Chapter 219 : Chapter 219
Chapter 219. True Colors (1)
A few months ago. Chengdu, Sichuan.
Jang Muryong, the head of the Jang Clan and known as the First Sword of Sichuan, was sighing deeply.
“Haa.”
His sighs had increased recently.
A sense of anxiety kept creeping up on him because of a certain rumor he occasionally heard.
“Tsk.”
As if his pride was hurt, Jang Muryong shot up from his seat.
He headed straight to his bedroom to sleep.
He couldn't fall asleep easily.
He finally managed to fall asleep only in the late hours of the dawn.
And in his dream, his neck was cut off.
SLASH!
“Heok. Heok.”
With ragged breaths, Jang Muryong quickly sat up.
“My lord?”
His wife, who was sleeping next to him, looked up at Jang Muryong with a face full of worry.
For the past few days, Jang Muryong had been constantly suffering from nightmares.
“Are you alright?”
At her question, Jang Muryong’s face crumpled.
He had shown a weak side to his wife.
It wasn't for such a simple reason.
“This is all your fault.”
“……”
“If you hadn't tormented that girl, this wouldn't have happened!”
“……”
His wife couldn’t say anything and lowered her head.
It wasn’t that she agreed with Jang Muryong’s words.
She felt wronged, but it seemed that a greater anger would be unleashed the moment she said anything.
Jang Muryong, fuming, left the bed.
After sleeping in a separate room, Jang Muryong headed somewhere as soon as he opened his eyes.
The training ground exclusively for the direct descendants of the Jang Clan.
There, Jang Muryong’s children were engrossed in training, swinging their swords.
The young clan head, who discovered Jang Muryong belatedly, cupped his fist.
“I greet you, Father.”
He did not like the greeting.
“You pathetic fool. You’ve reached that age and still can’t distinguish between public and private matters?”
“I-I apologize. I-I greet you, Clan Head.”
“Your swordsmanship is also pathetic beyond belief. Was it to hide your shabby skills that you tormented the youngest so much!!”
“……”
Jang Muryong, who had condoned it all this time, was now scolding them.
It was just him venting his anger.
But he wasn't venting his anger on them because of Jang Sopyeong.
In his recent frequent nightmares, the one who cut his neck was the Ghost Sword.
Rumors about the Ghost Sword were being spread throughout the Jianghu every day.
At first, it was laughable.
He thought he was avoiding Sichuan because he was afraid of him.
Then one day, he heard a strangely concerning rumor.
He had killed the Nine Dragons Fortress Leader.
According to public rumor, that man was a master no less than Jang Muryong himself.
The very edge of the transcendent realm. Jang Muryong was also staying there.
‘He’s just a bandit anyway. And they said he was killed in a joint attack, so he’s not my match yet.’
Before long, an interesting rumor was heard.
The Ghost Sword Young Master had been kidnapped by the Fighting Venerable.
It was a pity he couldn't kill him himself, but it wasn't bad news.
After that, a strange current flowed through the Jianghu.
There were younger generation members who performed acts of chivalry in memory of the Ghost Sword.
Naturally, he didn't care. What could the younger generation do?
Moreover, the Ghost Sword was already dead.
But a few months ago, that thought was shattered.
The Ghost Sword had returned.
And in a more grown state.
According to rumors, he had already surpassed the transcendent realm and reached the Heavenly Ladder Realm.
There were even rumors that he had returned alive because he had already reached a level comparable to the Fighting Venerable.
It was after he heard that rumor.
“Haa.”
His sighs increased, and he often had nightmares at night.
Nightmares of that Ghost Sword coming to find him.
That was why he was angry at his wife and children.
Because the ill-fated relationship between him and the Ghost Sword had arisen because of Jang Sopyeong.
After venting his anger on his children, Jang Muryong headed to the clan head’s exclusive training ground.
“Haaat!!”
He swung his sword indiscriminately.
To drive away the anxiety.
And to cross the wall himself.
‘Yes. If I just cross the wall, there’s no reason to fear him!’
