Chapter 42
Chapter 42
Of course, they only postured, but they had no courage to dare to challenge Yeomdo. Binggeom raised his hand to stop them, who were typical figures who only talked big. It was to prevent a tragedy in advance, as it could cause enormous casualties if the disciples of the manor rushed in recklessly.
"Endure it. Regrettably, he is right. Un-su's sword... is still far from ready!"
"Great Old Master!"
Everyone shouted in unison, surprised. In Tiger Fang Manor, he was revered and served as the great master. His influence within the manor was absolute. It was utterly incomprehensible that he would meekly agree to the opponent's unreasonable demand.
"That kind of recommendation letter, just give it to them!"
"We can't!"
Everyone in the manor went wild and opposed. But Binggeom's resolve was already as hard as a diamond, and not a single scratch could be made on it.
"It's a useless item for Un-su anyway. In fact, with that level of skill, it's still difficult to overcome the wall of the Cheonmu Academy. With a sword that has not obtained the sword intent, it will only be a laughingstock for people to see him perform a meaningless sword method that lacks will. Today's incident must have been a sharp warning for Un-su! Let's look forward to next year and give that recommendation letter to them. It is my fault for not properly assessing Un-su."
Today had become a day where Gam Un-su's luck had run out, just as his name suggested, a day where he had fallen into a pit of bad luck. Binggeom let out a hollow sigh and then raised his head to look at the sky endlessly. It was a silent expression of his position that he no longer wanted to be involved in this matter. As he came out so resolutely, the disciples of Tiger Fang Manor no longer dared to refuse his words. Gritting his teeth, shedding tears, and with trembling hands, the Tiger Fang Manor master Ho Cheon-sang handed over the Cheonmu Academy special recommendation letter, the Dragon Riding Plaque. It was not a piece of paper, but a jade plaque made of green jade. Inside the square, green jade surface, the figure of a dragon ascending to heaven on a sword was carved in relief, and on the upper part of the plaque, the four characters of Cheonmu Academy were engraved in a powerful script that seemed to be alive. It was an item with an unusual energy flowing from it. Perhaps that energy was the energy created by the convergence of the wills of the numerous people who dreamed of the Cheonmu Academy. Bi Ryu-yeon thought so. Of course, he did not forget to think, 'Wouldn't I be able to get a high price if I sold it?'
Bi Ryu-yeon, who had achieved his purpose, turned his back without any lingering attachment and left Tiger Fang Manor. Of course, Yeomdo was with him. Neither of them gave a second glance. At the scene they had left behind, only the manor warriors and guests who had been beaten to a pulp and fainted, and the enormous amount of property loss and the miserable wound engraved on their pride and honor were left. An indelible wound of disgrace. This day would be remembered in the hearts of the disciples for a long, long time as the day of Tiger Fang Manor's disgrace. Along with the dark shadows of the two men...
"Great Old Master."
In the inner court, where the two had left without looking back, Ho Cheon-sang quietly called Binggeom. Due to the unusual atmosphere, Ho Cheon-sang, who had been silent all this time, finally managed to bring out the words that had been stuck in his throat. His voice was very thin and weak, already lacking in confidence. But Binggeom turned his back heartlessly without even responding to his call.
"I want to rest."
Leaving only this one sentence, Binggeom disappeared into the pavilion. Ho Cheon-sang's foot, which was about to grab the turning Binggeom, accidentally touched one of the flowers that were scattered around. It was an unknown flower with leaves that stretched out like an orchid, but as soon as Ho Cheon-sang's foot touched it, it shattered to pieces like a piece of glass. Ho Cheon-sang was horrified to see the flower that had shattered like a piece of glass and the place where he had been standing. The trees and flowers within a radius of 3 meters were all frozen white. And as soon as he touched them lightly, they all turned into ice powder and shattered to pieces.
Ho Cheon-sang was horrified again and again. Without Binggeom himself realizing it, his Frozen Ice True Qi had been released and had frozen the surroundings all white. This also meant that he, who was famous for being composed and calm, had poured so much mental energy that he could not easily control his true qi. And yet, he had pretended to be calm in front of Yeomdo. Of course, this situation was not much different for Yeomdo. The trees and flowers that existed in the area where Yeomdo had been standing were all withered and yellow, and the stones within a radius of 3 meters where he had been standing were all heated red, to the point where one would get burned immediately if they touched them without raising their true qi.
