Chapter 39

“Is the master doing well? I haven’t heard from him at all.”

Dan Woo-sung answered Yoo Jeong-hong’s question honestly.

“There has been no contact. The circumstances are similar to those of the former head of the Murong family.”

Yu Jeong-hong crossed his arms with a grave expression.

“Like Murong Chui? The King of Power’s juniors are usually hard to reach—is that the reason?”

“Yes, it’s been cut off.”

The unspoken words, “forever,” lingered bitterly in his mouth.

Yoo Jeong-hong sank deep into thought before responding thus.

“Then I shall relay this news to the Three Divine Elders, linking it to Junior Murong Chiu. Being wise seniors, they will exercise caution where needed and mobilize their forces to investigate if necessary.”

“Understood.”

Yoo Jeong-hong said with determination.

“We must grow stronger. When the Demon Path emerges, we’ll have no choice but to fight as we did before. It was likely an event before you were even born. I was present at the final battle against the Demon Path.”

“You mean the Battle of the Five Tombs?”

“Though known as the Battle of O-Ryeong, there was another little-known battle that followed. The Three Divine Beings fought over a single Grand Master of the Demon Path. It was the decisive battle of the war. Who could possibly understand the misery felt at that time?”

A deep sense of regret clung to Yoo Jeong-hong’s expression. His pride must have been deeply wounded at the time.

Whenever I hear news that the Sword Saint is still training, it brings back memories of that time. Even though it was the final battle that decided the outcome of the Holy-Demon War, the Three Divine Ones faced off against a single man. It’s a secret history I often tell the Myeongwon disciples. It’s also why we must grow stronger.

Yoo Jeong-hong looked at Dan Woo-seong.

“Come to think of it, if that Demon Cult Grandmaster left descendants, they’d be about your age now. Junior, grow stronger. Overwhelmingly and selfishly…”

Dan Woo-sung looked at Yoo Jeong-hong and nodded. The word selfish made strangely perfect sense.

“I will.”

“I hope to see you at the Dragon-Phoenix Grand Gathering. Rest well.”

Yoo Jeong-hong pointed toward the door as if to say, “Go take a look,” and Dan Woo-sung quietly rose and walked, pausing briefly. Since Dan Woo-sung didn’t know about the battles after the Battle of O-reung, he couldn’t help but be curious.

“Who was the man who fought alone against the Three Divine Beasts?”

The Battle of Oryeong was ancient history. It happened before he was called the King of Power.

Yoo Jeong-hong spoke with a faint smile.

“What name could the pinnacle of demonic arts possibly have?”

Dan Wooseong nodded. Both Yoo Jeonghong and Dan Wooseong recalled a nickname neither wished to mention.

“Is that man truly dead?”

Cruel words flowed from Yoo Jeong-hong’s mouth.

Cut, cut, and cut again, then burn and incinerate. Gather the ashes and scatter them across Mount Huang, Mount Wu, Mount Tai, Mount Lu, and Mount Emei. If that brings disaster upon us again, I shall be the first to draw my sword. Should a descendant appear, I intend to eliminate them without leaving a single trace.

The White Path is no less cruel than the Demon Path.

“I shall withdraw first.”

The figure of Yu Jeong-hong, the leader left alone in the assembly hall, no longer resembled the respected martial arts senior he once was, but rather a monster born of the times.

The opposite of dark magic isn’t white magic, but another kind of monster.

But Danwooseong thought this way.

‘Would I have been any different?’

He wouldn’t have been any different.

In a way, he thought the martial world creates the righteous path, and the righteous path creates the martial world again, creating an eternal cycle—this very realm is the Asura Realm.

Dan Woo-seong had never denied that he himself was an Asura.

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After Danwoo-seong left, the waiting executive committee and elders reentered the assembly hall.

Yoo Jeong-hong delivered the verdict personally.

“Koo Yang-saeng is sentenced to life imprisonment. The senior duke is far more powerful.”

If the leader says so, then so be it.

“Understood.”

“There is a condition. If the Gu Yang Clan spends the next ten years tending to the people’s welfare, avoids entanglement with martial arts factions, and refrains from causing trouble through money or force, their sentence will be commuted to ‘ten years of hard labor.’ This means seclusion. However, if the Gu Yang Clan causes trouble internally, or if Gu Yang Sheng causes trouble again after serving his ten years, then life imprisonment will be imposed. Tell them to exercise restraint if they wish to avoid annihilation. Announce this to the martial world through the Alliance Leader’s decree.”

