Chapter 459 : Dragon Bone Cavern
Chapter 459: Dragon Bone Cavern
“Oh my goodness!”
At first, I thought the elderly man was going to use movement arts to descend the cliff, so I simply watched. But then I was horrified.
The old man was walking down the sheer cliff—bent at a right angle—as if he were walking on flat ground.
That kind of movement was no different from the legendary level of No Traces on the Snow.
“Can Father also walk down a cliff like that?”
“Compared to that man, I am nothing but a drop in the ocean. In the current murim, there are probably only three people who could walk a cliff like that. Not even the Lord of Sammacheon can do so easily.”
“Who in the world is he? Why am I seeing such a master for the first time?”
“That man is someone not known to the world.”
Watching the elderly man vanish from sight, I asked in a flustered tone.
“Father, just tell me straight. Who is that old man?”
Sohyeon stroked his beard slowly, falling into thought before answering.
“That man is...”
Just as Father began to speak, he fell silent. Feeling a bit sulky, I spoke in a slightly sullen voice.
“Are you going to keep it a secret from even me?”
Sohyeon looked at me, then nodded.
“Well, he did see potential in you, so perhaps you'll rise to prominence in the future. It would be good for you to know who he is.”
Sohyeon spoke with caution.
“His official title is Right Minister of Governance of this province.”
“Right Minister of Governance?”
I nearly fainted in shock.
The Right Minister of Governance referred to the highest-ranking official within the Provincial Secretariat of Civil Administration.
The Secretariat had two heads: the Left and Right Ministers of Governance.
Their official rank was Second Rank Senior Grade, and they held the most power in a province.
In Henan, the Right Minister was Wang Wook, while the Left Minister was Bae Yun (裵允).
In particular, Bae Yun was known as one of the closest aides to the Martial Flower Lord.
The Henan Provincial Secretariat was located in Luoyang, and within Henan, their authority was second only to the Southern King.
Though I knew the old man’s identity was extraordinary, I couldn’t shake off my doubts.
Even in front of the Martial Flower Lord, the man held himself with confidence. There was no reason for him to feel intimidated by a mere Right Minister.
In terms of authority and power, the Right Minister was bound to be influenced by the Martial Flower Lord.
“Originally, he would never have revealed himself if not for what happened to the Martial Flower Lord. But when she was ambushed and collapsed, he had no choice but to step forward.”
Seeing the puzzled look still lingering on my face, Sohyeon chuckled.
“Do you really think a Right Minister could command someone like me? That man holds a different identity.”
“Forgive my dullness. Please explain in more detail.”
At my urging, Sohyeon sighed and said,
“He is a direct descendant of the teacher Ghost Hermit. The one who informed us of the Dragon Bone Cavern’s location. The one who raised the Martial Flower Lord.”
“Ah!”
Upon hearing that, everything made sense.
“All this time, I thought the Martial Flower Lord was the one orchestrating everything. But it turns out, he’s the one behind it all.”
“That’s right. If he had been in Mount Wangok at the time, even the World’s Best Sword would not have escaped alive.”
I couldn’t bring myself to believe those words.
“Really? He’s that strong?”
It was hard to believe there existed a master who could overwhelm even the World’s Best Sword.
Sohyeon recalled a memory from years ago.
“Several years back, the Martial Flower Lord brought him before the Lords of Sammacheon…”
According to Sohyeon, the three initially looked down on him, assuming he was just another bureaucrat.
But when he told them to attack him all at once, their pride was wounded, and they charged in to teach him a lesson.
First, Sandok attacked, but he was knocked away within mere seconds.
Then Moon Gyeom and Sohyeon attacked together.
But even with a coordinated assault, they couldn’t last more than twenty seconds before being defeated.
That day, Sohyeon had no choice but to admire the man’s martial prowess.
In truth, the three Lords of Sammacheon weren’t people who blindly obeyed the Martial Flower Lord.
