Chapter – 80
Ziiing—
Jinhwa tightly held the tingling sword energy in his hand.
He looked at the owner of the sword that had interrupted him.
Neatly combed white hair. A thin yet firm body.
A white martial robe with a Taeguk symbol on the chest.
Among the warriors of Wudang, there was only one person who could deflect his sword.
“Sword Maniac.”
Wi Yeon recognized him immediately as well.
An elder of Wudang. The greatest sword of Wudang.
And the master of Taecheonghwan from the Geumjong Gwangju branch.
Hyeonje.
“E-Elder, how are you here…?”
“We’ll talk later.”
Hyeonje’s figure blurred.
He vanished and appeared right in front of Jinhwa.
Boom—
Jinhwa blocked the sword and stepped back.
His hand shot toward the charging Hyeonje.
Clack.
It was the same primordial external force that had once faced fifteen of the Ten Seats alone.
But Hyeonje only paused for a brief moment before shooting forward again.
“…!”
Jinhwa narrowly deflected the blade by the width of a sheet of paper and raised Musang.
“Taeguk.”
The origin of all things in the universe, like the Five Elements.
Hyeonje had dissolved the primordial external force using the profound principles of Taeguk.
He only managed to cut Jinhwa’s collar by a hair’s breadth before shaking his beloved sword.
“You really do strange things, just as I heard.”
Soon after, a heaven-shaking battle erupted.
The empty halls of Haesin Gate collapsed.
Beyond the walls, the sea churned violently.
Falling rocks crashed down over the raging waves.
“…Kuh!”
Amazingly, Hyeonje was pushing back Jinhwa—
the same Jinhwa who had fought four of the Ten Seats alone.
Though Jinhwa was injured internally and missing one arm,
Wi Yeon, who had personally crossed swords with him, could hardly believe the sight.
As the wind roared and the earth trembled—
Clang—
While crossing swords with Hyeonje, Jinhwa suddenly appeared before Ju Mun-gyu.
He had blocked the sword energy flying toward him.
Jinhwa frowned at Hyeonje.
“Was that a mistake?”
“Who knows.”
The fight resumed immediately.
Only a few exchanges—
Clang—
Jinhwa used a strange displacement technique and again stood in front of Ju Mun-gyu.
Ziiing—
His fingertips tingled after deflecting the energy.
Jinhwa looked at Hyeonje.
“So it wasn’t a mistake.”
“Should it have been?”
“I didn’t expect Wudang to turn into the unorthodox faction.”
“Hahaha!”
Hyeonje burst into laughter.
He mocked the idea that targeting the weak to win was something a righteous faction would do.
“How romantic. I suppose your reason for causing chaos must be trivial.”
His figure blurred again.
“If you win, that’s the end.”
“…!”
With Hyeonje’s attack, another world-shaking clash began.
Jinhwa was struggling.
Not only because Hyeonje’s martial arts were powerful,
but because he kept attacking Ju Mun-gyu whenever he saw an opening.
‘…Kuh!’
Each time Jinhwa blocked an attack aimed at Ju Mun-gyu,
a sword would immediately follow, targeting his throat.
Hidden weapons were mixed in between.
It was a parade of dirty tricks worthy of the unorthodox faction.
“……”
Jinhwa suddenly made up his mind and swung Musang widely.
“…!”
The attack was aimed at Wi Yeon.
Sharp sword energy flew toward Wi Yeon, whose limbs were already twisted and broken.
An eye for an eye.
The moment Hyeonje moved his body toward Wi Yeon,
Jinhwa leaned forward to strike from behind—
“…!”
Hyeonje’s sword was already in front of him.
Hyeonje ignored Wi Yeon completely.
“Keugh!”
Blood burst from Wi Yeon’s fallen body.
At the same time, red blood poured out elsewhere.
“……”
A deep sword wound was carved into Jinhwa’s chest.
Clang—
Jinhwa’s blurred figure grabbed Ju Mun-gyu and soared into the air.
He locked eyes with Hyeonje below.
“So it’s you. In this generation.”
“……”
Holding Ju Mun-gyu in his arms, Jinhwa vanished into the distance.
Blood dripped from Hyeonje’s sleeve as he looked up at the sky.
* * *
“Cough!”
Wi Yeon, who had taken the blow directly, spat out a mouthful of blood.
His thigh was mangled down to the bone.
He lifted his head and looked at Hyeonje, who was applying healing powder to his wound.
“Wasn’t… that too much…?”
“If I hadn’t done that, both of you would have died.”
“……”
Wi Yeon rested his head on the ground.
It was true.
* * *
Carrying Wi Yeon on his back, Hyeonje used lightness skills day and night.
The opponent was as powerful as rumored.
If that “bishop” had been in perfect condition,
the outcome of the battle would have been completely different.
“Are you alright?”
There was no response from behind him.
Wi Yeon was dying.
This was not something an ordinary physician could fix.
But he had once heard something from his disciple.
—“Make him forfeit.”
—“What?”
—“Make him forfeit.”
—“He’ll break. Your child.”
At the Hwangrim Gathering, that child had been carrying Great Rejuvenation Pills.
As always, probably another useless joke—
but there had to be something similar at least.
One day. Two days.
