Chapter 158
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 158
Chapter Title: Return to the Martial Alliance After Three Years
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The Martial Alliance, revisited after three years, was brimming with energy. With preparations underway for the Dragon-Phoenix Tournament, crowds of people were already coming and going.
As Yu Gong-seon moved along under the guidance of Martial Alliance warriors, he pointed to one side.
"Look over there!"
There, six massive sparring platforms were under construction in the central plaza, right where the statue of the Heavenly Collapse Fist Emperor stood.
Seol Hwa-un nodded.
"Looks like the preliminary platforms."
The area was so vast that even with considerable spacing between the platforms, it still felt spacious.
However, Yu Gong-seon's real interest lay elsewhere.
"That's the famous statue of the founding Alliance Leader, the Heavenly Collapse Fist Emperor."
"……!"
The North Dragon Brigade members traveling with them also fixed their gazes on the Heavenly Collapse Fist Emperor's statue, their eyes gleaming with unmistakable hostility.
Brigade Leader Mok spoke coldly.
"Sooner or later, we'll smash that statue to pieces."
While the Heavenly Collapse Fist Emperor was hailed as a hero in the Central Plains martial world, to the warriors of the North Sea Ice Palace, he was nothing but an enemy.
Especially for the North Dragon Brigade, formed because of 'that incident,' their grudge ran particularly deep.
"……."
Seol Hwa-un awkwardly turned his head away.
The group soon arrived at the Noble Guest Pavilion. Yu Gong-seon, seeing it for the first time, lit up with excitement.
"Oh, what a magnificent building."
Before long, the Noble Guest Pavilion Lord appeared.
He cupped his fists in a respectful bow.
"It's an honor to see you again, Young Palace Lord."
"Long time no see."
They had stayed at the pavilion during their previous visit to the Martial Alliance, so they were already familiar.
"With so many visitors this time, it might not be as comfortable as last time. My apologies."
"No worries."
"Thank you for understanding."
The Noble Guest Pavilion Lord always left a good impression with his kindness and courtesy. That was likely why he had held the position for so long.
As he said, the pavilion already had quite a few prior guests inside.
Among them were elders from the Orthodox Heaven Alliance here to formally observe the Dragon-Phoenix Tournament, as well as Chief Namgung Seong.
He personally greeted Seol Hwa-un.
"Long time no see, Young Palace Lord. Or should I say, North Heaven Fortress Lord."
"It's been a while since we last met in person, Chief."
During the Orthodox Heaven Alliance Leader inauguration ceremony, Seol Hwa-un had only seen him from afar.
Seol Hwa-un introduced his group.
"This is my chief steward."
"It's an honor to meet you, Chief. Yu Gong-seon."
Yu Gong-seon greeted him with exaggerated enthusiasm, but Namgung Seong didn't miss the sharpness in his eyes.
'An extraordinary individual.'
"Pleasure to meet you."
Seol Hwa-un then pointed to the North Dragon Brigade.
"This is the North Dragon Brigade, assigned to my protection this time."
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Mok In-ho, Brigade Leader of the North Dragon Brigade."
"Likewise."
As Namgung Seong casually exchanged greetings with the North Dragon Brigade Leader, his eyes sharpened.
'Hm?'
Only then did he notice the North Dragon Brigade members standing behind their leader.
'All of them are squad members?'
Namgung Seong couldn't help but be astonished.
'They don't fall short compared to our family's Azure Sky Brigade!'
The Namgung Family's elite force was the Azure Sky Brigade.
'The North Wind Brigade I saw before was no pushover either...'
He looked over Seol Hwa-un's group with newfound respect.
'Impressive. Their potential seems bottomless.'
For now, the North Sea Ice Palace's strength was a welcome boon as allies, but Namgung Seong couldn't ignore the future implications.
'I might need to start keeping a closer eye on them.'
After exchanging greetings with the Orthodox Heaven Alliance elders, Seol Hwa-un turned to Namgung Seong.
