The Sword Is Acting Strange
The moment Jin Seongun introduced himself as the Guest Dragon, the young Taoists guarding the mountain gate froze in astonishment.
Of late, there was no one in the Central Plains martial world who had not heard the name Guest Dragon.
There was Sima Hui, the Formation Dragon and one of the Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes — and this was the man who had broken him and claimed the dragon's title for himself.
That alone would have been remarkable. Sima Hui, being a formation master, was considered irreplaceable in his position — impossible to simply substitute away.
But what was even more astonishing was the fact that the Guest Dragon was the owner of an inn.
At first, everyone had dismissed it as idle rumor. But since more than a few rising talents had passed through Yichang lately, testimony confirming the truth had spread from every corner. Before long, among the young and up-and-coming martial artists of the orthodox world — and especially among its youngest — admiration for the Guest Dragon was growing at a remarkable pace.
The reason was simple. Despite hailing from neither the Five Great Sects nor the Nine Sects and One Union, this genius had seized that coveted title single-handedly. He was the kind of figure that belonged only in old legends. Naturally, the younger the martial artist, the more they idolized such an unreal, storybook existence.
The young Taoist, who looked to be barely sixteen or seventeen, hurriedly clasped his fists in salute toward Jin Seongun.
"I am Taewon, a third-generation disciple of the Kunlun Sect. It is a great honor to meet you, Great Hero Guest Dragon."
"I am Taemyeong, also a third-generation disciple of the Kunlun Sect. I had hoped to meet you someday, though in truth I had given up on it..."
There was even a trace of deep emotion in Taemyeong's eyes.
The Taoists of the Kunlun Sect harbored a grievance that was not quite a grievance: their home sat far too remote from the heart of the Central Plains.
Especially among the younger Taoists, that resentment ran even deeper. The dazzling city of Anhui, the sweeping vistas of Shaanxi, Hubei at the very center of the orthodox martial world, the seductive wilds of Sichuan — all the fascinating and marvelous tales the world had to offer, all the momentous events of the orthodox Jianghu, happened impossibly far away from Qinghai.
The rumors about the Guest Dragon, Jin Seongun, were no different. They had longed for him from afar, but had assumed they would almost never get to see him with their own eyes. And now here he was, come to visit them in person.
'And he's here for a sparring match, no less!'
The two young Taoists' eyes were glittering so brightly that Jin Seongun gave an awkward smile.
"I was just planning to keep things light—"
"Yes, yes, of course! We couldn't possibly burden you, Great Hero Guest Dragon!"
Which was somehow even more burdensome.
Before long, Taewon took charge of guiding the two of them, while Taemyeong spread his lightness skill and raced ahead to give the sect advance notice. Both were visibly giddy with excitement — natural enough, since this was their chance to see with their own eyes the fascinating figure they had only ever heard about.
"By the way... is it true?"
Taewon broached the subject with the utmost caution. Jin Seongun glanced at him. It was just his usual, placid expression — but Taewon flinched for no reason and shut his mouth.
"...Speak."
"Ah, well. It's just that..."
Taewon paused for a moment before continuing.
"They say the Young Dragon's life as a martial artist is finished from here on."
He called Jin Seongun "Great Hero" but Sima Hui merely "Young Hero." For a Taoist, Taewon had a remarkably sharp political instinct.
Jin Seongun answered.
"I couldn't say. If he has the will for it, he might recover. Of course, that's only speculation — I've never been injured that badly myself."
"Ohhh..."
Taewon nodded gravely. In truth, he had asked while secretly hoping for exactly that answer.
Rumors have a way of inflating themselves, and the road a rumor traveled to reach Qinghai was long indeed — so they occasionally swelled to enormous proportions along the way.
To the Taoists of the Kunlun Sect, Sima Hui was a man who deserved to have his head severed on the spot, a First-Rank Public Enemy of the martial world. And the Guest Dragon who had reduced that man to a cripple was regarded as a hero and chivalrous knight without parallel in a generation.
Jin Seongun walked on, deliberately turning away from Taewon's sparkling gaze. Then Taewon asked another question.
"And the lady beside you...?"
Taewon's cheeks flushed slightly. Never in his life had he seen a woman so beautiful.
