Chapter 136
Chapter 136
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 136
Chapter Title: The Divine Spear Arrives
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'If it's Father...'
Cheonhwi's gaze swept over the middle-aged man.
'The head of the Divine Spear Yang Clan?'
A physique larger than most burly warriors.
His unbound hair cascaded softly onto his shoulders, blending strangely well with his rugged features.
And then there was the dignified aura flowing from him.
It was the presence befitting the head of the Divine Spear Yang Clan, one of the Eight Great Clans.
'Which makes it all the more disappointing.'
Cheonhwi's eyes narrowed to slits.
He had an impressive presence even now, but compared to the chilling aura from moments ago, it felt somewhat lacking.
It had even stirred his competitive spirit with its vicious killing intent.
But not anymore.
There was no trace of that earlier demeanor, even if he searched with wide-open eyes.
A father worried for his daughter.
That was all.
'I wanted to see the spear arts they're calling Divine Spear in the current martial world, but fighting him now would be no fun.'
Of course, he was still strong, but with that momentum faded so quickly, the thrill was gone.
It was like downing strong liquor only to follow it with watered-down fruit wine—no kick left.
His interest evaporated, and Cheonhwi sheathed his sword.
Meanwhile, the middle-aged man tightly embraced the teary-eyed Yang Seoryeong and spoke.
"Seoryeong! Are you alright?"
"I'm fine."
"Let me see your face at least."
Only then did he take in her haggard appearance, jumping in alarm as he cupped her cheeks with his hands.
"Oh no, how is this fine? You're skin and bones!"
Yang Seoryeong wiped her tears and smiled.
"I really am okay. But how did you know to come here?"
"The Flying Pavilion tipped me off."
"The Flying Pavilion?"
Yang Seoryeong's eyes widened round.
The Flying Pavilion was an intelligence network, but how had they known about the ambush? It was astonishing.
"How did they find out so quickly...?"
"Ah...!"
The middle-aged man let out a short sigh.
Sensing something from it, Yang Seoryeong pressed him.
"...You're hiding something, aren't you?"
The middle-aged man glanced around evasively.
After a moment, under her persistent gaze, he confessed everything.
"Truth is, we've had Flying Pavilion agents monitoring your movements the whole time."
"What...?"
Yang Seoryeong's eyes twitched upward slightly.
"...Every Dragon-Phoenix Gathering, they assign an agent to each young hero."
"What does that mean?"
Her expression hardened subtly.
"Assign an agent?"
"W-Well, if something happened to you all out in the martial world, it would cause an uproar, wouldn't it?"
Seeing her displeasure, the middle-aged man hurriedly added.
"Just like right now."
But even with his explanation, her stiff expression didn't soften.
"...So you've been deceiving me all this time. At the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering, they said it was for gaining experience in the martial world, to be careful..."
"I-It was out of worry."
Yang Seoryeong sighed.
She had been thrilled to venture into the martial world on her own, away from the clan, but it turned out they had all been dancing in their parents' palms.
'But thanks to that, Father came here...'
Her expression softened a bit.
She didn't like being watched every move, but without them, her father wouldn't have come.
"Thanks to them, I survived."
"Right?"
The middle-aged man, who had been gauging her mood, breathed a deep sigh of relief.
But that relief was short-lived as rage boiled up to the top of his head at the current situation.
"Those Sun-Moon Sect bastards have truly lost their minds."
His gaze turned to the corpses.
When he first heard from the Flying Pavilion, he couldn't believe it.
What was the current state of the martial world?
The era of the Nine Provinces' Three Tyrants and Eight Great Clans.
A time of tripartite balance where they checked each other.
Yet they dared to strike directly?
The Sun-Moon Sect, no less?
Unthinkable unless they were mad.
But it was real.
The fallen corpses wore unmistakable Sun-Moon Sect uniforms.
"To dare touch my daughter!"
His face twisted into a ferocious scowl.
"I'll make those bastards pay...!"
