Chapter 252

One day, two days, three days.

As time passed, the tournament bracket steadily shrank. More than five hundred participants had entered the main event on its first day. Now barely ten remained.

And as the crowd’s excitement rose with each passing day, one man’s spirits soared with it.

“This old man has been giving it some thought…”

The Fire King, Jeok Cheongang, continued in a solemn voice.

“I’m beginning to think our sect’s martial arts truly are the greatest under heaven. What does everyone think?”

“……”

The people in the seats of honor struggled to keep their faces from twisting.

This was hardly anything new, and they had all expected it. That did not make it sting any less.

What made it even more infuriating was that they could not refute him.

Their inability to risk offending the Fire King was one thing. More importantly, the performance of his disciple, the Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi, had been nothing short of astonishing.

He had caused a tremendous stir from the preliminaries onward, then continued advancing triumphantly while displaying overwhelming skill against one renowned master after another.

Yesterday, he had even beaten the Hebei Peng Family’s Hunyun Saber as mercilessly as a dog marked for slaughter.¹

Damn old man. He couldn’t even wait before bragging again.

The greatest martial arts under heaven, my ass. All he did was raise one talented brat.

Still, the kid’s the real deal. Where did he find such a monster?

Their thoughts were written plainly across their faces. Under normal circumstances, Jeok Cheongang would have threatened them for failing to control their expressions.

But right now, he was the very image of a benevolent Buddha.

He smiled contentedly as he looked around, then his gaze stopped on one man.

“Hey, Virility Saber King.”

“……”

The enormous old man, the Thunderbolt Saber King, pretended not to hear and stared toward a distant mountain. His face had turned bright red.

“When someone calls you, you should answer. I’m three years older than you, too. Isn’t that right?”

“……Shut your mouth while I’m still asking nicely.”

“Oh, come now. Why are you so angry?”

Jeok Cheongang responded slyly, widening his eyes in feigned surprise.

“Is it because that eldest grandson of yours—the one you praised until your mouth went dry, calling him the greatest prodigy in Hebei or whatever—spent fifteen minutes getting beaten by my disciple?”

“……!”

“Good grief. Haven’t you heard that victory and defeat are simply part of war? Why get so worked up over it?”

Only then did the Thunderbolt Saber King, who had been snorting furiously, slowly turn his gaze toward Jeok Cheongang.

“Th-That’s right. Sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose.”

“Exactly. That’s how it goes at that age.”

“You’re finally saying something sensible. Since we’re on the subject, my grandson was exhausted from such a long journey. That’s why he couldn’t display his full strength.”

Jeok Cheongang smiled kindly and nodded.

“I understand. When someone’s skill is lacking, he needs an excuse.”

“……What did you say?”

“Come to think of it, they aren’t even the same age. Your eldest grandson is over thirty, isn’t he? Our Taekyung is only twenty-two. Heh heh. It can happen. It can.”

“Y-You damned old bastard!”

“Hm? What was that? I can’t hear you very well. You’re the Grand Family Head of the Hebei Peng Family who was eliminated in the quarterfinals, after all. Hahahaha!”

The Thunderbolt Saber King’s eyes rolled back as he started to surge to his feet.

A hand holding a string of prayer beads blocked him.

The Dharma King, Hong Dao, sighed as he looked at the two men.

“Amitabha.² The two of you should act your age. Have you forgotten where you are?”

This was the dueling arena of the Star-Array Grand Banquet, with thousands upon thousands of spectators watching.

Only then did the Thunderbolt Saber King notice all the curious gazes directed toward the seats of honor. He lowered himself back into his seat.

“Urgh.”

“Benefactor Jeok, what about you?”

Jeok Cheongang stared at Hong Dao for a moment, then gave a small nod.

“……Fine. I understand.”

“Good. Everyone should get along. What will you do when I’m no longer here?”

“What do you think? I’ll break that old man’s nose.”

Despite the Thunderbolt Saber King’s taunt, Jeok Cheongang did not react.

After glancing sidelong at Hong Dao, he merely stared toward the dueling arena with a heavy expression.

Something Hong Dao had said before continued to echo in his mind.

I intend to step down after this Star-Array Grand Banquet.

His old friend was preparing for death.

