Chapter 24

Danwooseong first briefly drafted the introductory guide for the Doggogugam.

“The Dokgo Gukgeom can be easily mastered even by beginners. However, to fully unleash its power requires time, training, and meditation. Reading the text and accepting the sword are entirely different matters. The ultimate essence of the Dokgo Nine Swords can never be realized without enduring pain and exerting effort. Yet, should anyone master this Dokgo Nine Swords, they shall be able to compete with those called the greatest under heaven······」

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Dan Woo-sung’s solitary sword, crafted with his utmost effort, had arrived. Zhu Ziliang, the failed scholar, had passionately prepared the gathering site. And finally, the youngest, Yi Ja-eon, arrived at Gu Hwa Mountain, where Sima Gyeok, disguised as a white-haired old man, was fiercely engaged in solitary training.

It had been about a hundred days since the idle group had conspired together.

After unpacking his belongings at the safe house, Li Ziyan gazed intently at Gu Huashan, shrouded in a light mist.

No matter how he thought about it, this place was filled with a divine aura.

The air was fresh, the water clear, and the surroundings quiet.

Is that all? The rugged terrain seemed to declare it would never permit the approach of clumsy martial artists.

Lee Ja-eon took a deep breath. The clear air pierced his lungs as it entered.

“How wonderful.”

With his hands behind his back, Lee Ja-eon set out for a stroll, lost in thought.

‘There must be a reason my eldest brother suddenly grew so strong. Did he find and consume some miraculous elixir? Or perhaps he discovered a secret manual? Or maybe he received simultaneous training in martial arts and inner strength from a retired martial artist. If that’s the case, doesn’t that mean Gu Huashan has already become a mere backyard?’

Lee Ja-eon stopped in his tracks.

Upon reflection, he wondered if he had taken this walk for nothing.

Then he resumed his steps.

‘No. Gu Huashan is merely the starting point. Whether I scour every corner for elixirs or secret manuals, or encounter retired martial artists, I will strive relentlessly. Before fate finds me, I will seek out fate. And if I find none, I will comb through Mount Sohwa, Mount Yeo, Mount Taebaek, Mount Jongnam, Mount Ami, Mount Kunlun, Mount Dobong, Mount Huang, the mountain behind, the mountain beside, the mountain ahead, even the mountain in our neighborhood—I will comb through them all to seize my destiny.’

Izaen smiled wryly as he surveyed the walking paths of Gu Huashan.

‘I can’t lose to my brother. He was the one who used to beat me up… I’m better at martial arts too. I look more manly. I wielded the sword better. If I get a stroke of luck, I’ll definitely become stronger. This is an undeniable fact. Just wait. I, Lee Ja-eon, will return stronger.’

Lee Ja-eon muttered to himself.

“I’ll investigate everything, from Baekdu Mountain to the waters of the East Sea.”

The man obsessed with fate scanned his surroundings, confirmed no one was there, and then sublimated his surging ambition into laughter.

“Hahahahahahaha…!”

The echoes reverberated through Gu Hwasan. It was extremely loud.

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Hearing the echoing laughter, the failed scholar Zhu Ziliang woke up Sima Ju, who was napping with the Dugu Nine Swords Manual covering his face.

“Old man, wake up. They must have arrived.”

Sima Jue, disguised as a white-haired old man, replied as he set down the Dugu Nine Swords Manual he had been reading.

“They’re here? Ah, I must have dozed off again.”

Zhu Ziliang tilted his head in puzzlement.

“Why do you fall asleep the moment you close your eyes? I told you to just disguise yourself as an old man, but you’ve turned into one for real.”

Sama Gyeok muttered as he stuffed the manual back into his robe.

“Maybe it’s the fresh air, but sleep just pours over me. Though the air is one thing, the contents of this manual are just too strange.”

“What’s so strange about it?”

“The content is way too profound. Where did he even get this secret manual?”

“Where did he get it? Our rich jerk friend probably bought it with money.”

“I don’t know. This isn’t the kind of secret manual you can buy with money… It’s just… too profound. It’s difficult, I tell you.”

