Chapter 114
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 114
Chapter Title: That Leather Shoe
The night was quite cold.
It felt like true winter had arrived.
Every breath came out as visible mist.
Ha Mu-baek paid it no mind and slowly moved his body.
For the most basic training of external arts.
In the dead of night around two in the morning.
At the empty training ground of Fierce Dragon Corps Squad Seven.
With all his internal energy sealed away, he moved solely on muscle power.
He personally lifted the iron weights he'd told the students to carry and performed steady motions.
Focusing on the minute movements of his muscles.
'It's different.'
Breaking through the wall hadn't just affected his internal energy—it had influenced his external arts and muscles as well.
He could lift and move the iron weights far more easily now.
He needed to get used to this sensation first.
Gradually adapting his current body step by step.
He had overcome a life-and-death crisis and broken through the wall in the process.
As a result, a subtle discrepancy had arisen between his senses and his physical capabilities.
He had to correct it quickly.
As if the cold weather meant nothing, Ha Mu-baek's body was drenched in sweat.
His training didn't end until around five in the morning.
After washing off the sweat with cold water at the bathhouse, Ha Mu-baek took a short nap in his quarters before heading back to the training ground.
'It'll take a few days.'
The sensory errors were gradually correcting themselves, but achieving the same precise control as before would require a little more time.
Ha Mu-baek arrived back at the training ground around nine in the morning.
The students were already gathered, lost in their training trance.
But something was off.
There were too many people.
Squad Seven clearly had only five students.
So why were there nine people on the training ground?
Ha Mu-baek narrowed his eyes and stared at those who shouldn't be there.
"Why are you all here?"
At Ha Mu-baek's question, Han Seol-bing pretended not to hear. Ha Seol-ran and Ju Woo-myeong simply stood quietly by the instructor's side.
"And you."
Ha Mu-baek's sharp gaze turned toward one person.
"You're from Hidden Dragon Corps entirely."
Namgung Ji-hu scratched his head awkwardly at the remark.
"There wasn't anyone in Hidden Dragon Corps worth having a proper spar with..."
As he spoke, Namgung Ji-hu glanced at the others.
Ju Woo-myeong, Baek Ri-pyeong, and Dan Mok Un-roe.
"Fine. Do whatever you want."
Ha Mu-baek waved them off dismissively and headed to his spot.
"We were doing it on our own from the start..."
Dang Jin-san's mutter reached Ha Mu-baek's ears, but he pretended not to hear.
It wasn't wrong, after all.
Thousand Sword Sect.
It was the leader among the New Eight Schools.
Though it had now ceded that position to Dorim Sect.
And that was solely because of So Hwi-woong.
The war hero who had led them to victory in two wars, the Righteous Heaven Alliance Leader, and indisputably the world's greatest martial artist.
Since So Hwi-woong hailed from Dorim Sect, they inevitably took the top spot among the New Eight Schools.
Thousand Sword Sect had no choice in the matter, but they were still grinding their teeth, striving to reclaim their position as leader.
Because they'd lost the top spot due to the birth of one genius, Thousand Sword Sect scoured the world for a genius who could surpass So Hwi-woong.
They found ten children, and one among them was truly a heaven-sent prodigy.
That child was now in Dragon Training Pavilion's Wa Dragon Corps.
He had entered secretly at the start of the second semester.
His targets: Namgung Ji-hu and Ju Woo-myeong.
First, he would crush them utterly.
When word spread that Ju Woo-myeong was entering Dragon Training Pavilion, Thousand Sword Sect hurriedly sent the child there as well.
The eldest son of Namgung Clan and the sole disciple of the previous Wudang Sect's greatest swordsman.
They were worth breaking.
Dorim Sect currently had no one outstanding enough to succeed So Hwi-woong.
All the more reason for Thousand Sword Sect to demonstrate the prowess of their later-generation disciples and rally the New Eight Schools around them.
Dorim Sect's influence had been waning lately.
