Chapter 103 : Chapter 103
Chapter 103. The Eccentric Hero
A hero, yet an anomaly.
Or an anomaly, yet a hero.
The Eccentric Hero, a wandering ronin from one of the Five Great Families of the Martial Sovereign Castle, was a fairly well-known figure in the world of Murim.
“He was an Ultra-Peak expert with an impeccable lineage. He could have become a high official of the Martial Sovereign Castle, yet he abandoned all that glory and wandered the frontier.”
Bukgung Wan spoke with a hint of intrigue.
“And now he is the Family Head of the Iron Blood Woo Clan.”
Dam Jeok-san replied in a somewhat complicated tone.
“Sword Dragon, I heard you replaced the Family Head with your own hands?”
When Bukgung Wan first heard that story in the Black Market, he had assumed it was nothing more than one of the countless rumors that circulated there.
No matter how much of a disciple of the Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle Dam Jeok-san was, there was no way he could have dealt with the Family Head of one of the Five Great Families of the Martial Sovereign Castle, a power comparable to the Five Great Families of the Central Plains.
However, after meeting Dam Jeok-san, he felt that it was entirely plausible.
“…It was the Lord who took the life of the previous Family Head, the Iron Blood Tyrant Sword.”
Dam Jeok-san denied it outright.
“I merely borrowed the Lord’s authority to pass judgment on Woo Seo-gwang.”
The killing of the Iron Blood Woo Clan’s Family Head and the installation of the Eccentric Hero in his place had all been the Lord’s decision. Of course, it was true that Dam Jeok-san’s influence had played a role in the process…
‘That, too, must have been the Lord’s intention.’
The Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle likely had no intention of exterminating the Iron Blood Woo Clan outright. That was why he had left them a sliver of leeway, using Dam Jeok-san and Lee Hyang as intermediaries.
“That is a laughable claim. Was it not because you moved that the Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle moved as well?”
Bukgung Wan retorted, sounding incredulous.
If not for Dam Jeok-san, that giant would never have personally intervened in the affairs of the Iron Blood Woo Clan.
Dam Jeok-san, seemingly unable to deny even that, let out a short sigh and started walking. Toward the man who had lost his brother and nephew because of him, and who had become the Family Head of the Iron Blood Woo Clan—the Eccentric Hero, Woo Gi-hwan.
Rather than pressing further, Bukgung Wan followed after him.
Both men were tall, well-built, and possessed deep reserves of accumulated qi. Perhaps because of the extraordinary aura they exuded,
the ronin who had been blocking the way and making a ruckus quietly stepped aside.
The Eccentric Hero Woo Gi-hwan was downing strong grain liquor straight from the bottle, without any side dishes.
Rather than reacting to the man who had reduced his clan to ruin, he seemed simply to be acting as he always did, utterly natural.
The moment Dam Jeok-san and Bukgung Wan stopped before his table—
“Sword Dragon, and Lesser Heavenly Demon. Good to see you.”
The Eccentric Hero greeted them as he casually tossed aside an empty gourd.
Despite calling out their aliases in a crowded inn, there was no reaction from the surrounding patrons.
One might have expected at least someone to scoff and call it drunken boasting.
“You have already deployed a Qi Veil.”
Dam Jeok-san spoke first, with a note of admiration.
He could sense a thin yet solid Qi Veil enveloping Bukgung Wan and himself. A veil that completely blocked not only sound, but even presence itself.
The time it had taken the Eccentric Hero to deploy that Qi Veil had been no more than an instant. Even Dam Jeok-san had only sensed it after it was already in place.
‘That reflex speed is extraordinary.’
Such speed did not require a supreme realm of cultivation.
It was the speed possessed only by martial artists who had lived through constant real combat, crossing the boundary between life and death time and again.
It was something the previous Family Head could never have achieved.
“Our Third Young Master’s perception is sharper than I expected. Is this not better if we wish to speak comfortably?”
The Eccentric Hero asked lazily.
“If you wished to speak comfortably, you should not have come here in the first place.”
Dam Jeok-san did not allow himself to be drawn into the Eccentric Hero’s rhythm.
Though he acted frivolous, like a carefree drifter, he was still the Family Head of one of the Five Great Families of the Martial Sovereign Castle. He was not someone to be taken lightly.
