Chapter 244

I had loved the sea ever since I was a child. I loved its distinctive salty scent that pierced my nose, and I loved standing still and watching the waves crash against the shore.

And now, there was a sea inside me.

The qi sea.

Another name for the dantian.

As usual, I swam through the endless sea of qi today.

I grabbed the horn of the Fire Dragon curled up inside my dantian, leisurely circulated through hundreds of acupoints, and opened my eyes.

Ding.

System

• You have successfully completed circulating your qi!

• The realm of the Scorching Sun Divine Arts has risen to the sixth stage!

• All Fire Gate Clan martial arts have become more refined and powerful!

• All fatigue has been cleared, and all stamina has been restored!

• Level Up!

Finally, the sixth stage?

I neither saw nor heard any of the other System notifications. The only thing that mattered to me was that the realm of the Scorching Sun Divine Arts had reached the sixth stage.

This is where the real thing begins, right?

The Fire Gate Cavern was a place created by the first Sect Leader of the Fire Gate Clan for his successors.

Filled with fire energy, it was ideal for absorbing Scorching Yang Qi—and especially optimized for learning the Fire Gate Clan’s greatest martial arts.

In other words, it was a double-EXP event zone.

But even that place had a very clear limit.

Hmm.

“Why are you groaning like a dog that needs to take a dump?”

It was a conversation I had shared with Jeok Cheongang about six months after entering the Fire Gate Cavern.

At the time, I was brimming with confidence after accomplishing the feat of reaching the third stage of the Scorching Sun Divine Arts.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I was just wondering whether I should spend another year in closed-door training here.”

“Here? In the Fire Gate Cavern?”

“Yes.”

“What about the Star-Array Grand Banquet?”

“I’m improving by leaps and bounds here. Why would I leave? If I spend just one more year… Why are you looking at me like that?”

“It’s nothing. I was merely marveling at the size of your blockhead.”

“That sounds like a pretty big deal to me.”

Jeok Cheongang looked at me as though I were pathetic, then let out a deep sigh.

“Do you know how old this old man is?”

“If even you don’t know, how would I?”

“I am one hundred and one years old this year.”

“Oh. One hundred and one Dalmatians.”

“I swear by the ancestors of the Fire Gate Clan, if you spout one more piece of nonsense, I’ll throw your body into the sacred flame as firewood.”

“…Yes, sir.”

“Regardless, even this old man, who has lived through such a long span of years, remains at the eighth stage. And what was that you said?”

“Wait a minute. The eighth stage? Haven’t you already achieved Great Completion?”

“Do you think a divine art is called a divine art for no reason? Although your progress is fast, even the martial arts that can be learned in the Fire Gate Cavern have their limits. In the case of the Scorching Sun Divine Arts, that limit is precisely the fifth stage.”

“…Then what comes after that?”

“Martial arts are like weapons. Sharpen and hone them without end. The only answer is to gain insight through countless hardships and experiences.”

“Then I should at least learn the Scorching Sun Divine Arts up to the fifth stage before our remaining time is up.”

“Would you look at this greedy brat. Reaching the third stage in a mere six months is already an incredible achievement. Don’t rely on your Heavenly Martial Physique and start spouting nonsense.”

“How long do you think it’ll take me?”

“Who knows? It took this old man exactly five years to go from the third stage to the fifth… No matter how much you possess the Heavenly Martial Physique, it will take you two years.”

And exactly six months later, I was able to see Jeok Cheongang’s face, half-drained of its spirit.

“T-This can’t be happening. It makes no sense.”

“But it is happening. Did it really take you five whole years?”

“You little bastard! I was a genius counted among the best of my generation!”

“Yeah. Heavenly Martial Physique.”

“This is impossible! Why did it have to be someone like you!”

Remembering Jeok Cheongang howling in despair, I let out a quiet laugh.

I put the old memories behind me, stood up, and faced the large full-length mirror.

It reflected a perfectly balanced body, compact muscles filled with power and elasticity, hair twisted up and tied without much care, and a smooth chin.

It wasn’t as if leaving it alone would have caused any problems.

Now that the thick growth was gone, I felt oddly empty. But there was no arguing with Jin Wikyung’s forceful insistence.

“The Star-Array Grand Banquet is a gathering watched by every martial artist under heaven. The Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi is appearing in the Central Plains, and you plan to go out looking like this? It’s a crime!”

I had thought he was being a little dramatic, but after getting it cut, I liked this better.

