Chapter 229

“……You’re leaving? For an entire year?”

“Yes.”

“So you finally decided?”

When I nodded, an indescribably complicated look crossed Jin Wikyung’s face. Joy, disappointment, pride….

After a long silence, he bowed deeply to Jeok Cheongang.

“Please take good care of our youngest—no, of Taekyung, Great Hero Jeok.”

“I heard you, so get up. He may be lacking, as you said, but this old man will guide him properly. Stop worrying. Ahem!”

“…….”

When did he say that? He asked you to take good care of me. I don’t remember him saying I was lacking.

But there was no reasoning with Jeok Cheongang.

He composed his twitching lips and spoke again.

“Daylight has broken, so I intend to leave at once.”

“What? You mean today?”

“Obviously. Once a man makes up his mind, he must act without hesitation.”

Jin Wikyung’s expression grew even gloomier. He looked back and forth between Jeok Cheongang and me, his face clouded over, then let out a deep sigh.

“Understood. I’ll have your travel bags packed immediately.”

“What do we need travel bags for? This is training, not a tour of the martial world.”

“Where are you headed?”

“Anhui. It won’t take long on foot.”

A sudden sense of foreboding made me ask, “How far is it?”

Jin Wikyung answered, “At least a month.”

“What?”

“And that’s on horseback.”

Has this old man gone senile?

Jeok Cheongang saw my expression and barked, “That’s only for those slowpokes! At this old man’s pace, it won’t even take a month and a half!”

“…….”

No, damn it. By that logic, a jet would be even faster. So why are we walking?

I quickly grabbed Jin Wikyung’s hand.

“Pack my bags nice and full, please.”

“You little—!”

“Otherwise, I’m not going.”

“What did you say?”

“I’m from a rich family. I have no intention of wandering around begging for food. Since we’re going anyway, we might as well travel in comfort.”

Why go out of my way to suffer when I had money? If I could travel comfortably, that was all that mattered.

I had already left behind a soft bed and logged in. I didn’t want to take things that far.

And besides….

“There are places I need to stop by before we leave.”

“Gnnngh.”

As Jeok Cheongang groaned, Jin Wikyung added, “I also have something important to discuss with you.”

“With me?”

“Yes. It won’t take long.”

“If you intend to waste my time with some trivial matter, forget it.”

Jin Wikyung firmly shook his head.

“It’s important enough that you need to know, Great Hero Jeok.”

What could it be?

Even I hadn’t seen him look this serious in a long time.

Jeok Cheongang studied Jin Wikyung in silence, then clicked his tongue.

“Half a shichen.¹ No longer.”

“That will be enough.”

This time, he turned to me.

“The same goes for you.”

“Yes, sir.”

That was more than enough time for me as well.

Afraid he might change his mind, I answered at once and left the study so the two of them could speak in private.

Clear sunlight and a pleasant breeze greeted me outside. It was hard to call this winter weather anymore.

“Ah, what a beautiful day.”

Finding my next destination was easy.

I looked up at the blue sky, then set off toward the distant cliff.

Whoooosh.

An iron sword cleaved through the air with a heavy rush.

Once, then again, every motion flawless down to the last inch.

How long had it been since he had begun each day with ten thousand strikes?

The young man gripping the sword’s hilt did not know.

He was inside a cave where no light could enter, and he had long since lost all sense of time.

Swish!

The tip of his sword wavered.

The deviation was minute, but to the young man, it was an unforgivable mistake.

By the rule he had set for himself, every mistake meant another hundred strikes.

Again.

The young man silently swung his sword.

It was a brutal physical regimen that had to be completed with raw strength and stamina alone, without using any internal energy.

An ordinary martial artist would have collapsed from exhaustion long ago.

But this young man, Jin Mukyung, was different.

I’ll do it perfectly. No matter how many attempts it takes. No matter how many years.

He had first picked up a sword at the age of five. He loved the whisper of wind against his ears whenever he swung it and the feeling of being drenched in sweat.

More than twenty years passed that way.

At some point, people began calling him by another name.

“Peak at twenty? If that isn’t genius, what is?”

“Are you the Heaven Shaking Sword?”

He had trained simply because he loved martial arts and enjoyed becoming stronger. Yet people called him the pride of his family and a martial arts genius.

There had been times when he took pride in the martial name he had earned.

But then he realized it was all hollow fame—an empty name with nothing behind it.

Cheongpung.

Swish!

The instant the name entered his mind, his sword tip twitched.

Another hundred strikes.

He closed his eyes and forced his breathing under control, but his disturbed heart refused to settle.

Before he knew it, Jin Mukyung was remembering the day he had first met Cheongpung.

