Chapter 95: Chapter 95
He could roughly imagine how it went.
The Hall Master, Myo Chae-gyeong, probably sent only a handful of men, treating it as someone else’s problem. But the opponent was Gu-yu, the formidable warrior who had even taken down one of the Shan Wang Jia’s Five Military Masters.
It was clear they had been counterattacked while tailing him.
“Wait, hold on. But isn’t this a relief for us? We almost got screwed trying to recruit such dangerous guys.”
Mao let out a breath of relief and shook his head repeatedly.
Well, that was how the situation had turned out.
Frankly, from Jang I-seo’s perspective, whether the Flying Dragon Hall members lived or died didn’t matter much.
This was the Demonic Cult, after all.
He might have to point his blade at them someday, too.
But they had committed an act that should never be done.
‘They shouldn’t have touched the Soul-Befuddling Powder.’
Soul-Befuddling Powder was a poison that harmed not only martial artists but ordinary people as well.
Spreading it was something he could never forgive as a man of the righteous path.
‘But why? They certainly didn’t seem like the type to do such a thing.’
He hadn’t seen it himself, only received reports, so it was naturally possible the reality differed.
But this was too different.
Gu-yu, the bandit who had joined hands with the Slaughterhouse?
“But if they’re strong enough to take down the Flying Dragon Hall… isn’t the kid in danger going alone?”
Mao’s expression grew more worried the more he thought about it.
With that, Jang I-seo made a decision after a brief deliberation.
“Let’s go find them.”
He would meet them in person.
“Really?”
To see if they were truly the kind of men they could work with.
“Why aren’t you answering!”
Or if they were men who had to be eliminated for everyone’s safety.
“Where are we going?! Hey! Jang I-seo!”
He needed to find out.
* * *
– Shaanxi Province, Mount Hua, Lotus Peak.
Mount Hua, one of the Five Great Mountains of the Central Plains.
Among them, the Lotus Peak, where more people died climbing than reached the top.
Jang I-yun. No, Seon-yu’s Huashan Sect was located right at the summit of this peak.
It had been fourteen years since he first came here.
He was only five years old at the time.
‘Yun, you have to listen to the adults. Okay?’
His older brother, whose face he could barely remember now.
It was the day they parted ways.
‘What about you, hyung?’
‘I’m… going somewhere for a bit, but I’ll come find you later.’
He hadn’t known then. Why his brother’s expression had looked so sad.
He had simply found it heartbreaking and hugged him tight.
‘When?’
‘Hmm… when Yun gets stronger?’
‘Stronger than you, hyung?’
‘When you become the strongest in the place you’ll be staying. I’ll come then.’
‘Then I’ll get stronger fast. So I can live with you, hyung.’
‘Alright. Let’s do that.’
‘Promise?’
‘Promise…’
On that day when the warm breeze blew.
He had seen his brother off with a bright smile.
His brother had probably cried because his own bright demeanor made him feel even more sorry.
“But, hyung.”
Seon-yu wiped away the tears welling in his eyes and muttered in front of the shabby house situated at the summit.
“If you were going to make a promise like that… you should have sent me somewhere easier.”
As he lifted his head with a sigh to look, a white-haired Daoist with fierce eyes stood with his hands clasped behind his back, despite being over eighty years old.
The living legend of Huashan, as unshakeable as Mount Tai.
A great elder ranked among the top five in the world alongside the Martial Alliance Lord.
In terms of his promise with his brother, he was an insurmountable absolute wall!
The Western Sword, Yeo Jung-ak, one of the Divine Five.
He was his great-master.
“You braaaat!”
At Yeo Jung-ak’s booming shout, the mountain itself trembled, and flocks of birds fled with a flutter of wings.
It was proof of just how healthy his internal energy was today.
‘At this rate, I won’t see him until I’m old and gray.’
Not the best news for Seon-yu.
“Did you really think you could disrupt the order of Huashan and get away with it!”