This sudden visit was likely a test.
To see whether Dam Jeok-san was worth staking the clan’s fate upon.
“You are bold.”
The Eccentric Hero said coldly, fixing Dam Jeok-san with an icy gaze.
“….”
Rather than replying, Dam Jeok-san met that freezing gaze head-on.
The instant their eyes met—
WOOOOOOO!
The momentum of the two men surged wildly. Even Bukgung Wan felt his skin prickle as the two unleashed their battle intent.
Without either acting first, their hands moved toward the hilts of their swords.
“…!”
The one most shocked by this was none other than the Eccentric Hero, Woo Gi-hwan.
‘His speed was almost the same as mine.’
The time it took them to sense each other’s battle intent and place a hand on their sword hilts was no more than an instant.
Yet battles between supreme experts were decided in that very instant.
How finely one could divide time, and how many actions one could force into those divisions—this was what determined a martial artist’s status.
And the “status” Dam Jeok-san had displayed was, without exaggeration, not far inferior to Woo Gi-hwan’s own.
“I heard you barely managed to defeat Seo-gwang.”
Tap, tap—
The Eccentric Hero drummed his fingers on the table, speaking as though he could not understand.
There had been plenty of debate within the Martial Sovereign Castle about that matter.
The recovery of power in such a short time by someone who had lost his dantian was simply too far beyond common sense.
If the Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle had not declared it publicly, there would surely have been those claiming that Dam Jeok-san had resorted to demonic arts or the power of monsters.
Yet the Eccentric Hero’s doubts did not linger long.
Were there not geniuses in this world who tore common sense apart like paper?
To doubt a result that had already come to pass did not suit his temperament.
“My apologies for needlessly exhausting you.”
He apologized cleanly. He had assumed himself to be clearly superior to Dam Jeok-san and had intended to test him.
However, Dam Jeok-san had already reached the realm of Ultra-Peak. That was beyond the level Woo Gi-hwan could test.
In that case, it was only proper to treat him accordingly.
“First of all… thank you, and I am sorry.”
Woo Gi-hwan sprang to his feet, removed his bamboo hat, and bowed deeply.
It was a respectful bow, bent so low that the crown of his head was fully exposed.
Surprise flickered in Dam Jeok-san’s eyes.
As he had said, this man was no longer a mere ronin, but the Family Head of one of the Five Great Families.
For such a man to bow his head to Dam Jeok-san was no trivial gesture.
Especially with the heir of the Ming Cult present.
“I know as well. My brother and nephew committed unforgivable crimes.”
Had he known earlier, he would have taken Woo Gi-tae’s head with his own hands. This was not an exaggeration in the slightest.
“Thank you for carrying out that deed in my stead.”
“…That was my duty as well.”
Dam Jeok-san replied in a blunt voice.
Anyone belonging to the Martial Sovereign Castle could not turn a blind eye to commoners being fed to monsters.
It was not some lofty belief. It was simply what ought to be done. A matter of duty.
“And once again, on behalf of the main family, I apologize. I am sorry.”
“Your apology should be to the dead commoners, not to me.”
Dam Jeok-san cut him off firmly once more. Those who had suffered from the Woo Clan’s wrongdoing were the commoners who now lay as cold corpses.
“I am already doing that.”
Recovering their remains and building graves, seeking out their families and providing financial support, hunting down every responsible party and punishing them severely.
Within the reach of his hands, Woo Gi-hwan was already cleansing the sins of his clan.
“In that case, I have no need to regret my choice.”
For the first time, a gentler tone flowed from Dam Jeok-san’s lips.
An anomaly, yet a hero.
It seemed the reputation had not been hollow.
“I am glad you see it that way.”
Woo Gi-hwan replied, his voice likewise softer.
However, the atmosphere shifted in an instant.
“Now that I have confirmed you possess the necessary qualifications, I will speak plainly.”
Woo Gi-hwan’s presence changed completely. His aura surged forth, vast and violent like an oncoming storm, bringing with it an overwhelming pressure.
It was a power so immense that even Dam Jeok-san and Bukgung Wan felt their breathing momentarily constricted.
“First, let us make one thing clear. The main family has no intention of supporting the Eldest Young Master.”
