Chapter 179: Chapter 179

Zhuge Yeon looked around the Dan family residence with a dazed expression.

Familiar faces were visible around her. The most prominent one was, of course, Namgung So-hye, whom she had grown up with since childhood.

She stood in front of her with a somewhat awkward expression, scratching her head.

“Are you feeling a bit better now?”

‘Of course I am.’

Ten days had already passed, so how could she not be fine?

The fact that Zhuge Un had almost died was now buried in time. Since ten days had already passed, and Zhuge Un, who had struggled to open his eyes, regained consciousness just yesterday.

However, on the flip side, there was also something unpleasant.

While Zhuge Un and Zhuge Yeon were suffering so much, crammed inside that cave.

Crack!

“Urgh!?”

A walnut held in Zhuge Yeon’s hand was crushed into powder. At that sharp sound, Namgung So-hye examined her expression with a deathly pale face.

She was terrifying.

Although Zhuge Yeon was usually gentle and more feminine than anyone else, she was a child who, once her eyes rolled back in anger, no one knew what she might do.

At times like this, Dang Munhye of the Sichuan Dang family seemed relatively gentle. Even though that girl was quite famous as a malevolent rakshasa among the young experts.

“So you… you are saying you were here when we came here last time too?”

“Uh… y-yes…”

“While we were going through such hardships searching for your grandfather… and searching everywhere to find news of you when you went missing… but even after seeing us like that, you ignored us?”

“I-Ignored you!?”

Watching the startled Namgung So-hye, Zhuge Yeon smiled brightly. Then she stealthily approached and breathed in Sohye’s fragrant scent.

‘While someone only smelled of sweat…!’

With that thought, she wore a spotlessly clear smile.

“You really are a nuisance.”

“Urgh!?”

Hmph!

Zhuge Yeon strode off toward her quarters. Watching her retreating figure, it didn’t seem like the anger rising to the top of her head would easily subside anytime soon.

Namgung So-hye collapsed right on the spot.

“A… nuisance… Me…?”

Her heart crumbled.

* * *

“Are you feeling a bit better now?”

Dan Woo-hyun asked as he looked at Zhuge Un, who had regained consciousness. He was a man who had suffered severe injuries and had not opened his eyes for nearly ten days. Since his physical and mental fatigue must have reached their peak, even speaking seemed like it would be difficult.

However, Zhuge Un showed a slight smile and nodded.

“Of course I am fine. If I groaned over something like this, how could I have served as the chief strategist of the Martial Alliance?”

There was a somewhat bitter trace in that smile.

But he soon turned his head to look at Namgung Cheon. His somewhat stiff face gradually softened, and tears welled up around his eyes.

“Thank you… Alliance Leader…”

“Haha, I am no longer the Alliance Leader. Do not say such things.”

Urgh! Zhuge Un let out a small groan.

In his heart, Namgung Cheon was the eternal Alliance Leader. Although he had lost one arm, he was still an absolute expert and a presence that no one could look down upon.

“That you are alive… that you are alive is truly a relief.”

Tears dripped down as he grabbed Namgung Cheon’s sleeve. His arm trembled violently, but he applied strength firmly as if he would never let go.

“The same goes for you. Thank you so much for staying well.”

Tears also faintly welled up in Namgung Cheon’s eyes. His memories with Zhuge Un were as numerous as the years they had known each other.

They were no different from comrades who had shared joys and sorrows, so how could his heart not be moved?

When he heard that Zhuge Un had been ambushed, the reason he ran to him before anyone else was also because of that.

“The White-masked Sword… so that was you, Alliance Leader.”

“Hmm? What on earth does that mean?”

“Many people call you that. A one-armed old man wearing a white mask… and…”

Zhuge Un’s eyes turned in the opposite direction.

There stood a person with an indifferent expression, crossing his arms.

It was definitely the old man he had seen last time.

The one who had been using demonic energy.

Since he was not wearing a mask, his face could be clearly recognized.

“Were you the Black-masked One? Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult.”

“Hmph…”

“For the two of you to be gathered in a place like this, if others found out, they would surely faint from shock.”

They were two absolute experts representing the orthodox and the unorthodox.

Considering that the orthodox sects and the Demonic Cult had continuously clashed since long ago, they were by no means in a relationship where they could gather in one place.

Then, how should this current situation be accepted?

Zhuge Un’s gaze turned back toward Dan Woo-hyun.

‘Is this the power of this man?’

He was keeping the leaders of these two giant organizations, the orthodox and the Demonic Cult, without any friction. Although Zhuge Un did not think Dan Woo-hyun was stronger than them, it was clear that he possessed the ability to do so.

Therefore, Zhuge Un also had to make a decision.

He struggled to stand up from the bed.

No one stopped him as they watched him. It was because he had the eyes of a man who had made a firm resolution.

Rising from his seat, Zhuge Un clasped his hands in a polite greeting in front of Dan Woo-hyun and bowed his head.

“I, Zhuge Un… wish to offer my humble strength. Would you accept me?”

Considering he bowed his head, it was a rather bold statement.

However, this was the last remaining pride that Zhuge Un possessed.

Zhuge Un did not raise his head and waited for Dan Woo-hyun’s response.

At that moment, a chuckle was heard.

“I do not particularly like guys who use their heads. Most of those fellows are the type to devour even their master if it goes against their own interests.”

“I…”

“But it should be fine. There was no one to roll their brain inside the family, so it works out if there is someone to do it instead.”

