Cloud Dragon
Jeong Gwang could tell what kind of sword it was, even without laying eyes on it.
His special senses whispered the truth.
'This one's a beauty.'
His lips curled into a grin before he could stop them.
The Iron Blood Manor Lord, a man who rarely showed emotion, looked puzzled.
"Hand it over."
"……."
"I'll save the thanks until I've held it. It's calling to me."
"……!"
The Manor Lord peered intently into Jeong Gwang's eyes.
They sparkled like stars.
"……."
"Whoa. This thing's hefty."
Jeong Gwang didn't hesitate to open the wooden case handed to him. Inside, the sword revealed its elegant form.
"……Huh?"
"S-Senior Brother. What's wrong? Is something off?"
Jeong Gwang silently gripped the hilt and lifted it.
A brilliant golden light flashed from the hilt and scabbard. And the intricate cloud patterns etched into it!
Baek Seung-mu's jaw dropped.
"……Wh-What's with all the flash?"
Jeong Gwang had no idea why.
He was the most stunned of all.
'The craftsmanship...'
It looked like someone had slathered gold all over it!
No—poured it on thick!
Jeong Gwang stared at the Manor Lord in bewilderment.
His son answered instead.
"We referenced your Jin-ok-ryong sword for the design."
"……Pardon?"
"I don't care for gaudy things myself. We tailored it to your tastes."
Jeong Gwang slowly lowered his head to glance at the ornate golden sword at his waist.
The one the Qinghai Province Lord had forced on him.
'......Did they think I like flashy stuff because I carry this around?'
They should've asked first instead of assuming!
This was over the top, even compared to that one!
But.
As he kept looking at the new sword, his mind began to change.
'Well, it suits me just fine.'
A blade fit only for him in all the world.
In a way, it was perfect.
'Settle down, you. I'll let you out soon.'
The sword wasn't actually speaking to him, of course.
Not yet, anyway.
Just like his ma-hon had.
Jeong Gwang drew the sword from its scabbard.
A deep crimson blade emerged without a sound.
'Ah!'
The blade itself, the geom-ol, the ancient bronze hue, the geom-ban, the geom-pa—everything was flawless.
Jeong Gwang's smile deepened.
More radiant than the scabbard.
'Nice. Let's play a bit, by way of introduction.'
He circulated the Three Pure Ones United Divine Art.
As he poured his vast true qi into the blade, a blinding golden light exploded forth.
The onlookers gasped in shock.
"S-Senior Brother! What is that?!"
"Impossible! It dwarfs even the dagger's glow!"
"……!"
Jeong Gwang swung the sword without a word.
The crimson blade sliced through the air, weaving threads of golden light.
It was as if a black dragon and a red dragon had merged, exhaling golden clouds and mist.
Baek Seung-mu stared, entranced.
Cheol Jin-gi was much the same, though to a lesser degree.
But the Iron Blood Manor Lord...
He saw deeper.
'What in the world is this boy?'
It was a sword worthy of being called the world's finest.
Yet in Jeong Gwang's hand, it felt like even more.
It wasn't just crimson.
The black seemed to devour all light, the red to thirst for the world's blood.
The masterpiece of his life now resembled a demonic sword.
'And that radiant golden light...'
No such beautiful glow existed under heaven. It scattered pure hyon-gi, darting freely through the hall.
'Infusing pure inner arts into a demonic sword to unleash such brilliant swordplay?'
The Manor Lord muttered unwittingly.
"Demon or righteous... I can't tell at all......"
He snapped out of his reverie under a sharp gaze.
Turning, he saw his son gaping in horror.
"......F-Father, speaking of ma again! What's gotten into you lately? Are you unwell?"
"……."
Baek Seung-mu, unaware of the Lord's taciturn nature, just watched blankly. But Jeong Gwang had already sheathed his sword dance and was eyeing the Lord.
His gaze held admiration.
"Much smoother than you described before. A big improvement."
"……."
The Lord, briefly silenced by the spectacle, sent a transmission.
—Who are you, really?
—Jeong Gwang.
—I'm asking about the real you.
