WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Order
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◈ The Heaven-Slaying Sword ◈
Chapter 50: Chapter Five - Dragon-Phoenix Assembly (23)
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Two more days had passed since the award ceremony, yet She County was still buzzing with excitement over the Dragon Phoenix Gathering.
It couldn't be helped.
The Dragon Phoenix Gathering had ended, yet it had not truly ended.
After the young masters destined to lead the future of the Martial World had displayed their talents came the desperate struggles of those who had failed to reach that glorious stage.
“Haap!”
“Hyaah!”
Across the streets of She County, sparring matches between those who had once stood among the spectators broke out at all hours.
They had one goal.
To show off their skill and catch the eye of a prestigious martial house.
Then receive an invitation to join as one of its martial artists.
The commotion was especially fierce after this Dragon Phoenix Gathering.
Normally, fewer than half the prestigious houses remained afterward to recruit more martial artists. This time, every one of them had stayed in She County.
For those causing a stir now, that meant there were twice as many golden lifelines that might pull them from their straits.
There was no need to ask why the prestigious houses had remained.
Ink Dragon Mok Ri-won.
They were here to recruit him.
“Ink Dragon's saving quite a few people.”
“Did you hear? Flash Saber, the one who faced Ink Dragon first, was invited to join the Peng Clan as a martial artist.”
“Who hasn't heard that? But do you know this? Brother Wang, who drank with us two days ago, was invited to join the Cho Family Estate.”
“Damn it, I'm jealous enough to die. I need to find a faction soon.”
“What can we do? All we can hope for is that Ink Dragon stays here another day. Who knows? Maybe while he does, we'll get our chance too.”
The martial artists who had yet to find a faction hoped that Ink Dragon would remain in She County for even one more day.
That he would keep the prestigious houses there.
Yet the rumors now spreading were devastating.
“…I heard Ink Dragon plans to join the Martial Alliance.”
“It hasn't been confirmed. It's only a rumor.”
“But it doesn't seem entirely baseless. I have a reliable informant, and they said Ink Dragon plans to go to the Martial Alliance with Poison Phoenix and establish a new unit.”
“What ruthless bastard is spreading that information? Even if you know it, keep your mouth shut!”
“W-Why are you saying that to me…?”
Ink Dragon wished to join the Martial Alliance.
The prestigious houses of She County had been unsettled ever since that rumor spread.
Naturally.
Within the Orthodox Sects, the Martial Alliance was a sanctuary no one should ever provoke.
If the rumor was true, the position of every prestigious house remaining here would become awkward.
A sect reaching out to someone who would become a talent of the Martial Alliance could be seen as challenging the Alliance's authority, which had only risen since the Bloody Affair.
Both the prestigious houses and unaffiliated martial artists found themselves in an uncomfortable position.
The people responsible for all the uproar, on the other hand, were making their way up Mount Huang at leisure, enjoying its scenery.
“Miss! Look over there! Those two pine trees are entwined!”
Mok Ri-won pointed in one direction with a bright smile.
Dang Hwa-seo stifled a laugh.
“Yes, they get along very well.”
“Look there as well! That pine tree is especially large compared to the ones around it! Its trunk stands so straight, it must be the leader here!”
“It certainly is a lovely tree. Perhaps it has gone undiscovered because this place is so remote? If people knew such a beautiful tree was here, someone would have tried to uproot it and take it away.”
They admired the pines blanketing Mount Huang, then rested whenever they came across a flat rock.
Mok Ri-won, Dang Hwa-seo, and Jegal San continued their outing without the slightest concern for what was happening elsewhere.
After some time, the three reached the summit of Mount Huang.
“Whoa…!”
Mok Ri-won shivered at the sight before him.
The pines sprouting between the rocks were magnificent.
The clouds below their feet and the sweeping view of Anhui in the distance stirred their hearts with the vastness of nature.
Was this what the realm of immortals looked like?
Mok Ri-won trembled with delight, thinking how fortunate he was to have come here.
“It's an incredibly beautiful sight…”
“The finest view among all fine views.”
Dang Hwa-seo answered, and silence followed.
Overwhelmed by the scenery of Mount Huang, the three could not find the words to continue.
Jegal San was the one who broke the silence.
After enjoying the view with a smile for a while, he casually said to Dang Hwa-seo, “So, Sister. That rumor spread remarkably well.”
“Hmm?”
