Chapter 121
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 121
Chapter Title: I-I Hear It
"That's right. I do owe a debt."
"Instructor Ha—no, Corps Leader Ha is someone who never forgets a debt, or so I've heard."
The old title from his days as Hocheon Corps Leader slipped from Gong Mu-hyuk's lips.
He had stepped back from the affairs of the alliance, but that didn't mean he had completely shut out the world.
Ha Mu-baek readily admitted it.
"Truth be told, treating you and Alliance Leader So-yu's conditions is all part of repaying that debt."
Gong Mu-hyuk gave a small nod at Ha Mu-baek's words. He had suspected as much.
"Thanks to Heavenly Valley's aid, my subordinates' lives were saved, and the Myriad Things Alliance's hidden weapons helped minimize their sacrifices."
"I'm glad my humble skills could be of some help."
"They were truly precious subordinates. It's a great debt."
A great debt.
Coming from no one less than Ha Mu-baek himself.
Gong Mu-hyuk stared squarely into Ha Mu-baek's eyes.
A great debt, as spoken by such a man.
A debt so immense it warranted saving his life and his daughter's.
"I nearly died myself—that's a great debt too. I must repay it in full."
Ha Mu-baek's eyes gleamed coldly.
At the sight, Gong Mu-hyuk swallowed dryly.
He was repaying the great debt of minimized sacrifices by treating him and his daughter. He called it settling the score.
Then what price did the debt of bringing him to the brink of death demand?
"So, when you return to the Myriad Things Alliance, you'll come with me. When do you plan to go?"
Ha Mu-baek's gaze had softened once more.
"When will I make a full recovery?"
It was a declaration of intent to leave the moment he was healed.
"Around the first month of the year, I'd say."
Ha Mu-baek replied after a moment's calculation.
"Then that's when I'll go."
Gong Mu-hyuk's eyes lit up.
"Huh? Weren't they not coming today?"
Dang Jin-san asked at the sight of Ju Woo-myung appearing on the training ground.
"That's what I thought. But there's no one here at the training ground."
"At Squad Twenty's training ground?"
Dang Jin-san asked back in surprise.
"Yeah."
Ju Woo-myung answered curtly.
"No way. That can't be."
Nak Woo-jin said as he passed by, sounding incredulous.
It was only natural.
Unlike some people, Han Seol-bing and Ha Seol-ran were extremely diligent.
"But they're not here today."
Ju Woo-myung repeated.
"And he's not here today either."
Dang Jin-san pointed at the boulder.
Training time had come, but Ha Mu-baek had yet to appear.
"Better than training alone, at least."
Everyone nodded at Ju Woo-myung's words.
"Where's Ji-hu?"
Ju Woo-myung asked Baek Ri-pyeong.
"Hidden Dragon Corps has group training today, so he couldn't skip."
Namgung Ji-hu had been ditching his Squad One training at Hidden Dragon Corps to come here.
The instructor hadn't been able to stop him effectively.
To the instructor and cadets alike, he was just a disciple from one of the Nine Great Sects or Five Great Clans.
But Namgung Ji-hu was the eldest son of the current Namgung Clan head.
Soon to be young master of the clan.
The instructor could hardly rein him in aggressively.
Such things happened often in Hidden Dragon and Wa Dragon Corps.
Until now, Namgung Ji-hu had followed instructions well and not caused any real trouble.
But today's group training instructor was Jegal Myeong.
He tolerated no such deviations, so skipping was impossible.
"Tomorrow for us, then?"
Dan Mok Un-roe asked.
"Yeah."
Baek Ri-pyeong replied, glancing at the shield set aside in one corner of the training ground.
Even in the second half of the term, they had never skipped group shield training.
Except for the time they followed Ha Mu-baek to Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest.
And after that trip, they threw themselves into shield training with even greater fervor.
Having experienced firsthand just how invaluable a shield could be there.
"Training time now."
Yeon Ha-min said quietly.
At her words, the chatter stopped, and they gripped their swords with serious expressions.
The boulder remained empty, but the cadets began their training in earnest.
At that moment.
Ha Seol-ran and Han Seol-bing were with Wi Ji-gun.
"Elder, is it really okay for you to be here like this?"
Han Seol-bing asked curiously.
Wi Ji-gun was currently working as a laborer at Dragon Training Pavilion.
The laborers didn't know his true identity, so she worried skipping work like this might cause issues.
"I've already sent word, so it's fine."
But Wi Ji-gun had the laborers wrapped around his finger, so a little flexibility was no problem.
"Instead, I'll have to stay late today."
He had to make up for the missed time.
"Lan, you should focus instead of just listening in on our conversation."
Wi Ji-gun said to Ha Seol-ran, who sat cross-legged.
Her eyebrows twitched slightly at the remark.
Wi Ji-gun turned to Han Seol-bing.
"More importantly, Instructor Han, are you alright? It's cadet training time."
"My cadets are right here. And Woo-myung? He's probably doing fine with Squad Seven. It's not like instructors are glued to one spot every day."
Wi Ji-gun nodded at her response.
He had heard directly from his disciple Ha Mu-baek about his instructor duties and seen it himself here.
"Instructor Han should be fine, then."
Wi Ji-gun was convinced.
The conversation between master and instructor was amusing.
It felt like they were deliberately trying to disrupt her focus.
Ha Seol-ran tried even harder to concentrate.
She had to do it properly, if only to honor the time they were giving her.
As she poured her efforts into focusing.
Suddenly, a sensation enveloped her whole body, like plunging deep into her inner self.
