Chapter 226
Chapter 226
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 226
Chapter Title: Wudang's Legacy
After leaving the guest hall, I wandered around every corner of the Wudang Sect, just as I said.
More precisely, I stuck to the outskirts, checking for any other paths the monsters might use to invade.
My conclusion after looking around was that they could come from anywhere.
Cheonju Peak, where the Wudang Sect was located, was the tallest summit on Mount Wudang.
As one might expect, it was incredibly steep.
Even the martial artists of this world who couldn't use lightness skills would never be able to climb it without taking the stairs connected to the mountain gate.
"But beasts wouldn't care about that at all."
And if those beasts had twisted and mutated into powerful monsters, there was even less need to mention it.
It might be a heavenly natural fortress when fighting humans, but against those things, it was nothing more than disadvantageous terrain.
I realized once again just how tricky it was to deal with a horde of monsters.
And naturally, one doubt that followed in its wake.
As could be seen, they could climb up from anywhere, so why on earth had they come swarming through the mountain gate—the front entrance?
It was a doubt that contradicted the tentative conclusion I'd reached earlier while talking with Hwaryeon: that something was controlling the monsters with tactical judgment.
"Did it decide there was no need for that? Or maybe it never even thought that far...."
Unable to settle on a firm answer, I groaned to myself before finally giving up thinking about it with a sigh.
I'll have to discuss this with the others.
Just as I was thinking it was about time to head back to the guest hall, a bellow from somewhere slammed into my ears.
-How dare you call yourself an elder of Wudang!
"...What?"
Even though the voice came from quite a distance away, the rage in it rang out crystal clear.
Curiosity surging, I headed toward the source of the voice.
In the meantime, the bellow had turned into a heated argument.
-I am doing my utmost for Wudang!
-The Wudang Sect is teetering on the brink of annihilation! Even a girl not yet of age has bravely thrown herself into battle—yet a supposed elder like you...!
...For some reason, I had a feeling I knew who owned that furious voice.
Quickening my steps, I soon arrived at a cave.
I passed through the entrance, which bore clear signs of artificial construction, and went inside.
It wasn't long before I reached the end of the cave, where the sight before my eyes left me utterly speechless.
*
"You call yourself an elder of Wudang!"
The bellow, packed with a middle-aged Daoist's fury, reverberated thunderously through the cave's interior.
The other middle-aged Daoist standing before him scowled at the echo but shot back his rebuttal without flinching in the slightest.
"I am doing my utmost for Wudang!"
Mujin, the furious middle-aged Daoist, was left utterly speechless at the response.
Utmost? Utmost, he says?
What utmost effort from a guy barricaded in this cave, refusing to budge even as the sect faced crisis!
"The Wudang Sect is teetering on the brink of annihilation! Even a girl not yet of age has bravely thrown herself into battle—yet a supposed elder like you...!"
Speaking it aloud only made his anger boil over even hotter.
Mujin steeled his resolve: today, he would drag this wretched bastard out of the cave if it was the last thing he did.
-Clang!
Mujin drew the Songmun Ancient Sword gripped in his hand.
His gaze shifted to the cave wall.
Witnessing this, the middle-aged Daoist's eyes shook wildly.
"S-Senior Brother? What are you thinking right now? Stop this. This is the legacy left behind by our Wudang ancestors!"
"There is no legacy more important than the survival of the sect. Today, I'll drag you out of here by any means necessary."
Mujin advanced toward the cave wall, his face etched with ironclad determination.
But he was forced to halt his steps soon after.
He had spotted a third party who had quietly entered the cave.
"Who in the world... Young Hero Goon?"
Realizing the intruder's identity, a flush of embarrassment bloomed across Mujin's face.
Goon Ja-seong.
The great benefactor who had saved Wudang and Sect Leader Senior Brother, a young martial artist of astonishing skill.
Ashamed that such a man had witnessed Wudang's dirty laundry, Mujin cleared his throat awkwardly and approached Ja-seong to explain the situation.
"Ahem. We've shown you an unsightly display, Young Hero. This one here is my junior brother...."
Ja-seong did not hear Mujin's words.
Or rather, he could not.
He was overwhelmed by the spectacle right before his eyes.
The cave's interior was bizarre.
What made it so were the marks completely covering the walls of the small cavern.
Traces as if some beast trapped inside had wildly clawed at the walls.
But Ja-seong knew. He knew it the instant he laid eyes on them.
This was no mere claw mark.
It was far more than that.
"...This is."
"Y-Young Hero Goon?"
Brushing past the flustered Mujin, Ja-seong continued on.
Staring blankly, he slowly took in the cave before approaching one of the walls.
"Stop! You mustn't touch it carelessly!"
The middle-aged Daoist moved to block Ja-seong.
In the blink of an eye, Ja-seong vanished from right in front of him.
"Wha...?"
He jolted in shock, then recoiled in horror at the sound of footsteps coming from behind him.
"What in the...!"
His opponent was a youth who looked not even half his own age—practically still a boy.
Yet this young man had slipped behind him in less time than it took to blink. It was simply unbelievable.
The middle-aged Daoist stared vacantly at Ja-seong's retreating back as he walked toward the cave wall.
Forgetting all about trying to stop him moments ago, he turned to Mujin.
