Chapter 275: It's Time to Leave

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While the already unsightly faces of the three Guyang brothers became even more distorted.

TTALKKAK-

The lattice door opened and a middle-aged man entered.

It was Chief Supervisor Hyeop Mu-geuk.

“Ah! You’re awake.”

When he, having brightened up, approached the bed, Cheol Ryu-heun quietly raised his upper body.

“Is it not morning?”

Hyeop Mu-geuk, having nodded, spoke with a relieved expression.

“It’s the Hour of the Snake (11 AM). You returned to the Ximen Family around the third watch last night. I don’t know what happened, but Divine Wind came carrying you on his back while you were unconscious. He has truly become a rare spirit creature of the generation. Finding his way back so well on his own…”

“Well, he should be able to do at least that much. After feeding him expensive things all the time.”

“Hahah. Yes, he should at least be worth the ginseng.”

Hyeop Mu-geuk, who had briefly smiled, straightened his expression and spoke.

“Anyway, last night not only I but everyone was startled. Since you were unconscious, we tried to take your pulse, but…”

“That sort of thing can’t tell what’s going on with my body.”

“Yes, as you say, since it’s such a mysterious and special body, taking your pulse was practically meaningless. So we had no choice but to just wait until you woke up. Even so, we weren’t greatly worried. Of course, we discovered traces of coughing blood, but… compared to that, your breathing and the intervals were extremely calm. Through that, everyone was convinced it wasn’t an internal injury.”

“Right. As long as I’ve woken up fine like this, it’s all good.”

At Cheol Ryu-heun’s indifferent reply, Hyeop Mu-geuk asked cautiously.

“Could it perhaps be… the doing of the group you encountered yesterday?”

It was a question asking whether he had encountered the Heavenly Demon Cult party again and a fight had broken out.

“Do you think I’d be beaten so easily?”

“W-well, not that, but… we don’t know the details, so…”

“I simply overexerted my mental power. It’s nothing else.”

“Ah, I see.”

“The reason I briefly went out yesterday was to find Adamantine Unbreakable Iron. But it was all for nothing. Someone had come there and taken everything.”

“Adamantine Unbreakable Iron…!”

“Why be surprised like it’s something new? Anyway, what’s already gone can’t be helped… I’ll have to go get some stored elsewhere. It’s a bit of a hassle, though.”

“My, you know another location as well?”

“Of course. Not only Adamantine Unbreakable Iron but also the whereabouts of Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron and Crimson Crow Iron. The Red Cat Merchant Guild personnel went with the Qidiao Sword Family masters to secure it. News should arrive within a month.”

At those words, Hyeop Mu-geuk and the three Guyang brothers clicked their tongues in amazement.

Cheol Ryu-heun, having stretched, asked with an indifferent face.

“Have the others mostly left?”

“Yes, they have. Only personnel from a few martial sects remain.”

“Understood. We’ll also leave in a bit.”

Right at that moment.

-OOOWAAA…!

A faint echo like the exclamations of many people could be vaguely heard from somewhere far beyond the door.

“What’s that?”

At Cheol Ryu-heun’s uninterested question, Hyeop Mu-geuk smiled gently.

“Those are the voices of spectators.”

Quick-witted Cheol Ryu-heun spoke again.

“Are they having friendly sparring matches?”

At that, Hyeop Mu-geuk answered with a faint smile.

“Yes, that’s right. Among the hot-blooded youths… It started with the Ximen Family’s Gust Sword Knight and Dark Hall’s Dark Sword Fragrance. Right now it should be Sang-rin’s turn. Oh, did you know? Sang-rin and Su-yeon already have popular epithets. They’re being called the Azure Heaven Sword Dragon and the Heaven-Summoning Sword Phoenix respectively. Everyone saw their exploits yesterday and…”

“Not interested.”

Having said that, Cheol Ryu-heun lightly waved his left hand.

“Go over there. I’ll follow shortly.”

“Understood.”

Hyeop Mu-geuk and the three Guyang brothers, having clasped their hands, answered in unison and exited the inner chamber.

Cheol Ryu-heun thought while leaning back and lying at an angle.