Hyeonje forced himself to stay conscious.
He had also suffered serious internal injuries while fighting Jinhwa.
But Wi Yeon was connected to his disciple.
And that brat never stopped saying he respected him—even as a joke.
“You insolent brat.”
Hyeonje’s eyes sharpened.
His figure shot forward.
* * *
Kang Yu landed in front of a large stone monument.
It was the kind commonly found at tourist sites, telling a legend about a celestial maiden.
Something about a fisherman from Poyang Lake returning a pearl he found at the bottom of the lake,
and the Jade Emperor becoming jealous…
It wasn’t a very interesting story.
‘Ugh…!’
Yeon Baekrim, who had been carried here by Kang Yu, grabbed the lakeside railing.
After being carried so often, he at least no longer fainted.
‘It would be better to faint…’
Going up and down rapidly while fully conscious made him feel like vomiting any moment.
Kang Yu looked at him trembling by the railing.
“Divine Dragon?”
Yeon Baekrim swallowed whatever had risen to his throat.
If he vomited, he would die.
He lifted his head as calmly as possible.
“The, the scenery is beautiful.”
Kang Yu followed his gaze.
Simple fishing boats were moving across Poyang Lake.
“Right? At first I thought this place was the sea.”
Yeon Baekrim took a deep breath.
“By the way, when is the person you were supposed to meet coming? It’s already been six days since we arrived.”
Kang Yu’s expression grew serious.
“If he doesn’t come by noon, I’ll go myself. He’s not someone who would break a promise…”
Yeon Baekrim remembered hearing that the person had gone to Haesin Gate.
To reach Fujian Province from Poyang Lake, they would have to cross another region.
Just thinking about enduring that hellish motion sickness again made Yeon Baekrim seriously consider running away at night.
“!”
Suddenly, Kang Yu looked up at the sky.
Soon, small objects appeared in the distance.
Boom—
As they lowered in altitude, they slid a long distance across the dirt ground.
They had not been able to withstand the force of their flight.
Expecting a landing, Kang Yu rushed forward in shock through the dust.
“B-Boss!”
One was Wi Yeon.
The other was an old man he had seen in Shaanxi before.
Later he learned he was Taecheonghwan’s master.
Both were covered in wounds.
Kang Yu quickly untied his bundle.
He opened a wooden box inside, and a fragrant scent spread everywhere.
Hyeonje barely lifted his head—
—and collapsed unconscious.
“…So it was real.”
Hyeonje regained consciousness a few hours after taking the Great Rejuvenation Pill.
He had brought a few leftover ones that were not given to Shaolin.
But unlike Hyeonje, Wi Yeon’s condition was too severe.
He still lay unconscious in the inn where Kang Yu and Yeon Baekrim were staying.
Kang Yu looked down at the remaining pills.
The medicine he made was clearly less effective than Old Man Baek’s.
If it had been Old Man Baek’s pill, Wi Yeon would have woken up quickly.
Since the weaker one Mu Seong brought from Shaolin was called So-Hwan-Dan,
perhaps his should be called Mid-Hwan-Dan.
At that moment, the door opened and Hyeonje entered.
“No improvement yet?”
Kang Yu stood up.
“Not yet. But he’s much better than before.”
“Hm.”
“I couldn’t ask earlier because things were chaotic, but what happened?”
Hyeonje leaned against the wall and briefly explained.
The battle with Jinhwa at Haesin Gate.
Rescuing Wi Yeon there.
Kang Yu then asked why he had gone there.
Hyeonje gave an unexpected answer.
“The beggar old man told me to go to Haesin Gate?”
He sighed.
“That’s right.”
A month ago—
“Stop being stubborn and do what you must.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Join the Ten Seats. How long will you live as a wanderer?”
“It’s not like you can just join because you want to.”
“I’m not telling you to chase fame. I mean join the Association.”
“At this age? I’m not interested.”
“I’m retiring.”
“….”
“No, perhaps it’s more accurate to say I’m being forced out. I can barely even lift a spoon these days.”
Yong Sobek’s hand trembled at eye level.
“When a day like this came, I thought only you could succeed me. Please.”
“What if I refuse?”
“Who knows.”
Then Yong Sobek calmly continued—
He listed various scandals about Wudang.
And finally said that if such things became known, someone might be dismissed.
“There’s more than one way, isn’t there?”
Hyeonje shook his head, recalling Yong Sobek’s sly smile.
Then he looked at Kang Yu.
“Why didn’t you come to Haesin Gate?”
“Huh?”
“You were supposed to come there too.”
Kang Yu blinked.
“Did the beggar old man say that?”
An uneasy feeling crept in.
“He did.”
“That’s strange. I clearly told him I was going to Shaolin. And that the unit leader was going alone to Haesin Gate.”
“….”
Hyeonje licked his upper lip.
That cunning old snake.
He had gone to Haesin Gate because Yong Sobek told him Kang Yu would be there.
But when he arrived, Wi Yeon was there instead.
“Hmm.”
From beginning to end, he had been played by Yong Sobek.
But in any case, he had rescued the unit leader of Geumjong—where his disciple belonged—and now he faced his intended goal.
“Do you have a moment?”
“Huh?”
Hyeonje pushed off the wall.
“Let’s have a match.”
