Chapter 52: To Peerless Fortress (3) (Revised)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 52: To Peerless Fortress (3) (Revised)
According to what the future Young Master Zhu Yebin once said:
During the Grand Martial Assembly hosted by the Martial Alliance, the remnants of the Blood Cult carried out a sinister plot.
I, the descendant of the Namcheon Sword Guest, uncovered the scheme, and Lee Jeong-gyeom, the joint disciple of two of the Eight Great Masters, saved the countless martial artists within the Martial Alliance’s fortress.
Because of that incident, Lee Jeong-gyeom and I were bestowed with the title of the "Twin Heroes," and our fame spread throughout the entire Central Plains.
‘Ha.’
It was an absurd story.
In just a single month, I had become a spotlighted hero of the next generation in the Orthodox world.
History had diverged completely from how it was before my regression.
Originally, Lee Jeong-gyeom was supposed to be the only one in the limelight.
-What on earth did you ask Bukyeong Doseong to do?
‘...It wasn’t Bukyeong Doseong.’
-What?
All I had asked of him was to testify so that I wouldn't be suspected, and to send word to my younger sister, So Yeong-yeong, so she wouldn't worry.
Even though he had decided to help me, there was no way a man who walked the path of righteousness enough to be called a Great Hero would handle things this way.
‘...It’s the Martial Alliance.’
-The Martial Alliance did this?
‘Yeah.’
The only ones capable of pulling a stunt like this were those in the Martial Alliance.
-Why would they?
Why else?
Because of this incident, the Martial Alliance was on the verge of being disgraced for losing the Blood Demon Sword to the Blood Cult right in the middle of their own holy ground.
From their perspective, they needed to minimize the damage.
One way to do that was to push forward a new focal point for the Orthodox faction, which had been their original goal anyway.
-And you were included in that focal point?
‘...It seems so. Dammit.’
They could have just pushed Lee Jeong-gyeom, the joint disciple.
However, it seemed that my discovery of the explosives during the Successor's Martial Discussion played a big part in them including me.
I had done it to avoid suspicion, but they used it to frame me as a new hero of the younger generation.
-Even though that Strategist Zhuge guy died, their heads are still spinning fast.
‘Indeed.’
I thought the chaos would be greater with Strategist Zhuge’s death.
To think they would clean it up like this.
Since the First Strategist is dead, this must be the handiwork of either the Second Strategist, Sama Jung-hyeon, or the Third Strategist, Baek Wi-hyang.
I don't know which one it was, but things have become quite complicated.
-Kwahahahaha! To think I’d live to see the day the Blood Demon is called a rising star of the Orthodox faction. Truly, there’s never a dull day when I’m with you, human.
‘Would you please shut up?’
My head was already throbbing from the increasingly tangled situation.
Rattle! Rattle!
A young man with half-lidded eyes lay sprawled on top of a luggage wagon, munching rhythmically on a piece of beef jerky.
Across from him, a handsome young man was fiddling with something shaped like a pipa wrapped in black cloth, his face twisted in disapproval.
After watching for a long while, the handsome youth spoke to the one eating jerky.
“Stop stuffing your face. That constant chewing sound is getting on my nerves.”
The young man chewing the jerky glanced up slightly and held out the piece in his hand.
“Want one?”
“I don’t need it!”
“So prickly.”
With those words, the young man went back to lying down and chewing his jerky.
Flushed with irritation, the handsome youth snapped, “Don’t you have a conscience?”
“A conscience?”
“Yeah. You’ve already inherited the legacies of two of the Eight Great Masters. Isn't that enough? Why are you heading there? Are you trying to monopolize everything for yourself? Lee Jeong-gyeom!”
The young man chewing jerky was Lee Jeong-gyeom.
He was the joint successor of the First Sword of Wuhan, Baek Hyang-muk, and the Taiji Sword Emperor, Taoist Master Zhongxian—both members of the Eight Great Masters.
Lee Jeong-gyeom let out a deep sigh.