Just look at Han Pyeong, who had toyed with a female student at Dragon Training Pavilion and ended up crippled.
Mok Cheong-san, student of Wa Dragon Corps Squad Twenty.
Sent to Dragon Training Pavilion to avenge his humiliation at the Summer Combat Festival and to defeat Wudang and Namgung from the Nine Great Sects and Eight Great Clans.
Thousand Sword Sect's finest later-generation disciple.
"Hoo."
After finishing a round of sword dance, he let out a deep breath.
The training ground was empty.
He swung his sword alone.
The other students of Wa Dragon Corps Squad Twenty had long since finished training and left.
Only Mok Cheong-san, the strongest in Wa Dragon Corps right now, continued swinging his sword.
Surveying the deserted training ground, he shook his head.
"What on earth are they thinking?"
He wasn't pleased.
Even devoting every day to training felt insufficient.
How could the others act so leisurely?
"Senior Brother, the sun's about to set, and you're still training?"
A voice called from behind.
It was one of the five students from Wa Dragon Corps Squad One, Mok Cheong-san's junior brother.
One of the ten later-generation disciples Thousand Sword Sect had nurtured with utmost care.
The one Wa Dragon Corps Leader Sang Gyeong-mun had called a talent who 'would never enter Wa Dragon Corps': Beom Il-so.
"The Eastern Tournament isn't far off, Junior Brother."
Mok Cheong-san replied with a solemn expression. No, his face held a reprimand directed at Beom Il-so.
A rebuke for not devoting himself more to training.
"Haha, with Senior Brother competing, the win is already yours, isn't it? I couldn't win even if I tried, so I might as well take it easy."
His attitude made Mok Cheong-san frown involuntarily.
"Junior Brother, what kind of—"
"Ah, I get it, Senior Brother. I'll train hard starting tomorrow. This isn't our sect—it's Dragon Training Pavilion. Don't scold me so much."
Before Mok Cheong-san could say more, Beom Il-so whined.
"Actually, that's why I finished training early. I was thinking of heading there."
Then the person beside Beom Il-so spoke up.
He was from Iron Flag Hall, if Mok Cheong-san remembered right.
"There?"
"The inn where the fire dragon ascended last time."
"Fire dragon? Ridiculous..."
Mok Cheong-san remembered the commotion that night.
The sudden explosion and the flames that turned the dark sky red.
Nothing in Mok Cheong-san's knowledge could cause such a phenomenon.
Still, he didn't believe it was some fantastical fire dragon.
"More importantly, what are you going to do at an empty lot?"
Mok Cheong-san asked, his face showing utter incomprehension.
"It's not exactly empty. They cleaned up the inn ruins, but some of the annex buildings swept by the fire dragon are still there."
Beom Il-so explained.
"And?"
"The innkeeper's opening it to the public starting today. Calls it the Fire Dragon Ascension Grounds."
Fire Dragon Ascension Grounds.
What nonsense.
"Of course, you have to pay an admission fee."
At Beom Il-so's follow-up,
"Hah."
Mok Cheong-san could only let out a hollow laugh.
"Ah... I lost again!"
Dan Mok Un-roe cried out in frustration.
Baek Ri-pyeong patted his shoulder.
"I barely won today."
It was true.
A razor-thin victory.
If a little more time passed like this, he'd lose the next one.
The sun was setting.
Today's training session was drawing to a close.
With the days growing shorter, training time had shortened too.
Here and there on the training ground, sweat-soaked students panted heavily.
Ju Woo-myeong and Namgung Ji-hu were no different.
The two hadn't settled a winner today either.
Perhaps because it was a spar, they both held back their final moves.
It was a perfect deadlock.
"Hey, hey, forget that—I heard some fun news."
Dang Jin-san slung his arms around their shoulders.
"You guys come over here too."
Dang Jin-san gathered the students.
He was one of Dragon Training Pavilion's information brokers. His exceptional affability brought back gossip from all over.
"Heard of the Fire Dragon Ascension Grounds?"
