Chapter 24
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Metamorphosis
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How could this be described in words?
It felt like floating alone in the vast ocean, and also like being a dragon soaring through the sky.
‘Ah…’
In Cheon Muryang's hazy consciousness, a streak of light piercing the principles of all creation appeared.
It matched the path of the sword leading to the heavens he had once faintly glimpsed.
*Vwoom!*
The resonant hum of the Heavenly Light Sword, which should not have been audible in his consciousness, echoed.
Though it shouldn't have existed there, Cheon Muryang gripped the Heavenly Light Sword.
Standing alone in the world, the Heavenly Light Sword cleaved the sky and soared upwards.
*Fwaaah!*
It even sliced through the sun.
Streaks of light scattering in all directions poured into Cheon Muryang's entire body.
Then, Cheon Muryang's past, which Nameless couldn't remember, surfaced.
‘The Great Young Lord's memories... are flowing in.’
Woryeong appeared.
Cheon Muryang appeared.
The surroundings were engulfed in flames.
‘Come to think of it…’
When Nameless first came to the Cheon Family, he was told Cheon Muryang's residence was being rebuilt.
This memory must be from before Nameless came to the Cheon Family.
*Fwoosh!*
Amidst the all-consuming flames, Cheon Muryang wandered.
The entire situation seemed unfamiliar to him.
Though terrified, Cheon Muryang didn't go outside, searching for someone instead.
"Wor, Woryeong!"
Pushing through the place where it was hard even to breathe, Cheon Muryang searched for Woryeong.
"Wh-where are you!"
When he finally found her, Woryeong was collapsed.
Beside her was a pile of firewood, which might have been the cause of the fire.
"..."
Seeing this, Cheon Muryang said nothing and slung Woryeong over his shoulder.
*Tremble!*
His lower body, which already struggled to support his own obese frame, trembled uncontrollably as it bore Woryeong's weight as well.
Nevertheless, Cheon Muryang gritted his teeth and moved.
*Crack!*
Had too much time passed?
A pillar of fire finally gave way and collapsed toward the two of them.
"N-no!"
At this, Cheon Muryang tried to push Woryeong away, but with his utterly insufficient strength, he couldn't even throw her.
"Keuk!"
In the end, the pillar of fire crashed down on them.
Cheon Muryang coughed up blood, but with an indomitable will unbecoming of a scoundrel, he checked on Woryeong's condition.
"Damn it! Damn it all!"
The sickening smell of Woryeong's flesh burning filled the air.
Yet, Cheon Muryang despaired at his own powerlessness, unable to do anything.
"Ah..."
*Crack!*
Another pillar of fire fell.
Cheon Muryang sensed death was imminent.
*Squeeze!*
Cheon Muryang covered the collapsed Woryeong with his own body, trying to protect her as much as possible.
"I'm sorry..."
A short apology.
Cheon Muryang squeezed his eyes shut.
*Kwoooong!*
But death did not come.
Because someone had blocked the pillar of fire.
"Wh-what...!"
Cheon Muryang saw who it was.
It was the Grand Elder, Cheon Jungho, who had been an object of fear since his childhood.
"Are you all right?"
He asked about his well-being.
But Cheon Muryang was seized by a fear greater than the flames.
It was the terror that this man could kill him at any moment, regardless of the fire.
"I-I'm fine."
The terrible blaze was no longer even a threat.
*Shudder, shudder, shudder.*
Before the true threat, Cheon Muryang's entire body trembled.
Seeing this, Cheon Jungho gave a satisfied smile.
"Good. That's a relief."
"..."
"Continue to live as a scoundrel. Do you understand?"
Terrified, Cheon Muryang instinctively nodded.
"Good. That's all that matters. If you live as you please, like a scoundrel, this Cheon Family will become yours."
*Drip, drip.*
Overcome with fear, Cheon Muryang wet himself without realizing it.
"Tsk."
Clicking his tongue, Cheon Jungho, perhaps sensing others coming to rescue Cheon Muryang, had already disappeared.
Left alone, Cheon Muryang wept amidst the flames.
Woryeong, still collapsed, could only watch him in silence.
