185. Taboo (1)
Taboo (1)
185. Taboo (1)
The leadership, including the Alliance Leader, surely had mountains of questions they wanted to ask me, but with only two days left until the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering, perhaps they were holding off, and a leisurely day began. While I was busy elevating the Yeongsan Sect's standing before those old men yesterday, Lee Eun-ha, who had remained at the Alliance, worked alongside Drunken Beggar to treat the wounded of the Beggars' Sect, Shaolin, and Wudang who had barely managed to retreat, proving the Medicine Immortal's legendary renown to the Martial Alliance. Thanks to that, from dawn, warriors requesting treatment for their own sect members crowded the gates of our manor like a marketplace, but I heard that Murong Rin's swift response had dispersed them for the time being.
"...I used the Spirit Possession Art to place Reverend Heo San's spirit in Reverend Ok-cheong's body. Reverend Heo San, Reverend Hyeon-gang, and I then unfolded Limitless and formed the Wuji Three-Sword Formation. Though it was a tiny formation of only three people, the three resonating manifestations of Limitless completely enveloped even Goshifa Lama's attacks."
As I recounted yesterday's events during breakfast, they listened intently to my story, rapt like girls hearing a hero's tale.
"The Wuji Sword... Even Reverend Ok-cheong, an elder of Wudang, only reached that realm through Reverend Heo San. Do you think I could ever attain it as well?"
The Master's expression was noticeably lighter after we had slept pressed tightly together through the night.
"It should be possible. Reverend Heo San and Reverend Hyeon-gang, who know Wudang's sword arts better than anyone, said that if anyone can surpass the Taiji, it will someday be you, Master."
"Then what about me? Junior Brother? Do you think I could reach the Limitless too?"
Jeong-hyang asked me, picking the flesh off a fish and placing it into my rice bowl.
"Senior Sister Jeong, you intend to challenge the Limitless as well?"
"I have to try. If someday my cold Limitless stood alongside Master's orthodox Limitless and your hot Limitless, Junior Brother—wouldn't that be incredibly striking?"
Jeong-hyang smiled faintly as she spoke. Honestly, it surprised me a little. Her talent wasn't bad, but I'd assumed she had as little interest in martial arts as Lee Eun-ha. Though, come to think of it, the reason she learns martial arts isn't to become stronger—it's so we can all be together. So it might be only natural for her to wish that someday we'd perform the Wuji Three-Sword Formation together. I myself had reached the Limitless through Flame Blossom Art rather than Great Clarity Internal Art, but for her, with the Ice Soul Divine Art, reaching the Limitless would never be easy. Still, with an excellent master and immense internal energy, she could probably reach it someday. Of course, the Wuji Sword was a sword that encompassed all things, so things like a hot Limitless or a cold Limitless couldn't really exist—but with the Taiji, it might be possible.
As soon as breakfast ended, the Master headed to the Wudang manor with Lee Eun-ha to check on Hyeon-gang's condition. Jeong-hyang, perhaps stimulated by the breakfast conversation, took Son Yeong and went into the training hall first thing in the morning. I'd tried it myself—the unfathomably esoteric Moonlit Divine Sword was tremendously helpful for mastering the Taiji. Son Yeong would likely find that Jeong-hyang's Taiji Wisdom Sword was no small aid to her own training as well. Once even Cho-ryeong, released from her confinement, departed for the Shaolin manor, I was left conspicuously alone in our manor.
Feeling stiff, I lightly circulated my qi, and found that my internal energy had increased substantially. What the hell? Did that bullshit dream count as some kind of enlightenment too? First it was sex. The second time, drinking. And now, enlightenment during sleep? Even I had to laugh at myself—I really was an instinct-driven bastard. I'd long since given up on normal enlightenment, so I decided to just treat it as a hidden boss raid special experience bonus. My condition was at its absolute peak thanks to that laughable level-up, and, feeling grateful for Lee Eun-ha, who had carefully prepared Eunha wine for the exhausted and injured me, I leisurely sorted through my postponed thoughts over the wine.
The Blood Cult Leader who'd escaped probably wasn't a major problem anymore. Her connections and jiangshi sorcery had been highly threatening, but now that the Medical Immortal Sect's true identity was exposed, virtually no lunatic—orthodox or unorthodox—would aid the Blood Cult. With the Nullification Talismans, the jiangshi no longer posed a great threat. Ok-cheong of Wudang already knew the talisman design, so he'd handle mass production. Once the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering ended, the Martial Alliance would swiftly subjugate the troublesome Great Sun Association and Blood Cult.
