Chapter 120
Chapter 120
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 120
Chapter Title: Departure (1)
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“You must have been very hungry.”
At Liu Zhangming’s words, which sounded like he was looking at a starving beast with pity, Ouyang Jue choked and coughed.
“...*Cough*.”
“Eat slowly, so you don’t get indigestion.”
The gentle words, somewhat reminiscent of a parent, made Ouyang Jue slowly turn his head to look at Liu Zhangming.
Beside him, the smiling face of the Divine Demon Fist caught his eye.
-You’re dead later.
-No, Senior Uncle! I mean, a man can laugh…!
-Shut it.
Putting down his chopsticks, Ouyang Jue gave the Divine Demon Fist a faint smile and rose from his seat.
Liu Zhangming asked.
“Are you done eating?”
“Yes. I skipped my training today.”
“Even so, this banquet is being held for you. How can the guest of honor leave his seat so carelessly?”
Liu Zhangming held Ouyang Jue back with a gentle voice.
“Even if you won’t give a congratulatory speech, you should at least keep your seat. No one will chide you for taking a day off from training.”
*Thud.*
As Ouyang Jue sat back down, Liu Zhangming gazed at the gradually setting sun.
“Sometimes, I have this thought.”
“What is it?”
“The thought that you might be overworking yourself.”
At those words, Ouyang Jue glanced at Liu Zhangming to see if he was drunk, then continued.
“For a martial artist, isn’t it our job to always push ourselves to the limit?”
“I’ve been having bad dreams lately.”
Liu Zhangming’s voice trembled.
“It was a dream of you, with a vicious expression, wielding a sword in each hand and tearing through a battlefield. The killing intent was immense.”
Ouyang Jue briefly recalled his days as the Bloodhound and flinched.
“...It’s just a dream, isn’t it?”
“To call it a dream, the scene was too clear, and the sight of you using the Mount Hua Sect’s sword arts was so vivid… it didn’t feel fake.”
Having said that, Liu Zhangming took a sip of his drink and laughed emptily.
“It’s not a good look, is it? Your senior brother going on about his dreams like this.”
“Not at all.”
Seeing Liu Zhangming momentarily overlap with his past self, Ouyang Jue rubbed his eyes once and spoke again.
“Sometimes, talking about dreams and spouting nonsense is what makes you a senior brother.”
“Right, nonsense…”
Staring blankly at his cup, Liu Zhangming let out a cheerful laugh and drank the Xifeng wine again.
To Ouyang Jue, he seemed completely drunk.
‘A master like Senior Brother should be able to easily dispel the effects of alcohol…’
Could it be that the talk about his dream wasn’t just a simple joke?
For a moment, goosebumps covered his entire body.
He didn't want anyone to find out about his past life, least of all his Senior Brother, Liu Zhangming.
But the possibility that he might know even before he said anything sent a chill down his spine.
‘From the moment he reached the peak until now… there’s something special about Senior Brother!’
Ouyang Jue quietly gripped his slightly trembling hand.
“How has your training been these days?”
“I spar with the Guardian sometimes, and I’m so busy teaching Hun and the new disciple that I hardly have any time. I need to decide on the disciple’s name soon, but that’s a real headache.”
Liu Zhangming chuckled, lamenting that he seemed to have no talent for naming.
Even his own name, Zhangming, was one he had chosen himself, not one given by Bai Duanxian.
To bestow brightness.
It was a name that would make others think him a pushover.
Since it was a name chosen without any deep meaning like a generational name, he might have been called ignorant if he weren't from the Mount Hua Sect.
But for some reason.
Liu Zhangming believed the essence of who he was lay in his name.
He liked to give without reason and tried to follow the path of good, even in situations where anyone else would find it frustrating.
Even if there was no reward.
Thus, his life was always one of living in debt.
Because of that, he had received disapproving looks from his junior brother, Ouyang Jue, more than once.
Watching Ouyang Jue stare at him with a serious face, Liu Zhangming recalled the end of the dream he had last night.
‘If, by some chance, the moment comes when my junior brother tries to kill me, will I be able to hate him?’