*Snap!*
The memory ended.
‘So that's what happened…’
He felt relieved.
Woryeong's injuries weren't Cheon Muryang's doing.
‘Is that why... Woryeong couldn't leave the Great Young Lord and stayed by his side?’
Hadn't she witnessed this scene?
She couldn't have left.
‘The real scoundrel wasn't the Great Young Lord, but this damned Cheon Family.’
The fire that day was ultimately dismissed as one of Cheon Muryang's scoundrel acts.
Woryeong, who knew the truth, must have been unable to say anything.
Because that would have been the only way to protect Cheon Muryang.
‘Family Head, did you truly not know?’
He couldn't have been unaware.
Hadn't he taken in the existence known as Nameless to protect Cheon Muryang?
It was just that their movements were more secretive and vicious than Cheon Wigang had anticipated.
‘What a mess.’
Everything was a mess.
He recalled a memory he had seen before.
Until the moment of his death, Cheon Muryang had feared someone.
Now that he knew the cause, the Great Young Lord's life, which had been completely incomprehensible, made some sense.
‘So, you had no choice but to live as a scoundrel?’
He had thought him simply pathetic.
He thought him a worthless son of a great father, bearing the Cheon name in vain.
But Cheon Muryang's scoundrel acts might have been the desperate struggle of a powerless man to survive.
*Grip.*
Why hadn't he known?
To say the timing was wrong was just an excuse.
‘Was I, too, so caught up in prejudice and stubbornness that I failed to see the Great Young Lord I was supposed to protect…?’
If, just if.
‘If I had known the truth…’
He wanted to know.
‘Would the future I know have changed, even a little?’
But it was merely a fleeting hypothesis.
‘Grand Elder, Cheon Jungho.’
He was the mastermind behind it all.
Cheon Muryang suppressed his anger.
Because he would need sufficient power to unleash this fury.
‘I suppose I have another reason to become stronger.’
He had no loyalty to Cheon Muryang, but this could be called revenge for the one he had served.
Or perhaps.
‘It might be pity. Whatever it is... Great Young Lord, I will carry out your revenge in your stead.’
And so.
‘Hold no regrets.’
*Fwaaah!*
A brilliant radiance erupted.
Like a bird breaking out of its egg, Cheon Muryang shed his old skin.
*Flash!*
He opened his eyes.
A familiar ceiling came into view.
He could feel his body.
But his senses were incomparably sharper than before.
"I've opened the Gate of Life and Death."
The faint raspiness in his voice was gone, leaving it clear.
Cheon Muryang sat up.
Although he was sure he had been wearing clothes, he was now naked.
"Metamorphosis..."
Being naked made it even more apparent.
His body, like a flawless sculpture, was optimized for wielding a sword.
"I've finally reached the starting line."
Until now, Cheon Muryang had been training to build a foundation.
From shaping his body to repeating the basic movements of the sword, it was all a kind of groundwork.
"A foundation has been laid to become stronger than anyone else."
Because only with a solid foundation could one build something sturdy.
Thus, the metamorphosis from opening the Gate of Life and Death signified the completion of his groundwork.
This was because the energies from the elixirs that had hindered Cheon Muryang's progress had been completely dissolved by the Azure Cavern Nectar.
"It's a new beginning."
He could feel his internal energy brimming.
The elixir energies that should have originally been converted into Cheon Muryang's internal energy had finally been transformed into his own.
"I want to swing my sword right now..."
A strong desire welled up inside him.
But there were many things to do before that.
He had to wash off the impurities expelled during the metamorphosis, starting with his body.
"Should I wash up first?"
Just as he finished washing and was putting on clothes.
*CRASH!*
The door to his room was smashed to pieces.
"...?"
Woryeong appeared from beyond the broken door, with Mae Hong standing behind her, not knowing what to do.
"What? It's you, Woryeong?"
"Young Master! You're all right?"
Woryeong, who had broken the door, looked embarrassed.
Because Cheon Muryang seemed perfectly fine.
"Of course, I'm fine. Were you worried something happened to me?"
"No, it's just..."
Woryeong glared at Mae Hong.
