novelraw Chapter 71 : Why Is That Yours?
Chapter 71 : Why Is That Yours?
Hwayin County was not a town suitable for a village to be established due to its geographical conditions.
The land was not fertile enough for farming. A large river did not flow, so water transportation was not convenient. Considering the vast Central Plains, there was no reason for people to gather in a corner and for a village to be established.
The reason why such a Hwayin County was not just a mediocre town but had prospered to the point of almost being a provincial capital was thanks to Mount Hua in the south.
The Mount Hua Sect.
A prestigious orthodox sect with a long history that had competed for the top spot among the Nine Great Sects since its opening and had never come down from that position.
A prestigious orthodox sect that had the identity of a Taoist sect but was now famous as the best sword sect in the world.
Just thanks to the people who came and went to Mount Hua, people gathered in Hwayin County, goods circulated, and eventually a village was established.
It was possible to see how great the power of the Mount Hua Sect was.
"It's definitely different from Shaolin."
Before climbing Mount Hua.
Cheon Mubaeck, who had briefly stopped by an inn, looked around at Neung-heo's words.
It was a scene that was so busy that it seemed the plague had passed this place by.
"Shaolin? Huh? Is the thing at the bottom of Mount Song a village or a remote corner? Phew. The difference in status is clearly visible."
Unlike Shaolin, which had been in seclusion, Mount Hua had not lost its power even after the righteous-demonic war, so it was a natural statement.
When the topic of Shaolin came up, Gwak Cheon-hu, who had been eating his food without a word, his eyes flashed.
"Hey."
"My lord, he's calling you."
"No, you."
"You bastard, if I had gotten married early, I would have a son as old as you."
Gwak Cheon-hu said with a face as if a dog were barking somewhere.
"If you're pissed, be stronger than me."
"Ha!"
Neung-heo shut his mouth with a hollow face.
While coming here, he had fought a few times at Cheon Mubaeck's urging, but he had been brutally defeated.
On the contrary, the first time he had fought at the Hao Faction was his best performance.
At that time, Gwak Cheon-hu had not known much about Neung-heo, but after fighting a few times, he had grasped almost everything.
Even more, while Gwak Cheon-hu's skills were growing by leaps and bounds, Neung-heo did not have that much talent. In a recent duel, Gwak Cheon-hu had beaten Neung-heo one-sidedly, just as Cheon Mubaeck had beaten Gwak Cheon-hu.
Although Neung-heo, who had come to possess an ultimate martial art at a late age and had felt an interest in learning it, had no choice but to feel a lump in his heart when he saw real 'talent'.
"Didn't you say that even if you beat me, only my lord can?"
"So should I beat you?"
"No..."
Cheon Mubaeck said indifferently.
"Don't force your sword to match the forms when you fight."
"Pardon?"
"Ah, indeed!"
It was not Neung-heo who had let out a cry of admiration. On the contrary, it was Gwak Cheon-hu who nodded his head, his eyes shining.
As if he had gained an enlightenment. Neung-heo glared at Gwak Cheon-hu.
"Why are you getting enlightened, you bastard?"
"The sword you've learned, I feel that it's originally used in a dual-wielding sword technique. In other words, it's a form that is tailored to a martial artist who uses both arms."
Neung-heo's eyes widened.
'This bastard, doesn't he know that this is the martial art of the Red Blood Sword Demon?'
When Cheon Mubaeck had taught him, he had clearly told him.
That the Red Blood Sword Demon had used dual-wielding swords.
"How do you know?"
"How do I know? I noticed that your posture was biased while fighting."
"Wow, shit... the world is really."
Unfair.
It was a thought that suddenly came to Neung-heo's mind.
"Anyway, that person... hmm. What the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero is trying to say is that you're having problems because you're trying to use the forms of a martial art that originally used both hands. You're trying to follow the forms forcefully, so your center of gravity is off and you're clumsy. Still, to be that fierce, you must have gotten a proper martial art from somewhere."
"Center of gravity."
Neung-heo, unlike his usual self, nodded his head with a serious face.
He had also felt it.
He glanced at Cheon Mubaeck.
'Am I an idiot?'
He felt that way. Gwak Cheon-hu, who had grasped the outline of the martial art after just a few duels, seemed like a monster to him. And since he was a much younger guy, he was dumbfounded rather than jealous. What was even more surprising was that Cheon Mubaeck, who was younger than him, had beaten that Gwak Cheon-hu like a dog.
Because Gwak Cheon-hu, who had been like a Yaksha when he had faced him, was just like a puppy, watching Cheon Mubaeck's every move with just a single gesture.