The alliance members answered in unison.

“We obey your command.”

“Treat the junior from the upper echelons with the utmost courtesy as a guest. Guide him so he may participate in the Dragon-Phoenix Grand Assembly. Though not a full member, he is a man who will distinguish himself among the late-stage disciples. Treat him without discrimination.”

Only the head of the executive branch responded to this reply.

“I will carry out your orders without fail.”

“Withdraw. And when tomorrow’s duties begin, have Baek Han-gyeong come to my office. I have questions for him.”

“Understood.”

Yoo Jeong-hong was a man of deliberate purpose. His reason for summoning Baek Han-gyeong was simple: he intended to ask about the journey he had undertaken with the Great Prince of the Eunha Trading Guild. He believed Baek Han-gyeong, being an honest man, would not speak idly. If the leader’s thoughts and the members’ opinions aligned, the Great Prince of the Eunha Trading Guild could be considered a rather capable junior.

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‘Baeknyeonjeonghwasam…’

The leader’s expression remained rather impassive.

The Hundred-Year Purifying Ginseng is a sacred elixir that can only be obtained by those who have bestowed great favors upon the Ami Sect. Seeing that the Ami Sect readily offered up such a precious item at the sect leader’s request, it seemed the White Path faction was still functioning smoothly under Yujinghong’s leadership.

The Hundred-Year Purifying Ginseng is, as its name suggests, a mysterious elixir with purifying properties.

The more a master consumes it, the better. This is because it can rapidly purify toxins when combined with qigong cultivation.

Long ago, during the prolonged conflict between the Amipha and Sichuandangmen over supremacy in the ‘Sichuan’ region, it was the Amipha’s immortals who began cultivating the Century-Purifying Ginseng for future generations.

Of course, the two factions hadn’t settled the contest completely.

This was because the Sichuan Sect had abandoned its hegemonic ambitions and returned to being a somewhat flexible white sect.

The Sichuan Sect has always been, and remains, the most poisonous sect under heaven. As a medicine created to purify their poison, even if its efficacy in enhancing internal energy was somewhat diminished, it could not be denied that it was a supreme medicine under heaven.

Dan Woo-seong resolved.

‘I must secure the Hundred-Year Purifying Herb.’

Since it was an elixir he absolutely must possess to counter poison, his hesitation about participating in the Dragon-Phoenix Grand Gathering was now over.

“Did the discussion go well?”

Baek Han-gyeong, having returned after reporting to the higher-ups, came to find Dan Woo-seong again, who was deep in thought.

Danwooseong nodded.

“I met the leader.”

“Ah, then things must have gone much more smoothly. That’s good. We need to be assigned lodgings. Would you care to accompany me to the reception hall for a moment?”

Dan Woo-seong said as he surveyed the Martial Arts Alliance.

“I’d rather not be a bother. I’ll find lodgings outside like that Chupungnakyeop young master. Come to think of it, I can’t quite recall that fellow’s name. I keep remembering him only as Chupung.”

Baek Han-gyeong burst out laughing.

“Autumn Wind and Falling Leaves was the young master of Hwa Eun Wol. Then I’ll accompany you to wherever you’re staying.”

“Let’s go.”

As they walked side by side, Dan Woo-sung asked about something that had been on his mind.

“Where are you affiliated, Baek Moo-in?”

Baek Han-kyung replied.

“I belong to the Special Operations Flying Dragon Squad. Besides us, there are also the Cloud Dragon Squad and the White Dragon Squad. All are relatively young, and we’re organizations directly under the Lord. If the Lord assigns us elsewhere, we’ll be incorporated into existing units. Among ourselves, we call that time ‘graduation’.”

The Alliance Leader always kept a close watch on the young.

He had a long-term plan to cultivate them and strengthen the martial arts alliance’s combat power. Therefore, young martial artists like Baek Han-kyung could be considered talents handpicked and nurtured by the Alliance Leader himself.

Danwooseong chose the largest room in the biggest lodging, expecting crowds to gather. Barring any special circumstances, he planned to train within his room until the Yongbong Grand Assembly commenced.

