Chapter 24: The Fist King, What Is Opportunity?
The Fist King, What Is Opportunity?
Episode 24: The Fist King, What Is Opportunity?
Dan Woo-sung first briefly wrote an introductory note for the Dokgo Nine Swords manual.
「The Dokgo Nine Swords can be easily learned by beginners. However, to perfectly execute it requires time, training, and meditation. Reading about it and truly mastering the sword are entirely different matters. The ultimate secrets of the Dokgo Nine Swords can never be comprehended without enduring pain and effort. But should anyone fully master this technique, they could rival even those called the Strongest Under Heaven...」
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At Mount Jiuhua—where Dan Woo-sung's Dokgo Nine Swords manual, created with all his might, had arrived; where Joo Ja-ryang, the Perpetual Exam Failure, had passionately prepared the "opportunity site"; and where Sa Ma-geuk, disguised as a white-haired elder, was fiercely training—Lee Ja-eon finally made his appearance.
Nearly a hundred days had passed since this idle group had conspired together.
After settling his belongings at the inn, Lee Ja-eon stared blankly at Mount Jiuhua shrouded in thin mist.
No matter how he looked at it, this place brimmed with divine energy.
The air was fresh, the water clear, and the surroundings peaceful.
But that wasn't all—the rugged terrain seemed to forbid any half-hearted martial fanatics from approaching.
Lee Ja-eon took a deep breath. The crisp air pierced his lungs like a blade.
"Good."
With his hands clasped behind his back, he began strolling while lost in thought.
'There must be a reason my eldest brother suddenly grew stronger. Maybe he found some elixir here. Or perhaps a secret manual. Or maybe he met a retired martial master who imparted both techniques and internal energy to him. If that's the case, then Mount Jiuhua has already become his backyard.'
Lee Ja-eon paused mid-step.
Now that he thought about it, perhaps this trip was unnecessary.
But then he resumed walking.
'No. Mount Jiuhua is just the beginning. I'll comb through every inch—whether it's an elixir, a secret manual, or a retired master, I'll find it through sheer effort. Before opportunity comes to me, I'll seek it out myself. And if nothing turns up here, I'll scour every mountain—Sohwa Mountain, Mount Ye, Mount Taebaek, Mount Zhongnan, Mount Emei, Kunlun Mountain, Mount Dobong, Mount Huang, the back hills, the side hills, the front hills, even the local mountain in my neighborhood—until I seize my opportunity.'
Lee Ja-eon smirked as he surveyed the mountain trail.
'I can't lose to him. He was always beneath me... My talent is superior. I look more manly. I wield the sword better. If I gain an opportunity, I'll undoubtedly surpass him. That's an undeniable fact. Just wait. I, Lee Ja-eon, will return stronger.'
He muttered under his breath:
"I'll investigate every inch, from Mount Baekdu to the East Sea."
The man obsessed with opportunity glanced around, confirming no one was nearby, before sublimating his surging ambition into laughter.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA—!"
The echoes reverberated across Mount Jiuhua. It was unbearably loud.
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Hearing the echoing laughter, Joo Ja-ryang, the Perpetual Exam Failure, woke Sa Ma-geuk, who had been napping with the Dokgo Nine Swords manual covering his face.
"Old man, wake up. He's here."
Sa Ma-geuk, disguised as a white-haired elder, lowered the manual and replied groggily:
"He's here? Ah, I fell asleep again."
Joo Ja-ryang tilted his head.
"Why do you fall asleep the moment you close your eyes? You were supposed to just disguise yourself as an old man, not actually become one."
Sa Ma-geuk stuffed the manual into his robes while answering:
"The air's so fresh it makes me drowsy. But it's not just the air—this manual's contents are too bizarre."
"What's bizarre about it?"
"It's profoundly deep. Where did he even get this?"
"Where else? Our rich bastard friend probably bought it with money."
"I'm not so sure. This isn't something you can just buy... It's too profound. Difficult, I mean."
"You lunatic, what does the manual being profound have to do with you sleeping all the time?"
Sa Ma-geuk collected himself and retorted:
"Hey, what's the name of this sword technique again?"
"Dokgo Nine Swords."
"Do you even know what the Dokgo Nine Swords is?"
"No."
"It's a legendary sword technique. The more I read, the more I think this might be the real deal. I'm not making excuses—when I ponder its contents deeply, my stomach churns, and I keep dozing off. The more I chew on it, the more exhausted I become. You have to read it in moderation, or you might suffer Qi Deviation."
"Did you come here to practice making excuses?"
"What do you know, desk-bound scholar?"
Joo Ja-ryang, who knew little about martial arts, couldn't fully grasp it—but Sa Ma-geuk was dead serious.
Of course he was...
It contained the martial wisdom of the Fist King.
At first glance, everything was simple and easy to understand. But the deeper one read, the more one had to infer meanings, and the more one delved, the more one had to reread the manual. Having already read it hundreds of times, collapsing into sleep while ruminating on its meaning was almost inevitable. As a manual left behind by the Fist King, its value rivaled that of any existing major sect's secret techniques.
Sa Ma-geuk spoke:
"Let's prepare. First, we'll accept the youngest as our disciple, then I'll continue researching while engaging in martial duels. This isn't a technique you can master alone. It's meant for real combat."
Joo Ja-ryang took out his Crane Feather Fan—the very one he had bought—and fluttered it gracefully before changing his tone:
"Understood, Elder Brother. Shall we go bestow this opportunity now?"
