Chapter 154
Chapter 154
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 45
>Chapter Title: Same Kind (1)
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[Since the Blood Trial Gorge began, there's been exactly one person who's claimed every top honor token.]
Those were the words of the gorge lord, Yi Ji-yeom, spoken before the final trial of the Blood Trial Gorge.
At the time, Mok Kyung-un—who hadn't cared much about who had won all those top tokens—had only asked one thing.
[May I ask what benefits come to the one who claims every top token?]
[You get to receive instruction from the Leader himself.]
Everyone had been stunned by the answer.
The reason was simple.
[Is receiving the Leader's instruction really that surprising?]
Mo Ha-rang had explained it to the puzzled Mok Kyung-un.
[The Leader is one of the Six Heavens, the pinnacle of the current martial world. Leaving everything else aside, he's one of the six strongest people under heaven...]
She couldn't even finish the thought.
The renown of the Six Heavens was such that they were unrivaled in the Central Plains.
Who wouldn't risk their life for a chance to receive guidance from such a legendary figure?
Yet since the Blood Trial Gorge's inception, only one person had ever done it.
And that one person was—
'Is this him?'
The man now locking eyes with Mok Kyung-un.
The Leader's eldest disciple, Eldest Young Master Na Yul-ryang.
Mok Kyung-un had only learned this fact recently.
It was the Shadow Sect Leader who had told him.
[The second disciple, Young Master Jang Neung-ak, and the third, Lady Wi So-yeon, both possess heavenly martial talents. But compared to Eldest Young Master Na Yul-ryang, even they fall short.]
[That impressive?]
[Indeed. Let me put it this way—it'll hit home better.]
[How so?]
[Eldest Young Master was the first—and last—to sweep every top token from the gorge's trials and become the Leader's disciple.]
'!?'
He'd become a disciple by claiming every single top token from the trials?
The one and only person Yi Ji-yeom had mentioned was Eldest Young Master?
It was astonishing.
[While the second young master and third lady were chosen for their talents, Eldest Young Master clawed his way up from the bottom to claim his position on his own.]
[...Impressive.]
[Yes, he's got spirit and charisma. But more than that, he's a truly frightening man.]
[A frightening man?]
The Shadow Sect Leader had called Eldest Young Master frightening.
In contrast to his assessment of the second young master, Jang Neung-ak—as cunning and brutal, so one to watch out for—he showed real wariness toward the eldest.
Why was that?
As Mok Kyung-un wondered, the Shadow Sect Leader spoke.
[If we're talking pure literary and martial talent alone, it's no exaggeration to say the next Leader's seat is already his.]
[No exaggeration, yet why are the disciples vying for succession?]
It made no sense.
If he was that superior, why force a competition at all?
He had the most supporters among the disciples, and he excelled in both letters and arms, earning everyone's recognition—or so he'd heard.
So why hadn't the Leader, bedridden as he was, named him successor yet?
To this question, the Shadow Sect Leader gave an unexpected reply.
[...Even the Leader might be wary of him.]
[Pardon?]
What was this now?
The Leader of the Heaven-Earth Society—one of the Six Heavens, said to be the strongest under heaven—wary of his own eldest disciple?
Something was off.
[...Any reason to be wary? If it's his talent, as the next in line, shouldn't the Leader be thrilled?]
[For an ordinary person, yes.]
[So there's another reason?]
[If there is one, there is.]
[What is it?]
[He possesses overwhelming martial genius—enough to top every trial in the Blood Trial Gorge—and excels in both letters and arms. So why do his supporters number only four in ten?]
[Hmm?]
Come to think of it, yes.
Before hearing from the Shadow Sect Leader, Mok Kyung-un had assumed the three were evenly matched in the succession race, so it hadn't been decided.
He'd thought four-tenths each was about right. But if he was that overwhelmingly superior and the Leader's top disciple, eight or nine in ten supporting him wouldn't be strange.
That implied one thing.
[Does he have some disqualifying flaw that overrides it all?]
Unless there was some fatal blemish, there was no reason the Leader wouldn't name him successor.
To this, the Shadow Sect Leader replied in a meaningful tone.
[He's not like ordinary people.]
[What do you mean by that?]
[Exactly what I said. Eldest Young Master's standards, thought processes, and emotions all differ greatly from normal folk.]
[......]
[Whether it's innate or due to his environment, we don't know. But that difference seems to prevent the Leader from fully committing.]
[Difference...]
In what way was he different from ordinary people?
One thing was clear: many shunned him for it.
Likely those following the second disciple Jang Neung-ak, the third disciple Wi So-yeon, or staying neutral.
* * *
"How do you know?"
One pupil black, the other grayish-white: Eldest Young Master Na Yul-ryang's question brought the Shadow Sect Leader's words to Mok Kyung-un's mind.
[He's not like ordinary people.]
'Hmm.'
Mok Kyung-un's lips twitched faintly.
He didn't quite grasp what the Shadow Sect Leader had meant.
Instead, a strange emotion stirred in him for the first time.
A sense of kinship.
'How curious.'
For the first time in his life, he felt this from another person.
But Mok Kyung-un wasn't the only one feeling it.