He’s strong.

That was his first thought upon seeing the boy.

Cheongpung had a clear, boyish face and an unremarkable build, with a single iron sword hanging carelessly from his waist. His demeanor and posture could not have looked more careless, yet Mukyung had known at once.

And his intuition had soon proved correct.

It had been the most crushing defeat of his life.

The memory of dropping to his knees after some three hundred exchanges made his teeth clench and his grip tighten around the hilt.

Swish! Swish-swish!

Every ripple in his heart revealed itself through his sword.

His stable stance collapsed, and his movements—once as precise as if measured with a ruler—became disordered.

One hundred extra strikes. Two hundred. Three hundred….

Just as his mistakes began to snowball, a familiar voice came from beyond the iron door sealing the training hall.

“Why does it sound so murderous in there?”

“……!”

Jin Mukyung, who had been swinging his sword as though possessed, froze in place.

“Is that you?”

“Why ask when you already know? You’ll hurt my feelings.”

There was no mistaking him.

Only one person in the Taiyuan Jin Family could speak to Jin Mukyung with such insolence.

Thinking of his younger brother beyond the iron door, Mukyung asked, “How long have you been there?”

“About fifteen minutes?”

“……I see.”

Despite the casual answer, Mukyung’s face darkened.

He had allowed himself to be swept up in his emotions and failed to notice Taekyung’s presence.

“Go away. I’m training.”

“Training, my ass. More like taking out your anger.”

“What?”

“I can hear how furious you are. Whatever you do in that state, it won’t be training.”

Jin Mukyung’s eyes trembled faintly.

He was astonished that Taekyung had seen straight through his condition despite the iron door between them and the distance of more than ten jang.²

This guy… Has he improved again already?

His rate of growth was truly terrifying.

Before Mukyung’s surprise could fade, Jin Taekyung continued.

“I’m leaving.”

“You’re leaving?”

“Yeah. I decided to learn martial arts from the Fire King—or rather, the Old Master.”

“……!”

Mukyung had heard that the Fire King had come to visit the family.

In the past, he would have rushed out of the training hall at once, bowed until his forehead struck the ground, and begged the Fire King to teach him even a single move.

But he had restrained himself.

More than anyone, he knew that this was a process he had to understand for himself.

But why would he teach that boy…? No. There are more than enough reasons.

The man beyond that iron door was the true monster, the one who deserved to be called a genius. The Fire King could hardly have failed to recognize his worth.

Once Mukyung had accepted that, he asked, “Have you become his Disciple?”

“Not exactly. I’m sort of a Disciple, but not a Disciple, while also being kind of a Disciple. Something like that.”

“……What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Don’t bother trying to understand. Is this the first time something like this has happened?”

“That’s true.”

“Yeah. Just let it go.”

A brief silence followed.

Then, as if by agreement, they both chuckled.

Even they had to admit the conversation had taken an absurd turn.

“Did you come here just to tell me that? Were you hoping for a send-off?”

“A send-off? I know better than to expect one.”

“Then what?”

“One year left.”

Taekyung’s calm voice continued.

The Star-Array Grand Banquet.

The Star-Array Grand Banquet.

Jin Mukyung repeated the words like a groan.

A banquet hall for the countless stars adorning the Nine Provinces and Eight Wastes,³ the Four Seas and Five Lakes.⁴

That was the Star-Array Grand Banquet.

“Why are you telling me?”

“I’m going to attend. Cheongpung and I both are.”

“……What are you trying to say?”

“That’s for you to think about on your own. Oof.”

There came the sound of Taekyung rising, followed by his final words.

“I’m off. See you later.”

Step. Step.

His footsteps gradually receded, then vanished altogether.

Silence settled over the training hall.

Jin Mukyung stared blankly at the iron door beyond which the other’s presence had vanished.

The Star-Array Grand Banquet.

He was no fool.

He knew exactly why Jin Taekyung had come to the training hall and why he had brought up the Star-Array Grand Banquet.

“One year….”

Jin Mukyung murmured under his breath and tightened his grip on the sword.

Before he knew it, his turbulent heart had calmed, and the wavering tip of his sword had stilled.

“Safe travels. I’ll see you then.”

Murmuring the farewell he had failed to give his younger brother before his long journey, Jin Mukyung swung his sword like lightning.

Whoooosh.

A perfect strike, without the slightest deviation.

After leaving the training hall, I headed straight for the study.

What awaited me there was an empty chair and a message from one of the guards.

“He told me to wait at the main gate?”

“Yes. Those were his exact words.”

Did something happen?

Setting the question aside, I made my way to the main gate. Before long, I found several familiar faces waiting for me.

