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Unlike the Sichuan Tang Clan and Emei Sect, which failed to produce any Nine Dragons or Six Phoenixes for a long stretch, Qingcheng Sect was the only faction in Sichuan to claim a Nine Dragons and One Phoenix seat at the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.
Azure Heaven New Dragon Bang Do-rim!
The personal disciple of the current sect leader Byeok Bak-ja, he was projected to become one of the Nine Dragons even before the tournament began. He fully displayed the Clear Wind Sword Technique and claimed the title of Azure Heaven New Dragon.
The Sichuan Tang Clan had no disciples of tournament caliber, and Emei's Abbess Jeongjo was eliminated early. Hearing the outcome, the people of Sichuan sensed that Qingcheng's influence was poised to grow.
In a previous cycle, that is.
—Is Azure Heaven New Dragon not participating this time?
—Didn't he age out?
—Hmph. He's just afraid he'll lose and fail to make the Nine Dragons.
—Then Azure Heaven New Dragon's seat is hereby revoked.
Disqualified.
And so he became nothing but azure heaven.
—Azure Heaven New Dragon, you must return your dragon title.
Qingcheng's honor plummeted. Bang Do-rim, reduced to a mere blue sky, received no praise whatsoever.
—So, does this mean Qingcheng's momentum simply collapses?
—Blessings upon the new Nine Dragons!!
—Sichuan is finished.
—Aren't the two Black-and-White Flowers the real powers anyway? There's no need to even care about Nine Dragons.
And then.
Barely half a year after the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering ended, before the two vacant phoenix seats could even be decided, Sichuan found itself entangled in its own inter-sect conflicts.
Bang Do-rim's Phoenix Chick Sword and Abbess Jeongjo's Reclining Dragon Sword.
The pair had originally been twin swords with no known name. But people, believing that whoever obtained Emperor Shaolie's martial art through them would usher in a new era, bestowed names upon them. Unfortunately for Bang Do-rim, whenever he channeled internal qi into the sword and formed sword energy, the golden radiance that blossomed took the shape of a phoenix in flight. He was mortified.
"Haaap!"
Kiiiyoooo—
The crisp sword energy released through the Clear Wind Sword Technique unfurled wings of golden phoenix light. Bang Do-rim scowled and swung the Phoenix Chick Sword again, but the result was the same.
Kiiiyor-hihihi—
The moment internal qi touched the blade, a phoenix flapped its wings and made a gaudy spectacle of itself. Bang Do-rim's hands trembled with frustration at this utterly graceless display, but therein lay the problem: the Clear Wind Sword Technique, when executed with the Phoenix Chick Sword, unleashed several times more power than with an ordinary steel blade.
A fine sword was a fine sword for a reason. Had the difference been negligible, he would have immediately gone back to the beloved blade he used before. The moment he wielded the Phoenix Chick Sword and deployed the Clear Wind Sword Technique, he tasted true transcendence.
"Huff, huff. So this is the power of a peak expert...!"
Bang Do-rim shivered with elation in his depleted dantian.
No matter how much sword energy he expended, the Phoenix Chick Sword absorbed the surrounding internal energy and channeled it through the hand gripping the hilt back into his dantian. A hundred out of a hundred people would scoff at the claim that a sword could restore spent internal energy, but if the blade in question was said to be Emperor Shaolie's legendary sword, it was all too believable.
"With this power, I could even defeat the Exploding Dragon...!"
Bang Do-rim thrust the sword forward again. He had failed to grasp so much as the dragon's tail, let alone its head, and had been relegated to the lower ranks among the rising stars. Once a first-rate martial artist, he could stand as Sichuan's finest rising talent, but never as the Central Plains' finest.
He had to become Azure Heaven New Dragon again.
He had to become the number one dragon under heaven.
So he had to grow stronger. Even if it meant borrowing the weapon's power.
"Do-rim."
Just as he was about to release the sword again, a low voice came from the entrance of the training grounds. Irritation flared at whoever dared disturb the head disciple's training, but when Bang Do-rim saw who had come, he hastily withdrew his sword.
"...I greet my master."
Byeok Bak-ja. Bang Do-rim's master and the sect leader of Qingcheng furrowed his brow as he observed the marks left by the training.
"Must you truly insist on wielding that sword?"
"Yes. With the Phoenix Chick Sword, I intend to reach the azure heavens."
