#31. The Second-Rate Warrior in Search of Legend (3)
“Our master suddenly asked if you had any thoughts about heading to the Murim Academy, so I asked why. That's when I heard you'd be taking the entrance exam with the senior brother.”
Hong Saryeon seemed to have been searching for a way despite knowing it was impossible. Was this stubbornness, or foolishness?
Then, at some point in the conversation, she sensed something off and tilted her head.
“Of course it was impossible, but why did you refuse?”
The Murim Academy was the dream gateway for all later-generation disciples. Someone like Geum Pyo, who'd made it to the final four, should have been tempted, yet he'd turned it down flat. It was puzzling.
“Aren't you the sect leader's daughter? Even if not, I couldn't stomach sending you into danger while I lounged around eating the academy's food in peace.”
“……”
His words left her speechless.
They'd grown up like brothers, but they weren't blood-related… Seeing them care for each other like this stirred a mix of heartache and gratitude.
“So, please take us with you.”
“Please take us with you.”
“Please take us with you.”
I snapped out of it and shook my head.
“No can do. The entrance exam isn't the walk in the park you think it is.”
“……”
The gold-silver-bronze brothers drooped their heads like wet puppies at my firm tone.
“That said, if my plans come together and you complete all the tasks I assign in the meantime, I'll consider it.”
“Really?”
“Really?”
“Really?”
“If you're gonna give the same answer, just one of you do it.”
The three brothers lit up like they'd already been accepted to the academy.
“Every morning, go up and down Hwun Mountain to the peak three times.”
“Yes?”
“What, can't handle it?”
“No, sir! We can do it.”
“And from now on, practice the sword formation I'm about to teach you fifty times a day. For the next six months. You can't see, hear, or speak to each other, but your trio's coordination has to be perfect.”
Gulp.
The gold-silver-bronze brothers swallowed in unison.
“Oh, and you can't skip Kwaehwa Dang classes either. Once you've finished everything there, then I'll think about it.”
“……”
“The Murim Academy exam drops even disciples from the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families like flies, with injuries galore. And deaths among them. If you don't measure up, taking you along would be like hauling dead weight into the exam myself.”
The brothers' faces darkened.
“So you need more than just 'I wanna get into the academy.' You need the resolve to bleed for your Tae-eul Gate siblings—and the effort to back it up! Without that, just stay under my and Saryeon's protection.”
Then the youngest, Dongryong, mumbled hesitantly.
“But… don't you and Senior Sister bleed for us?”
I ruffled his hair.
“It's fine. That's what a senior brother does. Saryeon thinks the same.”
“……I'll do it.”
Dongryong declared it with grim determination, followed by Eunho and Geum Pyo.
“I'll do it.”
“I'll do it.”
My plan to scare them off with impossible tasks had backfired spectacularly.
Of course, I didn't think they could pull it off. But having that spirit mattered—and that meant I had to be their goal.
“Got it. In six months, I'll judge your progress and decide.”
“”“Yes, sir!""
“Oh, and keep this secret from everyone. The elders would never approve your exam participation.”
I bid separate farewells to Sect Leader Hong Moon-gi and my father, packed light, and left Tae-eul Gate for Wangbu.
It was for the next six months, so I'd normally pack more, but I couldn't rent horses everywhere. I had to trust my inner energy and go on foot.
“Should've taken more of that Seven-Colored Treasure Note payout?”
First stop: Suzhou.
With lightness skill, distance was no issue, but fatigue piled up with no easy fix.
“Maybe dig up some treasure.”
I knew a few hidden treasure spots unknown to the world, but they were too far.
“Move first, think later.”
Wangbu sprawled across a vast plain half a shichen from Tae-eul Gate. Built from the start for Wang family affiliates, its layout was unconventional.
As the headquarters for all Wang Merchant Group businesses, it even earned the nickname 'the village where the fires never die.'
Yet for some reason, the whole place felt deserted.
At the Wang family head's central mansion, no accountants bustled about. Instead, pots simmered with soup, meat roasted over flames.
The steward guiding me said,
“The Lord cleared his entire schedule today for an important appointment.”
“Huh? Then I came at a bad time?”
“Hoho, not at all.”
As I debated turning back, the steward smirked mysteriously and led me to Wang Geumsan.
“Murim disciple Jin Sowoon pays his respects. I trust you've been well.”
In Wang Geumsan's chambers sat not just him, but his only daughter, Wang Soso.
“Hoho, I thought you'd forgiven my blunder back then, but apparently not.”
“What blunder? What you gave me is too great to repay.”
“Not forgiven. Not at all.”
Wang Soso covered her mouth, giggling.
I came clean.
“Why'd you suddenly demand me like that? I nearly got sold off instead of paying my debt.”
“To repay the debt I owed you, of course.”
“Repay by nearly ruining me?”
“How's it ruining you? It's power you couldn't get otherwise.”
“……?”
