The Savior of Wudang
The Daoist Masters of the Wudang Sect stepped outside to grant Ryeong privacy. Though they could not discern the particulars, they had realized that Ok-yeong was conveying matters too profound—or perhaps too sensitive—to speak aloud, communicating through sound transmission. To let the two converse unhindered, they tactfully vacated the chamber. From Ryeong's perspective, their absence made speaking far easier, so she did nothing to stop them.
"By any chance, Daoist Master, do you share a karmic bond with the immortal known as Hyeok?"
"Indeed I do. In truth, hearing His Venerable voice was the very reason I was able to enter the Deep Sanctum."
"Th-Then...!"
"I possess little knowledge beyond that. Yet I know this much: He is an existence who truly seeks the salvation of this world. It was through His voice that I attained true enlightenment, stepping into the realm of a Divine Being."
The aura radiating from Ok-yeong was far beyond the mere Transformative Realm; it comfortably eclipsed even the Profound Realm. Ryeong was struck speechless by a reality that shattered all conventional martial reason. Not only did an ultimate master who had transcended the Profound Realm stand right before her eyes, but he also possessed a direct connection to Hyeok. It felt as though she had received an immense windfall in the most unexpected of places.
Of course, Ok-yeong possessed very little tangible intelligence. At most, he had heard the immortal's voice, grasped enlightenment, and retreated to the Deep Sanctum. Even so, Ryeong intended to draw out information from another angle.
"Five divine relics?" Ok-yeong asked.
"Yes. As far as I have discovered, one resides in Mount Jongnam, one in the Tang Clan, one in Qingcheng, and one in Wudang. But I have no idea where the final one is."
"The remaining relic is housed in the Shaolin Temple. You have likely heard of the Green Jade Buddhist Staff. And yet, this is curious. To my knowledge, Qingcheng possesses no such relic."
Ok-yeong's words were enough to send Ryeong into complete disarray. And small wonder—it was precisely through Qingcheng's sacred relic that she had encountered Hyeok in the first place, suffering the utter catastrophe of having her body transformed into that of a woman. Just remembering that moment made her blood boil with irritation. Qingcheng's relic was a lie? Then what on earth was that apparition of Hyeok that had popped out of it?
Unable to fathom it, Ryeong pressed Ok-yeong for an explanation. Or perhaps she simply refused to accept the reality that Qingcheng had never possessed a relic at all.
"The Ak Family," Ok-yeong answered calmly. "The relic held by the Ak Family of Shandong is the final one."
"If you mean the Shandong Ak Family... aren't they hermits who never step beyond their gates? So little is known about them that people in the martial world whisper they are the only orthodox clan inhabited by ghosts."
"The Ak Family rarely meddles in worldly martial affairs. Yet since ancient times, they have carried out a single duty."
Ryeong pricked up her ears. If he was delving into ancient lore, she reasoned she might uncover some connection to Hyeok. Yet Ok-yeong's tale was, quite literally, just an ancient legend.
In the distant past, the Ak Family had slain an Evil Dragon, and in return had been stricken with a terrible curse. They exhausted every conceivable remedy to purge the affliction, but met only failure. In the end, they severed nearly all ties with the martial world to devote their entire strength to breaking the curse. What had become of them since then remained unknown.
Even so, the masters who occasionally emerged from the Ak Family into the Jianghu were, without exception, terrifying figures capable of astonishing the world. The previous Alliance Leader of the Murim Alliance had hailed from the Ak Family, as did the legendary master known as the current Alliance Leader's shadow. In short, while the clan as a whole had built a wall between itself and the martial realm, its individual scions were monsters capable of overturning heaven and earth. The trouble was that virtually no one in the world knew this truth.
Ok-yeong remarked that no matter how much time passed, the Ak Family would never truly lose the title of the World's Greatest Clan. While the public universally acknowledged the Namgung Family as the preeminent clan, that was merely an empty veneer. The true titans were the Ak Family. Should they ever intervene fully in the affairs of the Jianghu, even Ok-yeong admitted he could not fathom what cataclysms might unfold.
"Their Yellow Dragon Scale is likely the final divine relic you seek."
"It sounds like a grueling journey ahead. Just finding someone who knows the Ak Family's whereabouts will take ages, won't it?"
"It will not be easy. Yet if He has decreed it, then it is within the realm of possibility. You will stand at countless crossroads in the days to come. Keep your direction true and forge straight ahead without wavering, and you shall attain the finest outcome."
Leaving behind those parting words of guidance, Ok-yeong retreated back toward the Deep Sanctum. Ryeong desperately wanted to hold him back and beg for his assistance, but the words caught in her throat. The aged master had already become a Daoist sage in the truest sense. He had traversed too far along the transcendent path for her to ask him to descend back into a blood-soaked Jianghu.
