Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: World's Greatest Sword
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The World's Greatest Sword.
Those arrogant five characters were words as emblematic as the Taiji Sword Lord's own symbol. Any swordsman who gripped a blade carried the phrase "World's Greatest Sword" deep in their heart.
The Taiji Sword Lord was the warrior who came closest to claiming that title.
Seo Il swallowed hard as he stared at the Taiji Sword Lord. The man burst into hearty laughter.
"Well, that's not what's important."
Not just Seo Il, but all the professors knew that the Taiji Sword Lord and the Eccentric Hero Gai were headed for the Heavenly Academy.
They hadn't pinpointed the exact day, but he had said he would arrive by the Heavenly Tournament in autumn—and there was still a full month until then.
"What did you find?"
Seo Il didn't answer. Only the Taiji Sword Lord went around with "World's Greatest Sword" emblazoned in flashy letters on his clothes.
Seo Il's instincts didn't doubt for a second that the man before him was the Taiji Sword Lord. He looked remarkably young for someone who had made a name for himself decades ago, but surely a master of his caliber could reverse aging.
However... even if the man was the Wudang Sect's supreme expert, the Taiji Sword Lord. He couldn't just blindly trust...
"Hmm."
A chill ran down Seo Il's spine.
The Taiji Sword Lord before him turned into an afterimage and scattered. In an instant, he was standing behind Seo Il.
"I know you. First time seeing your face, though."
Seo Il turned around with a pale face.
The Taiji Sword Lord smiled faintly as he lifted the edge of the mask still covering the masked man's face.
"Was it twenty years ago? A sweltering hot day. Cicadas buzzing noisily all around. Back when that witch Baek Cheongha could still roam outside Mount Uicheon."
"......"
"An empty temple. It had been ten years since we'd reunited with that witch. The first time since the Divine Sword died. Do you know why we met?"
"......I do not."
"I figured. It wasn't something worth telling anyway. Do you remember that day?"
He remembered.
How could he not? Twenty years ago.
Seo Il had not been Seo Il then—he had been Yi Un of the Shadow Cloud assassins. That empty temple where the Ten Orthodox Heroes had gathered was the base for Seo Il and the other Shadow Cloud killers.
......A day he could never forget.
He didn't know what had been discussed at that gathering. Seo Il and the other Shadow Cloud assassins hadn't even approached the temple.
But.
Just knowing they shared the same space as those famed Ten Heroes... it had excited the Shadow Cloud assassins.
They had only watched from afar. Hiding along the mountain path leading to the temple. They had caught sight of the Ten Heroes.
Even suppressing their breaths and presence, they figured they couldn't fool the Heroes' sharp eyes.
"Your eyes shone the brightest."
The Taiji Sword Lord's smile deepened.
"What did you find?"
"......Nothing...... I found nothing."
"I see."
The Taiji Sword Lord spun around lightly.
Crack!
The masked man's body split vertically. The Taiji Sword Lord hadn't even drawn or swung his sword—his gaze alone had sliced the corpse. And yet, no blood flowed from the cut.
Seo Il swallowed hard, glancing between the Taiji Sword Lord and the masked man's body.
The Taiji Sword Lord still stood with his hands behind his back. Something floated up lightly from the split abdomen of the masked man.
It was a tooth, as large as a thumb.
"You eat the strangest things. Better off dead, really. That wouldn't have digested—if he hadn't died, his guts would've been poked and prodded till he suffered."
"What...... is that?"
"A tooth."
The Taiji Sword Lord muttered as he took the tooth in hand.
* * *
The sound of the blow striking Paeng Yeonhwa's body.
It was loud enough for everyone to hear. Her body jolted from the impact and staggered.
Wi Seongcheon gazed at Paeng Yeonhwa's face with bitter eyes. Her dimming gaze closed completely.
He caught her tilting body, struck her acupoints to subdue her, then gently laid her flat on the ground.
"Urgh......!"
A groan came from behind him.
It was Professor Hwangbo Gwang. He had been cut by Paeng Yeonhwa, but the wound wasn't serious. Still, the pain from the bandaged injury throbbed.
