Chapter 5: Sword Emperor and Divine Doctor (2)
Chapter 5
Sword Emperor and Divine Doctor (2)
"Haah... I feel like giving up on everything."
Yoo Jin-hak let out a deep sigh as he spoke.
He had been sharing drinks with an old friend at the An family estate in Sichuan.
Though he had never shown a hint of wavering before anyone else since ascending to the position of Martial Alliance Leader,
she was the only one before whom he revealed such vulnerability.
"Heh heh, didn't I tell you time and again? Even if war breaks out, those bastards will never change."
She smiled bitterly.
The "they" Boyeon referred to were the power brokers within the Martial Alliance.
Too many within the Alliance had forgotten chivalry and abandoned righteousness.
Watching them squabble all day for their own interests, neglecting crucial matters for the sake of a better martial world, filled him with emptiness.
He had raised his voice time and again to change them,
but before he knew it, he had grown too old.
Those who had once shared his ideals had either been driven out by packs of jackals or lost heart and retreated to the countryside.
Lately, the thought of truly letting go and stepping down had crossed his mind more than once or twice.
"......Don't try to shoulder everything alone."
"Or just retire and spend your days drinking fine liquor in seclusion like me."
"If you fall to a Heart Demon, there'll be no one left to protect this world, you fool."
His friend's eyes held genuine concern.
A dull ache settled in his chest.
A sudden thought flashed through his mind—Perhaps I should hide my true feelings even from her now.
'......The answer was already decided anyway. No need to burden her further.'
He couldn't truly step down.
The moment he left, the Martial Alliance would undoubtedly plunge into an inescapable abyss.
"......Sigh, I should return to the Alliance now."
"Tch, I knew it—that young punk from the Qingcheng Sect is the problem. Should've crushed him when he was still green..."
And then it happened.
Crack!
'What—?!'
His qi senses detected a distinct surge of energy.
This wasn't ordinary qi—it was the unmistakable manifestation of innate primordial qi.
A martial artist only tapped into their life's foundational innate qi in moments of absolute desperation.
BOOM!
He unleashed near-full power, propelling himself forward with his movement technique.
Fortunately, the An estate wasn't far from the source of the disturbance.
And so, Yoo Jin-hak encountered Se-woon.
'This boy is definitely...'
The heir of the Tang family, whose declining prestige had even led to whispers of expulsion from the Martial Alliance.
Boyeon's words flashed through his mind—that due to his congenital dantian deformity, Se-woon could never cultivate profound internal energy.
Yet how had this boy severed the arm of Yi Hoseong, who had reached first-class mastery?
And that wasn't the only puzzling thing.
'......Guilt?'
When he peered into Se-woon's heart with his Golden Truth Eyes, what he saw was thick, suffocating guilt.
It was baffling.
Why would a boy he was meeting for the first time harbor such deep emotions toward him?
It couldn't be because of what he'd done to his disciple—Se-woon's conscience regarding his own actions was utterly unshaken.
Since the mystery wasn't easily resolved,
he exchanged a Sound Transmission with Boyeon, who arrived moments later.
-Boyeon. Is it a demonic technique?
-No. Brutal, yes, but nothing more. It falls within conventional boundaries.
-Hmm... His qi doesn't feel corrupted either.
-Heh heh, but he's definitely hiding something.
-Then...
There was no choice but to test him.
Afterward, Yoo Jin-hak deliberately pressured Se-woon through Son Woo-gon,
hoping to force him into revealing whatever he might be concealing.
But Se-woon acted in a way completely contrary to his expectations.
"I shall now resume paying for my sins. Will the Alliance Leader stop me?"
When was the last time
someone had pressed a blade against his throat with genuine intent to kill?
Yet through the Golden Truth Eyes, Se-woon truly wished to fight him if necessary—to behead Yi Hoseong.
At first, he was merely bewildered, but soon, anger surged.
'To stake your life so recklessly for revenge.'
Did this boy, barely past twenty, even understand the weight of those words?
He assumed Se-woon's actions were mere recklessness, a failure to control momentary emotions.
The admiration he'd felt for Se-woon's chivalrous spirit—so strong that he'd even tapped into his innate qi to uphold justice—vanished, leaving only disappointment.
"Even if it costs me my life..."
"I only wish to fix this broken world, even if just a little."
......How?
Se-woon's next words shook Yoo Jin-hak's composure for the first time.
But there was no helping it.
Because what Se-woon had just uttered—
-Even if it costs me my life, I want to change the world.
—was word for word
what Yoo Jin-hak had confessed to the Sun Yang Master
on the day he fortuitously obtained enlightenment.
No one could have overheard him.
He had never spoken of that moment to anyone.
The instant that decided the trajectory of his entire life—
hearing that same vow from another's lips stirred an indescribable resonance in Yoo Jin-hak's heart.
'Child... If that is truly your conviction...'
Whoosh!
Having gathered his thoughts, Yoo Jin-hak raised the Songmun Ancient Sword toward Se-woon once more.
The Sword Emperor's blade descended.
Yet Se-woon made no move to raise his dagger in defense or evade with his movement technique.
No—more accurately, he couldn't.
Swish!
The moment he witnessed Yoo Jin-hak's single stroke—
'Ah—'
A dreamlike, fantastical scene unfolded before his eyes.
Swoosh!
If the sword were a brush, Yoo Jin-hak had painted a masterpiece across the void.
A single stroke contained countless Taiji principles, unfolding into a breathtaking spectacle.
The Wudang sword truly embodied softness overcoming hardness.
'Beautiful.'
Just a little more—just a little—
Tears of awe welled in Se-woon's eyes.
Lost in the moment, Se-woon immersed himself completely in the Sword Emperor's blade.