“The rumor that we're going to the Martial Alliance. You spread it, didn't you?”
Mok Ri-won, who had been staring blankly ahead until then, widened his eyes.
“M-Miss? What do you mean?”
He was startled.
Dang Hwa-seo was clearly on the move to avoid her family, so why would she announce their destination herself?
It was a question born of Mok Ri-won's still limited understanding of the ways of the Martial World.
Dang Hwa-seo replied calmly.
“That is precisely why I spread the rumor. I told you, did I not? Even a prestigious house cannot treat a martial artist of the Martial Alliance carelessly.”
“Even if that prestigious house is your own family.”
Jegal San grinned.
Having learned a little of their circumstances while traveling with them, he happily added, “Sister, Brother Mok, may I come along as well?”
“You?”
Dang Hwa-seo looked genuinely surprised.
Mok Ri-won felt the same.
Given Jegal San's nature, which loved wandering, they had assumed he would dislike being tied to any one place.
Jegal San spoke playfully, as though he had expected that reaction.
“It's fun being with the two of you. Besides, it's about time I gave up my wandering life.”
“That's an excellent idea!”
Mok Ri-won said, visibly delighted.
He had already grown attached to Jegal San and had been disappointed at the thought of parting with him.
“Then the three of us will go to the Martial Alliance together! We'll devote ourselves to righteousness and Chivalry!”
Mok Ri-won's eyes shone like stars.
He was thrilled as he imagined himself making a name as a chivalrous hero of the Martial Alliance.
Dang Hwa-seo, however, did not look pleased.
‘…What an unnecessary interruption.’
The thought slipped into her mind unbidden.
The journey to the Martial Alliance would not be short.
She had quietly looked forward to traveling alone with Mok Ri-won during that time, so Jegal San's presence could only displease her.
Dang Hwa-seo did not know that her own sly designs had influenced Jegal San's decision to travel with them.
‘He's still my sworn younger brother. I should look after him.’
Their bond as sworn brothers had formed by chance, yet it was a bond Jegal San cherished.
He did not want Dang Hwa-seo to put his innocent sworn younger brother through her devious training and turn him into a mess.
“Well then, I'll be counting on you both!”
Jegal San smiled, and Mok Ri-won laughed heartily in return.
Dang Hwa-seo clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction, then nodded.
She could not deny that more allies were better.
Thus, the three made a warm promise atop Mount Huang to travel together.
The time to depart was drawing near.
* * *
At the Namgung Noble Clan estate, a man sat cross-legged in the center of the training grounds, meditating.
He was a handsome man with sharp features.
Chilling blue Qi Waves rippled around him, and everything they touched seemed to sink beneath a heavy pressure.
It was Namgung Jin-cheon.
Ever since the day of the final, he had repeatedly returned to the question lodged in his mind.
‘What was the problem?’
Where had everything gone wrong?
Namgung Jin-cheon continued thinking.
He recalled that day's match, his own life, and Mok Ri-won.
‘What if…’
He considered a possibility.
‘…I had gone all out from the first move. What if I had crushed Ink Dragon before he could even resist?’
The outcome would have been different.
No matter how gifted Mok Ri-won was with the sword, Namgung Jin-cheon's raw power was clearly greater.
‘Had I ignored the provocation of the battered Ink Dragon and continued to crush him, the outcome would have been different as well.’
No, everything would have been different even before that.
Namgung Jin-cheon then considered himself.
‘I thought it was a blueprint.’
He had thought the path shown by the Sovereign Star was the most perfect path.
He had thought that no matter how long it took, following that road would let him reach the highest realm.
Yet what was reality?
‘It was wrong.’
The path guided by the star was wrong.
There was no perfection.
There was no supremacy.
The star had given him only one thing.
‘Arrogance.’
He had been arrogant.
Foolish.
Ruthless.
In the end, it was all one and the same.
‘I was a frog in a well.’
He chose to accept that fact.
Namgung Jin-cheon faced the sense of defeat choking his throat.
He reached out and seized it.
Then he twisted it apart.
‘The Martial World is vast.’
As he recalled the words of the Sword King, his grandfather, the Qi Waves stirred once.
‘My rivals are strong.’
As he remembered Mok Ri-won's sword, the Qi Waves settled quietly.
The pressure vanished from them.
The arrogance faded from the Qi Waves that had once delighted in flaunting their power and bearing down on others.
The ruthlessness faded as well.
One thing filled that empty space.
