Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Senior Brothers
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"Qi deviation. Looks like it's been going on for quite a while."
Qi deviation.
It meant one's body had been ruined from cultivating internal energy improperly. Do Cheon nodded at Volcanic Divine Sword Yi Jo-yang's explanation and let out a sigh. That's exactly what it had seemed like to him as well.
"You must have seen it yourself, so why call me specifically?"
"It was my first time seeing it, so I wanted to make sure I wasn't mistaken."
"I see."
Volcanic Divine Sword Yi Jo-yang gave a faint smile.
Even though he'd likely seen far more than Do Cheon had, the fact that he hadn't jumped to conclusions showed how highly he valued life and how free of arrogance he was. No one could predict the future, but in this moment, it felt like a glimpse of the next generation's righteous faction spirit, and it pleased him greatly. Of course, the man himself claimed to belong to neither the righteous nor demonic factions.
"Do you know a treatment?"
"We'd have to use the same type of internal energy he's cultivating or some spirit medicine to clear it out, right?"
"Or have someone who's reached the Transcendent Realm take a look."
"Does such a person exist?"
"Who knows? They say the world is wide and full of eccentrics."
Do Cheon simply nodded at Volcanic Divine Sword Yi Jo-yang's words and turned his gaze to Neung Sa-un, who lay asleep on the bed.
"For now, feed him well and let him rest deeply."
"Yes."
"I'll take my leave."
"Ah, thank you. I owe you again."
"If you truly feel indebted, then whenever a crisis arises, lend an ear to my words."
"I will."
Volcanic Divine Sword Yi Jo-yang stepped outside. Do Cheon watched over Neung Sa-un a moment longer before following suit. Outside, Yi Yeol, Iron Mountain, and Little Sparrow were pacing about.
"If we feed him well and let him rest for the time being, he'll be fine."
Everyone's faces lit up with relief at Do Cheon's words.
"He seemed lighter than Little Sparrow."
Iron Mountain, who had carried him from the main gate, still couldn't shake his worry as he spoke.
"How would you know my weight, Senior Brother?"
Little Sparrow bristled.
"It's obvious just looking at you."
"Obvious my foot! Are you a scale or something?"
"You've got to add another thirty pounds to a hundred."
"...!"
"You silly girl. You're not fat, but for a martial artist, you've got a bit too much meat on you. You need to train harder."
"Damn it! I train hard already—how much harder?!"
"Join the dawn training."
"Running up the back mountain?"
"Yeah. I tried it, and it's genuinely a huge help to us right now."
Little Sparrow glanced at Do Cheon at Iron Mountain's words.
"I've never trained systematically myself, so I'm not sure, but Mountain might be right. Neck Ridge said climbing steep mountains is the best way to build leg strength, and it's unparalleled for stimulating the nerves and muscles throughout the body."
Little Sparrow's serious contemplation was plain to see as she listened to Do Cheon. She soon turned to Yi Yeol, clearly hoping he'd join too.
"It's too late for Yeol. It'd just be a waste of time."
Do Cheon drew the line before Yi Yeol could even volunteer.
Yi Yeol was at a stage where he needed to focus on mastering the Four Souls Absolute Tyrant Power and wielding it alongside the Four Souls Nine Swords.
Little Sparrow pouted sadly.
It wasn't that she hated running; it was the idea of dashing around with all those men that made her uneasy. Do Cheon saw right through her thoughts and chuckled.
"With all that shyness, how will you roam the world as a great female expert someday? Think of this as practice for handling all the stares, and train with Mountain."
"Yes..."
Little Sparrow slumped her shoulders as she replied.
"What? That's what it was? I thought you hated running 'cause you're heavy. Idiot, who's gonna steal glances at you? Go run around naked—no one would bat an eye. If they did, they'd just think you're a crazy bitch."
The moment Iron Mountain finished, the trembling Little Sparrow kicked him hard. He yelped loudly.
"Have you gone mad?!"
"Yeah, I have!"
Little Sparrow kicked wildly like a maniac. Despite his words, Iron Mountain cherished her more than anyone there and could only flee in shock.
"Stop! Kicking me hurts 'cause you're heavy!"
"What's wrong with my weight?!"
Iron Mountain bolted as fast as he could, and Little Sparrow chased just as swiftly. The two vanished in an instant.
"Little Sparrow's lightness skill is coming along nicely."
"Yeah, she's gotten quite nimble from all that hard work."
Yi Yeol and Do Cheon shared warm smiles of the same kind.
Neung Sa-un opened his eyes.
A unfamiliar ceiling filled his vision. It didn't take long to recall where he was.
