Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: Dispatch to the Heaven-Ascending Pavilion
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#066 Dispatch to the Heaven-Ascending Pavilion
“Did you not hear me? I told you to go on a dispatch mission.”
“Um, what does a dispatch mission have to do with martial arts…?”
At my question, Bukgung Baek shot me a look that said, ‘Is this guy an idiot?’
“At this point, I'm starting to wonder how you even reached your current state.”
“Through grueling training, of course…”
“If everyone could reach a higher state through training alone, the world would have fallen into the hands of the Martial Emperor Fortress.”
“…That's a fair point.”
Bukgung Baek continued his explanation.
“‘To each their own,’ as they say. The same goes for martial arts.”
It meant that everyone's method is different, so I had to find my own way.
“I broke through my limits by facing life and death on the battlefield. Since your martial arts began at the Heaven-Ascending Pavilion, returning to your starting point and re-examining it might help you find a way. And…”
“…?”
“The Adept of Annihilation promised seventy nyang on the condition that you and the First Squad were dispatched. Wouldn't your share be at least thirty nyang?”
“Can I leave right now?”
An affirmative answer slipped out before I knew it.
Can't resist a bonus.
* * *
As anyone who's read martial arts novels knows, most major sects have their forbidden grounds.
The most common examples would be the library where martial arts manuals are kept, or a hidden grotto where divine weapons and elixirs are stored.
But the greatest forbidden ground in the Nine Dragons Fortress was something else entirely.
It was the Heaven-Ascending Pavilion, the Nine Dragons Fortress's premier educational institution, where the future pillars of the fortress were gathered.
An institution that boasted extreme rigor, accepting about fifty new students each year, with only a single-digit number ever graduating.
It bore the arrogant name of a pavilion for ascending to the heavens, yet no one disputed it.
Because only by graduating from this place could one become part of the Nine Dragons Fortress's leadership.
After all, weren't all the Hall Masters and executives of the eight Inner Halls graduates of the Heaven-Ascending Pavilion?
By stimulating this sense of elitism, Baek Mu-ha was able to create that strange organization, the Heavenly Dragon Society.
Of course, this kind of networking isn't the true essence of the Heaven-Ascending Pavilion.
If it were, the Pavilion's reputation wouldn't have lasted for over a hundred years.
The Martial Hall and the Literary Hall.
The Pavilion’s prestige was maintained because it continuously supplied the Nine Dragons Fortress with talent through a curriculum that nurtured the best in both martial and literary arts.
And since the Heaven-Ascending Pavilion was located at the entrance of the Nine Dragons Mountain Range stretching behind the fortress, it took me and the First Squad over two days of walking to finally arrive.
“Who builds a school in a mountain valley…?”
Bang, bang!
I knocked on the gate set in the large surrounding wall, and it opened with a creak, revealing a person.
It was a familiar face.
“Huh? Jo Sang-man?!”
“Well, look who it is! Isn't it Senior Jin? I heard you were coming on a dispatch mission.”
He was a junior I was close with during my time at the Heaven-Ascending Pavilion.
“Hey, it's been a while. What are you doing here? Don't tell me you joined the Heaven-Ascending Corps?”
“Haha, I failed to graduate…”
The Heaven-Ascending Guard, responsible for the Pavilion's security and protection, was a common choice for cadets who failed to graduate.
They choose to stay in the Heaven-Ascending Corps and train their martial arts, planning to return home only after becoming masters, as going back otherwise would be a loss of face.
“Man, what does that matter? As long as you're living well. So, is the work decent?”
“As you know, besides there being nothing around, it's not bad. The food is good, and the monthly salary is excellent.”
“Well, that's what matters. It's good to see you, man.”
“Me too, sir. Are those behind you the warriors from the Outer Hall led by you, Senior Jin?”
“Yeah, they're a reliable bunch, aren't they?”
“Haha, so it was true that you achieved great things in the Southern Barbarian War. The aura they exude is truly impressive.”
Not at all, but Jo Sang-man was helping me save face in many ways.
“Please, come inside. The Pavilion Master is waiting for you.”
“The Pavilion Master… is it still that old geezer?”
“Hahaha, you must be the only person in the world who calls the Pavilion Master that, Senior Jin.”
“Well, you can even curse the emperor when he's not around.”
I followed Jo Sang-man into the Heaven-Ascending Pavilion.
The terrain was surrounded on three sides by sheer cliffs.
Within it, dozens of pavilions divided into nine sections caught my eye.
The sections were divided by year, from the first-years to the ninth-years.
