Chapter 70
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: The Dragon and Phoenix Assembly Begins (1)
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The place where the dragon and phoenix meet.
That was the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly.
The gathering of the rising generation, destined to lead the future of the orthodox martial world, could not possibly be a quiet affair.
How could martial arts be left out?
It was also a place for sparring, a fate for any martial artist.
A bustling crowd.
A noisy scene.
The grand training ground prepared by the Namgung Family.
Countless lines had formed before it.
It was a procession of spectators, of course, but also of those who had received bronze and silver invitations.
Woryeong grimaced.
“Young, Young Master?”
“Do we have to wait like this again?”
Hadn’t they already stood in a long line to enter Soho?
Of course, they had gotten in easily that time thanks to the commotion.
“Why is it so long?”
The line for those with bronze invitations was particularly long.
“They invited all sorts of riffraff, so of course we have to wait. Tsk.”
The Wandering King clicked his tongue.
Fortunately, a few people recognized him, flinched, and moved away.
“Hah. How long is this going to take?”
The line was shrinking, albeit minutely, so it seemed people were being let in.
“I’ll feel better once I’ve swept all of them away.”
His patience reaching its limit, the Wandering King scattered his killing intent in all directions, his hand gripping and releasing his saber.
Flinch.
The innocent people around him felt a sudden chill.
They would never imagine it was the Wandering King’s killing intent.
“If you want to be branded a public enemy of the martial world, what’s stopping you?”
“It’s just an expression.”
It was then.
A considerable commotion erupted in the distance.
[It’s the Sword Dragon of the Namgung Family!]
As if announcing someone’s arrival.
A path, which should not have existed, was formed.
Along that path, Namgung Sang-hyeok, dressed to the nines in splendid clothes, could be seen.
Flutter!
A flag embroidered with the character for Namgung (南宮) shot up into the sky.
The flag, fluttering in the wind, symbolized the authority of the Namgung Family.
“It’s the Azure Sky Unhindered Corps!”
The pride of the Namgung Family, their most elite warriors, lined up along the path.
Shinggg.
Only a single sound was heard.
Dozens of swords were pointed toward the sky, yet only one sound was audible.
An unnerving sense of unity.
“……!”
Everyone held their breath.
Fwoosh!
Thus, the dozens of swords once again formed a path.
Thud, thud.
The one who walked the path made of swords.
That was none other than the Sword King.
Namgung Sang-hyeok was the heir to the house of the Sword King.
“Waaaaaaah!”
The arena erupted with cheers.
Bathing in the gazes, Namgung Sang-hyeok walked the path of swords with a gentle smile on his face.
At this, the Wandering King clicked his tongue.
“Kids these days are all about appearances. Tsk.”
In the past, he would have thought Namgung Sang-hyeok a rather capable prospect.
But now, he wasn’t satisfied.
“Isn’t he at that age?”
“……”
It was because of Cheon Muryang.
Every time he saw Cheon Muryang, who didn’t act his age, the Wandering King’s standards rose higher and higher.
“And you’re not at that age?”
“Do I look like some greenhorn who walks a path paved by others?”
“That’s true.”
Smirk.
The Wandering King smiled.
He realized why Namgung Sang-hyeok’s display didn’t sit well with him.
“He’s just walking a path his family made for him.”
The path Namgung Sang-hyeok walked.
Not a single part of it was his own achievement.
He was merely leaning on the glory of the Namgung Family.
Cheon Muryang replied with a smirk.
“Which is why they’re still being packaged with that ridiculous term, the rising generation.”
The rising generation.
What a laughable phrase.
At Cheon Muryang’s sharp criticism, the Wandering King simply laughed.
He agreed.
“Indeed. It’s not like being one of the ‘rising generation’ will stop a blade from piercing you.”
“Still, let’s have a look.”
“At what?”
“For a true crouching dragon, sleeping among those worms.”
The Wandering King guffawed.
He wondered if such a person even existed.
‘Isn’t that you?’
If there was one, wasn’t it Cheon Muryang?
Who else could possibly compare?
However, the Wandering King was also curious.
“I was just getting bored. This is perfect.”
While the Wandering King and Cheon Muryang were talking, Paeng Dohyeok of the Hebei Peng Family passed by.
Perhaps provoked by Namgung Sang-hyeok’s display, the warriors of the Peng Family were also busy showing off.
However, Paeng Dohyeok himself walked with a somewhat awkward gait.
When his eyes met Cheon Muryang’s, he even momentarily lost his balance.
