Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Doubts of Heavenly Flower
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"He got rejected."
Wi Seong-cheon had left the waiting room, but Moo Yeon-jun remained there for a while longer.
"He's more of a fool than I thought."
Moo Yeon-jun turned his head and replied. Standing there was the Taiji Sword Lord. He shook his head with a wry smile.
"No, he's wise. It's too late for him to start learning an entirely different martial art now."
"Not necessarily. He already has the foundation. Even if it's a new martial art from scratch, that guy could achieve mastery in no time."
"Hah. It's surprising to hear you say that. Do you know him that well?"
"No. I don't."
They weren't close enough for that. But Moo Yeon-jun had witnessed the fight between Wi Seong-cheon and Jin Bae.
He had seen what his martial art was like. ...It was absurd. What kind of training had forged a body capable of wielding such a martial art, such techniques.
One thing was clear: Wi Seong-cheon's martial art was not something to be dismissed. And the training he had endured to reach this point must have been harsher than any ordinary person could survive.
He had endured it and attained his current power.
"His martial art destroys his own body."
"I know."
He had seen it.
That was why Heavenly Academy Chief Nam Myeong had been shocked and spoken up to the Taiji Sword Lord. Nam Myeong and the Taiji Sword Lord both knew that Wi Seong-cheon's martial art was a double-edged sword that harmed its user.
"You knew and still let him be."
"Same as you."
The Taiji Sword Lord sat in a chair. He no longer smiled, gazing at Moo Yeon-jun with deep, profound eyes.
"It's necessary. Our enemy is formidable."
The Demonic Cult.
The Heavenly Demon.
The Demon King.
"Do you know their power?"
"No."
Moo Yeon-jun answered honestly. Even as the Heavenly Man raised to oppose the Demon King and Heavenly Demon, he was still only twenty years old.
"I do."
The Taiji Sword Lord had lived a long life. Though he maintained a young, strong body through repeated Rejuvenation and Marrow Cleansing, his age was nearing a hundred. Over that long span, he had done much, seen much, experienced much, felt much.
In his youth, full of vigor, he had lived in the Demonic Realm. He had slain countless demonic beasts and demonic practitioners. He knew how monstrously powerful the Ten Demons—right below the Heavenly Demon in the Demonic Cult—were.
And he knew the Heavenly Demon's strength as well.
"Thirty years ago... when the Divine Sword died, I wasn't there."
Ji Mun-hyeok had been the foremost of the Ten Heroes back then. His innate talent as a Heavenly Man was so unreasonable that it defied belief for a fellow human.
The Taiji Sword Lord had been one of the Ten Heroes then too, but he knew full well his sword fell short of Ji Mun-hyeok's.
"How many times... have I regretted not going there..."
Ji Mun-hyeok had requested aid from the Murim Alliance and the Ten Righteous Heroes. It was a heaven-sent opportunity.
The Demonic Cult's Heavenly Demon had emerged alone, without subordinates. Capturing him there would reveal the Demonic Cult's hidden location and exact forces.
But the Ten Heroes did not answer Ji Mun-hyeok's call.
Pride. They were all warriors nearing the world's best. Stubborn, with towering egos.
Moreover, the Heavenly Demon then was not well-known. And young.
Compared to him, what of Ji Mun-hyeok? He was the Heavenly Man of the era, spoken of as the world's best. The young Heavenly Demon had overreached and dug his own grave—that's what the Taiji Sword Lord and the other Righteous Ten Heroes thought.
It was the Ten Heroes who had overreached. Ji Mun-hyeok... lost. A crushing defeat. He couldn't withstand ten exchanges from the Heavenly Demon. The foremost of the Ten Heroes, the Divine Sword called a Heavenly Man, felled by a young Heavenly Demon's ten moves.
"Thirty years have passed, but I'm not certain I'm stronger than the Divine Sword was then."
He hadn't slacked in training. Yet... no certainty.
"I can't even guess how much stronger the current Heavenly Demon has become."
Not just the Heavenly Demon.
The Ten Demons were demonic practitioners on par with the Ten Heroes. Though twenty years ago, the mysterious master Dokgo had slain the Blood-Capturing Demon of the Ten Demons, that seat would have been filled by now.
"...That makes it even harder to understand. Wi Seong-cheon senses demonic qi, just like me. You know it too, Master. It's not from his martial art—it's his constitution."
