WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Order
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◈ The Heaven-Slaying Sword ◈
Chapter 36: Chapter Five - Dragon-Phoenix Assembly (9)
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Dang Hwa-seo had advanced to the semifinals.
That carried great significance.
Why would it not?
With that single match against Hye-un, Dang Hwa-seo had put an end to the many controversies surrounding her.
First, the decline of her martial arts.
Some had claimed her martial arts must have deteriorated during her disappearance, but she proved those rumors false with her own skill.
Second, her discord with the Tang Clan.
Some claimed that she had fallen out with the Tang Clan and could no longer make public appearances, but by participating in this Dragon Phoenix Gathering with confidence, she had dispelled that controversy as well.
Looking at the facts, it could be said that Dang Hwa-seo's intentions had borne fruit.
‘The family can no longer openly threaten me.’
What the Family Head feared most was discord with the person who would become the face of the clan.
No, more precisely, it was that discord coming to light.
The Family Head valued the name Sichuan Tang Clan even above his own pride. He was the sort of man who could make himself as servile as needed for its sake. As long as she continued to bring honor to the clan name, he would have no choice but to remain silent.
Dang Hwa-seo continued thinking.
‘Of course, assuming they will not approach me at all would be foolish.’
The Tang Clan would approach her while she remained at the Dragon Phoenix Gathering.
Once the gathering ended, they might use further threats or persuasion to “retrieve” her.
‘...It is time to move.’
She needed to approach Fist Dragon Il-un in earnest.
Before the Tang Clan found her.
“Miss?”
Mok Ri-won spoke while she was lost in thought.
Only then did Dang Hwa-seo emerge from her reverie and look at him.
“Ah, yes.”
“You seem quite nervous! Well, it is only natural! The semifinals are the highlight of the Dragon Phoenix Gathering, after all!”
“Yes, I did make it this far.”
“I am glad that we both reached the semifinals. Looking at the bracket, we would have to reach the final to meet on the martial stage!”
Dang Hwa-seo gave a bitter smile at Mok Ri-won's eager words.
“I likely will not reach the final. My next opponent is Namgung Jin-cheon.”
“Th-there is no telling until you try!”
Did he really have to taste shit to tell it from bean paste?
Dang Hwa-seo truly liked this positive side of Mok Ri-won, but at moments like this, she found it troublesome.
‘Even five years ago, he was a wall I could not overcome.’
The gap had only grown wider since then. How could she contend with him?
Her original goal had already been achieved. All that remained for Dang Hwa-seo was to go to Shaolin through Il-un.
Then, she would meet its abbot...
‘...And join the Martial Alliance.’
She would go somewhere the Tang Clan could not touch her.
Still, there was no need to reveal all her thoughts, so Dang Hwa-seo answered vaguely.
“...Yes, I have already started sounding defeatist. I will give it a try.”
“Of course! I will look forward to meeting you in the final, Miss!”
Only then did Mok Ri-won happily slurp down his thin noodles.
He should be mindful of his nutrition, yet he filled every meal with nothing but that. The thought made her worry.
‘...What am I doing, worrying about his side dishes?’
Wondering if she was treating him far too much like a child, Dang Hwa-seo pushed the thought away.
Then she spoke.
“Young Hero Mok's next opponent will be either Venerable Il-un or the Immortal Dragon.”
“Hm! I want to face Venerable Il-un!”
“That is highly likely. As for the Immortal Dragon...”
Dang Hwa-seo recalled the Immortal Dragon she had met before.
A man who always smiled easily while keeping silent.
A man who had not cast off that relaxed air even upon stepping onto the martial stage.
“...Well, he certainly has the skill to deserve a dragon's byname, but I cannot picture him defeating Venerable Il-un.”
“You do not know much about him either, Miss?”
“Yes. Much about him remains hidden.”
Immortal Dragon Hyeon-gong was a man shrouded in mystery.
