Chapter 58
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Uninvited Guest VS Uninvited Guest (3)
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Eventually, these damn old fogeys trampled all over my precious training grounds.
At least the silver lining was...
"Live blades?"
"Let's use wooden swords."
"Wooden swords sound good."
The would-be forklift riders, who looked ready to smash Man-geum, Seon-an, and everything else to bits, compromised by sparring with wooden swords and no internal energy.
If they'd shown off their flashy sword auras here, I would've scraped together every last penny I had to build a forklift out of millennium steel.
Before long, the Wudang sword disciples, who had been receiving lavish hospitality a short distance away, came scurrying over and took their seats one by one.
Well, yeah.
No amount of money could buy a sight like this, even if it was just wooden swords.
I shook off my stray thoughts and focused on the two of them just as...
"...Hm."
A very familiar shock of green hair popped up over the opposite wall.
I focused my gaze, and sure enough...
A very familiar flower fairy was jiggling softly there.
Then, eyes peeking out.
It was Chicken Granny.
Why was she at our house?
And why was she there with her hair all down like that?
She'd said something about doing business with my father, so maybe that's why she was here. Still, it irked me a bit that she hadn't jumped out during that near-catastrophic standoff earlier.
And now she was freeloading on this prime spectacle?
I debated yelling her nickname to summon her publicly or sending a telepathic message to attack, but decided against it.
She probably had her social dignity to consider.
"Back then, the times were like that. You know how it was. To be honest, I don't particularly feel like apologizing, but I'll add just one thing."
Was this dementia-riddled old nutcase losing his humanity again before the fight even started, spouting some emotional grudge-settling bullshit?
"Your master, Elder Redsong, was the supreme swordsman of his era."
Suddenly dropping a throwback respect bomb like that?
Thankfully, Sword Demon Master seemed pleased, letting out a hearty laugh.
"I haven't reached my master's level yet, but please teach me a move."
As Elder Taeheo's words ended...
The Demon Sword and Songmun Ancient Sword both scattered light starting stances.
Blood Wolf Emergence, now perfectly familiar even in my own hands, and what looked like a form from the Taiji Beneficent Sword traced elegant paths through the air.
Right after that.
A faint headache hit, along with that bizarre sensation of time slowing to a crawl again.
Like when I'd blocked Wolfpup's claws.
Like when the assassin tried to bind me early.
Like when I'd dodged the Death Path Scripture's strike.
The trajectories of the two swinging swords embedded themselves perfectly in my mind.
Elder Taeheo.
What martial enthusiasts called the Mount Tai Pressing Summit forged at the tip of the Taiji Sword Sovereign's blade.
A sword as soft as a long-flowing river yet bold as an unyielding resolve, embodying the principles of all creation in a beautiful arc.
In response, Sword Demon Master chose simply Horizontal Sweep of a Thousand Armies.
Like a beast that had swallowed solitude for eons finally baring its fangs at prey, a ferocious momentum traced swift, ever-changing paths.
The next instant, matching that speed, Taiji suddenly flipped yin and yang, accelerating with abrupt change.
The beast's fangs flowed flexibly without resisting, thrusting straight toward the opponent's vital points.
So utterly basic.
So fundamentally simple.
Yet within those motions.
Changes that couldn't be defined by a single principle blossomed and melted away moment by moment, infused with their wills as the swords swung.
Thwack—!
One wooden sword flew into the sky.
Then clattered to the ground.
Elder Taeheo opened his palm with a dazed expression, then clenched it.
"I've learned a valuable lesson."
He immediately offered Sword Demon Master a cupped-fist salute.
"That was a fine sword."
Sword Demon Master accepted the greeting with surprising solemnity.
"Primordial Heavenly Sovereign. Now I have no face left to show my master."
"Shall we go again, with internal energy this time?"
"You'd just unfold your unique mind-image if it got tough, right?"
"Haha. Can't argue with that. Let's have another drink."
As if one exchange of sword forms had washed away all grudges, Elder Taeheo left with a relaxed expression to guzzle more wine alongside Sword Demon Master.
Lost in the afterglow of that exquisite swordplay, I happened to look up.
And locked eyes with Chicken Granny, who had been peeking with just her eyes out until now.
Swoosh.
Like a mole diving into its burrow, the green hair vanished in an instant.
Seemed like all the adults around me were immature.
Fortunately, along with guiding them on the Dual Core Technique—Yang Heart Energy or whatever...
One spar had elevated Elder Taeheo's mind to enlightenment. Or ascension, maybe.
"Primordial Heavenly Sovereign. Crashing in like this and receiving such lavish treatment makes a Taoist like me a bit uneasy. I have unfinished business, so I should head back to the main temple soon."
This guy, stuffing himself with meat and wine, now playing the pious Taoist? It was a sad glimpse into the state of orthodox martial arts.
That gruesome scene was already secretly captured on my smartphone.
If trouble ever arose, I'd use this photo as leverage, wailing "Save me, Wudang!" to call for help.
"Geum Sihyeon, why not join Wudang? Though the timing is late, I'll treat you as the direct disciple of the sect leader."
"Sect Leader!"
"What in the world?"
Even to my ears, it was an outrageous offer. The surrounding Wudang sword disciples jumped in shock.
It was tempting.
But with the graduate students next to me flipping out in real-time, my stomach wasn't strong enough to just gobble it up.
If I accepted and joined Wudang, suddenly the sect leader's direct disciple crashes the hierarchy?
