Chapter 173 : Chapter 173
Chapter 173 - The Strongest Person
“Huh?”
In front of a fork in the road, Solbo stammered in confusion.
“W-Why are we going this way?”
“Because this way is faster.”
I answered with an indifferent face. The reactions of the other senior brothers, including Eung Gajin, were not much different.
That was why Solbo felt even more strange. It wasn't a question he asked because he didn't know this way was faster. There were largely two ways to head toward Mount Song.
One was the right path that went around the mountain ahead. One was the left mountain path. The problem was that there was an incredibly huge variable on the left path, which could shorten the time.
“If we go this way, we’ll hit the Phantasmal Confusion Forest?”
Although Solbo had never visited Mount Song, he knew well about the Phantasmal Confusion Forest.
Bong-bang-tae-jeong.
Meaning a perilous trap beside a noble space, it was a modifier that always followed whenever the Phantasmal Confusion Forest was mentioned. Mount Song, which embraced Shaolin, was full of a clear and mysterious feeling, but the Phantasmal Confusion Forest right next to it had a bizarre energy that destroyed a traveler's mind.
It was common for even sane people to go missing or come out as wrecks from this Phantasmal Confusion Forest. For that reason, commoners would joke, 'Is Mount Song not pulling and using the clear energy of the Phantasmal Confusion Forest?'
It went without saying, but ordinary people went around the mountain to avoid the Phantasmal Confusion Forest. It was a shortcut used only by ultra-peak masters who could cut through any temptation or fear, or high monks who were free from agony due to their deep mental discipline.
“Will it really be okay?”
Solbo asked again reluctantly, but the only thing that came back was Uma’s sharp fangs.
“Good grief. How can a person of the Murim fear such hollow rumors? If worse comes to worst, you can just flee with those fast feet of yours, can't you?”
“That’s…….”
Of course, he was confident in fleeing. But it wasn't like the problem would be solved just by him running away alone, was it?
‘Fine. I don't know anymore.’
His fear hadn't vanished, but if he asked one more time, he would be bullied by Uma, not the Phantasmal Confusion Forest.
‘If anything happens, Biyoung will solve it, right?’
Solbo moved his steps toward the Phantasmal Confusion Forest with a reluctant face.
***
“………….”
He wasn't usually a talkative person, but today Eung Gajin appeared particularly quiet. Was he nervous ahead of the Phantasmal Confusion Forest? No. Eung Gajin was simply ruminating on what I had said the day before.
-Senior Brother Eung. Do you know how the Diancang Sect, which doesn't have many members, could be included in the Nine Sects One Union?
-I’m not sure. Since it’s something from before I was born, I don't know well.
-It’s because of the sect's greatest master.
-Greatest master? Are you talking about the World's Fastest Sword?
-At that time, it would have been the World's Fastest Sword. But even before that, the masters of the Diancang Sect were traditionally strong. Enough to invade another sect alone.
-W-What?
-Do you know? At that time, the World's Fastest Sword had the power to crush even sects like Qingcheng or Kongtong alone. The opponent must have known that too. Because there was no swordsman stronger than the World's Fastest Sword in Qingcheng or Kongtong.
-I can't believe it. Even so, they are pillars of the Nine Sects One Union in name, so how many masters would there be?
-Good grief. Senior Brother Eung, that rigid thinking is your problem. Listen well.
-?
-A swordsman called a master can face ten first-rate swordsmen. And a 'Peak Master' can face ten of those masters.
-Then…… in the case of Transforming Realm or Profound Realm, they could face hundreds of masters.
-Right. It wasn't officially confirmed by anyone, but at the time of fighting the Heavenly Demon, the World's Fastest Sword had reached the Transforming Realm. Therefore, he was entrusted with the critical task of breaking through the Heavenly Demon's Body Protecting Aura.
-That is a truly amazing story.
-So, Senior Brother. There’s no need to feel downcast or carry more burden than necessary just because the scale of the sect is small. Because if we just produce a few ultra-peak masters, other sects will never be able to touch us.
-However…… it’s not that other sects don't know that either…… would it be possible to create an ultra-peak master in the Diancang Sect, which already has few people?
-It’s possible. Because I am here.
-…………!
-But you better be prepared. As I am giving you a special opportunity, the overload will also be great.
That was the entirety of the conversation I had shared with Eung Gajin.