Sa Ma-geuk stroked his white beard and replied:
"Junior Brother, if the youngest bypasses our traps, we'll wait a few days and drop by his inn for a meal."
"Hehe, that won't be necessary. I've laid psychological traps."
"Then I'll trust you."
The two "immortals" headed to their prepared location.
Their collective title was the Jiuhua Twin Immortals—Sa Ma-geuk was the Sword Immortal, and Joo Ja-ryang was the Scholar Immortal.
The Scholar Immortal, having studied feng shui, analyzed the mountain trails from every angle before setting up traps to guide their target toward the opportunity site. If the youngest followed the traps, he would arrive at the secluded waterfall—the heart of their setup.
Of course, if this failed, they planned to simply seek him out themselves. They were determined to take him as a disciple, if only to avoid wasting their preparations.
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While strolling, Lee Ja-eon suddenly froze when he spotted something.
"What... this is so random."
He had assumed this was a natural mountain path, yet out of nowhere stood a small sign:
「Beware of Falling Rocks」
Lee Ja-eon glanced around but saw no treacherous cliffs where rocks might fall, making it even stranger. Such signs were usually hastily made, but whoever wrote this had clearly studied calligraphy for years.
The strokes were elegant yet imposing, infused with the Scholar Immortal's loneliness and pretentiousness—though Lee Ja-eon interpreted it differently.
After all, this was Mount Jiuhua.
As he rustled through the foliage, Lee Ja-eon faintly heard someone's voice and moved toward it. Before long, another sign appeared—this time with minuscule writing.
"What does this even say?"
Lee Ja-eon approached and barely managed to read "Beware of Falling" before his foot slipped, sending him tumbling. Normally, he wouldn't have fallen so clumsily on ordinary mud, but this was treacherously slick—as if something had been applied. With a squelch, his body sank slightly before sliding down like a playground slide, rapidly descending.
"Uwaaaaah—!"
Lee Ja-eon tried braking with his feet against the sides, but the shoddy slide crumbled, sending him spinning briefly before he was airborne.
Swoooosh—!
He plummeted toward a waterfall.
Arcing through the air, Lee Ja-eon crashed into the waterfall. Was it a hallucination that he glimpsed a white-robed elder nearby? Heart pounding inexplicably, he surfaced.
A white-haired elder sat cross-legged near the waterfall.
Lee Ja-eon looked up at where he'd fallen from.
"'Beware of Falling'?"
When he turned back to the elder, the Sword Immortal of the Jiuhua Twin Immortals sighed deeply with closed eyes—a sigh laden with reproach for whoever had disturbed his meditation.
Startled, Lee Ja-eon turned his head and saw a middle-aged man approaching, fluttering a Crane Feather Fan.
"Who dares interrupt my elder brother's training?"
Dripping wet, Lee Ja-eon's mind latched onto two words: "elder brother" and "training." He scrambled out of the water.
The Scholar Immortal repeated:
"I asked who you are."
Lee Ja-eon shook off the water and answered politely:
"Ah, yes. I am Lee Ja-eon of the Silver River Merchant Group."
"What brings a young master of a merchant group to these treacherous mountains?"
"Ah..."
Lee Ja-eon's eyes darted before settling on the scholar-robed man.
"I came to train."
"Train? Martial arts or academics?"
"Martial arts."
The Scholar Immortal made a regretful expression, shaking his head while trailing off:
"What's so great about martial arts..."
With a displeased frown, he stepped aside, allowing Sword Immortal Sa Ma-geuk to open his eyes with a faint smile.
"You came to train in martial arts?"
Lee Ja-eon's head snapped toward him.
"Yes!"
The Scholar Immortal, who had seemed content to observe, interjected:
"Elder Brother must be pleased. All martial fanatics are your juniors, after all."
The Sword Immortal smiled benevolently.
"What seniors or juniors in martial arts? It's no different from academics—only progress matters."
Lee Ja-eon glanced between them before kneeling.
"Your humble junior greets his seniors."
The Sword Immortal smiled warmly and nodded several times.
Then both Sa Ma-geuk and Joo Ja-ryang fell silent. Their rehearsed lines had run out, leaving them to improvise based on Lee Ja-eon's responses.
With nothing left to say, Sword Immortal Sa Ma-geuk stroked his long beard and chuckled.
Scholar Immortal Joo Ja-ryang, equally speechless, fluttered his fan pointlessly before clearing his throat.
And so, beneath the radiant sky, two fake immortals met their backroom martial fanatic...
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Meanwhile, Dan Woo-sung sat at his desk with a grave expression, chin resting on his hand.
Before him lay a gift that had arrived from outside after a hundred days—a tiny medicine bottle.
How was he supposed to react to this?
He had sent his youngest brother to Mount Jiuhua, crafting an "opportunity" to make him stronger—yet the true opportunity had come to Dan Woo-sung himself.
Thus, he pondered deeply with a solemn expression: What truly constituted a proper opportunity?
It struck him that nothing was ever mere coincidence.
Beside the bottle lay a short letter—one Lee Seong-min had given his son to read.
「A gift in recognition of the long trust and friendship you've shown me.」
It was from a merchant his father revered—one who could contend for the title of wealthiest in the Central Plains. Had Lee Seong-min lived a life of deceit and exploitation, such a gift would never have come. Only because he upheld trust and integrity throughout his life did this opportunity find Dan Woo-sung.
Inside the bottle was Supreme Elixir.