The Weight of a Name
The request made sense once one understood the name Namgung. Namgung Woo’s martial prowess had already far surpassed what was expected of someone his age. If a man like him entered the martial tournament, what could it possibly be but a grown adult twisting a child’s wrist? While the tournament placed no age restrictions on participants, that was precisely why middle-aged masters over forty chose not to compete. Stepping in for no good reason would only muddy the waters of the event, earning far greater shame than any honor of victory.
Yet blocking hot-blooded young masters in their twenties from participating was a far more divisive issue. Some would argue that a tournament meant to discover and nurture the rising generation could not possibly exclude its most vital participants—that doing so would be absurd. Others would counter that such a person was no longer a rising talent but already a supreme expert standing at the very center of the murim world. Gak-won clearly belonged to the latter camp. Even if he did not, those around him certainly did, and he had chosen to follow their judgment.
But was that truly all?
Of course, among those who could reasonably make such a suggestion to Namgung Woo, there was no one more suitable than Gak-won. There was no one within the Murim Alliance who shared a personal connection with him, and no one wanted to approach a presumed supreme expert and bluntly say, “You’re too strong, so out of conscience, please sit this one out.” Who would risk earning the enmity of an absolute master? The risk of trying to build a friendly relationship by praising his bold spirit was simply too great.
The only person capable of shouldering that burden was another supreme expert—Gak-won himself.
“If that is the only reason you summoned me, I’m afraid I cannot give you a favorable answer,” Namgung Woo said.
He needed fame. The events in Beijing were now too thoroughly cleaned up by the imperial court to bring up again. His performance in the Dream Cloud Grand Conference, capped by the slaying of the Five Yin Demon Emperor, had granted him enormous renown throughout the Huguang region and the title of Cheonggeomje, the Blue Sword Emperor.
Cheonggeomje. It was an arrogant name. It combined the blue hue of the mixed Three Thousand Divine Energy he had manifested during the battle with the character cheong representing his youth, and the title of Sword Emperor that followed from the argument that killing the Five Yin Demon Emperor warranted an equal peer title. Unbeknownst to Namgung Woo, he had perfectly inherited the title once held by an absolute expert produced by the Namgung family fifty years earlier.
Yet it was still not enough.
Even the recent welcoming ceremony in Luoyang had shown that there were still fools who doubted his achievements and dared to challenge him. Namgung Woo wanted a name that would resonate beyond Hebei and Huguang—one that would encompass the entire world. The martial tournament hosted by the Murim Alliance was the perfect stepping stone.
If Gak-won intended to use his origins as leverage to pressure him, Namgung Woo was prepared to bring up the Five Tiger Hegemon and the Pearl of Tranquility. He waited for the Alliance Leader’s next words.
What Gak-won said, however, was quite different from what he had expected.
“Instead, I would like to entrust you with a request.”
“A request, you say?”
“I have heard that you and the group you lead, the Changcheon Squad, operate as a band of ronin mercenaries. I also know that your assistance to the Jegal family began when you accepted a commission from the family’s daughter.”
That much was information anyone could have uncovered without needing to mobilize the Murim Alliance’s intelligence organization, the Intelligence Observation Court. The Beggars’ Sect, said to be faster than anyone in the world at spreading information, had shared everything related to the Dream Cloud Grand Conference with the Alliance the moment they obtained it.
“Do you remember the name of the child from earlier?”
“Of course. It was Sol, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. Sol. What that child is asking for is to participate in the martial tournament. We—that is, I—have been preventing it for certain reasons. However, a person’s will is not something that easily stops simply because those around them try to block it. You, Sir, understand well the power that a person’s resolve can hold.”
Gak-won’s voice grew faintly subdued. It was a very slight change, but Namgung Woo noticed that the old monk was feeling sorrow. And a faint trace of guilt as well.
“Even if we try to stop her, that child will likely participate in the tournament using a false name if she must.”
Though the words were directed at Namgung Woo, for some reason they sounded like a monologue spoken to himself. It probably wasn’t merely his imagination. The emotion in Gak-won’s voice was undeniably genuine.
“I wish to commission you for an escort mission.”
Namgung Woo instinctively realized that the earlier suggestion to refrain from entering the tournament had not been for the sake of the other rising talents, but to set up this very request. Gak-won had intended to entrust him with this commission from the very beginning. Since it would be difficult to ask for protection if Namgung Woo participated in the tournament himself, he had first asked him not to enter.
“I have only one question.”
“Ask.”
“If I were to refuse this request, what do you intend to do with the child named Sol, Alliance Leader?”
"I will not allow another child to be abandoned by the Murim Alliance."
§
On the fifth floor of Jungcheon-gak, after Namgung Woo had left, the head of Sang-pyeon-dang who had been waiting on the fourth floor hurried up the stairs to find Gak-won.
“Alliance Leader, how did it go?”
“Gyeong-cham, it turned out exactly as you feared.”
Gak-won addressed the head of Sang-pyeon-dang not by his given name but by his courtesy name. The man’s real name was Woo Myeon, and his father was the very Yu Gyeom who had shouldered the false charge of treason during the Tumu Crisis and saved the Ming Dynasty. Because his family had belonged to the official bureaucracy rather than the murim, Woo Myeon was more accustomed to being called by his courtesy name than any nickname.
He had received a pardon for the crime of high treason from the Hongzhi Emperor and had been offered a government post, but having already grown disillusioned with the imperial court, Woo Myeon chose to remain with the Murim Alliance.
“Hmm… He truly is a supreme expert. For even your Six Divine Powers to fail…”
“You overestimate this old monk again. This worthless monk merely moves a little faster than others, hears a little farther, and sees people a little more clearly. That is hardly grand enough to be called the Six Divine Powers, as this very incident proves.”