‘A special opportunity…… To think the Phantasmal Confusion Forest would become that special opportunity.’
Usually, rumors in the world tend to be exaggerated. It’s even more so if those rumors contain dangerous and ominous content. However, even considering that point, my plan was incredibly unconventional.
I mentioned that the Phantasmal Confusion Forest was a place worth trying, and even went a step further to describe it as a 'place of opportunity'. It was a story that was even more unbelievable because the Phantasmal Confusion Forest had produced countless victims.
Sniff sniff.
Walking at the front, I stopped and repeatedly inhaled the air. It looked like a puppy finding its territory, and Eung Gajin unconsciously gave a bitter smile.
“Get ready. It starts from now.”
At my words, Eung Gajin first pushed through the thicket. The trees were so lush that once we went inside, it felt dark around us even though it was broad daylight. Following behind Eung Gajin, I, Uma, and Jeong-i went into the thicket, and Solbo, with eyes full of fear, took his last step into the Phantasmal Confusion Forest.
***
Whistle.
Having entered the Phantasmal Confusion Forest, Eung Gajin unconsciously swallowed hard. Everything was a bizarre space.
On the outside, it looked like an ordinary forest, but despite the howling wind, the grass and leaves did not show any movement. Even though the sound of the wind whistling in his ears was so vivid. After a few more steps, the situation became even more serious.
“Guys……?”
The colleagues who had been walking beside him disappeared without a word or sound. His sense of direction crumbled as if he had stepped into a formation, and the color of the sunlight pouring down the mountain changed from moment to moment. Eung Gajin steeled his heart.
‘This is all a fiction.’
Unless he had stepped into a world of another dimension, such changes could not possibly happen in reality. Unless the world was broken. The one broken was himself. Eung Gajin took out a small pill from his robe. It was something I had handed to him before entering the Phantasmal Confusion Forest.
Gulp.
After taking the pill, Eung Gajin suddenly sat down and crossed his legs in a meditative posture.
Ssssh…….
The sound of the wind cutting through the grass leaves lingered around Eung Gajin’s ears. It was an uncomfortable sound that felt dizzying even though he was seated. As Eung Gajin tried to maintain his composure, an image unfolded in his mind.
A swordsman wearing white dance clothes and a blue headscarf. It was Jun-il, the four-knot swordsman of the Mount Heng Sect he had faced just a day ago.
Clang!
He sees himself being miserably pushed back by his strike. The expression on Jun-il’s face as he glares at him is full of mockery.
Tatat!
Soon after, Yi Cheon-yu, whom he faced at the Ghost Face Gang, appears and pummels Eung Gajin’s body. Yi Cheon-yu’s skill was still very burdensome even now that time had passed. The terrible pain he felt at that time is vividly reproduced.
‘Ugh……!’
The next swordsman to appear was, surprisingly, me.
‘Biyoung?’
I look down at him with an arrogant face. The scene where we first met at Simao unfolds again before his eyes. The young genius, wearing a sneer, showcased the Diancang Sect’s ultimate technique, the Sun-Shooting One Flash.
Boom boom boom!
The Diancang Sect young talents look at me with touched faces. As he watches that scene, something hot surges within Eung Gajin’s heart.
‘Why?’
Eung Gajin felt puzzled. Let’s say Jun-il or Yi Cheon-yu were like that. They were people he faced as enemies, so they were ones who could disturb Eung Gajin’s mind. But Biyoung? He is the young talent who achieved the greatest feat in rebuilding the Diancang Sect. He was a reliable colleague and a fellow he wanted to lean on despite being the eldest brother. Eventually, another swordsman appeared within Eung Gajin.
Flash!
‘…………!’
Only after identifying the final swordsman could Eung Gajin realize the identity of the hot emotion.
‘Right…… this is…….’
Inferiority.
That was precisely the inferiority complex Eung Gajin possessed.
-You shouldn't face the tall guy among the Tiger-Bear Stronghold bastards. Because he’s stronger than you, Senior Brothers.
My voice is heard riding the whistling wind. The tall swordsman whom even the great Biyoung praised as a genius. Within Eung Gajin, the Absolute Protector swings his sword like a gale.
Clang!
He sees himself with tightly clenched teeth while sparring with the Absolute Protector. He doesn't want to admit it, but the Absolute Protector is a swordsman stronger than himself.
