Chapter 21
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Gaining an Ally
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The atmosphere in the Cheon Family was unsettled.
It wasn't just because of the embezzlement by the Head of the Golden Pavilion and the Chief of the Inspection Corps.
Cheon Muryang, the newly appointed Chief of the Inspection Corps, made a proclamation to all the factions, sects, escort agencies, and merchant groups that maintained an alliance with the Cheon Family.
『I declare a war on corruption.』
『I will not tolerate any form of exploitation beyond high-interest loans or legitimate collection. Upon discovery, I will execute the responsible parties immediately under the authority of the Chief of the Inspection Corps.』
『I will grant a grace period of fifteen days. Any corruption discovered thereafter will never be forgiven.』
The Soeung Faction was ruined overnight.
Moreover, a rumor spread like wildfire through Zhejiang that the faction leader had died without even a corpse left to find.
However, no one feared the scoundrel Great Young Lord.
『He's still just a scoundrel, isn't he? A little bit of money should do the trick.』
The majority thought complacently.
『Is the Cheon Family trying to stretch its wings again?』
Only a few sensed that something had changed.
One thing was certain: Cheon Muryang was at the center of the conversation.
“Hmm…”
Of course, the man himself was frowning as if something displeased him.
“So you’re saying the warehouse in Shaoxing was empty?”
“Yes. Nothing could be found.”
“Then, the whereabouts of those funds are…”
“Cheon A-haeng, that fellow, probably doesn’t know either. He must have been nothing more than a puppet.”
Cheon Muryang nodded.
As Cheon Seonhak said, the former Chief of the Inspection Corps, Cheon A-haeng, was merely a figurehead.
“A pity. The Head of the Golden Pavilion seemed to know something.”
“And that’s likely why he’s dead.”
Conversely, Cheon A-haeng lived.
He must have known next to nothing.
Cheon Muryang clicked his tongue.
“In the end, it means the funds have simply vanished.”
“It can’t be helped.”
“But…”
Where those funds had flowed to was a mystery.
For some reason, that bothered Cheon Muryang.
“If the Council of Elders is in league with the Demonic Cult…”
The worst-case scenario.
“Isn’t it possible that the Cheon Family’s funds have flowed to the Demonic Cult?”
“…”
The thought seemed far-fetched.
But assuming the worst, it wasn't entirely impossible.
“What do you plan to do now?”
“First, I intend to clean house. There must be other traitorous factions like the Soeung Faction.”
“Does the Inspection Corps have the capacity for that?”
Cheon Muryang had arrested everyone belonging to the Inspection Corps.
Since they had failed to perform their duties, they had to pay the price.
“That is a problem, I suppose.”
As a result, Cheon Muryang's Inspection Corps was completely empty.
Though he scratched the back of his head, Cheon Muryang didn't seem particularly worried.
“You remember the promise we made back then, don’t you?”
“Are you talking about the promise to give you people?”
“Yes.”
“However, that is their choice to make.”
“I know.”
The trainees were assigned to various posts throughout the Cheon Family based on their performance, personal wishes, and other factors.
Of course, the vast majority wanted to join the Heavenly Dragon Sword Corps or the Heavenly Phoenix Sword Corps right away.
“You seem to be quite hopeful.”
“Not at all. No matter what they choose, they will ultimately become people of the Cheon Family, so it doesn’t matter.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
Cheon Seonhak let out a faint smile.
‘The tide has already turned.’
He thought that perhaps Cheon Muryang had won over more hearts than he had anticipated.
“You must not neglect your training. Your current level won’t be enough to handle the Council of Elders.”
“Don’t worry. I know my own weakness better than anyone.”
“I will help you until then.”
“I won’t refuse.”
Cheon Muryang gave a slight bow and stepped outside.
“I have to get stronger.”
He had obtained the Azure Jade Nectar, but if he lacked the internal energy to absorb it, it was all for naught.
“A race against time, is it?”
The fifteen days he had promised Cheon Wigang.
Within that time, Cheon Muryang had to become stronger.
“Let’s not be hasty.”
Slowly, Cheon Muryang simply repeated the best efforts he could make.
Arriving at the training grounds, Cheon Muryang saw Woryeong, still running.
“Woryeong.”
“You’re here, Young Master?”
Woryeong had improved so much she was almost unrecognizable; her breathing was now perfectly steady.
“You’ve gotten quite good at running.”
