Chapter 78
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: The Secret Chamber's Legacy
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Seol Hwa-un, lightening his body with inner energy, landed lightly on the ground.
Thud.
The moment his feet touched down, the passageway sealed shut completely.
Grind! Boom.
‘Even after two hundred years, it still works perfectly.’
The room he had descended into was about three zhang in size, and luminous jewels embedded in the ceiling kept it from being dark.
“…….”
Seol Hwa-un carefully surveyed his surroundings. A large table and chair, and a massive bookshelf—that was all. It was exactly as he remembered it from two hundred years ago.
“Long time no see.”
He approached the table. As he did, he absentmindedly touched the chair.
Crack.
“……!”
The chair crumbled to dust right then and there.
‘Ah, the diamond wood chair...’
No matter how sturdy the diamond wood was, it couldn’t withstand the ravages of time.
“Hm?”
Amid his surprise, he spotted an unfamiliar letter on the table. It definitely hadn’t been there when he left.
‘Someone’s been here?!’
The letter was yellowed with age, suggesting it had been in the sealed room for quite some time.
Seol Hwa-un cautiously took out the letter and unfolded it.
[Cheon-i.]
“……!”
The moment he saw the first line, he knew who had left it. The handwriting was familiar.
It was Seup So-yang’s script.
[Cheon-i. You’ve done something awfully clever. Who would’ve thought you’d built a secret chamber like this? Keeping it from me? That’s too harsh, isn’t it?]
Seol Hwa-un smiled and muttered, as if Seup So-yang were standing right in front of him.
“Heh, sorry about that. I knew you’d blab it all over town if you found out, so I had no choice.”
Seup So-yang, renowned as the world’s greatest craftsman, was equally famous for his endless chatter.
[Well, I get why you did it. Still, you should’ve told me! If you had, would this place have been built so shoddily?]
Seol Hwa-un frowned.
‘Shoddy? That’s a bit much.’
[The mechanisms were so poorly made they’d break down in a year. Lucky for you, I stumbled on this place while sculpting your statue—what would’ve happened otherwise?]
Seol Hwa-un nodded.
“I see. It was too clean to make sense; so it was your handiwork.”
Two hundred years was a long time. For there to be no moisture or dust buildup was impossible under normal circumstances. It meant exceptional construction techniques had been used for maintenance.
[Everyone else thinks you’re dead, but not me. I believe without a doubt that you’ll return someday.]
“…….”
[But now, with my life nearing its end... I worry I might not be here to greet you. So out of regret, I leave this letter. ...Today, I miss you more than ever.]
Seol Hwa-un felt his eyes sting for no reason. He muttered unwittingly.
“I feel the same.”
After standing dazed for a moment, he read the letter’s final line.
[P.S. – I’ve kept your belongings safe, in case they might spoil.]
“……!”
Seol Hwa-un whipped his head around. Sure enough, there was a box on the bookshelf he hadn’t noticed before. It was dark and metallic-looking.
“This must be it.”
Seol Hwa-un took out the iron box and opened it.
“Ah.”
Inside was a bronze plaque engraved with a taiji pattern and a pair of extremely thin, transparent gloves.
Seol Hwa-un picked up the plaque.
“Long time no see, Taiji Hunyuan Plaque.”
It was the sacred treasure of the Hunwon Sect, symbolizing the sect leader.
It gleamed like copper but was made of some other metal—Seol Hwa-un didn’t even know exactly what.
He tucked the Taiji Hunyuan Plaque into his bosom.
“And...”
Seol Hwa-un’s gaze fell on the transparent gloves. These were the Hunwon Sect’s one and only divine weapon: the Shadowless Fist Gauntlets.
The Shadowless Fist Gauntlets were woven from heavenly silkworm thread and silver silk, coated with a special drug, boasting defensive power enough to block even divine weapons.
Moreover, donning them amplified the power of any fist technique.
‘I didn’t need them back when I was the Heavenly Collapse Fist Emperor.’
Having reached the Martial God Realm, they were useless to him, so he had stored them here in the sealed room.
Seol Hwa-un immediately slipped on the Shadowless Fist Gauntlets. They were so thin and transparent that you wouldn’t notice them unless you looked closely.
