Chapter 26: My Mouth Hurts Like Hell! Annoyed to Death!
No sooner had the three entered the city than the lord of Yanggye Fortress appeared, leading his soldiers. The fortress lord pointed accusingly at the silver-armored woman, his voice laced with fury.
"Who the hell are you to dare..."
At that moment, his eyes caught sight of the golden tally she wore at her waist.
Staring at the golden tally, the lord fell silent, unable to continue. His body began to tremble like a leaf in the wind. He hastily dropped to his knees.
"I-I see the Ninth Princess!"
Ninth Princess!
At those words, everyone froze like statues.
The Ninth Princess! The youngest supreme commander in Jiang Kingdom history!
The Ninth Princess, hailed alongside An Ranxiu as a living legend of the kingdom!
Just then, Han Hyang-mong rushed forward to the Ninth Princess. Lu Xiaoruan, his face filled with shock, hurried over and bowed deeply as well.
"Tianshan City Lord Lu Xiaoruan pays respects to the Ninth Princess!"
The Ninth Princess looked at Lu Xiaoruan and spoke.
"City Lord Lu, though Yanggye Fortress is not under your direct jurisdiction, as a subject of Jiang Kingdom, you have a duty to repel foreign invaders. Yet you stood by while the Tang forces provoked us! For this crime, I hereby deduct five years of your stipend and command you to care for the families of the unjustly slain."
"This lowly one humbly accepts the punishment!"
Next, Han Hyang-mong bowed to the Ninth Princess and said,
"Han Hyang-mong of Chwiseonru pays respects to the Ninth Princess."
The Ninth Princess addressed Han Hyang-mong.
"Had you stepped forward for the people earlier, I would have solidified your position at Chwiseonru. But alas, the peace of the kingdom seems unimportant to you. How can someone like you be called a subject of Jiang? From this day, you are no longer of Jiang Kingdom. Moreover, you are forbidden from any involvement with Chwiseonru within our borders!"
Han Hyang-mong's face drained of color at the Ninth Princess's words.
The three ru lords' earlier house arrest in the imperial city had been a chance for her to make a comeback. But now, with a single decree from the Ninth Princess, even that opportunity had vanished!
Chwiseonru would never confront a power like the Ninth Princess to save her.
The Ninth Princess turned to the kneeling fortress lord and soldiers.
"Tang soldiers invaded the city, slaughtering and plundering the people, yet as lord, you cowered in fear of death. Thus, I sentence you to summary execution. The remaining soldiers shall each receive fifty strokes of the rod and be conscripted into the suicide squads. Only those who earn merit in future battles against the Tang will have their crimes pardoned!"
Hearing this, the Yanggye Fortress lord collapsed in a faint.
At that moment, black-clad warriors appeared from somewhere and dragged away the lord and soldiers.
Now, the Ninth Princess's gaze turned to Yeop Hyeon.
"While all trembled in fear, you alone faced the enemy. Why?"
Yeop Hyeon met her eyes directly and replied,
"I'm not from Yanggye Fortress, but I couldn't stand by while fellow Jiang subjects suffered humiliation. That's why I stepped in."
The Ninth Princess regarded Yeop Hyeon with admiring eyes.
"If all the men of Jiang were like you, how wonderful it would be! Come with me! I'll grant you the rank of 参将."
Han Hyang-mong and Lu Xiaoruan were stunned by her words.
It was clear the Ninth Princess was quite taken with Yeop Hyeon!
Moreover, being granted the rank of 参将—not as a mere soldier, but as an officer commanding a hundred men—was an enormous reward!
'Enlist in the army?'
Yeop Hyeon pondered briefly before shaking his head.
Seeing this, Lu Xiaoruan nearly cried out. Accepting the princess's offer would place a mighty backer—the princess of Jiang—at his back. What greater stroke of fortune could there be? And yet he refused?
Han Hyang-mong was equally shocked, but considering the Sword Immortal behind Yeop Hyeon, she could somewhat understand. Would someone walking with a Sword Immortal settle for a mere 参将?
As Yeop Hyeon refused, the Ninth Princess asked, puzzled,
"You don't want it?"
"I still have much to do. This doesn't seem like the right time for me to join the military."
The Ninth Princess nodded.
"I won't force you. But merit is merit—I shall keep the 参将 position open for you. If you change your mind, seek me out anytime."
As she finished and turned to leave, A Yu rushed from the side, kneeling before the princess.
"Princess! Take me with you. I want to be a soldier!"
The Ninth Princess looked at A Yu.
"Do you know how grueling a soldier's life is?"
A Yu clenched her fists and replied,
"No matter how hard, I'm not afraid!"
The Ninth Princess stared long at A Yu's resolute expression before nodding.
"Follow me!"