Rumors even said that he had not revealed his true strength while facing Namgung Jin-cheon. After exchanging a suitable number of moves, he always ended his matches by forfeiting.
He was called the Immortal Dragon because he was an unworldly dragon who did not concern himself with victory, defeat, or results.
‘It will be the same this time.’
He would surely exchange several moves with Il-un before forfeiting again.
“Well, we will know tomorrow.”
Dang Hwa-seo picked up her chopsticks.
Tomorrow was the final day of the group finals. Her mind was filled with only one thought, congratulating the victorious Il-un and making contact with him.
* * *
It was an unimaginable upset.
[Immortal Dragon! Victory!]
“Waaaaah!”
Dang Hwa-seo stared at the martial stage with an incredulous expression.
There stood the Immortal Dragon, offering a cupped-fist salute with his usual easygoing smile. Before him, Il-un knelt in miserable defeat.
‘What is this...?’
She could not understand.
It was not that she could not understand the Immortal Dragon winning. She could not understand how he had done it.
Il-un was strong.
As always, he threw out his fists with his distinctive solidity and uprightness, unleashing a fierce barrage powerful enough to crush the entire stage.
The Immortal Dragon dealt with it by casually evading, then swung his sword just once.
Il-un had fallen to his knees from that single strike.
Dang Hwa-seo looked at Mok Ri-won.
She had looked to him because she thought he might know something, but...
“...Young Hero Mok?”
Mok Ri-won only stared at the Immortal Dragon, his face rigid.
Dang Hwa-seo tried to read the thoughts behind his expression.
‘Shock? Anger? Or...?’
She could not tell.
He was someone who always wore a bright expression unless something unusual happened.
Yet now, with his brow furrowed, he glared at the Immortal Dragon as though he could not understand what he had seen. Concern welled up within her.
“Young Hero Mok.”
“Ah...”
Only when Dang Hwa-seo grasped his arm did Mok Ri-won snap out of it and turn his gaze toward her.
She asked worriedly, “What is wrong?”
“Nothing. There was simply something to think about.”
Mok Ri-won relaxed his expression as he spoke.
“Should you not go to Venerable Il-un? You have built a friendship with him, so you should at least offer him some comfort.”
“Yes, that is what I intend to do.”
She could ask about it later. Comforting Il-un came first.
Feeling regret over her disrupted plans, Dang Hwa-seo went to meet Il-un as he returned.
* * *
In a corner of their usual inn, the four of them sat in a gloomy atmosphere.
Naturally, it was because of Il-un's condition.
Il-un bit down on his lip in frustration.
His fists were clenched as tightly as possible, and even anger unbefitting of him filled his eyes.
It was anger directed at himself.
After trembling like that for a long while, Il-un finally let out a deep breath.
“...I am ashamed.”
A bitter smile hung on his lips.
“I apologize, Benefactor Mok. I truly wanted to face you on the martial stage.”
“No. Though you were defeated, Venerable Il-un, your martial arts were admirable enough to inspire awe. There is no need to blame yourself so harshly.”
“Thank you for saying so.”
Il-un took another deep breath and composed himself.
“Now then, it seems you cannot even eat because of me. I am fine, so please eat.”
“Uh... Keep your chin up.”
Even Jegal San, frivolous as he was, offered sincere comfort at this moment.
Il-un let out a small laugh.
“As Benefactor Mok said, I have already lost. I learned of my shortcomings through this opportunity, so I only need to train harder and win next time.”
They were not empty words.
True to the claim that he was Shaolin's future, Il-un turned his rising anger and regret into a desire to improve.
In doing so, he was refining his Immovable Mind.
“...”
Mok Ri-won quietly watched Il-un and thought.
It was about the previous match.
‘The Immortal Dragon's one move.’
Dang Hwa-seo had not seen it clearly, but Mok Ri-won had watched it from beginning to end.
Taiji, the foundation of the Wudang Sect.
Using its underlying principle, the Immortal Dragon had redirected Il-un's incoming force straight back at him.