Jin Seongun glanced briefly at Chae Seoryeong's face before answering.
"My travel companion—"
"A friend! Just a friend!"
Chae Seoryeong cut in urgently.
There was no need to go around broadcasting that "training while traveling together" nonsense again — especially not to a Taoist this susceptible to the temptations of the flesh.
When Jin Seongun nodded along, Taewon studied the two of them with a suspicious look, then broke into a knowing grin.
"Oh-ho, I see..."
Just as the air was turning uncomfortable, the three of them thankfully crossed the threshold of the Kunlun Sect.
The atmosphere of the Kunlun Sect was quite unusual.
Jin Seongun and Chae Seoryeong looked around with curious eyes. The sect's Taoist lineage was unmistakable, and yet there was a distinctly practical feel to everything — the arrangement of the halls, for instance.
As a rule, Taoist sects arranged their buildings according to geomantic principles with extreme rigor. The Kunlun Sect was different. At a glance the layout looked haphazard, almost irregular — yet the main gate was visible from every single rooftop.
Moreover, the halls were oriented in a way that subtly wrapped around and shielded the main gate.
To Jin Seongun's eye, the Kunlun Sect felt less like a Taoist sect and more like a fortress.
'If I were an invader...'
Jin Seongun caught himself running the thought anyway. If he charged in with a blade, warriors would come pouring out of those halls all at once. Since the halls curved around the gate in a semicircle, the attacker would find enemies swarming in ceaselessly from every direction. And the fact that every rooftop faced the gate meant, in reverse, that arrows and spears could rain down upon the gate from every roof.
'But then again, for a thief, that roof layout would actually be an advantage...'
Jin Seongun sighed quietly. When he glanced to the side, he found Chae Seoryeong studying the rooftops and walls with unmistakable intensity, which sank his self-esteem even further. Apparently, both of them had been thinking along exactly the same lines.
As they walked along with such thoughts, an enormous training ground came into view. Several dozen Taoists were gathered there, a bladed weapon in each of their hands.
"Does the Kunlun Sect wield both sabers and swords?"
When Jin Seongun asked, Taewon answered with an expression of pride.
"Sword, saber, bow, spear, staff, cudgel — we handle every weapon under heaven quite well. We don't perform ascetic practice; we train."
It was a striking answer.
Throughout history, whenever the Demonic Cult had run rampant, the Kunlun Sect had always been the first to burn. And given its position in Qinghai, it had suffered constant, grinding skirmishes with the cult as well.
The martial artists of the Nine Sects and One Union and the Five Great Sects rarely saw real combat. Most matters were settled on reputation alone, and even when a serious incident did erupt, there were already so many masters on hand that only a fraction ever took the field.
The Kunlun Sect was the opposite. Incidents happened far too often, and they were far too dangerous and brutal — so nearly all of its martial artists carried extensive combat experience.
Before long, a group from the training ground came over. They all looked around Jin Seongun's age, or perhaps a hair older.
"Hero Guest Dragon!"
A man with a familiar face popped out warmly. It was Seok Kang, whom they had met in the marketplace. He laughed heartily as he went on.
"Honestly, you should have told us earlier that you were the Hero Guest Dragon! Had we known, we'd have escorted you ourselves and shown you all around the Kunlun Sect."
"I had something urgent to attend to earlier."
As Jin Seongun said this, Seok Kang and several other Taoists stole glances at Chae Seoryeong. Everyone was wearing an odd expression, so Chae Seoryeong hurried to explain.
"My sword broke on the way here! I stopped by the Cheonghae Iron Pavilion hoping to buy a replacement, but they said they don't sell single blades."
That was information Chae Seoryeong had already known about the Cheonghae Iron Pavilion. As the foremost forge in the world, they dealt only with martial sects of sufficient scale, or with individuals whose fame matched that scale.
"Ho! With the reputation of the Hero Guest Dragon, they'd surely part with a sword or two for you?"
"I didn't want to buy one by trading on my name."
Jin Seongun replied evasively. Somehow, ever since taking on the Divine Thief's errand, it felt as though thieving and lying had been creeping into everything he did.
At his half-made excuse, Seok Kang and the other Taoists were profoundly moved.
