Chapter 315

Step. Step.

The Zhongnan One Dragon, Hyuk Sopyung, walked neither quickly nor slowly.

With every step, people’s gazes and whispers followed him.

“Tut-tut. Causing a scene like that in broad daylight…”

“To think that’s the man they call his sect’s greatest young prodigy. Tells you all you need to know about the Zhongnan Sect. No wonder Huashan has always been the greatest sect in Shaanxi.”

“Why is his cheek so swollen? I heard Huashan’s Lone Crane was here. Could it be…?”

Hyuk Sopyung unconsciously rubbed his cheek.

The throbbing pain wasn’t only from the stinging gazes around him. The three slaps he had taken without being able to resist—and one man’s low voice—came vividly back to him.

I thought I told you. Think carefully before you swing that sword.

The Fire Gate Clan successor chosen by the Fire King Jeok Cheongang. A Hidden Dragon who had risen from the small stream that was Shanxi Province.

Hyuk Sopyung had already heard enough about that bastard to last him a lifetime.

But…

How can he be that strong?

He couldn’t understand it. He had become the direct Disciple of the Zhongnan Sect’s Sect Leader and studied martial arts with the sect’s full support.

Countless Peak martial arts and elixirs, even his place among the Ten Dragons and Phoenixes—Hyuk Sopyung had taken them all for granted.

But now, everything around him was beginning to totter.

The cold expression on the face of Xi’an Tower’s chief manager when they met at the entrance was only one sign.

“I heard you caused another disturbance.”

“A disturbance? There was a little commotion, that’s all. It was nothing serious, so let’s forget about it.”

Hyuk Sopyung was about to walk past him when the chief manager’s next words stopped him dead.

“I believe I told you last time that if this happened again, I would file a formal complaint with the Zhongnan Sect.”

“A complaint?”

Hyuk Sopyung glared at the chief manager, his eyes gleaming.

“Our Manager Song has grown quite bold.”

“Young Hero Hyuk!”

“Don’t get cocky.”

A growl slipped between Hyuk Sopyung’s clenched teeth.

“You seem awfully full of yourself just because the owner’s son joined Huashan as a lay Disciple… Do you really think the Great Zhongnan Sect is such a joke?”

“You go too far.”

Hyuk Sopyung twisted his lips at the chief manager’s stiff expression.

“You’re the ones going too far. A pack of wine sellers dares to look down on our sect? You’ve got more nerve than sense.”

“May I repeat those words to the owner exactly as you said them?”

“Don’t forget. Be sure to tell him. Then I’ll see you next time.”

Pat, pat.

Hyuk Sopyung patted the chief manager’s shoulder and walked away with a bitter smile on his lips.

Now even people like him are looking down on me.

Of course, Xi’an Tower’s owner possessed considerable influence for someone who could be called a mere businessman. He was a major player who controlled the entertainment district of Xi’an, the capital of Shaanxi Province.

But no matter how powerful someone was in the business world, before the name of the Nine Sects and One Gang, he was nothing more than a firefly before the sun.

And now Hyuk Sopyung had suffered such humiliation at the hands of a mere pleasure-house manager—not even the owner himself.

Things really are going from bad to worse.

Over the past year or two, the Zhongnan Sect’s standing had plummeted again and again.

The first shot had been fired by the Fire King Jeok Cheongang when he crushed the Roaring Fury Swordsman in front of countless witnesses. Then came the Sword Saint Mae Jonghak’s return from seclusion, followed by the name Huashan Divine Dragon.

How could two tigers live on the same mountain?

One had to be the strong one, and the other the weak.

The Zhongnan Sect’s role was the latter.

It won’t always be like this.

Blood trickled from Hyuk Sopyung’s tightly clenched fist.

He had expelled the last of the previous night’s alcohol from his body long ago. He was staring up at the sky with a grim expression when—

“Gasp, gasp. Senior Brother, there you are.”

“You’re… Bong-su?”

Hyuk Sopyung looked at the familiar face in surprise.

The young man was panting heavily. Like Hyuk Sopyung, he was a Disciple of the Zhongnan Sect. Though they had different Masters, they belonged to the same generation.

“What brings you here when you should be at the main sect?”

The main sect stood on Mount Zhongnan, two days from Xi’an. Bong-su, Hyuk Sopyung’s Junior Brother, answered.

