A First-Rate Warrior Who Shocked the Divine Sword (1)
“Great Hero Black Flame Dragon told me to go ahead first.”
Again.
Jin Taesan, the hall master of the Outer Hall, felt his temples throb.
A modest procession had appeared, leading two carriages.
At the front stood a young master of about twelve or thirteen and a female swordswoman who seemed to be his guard.
There were no markings of a family or sect.
However, even to Jin Taesan, who could barely distinguish rags from clothes, the shape and material of the clothes the young master was wearing looked extraordinary, so he had no choice but to act carefully.
“When you say Black Flame Dragon……?”
Jin Taesan asked again to confirm, and the young master answered without delay.
“I am referring to Brother Jin Sowoon.”
“Haa…….”
Recently, he had been hearing that nickname, Black Flame Dragon, again and again, but he simply could not get used to it.
‘Of all people, the one who gave him that nickname had to be a leader of the dark faction.’
The first time he encountered the nickname was from an enormous procession.
One hundred sacks of rice, one hundred bolts of silk and cotton, various pieces of equipment, and two hundred high-quality blue steel swords.
Faced with the goods brought as gifts, the hall master of the Outer Hall, who should have been the happiest, first felt suspicion.
‘There is no way the Wang Family Estate would not have told us in advance.’
If it was not the Wang Family Estate, then where on earth had such excessive gifts come from?
“They were sent by the peak lord of Four Emperors Peak.”
“Eh?!”
When he heard the name Four Emperors Peak, he was horrified.
If the righteous murim had the Nine Great Sects and One Gang, then the dark murim had the Four Sects, Two Gangs, and One Peak.
Four Emperors Peak was the representative sect of the dark murim that occupied the position of One Peak.
“It seems the goods were sent to the wrong place. We are the Taeul Sect of Hefei.”
The escort, whom he had naturally expected to take the goods back, checked the documents and then nodded.
“Yes, that is correct. It says they are addressed to Young Hero Black Flame Dragon of the Taeul Sect.”
“……The Taeul Sect is correct, but there is no one in our sect with the nickname Black Flame Dragon.”
As expected of those dark faction people, Jin Taesan thought it was truly a spectacle how they attached words like “black” or “flame” to the nickname of a newly rising young talent.
However, the escort’s following words left him stunned.
“……Hmm, is there not Young Hero Jin Sowoon of the Taeul Sect?”
“N-No way…….”
“Yes. Is Young Hero Jin Sowoon’s nickname not Black Flame Dragon……? Ah! It seems the rumor has not yet spread to Anhui Province. The peak lord of Four Emperors Peak personally bestowed the nickname Black Flame Dragon upon Young Hero Jin Sowoon.”
What on earth had that damned brat been doing to receive something like a nickname from a leader of the dark murim?
That was how he heard about what had happened at Maling Plateau.
After hearing the inside story, Jin Taesan could not open his mouth to say anything.
“…….”
“Young Hero Black Flame Dragon’s achievements in Maling Plateau of Hunan Province will likely be remembered for generations as an achievement incomparable to any other young talent under heaven.”
That was all well and good.
It was all good that he had acted with righteousness without distinguishing between black and white in the face of life. What father would not be pleased when his child was born and then brought benefit to the world? However.
‘Still, what kind of nickname is Black Flame Dragon? Does it not sound exactly like a rising star of the dark murim?’
He simply did not like the nickname at all.
“In any case, I understand. However, as one of the One Hundred Eight Peaks belonging to the Murim Alliance, the alliance of the righteous murim, we absolutely cannot accept such excessive gifts.”
The already precarious position of the One Hundred Eight Peaks could be placed in mortal danger because of gifts from Four Emperors Peak.
However, what the escort said made Jin Taesan’s mouth open and close yet again.
“Ah…… According to what is written here, if you do not accept the goods, they will think their sincerity was insufficient and personally lead their disciples to visit the Taeul Sect…….”
“Where did you say I should sign?”
“…….”
The escort’s gaze was not kind at his sudden change in attitude, but still, there was no need to end up meeting the peak lord of Four Emperors Peak and sharing cups of wine with him, was there?
Moreover, the renowned elders of the righteous murim would not ostracize the Taeul Sect just because they had received gifts once.
However.
“…….”
“The gang leader of the Black Snake Gang has sent gifts to Young Hero Black Flame Dragon.”
“The young sect leader of the Blood Tiger Sect has sent gifts to Young Hero Black Flame Dragon.”
“The gang leader of the Nine Dragons Gang has sent gifts to Young Hero Black Flame Dragon.”
An endless procession of gifts.
