Chapter 429
Chapter 429
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 429
Chapter Title: Waves (3)
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While exchanging a few words with Yin Ha-seong, the disciples of Kunlun and Zhongnan passed through the main gate.
Kyung Hye, as the principal of the Righteous Martial Academy and the host of the Heavenly Martial Tournament, greeted them.
"Virtuous One, you've had a long journey. Thank you for your hard work."
"Much appreciated, Elder."
"The sect leader of Zhongnan has also had a arduous trip. I thought you'd only send your Cloud-Soaring Sword Masters, but to think you'd grace us with your personal attendance. Thanks to you, the tournament will better serve its purpose."
"Hahaha. I wanted to see with my own eyes just how formidable the waves of the Yangtze have become, so I couldn't help but act a bit shamelessly."
After exchanging greetings with Kyung Hye like that, the Kunlun and Zhongnan disciples turned their steps toward me.
Whatever grudges lingered from before, a distribution was a distribution. I formed the fist-and-palm salute to greet them, but...
"Paying respects to the seniors..."
Kunlun's Virtuous One and Zhongnan's Hwang Baek-wol treated me and my siblings like we were air, offering only perfunctory greetings to my maternal grandfather.
"Lord Envoy. I heard you suffered greatly in your later years, but you seem to have recovered splendidly in every way."
"Every time we offer prayers at Kunlun, we wish for the well-being of the Pearl Eon Family's master. Please stay in good health."
And with that, they strode straight toward the main hall where the banquet was held.
My maternal grandfather stared blankly at their retreating backs for a moment before suddenly raising his voice, as if only then grasping the situation.
"...I was so flabbergasted I lost my wits for a second. Did those rascals just ignore your greeting, Yong-un? Have you ever seen such rudeness!"
At that, Uncle Yoon Young, standing nearby, spoke up in a calming tone.
"Father, Yong-un is the junior here. Is that really 'rudeness'?"
"Junior or not! What impudent scoundrels! Do you know how much I've donated to Kunlun and Zhongnan over the years? Should I just cut them off completely?"
"...Please hold steady. There are many ears listening. Even if you intend to do it, you can't speak it aloud until it's done, right? You're the man who wouldn't blink at throwing away a fortune."
While everyone was busy soothing my fuming maternal grandfather...
A refined middle-aged man crossed the main gate and approached us.
None other than Southern Jiang Merchant King Eun Se-pyeong.
He gave me a light nod before bowing deeply to my maternal grandfather.
"Elder, it's an honor."
At that, my grandfather set aside his anger, his face blooming with delight.
"Isn't this Merchant King Eun? How have you been? I've heard that the Radiance Merchant Group is making your merchant house ever more prosperous."
"Compared to the Taewon Merchant Group, we're barely scraping by. But anyway, 'Lord Envoy'? When you held the entire merchant world in your grasp, I was just a snot-nosed kid. Call me Se-pyeong like in the old days."
"How could I? You're a father with grown children now. I know full well how much our grandson owes you and your family."
"Owes us? If anything, it's the opposite. My unworthy children are the ones benefiting from Young Dragon's grace. Ah, but there's one thing I do regret."
"What?"
"Truth be told, when this fellow was chased out of the Pearl Eon Family, I tried every which way to tie him to Radiance... Failing that still gnaws at me, so these days I pound the ground in regret whenever I get the chance."
At Eun Se-pyeong's words, my grandfather's nose seemed to rise half an inch.
"Heh heh heum. You fool. You should've coveted him outright."
"If I knew the meaning of 'covet,' I wouldn't be a merchant. Even if our mouths split open, when we see something tasty, we merchants open wide first, don't we?"
"Hahaha. True enough."
Having drawn a laugh from my grandfather like that, Eun Se-pyeong turned his gaze to his own children.
"Doing well, are you?"
At Eun Se-pyeong's question...
Yin Ha-seong snapped to attention and replied.
"Yes, sir!"
Yin Ha-yeon continued bluntly.
"When I sent the last quarterly report, I paid back the capital you lent me too. You lost the right to ask if I'm doing well back then."
"Hmph, fine. Looks like the news gazette and iron room business are on track. Especially the gazette—it's gained real influence in all sorts of ways, hasn't it?"
Their exchange was a bit different from your typical father-daughter chat.
Once that conversation wrapped up...
I pointed toward the main hall and spoke.
