Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Pine Pattern Ancient Sword
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Leading others is a matter entirely separate from strength.
The Heavenly Demon was a martial artist stronger than anyone else, but she was no good cult leader.
Among the warriors of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult who pledged loyalty to her, the Heavenly Demon held affection for only one: the Asura Demon Buddha. She couldn't care less if the rest lived or died.
It was a fact I didn't want to admit, but in that sense, the Heavenly Demon and I were cut from the same cloth.
We were among the supreme experts, yet peculiarly arrogant ones. We didn't see those weaker than us as people.
And such people can never lead anyone.
To lead means to encourage and propel those inferior to you forward.
I was the last survivor of Wudang, a powerhouse unmatched in all generations, but I could never become the sect leader to revive Wudang.
I possessed the might to shatter mountains and divert rivers, yet I lacked the power to draw people to me.
I could force others to their knees with violence, but I couldn't inspire true admiration that would make them bow willingly.
It was a matter of qualification.
The inherent dignity of a human being, something that couldn't be gained through superior martial arts or prowess in battle.
Yet Senior Brother Hyeon-gong, though still immature, clearly possessed the qualities to lead a group.
Gazing at Senior Brother Hyeon-gong, who still wore a dazed expression, I spoke clearly, word by word.
"Senior Brother, you will one day become the leader of the Wudang Sect. In your era, Wudang will rise to become the world's greatest sect, one that makes Shaolin envious and Huashan astonished. Master will ascend to Supreme Elder, wandering the rivers and mountains like an immortal, while Uncle-master Mugwang will seclude himself in meditation yet continue to hone his martial arts."
Before long, dusk had fallen beyond the mountains, and the moon had risen. Against the twilight sky streaked with a veil of stars.
With the Milky Way unfurled like a grand canopy behind him, a vision of the Wudang Sect decades hence appeared like a mirage.
In a practice hall larger than now, second-generation disciples gathered, drilling the same movements in unison.
Newly initiated third-generation kids with runny noses watched them with eyes full of longing.
Discipline Hall Master Senior Brother Hyeon-gyu sternly scolded a disciple caught secretly drinking at an inn, while Scripture Pavilion Master Senior Brother Hyeon-jung oversaw the expansion of the pavilion to house the growing collection of manuals, too busy to rest.
Sect Leader Senior Brother Hyeon-gong, now wearing the ceremonial headdress, chided a disciple whose hands tangled during Two Yi Divine Art practice.
An elderly Master, stroking his仙人-like beard with a pleased smile, watched the scene.
"I..."
It was a sight my past self could never witness with his own eyes.
"...will make it so."
Declaring certainty about the future is a dangerous thing.
Unless one reads the will of heaven, no one can know what lies ahead, and the world's affairs don't bend to human intent.
Yet I tend to believe that a person's fate or future isn't set in stone.
I believe that by making choices different from my past life, I can reach a future different from that one.
Who regressed me and for what purpose—no longer mattered.
What truly mattered was...
The fact that I was here to overturn fate and the future.
Or what of it? I'd decided it so.
Thus, this was not mere conviction, but a vow, an oath.
And the Wudang Sect of my vision, the one who must stand at its center—it could not be me, but Senior Brother Hyeon-gong.
Senior Brother, who had listened silently, cautiously opened his mouth.
"Then, Hyeonseong, where is your place... in that Wudang?"
It was strange.
This man, whose chin bore faint green stubble—had he not joined Wudang, he would have been of my father's generation.
Senior Brother Hyeon-gong, who had always been an 'adult' to me even in my dying moments, looked so young today.
I smiled and answered.
"I—"
"So. Have you decided what to request?"
Uncle-master Mugwang looked at me with eyes as gentle as a calf's and spoke.
"Yes."
I slowly opened my mouth.
"I wish to go on a journey abroad."
"Don't you already go out plenty with Muryul? To connect with the myriad people of the world—that's the Heavenly Communication Pavilion, after all."
"I wish to go alone, and farther than that, which is why I'm asking."
A glint appeared in Uncle-master Mugwang's eyes.
"Farther, you say? Where to, and for how long?"
"I haven't set a fixed destination yet. The duration... about a year."
"Hm. No reason to refuse. But tell Muryul yourself. Even if a grown child leaving his father's embrace is natural, sneaking out in the dead of night is no way to do it."
Permission came more easily than expected.
Of course, by the time one reached first-generation disciple status, they often went out here and there. Senior Brother Hyeon-gong had recently gone to Henan to exterminate a yokai and returned.
Though such outings were mostly for missions and done in groups.