'No, these two are monsters. That Cheon Mubaeck is not just a monster, huh? He's the greatest monster of all time. Really.'
He looked at Cheon Mubaeck again.
Cheon Mubaeck, who had felt his gaze a long time ago, answered bluntly.
"What."
"Nothing."
Neung-heo was about to say something, but he swallowed it.
'Although that person is young, his thoughts are definitely not young.'
There must have been a reason why he had not told him about the fatal weakness of Neung-heo's Left Sword until now.
'He's telling me to feel it myself and improve it.'
Neung-heo nodded his head.
'Right. You don't learn martial arts for free.'
He turned his gaze to Gwak Cheon-hu again.
"You bastard."
"My name is Gwak Cheon-hu."
"Right, you bastard."
"Hoo. If you were my age, your mouth would have been torn. But I learned the Three Bonds and Five Relations in my childhood."
"Wow. There's another madman here."
"Anyway, why."
"Let's have a match after we eat."
"Oh my?"
"Didn't you say that your skills improve when you fight? I have to try it too."
Neung-heo had made a choice. He was not a genius like Cheon Mubaeck, and he did not have an innate talent. He did not have a brain that could understand everything just by seeing it once.
What he was confident in was the sense he had gained from rolling around here and there, and the work of using his body.
The first thing Neung-heo could do was actual battle, and wasn't there an opponent to have a duel with that was close to an actual battle right now?
Gwak Cheon-hu smirked and said.
"If you can last more than fifty exchanges before I finish my business at Mount Hua, I'll call you hyung-nim."
"Ha, you bastard. Alright."
Neung-heo let out a hollow laugh.
He's subtly instilling motivation.
He doesn't seem like a bad guy.
Well, if he had been a bad guy, he would have already been beaten to a pulp by Cheon Mubaeck and would have been kicked out.
The Cheon Mubaeck that Neung-heo had seen was surprisingly a delicate person. If he had thought that he was not, he would have kicked out Gwak Cheon-hu, who had been following him, a long time ago.
While Neung-heo was thinking about his own impressions.
A waiter came over with a basket.
"Our chef has shown some of his skills. Since you seem to have come from far away, this is a special treat, so please enjoy it!"
"What?"
At the basket of dumplings that he had not ordered, Neung-heo and Gwak Cheon-hu's faces hardened for a moment.
Cheon Mubaeck calmly opened the basket.
Neung-heo hurriedly lowered his voice.
"My lord, it might be poison."
"Huh?"
Gwak Cheon-hu joined in.
"Since you're young, you seem to have little experience in the martial world, but a stranger suddenly offers you food? It's the most common trick. Poisoning at an inn."
Cheon Mubaeck smirked and opened the basket.
"Huh?"
In the basket, there was not only dumplings but also a piece of paper.
Cheon Mubaeck took out the paper without a surprised expression.
"The Hao Faction."
"Ah!"
Hwayin County, which was close to Mount Hua.
Naturally, this was the most important information network of the Hao Faction, and it was also the place where they could communicate with the Shaanxi branch the fastest.
On the paper, the information that the Hao Faction had gathered so far was written densely.
Trivial stories were excluded as much as possible, and it was a few incidents that had happened in the current Shaanxi martial world.
Unfortunately, there was no information about the Blood Ghost Valley, but there was information that caught Cheon Mubaeck's attention.
A dispute between the Mount Hua Sect and the Zhongnan Sect.
Even after entering Hwayin County, Cheon Mubaeck had felt an unusual atmosphere.
Although the town was quite peaceful, as if the plague had passed it by, the sight of people in the uniform of the Zhongnan Sect walking around with swords was often seen.
And the reason for that dispute...
"Ha. Look at these bastards."
The corners of Cheon Mubaeck's mouth curled up.
* * *
"Damn it."
"Neung-heo."
"What."
"What's with the twisted mood again?"
"No. Mount Hua or Shaolin. Do the orthodox sect bastards like mountains so much? Mount Song or Mount Hua, look at the mountain terrain. Why do they open a sect in a place like this?"
Unlike Mount Song, Mount Hua had a well-maintained path, but the mountain terrain was rough.
But he did not climb it with difficulty like Mount Song. Cheon Mubaeck was not tired in the first place, and Neung-heo's skills had improved and his internal energy had increased, so in fact, if he had put his mind to it, he could have climbed it in an instant with his lightness skill.
But the problem was that this was Mount Hua.
Since it was a place where all sorts of pilgrims came and went, it was the law of Mount Hua to not use martial arts carelessly.
Cheon Mubaeck fully respected that opinion.
Because Mount Hua was a place worthy of respect.
But on the other hand...
"The Zhongnan Sect guys, they're going up as if they're going to war."
