Chapter 223
Chapter 223
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 223
Chapter Title: Upheaval of the Nine Dragons (2)
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“……”
“……”
Now that I was face-to-face with Bukgung Chang, I found it hard to speak.
I had set out with bravado, but it was awkward to tell him to his face that I needed the Black Dragon Gate and he should just hand it over.
Regardless of its roots, from Bukgung Chang's perspective, this was a sect he had inherited through three generations, the place where he was born and raised.
“Ahem, to what do I owe the pleasure…?”
As I remained silent for a moment, Bukgung Chang cleared his throat and studied my expression.
“Ah, well, you see.”
I steeled myself and spoke. No matter how many times I thought about it, taking over the Black Dragon Gate was absolutely necessary.
“Hey… have you eaten?”
“Not yet, sir. As it happens, today is my eldest's birthday, so we were planning a small family meal.”
“Oh.”
What terrible timing.
I should probably retreat for today.
How could I tell him to hand over his sect on the birthday of his heir, his eldest son?
“Since you're here, why don't you join us? My son would be delighted.”
“Ah, no. It’s not right for an outsider to intrude on a family event…”
“No, how can you say such a thing!”
His sudden outburst was like a runaway eight-ton truck.
Considering how he usually treated me with the utmost respect, it was a bewildering reaction.
“An outsider! I, Bukgung Chang, may have lived my life in the underworld, but I have never for a single moment forgotten that my roots lie with the Bukgung Clan!”
He pounded his chest.
“To me, you are no outsider, Your Excellency!”
“Th-then what am I?”
“Family.”
“……”
“So please, come with us.”
“W-well, if you insist.”
Following Bukgung Chang to the dining hall, I saw his three stunningly beautiful wives chatting amicably.
For a moment, a murderous impulse toward Bukgung Chang flared within me, but I barely suppressed it, remembering I was here to ask a favor.
Anyway, to have three wives who get along so well…
When I asked for his secret, I got a ridiculous answer.
“It's simple. You just have to share your love equally.”
He said it as if he were handing out an allowance.
“Right, but how do you give it equally? It's not something you can see.”
“Ahem, well, you just have to be fair in the bedroom…”
“Ah… one per day, taking turns?”
“Not exactly. All three, every day… Ahem, this is quite embarrassing. Ahem.”
Three, every day.
Doesn't that mean he does it over a thousand times a year?
*'No way.'*
What is he, a seal?
“Y-your secret…”
* * *
The meal was enjoyable.
The three wives treated me with respect, yet comfortably.
“Oh my? The great hero, our Sect Leader, is still unmarried? That won't do. I'll call for my younger sisters from my hometown, you can pick one…”
The first wife, who had an air of noble grace, offered to introduce me to her sisters, who looked just like her.
“If you like a woman with a big heart… my older sister…”
The second wife, overflowing with sex appeal, offered her own older sister.
“Hohoho, shouldn't we first confirm the Sect Leader's preferences? I have a niece who is prettier than me. She turns sixteen this year…”
The vivacious third wife was plotting to get me in legal trouble.
Anyway, it was truly a pleasant sight to see such beautiful people with such wonderful hearts.
That wasn't all.
Bukgung Chang's six children also seemed to take after their mothers, as they were all exceptionally good-looking. They also seemed to share a strong bond.
“Your Excellency! How can I become as strong as you?”
“Hey! I was going to ask that!”
“I read in a book that you get stronger if you eat elixirs!”
“That's right, that's right. I've read that too.”
A smile unknowingly spread across my face at the children's innocent questions.
“First, you need a solid foundation. So, if you run twenty li a day, hold the horse stance and bear stance for half a shichen each, and walk one li upside down on your hands, you can become strong.”
This was the basic curriculum of the Heaven-Ascending Pavilion, a training regimen I had actually followed myself.
“Lies! How long would it take to get strong like that?!”
“That's right! The warriors outside run and train every day too!”
“Aren't superior martial arts, good elixirs, and an excellent master the shortcuts to becoming strong?”
