Chapter 239

Namgung Ryong was a middle-aged man with a sharp, intimidating air.

As befitted the Family Head of the venerable martial household known as the Nangong Family, his dignified bearing radiated authority. His lips were pressed into a firm straight line, revealing the sort of personality he possessed.

In fact, despite traveling with him all the way from Mount Jiuhua to Hefei, I had heard him say fewer than ten words.

“Would you wait a moment? There’s one important matter left to attend to.”

As the Family Head of the Nangong Family, he must have had a considerable workload.

I was used to this from watching Jin Wikyung, so I nodded without complaint.

“Ah, yes.”

Crunch!

Oh, right. I forgot about the iron balls.

Unable to bear their weight, the chair had been smashed to pieces beneath me. I remained seated on the debris and glanced at Namgung Ryong.

“Oops, what happened here? We should make the chairs a little sturdier…”

“It’s made of ebony imported from Nanman.¹ The wood is harder than steel.”

“……”

“Just stand.”

A short while later, Namgung Ryong set down the bamboo slips he had been examining carefully and spoke.

“I invited a guest and gave him such poor treatment. You have my apology.”

“No, it’s fine. You may have been busy.”

“In addition, I owe you an apology for the discourtesy committed by my son.”

“What are you talking about…?”

“I believe I heard some commotion.”

I suddenly remembered the young guard who had aggressively demanded that I disarm myself.

I wondered why the youngest one was acting so cocky…

“You’re his father?”

“He’s my only child, so I raised him with great care. Perhaps because of that, he still has many shortcomings.”

Yeah, he definitely has shortcomings.

Thinking of that bastard’s unpleasant expression, I nodded.

“It’s all right. I’m sure he’ll improve with time.”

“……”

“Was there something else you wanted to say?”

“Ahem. No, nothing.”

After clearing his throat, Namgung Ryong continued.

“People around him kept filling his head with talk of his talent for martial arts. You’ve heard the title Sword Dragon, haven’t you?”

“The Sword Dragon?”

“So you have heard of him. Well, it would be impossible not to…”

“I’ve never heard of him before.”

“Oh.”

“That’s a cool title, though.”

“Is it…?”

A dark shadow passed over Namgung Ryong’s face.

“He is well known throughout the martial world as one of the Ten Dragons and Phoenixes.”

“Oh, so he’s one of the Ten Dragons and Phoenixes. My second elder brother is one of them too.”

“I heard the two of them got into quite a fight as soon as they entered Heaven’s Gate Temple.”

“Good grief. They were young—very young. If they had just enrolled, they would have been twenty. That’s the age when people act like that.”

“……”

“It’s all right. People that age grow up by beating each other black and blue. But the reason you called me here was…?”

This man was definitely more of a doting fool than he looked.

Namgung Ryong had been momentarily at a loss for words after my swift interruption, but finally parted his lips.

“It concerns Great Hero Jeok.”

“That old—no, you mean my Master?”

“That’s right.”

He nodded heavily before continuing.

“I’ll be direct. I want you to dissuade Great Hero Jeok.”

The relaxed muscles around my waist tensed on their own. I ran a hand over the beard that had grown thickly over the past year and asked,

“Is this about his duel with the Azure Sky Sword King… Great Hero Nangong Cheon?”

“That’s right. Do you know what happened between Great Hero Jeok and my father more than twenty years ago?”

“I know roughly what happened. I also know that my Master won.”

“It was a razor-thin difference. It was a battle so close that it would not have been strange for either of them to lose or win.”

Namgung Ryong sighed.

“My father must have been deeply resentful of that defeat. For several years afterward, he devoted himself to secluded training, stewing over it.”

Defeat always cut deep.

And if the person in question was one of the greatest masters in the world—someone who loved martial arts enough to be called a sword nut—the sense of loss would only grow in proportion.

If his own son is talking about it like this, he must have been really pissed.

This was a fight between Supreme Peak masters. Its intensity went without saying, and in the worst case, it could even lead to bloodshed.

If they had planned to calmly exchange a few moves, laugh good-naturedly, and withdraw, Namgung Ryong would have had no reason to bring this up.

