Chapter 148

In the atmosphere warmed by the enormous sum of a hundred thousand nyang, Jin Wikyung and Hong Jin exchanged greetings.

“I am Jin Wikyung of the Jin Family of Taiyuan. It is an immense pleasure to meet the Deputy Military Commissioner I’ve heard so much about.”

“To receive such a warm welcome from the Lesser Family Head of the great Jin Family of Taiyuan—I hardly know what to do with myself. Please, call me Comrade Hong from now on.”

“Even so, how could I address an official that casually?”

“Come now, you’re being too stiff. I said to call me casually.”

“Ha-ha. Then shall I, Comrade Hong?”

What was with the sudden communist atmosphere?

As I wondered whether I was in Pyongyang or the Murim, Jin Wikyung finished exchanging introductions and turned his gaze toward me.

“Hmm. Taekyung, you’re here?”

“Yes.”

His voice was heavier than usual, so I answered politely and read the room.

Apparently, he understood that acting as he normally did in front of outsiders would not only damage his personal dignity but also humiliate the entire family.

“So, did you greet His Highness properly?”

Properly? I didn’t just greet him. I even held a private autograph session.

Hong Jin smiled and patted my shoulder.

“His Highness was delighted. He’d always wanted to meet Young Master Jin here.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Yes. He was so happy, he simply wouldn’t let him go.”

“Uhehehe. It seems our youngest—no. It seems His Highness has taken quite a liking to my younger brother.”

“I can see why. He’s handsome, tall, and well-built. He’s strong in martial arts and has such an easygoing personality. Who could dislike him?”

“Ahem. It feels rather awkward to say this myself, but Taekyung truly is an extraordinary talent. If he had been born into one of the Five Great Families instead of our family, no one would be surprised if he became the greatest under heaven.”

Jin Wikyung got so carried away that he forgot all about acting dignified. As he chattered excitedly, Hong Jin’s expression hardened.

“The greatest under heaven? Lesser Family Head Jin, that joke goes too far.”

“Pardon? What do you mean?”

“You’re saying Young Master Jin has what it takes to become the greatest under heaven? Even if I have no connection to the Murim, surely you aren’t making light of me.”

“……Ahem.”

As the atmosphere instantly turned cold, Jin Wikyung gave an uncomfortable cough. Hong Jin immediately continued.

“Someone like Young Master Jin could become the greatest of all time.”

“……!”

“Allow me to congratulate you in advance, Lesser Family Head. For the greatest of all time to come from the Jin Family of Taiyuan—what a blessing for Shanxi Province.”

Jin Wikyung cried out, overcome with emotion.

“Comrade Hong!”

“Lesser Family Head Jin!”

“……”

They say Hong Jin lived in the imperial palace for twenty years. His skill with his tongue certainly wasn’t ordinary.

I clicked my tongue as I watched Jin Wikyung rejoice as though he had found his soulmate.

“This won’t do. There’s no point staying here. I’ve already arranged a place, so why don’t we have a drink?”

“What should I do? I’m not very good with alcohol.”

“Ah, what a shame.”

“The only time I can’t drink is when there’s none to be had.”

“Comrade Hong!”

“Lesser Family Head Jin!”

“……”

“……”

Look at how perfectly they clicked together.

When the two men disappeared, laughing loudly with their arms around each other’s shoulders, Wipeng stared at me with an utterly dumbfounded expression.

“Is that man really the Deputy Military Commissioner?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“I heard he was once a palace attendant, but I never imagined he would be so frivolous.”

Well, then what did that make Jin Wikyung, a martial artist who had played along with every bit of it?

Jin Mukyung, who had been wearing a sour expression for some time, finally spoke.

“That’s just the kind of man he is. Last time, he subtly stroked my shoulder. I barely stopped myself from breaking his arm.”

He tore the cloth in his hands to shreds and flung it to the ground. Looking much more relieved, he said,

“Then I have important business, so I’ll be leaving.”

“What business? Training again, I assume.”

“Is anything more important to a martial artist than training?”

“……No.”

That left me with nothing to say.

