The Genius Youngest Disciple of the Wudang Sect

Chapter 120

Anhui Province is a province located in the eastern inland of the Central Plains, and in terms of area alone, it is one of the smallest of all the provinces.

However, Anhui Province possesses a power that cannot be judged by its area alone.

This is because it is adjacent to Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces to the east, Shandong province to the north, and Hubei and Henan provinces to the west, making it a key transportation and commercial center in the eastern Central Plains.

In addition to commerce, the wide plains in the north also thrive in agriculture, and Anhui Province is also responsible for the granary of the eastern Central Plains.

And, the biggest reason why the order of Anhui Province can be maintained properly is thanks to the Nangong family, located in Hefei, the provincial capital of Anhui.

The Nangong family, which has been rooted in Hefei since ancient times, has driven out or eradicated all the Unorthodox Faction and evil cult groups that existed in Anhui Province.

In particular, the Changjiang Water Fortress, a group of water bandits that had established itself on the Yangtze River that runs through Anhui Province.

When Nangong Sang-hyeon, the great-grandfather of the Nangong family, was active, he succeeded in crushing the Changjiang Water Fortress, which even the government troops had given up on, and thanks to that, the people of the province were no longer robbed of the fruits of their hard work.

Since there was no fear of being robbed by others, they worked even harder, and as a result, a positive cycle of everyone becoming wealthy together was established.

And, we were able to arrive at such a Nangong family.

And we arrived a full four days earlier than originally planned.

In other words, it means that there is still a week left until the Gold Basin Hand-Washing ceremony of the Nangong family's great-grandfather.

"We've finally arrived! Uwaaah!"

In Hefei. In front of the main gate of the Nangong family's manor, where many people were walking around, Zhuge Yun shouted loudly without any shame.

The long, long journey was finally over, and he couldn't control his joy.

And Zhuge Ling next to him, although not as loud as Zhuge Yun, could not hide her happy expression.

Before the people around us started looking at us even more strangely, I went in front of them and said, "You've worked hard, older brother. And young lady."

"Th... Thank you..."

"Are you going to use honorifics again?"

"Ah, no. Thank... you..."

During our journey, we decided to address each other as brothers.

It started because of Mo Yong Baek-jin, but it didn't feel bad to be treated as a younger brother.

And it's also a matter of how it might turn out later if I'm on brotherly terms with the only son of the head of the Zhuge family.

"How is it? Now that you've tried it. You thought you couldn't do it, but now that you've done it, it's manageable, right?"

At my words, Zhuge Yun and Zhuge Ling seemed to recall a terrible memory, and then they barely answered.

"Rather than manageable... I still can't believe that I really did it."

"Even if you can't believe it, the person who really did it is you, older brother. You did well. And you too, young lady. Both of you, from now on, when you encounter any obstacles or face hardships and adversity, don't forget this memory, and have the confidence that you can do anything. Got it?"

"I understand."

"I understand."

After hearing their confident answers, we finally headed for the main gate of the Nangong family.

Then, a martial artist guarding the gate blocked our way.

The Nangong family currently holds the publicly acknowledged first position among the Five Great Families.

In short, it means they are the number one family under heaven.

Is that why? Even though he is a martial artist guarding the gate, his presence does not seem easy.

"Welcome to the Nangong family. Are you guests who have come for our great-grandfather's retirement banquet?"

When I gestured to my senior brother, Senior Brother Uncheol stepped forward with tact.

Because our representative in such external activities is Senior Brother Uncheol.

"That's right. I am Uncheol from the Wudang Sect. The four next to me are my junior brothers."

"Ah...! I've heard. I heard that the Wudang Sect is sending five third-generation disciples this time, so you must be the Taoist masters. Welcome. You've arrived a full week early."

"Will we be a nuisance?"

"Of course not. We are even more grateful that you have taken the time like this. Please have a good time looking around the Nangong family and Hefei."

"Thank you."

"But could I possibly check the invitation once?"

"Of course."

Senior Brother Uncheol carefully took out the invitation from the bag on his back and handed it to the martial artist.

The martial artist checked it and then handed it back to my senior brother.

"Confirmed. You may enter. But, what about the two next to you?"

"We are Zhuge Yun and Zhuge Ling of the Zhuge family."

"Aha. You are the children of the head of the Zhuge family. May I check the invitation?"

