Chapter 84
Chapter 84
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: Determined to Snatch It Away
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Onma tilted his head slightly to the side as he asked.
“…Little Brother, are you crying?”
“Wahhh! In a situation like this, how could your foolish younger brother not shed tears!!”
Ilno had happened to overhear the conversation between Unhwi and the Lion Blade King, and in his overwhelming emotion, he had burst outside, tears streaming down his face.
Onma, who was with him, ended up looking a bit awkward.
If Ilno were a woman, he might not say something like this.
It was unseemly for a man in his forties to be bawling with snot and tears running everywhere.
“Well, I understand your feelings, Little Brother, but to this extent—”
“Waaahhh! Young Cult Leader! In the past, the present, and the future! This Ilno’s life exists solely for the Young Cult Leader!!”
Overcome with emotion, Ilno prostrated himself in a grand bow toward the location of the White War Hall.
He even performed the full rites of the Divine Myth Sect, forcing Onma to frantically scan the surroundings in case anyone saw.
Fortunately, it seemed no one had witnessed it.
“…This must be what they mean by fanatic devotee.”
Onma let out a light sigh.
* * *
“…….”
“…….”
The previously warm and harmonious atmosphere was gone.
A heavy silence hung between me and the Lion Blade King.
Then, one of his eyebrows twitched.
“Are you saying I came to the Nine Dragons Branch Family with some ulterior motive?”
‘His eyes have turned downright murderous.’
‘Young Cult Leader, punish that heretic at once! How dare a lowly fiend glare like that at our lord!!’
The room had grown stifling and humid, the air prickling against the skin.
It was the killing intent he exuded, dominating the space.
But I calmly drank from the cup he had filled and nodded.
“Yes.”
“You’d better start speaking properly from now on.”
“Isn’t that the case?”
“!!”
I stared steadily into the Lion Blade King’s eyes.
“Before being the leader of a sect, Senior is the supreme ruler of the Gui Province martial world. The steps of a lion may be slow, but their weight cannot be compared to that of an ordinary man. They could make the entire world tremble. And Senior knows that weight better than anyone.”
Some say the Lion Blade King, coming from a ronin background, has a capricious personality and acts frivolously.
But that’s just ignorant nonsense from people who judge based on superficial appearances.
His actions may be lighthearted, but if his thoughts were equally frivolous, could such a man have risen to the position of supreme ruler?
No. Absolutely impossible.
I could stake my name on it.
After all, I had once sat as the Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, at the pinnacle of a hundred thousand fiends.
That’s why I knew full well how grave a position it was to stand above others, to lead from the front.
No matter how bold his personality, his mind must be filled with countless calculations.
It was necessary to maintain his position and earn the trust of those who followed him.
The Lion Blade King was no different.
There had to be a significant purpose for him to personally drag his heavy frame all the way to the Nine Dragons Branch Family.
Dang Hoseon had noticed this as well, which was why he had sent me to probe the Lion Blade King.
“Of course, the honor of the Lion Gate is important. But Senior is clearly seeing something even greater.”
“…I told you, there’s no such—”
“Is it because of the Stellar Heavenly Trajectory?”
“!!”
“I suspected as much, and it seems I was right.”
“You’ve been spying on me, have you?”
The energy filling the room had now turned into outright hostility, pressing down on me.
Golden radiance flashed sharply like fangs in places all around.
It was the Golden Lion Killing Intent.
That meant I had hit the nail on the head.
The Lion Blade King now looked ready to devour me whole.
I snorted lightly.
“Are you serious? How could I possibly monitor you personally?”
“Then how in the world—”
“Because that’s the only thing Senior would desperately crave now.”
The Stellar Heavenly Trajectory.
The realm of Entering Divinity, where one glimpses the flow of the heavenly mechanism and begins to embody it.
My master had long walked that path, and countless great fiends had flailed in vain chasing after him, only to plummet.
Yet even amid that, their gazes never left my master’s back.
The look in their eyes was identical to the one in the Lion Blade King’s now.
Zeal.
Greed.
Envy.
Jealousy.
And above all, a thirst for that transcendent power.
If that emotion became the driving force, one could eventually reach the Stellar Heavenly Trajectory. But if reason was consumed by it, one would fall short of divinity and crash down.
The Lion Blade King was clearly at that crossroads.
‘I’ve heard that in the Central Plains, the Dark Lord and Sword Emperor have reached that stage, or so the Cult Leader once mentioned. So surely after his clash with the Sword Emperor, the Blade King developed such a thirst?’
It had to be.
“You thought that by directly clashing with the Dark Lord’s shadow, you might gain some clue?”
“…….”
“Looks like I’m right.”
The Lion Blade King clamped his lips shut.
Having been pierced to the core, he must have been lost in thought.
As I said, a man like him could harbor several sly foxes in his mind without it being surprising.
He’d be too busy calculating what would benefit him.
But I knew.
He had no choice but to speak eventually.
‘Even if that fool rolls his thick skull as much as he wants, it’s all within the Young Cult Leader’s palm—’
‘Watching him get played must be quite entertaining, no?’
‘How long do you think it’ll take him to open his mouth?’
‘Hmm. About an hour?’
‘Nah, you’re overestimating. Half an hour at most—’
“…As you probably know, I was originally a ronin.”
‘Not even half of half an hour!?’
‘What’s half of half? At this rate, it’s barely any delay at all.’
The Lion Blade King slowly continued.