Yeo Jung-ak was famously strict, like a tiger, even under normal circumstances.
He showed no mercy in his actions, once earning the nickname Western Evil.
Was it any wonder the Sect Leader still broke out in a cold sweat at the sight of him?
“…I thought you said you’d cut off all worldly affairs until you ascended.”
But to Seon-yu, even this had become a tedious daily routine.
Being summoned was an everyday occurrence by now.
“You braaat!”
Caw, caw. The loud cries of crows abandoning their nests on the neighboring mountain echoed. If they all left like this, who would protect Huashan?
“Do you truly still not realize your wrongdoing?”
“Yes.”
Seon-yu snorted and turned his head away.
It was something that would make not only the current Sect Leader but even the Divine Five faint.
But when they were alone, Seon-yu could get away with it.
Yeo Jung-ak was never one to give his affection easily, and his eye for talent was incredibly discerning.
Thus, even the Seven True Ones of Huashan, his direct disciples, still fell short of his expectations, even after becoming elders.
But Seon-yu was different.
‘How… did you execute that?’
‘I watched…’
A mere five-year-old child had been mimicking the sword art he had devised in his later years after seeing it just once.
A sword art that he had never taught anyone, an incomplete one at that.
Yeo Jung-ak had made up his mind then.
This child was the treasure of Huashan who would succeed him.
So, for over ten years, he had him run errands and serve him at his quarters.
Seon-yu’s master, Gu Ja-gi, had his dantian shattered twenty years ago and could no longer practice martial arts, so the justification was sound.
And his judgment had been correct.
Seon-yu’s achievements had even surpassed his own from that age.
The problem was…
‘The brat who should have inherited my enlightenment entirely… had to inherit my stubbornness, too.’
Once he set his mind on something, he wouldn’t back down even with a blade at his throat.
“Seon-gwang is your Senior Brother. Your Senior Brother who is ten years older! And you committed insubordination against a brother who is like the sky to you! Did I teach you to be like this?!”
“He asked for a spar, and I simply obliged.”
“Did I not tell you never to reveal your skills carelessly! Knocking him out in a single strike, is that something to say!”
“Did you not say, Great-Master, that when taking down a strong opponent, one must make sure in the early stages…”
Smack! Yeo Jung-ak, having picked up a branch at some point, swung it against Seon-yu’s head.
He immediately regretted it. He had hit him too hard.
A small branch that would snap with a little force became the world’s greatest sword in Yeo Jung-ak’s hand.
Blood flowed from Seon-yu’s forehead.
“…to finish it decisively.”
Yet Seon-yu remained expressionless, not letting out a single groan.
It was truly extraordinary stubbornness.
“Did you think I wouldn’t know you were throwing a fit to be allowed down the mountain?”
“…Since you know, please permit it. I need to find my brother.”
“What does that have to do with your brother?”
“How am I supposed to find him while locked up on this cramped peak? Even if I went out and searched the entire world day and night, it might not be enough.”
Hah, how frustrating.
“Didn’t your brother promise you? To become the strongest here. Then he said he would find you himself. You should be working towards that!”
“Then please pass on soon!”
“Pass on? To where?”
Seon-yu pointed his index finger at the sky with a jab, as if scolding him.
He was telling him to die.
“Y-you audacious brat!”
“Then what am I supposed to do! There’s no way to win until you ascend. No, does someone who can defeat you, Great-Master, even exist on this earth?”
“Ahem…”
At Seon-yu’s probing question, Yeo Jung-ak whipped around and stroked his beard.
Someone who could defeat him…
He asked in a serious tone.
“Do you wish to know?”
“No.”
“I shall tell you a heavenly secret.”
“No, I’m really not curious…”
“There is no one on this earth who can defeat me.”
Thump! He hadn’t wanted to know, but it was a truly shocking statement.
Didn’t that mean he was the strongest under heaven?