‘That dream…’

-Why are you not sleeping yet… It’s late.

-How could I? After already hearing the news.

-I see. Word travels fast.

-Are you heading north?

-That was finished long ago. There’s no reason to go again. This time it’s west.

-Ah…!

-Yes, it’s a dangerous place.

-My heart is uneasy. To hear you’re going out again after only two months…

-Hmm… I’m sorry.

-Must you really go?

-Because it’s an order.

-But…

-Don’t worry too much. I promise. That I’ll finish quickly and return.

-Then please embrace me before you leave. So that the anxiety in my heart might diminish a little.

Those fragmentary scenes were hazy.

However, one thing he clearly realized.

That they were all fragments of memory related to the woman from his dream.

‘Who exactly are you? And the substance of this memory… is it another person, or is it me?’

Having closed his eyes tightly, he muttered softly to himself.

“I’ll have to go.”

First, return to White Peak Sword Sect and handle a series of tasks, then visit the hiding place of the Deviant Eccentric Physician and the Ink Zither Aged Grandmother.

After that,

He would head to the remote backwater of the far south.

To improve his incomplete divine power.

Then perhaps he would also obtain a clue about the dreams.

Ten Directions Ghost Road Lost Soul Formation.

He would set foot inside it and seek out the place where fortuitous encounters were arranged.

The remote backwater where the perilous Ten Directions Ghost Road Lost Soul Formation existed.

That place was precisely the vast mountain range region of the Shiwan Mountains.

* * *

Gust Sword Knight Ximen Ang, the eldest young master within Ximen Family, and Mun Bin the Dark Sword Fragrance, the new Hall Master of the Dark Hall.

The friendly sparring between those two martial talents ended somewhat anticlimactically.

With Mun Bin’s overwhelming victory.

However, Ximen Ang was rather pleased.

Because it was a good lesson in acutely feeling the limits of his martial prowess.

Now Mun Bin had practically transcended the level of a talent – he was essentially on par with the Five Martial Paragons of Hunan.

No.

He seemed even higher than that.

The wondrous function of the Ink God Robe’s unique divine powers – Phosphorus Fire Energy and Ghost Phosphorus Energy- harmonized with Mun Bin’s True Ink Heaven Meridians was truly fearsome.

Also,

His swordsmanship operation, having learned the authentic transmission of Ghost Fire Sword God Jong Ri-yung plus grasped the beginner essence of Ink Sword Emperor’s Ink Soul Sword Technique, was also exquisite.

Therefore, for Ximen Ang, this defeat was even more glorious.

There was nothing to be ashamed of.

Today’s defeat would become a stepping stone for his martial growth and advancement in the future.

The following match was between a man and woman in their twenties.

It was Ximen Yu, the second young master of Ximen Family called Divine Wind Sword Talent, and Hae Su-yeon of White Peak Sword Sect, called Heaven-Summoning Sword Phoenix.

The result was obvious.

For Ximen Yu, who was still in the first-rate talent category, it was difficult to handle the martial prowess of Hae Su-yeon, who had completely awakened her Heavenly Demon Incarnation body.

Countless sword energies resembling flower petals poured down extensively from the very start.

The transcendent sword path of Sword Empress Mong Ye, harmonized with the divine power of the Enchanting Flower Sword, one of the Ten Great Heavenly Weapons.

Before that, Ximen Yu was busy retreating while executing defensive sword moves.

Thus, he couldn’t even seize the opportunity to execute Divine Wind Nine Swords, the ultimate move of his family’s sword learning that represented the prestige of his epithet Divine Wind Sword Talent.

He lost.

It was a complete defeat.

But Ximen Yu’s mindset was the same as Ximen Ang’s.

He was simply happy.

To have gained an opportunity to broaden his horizons like this.

The feelings of Ximen Jwa, the Whirlwind Sword Lord and Family Head of the Ximen Family who was watching that, weren’t much different.

He was glad it seemed like good lessons for his two sons.

Finally, the two protagonists of the last friendly sparring match came out.

Ximen Yue the Celestial Wind Sword Youth, and Namgung Sang-rin the Azure Heaven Sword Dragon.