No matter how noisy the streets became, Danwooseong shut himself away in his room, temporarily severing ties with the world.

But he couldn’t avoid Dok Jong-ho.

After three days, Dokjonghori Cheolmyeongho arrived at the Martial Arts Alliance. After making inquiries there, he had tracked down Dan Wooseong’s lodgings.

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“Hey, I’m here.”

Dan Woosung, who had been practicing external energy cultivation inside the room, immediately responded to Cheol Myeongho’s voice.

“Come in. The door’s open.”

Cheol Myeong-ho opened the door and stepped inside, looking around as he spoke.

“Wow… it’s spacious and nice. I arrived after tossing and turning all night.”

Cheol Myeong-ho looked at Dan Woo-seong.

Somehow, Danwooseong’s upper body now radiated an aura as heavy as a solid iron umbrella. The training hadn’t been all about Cheolmyeongho. Witnessing the sweat pouring from Danwooseong’s entire body, Cheolmyeongho had no choice but to swallow the curse he’d been about to spit out the moment he entered.

“I’ve done it a hundred thousand times. I’m a man who keeps his promises. To ask about the next thing, I rode a horse, took a boat, rode another horse, and came here.”

“Yeah, are you eating properly?”

Cheol Myeong-ho shook his head and replied.

“What? Buy me some food.”

“This beggar always asks me to buy him food. Today, you’re buying.”

“Fine.”

“Go wait downstairs.”

A short while later, Danwooseong and Cheolmyeongho, having changed clothes, sat facing each other and ate at the restaurant set up on the first floor of the lodging.

“How does it feel to hit a hundred thousand?”

Cheol Myeong-ho set down his chopsticks, rolled up his sleeves, and retorted.

“See this? This scar. No feeling, nothing. Just thicker arms.”

“Eat your rice first.”

The two men shoveled their food in silently. Danwooseong, having devoted himself to training, inhaled his meal with the intensity of a soldier heading into battle. Amidst this, he kept glancing at Cheolmyeongho’s eyes and expression, searching for any change.

He was a stubborn man by nature.

Dan Woo-sung sensed he wouldn’t give up easily.

If that was the case, he planned to give him a slightly tougher challenge. If the opponents Dan Woosung would face going forward were monsters, Dan Woosung intended to create monsters himself.

Returning to the room, Dan Wooseong gripped the iron-clad umbrella and uttered words that were truly terrifying.

“Out of the hundred thousand downward strikes you’ve wielded, only one in a hundred thousand is truly useful.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Shut up and listen.”

“Got it.”

Dan Woo-sung focused, then with a precise, measured motion, he struck the black iron umbrella down in an ordinary swing. Whoosh—accompanied by a sound, the black iron umbrella fell in a perfectly straight trajectory and stopped without a wobble.

“To block someone’s attack, strike down someone, deflect a sword, or parry a spinning projectile, you must respond by executing the most efficient strike from among the hundred thousand trajectories you’ve swung. Otherwise, you die.”

Cheol Myeong-ho listened intently to Dan Woo-seong’s words, his expression utterly stunned. Somehow, Dan Woo-seong’s vague words were beginning to make sense.

Among a hundred thousand downward strikes, the most efficient; among two hundred thousand horizontal cuts, the most precise; among three hundred thousand thrusts, the swiftest and most accurate; among four hundred thousand feints and counterattacks, the most subtle deception… These are distilled, linked with maximum efficiency, and their sequence rearranged—this is the foundational technique. This is then studied, refined, and perfected by the masters of the school through repeated practice, achieving its ultimate form—this is sword technique. Is mastering sword technique the end? No. Application and actual combat are different.”

Before Danwooseong could finish speaking, Cheolmyeongho staggered and fell flat on his butt.

Thud…

His face had turned ashen. He hated himself for roughly understanding Dan Woo-sung’s difficult words. Doing that a hundred thousand times wouldn’t suddenly make him smarter, but somehow, he understood.

Cheol Myeong-ho spat out curses with a face that looked almost like he was about to cry.

“Damn it… Why is sword technique so damn hard? Are all martial artists crazy bastards? What the hell is this nonsense? Can’t they just live a little? Ah, I get it now. I totally understand why these bastards always get possessed by their weapons. They’re just fucking crazy! You crazy bastards!”

ⓒ Yoo Jin-seong

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