At Dang Jin-san's question, the students exchanged glances.
There was no such place in Wuchang, at least.
Delighted by their puzzled faces, Dang Jin-san spilled what he'd heard.
His excitement made his voice loud enough for Ha Mu-baek, Han Seol-bing, and Ha Seol-ran to hear everything.
Han Seol-bing and Ha Seol-ran looked at each other in disbelief.
"So, you have to pay to see it?"
Dan Mok Un-roe asked, looking conflicted.
He wanted to see it, but the fee was an issue.
A fire dragon had ascended there—it piqued his curiosity.
"A fire dragon? That's absurd."
Ju Woo-myeong shook his head.
"I agree."
Namgung Ji-hu backed him up.
"Then what was it?"
The two fell silent at Dang Jin-san's question, like they'd eaten honey.
Dang Jin-san grinned at their reactions.
"That's why we should go check it out."
In the end, even Ju Woo-myeong and Namgung Ji-hu were convinced.
Nak Woo-jin, Baek Ri-pyeong, and Yeon Ha-min looked curious too.
"Come on, everyone, let's go. Un-roe, I'll lend you the money—pay me back when you make it big."
Dang Jin-san patted Dan Mok Un-roe's back casually.
Their eyes turned to Ha Seol-ran.
"Seol-ran, coming with?"
Yeon Ha-min asked.
"No, I'm good. I'm a bit tired today."
They all nodded at her words and looked to Ha Mu-baek.
"Get a pass from one instructor. Don't bother me."
"Ha, really."
Han Seol-bing shook his head and pulled out passes from his pocket, handing them to the students.
As long as they returned by midnight, time was plenty.
With that, the students trooped off en masse, leaving only Ha Mu-baek, Han Seol-bing, and Ha Seol-ran at the training ground.
"How's it feel to be the fire dragon?"
Han Seol-bing asked with a smirk.
"Insane."
A curt reply.
"But is that place really worth charging admission?"
Ha Seol-ran tilted her head in confusion.
She had already seen the remnants of the burned annex.
"The innkeeper's a shrewd businessman."
Ha Mu-baek's succinct assessment.
Perhaps thanks to the fees.
Crowds gathered around the ruins, but few entered the roped-off area.
Martial artists hired by the innkeeper guarded the perimeter too.
The innkeeper watched the scene with satisfaction.
Fire Dragon Ascension Grounds.
The name he had given it.
'Of course a fire dragon ascended. Two of them, even.'
The innkeeper had clearly seen it that night.
Fire dragons soaring high, setting the dark sky ablaze.
The annex guests who came the next day couldn't properly explain it either.
'It had to be dragons.'
The innkeeper repeated it to himself endlessly, choosing to believe.
And he spread the rumor.
He'd already received more than enough for rebuilding the annex, but leaving it like this for a while promised far greater profits.
Besides.
'That leather shoe.'
Not even a pair—just one.
'Heh. Clearly a trace left by a dragon in human form.'
That's what he believed.
He had to, to sell it to the people.
The leather shoe dropped by the fire dragon—a relic of the dragon.
The rumors snowballed, drawing crowds like clouds once more.
The reason people so readily believed the innkeeper's tale wasn't anything special.
It was the thick frost fog that had blanketed the area that morning, seen by all who came.
Fog left by the ascending dragon, they thought.
The widespread rumor drew every soul in Wuchang to visit at least once.
Even if they couldn't enter the ropes, they wanted to glimpse it from afar.
That sacred site where the fire dragon had ascended.
Among them was this child too.
Dan Mok Un-hye.
Thanks to Ha Mu-baek's treatment, she'd recovered much of her health, making the trip here easy enough.
'If I absorb the energy from where the dragon ascended, maybe I'll heal even faster.'
With that childish thought, she had walked here.
But the small girl couldn't easily approach the ropes.
"Tch. What's this? So many people. Can't even get inside, so why bother crowding around?"
Beom Il-so grumbled, annoyed by the throng blocking his way as he moved through.