Chapter 77: That Was What I Was Saving to Buy Booze With
The girl showed no reaction to Yeop Hyeon's teasing. She just blinked.
Her expression looked a bit strange. Unthinkingly, Yeop Hyeon reached out and stroked her head again.
"Big bro's got business to take care of, so I'm heading out!"
With those words, Yeop Hyeon rose from his seat. He vanished from the girl's sight.
"Did you sense it?"
As if understanding her words, the little bird shook its head.
The girl frowned and gazed up at the sky.
"A Sword Immortal appeared in Jiang Kingdom, yet none of our Ho Do Ja—our protectors—noticed... That's impossible..."
Her eyes turned toward the end of the road. Yeop Hyeon had already disappeared, but she could still see him!
At that moment, the little bird spoke.
"We must punish him for insulting our master. I'll go kill that bastard!"
The girl extended her hand toward the bird as it tried to take flight, and it slowly dropped into her palm.
"That kid has a sword heart pure as steel, filled with benevolence. He'll be a useful talent someday, so don't touch him. Just watch. If he grows right, he might become another hero for our Qingzhou."
The girl stood and took a single step.
In that one step, her figure vanished completely.
Yeop Hyeon arrived at the mountain entrance leading to Canglan Academy. A crowd surrounded him—mostly women.
"Young Master Yeop..."
A young man stepped forward and bowed politely.
"I am Yu Lin, young master of the Yu Family. We've come to invite Young Master Yeop to the banquet at our Yu Family estate today..."
The others surged forward, chiming in one after another.
"Young Master Yeop, I want to join Canglan Academy too!"
"Young Master Yeop, is it true you're a great sword cultivator!?"
"Young Master Yeop, could you swing your sword just once for us?"
"Young Master Yeop, Young Master Yeop..."
Yeop Hyeon broke through their encirclement—tighter than a heavenly net—and fled.
The back mountain.
Yeop Hyeon arrived at the waterfall and watched Bai Ze train. Bai Ze's body gleamed with a red luster!
Spotting Yeop Hyeon, Bai Ze asked,
"You... not... train... ing?"
Yeop Hyeon straightened up seriously.
"Genius doesn't need training. Take me, for example."
Bai Ze's eyes flashed with fury.
"Get... lost!"
As Yeop Hyeon chuckled, a fierce gust of wind whipped past him.
Yeop Hyeon spun and unleashed a punch.
Boom—!
A shadow flew back wildly. At that instant, a cold gleam flashed soundlessly before Yeop Hyeon's eyes!
Yeop Hyeon hastily retreated, deflecting the gleam at an angle.
Simultaneously, another shadow appeared, swinging a staff down at him.
Yeop Hyeon thrust out his right fist.
Bang—!
A surge of fist momentum erupted from Yeop Hyeon's punch, batting away the staff.
His follow-up strike!
But before it connected, the opponent had already retreated over ten zhang.
Mu Yun Qi halted and stared at Yeop Hyeon.
"What the hell? That punch feels way stronger than last time!"
Yeop Hyeon said nothing and shot forward.
Mu Yun Qi hurriedly fell back another ten zhang. At the same time, a sharp flying dagger hurtled toward Yeop Hyeon at the speed of light.
Boom—!
Yeop Hyeon had no choice but to halt.
But the dagger was already at his nose!
Then, with a clear sword cry, a blade flew in from the side, knocking the dagger away.
Clang—!
Mu Yun Qi reached out and caught the returning dagger.
"Haha! How's my dagger taste? Pretty awesome, right?"
"Damn impressive... Huh, Dean Ji?"
Mu Yun Qi followed Yeop Hyeon's gaze and turned. In that instant, Yeop Hyeon's figure closed in right before him.
"Shit!"
Mu Yun Qi's face paled as he desperately retreated.
Boom—!
A dull thud echoed, sending Mu Yun Qi flying over ten zhang away.
Moments later, Mu Yun Qi groaned and barely struggled to his feet.
"Y-You little shit, Yeop Hyeon! You dared trick me?"
"Why so serious? Just trick me back. Come on, give it a shot!"
Mu Yun Qi's grinding teeth echoed through the mountain.
"You goddamn bastard!"
Yeop Hyeon shrugged and bolted.
Mu Yun Qi turned to Bai Ze.
"You know that guy's a total shameless prick, right?"
Bai Ze nodded solemnly.
Mu Yun Qi shook his head.
"Never met a thicker-skinned bastard in my life!"
"Yeah... But aren't you supposed to run laps now?"
At Bai Ze's words, Mu Yun Qi's chains rattled as he dashed off.
Inside Dean Ji's courtyard.
