Chapter 207: The False King (1)
Read more at Nineheavens.org
The residence the four people entered was so comfortable that they could not think of it as a room prepared in an underground cavern.
It was not particularly extravagant or antique, but on top of being quite spacious, even beds and a table were provided. Just like the open area, luminous pearls were embedded, so it was extremely bright.
“Oho?”
Ga Deuk-sang stroked the small bead embedded in the wall with eyes full of admiration.
“To think I would see this here.”
Pae-yul tilted his head.
“What is that for you to be like that?”
“It is a Moisture-Avoiding Pearl.”
“Moisture-Avoiding Pearl?”
“Yes. It is an item that removes moisture within a certain area. It is a treasure that is three or four times more expensive than a luminous pearl of the same size.”
Pae-yul looked at the Moisture-Avoiding Pearl with new eyes. On the outside, it was no different from an ordinary bead.
Ga Deuk-sang’s eyes deepened.
“It is not even just a Moisture-Avoiding Pearl. It is an item that not only removes moisture, but even adjusts the level of humidity.”
“Then is it more expensive?”
“Like luminous pearls, the price of Moisture-Avoiding Pearls also varies greatly depending on the quality. This is not up to the highest grade, but it is a high-grade product that even decent wealthy merchants would find difficult to obtain easily.”
Pae-yul smacked his lips.
“You know a lot.”
“Because I see a lot of this and that. There are many things to know, too.”
At that time, Zhuge Ah-yeon frowned.
“It is strange.”
“Hmm?”
“Goods are inherently priced according to supply and demand. In that sense, the Moisture-Avoiding Pearl is an item that cannot help but be expensive. Because it is not an item produced in the Central Plains in the first place.”
Ga Deuk-sang nodded.
“That is so. I heard that the Moisture-Avoiding Pearl is an item produced in the Western Regions.”
“That is correct. The problem is, how many Moisture-Avoiding Pearls of this size are in this giant underground cavern.”
“Hmm…”
“Even if this is a place where only VIPs can come and go, the width of this cavern transcends imagination. There should be at least dozens of such Moisture-Avoiding Pearls.”
“I see.”
A serious light was cast on Zhuge Ah-yeon’s face.
“I am truly curious. It is strange. Just how much money does Yang Cheon have for him to have plastered the place with such precious items?”
Pae-yul said.
“Or, he could have received support from someone.”
“Even so…”
“Why? Is it too out of proportion?”
“Yes, I think so.”
“The way I see it, it is not such a strange matter. It is surprising, but I do not think it is something that makes no sense to that extent.”
The three people looked at Pae-yul with doubtful eyes.
Pae-yul tapped his scabbard.
“In the Jianghu Murim, martial arts are strength, aliases are value, and one’s battle record is proof, is it not?”
“……!”
“The Saintly Heaven Thirteen Seats are said to be supreme masters comparable to, or even exceeding, the absolute masters from three hundred years ago, which is called the golden age of Murim. It means they are monsters who were born as humans but have escaped the realm of humans.”
Tang Sang-ah, who had been silent until now, opened her mouth.
“Do your words mean that for Yang Cheon, this level of support is at a fully deserving standard?”
“I think so. To speak the truth, there are many ways to make money, but becoming as strong as Yang Cheon is close to impossible, is it not.”
Pae-yul asked Tang Sang-ah.
“Would you not know better?”
It was not a wrong statement.
The Saintly Heaven Thirteen Seats were all called gods of martial arts, without a single exception. Even just the Three Lords, who were said to be one step behind the ten Gods, Immortals, Emperors, and Kings, were said to lack nothing to become the number one under heaven if they had met a good era.
In other words, their existence itself was precious. Leaving aside their individual ideologies, it was a position fully deserving of receiving this much support.
“Then only one question remains.”
“Hmm?”
Zhuge Ah-yeon’s eyes twinkled like morning stars.
“If there is a person or group supporting him, what did they hope for from Yang Cheon to give him this much support?”