But a wall was not something that could be crossed so easily.
If it were possible, he would have crossed it long ago.
As the sun set and evening came.
Jang Muryong roughly threw the sword he had been swinging all day.
CLANG.
And that night.
Jang Muryong stayed in the Clan Head’s Hall instead of heading to his bedroom.
“Damn it.”
He didn't want to sleep. He didn't want to suffer from that boring nightmare again.
He kept sighing until late at night.
In the midst of that, he felt a subtle presence.
Jang Muryong, who turned his head, saw a window that was already open.
In front of that window stood a man in black.
Feeling a chill, Jang Muryong muttered.
“Ghost Sword?”
His hand went to his scabbard to draw his sword.
But the answer that came back was unexpected.
“You seem to have quite a lot of complaints against the Ghost Sword.”
“……Who are you?”
Realizing that the opponent was not the Ghost Sword, Jang Muryong’s momentum became fierce.
But Jang Muryong’s fierce qi scattered like a heat haze in front of the man in black.
“Do you want to overcome that anxiety?”
“What do you know to be spouting such nonsense?”
“Huhuhu. If the Clan Head can become stronger than the Ghost Sword, then there will be no reason to suffer from nightmares, will there?”
Saying so, the man in black held out a book.
“This is the way to cross the wall and catch up to the Ghost Sword.”
***
A few days after leaving Mount Hua.
Jin Yuseong and his comrades arrived at the Seomoon Clan.
They were able to hear a more specific situation through the mouths of the Seomoon Clan Leader and Sama Hyeon.
“I apologize. We tried not to send a message until we found the Demonic Cult if possible, but the situation was not favorable.”
“It’s alright, Clan Head. But what exactly is the situation?”
“About a month after you all entered closed-door training, some sects began to try to seize control of the surrounding areas.”
“Actually, we first discussed this with Shaolin and the Beggars' Gang.”
“Both the Abbot and the Gang Leader were against sending you a message.”
According to Sama Hyeon, even if the process of finding the Demonic Cult was slightly delayed, they were planning to focus on understanding this situation first.
“Isn’t the timing coincidental? The two of them were also suspecting that this matter might be related to the Demonic Cult.”
Jin Yuseong, who was listening quietly, frowned.
It wasn't because the search for the Demonic Cult had been delayed.
“So you mean that even though Shaolin and the Beggars' Gang have stepped up, the situation has not stabilized?”
The two men nodded with bitter expressions.
“To be precise, it’s a situation where they can’t actively step up.”
“When the Beggars' Gang and Shaolin stepped up, they rather tried to unite. With the claim that we are trying to unify the Jianghu by putting up a fake force called the Demonic Cult or something.”
Only then did Jin Yuseong grasp the situation.
One wrong move and the Jianghu of the Central Plains would be split into two factions and a fight would break out.
It was a perfect situation for the Demonic Cult bastards to reap the benefits.
But thanks to that, he was more certain.
‘The Demonic Cult bastards must have induced the situation to reap the benefits.’
At this point, he rather thought it was for the better.
“Then in the end, all we have to do is prove that they are really connected to the Demonic Cult.”
If they could catch the Demonic Cult’s minions in the process, it would be killing two birds with one stone.
“That’s why we sent a message to the Great Hero Ghost Sword.”
“The Great Hero has already experienced dealing with those related to the Demonic Cult several times, hasn’t he? Is there any way to find evidence related to the Demonic Cult?”
Jin Yuseong nodded without a moment’s hesitation.
“I can tell by looking with my eyes.”
To be precise, his second eye.
The internal energy of a guy who had learned a demonic art was different from the color itself.
“W-with your eyes?”
“Then please tell us the method to find out with your eyes.”
Instead of explaining the details about his eyes to them, Jin Yuseong vaguely passed it over.
“It’s a bit difficult to explain in words. Rather, the problem is where to go first.”
It was Dang Sopyeong who responded to Jin Yuseong’s words.
“How about going to Sichuan?”
Dang Sopyeong spoke with a face mixed with various emotions such as anger, regret, and disappointment.
