Chapter 573: To Henan (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 573: To Henan (6)
Leaving the cave behind, I trekked through the forest.
I wasn't entirely sure of the time, but judging by the moon’s position, it was the dead of night.
“Let’s rest here for a bit,” I muttered after walking for a while.
I didn't wait for an answer. I simply came to a halt and waved my hand toward the ground.
Fwoosh!
Flames flickered from my fingertips, igniting a pile of fallen twigs. Then, I used my Spatial Art to gather more wood from the surroundings. Just like that, a campfire was complete.
The darkness brightened slightly. I sat down beside the crackling flames and waited. A rabbit happened to be hopping nearby, so I caught it and began roasting it over the fire.
Crackle! Crackle!
Watching the meat slowly cook, I fell into deep thought.
‘At this rate, I should arrive within seven days and nights.’
That was the estimated time it would take to reach Henan. Normally, I would have traveled with minimal sleep and arrived in three days at the latest, but that wasn't an option now.
‘My body is in no condition for it.’
I had to move carefully, conserving as much energy as possible.
‘If only Ttolddoli were here… Tsk.’
With him, I could have made it in a single day. Unfortunately, he was unavailable. I had sent him to that bastard Jiseon. Since things had turned out this way, I had no choice but to travel on my own two feet.
In a way, it might have been for the best. I needed to travel slowly to manage my internal injuries anyway. The thought brought a cynical smile to my face.
‘To think my body ended up in this state after using it just once.’
I admitted that I had used my power excessively on purpose, without holding back. But the fact that a single use left me in this condition gave me a lot to think about. I still had a long way to go. I couldn't let something like this break my stride.
‘But I can't afford to hold back, either.’
If anything, I would have to use even more force in the future. I couldn't afford to let my power stagnate. In that case… the only way forward was…
‘To grow stronger.’
Either I become strong enough to use it without issue…
‘Or I complete that.’
If I could properly wield the technique I was trying to create, it would solve most of the problem. Of course, the best option of all would be…
‘To ascend to a higher realm.’
To break through my current limits and reach a higher state of being. The problem was, it was easier said than done.
It was a realm I couldn't reach even with the overwhelming internal energy of my past life: the Transcendent Realm.
It is a place one cannot reach through internal energy alone. A trivial enlightenment won't even get you to the threshold, and a meager vessel cannot even attempt to contain it. One must master their martial arts and perfect their mental image, making it completely their own.
The Dishonored Venerable said that was the condition to even glimpse the Transcendent Realm. In other words…
‘I’m still a long way off.’
It meant I was nowhere near it. Then again, the vast majority of martial artists die without ever reaching the Fusion Realm. Without enough talent, one cannot even reach the Peak Realm; such is the nature of ascension.
‘They say you could count everyone in the Transcendent Realm on your fingers, and they wouldn't even number thirty.’
Among the countless martial artists in the world, only that many had reached it. For someone who had just turned twenty to aim for such a place was absurd. I knew that all too well, but…
‘Still, I have to do it.’
Ultimately, it had to be done.
Squeeze.
I clenched my fist. At the same time, a thought crossed my mind.
‘Just how far have I come?’
I had spent three years trying to reclaim the power of my past life. During that time, I didn't just fill myself with internal energy; I trained with the Dishonored Venerable and filled the gaps with other things.
So, how far did I get? Objectively speaking…
‘Eighty percent. Maybe a little less than that.’
Even after devouring every fortunate encounter I could find, I hadn't even reached eighty percent. It was laughable—and at the same time, terrifying.
‘It just goes to show how effective the Demonic Absorption art is.’
A power that took me—a person wrapped in dark emotions with no enlightenment to speak of—to the very brink of the Transcendent Realm. It meant that with the Demonic Absorption art, accumulating power was easy.
But…
‘I have no need for such empty power.’
I knew it would never let me reach my ultimate goal. Slow and steady—that was what I needed right now.
‘…And yet, ironically.’
I was also facing a damned situation where I had to abandon that slow pace and accumulate power quickly.
‘I have to do it somehow.’
But how? I was still in a position where I had to keep agonizing over it.
Around the time I succeeded in completing at least the outer shell of the Fire Wheel Star, the Dishonored Venerable had seen it and said:
[You've at least taken the first step. Now, fill it in.]
Now that I had succeeded in constructing the mental image, I had to fill its incomplete core. It also meant I had to complete the unknown territory that was the mental image itself.
‘He said he’d teach me the Fifth Form if I did that, didn't he?’
