Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: The Mask You Wear
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Gwiyeong - Gale Blade (9)
"Of all human emotions, none is as tricky and difficult as envy."
Gale Blade said, staring straight at Gwiyeong.
"Long ago, I was a first-generation disciple of the Mount Hua Sect. And I was the most outstanding among them. Do you know what it feels like to live as the most brilliant prodigy of a renowned sect?"
"The Mount Hua Sect... To think you were a disciple of a Daoist sect. I find that hard to believe."
It didn't suit the arrogant and rough Gale Blade she knew.
Gale Blade's crimson eyes widened as he looked at Gwiyeong, who feigned surprise.
"It's like flying through the sky. That feeling of everyone praising and admiring you. The feeling a person gets when everyone commends and acknowledges their superiority is beyond comparison."
As if intoxicated by the past, Gale Blade's eyes were no longer on reality but tracing through his memories.
"My father was a third-rate heretic. My mother was a courtesan. My mother and I were always beaten by my father, who was steeped in an inferiority complex. Eventually, she abandoned my father and me and ran off with another man. My lowly birth always followed me. That's why I trained more fiercely than anyone else."
The eyes of a child who hated his parents now resided in Gale Blade.
"To prove I was different from them, I remade my body and mind. I vowed to grow up noble, even if I was born low."
Gwiyeong began to look at Gale Blade in a different light.
"I forgot the vulgar words and actions my father taught me and replaced them with the ways of the righteous path. To escape the shadow of my uneducated parents, I adopted etiquette and formality. But the more I did, the darker and more swollen the suppressed shadow within my heart grew."
The brighter and clearer the mask one wears, the darker the inner shadow becomes.
No matter how much one tries to suppress and hide it, it's useless.
"I wanted to look down on others, to trample them. To show off my superiority to my heart's content and gloat. But every time I felt that way, I hid myself even more. I felt like I had inherited my parents' nature."
"They say a child is a mirror of their parents. Perhaps that's why. When I looked at my own wicked nature, I saw my father reflected there. The ego of the man I despised so much was embedded within me."
As a child, one can never escape the shadow of their parents.
Be it in personality, actions, or memories.
"As I grew older, I let my genius shine. Even so, I never once neglected to suppress my cruel side."
From that point on, a darkness began to creep into Gale Blade's eyes.
"But my fellow disciples grew envious of me. They flattered me to my face, but behind my back, they spread all sorts of vicious rumors."
"My sincerity in trying to appeal to everyone, my efforts to escape the shadow of my parents... They trampled it all mercilessly."
The betrayal of friends is like a knife in the back.
"Even so, I suppressed my boiling anger and sense of betrayal, holding back my inner cruelty. Because that is the fate of a Daoist. Because that is the righteous path I walk."
Gwiyeong gazed steadily into Gale Blade's eyes.
His eyes, usually filled with arrogance and contempt, now held sorrow and resentment.
"But the end that awaited me was nothing but betrayal and despair. While pursuing a public enemy of the martial world with my fellow disciples, I was abandoned and isolated. The enemy was suddenly not one, but many, and I was captured."
"The envy of your fellow disciples drove you to your death."
"I was captured by demonic practitioners and trapped in this barbaric, crude weapon. I spent my whole life running from barbarism and crudeness, only to end up like this."
Immersed in Gale Blade's past, Gwiyeong narrowed her eyes and said,
"Just what kind of bastards would trap a person in a weapon...?"
"There's one thing I realized after I became this."
Gale Blade answered, his eyes flashing.
"I was abandoned because I had companions. If I had been alone from the start, I would never have been betrayed or hurt. So, I agree with you."
The gazes of the weapon and its master met.
"Your words that one can become a perfect being only by being alone... I understand and empathize with that more than anyone."
Though their reasons differed, they shared the same thought.
"Since then, countless contractors have wielded me. Watching a wide array of humans, I came to realize one thing."
A cruel glint entered his red eyes, which curved like crescent moons.
"Every human has a shadow. Whether they follow the righteous, heretical, or even the demonic path. There are no exceptions. When they choose a mask to wear, it is always the one furthest from their own shadow."
"The soft-hearted wear masks of cruelty, and those seized by fear choose masks of valor. Those who are childish inside pretend to be adults, and the more steeped in greed one is, the more they put on a face of integrity. In the end, their true faces lie beyond the mask."
Only then did Gwiyeong truly understand what kind of being Gale Blade was.
A being who had walked the path of a Daoist to defeat his own darkness, only to be rejected by all, trapped in a cursed weapon, and ultimately corrupted.
He, who had been of the righteous faction and a Daoist, had become a demon who hated humanity.