“Tsk.”
Was that why?
Although the Wandering King had acknowledged the Peng Family, today he just stared at Paeng Dohyeok with a bored expression.
He couldn't feel any of the unique spirit of the Peng Family.
“This is no fun at all.”
After that, a similarly dull procession continued.
Just as it seemed to be ending.
“Is that it?”
“Ah, there he comes.”
“……?”
“The one who came alone.”
Cheon Muryang smiled faintly.
A man wearing a shabby straw mat, walking with the swagger of a loafer, approached.
“The Successor Beggar?”
“The, the Successor Beggar!”
“The Successor Beggar is here!”
It was the Successor Beggar of the Beggars' Sect.
A man who shone on his own, without needing the halo of his sect.
The Wandering King’s eyes lit up.
“The crouching dragon has arrived.”
The Successor Beggar was a true crouching dragon.
As such, he was already too big a figure for the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly to contain.
“The Successor Beggar hasn’t come to the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly in years. Why now?”
The reactions of the gossips, who loved to talk, proved it.
The Successor Beggar was considered to be beyond the level of the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly.
“Hmm, hmm, hmm.”
However, the Successor Beggar himself paid no mind to the astonished reactions, busy looking around restlessly.
He seemed to be searching for someone.
His gaze fixed on a single point and stayed there.
It was aimed precisely at Cheon Muryang.
“Ah! There you are.”
Whip!
As overwhelming as the Successor Beggar’s presence was.
Everyone’s attention followed his gaze.
“Young Master Cheon Muryang.”
“The Cheon Family?”
“The one who crushed the second young master of the Hebei Peng Family?”
“……?”
He could feel peculiar stares.
This was a reaction Cheon Muryang had not anticipated at all.
“What is this?”
“Waaaaaaah!”
A roar of cheers erupted.
It was a cheer that neither Namgung Sang-hyeok nor Paeng Dohyeok had received.
The Successor Beggar approached Cheon Muryang with a sly grin.
“How do you like it?”
“What did you do?”
“Ah, I just happened to see it, you see.”
“So that was you back then.”
Cheon Muryang shook his head.
When he had crushed Paeng Dohyeok, there was a single gaze he felt from outside the window.
He knew it was a beggar from the Beggars’ Sect, but he didn't know it was the Successor Beggar.
“I just relayed what I saw. Besides, the rumor was already out there, wasn’t it?”
The story of how Cheon Muryang had beaten up the second young master of the Hebei Peng Family for a mere servant had already spread widely.
All the Successor Beggar did was amplify that rumor.
A word without feet travels a thousand leagues.
The rumor passed on by the Successor Beggar spun off into all sorts of wild tales, growing larger and larger.
“I heard he crushed the warriors of the Hebei Peng Family with a single strike of his sword.”
“I saw it myself! The Saber Dragon couldn’t even move!”
However, the one truth underlying all the rumors was not distorted.
“But why did the Great Young Lord of the Cheon Family get into a fight with the Hebei Peng Family?”
“Hey, you! You said you saw it yourself, so why are you asking?”
There was one reason this rumor had spread so fundamentally and why so many people were reacting so strongly.
“What is it?”
“They say it was to save a servant.”
“Hmm?”
“How incredible is that?”
It was the Hebei Peng Family, no less.
No matter how great the prestige of the Cheon Family was, it couldn’t compare to the Hebei Peng Family.
Yet, Cheon Muryang had drawn his sword for a mere servant.
『Righteous chivalry.』
Countless people preached of righteousness and chivalry, but no one displayed true righteous chivalry.
“He fought the Hebei Peng Family for such a trivial reason?”
“Yes. How incredible is that?”
The actions Cheon Muryang had shown were bound to stir the emotions of the weak, those without power.
“I didn’t make anything up, so it’s fine, isn’t it?”
“……”
The Successor Beggar smiled and gestured to Cheon Muryang.
It was a gesture leading him to the path reserved only for those with gold invitations.
“Go.”
The Wandering King pushed Cheon Muryang’s back.
Standing at the front, Cheon Muryang met the gazes directed at him.
“……”
Cheon Muryang said nothing.
A swordsman speaks solely with his sword.
And so, he gripped Heavenly Light.
Fwoosh!
With a clearer and more resonant cry than ever before, the light of Heavenly Light emerged into the world, soaring up and splitting the sky.
What was it?
Heavenly Light was a sword, yet it was not a sword.
“Ah……”
Even those who knew nothing of martial arts could understand Cheon Muryang’s clear will, which filled the world.
