A Hero's First Step
There were, of course, areas that still needed improvement.
That was experience.
The core of the first chapter Jang Muhwi had obtained was simple.
Countless swords intertwined and overlapped to create a single, unadorned sword path.
The direction this sword path pursued was the speed born from simplicity.
Since the roots had taken hold, all that remained was to nourish and complete the path with the fertilizer called experience.
His own concise sword path!
One fortunate thing was that Jang Muhwi had opened his Imdokyangmaek before beginning his training.
Had it been any earlier, he might have fallen into qigong deviation while trying to learn the forms.
Was the secret manual, the Yeolhwacho, and the opening of the Imdokyangmaek all part of a single grand arrangement?
Or was it simply coincidence?
What mattered was that, amid these overlapping coincidences, he was the one who had seized the Giyan.
A faint smile touched Jang Muhwi’s lips as he looked around.
There stood Pajuk Seonsaeng and his protector, eyes wide with astonishment.
Jang Muhwi quietly walked toward Pajuk Seonsaeng.
“How long have you been here, sir?”
“More important than how long I have been here is how long you have been swinging that sword, is it not?”
“Was I gone that long?”
“Indeed. Congratulations on your enlightenment.”
When Pajuk Seonsaeng smiled brightly, Jang Muhwi glanced to the side.
“This person is…”
“Ah, I was late with the introduction. This child is the one who helps me.”
Pajuk Seonsaeng gestured toward Geomhui.
Geomhui, who had been standing silently, finally stepped forward.
“I am called Hui, the one who serves the elder.”
“I am Jang Muhwi.”
“I have heard much about you.”
Geomhui greeted him as if she were meeting him for the first time.
But only for a moment. She then stared at him intently.
Jang Muhwi let out a small chuckle at the sight.
Her hand was trembling ever so slightly.
“Are you perhaps curious about my sword?”
“…”
Geomhui looked at him in surprise.
“Heh heh. There is an old saying in the Jianghu: ‘Stop the bargaining, but encourage the fight.’ It seems I will get to enjoy quite the spectacle after so long.”
“Isn’t it the other way around, sir?”
When Jang Muhwi laughed, Pajuk Seonsaeng burst into even louder laughter.
“Hahaha.”
And so it began.
Two swords bathed in moonlight danced across the empty air.
Three days later.
Jang Muhwi offered a fist-and-palm salute to Pajuk Seonsaeng.
“Once again, I leave only after receiving your kindness, sir.”
“Kindness? Thanks to you, I enjoyed quite the show.”
“Where has Lady Hui gone?”
“She said she needed to organize her enlightenment and has locked herself in her room since yesterday. She hasn’t come out.”
“Will you be alright by yourself?”
Jang Muhwi glanced toward the kitchen.
That was where Ma Uiryong, now reduced to a kitchen servant, was.
Pajuk Seonsaeng shook his head.
“That fellow is of no concern. So don’t worry. What matters now is Hui’s enlightenment. She has suffered so much because of me all this time; I should at least grant her this much rest, shouldn’t I? By the way, when will you return?”
“I will come back in four months.”
“If you are late, I will come find you.”
“You are welcome anytime, sir.”
Jang Muhwi bowed deeply to Pajuk Seonsaeng.
Then he turned and left the elder’s residence.
Jang Muhwi had received quite a lot of help from both Pajuk Seonsaeng and Geomhui.
Pajuk Seonsaeng had helped him decipher the secret manual, and Geomhui had helped him accumulate experience.
He had now gained enough strength to play an active role in the incident that would occur in a little over two months.
Two months later.
Paryun Valley was known as one of Qinghai’s Ten Great Scenic Wonders.
Sheer cliffs rose majestically on both sides of the road.
The sight resembled a phoenix spreading its massive wings.
The long path stretching between the wing-shaped cliffs seemed to have no end.
The road crossing Paryun Valley was wide enough for four carriages to pass side by side.
In truth, this place held far more commercial and military value than scenic beauty.
Paryun Valley was the fastest route connecting Qinghai and Sichuan.
It was commonly called a strategic chokepoint. In wartime, it was the place most likely to be drenched in blood.
Because of this, it was said that more carriage wheels had been shattered here throughout history than anywhere else.
This was why such a brutal name had been given to a place of such elegant scenery.
Jang Muhwi was just entering the mouth of Paryun Valley.
His eyes sparkled brighter than ever.
Two massive carriages moved ahead of him, surrounded by a considerable number of martial artists.
This was strategic cargo belonging to the Murim Alliance, traveling from Qinghai to the Sichuan branch.
The exact contents had been kept secret even from those assigned to guard it.
Though many martial artists were present, the core of the escort consisted of exactly five people.
Two were from prestigious Qinghai families, one was a disciple of the Kunlun Sect, one came from the smaller Baekdomen sect, and the last was Jang Muhwi himself.
To join this convoy, Jang Muhwi had visited the Murim Alliance Qinghai Branch.
The escort mission between Qinghai and Sichuan was the very event he had been waiting for.
The tragic bloodbath that would occur during the carriage escort would shake the entire Qinghai Murim world.
The story was simple.
While escorting the carriages, the group would be ambushed. Everyone except one would be slaughtered.
The sole survivor, Galmu-ryang of Baekdomen, would complete the mission alone.
He would deliver the most important item to the Murim Alliance Sichuan branch.
Even Galmu-ryang would not be unscathed.
He would lose one arm and collapse the moment he arrived at the Sichuan branch.
The Murim Alliance would reward the survivor, Galmu-ryang, with a Jungyongdan pill.
The Jungyongdan was one of the superior spiritual medicines available in the Jianghu.
It could not compare to the highest-grade pills refined by major sects, but it was the best spiritual medicine one could obtain with money.
