Chapter 30
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Sword Fiend Nam Jong (3)
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“Yi-hyeon, what is this about a Soul-Returning Pill?”
“It’s a fabrication, Grandmaster!”
The portly Go Yi-hyeon was lifted by the Sword Fiend, Nam Jong, like a kitten and thrown into the escort agency’s empty training yard.
Go Yi-hyeon, sweating profusely, looked around for someone to help him, but there was no one to be found.
The Yangcheong Escort Agency had many disciples from the Qingcheng Sect, and Go Yi-hyeon had even held a banquet to welcome the Sword Fiend.
The people of the agency knew of the relationship between Go Yi-hyeon and the Sword Fiend, so those who saw them simply assumed the elder was scolding the agency chief.
“Grandmaster! Do you trust the word of that countryside sword instructor more than mine?”
“I don’t. I don’t want to. But the honor of the Qingcheng Sect is at stake. Are you not a disciple of the Qingcheng Sect? Tell me, is it not true?”
“It’s not! I’ve been wronged, Grandmaster!”
Go Yi-hyeon shouted at the top of his lungs.
Tears even welled up in his eyes. Seeing his demeanor, the Sword Fiend could no longer bring himself to interrogate his grand-disciple.
Naturally, his gaze turned to Jin Je-yong.
“My grand-disciple says it isn’t so. My future disci— no, what do you think?”
“What is there to think? I only cut.”
*‘Ha! This one is a true... sword.’*
If a man were forged from a sword, would he look like this?
At a glance, he was an ordinary farmer from the countryside. But when he drew his sword, he unleashed a ferocity that could cleave the world.
For the first time in his life, the Sword Fiend tasted the edge of a true blade.
*‘I want to fight him. But would a master of this caliber lie? What would be the point?’*
It was impossible to know how much Jin Je-yong had trained to reach such a level.
The Sword Fiend even considered the legendary state of rejuvenation. Jin Je-yong's swordsmanship was of such a high level that even Nam Jong, the greatest master of the Qingcheng Sect, found it unbelievable.
“What am I to do about this…”
“Do? You may do as you please, Elder.”
The moment he received the Sword Fiend's apology for insulting his school, Jin Je-yong's attitude changed as if by magic.
But he was still arrogant.
*‘Is he saying that whatever I do won't hinder him in the slightest? Haha! Not since I broke through the wall of the peak realm in my forties have I been treated like this!’*
It was the first time his heart had ever beaten this fast.
Although he had been careless, he had lost once, decisively. Even if they were to fight seriously, the outcome of a battle with Jin Je-yong was uncertain.
No, this time Jin Je-yong was the one being careless, so one could say the Sword Fiend had the advantage.
“I must admit, I'd like to cross swords with you myself.”
“Grandmaster!”
“Alright, alright. I suppose I should trust my grand-disciple.”
“Thank you, Grandmaster!”
“Don’t thank me yet. If your words prove to be false.”
The Sword Fiend's child-like face twisted into a demonic mask.
“Your death will not be a peaceful one.”
The Sword Fiend was a man who had intended to challenge the Twenty-Two Masters Under Heaven to repay the grace he had received from the Qingcheng Sect.
The one thing the wild man cherished was the Qingcheng Sect, which had fed him, sheltered him, and even taught him martial arts.
“G-Grandmaster…”
Go Yi-hyeon swallowed hard, facing the Sword Fiend's killing intent head-on.
The Sword Fiend turned his gaze to Jin Je-yong. Jin Je-yong was already standing with his sword drawn.
A chill ran down his spine.
A single, sharply honed sword stood there, and that sword was more resolute than any famed blade the Sword Fiend had ever faced.
*‘This is... it seems I won't be able to protect the sect's honor.’*
From where did this new star appear?
The Sword Fiend had wandered the martial world for sixty years, facing countless swords.
He had dedicated everything to the sword. He loved the sword, hated the sword, and saw hope in the sword.
And today, it seemed he would see despair in the sword.
“Come.”
That day, a sword spoke to the Sword Fiend.
“Very well, I shall.”
Anticipating defeat, the Sword Fiend still drew his sword.
Because that is what it meant to be a swordsman.
***
“They say the Sword Fiend appeared at the Yangcheong Escort Agency!”
The group, tired of waiting for Jin Je-yong, was just about to have dinner.
The inn grew noisy, and then the customers began to stream out.
Most of those leaving were martial artists.
“The Sword Fiend is the master representing the Qingcheng Sect. What is he doing here? Well, the Qingcheng Sect is nearby, so it’s possible he would come…”
As Pyo Il-jeon voiced his unease, Lee Geum-yeong put down her chopsticks and clutched her stomach.
It felt like her insides were turning over. She gritted her teeth against the pain, as if her stomach were being hammered with nails.
