Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Ten Years Ago
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It was ten years ago.
The first glimpse of the world I'd ever seen, following my father to the Murim Alliance for the first time. The expectations in my young heart had shattered into pieces even before we passed through the Alliance's main gate.
The so-called "great heroes," riding in luxurious carriages and dressed in ostentatious robes, spotted my father and hurled mocking jibes at him. Father laughed it off heartily, pretending not to notice the barbs hidden beneath the jokes, taking them purely as jests.
That sight.
Even now, after a full ten years, it lingered in my memory. The first world I encountered was like that.
The Murim Alliance, the heart of the righteous martial world. The noble swordsmen of justice... Perhaps because I was too young and small. I couldn't see them.
The piercing gazes stabbed like daggers, and the teasing tongues were sharper still.
Bat, bat.
It felt like I'd heard every whisper of "bat" I'd hear in my lifetime right there.
I wanted to go home. With downcast eyes, I stared at Father's back and tugged at his sleeve countless times.
Father, who had been bowing low to greet the great heroes, straightened his back and patted my head.
Sorry for showing you such an ugly sight.
I'd never forgotten it. Why he had to bow so low. Even at ten years old, that young age... I understood. When I cried and begged to be taken along. Father's words that there was nothing good there. And even Woo Chonggwan's remark that I needed to experience it firsthand. Father's resigned nod as he agreed there was no helping it.
When Father left to meet Alliance officials, saying he had to.
The room where I was left alone was inside a grand estate for the Alliance's guests. The estate was more magnificent than our Heavenly Flower Sect's, but not as comfortable.
After holing up in the room for a while, I mustered my courage. Still... still. I stepped outside. I was curious what lay beyond the door.
Adventure, or a meeting...
I secretly hoped for something like that.
"Who're you?"
"...What are you doing?"
The blunt words made Jang Ilwoo's shoulders twitch.
He quietly closed the half-open door. Please be sleep-talking, just sleep-talking. Thinking that, he eased it shut bit by bit so it wouldn't make a sound...
But the rustling from inside sent chills down Jang Ilwoo's spine. Damn it. He didn't voice it, but curses swirled in his head.
"Ilwoo."
Wi Seongcheon rose from the bed and covered his face with both hands.
It's been a while... since I had that old dream. A faint memory from long ago, too vague to call nostalgia. He'd skimmed past the irritating parts and was just about to reach something truly memorable.
"Ilwoo."
But the dream shattered.
He cursed his sharp senses. If only he'd woken a little later. It was all Jang Ilwoo's fault. The guy lurking at his door, radiating pointless hostility. And that wasn't all—he'd tried to open the door and come in.
"Do you like me or something?"
"W-What...?!"
"If that's not it, then why sneak into someone else's bedroom in the dead of night while they're sleeping?"
"That's...!"
"If it's because you couldn't contain your burning passion for me and had to pace outside my door, sure. Who can control their heart? I could understand."
"That's not it!"
"Then what is it, Ilwoo? Don't tell me you're so pissed about getting beat earlier that you kicked off your blankets, stormed out here to bash my sleeping head in?"
Wi Seongcheon cracked his knuckles as he asked. From outside, he heard Jang Ilwoo gasp and swallow hard.
"No way. You're from the Jang Clan, after all. The mighty Jang Clan, incomparable to some minor Heavenly Flower Sect. No way the prized heir like you would hold a grudge over a beating from riffraff like us, right? Though you might be petty enough for that. But I didn't think you'd be petty enough to try a cowardly sneak attack at night."
"Hey!"
"They say the one who farts gets mad, but why're you yelling?"
When Wi Seongcheon shot back, Jang Ilwoo flinched and shut his mouth. After hesitating, he cracked the door open. Wi Seongcheon sat on the bed, staring straight at him.
"S-Sorry."
In the end, Jang Ilwoo bowed his head. Hearing those words stabbed his conscience—he really had done something shameful. Faced with that shame, he didn't know what to do.
"Go to sleep."
He'd braced for a beating, but those unexpected words came instead. Wi Seongcheon waved him off dismissively, and Jang Ilwoo's eyes widened.
"...You're not gonna hit me?"
"Not in the mood. Go sleep."
That only made his heart heavier. Jang Ilwoo hesitated a moment longer, but Wi Seongcheon flopped back down and pulled the covers over himself. With another bow, Jang Ilwoo turned away.
"G-Good... night."
Good night, my ass.
Hearing the door close, Wi Seongcheon grumbled softly. Could he pick up the dream where it left off? Unlikely. He rolled over and stared at the ceiling.
Paeng Yeonhwa.
The girl he'd met at the Murim Alliance ten years ago. She wasn't a girl anymore. Wi Seongcheon recalled the Paeng Yeonhwa from back then.
A radiant smile came to mind first.
