Chapter 54
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Yearning Heart
-----------------------------------------------------------------
True Person Qingxu gazed at So-hyang, who had raised her clasped hands in a neat posture, with a peculiar look in his eyes.
Before he had removed the eyepatch, he might not have noticed, but now, to True Person Qingxu, her intentions were fully visible.
It was an enthusiasm hard to compare with other martial artists who devoted themselves to the martial path and roamed about seeking spars.
What could he say? The form was similar, but the depth of immersion was entirely different.
It was calm and serene on the surface, but that was undoubtedly a manifestation of madness.
"Indeed, the Zhuge Clan's business was just an afterthought. This was your true aim, wasn't it?"
He blinked his universe-embracing eyes and slowly stroked his chin as if caressing a beard.
"...Just to be sure, I'm asking: is this a friendly bout, or a life-and-death duel?"
And yet, even after seeing it with his own eyes, he asked in an uncertain tone, as if it were ambiguous.
"Come on, barging in and demanding to fight to the death—is that the act of a person or a beast?"
Though something felt off about So-hyang's bright smile and dismissive wave, no false intent was visible, so he accepted it for the time being.
"I'll accept your challenge, but we should observe the proper order."
"Ah, now that I think about it, you're right."
The tradition of dojo storming began with the lowest disciples, gradually defeating sect members step by step.
It culminated in a duel with the sect's top expert, claiming victory there.
From So-hyang's perspective, however, warriors below the peak realm didn't even qualify as opponents, so she had thrown her challenge directly at a transcendent expert—the sect leader.
But this was Wudang Sect.
Wasn't it the pinnacle among the Nine Great Sects, hailed as the Polaris of Mount Tai?
True Person Qingxu turned his head and looked down toward the base of the mountain peak.
With a soft mutter, he sent his voice, infused with inner energy, shooting down the mountain.
A thunderous roar echoed as a figure pierced the mist blanketing the foot of the peak and soared upward.
A woman who sliced through the air, standing atop an ancient sword engraved with pine motifs.
"Yes, Qingxia, you've arrived."
"Master! What brings this on—"
A height slightly taller than So-hyang's, quite elongated for a woman.
Sleek, lithe lines stretching gracefully downward.
A stunning beauty with somewhat sharp eyes.
Clearly a refined beauty, but her natural expression seemed rather cold and prickly.
At this moment, however, she beamed broadly, thrilled at her master's summons, dispelling any such aura.
"Oh ho, truly worthy of the title Polaris of Mount Tai? Two transcendent experts in a single sect..."
"...Who are you?"
Upon spotting So-hyang beside True Person Qingxu, her face twisted ferociously.
Her master, who rarely exchanged even a few words on trivial matters after retiring to the background.
She had rushed to the main peak's summit upon his rare call—
"Master? Where did this wretched hag crawl out from?"
A beauty that blended a girl's vibrant energy with a mature woman's allure, captivating even another woman's gaze.
A soft, leisurely smile and a demure posture befitting a natural-born lady.
Above all... pronounced curves that asserted themselves unmistakably even beneath loose robes.
"...Kuhk."
The sect leader glanced down at her own body unwittingly, groaning as if spitting blood at the overwhelming disparity.
"You never spared me a glance when I clung to you...! So that's your type—dumpy and dull...!"
True Person Qingxu squeezed his eyes shut.
"What on earth are you saying? Please, Qingxia...!"
The reason he had kept his distance from the disciple who assumed the sect leader's role after his retirement.
The current Wudang sect leader, True Person Qingxia, harbored a yearning heart for her master.
------
True Person Qingxu was Wudang's greatest elder and its most accomplished martial artist.
However, he did not hold the highest position.
To be precise, he had relinquished it.
When his diligently nurtured disciple achieved the transcendent realm at a young age, he deemed it fitting and immediately passed the sect leader position to her, retiring to the shadows.
A proud disciple who reached transcendence in her late twenties.
Her talent was universally acclaimed as the most brilliant since the Martial God—honestly, beyond his deserving.
But there was one issue...
"Qingxia, isn't the master-disciple bond akin to parent and child? Moreover, as one who learned Wudang's Dao, how can you commit such unfilial impiety...?"
"Master always said it! That following where your heart leads is the true Dao...! It's not against heavenly ethics, and I can't abandon these feelings...!"
She had concealed it perfectly until reaching transcendence, but began revealing her inner thoughts thereafter.
"Qingxia, please...! What about this old man could possibly appeal to you so fiercely!?"
At his disciple blurting shamelessly beside an outsider, True Person Qingxu let out a piercing shriek.
Yet, even if his inner essence was an old monster who had endured two minor heavenly tribulations and achieved transcendence and rejuvenation...
His appearance was that of a flawless white-haired youth, face flushed with shame, breathing raggedly.
"Ha, damn it...! Master, do you truly wish to see me lose my mind...!?"
The sect leader's eyes gleamed dangerously as she extended her qi sense, gauging the gap between her master and herself.
"Tsk, still...!"
The sect leader clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction.