The real issue was the soul-separation spell—summoning powerful souls like that Goshifa Lama and turning them into Heavenly Jiangshi. Aside from me, who could perform the Soul-Ascension Art, there wasn't really another countermeasure, but it wouldn't be easy for her either. I'd tried it myself—finding the spirit of a powerful martial artist was a damned difficult task. The odds were far higher that the bitch would be captured by the Alliance's subjugation force before that. Besides, while you'd think that a soul from a past generation would boast legendary martial prowess, and that forgotten ancient martial arts like Flame Blossom Art or Moonlit Divine Sword would overwhelm modern martial arts—that wasn't really the case.
I couldn't say for the other Four Heroes, but Heosan's Taiji Wisdom Sword had survived into this era, and Hyeon-gang, the pinnacle of Wudang sword arts, wasn't vastly different from Heosan. In the end, no matter the era, strong martial artists were simply strong. Setting aside aberrations like the Goshifa Lama, it meant the transcendent masters of the past could be countered by the transcendent masters of the present. Of course, Heavenly Jiangshi had the cheat of an invincible body that Martial Aura couldn't harm, so ultimately, that was something I'd have to handle myself.
—Yeongmok. Your internal energy has grown. It's time to resume training. Hurry and master the Yama King Sword.—
As I was sorting my thoughts, the Flame Emperor, inexplicably cheerful, prodded me first thing in the morning. Since it was auto-mode training like when I'd learned Flame Aura, I emptied the liquor bottle without complaint and surrendered my body to him. Flame Aura coalesced with familiar ease. The Flame Emperor began forcibly rotating the completed aura, altering its fundamental nature. Ah... I hadn't realized from watching at a distance, but the Yama King Sword looked less like a sword and more like a chainsaw.
But... in less than a single second, my substantially increased internal energy was completely drained. This was insane. The internal energy consumption was already severe, but this was on a whole different level.
—Hmm. Is manifesting it in a physical body still too much?—
—You mean not "still" too much—it seems forever impossible?—
Even with my internal energy, Flame Aura could be sustained for nearly five minutes. Now that my energy had grown, six minutes seemed possible, yet with that same energy, the Yama King Sword completely drained it in just one second. By simple calculation, to sustain the Yama King Sword for five minutes—three hundred seconds—I'd need three hundred times my current internal energy, and at that point, I wouldn't be human but something approximating an immortal. In reality, as one's martial arts grew stronger, efficiency rose too, so even if it wasn't quite three hundred times, even ten times my current level—there was no way that was human.
—Didn't you think the same thing back when you were learning Flame Aura? You just do it and it works. You're still young, aren't you?—
No, that's not a realm you can just handwave away with youth.
Either way, whether I liked it or not, my body was already left in the Flame Emperor's hands. I let him train to his heart's content until he was satisfied, and as always, emptied my head with idle thoughts. It had been a while since I'd thought about spicy stir-fried pork—should I ask Lee Eun-ha to make some? I wanted to wrap it in perilla leaves, but I'd never seen any in the markets. Sesame was a common ingredient in the Central Plains too, so if I looked for them, wouldn't I be able to get them practically for free? But had the leaves I used to eat been sesame leaves or perilla leaves?
After repeatedly depleting my true qi to its bottom, filling it again through qi circulation, and depleting it once more, the Flame Emperor's morning training concluded. As he said, if I kept at this, I'd get stronger someday.
"You fought like that last night and you still have energy to spare? Since when was Young Master Baek such a diligent martial artist, training from the morning?"
Murong Rin's face looked far more exhausted than mine.
"Stealing glimpses of another's training is a taboo of the martial world, you know?"
"What would I possibly glean from staring? You ignite flames, rest, ignite them again, rest. I've never even heard of such a bizarre training method. And with that blank expression. Is this really training?"
"It is. Anyway, how is Elder Murong Guk? Is his body all right?"
"He's fine. I specially went to the Medicine Immortal at dawn and asked for an internal injury pill to be delivered to him, you know?"
