The Black Sword Emperor's Legacy (3)

I immediately set about memorizing every last formula of the Black Sword Emperor's Royal Sword Art.

Memorizing them wouldn't let me unleash the techniques right away, of course, but I had to commit them to memory before I could even begin training.

"Whew. So I've finally gotten my hands on a martial art that actually uses a weapon? It's a shame I can only use the first form, Black Flash Rain, for now—but even that alone should be enough to put down most enemies. This is going to be a huge help."

At last, I'd learned an offensive martial art that utilized a weapon.

"Alright—that means I've completed two quests at once. The sub-quest to obtain a Peak-level or higher martial art, and the Black Sword Emperor quest. So there should be two rewards waiting. I'm curious."

Command: Display quest list!

Everything was complete except the bonus quest.

No matter how many times I saw it, completing quests always felt good.

Command: Display quest rewards!

Whoa—my level jumped all the way to 5-Star? At 5-Star I was Peak Expert level.

My inner qi still wasn't at Peak Expert standards, though.

Is it bumping me to 5-Star because I acquired a 9-star martial art even though my inner qi is lacking?

No matter how I looked at it, that had to be it. My inner qi was a little short, but the martial art was 9-star grade, so the system had balanced the two and raised me to 5-Star. Even with insufficient inner qi, a supreme-grade martial art meant my actual combat power was already at the 5-Star level.

Either way, leveling up felt great.

More text appeared.

Huh? It would display weapon names or weapon types?

My gaze drifted to the Dark Divine Sword.

Whoa—it really was displaying the weapon's name.

What used to show only the weapon grade had expanded. Now it even showed the name.

And what did "display weapon type" mean?

Ah—most weapons don't have proper names yet. The junk third-rate fighters carry around doesn't have a name at all. In those cases it'll just show the weapon type.

I roughly understood what the enhanced information display meant.

This is actually really good.

Just knowing a weapon's name was often enough to identify the owner's status. Especially among high-level experts—they tended to carry famous personal weapons, so the name alone was a useful clue to their identity.

"Nice. These quest rewards are sweet."

The messages kept coming.

"Five ja? I could fit everything I need for food, clothing, and shelter in there. Amazing. The space expansions from leveling up are honestly my favorite reward."

This time I didn't even need to check whether the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠message window was accurate. I'd already verified it when it expanded to four ja last time.

Finally, it was time to check my own information.

Command: Display character status window!

My level had risen to 5-Star, and all five skills were equipped. The skills themselves had also improved beyond their base values into considerably more advanced forms.

Lust God's Space had expanded from one ja to five, and both Lust God's Wisdom and Lust God's Heavenly Eyes now displayed far more information than their defaults.

"Incredible. Already 5-Star."

But 5-Star wouldn't be nearly enough to kill the Hidden Boss. For a Hidden Boss I'd need at least 9-Star—maybe even the max level of 10-Star.

The next day, around lunchtime.

"Young Hero Hyeon, let's eat together."

Eating with the Eon sisters was stressful—not because of the two of them, but because every eye in the place locked onto us the entire time we sat together.

"Who are those women? They could honestly pass for the most beautiful women under heaven."

"Both are beauties, but one of them is truly the most beautiful woman under heaven. I've never seen anyone that pretty."

"They're definitely not from Mianyang. We don't have beauties like that here."

"Who are they? Should I go ask?"

"Can't you see the swords at their waists? Both of them are martial artists. Stick your nose in and you'll get it cut off."

"Tch. Shame. All I can do is look at beauties like that."

"Looking is an honor in itself. Beauties the likes of which Mianyang has never seen."

"True enough."

Everyone was practically drooling over the Eon sisters. But once they realized both women carried swords and were martial artists, no one dared approach.

I pricked up my ears and caught people talking about the incident from the night before.

As expected, everyone's already heard about last night's events.

From the snatches of conversation, it sounded like they were chasing the Jade Fan Poison Demon, who had supposedly seized the Black Sword Emperor's legacy.

"Well, well? Who's this? Isn't that the fellow from yesterday? So you didn't die after all."

"And you are…?"

Gujigae strode toward me with long, purposeful steps.

"Name's Gujigae. Hahaha! To think you were still alive. I was sure you'd taken one of those poison needles. You went down after getting hit, didn't you?"