『I shall establish righteous chivalry with my sword.』
In that moment, what Cheon Muryang held was not a sword, but righteous chivalry itself.
“Let’s go.”
Following behind Cheon Muryang were the Wandering King and Woryeong, as well as Neung Ryeoun and Cha Myeonghak.
Though they only had bronze invitations, everyone made way for them.
“As expected.”
The Successor Beggar followed behind them as well.
After Cheon Muryang left.
“……”
A frightening silence fell.
No one could speak.
Especially those who had not learned martial arts, the marginalized who had always been ignored in this world, were moved.
Because right before their eyes was a hero who revered the value of righteous chivalry, a value no one else pursued.
“A Heavenly Hero…”
“Truly, the chivalry of the heavens.”
Some were busy chattering about stories related to Cheon Muryang, but the majority savored the lingering resonance of the righteous chivalry he had created.
* * *
He entered the grand training ground.
All the seats were arranged.
“Hmm.”
The arrangement was childish, but its intention was clear.
Bronze with bronze.
Silver with silver.
Gold with gold.
The sections were clearly divided.
“How childish.”
On the left side of the grand training ground were those with bronze invitations.
On the right side were those with silver invitations, facing each other.
However, those with gold invitations were not in the grand training ground but in a pavilion with a clear view of it.
“I agree.”
Seeing the Successor Beggar chime in beside him, the Wandering King asked.
“Young beggar, isn’t that your seat over there?”
“How could a beggar fit in such a place? It’s much better here.”
The Successor Beggar wore a sly grin and stood next to Cheon Muryang.
“Don’t get too close!”
Woryeong warned him, on guard.
She was worried Cheon Muryang’s clothes might get dirty.
“Ah, I’ll be careful.”
“I’ll be watching you.”
Woryeong was not one to be intimidated, even by the Successor Beggar.
“……”
Neung Ryeoun and Cha Myeonghak, too.
From behind Cheon Muryang, they sent a silent warning toward the Successor Beggar.
Who in the world could treat the great Successor Beggar so dismissively?
However, the Successor Beggar simply smiled brightly.
“You have truly good people by your side.”
The Successor Beggar even liked this atmosphere of being treated so insignificantly.
‘He’s a madman.’
‘Is he insane?’
Woryeong, Neung Ryeoun, and Cha Myeonghak thought of the Successor Beggar as a lunatic and reinforced their defensive stances.
Of course, Cheon Muryang paid them no mind, simply staring at the group with gold invitations who had ascended so proudly.
“Isn’t it ridiculous?”
“……”
“As if this piece of paper means anything.”
The Successor Beggar took out his gold invitation.
And tore it to shreds.
“Does it really divide people by class?”
“But it’s effective.”
The whole display was laughable.
However, the Successor Beggar also knew.
As childish as it was, this method was incredibly efficient.
“No, we’re silver, so how can we associate with bronze?”
“Silver or bronze, they’re all the same. Why make such a fuss!”
Even if gold was unreasonable, silver and bronze could never challenge it.
Therefore, silver and bronze sought to trample each other to somehow become gold.
This solidified the hierarchy of bronze, silver, and gold.
Gold, looking down from above at bronze and silver, who sought to crush each other.
This seating arrangement was merely a representation of that reality.
“It’s just false hope.”
The Successor Beggar laughed self-deprecatingly.
Bronze could become silver.
But silver could never become gold.
It was an unwritten rule of the orthodox martial world.
“You can’t call that the truth, but that’s the reality.”
“Then, I’ll have to show them.”
“……”
“That a dragon can rise even from a ditch.”
The Successor Beggar felt a thrill course through him.
Truth wasn’t absolute.
However, a few privileged individuals tried to make relative truths immutable.
He thought it was wrong.
‘The moment a relative truth becomes immutable.’
Hope disappears.
And humans, having lost hope, cannot progress.
When progress stops, stagnation is inevitable.
‘There’s nothing left but to rot.’
That, at least, had to be stopped.
And so, the Successor Beggar had been waiting for someone like Cheon Muryang.
And he had found him.
“Thank you.”
The Successor Beggar expressed his sincere gratitude.
It was something someone had to do eventually.
“What’s there to thank me for?”
Cheon Muryang laughed.
“I just don’t like any of them, so I’m going to act like a bit of a scoundrel.”
The Successor Beggar caught a glimpse.
A glimpse of Cheon Muryang’s true nature.
‘He really is a scoundrel.’
His true nature was that of a scoundrel.