They aligned with her because of the power backing her—the Right Minister.
“If he’s a direct descendant of Ghost Hermit, then his surname must be Wang.”
Sohyeon looked at me approvingly and nodded. Though it hadn’t been confirmed, there were records suggesting Ghost Hermit’s name was Wang Hu (王珝).
“His full name is Wang Wook (王旭).”
“But if he’s that powerful, why is he trying to obtain the energy of Dragon’s Evil? With that level of skill, he shouldn’t need it.”
“No matter how great his abilities are, if The Three from Beyond the Heavens joined forces, he would still lose. He said if he could acquire the energy of Dragon’s Evil, even ten masters on their level wouldn’t be a threat.”
“So Dragon’s Evil holds that much power?”
Greed sparked in my eyes as I looked toward the cavern, and Sohyeon clicked his tongue.
“Tsk tsk, don’t get greedy. That energy is too much for an ordinary human body to contain.”
“But the Right Minister is trying to obtain it.”
“That’s because he’s been altering his body since the time of Ghost Hermit to be able to handle it. Even so, it’s not easy for him to fully absorb that power—because he’s still human. That’s why he gave me a secret command.”
“What command?”
“I can’t tell you just yet. But you’ll find out soon enough.”
Disappointment crossed my face, and I asked,
“Then please tell me how to pass through the formation. I overheard your conversation earlier—it sounded like you were going to open the Dragon Bone Cavern. How are we supposed to enter? And something seems strange. If he's the direct descendant of Ghost Hermit, then he should know the formation laid by Ghost Hermit. Why can’t he undo it?”
“That’s because the formation has changed over the past few hundred years. The Right Minister said he can no longer touch it either. It’s already been altered into a different formation.”
“So over the centuries, the landscape and surroundings shifted little by little, and so did the formation. Then how are we going to enter?”
At his son’s persistent questioning, Sohyeon chuckled and replied.
“The problem we couldn’t solve for so long—he came here for just a day and unraveled it. He said, ‘Why bother breaking the formation?’”
“Then how do we enter the cavern?”
Clicking his tongue at his son for interrupting before he even finished speaking, Sohyeon said,
“Do you know why your progress is slow? It’s because you lack patience. Try to cultivate some restraint. And instead, look at what the warriors of the Valley of Hidden Darkness are doing. That’ll tell you what he meant.”
Sohyeon said nothing more and walked over to the warriors of the Valley of Hidden Darkness who were moving something.
As I followed and looked at what they were carrying, I couldn’t help but exclaim.
“Ah! So that’s it!”
The warriors weren’t holding swords or sabers, but plows—tools used to dig into the earth.
‘Now I see. They’re going to dig through the ground to get into the Dragon Bone Cavern. There wouldn’t be any formations set underground. Why didn’t I think of such a simple method?’
That the Right Minister Wang Wook saw this in a single glance made him seem all the more extraordinary.
He was worthy of being called a descendant of Ghost Hermit.
‘But… what method is he planning to use to absorb the energy of Dragon’s Evil? He said it couldn’t be absorbed by a human body. Isn’t that why he worked so hard to obtain the Four Divine Artifacts and the Dragon Blossom Marble?’
I trailed after Father, wondering what method the Right Minister had suggested.
Because there was still some time until the Murim Reorganization Tournament, Yong Hwarin buried herself in the annex and began learning the Azure Dragon Stance Art that Gun Buyong had passed on to her.
The Hundred Justice Alliance had prepared a closed-door training chamber in the annex for distinguished guests, and Yong Hwarin was now completely immersed in her training there.
Even Yong Hwarin herself had lost count of how many times she had read through the Azure Dragon Stance Art since arriving.
Never mind the complexity of the contents—the true astonishment came from the very form of this martial art.
“Azure Dragon Stance Art is a martial art that leads to the Heart Sword.”
An involuntary exclamation slipped out.