After us, he thoroughly checked the Zhuge family siblings as well and then let us into the Nangong family manor.

The moment we entered the manor, we couldn't hide our admiration.

"Wow... No, I thought the Zhuge family was big... but the Nangong family is even bigger than that?"

"The pavilions also seem much larger than our family's. And there's a pond over there. But rather than a pond... shouldn't it be called a lake?"

The Nangong family, as its name suggests, was enormous in scale.

It was to the point where the Zhuge family, a fellow member of the Five Great Families, seemed shabby.

Of course, our Wudang Sect is no match.

"This way, please. Originally, the rooms assigned to the Zhuge family and the Wudang Sect are far apart, but shall we put you in rooms that are a little closer?"

"That would be great. Thank you."

Even as we followed the servant to our lodgings, we kept looking around and admiring the Nangong family.

The Nangong family was not only large in scale, but also had an enormous number of people.

The number of direct descendants must be limited, which means that the rest are either from branch families or are martial artists not related by blood.

'But they all look so strong? It's not for nothing that they are the number one family under heaven.'

The level of the martial artists I saw in passing was clearly not ordinary.

Among them, there were quite a few young martial artists, and they seemed to be on par with the level of my senior brothers that I had changed.

"But when we entered the Nangong family earlier, they checked our identities really thoroughly. If they invite so many people and are so strict, wouldn't it just be inconvenient for the Nangong family people?"

As we were heading to our lodgings, Senior Brother Unsik looked at me and asked.

And as if everyone had a similar question, their gazes fell on me.

"That's because the great-grandfather of the Nangong family is not only having a retirement banquet, but also a Gold Basin Hand-Washing ceremony this time, right?"

"Why? Isn't the Gold Basin Hand-Washing ceremony also something to be congratulated?"

"Well. From our point of view, yes. But there will be quite a few who don't think so."

"Why?"

"The Gold Basin Hand-Washing ceremony literally means retirement. It's no different from a declaration that one will leave behind all the grudges and favors of the martial world and live a life unrelated to the martial world from now on. Therefore, attacking a martial artist who has had a Gold Basin Hand-Washing ceremony is a very big taboo in our martial world, you know that, right?"

Senior Brother Unsik shook his head vigorously.

"So, it means that if someone has someone they want to take revenge on, they have to take revenge or attack before the Gold Basin Hand-Washing ceremony."

"Aha... so that's why they check people's identities and control them? In case something unfortunate happens."

"That's right. Of course, with the martial arts of the person I know, the number of people who can fight on equal terms can be counted on one hand in the martial world."

At that time, Senior Brother Unmi, who was walking next to me, asked, "But who on earth, and why would they take revenge? Isn't the Sovereign Sword Emperor a widely known hero? Who on earth would do that to such a person..."

"Of course, the villains."

"Ah...!"

"As far as I know, he has crushed more than twenty Unorthodox Faction sects, and the number of mountain bandits, flying bandits, horse bandits, and water bandit groups is countless. In particular, there was a water bandit group called the Changjiang Water Fortress that had established itself in the middle of the Yangtze River that runs through Anhui Province and was rampant, and one of the greatest achievements of the Sovereign Sword Emperor is that he gathered and wiped out all of them, whom even the government troops had given up on."

"Wow... he was a truly amazing person."

"Of course. Do you know that Anhui Province is the only province in the entire Central Plains that has not a single Unorthodox Faction sect? Of course, the area is also the smallest, and there may be small sects that are not even known... but his achievements are truly amazing."

At my explanation, everyone's eyes sparkled.

The word 'hero' has a strange charm in itself.

Everyone's dream, goal, and aspiration is to be a hero, and if you were to pick just one word that best describes the Sovereign Sword Emperor, Nangong Sang-hyeon, it would be 'hero'.

"And, probably, the great-grandfather will not come out of the inner quarters unless there is something special. In case something unfortunate happens."

Before we knew it, we had arrived at our lodgings.

Kind servants greeted us and guided us to our assigned rooms.

The Nangong family seems to have many rooms left, as they assigned each of our five brothers a room.

After we each went into our rooms and unpacked our luggage, the time was already evening.

After being treated to a hearty dinner, we decided to have some personal maintenance time.

There's not much to do until next week's event anyway.

So, we talked about training on our own and peeking at the Nangong family's training ground tomorrow, and then we parted to our respective rooms.

