Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Flying Heavenly Wind
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#055 Flying Heavenly Wind
The next day, after getting ready to go to the Lord's Hall, I picked up a bronze mirror to do a final check.
“Yep, handsome as ever.”
I’d shaved for the first time in a while and dressed up, which really made me look sharp.
“Hmm… Should I trim my bangs a bit?”
As I was fiddling with the bangs that had been cut during the last war, Cheong So-so's nagging voice cut in.
“What are you fussing about so early in the morning?”
This woman, seriously.
I was about to give her a flick on the forehead but held back and calmly admonished her.
It would be childish for an adult like me to get angry at Cheong So-so, who had the mental age of an elementary schooler.
“What does someone who's never been part of a proper organization know about this? If you're clueless, just stay in the corner.”
First impressions are everything when meeting someone important.
“Hey! What does being in an organization have to do with this?”
“That's why I'm telling you to stay quiet. Don't pretend you know anything when you don't know a damn thing.”
“This guy, seriously!”
Having easily shut down Cheong So-so, I left the house.
Perhaps because I was dressed to the nines, the local thugs loitering around trembled and lowered their eyes when they saw me.
Just then, I saw a bald man whose head was so shiny it was like he was using the Solar Flare as a passive skill.
It was Yong Ma-san, on his way to my house for breakfast.
“…Where are you headed?”
“To the Lord's Hall to receive my reward. Hehehe.”
“I see. No wonder you look so sharp.”
“By the way, why aren't you wearing the wig I gave you? I spent good money on it.”
“…I'm saving it for an important day.”
“Come on, man, you should still wear it most of the time. Who knows? You might even get a girlfriend.”
“…Understood.”
“Well, head on in. We've got meat side dishes today, so enjoy.”
Yong Ma-san blushed and walked toward my house.
Leaving him behind, I headed for the Inner Fortress.
The Inner Fortress was structured with the Lord's Hall at its center, surrounded by the eight Halls in all eight directions.
Thanks to this layout, I arrived at the Lord's Hall shortly after passing through the main gate of the Inner Fortress.
“What brings you here?”
The question came from a warrior guarding the main gate of the Lord's Hall.
Though just a gatekeeper, his aura was impressive, as one would expect from someone chosen to guard the Lord's Hall.
“The Lord summoned me.”
“Your name?”
“Jin Mujeon, First Squad Leader of the Outer Hall.”
“Hmm, that's right. You may enter. It was a pleasure to meet the Fighting Dragon.”
*Creak.*
The gatekeeper swung both doors wide open for me.
As I passed the gatekeeper, I thought.
The viral marketing for the ‘Fighting Dragon’ brand was starting to pay off.
‘Hehe, Brother Gwak Sam is doing a great job.’
As expected, inns are the best place to spread rumors.
A short while later.
Guided by a servant, I arrived at a small, thatched cottage surrounded by trees in the innermost part of the Lord's Hall grounds.
It was a small and humble cottage for someone in the position of the Lord of Nine Dragons.
Anyone else might wonder why the Lord would be in such a place, but I had expected it.
After all, isn't it an unwritten rule of the martial world that the more absolute a master is, the closer to nature they live?
And just as I thought.
When I opened the door and went inside, I saw the Lord tilling the soil with a hoe.
“You're here?”
“Greetings, my Lord!”
As I bowed deeply, the Lord tossed the hoe without looking at me.
*Clack.*
The moment I caught it, the Lord's voice rang out.
“Since you're here, till the field a bit before you go.”
Seriously, I even wore my nice clothes, and now I have to do farm work! I’ll get them dirty.
I wanted to protest right then and there, but my opponent was the Lord of Nine Dragons.
If he tells me to do it, I do it. What choice did I have?
And if I was going to do it, I might as well do it right.
So, I was about to use my internal energy to till the soil, but…
“Just do it normally.”
“Yes, sir.”
At the Lord's single command, I abandoned the thought of using my internal energy and tilled the field with pure physical strength.
I did this for about two hours.
“That should be enough.”
The Lord finally straightened his back and looked at me.
I flinched involuntarily under the gaze of a martial artist at the Transcendent Realm, one whose martial arts were said to reach the heavens.
Then, the Lord spoke.
“Are you mastering the War King Arts well?”
“I've been training tirelessly every single day, never letting a moment go to waste!”
“It won't be long now.”
The Lord muttered with a small smile.
‘Won't be long?’
What won't be long?