“You lunatic, what does the profundity of a secret manual have to do with sleeping like a log?”

Sama Gyeok snapped back as he regained his senses.

“Hey, what’s the name of this sword technique?”

“It’s called the ‘Solitary Nine Swords’.”

“Do you even know what the Nine Swords of the Lonely God are?”

“I don’t.”

“It’s called the Legendary Sword Technique. The more I read it, the more I wonder if it might actually be genuine. I’m not making excuses, but when I deeply contemplate the contents of the secret manual, my stomach churns constantly, and that’s why I often fall asleep. When I ponder the contents, I get tired without even realizing it. I should only glance at it occasionally; otherwise, I might fall into demonic possession.”

“Did you come here to practice excuses?”

“What would you know? You desk-bound fool.”

Zhu Ziliang didn’t know much about martial arts, so he couldn’t quite grasp it, but Sima Jue was serious.

It couldn’t be helped…

After all, it contained the martial arts of the Martial King.

First, everything was simple and explained in an easy-to-understand manner. Yet the more I read, the more I had to infer its meaning, and the deeper I delved, the more I found myself rereading the secret manual. Having already repeated it hundreds of times, it was only natural that I would fall asleep as if fainting while pondering its meaning. As a manual left behind by the Martial King, its value was on par with the martial arts manuals of the great sects existing today.

Sama Gyeok said.

“Let’s prepare. First, we’ll take the youngest brat as a disciple. Then, while sparring with him, I’ll continue studying it myself. This sword technique is difficult to master alone. It’s a practical, combat-oriented style.”

Zhuge Liang took out the crane-feather fan he had purchased with money, fanning himself gently, then replied in a different tone.

“Understood. Brother, let’s go deliver the gift now.”

Sima Jue stroked his snow-white beard and replied.

“Brother, if the youngest passes the trap, let’s wait a few days and then go to the mansion to beg for a meal.”

“Heh heh, that won’t happen. I’ve already set up psychological warfare.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

The two immortals moved to the prepared location.

Their nicknames were the Nine Blossoms Twin Immortals, with Sima Ju’s nickname being Sword Immortal and Zhu Ziliang’s being Scholar Immortal.

Having studied feng shui, Scholar Immortal analyzed the walking paths from multiple angles and set traps that could lead one to the gathering site. He had arranged it so that if the youngest followed the traps, they would reach the Byeolcheonji Waterfall, the very heart of the gathering place.

Truthfully, if this method failed, they simply planned to go find the youngest themselves. Even if it meant wasting their preparations, they intended to accept him as a disciple regardless.

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While taking a stroll, Lee Ja-eon stopped dead in his tracks the moment he saw something.

“What the heck is this… out of nowhere.”

I thought it was a natural walking path, but suddenly a small sign was erected.

「Beware of Falling Rocks」

It seemed even stranger because, even after looking around, Lee Ja-eon couldn’t see any steep cliffs where rocks might fall. Usually, signs warning of falling rocks are written rather carelessly, but whoever wrote this one seemed to have studied calligraphy for quite some time.

The calligraphy possessed a lofty yet majestic elegance.

It was a style that seemed to embody the loneliness and pretentiousness of a failed scholar, and Lee Ja-eon interpreted it thus.

After all, this was Gu Hwasan.

Rustling as he scanned his surroundings, Lee Ja-eon caught a glimpse of someone’s voice and moved toward it. Before he’d even taken a few steps, another sign appeared, this time with incredibly small letters.

“What the hell is written here?”

Just as Lee Ja-eon approached and barely made out the words ‘Caution: Falling’ on the sign, his foot slipped out from under him, sending him tumbling flat on his back. If he’d stepped on ordinary mud, Lee Ja-eon wouldn’t have fallen so spectacularly, but it was as if something else had been slathered on, making it dangerously slippery. With a soft thud, his body sank slightly, then slid down rapidly like he was on a slide.

“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

As Lee Jae-eon tried to slow down by braking with both feet, the flimsy slide crumbled, sending him tumbling down in a spinning motion before launching him into the air.