Because his body could instantly appear wherever he wished, he possessed the Divine Foot Power. Because he could hear sounds others could not, he possessed the Heavenly Ear Power. Because he could read others’ hearts as if they were his own, he possessed the Power to Read Minds. Yet Gak-won humbly assessed that his abilities were nothing special. They simply did not work well against other supreme experts. Moreover, the Six Divine Powers were a step-by-step progression toward the final Leak-Free Power. Gak-won still believed he had a long way to go.
“But not all supreme experts are the same, are they? You said it worked on the Wulim Governor and the Sword Empress…”
“That was merely a fortunate coincidence because their upper dantians were compatible with my ability. It was completely ineffective against Ha-gyeong Jin-in and Jayang Jin-in. And this time as well.”
The meaning was clear: Namgung Woo, like them, possessed mental defenses centered around his upper dantian. However, Gak-won could not discern their true nature. This was different from the two other supreme experts who had previously blocked his Power to Read Minds. At least with Ha-gyeong and Jayang, he had been able to determine what kind of power they used to resist him. With Namgung Woo, he could not. He had managed to read a few clues that allowed for speculation, but that was all. He had only licked the outer shell without reaching the core.
“He may possess the Heavenly Eye.”
“The Heavenly Eye… you mean the Blue Sword Emperor?”
Among the Six Divine Powers, the three higher ones known as the Three Illuminations were the Heavenly Eye Power, the Fate Power, and the Leak-Free Power. The Heavenly Eye Power allowed one not only to see but to observe beyond space and time.
“It is only speculation. Do not become too fixated on my words. No matter how clumsily we try to reason it out, that young pillar of strength will advance far faster than we can follow.”
Woo Myeon deeply agreed with Gak-won’s assessment. A supreme expert before even reaching thirty—an unparalleled genius counted among the greatest in history. Such a person would surely continue to improve by leaps and bounds, making even the phrase “remarkable progress” feel inadequate.
But that was a matter for the future. As the head of Sang-pyeon-dang, as a supporter of Gak-won who had opened a new path for him, and with the sympathy of one whose own family had once stood on the brink of ruin, Woo Myeon asked,
“What about Sol? Did he accept the request?”
“Well…”
When Gak-won did not answer immediately, Woo Myeon pressed him impatiently.
“Alliance Leader, you were the one who took Sol into the Alliance. This is not something we can simply gloss over. Namgung could become the spark for another Orthodox-Demonic war. If the Blue Sword Emperor refused the request, then we should immediately find another…”
“He said he would not accept the request.”
“As expected… Sigh. I had placed some hope in the guarantee from the Jegal Family Head, but young blood is not easily controlled. The tournament is going to become very difficult…”
“He also said he would not participate in the tournament.”
“Pardon?”
“He said he would observe for the time being.”
Gak-won recalled the attitude, aura, and gaze Namgung Woo had shown him. There had been something strangely familiar about that aura. Those eyes had seemed to peer into Gak-won’s own heart even as he tried to read the young man’s.
“He was a young man who reminded me of an old friend.”
“If you speak of your old friend, Alliance Leader, then…?”
As far as Woo Myeon knew, there was only one person Gak-won ever referred to as his old friend. The war between the Namgung and Dokgo families—the Sword Family Blood Feud. And the head of the Namgung family who had died in the life-and-death duel between the family heads, the Blue Sky Hero Namgung Hyu. When Gak-won spoke of his old friend, he meant Namgung Hyu.
It was also the reason Gak-won had taken Sol in despite the risk. Accepting the position of Murim Alliance Leader had been an act of atonement for the guilt he felt toward Namgung Hyu. Because he had followed his sect, Shaolin’s, decision to close its gates, he had been unable to help his closest friend. The regret and desire for redemption had driven him. He had accepted the role of Alliance Leader with the determination that he would never again allow the Murim Alliance’s misjudgment to turn anyone into a discarded pawn as had happened with the Namgung family.
“Let us wait and see. There is still some time left before the tournament, is there not?”
“…Sigh. Understood. If that is what you wish, Alliance Leader…”
“Stop sighing, my friend. It’s bad luck.”
Gak-won could not explain it clearly, but he had a vague feeling.
“It will work out well.”
§
The moment they left the Murim Alliance, Paeng Ha-ryeong stuck close to Namgung Woo and asked,
“Gaga, I was right, wasn’t I? My thoughts were correct, right?”
“Yes.”
“I knew it! There seemed to be quite an age difference, but she looked to be of marriageable age. To you, Gaga, she would be something like a clan cousin. But why didn’t you accept the request?”
“I’ll explain it later when we’re alone.”
“Ah… yes!”
After walking a little further, they reached the prearranged meeting spot where Yang Jeong was already waiting. He noticed them and came over with a greeting. Yang Jeong had become somewhat famous himself; quite a few eyes followed him. They were probably people hoping to catch a glimpse of Namgung Woo by using him as bait.
Ignoring the surrounding attention, Namgung Woo asked Yang Jeong,
“Did you secure the lodgings?”
“I did. However, Captain.”
Yang Jeong spoke in a slightly doubtful tone, as if unsure whether he had heard correctly.
“Someone who claims to be well acquainted with you has come looking for you.”
“For me?”
“Yes. She was a young woman of marriageable age…”
The moment those words left his mouth, a fierce light flashed through Paeng Ha-ryeong’s eyes and vanished. Yang Jeong felt it clearly—her resolve that if this was a lie meant to cling to their captain, she would not forgive it. Nevertheless, he continued steadfastly.
“Her name is Song Chae-ji.”