Had he said he had a year left at most? Hong Dao could no longer read the heavenly patterns as clearly as before, but if the Dharma King said it was so, then it was so.

Damn bald monk. You should live another ten years at least.

No matter how high Jin Taekyung’s victories lifted his spirits, thoughts of Hong Dao soon weighed them down again.

Just as they were now.

Sensing the change in Jeok Cheongang’s mood, Hong Dao suddenly spoke.

“In any case, there have been an unusual number of upsets at this Star-Array Grand Banquet. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“The Abbot is right.”

“None of us expected these results.”

The Sect Leaders in the seats of honor nodded.

“The Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi goes without saying…”

At the mention of Jin Taekyung, the muscles in Jin Wikyung’s face twitched from his seat at the lower end of the table.

He remained silent only because he still lacked the age and standing in the martial world to speak freely among those present. Given the chance, he would have leaped to his feet and danced for joy long ago.

The Sect Leaders looked at him with undisguised envy as they continued.

“But the most unexpected upsets were the Life-Sustaining Sword—or rather, the Always-Victorious Sword—and the Invincible Divine Sword.”

“Ah, yes. Those two surprised me the most as well.”

What kind of place was the Star-Array Grand Banquet?

It was a gathering attended by countless young, renowned martial artists from every corner of the world.

Yet the Always-Victorious Sword and the Invincible Divine Sword were not disciples of any famous major sect, nor had either of them ever made a name for themselves.

That they still remained in the bracket was even more surprising than Jin Taekyung’s advancement. After all, Taekyung was both the Fire King’s disciple and a member of the Jin Family of Taiyuan.

“The Invincible Divine Sword is particularly impressive. He seems capable of holding his own against even an Elder of our sect.”

At the words of one of the Sect Leaders from a mid-sized sect, Jeok Cheongang, who had been quietly listening, suddenly spoke.

“Keep your mouth shut. At least then you might pass for average.”

“……Excuse me?”

“I don’t know what sect you belong to or who you are, but that child is already far beyond the level of a young prodigy. Are you truly unable to guess, or are you pretending not to know even though you do?”

Hong Dao and the Thunderbolt Saber King also chuckled in agreement.

“Benefactor Jeok’s words are harsh, but he is right.”

“I hate agreeing with that old man, but he’s right. Perhaps that’s only natural. He is the Sword… Ahem. In any case, the kid is incredible.”

The Thunderbolt Saber King abruptly trailed off and glanced sidelong at someone.

It was a middle-aged man with a gentle smile—the Sect Leader of Huashan, the Heavenly Sword True Person.³

“Hahaha. As expected, there is no deceiving the eyes of my esteemed seniors.”

At the Heavenly Sword True Person’s ringing laughter, the others asked suspiciously,

“Could it be…?”

“That’s right. The Invincible Divine Sword is a disciple of our sect.”

“Ah, I knew it!”

“You have an outstanding disciple, True Person.”

A few of the stronger martial artists nodded silently, as though they had already guessed. Others exclaimed in astonishment.

But an even more shocking statement soon passed the Heavenly Sword True Person’s lips.

“Not my disciple. He is my junior brother.”

“Th-Then you mean…”

“By a twist of fate, we came to serve the same master. The last time I saw him was more than ten years ago… It pleases me to see how splendidly he has grown.”

The same master.

No one properly heard what followed. Not a single person present was unaware that the Heavenly Sword True Person’s master was the Sword Saint, Mae Jonghak.

The Invincible Divine Sword is the Sword Saint’s disciple?

As the people around him were swept up in shock, the Heavenly Sword True Person merely smiled in silence.

He looked like a Daoist who had attained enlightenment.

His thoughts, however, were another matter entirely.

I finally caught you, you little punk!

First his master, the Sword Saint, had run away. Then his youngest junior brother had done the same.

A year ago, the Heavenly Sword True Person had thought he had finally caught up with the boy, only for Cheongpung to beat down his disciples and flee again.

Every time the Invincible Divine Sword stepped onto the dueling platform, he had to suppress the urge to grab the boy by the collar and drag him back to Huashan.

“Heh heh heh. He is a treasure of our Huashan.”

The Heavenly Sword True Person hid his true feelings behind the smile of an immortal. Congratulations poured toward him.

“What a joyous occasion. The Sword Saint’s name will remain in Huashan for another generation.”