But that fleeting instant, which felt like it could last forever,
was shattered by—
"H-Hiiieek!"
—a man's pathetic groan.
"Ah..." Se-woon let out an involuntary sigh.
His regret-filled eyes now fixed on the culprit who had stolen his priceless moment of enlightenment.
Whoosh!
Surprisingly, Yoo Jin-hak's blade wasn't pointed at Se-woon.
It hovered before Yi Hoseong's face as he lay sprawled on the ground.
"How long do you intend to pretend to be unconscious before your master?"
"M-Master!"
Yi Hoseong scrambled up and knelt, his mind racing frantically.
Yoo Jin-hak clicked his tongue at the sight.
"Rolling your eyes so vigorously—seems you've recovered well. My thanks, Boyeon."
"I merely fulfilled my duty as a physician. Though it seems my efforts were wasted."
The Divine Doctor hadn't reattached Yi Hoseong's arm, but upon checking his pulse, she had restored his qi flow to normal.
Meaning Yi Hoseong had regained consciousness long ago.
'D-Damn it! Why is the Alliance Leader here?!'
Given the situation, pretending to be unconscious had seemed the safest choice.
Of course, Yoo Jin-hak had seen through it.
'What the hell? Why's he suddenly coming at me?'
Yi Hoseong couldn't hide his confusion.
Just moments ago, the Alliance Leader had been poised to execute that Tang bastard—only to suddenly turn his blade on him.
"Now, it's your turn to speak."
"Wh-What?"
"Your opponent staked his very life to prove his chivalry. Can you stake yours to prove your innocence?"
"Th-That's—!"
What kind of nonsense was this?
Stake his life?
Yi Hoseong wanted to scream that this was absurd,
but the icy glares from Yoo Jin-hak and Boyeon made him realize the gravity of the situation.
'Shit!'
Cold sweat trickled down his spine.
He knew—if he backed down now, it was over.
"N-No! I'll stake it!"
Yi Hoseong shrieked like a madman,
glaring at Se-woon with frenzied eyes as he spewed his lies.
"Master! Everything he said is false! Why would I, the Qingcheng Sect's top disciple, risk my reputation harassing trash like him?!"
"That bastard seduced me first!"
"And he used demonic tricks to cut off my—!"
ROAR!
Before he could finish, Yoo Jin-hak unleashed a thunderous shout.
The lion's roar, infused with overwhelming qi, forced Yi Hoseong to clamp his mouth shut.
The sheer fury behind it nearly disrupted Yi Hoseong's qi and blood flow again.
"Enough. Any more, and my ears might rot."
"M-Master?"
"I gave you one last chance, yet you failed to defy expectations in the slightest."
"......Wh-What do you mean?"
Yoo Jin-hak looked at Yi Hoseong as if he were vermin,
then turned to lock eyes with Se-woon.
"From this moment on, I shall take full responsibility for your actions."
"!"
Yoo Jin-hak's declaration widened the eyes of everyone present like lanterns.
For the Martial Alliance Leader to assume all responsibility was monumental—
not only would it block any future interference from the Qingcheng Faction,
but it also effectively granted Se-woon the right to decide Yi Hoseong's fate.
"M-Master!!"
"I never had a disciple like you."
"!!"
Realizing his doom, Yi Hoseong let out a strangled cry.
But Yoo Jin-hak coldly turned away.
Whoosh!
Instead, Se-woon, having bowed to the Sword Emperor, gripped his dagger and advanced toward Yi Hoseong.
Paling, Yi Hoseong scrambled backward on the ground.
"D-Don't come closer! Stay the hell away from me, you bastard!!"
Grabbing a fallen sword, he swung wildly.
With the Divine Doctor having only barely restored his disrupted meridians,
his current strength was pitiful—not even third-rate.
Slash!
Se-woon lunged forward, driving both daggers down.
Schlick!
"G-GAAAH!"
A sickening slicing sound severed the tendons in Yi Hoseong's left foot.
He screamed in agony.
But Se-woon had no intention of stopping.
His eyes blazed with killing intent.
"You'll live a fate worse than death."
CRACK!
Se-woon's qi-infused fist smashed into Yi Hoseong's dantian.
Crunch!
The sound of something shattering echoed.
"!?"
Yi Hoseong couldn't even scream.
The pain of his dantian's destruction—of losing all his cultivated internal energy in an instant—was beyond imagination.
"G-Guh...! G-Glk!"
His eyes rolled back, foam bubbling at his mouth.
Twitching violently on the ground, he finally passed out from unbearable agony.
The pain was so horrific that his hair had turned white.
Tremble.
Son Woo-gon and Huo Longwei shook in terror at the gruesome sight.
Yoo Jin-hak watched them before sighing deeply.
He spoke cautiously to Se-woon.
"......Might you entrust their judgment to me?"
Se-woon hesitated.
Yi Hoseong, the mastermind, had been punished.
But Son Woo-gon and Huo Longwei were no less guilty.
Yet his decision quickly tilted in one direction.
'Take a step back.'
Showing further cruelty would backfire.
Besides, the Yoo Jin-hak he knew would ensure they paid a fitting price.
Finally, Se-woon nodded.
"Very well. Since you overlooked my junior's rudeness, I shall do the same."
"Thank you for sparing my dignity."
"!"
Everyone was stunned.
The Martial Alliance Leader expressing gratitude to a mere twenty-year-old?
But the surprises weren't over.
"Sigh... Once order is restored here, I shall visit your family estate. Might you spare me some time?"
Even to Yoo Jin-hak's final request,
"Of course. I'll make time for tea."
Se-woon remained unshaken to the end.
The Sichuan Conqueror.