“It’s not like I’m going because I want to. It’s a pain for me to move around on orders from above like this, too.”
Lee Jeong-gyeom was a man whose very existence was defined by lethargy.
His attitude was something the other youth couldn't stand for even a second.
“Then just don’t go!”
“Sigh. The old man told me to go for the sake of our relationship with Peerless Fortress, so what choice do I have? My situation is different from yours, Jin Yong, since you aren't tied to either the Orthodox or Evil factions.”
Grind!
The youth called Jin Yong gnashed his teeth at those words.
“You certainly have a way with excuses.”
“And what about you? You’ve already been passed down the martial arts of your grandfather, who is called the best in the world with a blade. Why are you lusting after the techniques of the Merciless Wind God?”
Jin Yong.
He was the grandson of Ardent King Hegemon Jin-gyun, one of the Eight Great Masters.
Having his point struck home, Jin Yong’s expression contorted fiercely.
‘It’s all because of you! You’ve grown strong by inheriting the legacies of two of the Eight Great Masters, and yet you dare call me greedy!’
Jin Yong glared as if he could kill the other man dozens of times with his eyes alone before speaking.
“I have no interest in the power struggles between the Alliance and Peerless Fortress. I simply wish to become stronger.”
“Sure, sure. I bet you do.”
“You little—!”
Jin Yong lunged up from his seat in the wagon, reaching to unwrap the black cloth from his pipa-shaped weapon.
In response, Lee Jeong-gyeom tossed the jerky he was holding.
Swish!
Jin Yong snatched it out of the air.
“Calm down and just eat that. We’re almost at Peerless Fortress. Are you going to waste your strength before you even take the Merciless Wind God’s test?”
Jin Yong trembled with rage at Lee Jeong-gyeom’s words.
Barely suppressing his anger, he sat back down.
Then,
“I told you I’m not eating it.”
He threw the jerky out of the wagon.
Lee Jeong-gyeom clicked his tongue.
“Tsk, tsk. What a temper.”
“Hmph!”
Jin Yong turned his back, not wanting to even look at him.
Shaking his head, Lee Jeong-gyeom lay back down in an 'X' shape and stared up at the cloudless blue sky, muttering to himself.
“The descendant of the Namcheon Sword Guest... If that friend comes too, I don't think it'll be boring.”
I was reading what was written on the paper when the voice of the Lesser Conversation Sword rang out.
-These guys are impressive too. Didn't you say this was Peerless Fortress's territory?
It was as he said. This area fell under the jurisdiction of Peerless Fortress.
I had wandered around the village just in case, and I hadn't expected to find a branch of the Haomen Sect.
It was an inn with black awnings.
Thinking it might be a Haomen branch, I went upstairs and gave the cipher, and sure enough, it was.
However, the results were disappointing.
Most of the information they gave me was stuff I already knew.
‘Is the internal business of Peerless Fortress something even the Haomen, an information organization, can’t help with?’
The only information they had gathered was that during the Great Orthodox-Evil War, the Flying Moon Hero Sect was revealed to be descendants of the Blood Cult, leading to their expulsion from Peerless Fortress and the execution of all their members.
Beyond the sect's genealogy, they hadn't uncovered any information regarding the Flying Moon Swordsman Ha Seong-un—my maternal grandfather—who was known to the outside world.
-Actually, it doesn't matter anymore, does it?
That was true.
I could just hear about the Flying Moon Hero Sect from my grandfather anyway.
“I hope the information is to your liking.”
The goat-bearded middle-aged man sitting across from me was the owner of the inn and the branch leader of the Haomen.
Since there was no need to show my dissatisfaction, I replied with a smile.
“It’s not bad. Could I commission other information as well?”
“We are an organization that sells information. As long as you pay a fair price, we can provide as much as you need,” the branch leader said, rubbing his hands together.
I didn't know what Gwak Gyeong, the master of the Black Pavilion, had told him, but he had been quite favorable toward me ever since he learned my identity.