"Ohh! Such depth of character!"
"Truly, the title of Guest Dragon is well earned!"
Jin Seongun nodded along. Come to think of it, the title Guest Dragon didn't sound half bad the more he heard it. After all, didn't it carry the character for "guest" — the very character that stood for his inn?
"So you wish to spar, I hear."
Seok Kang's eyes gleamed. A sparring match with one of the Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes. All around them, Taoists of roughly Jin Seongun's age were betraying a rather thick streak of competitive spirit.
"Though I'll need to borrow a sword."
"But of course. Our sect's Cloud Dragon Sword is forged at the Cheonghae Iron Pavilion as well — so in the end, the sword has simply found its rightful master!"
Laughing heartily, Seok Kang ordered an attendant to fetch a blade. Before long, Jin Seongun took up the Cloud Dragon Sword and gave it a few light swings through the air.
It was heavy, but the balance felt harmonious enough.
'What is this?'
Yet something ineffably strange nagged at him. He had not wielded all that many swords in his life, but this was a genuinely peculiar sensation. The problem was that the nature of the feeling was devilishly hard to pin down.
"Shall we begin right away?"
Deciding the sword needed to be handled far more roughly before he could understand it, he proposed the match at once. The Kunlun Taoists marveled, 'What a bold young hero he is!'
Before long, Jin Seongun stepped onto the sparring platform. His opponent was Seokjin, one of the sect's second-generation disciples. With a resolute expression, Seokjin gripped his sword firmly and took his stance.
'Sharp, without a doubt.'
It would be hard to call him as strong as Baek Seol or Baek Sang of the Wudang Sect, but the keen edge common to all the Kunlun Taoists was impressive in its own right.
Soon Jin Seongun took his own stance in answer. Unlike Seokjin, no surge of killing intent or shift in the air accompanied him. But that very stillness became a weight of its own — and perhaps the legend of the Guest Dragon lent that weight its force.
The Kunlun Taoists watched with eyes wide open, determined not to miss a single moment. And so the two men faced each other, swords leveled, for a short while.
Then Jin Seongun's expression turned to puzzlement.
Why isn't anyone starting the match?
Come to think of it, everyone was looking at him with even greater confusion. Before long, Seok Kang said with an embarrassed face,
"Seokjin, facing you now, is the youngest of our second-generation disciples."
"Ohh..."
What am I supposed to do with that information?
Jin Seongun blinked for a moment, and Seok Kang cleared his throat with an exaggerated ahem. Starting from him, the other Taoists began coughing into their fists as well.
Unable to bear the sight any longer, Chae Seoryeong sent a whispered transmission to Jin Seongun.
- You're the Guest Dragon, remember, the Guest Dragon! You're supposed to yield the first move.
Such was the standing of the Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes in the martial world of the age. Though they were still rising talents, their martial prowess alone earned them deference equal to that shown to the heads of any great sect or clan.
"Ah."
Jin Seongun nodded, then wore an awkward look as he deliberated briefly. How many moves should he concede? Yield one, and he would look petty. Yield ten, and he would look arrogant.
The trouble was that Jin Seongun simply could not deduce where that proper middle ground lay.
So he just said, roughly:
"I'll concede three moves."
At that, the Kunlun Taoists let out sighs of admiration and nodded with evident satisfaction.
"The Guest Dragon acknowledges our Kunlun."
"The rumors were true after all! Such humility, at his age!"
"..."
Well, he had apparently given the correct answer.
Nevertheless, Jin Seongun resolved never to use the name Guest Dragon again. It seemed his fate was to live as an innkeeper, not a martial artist — that was simply more comfortable.
Before long, Seokjin charged in with renewed resolve—
CLANG-!
Three uneventful exchanges passed. Then, all of a sudden, Jin Seongun channeled a faint thread of Lingering Moon Qi into the still-unfamiliar Cloud Dragon Sword and swung it lightly.
'Gently, gently...'
he murmured to himself.
The instant the two blades met—
BOOOM-!
An alarmingly vicious roar erupted.
Seokjin went flying.
He hung in the air for quite a long time. Jin Seongun stared after him with bewildered eyes.
"The sword's acting strange."
It wasn't an excuse. It was genuinely, honestly true.