Chapter 81: Chapter 81
‘The problem was that it might devour me if I tried to wield it, so I kept it sealed all this time… but there’s no more time to waste.’
The First Young Master had begun to move, and Ma I-sin was sharpening his blade in wait.
Resting at his current level would accomplish nothing.
To reach the ocean, Mao had to bulk up first.
Therefore,
“Listen carefully to what I’m about to say.”
FWOOSH.
The wind swept through the bamboo grove, shattering the silence.
Jang I-seo thrust the blade forward and spoke with absolute conviction.
“You must become the master of this blade.”
Without fail.
“Become the master of this blade…?”
Mao received the Azure Dragon Blade, his face betraying genuine shock. He examined the steel and spoke.
“The original master was me, you know…?”
Of course, he still had ninety thousand miles to go.
*
Jang I-seo handed the scabbard to Mao and issued a warning.
“You saw it before. The Azure Dragon Blade is a divine artifact with a will of its own. Handle it carelessly and it will devour you.”
“I know what you mean. Because this bastard ran wild on its own back then, I looked completely ridiculous.”
Mao glared at the Azure Dragon Blade as if it were prey. Judging by his demeanor, they would get along just fine.
“A weapon is the only friend and companion a martial artist can truly rely on. No matter how powerful a weapon you wield, if it doesn’t suit your hand, it’s not even worth the first blade you held at twelve. That saying exists for a reason.”
“Oh.”
Before long, Mao was sitting on the floor, propping his chin on his index finger, listening with rapt fascination.
“In that sense, the Azure Dragon Blade you hold is the perfect match for you above all else. Its fire qi will certainly accommodate your yang energy well.”
“Right. Father said this guy acknowledged me too.”
Right. He said that. And he blocked the Heavenly Demon’s finger wind too.
But for Mao, who had never properly held a blade in his life, that was impossible by skill alone.
The Azure Dragon Blade’s residual will had moved Mao.
“Then why does it run wild if it acknowledges me?”
That was because… the master was a pushover. Jang I-seo clicked his tongue.
A divine artifact sealed for a long time had found a new master. Of course it wanted to run wild. But when the so-called master let himself get tossed around by its will, it only pushed further past the line.
Therefore,
“From now on, you need to get close with it so it stops running wild. Very close. Like a friend.”
“With who? Don’t tell me you mean me and this thing? Does that make any sense? It’s just a sword.”
“Why wouldn’t it? If you do it, it gets done.”
“Some things work and some things don’t. You don’t just befriend anyone.”
“What’s stopping you?”
“No, talking to a lump of iron that can’t even speak… Wait. Why are you speaking informally all of a sudden…”
“The way to become close is simple.”
“Gah!”
Jang I-seo cut him off with a dry, authoritative tone. Mao’s nostrils flared, his heavy breathing puffing out. But what could he do? He had to listen to his teacher.
“Keep holding it at all times. When you sleep, when you wake, wherever you go. Don’t let go unless absolutely necessary. First, your hand needs to grow familiar with it. Then at some point, you’ll start to feel what your blade wants from you.”
“…”
Mao stared down at the Azure Dragon Blade in his hand, studying it. Now that he thought about it, his palm seemed to throb faintly, as if it were speaking to him. Or maybe it was just his pulse. He honestly wasn’t sure.
But,
“If I become friends with this thing… then I can really beat that bastard Ma I-sin, right?”
That, he didn’t know. But whether they became friends or not, there was no way he would lose. He would make absolutely sure of that, by any means necessary.
“Yes.”
“Alright… then I’ll do it. Friends it is, I guess.”
Mao sprang to his feet, hoisted the blade high, and shouted.
“From now on, you are my friend, Do-ryong! So obey my every command absolutely! Uwahahahaha!”
Did he even know what “friend” meant? And not Chang-ryong but Do-ryong? What kind of name was that?
He could somewhat see why this bastard had no friends.
Jang I-seo shook his head slowly and spoke.
“Anyway, what you must be careful of is this. Never circulate your internal energy while holding the blade.”
“I already did, though?”
“What?”
VWOOM! A resonant hum rang out. As his eyes blinked wide, an orange radiance surged from Mao’s dantian and shot toward his right hand in an instant.
And right at that moment.
FWOOOSH!
The lifeless gray steel face flushed with vibrant orange light, and immediately after.
FWIIIISH!
“Gyaaah!”
It slashed horizontally toward Jang I-seo without hesitation.
This crazy bastard!
Jang I-seo snapped his upper body backward, barely dodging. A searing heat brushed past his nose from the passing blade. And… it was fast!
FWIIIISH!
Before he could even utter a word after dodging, the blade came crashing down toward his crown. A vertical slash this time. With enough force to cleave him clean in two.
“J-Jang I-seo!”
Mao’s tearful cry.
In that instant, Jang I-seo’s eyes turned icy cold. BZZZT! Lightning coiled around his entire body.
A phantom shift!
BOOM!
Mao’s Azure Dragon Blade cleaved through empty air and struck the ground. A pillar of fire erupted like a waterspout.
And behind him stood Jang I-seo, his palm already drawn back past his shoulder, his stance set.
『Iron Shattering Palm』
A palm strike shot viciously toward Mao’s spine.
THWACK!
“Kuaaaagh!”
Crash! Mao was sent flying, tumbling across the ground. His limbs twitched violently before he lost consciousness completely.
The Iron Shattering Palm, a third-rate martial art anyone could learn.
But when the one executing it was Jang I-seo, whose strikes pierced through masses, it was a different story entirely.
One wrong move and he would be paralyzed.