"Grandfather, Merchant King Eun. Shall we head to the banquet hall now? The Alliance Leader, the East Dao Assembly Leader, and Father are there. We still have plenty of expected guests to greet here."
After that, we continued receiving guests from all walks who had accepted invitations.
For quite some time like that...
Another carriage bearing a heavyweight arrived at the academy.
"Nangong family!"
"Has the Sword Emperor come?"
"In person? Probably his son Thundercloud Sword or grandson Flying Dragon Sword."
"I heard Flying Dragon Sword is in secluded training."
"He must've ended it for the Heavenly Martial Tournament."
"...Sword Emperor! It's the Sword Emperor!"
"It really is the Sword Emperor, elder! Don't pretend to know him!"
Nangong Won, stepping into the academy like that, offered us his blessings.
"Hahaha. Thanks to you youngsters, I haven't had a dull moment lately. Heavenly Martial Tournament... Noble purpose, and exciting for a martial artist too. If I were ten years younger, I'd lead the Nangong family's warriors in the fray myself."
"We've caused quite a stir in many ways. Thank you for seeing it that way."
"Yes, yes. I wish you all victory."
Nangong Won, who had been laughing heartily, suddenly narrowed his eyes and stared at the left wall adjoining the main gate.
Following his gaze...
I saw an old man in a bamboo hat stealthily moving along.
Unbidden, my mouth opened.
"Huh?"
Nangong Won called out to the old man.
"You there, old sir. Your face rings a bell from a few encounters. Might you be the one called Medicine King?"
"......"
Thus exposed, Medicine King O Gyun-cheon removed his bamboo hat and approached.
He shot Nangong Won a glare and spoke.
"Does outing someone deliberately avoiding the crowds make you feel better?"
"I've got plenty of grudges against you."
"I've spent my life brewing decoctions. Never held a grudge against anyone—what nonsense is this?"
"Why deny it? When I begged you to take over the medical ward, you wouldn't give me the time of day. But when my successor asks, you snap up the Medicine King Hall?"
"......"
"Brew me a tonic as apology. Getting old means aches everywhere. Especially on humid days."
"You'd digest iron nails, yet you whine. I don't treat malingerers."
Dismissing the Sword Emperor's words like that, O Gyun-cheon turned to greet me.
"Doing well?"
"Yes. But I didn't expect you to come in person."
"There are two big herb markets nearby. Some ingredients I need to pick myself, and folks whose pulses I ought to check. So here I am."
"Ah?"
"'Ah' what? One of them's you."
"Me?"
"Yeah. Heard you got the Body Transformation Technique from Infinite Sword. Arm out."
After taking my pulse for a bit like that...
O Gyun-cheon released my arm and spoke.
"Your internal energy and Infinite Sword's are clearly different in nature, but surprisingly, they've settled well. No major issues elsewhere either."
"I've always been pretty healthy."
"Rumor has it you're keeping our promise—you're wielding a sword that saves lives. Anyway, enough about you. Where's Infinite Sword?"
"In the main hall's banquet room. He's been helping with the East Dao Assembly's secretariat lately."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ After Nangong Won and O Gyun-cheon, more guests arrived one after another, including the Beggars' Sect Chief and others.
Thus, all participants and invitees for the Heavenly Martial Tournament crossed the main gate.
And in the dining hall on the first floor of the main building, a modest pre-tournament banquet began.
"Ahem."
With prepared liquors and dishes before him, Kyung Hye spoke as principal of the Righteous Martial Academy and host of the tournament.
"We swordsmen know rivalry and competitive spirit well. I know participants can't help but fixate on victory or defeat in a grand event like this. Yet, I hope both victors and vanquished take something away."
The banquet began like that.
As the realm's luminaries—true martial luminaries beyond description—raised their cups one by one...
Woo So-rung swallowed dryly.
"Th-the attendees make the Hundred Roots Assembly look like a joke."
At Woo So-rung's words, Dokgo Cheol nodded in agreement.
"Probably more gathered here than at Hundred Roots, right? That was just sect representatives. Today, it's all sect leaders and core forces."
Woo So-rung put on a show of maturity.
"R-right? I knew that."
He must've wanted to play the senior in front of his juniors.
As a smile tugged at my lips at the sight...
Dang Ok-gi pointed at the other two mimicking maturity and spoke.
"Yin Ha-seong and Cheon Jang-ho. Aren't they acting weird? The one who'd normally freak out ten times over is quiet, and the other isn't shoveling food."
"Because the Sect Chief and Merchant King Eun are here."