"We can't judge that hastily."
"No, it's his constitution. I know because I have the same."
Moo Yeon-jun spoke without hesitation. The Taiji Sword Lord sensed the unyielding stubbornness in his words. He knew its source well. Pity flickered in the Taiji Sword Lord's eyes.
"...He's not born like you."
"...I suppose not."
"I know why you're saying this. You carry a heavier duty than anyone, more desperate than anyone."
The Taiji Sword Lord sighed and placed a hand on Moo Yeon-jun's shoulder.
"Wi Seong-cheon. That child's martial art is undoubtedly dangerous. Learning a new one, as you say, might spare his body further harm. But... it could snuff out his potential altogether."
"..."
Moo Yeon-jun said nothing. He had considered that possibility. But it wasn't certain.
"...Why do you think that?"
"That child has already achieved the Body of Intent."
Moo Yeon-jun's eyes widened at those words. His Heavenly Eye could see the flow of qi in the body, but he hadn't seen that Wi Seong-cheon had formed the Body of Intent. No—with the Heavenly Eye, it was even harder to imagine.
"No way. He hasn't even fully opened his middle dantian, let alone the upper."
"But it's true. That child's... Heavenly Flower Sect martial arts are bizarre. Right now, a double-edged sword harming his body, but someday..."
"You think he can open his upper dantian."
"Perhaps. Though it would take a long time."
A martial art that forms the Body of Intent before even opening the upper dantian. Even if it burdens the body, fully opening the upper might eliminate that burden. Nothing was certain.
Even so, it was necessary. The enemy was terrifyingly strong.
"...I understand."
Moo Yeon-jun accepted it.
The Taiji Sword Lord wasn't one to fabricate tales. Moo Yeon-jun's suggestion for Wi Seong-cheon to learn a new martial art stemmed from ignorance of the 'potential' the Taiji Sword Lord had seen.
Now he knew. Wi Seong-cheon didn't need a new martial art.
"I felt it even during past lessons."
Moo Yeon-jun glanced at the Taiji Sword Lord's hand on his shoulder.
"You're harsh, Master."
The Taiji Sword Lord gave a self-mocking smile.
"...No choice."
It was harsh, yes. He knew Wi Seong-cheon's martial art was dangerous. Yet he didn't stop him. ...Because it was necessary. The enemy was that strong.
'How much time do we need?'
He thought as he lifted his hand from Moo Yeon-jun's shoulder. Moo Yeon-jun was exceptional. Ji Mun-hyeok had been outstanding at that age too, but Moo Yeon-jun had already surpassed him then.
But to speak of opposing the Heavenly Demon, he was still far short. More time was needed—much more. Would the Heavenly Demon 'wait' that long? The Heavenly Demon and Demonic Cult's power could unleash a bloodbath on the murim right now. But... they weren't.
How long would they wait?
'Heavenly Flower Sect.'
Wi Seong-cheon's sect.
He had requested info on the Heavenly Flower Sect from the Beggar Clan. Useless scraps. Almost nothing remained from a century ago, when they were tied to the Black Death Alliance.
Their martial arts were not to be despised.
Moo Yeon-jun felt genuine curiosity about what the Heavenly Flower Sect truly was.
* * *
Father.
It's been almost two months since I came to the Heavenly Academy. I'm doing quite well. You told me to make friends befitting my age, and somehow, I've made a few.
I don't know if they see me as a friend, but I consider them as such.
How are you faring, Father? I don't know when this letter will arrive, but autumn is near, so Shinryeong Mountain must be ablaze with fall colors.
Actually, season or no, you'll be carrying on as usual.
I think back to the day I left Heavenly Flower Sect. You told me not to write often. If I don't get a satisfactory reply to this, I'll probably keep sending them.
I might quit midway out of annoyance, but then I'll come back to Heavenly Flower Sect myself to give you an earful.
Enough preamble. You might have crumpled this already without reading this far, but I'll boldly assume otherwise and continue.
Father.
What in the world is the Heavenly Flower Sect? And what exactly are you?
You told me Heavenly Flower Sect's martial arts are strong. I thought it was just to cheer up your departing son, but it seems true.
Heavenly Flower Sect's martial arts are strong. You might think I'm lying, but I fought and beat Kwon-gol Hwang Bo-seong, one of the Dragon-Phoenix youths.
