Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Can't Even Say This
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With ten days left until the Dragon Phoenix Tournament, we arrived in Shaanxi.
At this rate, we'd reach Chang'an in no more than three days.
"I thought we'd be cutting it close, but we've got some leeway."
"Then how about resting a day before we set off?"
After that burst of laughter, I could feel Jegal Hyeon warming up to me a bit.
He was still a dry, emotionless man, but behind that unchanging expression, curiosity flickered in his eyes.
"We'll need time to shake off the travel fatigue anyway. Flower Shadow, head for the nearest village."
Flower Shadow and I were fine, but she'd been driving the carriage nonstop for ten days straight. She needed a break. She didn't show it, but the exhaustion must have piled up.
"Yes, sir."
Flower Shadow turned the carriage with her usual impassive face.
How three people this stoic and tight-lipped ended up traveling together was a mystery even to me.
We rode on for a while until, at the edge of our vision, a village tucked between towering mountains came into view. I'd been here in my previous life.
Come to think of it, we were passing right by here.
"Huayin."
Huayin. The village itself wasn't huge, but since it was where the Huashan Sect had taken root, every martial artist knew its name.
The Huashan Sect was one of the few sects still upholding the prestige of the old Nine Great Sects and One Gang.
Its glory had faded like the others, but the reputation built over centuries remained unshaken.
"Have you been to Huayin before, Brother Jegal?"
"I have an acquaintance in the Huashan Sect, so I visit now and then."
If Jegal Hyeon had a friend in the Huashan Sect, I had a pretty good guess who it was.
It'd be nice to meet him, but I couldn't act like I knew him.
I'd only just dipped my toes into the martial world in this life. Knowing too much would raise suspicions.
"Anyway, it's bigger than it looks from afar."
Huayin, nestled between the mountains, appeared from a distance like a scattering of small buildings—a modest village. But up close, it was quite sizable.
That was possible only because they packed the space so densely.
"How about we unwind at an inn first?"
As we entered Huayin, Jegal Hyeon led us toward one.
We wound our way up and down the twisting paths until a sign reading "Plum Flower Pavilion" came into view, along with the inn itself.
Red-lacquered pillars, ornate decorations, sweeping roofs, and a massive gate—it bore the marks of age, yet exuded grandeur rather than decay.
"This is Huayin's pride and joy. Legend has it this inn has stood here since the time of the Huashan Sect's founding master."
With all the travelers passing through Huayin, transients outnumbered residents, so naturally, the inns grew grand.
The gate stood open. We stepped inside to find the place packed, even though the sun hadn't set yet.
"What can I get for you?"
A girl in neat clothes—unusually tidy for a server—approached and greeted us.
"Three rooms, and prepare some food."
"Right away. This way, please."
We settled into our rooms to rest off the road weariness.
A short while later, the server announced our meal was ready. We gathered around the table to find it laden with a colorful array of dishes.
After days of jerky and power pills on the road, the savory aromas had my mouth watering.
We dug in without a word, stuffing our faces.
The preserved egg and tofu's aroma mingled with juicy meat, filling our mouths—it was enough to draw out a sigh of delight.
"Hey, isn't that Brother Jegal?"
As we shoveled food down, someone suddenly called out to Jegal Hyeon from behind.
"Ah, Instructor Unhak. Long time no see."
Jegal Hyeon calmly set down the dumpling he'd been holding and replied.
"I heard you became the Murim Alliance's chief strategist. Should I call you Strategist now?"
"Spare me the jokes. You're not even with the Alliance to begin with."
"Haha, I got carried away seeing a friendly face."
The man called Unhak grinned good-naturedly.
His robe and sword bore plum blossom embroidery, he looked about thirty, with fair skin and a handsome build.
It had been ages since I'd seen his face.
"And these folks with you?"
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Yi Sowol, the Azure Righteous Sword, traveling with Brother Jegal."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Unhak of the Huashan Sect's second-generation disciples."
He returned the greeting politely.
Unhak, the Plum Blossom Sword Master of Huashan. He was the last ember keeping his fading sect alive.
In my previous life, during my time in the Alliance, he'd been my right-hand man.
"So what brings you all the way out here, Brother Jegal?"
"Just stopping by on our way to the Dragon Phoenix Tournament."
"That's unexpected. You, the Alliance's chief strategist, at the tournament..."
Unhak glanced at me. It was as if he knew I was the reason Jegal Hyeon was entering.
"I'm participating too, actually. Since it's been a while, mind giving me some pointers?"
"There's a better sparring partner for that."
Jegal Hyeon turned to look at me, and all eyes quietly shifted my way.
"You mean me?"
"Isn't your skill up to the task, brother?"
It felt like he was just dumping a hassle on me.
"Hah, fine. You up for it, Instructor?"
"Sparring someone endorsed by Brother Jegal? Of course I'd welcome it."
