Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Section 5: Sometimes Unexpected Guests Come (1)
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Damho opened his closed eyes. A fragrant plum blossom scent rode the wind toward him, but he didn't even notice it.
All his focus was directed at the massive boulder before him. The entire world had vanished, leaving only the small circle drawn on the rock in his sight.
"Huu!"
Damho steadied his breathing for a moment. Then the heavy energy coiled in his dantian surged through his meridians, racing to every part of his body.
Damho's twisted left leg dug deep into the ground. The moment his calf muscles swelled slightly, he kicked off the earth.
Thung!
Like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, Damho's form shot forward in a single straight line.
It was the Charge Step, a footwork that charged in a straight line like a battering ram smashing through city gates.
The massive boulder shortened the distance in an instant, appearing right before his eyes. Damho's fist whipped out toward the rock.
City-Breaking Awl.
A punch created alongside the Charge Step. A strike to shatter city walls.
Thud!
With a dull sound, Damho's fist sank into the boulder up to his wrist. Rock fragments crumbled away like tofu.
Damho pulled his fist out of the boulder.
His knuckles, covered entirely in cracks, scars, and calluses, bore the full weight of a year's efforts and bloody tears.
"Now, at last..."
A mix of emotions crossed Damho's face.
This was the moment when a year of effort and tears bore fruit.
At that moment, a familiar voice rang out.
"You've worked hard all this time."
"Master."
It was Immortal Hyeonso. His face, too, shone with the same emotion as Damho's.
Immortal Hyeonso had watched over Damho's efforts for the past year. He knew better than anyone how much blood and sweat Damho had poured into it.
To others, it might seem like a mere three zhang distance, but to Damho, it had been as vast and impossible as crossing the Yangtze that spanned the central plains.
He had fallen and tumbled countless times each day while mastering the Charge Step. Now, his left leg was tempered enough to withstand it, and his fist was hard enough to pierce rock.
Immortal Hyeonso patted Damho's shoulder.
"But do not grow arrogant. You've only just reached the same level as everyone else."
"I know. That's enough for me."
Damho had clawed his way up from the very bottom to stand on equal footing with others. This was more than sufficient.
Damho's killing intent grew fiercer, and his patience tougher.
There was still plenty of time left, and he was prepared to charge forward at full speed during that long stretch.
'I'll never be trampled so helplessly again.'
Damho gritted his teeth. Murderous intent flickered in his eyes unbidden.
Immortal Hyeonso sighed inwardly.
'Ho's killing intent is only growing stronger with time.'
He wondered if he was creating a monster.
But Immortal Hyeonso soon shook his head. Damho was his one and only disciple. What he had done was for that disciple.
To regret it now would be to deny his choice and efforts from the root. At the very least, he didn't want regrets regarding his disciple.
In the four seasons that had passed, not a single soul had visited this place—not even the elders or the first-generation disciples.
They might have been curious about Damho's injuries, but not one set foot here. There were surely circumstances unique to each, but it wounded Immortal Hyeonso's heart.
'Damho isn't a child worthless enough to be treated as nonexistent. This boy will surely become a treasure of the Mount Hua Sect.'
Immortal Hyeonso was convinced of it.
The blood and sweat Damho had shed were no falsehood. Immortal Hyeonso, who had watched closest, knew it best.
Immortal Hyeonso's gaze turned toward Yun Daefeng Peak, where the True Martial Palace stood. It was the residence of Palace Lord Immortal Hyeongeom.
Immortal Hyeongeom had recently entered closed-door training again. This time, he wasn't alone. He had gone into seclusion with his newly acquired disciple.
The dharma name of that new disciple was Myeong Gyeong—an unexpected lay disciple.
Immortal Hyeongeom had found no satisfactory talent among the first- or second-generation disciples. In the end, he had selected a promising lay disciple training at the main sect and taken him as a disciple.
Almost no one in the Mount Hua Sect knew Myeong Gyeong's background. He had been that unremarkable.
No one knew what Immortal Hyeongeom had seen in him to accept him as a disciple. But it was only natural for expectations to gather on Myeong Gyeong, now Immortal Hyeongeom's disciple.
No one knew how long the closed-door training would last. Immortal Hyeongeom had declared he wouldn't emerge until Myeong Gyeong achieved satisfactory progress.
'Senior Brother Hyeongeom, I pray the Myeong Gyeong you've taken can be the talent to revive Mount Hua.'
At first, he had felt anger toward this Myeong Gyeong simply for becoming Immortal Hyeongeom's disciple. But as time passed, that anger had diluted.
He resented Immortal Hyeongeom, but there was no reason to resent Myeong Gyeong as well. He simply hoped Myeong Gyeong would excel and become a sturdy pillar for the Mount Hua Sect.
Immortal Hyeonso smiled at Damho.
"You've suffered practicing the Charge Step in this cramped place all this time. Let's go take in some fresh air after so long. Plum blossoms are blooming everywhere on Mount Hua—it's a magnificent sight."
"Yes, Master."
Damho bowed his head politely.
Immortal Hyeonso took the first step, and Damho followed behind.
He hadn't noticed while immersed in training, but plum blossoms bloomed all over Mount Hua. Their elegant forms visible amid the jagged rocky ridges were breathtaking.