The withered flowers turned to powder as soon as a person's hand touched them and were scattered in the air. They were two people who had reached a level that surpassed the common sense of ordinary people. Seeing this, Ho Cheon-sang and his gang(?) were speechless and could not continue to speak. To think that two people with such skills were about to fight in his manor was a terrifying thought that gave him goosebumps just by imagining it. If the two had really fought here, Tiger Fang Manor would have been uprooted to its foundations and left in ruins that day. It was a terrifying thought just to imagine.
Bi Ryu-yeon and Yeomdo achieved their purpose and leisurely returned—only Bi Ryu-yeon returned leisurely—and after that day, Binggeom Gwan Cheol-su did not leave his pavilion for ten days. The sky that the master and all the family members of Tiger Fang Manor looked up at with a sense of emptiness was, annoyingly, still endlessly high and blue. As if to tease them, only the afternoon sunlight shone down quietly on the manor, which was littered with fainted people and broken debris, as if it had nothing to do with it. It was an incident that had happened in just two hours from noon.
- A Talent of the Supreme Polarity Who Will Make Two into One
A week after the visit to Tiger Fang Manor! Sunpung Sanbui Na Daei kept his promise. Three days after meeting Na Jung-hae, that is, two days after the peaceful(?) and friendly(?) visit to Tiger Fang Manor. An envoy came from the Cheonmu Academy.
The response was that they would grant any condition Yeomdo proposed, as much as possible. Of course, since it was something they had been waiting for, they gladly accepted the Cheonmu Academy's offer. Thus, the matter was settled in a flash, and on the day of this year's Cheonmu Academy entrance ceremony, Yeomdo also reached a compromise to enter the Cheonmu Academy as a martial instructor. The best accommodation and the best treatment were to be provided. At least, everything was going smoothly. Although Yeomdo's mood had been continuously uncomfortable these days, it did not affect the negotiations. The envoys, as they had when they came, showed the utmost courtesy and withdrew.
After the envoy from the Cheonmu Academy left, Bi Ryu-yeon sat quietly in his room and took out an item against the backdrop of the sunset visible through the window, turning it this way and that. This jade plaque, with a golden tassel and a square green jade border, with a dragon ascending to heaven on a sword carved in relief, was the famous Dragon Riding Plaque. The Cheonmu Academy entrance recommendation plaque, obtained by miserably overturning a sect!
How many people had shed tears of blood for Bi Ryu-yeon to obtain this? But Bi Ryu-yeon, who seemed to have had all his seriousness eaten by a dog, was carefree. In his memory, the tears of blood of the Tiger Fang Manor family members had long since become a distant trace of the past. He was always like that, he didn't know what seriousness was.
'Is this such a great item?'
Bi Ryu-yeon played with the Dragon Riding Plaque, which he had obtained by causing such a huge commotion, as if it were a toy, turning it this way and that. It wasn't that he had any special thought, he was just doing it because he was bored. He was as thoughtless as ever.
The Ascending Heaven Martial Festival, which had started the day after the visit to Tiger Fang Manor, continued for a week. In a time that was long if you thought it was long, and short if you thought it was short, numerous gateways were set up and destroyed repeatedly, and the finalists were selected. Then, through numerous martial arts contests where swords, palms, sabers, and whips danced wildly according to the principles and flow of martial arts, the jade and stones called finalists were selected.
Finally, a week after the end of the Ascending Heaven Martial Festival, one of the biggest events in the Murim, which had been held amidst great enthusiasm and interest, the day of the announcement of the successful candidates, which they had been waiting for so eagerly, arrived. It was a moment when the attention of all the martial artists in the Jianghu of the Nine Provinces was focused.
On this day, the scene at the announcement board was extremely crowded, just like in previous years. A sea of black hair spread out like a dark shadow. A crowd so packed that no gaps could be seen. A noisy murmur that made one's mind dizzy. A hot and stuffy heat that excited people dominated the entire announcement venue. Anyone here now could not help but feel a thrilling excitement and heat. But the noisy murmur that was driving people crazy gradually subsided as the announcement of the successful candidates began, and in the end, the venue was enveloped in a silence so quiet that even the sound of a needle dropping could be detected.
The announcement of the successful candidates was conducted by the famous master of the Wudang Sect, Okho Jin-in. As a famous master of the Wudang Sect, one of the twin pillars of the nine great sects, he announced the sect of origin and the name of the Cheonmu Academy entrants in a clear tone filled with internal energy so that the crowd gathered could hear him accurately.