It was a time when the Taeul Sect seemed likely to enjoy a financial revival unmatched in its five-hundred-year history, but Jin Taesan felt as if he wanted to flee in the night at any moment.
‘Does this not look exactly like we have formed an alliance with the dark murim?’
The only fortunate thing was that after the wave of gifts from the dark murim sects continued, righteous faction sects began to visit.
“The sect leader of the Sangyang Sect has asked us to convey his thanks to the sect leader of the Taeul Sect for raising such an excellent disciple.”
“Oh, my~ Not at all. Please come in and stay for a few days.”
Compared to the gifts sent by the dark faction sects, it was no more than a drop in the ocean, and the sects that had sent gifts could not compare to the dark murim either, but at least they did not say anything about “Black Flame Dragon.”
With a willing heart, Jin Taesan insistently, obstinately, and even by seating those who said they did not want to, had them stay at the Taeul Sect for several days, then even opened a banquet he would normally never have opened, entertained them, and sent them back.
If he made sure it was recognized this way, perhaps he could avoid at least a little suspicion that they were secretly communicating with dark faction sects.
Around the time he had barely caught his breath like that.
Twenty scholarly-looking people visited the Taeul Sect.
“What brings you to our sect……?”
“Ah! I am late with my introduction. I am Yu Jiryang of the Maosan Sect. I was dispatched by my sect to repay the debt we owe Young Hero Jin.”
“Uh…, uh…, uh…….”
Jin Taesan could not say anything for a moment, his mind coming to a halt.
The Maosan Sect, of all places.
If it was the Maosan Sect, did that mean the Maosan Sect of the One Hundred Eight Peaks?
Though the Maosan Sect had not entered the Nine Great Sects and One Gang, in terms of importance, it was no less important than the Jegal Family of the Five Great Families.
In particular, their strange gate formations were a good alternative for those who could not install the Jegal Family’s strange gate formations.
How had such a Maosan Sect come all the way to the Taeul Sect?
“Young Hero Jin wanted us to install strange gate formations at the Taeul Sect, so we came.”
Jin Taesan’s mouth, opened as wide as a washbasin, showed no sign of closing.
“Eh? No, with what money?!”
This fearless brat had apparently hired the Maosan Sect without fear, as if he intended to buy the whole world with a single Seven-Colored Jewel.
The feeling of pride lasted only for a moment, and just as Jin Sowoon was about to fall in status to become the greatest bastard under heaven, unbelievable words flowed from Yu Jiryang’s mouth.
“Ah, the cost will be entirely covered by our sect. So you do not need to worry about anything.”
“!!!!”
Through that series of events, Jin Taesan no longer had the energy to be surprised by Jin Sowoon’s nickname, and he was confident he would not be surprised even if someone came looking for Jin Sowoon.
Jin Taesan calmed his mind and spoke to the handsome young master before him.
“Young master, what brings you to the Taeul Sect?”
“Uh, oh. Please speak casually. I am far younger than you, am I not?”
His behavior, speech, and attitude carried the refinement one would expect from high-ranking officials and nobles.
“Ahem, very well. What did that Black Flame Dragon fellow make you do?”
“……Is calling him ‘fellow’ not a little too much?”
“Hm?”
He had shown a polite attitude just a moment ago, telling him to speak casually, but his attitude suddenly changed completely.
Beside him, the aura of the female swordswoman was also unusual.
“He saved nearly five thousand lives at Maling Plateau and captured the Iron-Armored Black Python for the stability and peace of the villages around Mount Longzhong! He is not someone so insignificant that he deserves to be called ‘fellow’!”
The young master, who had been polite, looked as if he had met the enemy of his parents, and the female swordswoman seemed ready to draw the twin swords on her back at any moment.
Jin Taesan swallowed dryly and stopped them.
“I-I am sorry. That Jin Sowoon brat has done so many unexpected things that harsh words slipped out. If I offended you, I apologize.”
“…….”
“…….”
When he apologized, the expressions of the young man and woman somehow changed strangely.
After exchanging glances, the young master looked back at Jin Taesan and asked cautiously.
“Um, if it is not rude, may I ask what your relationship is with Great Hero Jin Sowoon?”
“Ah, me? I am Jin Sowoon’s father.”
“!”
“!”
The two, their eyes wide like rabbits, knelt on the dirt ground and lowered their heads.
“I-I am sorry! I dared to speak rudely to the father of my benefactor. Please forgive me.”
“Please forgive me.”
“Uh, huh?”
Whether they knew their silk clothes were getting dirty or not, they looked as if they might roll on the ground at any moment, and Jin Taesan, growing even more anxious instead, helped them up.
