Kang Sogun

Wu Wonsong collected the bodies of Unsal, Heukgwi, and his subordinates and returned.

The Three Blade Sect also collected the bodies of its disciples.

Only the blood shed by many, and broken swords and sabers, were scattered on the main road.

***

Yeon Hwasim did not move from her room.

The sound of crying could be heard intermittently from inside and outside the manor.

Over twenty people had died.

Eight Fire Heaven Brigade warriors had also been sacrificed. They were someone's husband, son, and brother.

Yeon Hwasim fell into self-reproach, thinking that it had all happened because of her.

Guilt and anger at herself came before her anger at the Heavenly Martial Faction.

If she could turn back time, she wanted to go back to before she left the manor.

'Still, I wouldn't have been able to accept Gu Yangun's marriage proposal. Wouldn't it have been better to just kill myself?'

If she had, Gu Yangun would not have died, and the Heavenly Martial Faction would not have been able to threaten the Three Blade Sect on the pretext of marriage.

Now, even killing herself had become an irresponsible act.

She had to pay the price of blood, even if it meant throwing away her own life, and then die.

Jungrang was training with his sword in the courtyard in front of Yeon Hwasim's residence.

Jungrang's heart was also heavy as he watched Yeon Hwasim, who was trapped in anger and self-reproach.

Yeon Hwasim, who had been so pure and innocent just last spring, was now withering with a face that carried all the hardships of the world.

He was even more angry because there was nothing he could do for her.

He clung to his sword training even more due to the sense of powerlessness that came over him without his realizing it.

'Kang Sogun. Who on earth are you?'

The few words he had heard in his ear when he had clashed with the Dark Heaven Brigade.

Kang Sogun's words had opened Jungrang's blocked sword path. Thanks to that, Jungrang had reached the peak in an instant and had been able to defeat Heukgwi.

The wall he had hit without realizing it.

Kang Sogun, who had broken that wall with a few words.

The image of Kang Sogun fighting the strange men at White Dragon Temple came to mind again.

It was not a human fight.

Jungrang looked at the annex over the wall.

It was the annex that Yeon Hwasim's mother had used.

It was a place that Yeon Seongyeol had left empty to cherish the memories of his deceased wife, but for some reason, he had given it to Kang Sogun.

It might have been because it was adjacent to Yeon Hwasim's residence.

It was a situation where an assassin could fly in at any moment.

Yeon Seongyeol must have thought it was better for his daughter to be even a little closer to a master like Kang Sogun.

That's why Jungrang's heart ached even more. There was a limit to what he could protect. It was a conclusion he had reached after clashing directly with the Heavenly Martial Faction.

'Can I protect Yeon Hwasim from the assassins of the Heavenly Martial Faction?'

It was said that the Heavenly Martial Faction had as many masters as the stars in the night sky. If the Dark Heaven Brigade was that much, how strong would the masters be?

As Jungrang was swinging his sword and lost in various thoughts, a person entered through the moon-shaped gate.

Jungrang turned around and bowed his head.

"Sect Master!"

Yeon Seongyeol smiled at Jungrang.

"Jungrang. You've been through a lot. I was so flustered that I couldn't even thank you."

"I have no face to show you."

"Don't say that. I think it's all thanks to you that Hwasim came back alive."

Yeon Seongyeol repeatedly praised Jungrang and entered Yeon Hwasim's residence.

Yeon Hwasim brewed tea for her father, sat opposite him, and bowed her head.

"Lift your head. It's not your fault."

"No. All of this happened because of me, so it's my responsibility."

Yeon Seongyeol sighed.

She was only eighteen.

She was of marriageable age. But in Yeon Seongyeol's eyes, she was a child. Such a heavy burden had been placed on Yeon Hwasim.

It might become a burden that she could never shake off for the rest of her life. He knew that such a burden could not be shaken off with a few words of comfort.

Yeon Seongyeol took a sip of tea, put it down, and said.

"This happened because I was foolish. It's better this way."

Yeon Seongyeol had made up his mind.

He was thinking of selling the manor and the commercial rights and leaving Wuhan.

It had been a long time since Yeon Seongyeol had been involved in the affairs of the martial world.

The reason he had raised warriors was only to protect his commercial transactions.