“Of course! When it comes to running, I might even be better than you, Young Master.”
“Oh, really?”
Cheon Muryang stretched his body here and there.
“Then shall we run together for a change?”
“Yes! I’d love to.”
The two ran side by side.
* * *
*Swoosh!*
It was a rainy day.
For Cheon Muryang, who had temporarily taken the position of Chief of the Inspection Corps, the daily routine was the same as ever.
*Whoosh!*
Standing in the center of the training grounds with a sword in hand, Cheon Muryang showed no trace of his scoundrel persona.
Having lost a significant amount of weight, he looked so much like a refined young nobleman that one might believe he spent his days composing poetry.
Countless eyes were upon him, but their gazes were quite different from the past.
“Hah, hah!”
Near the sword-wielding Cheon Muryang, Woryeong was running frantically.
The sight of the two of them had now become a familiar scene to the trainees.
*Step, step.*
Someone approached Cheon Muryang.
It was Neung Ryeoun, whose sword had been taken from him before.
“Great Young Lord.”
After his defeat that day, Neung Ryeoun had become a completely different person.
He corrected his flippant speech and behavior, and no longer cared about the opinions of others.
Having devoted himself solely to the sword, Neung Ryeoun had become a true swordsman.
Everyone, with the sole exception of Lee Seok-gi, acknowledged that Neung Ryeoun had become the new top trainee.
“Yes. What is it?”
“I have something to say to you.”
“Ah, have you come to get your sword back?”
Cheon Muryang smirked.
Neung Ryeoun had already repented for his past shortcomings and stood upright; he was certainly worthy of wielding a sword.
“I can give it to you if you want.”
Woryeong was in the middle of training.
So, he would have to fetch the sword himself.
“What I want is not the sword.”
“What?”
“I want to become your sword, Great Young Lord.”
“…”
Neung Ryeoun knelt.
Watching this, Cheon Muryang smiled faintly.
‘Finally, a bite.’
Neung Ryeoun was a talent.
He was a figure who, in the future, would serve under Cheon Seonhak, rise through the ranks from squad leader of the Heavenly Phoenix Sword Corps to vice-commander.
However, Cheon Muryang played hard to get.
“You want to be my sword?”
“Yes.”
“Not just anyone can become my sword.”
“…I am aware.”
Neung Ryeoun lifted his head.
A determination that could be called stubbornness was palpable.
“Wouldn’t it be better for you to join the Heavenly Phoenix Sword Corps or the Heavenly Dragon Sword Corps?”
Someone like Neung Ryeoun would surely be able to enter the Heavenly Dragon Sword Corps.
Joining the sword corps that represented the Cheon Family was a path of honor for the trainees.
“That is not my path.”
“Hmm… a stubborn one, I see.”
“I learned it from you, Great Young Lord.”
*Smirk.*
The corner of Cheon Muryang’s mouth curled up.
Wasn’t this what he had hoped for?
“Very well. I shall watch that resolve of yours.”
“Thank you.”
“If you’ve decided to become my sword, keep one thing in mind.”
“…”
“Do not lose to anyone.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
“Good.”
*Whoooosh!*
Cheon Muryang raised the Heavenly Light Sword.
Held in an unwavering stance, the Heavenly Light Sword soared, exuding an aura that seemed to pierce the sky.
“What do you see?”
“…?”
He intended to give him a topic for contemplation.
After all, pondering the sword would become the driving force for moving forward.
“I ask again. What does your sword seek to contain?”
The martial arts that a trainee could learn were extremely limited.
However, hadn’t Cheon Muryang realized it?
The true martial arts of the Cheon Family could not be expressed in mere formulas.
‘In other words, there are no limits.’
It was all a matter of realization.
Depending on what kind of heaven one pursued, one could learn a completely new martial art.
‘Of course, the standardized heaven wasn’t wrong either…’
Cheon Wigang had only ever seen and learned the heaven that had been continuously refined and improved from the past.
Even so, he was able to reach a supreme state, so it was by no means a wrong path.
‘At the very least, my people should not pursue such a heaven.’
It shouldn't be a heaven that everyone sees.
*Whoooosh!*
“And, what do you desire?”
Three questions.
The answers to what one sees, what one contains, and what one desires would ultimately be the path of the sword that Neung Ryeoun would walk.
“Watch closely.”
The Heavenly Light Sword split the sky.
Through the rift, an infinite sky was visible.
