The Weight of Reputation
In an instant, the question left my lips.
“Why are you going this far for us?”
“Hmm?”
At the chief steward’s puzzled reply, Lord Jeong answered with a mysterious smile. But from the steward’s perspective—someone who was essentially in charge of managing this entire venture—his superior’s attitude was bound to spark intense curiosity.
‘No matter how you look at it, even if his roots lie with the Mount Hua Sect’s outer disciples, Lord Jeong is one of the most prominent merchants in all of Shanxi, let alone Shaanxi…’
The reason simply didn’t add up. Lord Jeong, who had been in no hurry to answer the steward’s doubts, finally let a faint smile touch his lips and spoke.
“Because it’s only natural, isn’t it?”
“What do you mean, sir?”
“The senior disciple of the Mount Hua Sect has come calling. How could we possibly greet them empty-handed or drive them away?”
“But…”
“Hmph. Let’s set that flimsy excuse aside.”
Lord Jeong’s expression suddenly turned icy. The smile that had been on his face only moments ago vanished in the blink of an eye, and the steward flinched visibly. Watching his subordinate’s reaction, Lord Jeong let out a soft chuckle and continued.
“We can hardly turn away someone who could be called the overlord of Shaanxi, now can we?”
“What…?”
“A massive upheaval has been sweeping through the Shaanxi region lately. And at the very center of it all lies the resurgence of the Eunha Merchant Guild.”
“……!”
“Did you know that the second son of that very guild—the one who willingly stepped aside from the position of successor—is none other than the young priest who entered with Mu Yeong earlier?”
At Lord Jeong’s words, the steward found himself utterly speechless. In truth, it was only natural. There had been no reason for him to pay close attention to some obscure junior from the Mount Hua Sect whose name barely circulated in the jianghu. But the moment Lord Jeong dropped the name of the Eunha Merchant Guild like a confirmation strike, the steward—who knew all too well the power and prestige of that family—immediately grasped the current situation.
‘The Eunha Merchant Guild… they are quite literally the hegemon of Shaanxi. Which means if we had turned that young man away at the door…’
A chill raced down the steward’s spine. Having personally realized just how catastrophic his earlier words could have been, he hurriedly bowed his head and apologized.
“I am truly sorry, my lord. I spoke out of turn because I was unaware of that fact.”
“There’s no need to apologize. After all, an ordinary person would have no way of knowing the true identities of those two.”
“……”
At Lord Jeong’s casual tone, the steward kept his head bowed and listened attentively. Then, with a faint curve at the corner of his mouth, Lord Jeong continued.
“Besides… that junior disciple named Mu Yeong is hardly from an ordinary background either.”
“What do you…”
“You didn’t know? Well, I suppose there’s no need for me to spell everything out myself.”
“Pardon?”
“The rest, you can look into on your own.”
Lord Jeong dismissed the steward with a wave. The steward retreated with a crestfallen expression. Once the man had fully withdrawn, Lord Jeong, who had been leaning against the window with his back to the room, muttered under his breath.
“Even if one simply stood here and watched the training ground for a moment, one would immediately sense that something extraordinary is happening…”
He let out a short sigh. Outside, the spar between Eun Haseong and Yu Seongho was already underway. It was a duel between juniors that defied imagination—a breathtaking display of martial splendor at its absolute peak. The fact that the steward had withdrawn without even bothering to watch such a fight greatly displeased him.
“I’ll have to replace the chief steward soon.”
The sharp click of his tongue echoed clearly through the room.
I stood before Yu Seongho.
Clack.
Since this was nothing more than practice, I held a wooden sword rather than a real blade and offered him a polite fist salute.
“I am Eun Haseong of the Mount Hua Sect.”
“I am Yu Seongho of the Jongnam Sect.”
After exchanging the bare minimum of formalities, we immediately assumed our stances. To be honest, I had no interest in preliminary skirmishes or psychological warfare.
That was the moment.
“Hup!”
BOOM!
With a terrifying roar, Yu Seongho exploded forward, charging straight into my blind spot. Facing his ferocious rush, I drew a faint smile across my lips and let a spark of interest gleam in my eyes.
‘The Thirty-Six Forms of the World, huh.’
