Chapter 61
----------------------------------------------------------------- Translator: Wjin Chapter: 61 Chapter Title: The Top Sword is a Weakling (1) -----------------------------------------------------------------
Nine Great Sects and One Gang.
These were the ten most prestigious and influential sects among the countless righteous factions in the martial world.
Shaolin Temple, Wudang, Mount Hua Sect, Emei, Kunlun, Mount Zhongnan Sect, Jeomchang, Hainan, Qingcheng. These nine sects, plus the Beggars' Sect as the one gang.
Among them, Mount Hua Sect stood out as a famed sword school.
High-minded Daoists who wielded flashy, elegant illusory swords.
Their signature Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Techniques were so renowned that finding someone in the Central Plains who hadn't heard of them would be the real challenge.
'Why the hell do they want to spar with me of all people?'
He'd heard that disciples from prestigious families sparred for all sorts of reasons—exchanging skills, pride, women, whatever.
But Moo-jin wasn't from a famed house or a renowned sect. If anything, he was just an up-and-coming escort from a famous agency.
"Radiant Sword Daoist Myeong-hwi. Mind telling us why you wish to spar with our leader?"
Ma Du-gwang stepped in to voice Moo-jin's curiosity.
He knew full well that underlings handled this kind of thing, not the boss.
"...And who might you be?"
Daoist Myeong-hwi of Mount Hua frowned slightly.
He could sense the murky aura unique to unorthodox fighters emanating from the man.
"I'm Ma Du-gwang, leader of the Reformation Squad."
"Ah. So you're the Ma leader."
Myeong-hwi's gaze toward Ma Du-gwang turned icy.
He didn't say it outright, but his disappointment was clear: the Diamond Escort Agency hiring an unorthodox thug as a leader?
"That little...!"
"It's fine, boss."
Ma Du-gwang hurriedly stopped Moo-jin from bristling.
Delicate flowers raised in refinement always ignored the weeds, didn't they? Righteous disdain for the unorthodox was nothing new.
In that sense, Kang Moo-jin was pretty unique. He beat down righteous and unorthodox alike without discrimination.
"So, what's the reason for challenging our leader to a spar?"
"Mount Hua Sect owes Hero Kang a debt. We seek to settle it this time."
"A debt?"
In the past, Kang Moo-jin had once knocked out Cheong-sang—one of Mount Hua's New Swords—in a single punch during a public spar.
'That's their debt?'
Moo-jin felt absurd.
That spar had been Cheong-sang's doing, all to boost his own fame. Moo-jin hadn't gone looking for a fight.
'Come to think of it, do Mount Hua guys just love showing up at people's doorsteps uninvited?'
Cheong-sang had come the same way, and now Myeong-hwi too.
Mount Hua folk must enjoy camping out front like that.
"Thus, Mount Hua Sect formally challenges Hero Kang to a spar to avenge our past defeat!"
"Ooooh!"
"Ooooh!"
The onlookers gasped in admiration at the grandiose declaration, laced with archaic phrasing.
What a splendid call to arms.
A true display from the great Mount Hua Sect, pillar of the righteous.
"Hero Kang. Are you listening?"
"Huh?"
Lost in thought, Moo-jin had missed most of what Myeong-hwi said.
Of course, he wasn't clumsy enough to show it.
"Heard most of it."
"Excellent. Then, regarding the spar with Mount Hua Sect..."
"I'll pass."
"Noted... Wait, what did you say?!"
Myeong-hwi blinked in stunned confusion.
What the hell was he refusing?!
"I said I'm refusing the spar."
"...!?"
The Mount Hua Daoists murmured in shock.
'Refusing a spar?'
'This golden opportunity?'
'He's an escort, alright. No sense of honor.'
Crossing swords with Mount Hua Daoists was a tremendous honor. Not just anyone got to spar with warriors from such a great sect.
Usually, people lined up to request spars at Mount Hua. It was rare for Mount Hua to initiate.
Yet Kang Moo-jin was turning it down.
"W-wait. Why?"
"It's not like gold's raining down. Why would I bother?"
Moo-jin shrugged indifferently.
"You win, they get revenge. I get nothing."
"The honor of defeating Mount Hua twice..."
"Honor doesn't fill my belly. Pass."
"Fine. If Hero Kang wins, we'll give you a Violet Dawn Pill."
"...!"
The surrounding merchants' jaws dropped in shock.
Ma Du-gwang, hearing it firsthand, gaped in disbelief.
"V-V-Violet Dawn Pill?!"
The Violet Dawn Pill was one of the martial world's famed elixirs, alongside Wudang's Small Cyan Pill and Shaolin's Small Return Pill.