"You are already Azure Heaven New Dragon. Is that not enough?"
"But I am a new dragon, not a divine dragon. And that title is no longer mine."
For a murim warrior, a title was akin to a personal symbol. A good title ought to bring joy, but if one could claim a title, a better one was always preferable.
And once a title was set, it was not easily erased from memory. At least to the people of Qingcheng, Bang Do-rim was still Azure Heaven New Dragon.
"Once you became Azure Heaven New Dragon, you remained Azure Heaven New Dragon."
"No. I am simply azure heaven. Neither new nor dragon!"
"That is your own sense of inadequacy talking!! You are Qingcheng's proud head disciple, Azure Heaven New Dragon!"
"But the world does not see it that way!! Do you know what people call me now? Azure Heaven Stale Dragon!!"
Byeok Bak-ja's eyebrow twitched faintly. Bang Do-rim beat his chest and shouted.
"I am still lacking. The stolen new-dragon title is not enough. If I am to raise Qingcheng's name, I will use any means necessary to become stronger."
"And that is the treasure sword's power, not yours. Remember the Taiji Flower. Did she become the White Path's number one flower through some fine weapon?!"
"Ugh...!"
Breaking a disciple's pride was not the best approach for a master, yet it sufficed to jolt Bang Do-rim's awareness.
"Did the Taiji Flower wield a famed blade with sword control art? She simply brought four well-forged steel swords from a nearby smithy. What matters is one's own martial art, not the treasure sword!"
"But someday she too will surely swing a famed blade!"
"You wretch!!"
When Bang Do-rim talked back, Byeok Bak-ja roared.
"Did your trip to the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering make you think the whole world belongs to you?! Did four years of everyone praising you as Azure Heaven New Dragon make you believe you've become some heavenly being?! A title is fleeting. Qingcheng's sword is a path to cultivate the Dao, not a tool for flaunting your martial prowess!"
"No, I am not flaunting my prowess! This is to raise Qingcheng's name! The moment I hold in both hands the Reclining Dragon Sword that Emei took, Qingcheng's head disciple will become the foremost of the Nine Dragons!"
Will blazed in Bang Do-rim's eyes. It was good that a man once indifferent to martial arts had found his drive, but seeing him walk such a misguided path truly worried Byeok Bak-ja.
"Ahh... so treasure can bewitch a person so thoroughly...!"
Kiiiyoooooo—
Byeok Bak-ja's hollow lament was swallowed by the beating of phoenix wings and scattered into empty air.
* * *
"Before we act, let's sort out the situation."
I sat across from the Little Princess and unfolded a map of Chengdu. I placed a few blank wooden plaques and a brush beside it.
"First, let's confirm where the twin swords—the Reclining Dragon Sword and the Phoenix Chick Sword—currently are. Little Princess, the locations of the two swords?"
"Abbess Jeongjo of Emei holds the Reclining Dragon Sword. Azure Heaven New Dragon of Qingcheng holds the Phoenix Chick Sword."
"Azure Heaven New Dragon? There was someone like that?"
"He was one of the previous Nine Dragons. Now that I think about it, Bi-cheon, you seem to have absolutely no interest in men?"
"There were no men in the Flower Directory. Ahem. Let's examine the situation."
The Little Princess and I wrote Reclining Dragon and Phoenix Chick on the wooden plaques and placed them beside Emei and Qingcheng respectively. From Chengdu, Emei Sect lay about three hundred fifty li to the southwest, and Qingcheng Sect about one hundred sixty li to the northwest.
"Depending on the timing, both could be at their respective sect martial halls inside Chengdu city. Unfortunately, I hear both are currently at their headquarters."
"If they were in Chengdu, people would swarm them for no good reason. It would be troublesome if unnecessary provocations arose."
"True. In that case, where is the Sichuan Tang Clan located?"
The Little Princess wrote Tang Clan on a plaque and placed it inside Chengdu.
"Bi-cheon, discussing something this simple is a waste of page space."
"Even so, it's work that must be done. I'll sketch the route we're going to take."
I picked up the brush and set the order of our movements.
"We'll stop at Emei to obtain the Reclining Dragon, then visit Qingcheng to obtain the Phoenix Chick."
"Acquiring the Reclining Dragon and the Phoenix Chick in that order?"
"Precisely. Once we take the Reclining Dragon Sword from Emei, we need to move fast before word reaches Qingcheng."