So much for innocence.
I don't know what they've been reading, but they hit the nail right on the head.
*'They're not even wrong.'*
Unless you're a genius who can manifest sword qi with just the Three Talents Heart Art and basic swordsmanship, they're right.
There's a reason martial artists risk their lives for elixirs and martial arts manuals.
Still, I couldn't just reveal the naked truth to the children, so I did my best to explain it gently.
“Ahem, even those require a solid foundation…”
It took me a good thirty minutes to finally convince them.
After the enjoyable meal, I agreed to Bukgung Chang's request and took a walk with him in the rear garden.
“I believe it's because they saw you fight the Lord of the Ten Demon Alliance.”
“Didn't you say you evacuated your family?”
“Ah, I only evacuated my wives. The children were assigned to the defense forces. As they were born the children of a martial artist, it is a burden they must bear.”
“……”
Bukgung Chang spoke casually of something that would have been front-page news for child abuse in modern times.
As I walked, shaking my head, he, who was walking ahead, turned his head toward me.
“What do you think?”
“About what?”
“The Black Dragon Gate. Ever since you bestowed upon us the name 'Black Dragon', the skills of our warriors have been improving day by day.”
Following his gaze, I took in the view of the Black Dragon Gate.
In the spacious training ground, countless martial artists were training, moving about busily.
What stood out most was that their faces were filled with hope.
It seemed they felt a greater sense of pride than when they were living as underworld thugs in the back alleys.
“It looks good. Each and every one of them has a lively spirit. It seems many could become masters with the right guidance.”
“Whenever I had time, I traveled all over Hebei to gather talented individuals. Thanks to that, I've memorized the geography of Hebei Province.”
This was a method used by prestigious great sects, which would seek out disciples by verifying their character and martial talent, proclaiming that their arts were not for the unworthy.
“You must have gone through a lot.”
“It was for the Bukgung Clan, so I never considered it a hardship.”
Startled by the sudden mention of the clan's name, I looked over to see him drop to one knee and bow his head.
“I have an inkling as to why you've come.”
“…I have no intention of forcing you.”
“To refuse a chance to return to the Black Dragon Corps? To miss such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity would make me a fool.”
“It's been a hundred years since the Black Dragon Gate split off. Isn't that too long a time to be bound by the past?”
“Even while enduring the shame of living as parasites in the underworld, it was that past that allowed us to survive until now. My grandfather used to say that if not for our glorious past, we would have given up and returned to our hometown long ago.”
“…Even if you follow me, I cannot promise a glorious future. I'm not even certain I can rebuild the Bukgung Clan.”
Rebuilding the Bukgung Clan itself is easy.
I could just write <Bukgung Clan> next to the War King Gate's banner, and that would be the end of it.
But that wasn't what everyone wanted. Not a simple revival, but a restoration of the glory they once had, when they were called the Martial Tyrants of the West and looked down upon the world.
It meant they would need enough power to rival the Lion's League, the new form of the Namgung Clan.
Despite knowing this, Bukgung Chang gave a small smile.
“But the chances will be more than ten times higher than they are now. And I believe that you, Your Excellency, will accomplish it.”
I met his gaze. I could feel the firm resolve in his eyes.
“Why don't you get up? The sect members are watching…”
“I will not rise until you give your permission.”
“What if I just leave?”
“You could come back tomorrow, and I would still be in this position. The same goes for the day after.”
Hearing his voice, I was certain. I couldn't break his stubbornness.
I had no choice but to grab his shoulders and force him to his feet.
“I'll be in your care from now on, Commander of the Black Dragon Corps.”
“I will serve you with my life.”
It was the moment the War King Gate absorbed the Black Dragon Gate.
* * *
With the addition of the Black Dragon Gate—no, the Black Dragon Corps—the War King Gate possessed a force even stronger than before the war.
While the increase in strength was a good thing, there was one concern that honestly worried me. The possibility of a power struggle over rank.