The Zhongnan Sect martial artists who were running at full speed to the top with their lightness skill, ignoring even the law.
Although the two sects were rivals, they had not ignored the law.
But they climbed Mount Hua, using their lightness skill as if they had forgotten the law.
"It's Zhongnan."
But Gwak Cheon-hu responded bluntly.
Neung-heo nodded his head.
"Well, if it's Zhongnan, it's understandable."
"They're sneaky guys who only participated in the war when it was about to end. They're guys who are not even worthy of the name of an orthodox sect. My father fought by the side of that great Azure Sky Sword God even at a young age."
"Oh. Compared to his son, his father is very great."
Even though Neung-heo had given a compliment that was not a compliment, Gwak Cheon-hu straightened his shoulders.
"My father was with the Azure Sky Sword God until the end of the righteous-demonic war. He told me that I would one day become a great master as great as the Azure Sky Sword God."
At those words, Neung-heo had something he wanted to say, but he managed to hold it in.
Because the fact that Cheon Mubaeck was a descendant of the Azure Sky Sword God was a fact that only Cheon Mungyeong, the abbot of Shaolin, Master Muso, and Cheonghyeonjin knew.
But on the other hand, he was also curious what kind of reaction Gwak Cheon-hu would show if he found out that the Cheon Mubaeck who had beaten him to a pulp was a descendant of the Azure Sky Sword God.
"We're here."
His thoughts could not continue.
He had finally reached the top and was standing in front of the main gate of Mount Hua.
To be precise, it was not that arriving had stopped his thoughts.
"The Mount Hua Sect refuses your entry!"
A voice filled with internal energy rang out.
The firmly closed main gate of Mount Hua.
Behind it, the Plum Blossom One Sword, Gukbo of the Mount Hua Sect, was standing with a firm face.
On the other hand, at the head of the opposing Zhongnan Sect martial artists was the Zhongnan Wind Sword, Jeon-hyeon.
"We have officially visited the Mount Hua Sect!"
"There is an important matter within the sect, so we are prohibiting the entry of outsiders. Please understand."
"Gukbo! How can you be so rude!"
Jeon-hyeon shouted.
"If it is a sacred object that came from the sacred altar of The Complete Truth Sect, it is only natural that Zhongnan, the descendant of The Complete Truth Sect, should have it!"
"How can you say that it is Zhongnan's property?"
"Heo! How bold! Didn't you also just happen to pick up the Primordial Root Scripture?"
"Pick it up! We found it while cleaning up the Complete Truth Sacred Altar that everyone had abandoned!"
"Hmph! Cleaning up? Don't talk nonsense that even the beggars of the Beggars' Sect would laugh at! Are you claiming that you knew beforehand that the place where we fought with those Blood Demon Sect guys was the Complete Truth Sacred Altar?"
"..."
"I have ears to hear! The news that the sacred altar had suddenly collapsed, a martial artist of a secular branch of Mount Hua who was nearby had gone there, and had found the sacred object of Complete Truth, the Primordial Root Scripture, in the collapsed ruins!"
The Primordial Root Scripture.
A Taoist scripture that recorded the teachings that Wang Chongyang, who had founded The Complete Truth Sect, had received from an immortal.
It was famous as a sacred object of The Complete Truth Sect.
That's right.
When Cheon Mubaeck had mastered the Heaven-Concealing Sword Technique before, the Complete Truth Sacred Altar had completely collapsed due to the aftermath.
And the Primordial Root Scripture had been found in the ruins.
It meant that not only the Heaven-Concealing Sword Technique, which was the completion of the martial arts that Lü Dongbin had intended, but also the sacred object of The Complete Truth Sect had existed.
So.
"...Eum?"
The moment Jeon-hyeon was about to put internal energy into his shout again.
He was deprived of his breath by a presence that suddenly came in.
'What is it...?'
A moment between breaths.
The sound of footsteps that had squeezed in as if it were a lie.
No matter how sensitive his hearing was, to be deprived of his breath by a mere footstep?
Jeon-hyeon, without even realizing it, turned his head back.
"...The Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero?"
The impressive master he had seen before.
Cheon Mubaeck came one step closer.
"You're having an interesting conversation."
A dry voice with not a single emotion.
At the high, low, and indifferent voice, not only Jeon-hyeon, but also the Zhongnan Sect martial artists who had gathered, and even Gukbo's face beyond the main gate hardened.
Cheon Mubaeck, among them, laughed and raised his head.
An endlessly proud attitude.
And a lazy and light voice that flowed out.
"So. Why is that yours?"
Yes, that's right.
That is.
"It's mine."
(End of Chapter)