Chapter 69
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: What Happened at the Small Lake Pavilion (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Rather than wait for the Wandering King and his companions, Cheon Muryang finished his meal and headed to the special suite.
“Mm. Just as I thought.”
The special suite was indeed nice.
The plushness of the bed seemed even better than the ones back at the Cheon Family estate.
“I wonder when they’ll be back.”
Sleep wouldn't come, so Cheon Muryang decided to circulate his internal energy while waiting for the others, who were likely swinging their swords around at this very moment.
‘The sword of the Namgung Family. The saber of the Hebei Peng Family.’
He had seen and learned many new things.
The Sword King’s swordsmanship, in particular, had opened up a new horizon of the sword for him.
‘I must make it my own.’
In a world where nothing existed.
Cheon Muryang contemplated countless paths of the sword alone.
He was just reaching a state of selflessness.
*Creak!*
The sound of the door opening broke the silence.
At this, Cheon Muryang reined in his internal energy.
“You’re back.”
Opening his eyes, feeling the flow of internal energy that filled his entire body, Cheon Muryang was met with the sight of three somewhat exhausted people.
“Did it go well?”
“Hah, hah!”
The three of them were breathing heavily.
They still looked dazed.
“It was absolutely terrible.”
The Wandering King’s harsh critique poured out.
A storm of nagging followed, critiquing everything from their mindset when holding a sword to their posture.
Hearing the Wandering King’s criticism, which sounded like he was addressing a defeated person, Cheon Muryang asked.
“So what were the results?”
“All wins.”
“What?”
“We did win them all.”
Woryeong took out a large money pouch from her robes.
“Here’s the proof.”
“What is this? Just how many fights did you get into?”
To the question of how much they had fought, the Wandering King answered in a tone that suggested it was obvious.
“Up to the daily limit.”
Taking the money pouch from Woryeeong, Cheon Muryang was surprised by the weight that filled his hand.
“We bet on a win for every single match.”
“Oh-ho.”
It seemed they had repeatedly bet their winnings, causing the stakes to grow this large.
However, despite having earned a great deal of money, their expressions were anything but bright.
It was because, just as the Wandering King had harshly judged, they themselves felt their own shortcomings.
“Looks like it was a complete mess.”
“Yes. They barely scraped by. So, if they display the same disgraceful performance tomorrow as they did today…”
“…”
“They will surely face defeat by tomorrow.”
Even though the Wandering King had already unleashed a torrent of nagging, it seemed he still had much more to say.
“That’s why when you train, you must do it properly…”
“Let’s rest first. I’m tired after all that commotion.”
At those words, the Wandering King asked with a feigned smile.
“I hear you beat the Peng Family’s Second Young Lord to a pulp?”
“He dared to act like a ruffian in front of me, so I went and proved who the bigger ruffian is.”
The Wandering King saw the unfamiliar great saber lying alone in the room.
He presumed it was the great saber that belonged to whichever member of the Peng Family Cheon Muryang had beaten up.
“Heh heh heh. You certainly stir up a storm wherever you go. There’ll never be a peaceful day.”
Cheon Muryang shrugged.
“Well, since when was the martial world ever quiet? Isn’t it the nature of the martial world to never have a peaceful day?”
“True.”
The Wandering King agreed.
That was why the Wandering King himself couldn't leave the martial world and was by Cheon Muryang’s side, wasn't it?
“Anyway, things are about to get more interesting, so you can look forward to it.”
“…?”
“I mean that those Peng Family bastards won’t just let this go.”
“Is that all?”
Hadn’t Cheon Muryang seen it?
The sight of Paeng Dohyeok, who, though fearful, possessed a stubbornness that would never break.
“That’s exactly what I was hoping for.”
The Peng Family's saber arts were a masterpiece.
So, how could he refuse an opportunity to witness that masterpiece of a saber?
“I’m confident that my own stubbornness won’t lose out to anyone’s.”
“Is that so? Goodness, first the Fighting King, then the Fighting Ogre, and now the Peng Family has latched onto you.”
The Wandering King laughed.
He himself was a martial arts maniac, but he wondered if he could compare to Cheon Muryang.
‘He really is interesting.’
An ambition for improvement with no discernible end.
He could still feel the hunger for martial arts emanating from Cheon Muryang.
He never settled for what he had.
The Wandering King was simply curious.
‘I’ll watch and see just how strong you can become.’
