Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: Murim Alliance, Establishment (2)
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To the north of Hubei Province lay Wudang Mountain.
Nestled there was the Wudang Sect, one of the Nine Great Sects of the Orthodox Factions.
Today, as always, the Daoists continued their training in the serene atmosphere of the mountain. Somewhere amid it all, the sect leader of the era, Daoist Taeheo, asked the young man before him.
“Will you really not go?”
“Yes, I wish to remain at Wudang.”
The one bowing his head before him was none other than Immortal Dragon Hyeon-gong.
At his words, Daoist Taeheo let out a deep sigh of regret.
“I hear all the other Dragon-Phoenixes have headed to the Murim Alliance… No, it’s not for me to force you.”
Daoist Taeheo shook his head with a wry smile.
He judged it wrong to press the boy who so earnestly wished to stay.
And there was another reason besides.
“Heh, with such lack of greed, you truly are a heavenly Daoist.”
While the other Dragon-Phoenixes stepped forth for honor, Hyeon-gong’s focus on cultivating the Dao pleased Daoist Taeheo to no end.
Hyeon-gong simply smiled.
As he did, a thought surfaced.
‘Do I really need to restrict my movements?’
Having lived his life as a spy, he was confident in deceiving others.
Yet the Murim Alliance had too many eyes.
Hyeon-gong saw no need to abandon the foundation he had carefully built just to go there.
‘Of course….’
He wasn’t the only one who had infiltrated the Orthodox Jianghu. He could leave matters there to the others.
*
The founding of the Dragon-Phoenix Squad.
This was news sure to send ripples through the Jianghu and offer hope to the turbulent world of martial arts.
But setting that aside, it wasn’t so simple.
“Creating a new squad isn’t something that happens easily.”
Was the Murim Alliance some minor local sect?
As a massive organization, forming a new unit required extensive preparations.
From barracks for them to live in, to buildings for daily life, and even training grounds.
Simply handing over existing spaces wouldn’t suffice.
Everyone in the Dragon-Phoenix Squad, save Mok Ri-won, belonged to prestigious sects.
From the Murim Alliance’s perspective, assigning them mediocre quarters would be a loss of face.
“It’s tricky….”
Mok Ri-won tilted his head, furrowing his fine brows.
For someone like him who trained just fine in dirt fields and slept anywhere with a roof, he couldn’t grasp why face mattered so much.
Dang Hwa-seo didn’t bother explaining further to Mok Ri-won.
She knew one couldn’t truly appreciate shifts in status or the weight of face without experiencing them firsthand.
“In any case, for the time being, we’ll be staying in this hall.”
“What do we do in the meantime?”
“Nothing in particular. Oh, right.”
Dang Hwa-seo raised her brows as if it had just occurred to her.
“Shall we visit the Alliance’s library?”
“The library?”
“The one with manuals distributed to the Alliance’s warriors. Didn’t Young Hero Mok express interest?”
Mok Ri-won’s eyes lit up.
“We can go?!”
“Of course. You’re an official Alliance warrior now.”
“I want to go—!”
Mok Ri-won shot to his feet.
Seeing his fully revived energy, Dang Hwa-seo wore a pleased smile.
*
Dang Hwa-seo left Mok Ri-won in front of the library and said,
“Then I’ll attend to other matters. Wait quietly, alright?”
“Got it!”
Mok Ri-won fidgeted excitedly, turning toward the library.
Dang Hwa-seo felt a needless worry arise.
“Young Hero Mok, if a stranger asks you to follow…”
“I’ll say someone’s waiting for me!”
“…Good.”
She wanted to stay, but with the squad’s founding imminent, Dang Hwa-seo had much to do.
Hoping nothing happened, she left Mok Ri-won behind.
Now alone at last, Mok Ri-won entered the library.
And smiled.
‘The smell of books.’
The musty scent of old tomes filled his lungs the moment he stepped in.
For some reason, it soothed his heart, and Mok Ri-won smiled softly as he looked around.
‘The Alliance’s manuals….’
There were so many kinds.
From basic sword arts and breathing techniques available even in back alleys, to those of minor sects, and even exclusive Alliance formations unseen elsewhere.
Normally, new arrivals couldn’t access certain manuals, but Mok Ri-won’s Dragon-Phoenix title granted him permission for all.
Mok Ri-won browsed for a long while before pulling out and opening one.
A sword manual named Jade Thunder Advance Sword.
‘I need to learn as many sword styles as possible.’
Mok Ri-won wasn’t arrogant.
He was deeply ambitious for growth.
And now he had a reason to grow stronger.
Fist Demon Pae Ung-chu, whose name he now knew.
To face him properly, he felt his previous training methods fell short.
‘I must internalize everything I can. Fuse into my sword everything that can be fused.’
Mok Ri-won never wanted such a miserable defeat again.
Rustle.
The pages turned.
For a very long time after, Mok Ri-won devoured the library’s manuals, visualizing sword principles in his mind.
*
Late at night, in the temporary training ground assigned to the Dragon-Phoenix Squad.
There, Mok Ri-won drew his sword.
‘I’ve reaped rewards.’
No, more precisely, he was about to harvest the fruits.
Mok Ri-won moved his body, recalling the manuals he’d read all day.