“Congratulations, True Person.”

“My congratulations!”

“A duel between the Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi and the Invincible Divine Sword… This makes the finals even more exciting. Hahaha!”

Amid the warm atmosphere, Jeok Cheongang’s brow furrowed.

At the same time, a strand of Sound Transmission reached Hong Dao’s ear.

—Everyone is forgetting one person.

Hong Dao quietly rolled his prayer beads.

—You mean Jongni Chu, the Always-Victorious Sword?

—That’s right. Him.

The Star-Array Grand Banquet was a gathering of the martial world where anyone could participate regardless of background or affiliation. As a result, participants did not have to undergo a particularly detailed verification process before applying.

But that was only how things looked from the outside.

—I mobilized the Hidden Shadow Pavilion to investigate the identities of every participant who advanced to the main event.

A year ago, when Hong Dao first sensed the existence of Dark Heaven, the first person he sought out was the Thousand-Faced Fox, Song Ho.

After hearing the circumstances, Song Ho summoned his former subordinates without hesitation. Thus, the Hidden Shadow Pavilion, which had been reduced to little more than a name, was reborn.

—And the result?

—The result remained the same no matter how many times we checked. Everyone’s identity was confirmed except for one. We could find no trace of the Always-Victorious Sword, Jongni Chu, anywhere.

—Are you certain? If he had thoroughly concealed his identity for some reason…

—It was only a suspicion—until we lost contact with Shadow Killer three days ago.

—Shadow Killer? You mean someone got to him?

Shadow Killer was extraordinary enough that even Jeok Cheongang knew of him.

He was the Hidden Shadow Pavilion’s finest intelligence agent, as well as an assassin who had reached the Supreme Peak.

It was not difficult to imagine Shadow Killer as a cold corpse by now.

—What do you think? Can you identify Jongni Chu’s martial arts?

Hong Dao’s Sound Transmission caused Jeok Cheongang’s gaze to deepen.

—I don’t know either. In fact, that is the greatest mystery.

He had encountered countless martial arts throughout his life.

He had witnessed them with his own eyes, faced them himself, and defeated them.

But the martial arts Jongni Chu displayed were utterly unfamiliar to him.

—His martial arts don’t even seem particularly powerful…and yet he has somehow won every time and made it this far. They are unlike anything I have ever seen.

—Then are you saying his martial arts defy common principles?

—Defy common principles?

Jeok Cheongang’s face hardened.

Decades ago, saying that something defied common principles meant only one thing.

The Demonic Path!

At the same time, the same word crossed both men’s minds.

Hong Dao and Jeok Cheongang had lived through an age of war. They understood its meaning better than anyone.

—Then are you saying he is a descendant of the Demonic Cult?

—I don’t know. Dark Heaven, the Demonic Cult… He may belong to either one, or perhaps to something else entirely.

Just as the two men ended their Sound Transmission with grim expressions, a shout infused with internal energy shook the dueling arena.

“Fellow martial artists, allow me to introduce the rising young master known as the Invincible Divine Sword—and Wudang’s Willow-Cloud Divine Dragon!”

The Invincible Divine Sword—or rather, Cheongpung—looked especially excited as he climbed onto the dueling platform.

As thunderous cheers poured down on him, he hopped up and down in place and waved.

“Wow! Woooow! Hello! This is my first time reaching the quarterfinals of the Star-Array Grand Banquet!”

His opponent, the Willow-Cloud Divine Dragon, was warming up with a stiff expression.

He was one of the Ten Dragons and Phoenixes, the finest young prodigies of orthodox Murim. Along with Jin Mukyung, he was said to stand at the very top.

He’s definitely strong.

He was already over thirty and the direct disciple of Wudang’s Sect Leader.

According to Zhuge Gyun, he had accumulated considerable real-world combat experience while traveling from place to place for duels.

But still…

Well, you never know how a duel will turn out.

I leaned back comfortably in the spectator stands.

Only yesterday, I had crushed the Lesser Family Head of the Hebei Peng Family as Jeok Cheongang had wished and advanced to the semifinals.

Barring a major upset, I should make it to the finals without much trouble.

And my opponent there would probably be Cheongpung.

Let’s see what you can do.

At the same moment my eyes began to shine, the flag signaling the start of the duel rose.