Jeong Gwang had heard the mutter, so he knew the question.
'He's reached near the pinnacle. He sees through the haze.'
Those who attained high realms, be they warriors or craftsmen, perceived differently.
Out of respect for the master craftsman, Jeong Gwang answered truthfully.
Not that he revealed his past as the True Heavenly Demon or current Jin-ok-ryong status.
—Why divide demon from righteous? People can be both, or neither.
—......
Jeong Gwang grinned and added,
—I'm just me.
—......
The Manor Lord closed his eyes for a long moment.
Jeong Gwang's words echoed in his mind.
'People can be both, or neither... True enough.'
There were no pure blacks or whites in the world.
People, things—even they blended shades. That was the way of the world.
You might judge which side leaned closer, but certainty was impossible.
People changed unpredictably.
The Manor Lord was no exception.
'If someone asked me demon or righteous...'
He had no clear answer.
He was just himself.
As Jeong Gwang had said.
'What an interesting fellow.'
The Manor Lord opened his eyes.
A faint smile creased his lips.
A rare expression after many years.
'Jin-ok-ryong... A dragon indeed. What kind, I can't say.'
Rumors and his own experience confirmed it: no great hero's temperament.
Yet he kept his word, did righteous deeds, never strayed from propriety or committed evil...
'......Me?'
By some standards, his own actions could be called villainous!
Just look at what Jeong Gwang had done crossing from Henan to Hebei.
His junior brother Baek Seung-mu was earning the odd nickname Geum-gwon Geom-hyeop—strange, but it had "hyeop" in it.
Jeong Gwang's was Geum-chung Geom-ma!
Spread by bandits, pirates, and ruffians he'd crushed—unreliable, sure, but...
'How money-grubbing do you have to be for that reputation...'
The Manor Lord soon found out.
Overhearing Jeong Gwang grill Cheol Jin-gi.
"Young Lord. What about the dagger? You said it was free."
* * *
Jeong Gwang was a man with a conscience.
Expressing gratitude to the Manor Lord and his son was only right.
He'd even paid a quarter of the cost, as promised.
Minus Baek Seung-mu's sword and dagger from the hyon-cheol-geom total.
Anyone with a heart would feel uneasy.
Unlike Jeong Gwang, the very human Baek Seung-mu voiced his worries the moment they returned to their lodgings.
"Senior Brother, Iron Blood Manor took a huge loss this time. It doesn't sit right with me."
"Give 'em more money?"
"......Not that, no."
Traveling with Jeong Gwang had honed not just Baek Seung-mu's martial skills, but his merchant instincts too.
Jeong Gwang nodded, pleased.
"Good. No need to worry. They gained insights worth far more than that loss. Both father and son."
The expenditure might shake their finances, but they'd reap greater fame and wealth someday.
'I'll drop by again then.'
Jeong Gwang continued, imagining the Cheol duo's horror.
"Anyway, Junior Brother. If you're gonna talk like that, put down that 'free' sword you're hugging first."
"Hahaha."
Baek Seung-mu chuckled sheepishly.
Still stroking the blade in his hands.
A voice thick with emotion escaped him.
"I never dreamed I'd own a sword like this......"
Iron Blood Manor, where the world's finest smiths gathered.
A blade forged by the young lord himself.
A treasure any warrior would risk life and limb for.
"It's nothing special."
"Haha. To you, maybe. Not me."
Baek Seung-mu gazed at Jeong Gwang.
It was all thanks to him.
'Everything changed after meeting Senior Brother.'
He'd joined Kunlun, a famed orthodox sect beyond his wildest dreams, learned astonishing techniques.
Got spirit pills, did heroic deeds.
And now a lifelong companion sword. He felt like he'd conquered the world.
"Why name it that, though?"
"Huh? What's wrong with Heuk-u?"
"The sound's off... And why 'black'? There's barely any."
"It still has two nyang of hyon-cheol."
"Yunryong has twenty-one geun and fourteen nyang."
"......"
Baek Seung-mu gritted his teeth.
He lost on weight, so he had to win on name.