Liu Zhangming poured more Xifeng wine into his cup with a bitter smile.
It was a story that would only bring him shame if anyone heard it.
To say it to Ouyang Jue, the very person in question, was beyond absurd; it was an insult.
Liu Zhangming’s lips parted slightly.
“I know your worries.”
“...?”
“It must be a burden for you, seeing me use martial arts of unknown origin and techniques that don’t match my body or energy. But I’ve gotten much better now.”
He might even catch up within three years, Liu Zhangming said with hopeful optimism.
“When that time comes, I might be able to cross swords with the elders or the Sect Leader. Isn’t it funny, Junior Brother? To think that at the mere age of twenty-two, I could defeat martial artists who have dedicated decades more to training than I have.”
‘Talent has always been unfair.’
Ouyang Jue swallowed these words. Now was not the time to bring up cold, hard facts.
For the student surpassing the master often meant it was time to leave the warm embrace of the sect and head into the vast, open sea of the martial world.
He thought it would be a burden for Liu Zhangming, who had only recently seen the darker side of the martial world.
This was especially true since he must have realized his own value from the atmosphere and emotions he felt when the Senior-most Brother, Ha Jin-ak, was brought in injured.
On the other hand, it was astonishing.
‘It’s strange enough to reach the state of Harmonious Qi and Intent at twenty-two, but to also reach the state of the Plum Sword’s Scent.’
Though he spoke with humility, the level of his bloody battle with Cheol Geum-san and his spar with Ouyang Jue himself was anything but ordinary.
Perhaps before he even turned thirty, he would reach a level similar to Liu Zhangming of the past, who had been called the Plum Blossom Sword God.
The thought sent a shiver down his spine.
‘To think he’s getting stronger at a faster rate than me, who has lived a past life…’
It was the kind of talent one would expect from Liu Zhangming, who had reached the pinnacle of being the greatest swordsman in the martial world in his previous life.
All he had done was offer a few clues during their occasional spars.
To have reached such a level went beyond talent; it felt like a kind of specialness.
To borrow the Omniscient One’s words, it was as if he were born with the disposition of a constellation.
Ouyang Jue tilted his cup halfway and smiled.
“I suppose I can’t afford to stand still either.”
“...Hmm? What do you mean by that?”
“I mean I will get stronger even faster than you, Senior Brother, so I can protect you by your side.”
At those words, Liu Zhangming responded with a loud laugh, unusual for him.
“Haha, hahaha! That’s a very reassuring thing to say. But wouldn’t Hun or the disciple you took in, Ma-kwon, be better for that?”
“Hun is one thing, but that guy will survive just fine on his own. He has skills he learned before he even joined us, after all.”
Liu Zhangming glanced for a moment at the Divine Demon Fist, who was devouring meat without sparing them a look.
“...Indeed, Ma-kwon’s innate brawling skills are incredible. Once he properly masters martial arts, the martial world will surely have to welcome a new Fist Star.”
The kid could easily defeat most peak masters just by taking off the talisman on his chest.
Ouyang Jue nodded slightly. But his unseen face was filled with concern.
“By the way, the martial world is rapidly growing darker. I worry if Hun can withstand these turbulent times.”
“That’s not like you.”
“...?”
Liu Zhangming smiled lightly.
“I thought you’d be the one to boast that Hun would adapt quickly and become an outstanding martial artist.”
At that, Ouyang Jue scratched his head.
“Even I can’t be certain about everything.”
“You were different in the past.”
Liu Zhangming popped a sweet confection into his mouth to cleanse his palate.
“You always acted as if everything would go according to your predictions, your actions were uninhibited, and your eyes were always clear. Do you know how much I envied that?”
“There was nothing to envy. It was just youthful recklessness.”
“Recklessness.”
Liu Zhangming’s voice deepened, following the darkening day.
“If I had something like that, I wouldn’t have just been training at the Mount Hua Sect. Even now, I’m not sure whether I should follow the path of Righteousness or Goodness.”
“Isn’t that a dilemma one could spend a lifetime failing to solve?”