“Fufu. What would you like to request?”
“I want to know everything the Haomen knows about Peerless Fortress.”
“Everything... you say?”
“Yes.”
“For information that broad, it will be quite expensive, regardless of the grade we assign it.”
He looked at me with an expression that questioned whether I could even afford the price.
In response to his words, I pulled something out from my robe.
It was a Luminous Pearl.
“This?”
“I believe this should be more than enough to cover the cost.”
The branch leader’s eyes filled with delight as he stared at the Luminous Pearl emitting a soft green glow.
This information was quite useful.
Even compared to what I knew before my regression, it was valuable enough.
After the Great Orthodox-Evil War, the martial world was split between the Orthodox Martial Alliance and Peerless Fortress.
One might have thought a long peace would follow once their common enemy, the Blood Cult, was gone, but power and strength are not so easily divided.
Regardless of their alliance, the Martial Alliance and Peerless Fortress naturally began to clash more frequently.
Unlike the Martial Alliance, which championed the Orthodox path, Peerless Fortress did not belong to either the Orthodox or Evil factions and had different goals, which accelerated the friction.
The catalyst for the final break was the collapse of a political marriage intended to solidify the alliance.
Baek Cheol, the cousin of the Alliance Leader Baek Hyang-muk, was famous for his severe drinking habits and unrefined behavior. However, for the sake of the alliance between the two powers, he was married to Wang Yang-ha, the daughter of Wang Chuyi, the sect leader of the Sea King Fortress Sect—one of the Four Great Martial Sects of Peerless Fortress.
But his infidelity and drunken abuse eventually led to a tragedy.
His wife, Wang Yang-ha, ended up taking her own life.
This incident led to the eventual termination of the alliance between the Martial Alliance and Peerless Fortress.
-So this happened sooner than before.
‘Either Baek Hye-hyang’s side or Baek Ryeonha’s side must have had a hand in it.’
Up to this point, it was information I already knew.
However, the information compiled by the Haomen contained some quite interesting details.
It said that Baek Hyang-muk, the leader of the Martial Alliance, was so enraged by the incident that he cut off his cousin’s right arm and sent it to Peerless Fortress as an apology.
-Would one arm be enough compensation?
‘That’s why they probably asked for his head.’
According to the information, Wang Chuyi, the leader of the Sea King Fortress Sect, demanded Baek Cheol’s head.
No matter how fair and just Baek Hyang-muk was, would he accept a demand for his own kinsman’s head?
His refusal caused a complete rift with the Sea King Fortress Sect.
However, it wasn't easy for the entire alliance to break just because one sect was at odds.
Naturally, there was a sect that had been advocating for the termination of the alliance from the beginning: the Wind Shadow Eight Streams Sect.
According to the report, the Merciless Wind God Jin Seong-baek had been calling for the end of the alliance ever since he became the leader of the Wind Shadow Eight Streams Sect.
-...Is it because of your mother?
If that were the case, it meant Jin Seong-baek had been fighting his own battle from within.
In any case, with two of the Four Great Martial Sects in agreement, the Martial Alliance and Peerless Fortress eventually moved toward dissolving their alliance.
The crucial piece of information here was that Peerless Fortress had since split into two factions and was now in conflict.
-Is this why your biological father used his head? Unhwi.
-Indeed. He might have done it to expand his influence.
‘Perhaps.’
Originally, Peerless Fortress did not have a single ruler.
The leaders of the Four Great Martial Sects decided its direction through consultation. However, after the death of the Merciless Wind God in the previous timeline, Tian Wuxing, the Muchen Sword Emperor and leader of the Mucheonjeong Sect, became the Lord of Peerless Fortress.
Putting everything together, it was certain that there was a power struggle within Peerless Fortress.
-Could that Tian Wuxing guy be the one who killed your father?
I couldn't know for sure.
Even before my regression, they had only made a public announcement.