“Is might the only power? Money handles what force can't.”
He wasn't wrong. In my past life, the Three Great Merchants were the biggest obstacles to the Demonic Cult's world domination.
Even after Wang Geumsan vanished, the Three banded together, resisting Demonic pressure. The Cult razed their clans in fury, but survivors fought on.
The world runs on money. Even the Cult eventually negotiated, letting them persist after the Murim Alliance fell.
“Yet you seem dead set on your path. Makes me think I blundered again.”
“No, thank you for caring.”
“Planning to take the entrance exam?”
“!”
He struck from nowhere with pinpoint accuracy. Wang Geumsan's eyes brimmed with certainty.
Truly, no one earned 'One of Four Great Merchants' lightly.
“What? Oppa! That's insane. Even I, cooped up at home forever, know how brutal it is.”
“Soso. I'm in the middle of something important. Save your personal worries for later.”
“……”
Even to his beloved daughter, Wang Geumsan was unyielding this time.
I couldn't disrupt the mood and answered honestly.
“How'd you know?”
“Ceding the 108 Peaks exemption to your junior sister, rushing off with six months till the exam. Right when Tae-eul Gate's revival hangs in the balance. Only one answer fits.”
“……”
With his personal intel network, it wasn't mere fragments. Predicting goals from actions showed his wealth was no fluke.
“Traditionally, Nine Great Sects spend a generation sending one prodigy. Five Families, two. And still, countless fail. Tae-eul Gate lacks that luxury. Your plan?”
“The exam's designed for individual merit.”
“True, but competition turned it into this mess.”
“The core remains unchanged.”
“Hm, just charge in blind?”
Pity flickered in his eyes at my seeming lack of strategy.
“I might fail. Probably will. But trying and failing beats quitting without trying.”
“Too risky, though. That's why you can't even mention it.”
“The key is unyielding spirit. If I fail but pass it on, my juniors train harder, their disciples even more. This isn't just about academy entry—it's our sect's path forward.”
Wang Geumsan clamped his mouth shut like he'd swallowed honey.
Wang Soso gaped in shock.
After a long silence, he murmured approvingly.
“Dragons soar beyond streams or seas.”
He nodded.
“Exam or whatever, come back alive. With resolve to start over, even total loss is just experience.”
“Thank you.”
“I called you because I might help your journey.”
He nodded at Wang Soso, who brought a silk-lined wooden tray. On it: a silver finger-sized plaque and a small pouch.
“This is our Wang family's Silver Wang Plaque for kin.”
I swallowed hard.
The Silver Wang Plaque was a credit token for elites only. Usable at Wang businesses, even loans from allied shops.
“……That's too much for me.”
“Hm? What're you thinking? If you spend at shops, I'll bill Tae-eul Gate.”
He had a knack for shattering goodwill instantly.
“Use it for our businesses. Stirring heaven and earth needs free horse access, right?”
“Ah…… Yes. Thank you.”
Gratitude swelled, tinged with regret.
“Oh, Soso threw a fit to give it herself.”
“Dad! When did I throw a fit?”
Wang Soso flushed, head bowed.
“Sent her to Tae-eul Gate to mature, but she's all grown body, still a kid. A kid.”
I peeked into the open pouch and blinked.
Expecting coins, it bulged with bills instead.
“Still not over it?”
“Pardon? I've always respected Lord Wang.”
With the pouch tucked away, my tongue turned smooth.
Rich folks forever.
In my past life, while memorizing Simhyeongak archives without conscious thought, my hand froze once.
Tae-eul Sword Emperor.
The random term halted me naturally.
Legendary master ruling heaven and earth with ten thousand swords, kneeling all before him.
This tall tale mocked the Tae-eul Gate sharing its name.
Even sect members dismissed it—yet here it was, from Simhyeongak's deepest, oldest stacks. Dusty tomes unjudged for centuries.
- Dark Heaven's influence peaked, blotting the sun.
- The Ten Thousand Swords' lord stepped before the masses.
- Ten Thousand Swords drove back Dark Heaven.
- Sun's lords fear Ten Thousand Swords filling Dark Heaven's void.
- Sun's lords seal Dark Heaven and Ten Thousand Swords from the mortal world.
- Beside Chuo's tray. Hell where heaven meets earth. There, at its end, Dark Heaven and Ten Thousand Swords were sealed.
Thus, the realm knew peace.
Cryptic passages, pure cipher then. Years later, buried in mountains, flipping archives idly, I grasped their weight.
Murim Alliance ciphers liken the Alliance to the sun. Demonic Cult to Heavenly Demon as Dark Heaven.
Who, then, is Ten Thousand Swords?
A ten-thousand-strong force? No, sealing doesn't fit.
'Lord of Ten Thousand Swords' was explicit.
Decoding there, I shuddered.
“Was the Tae-eul Sword Emperor real?”
Tae-eul Gate joined 108 Peaks at Alliance founding. Never dropped in near five centuries.