She could sense things around her, centered on herself. The range expanded in concentric circles.
First, she felt presences.
'Master. Instructor.'
Expanding further.
'Ha-min. Un-roe. Jin-san. Pyeong. Woo-jin. Woo-myung.'
Her fellow training cadets.
And.
'Big brother.'
Beyond that, countless unknown presences.
She sensed them all.
The range kept growing, extending beyond Wuchang Fortress.
Like looking down from the sky, she felt every existence.
'What is big brother doing?'
He wasn't overseeing the cadets' training and had left Dragon Training Pavilion. Where was he?
Out of pure curiosity, she focused on her brother.
She even saw his face. And the person with him.
She already knew who from their presence.
Myriad Things Alliance Leader.
She could even clearly recognize his face.
'His complexion has improved.'
The two seemed to be talking, but she couldn't hear it.
As she watched her brother.
'Gasp!'
Suddenly, it felt like their eyes met as he looked up. She hurriedly shifted her ki sense elsewhere.
'D-Did big brother notice?'
Her heart pounded, and cold sweat dampened her back.
"Lan, what's wrong?"
Her master's concerned voice made Ha Seol-ran open her eyes.
"Lan, what happened?"
Han Seol-bing asked worriedly, noticing the change.
"W-Well, um..."
Ha Seol-ran hesitantly explained what had just occurred.
Wi Ji-gun and Han Seol-bing listened with mouths agape in stunned silence.
They had to believe this unbelievable tale.
Indeed, the ability Ha Seol-ran had shown during their last mountain visit was just the tip of the iceberg.
He had taught her how to sense ki, and she'd only been training for an hour.
In that single hour, she had extended her ki sense beyond Wuchang Fortress,
and sensed everyone's presences.
Even recognizing faces precisely.
They had never heard of, let alone imagined, such a thing.
Just how immense was Ha Seol-ran's talent for ki sense?
"B-But you couldn't hear voices?"
"No."
Ha Seol-ran answered innocently to Wi Ji-gun's question.
"Do you think you could hear them?"
"...I'm not sure."
After pondering the follow-up, that was her conclusion.
"Could you try?"
Ha Seol-ran thought again at Wi Ji-gun's question.
"...I'll try."
She sat cross-legged once more and closed her eyes.
Starting too far might be hard, so she looked nearby.
There was Fierce Dragon Corps Squad Seven's training ground.
The cadets were chatting.
-Sheil... nee... ded...
Broken fragments, faint and tiny sounds.
...She heard them!
Ha Seol-ran opened her eyes in shock.
Wi Ji-gun and Han Seol-bing stared at her intently.
"A little, but I-I hear it."
Han Seol-bing's eyes widened in astonishment.
"Wh-What in the world are these siblings..."
She murmured the same words as before.
Ha Seol-ran's ability was truly the Heavenly Eye and Heavenly Ear.
Not like the sham cults babbling about using Heavenly Eye Pass or Heavenly Ear Pass with their arts.
This was the true fleshly transcendence spoken of in Buddhist scriptures: the Divine Eye and Divine Ear.
A talent to marvel at, a fearsome power.
"It... wasn't even full words, just very short snippets."
Ha Seol-ran said cautiously in a small voice.
"You should know by now how extraordinary—and dangerous—that is."
Ha Seol-ran nodded at Wi Ji-gun's words.
"Keep at it diligently, but never speak of this ability carelessly."
"Yes."
She replied briefly to his admonition.
"Good. I believe you can handle it, Lan. Your talent might even surpass Mu-baek's. Well, I'll be off then. Rest well tonight."
Wi Ji-gun left after dropping that bombshell, leaving the rest to Han Seol-bing.
"Lan, are you okay?"
Han Seol-bing asked.
"Huh?"
Ha Seol-ran blinked in confusion.
"I mean your body. You know how incredible what you just did was, right? I'm worried it might have taken a toll."
"Oh?"
Only then did Ha Seol-ran notice something off.
She had no strength left in her body.
It felt like all her energy had drained away at once.
She couldn't even twitch a finger.
"I-I'm so tired... No strength at all..."
With that, Ha Seol-ran collapsed right there.
"Exactly. No way something that immense leaves no strain."
Han Seol-bing clicked her tongue and hoisted Ha Seol-ran onto her back.
"Let's rest well today, like the elder said."
"Yes."
Ha Seol-ran murmured and closed her eyes.
She had fallen asleep.
Wi Ji-gun had anticipated this and entrusted her to Han Seol-bing.
He had even asked Han Seol-bing to join today's ki sense training, perhaps foreseeing this.
Having experienced it once before.
The day Ha Mu-baek first awakened the eyes at the base of Infinite Bright Wheel Eye.
He had exhausted all his energy and collapsed.
As he walked back to work, extending his ki sense to check on Ha Seol-ran, Wi Ji-gun nodded slightly.
Just as expected.
Han Seol-bing carried Ha Seol-ran to her room in Graceful Dragon Dormitory and laid her down.
Come to think of it, she shared the room with Yeon Ha-min, so she should inform her.
Han Seol-bing headed straight to Squad Seven's training ground.
"Snore..."
Left alone on the bed, Ha Seol-ran snored softly, deep in slumber.
"Was that Lan just now?"
Ha Mu-baek murmured to himself, staring at the ceiling and tilting his head.
"What's the matter?"
Gong Mu-hyuk asked.
"Nothing."
Though he brushed it off, Ha Mu-baek's suspicion lingered.
A familiar energy had swept over the room and lingered, watching.
It felt just like his little sister's.