"Iron Lion Sect..."
Thinking of the Iron Lion Sect and Do Cheon, Neung Sa-un couldn't stay lying down. He sat up. Just that much made his face, which had improved overnight, pale again. The price of forcing an incomplete heart technique was this severe. He'd once despaired enough to abandon everything, but now he was determined to overcome it without flailing in his current plight.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Neung Sa-un looked around in admiration. There was a stick propped by the bed—one he'd picked up somewhere the day before. The Iron Lion Sect folk hadn't discarded the worthless-looking thing but had kept it safe.
"What truly good people."
Recalling the faces he'd seen last night, Neung Sa-un wanted to meet them soon. He grabbed the stick and stood. Leaning on it like yesterday made moving much easier.
As Neung Sa-un slowly made his way outside, a servant girl passing by hurried over.
"Just wait a bit, and I'll bring food."
"No need. Please take me to Senior Brother Do Cheon."
"The Great Disciple?"
"Ah, that's what you call him?"
"Yes. We call him that among ourselves."
"I see. Take me to Great Disciple Do Cheon."
"Yes."
The servant girl who tended to Little Sparrow began guiding Neung Sa-un.
His pace was terribly slow with the stick, but the young girl matched it patiently. Soon, someone appeared like the wind.
"Can you move already?"
Neung Sa-un looked up to see simple clothes far from flashy, but exuding a refined plainness. If his memory served, it was one of the faces from last night—and during the day, too, asking with concern if he hurt anywhere.
"Little Sparrow, was it? Right?"
"Yes! I'm sixteen, so older than you, right?"
"Two years older."
"Then you're my senior brother. Feel free to drop the honorifics, Neung Senior Brother."
Little Sparrow beamed.
She must have bathed; her hair was wet, her flushed skin looked healthy, and a pleasant scent wafted, giving an excellent impression. And calling him "Neung Senior Brother" with that smile—how could he not be moved?
"Thank you."
"It's nothing. But really, are you okay to move? You looked really sick..."
"No matter how much it hurts, I have to greet my senior brothers and the elders."
"Ah, then let me support you."
"Well..."
"When I'm hurt, my senior brothers carry me. It's normal between martial siblings."
"I see. Then, I appreciate it."
"Sure."
Little Sparrow quickly came close, draping his arm over her shoulder to support him.
"Hyang-ah, I'll take Neung Senior Brother. Go do your errands."
"Yes, miss."
As the servant retreated, Little Sparrow helped Neung Sa-un toward Lion Hall.
Lion Hall.
Everyone was gathered there.
Sect Leader Sa Jung-gyeong, Yeop Mun-wi, Do Cheon, Yi Yeol, Iron Mountain, and even Young Ki.
"Neung Sa-un greets the Sect Leader."
Little Sparrow pointed out her master as the Sect Leader, and Neung Sa-un bowed deeply from the waist.
"Yes, I heard. You're a blood descendant of the Ice White Death God Neung Cho-ryang?"
"Yes."
"Is the Young Honored One unable to come with you?"
"My father passed away a few years ago."
"Oh no, how?"
"It was an accident."
Seeing Neung Sa-un say only that without further explanation, Sa Jung-gyeong sensed there was more he couldn't share and didn't press.
"Thank you for coming to us. As for here... let's see. Your predecessor would be over sixty if alive? That makes him my martial uncle."
"Yeop Mun-wi."
"Neung Sa-un greets Martial Uncle Yeop."
Neung Sa-un bowed politely to Yeop Mun-wi as well. Yeop Mun-wi nodded and gestured toward Do Cheon with his chin.
"You've already met him, right? He's the pillar and foundation of our sect, so follow him well from now on."
His words revealed exactly how he viewed Do Cheon.
"Yes. Thank you, Senior Brother Do Cheon."
"Martial siblings are duty-bound to help each other."
"Yes."
Gratitude shone on Neung Sa-un's face, and Do Cheon nodded, introducing the others.
Yi Yeol, Iron Mountain, Little Sparrow, and Young Ki.
After greeting each one, Do Cheon asked,
"How old are you?"
"Eighteen."
"That puts you between Yeol and Mountain. Treat Yeol as senior brother and Mountain and below as junior brothers."
"Understood."
As Neung Sa-un answered,
"Really eighteen? You didn't add a year or something?"
Iron Mountain asked with a suspicious look.
"You seem sensitive about age. I'd be fine making you my junior if possible."
Neung Sa-un smiled lightly, and Iron Mountain looked sheepish, turning to his master.
"Master, isn't my age wrong? No matter how I think, seventeen doesn't fit this build."