As he acted like he might charge the Sun-Moon Sect alone,
"Clan Head!"
"You can't go alone...!"
A group arrived.
Wearing the same pristine white uniforms as the middle-aged man, they spotted Yang Seoryeong late and widened their eyes.
"M-Miss!"
"Are you alright?"
Seeing the Divine Spear Yang Clan warriors rushing over, Yang Seoryeong broke into a bright smile.
"Phew, the Divine Spear Yang Clan is here."
The young heroes who had accompanied Yang Seoryeong watched the father-daughter reunion quietly, then relaxed upon seeing the late-arriving warriors.
"Now I can finally relax."
"Phew, what a relief."
"It's all over now."
"Truly fortunate."
The taut tension dissolved at once.
With it came a flood of fatigue, their exhaustion plain to see.
"We should at least greet them."
Paeng Cheolwi stepped forward first.
"That would be best."
The young heroes followed.
Thud thud thud!
The Divine Spear Yang Clan warriors blocked the suddenly appearing young heroes warily.
Their disheveled state made it impossible to recognize them as heirs of the Eight Great Clans.
"They're the ones who came with me."
Yang Seoryeong quickly spoke up.
The warriors startled and bowed hastily.
"Forgive us."
"We mistook you for enemies."
The young heroes smiled awkwardly.
Only then did they recall their own wretched appearances.
"No harm done."
Paeng Cheolwi replied on their behalf, then approached the middle-aged man beside Yang Seoryeong.
He offered a respectful cupped-fist salute.
"Paeng Cheolwi of the Paeng Clan greets the Divine Spear Yang Clan Head."
"Jegal Seung-ho of the scholarly clans greets the Divine Spear Hero."
"Moyong Sang greets the Divine Spear Hero."
"Hwangbo Sohyeon greets the Divine Spear Yang Clan Head."
Awe filled their gazes toward the middle-aged man.
The head of the Divine Spear Yang Clan, an absolute master whose fame shook the world.
This was none other than the Falling Sun Divine Spear, Yang Jogang.
"You've all suffered greatly."
Yang Jogang examined the young heroes.
Their condition was poor.
Haggard faces, torn uniforms, wounds visible here and there.
It was clear at a glance they had endured more than ordinary hardship.
"You should change into fresh clothes first."
At Yang Jogang's glance,
"Here you go."
One of the Divine Spear Yang Clan warriors distributed pristine white uniforms from who-knows-where.
As the young heroes exchanged glances, searching for a place to change,
Whoosh—
Yang Jogang whipped his head around.
In the joy of reuniting with Yang Seoryeong, he had momentarily forgotten, but seeing the young heroes reminded him of the man he had first encountered.
He was preparing to leave, as if uninvolved in the situation.
'None of the young heroes traveling with Seoryeong looked like that young man...'
As he stared,
"Ah!"
Yang Seoryeong spotted him about to depart and urgently appealed to Yang Jogang.
"We must invite him to the clan."
"Invite him?"
Yang Jogang frowned.
Yang Seoryeong usually showed no interest in boys her age.
Yet she wanted to invite him!
Yang Jogang's eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"Who is that young man?"
"He's the one who helped us."
Yang Seoryeong said without hesitation.
"And he's at least at the Transcendent Realm."
"Reached the Transcendent Realm?"
Yang Jogang's eyes flashed.
"That young man?"
It was shocking.
He himself had been over thirty when he reached it.
Transcendent Realm at that age?
The aura during their clash had been extraordinary, to be sure.
"You're certain?"
"Yes."
Yang Seoryeong affirmed confidently.
"He single-handedly repelled the Sun-Moon Sect ambush and their Heavenly Net Formation."
"Not just the ambush—they deployed the Heavenly Net? And he repelled it alone?"
Surprise flickered in Yang Jogang's eyes.
The Heavenly Net Formation from a sect like Sun-Moon meant certain death.
Yet he repelled it.
Alone.
"That's not all."
Her gaze turned to the clearing.
Corpses strewn amid pools of blood.
