Chapter 159
Chapter 159
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 159
Chapter Title: 3장. 난세의 비가 내리면, 잠룡(潛龍)이 움직인다(3)
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Eum Yu-gyeong opened her eyes, which she had kept closed. Before her stretched a vast plain like a wilderness. And she could smell a familiar scent. Someone was carrying her on his back while executing lightness skill.
The surrounding scenery rushed backward at tremendous speed. There should have been immense pressure and wind, but strangely, it felt comfortable.
A faint smile played on Eum Yu-gyeong's lips.
"Yeol... cheon."
"You're late. Sorry about that."
A deep, resonant voice replied, thick with timbre. It was the kind of voice that inspired trust the moment you heard it.
Nestled against the man's back, Eum Yu-gyeong gently shook her head.
"No. More importantly, how did you get here?"
"My woman was in danger. Of course I had to come."
"Yeol-cheon."
"We've bought some time, so let's rest a bit."
The man gradually slowed down, coming to a complete stop at one point.
He set Eum Yu-gyeong down on a rock by the riverbank. He appeared to be in his late twenties or early thirties.
His seven-foot frame bore a simple, honest face that didn't quite match. But his fiercely shining eyes and firmly set lips revealed a man of extraordinary mental fortitude.
A massive sword wrapped in coarse cloth hung at his waist.
Eum Yu-gyeong's gaze shifted to the man's hand. The hand that had just been supporting her hip was covered in blood.
"Yeol-cheon. That hand..."
"The backlash is a real bitch. Takes a bit more time to fully control it."
The man laughed it off casually. But Eum Yu-gyeong couldn't.
The man's name was Geom Yeol-cheon.
Her lover and spiritual pillar.
Without him, she never would have made it this far. She would have remained the cult leader's puppet forever.
It was because of him that she was who she was today.
Geom Yeol-cheon stroked Eum Yu-gyeong's hair as he spoke.
"That look again. Anyone would think I'd taken a mortal wound."
"You okay?"
"Not okay, but I'm fine."
"Where's that even a thing?"
"Right here."
Eum Yu-gyeong couldn't help but chuckle at Geom Yeol-cheon's deadpan reply.
Come to think of it, he was always like that.
He smiled no matter the situation and never despaired, no matter how dire. Even when just taking care of himself must have been exhausting, he was always a beacon of hope for others.
That's why they called him that.
The Indomitable.
The man who never yielded.
That's why so many trusted him and charged into the jaws of death. And not one regretted it.
Eum Yu-gyeong's eyes, gazing at Geom Yeol-cheon, brimmed with affection and respect. For a woman like her, showing such a gaze was no small feat.
"Didn't you go looking for the Thousand Days Secret Chronicle?"
"Yeah!"
"Did you find it?"
"Yep! There has to be a clue to the sacred relic inside."
"Good job."
Geom Yeol-cheon smiled.
It was a smile that instilled trust just by looking at it.
The smile of a man who had overcome countless trials and danced on the edge of death to claim his place.
That was when it happened.
Geom Yeol-cheon's eyes sharpened.
"Looks like we've got a tail."
"A tail?"
Eum Yu-gyeong whipped around. Far in the distance, someone was approaching with lightness skill.
A glint lit up in Eum Yu-gyeong's eyes.
"Know him?"
"So Cheon... One of the Nine Dragons raised by Shaolin."
"I see."
Geom Yeol-cheon nodded.
By then, So Cheon had closed the distance. It was truly astonishing lightness skill.
So Cheon performed the Shaolin salute unique to their temple, pressing his palms together.
"Amitabha! This humble monk is So Cheon of Shaolin."
"I know."
"May I have the layman's name?"
"Geom Yeol-cheon."
Geom Yeol-cheon gave his true name without hesitation. So Cheon's face lit up with recognition.
Geom Yeol-cheon asked.
"What's this about?"
"She took a book from Shaolin."
"So you're here for the book?"
So Cheon shook his head gently.
"No. I've read the Thousand Days Secret Chronicle myself. Nothing particularly important in it."
"Then why?"
"It's because of you, layman."
"Me?"
Geom Yeol-cheon pointed at himself.
"Yes. Your strength sets my blood ablaze."
"Ha!"
"I wish to cross hands with you, layman."
"Pretty bold for a monk. You might get hurt bad."
"Before being a monk, I am a martial artist."
So Cheon gathered his qi. His gray monk robes billowed dramatically.
His terrifying presence spread across the area. It felt as if the entire space was trapped in So Cheon's shadow.
Geom Yeol-cheon smiled.
"Supreme Great Ability, huh?"
"Your insight is no ordinary thing, layman. Indeed, Supreme Great Ability."
The Supreme Great Ability was one of Shaolin's legendary arts.
Legend held that upon great accomplishment, it granted infinite qi, enough for one man to pacify the world.
But no one had ever mastered it beyond the eighth layer. That's why it was called an incomplete technique.
So Cheon's attainment was at the eighth layer.
Like past prodigies, he had hit a wall. But the difference was his age—unimaginably younger than any before him.
No one had reached the eighth layer of Supreme Great Ability at So Cheon's age. A few more years, and he would surely break through, achieving perfection soon after.
"If it's Supreme Great Ability, guess I can play along."
Geom Yeol-cheon smiled and cracked his neck side to side. The sound of bones clashing echoed.