As each successful candidate was announced, all sorts of people continued to appear: people who laughed, people who cried, people who laughed with joy, people who laughed with emptiness, people who cried with emotion, people who cried as if it were unfair, people who were thrown into the air, and even people who threw away their swords, which were the life of a warrior. It seemed to be a place where one could comprehensively observe, witness, compare, and analyze all sorts of human groups.
The announcement venue was showing these various aspects of many people without any filter. Also, there were always people who appeared on this day every year: those who wanted to complain about the unfairness of their failure, and those who went to the Cheonmu Academy to protest because they couldn't overcome the frustration of their failure. Among them, there were frequent cases of drawing a sword or clenching a fist as a means of complaint and protest. But what kind of place was the Cheonmu Academy? Such punks were usually beaten up at the gate and thrown out without even being able to stick the tip of their big toe's nail inside the academy.
They would brandish their swords meaninglessly, saying the judgment was wrong or that it was unfair, but if they had failed due to a lack of skill, would they have the skill to protest properly? It was just a moment of bravado, a gesture that would disappear in vain like a bubble. They had to be grateful just to have survived and kept their lives. They should have been a hundred times grateful to the Cheonmu Academy officials who had restrained their hands because they didn't want to see blood on a good day.
Despite the strict punishment for these armed protesters who appeared so tiresomely every year, as if they were fatally lacking in rational thinking and learning ability, a riot control team dedicated to the rioting crowd was always deployed in front of the main gate on the announcement day to suppress the rioters who appeared in large numbers again when the year passed. And they were dealing with the pathetic punks who came as if hypnotized and drew their swords in a 'praying mantis trying to stop a chariot' fashion, even though they knew it was useless, even though they knew it wouldn't work even if they tried. The most troublesome bunch at this time were the ones who came in groups, leading their friends, the junior brothers of their sect, or the hired warriors of their family, and caused a riot. This was the most troublesome time, and when such groups appeared, the Cheonmu Academy side also showed no mercy. If they didn't make an example of such groups and punish one to warn a hundred, they couldn't make the groups who were thinking 'what if' realize the harsh reality of 'as expected'.
Once some of these foolish groups were severely punished as an example, and people witnessed the terrible scene of them having one of their limbs broken in a spectacular fashion, or being dragged away by their comrades to a doctor, their blocked heads would clear up a bit, and they would face reality. After that, the commotion would also subside considerably. The members of the riot control team were all high-level Cheonmu Academy disciples, and they were composed of peak masters that you couldn't find even if you washed your eyes and looked for them, let alone low-level or mid-level ordinary warriors. And the person in charge of their command was one of the martial instructors who stepped up himself. So how could a riot and rampage work against such masters? It was just absurd.
Since the establishment of the Cheonmu Academy, there had never been a case of breaking through the main gate of the Cheonmu Academy by force. And yet, seeing them rush in after drinking, one can't help but wonder if humans are truly pathetic creatures. It was natural for these punks, who were hard to distinguish from a rock even if you put them side by side, to fail. How could a punk who can't even control himself properly learn any martial arts? It was no different from pouring water into a bottomless pot...
The day of the announcement of the successful candidates for the Cheonmu Academy was the most chaotic day in Nanchang Castle, and also the day when the entire entertainment district of Nanchang Castle did the most business. It was the day they earned all the money they had to earn in a month in one day. Moreover, this sleepless night would continue for at least a week. Because whether they passed or failed, they were bound to drink. If they passed, they would drink, saying it was a celebration, and if they failed, they would drink and drink all night to forget everything in their anger. Those who failed the exam would continue to drink until their brains were paralyzed by the alcohol to forget their miserable situation. A kind of compensation psychology, perhaps?
On top of that, if alcohol was not enough, they would grab a woman and struggle as they pleased, whether they held her by their side or under them. So how could the sales of the entertainment district not go up? If you were to pick the biggest jackpot day of the year, the owners of all the taverns and brothels belonging to the Nanchang Entertainment District Association would unhesitatingly pick this day as the first. This day when the night of Nanchang was bustling with drinking, singing, and dancing...
But there was one person who was watching this commotion silently from the side, as if it had nothing to do with him. It was Bi Ryu-yeon. Right now, Bi Ryu-yeon's mood was very uncomfortable, even though he had the Dragon Riding Plaque in his hand.