As I stood there at a loss, merely smacking my lips, a clear, ringing voice rang out.

“Wow, that’s exactly what my grandfather always says.”

Wipeng and Jin Mukyung’s gazes pierced Cheongpung like awls.

To ordinary people, Cheongpung was merely a young man with a slightly unusual air about him. To masters, however, he was something else entirely.

When both men’s eyebrows shot upward, Cheongpung turned to me with a flustered expression.

“Uh, Benefactor. Did I do something wrong?”

“Wrong? Of course not. They’re just intrigued. Right, gentlemen?”

Neither man took his eyes off Cheongpung. They merely nodded.

An extraordinarily young Peak master. It was only natural that they would be curious about the identity of this Cheongpung who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

“While we’re at it, why don’t you introduce yourselves? This is Cheongpung.”

Before I had even finished speaking, Cheongpung bowed deeply.

“Hello, I’m Cheongpung! I’ve only been in Shanxi for a few days. Before that, I was in Henan, and before that…”

Where did this guy crawl out of?

The question was written all over their faces.

Just as I expected. I explained Cheongpung’s identity simply and clearly.

“He’s the Sword Saint’s disciple.”

“……!”

“……!”

The name of Sword Saint Mae Jonghak was practically a cheat code among martial artists.

Both men gaped at Cheongpung, too stunned to speak. Cheongpung cautiously asked,

“Um, which of you is the Heaven Shaking Sword?”

Still reeling from the shock, Jin Mukyung stammered out a reply.

“I-I’m the Heaven Shaking Sword. But are you really the Sword Saint, Great Hero Mae Jonghak’s…?”

“Yes. He’s my grandfather.”

“Gasp!”

He looked several times more shocked than when he had seen the Flame Divine Palm martial arts manual.

A young man claiming to be the disciple—and grandson—of a Supreme Peak master who was known to have gone into seclusion decades ago had suddenly appeared before them. Their reaction was understandable.

“This can’t be…”

“The Sword Saint’s successor…”

Cheongpung looked back and forth between the two astonished men, then smiled brightly.

“I didn’t know either until I came down the mountain.”

“Y-Young Hero. Did Great Hero Mae also descend the mountain…?”

His voice was filled with expectation and excitement.

Both men were swordsmen who had trained with the sword their entire lives. Mae Jonghak had attained such heights in the Way of the Sword that he had earned the title Sword Saint. To them, he was practically a god.

But Cheongpung’s answer shattered their expectations.

“No. I snuck out alone. There were people I wanted to meet.”

“Ah…”

“How unfortunate…”

“But putting that aside…”

Cheongpung looked at the two crestfallen men before speaking again.

His gleaming eyes had been fixed on Jin Mukyung for some time now.

“Are you really Young Hero Jin Mukyung, the Heaven Shaking Sword? The one from the Ten Dragons and Phoenixes?”

“That’s right. I am Jin Mukyung.”

“Wow, I finally found you!”

“……Hmm?”

“I’ve been searching everywhere for you. From Heaven’s Gate Temple in Henan all the way here.”

What? The person that guy had been looking for was Jin Mukyung?

Wipeng, as well as Jin Mukyung himself, asked with bewildered expressions,

“You were looking for me?”

“Yes. Since you were nearby, I thought you’d be a decent place to start.”

“A first? What does that mean?”

“A dueling tour.”

Cheongpung smiled softly. It was completely different from the bright, innocent smile I had seen from him until now.

“I decided it while coming down the mountain. I won’t return until I’ve defeated all the Ten Dragons and Phoenixes.”

“……!”

“My grandfather told me this: A martial artist has no need for conversation. We contend through martial arts alone.”

Sssss.

At that moment, I felt a wave of heat. Violet light-flames had risen around Cheongpung’s entire body, surging upward.

I had already seen this once before.

The Zaha Divine Technique.

The Extreme Yang qi burned the cold away. The earth melted, and the soil scorched. Cheongpung opened his mouth with all traces of his smile gone.

“Shall we move somewhere else?”

“Is there any need?”

