Power, and the Wall (5)
With his elbow resting on the armrest of the grand throne and his chin propped on his hand, Yang Cheon looked utterly languid.
“So? Have you made up your mind?”
Yeon Sim looked up at him with clouded eyes, offering no answer.
Yang Cheon clicked his tongue inwardly. I thought she’d improved a little… but really, with that kind of mental fortitude, how did she even reach such a realm? No matter how sharp her sword might be, it was useless like this.
Of course, if he showed her the same affection he gave Bu Seon and tried to teach her somehow, things might change.
But Yang Cheon had no intention of doing so.
Those who cannot stand on their own will eventually fall back to the ground.
Bu Seon had filled her lacking talent with venomous effort and terrifying obsession. If she had simply envied the talent of the first and third disciples, she would still be struggling with strength inferior even to the third.
Yang Cheon’s gaze grew cold.
“I thought you’d improved even a fingernail’s worth, but you’ve actually gotten worse.”
“……”
“I have no hobby of comforting losers. Get out of my sight.”
Yeon Sim’s eyes turned bloodshot.
“There is no longer any reason for me to stay here. I came here with the intention of leaving the Black Dragon Department as well.”
“I won’t stop you from going far.”
“But before that, I have one request.”
The corner of Yang Cheon’s mouth curled up.
“A request? No matter what kind of request it is, I don’t see any reason why I should grant it.”
“I challenge you to a spar.”
“Hm?”
Srrrng.
Yeon Sim’s thumb pushed her sword out of its sheath.
“I formally challenge the Lord of the Black Dragon Department to a spar.”
“……”
Yang Cheon, who had been quietly looking down at her, suddenly burst into roaring laughter.
“Kwa ha ha ha!”
The laughter, infused with inner energy, shook the entire audience chamber with terrifying resonance.
Yeon Sim’s eyelids trembled violently. The inner energy mixed into Yang Cheon’s laughter resided in a realm she had never heard of or seen before. Just the sound of it alone felt like it would shake her insides to pieces.
But she did not waver. At the very least, the martial arts she had built up until now did not betray her.
After laughing for a long while, Yang Cheon suddenly hardened his expression.
“You don’t even know your place!”
Kwa-dudududuk!
In an instant, Yeon Sim’s feet sank into the floor up to her ankles.
Kwajijik!
Spiderweb-like cracks spread around her deeply sunken feet. They were hidden by the red carpet, but they were there.
Wiiiiiiing.
A strange sound rang from Yeon Sim’s body. To resist Yang Cheon’s monstrous inner energy, she had drawn upon Botam’s divine art.
Killing intent poured from Yang Cheon’s eyes.
It was not the artificially crafted killing intent he usually displayed—it was genuine. Yang Cheon was truly disappointed in Yeon Sim, and he truly harbored killing intent toward her.
“It’s your freedom to fall into despair as you please, but trying to borrow someone else’s hand because you can’t even find a place to die is so pathetic I can hardly stand to watch!”
The voice of the enraged Yang Cheon was itself a divine art. And the pressure it exerted only grew denser with time.
Yeon Sim’s body became drenched in sweat.
She knew that the Holy Thirteen Seats were said to be the strongest in the martial world. She also knew that the gap in power between her and Yang Cheon was as vast as the sea.
But she hadn’t expected it to be this much. He hadn’t thrown a single punch or swung his hand, yet the pressure of his true energy alone made it difficult to even twitch a finger. This is…! Yeon Sim’s eyelids trembled. This is the power of the Holy Heavens that claims to be the strongest in the Central Plains!
Yang Cheon spoke in a chilling voice.
“Can’t do anything? Is it that hard to calm your chaotic mind? Is the process so difficult that you don’t even want to think about it anymore?”
“……”
“Then take that sword in your hand and stab your own throat! I am not so pathetic as to take the life of a half-baked novice who can’t even control her own death!”
Yang Cheon swung his hand.
In that instant, Yeon Sim felt an enormous force envelop her body.
Whiiiiik! Kwaaang!
Her body flew through the air and slammed into the wall.
Yang Cheon’s eyes gleamed.