‘Good. With their power, I might even reach Extreme Flame.’
The final stage of the Pure Yang Infinite Art was Extreme Flame. If so, the power of Blazing Flower Fist and Thunderbolt Three Fists would be far greater than before.
“…….”
He had gathered everything there was to take. He once more carefully scanned the stone chamber.
‘I probably won’t come back here.’
“Whew.”
Letting out a soft sigh, he went back to the entrance and activated the wall mechanism.
Grind!
Looking up, he saw the night sky.
‘Time to head back.’
Tap!
Seol Hwa-un kicked off the wall and launched himself into the air.
Tap!
It was a pit three zhang deep, but he escaped with just two wall kicks.
Even if someone entered, without exceptional lightness skill, they’d be trapped.
The moment Seol Hwa-un landed back in the plaza, the mechanism sealed shut again.
Grind!
Boom.
Seol Hwa-un stared silently at the pit, now impossible to even find traces of. The time from entering to exiting the sealed room hadn’t even been two quarters of an hour.
‘Traces of my past life...’
Without the feel of the Taiji Hunyuan Plaque and Shadowless Fist Gauntlets in his bosom, he might’ve thought it was all a dream.
“…….”
Enough reminiscing. Now it was time to live fully as Seol Hwa-un.
It was then.
“Who goes there!”
Seol Hwa-un flinched in spite of himself.
‘No matter how lost in thought I was, how did I not notice her approaching?’
Turning his head, he saw a slender woman in dark red martial robes.
Not a striking beauty, but her voluptuous figure exuded a subtle allure—a woman in her late twenties.
“As I thought, I wasn’t hearing things. I knew someone had appeared.”
She was the woman who had shown up after Seol Hwa-un entered the sealed room.
“Not going to answer?”
She unleashed a fierce wave of killing intent. It would’ve made any average warrior flinch, but it had no effect on Seol Hwa-un.
“You take my killing intent without batting an eye. Not an ordinary guy, huh.”
Seol Hwa-un countered.
“And who might you be?”
“I am So Hye-ran, leader of the Martial Alliance’s Vermilion Bird Brigade.”
So Hye-ran, the Mt. Hua Sword Phoenix.
A female swordswoman from the Mt. Hua Sect, she had stunned the martial world by appearing out of nowhere at the Dragon-Phoenix Tournament and reaching the top four.
After refining her skills further to a higher realm, she joined the Martial Alliance and became leader of the Vermilion Bird Brigade, one of its four major combat units.
Seol Hwa-un had heard the rumors about her.
“Pleased to meet you. I am...”
Suddenly, she cut him off.
“Refusing to reveal yourself to the end, huh.”
“I was just about to...”
But So Hye-ran was no longer listening.
“You must be pretty confident to dare infiltrate the Martial Alliance, right?”
Shing!
She drew her sword from her waist. It was a famed blade, emanating a chilling aura.
“Try taking my sword!”
So Hye-ran swung at him without warning.
Swoosh!
She had gone all out from the start—the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique.
‘Unbelievable. Attacking out of nowhere like this.’
It was the Plum Blossom Storm Barrage Ma Seong-gyun had used before.
But this was on another level entirely—vivid plum blossoms bloomed, targeting Seol Hwa-un.
‘Impressive skill, as expected.’
Pah!
Seol Hwa-un casually clenched his fist and thrust it out. It was the Broad Cold Fist’s Apex Fist Peak.
Bam!
The intense fist wind shattered the plum blossoms outright.
“Not bad at all, you villain!”
At some point, Seol Hwa-un had become a villain.
“There’s some misunderstanding...”
“Shut up!”
She unleashed the second form of the Plum Blossom Sword: Plum Blossom Butterfly Dance.
Pah!
This time, two plum blossoms bloomed.
‘No talking my way out of this.’
Seol Hwa-un reluctantly swung both fists again.
Whoosh!
Broad Cold Fist’s Cold Wind Three Strikes.
One plum blossom flew straight at him, while the other circled in the air before plunging like lightning.
Seol Hwa-un’s strikes hit them precisely.
Pop!
It was a fist infused with modest inner energy, yet it destroyed the plum blossom sword qi unscathed. Thanks to the Shadowless Fist Gauntlets.