Unhak looked even more excited as he eagerly accepted.
Deep down, he was probably curious just how skilled a man could be to pique Jegal Hyeon's interest enough for the tournament.
I'd been wondering the same about his current level.
"Then let's head outside right—"
"Hold on."
I gestured to stop the guy who was already rising.
"Let's eat first."
"Oh, right. Sorry for interrupting your meal."
Then he crammed food into his mouth at top speed.
Proper grub like this didn't come around often—I wasn't giving it up.
Once I'd inhaled the rest from my seat, I finally stood.
"Belly full? Let's go."
We headed to the wide plaza outside the inn and took positions about twenty paces apart, drawing our swords.
"It starts when this coin hits the ground."
Jegal Hyeon, acting as referee, pulled a coin from his pocket and tossed it high.
Three seconds until it landed.
Tension hung thick as Unhak and I settled into our stances.
Three, two, one.
Clink!
The coin's ring and Unhak's footstep hit perfectly in sync.
His reflexes were as sharp as ever.
Plum Blossom Sword Art, 4th Form: Falling Plum Sword.
Unhak's raised sword came slashing down at me, wreathed in crimson plum-colored sword aura.
I sidestepped right, deflecting the blade, then swung along his shoulder line.
Clang!
Unhak blocked with his scabbard and readjusted his grip.
Plum Blossom Sword Art, 9th Form: Plum Blossom Butterfly Dance.
The strikes flowed seamlessly like water. His blade arced in curves, spinning with his steps to pursue me.
I dodged the first, only for the second to come from an unexpected angle, linking fluidly into the next.
But for all its tricky feints, the trajectory was too predictable.
Thud.
I read the incoming path and kicked his sword away, sending it flying back.
"Ngh."
As his blade recoiled, he retreated, bracing for my counter.
A novice move—he hadn't prepared for his combo breaking.
"I figured as much, but your skill is impressive."
"My turn."
I regripped my sword, condensing sword aura along the edge.
Unhak steadied his own, bracing for the assault.
Blood Heaven Asura Art: Turbulent Flow.
In one step, I closed to his face and swung.
Clang! Thud!
He parried the first but staggered under the second.
Clang! Claaang! Clang!
Lightning-fast follow-ups left trails of blood-red sword aura, like a raging river of blood.
Unhak, fending off in an unsteady stance, finally crumbled on the fifth strike. I pressed my blade to his throat.
"I lose."
Resigned, Unhak bowed his head.
I sheathed my sword and offered him a hand.
After the match, as Unhak rested, I approached and asked,
"Why didn't you use the mid-stage forms of the Plum Blossom Sword Art?"
Plum Blossom Sword Art. Formally, the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Forms.
As the name implied, twenty-four forms: early (1-12), mid (13-18), and late (19-24).
It's an ascending art—the deeper the forms, the greater the enlightenment, with power multiplying accordingly.
In his past life, Unhak favored the mid-stage forms. As a Plum Blossom Sword Master now, he surely knew them.
"How did you know that?"
Unhak looked puzzled.
An outsider like me knowing Huashan's signature art? Suspicious, no doubt.
Sigh. Can't exactly say I saw it in my past life.
"Truth is, I've long been interested in Huashan techniques, so I looked into them."
I flashed my Lower Five Gates token.
"A division head in the Lower Five Gates. That explains it."
Handy how rank covers for both my skill and my knowledge.
"I didn't use the mid-stage forms because my training isn't there yet. I learned them upon becoming a Sword Master, but they're not battle-ready."
Indeed, clashing blades revealed his lack of real combat experience.
His forms were near-perfect from grueling practice, but that was it. Battle isn't practice. Your opponent won't just take the hits like a dummy.
No thought to their counters, or how your sword looks from their view. It was absent.
In his past life, he'd honed it in the thick of war, fighting hordes, blade bloodied.
Not like this greenhorn version.
"I'll be blunt: forfeit the Dragon Phoenix Tournament. At your level, you'll just embarrass yourself."
In his past life, he'd entered, lost every match without a single win, and dropped out.
Crushed, he stepped down as Sword Master and enlisted as a lowly Alliance soldier for the war.
He grew through brutal combat, rising to vice captain of the Dragon Phoenix Corps, but the scars lingered.
Every fallen comrade fueled his self-loathing, blaming his weakness, turning every loss on himself.
Tormented by his shattered pride, he finally charged alone into enemy lines to save surrounded allies, believing death would redeem him.
'Captain, I just want to die as a man with pride, at the very end.'
As if anything remains after death. What an idiot.
"You're right. But even humiliation's fine. I've got too much riding on this to back out now."
Unhak, head bowed long, spoke heavily.
Yeah, that's you.
Burdened with your sect's pride, hopes, expectations—you crumbled under it all too easily.
But not this time. I won't let you break again.
"Then I'll make you strong."
I won't let it happen. Not again.