He had intended to use his monstrous inner energy and the pinnacle of Empty Air Grasping to hurl her all the way to the audience chamber’s doors. Yet in the middle of it, she had twisted her direction and crashed into the left wall instead.
She had resisted somehow. Her martial arts alone were certainly useful.
“Get out.”
Ulgeok!
Yeon Sim, who had landed on the floor, coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Her face was colored with shock. Incredible! She had heard that her current martial prowess had already surpassed the level of the Nine Great Sects’ sect leaders. Even Yang Cheon had acknowledged that.
Yet he had sent her flying this far using nothing but Empty Air Grasping. A monster…! He was not human.
His martial arts had reached the extreme, allowing him to send a rare expert of the Jianghu flying using only the harmony of qi. This was no longer martial arts—it had entered the realm of supernatural ability.
Indeed. Her opponent was a heavenly expert who could kill her with a single finger.
That was precisely why she needed it. A spar with him.
Wiping her mouth, Yeon Sim stepped back onto the carpet.
A sneer appeared on Yang Cheon’s face.
“Do you want to die that badly?”
“I ask you again.”
Yeon Sim cupped her fist in respect.
A strange light flickered in Yang Cheon’s eyes.
“I challenge the Lord of the Black Dragon Department, the King of Combat, to a spar.”
“……”
Yang Cheon silently looked down at her.
Srrrk.
The Black Lion Qi that had dominated the entire audience chamber sank away in an instant.
To gather the qi that had filled such an enormous space in the blink of an eye—Yang Cheon’s ability was truly inhuman the more one saw of it.
“Your eyes are filled with so much confusion that even a fool could see it at a glance, and your words and actions are beyond common sense. Right now, you are clearly broken beyond repair.”
“……”
“But it’s strange. While I still find your attitude displeasing, upon closer inspection, it is slightly different from the idiotic appearance you had before.”
Yang Cheon’s eyes deepened.
“Do you want to fight me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He asked for the reason.
Yeon Sim thought that was enough. The enemy she could not live under the same sky with, the giant of the Jianghu, was finally asking her a question.
This was where it began. She threw her gamble.
“One sword. If even a single strike of mine manages to touch your careless body, please teach me your insights.”
“Oh?”
It was an unexpected development. Interest rose on Yang Cheon’s face.
“You want me to teach you my insights?”
“Yes.”
“Does that mean you wish to become my disciple?”
“You are the main culprit who destroyed Botam, and naturally my enemy as well. Even if I cannot overcome this current confusion and cannot lead my own life proactively, I cannot become the disciple of my enemy.”
Yang Cheon let out a short laugh.
“Do you think I would pass on my insights to someone who isn’t even my disciple?”
“Yes.”
“Why do you think so?”
“The reason the Lord tried to destroy Botam to that extent and take me was because you judged my strength to be useful, wasn’t it?”
“It was.”
“You also said at that time that you would make me the greatest sword. That if I left Botam and came under you, you would promise explosive growth.”
Yang Cheon nodded.
“That is correct. But that was on the condition that you abandoned the name of Botam and came to me. You want to take only what you can get without giving up anything? That’s not how deals are made.”
“That is why it is one sword.”
Yeon Sim shook her sword.
“I heard that a swordsman named Kang Liang said he would wait and wait until the day he could defeat the Lord in the future.”
“……”
“I will become your hands and feet. If you give an order, I will do anything to carry it out.”
“Oh?”
“However… if my sword fails to touch the Lord’s body in this spar…”
Yeon Sim lowered her head.
“Then I will serve you as master and servant for ten years.”
Yang Cheon smiled.
Contrary to appearances, it seemed she had been pondering quite a bit. To her, those worries must have been fierce, and after such intense deliberation, she had reached this judgment.
Yang Cheon thought it wasn’t bad.
If she didn’t know what she wanted, following someone’s advice wasn’t a bad idea. And since she had staked ten years of her life on it, she must have done her own calculations. Perhaps I was the one who was in too much of a hurry.
Jeong-an, whom Yeon Hojeong had chosen, and Yeon Sim, whom he had chosen.
The difference between the two was clear. Jeong-an had found what she needed to do even in the worst environment, while Yeon Sim had not.