“Captain!”

“Benefactor!”

“You’re finally here, Young Master Jin?”

Hyuk Mujin, Cheongpung, and Wolhwa.

And they weren’t alone.

Over the shoulders of the three who had approached me first, I could see the others as well.

Lee Seowol, awkwardly waving one hand, and the Three Plum Blossom Elites, standing there with expressions that seemed to say they had no idea where they were or who they were.

“How did you all know to come?”

Wolhwa smiled sweetly.

“Because we’re the Lower District Sect.”

“……Did you plant a spy?”

“Oh my, a spy? Why would we need one when we have such an excellent informant right there?”

I followed her pointing finger and found Hyuk Mujin proudly holding out a heavy travel bag.

“The Lesser Family Head ordered me to pack your luggage, Captain!”

“……Oh. So you’re the culprit.”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing. Good job.”

I had hoped to leave as quietly as possible, but nothing ever went according to plan.

The moment I accepted the travel bag with a sigh, Cheongpung grabbed me by the collar and clung to me.

“Benefactor! I want to go with you! I want to become Grandpa Jeok’s Disciple!”

“Then go get permission.”

“From whom?”

“Who do you think? Great Hero Mae Jonghak, the Sword Saint.”

“I already did! He said I could go!”

Baek Museong muttered with the face of a man who had grown weary of life.

“He’s been missing for over a month. How in the world did you get his permission…?”

That man really is living life on the hardest difficulty.

After finally prying Cheongpung off me, I asked Baek Museong, “What are you planning to do now?”

“Either escort Martial Uncle Cheongpung back to the main sect or search the entire Central Plains for Grandmaster’s trail. I suppose it will be one or the other.”

“Yikes.”

Baek Museong burst into hearty laughter at my reaction.

“Haha! What in life is ever easy? I intend to leave as soon as a message arrives from the main sect.”

Now that’s mental fortitude.

I even felt a little respect for him.

After finishing my conversation with Baek Museong, I turned my head.

Beside the petite Eunhyang, a giant nearly two meters⁵ tall flinched.

“Hey.”

“……Wh-what?”

“I’m just saying we should forget what happened and try to get along.”

I smiled brightly and held out my hand.

The giant—Chulwoo of the Defeated Flower Fist—hesitated before taking it.

“Th-then this means we’ve made up….”

Crack.

“Gah!”

“What a baby. Don’t let it show. Smile.”

With the sound of bones shifting out of place, Chulwoo’s hand—despite the man being twice my size—crumpled as if caught in a hydraulic press.

I tightened my grip and whispered in his ear.

“Don’t hit on her. You know what I mean, right?”

“I-I understand!”

“Good. Keep it that way for the rest of your life.”

When I released his hand, Chulwoo sucked in a breath and hurriedly backed away.

Watching him, Eunhyang, the youngest of the Three Plum Blossom Elites, could only marvel.

“……I never knew there was someone stronger than Senior Brother Chul. The world truly is vast.”

Then again, it could be small, too.

No matter how enormous this continent was, the people destined to meet would find each other eventually.

I would probably see them again someday.

“If fate brings us together again, I’ll see you then.”

“It was nice meeting you, too.”

I gave Eunhyang a slight nod and turned away.

One person remained.

“…….”

“…….”

An awkward silence hung between Lee Seowol and me.

I didn’t think things had been this awkward at first. I had no idea why Lee Seowol seemed harder to face every time I saw her.

Is it because of the proposal?

Even if it was for a political marriage, a proposal was still a proposal.

After squirming in discomfort, I finally managed to speak.

“Um, Sect Leader Lee.”

“Please call me Young Lady.”

“Ah, yes. Then, Young Lady Lee.”

“Yes. Go ahead.”

I looked at Lee Seowol’s slightly lowered eyelids and brought out the words I had prepared.

“May peace prevail throughout your household.”

“…….”

“May your business prosper, too, and, well… Anyway, I hope everything you do goes well.”

Great. Nailed it. What better blessing could there be for the leader of an entire sect?

I smiled in satisfaction and was about to study Lee Seowol’s reaction when a sharp voice rang out from the distance.

“What are you grinning like a fool for?”

A short old man appeared in the distance.

With Jin Wikyung and Wipeng flanking him, he seized me by the nape before I had a chance to say anything.

“We have a long road ahead. Hurry up and follow me.”

“W-wait a second.”

Whoooosh!

But it was already too late.

Everyone’s faces rapidly receded into the distance.

Jin Wikyung waved a handkerchief, his eyes red, and shouted, “My youngest! Come back safe and sound!”

……That only makes me more nervous!