Chapter 145 - Appointment Ceremony (3)
Ah.
The moment I heard the words Dragon-Phoenix Assembly, it was all I could do to suppress the sigh bubbling up from deep in my dantian.
Dragon referred to a young male expert, and phoenix to a young female one. It was ridiculous that the character for phoenix actually meant the male of the species, but clichés were clichés.
The Dragon-Phoenix Assembly was where those dragons and phoenixes gathered.
In the world of , any meeting of young men and women meant trouble was inevitable.
It had been the same in Taeryeong County.
A hazy group of guys and girls whose names I could barely recall had gathered there, picking a fight with me the instant they laid eyes on me.
That was the kind of chaos young men and women brought to gatherings—and this was no ordinary one, but the grand Dragon-Phoenix Assembly.
Watch the copper when seeking gold.
Even if I didn't get directly involved, something was bound to blow up and drag me in.
I was the protagonist, after all.
Take Mo Yong Hak, for instance—even someone like him might flip out in a fit of youthful bravado and charge in.
Challenge me to a duel or something.
Mo Yong Hak aside, Namgung Jin was eyeing me with a gaze that spelled trouble too.
[Word was he was known as Peak realm, but his aura feels beyond that. He's crossed the threshold into Super Peak.]
This is nuts.
No matter how much the flow had diverged from , this was overkill. Sure, by the mid-to-late game, everyone from dogs to pigs hit Super Peak. But early on, it was supposed to be the level of regional overlords.
Namgung Jin reaching Super Peak was a late-game event.
Then again, history had already veered off course in more ways than one.
Un Yeop Ja hadn't originally been called the Kunlun Divine Dragon at this point, and he sure as hell wasn't Super Peak.
Whoever was supposed to be the other dragon in my spot? No clue where that guy was.
In the end, it's all butterfly effects from my interventions.
No point agonizing over it.
I'd always picked the best option in every situation, so no regrets.
Besides, as I'd discussed with Pa Cheon long ago, my position was worlds better than the original protagonist Mu Jin's.
The info I have might not be 100% accurate, but I can adjust on the fly.
First things first: probe.
Playing dumb, I said to Namgung Jin, “The Dragon-Phoenix Assembly, you say?”
“Yes, exactly.”
“Sorry, but I'm from the Eastern Frontier, so I'm not up on Jianghu events.”
“Ah, that makes sense.”
Namgung Jin flashed his usual affable smile.
“The Dragon-Phoenix Assembly brings together those who've earned the titles of dragon or phoenix in the Jianghu. The attendees vary each time.”
This was just the spiel I'd fed him earlier. There had to be a real motive.
The young lord of the mighty Namgung family wouldn't host something like this for no reason.
Feigning intrigue, I replied, “I see. If it's for fellowship, I'm all for it.”
“Hahaha. Thank you for your enthusiasm.”
Namgung Jin's smiling eyes curved subtly. He never fully revealed his hand.
Masterclass in tightrope walking.
Cult of battle-crazed maniacs versus a Jianghu teeming with schemers who each housed a hundred foxes in their heads.
[Home sweet home.]
Was I starting to rub off on Pa Cheon? The cult suddenly seemed preferable.
“Until next time, then.”
Namgung Jin offered a fist salute and turned to leave. Just as he reached the door, Dang Si Hyeok appeared from the opposite side.
“Brother? Brother Namgung?”
Dang Si Hyeok blinked wide-eyed, glancing between me and Namgung Jin.
“Oh, Si Hyeok! Perfect timing.”
Namgung Jin strode over with exaggerated warmth, pulling him into a hug.
Dang Si Hyeok looked awkward but accepted it.
“I came to relay that the Namgung and Mo Yong families have arrived, but you're already here?”
“Indeed. I couldn't wait—rushed over right after greeting Uncle Dang. Let me see... Si Hyeok, you've bulked up since last time, haven't you? Eh?”
Swept up in Namgung Jin's pace, Dang Si Hyeok stammered before vanishing with him.
[A bit arrogant, but he handles people well.]
I nodded in agreement with Pa Cheon.
How to put it...
Like that popular kid in high school dragging around an easygoing sidekick (not me, my friend)?
[Why the face?]
Just bad memories.
My friend's story, not mine.
Anyway.
Now safely in the annex, I summoned Tak Horak.
“Tak Horak.”
“Yes, Family Head.”
“Recite what you know about the Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes.”
The ones I knew and the current lineup were different—I needed intel.
Tak Horak didn't disappoint.
“First, the Family Head himself. Eastern Sword Dragon, dismissed by the masses as the weakest... but that's just ignorant Jianghu bias!”
“Skip the flattery. Exclude me.”
“Yes, sir!”
Tak Horak looked sheepish but pressed on.
“Next, the ones you already know...”
Current Five Dragons:
Eastern Sword Dragon: Kim Dong Yun.
Kunlun Divine Dragon: Un Yeop Ja.
Heaven-Soaring Dragon: Namgung Jin.
Jade-Faced Sword Dragon: Mo Yong Hak.
Spear-Sword Dragon: Jang Yeong-o.
Peng Ung, who should've been Blade Dragon, and the Shandong Evil Dragon Ak Ho-jin from the Evil Family are out.