That was why he had been even more disappointed in her. It seemed that disappointment had blinded his eyes.
Yang Cheon looked at Yeon Sim once more.
When she raised her head, her eyes were still filled with confusion. But there was also the light of determination. She had staked ten years of her life on this single spar. It was a fight she could not take back.
Yang Cheon nodded.
“I accept your challenge.”
“Thank you. Then right away…”
“Do you think that dull blade of yours could even cut my collar, let alone my body?”
“Pardon?”
Yang Cheon pointed at the audience chamber doors with his chin.
“I will give you ten days. Within that time, sharpen your dulled sword. And change that disgusting look in your eyes first. If you don’t, no matter what you do, you will never be able to plant your sword in my body.”
Yeon Sim’s eyes shook.
Even though fighting now would be an overwhelmingly advantageous spar for him, the opponent was giving her time.
Perfect your body. Perfect your martial arts.
Regardless of advantage or disadvantage in the spar, he would not exchange moves with someone unprepared. How grand. This was the attitude of an absolute being. Even if the sky were to collapse tomorrow, he would not engage in a fight that lowered the dignity of a king.
Yeon Sim had no choice but to acknowledge it. That Yang Cheon was a tremendous figure.
Setting aside morality and ethics, he was a giant beyond her ability to measure.
Yeon Sim bowed her head.
“Then I shall see you in ten days.”
“Good.”
With that, Yeon Sim left the audience chamber.
Yang Cheon, leaning back in the grand throne, felt a laugh escape him without realizing it.
“Interesting. She’s on the verge of collapse, yet it seems she won’t fall so easily.”
Yes. Only someone like this is worthy of being the sword I chose.
It was a splendid twist. He had been greatly disappointed, but his heart was beginning to race again. Yang Cheon looked forward to the spar ten days from now.
It was then.
“My Lord. The Martial Alliance dispatched representative, Great Warrior Yeon Hojeong, requests an audience.”
“Oh, let him in.”
Kugugung!
The doors opened, and Yeon Hojeong appeared.
Yang Cheon smiled.
“You’ve come?”
“I have. But…”
Yeon Hojeong glanced once around the audience chamber and let out a short laugh.
“Didn’t you torment someone who couldn’t even keep her mind straight a bit too much?”
Just from the traces on the wall and the sunken carpet, he could infer what had happened.
Yang Cheon shrugged.
“I was disappointed. But it seems I can watch over her for a while longer.”
“Is that so?”
“It is.”
“Your face is full of smiles. Why? Did she say she would come under you?”
Sharp bastard.
“She set conditions. They’re ridiculous conditions, but at least it was a choice where she staked her own life.”
“So that’s why you’re so happy.”
“Heh heh heh.”
Yeon Hojeong thought to himself. When she told Jeong-an she was leaving, she meant she was leaving Botam, not the Black Dragon Department. He really was a guy whose actions were hard to predict. Well, his sect had been destroyed, his master had fallen, and he had spent several months inside his enemy’s castle without being able to do anything. It must have been difficult to maintain a clear mind.
“By the way, what brings you all the way here without resting from your journey?”
“I heard that Yeon Sim told Jeong-an she was leaving. I came to stop it, but from the looks of it, I think I can be at ease.”
“Leaving… that’s not wrong. She just won’t be leaving headquarters.”
“I see.”
Yang Cheon let out a short laugh.
“Why? Were you worried that if Yeon Sim left, she would gather Botam and stir up chaos in the Jianghu?”
“The Lord is indeed quick-witted.”
Yeon Hojeong plopped down on the spot.
“Anyway, since Yeon Sim’s matter has been settled, since I’m already here, let’s talk about our business again.”
“Take a break sometimes. You seem like a workaholic.”
“The sooner the better. Don’t you think so too, Lord?”
“That is true.”
Yeon Hojeong’s eyes gleamed.
“I’ve thought about it, and the Spear King won’t do.”
“Hm?”
“If you plan to unite all the other Holy Heavens experts into one, it seems we shouldn’t start by bringing in the Spear King.”
Yang Cheon’s eyes flashed.
“Then, who do you think we should bring in as an ally first?”
Yeon Hojeong gave a bitter smile.
“The Three Lords.”