Dean Ji lay sprawled on the veranda, reeking of booze.
Yeop Hyeon appeared suddenly and spoke.
"Dean Ji, I need to discuss something."
"Spit it out!"
Dean Ji cracked one eye open and eyed him.
"I want to break through to the Soaring Realm!"
Soaring Realm!
It had been quite some time since Yeop Hyeon entered the Control Qi Realm. His skills had advanced enough that his realm could easily reach Soaring Realm.
But unlike other martial artists, he couldn't advance normally.
To reach Soaring Realm, he absolutely needed a spirit sword.
Maybe even more than one—who knew?
If he succeeded, his abilities across the board would soar. Most importantly, he'd gain true flight.
And perhaps even sword flight at the level of divine sword unity!
Sword flight!
Yeop Hyeon could already wield sword control to some degree, but true sword flight remained a distant dream.
"You want to hit Soaring Realm, huh."
"As you know, my body's special nature means I need spirit swords. So if you could just buy me a few..."
"Uh, Dean Ji? Why're you suddenly falling asleep... No, you're snoring already... Hey, old man..."
Dean Ji snored like a corpse, desperately feigning sleep.
Yeop Hyeon itched to draw his sword and stab the old man's side, but considering the dean's terrifying power, he decided against it.
Then the courtyard gate opened, and Ji An Zhi entered.
"Follow me."
Without another word, she headed out.
Yeop Hyeon glanced at Dean Ji's face, shook his head, and followed.
"Shameless old geezer."
She led him to a hall on the back mountain. It consisted of two small buildings, overgrown with weeds as tall as a person—no one to tend them.
What a desolate place...
They stopped before one building. Two large characters adorned the entrance.
Wu Dian—Martial Hall.
"It used to be Canglan Academy's holy ground."
Yeop Hyeon eyed the Martial Hall.
"Anything valuable inside?"
Ji An Zhi's eyes widened as she yelled at him.
"Holy ground! Don't you get it?"
Yeop Hyeon smacked his lips at her outburst.
"Dunno about holy, but I do know our academy's broke and about to starve."
Ji An Zhi fell silent, then spoke softly.
"Canglan Academy used to shine. Even brighter than Cangmu Academy now."
"Then why'd it fall this far?"
"Expansion."
"Expansion?"
"When a faction grows too big, even the imperial family can't touch it. Back then, Canglan Academy hit an unprecedented peak. We ignored everyone. Made a ton of enemies. That was fine—until we took that one student..."
Ji An Zhi turned to Yeop Hyeon.
"Go Cheon Jin, Cangmu Academy's current ace. He was originally our student."
"What? How'd he end up at Cangmu?"
"Not 'end up.' We were forced to expel him."
She stepped inside, continuing.
"Factions or people—once they expand, they lose their roots. And we paid dearly."
She stopped and faced him.
"In the duel between academies back then, we only sent junior disciples. It was a massacre. Countless Canglan students' heads ended up on stakes in Chang Mountain."
Yeop Hyeon had no words.
Faction wars always ended brutally. Even in a small city like Qingcheng it was fierce—what about giants like Canglan and Cangmu!
Four characters flashed in his mind.
Prosperity to Ruin!
Factions or people—overreach in glory, and decline follows.
Canglan's tale was a warning to Yeop Hyeon.
If he became a supreme sword cultivator, he'd remember this lesson.
They entered the grand hall. Nine pillars, each a zhang high, supported it, covered in indecipherable runes.
"These nine pillars represent the Nine Dao Legacies left by experts from the Jungto Sinju headquarters. Every year, they'd send new powerhouses to impart their martial paths here... After our fall, headquarters abandoned us. The legacies are long gone."
Ji An Zhi gave a wry smile.
"We're completely forgotten..."
Yeop Hyeon stayed silent.
Right or wrong back then didn't matter to him. He only remembered Dean Ji saving him and Yeop Ryeong.
That debt must be repaid.
To Yeop Hyeon, favors and grudges alike demanded repayment.
Ji An Zhi stood before one pillar. Suddenly, she drew her knife and slashed.
Slash—!
The pillar shattered.
She destroyed the rest without pause.
As the dust cleared, nine fist-sized jade-grade spirit stones appeared where the pillars had been!
"Th-These are...?"
"Jade-grade spirit stones—the cornerstones of the nine pillars. Priceless treasures. More than enough for a few spirit swords!"
With that, Ji An Zhi left without another word.
Yeop Hyeon stood stunned, staring at the jade-grade spirit stones. After a long moment, he collected them and descended the mountain.
From the courtyard came Dean Ji's sigh.
"You damn girl... That was what this old man was saving to buy booze with..."