That only made him more wary.
"Dangerous child."
Professor Hwangbo Gwang muttered. Seok Ijin, approaching unsteadily, spoke up.
"Professor Hwangbo Gwang. It's because you underestimated Yeonhwa too much."
"That's...... true, but...... Didn't you see, Professor Seok? Paeng Yeonhwa really tried to kill me. ......She tried to kill Seongu too."
"Wouldn't it be better to ask the child directly whether she really meant to kill or not?"
Seok Ijin said. Wi Seongcheon, who had been looking down at Paeng Yeonhwa with bitter eyes, lifted his head at the words.
"What happens now?"
"Expulsion, of course. Why ask something so obvious?"
Professor Hwangbo Gwang spat out.
"Paeng Yeonhwa. Everyone already knew she was dangerous—it just finally blew up."
"She didn't kill anyone. Isn't expulsion too harsh?"
"I nearly died!"
"You, Professor?"
Wi Seongcheon said.
At those words, Professor Hwangbo Gwang whipped his head around.
Wi Seongcheon cracked his neck side to side.
"You're saying Crushing Stone Professor Hwangbo Gwang nearly died to Yeonhwa, who's like a daughter to you?"
He'd seen it himself, yet he asked anyway. Professor Hwangbo Gwang's face flushed beet red.
"What are you trying to say?"
"Just find it curious. I thought I subdued Yeonhwa pretty easily."
"I could do it too!"
"Of course, you're the professor. All I'm saying is, expulsion seems too much."
"You're saying that after seeing it with your own eyes? Fine for me, but Seongu......"
"What's that supposed to mean about me?"
Hwangbo Seongu asked in a grumpy tone. Professor Hwangbo Gwang, breathing raggedly, snapped his head around. Hwangbo Seongu, covered in blood, stared at him with a pale face.
"You...... you! You nearly died......"
"What nonsense is that? Nearly died? Me?"
Hwangbo Seongu grumbled and shook his head.
"Not at all. She gave me a good scratch, but nearly died? Don't exaggerate something so minor. People will laugh."
"What are you saying!"
Just a scratch? It was more than that. The gash across his chest—if even a bit deeper—would've been fatal.
His mangled right arm had only gotten that bad because of his thick hide; if it were a human arm, the nerves would've been severed clean, better off without it.
His shoulder? Same thing—one wrong move and the whole arm would've come off.
"So what? It didn't happen."
Professor Hwangbo Gwang picked at every point, but Hwangbo Seongu waved him off irritably.
"Professor Hwangbo. Thanks for worrying, but you were too hasty. Even without a professor stepping in, nothing would've happened. Surely you haven't forgotten the point of this class?"
Practical combat training.
"Paeng Yeonhwa. If that girl is guilty of anything, it's getting too immersed in the class. And I was the same."
"But!"
"What's the 'but'? The one who got hurt says it's fine. Don't tell me...... Professor, is it because of that arm wound?"
No one had expected Hwangbo Seongu to defend Paeng Yeonhwa like this.
For all his grumbling, he was taking her side. Wi Seongcheon looked at Hwangbo Seongu in surprise, then met eyes with Seok Ijin standing behind him.
Seok Ijin winked obviously with one eye.
"No...... My arm...... I let my guard down......"
"Same here. I never imagined Paeng Yeonhwa's claws could be that sharp."
"Even so...... Paeng Yeonhwa attacked her professor......!"
"She must've gotten too immersed in the combat. You know how it is—didn't mean to, but it happens. Maybe she even entered a trance state."
"You think words fix everything......?!"
"Hey, why get mad? I'm just saying it could happen. And if Yeonhwa really attained enlightenment in no-self during it, shouldn't we congratulate her?"
Professor Hwangbo Gwang's fists trembled. True, attaining no-self enlightenment was worth celebrating. It rarely happened during life-or-death duels, when one entered that trance and gained profound insight.
But Paeng Yeonhwa earlier? No way she was in enlightenment.
Those eyes weren't lost in no-self—they were the eyes of a beast craving blood.
