Chapter 239

Namgung Ryong was a sharp-featured middle-aged man.

As befitted the Family Head of the venerable martial household known as the Namgung Family, his dignified bearing radiated authority. His lips were pressed into a firm line, revealing something of his stern disposition.

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? I have one important matter left to attend to.”

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

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

“Ah, yes.”

Crunch!

Oh, right. I forgot about the iron balls.

The chair had shattered beneath me, unable to bear their weight. Still sitting amid the wreckage, I glanced at Namgung Ryong.

“Oops, what happened here? You should make your chairs a little sturdier…”

“It was 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 carefully examining and spoke.

“I invited you here as a guest, yet I have treated you poorly. You have my apology.”

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

“I also owe you an apology for my son’s discourtesy.”

“What do you mean…?”

“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…

“He’s your son?”

“He’s my only child, so I doted on him. Perhaps because of that, he still has many shortcomings.”

Yeah, he definitely has shortcomings.

Thinking of the bastard’s sour 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.”

Namgung Ryong cleared his throat and 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’ve 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 why did you call me here…?”

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

Momentarily at a loss after my swift interruption, Namgung Ryong finally spoke.

“It concerns Great Hero Jeok.”

“That old—no, my Master?”

“That’s right.”

He nodded gravely before continuing.

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

My relaxed posture stiffened on its own. I ran a hand over the beard that had grown thick over the past year and asked,

“Is this about his duel with the Azure Sky Sword King… Great Hero Namgung 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 by the narrowest of margins. The battle was balanced on a knife’s edge. Either of them could have won.”

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 sword-crazed—the sense of loss would only be that much greater.

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

This would be a fight between Supreme Peak masters. Its intensity went without saying, and if things went too far, blood could easily be spilled.

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 can persuade my Master, either. No, I can’t persuade him.”

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

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

Jeok Cheongang was not a difficult man to read.

“He’d rather die than back down.”

“You misunderstand me. I’m not saying you should do your best to stop them. 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 Namgung 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 pointless.

“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 away.

As soon as I left the pavilion, I found the young guard—or rather, the Lesser Family Head of the Namgung Family, Sword Dragon Namgung Ok—waiting for me with his eyes blazing.

“You bastard!”

“Oh, what now? We’ve never even met before, so why do you keep calling me a bastard?”

“I heard everything from outside. How dare you treat my father with such disrespect? Do you think the great Namgung 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 that curious, ask my Master. Anyway, I’m leaving.”

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

“How dare you!”

Shing! Click!

It happened in an instant.

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

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

“H-how did you…?”

“That isn’t something you should draw and swing around so casually. Keep doing that and you’ll get yourself killed.”

“……!”

“Act like a gentleman, young man.”

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 not many people go?”

“Why would you want to…?”

“No particular reason.”

I glanced at the clear sky and continued.

“I thought I’d get some air.”

I shook off the maidservant, who insisted on accompanying me, and began climbing 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.”

Nothing changed. Leaves rippled in the breeze, sparrows chirped as they ceaselessly turned their heads, and unknown wildflowers stood in full bloom.

Yet an incongruous presence towered amid the natural scenery.

Then a voice wormed its way into my ears.

“Not bad. Not bad at all.”

He was a remarkably tall old man. The fingers stroking the beard that reached his chest were knobby, and a fierce light shone from the eyes set deep in their sockets.

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 Namgung Cheon.”

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

“You must have had a reason for calling this old man all the way out 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 play dumb.”

“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, 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 Hall.

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

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 ask what sort of brat he was dealing with.

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

“My Master says I’m just arrogant.”

“Yes, I believe that is the right word. Arrogant… It has been so long since anyone struck me that way that I had forgotten the feeling.”

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

“No one has for decades. Not until you appeared today.”

His fierce eyes fixed on me. That alone made my body hair stand on end and drew every sense taut.

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

I took a deep breath. Then, without hesitation, I dropped to the ground and prostrated myself before the Azure Sky Sword King.

Clatter!

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.

But judging by the prickling at the back of my head, as if a blade were stabbing into it, he was clearly debating whether to kill me.

It does sound insane.

He had spent twenty years training 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 tremendous wave of qi swept through the surroundings. Trees snapped, and flowers that had only just borne fruit were ripped out by the roots.

“This is the last time I’ll ask.”

My answer was already decided.

“I cannot tell you.”

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

After a brief silence, the Azure Sky Sword King spoke.

“Get up.”

Crumble.

Clumps of dirt fell from me as I rose. The Azure Sky Sword King’s voice was as dry as desert sand.

“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 didn’t wait twenty years just to claim 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 glad to hear that.”

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

“Are you saying…?”

“Three moves. If you can withstand three moves from this old man, 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 three moves from none other than the Azure Sky Sword King. Three strikes capable of cleaving mountains and splitting rivers would 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 flared in the Azure Sky Sword King’s eyes.

“Your recklessness will be the death of you.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. But before that…”

I grinned and raised my arms.

Clank.

Dozens of iron balls swayed with the chains.

“May I take these off?”

“Go ahead. The outcome will not change.”

As the old man stared at me with cold, unyielding eyes, the majesty of an emperor who could force all under heaven to kneel surged from his entire body.

The blue sky overhead 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.