She probably didn't smile like that anymore. Wi Seongcheon gave a wry smile as he thought of all the stories he'd heard about Paeng Yeonhwa—no, the Habuk Paeng Clan. His mouth tasted as bitter as the smile.
He'd learned Paeng Yeonhwa was studying at the Heavenly Academy from Woo Chonggwan's ledger.
He'd heard about her from Jang Ilwoo too.
'She probably... hasn't been doing well.'
It was only eight years ago.
The Paeng Clan, once counted among the Four Great Prestigious Clans alongside Namgoong, Tang, and Hwangbo, had fallen eight years prior.
He wondered what kind of smile she wore now, but dawn was still deep.
At noon, he had to undergo the entrance exam with Absolute Life Sword Seok Ijin.
Wi Seongcheon forced himself to sleep, picturing Paeng Yeonhwa's bright smile from ten years ago.
* * *
"What are you staring at like that?"
She asked in exasperation, but he didn't bother answering. It was blatant dismissal, but she didn't get frustrated. Though it still irked her.
Yeong Sojin puffed her cheeks and stared where "he" was looking.
It wasn't just Yeong Sojin. The gazes of his hangers-on—who trailed him uninvited—followed to the ground as well. They looked, but everyone was thinking the same thing.
'Why's he looking at that?'
The White Tiger Hall training ground. Where wooden dummies stood in a row. One of them... was smashed to bits.
That was it. A wooden dummy on the training ground getting wrecked wasn't rare. Well-made or not, they were just wood reinforced with iron rods. A few hard swings with a wooden sword could shatter them easily.
"Whoever did it didn't even clean up properly. Shouldn't you clear away what you break?"
"Guess some low-rank punk was proud of smashing a dummy. One of those bottom-feeder types."
"Makes sense. The low-rankers were too embarrassed to go home."
"So why's Yeonjun—"
Know your place.
When she tried calling him familiarly by name, Yeong Sojin whipped her head around and shot a fierce glare. The guy flinched and averted his eyes.
"...Young Master Yeonjun. Why are you looking at... that?"
The Heavenly Elite Mu Yeonjun.
He didn't answer her question. No need to. To him, his followers were no different from the wooden dummies lined up here.
Sure, they spoke, moved, and lived—a clear difference. But that was all. Sycophants who trailed him unwanted, clinging for scraps of the dazzling glory tied to the name "Heavenly Elite Mu Yeonjun."
"...Fascinating."
He ignored Yeong Sojin and the others, deeming them unworthy. But not this time. Mu Yeonjun glanced sideways. She might be dazzled by his name too, but to him, she wasn't some dummy to disdain.
Especially here. She clearly stood apart from those losers.
"...What's fascinating?"
Yeong Sojin pouted as she asked. The others nodded in agreement, eyeing the woman.
Flying Swallow Sang Irin shot Yeong Sojin a blatantly pitiful look. Yeong Sojin's cheek twitched at the glance.
"Can't you tell by looking?"
What? Yeong Sojin chewed her lower lip and turned back.
Just wreckage. The remains of what was once a wooden dummy.
"Yeah. Fascinating."
When Mu Yeonjun nodded in agreement, Yeong Sojin whipped around again.
"What's fascinating? Tell me!"
She leaned toward him with a cute smile, but Mu Yeonjun didn't spare her a glance. His eyes fixed only on the woman sharing his sentiment.
'That annoying bitch...'
Yeong Sojin gnawed her lower lip. But she couldn't say it outright. No helping it.
"No signs of movement."
"Smashed it in place... How?"
"Even with a sword—or bare fists—it should've shifted some."
"Crushed from above?"
"No. Ground's intact."
"Then Penetration Realm?"
"If anything, Penetration Realm. But... this isn't exploded. It's crumbled."
Penetration Realm. Crushing Weight Hand. Once you grasp qi and can project it, you can use Crushing Weight Hand. It infiltrates the target with qi, bursting it from inside.
Destroying a stationary dummy without moving it naturally evokes Penetration Realm.
But... something's off. The debris is piled in one spot. Penetration Realm would've scattered it. This... crumbled right there.
'Penetration Realm, but... different. Or a lot different?'
Her insight was sharp. Among White Tiger Hall students, who could wield Penetration Realm this well? Hwangbo Seongu came to mind first. But he hadn't returned to the Heavenly Academy yet. Even if he snuck back, this "quiet" Penetration Realm wasn't his style. Another student then? No one fit.
Mu Yeonjun picked up a piece of debris.
A slight squeeze, and it splintered into finer bits. Same with others. Precise... and destructive.
Not mindless destruction. Perfectly killed. Like a swift sword master slashing dozens, hundreds of times. A sword then? Mu Yeonjun straightened. Smashing a dummy like this? He or Sang Irin could do it easily. But... that someone else in White Tiger Hall had done it piqued his interest.
'Who?'
Mu Yeonjun looked up.
Someone unfamiliar was yawning lazily as he exited White Tiger Hall.