The problem was…

“I’m not confident I could persuade my Master, either. No, I can’t persuade him.”

The Fire King, Jeok Cheongang, was not the sort of man who would retreat just because someone tried to stop him.

The year I spent in Fire Gate Cavern had taught me and shown me many things. Not only about martial arts, but also about the personality of the person beside me.

Jeok Cheongang was a man whose character was impossible to mistake.

“He’d rather die than back down.”

“You misunderstand me. I’m not saying you should stop them as much as possible. I’m saying you must stop them.”

Namgung Ryong stared at me.

“Do you know what will happen if something happens to either of them during this duel?”

“I can make a rough guess.”

The Fire King and the Sword King. Both were giants who ruled over the martial world.

If the worst happened, the aftermath would be like a meteor crashing into the shore of a quiet lake.

“Then you shouldn’t have brought us to the Nangong Family.”

“That…”

“I know. You had no choice. But if even the Family Head can’t persuade his father, what could I possibly do?”

I shook my head. Whatever else I said here would be meaningless anyway.

“I’ll at least try talking to him.”

“I’ll do my best as well. I should go see my father immediately.”

“I’m not sure that’ll do you any good…”

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing. Then I’ll be going.”

I gave the puzzled Namgung Ryong a polite bow and turned around.

As soon as I left the pavilion, I found the young guard—or rather, the Lesser Family Head of the Nangong Family, Sword Dragon Namgung Ok—waiting for me with a fierce glare.

“You bastard!”

“Oh, what now? When have we ever met for you to keep calling me bastard?”

“I heard everything from outside. How dare you treat my father with such disrespect? Do you think the great Nangong Family is a joke?”

“What disrespect? I showed him the utmost courtesy, just as I do my Master.”

“What kind of bullshit are you spouting?”

“I’m serious. If you’re really curious, ask my Master. Anyway, I’m leaving.”

I was just about to drag the iron balls past Namgung Ok when—

“How dare you!”

Shing! Click!

It happened in an instant.

The blade, radiating a frigid sharpness, had not even been drawn halfway before it vanished back into its scabbard.

Namgung Ok stared at my hand, which was pressing down on his sword hilt.

“H-how did you…?”

“That isn’t something you can draw and swing so casually. Keep doing that and you’ll wind up dead.”

“……!”

“Act like a gentleman, young friend.”

Pat, pat.

I patted the shoulder of the man who had gone rigid as a stone statue, then approached the wide-eyed maidservant.

“Excuse me.”

“Y-yes?”

“Is there a mountain nearby where few people go?”

“Why would you want to…?”

“Just because.”

I glanced at the clear sky and continued.

“I thought I’d get some air.”

I shook off the maidservant, who insisted on coming with me, and began walking up the mountain path.

It was the height of spring. The mountain was green, and the sky was blue.

I walked past drifting scraps of cloud and birds chattering from the branches. After some time, I entered a broad clearing and suddenly stopped.

“You can come out now.”

Everything was exactly as it had been. The leaves rippling in the breeze, sparrows crying as they turned their heads back and forth without rest, and unfamiliar wildflowers blooming in full.

Yet an incongruous presence stood tall amid the natural scenery.

Then a voice wormed its way into my ears.

“Not bad. Not bad at all.”

He was a very tall old man. The fingers stroking his beard, which reached down to his chest, were knobby with protruding joints. His eyes were sunken, but a fierce light shone from within them.

I clasped my hands before the old man, who looked remarkably similar to Namgung Ryong.

“It is an honor to meet the Azure Sky Sword King, Great Hero Nangong Cheon.”

The Azure Sky Sword King Nangong Cheon—the Grand Family Head of the Nangong Family and one of the Ten Kings—stared at me before abruptly speaking.

“There must be a reason you called this old man all the way here.”

“What do you mean…?”

“Great Hero Jeok took a sly little bastard as his Disciple in his later years. I know exactly what you’re scheming, so there’s no need to pretend otherwise.”

“Ah, I’m sorry if I offended you.”

I scratched the back of my head and grinned. It was embarrassing to have him cut straight to the point like that, but it also made things easier.

“Did I make it a little… too obvious?”