Yet the world said it was an insufficient reward for a hero.
To a man who had lost his comrades and even one of his arms, a single spiritual pill seemed far too little no matter how one looked at it.
But Galmu-ryang did not collapse there.
Though he had lost one arm, he would use that very Jungyongdan and the enlightenment he gained in Paryun Valley to make his name known throughout Qinghai Murim.
This was why Jang Muhwi had been so eager to quickly comprehend the Mumyeonggeomgyeol.
If the enemy was powerful enough to slaughter a late-stage expert from the Dragon Gate Assembly—considered the elite of the Murim Alliance—and cost Galmu-ryang an arm, they would certainly not be easy opponents.
Of course, Jang Muhwi had no intention of stealing Galmu-ryang’s fame.
It would be enough to defeat the enemies they faced here together and share in the renown.
Moreover, he wanted to save Galmu-ryang.
The reason was a memory from his previous life.
The title “One-Armed Matchless” had been given because he fought using only one arm.
In the great war between the Orthodox and Unorthodox factions, Galmu-ryang would throw himself into battle without regard for his life.
He was completely different from the martial artists of prestigious families who fled in fear of the enemy.
Galmu-ryang would fight desperately until even his remaining arm was severed.
Thanks to his efforts, countless lives were saved.
He was not only a hero of Paryun Valley, but a hero of the great war between the Orthodox and Unorthodox factions as well.
What if both his arms were intact?
He would surely be more reliable than ten thousand soldiers.
Jang Muhwi’s eyes gleamed.
In the short term, he would gain fame. In the long term, he would preserve a powerful ally for the coming war.
That was the goal of this escort mission.
To Jang Muhwi, the nature of the cargo did not matter.
What was interesting was that even he did not know the true identity of the enemies they would face in Paryun Valley.
In his previous life, the Murim Alliance had classified the Paryun Valley bloodbath as an unsolved case.
This was the story of Galmu-ryang, the sole survivor of that massacre.
Jang Muhwi quietly observed Galmu-ryang.
With his slender frame and a massive saber strapped to his back, he looked as if he might collapse at any moment.
In his current appearance, not even a trace of a hero’s spirit could be felt.
Perhaps sensing the gaze, Galmu-ryang spoke with an awkward expression.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
“I was looking because I was curious about the saber on your back.”
“Ah, people call this blade the Muhyeoldo. You’ve probably never heard of it before.”
“So this was the famous Muhyeoldo.”
“It’s surprising that you know of the Muhyeoldo.”
“Wouldn’t it be stranger not to know of Baekdomen’s Muhyeoldo?”
“It’s been over fifty years since the Muhyeoldo made its name in the Jianghu.”
Galmu-ryang let out a self-mocking laugh.
Jang Muhwi knew exactly what that laugh meant.
The Muhyeoldo—the Bloodless Blade—had earned its name because it had never been stained with blood.
How could a martial artist wield a blade without ever drawing blood?
It was said that the founder of Baekdomen, Gal Sajin, had never once stained his blade with blood.
The reason was simple.
With nothing but a single glance, he could crush his opponent’s spirit.
They would bow their heads of their own accord.
But the current situation was completely different.
Baekdomen was one of the declining sects.
Even so, the public’s assessment was that their situation was still better than that of the Jang family.
Jang Muhwi said, “The Muhyeoldo will shine once more in your hands. I believe that.”
“Heh heh. To think I have a friend who would say such things to me…”
Galmu-ryang laughed awkwardly.
After a moment, he asked with eyes full of curiosity.
“May I ask you one thing?”
“Go ahead.”
“How did you end up being put in charge of this escort?”
“What do you mean?”
“Everyone is keeping quiet about it, but just look at the atmosphere.”
Galmu-ryang glanced behind him.
There stood three late-stage experts wearing expressions as if they had chewed on dung.
They were the three martial artists at the core of this mission.
One of them was the Kunlun Taoist who went by the name Jung-yong.
Jang Muhwi knew that he held the greatest dissatisfaction.
Whether by age or by the prestige of his sect, everyone had assumed that Kunlun’s Jung-yong would be the one in charge of this mission.
Yet a single late-stage expert named Jang Muhwi had fallen from the sky.
It was only natural that the others would be displeased.
The person in charge of an escort was usually someone with plenty of experience.
Moreover, everyone knew that Jang Muhwi was a newcomer to the Jianghu.
This had nothing to do with family background.
And what about fame?
They had never even heard Jang Muhwi’s name before.
So their discontent was perfectly understandable.
Even now, they were looking down on Jang Muhwi, who stood at the front.
Jang Muhwi paid their glares no mind.
It was far too natural a reaction.
In truth, Jang Muhwi had not wanted to be put in charge of the escort.
It had been Wang Jimak’s order.
Jang Muhwi knew very well that this was Wang Jimak’s test.
How would he lead those whose fame surpassed his own?
That was the test Wang Jimak had set.
It was then.
A single dot appeared on the distant horizon.
Anyone could tell it was the shape of a person.
Even from afar, the opponent looked enormous.
It was as if a massive boulder was approaching.
Now only fifty paces away.
The man wore a windproof cloak that was completely inappropriate for the weather—suspicious no matter how one looked at it.
He staggered as if he could not even control his own body.
Anyone would think he was drunk.
The lower-ranked warriors of the Murim Alliance gathered around the carriages laughed in disbelief and lowered their guard.
“What the hell is that guy?”
“Just some drunken beggar, what else?”
It was then.
A gust of wind swept across the giant.
In that instant, the giant’s bamboo hat flew off.
Flutter!
The moment the giant’s face was revealed, the lower-ranked warriors’ eyes widened to their limits.