"Swift and decisive, then."
It was critical to handle everything as quickly as possible and leave Sichuan. The swords would end up in Sagong Hee's hands regardless, but the Eldest Prince's schemes needed to be dismantled without delay.
"What method will we use to retrieve the swords? We can confirm the details in person later. For now, Tang Clan is our first stop."
"Thanks to you, Bi-cheon, we have two options. The first is formally receiving an invitation by claiming to be a disciple of the Divine Doctor. But I expect you don't want that. And the other is... you're thinking of infiltration, aren't you?"
"Correct."
From the start, I had planned to slip into the Sichuan Tang Clan in secret. The invitation as the Divine Doctor's disciple was a coincidence, and having free mobility suited me better.
"If we infiltrate, the Little Princess is likely to become a burden. Peak-realm experts are everywhere."
"Ugh."
"But don't worry. I'm here. No sect leader will detect our infiltration."
Crack. Crunch.
I worked my hands around my face. As my build shifted in an instant, the Little Princess's eyes sparkled with interest.
"I never thought I'd see the Body Transformation Art in person. Even more so, using that particular face."
"This face is the most fitting for this task. Besides, it belongs to the very culprit behind this commotion."
"Pardon...?"
The Little Princess pointed at my face with her finger.
"In what way is the Bandit Demon the culprit?"
"His name is Dang I-jeong. A collateral blood of the Sichuan Tang Clan, once hailed as Sichuan's prodigy, a genius of the poison arts. Due to some incident, he broke away from the Tang Clan, discarded the family's martial arts, and threw himself into the Demonic Cult. His thievery is merely a cover to hide his identity. Strictly speaking, his true identity could be called the Poison Demon."
"......I had no idea."
"That's because he abandoned everything when he left the clan. When have you ever seen him use poison arts?"
She never had. The man had cast aside even his name and called himself an evil thief. Dang I-jeong's past was something he had buried entirely in Sichuan soil before making his way toward the Heavenly Mountain.
"But the blood flowing through one's body cannot be denied. Among the treasures he stole while roaming the world, there were many things. Thousand-year fleeceflower root, sect secret manuals—"
"Or a map hiding the location of the twin swords."
As I expected. The Little Princess had precisely read where I was going.
"Are you saying the Bandit Demon left the map with his clan before departing? He left for the east. No matter what, he had no reason to visit his clan before leaving."
"I'm not saying he left it recently. He must have left it long ago. It was only discovered now. And to verify that, we have to go to the Sichuan Tang Clan."
The answer was already deduced, but I resolved to head for the Sichuan Tang Clan's secret vault anyway—to gather the rationale and evidence along the path to that answer.
"Is this commotion simply the Bandit Demon's lingering attachment to his clan? Or a scheme orchestrated by the Eldest Prince? Or perhaps an accident born from all the circumstances aligning by chance? Let's confirm it."
"...We also need to find the Flame Demon, and we need to grasp the truth of the incident. There is truly a great deal to do."
"If you think it's a lot, it is. But in the end, there's really only one thing to do. Little Princess."
I tapped her shoulder.
"If it turns out to be the Eldest Prince's scheme, we just wreck everything."
"...What does that mean?"
"I don't know either. But you get the meaning... don't you?"
I patted her shoulder and grinned, and the Little Princess grinned back.
"I intend to completely ruin the Eldest Prince's plans. Little Princess, what will you do? I am your Bi-cheon, and I will give my all according to your will."
The answer was already decided, but I could change mine at any time depending on her choice.
"I'll do whatever the Little Princess wants. That's what it means to be the Sky-Soaring Lust Demon."
"But you'd hate it if I said we should walk through the main gate, wouldn't you?"
"Obviously."
"......Heh heh. When you put it that way, there's really only one choice, isn't there?"
The Little Princess rose to her feet.
"I will respect your intentions, but instead of three demons, you'll have to shoulder the roles of three people by yourself. Can you handle it?"
"...Heh heh. Of course. Three is nothing. My body can handle seven with ease."
【These twin swords are now mine】, Operation.
Execute.
'May all these experiences prove valuable on the Little Princess's path to becoming the Heavenly Demon.'
"By the way, Bi-cheon, please tell me the plan to wreck that bastard's schemes. Where do we start?"
"Where to start... it's simple."
I tugged at the Little Princess's sash.
"First, take it off."