Yongmun Assembly (2)
As participants began gathering in Luoyang for the Yongmun Assembly, word of them spread beyond the walls of the Yongmun household. Baek Su-gyeong had just finished the tenth volume of Wudang Sword Hero after three straight days and nights of grueling work.
Even accounting for the time to draft and revise, it was an astonishingly fast pace. He'd planned to release volumes nine and ten together from the start, so he'd pushed himself hard.
"...I'm beat."
Putting down his brush after wrapping up the tenth volume, Baek Su-gyeong stretched with a groan. Volumes eight through ten built on the aftermath of the Demon Lord of the Four Directions and the forces of the Nine Heavens Demon Palace retreating from Wudang Mountain after wreaking havoc. The ninth volume depicted the escalating conflicts, leading into the tenth's shocking revelation of the Murim Alliance's fracture. What had seemed like an overwhelming victory for the righteous factions turned out to be nothing more than a play scripted on the palm of the Heavenly Demon. How would readers react to that twist?
Imagining it is fun, but in a world where this could actually happen, a little fear is inevitable.
Shaking out his limbs, Baek Su-gyeong clicked his tongue. He couldn't completely overhaul the plot he'd already set, though. As long as people knew where to draw the line, they wouldn't blindly follow the story in Wudang Sword Hero like some prophecy. He just hoped they'd see it as a novel, not a harbinger of doom.
"Maybe I should add a disclaimer starting from volume ten: 'This is pure fiction—don't confuse it with reality.'"
In the modern world, calling something "fiction" was enough to ward off misunderstandings, but here in murim? Would a warning label even work? It was a nagging worry. Still, better safe than sorry—slap one on from volume nine onward. If he let it slide and some fool mimicked the book's events, his position could get precarious.
"In some ways, this world's headaches beat the modern one..."
The inexplicable popularity of Wudang Sword Hero stemmed from his modern perspective clashing with the Central Plains' murim views—not because he was special. Though being a modern transmigrator was special in itself. Rubbing his throbbing temples, Baek Su-gyeong muttered to himself.
"The Heavenly Extremes Divine Church makes a full push into the Central Plains, the Huaha Alliance—thought shattered by Jin-un—revives to aid them. Even some factions of the Nine Heavens Demon Palace, lured by the Church's schemes, join to form an anti-righteous alliance..."
From the righteous side, it was an absurd turn. The Huaha Alliance had been utterly crushed by Jin-un and the Murim Alliance's rapid strike force. But that was only on the surface. He'd planted the seeds for it early—few Heavenly Extremes Divine Church members had shown up at the Huaha finale. The mid-boss like the Blade Demon Lord had amped up the drama, but behind it lurked the Church's cunning plots.
"They gathered rabble through deception for the Huaha clash to prune the weak, while preserving their main forces for the Central Plains push. The righteous factions will feel like they've been backstabbed."
Some might call it forced, but the Heavenly Extremes Divine Church was the final boss. Would they slink away after one hit? The Nine Heavens Demon Palace's intrusion as a third force had just turned it into a three-way war. Of course, the main palace forces wouldn't appear in Wudang Sword Hero.
"Gotta save them for Nahangwonsin's main villains."
Wudang Sword Hero's world was a prototype, limited by design to leave room for expansion. Deploying only a fraction of the Nine Heavens Demon Palace was deliberate. Writing it had fleshed out settings he'd meant to discard, shifting the flow.
"A series with protagonists battling forces vying for Central Plains dominance from the outer reaches might sell big."
Research would be a pain, though. Volume nine ramped up the Heavenly Demon's Heaven-Shaking Scheme, using those Demon Palace splinter groups to topple minor righteous sects and erode the Murim Alliance from the base. Volume ten escalated the debates over the Alliance's uselessness into full fracture, with the Nine Great Clans and Schools getting ravaged.
"...Wudang and Shaolin might complain, but..."
Compared to fretting over 5,700 gold nyang back then, he'd grown bolder. Living under righteous influence in real murim and still daring this? It was necessary for Jin-un's hero arc, though—and Nahangwonsin was planned as the sequel.
"Linking them like this is tough, but damn if it's not fun."
The Church's rampage, the sacrificial righteous losses building tension, the Alliance's collapse casting shadows over the righteous world. How would readers take it? Dread mixed with anticipation.
"...Guess I'm starting to lose it too."
The Yongmun Assembly was imminent. Baek Su-gyeong reviewed the draft one last time, then stood.
"So, the winner of this Yongmun Assembly—'Dragon' for the man, 'Phoenix' for the woman? Is that what you're saying, my lord?"