Azure Dragon Shedding Radiance
Azure Dragon Returns to the Sea
Azure Dragon Spiral
Azure Dragon Scorches the Sky
Azure Dragon Thunderstorm
There weren’t many techniques.
Despite its grand name, Azure Dragon Stance Art consisted of just five forms.
‘But all of these are techniques that lead to the Heart Sword.’
The Heart Sword referred to the realm where one shaped the sword purely with qi after reaching perfect unity between intention and spirit.
Yet even among masters, opinions differed on whether this was truly powerful.
That was because, in terms of sheer destructive power, enhanced qi far surpassed the Heart Sword.
And if one asked whether the other Four Divine Arts approached the realm of the Heart Sword, one could only shake their head.
The Four Divine Arts all required material weapons.
The Vermilion Bird’s Great Skyfire Art needed Vermilion Wings and Tail Feathers,
Black Tortoise’s Supreme Lunar Art needed Black Tortoise Tail Blade,
White Tiger’s Supreme White Art needed White Tiger’s Twin Blades.
All of them were divine objects in the form of weapons.
But Azure Dragon’s Three Marbles were different.
Though they appeared to be marbles, they were, strictly speaking, orbs formed from a dragon’s soul.
They were physical objects, but their power varied depending on how much dragon energy was infused into them.
When using the Nine Dragon Heavenly King Arts, the weight of the marbles would disappear—that was the reason why.
Suddenly, a thought struck Yong Hwarin, and her body shuddered involuntarily.
‘No way… Could it really be that?’
What came to her mind was utterly absurd.
But the more she read and tried executing the Azure Dragon Stance Art, the more it all seemed to point to one conclusion.
Yong Hwarin had already mastered her clan’s signature Soaring Dragon Emperor Sword, the Blue Bamboo Sword, as well as the Dragon Ascension Art, Dragon Scale Grip, Floating Petal Steps, Dragon’s Lament, Heavenly Blossom, Left-Right Split Mind Art, and Dragon Claw Five Talons.
That was why she couldn’t shake the feeling that her thought wasn’t entirely wrong.
Still, this was the first time she trembled before even attempting something.
Not even when she had completed the Life-Death Mirror of the Supreme Heaven Scripture, or when she had first been able to use True Steel Qi, had she trembled this much.
Yong Hwarin activated the Nine Dragon Heavenly King Arts and grasped the White Tiger Demon-Subduing Sword.
Then slowly, she began to unfold Azure Dragon Shedding Radiance, the first form of the Azure Dragon Stance Art.
As she executed Azure Dragon Shedding Radiance with the White Tiger Demon-Subduing Sword, she felt something lacking.
‘Is this not it?’
She tried it again, this time drawing out the energy of the dragon.
This caused a blue, thunder-like aura to wrap around the sword, but that was all.
No further effect or power came forth.
This level of power could be easily reproduced by any warrior with the strength of Three Gaps or more.
‘This can’t be all there is.’
According to the Azure Dragon Stance Art, these techniques held power great enough to grind even boulders into dust.
But at this current level, all it could do was scratch the walls of this stone-built closed-door training chamber.
Yong Hwarin kept pondering but couldn’t think of any clever solution.
‘Could it be…?’
As she continued to deliberate, her gaze fell on the blade ridge of the White Tiger Demon-Subduing Sword she held.
She was staring at the Azure Dragon Three Marbles embedded in the center of the blade.
‘The Azure Dragon Stance Art’s forms assume that a weapon is involved.’
Interrupting her own thoughts, she pulled out the Azure Dragon Three Marbles embedded in the blade ridge of the White Tiger Demon-Subduing Sword.
‘Is it even possible?’
She had thought of this long ago, but dismissed it as impossible.
Yong Hwarin laid down the sword and held only the Azure Dragon Three Marbles in her hand.
Then, activating her true qi and summoning dragon energy through the Nine Dragon Heavenly King Arts, the Azure Dragon Three Marbles in her palm began to emit light.