“…I, Zhuge Un, pride myself on being second to none when it comes to intellect.”

Dan Woo-hyun sat in a chair in a crooked posture and stared at Zhuge Un. The gaze poured upon him was like a blade, seemingly piercing through his entire body.

Cold sweat broke out on Zhuge Un’s forehead.

It was because he could not tell whether he was granting permission or not.

His breath was choked by a pressure he had never felt even from Namgung Cheon.

“First, you must show your ability, shouldn’t you?”

The single statement to show his ability pricked Zhuge Un’s pride. Although not as much as the Namgung clan, the Zhuge clan was originally one of the pillars of the Five Great Noble Families and the brain that had led the orthodox Martial World.

If one wished to lead such a person, they naturally had to be qualified.

“If so, shouldn’t you also show me, Great Hero Dan? Whether you are a person who can embrace this Zhuge Un or not…”

His tone was always polite.

Although it was a completely different tone from when they met last time, Zhuge Un’s voice and expression as he looked up at Dan Woo-hyun were filled with determination and resolve.

Zhuge Un speculated that the man named Dan Woo-hyun would possess such a capacity, and that was why he remained in Hunan without leaving.

However, he had never actually confirmed that ability properly.

“I do not embrace anyone. Give your loyalty to this old man instead.”

With those words, Dan Woo-hyun stood up from his seat.

His leisurely remark meant that whether someone like him came or not did not matter to him.

Reminding him that he was not in a position to be tested, he told him to direct that loyalty toward Namgung Cheon, not himself.

In the end, it meant that Dan Woo-hyun did not care about Zhuge Un’s loyalty at all, nor did he have any intention to embrace him.

However, if he wished to remain here by staying beside the person he intended to follow, he had to prove his skill.

Faced with those words containing such a meaning, Zhuge Un let out a hollow laugh, finding it incredibly absurd.

Hearing the sound of the door closing, he raised his head.

“Well, he is originally that kind of person.”

Sa Do-hak shrugged his shoulders and laughed.

After bracing himself to ask someone other than Namgung Cheon to take him in, Zhuge Un was rejected in a single blow, so his appearance was somewhat comical.

As if Zhuge Un also knew this, he wore an awkward smile.

* * *

After leaving the room, Dan Woo-hyun thought.

He was a rather interesting fellow.

To tell him to show his ability if he wished to embrace him, even if he calmly thought about whether there had ever been anyone who said such a thing to him, not a single person existed.

Of course, the flow of time between then and now was different.

A thousand years had passed, and there was no one who knew of the existence of Dan Woo-hyun.

If they knew Dan Woo-hyun’s identity, they would not have been able to say such words.

Rather, they would have shrunk back in front of him and not even been able to raise their heads, which was why it was interesting.

Being together with people who did not know him from a thousand years ago.

Dan Woo-hyun walked out of the detached house with a smile.

Moving his body as if taking a leisurely stroll, he headed toward the garden. Then he suddenly discovered Namgung So-hye sitting slumped in a corner of the yard.

“What are you doing?”

“Well… it’s just… you could say I am putting my collapsed spirit back together…”

“I do not know what you mean.”

“I don’t know either.”

Letting out a small laugh, Namgung So-hye stood up from her spot. She lightly brushed off the dirt on her clothes and let out a small sigh as she stood in front of Dan Woo-hyun.

She hesitated as if she wanted to say something.

At that sight, Dan Woo-hyun furrowed his brows.

“If you have something to say, say it.”

“N-Not particularly…”

Dan Woo-hyun narrowed his eyes.

When he met her gaze directly, Namgung So-hye quickly turned her head away. Her face, flushed bright red, contained a bit of embarrassment.

“If there is nothing, I shall go.”

“Excuse me, Young Master Dan!”

She tightly grabbed the hem of Dan Woo-hyun’s sleeve as he turned to head elsewhere.

Indeed, she did have something to say.

Stopping his footsteps, he looked back at Namgung So-hye.

She caught her breath as if she had made a decision, and after parting her lips several times, she eventually stared intently into his eyes and spoke slowly.

“You know it, don’t you?”

“Know what?”

“The true ultimate technique of Nam Juri, one of the Three Heavens…”

“What about it?”

As expected, Namgung So-hye muttered softly.

Dan Woo-hyun knew the martial arts of a person from a thousand years ago.

Upon realizing that fact, a certain suspicion that had been hovering in her mind approached certainty.

Namgung So-hye clenched her fists tightly.

“Teach me! You called it the Blue Sky Illusory Bird Sword, right? Teach that martial art to me.”

“The ultimate techniques of the Namgung clan shouldn’t be any inferior, though?”

“I want to become stronger. So if you know it… please teach me.”

Namgung So-hye had no intention of backing down.

A golden opportunity to learn the martial arts of Nam Juri.

Furthermore, if that person was indeed the one who established the Namgung clan, it was not strange for Namgung So-hye to learn it.

Confirming her expression, Dan Woo-hyun chuckled.

Namgung So-hye did not seem like she would easily back down.

Confirming this, he opened his mouth.

“Why do you think I know that?”

Namgung So-hye caught her breath.

In response to Dan Woo-hyun’s question, she had only one answer to give.

Without hesitating, she looked straight at him and parted her lips.

“Because I am certain that you are the Martial God.”

For the first time, surprise registered on Dan Woo-hyun’s face.

A desolate wind swept through, fiercely enveloping the two of them.

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