One in particular etched sharply into her eyes.
"He took down Chaos too."
"Chaos...?"
Yang Jogang was belatedly stunned.
"Chaos was here?"
As Yang Jogang eyed her skeptically, Yang Seoryeong pointed to the corpse.
"That's Chaos's body right there."
"...I'll verify it."
Yang Jogang moved swiftly.
If Chaos had truly been involved, this changed everything.
'Are they gearing up for war?'
Chaos—one of Sun-Moon Sect's Four Great Guardians.
Sending him meant they intended to eliminate the young heroes for sure.
Covering ten zhang in an instant, he checked the corpse beside Cheonhwi.
His pupils trembled.
The uniform with a pierced abdomen, black and white halves—it matched the infamous garb of Chaos.
'What?'
Meanwhile, Cheonhwi, preparing to leave, looked at the suddenly appearing Yang Jogang.
Just then, Yang Jogang turned his head sharply.
"Did you take this one down?"
Meeting Yang Jogang's piercing stare, Cheonhwi replied indifferently.
"Yes."
"Do you know who he is?"
"Chaos, apparently."
"Hahaha! And you're so nonchalant about it."
Yang Jogang laughed heartily.
He liked how Cheonhwi spoke of Chaos like it was nothing.
But his laughter cut short as he addressed Cheonhwi seriously.
"He's one of Sun-Moon Sect's Four Great Guardians."
"Four Great Guardians?"
Cheonhwi tilted his head.
"I thought it was Four Fiends..."
"The Four Fiends is what they call Sun-Moon's Four Great Guardians."
Cheonhwi furrowed his brow.
"Just call them Four Great Guardians then. All this Four Fiends nonsense is complicated."
"You didn't even know that?"
"Who does?"
Yang Jogang chuckled in disbelief.
Who indeed.
It was common knowledge for anyone making a living with a blade in the martial world.
"Now you understand the danger you're in."
"Danger? What's that?"
"With one of the Four Fiends dead by your hand, Sun-Moon won't let it slide."
"Oh, that's the danger?"
A smile tugged at Yang Jogang's lips as he watched Cheonhwi dismiss it lightly.
Anyone else, he'd call it overconfidence, but this was the master who felled Chaos.
His words rang with grounded assurance.
"You seem awfully curious about me."
"Of course I am."
Yang Jogang smiled.
Even in their brief exchange, he liked the young man immensely.
He had already earned favor for saving Yang Seoryeong, and now he showed no fear of Sun-Moon Sect.
And he stood tall even before him.
His favor maxed out.
Grinning, Yang Jogang spoke.
"I heard you helped our Seoryeong, so speak freely."
"Well, I did help."
Yang Jogang scrutinized Cheonhwi closely.
A sharp-featured youth, not yet twenty by looks, but one never knew.
Maybe he'd trained in some youth-preserving art.
'I want him as a guest of the clan.'
His instincts as clan head screamed it.
They needed this man.
"Why not come to our clan?"
Cheonhwi eyed him.
Greed filled his gaze; it wasn't just a simple invitation.
Sensing the hassle, Cheonhwi replied.
"No."
Utterly unprepared for refusal, Yang Jogang narrowed his brow.
"Why not?"
"I have somewhere to be."
It wasn't a lie.
He needed to head to the Blue Sea Region; detouring to the Divine Spear Yang Clan would waste time.
"Hm... Still, letting the man who saved our daughter go empty-handed would tarnish the clan's face..."
Muttering to himself, Yang Jogang stroked his neat beard and probed.
"Even a short visit out of the question?"
"Well..."
"Hero."
Then Yang Seoryeong interjected.
She had approached quietly while they talked and softly called to Cheonhwi.
"You'll be very comfortable at our clan."
Cheonhwi wavered briefly.
Catching it, Yang Seoryeong's eyes sparkled with a smile.
"And our head chef's cooking is better than any inn..."
* * *
Several carriages kicked up clouds of dust as they raced along the dirt road.
