Chapter 382
Chapter 382
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 100
>Chapter Title: Confluence (3)
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“……Yeah. Right now, I’m just one of those who wants to see how far my lord will go.”
“It’s a first. Our thoughts aligning like this.”
He felt the same way.
Seop-chun, who had no special connection, had once thought it fortunate enough if Mok Kyung-un merely became the Vice Leader’s fourth disciple.
But things had changed.
Having witnessed his lord’s monstrous growth and extraordinary qualities up close, he now wanted to stick around and see just how far he would reach.
Perhaps they were even standing at the center of a new chapter in the Central Plains’ history, one they would help write.
But they were unaware.
Someone outside was listening to their conversation.
Standing before the door was none other than Mok Kyung-un.
“…….”
-What? Feeling the pressure?
At Cheong-ryeong’s words, Mok Kyung-un smirked.
It wasn’t pressure, exactly.
He had simply gathered those useful for his revenge as efficiently as possible, yet their expectations were higher than he’d anticipated, leaving him puzzled.
-Using people is just employment, wielding tools.
-Yeah.
-But leading people is different. It’s taking them along on the path you choose, toward the future you envision.
-……
Taking them along?
Mok Kyung-un’s amused expression shifted subtly at Cheong-ryeong’s loaded words.
To him, they were like chess pieces.
Most had submitted to him out of necessity, so he assumed they saw themselves the same way—yet here they were, harboring such thoughts.
‘Chess pieces…….’
Pieces to discard once their use ran out.
And now, those pieces were pinning their hopes on his dreams.
A strange sensation.
Not long ago, such words wouldn’t have stirred him.
But at some point, new emotions had begun to sprout, like seedlings on barren soil.
[Don’t assume you were born that way. You simply closed yourself off.]
Grandfather’s words to him, repeated often.
Back then, he hadn’t understood.
Emotions were vague, abstract—he didn’t grasp what they meant concretely.
But after first feeling fondness for someone, countless emotions branched out and spread.
‘Responding to their expectations.’
Emotions didn’t stop at one.
Infinite was the right word.
Then Cheong-ryeong spoke.
-Don’t feel burdened. Neither I nor anyone else is forcing you to lead. But understand their hopes.
Cheong-ryeong understood their expectations, and so did Mok Kyung-un.
Their path, driven solely by revenge, differed from these men’s.
This was merely an intersection.
At that moment, Mok Kyung-un transmitted.
-Wasn’t your original dream to lead others, Cheong-ryeong?
-……
Her face soured at the sudden question.
This brat had learned too much about her.
Every word shook and pierced her.
-……Even if it was, I hold no lingering attachment to a dream crumbled like a sandcastle. A vengeful spirit’s sole desire is to resolve its grudge.
-Is that really all?
-……What are you trying to say?
-Sometimes I think this.
-What?
-Why not go all the way? Destroying everything tied to him is a given, but now I want to reclaim everything he took from you too.
-Midlife…… Are you saying……
Before she could finish,
Footsteps approached from behind.
-Thud thud!
The steps were deliberate, announcing the presence clearly. The man appeared in his mid-fifties, hair black but beard and brows streaked with white.
The moment Mok Kyung-un saw him, he recalled.
‘The one from Sword Valley?’
He remembered.
The sword masters had called him the Outside Resident.
Excluding Clan Head Gu Cheon-mu and the Taoist Wanderer, he was undoubtedly the top expert.
Interest flickered in Mok Kyung-un’s eyes as he watched him.
The reason?
“You must have gained some enlightenment.”
-Hic!
The Outside Resident halted, frowning at Mok Kyung-un’s words.
And for good reason—he was the one who had stared unblinkingly at the sword Mok Kyung-un carved into Sword Valley’s cliff for over half a day, attaining insight there.
Of course, not everyone had.
Most sword masters, overwhelmed by the impossibly high sword path, had instead left their own swords embedded in the valley, gripped by defeat.
Some had even shattered their blades in self-loathing.
“Indeed, your caliber is different. To discern my enlightenment without even crossing hands.”
“Excluding the Clan Head, you were the one who caught my eye most.”
“Caught your eye…… For a grandmaster like you to say so is an honor.”
“No need for honors.”
Mok Kyung-un shrugged.
Then the door opened, and Seop-chun exclaimed in surprise.
“My lord!”
He had much to say already.
He wondered if the pearl was found, but his top question was how Mok Kyung-un had subdued Spirit Sword Manor and its Clan Head, Gu Cheon-mu—one of the Six Heavens.
But as he moved to ask, he sensed the odd atmosphere.
‘What? Who’s this guy?’
The man exuded an extraordinary aura.
Was that why his lord stood at the guest hall door?
Puzzled, he saw Mong Mu-yak, waiting behind to greet, push past in astonishment.
“What?”
“You know him?”
“It’s the Outside Resident.”
“Outside Resident?”
As a member of the Vice Leader’s direct intelligence unit, Mong Mu-yak had memorized the appearances of all famous martial artists.
Thus, he recognized the Outside Resident instantly.
Spirit Sword Manor was famed for Clan Head Gu Cheon-mu, its artisans, and as a sword holy land—but also for the renown of the Outside Resident and Gok-o.
The Outside Resident was especially famous, having stayed here over twenty years as a guest.