"Indeed. Probably because Her Highness was deeply inspired by Wudang Sword Hero."
Yi Jeon-hyo's words made Baek Su-gyeong's head spin a bit. The Dragon-Phoenix Assembly did feature in the novel—a stamp of approval for rising stars. According to Gal Ye-ryeong, whose murim knowledge ran deep, no such event existed in the current scene. Old records mentioned something similar from past eras.
Baek Su-gyeong asked, "So it's not Yongmun Assembly, but Dragon-Phoenix?"
"That wouldn't be bad. Though it'd distance it from the main house's hosting."
Yi Jeon-hyo sipped his tea calmly. "It'd become a separate event, but no great loss. The main house sits awkwardly between murim and the palace anyway. Losing one assembly changes nothing."
"Hmm..."
"I heard from little So that you're releasing volumes nine and ten together. All done?"
"Yes, all finished. The workshop's probably printing them now."
Yi Jeon-hyo smiled in satisfaction. "This Yongmun Assembly will be all the richer."
"Haha..."
Just finish Wudang Sword Hero quick. Baek Su-gyeong thought. Push hard till April, and he could wrap the finale at this pace. Then climb Wudang. Shaolin after.
"I also heard both young ladies are entering this Yongmun Assembly..."
"Namgung young lady and Gal young lady, you mean."
A wry smile tugged at Baek Su-gyeong's lips. "Somehow it turned out that way."
"Impressive, Master Yi and Third Master Yi."
Yi Jeon-hwi's admiration drew a wry smile from Baek Su-gyeong beside him. Sipping licorice tea sweetened with honey—milder but still bitter—Baek Su-gyeong grimaced.
"Even with honey, licorice tea's still licorice tea."
If only I could get some quince tea. He clicked his tongue lightly.
"Both Namgung young lady and Gal young lady rank among murim's top experts. No need to explain the Namgung one."
"I heard Master Yi's sister-in-law is titled Jade Sword Flower. Alongside Tangga's Flame Poison Flower, the Sapa's top beauty Evil Center Flower, and Jegal's Language-Solving Flower, she's counted among murim's four most beautiful..."
"So I've heard."
Baek Su-gyeong had learned it recently asking about the Four Flowers. Oddly, "Four Flowers" mixed righteous and unrighteous beauties—a subtle difference from his knowledge of the Central Plains.
"Among the Four Flowers, she's said to be the strongest in martial arts."
"The title honors beauty, not strength, young master. Wudang Sword Hero's Dragon or Phoenix titles are the odd ones out."
"Is that so? News to me."
As Baek Su-gyeong and Yi Jeon-hwi chatted, Namgung Som-in and Gal Ye-ryeong clashed endlessly. Swords and palms shouldn't clash like that, yet the sounds rang out relentlessly—raw force against raw force. Powers enabling superhuman feats collided, transcending common sense right before their eyes.
Gal Ye-ryeong's bare hands shattered Namgung Som-in's sword energy into fiery fragments. The golden shards, like her eyes, flocked like birds before exploding into dozens of lightning bolts, rending the air.
Gal Ye-ryeong countered fiercely. Spreading her hands in a circle, immense suction drew in and erased the sword energy.
"Tch."
"Hmph."
Short grunts escaped as they parted. It was sparring, but neither held back. Their gazes locked again.
Dissipating Heavenly Thunder Nine Arrows of Lightning Flash Thirteen Thunders so easily...
Tch. Forcing me to pull out Bright King True Formula.
They knew each other was no pushover, but sparring confirmed it: no quick takedown. As they gathered inner energy in standoff,
Baek Su-gyeong's voice cut in. "That's enough. Planning to wreck the training ground?"
"Ah."
"Oh."
He sighed at their startled flinch. Their clash had turned the area to rubble. The bluestone floor was cracked, shattered, even peeled to bare earth in spots.
Do murim folk not know restraint, or just ignore it?
"Save it for the Yongmun Assembly. Unless you want to trouble the Yongmun house. You're already a nuisance."
"Sorry, teacher."
"My bad, Baek teacher. Got carried away."
"Apologize to my lord and young master A-hwi."
"It's fine, Master Yi. Easy fix—no need to worry."
Baek Su-gyeong clicked his tongue at Yi Jeon-hwi's words, shaking his head as he stood.
"Young master A-hwi, how about dining out today?"
"Sounds good. I'll treat you, Master Yi."
The three women narrowed their eyes at the mentor-disciple pair, whose bond had warmed lately.