But for now, Tian Wuxing, the Muchen Sword Emperor—a fellow member of the Eight Great Masters and a rival—was the most likely suspect.
-Anyway, you can't just let your father die.
-Yes. Turning a blind eye to the parent who gave you life would be against the proper way of things, wouldn't it, Unhwi?
The proper way?
To be honest, I didn't know about that.
I even wondered if I would feel the same emotions I felt with my grandfather when I finally met him.
But one thing was certain: I wanted to meet him.
-Then hurry up. If you just sit around and a successor is suddenly chosen, won't you lose the position that should have been yours?
The position that should have been mine...
I would find out when I met my biological father.
Whether that position belonged to me or not.
But before that, there was something else to do.
-What is it?
I have to tell my grandfather everything related to the Blood Cult.
I’m more nervous about that.
Three days later.
Yan'an City, in the northern part of Shaanxi Province.
A massive fortress sat in the southwest of Yan'an.
The fortress itself was magnificent, and within its walls stood four tall towers.
In Peerless Fortress, these were called the Star Towers of the Four Great Martial Sects.
In front of the Star Tower of the Wind Shadow Eight Streams Sect, located to the southeast of the four towers, hundreds of martial artists had gathered.
Two young men walked through the bustling crowd.
They were Lee Jeong-gyeom, the joint disciple of the Eight Great Masters, and Jin Yong, the grandson of the Ardent King Hegemon.
People recognized them and began to murmur.
“It’s Lee Jeong-gyeom, one of the Twin Heroes.”
“Jin Yong, the grandson of the Ardent King Hegemon, is here too.”
“Ha! Why are the descendants of the Eight Great Masters here?”
“Don’t tell me those two are also planning to challenge for the succession of the Wind Shadow Eight Streams Sect?”
“Dammit. Isn't that just too much?”
The murmurs weren't exactly positive.
Since everyone had come to become the successor of the Merciless Wind God, they were dismayed by the appearance of these two.
“We’ve certainly taken on the role of the villains here.”
“You deserve to be cursed. You should have a conscience.”
“You know we’re in the same boat, right?”
“Don’t annoy me.”
Bickering as they pushed through the crowd, they looked up at the Star Tower of the Wind Shadow Eight Streams Sect.
The majesty of the eight-story tower was extraordinary.
“It sure is tall.”
“It means we have to pass through all of that to meet the Merciless Wind God.”
On their way here, they had looked into how the test was conducted.
To take the test to become the successor of the Wind Shadow Eight Streams Sect, one had to climb to the top of the Star Tower.
Experts who had mastered the martial arts of the Wind Shadow Eight Streams Sect were waiting on each floor, and it was said that one could only ascend by dueling and defeating them.
“So they won't let anyone become the successor easily.”
“...What a pain.”
“If it’s a pain, then give up.”
“Then the old man will nag me to death.”
“Excuses.”
Jin Yong snorted and walked toward the front of the Star Tower.
As they approached the entrance, the martial artists crowded there quickly moved aside to avoid them.
The reason was to avoid taking the test at the same time as them.
“It’s a relief they know their place.”
At Jin Yong’s arrogant tone, the faces of the surrounding martial artists contorted with anger.
However, none of them dared to step forward.
Because so many martial artists had flocked there, they usually climbed the tower in groups, but this time, everyone wanted to avoid it.
The reputation of the Eight Great Masters was that difficult to ignore.
‘Hmph. In the end, it’ll come down to a showdown with this guy.’
Jin Yong’s eyes gleamed with fighting spirit as he looked at Lee Jeong-gyeom, who was letting out a huge yawn.
But then, the sound of people murmuring rose from behind.
“Is he really going to compete with them?”
“Who is that young man?”
“Heavens. Does he not know they are the descendants of the Eight Great Masters?”
Curious, Jin Yong turned around.
There, walking out from the crowd, was a young man of average appearance with two scabbards and a dagger at his waist, wearing an eyepatch over his left eye.
‘Ha! Look at the guts on this guy.’