"It actually hit something I was carrying under my clothes. But my martial arts are weak, so I played dead."

"Haha, played dead, did you? So you weren't hit by the poison needle at all—you just pretended you were."

"Weren't you chasing the Jade Fan Poison Demon?"

"I was. But I lost him in the end. That damned poison smoke of his—I had no choice but to let him go."

"Ah. So he got away."

"Hmm. Young hero, what's your name, and who are these two young ladies? Judging by their looks, they must be young ladies whose names resound across the Central Plains."

Gujigae's gaze shifted to Eon Mimi and Eon Sisi. Eon Mimi rose from her seat and offered a polite greeting.

"You must be Elder Gujigae of the Beggar's Sect. I am Eon Mimi of the Jinju Eon family."

"Oho—so you're Jincheonhwa, one of the Four Great Beauties of the Central Plains. Your ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠beauty truly lives up to the reputation. And the young lady beside you?"

"Eon Sisi of the Jinju Eon family."

"Black Sisi herself? What brings the two young ladies of the Jinju Eon family all the way out here?"

"We came to capture the Jiangshi Poison Demon."

"The Jiangshi Poison Demon? And did you succeed?"

"Yes. We finally killed him."

"Hooh, is that so? Truly impressive. That man was cunning and hard to pin down—especially with his formidable poison arts. Even we had trouble dealing with a fiend like him. For the two of you to have taken him down… remarkable."

"Th-that's…! We didn't catch him—Young Hero Hyeon did…!"

Eon Mimi was trying to explain that I was the one who had killed the Jiangshi Poison Demon, not them.

"Haha. The two young ladies' fame is already tremendous, and their martial arts are outstanding. I simply lent a hand and we took him down together."

"Oho—so the three of you combined forces. With three people working together, even that fiend wouldn't have stood a chance."

"I go by Black Leopard Messenger. My name is Hyeon Jitae."

"Black Leopard Messenger? Hmm. There are few martial artists in the jianghu I don't know, yet I've never heard that alias."

"That's because I'm not a martial artist—I'm a messenger."

"A messenger? Then how is a messenger sitting with Jincheonhwa and Black Sisi? These two young ladies aren't the sort to share a table with just any man."

"I was entrusted with delivering letters for the two young ladies."

"Aha. I see. That explains it."

Gujigae had looked puzzled at the word "messenger," but once I mentioned the job, he nodded in understanding.

"Since fate has brought us together, mind if I join you?"

"I don't mind at all. What about the two young ladies?"

"We don't mind either. Having a senior of the jianghu join us is an honor."

"Haha, honor? Nonsense. Anyway, thank you."

Just like that, we ended up sharing lunch with Gujigae.

Naturally curious about the previous night's events, I found myself asking about the Jade Fan Poison Demon.

"What exactly was the Black Sword Emperor's legacy that man stole?"

"A martial arts manual left by the Black Sword Emperor. A supreme-grade sword manual—plenty of people were after it. Hundreds flooded into Mianyang alone just for that thing."

"Has the Jade Fan Poison Demon already left Mianyang?"

"Not a chance. He's hiding somewhere, dodging my pursuit and everyone else's. The moment he shows his face again, we'll track him. Letting a martial art like that fall into the hands of someone like the Jade Fan Poison Demon would be a disaster."

Gujigae clearly intended to keep hunting the Jade Fan Poison Demon.

The real legacy is already in my hands.

Having acquired a 9-star martial art and weapon, I had zero interest in the Black Sword Emperor's 5-star manual. Even if I obtained it, I wouldn't bother learning it.

The Eon sisters, however, seemed to feel differently.

"Elder Gujigae, if that manual is a supreme-grade sword art, does that mean it's one of the finest sword manuals in the entire jianghu?"

"That's right. The Black Sword Emperor's sword manual doesn't fall short even when compared to the Namgoong family's Changyeon Sword Art."

"Is that so?"

"Why? Are the young ladies interested as well?"

"Of course we are. What martial artist wouldn't be interested in a supreme-grade sword art?"

"Well, true enough."

The way Eon Mimi's eyes sparkled, she was clearly taken with the Black Sword Emperor's sword manual.