Chapter 59
Chapter 59
“Horyeung.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“Take Hosan and go buy something to eat.”
“From the inn?”
“No. Just buy the ingredients. I’ll cook.”
“Oh, now that’s something to look forward to. I’ll buy every kind of meat they have.”
“Do that.”
At the remark that the forge was running out of ingredients, Horyeung took Kang Hosan and headed toward the marketplace.
Kang Hosan kept fidgeting with his sword sheath, as though he still could not believe that he possessed the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron Sword. Seeing that, Horyeung lightly rebuked him.
“That’s enough. Others will be startled if they see you.”
“Ah!”
Only then did Kang Hosan become aware of the gazes of the common people and remove his hand from the sheath. To others, it must have looked extremely dangerous.
Grinning to himself and stroking the sheath as if possessed by murder…
“That looks rather bad.”
“It cannot be helped. If the Young Master saw you, he would have called you a madman.”
After buying food at a nearby marketplace, Horyeung and Kang Hosan headed straight back to the forge.
“Now it’s the Young Master’s turn.”
“Yes.”
At Horyeung’s calm reply, Kang Hosan asked in a puzzled voice,
“Aren’t you excited?”
“About what?”
“I mean, the Young Master is already monstrously strong. If he acquires the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron Sword, won’t he truly soar?”
“He will.”
“Your reaction seems rather lukewarm.”
“He was someone who possessed monstrous Martial Might from the beginning. Even if he becomes stronger from here, there would be nothing strange about it.”
“…That’s true.”
“And Hosan. From now on, he is someone you must serve.”
“What do you mean?”
“You may adapt quickly since you are still young, but I still cannot adjust to how strong the Young Master truly is.”
“…Pardon?”
“You seem not to understand. What would you do if you encountered a genius who had not even reached his coming-of-age yet and was already aiming for the Transformation Realm?”
“I would run.”
“……”
“Pride does not save your life.”
“……You have been far too influenced by the Young Master.”
“To be honest, I also tried to preserve a martial artist’s pride at first.”
“Hmm?”
Horyeung looked at him with interest, as if telling him to continue. Kang Hosan spoke with an awkward smile.
“If you cling to a martial artist’s pride during the Young Master’s training, you really feel like you might die while training. So what if your dignity is crushed? Living is better.”
“The Young Master’s training is indeed harsh. Even though I trained enough in my youth to be called relentless, I still cannot fully adapt to it.”
“Right? Master, I plan to live a long, long life—at least until Chowon gets married.”
“Ha ha, but Chowon does not seem to have any intention of marrying.”
“That’s the problem. Why did she have to become the Sword Ghost…”
“Is she not living a life she is satisfied with?”
“That’s why I leave her be. I only wish for her happiness.”
Horyeung chuckled and was just about to offer Kang Hosan some seasoned advice born of experience.
‘Hm?’
At the sudden presence he sensed, Horyeung immediately sent a voice transmission to Kang Hosan.
—Hosan. There are men following us. I’ll turn at that corner. Say nothing and follow me.
Kang Hosan’s face stiffened with tension. As instructed, Horyeung turned the corner and entered an alley. Kang Hosan followed and sent a voice transmission in return.
—Is it the Hwangbo Clan?
—I do not think so. Still, they are fairly capable.
Sensing Kang Hosan’s face grow even stiffer, Horyeung spoke in a gentle voice to reassure him.
“Do not worry. I can handle them all.”
Reaching the end of the blocked alley, Horyeung turned around.
As he had said, Kang Hosan saw men, each armed with weapons.
Dressed in black martial robes embroidered with a dragon clutching a pearl, they swaggered toward the two like marketplace thugs.
Horyeung chuckled. With eyes colder than frost, a chilling aura dripping from them, he spoke.
“Where have you vermin come from?”
At his killing intent-laced words, one of the men stepped forward and said,
“Do you not remember?”
“So it was you. In the end, you chose to make trouble.”
Horyeung looked at the swordsman who had demanded repayment from Kang Yongchong at the forge half a month ago.
“Creatures who do not know their place dare to run wild.”
“Hah! You speak boldly for someone in this situation.”
“I do not know what situation you speak of. Do you think our lifeline lies in your hands?”
“Of course it does. You may have tried to hide it, but it is easy to sense the Martial Presence of someone who is nearing the Transcendent Peak Master.”
“Do I appear to be at the Master Level?”
“You would do well to stop bluffing. On our side, including me, there are three Master Level experts.”
At the man’s signal, two others stepped forward.
“Big Brother. Is it this one?”
“It seems all three of us, the Shanxi Three Swords, must step forward.”
At once, the three swordsmen released their killing intent. The sticky, vicious killing intent that licked across the body made Kang Hosan shudder involuntarily.
They were strong. All three were beyond his reach. Frankly, if the three launched a coordinated attack, he believed even his own master would not last long.
That was, until Horyeung spoke.
“Hosan.”
“Yes, Master.”
“You are overthinking. Surely you do not believe what I showed at the Yangtze River was the extent of my strength?”
“…Pardon?”
“I have decided not to retire after all. I may be old, but I am still a wolf of the present.”
Thud—!
In that instant, it was as though thunder roared inside the heads of everyone present, Kang Hosan included.
A chilling killing intent slowly tightened around the throats of the three swordsmen. With each step Horyeung took forward, their bodies felt increasingly crushed.
Heavy. Incomparably heavy, as though they had sunk into a swamp, unable to move a single inch.
The ferocious beast, steeped in dreadful and vicious killing intent, bared its fangs and spoke.
“A wolf is still a wolf.”
Kwaaaaa—!