“With no real background to speak of, every day was a struggle. Even now, running a sect, it’s no different. If anything, even more scum are rampaging to steal my position. It’s exhausting enough climbing up, and then these worthless jackals come lunging from below. Always a nuisance.”
“Am I one of those jackals?”
“No.”
The Lion Blade King stated flatly.
“You’re no jackal. You’re a lion, just like me.”
“…….”
“That’s precisely why I want to spar with you.”
The Lion Blade King’s bared lips revealed fangs glinting sharply.
“From the moment I first heard about you, I had a gut feeling. That you possessed claws. And seeing you now confirms it. You already know your claws well and have begun honing them.”
The claws he referred to seemed to be the sword lingering in my mindscape.
“Most martial artists die without ever acquiring them. Fools who don’t even know how to go about it. And—”
And?
“Among those fools, I’m included.”
“!!”
My eyes widened.
‘That’s unprecedented.’
‘Even with all the groundwork laid, a master of his caliber wouldn’t casually admit something like that—’
“Is it really okay for you to say that much?”
The Lion Blade King’s face twisted slightly.
“Didn’t you tell me to speak?”
“I didn’t expect you to be this frank. Honestly, I thought you’d refuse to answer or dodge around it.”
“Because it’s a weakness?”
“Yes.”
“Hmph! Revealing that is no issue for me. Even if you went outside right now and blabbed about it, I wouldn’t care. The one who hides his weakness is truly weak. The one who struggles to overcome it is weak, yet not weak.”
I nodded slowly.
He was right.
Acknowledging one’s deficiencies and striving to fill them required tremendous courage and became the foundation for greater growth.
“A wounded lion becomes prey for jackals. But if it bares its wounds and growls, the jackals hesitate and back off. Know why?”
“Because they fear that spirit?”
“Exactly. The desperation and ferocity born from that weakness terrifies them.”
He seemed to take deeper pride in the passion he currently harbored than in the achievements of his ‘past’.
“So, lacking claws myself, I intended to snatch yours by any means. But now, seeing you, I think it was the right choice. Looks like those claws have been touched by hands other than the Dark Lord’s?”
“!!”
The Dark Lord aside, he had even discerned my master’s shadow?
“That person must possess skill equal to the Dark Lord’s. Seeing it should greatly aid me in finding my own claws.”
Was his mouth parched from speaking so long?
Or had spilling his innermost thoughts left him thirsty?
The Lion Blade King now gripped the gourd flask instead of a cup, gulping it down.
“…….”
I simply watched the Lion Blade King silently.
Countless thoughts raced through my mind.
‘At first, I thought him a petty, narrow-minded greedy fool—’
‘Yet to bow his head to a much younger junior like this shows the depth of his desperation.’
“Grr!”
The Lion Blade King set down the now-empty gourd with a satisfied grunt.
“Though you poked me in the ribs to draw it out, spilling it all feels refreshing. Anyway, I’ve laid out my circumstances. What now?”
I nodded.
“Very well. I’ll help you.”
“Really?”
A strange fervor flickered in the Lion Blade King’s slightly widened eyes.
The heat of longing.
“Why would I lie? You’ve shown me your true intentions, so I’ll show you mine.”
“Thanks!”
“But on one condition.”
“A condition?”
At first, I saw him merely as a good opponent to toy with.
I had been thinking it was about time to begin initiating into the Heavenly Demon Armament Sword, so a spar with the Lion Blade King seemed like perfect practice.
But after this candid exchange, I realized.
He was no one to take lightly.
His caliber was extraordinary.
Even in the Heavenly Mountains, such men were exceedingly rare.
‘I want him.’
He embodied the traditional image of a true hero martial artists spoke of.
He’d fit perfectly into the vessel of the Divine Myth Sect.
“Lend me one blade.”
“You want to borrow my sword?”
“Yes. I don’t know when, but your claws, Senior, would be of immense value, no?”
The Lion Blade King laughed.
“Talking like I’ve already grown claws.”
“I’m certain. Senior will obtain them soon.”
“Ho?”
“Whether from the clues you gain from me or some sudden enlightenment, I’m convinced of it.”
“Hahaha! I know it’s bold talk, but it still feels damn good to hear!”
The Lion Blade King’s booming laughter filled the room, echoing loudly. The killing intent was gone.
Unlike him, who might dismiss it as a joke, I truly believed it.
“Sorry, but that won’t work.”
“?”
“But if you take me as your elder brother, I might just agree.”
“!”
“A true man has pride, but how could a brother refuse his little sibling’s request to borrow a sword?”
Hah!
The completely unexpected words drew an involuntary chuckle from me.
“What do you say?”
The Lion Blade King raised his cup with a grin.
A smile that somehow carried the ferocity of a lion.
To call each other brothers.
This, too, was unprecedented.
The Lion Blade King’s seniority was on par with the Azure Heaven Sword Emperor or Dark Lord, at least half a generation ahead of Dang Hoseon.
For him to propose this was to blatantly upend the martial world’s hierarchy.
The stuffy orthodox elders would foam at the mouth.
But I, too, hailed from the Divine Cult, where such precedents abounded.
If our minds aligned, anything was possible.
In the end, I raised my cup with a smile as well.
“As your little brother, I can’t refuse my elder brother… So, no choice then.”
The Lion Blade King’s cup clinked lightly against mine.
Just then, sunlight streaming through the window filled both cups.