Good—I already knew about Jang Yeong-o, the Spear-Sword Dragon.
Later the supreme Spear-Sword Master, master of the Four-Sun Sword Technique.
In the original's late-game war, Jang Yeong-o—
Dealt a mortal wound to Kwak Ri Yeon.
His Four-Sun Sword Technique, inspired by the legend of Hou Yi shooting down the suns, pierced Kwak Ri Yeon's Nine Yin Divine Armor.
Absurd, really. Kwak Ri Yeon was sect-leader caliber among the Nine Great Sects; for a junior like Jang Yeong-o to corner him?
Spoke to the guy's genius.
Per the original, he was stoic, the epitome of a Taoist swordsman.
So, not the type to fall for Namgung Jin's tricks.
Now the phoenixes.
“Next, the Three Phoenixes.”
Holy Hand Healing Phoenix: Jin So-cheong.
Myriad Phenomena Wisdom Phoenix: Je Gal Hye.
Heavenly Ice Jade Phoenix: Yi Seong Ryeong.
If the cult had Ma Ui, the Jianghu had the Divine Physician. His granddaughter Jin So-cheong and the famed Je Gal Hye of the Je Gal family—I knew them well.
But the last one? New to me.
“...Yi Seong Ryeong?”
“Yes. Word is she's the granddaughter of the North Sea Ice Palace Lord. Wandering the Jianghu for some reason.”
“Hm. Tak Horak, a test for you. Answer carefully.”
He snapped to attention.
“Ask away!”
“How does our cult assess the Ice Palace?”
“Weakest of the Four Great Outer Powers. Huddled in barren North Sea lands, no contact, so not a priority watchlist.”
“That's it?”
“Oh, and about twenty years ago, a rebellion ousted their palace lord.”
“And?”
“...More?”
I was baffled.
“That's really all?”
“Shall I dig deeper?”
“No. Dismissed.”
“Understood.”
Pa Cheon chimed in, curious at my reaction.
[What's with you, demon?]
“You seriously don't know? For real?”
[I'm as lost as you are.]
“The North Sea Ice Palace.”
I continued.
“It's the Heavenly Demon's—Yi Se-ryeong's—hometown.”
The cult's history split before and after the Heavenly Blood Massacre sparked by the Fourth Heavenly Demon.
Pre-massacre, the cult had a palace called Myriad Demons Hall right in central Jianghu, Gansu Province.
Yaksin was the First Heavenly Demon, so relics in Gansu aren't surprising.
Anyway.
Before the massacre, Jianghu saw the cult as “battle-mad lunatics.” They brawled among themselves, so folks mostly ignored them.
Post-massacre? The whole Jianghu branded them public enemies.
With the Heavenly Demon and direct disciples lost, the cult fled to the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.
Thus, naturally:
The cult grew wary of outsiders.
Post-settlement, “new” recruits were virtually nil.
One rare exception: Yi Se-ryeong.
From the North Sea Ice Palace.
[Is that true?]
“Nah, she doesn't look the part. Come on—silver hair, silver eyes? On a human?”
[I figured some special technique. Red or white hair's common enough.]
Still, blatantly odd.
“So, no one in the cult ever wondered about the Heavenly Demon Yi Se-ryeong's origins?”
[Well...]
Pa Cheon pondered, then spoke.
[Thinking back, it's Sado Gwang.]
“Sado Gwang? Again?”
[How do you think he got engaged to the Sovereign?]
“Hm.”
This was a dangling MacGuffin even in the original.
Sado Gwang, a devil-deviated cripple scorned as trash—how'd he betroth near-peak power like Yi Se-ryeong (First Heavenly Demon's level unknown)?
[Strength is key to becoming Heavenly Demon.]
True.
[But paradoxically, a solid background is crucial too.]
Even promising sprouts need time to grow, bloom, bear fruit.
Was Yi Se-ryeong born strong?
No.
[Sado Gwang spotted her talent, backed her fully. Not just arts and elixirs.]
“Silenced her Ice Palace slanderers? Sealed the betrothal as payoff.”
Was that the “promise” the Heavenly Demon mentioned with Sado Gwang?
[Don't call the Sovereign by name so casually.]
“Whatever. Minor details.”
[The Sovereign had no family. Only a 'wet nurse' who died young.]
Suddenly, it clicked.
Sado Gwang raised Yi Se-ryeong to bolster his house.
Blinding talent fit for Heavenly Demon, yet a lone orphan.
Perfect pawn for him—protect the fruit till harvest.
Especially with madman Do Il Gwang holding the throne then.
“Bottom line: Sado Gwang severed all Ice Palace ties or suspicions.”
Not for nothing did I rate Chu Tae Su 0.7 Sado Gwang.
Sado Gwang—deeper you dig, the crazier he seems.
[But even if the Sovereign hails from Ice Palace, does it change anything? The cult doesn't care about origins once fully sworn.]
“True. Especially as Heavenly Demon. But...”
Pa Cheon recoiled at my follow-up.
“If Yi Se-ryeong's truly Ice Palace direct lineage, doesn't that spell trouble?”
The mid-to-late arc I was desperately averting: cult versus Jianghu war.
It kicked off with the North Sea Ice Palace's destruction.