Whoooooosh…

It was the spot where the waterfall plunged.

Lee Ja-eon, flying in a curve, plunged into the waterfall. Was the white-robed old man glimpsed near the waterfall just a hallucination? Lee Ja-eon surfaced, head above the water, feeling an inexplicable fluttering in his chest.

A white-haired old man sat cross-legged near the waterfall.

Lee Ja-eon looked up at the spot where he had fallen.

‘Fall warning?’

When Lee Ja-eon looked at the old man again, the sword master of the Nine Flower Twin Swords sighed deeply with his eyes closed. It was a sigh tinged with reproach, asking which bastard had disrupted his practice.

Li Ziyan turned his startled gaze to see a middle-aged man, his Xuewuxian sword fluttering, approaching from nearby.

“Who are you? How dare you disturb Senior Brother’s training!”

In Lee Ja-eon’s water-soaked mind, only the words ‘senior brother’ and ‘training’ registered. He hurriedly leaped out of the water.

Master Hakseon asked again.

“I asked who you are.”

Jia Yuen shook off the water and replied respectfully.

“Ah, yes. I am Lee Ja-eon of the Eunha Trading Guild.”

“Master, what brings you to these treacherous mountains?”

“Ah…”

Lee Ja-eon’s eyes darted around before settling on the middle-aged man dressed as a scholar.

“I came to cultivate.”

“Training? Are you referring to martial arts, or scholarly pursuits?”

“Martial arts.”

Haksun wore a peculiar expression, as if disappointed, then shook his head and trailed off.

“What good is mere martial arts?”

Hakseon stepped aside with a displeased look, and then Sword Master Samagyeok opened his eyes, a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

“You came to train martial arts?”

Yi Ja-eon’s head snapped around.

“Ah, yes!”

Hakseon, who seemed poised to remain an observer, interjected once more.

“You must be pleased, Senior Brother. Aren’t all those obsessed with martial arts your juniors?”

The Sword Sage smiled kindly.

“Where is there a senior or junior in martial arts? Scholarship and martial arts are the same. There is only diligent practice.”

I Ja-eon looked back and forth between the two immortals, then knelt down.

“This humble junior disciple greets his seniors.”

The Sword Immortal smiled warmly and nodded several times.

Then, at the same time, Sima Jue and Zhu Ziliang fell silent. Having exhausted the lines they’d roughly prepared, they had nothing else to say. From now on, they planned to respond based on whatever the youngest said at the moment.

Having run out of words, the sword-wielding Sima Jue stroked his long beard and let out a hearty laugh.

Seeing this, the scholar Zhu Ziliang, also at a loss for words, fluttered his scholar’s cape pointlessly before clearing his throat.

On such a bright and sunny day, while these two fake immortals were meeting a reclusive martial artist in a corner…

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Dan Woo-sung sat at his desk, his chin resting on his hand, a serious expression on his face.

On the desk Danwooseong gazed at lay a gift that had arrived from outside after over a hundred days.

It was a very small medicine bottle.

How on earth should he interpret this?

He himself had sent his youngest son to Gu Huashan, creating a special opportunity to raise him strongly, yet the true special opportunity had come to Dan Woosung.

Therefore, Dan Woo-sung pondered with a solemn expression what a proper opportunity truly was.

He felt that nothing was a mere stroke of luck.

Next to the medicine bottle lay a brief letter. It was the letter Lee Sung-min had given his son to read.

“This is a gift for the long trust you’ve shown me, and for our long friendship.”

It was a letter sent by the great merchant whom Father respected. I heard he was a merchant who could contend for the title of the wealthiest in the Central Plains. Had Lee Sung-min lived his entire life through deceit and exploiting others, such a gift would never have come. It was precisely because he had upheld trust and loyalty throughout his life that this stroke of fortune had found its way to Dan Woo-sung.

The medicine bottle Dan Woo-sung stared at blankly contained Empty-Pure Stone Milk.

ⓒ Yoo Jin-seong

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