"The mask of a benevolent Daoist I wore has been stripped away. The shackles of etiquette and formality that bound my shadow have rusted and crumbled. Now, all that remains is ugliness."
Gwiyeong listened intently to Gale Blade's whisper.
"So I ask you. What mask are you wearing?"
"I... I am..."
Gwiyeong looked at her weapon with trembling eyes.
***
-Fifteen days later-
A grand hall where a black dragon's head protruded.
Warriors in black uniforms embroidered with black dragons stood in long lines on either side, creating a heavy and strict atmosphere.
Beyond them, a man sat arrogantly on an ornate grand chair carved with a black dragon.
A man with slightly curly hair and bronze skin.
He was 'Yonggak,' a master of the heretical faction known to the world as the 'Leader of the Black Dragon Society.'
He looked down at the two men prostrating before him and spoke.
"Pavilion Lord Mokchal and Pavilion Lord Geumgyeong have arrived on time, but Pavilion Lord Mujang has not."
Pavilion Lord Mokchal was the executive in charge of the Red Snake Guild, while Pavilion Lord Geumgyeong was in charge of the Black Snake Guild.
As Yonggak, the Leader of the Black Dragon Society, frowned, the Chief Steward watching him cautiously spoke up.
"My Lord, Pavilion Lord Mujang is not one to be late. Something must have happened."
"Indeed. That fellow was always punctual. It's unlike him to be this late."
As his mood soured, the air around them grew heavy.
The power of a warrior who had reached the pinnacle of the transcendent realm was nearly superhuman.
The numerous warriors inside the Black Dragon Society's hall were all focused on just one person.
They were all watching the expression of Yonggak, the Black Dragon Sword.
After a moment of silence, he seemed to finish his thoughts and looked at Pavilion Lord Mokchal and Pavilion Lord Geumgyeong.
"We should proceed for now. So, how did it go? Pavilion Lord Mokchal, you speak first."
At his question, the Pavilion Lords bowed their heads and reported clearly.
"Yes. First, the Lord of the Black Snake Guild has successfully suppressed other factions in the northeastern Hunan region and currently has no rivals."
"The Black Snake... that fellow was always meticulous and finished his work cleanly. I knew he would do well. Next."
Yonggak, Leader of the Black Dragon Society, turned his head to look at Pavilion Lord Geumgyeong.
"Yes. The Lord of the Red Snake Guild was victorious in a battle against three factions simultaneously in the northwestern Hunan region. It is a flaw that he annihilated them without absorbing their forces, but his skill has been sufficiently proven."
"Hmm, that fellow always handles things with unnecessary cruelty. It seems he hasn't changed. Well, that's one of the things I liked about him."
Yonggak nodded once, then looked at the empty seat of Pavilion Lord Mujang and said,
"You have all done well, but it seems my youngest disciple has run into some trouble."
The Chief Steward beside him spoke.
"It seems he was defeated in the battle with the Black Ghost Guild."
"A bit disappointing. Though he lacked skill, I thought he could use his vile nature to pull something off."
That was right.
Yonggak, Leader of the Black Dragon Society, had not taken the Lord of the White Snake Guild as his disciple for his talent or skill.
He had taken him as a disciple because of his vile and cowardly disposition.
In the first place, martial talent of that level was a dime a dozen, so he hadn't considered it anything special.
For someone who had been considered a promising prodigy in the righteous faction, it was a bitter evaluation.
"Well, I suppose it's not all bad. It just means that woman, Gwiyeong, is more exceptional than I thought."
"That is correct. According to rumors, she reached the entry level of the transcendent realm before the age of thirty, so her talent for martial arts is certain."
Hearing the report, the Leader of the Black Dragon Society rested his chin on his hand and said,
"Honestly, I find it hard to believe. Even I only reached the transcendent realm shortly after turning thirty. Are you saying that woman achieved it even earlier?"
Yonggak, Leader of the Black Dragon Society, was currently forty-four years old.
In this era, that was considered quite old, but due to his long years of honing his martial arts, his physical age was much younger.
As a result, he maintained a youthful appearance for his age, with the exception of the faint wrinkles around his eyes.
"I hear her looks are also quite outstanding. Is that correct?"
"Yes, that is correct."
"Hmm, that should be sufficient."
Yonggak was dissatisfied because he had no child who had fully inherited his outstanding talent.
"It's a shame about my cherished disciple and subordinate, but I suppose it's fortunate that I've found such a fine talent."
He had forced many women to bear his children, but he was always disappointed.
And now, despite his late age of forty-four, he wanted a son who would fully inherit his talent.
"We leave at once. For the Black Ghost Guild."