Yet my request seemed to fall short of what Uncle-master Mugwang had anticipated as a reward.
"I said I'd grant anything, but... this is unexpected. I would have even taught you the Two Yi Divine Art."
"Pardon? No, why would you mention that now..."
My jaw dropped wide.
Had I known, I'd have chosen the Two Yi Divine Art.
I hadn't even considered it possible.
Though frustration welled up, under the sect leader's order to leave, I had no choice but to exit the Mysterious Mystery Palace.
Wudang Sect's Heavenly Communication Pavilion.
I sat before Master with a sullen expression.
"Heavenly Communication means to connect with heaven. The ancient sages said the will of the people is the will of heaven, so the people are no different from heaven itself. We are those who listen to their stories from the place closest to the people. Being nearest to the people makes us nearest to heaven, and by connecting with the people, we can finally connect with heaven."
I kept my head bowed, listening silently to Master's words.
Perhaps finding it amusing that I—who viewed the people as little more than living farm tools—sat so obediently, Master chuckled.
"Deputy Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Communication Pavilion, Hyeonseong."
Deputy Pavilion Master? Hearing the unfamiliar title, I couldn't help but raise my head.
Master held a sword with a taijitu engraved on the hilt. Pine patterns were etched into the blade. It was the Pine Pattern Ancient Sword.
The Pine Pattern Ancient Sword was practically a symbol of Wudang elders.
Handing it over was tantamount to granting elder authority.
And Wudang elders, barring major sect matters, could freely travel abroad.
I looked at Master with eyes full of disbelief.
Master nodded with a smile.
"Go see the world."
Master extended the sword. With trembling hands, I took it.
Aside from briefly wielding it against the yokai, this was my first time properly holding the Pine Pattern Ancient Sword.
In my past life, I had been half-excommunicated as a disciple, and after Wudang's destruction, I had set aside my sword entirely.
"Lad, are you that pleased? It's no new blade, but forged from a single slab of steel, so the edge won't dull or chip easily."
Master stroked my head with a pleased smile.
"You've grown well, Hyeonseong. Truly well. It feels like yesterday I was carrying you on my back, yet here you are, all grown up and ready to venture beyond the sect."
Muttering in a tone tinged with loneliness, Master pulled a bundle from his bosom.
"What's this?"
"Gratitude plaques I collected wandering the jianghu in my youth. Let's see... this from the Tang Family, this from Huashan Sect. This from the Guyang Family. This one's from the Tang Family too. They might be too old to be effective, but they'll come in handy. Also, stop by Jin Family Manor in Hubei on the way. Mention U-hyeon's name, and they won't treat you stingily."
I nodded, a bit dazed.
'I knew Master had wide connections.'
But collecting gratitude plaques across the Central Plains? I hadn't expected that.
And the Guyang Family at that. Unlike Uncle-master Mugwang, who had wiped out all traces of unorthodoxy in Hubei, Master's reach spanned righteous and evil alike.
'They'll be truly useful.'
Considering my destination, they were perfectly timed.
I tucked the bundle into my bosom.
The next day.
After consoling Junior Sister Hyeon-ye, who scattered tears, with promises it wouldn't take long or be dangerous, I finally stepped beyond the sect gates.
'Sorry, Junior Sister.'
I had lied to Junior Sister Hyeon-ye again.
I'd lied to Uncle-master Mugwang too, but that didn't bother me much.
First, I already had a destination in mind.
Second, even I couldn't predict when I'd return to Wudang.
Having vowed to forge a future different from my past life, dropping by Wudang mid-journey—spanning months round trip—would be difficult. There was simply too much to do.
Finally, I planned to walk into the second most dangerous place in the world.
The old holy site of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, driven to the borderlands long ago by the joint assault of the righteous alliance and the imperial court.
Now the stronghold of Demonic Heaven among the three thousand martial clans, in Guangdong's Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.
There dwelled my old comrade from my wandering days, the Thunderbolt Spear, who had crossed from the Western Regions and joined Demonic Heaven,
and the lord of Demonic Heaven, sovereign of the underworld, the Black Mysterious Sword Emperor Dugu Yujin.
'Assuming he hasn't lost his mind yet.'
That was precisely why I set out on this journey now.
I needed to meet the supreme expert, the pivotal force in future battles, before he lost his reason to some heart demon or whatever.
'I wonder if Guangdong is warm.'
My exhaled breath touched the cold air and shattered into white mist.
Late autumn at fourteen years old.
Three months since my regression.
I began my long journey to reconnect with ties from my past life.