I let out a hollow laugh and spoke.
"Ha-seong, you think that'll make Radiance hand over to you? I saw you talking with little Miss Eun earlier."
"Hey, I don't have those ambitions. It's just a physiological reaction. Been like this since birth. In front of Father..."
"Standing at attention since you were born?"
"Hey."
Laughter spread among us then.
Kunlun Sect Leader Hwang Baek-wol glared at me and spoke.
"Laughing and chatting away without a care. After insulting your seniors with that news gazette, you still find it funny?"
"My apologies for the gazette. It's more expensive to run than expected, so we run sensational stories sometimes. Please be magnanimous."
"They say ripe rice bends low, and human affairs are no different. At your young age, with great achievements, you should be humble. Why strut about so arrogantly?"
As Master clicked his tongue at Hwang Baek-wol's words...
- That long-nosed fool with a hole for a mouth is spouting off.
'Seems like it worked.'
- Worked?
We've prepared much for the Heavenly Martial Tournament.
But if there's one thing to beware of still...
It was becoming the target everyone united to take down.
'Being public enemy number one and getting ganged up is the worst scenario. But we can use this situation to resolve that.'
I spoke right away.
"Strutting about—isn't that right?"
"What?"
"To not burn the food, you have to stir it, right? If the world is the food and the Demonic Cult the fire, how can I stand idle?"
At my words...
Kunlun's Virtuous One slammed! his chopsticks down and spoke.
"Sounds like you're condemning those who didn't actively fight the demons. Leading a sect comes with all sorts of difficulties. Especially Kunlun—we're on the front lines against the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult from the start. How can a righteous warrior of the orthodox path speak so recklessly?"
"Yet here you are now? Kunlun disciple Shim Ryul—injured fighting the Demonic Cult, yet fell to their schemes."
"......"
"Academy ablaze, Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and Blood Cult clashing everywhere, newly formed East Dao Assembly heading to Manyeop Mountain. You stood by through all that. Yet now you're here."
"......"
"I don't know what 'righteous path' you seniors speak of. Please show me in the arena if it's worth following."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The next day after the arrivals...
At the tournament operations committee's request, we headed to the dock at Dan River District.
There, where dozens of small boats were lined up at anchor, Kyung Hye began announcing the tournament's mission.
"You'll all remember the Thousand People's Blood pill fiasco that rocked the jianghu recently. We all bled and sweated to stop it, but there's no guarantee it won't happen again."
He first pointed to a skiff floating a short distance from the dock.
"The Martial Alliance Leader is aboard that skiff you see there. The Leader will play the role of a demon fleeing while transporting the pill. Teams must seize it from him and return here."
He had graduate students unfurl prepared maps and continued.
"Next, the detailed rules. First, all team members must return for it to count as arrival. If there's an injured teammate, carry them back if you must. Second, this tournament draws massive attention, so unexpected incidents may arise. To prevent that, the committee has set checkpoints. Teams must pass through the points marked in red."
As I committed the assigned mission to memory...
'The course starts at Dan River Lake, loops around Wudang Mountain foothills, and returns to the lake.'
Kyung Hye's words signaled the start.
"Participants, you may depart!"
Then Woo So-rung shot out like an arrow and claimed a boat.
"This one!"
We quickly boarded and began pursuing the fleeing Gong Son Mu-gyeol.
Right beside us came the boat carrying Kunlun and Zhongnan disciples.
Whether yesterday's retort had worked, the two sects weren't coordinating an attack.
So, I calmly assessed the situation.
'Expected Kunlun and Zhongnan to move sharply. But Huashan's Plum Blossom Sword Masters are sluggish?'
Turning back, I saw Chang Ryang eyeing me suspiciously from a distance.
Zhuge Seolji, who had turned with the same thought, let out a hollow laugh.
"Learned your lesson from Yong-un, huh?"
"Lesson? Don't treat him like some disaster."
In response, I slipped a finger to my mouth and whistled.
Whiiiii!!!
This was a signal to Jeong Won-hae of the Southern Sea Dragon Palace, secretly clinging to our boat's hull while everyone scrambled aboard.
Bam!
Soon, a sharp harpoon sound rang out.
And Zhongnan's boat began to sink.
"Wh-what is this?!"
As Zhongnan Sect Leader Hwang Baek-wol cried out in panic...
I grinned and tossed out a line.
"What is it? The Heavenly Martial Tournament has begun. We'll be off first then."