Ten days had passed since the visit to Tiger Fang Manor. Yeomdo still hadn't recovered from the shock of meeting Binggeom Gwan Cheol-su. He was still keeping his mouth shut, relying on the sailboat of the right to remain silent, and was endlessly drifting down the river of silence. He was in the middle of a protest-like contemplation with his mouth and tongue completely sealed. This gloomy appearance of Yeomdo's was frustrating Bi Ryu-yeon, who was watching from the side. For Yeomdo, whose personality was to eliminate the cause of his frustration before his own mind became frustrated, this kind of behavior was extremely unprecedented.
Bi Ryu-yeon found it frustrating and unpleasant to watch such a sight. How frustrating must it be for the onlooker to see a punk who usually acted violently as he pleased without thinking, engaging in a goosebump-inducing contemplation accompanied by an unfitting silence? Bi Ryu-yeon was barely holding back his desire to just beat him to death, but his patience was now reaching its limit. It seemed the day to make a decision was not far off.
It was because of Binggeom that Yeomdo was always deep in thought, and that an indelible wound had been left on his heart. The Cheonmu Academy, which only those with the strongest power, the strongest skills, and the strongest spirit could enter, and in that Cheonmu Academy, his enemy-like fellow disciple was teaching disciples. And now, he himself was trying to enter that place. As a martial instructor with the same position and status as him! No, he has the position of a great old master, so am I below him...? This is something I really don't want to think about.
'Master!'
Suddenly, his dead master came to mind. His master, whom he still wondered if he and Binggeom could dare to face even if they attacked him at the same time. He was a warrior who best suited the name of the number one in the world. His studies and ultimate techniques were so outstanding that he and Cheol-su also could not inherit all of their master's things and had to receive a martial art that was split in half. How much his master had lamented at that time. Even now, the master's miserable disappointment at that time is clearly engraved deep in his heart and is not forgotten. Just by polishing and developing that half, they were each able to occupy a position among the five great saber masters of the world and the five great swordsmen of the world.
His master, who was not ashamed of the name of the number one in the world. Who had expected that death would come to such a master? I thought he would live longer than me... Although he was injured by someone—I still can't believe that master was harmed by someone else's hand—in fact, the master's death could not be called a death. Even though blood was seeping from the wounds all over his body, the master's face was strangely peaceful. And then, as on any other day, he sat down neatly in a formal posture, savored a cup of Longjing tea, and then quietly ascended to heaven. He had left the secular world of his own will. His master's last words were to find a talent of the Supreme Polarity who would make two into one, but in the end, he could not keep his promise. Moreover, the possibility of it being kept in the future was even more nonexistent. It would probably be impossible forever.
As he sat quietly in his seat after a long time and was lost in thought, his master suddenly came to mind. He hadn't thought of him in a while... In the end, she also came to mind. He really didn't want to think about her. He had wanted to bury her in the back of his memory, but she had suddenly come to mind. Suddenly, his chest ached as if it were being squeezed, and a terrible sense of loss and loneliness visited him.
'Forget it, forget it,' he had to repeat this thousands of times before he could finally shake off her image. Although his master's death was the most ideal death for a warrior, she could not hold back her sorrow. She was immersed in sorrow, shedding tears as clear as crystal on her jade-like face. But... but... his chest ached again. Damn it, it was a warning that if he thought about it any more, he would be more hurt. A cruel wound of the heart. It was said that a wound received in the heart is not erased even after passing through life. She, who had left a terrible scar that he would carry with him even to the next life. How much he had suffered from the incurable pain. His current fiery personality was also largely due to this.
The most precious thing hidden in the deepest part of his heart was hurt. She, who had left, leaving a brand-like, indelible trace of pain on his heart. He no longer wanted to suffer from her afterimage. It was an absolute refusal.
He wanted to be free from Binggeom, that punk, too.
'I am one of the five great saber masters of the world, the Fire Spirit Flame Heaven Soul-Stealing Saber, Gwak Yeong-hui. The Cold Moon Ice Clear Soul-Falling Sword, Gwan Cheol-su! I will settle things with that punk sooner or later. I will no longer stand by and let his afterimage hold me back and constantly hurt and torment my heart.'
Finally, Yeomdo decided on a firm course of action. The decision was a firm and hard resolve, like a diamond. And he shook off all the bundles of thoughts he had been struggling with. From now on, he would never hesitate or be reluctant in front of him again.