It was just like the countless heavens Cheon Muryang had seen in the Heavenly Dragon Archives.
“Ah…!”
Countless heavens.
Neung Ryeoun advanced toward the other side of that infinite world.
The same was true for Cheon Muryang.
Facing the sky that split into infinite branches, Cheon Muryang felt a sense of greed.
‘I will embrace all these heavens.’
Hadn’t he declared he would walk the path of the Heaven Beyond the Heavens, embracing the infinite sky?
That illusory heaven appeared faintly, like a shimmering mirage.
‘The Supreme Heaven…’
A distant scent of peaches filled the air.
The closer he got, the more Cheon Muryang felt his very soul begin to float.
‘Ah…’
The harmony of all creation existed there.
The law of causality that governed all affairs of the world.
He saw that supreme, pure law.
And thus, he knew.
‘This is a forbidden power.’
By the will of the world.
The Heavenly Light Sword ultimately failed to complete its path, stopping at a single point in the void.
The infinite sky slowly closed, leaving only a single heaven.
It was Neung Ryeoun’s heaven.
*Fwoosh!*
Even that sky closed.
Everything vanished, and Neung Ryeoun came to understand the true meaning of the sword he had been practicing.
“Have I… been blind all this time?”
The sword he had known until now was merely a shadow.
The difference between knowing and not knowing was as thin as a sheet of paper, but at the same time, it was as vast as the distance between heaven and earth.
This contact with a world he would never have known had he not seen it left a huge impact on Neung Ryeoun.
“What did you see?”
“The Layered Heaven… I saw Weight.”
*Smirk.*
Cheon Muryang smiled.
It didn't matter what he saw.
The key was that he had seen something.
“Yes. That is your heaven.”
“Heaven…”
“If you’re to be my sword, you have to be at least this capable, don’t you think?”
“Ah.”
Neung Ryeoun vaguely saw the heaven that Cheon Muryang was looking at.
It was so dizzyingly high that he wondered if he could ever reach it.
‘The place he’s looking at is different…’
Neung Ryeoun clenched his jaw tightly.
Even if he could never reach Cheon Muryang’s heaven, he wanted to chase after it.
“Be diligent in your polishing and training.”
“Yes, Great Young Lord.”
Neung Ryeoun made a vow.
He would not retrieve the sword he had entrusted to Cheon Muryang until he could confidently say he had become strong enough.
“My sword… I will come for it in the future.”
Cheon Muryang understood his sentiment and nodded.
“I won’t wait for too long, so hurry up and take it back.”
“Yes.”
That was the end of it.
Having declared he would become Cheon Muryang’s sword, Neung Ryeoun once again gripped his wooden training sword.
‘You will become stronger than you were in the past, Neung Ryeoun.’
Cheon Muryang didn’t know how Neung Ryeoun had met his end.
However, he was surely one who had died wielding his sword for the Cheon Family.
Because that was the kind of man Neung Ryeoun was.
‘How many were there who died for the Cheon Family, despite not bearing the Cheon name?’
Cheon Muryang, no, Nameless, had been one of them.
*Grip.*
Cheon Muryang clenched his sword tightly.
The memory of the day the flames of the Demonic Cult had engulfed the Cheon Family came back to him vividly.
‘When the Demonic Cult attacked the Cheon Family, those who bore the Cheon name were busy fleeing or surrendering.’
Those who fought with their lives on the line were people like Nameless, who did not bear the Cheon name.
In that case, who were the true masters of the Cheon Family?
To that question, Cheon Muryang could not rashly answer that it was those who bore the Cheon name.
That was why Cheon Muryang did not want to see these people die.
‘I never want to see them die again.’
When he was reborn as Cheon Muryang, Nameless had made a vow.
『I will not die in vain.』
He wanted to become strong and survive.
He had only sought to protect the Cheon Family for the sake of his own survival.
‘But not anymore.’
That wasn't it.
Cheon Muryang finally realized.
His reason for needing to become strong was, of course, to survive, but it was also to protect those who had given their all for the Cheon Family.
‘Is that, in the end, a requiem for the nameless ones who died protecting the Cheon Family…?’
Cheon Muryang’s resolve had changed.
And yet, it had not.
Protecting the nameless was, in the end, protecting himself.
‘One failure is enough, isn’t it?’
Cheon Muryang looked up at the sky.
The sky, so high it seemed unreachable, felt particularly close today.