297. The Black Flame Dragon Reveals Itself
Jegal Cheongi. A genius who transcended eras. But in the end, a being felled by human desire.
In his early years, his wings were clipped by his family's greed, and he couldn't even enter the Murim Academy. The status of being the legitimate heir to one of the Five Great Families without a Murim Academy diploma made him nothing more than an eyesore to both his clan and the Murim Alliance.
Ultimately shunned by both his family and the Alliance, Jegal Cheongi had no place but among the low-grade warriors. As the saying goes, a pearl among the unworthy. Like a lustrous pearl shining brilliantly even in sticky mud, Jegal Cheongi repeatedly revealed his genius, but genius displayed from a predetermined lowly position only irritated the incompetent power holders.
His overflowing creativity and profound strategies were like a yeouiju—a wish-granting pearl far too precious to be squandered in the Small Justice Squad. Thus, the dragon that seemed destined to soar the skies ended up rolling on the ground, bereft of horns and claws, until it died.
'Was it always this much?'
I might not have properly seen the color of that genius's light, who died so futilely in my previous life.
"So... you saw the Socheon Sword Technique and modified the Great Heaven Sword Method?"
Back when Namgung San visited Tae-eul Gate in the past. The kids had shown great interest in the advanced form of the Socheon Sword Technique that I had demonstrated. Knowing that Tae-eul Gate's martial arts were all trash except for the Socheon Sword Technique, I taught them the advanced form so they could focus on it until we found the Sword Emperor's arts.
And that knowledge had been passed along until it reached Jegal Cheongi.
'And this crazy genius bastard...'
He had pierced the essence of the Socheon Sword Technique's advanced form and created an advanced form for the Great Heaven Sword Method. Considering that the process before the advanced form naturally involved the dismantling form, it made sense why my sword had flown off ridiculously every time I used the Great Heaven Sword Method just moments ago.
My thoughts stretched this far, and a hollow laugh escaped me.
'Just how much of a clusterfuck was the Murim Alliance in my previous life?'
Even the idiots who filled the Small Justice Squad back then all knew Jegal Cheongi was a genius. There was no way the elites handpicked from each sect, plus the graduates of the Murim Academy—the cadre school—hadn't noticed him.
'They just... didn't like it. His excellence...'
If he had at least passed the Myriad Communications Division's exam, he would have been respected as an Alliance scholar and could have fortified the Murim Alliance with his genius.
He might have even contributed to the development of the 108 Peaks under the Alliance. But by then, Jegal Somyeong had already been assassinated, and command of the Myriad Communications Division had passed to someone else.
Jegal Cheongi had missed another chance that should have been his.
My thoughts reached this point, and chills ran down my spine. In the end, heaven-sent genius had been crushed by petty human greed. Lowly beings who couldn't compare to Jegal Cheongi had poured all their effort into destroying him. For their own desires.
I lifted my eyes to look at him.
"Uh, um... did I do something wrong?"
Jegal Cheongi fidgeted with his fingers, gauging my mood. My face must have hardened while thinking of those idiots.
I quickly plastered a smile on my lips.
"No."
Then I patted his head.
"Not at all."
At my touch, Cheongi looked up at me with his round, sparkling eyes.
"Uh, I was worried you might be mad because I arbitrarily changed Tae-eul Gate's martial arts..."
That sight made my chest tighten for no reason. I didn't like how he was watching my reaction.
Most geniuses realize they're different from others and grow up despising the common folk.
'Like that fucking Yong So-a bastard.'
Jegal Cheongi was careful even with his words, worried the other person might misinterpret them. It was probably because he'd been brainwashed that his 'difference' meant he was 'wrong.'
I needed to correct that now.
"Cheongi."
"Yes, hyungnim."
So this sparkling genius could bloom.
"Wasn't reinterpreting the sword method because it was a better direction?"
"...Actually, because of this, I couldn't even learn martial arts properly at home."
He flung open the cage that had confined him.
"This isn't the Jegal family."
Jegal Cheongi's eyes widened in shock, as if seeing the sky—his true stage—for the first time.
"And you're a disciple of Tae-eul Gate now."
"A disciple of Tae-eul Gate..."