There were other minor scuffles, but I won't detail them here.
Anyway, Father. The day I left Heavenly Flower Sect, you said its martial arts are strong and to never endure insults.
That's how I'm living. Not rampaging like a thug, but unlike you, Father, I'm not enduring mockery and sneers like a stone Buddha.
Many questions arise.
I'm pretty strong myself—surely you're even stronger. So why have you endured insults all these years?
And having lived that way, why tell your son he never needs to endure them?
Father.
You might scoff at this as absurd nonsense too, but I happened to meet one of the Ten Heroes, the Taiji Sword Lord.
He spoke of my grandfather, Great Predecessor Wi Jeong-uk. The Taiji Sword Lord called him 'strong.'
And he called the Heavenly Flower Sect martial arts I practice a 'divine art.'
That's why I'm writing this. Heavenly Flower Sect's martial arts are as strong as you said—acknowledged as a divine art by one of the Ten Heroes, the Taiji Sword Lord.
So why has our Heavenly Flower Sect endured contempt for a century?
Why did you smile through the sneers and insults of petty fools?
Father.
What is the Heavenly Flower Sect?
"Hmm."
The Heavenly Flower Sect Leader.
Sect Leader Wi Ju-seok's face crumpled. He had expected his son to realize eventually. A boy who spent his life in this remote mountain sect. To Wi Seong-cheon, the world beyond Heavenly Flower Sect existed but was unexperienced.
Had he stayed in Heavenly Flower Sect forever, he might have found it odd but never certain.
No comparison. But once he ventured into the outside world...
Then certainty dawns. I am not weak. Heavenly Flower Sect is not weak. Our martial arts deserve no world's contempt.
"To think he'd meet the Taiji Sword Lord."
Not that he needed a push. Even without realizing, his son... already 'knew' the truth. That Heavenly Flower Sect's martial arts weren't weak. That he himself wasn't weak.
Power reveals itself even without comparison. Possession alone brings self-awareness.
The Taiji Sword Lord had pushed his back.
The strongest of the Ten Heroes in the murim excluding the Demonic Cult. One of them had acknowledged his son's—Heavenly Flower Sect's—martial arts.
That propelled him. Questions he hadn't pursued despite suspicions now turned homeward.
"There's another letter."
Wi Ju-seok's face was marred by irritation. He turned to his old comrade. Overseer Woo wore a bitter expression.
"This was bound to happen."
"Indeed."
"If you didn't want this, you shouldn't have sent the Young Lord to the Heavenly Academy."
"Just a matter of sooner or later. ...You understand too. It was necessary."
"Grandmaster Won-gwang's will?"
"My will as well. 'Now' was simply the right time."
"If only you'd told the Young Lord yourself."
"I would have if I could."
Wi Ju-seok's face crumpled further.
"I hoped my son, if possible, would never learn martial arts his whole life... and never wonder about these things."
"But you taught him."
"True. I was Heavenly Flower Sect's Leader before his father."
Wi Ju-seok chuckled and extended a hand toward Overseer Woo. Woo handed him a letter from his bosom.
"Will you answer the Young Lord's questions?"
"No."
Wi Ju-seok answered without hesitation.
"My son isn't Heavenly Flower Sect's Leader yet. He hasn't inherited its martial path. My father and I were the same. To know everything, one must become the Leader. My son... is not yet Leader."
So he wouldn't tell.
No matter what, absolutely. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't. Wi Ju-seok had only learned Heavenly Flower Sect's martial path after formally succeeding as Leader.
"It's a letter from the Taiji Sword Lord."
Wi Seong-cheon frowned at the writing on the sealed envelope. Wi Ju-seok broke the seal and read the contents.
"What's it say?"
Overseer Woo asked, watching Wi Ju-seok's ever-changing expression. Wi Ju-seok let out an incredulous chuckle, then crumpled the read letter.
"He formally invites us to the upcoming Heavenly Tournament, with full honors."
"Less than two months left. We'd better hurry."
"I haven't said we're going yet."
"You're not?"
Wi Ju-seok sighed deeply at Overseer Woo's words.
"Doesn't seem like it'll end well if we do."
"It's not the first or second time."
"...True enough."
Wi Ju-seok muttered as he rose to his feet.
"Guess I need to prepare for departure."