Reaching the Zenith
After Seok Geum-ryong was formally promoted to county lord, he soon gained the right to become the master of Seokma-gwan as promised.
Accordingly, he appointed the servant Deung Chon as deputy lord to properly oversee Bukcheon-won, the stronghold. It was an unprecedented leap, the sort of promotion a servant had never seen before.
“Kkrrr... to think that a mere servant like me could become the manager right below the manor lord.”
At that outrageous promotion, the pure-hearted Deung Chon was reduced to a river of tears.
Being elevated from a servant's post to deputy lord of Bukcheon-won was an astonishing event.
“Brother. Don’t cry. Why are you crying on such a happy day, when Young Master has become county lord?”
Only Jang Sam, who had once been a servant himself, could truly understand his feelings, so he kept comforting him again and again.
Even as he did, his own eyes turned red, drawing laughter from the others around them.
But Jang Sam was too quick to feel relieved.
“Also, I officially appoint Jang Sam as the master of Seokma-gwan. You’ll be in charge of horse care and all horse transfers, so I’ll be relying on you from now on as well.”
“Pardon? Y-yes?”
The moment he heard that, Jang Sam thought he must be hearing things.
Like Deung Chon, he came from a humble background and had never dared to dream of promotion, much less advancement. In truth, for a servant to rise so high was almost unheard of, something some people might even laugh at.
But the reason all of this was possible was simple.
“You may be surprised, but refusal is not an option. The Seokga Manor I envision is a place where ability and merit are rewarded, and where a man’s humble birth does not matter if he has spent years here building real achievements.”
It was possible because Seok Geum-ryong, who had already become an indispensable talent within Seokga Manor, pushed it through.
At the same time, he showed that anyone with outstanding ability and loyal devotion could rise as far as their merit allowed, sparking a transformation within the force.
“At the same time, Master Shin Dan-woo, the Shadowless One, has been elevated to captain of the guards, and Doctor Yeo Gwang-rae, the Golden Needle Venerable, will become the chief physician of Bukcheon Medical Hall in Bukcheon-won. As for Miss Im So-gun, the Moon Spirit Swordswoman and one of my four honored guests, I ask that she continue to serve formally as one of the honored guests in my care... and Wol-papa, who has worked alongside her, has also been promoted to special guest of Bukcheon-won.”
Not a single person who had earned merit for him was forgotten by Seok Geum-ryong.
He was lavish in his treatment not only of Shin Dan-woo, Yeo Gwang-rae, and Im So-gun, but even Wol-papa, who had little interest in worldly affairs, received the utmost respect.
“Oh my, there’s no need to go that far for even me.”
Wol-papa waved her hands in refusal, but Seok Geum-ryong saw it differently.
“If I can gain a proper foothold in Seokga Manor and stabilize Bukcheon-won... then I will also do what I can to help with the affairs of the Moon Lady Sect.”
With the memories of his past life and the instincts of this one, Seok Geum-ryong understood more or less why Im So-gun and Wol-papa had had to leave the Moon Lady Sect and settle at Seokga Manor.
Understanding their hearts, which still longed for the day they might reclaim the Moon Lady Sect, he moved them deeply.
“Young Master.”
“Thank you.”
Even Im So-gun, let alone Wol-papa, found her eyes growing damp at that consideration.
Until now, they had been treated well in Seokga Manor, but that had only been the courtesy owed to people connected by the golden young master.
Only after moving to Bukcheon-won did they finally receive the kind of care and regard reserved for family, and their hearts swelled with emotion.
“And Scholar in Blue Gong Sang-pil, I trust you will continue as you have until now. As for the household affairs inside the manor, please leave much of that to Deputy Lord Deung Chon and make use of your skill at Seokma-gwan and the horse market.”
Seok Geum-ryong knew very well how much talent Gong Sang-pil possessed and what a truly versatile man he was.
He understood not only that Gong managed household finances well, but also that he was an exceptionally capable merchant.
So he decided to leave the internal management of Bukcheon-won to Jang Sam, whose ability was excellent and whose personal network and reputation were broad, while actively placing Gong Sang-pil at the horse market to meet the expectations of the Seokga clan lord and the main house.
“Then... I’ll be in your care as well from now on.”
On this happy day, the very day Seok Geum-ryong rose from county lord to county chief, he showed not a trace of arrogance. Instead, he respectfully bowed to his subordinates and acquaintances and offered them a formal salute.
“Young Master!”
“Good heavens!”
Who had said that the more mature the grain, the lower it bowed?
Seok Geum-ryong had achieved so much at the tender age of thirteen, yet rather than growing proud or changing his nature, he remained humble. Seeing that, the people of Bukcheon-won could once again be certain of one thing.
The current gathering is only the beginning.
Bukcheon-won will swallow Seokga Manor before long.
The Golden Prince’s success begins right here, right now.
With everyone swept up in a great wave of emotion, the journey of county lord Seok Geum-ryong, the Golden Prince, and the youngest county lord in Seokga Manor’s history, began at last.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
If one were to describe the faction of County Lord Seok Geum-ryong in a single phrase, it would be a small elite force: few in number, but each and every one of them exceptional.
For example, Scholar in Blue Gong Sang-pil shuttled between the horse market and Seokma-gwan, raising prices day after day.
And that was not all.
Deung Chon, once a mere servant of the lowest rank, had risen all the way to deputy lord and now oversaw the internal affairs of Bukcheon-won.
At first, there had been resistance because of his humble origins, but that only lasted briefly.
Deung Chon soon proved his own competence.
With everything moving smoothly both inside and outside, Seok Geum-ryong, the true master and center of the faction, was finally able to focus on martial training after a long time.
Some might have wondered why he would sink into such martial obsession at a moment this important, but Seok Geum-ryong thought differently.