Ouyang Jue thought of the righteous men of the Orthodox Factions he had met in his past life.
They agonized, they raged, they grew weary and disgusted with the affairs of the martial world.
Their spirits were always noble, but their lives were painful.
Despite that, the storytellers sided with the victors, praising the Huangbo Clan and the Martial Alliance.
The lives of the righteous always flowed that way.
‘I hope Senior Brother wasn’t born with such a disposition, but…’
Liu Zhangming was Liu Zhangming, and Ouyang Jue was Ouyang Jue.
Just because he had experienced a past life, it wasn’t right for him to force a single path upon Liu Zhangming.
Ouyang Jue took a deep drink.
“If you become stronger, Senior Brother, then I just have to become stronger as well. Then Hun will quietly follow along. The more people there are who contemplate righteousness and goodness, the calmer the storms of the world are bound to become.”
As he said this, he glanced over to where Jo Hun was. He could hear the snores of Jo Hun, who had eaten until he passed out.
It was a leisurely and peaceful daily life.
A bit troublesome, but the life he had always wanted was right beside him.
Perhaps if he shared Liu Zhangming’s worries with him, they would be resolved quickly.
The Divine Demon Fist’s name could be something stupid like "Dog-Pig" for all he cared. The more ridiculous the name, the more the Divine Demon Fist’s unique characteristics would be obscured.
Thinking about it now, he felt pathetic.
Why had he thrown away this life in his past, leaving the mountain over a simple feeling of inferiority?
Was his desire to become a great martial artist that strong?
Suddenly, the drink tasted bitter.
‘Fortunately, I was able to enter this life and erase the regrets from my past.’
To prepare for what was to come, he had to give up his current daily life.
But he had no complaints.
That was the way to erase the guilt that had carried over from his past life.
It was the driving force that allowed him to look at Liu Zhangming with a clear conscience.
Ouyang Jue raised his head and looked at Liu Zhangming.
“Senior Brother, there’s no need to rush to end your worries.”
“...”
“Sometimes, the winding path is the right one, isn’t it?”
“...Haha.”
Liu Zhangming let out an empty laugh.
“It sounds so out of place coming from you. Aren’t I usually the one who says things like that?”
“Even I can get sentimental when I’ve had a few drinks.”
“Sentimental.”
Liu Zhangming blurted out the thought he had been holding onto.
“You feel the most honest right now.”
“...Pardon?”
“There’s something I’ve been feeling all this time while watching you. The Sect Leader and the other elders probably feel it too…”
As if the words weren’t coming out right, Liu Zhangming ruffled his bangs with one hand.
“Don’t you have some great, unspeakable secret, which is why you volunteer to go out alone and handle everything by yourself? Even in normal times, I can sense something you can’t reveal.”
“...”
So, no matter how well he hid it, living together meant they would sense it faintly.
Ouyang Jue kept a straight face and pressed his lips shut.
‘The Sect Leader and elders must have had incredible patience.’
It was another reminder that people were not wooden puppets.
Ouyang Jue tried to play it off.
“A secret? I just prefer to travel alone.”
“Is that so.”
At those words, Liu Zhangming didn’t press further, as if signaling he wouldn’t ask anymore.
Deep down, Liu Zhangming knew.
He knew that within Ouyang Jue’s secret, there was only the desire for the Mount Hua Sect’s peace and stability.
He trusted that such an Ouyang Jue would not resort to wicked means, so he simply waited in silence.
*Thump.*
Liu Zhangming finally set down the wine bottle.
“The night has grown deep. I’ll be heading in first.”
“Good night, Senior Brother.”
As Ouyang Jue bowed respectfully, Liu Zhangming smiled slightly and glared at the Divine Demon Fist.
“You brat! They say the ruler, teacher, and father are one! Stop eating and come along now!”
“No, Master!”
Watching Liu Zhangming grab the Divine Demon Fist by the earlobe and drag him away, Ouyang Jue wore a gentle smile.
“I have to get stronger.”
Seeing the warm lights of the banquet hall fill the entire Mount Hua Sect, Ouyang Jue made another vow.