Chapter 326
Chapter 326
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 326
Chapter Title: Next Stage (1)
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My younger brothers and I left Jeong-hyeon behind and met with Tae-eul, the Wudang Sect Leader.
"Eon Yong-un of the Pearl Eon Family humbly greets the leader of the great Wudang Sect!"
"We humbly greet you!"
Tae-eul looked at us and stroked his white beard with a chuckle.
"Hoho. No need for such formal greetings. This old man has nothing to give you. Save the etiquette for the Myeongja Class kids and chat casually with me before you go."
"...We apologize for what happened with your second- and third-generation disciples."
"Boys that age grow up fighting. It's natural."
"Hearing you say that lightens our hearts, but it also makes us feel even more sorry."
"Don't be sorry—be proud. Myeong-il doesn't raise disciples carelessly. The ones who dared challenge the Black Dragon may lack a bit in mental discipline, but their skills hold up anywhere... and they couldn't even leave a scratch on your face."
"...Ahem."
"Huh. I meant it as a joke, but did it come off as sarcasm?"
Unlike the Wudang Five Heroes—who all had sharp, intense looks aside from Myeong-han—Tae-eul had the kindly face of a friendly neighborhood grandfather.
It seemed his invitation to chat casually was genuine.
After asking about the daily lives of the disciples stationed at the academy and the well-being of Shaolin's three great monks, we wrapped up.
"This old man has taken too much of busy people's time. Let's call it a day. Now that you've shown your faces, come visit whenever you have time to ease my loneliness."
"Yes, we will."
"Oh right, you were going to see Junior Brother Tae-yeong too?"
"Yes. Jeong-hyeon wants to introduce us."
"Then, since you're here, tell him to stop holing up in the meditation cave and come out. He never listens to me, not even half the time... but he might heed you all."
As we left the Jade Soaring Palace, Jeong-hyeon was waiting.
We headed with him to the Wudang meditation cave where Elder Tae-yeong resided.
Along the way, So-cheon hyung asked a question.
"Yong-un."
"Yeah?"
"That Elder Tae-yeong is the one who took in Jeong-hyeon, right?"
"Yeah, that's right."
I nodded, and my younger brothers straightened their clothes.
In the midst of that, Eun Ha-seong spoke up.
"But isn't the meditation cave a tiny space that barely fits one person? Can all of us fit inside? Especially So-cheon hyung—he'd probably have to fold himself three times."
At Eun Ha-seong's words, Jeong-hyeon smirked.
"The individual chambers are like that. But there's a central cavern connecting them. Think of it like fingers and the palm. They even leave things like wall-grain pills in the palm cavern for those in training to take as needed."
"Ah, I see."
"Yes. You're probably confusing it with the repentance cave. Elder Tae-yeong isn't there serving a Wudang punishment, so there's no restriction on his movements. Once we get there, I'll bring the elder out."
As we talked, we arrived at the meditation cave.
Jeong-hyeon briefly entered one of the stone caverns connected to the central space.
Elder Tae-yeong soon emerged with him and greeted us.
"Pleased to meet you. I am Tae-yeong of the empty way."
Elder Tae-yeong had secluded himself in the meditation cave to prevent rifts among Wudang's disciples.
My younger brothers and I clasped our sleeves in respect, honoring his resolve.
In return, Elder Tae-yeong bowed to us and spoke.
"I've heard the stories. Thank you for helping Jeong-hyeon."
I immediately replied.
"Setting aside whether your thanks to us is excessive, it's hard to say we truly helped Jeong-hyeon."
At my words, Elder Tae-yeong shook his head.
"Not at all. Your actions have given Wudang's disciples much to reflect on. And my gratitude isn't just for today. Jeong-hyeon is a disciple close to my heart—not only because I took him in, but..."
With that preface, Elder Tae-yeong patted Jeong-hyeon's shoulder and continued.
"This blank-slate kid idolizes a pure path just like mine. But straight, white bamboo makes perfect kindling for an axe, doesn't it?"
Jeong-hyeon was extremely rigid in his principles.
"Jeong-hyeon-nim was pretty extreme that way."
"Yeah. Back in first year, when he was student council president, it was all rules and principles. Made life hell for us Cheongjuk Hall folks."
Namgung-yun countered the two.
"That's exactly what a student council president should be."
After some back-and-forth like that,
Elder Tae-yeong, who had been listening, spoke.
"I share the young ladies' concerns, but as the young hero Namgung says, I couldn't call Jeong-hyeon wrong... It gave me much to ponder while raising him. But traveling the world with the Black Dragon and you other young heroes, encountering various paths, seems to have broadened his narrow view of the Way. So that's why I'm expressing my thanks."
After hearing it all, I understood what he was grateful for.
So I calmly accepted.
"If you put it that way, I'll accept your thanks."
Then,
Elder Tae-yeong began asking about events one by one.
"I've heard some from Sect Leader Senior Brother, but with all the protagonists here, I have questions. So, saving Yun-hyuk from a scolding was your first meeting?"
His tone suggested he wasn't completely ignorant of outside affairs,
but as a parental figure, he was curious about Jeong-hyeon's days away.
"Eun Ha-seong here's the expert on those stories!"
Eun Ha-seong perked up excitedly,
and my younger brothers chimed in here and there.
We spent quite a while sharing tales.
"...So anyway, those baldies formed the One Hundred Eight Arhat Formation and still got crushed by Brother Yong-un."
