Chapter 105 : Chapter 105
Chapter 105. The Eccentric Hero (3)
There are things that can only be learned through defeat. Yet in Murim, defeat is most often directly tied to death.
Bukgung Wan’s life had been no different. The political strife within the Ming Cult was brutally unforgiving, where defeat was essentially the same as death.
Thus, Bukgung Wan had lived without ever suffering a single defeat.
Until he met Dam Jeok-san.
The Heavenly Demon, Bukgung Dantian, knew that fact better than anyone.
[Just as I thought.]
Once again, Bukgung Dantian’s message was etched into Bukgung Wan’s hand. As he stared at the black stain spreading like a tattoo, Bukgung Wan clenched his teeth hard.
[You do not need to bind yourself to it too much. Simply remember this: even you, the heir of the Ming Cult, are merely a human who can suffer defeat.]
“……”
Unexpectedly, Bukgung Dantian did not continue with mockery, but instead offered advice weighted with gravity. For words spoken by the Heavenly Demon who made the entire world tremble, they were almost too ordinary.
The first person to ever defeat Bukgung Dantian when he himself had been the heir of the Ming Cult was Man Su-geuk, who had been the Eldest Young Master of the Martial Sovereign Castle at the time.
On that day, Bukgung Dantian realized something.
That there were truths one could only grasp through defeat. And so he wished for Bukgung Wan to realize the same.
“Next time, I will definitely win.”
Grit—Bukgung Wan ground his teeth as though they might shatter.
And then he understood. Even this resolve of grinding one’s teeth in bitter determination was something that could only be gained through defeat.
Having realized what Bukgung Dantian had expected of him, Bukgung Wan said nothing further and simply looked at Dam Jeok-san.
The Heavenly Demon had said that Man Su-geuk suited the title of Heavenly Demon even more than himself.
Perhaps, when Bukgung Wan inherited the name of Heavenly Demon one day, he too would say something not so different.
***
“What did you see in me?”
Dam Jeok-san asked as he looked at the man kneeling before him, offering up his sword.
He himself was the one who had reduced the man’s clan to ruin. What, then, had he seen in him to swear loyalty?
“Possibility.”
At some point, the man’s speech had shifted to half-formal address.
“The Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle is not a seat that can be occupied by someone strong in martial prowess alone.”
Of course, someone weak in martial arts could not even dream of it.
The Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle was, after all, the transcendent being who represented the martial might of the Central Plains.
Yet something just as important existed.
Namely—
“An obsession that can break through any chaos, no matter how the nation falls into turmoil. A single-minded resolve that does not abandon hope, even when despair arrives.”
Even if the entire world turned into hell, the Castle Lord had to fight at the vanguard, clinging to even the faintest shred of hope.
“I saw that possibility in you.”
“Hah.”
A short, hollow laugh escaped Dam Jeok-san’s lips.
The Eccentric Hero Woo Gi-hwan. Dam Jeok-san already knew he was neither reckless nor frivolous.
Still, his insight seemed sharper than Dam Jeok-san had anticipated.
Peerless sword genius, unprecedented prodigy. To Dam Jeok-san, such epithets were somewhat burdensome.
His talent was indeed exceptional. Yet if one searched the world under heaven, there would be many who possessed talent comparable to his.
Bukgung Wan alone, or the Eldest Young Master who was Dam Jeok-san’s senior brother. And among the younger generation not yet known to the world, there would surely be others who rivaled him.
The reason Dam Jeok-san stood out more than them was because he had obtained the ability of Predation.
But he had gained that ability precisely because he had never given up, no matter how desperate the situation.
“If those are the qualities of a Castle Lord you envision…”
Dam Jeok-san paused and looked at Woo Gi-hwan, who was bowing his head.
“Then that much, at least, I am confident in.”
No matter how desperate the situation, he would not give up. That was how Dam Jeok-san had lived until now.
“Please, rise.”