She had rushed over because Mae Hong had been fidgeting anxiously, saying a terrible stench was coming from Cheon Muryang's room.
"It's fine. I was just getting dressed to go out anyway. Good timing. Shall we go together?"
"You go on ahead. I'll clean up the room and follow you."
Cheon Muryang gave an awkward laugh.
Because the terrible stench was still lingering.
"Then could I ask you to do that?"
"Ask? It was my job to begin with."
"Thank you, Woryeong. And Mae Hong."
"Ah...!"
Cheon Muryang put on the martial arts uniform Geumsan had sent and headed to the training grounds.
Mae Hong, entering the foul-smelling room, suddenly asked.
"About the Great Young Lord."
"Hm?"
"Was he always that handsome?"
"What?"
"I mean, he looks so handsome now that he's lost weight. I thought he was a young nobleman."
Woryeong snickered.
"Hey, he was always handsome."
"This girl, are you blind? He was a fat pig before. What are you talking about!"
"Whatever, just help me clean."
"What on earth did he do in here to make such a stench?"
Mae Hong pinched her nose and brought over some water.
But Woryeong wasn't bothered at all.
To her, all these traces seemed like evidence of the life-and-death struggle Cheon Muryang had endured.
"You worked hard, Young Master."
Woryeong smiled brightly and cleaned the room.
* * *
Arriving at the training grounds, Cheon Muryang saw Neung Ryeoun and Cha Myeonghak.
"My lord!"
The two of them rushed over like arrows the moment they saw Cheon Muryang.
The dark circles under their eyes suggested they were training so hard they were cutting back on sleep.
"Yes. Has there been progress?"
"Yes."
The auras of the two men were certainly more refined.
"Good. What about my request?"
"It is done. You told us to support them from a distance, so..."
"Ah, right. Thank you."
The two men felt a strange sensation.
Perhaps it was because they hadn't seen him in a while, but Cheon Muryang seemed different somehow.
‘Were his features always this sharp?’
It wasn't just his appearance.
His entire aura seemed to have changed.
"You're ready, I assume?"
"Yes...!"
"Good. Then let's go."
"We will accompany you."
Neung Ryeoun stood to his right.
Cha Myeonghak to his left.
It seemed they had fought over who would stand on the right side while he wasn't looking.
"Let's go to the Inspection Corps office."
"Yes."
Although he had been appointed the temporary head of the Inspection Corps, Cheon Muryang had never once gone there.
"It's time to root out those who are eating away at the family. I've let them be for too long."
Now that he had sufficient power, there was no reason to delay.
The three of them arrived in front of the Inspection Corps building.
There, the subordinates of the former head, Cheon Ahang, were waiting.
"Oh! The new head of the Inspection Corps has finally arrived!"
Spotting Cheon Muryang, they stepped forward with triumphant smiles.
"Everyone, fall in!"
"Yeah, yeah!"
The way they stood half-heartedly showed they were nothing but a disorderly rabble.
"..."
With a blank expression, Cheon Muryang stood before the sloppily formed line.
They all raised their auras subtly, as if to threaten Cheon Muryang.
Every one of them was at a level where they could manifest sword energy.
"How dare you!"
Neung Ryeoun and Cha Myeonghak's faces hardened as they reached for their swords.
Because their intentions were so obvious and childish.
*Chk!*
But Cheon Muryang stopped them.
"The stench of garbage is overwhelming."
"...!"
Despite the aura projected by the group, Cheon Muryang simply dismissed it with a glance.
No, it was nothing more than a child's prank, not even worth his attention.
It was they who were flustered by Cheon Muryang's unexpectedly calm reaction.
"Why?"
"...!"
"Are you flustered because I'm not reacting the way you expected?"
The complexions of several men hardened.
And with that.
*Gwoooooooooo!*
A formidable aura erupted from Cheon Muryang's entire body like a storm.
*Fwoooosh!*
The Heavenly Light Sword roared.
From its blade, strands of sword energy, far more azure and clear than theirs, bloomed.
"I'll count to three. If you haven't extinguished it by then, I will execute you all on the spot."