His recounting covered our journeys through the martial world, culminating at Mount Song.
Elder Tae-yeong's clear, lake-like eyes gleamed as he said,
"I always wanted to meet you, and now I see. You're like a pine bursting through bedrock."
"...You're too kind. The kids tend to exaggerate."
"No. Now I understand why Jeong-hyeon and the other young heroes are so drawn to the Black Dragon... It reminds me of a story I want to share."
"What is it?"
"Something from my youth as an escort."
A story of Elder Tae-yeong as an escort?
That was a key clue in the original work leading to the protagonist generation's martial arts breakthrough.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 'I suspected, but the timing didn't match the original, so I planned to just greet and leave satisfied. Didn't expect him to bring it up first.'
I barely held back a mental cheer.
Perfectly timed, Yin Xia Lian's eyes widened.
"Elder, you worked as an escort?"
I added calmly,
"Just briefly, like when I helped out Eun So-jeo."
"Exactly. During my drift through the escort circuits that every Taoist must experience. I once took a secret cargo."
As Elder Tae-yeong nodded, Woo So-reung gasped for some reason.
"Gasp. Secret cargo? Isn't that bad?"
In response, Yin Xia Lian wagged her finger side to side.
"It's not black-and-white. Secret cargo means escorting without asking what's inside. It could violate laws, but sometimes it's just discreet circumstances—like funds from a hidden castle power struggle."
Elder Tae-yeong nodded again and continued.
"While drifting, I got lost in the great desert sands and nearly died. A merchant named Yong Dae-in saved my life. He asked me to take him to Guangxi without questions."
"Primeval Lord. From the great desert to Guangxi is quite the distance... I never heard this story, Elder."
"You weren't ready to hear it. Anyway, on the way to Guangxi with him, there were many twists and turns..."
Not asking meant there was a valuable story behind it.
Secret cargo naturally attracts pursuers, especially so.
"Anyway, to the point. We made it to Guangxi lands. Crossing one treacherous bridge would shake off our pursuers, but it looked too rickety. I told Yong Dae-in that life is most precious and to abandon the carriage."
"But he refused."
"Absolutely not, he said. I was firm: I agreed to escort you, not the goods."
With that, Elder Tae-yeong closed his eyes gently.
"Then he said the carriage held an inner core from an Ink Scale Earth Dragon and offered half to Wudang if I helped. I refused. He drove alone and plummeted into the thousand-zhang abyss."
Ye Hae-su's eyes widened.
"I-Ink Scale Earth Dragon inner core! Isn't that an elixir comparable to millennium snow ginseng?"
Tang Ok-gi and Jeon-gal Seol-ji nodded.
"Yes. Snow ginseng is visible at least, but the Ink Scale lives underground in scorching sands... Doctors say it takes twenty lifetimes of virtue to encounter one."
"But if you catch one, they live in groups, so multiple cores. That's why it appears in great desert tribe founding myths... But this isn't a lesson in morals. You remember the exact fall spot?"
"Yes."
As Elder Tae-yeong nodded, Cheon Jang-ho tilted his head in confusion.
"Why tell us? Why not take it yourself or have Wudang do it ages ago?"
"That scene itself looked like the end of greed. You know Sect Leader Tae-heo's story. You've seen Wudang disciples resent Jeong-hyeon this time... Taoists aren't a special breed."
"......"
"We just strive harder for the Way, but face the same seven emotions and six desires. Excess is as bad as deficiency. With Wudang's abundance, it felt like sowing discord and inviting disaster."
"So now you're sharing because..."
I answered Cheon Jang-ho's final question.
"The world's not at peace anymore. Demonic Cult claws sharpen, ready to rake this land. Time to choose more is better over just enough."
"Spot on, Black Dragon. I thought we'd need more of everything. And seeing your resolve, it seems less like a seed of strife and more like fertilizer for growth."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ And so the eventful Wudang initiation ceremony day passed.
From then, Jeong-hyeon visited Wudang every morning after training.
I obtained a Guangxi map,
stopped by Wudang with him, and got the exact drop location from Elder Tae-yeong.
- You've been staring at that map from the horse-faced guy all day.
'It's got my elixir. Gotta memorize it perfectly.'
- ...Already yours, huh. Could've sunk into the earth. Or water could've flooded it.
No way.
It was right there in the original.
Elder Tae-yeong called it a thousand-zhang abyss, but the Ink Scale Earth Dragon core slumbered in terrain better called a bottomless pit.
The carriage itself was a treasure of noble wood and profound iron, built for transporting supreme elixirs.
'One last look, then burn it. Hmm. Down this terrain looks best...'
With the map etched in my mind, I ignited samadhi true fire and burned it.
Then Master asked.
- Setting out?
'No. This isn't urgent.'
- Ho. What's gotten into you? Not worried someone'll snatch it?
The terrain barred ordinary access, and the timing was earlier than the original.
No real worry there.
'Not a place anyone can reach. But eyes chasing me? Possible.'
Whether Demonic Cult or elsewhere, plenty interested in me.
My brothers and I needed solid prep.
As I thought that,
Bang!
Dokgo-cheol burst into the student council room.
"President!"
Beaming proudly, he approached and sent a transmission.
[The Church promoted me to branch leader rank.]
[Just a title change?]
[No. Raised my stipend too, and assigning more men under me.]
Dokgo-cheol's words meant swallowing the Blood Church had advanced a step.
I smiled openly and patted his shoulder.
'Now, next stage.'