He thought that he had brought disaster by being attached to the name of the Three Blade Sect.

He felt relieved after making up his mind.

"We have to leave before the evil hands of the Heavenly Martial Faction reach us, so time is short. You should also prepare your mind."

Yeon Hwasim could not argue with her father's decision.

She only blamed herself even more.

***

It felt as if he had returned to a day long ago.

The annex of the Three Blade Sect was similar to the house he had grown up in.

Kang Sogun was sitting in the pavilion of the annex, looking down at the small pond.

Looking at the calm surface of the water, all his distracting thoughts disappeared.

The dagger he had thrown at Unsal had contained not only Kang Sogun's remaining internal energy but also his innate qi.

He had had to draw out everything because he had only had one chance.

When innate qi is damaged, it recovers more slowly than internal energy.

The fight with the Three Masters of Yocheon had been fatal.

The fact that he had clashed with the Heaven's Mandate Brigade before his internal injuries from the decisive battle with the Yocheon Pavilion Master had fully recovered was also a variable, if it could be called that.

A human shadow flickered at the moon-shaped gate leading to the annex.

It was Yeon Seongyeol and Jungrang.

Yeon Seongyeol approached Kang Sogun, who was sitting in the pond pavilion.

"The weather is getting quite chilly. I heard you have internal injuries, are you alright?"

Yeon Seongyeol, who had dealt with many people, found it difficult to guess Kang Sogun's age.

He looked to be in his mid-twenties, but the presence he exuded was similar to that of an old martial artist who had been through thick and thin.

It was probably because of the empty atmosphere that enveloped his entire body.

Yeon Seongyeol knew about this type of person.

'A man who walks on the scent of blood!'

It was a type of person that Yeon Seongyeol did not like.

Yeon Seongyeol pretended not to see the shadow of emptiness cast on Kang Sogun's face and opened his mouth.

"Thank you for saving my daughter. The Three Blade Sect will take responsibility for the matter of the Heavenly Martial Faction's third young master."

Although Yeon Seongyeol said so, it was impossible for the Heavenly Martial Faction to agree. They would probably pursue Kang Sogun to the end.

Yeon Seongyeol wanted to tell him to flee right away, but he couldn't just send him out since he had internal injuries.

"The Three Blade Sect is thinking of leaving this place. Your internal injuries are not light, so you will need plenty of time, but the situation is not good. It will be safe while we are preparing to leave, so please stay comfortably. When the time comes, I will attach a person to escort you to where you want to go."

Kang Sogun silently bowed.

It meant he understood.

Yeon Seongyeol looked at Kang Sogun again.

According to Yeon Hwasim and Jungrang, he was a supreme master.

Yeon Seongyeol was a master who had reached the peak.

Although he had left the martial world, he had prided himself on not neglecting his training.

It is difficult for a master like Yeon Seongyeol to experience his own limits. That's why most masters remain at the stage of aging and purification.

A duel with a master like Kang Sogun could open a new path. But he could not ask a person with deep internal injuries for a duel.

"May I ask where you are from?"

"Jiangsu."

He did not specify where in Jiangsu.

"Jiangsu? Then you would recognize it. This annex is a replica of the annex in Nanjing."

Yeon Seongyeol's wife, Madam Jo, was from Nanjing.

Yeon Seongyeol, who had doted on his wife, had moved his wife's annex in Nanjing here in its entirety.

Kang Sogun looked around the annex again.

That was the reason for the inexplicable familiarity.

Yeon Seongyeol exchanged a few more words and then left.

Jungrang did not leave and hesitated before speaking.

"Thank you."

It was a token of his gratitude for Kang Sogun's advice.

Kang Sogun looked at Jungrang blankly.

He was not a person who would easily say thank you to someone.

No, he was not the type to ask for help from someone in the first place. It was surprising that such a person would say thank you.

"It was for my own survival, so don't mind it."

That was right.

The fight had ended more easily because Jungrang, who had received Kang Sogun's advice, had caught Heukgwi.

"I have one question. How do you know the Heavenly Star Sword Art?"

The Heavenly Star Sword Manual that Yeon Seongyeol had given him was not a martial art that could be easily obtained.

"I saw it briefly in a martial arts library a long time ago."

Jungrang was at a loss for words.