Whatever else could be said about this body, the face was exceptionally handsome.

You look like a gisaeng’s brother.¹

I was inwardly muttering the highest compliment one man could give another when I suddenly realized I had forgotten something.

Clink.

“Oh, right. I had this.”

The shackles, iron chains, and iron ball I had continued to drag around even after arriving at the estate of the Jin Family of Taiyuan.

I gazed silently at the objects that had practically become parts of my body, then opened my mouth.

“Inventory open. Summon.”

Whoosh!

The next moment, a solid spear shaft was grasped in my hand.

The object summoned from my Inventory was a spear approximately two meters long.

Perhaps because it had been made from an enormous amount of Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron, it shone with a beautiful, transparent light from the spearhead all the way to the end of the shaft.

“White Flame.”

Vrrrrm. Vrrrrm.

As though it had recognized its own name, a faint vibration traveled from within the shaft.

White Flame was a weapon made exclusively for me by Jang Taebo, the former Guild Leader of the Ironcraft Guild, who was known as the greatest smith under heaven.

Perhaps that was why White Flame was special.

Whether viewed with the naked eye or through the System window.

However…

“Captain. It’s time for us to leave.”

As Hyuk Mujin’s voice from outside the door made clear, it was time to go.

Sunlight flooded the world outside the window, and the people of the Jin Family of Taiyuan—including Jin Wikyung—were moving about busily.

“All right.”

As I answered, I choked up on the spear and slashed.

With four streaks of light, everything that had bound me for the past year fell away. The shackles, chains, and iron ball rolled noisily across the floor.

Clatter. Boom!

Bang!

Startled by the tremendous noise, Hyuk Mujin opened the door and rushed in.

“What was that?”

“Nothing. Let’s go. Oh, make sure to bring the chains.”

“……You’re planning to tie me up with those, aren’t you?”

“Those chains are made of Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron.”

“Gasp! They’re mine. Mine!”

Clicking my tongue, I stepped outside. Jin Wikyung, mounted on a large black horse, spotted me and grinned.

“Let us go.”

“Yes.”

Our destination was Mount Song.

That was where the Star-Array Grand Banquet, the event drawing the attention of all Murim, would begin.

“Yah!”

With Jin Wikyung and me at the front, fifty members of the Jin Dragon Squad followed behind.

Through the wind rushing past us, someone’s distant shout echoed faintly.

“Wait! Wait! Don’t leave me behind!”

“……”

I still couldn’t believe that man was the Vice Squad Leader.

The Fire King, Jeok Cheongang, muttered with an annoyed expression.

“…Do I really have to attend something like this?”

The Dharma King, Hong Dao, was sitting with an endlessly benevolent expression.

“This old monk is bored enough to reach Buddhahood, so keep your mouth shut and sit still.”

“Why? You said you were bored, too.”

“I am already bored. What do you think happens when an old man with little time left starts whining like a seven-year-old child beside me?”

“I would get annoyed.”

“Exactly. If I am bored and become annoyed as well, I may break my wooden fish and return to my quarters.”

“You have attained enlightenment.”

“Amitabha. Amitabha.”

Tok. Tok. Tok-tok-tok-tok…

The clear sound of a wooden fish echoed through the room. Those who had been listening with their ears perked up wore utterly dumbfounded expressions.

They say the Fire King and Dharma King are famous for their eccentric behavior. They certainly are.

Those two haven’t changed at all.

Does that old bastard ever die?

Their thoughts were different, as were their clothing and the auras they gave off.

They ranged from middle-aged men without a single strand of white hair to old men with heads of pure white.

The dozen or so people gathered there, each so different from the others, were not ordinary mortals.

They belonged to the fifteen pillars supporting the current Murim: the Nine Sects and One Gang and the Five Great Families.

The Fire King, Jeok Cheongang, was already familiar with some of them.

“Oh, isn’t that the Nangong Family Head?”

Namgung Ryong, the Family Head of the Nangong Family, rose and performed a fist-and-palm salute.

“Please forgive me for greeting you so late. The two of you were having such an entertaining conversation that I hesitated to interrupt.”

“It’s fine. I left in a hurry last time and didn’t even get to see your face. My apologies.”

“Not at all. I am the one who should apologize.”

“So, is your son competing in this Star-Array Grand Banquet?”

“He won’t be able to this time.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

Jeok Cheongang’s face showed not the slightest trace of regret as his gaze shifted to the man beside Namgung Ryong.