*‘No. No matter how strong Master Jin is, or how clueless he can be, he’s not the type to draw his sword when the Sword Fiend is present.’*
Who was the Sword Fiend?
Though not one of the Twenty-Two Masters Under Heaven, he was a master who had shattered the wall of the peak realm in his forties.
He was a master so formidable that the unorthodox factions of Sichuan couldn't even breathe in his presence.
Within the martial world of Sichuan, the number of people who could cross swords with him could be counted on one hand.
“I heard he got into a dispute with some young man in front of the Yangcheong Escort Agency.”
“And that the commotion brought out the agency chief.”
At someone's words, not just Lee Geum-yeong but the entire group put down their chopsticks.
They all exchanged glances with grim faces.
Since Jin Je-yong had stormed the escort agency alone, they had to go there as well.
But the news that the Sword Fiend was there made them hesitate.
“I will go.”
Ham Jeong-eun was the first to rise from his seat.
He was a lay disciple of the Qingcheng Sect. This was a perfect opportunity to confess his sins. In a situation where he could have been silenced by Go Yi-hyeon, it was better to speak the truth to an elder of the sect.
“No. I will go with you.”
Lee Geum-yeong, a spy for the Embroidered Guard, could not back down either.
The adversary she and the Embroidered Guard faced was A-mun, the Inner Archive Master and second-in-command of the Eastern Depot, a man who could make the Sword Fiend seem insignificant.
If the Sword Fiend was strong only in martial arts, A-mun was not only a master of martial arts but also a brilliant strategist, with power so great that few could oppose him.
“Let's all go together. The Sword Fiend may be eccentric, but he is not a man without a sense of justice.”
Pyo Il-jeon, Ha Hyeol-ran, and Ham Jeong-eun made their way to the Yangcheong Escort Agency.
***
*‘Was it called the Azure Cloud Crimson Mist Sword?’*
The Sword Fiend demonstrated the sword art Ham Jeong-eun had shown, but with a more refined mastery.
Nam Jong's sword, reminiscent of a cluster of stars in the night sky, was more savage than beautiful.
He hid a powerful sword within his swift sword style; it felt like expecting rain and being hit by hail.
*‘It’s been a while since I’ve seen a sword like this.’*
It had been a long time since he had met a proper swordsman.
The disciples at the school had long since put down their swords, so they could no longer be considered sparring partners, and only the occasional visitor to the school was at a level where he could cross blades.
*‘Come to think of it, did the message get to that friend of my master?’*
He had delivered the news of his master's passing not only to the people of the school but also to his master's acquaintances.
His master, a warrior of the Righteous Alliance twenty-five years ago, had many acquaintances outside Sinnae Village.
And the old man who visited occasionally was a very good person, aside from constantly trying to set me up with his granddaughter.
“You’re about one step below him.”
“Hah? One step? Who are you comparing me to?”
“There’s a friend of my master who’s pretty good with a sword. His strength is declining with age, though.”
“You’re saying I’m a step below some geezer who’s losing his strength? Wahahaha!”
The Sword Fiend laughed heartily.
But it was not a genuine laugh; a killing intent, unbecoming of a Daoist, radiated from his eyes.
*‘Oops, I misspoke. This is why I'm better with a sword than with words.’*
His careless words had provoked the Sword Fiend's anger.
Still, a slip of the tongue could be rectified with a sword.
I drew a large circle with my sword. The Sword Fiend's blades, flying in from all directions, were deflected with a clang.
*‘Hmm, it’s a fairly good martial art. The techniques and energy circulation are highly refined. But…’*
Attempting to paint nature with a sword was an interesting interpretation.
But a sword was, in the end, a sword. To cut and to thrust were its purpose and core.
*‘If you paint nature with your sword, then I shall cleave the world with mine.’*
I raised the sword to my chest.
Following my intent, the sword let out a low cry.
The Sword Fiend, startled, retreated. He glanced around, then closed his eyes tightly and raised his sword.
*‘Though I may not be able to affect time and space.’*
I lifted my sword high.
The trembling of the blade stopped.
And then I brought it down.
“My sword can surely split the heavens.”
The sword intent split the Sword Fiend of the Qingcheng Sect.
***
Go Yi-hyeon could not believe his eyes.
Jin Je-yong looked like nothing more than a country youth.
His temples weren't pronounced, and his gait was sloppy.
*‘From the report, I thought he had some skill, but…’*
Go Yi-hyeon had thought he could handle him easily.
At least, until he saw him face the Sword Fiend.
*‘Is that possible at his age?’*
The Sword Fiend's swordsmanship was worthy of being called the finest in the Qingcheng Sect.
Yet, Jin Je-yong parried it with ease.
He brushed off the Sword Fiend's attacks as if swatting away a fly.
*‘Is he even human?’*
Go Yi-hyeon's face trembled.
He raised his sword to the sky. The sword cried out, and the sound of tearing air could be heard.