She swallowed her drool with a gulp and forcibly reined in her surging impulses.
If only her power were sufficient, she would pin him down and devour him on the spot—but she lacked the confidence to claim surpassing her master.
"I truly don't understand how it came to this..."
With his supreme arts, True Person Qingxu could peer clearly into his disciple's dark desires.
She hadn't even tried to hide them from the start.
The sect leader, face beet-red and eyes sparkling; True Person Qingxu, clutching his pounding head.
"Oh my, oh my oh my?"
And So-hyang, observing their exchange with eyes brimming with fascination.
Even So-hyang, who poured her soul into the sword, was not devoid of human curiosity, and she couldn't help finding the scene entertaining.
Moreover, both shared the "Qing" character in their generation names.
As So-hyang knew, Wudang's generation sequence cycled through twelve characters every decade.
"Wow, two full cycles. Could this count as sixty years apart...?"
"—Please shut up...!!"
It was such prime entertainment that she lamented the absence of popcorn and soda.
"For now, Qingxia. This White Lotus Sword junior and I are not in the relationship you imagine..."
True Person Qingxu explained the situation with heavy sighs, his youthful clear skin now sallow and ashen.
An envoy from the Zhuge Clan bearing a secret communique; after concluding official duties, merely a visitor requesting a personal spar.
"Here is the Zhuge Clan's silver badge."
So-hyang produced the badge from her sleeve, aligning with True Person Qingxu's account.
"Secret communique...? Why deliver it to Master instead of me, the sect leader...?"
The sect leader frowned suspiciously but refrained from further complaints.
"So, what is this secret matter?"
The Blood Brush.
Mental corruption through writing, reversal of spell effects.
Contagious nature of its power, rooting out sect pests.
"Sigh..."
True Person Qingxu clutched his head anew, reminded of the chaos with his disciple compounded by a grave sect-wide crisis.
Problems towered like mountains.
"...The explanation will take time, so later. For now, let's discuss the spar."
-----
Sects in the martial world that display challenge plaques rarely refuse challengers.
Having forged their power solely through martial prowess across the vast Central Plains, rejecting challengers would invite doubts about their authority.
Unless it involved brazen killing intent or forcing a life-and-death duel, they generally accepted.
The Zhuge Clan's gatekeepers earlier had dismissed them as riffraff, not true challengers.
In other words, refusing a worthy warrior's challenge was exceedingly rare.
The most straightforward way to gauge skill was by reputation.
For equals or superiors, one could sense it directly, but background knowledge and hearsay allowed a rough assessment.
"White Lotus Sword—the rising expert who bested the Zhuge Clan head. So the rumors of your challenge tour are true?"
So-hyang offered no reply to the sect leader's question. It was merely a stream of thoughts, not a probe.
She simply smiled faintly and raised her clasped hands.
"Ha, right. What need is there for words in a fight?"
The sect leader twisted her lips into a smile and mirrored the gesture with clasped hands.
"White Lotus Sword, So-hyang. As a humble junior, I request a spar with Wudang's sect leader."
"Five Elements Sword Immortal, Qingxia. As Wudang sect leader, I accept the challenger's spar."
Announcing the bout's commencement naturally fell to True Person Qingxu.
"Lower your hands, and begin."
He raised a small palm and lightly swept it downward through the air.
[You've noticed as well, but that child Qingxia... remains immature.]
At that instant, True Person Qingxu's concerned transmission reached So-hyang's ear.
Indeed so.
At her age, still unable to shake her attachment to her foster parents who had raised her, with feelings only deepening.
[Not merely in heart matters, but in martial arts as well... she lacks maturity.]
At those words, So-hyang harbored some doubt.
Calling the arts of a transcendent warrior immature—was that possible?
Not an unstable forced ascension like Lee Se-min's; her aura bespoke substantial inner energy in both quantity and quality.
From premier Wudang Sect, ascending to sect leader at such a young age by surpassing all seniors—her prowess seemed far superior even to the Zhuge Clan head.
[...I know it sounds strange, but you'll understand upon witnessing it.]
"Eek, what are you discussing with Master...!!"
"Oh?"
Surprisingly, the sect leader detected the transmission between True Person Qingxu and So-hyang.
Transmission was a finicky technique, but merely conveying whispers required minimal energy.
Veritably infinitesimal—eavesdropping on another's was nigh impossible.
A sensitivity of qi sense befitting one of the jianghu's top talents.
"Ahaha, nothing serious. Master just asked me to go easy on his disciple."
"...Eek!"
The sect leader's face contorted in fury; with a casual flick, five swords materialized in the air.
Gang qi swords, each of distinct hue and aura.
"Hoo, Five Elements...?"
Fire, water, wood, metal, earth.
Swords embodying the five essences of the cosmos.
The signature art and ultimate technique of Wudang's current sect leader, True Person Qingxia.
The Five Elements Sword Arts.
"Don't expect me to hold back just because it's a friendly spar...! I'll make you hurt—enough to regret, but not die...!!"
"Wow, really?"
Of course, to So-hyang, it was precisely what she desired; a broad smile bloomed across her fair face.