Now is exactly the best chance to reach the Zenith realm.
Not long ago, he had faced a life-and-death crisis after encountering various pursuers and the masters of the Red Horse Hall. In particular, perhaps because he had fought a life-or-death duel against Mad Horse Elder Ma Gwan-pil, an expert above his own level and a peak upper-stage master?
Twitch.
After surviving that fierce battle and gaining his own hard-won insight, whenever he sat quietly in meditation and let his thoughts settle, he could feel something stirring all through his body.
To put it grandly, it felt as though wings were about to burst from his back; to put it plainly, it was as if something brilliant and unprecedented was about to leap from his mouth.
I know this feeling well!
Seok Geum-ryong understood exactly what that strange sensation meant.
He had already experienced it once in his previous life.
The feeling of standing at the final threshold of the super first-class realm, barely crossing the last obstacle, and taking one true step forward as a transcendent being.
How could one possibly compare that sensation and that feeling to anything else?
It was like leaving a single, immense footprint in a pure white snowfield that no one had dared to step on before.
“I can do this. Let’s do it.”
So Seok Geum-ryong threw himself back into closed-door cultivation.
Fortunately, everything inside and outside the manor was going far too well, and his only worry, the half-brothers who schemed like wildcats, had become comparatively quiet.
The reason they had gone quiet was simple: Seok Geum-ryong could no longer just hire assassins and have anyone killed at will, and Bukcheon-won’s defenses were being watched with blazing eyes by the Shadowless One Shin Dan-woo, the Golden Needle Venerable Yeo Gwang-rae, the Moon Spirit Swordswoman Im So-gun, and Wol-papa. They were in no position even to entertain the thought of challenging him.
I don’t have much time.
And if the leader stayed away for too long, rumors would begin to spread.
So Seok Geum-ryong set a deadline for himself: before his fourteenth birthday, he would do whatever it took to challenge the Zenith realm.
Don’t rush. If this stirring means anything... then the vast and violent tide of the Zenith realm will sweep over me again.
He did not rush.
Impatience was the true enemy of every martial artist, the inner demon that caused them to collapse at the critical moment.
-Northern Dipper Cultivation Technique!
Instead of hurrying, Seok Geum-ryong began checking the most basic, the simplest things, one by one.
He circulated the Northern Dipper Cultivation Technique, which had protected him through both this life and the last.
-Heaven-Shattering Seven Stars Sword Technique: First Form, Greedy Wolf!
-Heaven-Shattering Seven Stars Sword Technique: Second Form, Great Gate!
Even without drawing the Silver Shadow Sword and moving his body, he unleashed his imagination and intellect, ranging freely through his mind.
That alone was enough.
-Shadowless Movement Technique!
He did not forget the light-footed movement art that had become his feet and his path.
-Heaven-Returning Golden Needle Technique!
He also slowly reviewed the Heaven-Returning Golden Needle Technique, both a healing art and a long- to mid-range hidden weapon technique.
The reason he revisited these things in so many different ways was because they were precisely the fragments and foundations that made Seok Geum-ryong who he was as a martial artist.
So how could I ever forget the things that protected me and let me grow?
From internal cultivation methods to his core martial arts, movement techniques, and acupuncture arts, he repeated them endlessly, over and over without discrimination.
Seok Geum-ryong never forgot this tedious but necessary training, from the time autumn passed and the cold winter went by until spring returned once more.
He knew all too well that what determined even the slightest outcome in a brutal life-and-death duel was this boring, exhausting foundation work.
He also knew that if he wanted to become stronger still, he had to repeat these annoying, obvious things countless times.
Then, one day, with only seven days and nights left until his fourteenth birthday.
Flash.
That day too, as he continued repeating the basics without fail, the vast wave of enlightenment he had been waiting for at last washed over Seok Geum-ryong from head to toe, exactly as he had expected.
So that’s how it was.
Seok Geum-ryong could feel the tiny fragment that had been lacking, weak, and necessary for him to move from the super first-class realm to the Zenith realm.
At the same time, he savored the sensation of rising toward the Zenith realm, a sensation he had been too clumsy and immature to truly grasp in his previous life.
Zenith.
When body and heart, internal energy and will, at last became one, when everything in a martial artist reached unanimous harmony, that was the realm they could finally attain.
Whoooosh!
Multicolored light and energy burst from Seok Geum-ryong’s entire body, proof that he had passed beyond the super first-class realm and finally entered the Zenith realm.
At last!
He could feel his frame, as both a man and a martial artist, growing larger and firmer by the second, while the small missing piece that had once eluded him now filled in completely.
In ordinary hero tales, the Zenith realm might be dismissed as nothing more than a passing ferry stop, but that was nonsense.
The Zenith master was the height at which a martial artist could truly be called a transcendent being, and even among the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Clans, power was measured by how many Zenith masters they possessed.
In other words, even the great orthodox powers struggled to raise even one Zenith master.
“My strength... is overflowing!”
Golden Prince Seok Geum-ryong had already possessed internal energy that was in no way inferior to the Zenith level, and the multicolored mist and light radiating from his body were even more distinct and vivid than those of other Zenith masters.
Perhaps it was because his internal energy was truly extraordinary.
The Zenith realm was that difficult to reach.
Even Shin Dan-woo, the Shadowless One, who had taught Seok Geum-ryong martial arts and movement techniques, had been stuck in the super first-class realm for years, unable to break through to Zenith.
To put it bluntly, more than ninety percent of experts died in vain before covering that tiny distance from super first-class to Zenith, a distance no greater than a half, a quarter, or even a third of a step.
And yet Seok Geum-ryong, still short of his fourteenth birthday, had become a Zenith master. Even in the vast history of the martial world, this was an exceedingly rare event.