Unlike other swordsmen who came for insight and left, he lingered solely to surpass Clan Head Gu Cheon-mu’s sword path. Martial artists called him the Mad Swordsman.
A guest mad for the sword.
A nickname that fit perfectly.
Seop-chun clucked his tongue.
“What a coincidence. To see one of the elusive Three Madmen here again.”
The Three Madmen.
Three called mad in the martial world.
Their skills rivaled sect leaders, but their innate temperaments were so eccentric and unpredictable that people dubbed them the Three Madmen.
Two of them were now gathered here.
That was why Seop-chun called it a coincidence.
“What? Three Madmen this, that?”
Jang Geum-jeong, sipping from his gourd outside, thought they meant him and stepped out.
Seop-chun told him.
“Not calling you.”
“Then why mention Three Madmen?”
“Heard of Mad Swordsman, Senior Outside Resident?”
“Mad Swordsman? Oh…… That old coot wasting his life on swords.”
“Wasting his life on swords?”
Not far off, the words reached him clearly.
The Outside Resident glared irritably at Jang Geum-jeong.
“What? Wanna go?”
Jang Geum-jeong bristled with fighting spirit.
He’d glimpsed another Madman by chance through connections, but this was his first time seeing the Mad Swordsman.
Staring at the eager Jang Geum-jeong, the Outside Resident relaxed his scowl, smirked, and stepped back.
“Not wrong. I wasted my youth on madness for the sword.”
“……Old coot, you admit it too easily?”
“Can’t help what’s true.”
“Tch.”
Jang Geum-jeong smacked his lips at the response.
He never backed from a fight, and having kindled his spirit, he’d wanted a bout with a fellow Madman.
But this sly deflection left it feeling flat.
Mong Mu-yak’s eyes gleamed watching.
‘Truly the most decent of the Three Madmen.’
The Outside Resident was mad for swords, but closer to sanity than the other two.
He’d never harmed anyone without reason.
Then the Outside Resident turned back to Mok Kyung-un.
“Thought you were alone, but quite the entourage.”
“Yes. Do you have business with me alone?”
“What for? Your group will learn anyway, so I’ll be direct.”
“Go ahead.”
Nothing they couldn’t hear.
Listening was no trouble.
Then,
-Clap!
The Outside Resident politely cupped his fists in salute to Mok Kyung-un.
“Forgive the late intrusion. Spar with me and my sword.”
‘!?’
Seop-chun and Mong Mu-yak’s eyes sharpened at the words.
Barging in to challenge their lord to a duel? Hardly welcome.
Seop-chun stepped forward.
“Senior, what rudeness is this, suddenly demanding a match with our lord?”
“Lord? I thought I misheard— all these men serve you?”
“No, right now……”
-Swish!
Irked by the man ignoring him to speak only to Mok Kyung-un, Seop-chun protested, but a gesture from Mok Kyung-un silenced him.
As Seop-chun closed his mouth, Mok Kyung-un asked flatly.
“Do I have reason to cross swords with you?”
“None. But as a swordsman pursuing the path, how can I pass by a Sword Venerable who has transcended the wall of walls, reaching the formless realm of ultimate sword extremity?”
‘!!!!!!!’
His subordinates were stunned speechless.
What had they just heard?
Commonly, surpassing the wall was the Transformation Realm.
Beyond that wall, for grandmasters, was the Profound Realm.
In a generation, few martial artists broke through even that.
Across the entire martial world, not many.
Among them, the most exceptional talents surpassed the Transformation wall to reach the Heavenly Profound Realm.
What was this?
‘Transcended the wall of walls?’
Everyone assumed only the Six Heavens, the pinnacle of the current martial world, had reached the Profound Realm. What lay beyond?
A master like the Outside Resident wouldn’t spout nonsense.
Then a voice of awe spoke.
“Unbelievable.”
The speaker was Gu Yang-so, the Eight Venom Serpent Staff wielder in his human皮 face mask.
“Senior Gu Yang?”
At Mong Mu-yak’s call, Gu Yang-so said in a trembling voice.
“……I’ve heard of it.”
“What?”
“In ancient martial tales, one called the world’s greatest spoke of a realm beyond the wall of walls.”
“A realm beyond the wall of walls? So that’s true?”
“They said it’s attained by crossing the boundary of life and death, calling that enlightenment the Life-Death Realm.”
‘Life-Death Realm?’
All eyes widened at Mok Kyung-un.
They’d been shocked enough learning he’d subdued Gu Cheon-mu, one of the Six Heavens and Spirit Sword Manor’s head, on the way here.
But he’d surpassed even the Profound Realm, realm of grandmasters and supermen?
What was happening?
Amid the shock, Mok Kyung-un spoke indifferently.
“Is that reason enough to fight me?”
“Not ‘just.’ To me, the sword is my entire life.”
The Outside Resident stared intently, sincerity burning.
Feeling it, Mok Kyung-un opened his mouth, looking mildly annoyed.
“Well, if so, nothing I can do—but since it’s not my entire life, I don’t see the need.”
‘!?‘
His unhesitating refusal hardened the Outside Resident’s face.
He’d assumed a swordsman at such a realm would be sincere about the sword and understand his own sincerity.
Not rejected outright.
Moreover,
‘The sword isn’t his entire life?’
How could such a person surpass Gu Cheon-mu’s sword path to such heights?
[Confluence (3)] End