Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Sword Dragon (2)
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Yi Hyeonbaek, the Murim Alliance Leader—a man revered as the martial world's hero for repelling the Demonic Cult's invasion eighty years ago.
Just as my past self had undergone Shedding Mortality to retain the appearance of a man in his thirties even after a century, he too possessed the bearing of someone not yet in his forties.
Though he had achieved Shedding Mortality at such a young age, leaving faint traces of aging, no one would look at his face and think him an old man over a hundred.
"For someone so young, your achievements are remarkable. The Lower Five Gates has raised a dragon."
The Alliance Leader said this while slowly gazing at Baek Eunhwa, who sat off in the distance.
I knew there was no hidden meaning in his words. Yi Hyeonbaek wasn't the type to resort to petty tricks.
Yet his mere presence before me lent his words an entirely different weight. His overwhelming presence turned into intimidation, making even his breath feel heavy.
"We pay our respects to the Alliance Leader!"
Unhak and Namgung Cheon, who had been tense under the suffocating pressure of the air, snapped to attention and bowed to the Alliance Leader.
"Yes, I watched your matches closely as well. This generation's rising stars are particularly outstanding."
Throughout his words, the Alliance Leader's gaze remained fixed on me. Just that single bundle of attention sent chills prickling across my skin.
Was his current interest in me?
To monopolize the attention of the present era's World's Greatest—truly an honor.
"You overpraise me. I am still very much inexperienced."
I showed him utmost courtesy. At the same time, I planted in him the conviction that I would grow even stronger than I was now.
"There's a saying: excessive humility is impolite. Overdoing modesty is mere arrogance. In this era, no one your age has achieved what you have, even if you searched the world."
"How could I speak of the world when the Alliance Leader stands before me?"
For a man who had achieved Shedding Mortality before even reaching thirty to lecture me on humility—it was he who was being excessively humble.
The Alliance Leader fell silent at my words, staring straight into my eyes. His expression was unreadable.
A fearsome pressure rode his gaze toward me, but for some reason, defiance welled up, and I couldn't look away. No matter what, I couldn't yield in spirit.
In that tense standoff, the referee, reading the mood, hurriedly intervened.
"Now, Alliance Leader, please offer words of encouragement to the victor!"
Judging by his flustered reaction, the Alliance Leader's sudden appearance on the platform had been his own unilateral decision.
No matter how intrigued he was, for the Alliance Leader to act so whimsically—what could you expect from those hailed as peerless masters? None of them had all their marbles.
Ah, but does that include me?
"A interesting one has appeared."
After our prolonged staring contest, the Alliance Leader suddenly smiled and turned his eyes to the audience.
Then, infusing his voice with authority, he continued.
"As representative of the Murim Alliance, I declare: To Yi Sowol of the Lower Five Gates, victor of this Dragon Phoenix Tournament, I bestow the title of Sword Dragon. From this day forth, the world shall remember you as the Sword Dragon, and all the martial realm shall watch your every step."
Sword Dragon.
It was the honorific title given to the Dragon Phoenix Tournament champion.
More than mere strength, it symbolized the rising star of the martial world, whose path forward would be illuminated by all of jianghu.
It also implied the heavy responsibility to tread carefully with every step.
The name itself represented all the rising stars of the world.
"Sword Dragon! Sword Dragon! Sword Dragon! Sword Dragon!"
The audience rose as one, cheering the newly born Sword Dragon.
As their gazes converged and poured onto me, my heart beat in an unfamiliar way.
To think the man who had once borne the hatred of the entire world now received expectant looks from so many—life truly was unpredictable.
I slowly raised my hand, accepting their expectations. With resolve hardening from my fingertips through my entire body, I vowed never to betray them.
"I'll get straight to the point. Join the Murim Alliance."
"No thank you."
Having successfully claimed victory in the Dragon Phoenix Tournament, I was promptly summoned by the Alliance Leader to the Murim Alliance's Chang'an branch.
And sure enough, the moment we were alone, he jumped right into recruitment. The Alliance Leader was no different—quite mad, as expected.
"A flat refusal. May I ask why?"
The Alliance Leader looked at me with puzzled eyes. Fair enough; by normal standards, there was no reason to turn down the Murim Alliance, with its incomparable prestige and status over the Lower Five Gates.
But when someone so boldly demands you join their ranks, it only makes you want to refuse all the more spectacularly.
"The reason I joined the Lower Five Gates isn't a simple matter of profit and loss."
Well, even if he had earnestly begged, I had no intention of formally joining the Murim Alliance anyway.
Did they think I'd lost my mind, pretending to be righteous among those senile old fools?
"A pity. I saw you as talent worthy of succeeding me."
I'd thought it a casual offer, but seeing his expression, he genuinely meant to put me in the Alliance Leader's seat.
No matter how you sliced it, a Lower Five Gates disciple for that position...?
Come to think of it, in my past life, the Alliance Leader had always looked at me with that strangely expectant glint—had that been his intention too?
It sent a chill down my spine.
"I have no intention of walking the same path as you, Alliance Leader."
The current Alliance Leader, Yi Hyeonbaek, was like my past self: a bottom-rung fighter unaffiliated with any sect who joined the Righteous-Demonic Great War.
Perhaps because of that, despite his position, he didn't look kindly on the Five Great Sects and instead kept them in check.