"Was the Orthodox Heaven Alliance behind my appointment as a judge this time?"
"Haha, sharp as ever. We did recommend it, of course. But the final decision came from the Martial Alliance."
"I see."
"Rest well, then."
Seol Hwa-un's group unpacked in their assigned rooms.
As they each took some time to rest, Jin Pyo soon visited Seol Hwa-un's room.
"……."
Seeing his face, Seol Hwa-un immediately grasped the purpose.
Seol Hwa-un smiled and asked.
"Found a countermeasure?"
Jin Pyo replied with a determined expression.
"I'd like to show you right now."
The night before, after a light spar with Jin Pyo, Seol Hwa-un had given him an assignment.
"Very well. Let's head to the training ground."
Unfortunately, the training ground was already filled with numerous warriors practicing. Most were junior disciples from the Martial Alliance.
At that moment, the Noble Guest Pavilion Lord hurried over.
"My apologies, Young Palace Lord. During the Dragon-Phoenix Tournament, all training grounds are open to everyone as a rule."
The Noble Guest Pavilion's rarely used training ground made it even more so.
"So the same goes for everywhere else."
"Yes."
They needed a spar close to real combat, which wasn't possible in a cramped space.
'Should we go outside?'
As honored guests, formally requesting a training ground from the Martial Alliance wouldn't be difficult.
'But some of them would have to leave because of me.'
Seol Hwa-un didn't want to go that far. As he wore a troubled expression, he turned to the Noble Guest Pavilion Lord.
"Any empty training grounds available?"
"Hm... There's one exception that's not open even during this period."
"Where's that?"
"It's the exclusive training ground for the Martial Alliance's Four Guardian Martial Squads. But you need permission from the squad leader to use it."
"The Four Guardian Martial Squads..."
Something suddenly came to Seol Hwa-un's mind.
'Come to think of it, that woman I ran into back then was the Vermilion Bird Squad Leader.'
On his previous visit, while searching for a secret chamber he had used in his past life, he had crossed hands with Vermilion Bird Squad Leader So Hye-ran.
'Perfect. She owes me one anyway.'
"Where's the Vermilion Bird Squad's quarters?"
* * *
South Peak Pavilion.
The residence of the Vermilion Bird Squad, one of the Martial Alliance's Four Guardian Martial Squads, consisted of two large buildings and a spacious training ground.
The Four Guardian Martial Squads weren't particularly busy during the Dragon-Phoenix Tournament.
Menial tasks were handled by subordinate units, and there were no large-scale drills, so they actually had less to do.
Of course, once the tournament began in earnest, they'd have intensified guard duties, but until then, they had time to spare.
Right now, standing guard was all that was required.
Even that was only for regular squad members. Squad Leader So Hye-ran was lounging around, killing time.
Her eyes widened during her boring routine.
"What? Someone's here to see me?"
"The North Heaven Dragon wishes an audience with you, Squad Leader."
"……!"
She knew Seol Hwa-un had arrived at the Martial Alliance as a judge for the Dragon-Phoenix Tournament.
But due to their past encounter, she felt awkward and had planned to hole up in her room throughout the event to avoid him.
'Why come see me now? Is he here to bring up that incident from three years ago?'
So Hye-ran shook her head.
'Nah, no way. The North Heaven Dragon, praised as a great hero, wouldn't be that petty...'
Her expression changed.
'No. Who knows? What if he demands I kneel and apologize? If I refuse, he complains to the Alliance officially...'
She might even face disciplinary action like a pay cut.
'Ughhh!'
She tore at her hair.
"Squad Leader?"
"Yeah?"
"What should we do?"
So Hye-ran steeled herself with a grim look.
'Alright. Let's meet him first. It's not like he'll kill me.'
As she stepped outside, Seol Hwa-un, Jin Pyo, and the North Dragon Brigade were waiting.