Had that been all, Mok Ri-won would not have made such a grave expression.
The reason he had stiffened at the martial stage, and the reason he was still trying to settle his heart, lay elsewhere.
‘It was undoubtedly a killing stroke.’
When it came to Killing Intent, Mok Ri-won possessed a perception more acute than anyone else's.
In that moment, the Immortal Dragon's sword had held an intent to kill.
And its destination had been Il-un's Adam's apple.
He had tried to kill Il-un.
‘He only twisted its path and stopped the sword at the last moment.’
Mok Ri-won did not know what he was thinking.
Even so, he was angry.
At least as far as Mok Ri-won knew, such murderous intent had no place on a martial stage meant for displaying and exchanging martial arts.
Creak.
Mok Ri-won's fist clenched tightly.
* * *
A week remained until the semifinals began.
During that time, a crowd unlike anything She County had seen before began to gather.
It was only natural.
The Dragon Phoenix Gathering's semifinals.
No matter the era, those who achieved such results became faces destined to lead the next generation of the Martial World. People flocked in to learn who they were.
Among them were prestigious factions from all across the Central Plains Martial World.
“Look there. That is Paeng Do-wol, the Extreme Saber of the Hebei Paeng Clan.”
“Look over there. That is Jin Myeong, the Bright Sword of the Mount Hua Sect!”
“And that is... Yes, it is obviously the Beggars’ Sect.”
These were people who normally would not have budged their heavy backsides.
Put another way, this Dragon Phoenix Gathering was an event significant enough to move even them.
“The impact of the Ink Sword is tremendous.”
“What is there to say? He is already certain to become a new Dragon. Depending on the extraordinary ability he shows in this tournament, the landscape of the Martial World will change.”
“Huh... That is true. They say the Ink Sword has no particular affiliation. There must be people hoping to recruit him.”
“A prestigious clan may even want to take him in as a live-in son-in-law.”
“But the Ink Sword and the Poison Phoenix...”
“Does love put food on the table? The Tang Clan is certainly one of the finest marriage prospects, but depending on the terms, he could go elsewhere.”
The conversations heard throughout She County mostly ended in that fashion.
Dang Hwa-seo and Hye-un's recent match had turned their relationship, once like a battlefield, into drinking-table gossip and distorted rumor.
“Only the Poison Phoenix has become pitiful.”
“Oh, do you really think the Poison Phoenix would let him go? Think of how she punched the White Phoenix in the solar plexus and smiled.”
“Certainly...”
“That is enough. Let us hurry as well. The matches will begin soon.”
The whispering men hurried away.
Their destination was a martial arena even larger than the one used during the main tournament.
People here, people there. Everywhere they looked, there were people.
The men could have been annoyed by the congestion, but instead they smiled and continued whispering.
“More than Noble Clans and sects have come. Look at that shabby old man. That is Byeok Gwon-ung, the Overlord Fist, a master of the older generation.”
“Why has he come?”
“I heard a rumor he is looking for a disciple. He was so reckless in his youth, but perhaps now that he is old, he needs someone to carry on his legacy.”
Even watching the people was entertaining.
Excitement filled the men at the sight of masters they might see only once in their lives.
Then...
Boom!
A drum sounded.
Tension began to rise across the arena.
Boom!
There was only one reason the atmosphere changed so abruptly.
“He has finally arrived.”
“To think I would see that person in the flesh during my lifetime...”
The person entering now was a living legend of the White Path Martial World, one of its pinnacles who had ended the Bloody Affair that stained the Martial World in blood over twenty years ago.
Boom!
Through the great gate that opened with the drumbeat entered a hulking old man.
Though he was nearing seventy, his back was not bent in the slightest.
His deep-set eyes radiated authority.
And at his waist hung a sword marked by the passage of years.
“The Sword King...!”
Sword King Namgung Hyeok.
He had appeared to personally oversee the Dragon Phoenix Gathering in Anhui.
Footnotes:
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