The Iron-Blooded Nine Elders had been with the War King Gate from the very beginning, making them founding members, but the history of the Black Dragon Corps was by no means inferior. They were people who had sworn loyalty for generations, starting from the Bukgung Clan.
However, my worries proved to be unfounded.
“We will serve you as our elder brother.”
The elders, having witnessed Bukgung Chang's selfless courage in the last war, bowed their heads to him.
And with that, he and the other executives of the Black Dragon Corps also paid their respects, and the internal hierarchy was settled.
*'As expected.'*
This was just the kind of behavior one would expect from the members of the prestigious orthodox sect, the War King Gate.
Fortunately, there was no major friction, but still, thinking of the future, I worried that it might be better to reorganize the structure.
However, Yuk Hak, who had taken the position of Grand Chancellor upon the Black Dragon Gate's merger, advised me to leave things as they were.
Ah, for reference, the position of Chief of the Iron-Blooded Nine Elders was taken by Jong Geuk-rin, who had become Yuk Hak's disciple and was improving by the day.
He said it was certain he'd reach the transcendent level within two or three years.
“Let the Black Dragon Corps grow stronger in its own way, and the Iron-Blooded Nine Elders in theirs.”
“Won't that create an imbalance in our forces?”
“That has its own advantages, doesn't it? Is there a rule that says you can only use famous swords?”
“Hmm…”
“And that fellow Bukgung Chang is no ordinary man. It seems there are a few peak masters in the Black Dragon Corps as well. Even if you leave them be, they'll do just fine on their own.”
“If you acknowledge them, Uncle Yuk, then I suppose so, but…”
“No more talk, just trust me. For all my faults, I've always been told my eye for martial artists is second to none.”
“I understand. But if your eye is so renowned, why is it in that state?”
“Ah, no, this… It's nothing.”
“What do you mean, nothing? Your eye is black and blue… It looks like you got hit by someone…”
After several more questions, Yuk Hak finally spoke with a pained expression.
“Ahem. I heard you asked the War King to look after the sect members' martial arts?”
“Yes, I did, but why did you get hit, old man?”
“I… I don't know either. He suddenly said I looked weak and started beating me…”
“……”
My grandmaster's educational philosophy… seems to be quite different from what I imagined.
Still… he's doing it for our own good, so I suppose the day will come when everyone understands his true intentions.
* * *
Sanyeong, Qinghai Province.
The demonic path practitioners of Sichuan were advancing toward the Heavenly Mountains, plundering every village and city they passed to fulfill the final order of the Ten Demon Alliance.
They seized food and money, killed the children and the elderly, and dragged away the adult men and women to be used as slaves.
The reason was simple.
The revival of the demonic path.
To achieve it, they would have to hole up in the Heavenly Mountains for tens, or even hundreds of years to train their martial arts, and for that, they needed a labor force to supply them with food.
Thanks to this, the remnants of the demonic path shed even more blood than when they had marched on Hanzhong.
And then.
*Step.*
Two men, one in a dark green robe and the other in a black robe, appeared before them.
An extraordinary aura emanated from them.
But the remnants of the demonic path trusted in their numbers, which exceeded four thousand.
Even if those two were absolute masters, there was no way they could face this many opponents.
However, that was merely their delusion.
“We have come to witness the end of the demonic path.”
The middle-aged man in the black robe waved his hand, and a ball of intense heat shot out, setting the ground ablaze.
*Fwoosh.*
The flames spread with unnatural speed.
The ground must have been soaked in oil beforehand.
“Aargh! Kill them!”
Only then did the demonic practitioners realize something was wrong and charge forward to attack, but…
*Hiss…*
“Ugh!”
“Keuk!”
This time, the smoke rising from the flames was the problem.
As soon as they inhaled the dark green smoke, they all clutched their throats and collapsed.
And then.
“Nine Dragons Fortress, leave no remnant of the demonic path alive! Take all their heads!”
The elites of the Nine Dragons Fortress, who had launched a surprise attack from the rear, charged in to sever the lineage of the demonic path.