Seol Hwa-un said it was fine, but Brigade Leader Mok insisted.
With the Shadow King Sect plotting even in the Orthodox Heaven Alliance, they couldn't let their guard down in the Martial Alliance either.
Spotting her, Seol Hwa-un bowed respectfully with cupped fists.
"Long time no see, Vermilion Bird Squad Leader."
"Ahahaha, has it been that long?"
She couldn't meet his eyes.
"So, what brings you here?"
"Actually..."
So Hye-ran's heart pounded with anxiety.
'What? What is it?'
"Could I borrow the Vermilion Bird Squad's training ground for a bit?"
"Huh? Oh, that's no problem... Is that all you needed?"
"Yes."
So Hye-ran finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Haa, I was worried for nothing..."
"……?"
"That's easy enough to accommodate. Go ahead and use it."
"Much appreciated."
Seol Hwa-un headed straight to the training ground. He soon faced Jin Pyo and drew his practice sword.
"Alright, let's go again. Show me a proper response."
Jin Pyo nodded vigorously.
"Yes!"
Seol Hwa-un lightly swung his practice sword.
Whoosh!
But the result was far from light. Countless snowflakes bloomed and surged toward Jin Pyo.
Swish!
This was the true essence of the Snow Spirit Divine Sword.
It belonged to the same lineage as Mount Huashan's Plum Blossom Sword Technique, emphasizing speed and variability.
This was the assignment Seol Hwa-un had given him.
'Break the Snow Spirit Divine Sword with the Nine Palaces Divine Travel Sword!'
Jin Pyo had once broken Ma Seong-gyun's Plum Blossom Sword Technique. But that wasn't enough.
Back then, Ma Seong-gyun had benefited from his inexperience.
Though the Nine Palaces Divine Travel Sword held an advantage as a rigid sword style, that only applied at lower levels.
A Plum Blossom Sword Technique at mastery was tough even for rigid swords.
'If you can't break the Snow Spirit Divine Sword, the Plum Blossom Sword Technique is out of the question.'
Meanwhile, Jin Pyo felt overwhelmed by the Snow Spirit Divine Sword.
'As I thought yesterday, the Lord's swordsmanship is truly remarkable.'
Jin Pyo gripped his sword tightly.
'No matter how I think about it, this is the only way I can do it!'
He unleashed his sword with full power.
'Nine Palaces One Thrust!'
Kwaaa!
His sword pierced through the sword qi created by the Snow Spirit Divine Sword.
Pop pop pop pop pop!
The snowflakes shattered like glass.
"Huff! Huff! Huff! Huff!"
Having successfully broken the Snow Spirit Divine Sword, Jin Pyo gasped for breath. He had poured everything into that single technique.
Seol Hwa-un smiled faintly.
"Well done, Vice Sect Leader."
"D-Does this mean I can beat the Huashan Sword Master?"
Seol Hwa-un replied coolly.
"Hardly. I merely used it at a level you could break with full effort."
"Oh..."
"But that technique from the Nine Palaces Divine Travel Sword is the right answer. Hold it back until the very end, then finish with that move in the final moment. That gives you at least a fighting chance."
Jin Pyo nodded with a resolute expression.
"Understood."
"From now on, hone just that one technique. Repeat until it's perfect."
At Seol Hwa-un's words, Jin Pyo repeated the Nine Palaces One Thrust with a grim look.
Though he didn't infuse inner energy, the intense focus on each repetition soon beaded sweat on his forehead.
Watching him, Seol Hwa-un said.
"If your stamina drops and you can't perform it properly, stop and rest. Repeating with flawed form out of greed is pointless."
"Yes, Fortress Lord!"
So Hye-ran, who hadn't entered until then, cautiously approached.
"Um, Fortress Lord?"
"Hm? What is it?"
"That guidance spar just now was impressive."
"……."
Her eyes sparkled.
"So, could you give me some swordsmanship instruction too?"