Whooosh!
So Cheon's Supreme Great Ability surged with even greater momentum. The snowballing energy pressed down on Geom Yeol-cheon's shoulders. But Geom Yeol-cheon ignored it and walked toward So Cheon.
The sword at his waist swayed loosely.
Eum Yu-gyeong watched the scene quietly.
The aura emanating from So Cheon was no joke, but she wasn't worried in the slightest.
So Cheon was undoubtedly strong. Perhaps the strongest of the Nine Dragons.
But such worldly strength meant nothing to Geom Yeol-cheon.
Geom Yeol-cheon walked the realm beyond mortals.
He was unbeatable.
As long as the souls of those 152 who smiled as they died to save him watched over, he could never fall.
"Prajna Palm!"
So Cheon unleashed Shaolin's secret ultimate technique, Prajna Palm.
Backed by Supreme Great Ability, it wielded heaven-shattering might.
Geom Yeol-cheon drew the swaying sword.
"If you don't want to get swept away in the era's torrents without a trace, break through that wall, monk."
Kuuuung!
Geom Yeol-cheon's sword cleaved through the Prajna Palm, advancing toward So Cheon.
Eum Yu-gyeong turned her head away.
She didn't need to watch to know the outcome.
The indomitable warrior, Geom Yeol-cheon.
A certain boy who chose death to save him called him this.
Demon Path Sovereign Heaven.
Geom Yeol-cheon himself was the Demon Path.
'No way So Cheon can match him. In the current world, there's only one who might.'
Eum Yu-gyeong thought of one man.
A man with a limp, yet one who made the world tremble with his fists alone.
'Fist Demon.'
***
Dam Ho looked up at the sky.
The sun was setting. The western horizon was dyed red, and twilight crept toward him stealthily.
Time to camp for the night.
Dam Ho gathered branches and lit a campfire.
It was something Bang Jin-bo would have done before. But without Bang Jin-bo, he had to do it himself.
Tonight's meal was dried jerky.
Jerky he would have eaten without complaint before now felt tough. Still, Dam Ho chewed silently without a word of protest.
Hiiing!
Beside him, Black Ghost munched on grass and snorted. Black Ghost seemed lonely without Bang Jin-bo too.
Dam Ho felt the absence keenly. But he didn't regret it.
Bang Jin-bo had to stand on his own someday. It had just come a bit sooner. Hwang Kyung-moon and Hwang Hye-ryeong would surely take good care of him.
The only regret was not creating a martial art suited for Bang Jin-bo. But one couldn't craft a new technique overnight.
It took time. With steady effort, he could eventually create one for Bang Jin-bo.
Dam Ho organized his thoughts and stared into the campfire.
In the thick darkness, only a single tongue of flame faintly illuminated the world. It stirred something in him.
'No matter how deep the darkness, it can't fully swallow even a tiny flame.'
Time flowed endlessly.
For a long while, Dam Ho sat motionless, watching the fire.
By dawn, the flames had died out, leaving only white smoke rising. Yet Dam Ho didn't stir.
He moved only when the sun rose in the east.
With a small piece of jerky in his mouth, he mounted Black Ghost.
"Let's go."
As if waiting, Black Ghost bolted forward vigorously.
Dam Ho entrusted himself to the horse. After half a day of riding, a large river appeared. Dam Ho followed it along the bank with Black Ghost.
After a good while, a ferry dock came into view. A fairly large boat was moored there.
Not as grand as the Cloud Demon River Fleet, but big enough to accommodate Black Ghost without issue.
Quite a crowd waited at the dock to board. The most eye-catching was a massive carriage.
The huge carriage, pulled by four horses, was completely sealed without even windows.
A dozen warriors stood guard around it. The waiting passengers shrank back from the warriors' menacing aura.
Dam Ho dismounted Black Ghost and walked to the dock. The guarding warriors eyed him warily.
Ignoring them, Dam Ho bought a ticket. Even though they kept their distance as if uninterested, their vigilant gazes never left him.
Then a sailor shouted loudly.
"All aboard! Departing in one-quarter hour."
People handed over their tickets to the sailor and boarded.
Once enough had gone up, the warriors pulled the carriage onto the boat.
"Be careful not to damage the cargo."
The apparent leader barked. The warriors responded and carefully loaded the carriage.
Dam Ho was the last to board, leading Black Ghost onto the deck. The boat set off immediately.
Dam Ho found a spot on the deck with Black Ghost.
Unlike the Cloud Demon River Fleet ascending the river, this was a ferry crossing to the other side.
Just half a shichen, and they'd arrive. Then he'd part ways with the menacing warriors. Perhaps that's why the passengers quickly relaxed.
Dam Ho paid the carriage no mind either.
His mind was filled only with how to reach Mount Hua in record time.
'Master.'
As Dam Ho thought of Immortal Hyeon So, the boat suddenly rocked violently. It must have hit a high wave.
Creak!
As the deck tilted, the hitherto stable carriage slid toward him. The warriors desperately grabbed its four corners. But its immense weight pushed it right up to Dam Ho.
Thanks to their desperate efforts, it stopped there.
Dam Ho looked up. A crack appeared on one side of the carriage. And through the gap, a pair of large eyes peered out.
Eyes filled with despair and anguish, soon obscured by the warriors' forms.