* * *
“It is here.”
The old man who brought Yeon Ho-jeong stopped in front of a single pitch-black stone wall. The stone wall, which looked particularly dark and dull, was of a size that reminded one of a decent castle gate.
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes deepened.
‘Black Rock Gate.’
It was an independent space located in the deepest part of the Blood Dragon Vein, no, the Black Dragon Manor.
The overall terrain was high, and the air flowed the best as well. If one opened the gate and went inside, stairs that went straight up appeared, and the number of stairs was a total of ninety-nine.
It was a place that still remained in his memory because of its unique characteristics.
And the method to open this gate was…
“Pavilion Lord.”
The old man bowed his waist and said in a polite voice.
“I have brought the representative of the Martial Ancestor Sect.”
It was then.
Kugung!
With a heavy sound, the Black Rock Gate moved inward by about five cun.
Kwarereureung!
The Black Rock Gate, which had gone inward, slowly disappeared to the left. It was in the form of a sliding door.
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes became fierce.
‘It is different.’
Originally, on the right side of the Black Rock Gate, there was a large protrusion at chest height.
That protrusion was heavy to the point that it would not be pressed unless one used internal energy to press it. And when that protrusion was pressed, it was a structure where the Black Rock Gate would open then.
Now it was different.
The place where the protrusion used to be was hollowed out. They had ripped out that part and made it into the form of a new mechanism formation.
‘It is not ordinary.’
They did not make it elaborately from small parts, but modified an already made mechanism formation of divine skill to their taste.
It was an incredible engineering ability. Countless mechanism experts also seemed to have been put into this place, which had become the Blood Dragon Vein, no, the Black Dragon Manor.
The more he saw, the more he thought about it.
Yeon Ho-jeong could feel it. That this was a realm that Yang Cheon could absolutely not establish on his own.
‘Yang Cheon.’
Yeon Ho-jeong controlled his soaring questions and killing intent.
‘Are those bastards really behind you?’
He did not know yet. It was not something to jump to conclusions about.
He took a deep breath.
‘Let’s calm down.’
Yeon Ho-jeong vowed that he would not jump to conclusions about anything rashly in this mission. He intended to briefly set aside even his sixth sense and instincts.
Transparently and certainly.
Unless it was backed by reasonable deduction and factual relationships that could be certain, he would absolutely not jump to conclusions.
Thump!
Finally, the Black Rock Gate opened wide.
In Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes, stairs heading straight up were seen. It was a gentle angle, so it did not look difficult to climb.
The old man said.
“Enter.”
Yeon Ho-jeong took a step without a word.
At that time, the old man continued his words.
“I will say a word out of concern.”
“…….”
“Do not commit any disrespect to that person.”
Yeon Ho-jeong glanced at the old man.
This old man was a person he had not seen when he fought Yang Cheon in the past. That was the same for Cheong-ho as well.
However, he was strong.
Surprisingly, the old man’s strength was enough to remind him of his father. Because he perfectly concealed that explosive power, as the current Yeon Ho-jeong, it was difficult to even grasp the origin of his internal energy.
Yeon Ho-jeong opened his mouth.
“I also want to ask one thing.”
“…….”
“Are you a person from the Central Plains?”
The old man did not give any answer either way.
Yeon Ho-jeong, who had been blankly staring at the old man, climbed the stairs.
Kugungung!
As soon as he stepped onto the stairs, the Black Rock Gate closed. Even Yeon Ho-jeong could not know on what principle it operated.
Like that, Yeon Ho-jeong stepped on the stairs one by one and went up.
‘Yang Cheon.’
A person who came out to the world harboring terrifying desire in his frosty blue eyes.
The Black Lion, who wandered looking for the path to become the best in a world different from the Orthodox.
‘What a cruel fate. To think I would face you again like this, in this place where I buried you.’
In front of the challenge full of spirit from a young master of the Unorthodox, Yang Cheon had shown a joyful hint rather than anger.