“Who are you?”

The man with the sycophant’s beard asked sourly,

“Are you speaking to me?”

“Yes. You, with the beard like a sycophant’s.”

“I am Gong Iljung, the Sect Leader of the Zhongnan Sect.”

“Ah. Are you that fellow they call the Wind-and-Cloud War God or whatever?”

“Wind-and-Cloud Sword Lord.”

“What does that matter? Young man, why are you so rigid?”

Gong Iljung, a “young man” who had long since passed sixty, had to steady his breathing.

Only a year earlier, he had been shocked when the Roaring Fury Swordsman, his Senior Brother who had studied under the same Master, arrived with a severe Internal Injury.

But he had to endure this. The Fire King, Jeok Cheongang, was quite literally no different from a mad tiger.

“Did you hear from your Senior Brother?”

“…Yes.”

“Keep him under control so he doesn’t come to my attention. Shoving him into the Repentance Cave for about twenty years might not be a bad idea.”

Gong Iljung barely managed to swallow the curse rising to his lips.

What Jeok Cheongang meant was that he could easily live another twenty years, so Gong Iljung had better not act up.

Even those who normally held Jeok Cheongang in low regard inwardly clicked their tongues at his words.

What a vicious old man…

Is he planning to enjoy immortality?

You’ve caused enough trouble. Go already, old man. We need to breathe, too.

I should have brought my Master.

Although they belonged to different sects, there was still a strict order of seniority in the Murim.

Jeok Cheongang was a figure from two generations earlier, and his seniority was naturally tremendous.

That was one reason the leaders gathered there could do nothing but tremble before him, no matter how much they dominated the world.

In martial arts, seniority, or verbal skill, there was not a single area in which they could defeat him.

“Ahem. Ahem.”

“Erhm.”

Several people were clearing their throats to avoid Jeok Cheongang’s questions when a booming voice rang out.

“Hahahaha! With the tiger away, the fox has been playing king. Jeok Cheongang, have you been well?”

Jeok Cheongang turned his head at the thunderous voice. His brow was already deeply furrowed, because he knew exactly who had arrived.

“Goddammit. You’re not dead yet?”

“Listen to the way this little old man talks.”

An enormous old man threw back his head and laughed. Although his mouth split open in a broad grin, his sharp eyes swept over Jeok Cheongang.

“I welcomed a great-great-grandson not long ago. There’s no way I’m dying before I see that boy get married.”

“Your great-great-grandson?”

“What, are you jealous? My great-grandson’s wife is Hebei’s greatest beauty, and the boy takes after his mother to a tee. He’s absolutely adorable.”

Jeok Cheongang replied with an indifferent expression.

“The greatest beauty in that neighborhood can’t be trusted. Isn’t Hebei the place where anyone with fists this big and a thick waist gets called Yang Guifei?”

“What!”

“Anyway, congratulations. With ten children, you don’t need to worry about heirs.”

“…What kind of bullshit are you pulling?”

“What do you mean, what kind? To commemorate seeing your great-great-grandson, why don’t you change your title? Not Thunderbolt Saber King. How about Virility Saber King? What do you think?”

“GRAAAAGH! You old man!”

“Sit down while I’m asking nicely. Don’t you remember breaking your bones when you challenged me during the Great Faction War?”

Sssshhhh!

Powerful auras poured from the bodies of the two Supreme Peak masters. Their momentum was so overwhelming that everyone present felt a chill run through them.

If the Dharma King had not been there to mediate, the situation might have turned bloody.

“Now, now. Amitabha, Amitabha… Both of you, calm your anger. The heroes outside are waiting. How can you make such a disgraceful spectacle? Do you perhaps wish to smear the names of the Fire Gate Clan and the Hebei Peng Family with shit here today?”

His final words had a definite effect. The two men hesitated before withdrawing their auras.

“Ahem. Jeok Cheongang, I will teach you a lesson next time.”

“I’ll be waiting, Virility Saber King.”

Having delivered the final blow to the Thunderbolt Saber King’s title, Jeok Cheongang leisurely walked away.

The Dharma King, the Thunderbolt Saber King, and the overlords of the various regions followed behind him.

They passed through a corridor covered in blue cloth and stepped out into the glaring sunlight.

Three zhang below them, tens of thousands of people gathered at the foot of Mount Song greeted them with a tremendous roar.

“Waaaaaaah!”