I'd be the first to unleash full injustice mode on myself.
I'd grind my soul to dust to send that guy straight to hell.
"Um, sorry, but I already have three masters."
He seemed to expect rejection.
But not this answer—Elder Taeheo's eyes widened for a moment.
"Pfft, hahaha! Master and disciple are one, the master is like a parent. Truly a Three Saints Lad! It suits you perfectly!"
"I'm not a Three Saints Lad."
Confidentiality clause!
Great Return Pill!
We had a WWE deal!
"Ah, right, right. That's how it was. My mistake, Gold Adept. Anyway, if fate brings us together again. Probably at Nonchamps."
That baseless word stuck in my ear.
"...What's Nonchamps?"
"You don't know? And you hold your smartphone all day? Obviously the 1st Mind-Image Sword Debate Champions League. Ah, not familiar with Western tongue? Champion means overlord in Western—"
I wished he'd stop the brain-break now.
After rambling on about Nonchamps for a while, he finally seemed satisfied and let out a Taoist shout.
"Primordial Heavenly Sovereign. Then I'm really off now. Ah, wait."
Elder Taeheo glanced back and forth between me and Sword Demon Master.
Telepathy: "Honestly, isn't the Taiji Beneficent Sword better than the Blood Wolf Sword Technique?"
With that parting telepathic shot, he laughed heartily and departed.
What random nonsense was that?
No.
Wait a sec.
No way.
"Hm. Disciple."
"...Yes, Master."
"This mad archdemon feels a demon rising. Wanna spar a bit? Ah, no veto power."
I'm fucked.
This is me, fucked...!
On the road back to Wudang Mountain, grasping a faint insight that martial arts might advance another step, though not quite seized yet.
Despite their sect leader—an icon of orthodox martial arts—having lost, there was no gloom among the Wudang sword disciples.
Instead...
"Hm, looks like they're drawn simultaneously now."
"Stupid Nose-boy. That's drawing two circles."
"Tch, tricky."
Their appearances were a bit ragged.
Grown men in their prime dashing along with lightness skill, arms extended forward and flailing.
If someone screamed about Wudang's jiangshi, brainwashed by the Blood Cult, shambling grotesquely in broad daylight, who could argue?
Yet even in those eerie motions...
Smiles never left the Wudang sword disciples' lips.
They glimpsed the future of the Beneficent Sword in their sect leader's blade.
And the future of martial arts in Geum Sihyeon's hands.
With the path ahead clear even eyes closed, how could any martial artist not rejoice?
For a while after, the training caves of Wudang Mountain had no empty spots.
"Urgh, uuuuugh, uwaaaah..."
I endured a bout of violence disguised as "training" from the grudge-holding mad archdemon.
Thankfully, only the first sentence got twisted.
The rest transmitted fine, so it wasn't a total failure, but I needed more precise practice.
After shedding bloody tears and handing over another bottle of wine, I finally regained some peace of mind.
As I slowly brushed the dust off my robes, thinking it was time to head back to the academy...
"All sorted?"
Chicken Granny's voice—the voyeur—rang out.
I whipped my head around with a deliberately sulky expression.
"...?"
Her usual bandit getup was gone; she was dressed sharply like before the assassin fight, in a slightly more revealing outfit that revealed her untanned, snow-white—wow.
"Sihyeon. You're listening well to Dohee, right?"
"Ah, yes, Mother."
"...How old do you think I am, that you're calling Dohee 'ours'..."
Mother's appearance instantly dyed my heart with filial piety.
Come to think of it, Chicken Granny had ties to our family elders from the start.
Mother's doll-dressing habit had dyed Luri in lolita clothes last time, and now extended to Chicken Granny too.
Come to think of it...
"If you were here, why not help...? We almost had another Orthodox-Demonic War."
"Hmph, if I'd joined, it'd be Orthodox-Demonic-Evil War."
"Is that so?"
Somehow... convincing?
At my dubious reaction, Chicken Granny naturally groped where her axe handle should be.
Pfhew.
No axe in that outfit, obviously.
Plus, with Mother here, she wouldn't hit her precious golden boy—
Smack!
"Ack."
Chicken Granny's palm slammed into my noggin.
I squeezed out fake tears and looked to Mother, but she just smiled sweetly.
The baby hurts...
"Hehe. You two get along so well. Sihyeon, heading back now? Escort Dohee on the way. Dohee, don't bully Sihyeon too much."
"Yes, got it."
"Yes, Sister. It was fun today."
Eek.
Chills shot up at "sister."
"Urk, eek."
In a blind spot from Mother, Chicken Granny pinched my side hard.
This time, real tears welled up...
On the way back to Hundred Flowers Academy.
"What brings you here, Master?"
Awkward to just walk in silence.
As a disciple, I spoke first.
"Some issue with Paid Highway Hall, so I came to discuss with the hall leader."
"Was Father home?"
"Wasn't. Your eldest brother neither. Sigh..."
"They're always busy."
Not my place to chime in on family business, so I changed the subject.
The spar we'd seen.
Discoursing on the layered subtleties in those sword forms, we soon reached the academy.
At the entrance.
"Oh, Instructor Snow."
We ran into Moyong Seol, whom I hadn't seen since then.
"Ah, Sihyeon—...? Instructor Seo...? Why are you two together...?"
"...Instructor Moyong. What a coincidence."
What?
Do they not get along?
Their reactions seemed a bit off.