"Yunryong sounds too generic."
"Obviously."
"Pardon?"
"Take clouds and dragons out of any scripture—what's left? Every art has 'em."
"......True. I was short-sighted."
How could he argue with sect teachings?
He lost on name too.
But it didn't bother him.
'Never stood a chance.'
As far as he knew, Yunryong was the world's only true hyon-cheol-geom.
How could he compete?
His eyes drifted to it.
'If only I had a sword like that...'
Heuk-u was already more than he deserved, but greed was human nature.
Reading those thoughts in Baek Seung-mu's gaze, Jeong Gwang chuckled inwardly.
'Greed's fine. Just keep it in check.'
Jeong Gwang offered Yunryong.
"Junior Brother, wanna try it?"
"P-Pardon...? Really?"
Baek Seung-mu was stunned.
Warriors rarely lent their weapons.
'What's he thinking?'
The debate was brief.
Curiosity won over greed.
Baek Seung-mu took the sword.
"Thank you, Senior Brother."
But as he gripped it, his hand sagged downward.
He didn't drop it, but the weight shocked him.
'How's a sword this heavy? How do you even swing it?'
As a trained warrior, lifting was no issue.
But sword forms? A whole different story!
'No reason I can't.'
He tried carefully, with all his strength.
But.
The sword ignored his will, threatening to bolt on its own.
'How did Senior Brother dance so fantastically with this...'
Baek Seung-mu couldn't fathom Jeong Gwang's realm.
Despair was fleeting.
'Ah!'
Sudden realization dawned.
Why Jeong Gwang had offered it so freely!
'The best sword is the one that fits you.'
It was to show him he'd shame such a blade now—to grow more.
Jeong Gwang's real intent was more like "don't bite off more than you can chew."
Either way, Baek Seung-mu shed another layer.
'Right. Not yet.'
He admitted it honestly.
But not forever.
No—he'd earn the right someday!
Baek Seung-mu handed back Yunryong.
"Thanks for the look, Senior Brother."
"Learn anything?"
"Of course!"
Jeong Gwang clapped his shoulder and sheathed the sword at his waist.
Time to go.
"Shall we head out?"
"Yes, Senior Brother!"
Jeong Gwang turned to Jao.
"You told the Sima Lian branch properly?"
"Yes, Jin-ok-ryong. I said reports would be delayed awhile. Suspicious vibes—need long-term watch. But..."
"But?"
Jao gave an awkward smile.
"You gave too much. I'm worried."
He wasn't wrong. Jao carried a massive pack.
Stuffed with daggers, Emei stabs, willow-leaf throwing knives—assassin's tools galore.
Jeong Gwang recalled Cheol Jin-gi's reluctant face when handing them over dirt cheap.
"Top quality. Take 'em all. You'll use every one."
"Got it. Thank you."
They'd already bid farewell to the Manor Lord and son.
Keeping their departure secret would buy time from Sima Lian eyes.
Jeong Gwang thought of that Sima Lian scion, Sang So-un.
'That pig's probably heading where I'm going.'
He wasn't one to wait for ambushes.
Strike first—that was his way.
Crack—
He activated the Thousand Transformations Disguise Bone Shrink Demonic Art. His features shifted.
Not the innocent boy from before, but a handsome young man with plenty of personality.
Baek Seung-mu muttered, watching.
"Perfect fit."
"What?"
"Nothing! Let's go!"
"You need disguise too, Junior Brother."
"I-I don't know how."
"I'll do it."
"Huh?"
Jeong Gwang jabbed a few points on Baek Seung-mu's face.
It twisted, settling into a dopey young man's look.
"Nice. Suits you. Jao, want me to?"
Jao, who'd been smirking at Baek Seung-mu, flinched.
"I know disguise arts! I'll handle it!"
"Good. Hurry up."
Moments later.
Jeong Gwang hoisted Baek Seung-mu and Jao over his shoulders and slipped out of Iron Blood Manor.
Heading northeast.
To Hebei Pang Clan—one of the Seven Great Clans, birthplace of the new Murim Alliance Lord.