“It is all right. It is all right. No, rather, you defended my son, so I feel even better. Please rise.”
“I am truly sorry, Father.”
“I am truly sorry.”
Seeing the young master and female swordswoman return once more to a polite attitude, Jin Taesan let out a hollow laugh.
“Haha, truly. I said it is all right.”
Then the young master stepped forward and spoke with a determined expression.
“Father, I have resolved to serve Great Hero Jin Sowoon as my elder brother for the rest of my life. So please treat me comfortably from now on as well.”
“Uh…… You mean you became sworn brothers?”
“Yes. That is correct. Originally, I wished to serve him as my lord, but Brother stubbornly refused.”
The young master seemed to look extremely regretful about it.
As Jin Taesan listened, he chuckled.
From Jin Taesan’s perspective, too, it was better for that Jin Sowoon brat to become the elder brother of a clever-looking child like this than to become someone’s lord.
Unlike Jin Sowoon, this child seemed to have a sharp and proper side to him.
Among Jin Sowoon’s actions that he had not known about, the fact that he had become sworn brothers with this child pleased him the most.
“Haha, even to me, brothers sound better than lord and vassal. I also feel reassured, as if I have gained another son.”
“Brother’s father is the same as my own father. I will serve you with all my heart.”
“You are far better than that Jin Sowoon brat. I am grateful just for your words.”
“I will certainly put them into action.”
The young master, who had not yet fully shed the air of a child, imitating an adult was rather cute.
“Good, what is your name?”
“Cheon-gi. Please call me Cheon-gi.”
“Cheon-gi. That is a good name. Your family name?”
“Yes. I am from the Jegal Family.”
“………Hm? Was there a family name called Jemal?”
“The Jegal Family, Father.”
“…….”
“By any chance, my father’s name is…….”
“He uses Hyeon and Un in his name, of the Jegal Family.”
“Ah…… Then your grandfather is…….”
“He uses So and Myeong in his name, of the Jegal Family.”
“…….”
The suspicion he had thought impossible became certainty when he heard the name Jegal Somyeong.
“Aha! Then your grandfather must work at the Murim Alliance?”
“Yes. I have always been proud of him.”
“…….”
Jin Taesan’s thoughts, which had insisted there would be nothing left to surprise him, did not continue.
“Father?”
“Yes?”
“Are you all right?”
“Yes? I am all right.”
“……?”
“……Shall we go inside, young master?”
“……?”
Jin Taesan truly began to wonder what on earth his enemy-like son had been doing.
#
“Why are my ears so itchy?”
I picked my ear while researching the Blue Dragon Ring and the Red Phoenix Ring.
“The people who would speak ill of me are…… the Sojeong Unit of the future and my current father, nothing else…….”
I had not met the Sojeong Unit yet, and to my current father, I was a filial son sent by heaven, so neither possibility made sense.
“……In any case, I need to research a little more on how to make use of these.”
The conclusion I reached after much thought was that I must not overuse the Blue Dragon Ring.
No matter how much I made a name for myself in the murim world and became a righteous hero who saved people, if others witnessed the sight of me absorbing an opponent’s true energy, I would become nothing more and nothing less than a demonic practitioner who had learned a forbidden art.
Moreover, the fatigue I felt during the process of absorbing demonic energy was quite significant.
“There must be a way.”
The Red Phoenix Ring had the property of purifying demonic energy.
My current hypothesis was that if I made good use of it together with this, I could absorb true energy without suffering fatigue even while absorbing demonic energy.
‘If only that is possible…….’
Even if the Righteous-Demonic War broke out in the future, I expected that I would not be forced to retreat helplessly like before.
However, unfortunately, I had no opportunity to test it against those who had learned demonic energy.
“It is not as if I will never meet them again. Demonic practitioners are so abundant that the problem is too many of them, not too few.”
I stopped thinking any further, stretched my legs and body out once, and glanced around the luxurious room.
Right now, I was staying at the Cheongmyeong Escort Agency.
The corpses of the Red Demon-Eye Unit that had been collected last night had been taken by the warriors of the Moyong Family, and they apparently exchanged many words about the martial arts those corpses had used.
In the end, Moyong Sangwon decided to send some of the corpses to the Moyong Family and some to the Murim Alliance.
The five-hundred-year absence of the Demonic Cult would, for a while, stir up confusion about their identity.
The only fortunate thing was that since even a little trace had been found, there was a small hope that they could become alert a little faster compared to my past life.
Of course, the possibility of the report being omitted midway was greater.
“Are you awake?”
A maid asked from outside.
“……Yes.”
Soon after, three maids entered one after another carrying a basin, clothes, and other things.
“The young family head of the main family said he would begin the banquet in the evening and that you must attend.”