"Absurd sophistry......!"
[That's enough.]
As Professor Hwangbo Gwang bellowed, Hwangbo Seongu scowled and sent a sound transmission.
[No good will come of making a fuss. What will people think? That the Hwangbo Clan's young master and Crushing Stone Professor Hwangbo Gwang got utterly humiliated by one Paeng Yeonhwa. If she actually gets expelled, the rumors will only get worse.]
True enough. But burying it? Wasn't that too big a deal?
Professor Hwangbo Gwang ground his teeth and glared at Seok Ijin.
"What are you looking at?"
"......Professor Seok. What do you think of this?"
"Don't you think it's a bit unseemly for adults to meddle and yap about children's affairs?"
"What......?"
"They say they're fine. I wasn't hurt at all, so I'll keep quiet."
"......Even so, we need to address Paeng Yeonhwa's rampage clearly, don't we?"
"That's why—it's not a rampage, it's a trance state......"
"Shut up!"
Professor Hwangbo Gwang roared.
"......Ahem. Why not leave it at that......"
The cough came right from behind. Professor Hwangbo Gwang's reason snapped amid his rising fury at Wi Seongcheon's snark.
"Who's there!"
He bellowed and whipped around.
Then froze solid.
Taiji Sword Lord.
He peered at Professor Hwangbo Gwang with an awkward expression, blinking.
Professor Hwangbo Gwang gaped at the five characters "World's Greatest Sword" on the Taiji Sword Lord's clothes. The Taiji Sword Lord's disciple. Why was he here of all places?
"......That one. Seo Il, was it? He went to fetch a physician."
The Taiji Sword Lord cleared his throat awkwardly. Those words jolted Professor Hwangbo Gwang to his senses.
"T-T-Taiji Sword Lord! Forgive my rudeness!"
Professor Hwangbo Gwang bowed so deeply his head nearly touched the ground. The Taiji Sword Lord looked embarrassed and waved it off.
"Whoa, no need for that."
"Forgive me!"
"People will think you committed some great crime. It's fine—lift your head. We're from different sects; no need for such formalities."
The Taiji Sword Lord muttered as he turned his gaze to Hwangbo Seongu.
"Hmm, ahem. So you're that kid. Hwangbo Seongu. Indeed, they said you're a martial prodigy—quite the build."
"T-T-Taiji...... Sword Lord?"
Even Hwangbo Seongu couldn't act arrogant before the Taiji Sword Lord.
He stood in an awkward half-bow, staring wide-eyed like he'd seen a ghost. He pondered whether he should kneel here or not.
"First time seeing you in person. Heard stories a few times. Anyway, how's Woojin doing?"
"Ah...... Y-Yes! Father is...... doing well."
"Good to hear he's well. And......"
The Taiji Sword Lord's eyes slid to Wi Seongcheon.
"Who are you?"
"......Wi Seongcheon of the Heavenly Flower Sect."
Wi Seongcheon gave a polite cupped-fist salute and bowed his head. Hearing the answer, the Taiji Sword Lord's eyes widened round.
"Huh!"
He let out a surprised sound and scanned Wi Seongcheon up and down.
Then turned his gaze to Paeng Yeonhwa, collapsed behind him.
"You subdued that girl?"
"......Yes."
"Haha!"
The Taiji Sword Lord burst into laughter. He unclasped his hands behind his back and approached Wi Seongcheon with shuffling steps.
Wi Seongcheon swallowed as he watched the approaching Taiji Sword Lord. An inexplicable, otherworldly sensation gripped his senses.
It felt like his whole body was being pierced by invisible blades, like he was stripped bare and all his secrets laid open, like he was being pushed step by step toward a cliff's edge.
"I see. You're the one from Heavenly Flower Sect......"
"Gah!"
The Taiji Sword Lord's voice cut off midway.
Paeng Yeonhwa, eyes suddenly open, writhed on the ground and began to wail.
"Hm."
The Taiji Sword Lord frowned and reached into his bosom.
"So it's this after all."
Paeng Yeonhwa's fur bristled at the sight of the beast's fang.