect Master…?”
But Cheol Ryu-heun didn’t care either way, fixing his gaze on the Black Ox Hall members and throwing out an emotionless voice.
“Your mothers’ wombs worked for nothing. They didn’t birth humans, they birthed trash.”