“I’m carrying out a mission. The entire Taeeul Sword Unit came with me.”

“A mission? The Taeeul Sword Unit too?”

The Taeeul Sword Unit was a fighting force composed of the Zhongnan Sect’s second-generation Disciples. Though they couldn’t compare to Huashan’s Plum Blossom Swordsmen, they were still an elite unit the Zhongnan Sect took great pride in.

For the Taeeul Sword Unit, who rarely even left the main sect, to come all the way here…

Hyuk Sopyung frowned in puzzlement. His Junior Brother spoke.

“I was ordered to bring you back, Senior Brother.”

“Ordered? Who’s looking for me?”

“Senior Martial Uncle is in Xi’an.”

“……!”

Hyuk Sopyung’s eyes widened. There were only two people his Junior Brother, who was of the same generation as him, could call Senior Martial Uncle.

One of them, the Roaring Fury Swordsman Song Il, had shut himself away at the main sect because of the internal injury he had suffered at the Fire King’s hands. That left only one person.

But why is he in Xi’an…?

Hyuk Sopyung hurriedly pushed the question from his mind.

If his Second Martial Uncle was looking for him, he couldn’t afford to delay for even a moment. Hyuk Sopyung feared the man more than he feared his own Master, the Wind-and-Cloud Sword Lord.

And it wasn’t only Hyuk Sopyung. Every Disciple of the Zhongnan Sect felt the same way.

The anxiety on his Junior Brother’s face was proof enough.

“Senior Brother, there’s no time.”

“Take me to Senior Martial Uncle at once.”

A short while later, Hyuk Sopyung shot forward at tremendous speed using his movement technique. One question kept circling through his mind.

What on earth is going on?

One thing was certain.

If his Second Martial Uncle, the Taeeul Merciless Sword, had stepped in, this was no ordinary matter.

True Qi Guidance was a dangerous and difficult undertaking.

Even when circulating one’s qi alone, there was always a risk of qi deviation. True Qi Guidance required circulating someone else’s qi for them, so its difficulty needed no explanation.

Especially when that someone is the Fire King.

The tension was on an entirely different level from when I had performed True Qi Guidance on the Peace Guild members.

Feeling as though I were stepping onto thin ice, I began moving the Scorching Yang Qi.

Slowly. Carefully.

I repeated those two words over and over. Allowing myself no distracting thoughts, I drew in Jeok Cheongang’s immense qi.

Whoooong.

The two streams of qi met.

But there was none of the collision or resistance I had encountered with the Peace Guild members. They simply blended together naturally.

They merged and yielded to my guidance as though they had always been one—as naturally as twins reuniting after a long separation.

Because they grew from the same root.

That was right. Jeok Cheongang and I shared the same root: the Fire Gate Clan.

If someone who hadn’t learned the Fire Gate Divine Technique had rashly attempted True Qi Guidance, they might have failed to withstand Jeok Cheongang’s immense internal energy and fallen into qi deviation.

What a relief.

I had already done this several times, but it never stopped being terrifying.

With my heart in my throat, I began the True Qi Guidance in earnest.

Following the formula of the Fire Gate Divine Technique, I ceaselessly circulated the Extreme Yang qi that had now become one.

One shichen,¹ or perhaps two.

I lost all sense of time in my concentration. The True Qi Guidance, which had seemed as though it would never end, finally came to a close when all the internal energy returned to the dantian.

Chime.

System

• True Qi Guidance successfully completed!
• The target’s condition has improved slightly!
• Your Scorching Yang Qi has increased slightly!

“Phew…”

I closed my eyes and steadied my breathing.

It wasn’t over yet. For one brief moment, I had merged with the immense qi of the Supreme Peak master known as the Fire King Jeok Cheongang and felt it as my own.

The root called the Fire Gate Clan. The trunk of the great tree that had grown from it, and its countless branches. I had clearly witnessed a glimpse of an unimaginably distant realm.

Insight came from experiences and circumstances like this.

Just like now.

I’m finally starting to see the way forward.

I could see them—the steps leading to a higher realm.

It was a small insight no one could have taught me.

Chime.

System

• The realm of Fire Gate Divine Technique has risen to seven stars!
• You can manipulate, release, and withdraw qi more freely!
• You can now perform the martial arts of the Fire Gate Clan with greater power and effectiveness!
• You have acquired a large amount of EXP and Bonus Points as a reward for your enlightenment!
• Level Up!