At some point, the Wandering King had started to find as much joy in watching Cheon Muryang’s journey as he did in perfecting his own saber.
“Let’s rest for now.”
“Let’s do that.”
“I’ve rented three rooms in total, so we can use them comfortably.”
“Just a few hours ago, we were worried about where to stay. It seems we no longer need to.”
“Didn’t I say there would be no problem?”
To stay in the special suite, the three had fought as if their lives depended on it, and Cheon Muryang had beaten the Peng Family’s Second Young Lord to a pulp.
It somehow felt like the tail was wagging the dog, but it was just as Cheon Muryang had said.
“Follow me, you lot.”
“…?”
“You’ve worked hard, so you should at least fill your bellies, shouldn’t you?”
Cheon Muryang nodded.
Come to think of it, he remembered they had gone to the dueling grounds before even eating.
*Growl!*
Just then, a thunderous sound erupted from Woryeong’s stomach.
At this, Cheon Muryang laughed and handed the money pouch back to Woryeong.
“We have plenty of money, so eat your fill.”
“Yes…”
Watching Woryeong clutch her stomach and hurry out, Cheon Muryang could only smile.
“Tsk.”
The Wandering King, Neung Ryeoun, and Cha Myeonghak followed after her.
Left alone once more, Cheon Muryang finally closed his eyes with a peaceful mind.
“Hoo…”
It had been a day with more events than he had expected.
What made him even more expectant was the fact that the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly hadn’t even officially begun yet.
“The Dragon and Phoenix Assembly…”
He still didn’t have high hopes for it.
If Namgung Sang-hyeok and Paeng Dohyeok were all it had to offer, that would surely be the case.
“I wonder what the disciples of the Nine Great Sects will be like.”
However, if it were the disciples of the Nine Great Sects.
He had a feeling they would be different from Namgung Sang-hyeok and Paeng Dohyeok.
“I shall look forward to it.”
The Successor Beggar of the Beggars' Sect was said to be attending, so he should show himself by tomorrow.
“No, he might be hiding in a corner somewhere, spying again.”
Who knew?
It was possible he had been watching when he beat Paeng Dohyeok like a dog.
“See you soon.”
Cheon Muryang closed his eyes.
He fell asleep faster than he expected.
“Look at this rascal. Already passed out sleeping?”
So deeply that he couldn’t even hear the Wandering King grumbling when he returned later.
* * *
A day passed.
He did not wake up naturally.
*Thump!*
*Thump, thump!*
The commotion from outside forced Cheon Muryang to frown and get up.
“Damn, it’s noisy.”
The Wandering King was nowhere to be seen.
It seemed he had taken the other three out for training early in the morning.
“Honestly, not a shred of decency to be found. Tsk.”
He clicked his tongue and rose from his spot.
At that moment, Cheon Muryang’s door was shattered.
“You bastard! Where are you! Get out here this instant!”
Through the opening, he could see Paeng Dohyeok, bruised all over, and behind him, a group of men completely filling the narrow hallway.
Was that why?
Unlike yesterday, Paeng Dohyeok looked full of vigor.
“Your voice is damn loud. I’m not running away.”
Cheon Muryang yawned.
*Grind!*
“Th-this bastard!”
Seeing that, the anger that had already risen to the tip of his chin boiled over even more.
“Where is my saber!”
“Your saber? It’s right there.”
Paeng Dohyeok’s saber, left carelessly on the floor.
*Twitch!*
Paeng Dohyeok’s brow furrowed.
How could he leave it lying there like that?
“Do you even know what kind of saber that is to be…”
“What kind of saber?”
Cheon Muryang nonchalantly stepped on the saber that was casually strewn on the floor.
“It’s your saber, isn’t it?”
“Y-you bastard!”
At that sight, Paeng Dohyeok could no longer hold back and charged fiercely like a bull.
“Second Young Lord!”
He heard a voice from behind trying to stop him, but he paid it no mind.
How could he possibly endure seeing his saber treated with such neglect?
Paeng Dohyeok’s anger was understandable, but his movement was too linear.
*Whoosh!*
By simply sidestepping, Paeng Dohyeok’s large frame crashed into the wall.
“No different from a wild boar.”
Cheon Muryang let out a whistle and faced the Peng Family warriors lined up outside the door.
A glint appeared in Cheon Muryang’s eyes.
Each and every one of them was a warrior brimming with spirit.
“Look at this. Can’t win on your own, so you’re trying to overwhelm me with numbers?”