Had Yi Hyeonbaek not been killed by the Demonic Cult Leader in the Righteous-Demonic Great War, the Murim Alliance wouldn't have gone so berserk against me in my past life.
"I see. Well, the path this old man has walked wasn't all brightness and light."
Yi Hyeonbaek seemed to accept it. Like my past self, he must have endured no small amount of scorn.
Yet he had risen to Alliance Leader anyway. It wasn't just his strength, acclaimed as once-in-history genius, but the result of his unyielding pursuit of righteousness.
Though to my eyes now, he just looked like a weary old man tired of it all.
"However, as you well know from being in the Lower Five Gates, a great war between the righteous sects and the Demonic Cult will erupt soon. When it does, will you wield your sword for the righteous side under the name of the Sword Dragon?"
His words, delivered with a bowed head, were earnest. They sounded less like a request from the Alliance Leader and more like the desperate plea of an old man.
For the man representing the martial world to humble himself before a mere rising star.
It must mean this war was that crucial to him.
"Please raise your head. From the moment the Lower Five Gates allied with the Alliance and entered the Dragon Phoenix Tournament, I intended to do just that."
"Grateful words. On behalf of the Alliance, I thank you."
I accepted the request. But I attached one condition.
"In exchange, entrust me with command of the vanguard unit. And let me select a few people to form my personal squad."
In this life too, I planned to take command of the Dragon Phoenix Corps again. It was the best way to leverage my past life's memories, and the most convenient for acting without restraint.
"That's no trouble. A battalion led by the Sword Dragon... Yes, let's name it the Dragon Phoenix Corps."
Had it been decided the same way in my past life?
It felt oddly like the words the past Alliance Leader must have said to Yuseongil, stirring complicated emotions.
"Now, to the main point..."
The Alliance Leader abruptly expanded his energy sense, enveloping the entire room in a barrier. To prevent sound from leaking out, no doubt. A common method for secret talks in the Lower Five Gates too.
"To cut to the chase: There's a Demonic Cult spy inside the Murim Alliance."
A Demonic Cult spy within the righteous Murim Alliance.
This was information even my past self hadn't known.
Ah, now the pieces were falling into place. In my past life, the Alliance Leader's alliance with the Lower Five Gates must have been because he couldn't fully trust his internal forces.
He'd probably tasked them with covert investigations. That might explain why the Lower Five Gates met with destruction after the Alliance Leader's death—perhaps tied to the Demonic Cult.
"Why tell me this?"
But why reveal this to me, a mere rising star? If he wanted an investigation, summoning the Lower Five Gates' leader directly would have made more sense.
"Because, at least in the current situation, you're the most trustworthy person."
Trustworthy precisely because I'm just a rising star? From his perspective, the Lower Five Gates was only a temporary ally; considering the rift between righteous and unorthodox sects, he couldn't fully trust them.
But a Lower Five Gates disciple who also won the Dragon Phoenix Tournament?
With fewer ties to the Murim Alliance and no old grudges, he must have judged it safe.
"How can you be so sure?"
Still, one part didn't add up. How could he trust a rising star who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, displaying overwhelming power?
"I trust my eyes. You're not foolish enough to leak Alliance secrets for personal gain. Am I wrong?"
In the end, it was his intuition.
"...Hah. Fine, whatever."
Absurd, but not entirely off-base, so perhaps his instincts were spot-on this time.
"So, what do you want from me?"
By now, he surely had a request. He wouldn't ask an outsider to catch the spy, surely...
"Find the spy for me."
...Was he sane?
"How am I supposed to find the spy?"
I didn't even know the name of the Alliance's chief steward, let alone who the spy was. Even for me, that was impossible.
"The scope isn't broad. The spy is someone of rank who can easily access military secrets—likely involved in intelligence. They were probably turned recently; anyone planted by the previous Cult Leader wouldn't pledge full loyalty now that the Leader has changed."
"If it's that easy, why not find them yourself, Alliance Leader?"
"Are you sane? If I move, they'll obviously halt activities."
That's what I want to ask. There were dozens matching that description: branch leaders, intelligence officers, military department heads, and more.
Wait.
"How did you even discover there's a spy?"
"Ah, I didn't mention that. Someone is deliberately blocking Demonic Cult intelligence from reaching the Alliance. Not just once or twice, and they've cleverly hidden where the breaks occur, so I concluded it's a spy. Recently, we've confirmed leaks of Alliance intel too."
Disrupted intelligence network, concealed traces, intel leaks...
This might be easier to uncover than I thought.
"If you truly can't, no choice—I'll handle it myself..."
"No, leave it to me."
I shot to my feet and grabbed the Alliance Leader's hand. How could I let this opportunity slip?
"Suddenly overflowing with enthusiasm, aren't you?"
Of course.
A chance to finally catch and crush the bastard I'd always wanted to kill in my past life—with my own hands, no less. How could I not be thrilled?
"Just promise me one thing in return."
"What?"
Seeing my eyes gleam, the Alliance Leader looked puzzled. Had I shown too much excitement?
But I couldn't back down.
"If I catch that son of a bitch, let me kill him myself."
"Y-Yes. Very well."
Done.
I quietly vowed to myself.
Just you wait, you bastard.
I'm coming for you.