Nothing had changed. Using the fierce, heavy sword style of the Thirty-Six Forms of the World, Yu Seongho maintained his cloud-like, lofty momentum as he swept toward me. Instead of meeting his strikes head-on, I moved with nimble precision, lightly deflecting or evading each of his attacks.
“Kgh…!”
“Is that all you’ve got?”
For some reason, excitement was bubbling up inside me. Perhaps that was why the provocative words slipped out so naturally. As I taunted him amid my rising thrill, Yu Seongho bit down hard on his lower lip and thrust his sword forward.
RUMBLE!
In the blink of an eye, Yu Seongho switched to a left-hand sword stance and unleashed a wave of energy. Watching the scene unfold, I couldn’t help but let out an admiring gasp.
“Sword wave…!”
“Huu…”
Yu Seongho seemed to be running low on internal energy, taking deep breaths to steady himself. But I was genuinely shocked when I realized what he had just accomplished. He hadn’t simply released sword qi—he had shaped that energy into the form of a sword wave.
‘Yu Seongho has definitely reached the early stages of the Peak realm.’
His growth was faster than I had expected. I had assumed he would remain stuck at first-class for years, yet here he was, already capable of manifesting sword qi as waves at a point when the original story had barely begun. It was clear that something had acted as a catalyst for him.
‘Could my presence have become a stimulus for Yu Seongho?’
I stared at him intently. He was still breathing heavily, as if his strength hadn’t fully recovered. Watching his condition, I smiled faintly and slowly opened my mouth.
“This time, it’s my turn.”
“……!”
Swoosh—
As if testing the waters, I lightly swung my sword through the air, then charged toward Yu Seongho with my full weight behind the motion. The speed was considerable; it must have posed a serious challenge for him as well.
Whoosh—
In that split-second moment, Yu Seongho’s eyes widened. He used the sharp edge of his blade to instantly reverse his grip, turning the sword into a defensive tool.
‘He’s trying to block it…’
His spirit was commendable, but it bordered on recklessness. It was practically suicidal. So I decided to shatter that resolve without hesitation.
Gripping my sword firmly, I circulated the Purple Haze Qi.
Vrrrr—
‘The Purple Haze Sword Art is essentially a technique that simply infuses the Purple Haze Qi into the blade. If we’re talking purely about its core principles, it’s close to the Three Talents Sword Technique. However…!’
Simply circulating the Purple Haze Qi and swinging the blade was enough to unleash power capable of shaking heaven and earth. That was why it was known as the martial art of the King of the Underworld.
‘And the greatest advantage of the Purple Haze Sword Art is how easily and elegantly it harmonizes with other sword techniques.’
RUMBLE—!
The ground shook violently.
“Gah…!”
Crack—
Yu Seongho was sent flying all the way to the edge of the training ground. Not only that, but his internal energy had taken damage as well—he suddenly coughed up a mouthful of dark red blood.
After watching him get pushed all the way outside the training grounds, I finally murmured.
“Is it over?”
“Mmm…”
Mu Yeong, who had been watching everything from the head seat, swallowed a groan before making his declaration.
“Eun Haseong is the victor. It’s a ring-out loss.”
“Ugh.”
At Mu Yeong’s announcement, Yu Seongho let out a regretful groan. I gave a small chuckle at his reaction and asked.
“We’ll have plenty of chances to spar again in the future. There’s no need to look so disheartened, is there?”
“That’s not why I’m disheartened.”
“Hmm?”
Yu Seongho let out a long sigh before continuing.
“I thought I had finally caught up, but after crossing swords with you here, I realized you’ve only moved even further ahead. It feels… rather hopeless.”
“Ahem.”
I cleared my throat. It seemed that in that brief exchange of swords, Yu Seongho had indirectly sensed the realm I had reached. The fact that he could do so reminded me once again of his extraordinary senses and talent. I couldn’t help but feel a touch of surprise.
‘Even though I only showed a little bit of my strength… he noticed that I’ve already stepped into the Transcendence realm?’
This guy really wasn’t ordinary after all. Thinking that, I let out a wry laugh despite myself.
In that moment, Yu Seongho, who had been wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, asked a question.
“When will you be heading to Unhaeng Mountain?”
“……”
The question wasn’t directed at me, but at my senior brother. Since I remained silent, Mu Yeong grinned and answered.
“We’ll leave first thing tomorrow.”