Naturally, the first-year class, having the most people, used the most pavilions, while there was only a single pavilion for the ninth-years.
And at the very back of the Heaven-Ascending Pavilion, an enormous pavilion came into view.
It was both the residence and headquarters for the instructors, the Pavilion Master, and the martial artists of the Heaven-Ascending Corps who protected the Pavilion.
They were the warriors who guarded the forbidden grounds known as the Heaven-Ascending Pavilion.
Jo Sang-man, who had guided us there, spoke.
“Please, head inside. The rest of you can follow me to your lodgings.”
“Thanks for your trouble. How about a drink later if you're not busy?”
“I'd like to, but I'm busy with training preparations…”
“Huh?”
“You'll hear the details from the Pavilion Master.”
“Alright.”
I went straight inside the pavilion and opened the door to the office used by the Pavilion Master.
Inside, I saw a large, fierce-looking old man.
His side hair, which shot toward the sky while the top was bald, and his gray beard were reminiscent of Heihachi from the Iron Fist fighting game series.
“I'm here.”
I waved at the old man and plopped down in a random seat.
“Barging in like that. I see you've still thrown your manners to the wind.”
“Don't you know that people die when they change? Just think of living as you please as the secret to a long life.”
“…Do you act like this outside, too? The Outer Hall Master's temper wouldn't let that slide.”
“Phhht, I don't have a death wish. Of course I don't. I'm perfectly polite and formal with him.”
“Then what about me? Do you know I'm old enough to be Hall Master Bukgung's father?”
“A Taoist fussing over etiquette. You must not have let go of your worldly attachments yet.”
“If it weren't for my senior brother, I would have broken your damn legs long ago…”
“The great Adept of Annihilation, aiming for an innocent man's legs. What a waste of a reputation.”
That's right. This man was a Taoist adept.
A Taoist from the Black Dragon Hall, the sacred ground of the Sichuan Taoist sect, no less. Moreover, his seniority was second only to the Great Pure Adept; he was the junior martial uncle of the Black Dragon Hall Master and the grand martial uncle of Wi Ji-pung.
The problem was that nothing about his appearance, speech, or conduct made him seem like a Taoist at all.
“What do you say? Should I break them for you right now?”
Just like now.
“If you want to break my legs, Pavilion Master, you'd better be careful yourself. I'm not who I used to be.”
At my response, the Adept of Annihilation began to laugh heartily.
“Gwahaha! Hahahahahaha! That's right. You're not the snot-nosed kid you used to be.”
I'd thought it since I first met him, but this old man had definitely chosen the wrong career path.
If he'd become a bandit, he would have been a shoo-in for the leader of the Green Forest.
Still, it was because he looked out for me that I, who didn't know a single move of martial arts, was able to graduate from the Heaven-Ascending Pavilion.
He was a man I was grateful to in many ways.
After laughing for a long while with a fierce expression, the Adept of Annihilation spoke with a very satisfied look on his face.
“So, how did you find life on the outside?”
“People are the same everywhere. Everyone fights and clings like hungry ghosts to get one more bite, and wasn't the recent Southern Barbarian War the result of that?”
“There's probably no one else who would describe a war like you.”
“What does it matter? It's not wrong to say the war started because everyone was full of greed.”
“True. If all humans could abandon their greed, that would truly be a paradise.”
“Anyway, why the sudden dispatch request? On my way here, I saw the Heaven-Ascending Corps was well-staffed, and the instructors had a fearsome air about them.”
“It's because of the Path of Life and Death.”
“Isn't that usually held in the summer?”
“There were many events, what with the war and the Nine Dragons Tournament. We postponed it by half a year.”
The Path of Life and Death was a notoriously difficult test and training exercise for ninth-year cadets at the Heaven-Ascending Pavilion, where they had to cross the Nine Dragons Mountain Range with nothing but a single weapon.
The reason for its notoriety was simple.
‘You get incredibly hungry.’
For reference, back then, I had secretly snuck out through a pre-dug tunnel and hidden food along the route through the mountain range. Using that, I crossed the finish line in first place.
The memory of me cheerfully running alone while others (especially Dan Un) staggered along, clutching their stomachs, was a pleasant one to recall even now.
“There was cheating during last year's Path of Life and Death. After we caught them, it turned out some graduate had passed on the method of using a tunnel to hide food.”
“I-i-i-is that so?”
“Hmm? Why are you suddenly stuttering?”
“Oh, it's nothing. It just got a little chilly…”
“Anyway, that's why we've decided to significantly increase surveillance starting this year.”