To say that he had only seen it briefly. But how could he have pierced through its essence?

"I just said what came to mind when I saw you unfolding it. I have never learned it."

That was true.

The Heavenly Star Sword Manual was just one of the many sword manuals that Kang Sogun had seen.

The memory of seeing it long ago had just been revived when he saw Jungrang unfolding it.

"Anyway, thank you."

Jungrang turned around.

"The sixty-four forms are just for learning the sword."

Jungrang turned around sharply.

"What do you mean by that?"

"The Heavenly Star Sixty-Four Forms is a method for training the sword."

"You mean not to be obsessed?"

The opinions of martial artists on forms could generally be divided into two.

Those who believed that one could reach the ultimate by valuing and adhering to the forms, and those who believed that one could reach the pinnacle of martial arts by applying them to real combat without being bound by the forms.

Jungrang also knew this, so he asked again.

"That's not what I mean."

Kang Sogun turned his gaze away. It meant he didn't want to talk anymore.

Until he came to his own quarters and lay down, Kang Sogun's last words lingered in Jungrang's mind.

'The Heavenly Star Sixty-Four Forms is a method for training the sword.'

It was a very obvious statement. It was something that even a child would not mention, but since a supreme master had said it, it sounded unusual.

No, he actually felt something.

But it just lingered vaguely and he couldn't grasp it.

***

A drinking table was set up in the pavilion in the backyard of the Three Blade Sect.

Yeon Seongyeol, his sworn brothers Cheok Muryang and Hwang Uichae, and Jang Mugang sat around it.

Jang Mugang had a bandage on his thigh, but he had no difficulty moving.

Yeon Seongyeol poured the wine.

"Great Warrior Jang. How are your younger brothers' injuries?"

Sim Mabaek and Wi Eunghwan were still lying in bed.

"It's not fatal. The third one is seriously injured, but he's over the hump. It's thanks to you, Sect Master."

Yeon Seongyeol had invited all the doctors in Wuhan.

He had entrusted the Three Tigers of Shandong to the most skilled doctor among them.

In the Three Blade Sect, besides the Three Tigers of Shandong, there were many others with major and minor injuries. Nevertheless, he had attached the best doctor to an outsider.

"You saved my daughter, what are you talking about. It's something I should do, of course."

"Haha. If you think about it, wasn't it you, Sect Master, who saved our brothers' lives first? The saying that what goes around comes around is exactly right."

Jang Mugang laughed heartily.

"I am just grateful to heaven that I can repay even a little of the Sect Master's life-saving grace like this."

Yeon Seongyeol silently nodded.

Several years ago, when the Three Tigers of Shandong were being chased by the Embroidered Uniform Guard and were on the verge of death, Yeon Seongyeol, who happened to be passing by, had jumped in and saved them.

After that incident, Yeon Seongyeol, who had already been infrequent in the martial world, had completely cut off his ties and lived in seclusion.

He was disgusted with the martial world where blood called for blood, and he also wanted to avoid the eyes of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who were said to chase to the ends of hell.

However, the saying that once you set foot in the martial world, you cannot escape until you die was not wrong.

He had not known that the Heavenly Martial Faction would covet the Three Blade Sect.

Jang Mugang asked Yeon Seongyeol.

"The Heavenly Martial Faction will not stand still. What are you planning to do from now on?"

The complexions of Yeon Seongyeol and his sworn brothers hardened gravely.

Cheok Muryang put down his wine cup and poured out his anger.

"Hmph! If they want to swallow the Three Blade Sect, they will have to shed that much blood. We can't just hand it over obediently!"

Cheok Muryang was displeased that Yeon Seongyeol was organizing the Three Blade Sect.

"What on earth does the Heavenly Martial Faction want?"

Jang Mugang was curious about the reason why the Heavenly Martial Faction, which had risen to be one of the Four Great Powers of the world, was interested in a small faction on the outskirts of Wuhan like the Three Blade Sect.

Hwang Uichae answered instead.

"What the Heavenly Martial Faction is after is the financial power of the Three Blade Sect."

"Financial power?"

"They have suddenly expanded their power, so they would need that much funds. From the perspective of the martial world, it may be a small sect that doesn't even catch the eye, but the business of the Three Blade Sect is quite large in scale."

(End of Chapter)