‘I have not shown anything yet.’
The words Mok Ri-won had spoken on the stage, along with the emotions and spirit behind them.
A fierce competitive spirit filled him.
Namgung Jin-cheon opened his eyes.
His jade-blue eyes carried a light they had never shown before.
“The time has come.”
Namgung Jin-cheon rose to his feet.
He left the training grounds and headed for the estate's inner residence.
Those he passed were startled by the change in his demeanor and lowered their heads.
Receiving all their reverence, Namgung Jin-cheon reached the inner residence and faced Namgung Hyeok, the Sword King.
“What is it?”
Namgung Jin-cheon knelt.
“I wish to learn.”
For the first time in his life, he spoke those words.
Namgung Hyeok raised an eyebrow, looking intrigued.
“What?”
“The sword.”
Namgung Jin-cheon looked at his grandfather.
Before him stood the supreme master long called the foremost swordsman of the Martial World.
“I wish to learn the Emperor's sword.”
Sword Dragon Namgung Jin-cheon sought instruction.
To make the snake bow.
To become the greatest frog.
To rise to the position he had to seize.
“Please teach me the Imperial Sword Form.”
Only then did he step out of the well of arrogance.
* * *
Who controlled the financial power of the Central Plains?
Ask anyone in the Central Plains, and every one of them would give the same answer.
The All-Heaven Merchant Guild.
For nearly fifteen years, it had never once relinquished its place at the summit. It was the undisputed greatest merchant guild of the Central Plains.
There was no business the All-Heaven Merchant Guild had not reached.
There was no place untouched by its influence.
The Dragon Phoenix Gathering in Anhui was no exception.
The grand festival for martial artists had certainly received its support.
At an enormous All-Heaven Merchant Guild branch, two days by horse from She County, a Daoist entered the estate that had sponsored this Dragon Phoenix Gathering.
It was Immortal Dragon Hyeon-gong, a man with an easygoing air and a delicate appearance.
The branch guards lowered their heads the moment they spotted him.
Hyeon-gong accepted their greetings as a matter of course and headed toward the inner residence.
The doors flew open.
An overpowering scent rushed out.
It was so strong that it made his head spin and his insides burn.
Hyeon-gong's brow furrowed for an instant.
He already knew that the scent filling this room came from drugs.
His irritation lasted only a moment.
Hyeon-gong composed his expression and drew Qi Waves around himself.
Then he headed deeper into the inner residence.
“…You're here.”
A voice like the roar of a beast echoed through the space.
Hyeon-gong immediately fell to his knees and bowed his head.
A man was there.
His hair was wildly disheveled.
He wore no clothes at all.
His eyes were unfocused and dazed.
With naked women draped around him, the man looked down at Hyeon-gong.
“Did you find him?”
“Yes.”
“His name?”
“Mok Ri-won. At this gathering, he received the byname Ink Dragon.”
“Mok Ri-won…”
The man murmured the name and stared blankly at the ceiling.
“What a fortunate fate.”
Hyeon-gong only kept his head bowed.
He asked nothing.
That was the most basic etiquette he had learned since he was an infant.
The man continued moving his lips and muttering something.
He kept at it for a long time, as though lost in thought.
Only after that did he speak.
“…It is time to move.”
The man raised a hand and placed it atop the head of the woman clinging around his waist.
Her head burst apart.
Blood poured down like a fountain, and chunks of flesh splattered across the room, yet no one present paid any attention.
It was only natural.
Other than the man and Hyeon-gong, every woman there was a courtesan from some pleasure house.
They knew nothing of martial arts. Soaked in the drugs filling the room, they had already lost their reason.
“Make preparations.”
The man ran a hand through his hair, wiping away the blood.
His eyes, which had been hidden behind his hair until now, were revealed.
Their murky dark crimson pupils resembled dried blood.
“We must reclaim the stolen star.”
At the man's murmur, Hyeon-gong pressed his forehead to the floor.
Then, in a thunderous voice he had never before raised in the Central Plains, he cried out, “The Heavenly Demon Reigns, and Ten Thousand Demons Bow!”
Reverence filled his voice.
“I obey the Young Cult Leader's command.”
Hyeon-gong felt that his long wait had finally come to an end.
Everything would now change.
Those who had grown soft in peace since the Bloody Affair would once again learn what kind of place the Martial World was.
The Martial World would return to its roots.
Peace was over.
Footnotes:
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