An elixir of elixirs, said to contain thirty years' worth of qi!
Even in Mount Hua, it was reserved for only the most talented few. And now, they were offering it as a prize.
"Hmm."
"Hero Kang must know how precious Mount Hua's Violet Dawn Pill is! You can't refuse this time!"
Myeong-hwi puffed out his chest confidently.
With the pill on the line, refusal was impossible...
"Still passing."
"What?! Why?!"
Moo-jin flashed a wicked grin at the now-distraught Myeong-hwi.
"How about you throw in one more on top of that?"
"...?"
"As you can see, I'm an escort from the Diamond Escort Agency. The most famous top-grade one in Shanxi Province, no less."
Moo-jin curled his thumb and finger into a coin shape.
"Fifty taels of silver. Paid upfront. No bills."
"..."
The Mount Hua Daoists, merchants, and even Ma Du-gwang stared in utter shock.
Haggling for money when Mount Hua was offering a Violet Dawn Pill as prize?
For a spar with the honor-bound Mount Hua Sect, no less?
Is he insane?
"..."
"Now we get it..."
The merchants finally understood why his nickname was Golden Ghost Indestructible.
The young man before them was utterly, hopelessly obsessed with money.
"No joke, man. Bro straight-up asks for cash right there, and those Mount Hua snobs looked totally floored."
Ma Du-gwang recounted the events from a few days ago to the Reformation Squad escorts.
"Kuh! Their smug faces all crumpled up."
"Wish I'd seen it!"
"That's our boss for ya."
"Heh. Mount Hua tough guys or not, they can't touch our Kang boss."
The escorts buzzed with excitement, faces lit up.
It was rare to see a prestigious righteous sect get owned like that.
And by their own leader, no less? That sparked pride rivaling payday.
"Heh heh. I saw the whole thing. Served 'em right. Some merchants were calling bro the Gold Demon."
"Gold Demon?"
"Yeah. Gold Demon Kang Moo-jin. Kuh..."
"Make it casual, Gold Demon."
Snap!
Moo-jin flicked Ma Du-gwang's crown hard, clicking his tongue in annoyance.
"B-Boss?!"
"Y'all seem pretty comfy, huh? All gathered 'round gossiping like old hens."
"N-No, sir! We were just about to get back to training."
The group scattered like startled birds, leaving Ma Du-gwang alone to scratch his cheek awkwardly.
"Haha... W-Well, I'll get going then."
"Hold up."
"Yes, sir!"
"Starting today, me and Yu-hwa are heading to Mount Hua. Fill the empty spots properly."
"You're going today, huh?"
The Mount Hua Daoists had left Shanxi for Shaanxi days ago.
Moo-jin, with leader duties, was departing a bit later.
"Yeah. Got the cash upfront—better hurry and collect."
"Yuan clerk coming too?"
"Yep. Taking Yu-hwa'll help in more ways than one."
"True. Our rough-around-the-edges bro needs a scholarly clerk like Yuan."
"Yeah, that's... What?"
Moo-jin's eyebrow twitched. Ma Du-gwang bolted.
"Hey! That bastard. His lightness skill's getting better."
A glint flashed in Moo-jin's eyes as he watched.
Thud—tap-tap—
The scenery blurred by in an instant, everything whipping past at high speed.
Thanks to Moo-jin's training, Yu-hwa's lightness skill had improved dramatically—she could nearly keep pace now.
"You've improved a lot."
"Thank you, brother! All thanks to you!"
Yu-hwa propelled herself lightly off the ground, gliding like she was skating on ice.
Under the moonlight, her Milky Way Steps looked like a celestial fairy descending from the heavens.
'Most hit a wall at peak supreme mastery. But not Yu-hwa.'
Yu-hwa's growth was seamless. She'd reached supreme mastery without a hitch—normally, you'd expect a plateau. Yet her martial arts pressed onward endlessly.
At this rate, she'd ascend to the sublime Transformation Realm in a few years.
'Youngest ever Transformation Realm, then.'
Hitting supreme mastery at twenty-one would already shake the world.
Transformation Realm at twenty-four or -five? While sect elders barely reached it past seventy.
'Definitely something special.'
Moo-jin deserved most credit for Yu-hwa's growth, with his custom training and guidance sparking explosive progress.
But that wasn't all.
'Her Ren and Du meridians were open when we met, and her upper dantian too.'
Common lore placed the lower dantian below the navel, middle at the heart, upper at the crown of the head.
Unlike the others, the upper dantian only opened at Transformation Realm—a profound, mysterious place.
Yet Yu-hwa had it open upon meeting Moo-jin, using its power unconsciously.