What an absurd condition. He said Heaven Destruction Art was composed of seven forms in total. I had just finished the Fourth Form and needed to move on to the Fifth, but the condition was to complete the domain of the mind. What a terrifying requirement.
‘Then what? Do I have to reach the Transcendent Realm for the final form?’
For some reason, that felt frighteningly plausible. It seemed like something the Dishonored Venerable would actually do. That was the nature of Heaven Destruction Art.
It induces an artificial Rebirth. It forces you to step into the state of selflessness. It constructs a Mind’s Eye to let you see a new world. And now, it was making me construct a mental image.
Heaven Destruction Art was, quite literally…
‘The power that allows a human to transcend and shatter the heavens.’
I was beginning to understand the meaning the Dishonored Venerable had described. That old man…
‘Does he really intend to become a god?’
It probably wasn't a joke. They called him a man mad for martial arts, and that description was spot on. How insane must one be to create something like this?
‘And he created this, yet still lost to the Heavenly Demon?’
He created this bizarre martial art, and still, he was defeated by the Heavenly Demon. Considering this, I wondered if the state of the world might have been different had the Dishonored Venerable's body not been ruined by achieving eternal youth.
But that was a useless thought now.
‘Instead of entertaining such foolish hopes…’
I needed to think about what I had to do next.
“Haa…”
I let out a deep sigh and reached out my hand. I was about to eat the fully cooked meat to at least fill my stomach when suddenly…
“…Where do you intend to go now?”
Seong Yul, who had been silent the entire journey, finally spoke. I pulled a piece of meat from the spit and looked at him.
“I already told you.”
That I was going to Henan. I was sure I had mentioned it.
“Directly, you mean?”
“Yes, directly.”
There was no benefit in delaying. I could take care of some things along the way, but going straight there was the best option right now.
‘I have things to do in Henan, after all.’
I needed to arrive early and lay the groundwork.
“Why do you ask? What’s your real question?” I asked Seong Yul.
It would be one thing if he was just curious about our destination, but I knew his question wasn't that simple. He was laying the groundwork. I was sure he had something else he really wanted to ask.
And just as I expected, once I opened the door for him, Seong Yul brought up his main point as if he'd been waiting.
“…Young Master, you said you would tell me how you plan to use me.”
“I did.”
That's what I had told him back at Wudang.
“I still do not understand.”
“Hmm.”
“Nor do I understand what it is you intend to do.”
I thought I had explained enough, but it seemed Seong Yul still didn't get it. Or perhaps, he didn't want to.
“Three months from now. You said you would attack Henan.”
“That's right.”
That's why we were heading there now.
“When you say you will attack Henan… does that perhaps mean… you will attack the Murim Alliance?”
I didn't bother answering. There was no need. Attacking Henan was synonymous with attacking the Murim Alliance. When I affirmed it with my silence, Seong Yul's gaze wavered slightly.
“…Why?”
The reason. I thought for a moment about his question. There were countless reasons I could give, but for a question like this, the simpler the answer, the better.
“Because it deserves to be destroyed.”
“…!”
“There are more than enough reasons to destroy it, but no one seems willing to do the job. So I'm going to do it.”
What other reason was needed? It deserved to be destroyed, and I wanted to destroy it. So I would.
“...”
Hearing my answer, Seong Yul showed no reaction. He just stared at me with wavering eyes. Seeing that, I let out a small laugh.
“What, are you having second thoughts?”
He had said he would do anything I asked, whether it was killing people or something else. Was he hesitating now?
“It’s not that…”
“If you don't want to, just say so. I'll send you on your way if you wish.”
I’ll send you on your way. But of course, that didn't mean I'd send him where he wanted to go.
Seong Yul might seem fine now, but he was the Sword Demon in his past life. I couldn't just let him go. I was keeping him by my side thinking I might be able to suppress his Heavenly Killing Star with the Dragon’s Word, but if he was going to hesitate now…
‘I’ll have to either turn him into a Demonic Human or kill him right now.’
I would dispose of him without hesitation. However…
‘Wavering isn't necessarily a bad thing.’
I didn't know why he was wavering. But if it was because he was reluctant to kill, or hesitant to attack the Alliance—the heart of the Orthodox Faction—then that in itself wasn't so bad. The real problem was the madmen who would get excited and radiate killing intent at the mere suggestion.
So…
‘Maybe I should give him a justification.’
Instead of dealing with Seong Yul, I thought I'd give him a reason.
“Hey, you.”
“…Yes.”
“You said you can see through people's lies. Does that work on me too?”
That's what Seong Yul had told me at Wudang—that he could sense when someone was lying. I was asking if it worked on me. Hearing this, Seong Yul flinched for a moment before looking at me. His pupils trembled.