The two young men clashed swords fiercely from the start.

Ximen Yue was indeed a genius.

He responded head-on to Namgung Sang-rin’s sword technique, which showed off vigor and solemnity.

Though he was gradually pushed back, he didn’t easily reveal openings.

As if proving his talent surpassed the eldest son Ximen Ang and second son Ximen Yu.

However, he soon hit the wall of his limits.

“CHAT! CHAAAT!”

He tried shaking off the sword while continuously letting out battle cries, but the opponent who attacked ceaselessly was solid.

It felt like facing a dark mountain.

He truly admired him.

Amazing.

How could he be like that?

Was this the power of the Namgung Family’s legitimate bloodline possessing Nine Grade Martial Bones?

Namgung Sang-rin’s swordsmanship skill was overwhelming.

The linked forms of the Azure Heaven Great Evolution Sword Art, Heaven Vault Formless Sword, and the Imperial Four Arts Sword Technique, which applied portions of Sword Emperor Buk Ga-shin’s Supreme art Heaven Emperor Sword Path, were wondrous.

Though it wasn’t yet complete cultivation, just that was enough to make him feel like his body and mind were being suppressed.

In the end.

JJEOEEEONG-!

With a loud metallic sound, Ximen Yue was pushed back by nearly one zhang.

And

KUK.

He knelt one knee on the ground.

It was the effect of his blood flow being slightly shaken.

At that moment, he realized.

That Namgung Sang-rin hadn’t even exerted half his real strength.

“Oh no, are you alright?”

Namgung Sang-rin came to his side and asked with concern.

With a quiet smile.

Ximen Yue rose to his feet with a smile on his face.

“After receiving it directly, I truly understood the meaning of ‘heaven beyond heaven.’ It was truly a helpful sparring match.”

“I feel the same. Regardless of victory or defeat, it was a good lesson. But heaven beyond heaven… there is one separate. Similar in age to us, but still difficult to catch up to…”

At those words from Namgung Sang-rin, Ximen Yue nodded.

That didn’t mean Cheol Ryu-heun.

Gun Mu-ak.

The youngest Grand Prelate in the Heavenly Demon Cult history – the greatest rival of the Orthodox and Unorthodox martial world.

Ximen Yue newly felt a sense of threat and thought.

‘I too… must somehow raise myself to the next level. If we are to block the blades of the Heavenly Demon Cult that will come.’

Suddenly, Cheol Ryu-heun’s words flashed through his mind.

About his special body, the Light-Dark Harmonizing Secret Meridians…

-It’s a body with the power to bind light and darkness into one. Simply put, it’s similar to the Yang Heart Divine Art. To explain more precisely, it’s a body that exerts the mysterious function of unifying righteous energy and demonic energy. Two different energies are harmonized to give birth to internal power of a new attribute. Your body is like that.

‘Light-Dark Harmonizing Secret Meridians… I must refine this body. I’ll research and look for the method going forward.’

However, at that moment, an indifferent voice struck everyone’s ears.

“Prepare to leave. Stop playing around.”

It was Cheol Ryu-heun’s arrival.

He seemed intent on leaving immediately, having even brought Divine Wind along.

At that, Yeop Hwon, Hyeop Mu-geuk, Gal Jung-heon, Seop Pyo, and the other White Peak Sword Sect executives and retainers gathered around Cheol Ryu-heun.

Ximen Jwa asked with a regretful expression.

“Are you leaving already?”

“There is much else I must do.”

Cheol Ryu-heun spoke those words while tossing a bundle of rope onto the ground to one side.

TUK-

Hae Su-yeon, who had been standing in the closest spot, looked at it as it fell at her feet and asked.

“Why the rope…?”

“Tie yourself up with it.”

When Cheol Ryu-heun replied in an apathetic voice, Hae Su-yeon suddenly blushed in both cheeks.

“Sect Leader’s preference is… restraining women?”

“…”

“Silence is affirmation?”

“…”

“Oh my, oh my, what should I do? I didn’t know, but it’s my first time, yet somehow my heart is fluttering.”

“…”

Ah, should I just leave this woman behind here?