I had first noticed his presence in the Family Head’s pavilion.

Namgung Ryong had not realized it, but I had. The reason I had come up to the mountain under the pretense of getting some fresh air was the Azure Sky Sword King.

An unspoken invitation and acceptance had passed between us.

“Hah.”

A breathy sound escaped the Azure Sky Sword King’s lips. His expression seemed to say, What kind of brat is this?

“You’re an audacious one. No, perhaps you simply have no fear?”

“My Master says I’m just being arrogant.”

“Yes, I believe that is the right word. Arrogant… It has been so long since I felt that way about someone that I had forgotten the sensation.”

“Exactly. Who would dare act arrogantly toward the Azure Sky Sword King?”

“No one has appeared in the past several decades. Not until you came along today.”

His fierce eyes fixed on me. That alone made my body hair stand on end and my senses draw taut.

“Speak. Why did you call this old man here?”

I took a deep breath. Then, without hesitation, I threw myself facedown before the Azure Sky Sword King and bowed.

Clank.

The chains collided, spewing a cacophonous rattle.

“What are you doing?”

“Please reconsider your duel with my Master.”

“Reconsider? Why should this old man do that?”

“I cannot tell you the reason.”

“……What?”

I had no idea what expression the Azure Sky Sword King was making at that moment.

But judging by the prickling sensation in the back of my head, as if I were being stabbed by a blade, he was clearly debating whether or not to kill me.

It does sound insane.

He had trained for twenty years for today’s duel.

And now some young brat who looked young enough to be his grandson had suddenly appeared and asked him to cancel it. On top of that, I was telling him I could not explain why.

But the die had already been cast. Pressing my face into the fresh earth, I spoke again.

“I’m sorry. But I cannot tell you the reason.”

“Tell me.”

“I cannot tell you.”

“You bastard!”

Whoooosh!

A powerful wave of qi swept through the surroundings. Trees snapped, and flowers that had only just managed to bear fruit were torn out by the roots.

“This is the last time I’ll ask.”

My answer had already been decided.

“I cannot tell you.”

When I repeated the same answer like a parrot, a tangible killing intent pressed down on my entire body.

After a brief silence, I heard the Azure Sky Sword King speak.

“Get up.”

Crumble.

When I rose, clumps of dirt poured from my clothes. The Azure Sky Sword King’s voice was as dry as grains of sand in the desert.

“I waited twenty years.”

“Then please wait one more year.”

I continued calmly.

“I cannot tell you the exact reason, but my Master is not in good condition right now. You did not wait twenty years just to obtain a victory like that, did you?”

“A victory like that…?”

The Azure Sky Sword King muttered the words under his breath and let out a hollow laugh.

“Great Hero Jeok trained his Disciple well.”

“He’ll be happy to hear that.”

“But you have the look of someone destined to die young. To survive in the martial world, one needs at least a minimum degree of etiquette.”

“That…”

“Three moves. If you can withstand this old man’s three moves, I will grant your request.”

Ding.

System

• A Sudden Quest, Three-Move Kill, has been generated!

• Would you like to accept the Quest?

I looked into his eyes, which boiled like lava.

These were none other than three moves from the Azure Sky Sword King. Three strikes capable of cleaving mountains and splitting rivers would soon rain down upon me.

I opened my parched lips.

“I’ll do it.”

Ding.

As the System notification announced that the Quest had been accepted, anger rose in the Azure Sky Sword King’s eyes.

“The recklessness you’re showing now will kill you.”

“Maybe it will. Maybe it won’t. But before that…”

I grinned and raised my arms.

Clank.

Dozens of iron balls swayed together with the chains.

“May I take these off?”

“Go ahead. The outcome will not change.”

Along with his cold, stern gaze, the dignity of an emperor capable of forcing all under heaven to their knees surged from the old man’s entire body.

The blue sky spread above our heads began to churn.

“Emperor’s Sword Form. Can you stop it?”

Craaack! Clang!

I tore apart the steel shackles that had bound my limbs for more than a year as easily as sheets of paper.

The instant the chains and iron balls fell to the ground—

Whoosh!

A flash of light burst from the Azure Sky Sword King’s waist.