Jin Mukyung continued.

“Draw your sword.”

Jin Mukyung let out a long breath. His rapidly beating heart slowly began to settle. Breathing was important in battle. Only now was he finally ready to draw his sword.

As he placed a hand on the hilt, he thought of one man’s name.

Sword Saint Mae Jonghak.

Not once had he forgotten that name since the day he first held a sword.

A legendary swordsman said to have reached the ultimate realm of the sword—or perhaps a realm beyond it.

Everyone revered the Sword Saint, but Jin Mukyung was different.

Someday, I will defeat him.

If anyone had heard him say that, they would have snorted. They would have pointed at him and called him crazy.

No matter how much of a genius Jin Mukyung was, he could never reach the Sword Saint’s name. Ever since Mae Jonghak had begun to be called the Sword Saint, no one had surpassed him.

Decades ago, Sword Saint Mae Jonghak had already written a new chapter in the history of the orthodox Murim and become the protagonist of a legend.

It doesn’t matter. This is my goal.

It was not reckless arrogance. It was a goal.

A goal he had etched into his bones and heart every day as he trained with his sword.

And at this very moment, someone who had inherited everything from Sword Saint Mae Jonghak stood before him.

“My grandfather used to tell me, ‘Compared to the Ten Dragons and Phoenixes, you are nothing. Don’t become arrogant.’”

Cheongpung slowly stepped forward. A single blue-steel sword dangled from his waist, tied on haphazardly, and his footsteps were as light as though he had come out for a stroll.

But…

There are no openings.

He looked utterly careless, but Jin Mukyung had no idea when or how he could attack.

Jin Mukyung licked his parched lips.

“I’ve never even met him… He praised me too highly.”

“No. Honestly, you surprised me a little. I mean that.”

Jin Mukyung knew that Cheongpung meant every word. That only made him feel stranger.

Only a little?

It had been more than twenty years since he began training with the sword. Talent and effort had brought him this far.

People called him a genius, gave him the martial title Heaven Shaking Sword, and counted him among the Ten Dragons and Phoenixes.

He had believed he had never once become drunk on such empty fame, but…

I still have a long way to go.

At some point, he must have grown accustomed to the gazes of people who looked up to him.

The wound Pung Yang had inflicted on him not long ago seemed to throb again.

“Do you know something?”

“What?”

“That you’re strong.”

“Until recently, I wasn’t certain. But now I know.”

“Because you met me?”

“Yes. Because I met you, Young Hero Jin. Now I know what the Ten Dragons and Phoenixes are capable of.”

“Is that so?”

Jin Mukyung let out a quiet laugh.

What an interesting guy. He possessed martial arts that rivaled—or even surpassed—those of an Elder of the Nine Sects and One Gang, yet he remained untainted by the world. He was pure. Honest.

He was a martial artist, but he didn’t fit in the Murim.

He’s the exact opposite of someone I know.

One person suddenly came to mind.

A guy who seemed like he could somehow survive no matter where he was thrown in the Murim, and who fought in the least martial-artist-like way imaginable.

“How old are you?”

“I turned twenty this year.”

“We’re even the same age. Coincidence? Or fate?”

“What?”

Instead of answering, Jin Mukyung shook his head.

In truth, he already knew the outcome of this duel. The qi of the Zaha Divine Technique surging through Cheongpung’s entire body was that overwhelming.

His only regret was that he couldn’t display the full extent of his skill against an opponent of this caliber.

What would that troublemaker do in a situation like this?

Jin Mukyung glanced at his troublesome younger brother. With a grin like a little devil’s, Taekyung was mouthing something.

You. Are. Fucked.

What a goddamn bastard.

Laughing hollowly, Jin Mukyung placed a hand on his sword hilt. The internal energy boiling up from his dantian coursed through every part of his body.

Cheongpung looked at Jin Mukyung’s sword and spoke.

“My grandfather told me something else, too. A duel doesn’t need an opening stance or anything like that.”

“I agree.”

The next moment—

With a tremendous boom, violet light-flames and silver Sword Energy collided.