“So that's why you requested the dispatch.”
“Exactly. So you and the warriors from the Outer Hall just need to follow the prodigies and keep an eye on them.”
“But the movement skills of the Outer Hall warriors are terrible…”
It was true.
No matter how young the Heaven-Ascending Pavilion's prodigies were, they were still elites with considerable martial skill.
If they decided to use their movement skills, the Outer Hall warriors would have no way of keeping up.
“If that happens, an instructor will step in, so don't worry too much. You just need to make up the numbers.”
In other words, he was telling us to just create an atmosphere of surveillance. I nodded.
“If that's all…”
I always welcome a scarecrow role where I just fill a headcount.
* * *
There were still ten days left before the training began, so I decided to look around the Heaven-Ascending Pavilion in the meantime.
The first place I went was the dining hall.
“Squad Leader! Is this for real? What kind of meal is this?!”
“It's delici…”
“Hmm, a meal with a perfect harmony of yin and yang.”
“Ahem, smack, slurp, chomp!”
The food at the Heaven-Ascending Pavilion was genuinely delicious.
Thanks to that, the former members of the Seventeenth Squad who came with me moved their chopsticks while showering it with praise.
By the way, that guy Yang Gang is making weird noises while he eats again today.
I wonder if he'll ever be able to get married like that.
But the pleasant meal was short-lived.
Soon, the gazes of everyone in the Heaven-Ascending Pavilion began to gather on us.
It seemed seeing new faces after looking at the same ones every day had piqued their interest.
Then, Jo Sang-man, who was eating with us, spoke up quietly.
“It would probably be a good idea to introduce yourself.”
“It's a hassle…”
“But we can't keep drawing this much attention, can we?”
“Damn it.”
Screech.
Following Jo Sang-man's advice, I stood up from my seat.
“I'm Jin Mujeon, Squad Leader of the Outer Hall's First Squad, temporarily dispatched to the Heaven-Ascending Pavilion. It's a great pleasure to meet all you juniors. If you happen to fail to graduate in the future, I'd appreciate it if you came to the Outer Hall instead of staying here.”
A short and sweet greeting meant to get it over with quickly so I could continue my meal.
I sat back down immediately, but I couldn't continue eating as I'd planned.
Rumble.
Because the prodigies of the Heaven-Ascending Pavilion came running over, shouting.
“It's the, the Fighting Dragon Senior!”
“Really?!”
“Wow! It's really him?!”
“Senior!”
And most of them were young kids.
‘This damn popularity.’
As expected, a warrior needs to make a name for himself.
I made eye contact and spoke with each of the kids, thinking that I no longer needed to have Gwak Sam handle the viral marketing for the Fighting Dragon brand inns.
Even if they were children of martial families, being stuck in the mountains studying at a young age, away from their parents, caused immense loneliness.
That's why I did my best to offer them warm encouragement.
“When you grow up, you have to come to the Outer Hall. Come on, promise.”
With a bit of a sales pitch added in, of course.
After finishing my fan service, I went alone to the library, the place where martial arts manuals and books were collected.
Step.
“Wow, this place hasn't changed a bit.”
Arriving and looking around, old memories came flooding back.
When I first entered the Heaven-Ascending Pavilion, I knew nothing about the martial world, but there were three things I knew for certain.
First, that to send me here, the Black Dragon Hall had to give up one of their slots for sending a disciple to the Pavilion.
Second, that since I'd entered knowing no martial arts whatsoever, I would have to work twice as hard to keep up with the others.
And finally, that if I didn't learn properly here, it would be difficult to survive in the harsh martial world.
In that sense, finding the Dragon-Slaying Thirteen Strikes in this library was an incredible stroke of luck.
I had chosen an unarmed combat style because I thought it would take too long to catch up with the sword and saber, but I had no idea it would turn out to be such an excellent martial art.
“Let's see if I can find it.”
On a whim of nostalgia, I entered the library and looked for the manual for the Dragon-Slaying Thirteen Strikes, but it was nowhere to be found.
I called the librarian over to ask where it was, and soon heard something absurd.
“What? It's gone?”
“It was burned and lost in a fire three years ago.”
“…Don't all the manuals in the library have copied versions?”
“Well, it seems that since it was a martial art no one ever looked for, a copy was never made.”
“I see, what a shame. I was hoping to look at a manual steeped in memories after so long.”
“Haha, indeed. But the other manuals are still here, so please take your time and look around.”
Something felt off, but what could I do? They said it was gone.
“I understand.”
And so, I began to look around the library.