Ryeong had gleaned much from Ok-yeong. Perhaps because the divine qi he commanded resided on an entirely different plane, her agitated heart had grown remarkably serene. The Taiji Heavenly Tablet, bestowed with his blessing, played no small part in that calm. She had wondered what power this relic harbored, and the moment her fingers closed around it, the answer manifested within her.
As the sacred aura within the Taiji Heavenly Tablet resonated with the energy of the Celestial Immortal Divine Art, her internal energy efficiency surged threefold. In other words, her qi consumption had drastically plummeted. What did that mean in practice? When condensing sword gangqi, she now consumed one-third of the qi she normally required. And for the Four Divine Beasts Sword, which drew directly upon the Celestial Immortal Divine Art, the energy expenditure was likewise slashed by two-thirds.
This made it unmistakably clear: all five divine relics were tied to the Four Divine Beasts Sword. The Celestial Immortal Divine Art contained an immortal's transcendent power within her mortal vessel, and the Four Divine Beasts Sword unleashed that might into the world. The Red Cloud Divine Sword replenished internal energy that mortals naturally lacked, while the Taiji Heavenly Tablet drastically minimized the energy drained by her techniques.
If these were not tailored relics for the Four Divine Beasts Sword, what else could they possibly be? She was already brimming with anticipation over what powers Shaolin's Green Jade Buddhist Staff and the Ak Family's Yellow Dragon Scale might hold.
Not long after Ok-yeong departed, the Daoist Masters returned. They wore awkward expressions as they addressed Ryeong.
"Young Lady. While we are profoundly grateful that you healed our injuries, the Taiji Heavenly Tablet is a rather different matter."
"It is a sacred relic that stands as the very emblem of Wudang. In certain respects, its authority supersedes even the Sect Leader's Token."
"The bearer of the Taiji Heavenly Tablet is, for all intents and purposes, the true sovereign of Wudang. For Young Lady to possess it... the weight of such an artifact is simply too great."
Though couched in polite euphemisms, their meaning was clear: hand it over.
Yet Ryeong had no intention whatsoever of returning it. When every relic directly augmented her martial prowess, was she insane enough to give it back? Besides, the tablet had been personally bestowed by their grand-uncle ancestor, Daoist Master Ok-yeong. While the masters of the Cheong generation were already old men, a master of the Ok generation existed on an entirely different scale. He had preserved his life far past an age where a normal man would have died five times over. Precious as the Taiji Heavenly Tablet was, not even they dared openly defy Ok-yeong's will.
And Ryeong fully intended to leverage that fact.
"Daoist Master Ok-yeong told me himself," Ryeong said, meeting the gaze of each master in turn. "He asked that I safeguard the Taiji Heavenly Tablet until the ambitions of the Demon Blood Divine Cult are crushed. Here and now, I make this solemn promise to you all."
She pleaded with earnest conviction, knowing these were not men who would turn a deaf ear to heartfelt sincerity. They were Daoist priests, enlightened masters. Moreover, she had invoked Ok-yeong's name. They had no choice but to listen.
"I swear that I will never use the Taiji Heavenly Tablet to impose any demand upon Wudang. Furthermore, the instant our battle against the Demon Blood Divine Cult is concluded, I shall return it to your sect. I swear this before heaven and earth."
The masters swallowed hard in silence. After she went this far, demanding the tablet back was nearly impossible. She was none other than the savior who had pulled them back from death's door. Weighed between their grand-uncle ancestor's decree and the gratitude owed to their savior, the masters convened briefly and arrived at the only conclusion left to them: they would grant Ryeong temporary custody of the tablet.
"Young Lady is nothing less than the savior of Wudang," Daoist Master Cheong-won spoke on their behalf, formally acknowledging the loan. "Had it been anyone else, not even our grand-uncle ancestor's words would have sufficed."
"I will keep that in mind, Sect Leader."
The only lingering question was why Hyeok had not yet appeared.
When I held the Red Cloud Divine Sword, my surroundings transformed immediately. Is this one different somehow?
Come to think of it, she had been locked in combat when she grasped the Red Cloud Divine Sword. Wondering if infusing it with qi might trigger something, she channeled her internal energy into the relic.
Wuuuung—
The moment her qi surged into the tablet, a low resonance vibrated outward. The world bled into shades of gray, and time ground to a dead halt. It felt different from before, yet Ryeong sensed that familiar presence and smirked.
"Hyeok."
"Last time, you vanished right in the middle of our conversation, remember? I'm begging you, please give me some straight answers this time."
He was as infuriatingly composed as ever. Perhaps it felt that way because only a few days had passed. In any case, now that another opportunity to sate her curiosity had arrived, Ryeong began refining her questions. She had to ensure she did not walk away empty-handed regarding the things that truly mattered, like last time.
Thus, she settled on her first inquiry.
"You said there are beings casting ill fortune across this world, and that I have a duty to stop them, right?"
"Then what if... what if I cast that duty aside and just up and die? What happens then?"