The moment their eyes met, Na Yul-ryang was gripped by a peculiar sensation too.
"Hoh."
A bizarre feeling he'd never sensed from ordinary people.
It emanated from this youth.
Even knowing his identity, the youth's gaze didn't waver upon meeting his. Na Yul-ryang instinctively knew.
"Interesting."
"What do you mean?"
"You're... one of my kind."
Mok Kyung-un's eyes narrowed at Na Yul-ryang's words.
Had this man felt the same kinship?
Kinship. Same kind.
[Cough... cough... Promise me.]
[Promise what?]
[Never... reveal your true nature...]
Grandfather had warned him to the end.
Never reveal the nature that set him apart from ordinary people.
With Grandfather around, he'd tried his best. But after witnessing rivers of blood, the suppressed nature had awakened.
Grandfather called it murderous intent, but Mok Kyung-un saw it differently.
It was the liberation of his caged self.
'Different, huh.'
If that's what they meant about Na Yul-ryang being different from ordinary people, did he fall into the same category?
Fascinating.
Then Na Yul-ryang spoke to him.
"I was wondering why a hostage captured by the righteous faction would surrender to our society. Now I think I know."
"......"
"You're not suited for all that stale talk of justice and righteousness."
Mok Kyung-un nearly revealed his true thoughts but pivoted his response.
"The Heaven-Earth Society simply suits me better."
The kinship aside, their positions differed.
This was the Leader's eldest disciple, Eldest Young Master.
Similar vibes or not, he wasn't someone to treat lightly given his status and power.
-Swish!
Na Yul-ryang circled Mok Kyung-un slowly, hands behind his back.
Scanning him from head to toe with his eyes.
Being observed like this—even as a kindred spirit—wasn't pleasant.
"Even this close, I can barely sense your energy. Most peculiar. Where'd you learn such a technique?"
Bowing his head, Mok Kyung-un answered the direct question.
"From the Shadow Sect Leader."
"The Shadow Sect Leader?"
"Yes."
"Strange. The Shadow Sect Leader's energy is thick with yin qualities, unlike others—but not enough to fully conceal and control oneself like this."
"......"
Na Yul-ryang spoke as if he were a cut above the Shadow Sect Leader.
Yet it was hard to deny: the energy from Na Yul-ryang was intensely compressed in his dantian, not leaking out.
Compressed though it was, the faint seepage felt ready to erupt explosively.
'Strong.'
Impossible to gauge how strong.
He might even rival the Five Kings.
Now he understood why the Shadow Sect Leader rated him above second disciple Jang Neung-ak and third disciple Wi So-yeon.
Na Yul-ryang smirked.
"Already trying to hide it, are you?"
"No, how could I do that to you, Eldest Young Master?"
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
"Fine. A martial artist might want to conceal that much. First time, so I'll let it slide. Besides, that's not my real business here."
With that, Na Yul-ryang stroked his chin thoughtfully.
Glancing at Mok Kyung-un as if pondering, he finally spoke.
"How did you know earlier?"
"Know what?"
"How did you know who I am? I altered my voice, and we've never met."
Sure, as a disciple of the Shadow Sect Leader—who handled intel and artifacts—he might have descriptions. But guessing without seeing?
Na Yul-ryang wanted answers.
Mok Kyung-un replied casually.
"An educated guess."
"A guess?"
"Yes."
"You pinpointed me with nothing but a guess in an empty situation...?"
"Not entirely empty."
"Not empty how?"
"Island Venom King was visited by everyone except you, Eldest Young Master. And the subordinates of second young master and third lady—who tried contacting me—were knocked out. That's how I guessed."
Na Yul-ryang extended a hand.
"I might buy knocking out third junior sister's disciple, but where's this subordinate of second junior brother?"
Mok Kyung-un pointed to the corner of the wall.
The spot where the emanating energy had suddenly faded.
"Didn't you knock out Seo Hye-in, leader of the Serene Blade Unit under second young master?"
'!?'
Na Yul-ryang's eyes gleamed.
More surprising than sensing someone spying via energy sense: identifying who.
"You... have incredibly sharp perception."
"No such thing. I had no idea you were there, Eldest Young Master."
Na Yul-ryang snorted dismissively.
As if it were obvious.
It might seem arrogant, but it suited him perfectly.
"Whatever. You knocked them out and guessed from that?"
"Yes. Neither second young master nor third lady would suddenly knock out their own people trying to recruit me..."
"And other executives would have even less reason, right?"
"Yes."
Na Yul-ryang chuckled softly.
"I thought you had decent skill, but your head works pretty well too."
[...Overpraise.]
"Handing you to my juniors might've been fun to watch them compete. But seeing you myself? Can't do it."
Mok Kyung-un thought at his words.
So Eldest Young Master wanted to recruit him too?
But what came next was unexpected.
"You felt it too—that you're the same kind as me?"
"......"
"So I've changed my mind. Someone like you needs to be firmly controlled... or killed right now."
-Shwaaaaa!
As soon as the words left his mouth, azure sword energy gathered at Na Yul-ryang's sword finger.
It was sword gang.