'Might tie to her parents, like the elder wouldn't explain.'
During the secret escort for Yuan Jong-do to the capital, he'd said her parents were martial artists who died in some accident.
Moo-jin pressed for details, but Yuan just chuckled evasively.
Perhaps the secret to her insane growth rate lay with her parents.
No proof, but Moo-jin's instincts screamed it.
"We'll rest there tonight. Climb Mount Hua tomorrow."
"Yes, brother."
Crossing Shaanxi in one go to Xi'an, Moo-jin and Yu-hwa slowed, landing before an inn.
"Fun name. Peaceful Inn."
A fight-free, quiet inn? Unimaginable.
Inns were supposed to be brawling dens, fists and blades flying, right?
"Yeah. Let's head in."
Moo-jin and Yu-hwa entered the three-story serene inn.
True to its name, it was quiet. People were present but few, conversing softly.
"Ooh... It's really quiet, brother?"
The inn fell silent as Yu-hwa appeared.
Her jade-like skin and refined beauty left everyone speechless.
"A f-fairy?!"
"...You can stare all you want in the next life if you go now! Here, take a look!"
"Eek!"
Moo-jin stroked his chin, eyeing a fleeing couple.
"Hm. Looks like a peaceful night."
Last inn, he'd been too busy smashing unorthodox goons to eat more than a few bites of meat.
Moo-jin sat with a relaxed face, ordering chicken and thin noodles from the waiter.
"Oh. Can I get just breast meat for the chicken?"
"...? Breast?"
The waiter stared blankly.
He'd seen requests for extra legs, but tough breast meat? First time.
"Please."
Moo-jin slyly slipped a pouch under the counter, out of the owner's sight.
"Right away, sir! I'll pluck every breast from the local chickens myself!"
The waiter bowed deeply with the heavy coin pouch, scampering off.
"Breast meat? That's tasteless. Why?"
"Been feeling some muscle soreness lately. That's when you load up on that kind—eases pain, builds muscle better."
"Ah, brother. I'm fine. You know I just do veggies for dinner."
"..."
"Brother knows everything, huh."
Yu-hwa's eyes deepened admiringly—right then.
"Oh! You're Flawless Escort Kang, right?!"
"Hero Kang! You're way handsomer in person—didn't recognize you."
Two sword-bearing women approached Moo-jin with sweet smiles.
Exuding floral scents, their beauty rivaled Yu-hwa, the top beauty of Shanxi.
"We're Yi Hwa-bin and Yi So-yul, third-generation disciples of the Ancient Mausoleum Sect."
"We've heard all about Hero Kang. You solo-crushed Shaolin's Nahan Formation, right? So cool!"
"Word reached Xi'an, huh."
"Hehe. Of course. Anyone in the Central Plains who doesn't know Hero Kang is an idiot."
The Ancient Mausoleum women sat on either side of Moo-jin, praising him in voices like tinkling jade.
"I didn't say you could join us."
Yu-hwa crossed her arms, glaring at them.
"Oh, sorry."
"Mind if we sit, if it's okay?"
They asked Moo-jin, not Yu-hwa, flashing bright smiles.
"Hm..."
Most men would pull out chairs for such beauties in a heartbeat. Not Moo-jin.
'Both martial artists—they'll eat plenty. Ancient Mausoleum's famous for drinking. Extra silver tael or so for food and booze?'
Even now, Moo-jin was calculating costs.
"We came to Shaanxi and wanted to treat Hero Kang to a good meal."
"Our sect leader loves your stories!"
"Oh, then sure."
Free food? Even a stuffed beggar wouldn't say no.
A top-grade escort never refused a meal offer—eat till you burst. That was the way.
"..."
Yu-hwa straightened instinctively, sensing rivalry.
"Hero Kang, try this."
Yi Hwa-bin deboned a chicken leg and placed it on Moo-jin's side plate.
"Hehe. This liquor too, Hero Kang. Famous local leaf liquor from Shaanxi."
Yi So-yul poured clear blue-green liquor into his cup.
"Uh..."
Moo-jin froze awkwardly at the sudden affection.
Ripping a demon's jaw was easier than this.
'Tricky.'
As Moo-jin puzzled over a response, Yu-hwa intervened.
"Brother doesn't drink."
She downed the leaf liquor in one gulp, then ate the chicken leg as a chaser.
"Doesn't like legs much either."
Separating only the breast meat, she placed it on Moo-jin's plate.
"Thanks, Yu-hwa."
Moo-jin promptly popped the breast into his mouth.
"Heh."
Yu-hwa lifted her chin smugly.
Her eyes toward the Ancient Mausoleum women screamed, 'What do you know?'