Just a short while ago, Mount Hua had been blanketed in snow. All things had held their breath, hiding themselves desperately. But with spring's arrival, they revealed themselves once more, scattering their presence across the world.
Sensing something, Immortal Hyeonso murmured.
"The space between heaven and earth is like a bellows: empty yet inexhaustible, yielding more the more it moves. It's the principle of all things—why seek the Way further in the Daoist classics?"
Immortal Hyeonso stood blankly, gazing at the fully bloomed plum blossoms of Mount Hua. Damho quietly watched his master.
A breeze blew, scattering plum petals.
***
Damho pulled a book from his bosom. It was the manual Immortal Hyeonso had given him. The yellowed cover was already worn and frayed from constant handling.
Opening the book revealed the notes he had compiled so far. Built on the foundation his master had provided, Damho's own insights were added.
'I'm still far from it.'
He had only just become able to execute the Charge Step and City-Breaking Awl. To reach the true power he envisioned, he had much further to go.
The Blood Heaven Kick was still distant, and the others were mere forms without practical execution.
An unfinished technique, unnamed and uncertain when it would be complete.
Damho jotted down today's insights in the worn manual and tucked it away.
The weather was fine. Damho lay on the daybed, staring at the sky.
Drifting clouds passed by. Damho gazed at them blankly.
Earlier during their walk, Immortal Hyeonso seemed to have gained some enlightenment and hadn't emerged from his room.
Damho didn't disturb him. Instinctively, he felt this was a crucial moment for his master.
While martial artists raised their achievements through relentless training, Daoists elevated their power through enlightenment. Damho guessed Immortal Hyeonso was undergoing such a process.
It was while Damho waited for Immortal Hyeonso to open the door himself that he sensed movement from beyond the bushes.
Damho untangled his arms from under his head and shot up from the daybed. A chilling glint rose in his eyes as he stared into the bushes.
At that moment, someone emerged from the thicket.
A young Daoist boy who looked barely fourteen or fifteen. Damho recalled his name.
"You?"
It was the second-generation disciple Won Yul.
"Jun... Junior greets Senior Uncle."
Won Yul offered a perfunctory fist salute to Damho. Not a trace of respect showed on his face.
"What is it?"
"The Sect Leader has ordered me to bring Senior Uncle at once."
Damho's eyebrow twitched.
The Sect Leader hadn't sent word in the past year. For him to summon the master now felt off.
"Wait."
"But the Sect Leader said to bring you urgently."
"Wait."
"Senior Uncle! The Sect Leader..."
"I said wait."
Damho's voice sank low.
In that instant, Won Yul felt his heart quake and was stunned.
'What?'
Though a second-generation disciple, he was still a trained martial artist. He had endured harsh training and wouldn't shake from ordinary matters. For a mere word to unsettle him was impossible.
Won Yul glared at Damho, then their eyes met. He quickly averted his gaze.
Damho's sunken gaze felt uncomfortably piercing. He couldn't dare meet it.
Won Yul clamped his mouth shut and stared at the ground. It was humiliating, but he could do nothing now.
Time passed. His mind grew impatient, but Won Yul couldn't easily speak. Damho had already suppressed his spirit.
A sudden doubt arose.
'Come to think of it, didn't they say Senior Uncle was practically crippled?'
The first-generation disciples had tried to hush up the True Martial Palace incident, but they couldn't seal all the witnesses' mouths. In the end, the entire Mount Hua Sect learned that former disciple Damho had become a cripple.
Won Yul had heard the same. Yet nowhere in Damho's current appearance could he see signs of a cripple.
"Sen... Senior Uncle?"
It was as Won Yul mustered courage to speak.
"Who's outside?"
Immortal Hyeonso opened the door and stepped out.
In that short time, his eyes had deepened further. Damho noticed the change at once.
"Second-generation disciple Won Yul greets Senior Uncle."
"What brings you here?"
"The Sect Leader has summoned Senior Uncle."
"The Sect Leader has?"
A furrow formed between Immortal Hyeonso's brows.
"Why would the Sect Leader summon me?"
"I don't know the reason. I was just ordered to escort you."
"Hmm!"
Doubt lingered, but he didn't dwell on it.
It was the Mount Hua Sect Leader himself calling—not someone else. As a disciple of Mount Hua, defying the Sect Leader's order was unthinkable.
"I'll go now."
"I'll escort you."
Damho approached Immortal Hyeonso. The immortal nodded silently.
The two followed Won Yul out of their dwelling.
It was their first outing in nearly a year. Though Immortal Hyeonso had spent his life on Mount Hua, today's scenery felt strangely unfamiliar.
They passed Dragon Ridge, like the spine of a dragon, and arrived at Ohun Peak. Though five years since his last visit, it seemed unchanged. But as Immortal Hyeonso looked around, his heart wasn't at ease.
'Amitabha! The world remains the same, yet only my heart has changed.'
Immortal Hyeonso let out a slight sigh.
As Lianhua Peak drew near, Chwiun Palace came into view. And before it stood a figure.
Damho's expression hardened slightly.
"Senior Brother?"
"Junior Brother Cheon Gyeong?"
The one surprised to see Damho was someone Damho knew well.