So Hye-ran, unaware of this, was inwardly shocked.
‘He shattered plum blossom sword qi barehanded, and his hands are fine?!’
The remaining strike of the Cold Wind Three Strikes flew at her.
“Hmph!”
She swiftly countered with the third form: Plum Blossom Revealing Splendor.
Boom!
A massive explosion rang out, forcing both back a step.
Seol Hwa-un, who had poured substantial inner energy into that final strike to end it quickly, narrowed his eyes.
‘Vermilion Bird Brigade Leader, indeed... She’s the real deal.’
He looked somewhat troubled.
‘Not unbeatable, but subduing her without injury will be tricky.’
Harming her inside the Martial Alliance headquarters would cause all sorts of problems.
Meanwhile, So Hye-ran grinned fiercely.
“Impressive! This is fun.”
Seol Hwa-un sensed something off in her words, but her next assault came too fast for him to speak.
Papat!
Her sword strikes were on a whole new level. It was the famously flashy Plum Blossom Scattered Profusely from the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique.
Six plum blossoms bloomed, attacking from all directions.
‘She’s relentless. Fine then...’
Seol Hwa-un elevated his Ice White Divine Art.
‘Time to properly test the Shadowless Fist Gauntlets’ power.’
Pah!
A pure white light emanated from his right fist. He thrust it forward.
‘Fist Cannon One Split!’
Boom!
Kwakwakwang!
The Fist Cannon One Split’s energy obliterated the countless plum blossom sword qi in an instant. It then bore down on So Hye-ran.
Her eyes widened at the sight.
‘Gasp!’
Panicking, she wildly swung her sword.
‘Plum... Plum Blossom Full Bloom!’
Plum blossoms bloomed in succession, blocking the Fist Cannon One Split’s energy.
Kwaaang!
A tremendous explosion echoed as So Hye-ran’s form was hurled backward.
“Ugh!”
Seol Hwa-un smiled in satisfaction.
‘As expected. It amplifies even the North Sea Ice Palace’s techniques.’
Just then, Martial Alliance warriors on patrol came running at the sound of the explosion.
“Ah!”
“Gasp, Vermilion Bird Leader!”
Some of the flustered warriors surrounded Seol Hwa-un, while others rushed to So Hye-ran.
“Vermilion Bird Leader, are you alright?”
As they tried to support her staggering form, she snapped irritably.
“Back off! Don’t touch me!”
She had taken a hit, but aside from a tear in her robes, she was mostly fine.
So Hye-ran smacked her lips in regret.
‘Tch, if only they’d come a bit later.’
Then, one of the warriors surrounding Seol Hwa-un spoke up.
“Huh? Aren’t you the North Sea Ice Palace’s Young Palace Lord?”
He was one of the warriors who had greeted Seol Hwa-un earlier that day.
Seol Hwa-un gave a wry smile and nodded.
“That’s right.”
Startled, the man immediately shouted.
“My apologies! Everyone, lower your weapons! He’s a guest of the Alliance!”
The other warriors sheathed their weapons with bewildered expressions.
“But how did you end up fighting the Vermilion Bird Leader...”
“Couldn’t sleep, so I went for a walk... and she attacked me out of the blue.”
Unable to tell the full truth, he improvised. So Hye-ran forced a smile.
“Oh, I see. A guest. My mistake.”
“…….”
“Sorry about that, Young Palace Lord.”
Her apology was half-hearted at best, and she soon left.
In truth, So Hye-ran had suspected Seol Hwa-un’s identity from the start. His attire made it obvious.
She had just wanted to spar with the lately famous North Heaven Dragon and acted on impulse.
The other warriors had already guessed as much. Her strong competitive spirit was notorious in the Martial Alliance.
The warrior apologized to Seol Hwa-un again.
“My apologies, Young Palace Lord. The Vermilion Bird Leader is just so competitive...”
“It’s fine. I’ll be off then.”
Seol Hwa-un turned toward the Noble Guests Hall.
Suddenly, the Martial Alliance warrior found it odd.
‘Come to think of it, there was no report of anyone leaving the Noble Guests Hall—how did he get all the way here?’