“It was because of me in the first place, wasn’t it? That we avoided Sichuan when we went to Tibet.”
“……Are you really okay?”
When they were heading to Tibet, Dang Sopyeong had said.
That no matter what, he was his father, so he didn’t want to kill him with his own hands.
Dang Sopyeong nodded with a serious expression.
“If we had gone and sorted things out back then, they wouldn’t have gotten involved with the Demonic Cult.”
***
After finishing the conversation, Jin Yuseong and his comrades left the Clan Head’s Hall.
But they weren’t heading straight for Sichuan.
They headed to a forge on one side of the Seomoon Clan.
It was to service their weapons one last time before setting out on their journey.
Blacksmith Yeo welcomed them.
“Did you have a good conversation?”
While exchanging greetings, their gazes occasionally turned to a certain woman.
It wasn’t Yeo Yun.
A woman completely unrelated to the Seomoon Clan, Gung Seola was there.
“What brings Miss Gung here?”
Surprisingly, it was Blacksmith Yeo who answered Jin Yuseong’s question.
“Ah. Thanks to the item that Miss Gung brought, I was able to prepare a very proper sword for the Great Hero Adamant Sword.”
Jin Yuseong showed a puzzled expression.
But it was nothing compared to Nam Geon’s puzzlement.
“G-Grandpa blacksmith. W-what do you mean by that?”
Instead of answering Nam Geon’s question, Blacksmith Yeo grinned and entered the forge.
Soon, he came out with a sword in both hands.
Jin Yuseong tilted his head.
‘It feels a little small for Nam Geon to use.’
To be precise, the sword hilt fit Nam Geon’s hand.
The size of the sword itself seemed a little small for a greatsword.
Soon, Blacksmith Yeo held out the sword, scabbard and all, to Nam Geon.
“Try drawing it.”
Nam Geon, who received the sword, muttered as if it were strange.
“Huh? I-it looks small, but it’s heavy.”
Saying so, Nam Geon drew the sword.
A faintly bluish blade was revealed.
“It’s a sword made of Azure Cloud Iron. It’s a much heavier but several times stronger iron compared to regular iron. The width of the sword has decreased, but the weight is probably similar to what you used before.”
Only then did everyone nod as if they understood.
But there was still a question.
“But Miss Gung, where did you suddenly get that Azure Cloud Iron?”
Gung Seola smiled gently at Jin Yuseong’s question and replied.
“Actually, I heard the news that the sword the Great Hero Adamant Sword was using had broken.”
Jin Yuseong tilted his head.
How could that woman have known about the sword that broke during their closed-door training?
‘Could it be that she’s so obsessed with Nam Geon that she even has someone following him?’
Fortunately, Jin Yuseong’s misunderstanding did not last long.
“Didn’t the Great Hero Adamant Sword say it last time? That the broken sword was a memento from his mother. It cannot compare to the sorrow of losing a memento, but I have prepared it with my sincerity.”
Gung Seola, who had replied so, looked at Nam Geon very intently.
“Please feel free to display the Great Hero Adamant Sword’s chivalrous spirit with that sword.”
Jin Yuseong thought.
That a sword of that caliber could withstand Nam Geon’s monstrous strength.
Nam Geon responded with a face mixed with apology and gratitude.
“T-thank you. B-but this looks v-very expensive. A-are you sure it’s okay?”
“By the way, did the merchant group leader say anything other than Miss Gung?”
The merchant group leader was a merchant. He thought he might have sent it with some expectation.
“It’s alright. At least until I bought that iron and left for here, my father didn’t know.”
“……”
A silence fell.
Nam Geon belatedly broke the silence and asked.
“T-then isn’t it dangerous? I-I can’t accept this.”
“No, Great Hero! Please accept it for my sake! That sword is the most fitting sword for the Great Hero who will become a hero in the future!”
Jin Yuseong thought as he watched the two bickering.
‘She’s definitely good at supporting him.’
The minor problem was that the merchant group’s pillars could be uprooted because of that support.