"Su means guarding the teachings. Thoroughly mastering the original studies and making them your own. Do you know what comes next?"
Jegal Cheongi nodded, as if he already knew.
"Pa. The stage of creating original applied techniques according to your individuality."
How was this kid so clever?
"Right. And the final stage is ri (Departure). Entering a new realm of wonders unbound by anything. No matter what path you take, you'll end up walking this one. So if you faithfully go through these stages..."
You'll be able to flap your wings freely and fly wherever you desire.
"No matter where you are or what path you walk, you won't need to watch anyone's mood. Got it?"
Jegal Cheongi's eyes sparkled brightly. Eyes truly alive. What a ridiculously great and cute ki—
"Hyungnim! I've made up my mind!"
"Huh? About what?"
What the hell was this sudden—
"I'll never leave your side for the rest of my life! Is that okay?"
I'd opened the cage for him to fly freely, and he wanted to stay by my side. Was that okay? Of course.
The Jegal family might not like it, but if he wanted to stay, what could they do? He was the one I'd brought out in the first place.
"Do whatever you want."
"Waaah!"
Jegal Cheongi cheered like he'd finally obtained his lifelong wish. But why was he so thrilled?
"Anyway, pick up your sword again."
"Huh?"
"I still have more to teach you."
The third of the Jegal Three Forms: the Demon-Subduing Form. I'd been worried about how to incorporate the Jegal Three Forms into Tae-eul Gate's recovered martial arts.
But now it was like swimming in shallow water. Our Cheongi would handle it all.
#
After handing over Jegal Cheongi, who had passed out from learning the Demon-Subduing Form, to Yeongyeong, I headed straight to Tae-eul Gate's guest quarters. There waited the Sword Demon, once one of the absolute black path masters—or rather, now just a freeloader among freeloaders.
"You're here."
Baek Hae-gwang was waiting.
"You look like you're living the good life."
"...Urgh. Being a freeloader is more uncomfortable than I thought."
"What? Don't they feed you three square meals?"
"It's that they feed me too well that's the problem."
What can you do with someone not used to receiving.
"What's uncomfortable about good food?"
"The Great Heaven Merchant Group sets up a sect for me, and Tae-eul Gate gives me lodging—how could I not be uncomfortable?"
"That's because you're just eating and lounging around, Master."
"...Who said I'm your master?"
"Anyway, a freeloader isn't a position for lounging."
Baek Hae-gwang frowned and glanced at me slyly.
"Then... what does a freeloader have to do?"
Kuh, as expected of someone with the will and common sense to earn his keep.
I shrugged.
"Just do what you can. Normally, it's stepping on anyone who picks a fight with Tae-eul Gate or acting as a fixer... but since we're in closed-door seclusion, no need for that. Just oversee some training."
"Interfere with the kids' training?"
...How did someone with such a cautious personality become a black path master?
"Not just the kids, the adults too. It's only been a short time since we recovered our martial arts, so everyone's struggling to advance."
"Is that okay?"
"What's not okay about it? You became the Sword Demon by doing whatever you wanted anyway, didn't you, Master?"
"That damn bastard calling me Sword Demon again..."
"Anyway, just do it. No one will complain."
A man who fought life-or-death duels with giant sect leaders and became a black path overlord. No one would dare refuse Baek Hae-gwang's teachings.
Baek Hae-gwang listened and nodded deeply for a long time.
"By the way, how far have you mastered the White Moon Heaven-Subduing Three Forms?"
"All of Extreme Swiftness."
"Already?"
"There was some urgent business."
"No... even so, it's only been half a year. How the hell did you master it when you're not Yong So-a?"
"..."
Why bring up Yong So-a out of nowhere for comparison?
I briefly explained how I'd mastered Extreme Swiftness.
"You crazy son of a bitch..."
"Even to your disciple, 'crazy son of a bitch' is a bit..."
A vehement reaction came back.
"Who the hell takes a lunatic like you as a disciple!"
"Hearing that hurts your disciple's feelings..."
"Hah... piecing your body together with memories. Do you have two lives or what? How did you know it wouldn't kill you!"
"My memory's pretty good, isn't it?"
Fortunately, I had the experience against Jegumhak afterward, so no major issues for now.