Only powerhouses like Gangcheonmun or Mosanpa managed that.
Yet Tae-eul stagnated—still held firm four centuries.
That sparked my thought: maybe the legend was true.
'To counter the possible return of Ten Thousand Swords' lord, they kept Tae-eul Gate in the 108 Peaks.'
That's why, six months from the exam, skipping elixirs and treasures, I sought the Tae-eul Sword Emperor.
Pinning the first spot was easy.
- Chuo's tray.
'Tray' often means lake. 'Chuo's tray' implies a representative one—Chuo of Spring-Autumn Warring States, famed for lakes.
Dongting Lake in Hunan Province.
“But it won't be easy…… Right now's when Hunan's most chaotic.”
In my past life, this era unearthed the legendary elixir Mita Seongsu in Hunan.
Extreme Yin elixir: mortals frostbitten on touch, losing limbs. For martial artists, proper intake meant rebirth-like transformation, unblocking meridians.
Yin nature, yet unisex—coveted by all.
“And many died for it.”
Five thousand perished seeking it in Mareung Plateau's underground gorge.
Excessive even for elixir bloodbaths.
It blew up nationally because Namgung family members—including current heir's granddaughter Namgung Seonhwa—were among them.
Even with a decade's cultivation, I wouldn't dare. Elites guarding Namgung's lady didn't return—me alone? Survival doubtful.
“Should've told Namgung San?”
I shook my head.
“Nah, one misstep and I'd end up a eunuch.”
Saving future dead was limited to what I could handle personally.
“Hiiing.”
Lost in thought, my rented horse neighed impatiently.
“Wanna run too? Let's go wild.”
I gripped the reins tight, turning toward Akyang.
First in Akyang: Wang's stables to drop the horse.
Caked in dust, exhausted from long haul. The owner tsked.
“Tsk tsk, what rush treats a horse like this?”
“Tight schedule.”
“Sorry, can't swap for another.”
“Nah, just boarding…”
“Eh?”
He eyed me up and down, tsked again.
“Try elsewhere. We're priciest in Akyang proper.”
“Won't pay anyway.”
“What?!”
His eyes sharpened. I flashed the Silver Wang Plaque.
“Lord said show this for free use.”
His eyes bulged; he bowed double.
“Oh, mercy! I didn't recognize you, sir.”
Prime career climber, that flip.
“Fine. Up you get.”
“……Y-yes. Th-thank you.”
My sudden casual speech twisted his face weirdly.
“Just the horse?”
“Uh, got rooms?”
“Pardon?”
Four sleepless days ached everywhere. Planned to rest, prep a few days.
“……”
“What? No?”
Meant to grab an inn, but his initial snub irked—I'd stay here.
“N-no, sir. I'll serve personally. This way.”
“Enter.”
Three days resting at Wang's stables, handling chores, then out.
Akyang buzzed as in my past life. Crowds thronged boulevards; merchants hawked from stalls.
I passed flashy shops, ducked into a side alley.
Shabbier stores here. Stopped before a fabric shop amid them.
Ha's Fabric Shop.
“Cheap training robes and robes in stock. Browse?”
Owner peddled cheap cottons. I approached.
“Seeking special fabric.”
“What kind?”
“Darkest, deepest black.”
His face stiffened, relaxed.
“Just got some from the west, unstocked. Inside?”
“Sure.”
Followed to back hall.
“One thing—may I check if you have funds?”
“Plenty, don't worry.”
“Wrong answer.”
Grinning owner sobered, drew sword. Blades flew from all sides, flowered around me.
“Knew it. No black plaque, so tested you.”
“Leave if you value your life.”
“No hawks for unsold cloth, but skip for VIPs?”
“Most who say that are nobodies.”
“Lemme reach inside slowly.”
I carefully drew the Silver Wang Plaque.
His eyes lit up.
“VIP enough?”
A plain fabric shop. Actually Haomen's Akyang branch.
Guided to basement stairs at hall's end.
Down: vast room, night pearls glowing—no windows.
“Forgive not recognizing you. Verification took time.”
Time for messenger bird to confirm plaque's authenticity.
Issued under a week ago—hard to pre-know.
“Not 'substitute'—gimme a black plaque. I'll use often.”
“This? Top-grade black for you.”
Room held odd gadgets, weapons. Rare poisons, mechanisms, seized treasures.
“What do you need? Hidden weapons to elixirs—we got it. None here? We'll scour the world.”
“Heard the rumors. But I need info now.”
“Ah…… Info's pricier than swords sometimes.”
He rubbed palms.
“What info?”
“In Hunan: place fitting 'hell where heaven meets earth, its end.'”
Sparse clue—expected delay.
But…
“20 nyang gold.”
“Eh?”
Too quick; I tilted my head. He did too.
“Here for Mita Seongsu, right?”
His forbidden words jolted my eyes wide.