As he took the Cradle-to-Grave Pill and began to properly learn the Diancang Sect’s swordsmanship, the gap, far from narrowing, was actually growing larger.
He knew such a comparison was very childish, but Eung Gajin was more than five years older than Biyoung and the Absolute Protector.
As the grandson of the Sect Leader and the eldest brother of the young talents, the fact that his skill was inferior to his much younger fellow disciples was unbearably infuriating.
‘Chaaaat!’
Already, Eung Gajin had become one with the version of himself in his imagination.
The Absolute Protector is a swordsman younger and more talented than him. But the hardest thing to endure was the diligence he possessed.
Looking at the Absolute Protector, who repeated training that made one want to vomit with an indifferent face, he felt as if he were someone who only talked big.
In the morning, he would come out at the same time the Absolute Protector came out, and he tried never to return to the lodging until the Absolute Protector stopped training.
But from some point, Eung Gajin began to rationalize himself, saying, 'This is enough'.
The sight of himself turning his back on the Absolute Protector, who continued training, to go in and rest. It was the decisive scene that broke Eung Gajin’s spirit, which had been holding out well.
“Aaaaah!”
The scream he had been crying out from within becomes a reality and covers the Phantasmal Confusion Forest. As if he would cut down the entire mountain, Eung Gajin swung his sword like a madman.
Regrettably, he was walking the same path as the swordsmen whose spirits had been destroyed in the Phantasmal Confusion Forest.
The Phantasmal Confusion Forest stimulates the reverse scale located at the very bottom of a human being.
For someone, it would be guilt; for someone else, it could be romance. And in Eung Gajin’s case, that reverse scale was precisely inferiority.
Swoosh!
His eyes were soon filled with bloodshot veins, and his forearms bulged as if they would burst from how much strength he put in. His sword was no longer the swordsmanship of the Diancang Sect. It was merely the appearance of a coward swinging wildly, possessed by inferiority.
Eung Gajin swung his sword without rest toward the four people settled in his heart.
However, the four swordsmen, on the contrary, were surrounding Eung Gajin and hacking at his body. If a little more time passed like this, it seemed Eung Gajin’s spirit would never return.
-Gajin-ah.
“Aaaaah!”
-Gajin-ah. You rascal.
“…………?”
In a corner of his mind where inferiority had reached its peak, a faint voice was heard. That voice was something very familiar, yet also something distant.
The voice of a missed one he hadn't heard for over ten years. The owner of the voice was Gajin’s grandfather and the previous Sect Leader of the Diancang Sect. Eung Jinsan.
“Grandfather……?”
Eung Gajin, who had suddenly become a child, calls his grandfather. There were many things he wanted to say and ask, but Eung Jinsan just repeated what he had said in the past.
-What kind of person do you want to become in the Diancang Sect?
“I want to become a strong person like you, Grandfather!”
-Hoho. This grandpa isn't exactly a strong person in the Diancang Sect, is he? If it's the sword, would Yeongbi not be the strongest?”
“Hmm…… it’s a bit different.”
-Different?
“Yes. I don't know swordsmanship well yet, but I still know that Grandfather is a strong person.”
-How so?
“Because everyone on Diancang Mountain trusts and follows Grandfather. I think such a person as Grandfather is the strongest person. I want to be a person like Grandfather!”
-Hahaha. You rascal.
In Eung Gajin’s vision, the figure of Eung Jinsan wearing a warm smile appears.
-Now I see, you don't want to be the First Sword of Diancang, but the pillar of Diancang.
Young Eung Gajin nodded his head vigorously.
“Yes. That’s right.”
Flash!
The last words Eung Jinsan left lifted Eung Gajin’s eyelids. Looking down, he found himself holding his sword, sweating as if it were raining.
“Grandfather…….”
Meeting his grandfather through his inner self, Eung Gajin trembled faintly from the uncontrollable agitation. He tried to recall his grandfather’s image again, but his vision had already blurred. Thick tears mixed with the sweat flowing down his face, wetting his chin.
Wipe.
Eung Gajin, having wiped his eyes once, sat back in his place and crossed his legs in a meditative posture.
The face that had looked like a demon when he was swayed by the Phantasmal Confusion Forest finally regained its peace.
As the inferiority that had filled his heart vanished, Eung Gajin became completely empty in both body and mind. A stage where one can only be filled once one is emptied.
He was ready to clear through the Conception and Governor Vessels.