But my master sighed and stared at my face.
"...Right now, it's not Tae-eul Gate that's urgent—it's you."
"Huh?"
"How many days has your rest period been?"
"One..."
"Doesn't matter how many days. I'd rather put you through focused training than watch you go mad learning my sword method."
"What do you..."
"Don't worry. It's way better than the crazy shit you pulled."
No, why was he suddenly getting scary...
#
"...So that's what happened?"
What?
"Oppa! Why are you sleeping here?"
Did I pass out again? Did this guy ditch me too?
"Ugh... I thought I'd improved a bit in half a year..."
Wang Soso tilted her head.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Never mind. It's nothing. But what's that?"
Wang Soso was hugging several ledgers.
"Oh, this? Documents. Great Heaven Merchant Group account books."
"You're doing that?"
"Yeah. Since the Wang Merchant Group and Great Heaven Merchant Group do a lot together, I'm the only one who knows both sets of accounts."
Analyzing and merging both sides' accounts was complex enough to baffle even academy scholars. And she was doing it alone?
...Just who the hell did I save?
"I'm heading to the Great Heaven Merchant Group now—want to come?"
Jang Dowon had told me to visit the forge, but tomorrow would be fine.
"Sure, why not?"
"Yay! Let's go, Oppa!"
Suddenly, a subtle profound energy clung to Wang Soso's steps as she stuck right by my side. Before I could react, my arm was hooked, and I was being dragged along.
"Let's go! Oppa!"
...Wow, what the hell? What the fuck was going on at Tae-eul Gate?
#
On the way to the Great Heaven Merchant Group. The sun hanging over the western mountains had finally set, and darkness blanketed the surroundings.
Suddenly realizing it was just me and Wang Soso on the street gave me a strange feeling.
"You go to the merchant group at this hour every day?"
"Not every day, but usually. Training, work, then heading there—time's tight."
"...Alone?"
"Today I'm with Oppa, aren't I?"
"No, usually."
After the kidnapping incident, Wang Geumsan had always sent escorts when sending her to Tae-eul Gate.
"Oh, I told him I wanted to go alone."
"Why?"
"Being at Tae-eul Gate makes me feel like I'm floating above everyone else."
Most Tae-eul Gate kids came from poor families. Among them, Wang Soso, the only daughter of the Wang Merchant Group lord, was bound to stand out as an outsider. Like Gye Cheolyeong had back then.
But unlike Gye Cheolyeong, who threw his weight around under the guise of sponsorships, I was grateful she didn't. Wang Soso had even shed her own trappings to blend into Tae-eul Gate. How admirable.
"Still, I doubt the lord agreed easily."
"Yeah! So I beat the escort warrior."
"Huh?"
Did I hear that wrong?
As I looked at her in confusion, she grinned broadly.
"He said if I beat the escort, I wouldn't need one anymore."
...Was that even possible? The escorts assigned to her would be no slouches.
"Oh, escaping skills, of course. Turns out I have a talent for running!"
Shaking off an escort with the Tae-eul Eight Myriad Divine Steps, not even proper lightness skill...
...What the hell was with this girl?
We chatted like that and soon arrived at the Great Heaven Merchant Group.
"Father! We're he—"
Wang Soso ran into the courtyard, announcing her presence, then froze.
Then she radiated cold hostility from her entire body.
"...Why the hell are you here?"
The girlish demeanor from moments ago was gone, replaced by a face full of enmity.
Who the hell could make her like this?
At the end of Wang Soso's gaze stood a woman in a red palace dress adorned with gold embroidery, wearing a bewitching smile.
"I clearly said I'd refuse. And you haven't even stamped the contract yet."
Wang Soso spoke with a face full of hostility, but the woman wasn't looking at her.
The woman's gaze ended at.
"Maybe he thinks the same, so I figured I'd ask."
Me.
Wang Soso bit her lip hard at the woman's question.
The woman smirked as if she'd expected it.
"As I thought, you didn't ask."
A servant by the woman shone a lantern at her feet. She took a few light steps forward. A sweet fragrance spread with her.
"You're Jin Sowoon of Tae-eul Gate, right?"
This woman I'd never seen was acting like she knew me.