The Sword Fiend, his face pale, looked around before steeling himself and standing before him.
*‘Truly the Sword Fiend. To have the courage to face such a sword without fleeing.’*
Go Yi-hyeon would have foamed at the mouth and collapsed from the pressure alone.
The Sword Fiend gritted his teeth so hard that he might have drawn blood, confronting the explosive sword intent.
But he could not approach Jin Je-yong, who held his sword aloft.
He sensed that the moment he moved closer, the sword pointed to the heavens would strike down like a thunderbolt.
“To taste this feeling in my final years… Wahahaha! Come!”
The Sword Fiend welcomed Jin Je-yong's sword.
What Jin Je-yong showed was a simple vertical slash, but the process was anything but simple.
And then Jin Je-yong's sword fell.
Jin Je-yong's sword passed through the Sword Fiend's blade, splitting him from the crown of his head to his groin.
“Keuk! It was a good life! Though I leave behind a debt to my sect, I die as a swordsman with no regrets!”
Nam Jong, sensing his own death, shouted loudly. Then he closed his eyes.
Regardless, Jin Je-yong sheathed his sword.
“…”
“…?”
The Sword Fiend opened his eyes.
Blinking, he touched his head, his body. He was unharmed.
He looked at his sword.
The sword was also fine.
“Huh?”
“G-Grandmaster?”
Go Yi-hyeon was just as bewildered. He too had clearly seen the Sword Fiend struck down by Jin Je-yong's sword.
But the Sword Fiend was perfectly fine.
“Shouldn’t you be feeling some regret and growing up a little, Elder?”
Jin Je-yong tossed out a comment.
“Am I not dead?”
“Why would you die? Did you do something wrong? Ah, right, you insulted my master and our school. Shall I kill you now?”
As Jin Je-yong reached for his sword hilt again, the Sword Fiend waved his hands frantically.
“Ah, no, young friend. I still have much to live for. I have a debt to repay to my sect, after all.”
“A debt to your sect. Right. I have one of those too… But wouldn’t you need to be immortal to repay that?”
“Haha! Yes. I must live a long time, a very long time.”
The Sword Fiend chuckled, then stopped.
He had just faced a true master of the sword for the first time. It was an excellent experience. Even at his late age, he felt the possibility of reaching a higher realm.
But before that.
“A master of this caliber would have no reason to frame someone.”
What would a master who could effortlessly suppress the greatest expert of the Qingcheng Sect have to gain by lying to the Yangcheong Escort Agency?
It was not a matter of Jin Je-yong's character, but of efficiency. He had more than enough power to crush the Yangcheong Escort Agency. There was no need to bother with schemes.
“G-Grandmaster?”
“You lied to me. Didn’t you?”
“N-Noh!”
Startled, Go Yi-hyeon stumbled over his words.
“And that lie was to hide an act that dishonored our sect. Is that right?”
“G-G-G-Grandmaster? If you listen to my story, you’ll understand. This is a false accusation! A fraud! A lie!”
Go Yi-hyeon begged desperately.
Just then, the door burst open, and Ham Jeong-eun rushed into the training yard.
“Grandmaster! It is I, disciple Ham Jeong-eun! On Go Yi-hyeon’s orders, I distributed the Soul-Returning Pill. I came today to confess my sins to you… huh?”
Ham Jeong-eun, who had run in crying, was surprised to see the Sword Fiend holding a sword and cornering Go Yi-hyeon.
What he and his companions had expected was to find Jin Je-yong brutally defeated or in grave danger.
*‘What in the world is going on here?’*
As Ham Jeong-eun thought this, the color drained completely from Go Yi-hyeon's face.
“Well, a witness has appeared. What will you do now, my worthless disciple?”
The Sword Fiend’s eyes blazed with a cold fury.
***
An old man and a young girl visited Jin Sang-ho's grave.
The girl grumbled as she looked at Jin Sang-ho's tombstone.
“‘Divine Sword Jin Sang-ho lies here’… What kind of madman engraved this?”
Though her face was veiled, the lower half that was visible was beautiful enough to suggest she was a peerless beauty.
“To say that about a Sword King, of all people.”
“Haha! Mimi. Sang-ho was a truly great warrior. A man for whom the word ‘hero’ was not wasted.”
“Hmph, but still. Even so.”
The Azure Sky Sword Saint, also known as the Sword King among the Twenty-Two Masters Under Heaven, Namgung Cheok, visited his friend's grave with his granddaughter.
He placed a bottle of wine before his friend's grave.
“And one who raised a Sword Saint is certainly worthy of being called a Divine Sword.”
“Huh? This person was your master, Grandpa? Wait? Isn't your master my great-grandfather?”
As Namgung Cheok gazed fondly at Jin Sang-ho's grave, only Namgung Mimi was left in confusion.