As if declaring the conversation over, an explosive Martial Presence burst forth from Horyeung’s body.
“Insane….”
Hwangbo Pungcheon could not hide his shock as he unconsciously clenched his fist at the sight unfolding before him.
“He is far more of a monster than I expected… He might even be stronger than me.”
At those utterly startling words, the subordinate beside him spoke up.
“Stronger than you? Just who is that old man…?”
“He said wolf… he definitely said wolf, didn’t he?”
“Pardon? Yes, I heard it that way as well.”
“Could it be…?”
“What is it?”
“No, that cannot be. I thought he would never appear again…?”
“Squad Leader, what are you talking about?”
Suppressing his own confusion, Hwangbo Pungcheon spoke to his subordinate.
“Listen carefully. Beside the Flame Dragon stands a monster far greater than we anticipated.”
“Who in the world is it?!”
“Blood Wolf.”
“…Pardon?”
“As far as I know, that old man must be the one once called Blood Wolf. I do not know his name. I only know that he was a hunting dog of the Gold-Blood Hall.”
“A hunting dog of the Gold-Blood Hall? But for a mere hound, his Martial Presence is far too—”
The man could not finish his words. The overwhelming and dreadful aura rising from the old man was enough to bind his entire body in terror.
“Blood Wolf, the one called the Blood Wolf. He likely noticed our presence long ago. Increase the distance.”
“Pardon? To that extent?”
“Hurry! We need at least fifty zhang more distance to be safe.”
Hwangbo Pungcheon was just about to rise to widen the distance.
“If you kill us here, we will kill the master you serve!”
The voice trembled in fear, yet its meaning rang clearly in Hwangbo Pungcheon’s ears.
The moment he grasped the implication and was about to spring up—
“Squad Leader.”
“Pyeong?”
Hwangbo Pyeong, who had been monitoring the Black Dragon Branch, appeared and addressed him.
“What is happening?”
While they were still in confusion, the Shanxi Three Swords continued shouting.
“At the forge run by Kang Yongchong, a master equal to the Shanxi Three Swords has arrived. The moment we send the signal, your master dies where he stands!”
A grave mistake. Hwangbo Pungcheon and Hwangbo Pyeong exchanged looks of alarm.
“The Flame Dragon!”
“Pyeong, I will go. When the Shanxi Three Swords gather as three, they are renowned masters of coordinated attacks—said to be capable of toppling even an ordinary Transcendent Peak Master.”
“Then a Transcendent Peak Master has gone to the Flame Dragon?”
“No, not to that extent. Likely someone at the very end of the Master Level. If it were truly a Transcendent Peak Master, he would have confronted Blood Wolf directly.”
“Blood Wolf? You mean that old man? His Martial Presence earlier was…”
“In any case, remain here. If that old man requests anything, comply.”
“Pardon? What are you saying?!”
“Enough. Do not resist under any circumstances. That bastard Blood Wolf is insane. Do not provoke him.”
Hwangbo Pungcheon hurried toward the forge. Hwangbo Pyeong, still unable to fully grasp the situation, maintained his position nonetheless.
Each time Hwangbo Pungcheon moved, his field of vision shifted rapidly. His speed was so absurdly fast that no one could perceive his figure.
He had yet to confirm the Flame Dragon’s true strength. But no matter how renowned he had become at the Dragon–Phoenix Gathering, he was still merely a junior disciple.
Youngho could not yet defeat someone at the very end of the Master Level. Before a true master, a sobriquet was nothing more than a title.
And at this age, a junior disciple who had earned a sobriquet often saw nothing beyond his own pride.
‘He will definitely choose to fight head-on!’
If that happened, there would be only two possible outcomes. Either he would become a legendary junior disciple who overcame trial—
Or…
‘Death!’
And Hwangbo Pungcheon could not help but know which answer this situation would yield.
The forge was not far, and he arrived swiftly.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The dull ringing of metal echoed all the way out. The steady rhythm of hammering revealed the blacksmith’s skill.
Wait—the sound is still continuing?
Hwangbo Pungcheon quickly heightened his Qi Sense and surveyed the inside of the forge.
‘The Flame Dragon is definitely inside. And there is someone without martial training—likely that man is Kang Yongchong, the blacksmith.’
The Shanxi Three Swords had clearly claimed that they sent a master of equal caliber to the forge. There should not be such leisurely hammering sounds if that were true.
‘Did I arrive first?’
Though unlikely, it was possible. Hwangbo Pungcheon beckoned one of the subordinates monitoring the forge with a hand signal.
“Squad Leader, what is it?”
“Besides the Flame Dragon, did anyone else enter this forge?”
“Yes. We could not read his exact Martial Might, but we estimate him to be at the Master Level.”
“What?”
“We could not determine his exact Martial Might, but—”
“No, that is not what I mean. A Master Level expert entered this forge?”
“Yes. Is there a problem?”
The subordinate genuinely did not understand.
“You do not know what happened inside?”
There had been no order to block customers from entering the forge. Hwangbo Pungcheon had only ordered surveillance and immediate reporting of any unusual events. Since nothing out of the ordinary seemed to occur, no report had been made.
Yet the expression on Hwangbo Pungcheon’s face was grave. Sensing the ominous atmosphere, the subordinate carefully added,
“He likely just commissioned a weapon. There have been no unusual sounds from inside.”
“…Yes. You were stationed too far to realize that only two living people remain inside that forge.”
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing. Continue your surveillance. I have somewhere to go.”
Having said only what he wished to say, Hwangbo Pungcheon vanished from the spot.
Watching his covert and swift departure, the subordinate merely shrugged before resuming his position, continuing to monitor the forge—
Unaware of what was truly unfolding within.