With that, the Ninth Princess wheeled her horse around and exited the fortress.
A Yu turned to Yeop Hyeon and said,
"I'm A Yu! Remember my name!"
With those final words, A Yu chased after the princess.
"Oppa—!"
At that moment, Yeop Ryeong ran to Yeop Hyeon and clung tightly to his arm.
Yeop Hyeon playfully swatted her hand and said,
"Making a fuss over nothing!"
Gazing at Yeop Ryeong with affectionate eyes, Yeop Hyeon turned to Lu Xiaoruan.
"City Lord! Was that really Jiang's Ninth Princess?"
"Indeed."
At his confirmation, Yeop Hyeon looked out beyond the fortress gates.
'The Ninth Princess... one half of Jiang's Absolute Twin Heroes with An Ranxiu...'
"City Lord, if this place is so important, why hasn't Jiang sent more soldiers?"
To Yeop Hyeon's question, Lu Xiaoruan replied in a hushed voice.
"Jiang and Tang have a peace accord to minimize clashes, so we couldn't dispatch troops here. Sending an army to Yanggye would mean war.
Despite Jiang's concessions, Tang grew greedier. Now that the Ninth Princess has come, war with them is inevitable soon."
'War?'
Yeop Hyeon had never experienced war between nations, but he knew it would claim countless lives. If possible, he wanted to prevent it.
Half a shichen later, with the cloud ship ready for flight, people began boarding again. Soon, the ship rose high into the sky, and Yanggye Fortress faded into the distance.
The cloud ship drew steadily closer to the imperial city. Days aboard were utterly boring—there was little to do high in the heavens.
Apart from occasional playtime with Yeop Ryeong, Yeop Hyeon threw himself into mad training. With battle intent now embodied, he could easily crush shadows.
Yeop Hyeon still didn't fully grasp this new enlightenment. He only knew that wielding battle intent maximized his combat prowess.
Moreover, the more he fought, the stronger it grew.
This thrilled him immensely.
One regrettable point: what he'd comprehended wasn't sword intent. If it had been, he'd have become a true Sword Dao Grandmaster, not merely a quasi one.
Though he'd grasped battle intent, he couldn't yet call himself a Martial Dao Grandmaster.
His understanding of the Martial Dao itself was still lacking.
Grasping sword or battle intent was essential to becoming a grandmaster, but insufficient alone—many processes lay between.
He could now utilize battle intent, but claiming mastery of the Intent Realm was premature. To truly reach it, he needed those intermediate steps.
Of course, becoming a Martial Dao Grandmaster was only a matter of time. Or once he hit Control Qi Realm and could wield qi, none would dispute the title. His prowess would then depend on his depth of Martial Dao comprehension.
In any case, Yeop Hyeon was highly satisfied with his current state.
Sword Heart Resonance and battle intent.
With these two, he yearned to clash with An Ranxiu again.
[You're still no match for that girl!]
The Heavenly Maiden spoke as if reading his thoughts.
[In your previous bout, she restricted her realm and sealed some abilities. A decent girl, that one.]
Decent?
"In your eyes, Lady Heavenly Maiden, she's just 'decent'?"
[The level of contemporary geniuses is merely 'decent' by my standards.]
Yeop Hyeon asked curiously,
"How incredible were you back in the day, Lady Heavenly Maiden?"
[Figure it out yourself.]
"......"
[Fine! Since you're a good brother, I'll give you a few extra words for free. So-called talent, physique—they're all just clouds in the sky. Countless warriors born ordinary became masters without them. Good talent or physique offers a slight edge, but reaching the heights demands perseverance and mindset.]
'Perseverance? Mindset?'
Yeop Hyeon knew perseverance well—it was what kept the Yeop siblings alive. But mindset felt vague. If charging full-force without hesitation defined it, then yes.
Do what he believed right, avoid what was wrong!
Most worldly affairs were beyond control. Just live without shame!
[With battle intent gained, you can now learn more of the Martial Dao. How to learn is for you to discover.]
Yeop Hyeon asked, puzzled,
"Don't you know the method?"
[I do. Too well, in fact. But whether Sword Dao or Martial Dao, it must be researched and found by oneself. I only point the way.]
After a pause, the Heavenly Maiden continued.
[Follow another's path, and it's forever theirs. Don't imitate—find your own. Only then do enlightenments become truly yours. Your battle intent came from your choice alone. Had I taught it, you'd never have awakened it. So many chase mere luck... Aigoo, my mouth hurts to death! Hurry to that Changmok Academy or whatever! Annoyed to death!]
"......"
Yeop Hyeon fully understood the Heavenly Maiden's words.
Climbing a mountain is hard, but the words don't sink in until you try.
The Martial and Sword Daos were the same. Only by clashing personally could one know the difficulties!