He was not the kind of man Woo Gi-hwan could serve as a lord. At least, not by his standards.
“Iron Blood Family Head Woo Gi-hwan, do you possess that authority?”
Dam Jeok-san pointed out something else entirely.
All of the Five Great Families of the Martial Sovereign Castle possessed deep histories and traditions.
In other words, the elders who had shared in that history wielded tremendous power.
Could Woo Gi-hwan, who had been Family Head for only a few months, truly decide the clan’s stance in the succession struggle of the Martial Sovereign Castle on his own?
“Of course. Every elder who could object to me is dead.”
Those brief words carried a suffocating stench of blood.
None of the elders could evade responsibility for “that incident.” And even if some could have, Woo Gi-hwan had intended to wipe out the council of elders regardless.
Because he knew that without doing so, the clan would have no future.
‘That is why I wandered like a ronin all this time…’
In the end, his incompetent brother had stripped him of every other option.
“I wish to know whether you, Third Young Master, are truly someone worth staking the clan’s fate upon.”
And whether you are worthy to serve as a lord.
An utterly straightforward statement.
“And how do you intend to verify that?”
Dam Jeok-san asked, once again placing his hand on his sword hilt.
In the end, there was only one thing a martial artist could ask another.
“Through martial prowess.”
As if it were the only possible answer, Woo Gi-hwan tapped his own sword with his finger.
***
After finishing their conversation, the three followed Woo Gi-hwan to a private chamber on the top floor of Jeoknimhyang.
The chamber was closer to a grand banquet hall in structure. It was difficult to believe such a place existed within a shabby inn.
At its center stood a wide platform, seemingly built for sparring.
“Local magnates used to gather here and hold wagered matches.”
Most were bouts between martial artists, but at times it was a martial artist against a monster, or even a commoner against a monster.
It was less a sparring match than a one-sided slaughter. A grotesque spectacle meant to satisfy the sadism of the wealthy.
“Of course, it is no longer used that way. I killed everyone involved.”
It had happened during his wandering days. After that, Jeoknimhyang had been inherited by a child he sponsored.
“In any case, is this not a suitable stage for crossing swords?”
“It is.”
At Dam Jeok-san’s acceptance,
Woo Gi-hwan stepped onto the platform without the slightest hesitation.
In his hand appeared an Ink Iron Sword. It felt similar to Woo Gi-tae’s, yet carried an entirely different weight.
When Woo Gi-hwan lightly stomped his foot on the platform, the ground shook as if struck by an earthquake.
BOOM!
The moment he drew his sword and revealed his momentum, Woo Gi-hwan became a completely different person.
The carefree wandering ronin vanished without a trace, replaced by a swordsman whose frosty authority pressed down upon all things.
“Ha, that is impressive.”
An exclamation of admiration escaped Dam Jeok-san.
He was strong. Perhaps even stronger than the Iron Blood Tyrant Sword, Woo Gi-tae.
‘No. That is certain.’
Moreover, the drive for self-improvement he had long since lost still burned brightly within the Eccentric Hero, Woo Gi-hwan.
In ten years, in twenty years, the Eccentric Hero might even reach the Entering Transformation Realm.
The Iron Blood Woo Clan had lost much because of that incident, but perhaps it had gained something even greater. That thought crossed Dam Jeok-san’s mind as—
“This junior, Dam Jeok-san, greets a senior of the martial world.”
He stepped onto the platform.
Setting aside their positions as the Iron Blood Family Head and the Third Young Master of the Martial Sovereign Castle, he showed respect as a junior walking the same path to a fellow hero.
And—
“To think the back waves of the Yangtze would surge so fiercely. I believed the time had not yet come.”
Even on Woo Gi-hwan’s face, a considerable degree of astonishment appeared.
That he would feel this way against a junior in his mid-twenties.
‘I cannot guarantee victory.’
Out of ten bouts, he would win nine. There was that much difference between himself and Dam Jeok-san.
But once? They might draw.
And once in a hundred times, he might even lose.
Such an ominous premonition rose from the depths of instinct.
Yet Woo Gi-hwan paid it no heed.
“Even so, I will yield the first move. Come.”
He crooked a finger at Dam Jeok-san.