Why is he reacting like that? As I watched him silently, wondering, Seong Yul spoke.
“…I… I don’t know.”
“Hmm?”
I tilted my head at his words. He didn't know? I thought about it for a moment.
‘Is it because I haven't lied to him yet?’
Come to think of it, I didn't think I'd ever told him a lie. Was that why? Or was there something else to it? I didn't know. But it didn't matter. I could just test it and find out.
‘Perfect. The justification I was about to give him will work.’
The words I was about to say were perfect for a test. I looked straight at Seong Yul and said, “Then, why don't you check if what I'm about to say is a lie or not?”
“What…?”
“Did you know? The reason the Qinghai Sword died…”
Saaaa.
The moment I brought up the Qinghai Sword, the atmosphere around Seong Yul changed drastically. Color seeped into his pupils, and the air crackled with a different energy. It seemed my words had stimulated his Heavenly Killing Star.
Still, I didn't stop. I continued with a slight smile in my eyes.
“It was because of the Murim Alliance.”
Saaaaaaaaa!
As I tossed out the words, a dark energy began to emanate from Seong Yul's body. Watching this, I asked, “So? Does that sound like a lie to you?”
“…What… are you saying…?”
Seong Yul's yellow eyes gradually darkened. Should I let him go a little further? He seemed to have been suppressing it well since our first meeting. I was curious to see what would happen if he let it loose.
Also…
‘It’s a good chance to see how much of it I can suppress with the Dragon’s Word.’
We were in a secluded area, after all. And even with my internal injuries, I felt I could handle that much. With that intention, I was carefully watching Seong Yul's killing intent swell at a rapid pace, when suddenly…
Rustle.
“…?”
I suddenly felt something behind me.
“What do you mean by that? Explain yourself at once—”
“Shut up.”
“…!”
Seong Yul's expanding killing intent collapsed in an instant.
“Gah…!”
Its form shattered, and the backlash struck Seong Yul. His body trembled from the impact. As Seong Yul staggered from the unexpected backlash, I had to grimace at the pain that shot through my heart.
Just like with him, it was the recoil from using the Dragon’s Word. The damage was greater because I had used it hastily, without preparation. But I had no choice.
‘What is that?’
My senses picked something up. It was faint, but definitely there. The problem was, the presence was extremely close. Less than ten steps away. To have only sensed a presence at such a close range meant that the other person was highly skilled.
‘This is troublesome.’
My senses weren't working properly due to my internal injuries, but even taking that into account, their skill level was high.
‘Who is it?’
Who could it be? Who would approach me with their presence so perfectly concealed?
‘Wudang?’
It couldn't be them. The circumstances didn't fit.
‘Then, the Beggar’s Sect?’
That was the most likely possibility. The Tamer of Wild Dogs may have placed a restriction, but he could have still assigned someone to follow me. But…
‘If it really was the Beggar’s Sect, I doubt they would observe me from this close.’
They would watch from a distance, not approach as if to make a move. To get this close meant…
‘They got past Nahi, who should be circling the perimeter.’
Nahi should be watching from somewhere in this forest. I didn't sense that anything had happened to her. This meant the person had slipped past her senses to get here.
Wooooong!
I drew up my energy. I felt a dull ache in my heart but ignored it. Who the hell could it be? I had to find out.
Fwaaah.
The moment my senses spread out and moved swiftly—
Woong!
“What…?”
As my senses expanded, I felt the presence. It was…
‘Behind me?’
Directly behind me. The instant I realized it, I gathered energy in my hand and spun around. Immediately after, I was about to unleash a burst of flame without hesitation.
“Rawr!”
“…!”
The moment I turned, someone threw their hands up and made a cute noise. Seeing this, my eyes widened.
The first things I saw were the small figure with raised hands and her light green hair. The woman was looking at me with wide, round eyes. The shining pupils within those large eyes were unusual. I could only stare back with a blank expression.
It was a completely unexpected person. As I stared at her with an unreadable expression, the woman tilted her head.
“Were you not surprised?”
“…Hah.”
Her disappointed tone made me let out an involuntary, hollow laugh.
“I tried so hard to prepare… Hmph…”
The woman who had slipped past my senses was someone I knew well. Breaking the brief silence, I spoke first.
“…It’s been a while.”
At my words, the woman smiled. It was the same bright and gentle smile as always.
“Yes, I missed you very much, Young Master.”
On a deep, moonlit night, a wild Tang Soyeol appeared before me. And quite suddenly, at that.