My curiosity was piqued, but I didn't ask. No, I couldn't.
I was just a department head of a subsidiary, so there was no way I could casually question the Lord, who was basically the chairman of the holding company.
The Lord went into the cottage and came out with a small wooden box.
“Take this. It's your reward for your contributions.”
“...!”
I thought he'd tell me to collect it from the armory or the treasury like everyone else, but he was giving it to me himself!
Which meant…
‘Is this a… a legendary item?! Or a treasure?!’
That's right.
A reward personally handed over by the Lord himself couldn't possibly be an ordinary object.
He even called me here secretly to give it to me, away from prying eyes.
When that thought crossed my mind…
*Thump.*
“This subordinate will cherish your grace, my Lord! I will hold this as an honor for three lifetimes!”
I quickly dropped to my knees and raised both hands to receive the box.
“…”
The Lord, perhaps moved, stared down at me.
As expected, a true professional must have respect for their superiors as a passive skill.
“And this is for tilling the field.”
The Lord took a silver coin from his robes and placed it on top of the box.
“Your grace is boundless!”
“…You may leave now.”
* * *
As soon as I got home, I went into my room and locked the door.
It was to check the reward the Lord had given me.
‘Please…’
A martial art would be good, and an elixir wouldn't be bad either. Judging from the precedent of the Dragon Scale Armor, a rare treasure would be excellent too.
Before, I would have wanted money or something easily convertible to cash, but this war taught me that money isn't everything.
The important thing was…
‘Just how good is the stuff inside?’
*Thump, thump.*
My heart was pounding.
Of course, since the Lord himself gave it to me, there was no chance of it being a dud.
It was like opening a platinum loot box with a guaranteed minimum reward.
Still, it's always better to get something good, right?
I opened the box as slowly and carefully as a gambler revealing their winning hand, and…
“...!”
As soon as I saw what was inside, I couldn't help but throw my hands up in the air.
That's right.
The Lord had not let me down.
“Long live the Lord! Long live Nine Dragons Fortress!”
The cheer escaped me before I knew it.
And for good reason.
Like Bukgung Baek, I had received a divine art.
And I had heard of this martial art's name before.
Flying Heavenly Wind.
‘The movement art of the Flying Heavenly Fox.’
It was the unique movement art of Bukgung Chu-san, the Flying Heavenly Fox, who was renowned a hundred years ago as the fastest martial artist in the world and a supreme master.
As a tier-0 movement art, any decent martial artist would know its name.
Anyway, there's a saying in the martial world for gauging a master's strength.
Footwork and eyes are thirty percent each, while internal energy and strength are twenty percent each.
That's how much fast footwork can significantly boost a martial artist's combat prowess.
Besides, the War King Step I primarily use isn't a lightness skill, but a footwork technique.
It provides a momentary burst of explosive power for maximum speed, but it can't maintain that speed continuously like a lightness skill.
Above all, the fact that it consumed a huge chunk of my internal energy with each use was also a problem.
The reason I'd stuck with only the War King Step until now was…
‘It's finally time to say goodbye to the Butterfly Movement Art.’
…because the Butterfly Movement Art, the only movement art I knew, was utterly mediocre.
To be specific, it was a second-rate art at best. It was something taught at the Heaven-Ascending Pavilion just to build a foundation in movement arts.
That's why I couldn't help but fall behind when rescuing Lee Jeok-ha with Dan Un, and why I had to stick to a monotonous pattern in my fight against Jo Gwang.
But not anymore.
If I master the Flying Heavenly Wind, the War King Arts will have limitless potential.
For example, I can alternate between the high speed of the Flying Heavenly Wind and the explosive breakthrough power of the War King Step to disrupt my opponent's zone.
I can keep my distance when an opponent executes a form, then immediately close in for melee combat the moment it ends.
“Phuhahaha.”
I once again raised both hands and shouted, "Long live the Lord!"
* * *
Training in the Flying Heavenly Wind was easier than I thought.
The manual the Lord gave me was illustrated, and for some reason, it was a perfect match for my War King Energy.
Thanks to that, I mastered the basics in less than half a month.
‘That aside…’
Replenishing our numbers is the most pressing issue…
Recently, Nine Dragons Fortress has been experiencing a manpower shortage.
‘Ah, that's not entirely true.’
To be precise, the Halls among the eight Inner Halls with large talent pools weren't facing a shortage.