Perhaps he had been struggling with the loneliness of a strong person who had no one to face him. Or he might have been excited at the thought of putting him under his command.
For whatever reason, Yang Cheon’s vessel was also not ordinary.
‘Although I killed you with my hands, I never hated you.’
A strong person who had strong driving force but was lacking in many ways to achieve his ideals, someone who could have carved his name in history if he had merely existed as the Combat King.
The Yang Cheon that Yeon Ho-jeong remembered was such a person.
So he hoped.
‘Although many things in the world I returned to have changed, I do not want to anew hate you, who remains as a not bad memory.’
Uuuung!
As he walked up step by step, he felt it.
The opponent’s presence that pressured his entire body. The mighty power that crept out and seized the entire space.
Pasak!
The edge of the stair slightly crumbled. Trying to endure the mighty pressure, strength went into his foot without his realizing.
‘So I pray that you did not join hands with those damn bastards.’
Huwung.
A hot wind blew in.
Parararak.
It was a wind of considerable strength. Yeon Ho-jeong’s clothes hit the wind and fluttered.
His body became slightly heavy.
The more he climbed the stairs, the closer he got to ‘him’, the burden his physical body received increased exponentially.
‘Oh, this man.’
A bitter smile was cast on the corners of Yeon Ho-jeong’s mouth.
‘What are you so curious about, and what are you so bored about that you are testing me?’
He had decided to put down his instincts for a moment, but still, he could not ignore the reality his instincts were crying out.
Yang Cheon was not this kind of person. He was a person with more boldness and a weighty flavor than this. He was a person closer to a fierce hero than a treacherous hero.
Unlike now, he was not a person who would emit his original power without knowing it was a waste, just to test a rampant young master.
‘Are you already intoxicated by the taste that the seat of power gives?’
Yeon Ho-jeong closed his eyes.
Pasak!
He stepped on the ninety-seventh stair. The edge of the stair crumbled again.
Kwadeuk!
He stepped on the ninety-eighth stair. His entire sole dug half a cun into the stair.
And finally, the ninety-ninth stair.
Uuuung!!
The air fluctuated.
Tseutseutseutseu.
A faint blue-green radiance bloomed from Yeon Ho-jeong’s body. It was the manifestation of the Azure Dragon Qi.
The Azure Dragon is Dragon Waves, and is adept at evasion and counterattack. That was not only the martial forms, but the characteristics of the true qi were also similar.
Huwung.
A significant portion of the pouring pressure was resolved. It was because the Azure Dragon Qi spread throughout his entire body and guided him to the gaps in the pressure.
Thump!
Yeon Ho-jeong’s left foot stepped on the final stair.
Seureureuk.
The heavy qi wave that had created the pressure of a thousand jin disappeared as if washed away.
At the same time, a low echoing voice cut through the air.
“It is incredible.”
Yeon Ho-jeong opened his closed eyes.
Finally, in his vision, he saw the Black Lion with his faded mane fluttering.
“That guy Cheong-ho, he needs to train more. Equal hands? Words that do not even sound like words. Even if he unleashes Tiger Dance, it is questionable whether he could endure twenty exchanges, yet it was just a single line of evaluation saying you were useful?”
Surprise arose on the face of the man sitting on the grand armchair, Yang Cheon.
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes deepened.
‘Yang Cheon!’
It was a distant, distant fate that he finally met again.
“Youth is a period of living carrying fatal disadvantages as much as countless advantages. The person himself says no, but one cannot help but easily alternate between joy and sorrow over others’ evaluations.”
“…….”
“Even knowing that, I cannot help but speak like this.”
Yang Cheon honestly admired him
.
“You are truly an amazing young man. I have not been this surprised seeing anyone recently.”
A faint smile was cast on Yeon Ho-jeong’s face.
At that smile whose meaning was difficult to know, Yang Cheon’s eyebrows wriggled.
Yeon Ho-jeong took a martial salute in a disciplined manner.
“I greet Manor Lord Yang. I am called Jeong of the Martial Ancestor Sect.”