When Moyong Sangwon first suggested that I go to his family, I kept stopping him and finally appeased him with a promise that I would definitely visit next time, and in the end, he proposed holding a banquet at the Cheongmyeong Escort Agency.
‘Even though it is not the main family, the fact that he insists on holding a banquet means…….’
Moyong Sangwon was clearly planning to publicly announce me as his benefactor.
Regardless of the level of martial arts, publicly announcing someone as a benefactor to whom one owed their life was the same as letting the world know that the Moyong Family owed a debt to the Taeul Sect.
If transactions made with identity plaques were personal debts between individuals, then a banquet like this carried greater public symbolism.
‘As the young family head, should he really make such a decision so easily?’
Holding a banquet with even the Namgung Family members who had come to help attending was practically the same as Moyong Sangwon’s will to make the declaration all the more certain.
At that feeling of Moyong Sangwon’s, I had no choice but to nod.
“Understood. Please tell him I will prepare.”
“Yes.”
But the maid, who had finished her errand, did not leave and waited.
“Have you finished washing your face?”
“I washed very thoroughly.”
“Then please come with us.”
“Pardon?”
Suddenly, the door opened and five more maids came in, and the place they led me to was a steaming wooden bathtub.
“Uh, this is…… no, wait! Then why did I wash my face! Wait! Do not take off my clothes there!”
Before I could say anything, the maids stripped off my clothes, placed me in the wooden bathtub, and began scrubbing every corner with brushes.
After being forced through the bath like that and coming out, they dressed me in clothes made of black silk and even applied oil to my hair, neatly arranging it.
When I looked into the bronze mirror, a young master with a refined face I had never seen before was standing there.
“Haha, you have really become something, Jin Sowoon.”
It was an appearance I had never once seen in my past life.
Perhaps it looked like the image of the hero I had dreamed of before going through the Righteous-Demonic War.
A figure racing through the murim world with powerful martial arts and a splendid appearance, that kind of……
“If the Sojeong Unit bastards had seen this, they would have held their bellies and collapsed laughing.”
#
After the sun set, a maid guided me to the banquet hall.
In the banquet hall, the escorts of the escort agency, the warriors of the Moyong Family, and the warriors of the Namgung Family were already seated and chatting.
“Oh! You have come!”
When I entered, Moyong Sangwon sprang to his feet, and at the same time, the warriors of the Moyong Family, the warriors of the Namgung Family, and the escorts of the Cheongmyeong Escort Agency all stood up from their seats at once.
“……!”
The banquet hall fell into silence, as if the banquet had been cut off.
“Come over here.”
Dazed for a moment by their sudden action, I went and sat beside Moyong Sangwon at his gesture.
Thud.
Then the people of the Moyong Family, the Namgung Family, and the Cheongmyeong Escort Agency all sat down at once.
I was now gradually starting to feel frightened.
“Everyone, greet him. This is Young Hero Jin Sowoon, the benefactor to whom I owe the grace of saving my life, who fought several life-and-death battles for my sake when I nearly died.”
No sooner had Moyong Sangwon finished speaking than the warriors of the Moyong Family and the Cheongmyeong Escort Agency sprang up from their seats again.
They clasped their fists all at once and shouted thunderously.
“““Thank you for your grace, Young Hero Black Flame Dragon.”””
When I froze at the unexpected action, Moyong Sangwon winked and tapped my side.
“……Ah, yes. I, too, thank you for your hospitality.”
Dazed for a moment by their intimidating appearance, I foolishly returned the fist salute, and they all sat down at once.
Moyong Sangwon looked somehow proud, and the warriors of the Moyong Family also seemed satisfied with themselves.
‘If I had known a place of gratitude would become this embarrassing, I would have somehow avoided this too.’
Around the time I was thinking that.
A warrior of the Namgung Family sitting in front of Namgung Seonhwa sprang up from his seat.
“We, too, would like to give the greeting we failed to give last time.”
Before I could even finish thinking, “Why are you all doing this too?” the warriors of the Namgung Family also sprang up and shouted even louder than the warriors of the Moyong Family, as if competing with them.
“““Thank you for your grace, Young Hero Black Flame Dragon!”””
“……Yes, it was, w-was only natural.”
I truly felt as if I wanted to crawl into a mouse hole if there was one.
I swore and swore again that I would rather fight the Red Demon-Eye Unit again than ever attend such a banquet of gratitude a second time.
“It is all over now, right?”
“Puhahaha. Your face has become as red as a ripe persimmon.”
Only after the banquet finally began and people’s attention toward me lessened a little could I slowly pick at the food.