Yes. This was it.

I opened my eyes to the cheerful chime. I had climbed only a single step, but the difference was immense.

Through my newly sharpened senses, information about everything around me came flooding in.

My entire body was drenched in sweat. The impurities I had expelled reeked. And someone was struggling silently behind me.

“……”

What the fuck?

I turned my head and saw Cheongpung wrapped around Hyuk Mujin’s entire body like an anaconda, both hands clamped firmly over Mujin’s mouth and nose.

“What are you doing over there?”

Cheongpung answered brightly.

“Hyuk Mujin was about to snore, so I was stopping him!”

“Ah, well done. That bastard nearly pissed me off so badly I fell into qi deviation.”

I told that idiot Hyuk Mujin to stand guard, and he was off dreaming the Butterfly Dream.²

I stared at Hyuk Mujin, whose face had turned blue as he struggled, and suddenly thought of something.

“You only need to cover his nose. Why are you covering his mouth too?”

“When I covered his nose, sounds started coming out of his mouth!”

“Oh.”

“So I covered both!”

“Hmm. Won’t he suffocate and die?”

“He can use the Turtle Breath Technique!”

“What exactly is this damn Turtle Breath Technique?”

“You hold your breath, stop your heartbeat, and lower your body temperature at the same time!”

“Sounds incredible. Is that even possible?”

“Of course. That’s what Hyuk Mujin is doing right now!”

“Mujin is?”

“Yes! His heartbeat has already stopped.”

“……?”

My brain stopped working.

I stared silently at Hyuk Mujin. While we had been talking, he had stopped struggling, and his limbs now hung limp.

“Gasp! Mujin!”

“He’ll be cold soon!”

“Get your hands off him right now, you lunatic!”

“Huh? Maybe it isn’t the Turtle Breath Technique. Young Hero Hyuk? Can’t you hear me? Young Hero Hyuk?”

I didn’t know about the Turtle Breath Technique, but the Ghost Technique certainly seemed accurate.

Just before Hyuk Mujin could achieve Great Completion in the Ghost Technique, I slammed a palm into his chest.

“Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Fist!”

Thud!

With the dull impact, a harsh breath burst from Hyuk Mujin’s open mouth.

“Gahk!”

“Oh no, Mujin! My left pinky!”

“Cough, cough! C-Captain?”

“Are you all right? Can you breathe?”

“What?”

Hyuk Mujin looked around in confusion. Maybe because he had been attacked in the middle of his sleep, he didn’t seem to understand what had happened.

“What’s going on? I was just on a cloud.”

“A cloud?”

This idiot had really almost died.

I was letting out a sigh of relief when Hyuk Mujin continued.

“A man in white came over and started saying strange things. Something about a little lamb having come.”

“What kind of lamb?”

“A little lamb. Then he tried to embrace me, but there were holes this big in both his palms. I was about to cut him down without mercy when I woke up.”

“……”

Why was that person there?

Just as I found myself at a loss for words, the door to our private room at Xi’an Tower slid open, and a grimy face poked inside.

Gung Gibang looked over the dejected Cheongpung, Hyuk Mujin, who had just returned from the dead, and finally me, still shell-shocked.

Then he muttered, “What a kennel.”

Being treated like a dog by a beggar left a bad taste in my mouth.

After barely pulling myself together, I asked Gung Gibang, “Were you out begging?”

Gung Gibang shouted indignantly, “What are you talking about? I’m on my way back from our sect’s Xi’an branch!”

The previous night, I had decided to spend a day at Xi’an Tower and recover from the fatigue of our journey. I had also asked Gung Gibang to gather information, so he must have visited the Xi’an branch for that reason.

Since beggars were scattered throughout the world, the Beggars’ Sect had branches everywhere.

In terms of sheer numbers, it was the greatest sect under heaven.

“So? Did you find anything useful? Something about the Divine Physician’s whereabouts, for example.”

“I did. Though it wasn’t about the Divine Physician.”

Gung Gibang thought for a moment before continuing.

“This information reeks to high heaven.”

“More than you?”

“……”

“Sorry. Tell me.”

Deeply offended, Gung Gibang refused to open his mouth until I had given him five silver nyang in alms.³