In fact, I'm not the type to just stay cooped up in my room like this, but since it was my first time here, I didn't want to attract the attention of others by training loudly on the first day, so I thought I would just quietly do some internal technique training today.

Even so, I felt that the energy of the Six Yang Divine Art flowing in my body had become a little stronger while running here, so I thought it was a good thing.

And so, as I was sitting cross-legged on the floor and slowly doing qi circulation, I heard the sound of someone approaching my door.

'Who is it?'

Judging by the light footsteps and stride, it was the sound of someone who had learned martial arts.

I slowly opened my eyes and watched the door.

Then, a low voice was heard.

"Is this by any chance Taoist Master Unhwi's room?"

It was a voice I had never heard before. Although I was a little wary, it was also funny to be wary of someone inside the Nangong family, so I got up from my seat and opened the door.

Then, a woman was waiting in front of the door.

A slender figure with a face as beautiful as Zhuge Ling's. And she was wearing the blue martial arts uniform that symbolizes the Nangong family.

I know who this woman is.

'Nangong Yu-hwa. The daughter of the Sword King.'

She is Nangong Yu-hwa, the daughter of Nangong Cheon-jin, the current head of the Nangong family, and is called the Sword Phoenix of her generation for her good performance at the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly.

I don't know why a direct descendant of the Nangong family came to see me, but I said to her first, "I am Unhwi. What brings you to me?"

"Fortunately, I've come to the right place. I've come to escort you because there is someone who wants to see you for a moment, Taoist Master."

"Who?"

"You will find out if you follow me. Even if you follow me, no harm will come to you, Taoist Master."

"Hmm..."

I narrowed my eyes and looked at her for a moment, and then I nodded my head.

A direct descendant of the Nangong family is calling me in the Nangong family? I thought that perhaps the Sword King wanted to see me.

I didn't think deeply about how Nangong Cheon-jin knew about my existence.

In the first place, the Sword King is also a close friend of Uncle Sword Emperor, and I know that he is also on good terms with our sect leader.

It's possible that he had sent a letter in advance saying that I was coming.

"I understand. Please guide me."

"Yes. Please follow me well."

She took me out of the pavilion and began to lightly perform a lightness skill, and I followed her smoothly.

The Nangong family's manor was so large that we went deep inside even with a lightness skill.

As we went deep inside, a pine forest appeared in the manor.

And, as we entered the very center of the pine forest, a cozy-looking pavilion with a small pond revealed itself.

"This way. Please follow me."

She took me into that pavilion.

As we entered the pavilion, we went straight to the large door at the very end, but when we reached the door, she didn't open it, but pointed to the door and said, "You may enter."

"What about you, young lady?"

"I will wait for the two of you to finish your conversation, and then I will escort you back to your lodgings later."

She said that and then immediately turned her back and disappeared somewhere, and I had no choice but to open the door and enter the room.

'Is this the head of the family's hall? This place feels like another world.'

The door opened smoothly, and I thought that Nangong Cheon-jin would be waiting here.

I had met him a few times in my past life, so I felt a little bit of gladness.

"Huh...?"

When I opened the door, the person who was looking out the large window turned his head towards me.

But he was not the head of the Nangong family, but an old man.

The old man was not very tall or large, but even though he was an old man, he had clean skin and a straight back, and his naturally flowing white beard created a mysterious atmosphere.

It's because he's old now, but his face, which probably made many women cry when he was young, and his mysterious atmosphere combined to make me feel like I was seeing an immortal.

"You've come. Are you... Unhwi?"

His internal energy was so deep that even though his voice seemed to be spoken lightly, it felt like it was hitting my ears.

Realizing who he was, I was so surprised that I couldn't say anything for a moment.

Then, the old man laughed and continued, "You must have been surprised because you didn't expect me to call you. If it was sudden, I apologize."

"Ah, no. I was surprised, but..."

"Hahaha! You have a lot of guts. Anyway, it's nice to meet you. I am Nangong Sang-hyeon."

He was a person who was always mentioned first or second when discussing the strongest in the current martial world, and was called the master of the sword, the supreme of the sword, and the emperor of the sword.

And he was the one who led the current golden age of the Nangong family and was called the nightmare of all evil heretics and villains... the Sovereign Sword Emperor, Nangong Sang-hyeon.