The middle-aged man in the lead carriage stared at Cheonhwi opposite him.
'Refused my invitation, but accepted hers.'
His full favor dipped a notch.
It irked him that Cheonhwi turned him down yet jumped at Yang Seoryeong's suggestion.
Then it hit him.
'N-No way!'
Lightning struck Yang Jogang's mind.
'This punk has eyes for our Seoryeong?'
His face hardened as he glared at Cheonhwi.
'That damned playboy!'
But Cheonhwi didn't even glance his way.
He just silently watched out the window.
"Thank you for accepting the invitation."
Yang Seoryeong, seated beside Yang Jogang, expressed her gratitude to Cheonhwi.
After a quick wash in the stream and changing uniforms before boarding, she looked somewhat better.
Still fatigued, with shadows under her eyes, but her expression had improved.
Cheonhwi glanced at her.
"Just keep your word."
"Don't worry."
At their amiable exchange, Yang Jogang fidgeted, his hands trembling.
'Even Seoryeong...?'
His delusions grew vivid.
Imagining Seoryeong holding hands with the punk in a betrothal rite, he snorted and glared.
"Absolutely not!"
His booming shout startled Yang Seoryeong.
"W-What's not?"
"Not that punk!"
"What?"
"You're not getting married anytime soon!"
Yang Seoryeong stared blankly at Yang Jogang, then realization dawned.
"W-What are you talking about!"
She snapped sharply.
"What rudeness to the hero."
"Rudeness? You're the one who's too—"
"It's not like that, so be quiet!"
As Yang Seoryeong scolded him,
"..."
Yang Jogang pouted.
'Not like the rumors.'
The Divine Spear was synonymous with a warrior's warrior.
Known for leading the charge against foes—terror to enemies, pillar to allies.
Good-natured, peerless in martial arts—what more?
Even his worldly savvy had elevated the Divine Spear Yang Clan to top ranks.
So renowned that even foes in the Murim Alliance respected him.
Yet the Divine Spear in person was... different.
Very different.
'Just a doting father.'
Cheonhwi summed it up neatly and was about to look away when,
"What's your sect?"
Yang Jogang asked.
"Some obscure sect in a remote mountain valley."
His brows furrowed.
Vague answer—he clearly didn't want to reveal his sect.
'Not to my liking.'
Whatever favor remained plummeted.
His earlier speech and demeanor, once satisfactory, now seemed rude.
"And your name?"
Yang Jogang asked curtly.
"I discarded it long ago."
Clever wordplay.
He had a title, but no name.
"Discarded your name? Ridiculous."
Yang Jogang's face twisted.
"If you don't want to say, just say so."
"Then that's that."
Yang Jogang glared.
"What kind of man has so many secrets..."
As he grumbled, Yang Seoryeong pinched his side and shot him a look.
"The hero is our guest."
"A guest whose origins we don't even know?"
Cheonhwi glanced at him, then picked up his two sheathed swords from below.
"Then I'll get off here."
As he rose,
"N-No! Hero."
Yang Seoryeong hurriedly stopped him.
In contrast, Yang Jogang peeked at Cheonhwi and grumbled with pursed lips.
"Tch. Can't even joke around."
Cheonhwi smirked at that.
"Mine was a joke too."
Veins bulged on Yang Jogang's forehead.
"Very... funny joke."
"Yours was amusing too."
Not yielding an inch, Cheonhwi made more veins pop on Yang Jogang's brow, but he soon shook his head.
"Whatever. More importantly..."
After whispering to himself, he narrowed his eyes.
Then he bowed his head toward Cheonhwi.
"W-Why are you...?"
Yang Seoryeong stared in bewilderment.
Who was he?
The head of the Divine Spear Yang Clan, the world-renowned Falling Sun Divine Spear.
Yet here he was, bowing to a much younger man.
As Yang Seoryeong and Cheonhwi watched,
"I haven't thanked you yet."
A low voice emerged.
"Thank you for saving my daughter."