However, at that moment, Namgung Seonhwa set her chopsticks down with a tap.
“……Are you all right, young lady?”
From the start of the banquet, she had not seemed to be in a very good mood.
When I asked, wondering if she had some complaint about the banquet.
“Why are you so reckless?”
“……Me?”
“Yes. You. No matter how much it was for the young family head, charging alone into a place like that was ridiculous.”
“…….”
Namgung Seonhwa, who did not know the detailed circumstances on my side, was not exactly wrong, but it was not something to say in a place like this.
After all, was this not a place of gratitude from the young family head?
Even though Namgung Seonhwa should not be unaware of such etiquette, she did not change her expression.
In the end, Namgung San stepped in.
“Seonhwa. I know you are worried about Young Master Jin, but this is not an appropriate thing to say here. Apologize to the young family head.”
“But…….”
At that moment, Moyong Sangwon spoke.
“No. Well done, Seonhwa. You said what I wanted to say, so there is no need to apologize.”
Moyong Sangwon laughed heartily, though it would not have been strange for him to feel displeased.
“But senior…….”
“No! This time, Seonhwa is certainly right. Sowoon, you. Even if you had exceptional memory and knew all the locations of the traps, it was definitely reckless. Do not do something like this again. Always keep in mind that just as you value others dearly, there are people who value you dearly as well.”
“……I will keep that in mind.”
As Moyong Sangwon said that, he looked at me with the eyes of a father looking at a proud child.
Just as the atmosphere of the banquet was about to become natural thanks to Moyong Sangwon, Namgung San, after thinking seriously, opened his mouth.
“Perhaps it may not have been reckless.”
“Hm?”
They were enemies that even Moyong Sangwon under heaven and his guardsman could not deal with.
Even so, Namgung San continued as if it were only natural.
“All the calculations must have been inside Young Master Jin’s head.”
“What do you mean?”
“I…… once visited the Taeul Sect for certain reasons and had a sparring match with Young Master Jin.”
“You and Sowoon?”
At Namgung San’s story, every warrior attending the banquet stopped talking and began focusing on him.
“Yes.”
“What was the result?”
The warriors of the Namgung Family who were listening from the side swallowed hard and focused on the story.
“I was defeated.”
“Hm?”
“Huh?!”
Those listening let out exclamations of doubt rather than admiration.
“Tell us in detail.”
“At first, I promised to use only three-star internal energy. Because it would not have been fair if I went all out from the beginning.”
Moyong Sangwon nodded.
“That makes sense. No, even your three-star level would already have been excessive.”
“But during the sparring, I had no choice but to break that promise.”
“Huh!”
“Hmm!”
This time, exclamations of surprise burst out here and there.
“So that is why you were defeated.”
“No, that is not it. In truth, even after that, I continued the sparring. I had clearly lost the match, but I had won the sparring. Yet I did not feel that I had won the sparring itself.”
“Then…….”
“In the end, I drew up all the way to eight-star internal energy…… but ultimately, I lost.”
“You did? How!”
Moyong Sangwon looked back and forth between Namgung San and me with round eyes.
“He grabbed a sword wrapped in sword energy with his hand.”
“Eek!”
A cry of shock burst out among the warriors.
“With h-his hand?”
“I was so startled that I stopped my sword, and Young Master Jin’s sword was pointing at my neck.”
“Haha…….”
The eyes of the warriors, which had seemed to look at me as a benefactor, changed in an instant to look at me as if I were a madman.
Moyong Sangwon somehow shook his head and let out a long sigh.
“But the story after that is even more of a masterpiece.”
“Hm?”
“I went to ask him afterward. His fingers could have been cut off. I asked what sparring was worth for him to go that far.”
As if recalling that moment, Namgung San stared at me.
“He said it was because the junior brothers of his sect were watching. Since he had shown them the sight of defeating a martial artist of the Namgung Family, they would have hope in their sect’s martial arts.”
Namgung San soon smiled playfully.
“Moreover, he said he had even calculated that I would be startled and stop my sword.”
“What! Hahahahaha!”
Moyong Sangwon burst into a refreshing laugh.
“You took a very big blow from our Sowoon!”
“Yes, it was a blow that truly made my head ring.”
“Hahahahaha!”
Feeling awkward, I did not know what to do and turned my gaze away.
But in the direction I turned, many warriors were already staring at me with intense eyes containing many indescribable meanings.
“…….”
When I turned my eyes again, Namgung Seonhwa was looking at me with the expression of a rabbit staring at a swaying carrot.
Feeling burdened by the heat I sensed in their gazes, I could not even swallow water.
‘If I ever attend a banquet of gratitude again, I am not human!’
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