Of course, it was Mao, so he would be fine. Probably.
“Sure enough, they’ll get along fast. Even in all that chaos, he didn’t let go of the blade.”
Jang I-seo observed the unconscious Mao with satisfaction and turned away.
That was enough for today.
From here on, he just needed to watch Mao’s progress slowly.
“It’s about time I stepped in before Cheon Mu-gi runs even more rampant.”
A smirk crept onto Jang I-seo’s lips.
Then he walked out of the Seventh Small Palace.
Fieldwork.
* * *
– Celestial Isle, Third Small Palace.
The Celestial Isle, a remote island situated atop a scalding hot spring lake.
Deep creases lined the smooth forehead of its mistress, Sa Hae-ryeong.
Few things could shake the composure of a woman who stood as rigid and unyielding as the undying ice blossoms of the Eternal Snow Peak. And in recent days, only one person had managed it.
‘Jang I-seo. You…’
The Seventh Young Master’s adjutant, Jang I-seo.
It was him.
Moreover, the emotions this letter stirred weren’t positive signals like surprise, freshness, or anticipation.
Quite the opposite.
【Jin-san, I need a favor. Tell the Third Young Lady to just endure for a few days, no questions asked. Remember? The debt you owed me. I’m cashing it in now. P.S. – I’ll buy drinks next time.】
This crazy bastard. Sa Hae-ryeong crumpled the letter violently, her eyes narrowing as she surveyed ahead.
Then, SHRING!
Without a word, she drew the two swords from her waist. A fearsome killing intent erupted from her.
Drawing blades in her own front yard was rare enough, let alone drawing both at once.
The Fire Heaven Sword and the Ice Sea Sword.
The divine artifacts that had earned her the title of Ice-Fire Sword Empress.
Twin supreme masterpieces, each said to part sea and sky with a single swing, drawn simultaneously.
Because she knew full well that the opponent standing before her was anything but trifling.
“My brother came all the way to his sister’s house to visit. This is a pretty cold welcome.”
Lion-like sprawling hair, a gray uniform that made no effort to hide his violently physical presence.
A ruggedly handsome man who looked like he packed a serious punch.
The Second Young Master, Hegemon Fist Emperor Mu Han-seong.
He had graced this place with his presence.
“You didn’t come to visit, I imagine. Unless it’s to die.”
The moment Sa Hae-ryeong made the vicious remark, her adjutant, the silver-haired Narak, and the Moon Mad Ten Ghosts surrounded the perimeter in a defensive formation.
“To die? Why are you always so heartless? Your brother’s feelings are hurt. Look. I came alone. I came because I missed you. Really.”
Really, his ass. What a load of laughable crap.
There were dozens of moored ferryboats visible through the mist alone.
Sa Hae-ryeong lifted the blue-tinged Ice Sea Sword toward his throat in a fluid motion. Mu Han-seong scratched his eyebrow and clicked his tongue.
“Not gonna work, huh.”
Then, Cackling! guffawing! Eerie laughter erupted from all directions within the mist.
Her brow furrowed, and the Moon Mad Ten Ghosts tensed, their eyes darting left and right.
“Third Young Lady.”
Narak stepped up beside her and took a defensive stance. But there was no need to say more. They already knew full well who these men were.
“Hehehe!”
“Kukuku!”
Figures slowly emerged from the mist, closing in like a noose.
Their wildly mismatched attire made it impossible to call them a single faction at a glance.
It was them.
A hundred eccentrics, each one as brutal and domineering as the last.
“The Hundred Strange Brigade…”
The Second Young Master’s full force had landed on the Celestial Isle.
She had a rough grasp of the situation.
The Seventh Young Master had received the Hundred Commander’s Seal at the latest breakfast audience, and had declared he would recruit a faction using her name without consulting her.
And the Second Young Master had come in person to stop it.
But what she couldn’t understand was what was going on inside Jang I-seo’s head.
‘And I’m just supposed to sit back and watch this happen?’
Using her name without permission, she could let that slide.
But if the Second Young Master intercepted every recruit who showed up, how was she supposed to gather a force?
It was obvious he would drive them all away.
‘I have no idea. What exactly are you thinking?’
While the Third Young Lady struggled with her confusion, Narak beside her shouted defiantly.
“What is the meaning of this? Have you forgotten the Cult Leader’s words?”
The two absolute rules declared by the Heavenly Demon, Jin U-gwang.
First, while duels between heirs were permitted, forces must not be used to strike first.
Second, battles must always be fought with mutual consent.
Bringing his entire force to the Third Small Palace like this meant he intended to break both rules.
“Narak. Don’t overstep yourself.”
A middle-aged man in his forties walked out from behind Mu Han-seong, hands clasped behind his back. Gaunt and sinister, like a snake. There was no need for introductions.
The Second Young Master’s adjutant, the Certain-Death Hand, Jo Yang-ak.
A master of hand techniques, notorious as one of the cruelest fiends of the current generation.
“Pull that hand out from behind your back first.”
But Narak, though young, was no less veteran, a former Hall Master himself.
When he took a step forward, the atmosphere became a powder keg ready to blow at any second.
Sa Hae-ryeong exhaled a shallow breath and spoke.
“How am I supposed to interpret this situation? Are you saying we settle this here and now?”
Even if the Third Young Lady’s side was outnumbered, in a direct clash, they would tear apart at least seventy percent of the enemy.
That was how far they refused to yield in raw martial power.
And Mu Han-seong knew that perfectly well. He waggled his finger from side to side as if to say there was a misunderstanding.
“We can’t settle things between just the two of us. Who would that benefit?”