"...Senior Brother, who is that guy? I've never seen anyone like him among the secular disciples. Did you perhaps take a lay disciple and make him an inner disciple?"
The middle-aged Daoist had pegged Ja-seong as a Wudang disciple.
Likely because he was wearing Daoist robes instead of blood-soaked martial attire.
Mujin corrected his junior brother's misconception.
"That one is no Wudang disciple. He is the benefactor who protected Wudang in place of the Wudang First Sword, who holed himself up in this cave and turned a blind eye to the sect's crisis."
The middle-aged Daoist scratched the back of his head, shooting his senior a displeased glance as the man glared back at him.
Wudang First Sword?
Hadn't the current sect leader, Muheo, been Wudang's top expert?
In truth, Muheo was publicly known as Wudang's supreme master, but the reality was a bit different.
The true pinnacle of Wudang was this very middle-aged Daoist standing before Mujin's eyes.
Muyup.
He was the youngest among the elders holding the rank of Mujabae, a martial artist raised from childhood as Wudang's protector and hailed as a genius unseen in a thousand years.
A secret weapon groomed in preparation for the off-chance that an unprecedented crisis befell Wudang.
That was precisely him.
'But this so-called secret weapon is holed up in a cave, pretending not to notice the sect's peril...!'
The thought reignited the fury bubbling up inside him.
Muyup flinched and put some distance between himself and his senior brother, whose face had turned beet red and was trembling with rage.
It was then that a low murmur from Ja-seong reached his ears.
"...Sword marks."
"H-How...?!"
Muyup was startled all over again.
How had he realized those were sword marks?
'No way—did Senior Brother tell him?'
He shot a suspicious glance at Mujin, but his senior brother wore an equally shocked expression.
'If not Senior Brother...?'
Then there was only one possible answer.
That young martial artist had discerned with his own eyes alone that the marks filling the cave were sword marks.
Realizing this inconceivable truth, Muyup's body shuddered uncontrollably.
*
Incredible.
Staring at the countless sword marks filling the cave walls, I couldn't stop marveling aloud.
Even after centuries of weathering, each individual sword mark retained its vivid sharpness.
A keenness no famed sword in existence could reproduce.
I knew exactly what this was.
How could I not?
It was something I still couldn't fully grasp—merely holding onto its very edge with my fingertips.
Sword Qi into Sword Gang.
Every one of these myriad sword marks had been carved by Sword Gang.
And that wasn't all.
"...The depth varies with each sword mark. They gradually deepen."
It wasn't just visible to the naked eye; by enveloping the entire cave with my qi vision, I could sense it clearly.
They began at the faint, shallow section straight ahead, deepening in unbroken continuity.
The path traced by the sword marks formed a spiral.
An endlessly gentle sword, yet one that grew ever more ferocious as it continued—, unbroken and perpetual.
"...Ah."
That realization hit me, and I understood what lay unfurled before my eyes.
This was—this was...!
"You even noticed that?!"
In that instant, a shout boomed through the cavern.
The haze clouding my mind from being lost in the sword marks cleared, snapping me back to my senses.
Turning my head, I took in the unfamiliar middle-aged Daoist's shock and Mujin's bewilderment.
Only then did I realize I'd ignored the two of them while absorbed in the sword marks, and I offered an apology.
"Ah, sorry. I got so caught up in the sword marks on the wall that I didn't realize..."
"No, no. Think nothing of it...."
"Y-You! How did you know?"
Cutting Mujin off mid-sentence, the middle-aged Daoist suddenly barged in.
Striding forward briskly, he thrust his face right up to mine.
Flinching back in alarm, I made him realize he'd gotten carried away; he cleared his throat awkwardly and retreated.
"Ahem, my apologies. I got a bit too excited there."
"No, it's fine. But if I may ask...who are you?"
Mujin stepped forward to answer my question, rather than the middle-aged Daoist himself.
"My apologies, Young Hero. This insolent long-nosed fool is my youngest junior brother, Muyup. An elder who turns a blind eye to the sect's crisis, through and through."
"Ah, Senior Brother...."
"What is it, you rascal?"
Muyup grumbled at the introduction dripping with disapproval, while Mujin responded with a sharp retort.
Their childish squabbling, oblivious to their age, looked so much like real siblings that I couldn't help but chuckle.
The arguing voices I'd overheard on my way into the cave apparently weren't all that serious.
"Ah, anyway—back to the matter at hand. How exactly did you know?"
"About those sword marks?"
"That's right!"
Impatience for an immediate answer was written all over his face.
Rather than reply at once, I posed a question of my own.
"Before that, might I ask what exactly that is? It looks like...traces of a sword technique."
"Er, well...."
At my tentative question, the two Daoists exchanged sidelong glances and hesitated before nodding.
"You've already figured it out, so there's no point hiding it now. You're correct, Young Hero. Those are traces of a sword technique."
"Specifically, one long lost to Wudang—a technique discontinued ages ago."
A sword technique discontinued long ago.
My heart pounded fiercely as my eyes lit up.
"We have no idea when or why it fell out of use. There are no records left."
"All that remains are two simple characters."
Two characters remaining.
For some reason, I had a hunch what those two characters were.
"Taiji."