The problem was with the Black Dragon Hall, which had few members to begin with, and the Outer Hall, which had suffered the most casualties after fighting the fiercest battles in the war.
The Black Dragon Hall was understandable, since you have to become a Daoist adept instead of just learning martial arts, but the Outer Hall had no applicants despite posting recruitment notices for warriors.
The few who did apply were unqualified, below the second-rate level.
Honestly, with such clear standards, it was a mystery how Yu So-pyeong had managed to pass.
‘It's the timing, I guess.’
It seems people judged it to be a dangerous job since the war had just ended.
It was unavoidable, as most people who apply to the Outer Hall are looking for a way to make a living rather than to achieve fame and success.
As I was just letting time pass, accepting the situation…
*Clatter.*
“Man, I said we shouldn't see each other unless we have to…”
Dan Un barged in and delivered some news.
“It's been confirmed that the Nine Dragons Tournament will be held next month.”
“So suddenly?”
“We won the war, so it's only natural, isn't it?”
“True.”
“…Somehow, your sentences are getting shorter.”
“Why? You got a problem with that?”
“Hmm?”
When I gave a defiant response, Dan Un studied me.
After a moment, he continued, a slightly surprised look on his face.
“Your aura is different from before.”
“Can you feel it? The difference in our power.”
“…You must have undergone incredible training in a short time. I acknowledge it. As expected of my lifelong rival. I'm already looking forward to the Nine Dragons Tournament.”
“Khahaha, you'll be in for a rude awakening if you let your guard down.”
It was all a bluff.
Even if I won, there's no prize money, just the title of ‘the Lord's Disciple’—a perfect target for assassination. Why would I waste my energy on that?
I'll just do a decent job and then get eliminated.
Yet, the reason I kept this up was…
‘I can't stop…’
…because messing with that punk Dan Un was just too much fun.
Sure enough, he nodded his head, greatly satisfied.
“I'll keep that in mind. I'll be going now. As you have grown stronger, so too must I.”
Dan Un turned and left.
I immediately relayed the news he brought to Ga Rip.
“Hmm, it will certainly draw a crowd, so recruiting warriors should become much easier. For a martial artist looking to settle in Nine Dragons Fortress, there's no easier way than applying to the Outer Hall.”
“I suppose so.”
Ga Rip leaned back in his chair and sighed.
“We just have to hold out until then.”
“…”
“By the way, the Nine Dragons Tournament… Only warriors aged thirty or younger can participate?”
“That's right.”
“A pity. If I were just ten years younger, I would've given it a shot.”
For the record, even if you subtract ten years from this guy's age, he'd still be thirty-five.
And there's no way someone at the initial stage of the Peak Realm could aim for victory.
A large number of rising masters who use their Hall's name in their title would be participating.
Masters like the Blue Dragon Sword, Dan Un; the Black Dragon Sword, Wi Ji-pung; the White Dragon Sword, Baek Mu-ha; and the Red Dragon Sword, Jeok Il.
How could Ga Rip possibly defeat them, the inheritors of the Hall Masters' divine arts?
Still, what could I do?
Humoring your direct superior is an essential virtue for any employee.
“Hehe, if you were to participate, Vice Hall Master, everyone would just whimper and surrender.”
“I suppose they would, wouldn't they? Can't be helped. I guess I'll have to 'yield' to the younger generation this time.”
Dude, you're not even eligible to participate.
“This subordinate is deeply moved by your magnanimity, as vast as the ocean, Vice Hall Master.”
“Ahem, as expected, our Squad Leader Jin has a good eye for people. Take this and buy the men some meat. Don't let them drink too much.”
Unable to resist my flattery, Ga Rip handed over public funds. Five whole silver taels, at that!
With this money, I could treat all the warriors of the Outer Hall to a warm meal with meat and drinks, so I arranged a get-together in the headquarters' open lot.
And I told them the news that our numbers would soon be replenished.
Naturally, the atmosphere erupted.
They cheered and celebrated at the news that their long period of hardship was finally coming to an end.
“But we still have to endure for about another month. Don't slack off until then. Everyone got it?”
“Yes, sir!!”
A reliable bunch.
Perhaps because we'd faced a near-death crisis together, they all felt like family.
After that, the hectic daily routine continued.
Everyone except Bukgung Baek, who did nothing but drink every day, was put on duty, and I was always the first to rush out whenever an incident occurred.
And then.
Finally, the day of the Nine Dragons Tournament dawned.