Disassembling forms.
‘I’ll take only what’s needed. Weave them into a new sword.’
Arrogant thinking.
If anyone but Mok Ri-won thought this way, such words would surely follow.
It was only natural.
What Mok Ri-won was doing now was creating a martial art.
The act of becoming a grandmaster of one.
But he was the Heavenly Slaughter Star.
One of the greatest martial prodigies to descend upon this land.
His qualifications as a grandmaster overflowed.
‘The Meteor Seven Swords takes on overt Gang Qi forms in its later stances.’
He couldn’t rely on the Meteor Seven Swords every fight.
In his bout with the Fist Demon, hadn’t his inner energy depleted from excessive Qi circulation?
‘I need an art that wields power through forms alone.’
Mok Ri-won’s sword descended.
Then veered sideways.
The sword unfolding at a very slow speed pieced together the styles he’d learned today.
Awkwardness lingered inevitably, but as night deepened, the swordplay grew natural, profound, and subtle.
‘Trim and carve away. Fit the awkward gaps by feel.’
This sword wasn’t for transmission.
It was solely for himself.
Thus, no need to worry about learning difficulty or passing it on.
‘The sword form most suited to me.’
The one he could wield best.
‘More variables.’
One opponents couldn’t grow accustomed to.
‘Thus, no repeating the same form twice.’
Mok Ri-won named the framework he was building.
‘Ten Thousand Lotuses Sword.’
A sword weaving ten thousand forms into one canon.
For now, only a dozen or so were intertwined, but Mok Ri-won aimed to melt ten thousand into it someday.
The Murim Alliance’s night deepened.
*
It had been about three more weeks of life in the Alliance.
Mok Ri-won, who had immersed himself in training daily to perfect his new sword, finally stepped outside after a long while.
“They’re coming today!”
Today was the day to welcome the other connections from the Dragon-Phoenix Tournament.
Dang Hwa-seo nodded.
“Yes, I hear Fist Dragon and Sword Dragon are coming together, while White Phoenix is alone.”
“White Phoenix by herself?”
“Their locations are on opposite sides, after all.”
Mok Ri-won finally understood.
Emei Sect in Sichuan was west of Hubei, while Shaolin and Anhui lay east. No reason for White Phoenix to go there and back.
“Then….”
Who would arrive first?
As Mok Ri-won wondered, a figure waved cheerfully from afar.
A ‘tsk’ escaped Dang Hwa-seo’s lips.
“…White Phoenix first.”
The approaching woman in white was White Phoenix Hye-un.
She approached with a refreshingly bright face, as if something good had happened on the way.
“Long time no see.”
“Great to see you!”
“Young benefactor Mok, have you been well? My, you’ve grown even more handsome.”
As Hye-un covered her mouth laughing, Mok Ri-won flinched.
Wondering why the sudden familiarity.
Naturally, he hid behind Dang Hwa-seo, and Hye-un burst out laughing.
“I won’t eat you. I won’t. Already on the way here….”
Mid-excitement, Hye-un abruptly shut her mouth.
She glanced around and smiled meaningfully.
“…Anyway.”
Mok Ri-won swallowed hard.
Dang Hwa-seo stomped his foot with her heel.
Jegal San clamped his mouth shut.
Unmarried, he didn’t care for the flighty White Phoenix.
“…Namgung brother’s late.”
He muttered, thinking Namgung Jincheon’s pissed face at Mok Ri-won would be funnier.
As if heaven granted his wish.
Soon after, a monk and a sharp-eyed youth appeared from afar.
At their sight, Jegal San’s face brightened.
“Monk! Namgung brother! Over here!”
Their reactions split sharply.
Il-un flinched and smiled awkwardly at Jegal San, while Namgung Jincheon ignored him entirely, glaring only at Mok Ri-won.
Mok Ri-won tilted his head at Namgung Jincheon’s demeanor, then smiled and greeted.
“Long time no see! Been well?”
Mok Ri-won held no grudge against Namgung Jincheon.
After all, he was a fellow sword enthusiast sincere about the art, and last seen, seemed to consider more than just force—ripe for building ties.
“…Been well, have you.”
Namgung Jincheon murmured, then continued flatly.
“Yes, I’ve been well.”
He showed no hint of shrinking.
Rather, his competitive spirit burned.
But the timing wasn’t right.
Namgung Jincheon wanted to challenge Mok Ri-won to a spar right then, but he wasn’t fool enough to forget duties in the heat.
Pushing past the other Dragon-Phoenixes, he headed to the Alliance.
“Then follow. We need to report first.”
“Acting like he’s already the squad leader.”
Hye-un whispered to Dang Hwa-seo.
Dang Hwa-seo unwittingly nodded.
Hearing them, Namgung Jincheon retorted as if it were obvious.
“Isn’t it natural for me to be squad leader?”
His sheer arrogance froze everyone present.
Amid it, Mok Ri-won clenched his fists in rising ire and shouted.
“W-what nonsense! I’ll be squad leader!”
Mok Ri-won’s reason for claiming leader was simple.
It sounded cool.
Tension crackled between them.
Dang Hwa-seo watched blankly, then clutched her head.
‘This….’
Her head already throbbed.