“Then how am I supposed to win!”
Seon-yu screamed in frustration.
But there were multiple meanings hidden in this.
‘Whether it’s the Heavenly Demon or the Blood Lord. Even the Star of Central Principle or the Southern Monk of Shaolin among the Divine Five might defeat me.’
However.
‘There is no one who can defeat me completely.’
If he fought the Heavenly Demon, he would lose nine times but win once. If he fought the Blood Lord or the Alliance Lord, he would win three or four times.
But there was no one who could win all ten out of ten matches.
If he had to pick one, there was only a single person…
A faint image of someone he had faced long ago surfaced in Yeo Jung-ak’s mind.
A man of the righteous path who did not walk the righteous path.
“Since it has come to this, you might as well destroy your dantian and…”
“Silence! Go to the Martial Alliance at once.”
“Excuse me…?”
“Don’t even think about returning to the sect for three years. Serve the Central Plains. That is the penance you must pay for your sins.”
At Yeo Jung-ak’s sudden command, Seon-yu’s eyes went wide like a rabbit’s.
Didn’t that mean… he was letting him down the mountain while still registered to Huashan?
“Are you serious…?”
“I have already spoken with the Sect Leader. I can’t stand the sight of you, so leave this instant.”
“No taking it back. I’m going, really?”
“Must I repeat myself?”
“No!”
Seon-yu bowed deeply and dashed away. After running a long way down, when he looked like a tiny speck, he shouted at the top of his lungs.
“Thank you, Great-Master! Thank you so much!”
“Hmph.”
Yeo Jung-ak snorted and turned his body.
He felt both relieved and a little sad.
They had been together for over ten years. To see him run off looking that happy.
But he understood.
Seon-yu was nineteen.
The age to wander the Gangho and see and feel many things.
He, too, had met many rivals around that age and grown together with them.
“You come to mind often today, my old friend.”
Yeo Jung-ak looked down at the distant foot of the mountain and pictured an old friend.
The one who had now been erased from the Central Plains forever.
The only being he thought he could never defeat in his entire life.
‘The Shadowless…’
It was his name.
“Grow stronger, Seon-yu. And… become the sword of Huashan.”
It was a day on Mount Hua.
* * *
The next day, early in the morning.
Mao and Jang I-seo had arrived at an unexpected place.
At the entrance of a village they had no connection to.
“Are you sure they’re really here?”
“If what we heard is correct.”
“Hah.”
Mao scratched his head and surveyed the chaotic surroundings.
“Come and take your pick! The greatest famous blades of the century are all right here!”
“Have a cool glass of liquor and go!”
“A map containing rare treasures for just one nyang of silver!”
The merchants’ boisterous noise rained down from dawn, and the village was a sea of people.
It was that place where all sorts of odds and ends poured in without filter.
Jipha Village.
It was the village where the Bumun Inn was located.
“Just let that little brat get caught.”
Mao threw a baseless fit. He had heard the general story from Maeng Won-won the night before.
Why Maeng Hwi had come here alone chasing the Iron Horse Bandits.
‘He said he wanted to be with us.’
Idiot. He could have just said so if that was the case. Why come here unnecessarily? He should have just run away from home.
Mao grumbled to himself for no reason. Of course, he knew he was being unreasonable. If that had been possible, why would he have wanted to escape the Maeng Family in the first place?
If his own life was one of being abandoned, Maeng Hwi’s was a life trapped in a cage.
“Where do we go now? Let’s just find him and go. I’m dying of sleep deprivation.”
Contrary to his annoyed words, Mao snorted and burned with determination. Jang I-seo offered a faint, invisible smile.
‘He must be worried. It’s not a bad emotion.’
Caring for someone meant he was getting closer to the righteous path.
As Jang I-seo smiled and strode forward, Mao followed him.
Before long, they arrived at a place filled with cages packed with pigeons inside and out.
It was a pigeon loft , where messenger pigeons were raised.