Though he said it casually, Cheon Muryang was inwardly surprised.
‘These men are surely not the most elite warriors within the Peng Family. Yet they’re this skilled?’
Nevertheless, the fact that every one of them exuded such a powerful aura made him think that this was indeed the Hebei Peng Family.
“Kill him!”
Paeng Dohyeok roared.
With his command, the three warriors in the front line drew their sabers.
*Fwoong!*
It was a saber strike that felt as if it intended to pulverize any obstacle in its path.
“What’s all this fuss about so early in the morning?”
Cheon Muryang drew the Heavenly Light Sword.
Three sabers flew at him, but since they all had the same target.
‘There it is.’
They appeared to overlap into a single trajectory.
Thus, Cheon Muryang pinpointed the intersection where the three sabers met.
*Kwang!*
“…!”
The three sabers were stopped in mid-air.
The eyes of the three men trembled slightly.
‘How could it be so perfectly…’
‘Blocked?’
Next, those in the second line rushed in, aiming for the openings on his left and right.
It was like the ambush of a tiger that had spotted a weakness.
*Shwick!*
Two sabers flew swiftly, one aiming for his heart and the other for his right ankle.
It was a meticulous move that couldn't be blocked simultaneously.
‘You want me to dodge, is that it?’
There was only one option.
To retreat.
The three sabers that had been blocked head-on would rush in again, so he shouldn't dodge upwards either.
“Sorry, but I don’t fall for such obvious tricks.”
Why would he dodge?
In truth, there was no reason to.
They might have thought it couldn't be blocked, but to Cheon Muryang, it wasn't an unblockable attack.
*Fwoong!*
A sword typically traced the movement of a line or a point.
Thus, some said that thrusting and slashing were all there was to it.
Cheon Muryang, of course, did not agree with this in the slightest.
‘There is also the sword of planes.’
Just as a line is a series of points.
A plane is a series of lines.
In other words, if one could connect lines without breaking them, that would be the sword of planes.
‘The me of now can do it.’
He had cut the heavens with his sword.
In essence, he had cut the limits of the sword.
For Cheon Muryang’s sword, which held infinite possibilities, the sword of planes was not impossible.
His mental image and his actual sword became one.
All the attacks poured out by the Peng Family warriors were rendered meaningless.
“N-no…!”
Paeng Dohyeok was aghast.
The Peng Family warriors in the first and second lines probably didn't even know how they were defeated.
Only Paeng Dohyeok, who had been watching Cheon Muryang’s movements from the side, could vaguely grasp the true meaning of that single strike.
No, even he couldn’t comprehend it despite having seen it.
It was far beyond the realm of his understanding.
*Thud.*
The Peng Family warriors found themselves falling on their rears without even realizing it.
“Wh-what in the world…”
What was that?
He doubted his eyes even though he had seen it.
However, reality did not change.
“How was that? Pretty good?”
Cheon Muryang rolled his shoulders, loosening his stiff body.
“Thanks to you, I got a good warm-up.”
“…”
“Now, shall we get to the main point?”
Cheon Muryang sheathed the Heavenly Light Sword and held out Paeng Dohyeok’s saber.
“You heard everything, right?”
“…”
“Hand over the money, you punk.”
“Ugh!”
Paeng Dohyeok bit his lip.
However, no matter how much he thought, he couldn't come up with a suitable solution.
He had no choice but to take out the money pouch he had brought just in case.
“…”
“Should have just done that from the start.”
Snatching the money pouch, Cheon Muryang peeked inside to check the amount.
“Yes. This should be enough.”
A portion would go to the innkeeper.
Half would go to the waiter.
‘The rest, I’ll count as my service fee.’
With that, Cheon Muryang handed over Paeng Dohyeok’s saber without hesitation and began to walk out the door with a whistle.
*Halt!*
Just as he was about to leave.
The back of his head felt strangely itchy.
*Swish.*
Cheon Muryang’s gaze briefly shifted towards the window, and then, shaking his head, he left the room.
“…”
The Peng Family warriors remained silent.
Paeng Dohyeok, too, had lost his will to fight.
“W-we’re going back…”
“Yes, sir.”
They left in an orderly fashion.
The room was empty, with both Cheon Muryang and Paeng Dohyeok gone.
However, a voice could be heard.
“Hehehe. I saw everything.”
Outside the window where Cheon Muryang’s gaze had briefly landed, the Successor Beggar was laughing.
“Hee hee hee.”