The Master had prohibited taking Jeong-hyang Pills, Son Yeong Pills, and Spirit Jade Pills outside the Yeongsan Sect. Since they were used as candy substitutes for Cho-ryeong anyway, those internal injury pills were in surplus, but because the raw material was their breast milk, the Master seemed to view it through a sort of chastity concept. Even considering that, the Martial Alliance had medicine ingredients to spare, and the other internal injury pills Lee Eun-ha made were on an entirely different level from market elixirs.
"You're surprisingly kind. Are you close with Elder Murong Guk?"
"I need to become close. He holds the strongest voice in the clan after Father, and he's now agreed to support me. He trusted my discernment—I recognized Young Master Baek's true worth faster than anyone."
Well, with a face like hers, even that greed-filled smile looked dazzling.
"Discernment, my ass. Honestly, you didn't know either, right? I never dreamed I'd become a master like this."
"Still, I did think you'd be useful somewhere."
Yeah. She'd have tried to use me somewhere. For instance, to inflict shame and humiliation on her cousin. If the Snowflower Pavilion hadn't had that intelligence about my premature ejaculation, she probably would've summoned me a few times and I'd have offered my body to her—even if not quite to the level of a sex partner. That wouldn't have been too bad, actually.
"You look bored. Want to go meet some people with me? Requests have poured in from renowned elders of all sorts of sects asking to meet Young Master Baek. They're elders from the Nine Great Sects who hadn't visited before."
"Too troublesome. I spent all of last night glued to old men, and you want me to hang out with old men again today?"
"Then shall I arrange a drinking party with pretty girls? I've already narrowed it down to about seven. If any catch your eye, sharing their bed is fine too."
"Even worse. As you know by now, everyone in the Yeongsan Sect is my lover, and if needed, I have you and Gyeong Su-yeon too—why would I go drink with some woman whose face I don't even know? Who knows what rumors I'd hear later?"
"Then what about men? Doesn't strutting around with that haughty Beautiful Madness on your arm in front of the young masters of prestigious clans make a man feel proud?"
"Don't be ridiculous. I'm not taking a single step out of the manor today."
It was all rather funny. Thinking back, not long ago I'd been on exactly that side myself—the one wagging his tail to build connections with the powerful. Baek Clan Estate was a newly established martial household, so we'd put in considerable effort. Yet the only people who'd deigned to meet us were the Murong Clan Head's foul-tempered granddaughter and Reverend Hwa-il, a second-rate martial artist from Mount Hua. When it came to Shaolin, no matter how many tributes we sent, we never even received a single letter of acknowledgment. I remembered being quite irritated, but now that I stood in the position of the strong, it was genuinely nothing but a nuisance. The only people who wanted to meet me were those seeking some benefit. Thinking back, I was almost grateful to Murong Rin for having met us at all.
"Ah, right. I spoke briefly with the Heroic Beggar of the Beggars' Sect yesterday, and it turns out the Beggars' Sect already knew about Duanmu Hwang."
"What? Really?"
Murong Rin looked genuinely startled—she must have put considerable effort into information control.
"Even so, the Heroic Beggar unequivocally picked Eldest Young Master Murong Su as the winner of this year's Eight Dragons."
"My eldest brother? That's absurd."
"I thought so too, but thinking about it—Duanmu Hwang. His martial arts may be remarkable, but he has almost no experience in real combat, let alone formal duels, right?"
"That's equally true of our eldest brother. There's no way the Murong Clan's eldest young master would have casually engaged in something like a duel."
"Even so, it's nothing compared to Duanmu Hwang. Besides, he must have sparred plenty with the Murong Clan's elders, no? Duanmu Hwang probably has too, but the Murong Clan's eldest young master is surrounded by an overflow of first-rate masters, so he's bound to be thoroughly accustomed to dueling opponents stronger than himself. But the Duanmu Clan? Right now, besides the Clan Head, how many martial artists stronger than Duanmu Hwang do they even have?"
Murong Rin bit her lip hard and stared at me.
"The Heroic Beggar elder is someone extremely adept at recognizing promising young martial artists—more so than evaluating their martial arts. He correctly predicted the last Eight Dragons and Four Phoenixes, every single one. It looks like things won't go as planned after all. Help me, Young Master Baek. I'll bring Duanmu Hwang here, so please—even if just for a short time—make him clearly understand the power of a true master."