"Stubborn again?"
"Again?"
"When you first came here as a kid, you insisted you were definitely a year older than Little Sparrow, making you her senior brother."
"That wasn't stubborn—it was the truth!"
"Was there such a thing?"
As Iron Mountain protested, Little Sparrow cut in.
"You don't remember?"
"No."
"Makes sense. You were so young, and everything was new just days after arriving—your mind was elsewhere."
"Right after coming?"
"Yeah. You arrived first, so you should've been the senior, but this guy insisted he had to be the older one. Couldn't scold him in front of you, Little Sparrow, so I let it go."
"So you're younger than me?"
"Who knows. He didn't know his real age either. I brought him, but how could I know? He just looked younger than Yeol by eye."
Having heard the story, Little Sparrow glared at Iron Mountain with wide eyes.
"Don't mess around. No matter what, I'm the senior brother. Master's decision settles it."
"Then call Neung Senior Brother 'senior brother' too."
"Duh, of course. Neung Senior Brother is Neung Senior Brother—not junior."
Iron Mountain backed off, and Little Sparrow just pursed her lips before dropping it.
"Master, shall we eat?"
At Do Cheon's words, Sa Jung-gyeong nodded and headed to the dining hall, his face full of contentment.
'What fortune lets me know such happiness? It's all thanks to my excellent disciples and the ancestors' blessings.'
After breakfast, the martial siblings gathered together.
After chatting idly for a while, Do Cheon turned serious and asked Neung Sa-un,
"What will you do now?"
"The sword manual?"
"I've already sent someone to fetch it."
"You did? That's a relief."
"You know your body's condition, right?"
"Yes."
"What do you plan?"
"Circumstances forced me to push it. Ancestors decreed not to practice without the complete technique or risk ruin... but things weren't ideal."
"If you'll accept this as your sect and acknowledge me as your senior brother, tell me those circumstances."
Neung Sa-un hesitated, then his face darkened as past events resurfaced.
'As expected, there's a story.'
Do Cheon had suspected as much since first seeing him. It seemed grave—enough to drive him to ruin his body forcing the art.
"My father never learned martial arts. Neither did Grandfather. They'd upheld the ancestor's will: the handed-down art was incomplete, so attempting it would destroy the body. Father was kind, never cursing others. Yet he was beaten to death. Mother too. My sister... was defiled. Bandits did it, they said. Bandits killed us three. In a place bandits never appeared. To survive, I accepted it as truth. Pretended to believe. Then secretly trained the family art. The result... is this."
A forlorn smile crossed Neung Sa-un's face. Little Sparrow looked heartbroken; Yi Yeol watched coldly.
"Fuck, which bastards did that?"
Iron Mountain demanded hotly.
"Those people?"
Do Cheon asked too.
"Radiant Cloud Sword Kang Il-hae. His son Kang Sa-seong, the notorious playboy. He lusted after my sister, parents found out, and it happened."
"Son of a bitch! Kang Sa-seong? Neung Senior Brother! Leave him to me—I'll make him crawl and regret it."
"Thanks. But vengeance is mine."
"With that body... Got it."
Iron Mountain blurted thoughtlessly, then shut up under Do Cheon's glare.
"Did you deliberately entice them?"
Do Cheon asked again.
"It's been three years already. Yet they still watch me. So I came here. As Iron Lion Sect descendants, take me in, I said. Give me the sword manual, teach me a bit. Then I'll hunt the bandits to the ends of the earth."
As expected. Their relations weren't good from the start; he'd stirred them deliberately to come together. He'd sensed the odd atmosphere when first seeing the three.
"You need the Heavenly Yin Ice White Divine Art?"
"Yes."
"It's yours, so I'll give it. But as my junior brother, not for free."
"...!"
"Two conditions."
"Speak them."
"First, don't attempt it until you fully understand."
"Not a condition—your command as senior brother. I'll obey."
"Second, while here, eat every meal with us like today."
"If you'll accept me, I'd be the gatekeeper. I'm just grateful."
Neung Sa-un bowed deeply.
Moisture gathered in eyes long dried out.
Three young men and women appeared before Iron Lion Sect's main gate.
Two disciples of Heaven-Rending Legion Kang Yi-wi: Sa Mu-ryong Nam Myeong and Four Divine Dragons Ha Gun-pyo, plus Heaven-Rending Legion's daughter, White Rakshasa.
"Yes, yes. I smell it. The scent of someone very strong."
Sa Mu-ryong Nam Myeong's ink-black eyes darted about as a smile crept across his lips. A murderer's smile that chilled the heart.