Dam Jeok-san extended his hand, and Woo Gi-hwan grasped it without hesitation and stood.
One pillar of the Five Great Families, the Iron Blood Woo Clan. Its Family Head, who until recently had seemed utterly irreconcilable with him, had sworn loyalty to Dam Jeok-san.
“Life truly is unpredictable.”
Before returning north, Dam Jeok-san had considered making contact with the Five Great Families.
However, he had not aimed to extract oaths of loyalty from them.
The Five Great Families were as proud as the Five Great Families of the orthodox Murim.
Thus, he had thought it sufficient to merely make them hesitate between the Eldest Young Master and himself.
‘But that goal is all but achieved.’
If he passed through the gates accompanied by the Young Cult Leader of the Ming Cult and the Family Head of the Iron Blood Woo Clan, the Martial Sovereign Castle would be thrown into turmoil.
And inevitably, the power structure reorganized around the Eldest Young Master would begin to shift.
That was enough. Truly entering the struggle for power would come later, after he had amassed more strength.
***
Upon entering Shanxi Province, Dam Jeok-san made no effort to hide his movements and traveled openly.
The same was true of the Eccentric Hero and the Lesser Heavenly Demon. Their movements were swiftly reported to the main fortress of the Martial Sovereign Castle.
The Family Heads of the Five Great Families, the leaders of the major combat units, and even the elders who had effectively retired into seclusion—all of them were acutely attentive to this news.
Something was changing.
When the Third Young Master had been driven north, most had believed everything was over.
Even the more cautious among them had merely considered the possibility that the Castle Lord might take on a new disciple. Not a single person had predicted that Dam Jeok-san would succeed in making a comeback.
Yet suddenly came the news that the Second Young Master had been killed by the Third Young Master.
—The Sword Dragon has returned.
Even when the Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle declared this, most maintained a distant, watchful stance.
Even if the Third Young Master had truly recovered his peak martial prowess, the Eldest Young Master’s position was already far too solid.
However, this incident introduced cracks into that prevailing view.
Strange rumors began to circulate, claiming that Dam Jeok-san had defeated both the Lesser Heavenly Demon and the Eccentric Hero.
Of course, no one believed those absurd rumors. At least, not within the Martial Sovereign Castle.
Still, the mere fact that such rumors were spreading was proof that the Third Young Master had not only regained his peak strength, but reached an even higher realm.
In particular, it was confirmed information that Woo Gi-hwan addressed Dam Jeok-san with semi-formal respect.
“As for the Lesser Heavenly Demon, I know nothing. But that eccentric Woo Gi-hwan would never show respect to someone who had not reached the Ultra-Peak realm.”
An old man belonging to the Council of Elders spoke deep within the Martial Sovereign Castle.
No one could deny that he was a hero. Yet the reason the prefix “eccentric” clung to his title was due to his notoriously peculiar temperament.
“…Indeed. Whatever trickery he employed, it is only right to conclude that he has reached the Ultra-Peak realm.”
Another old man followed up. It had been eighty years since he first stepped into martial arts, and even for him, it had taken over fifty years to become an Ultra-Peak expert.
But the other party was the disciple personally chosen by the Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle. It would not be strange if he transcended common sense itself.
“Is there no chance he resorted to demonic arts?”
“It is difficult to say there is none at all… but even if it were demonic arts, if the Lord does not deem it a problem, then that is the end of it.”
Demonic arts were certainly treated as unorthodox in the Central Plains, but the Martial Sovereign Castle was relatively tolerant of such things. What they ultimately pursued was greater power.
“Then… demonic energy?”
However, touching the power of monsters was a different matter entirely. Even the Iron Blood Tyrant Sword, Woo Gi-tae, had not been forgiven for that sin.
The elders who had been conversing so freely all fell silent.
Anything related to monsters was not something to be spoken of lightly.
Still, among them, there were surely some who harbored suspicions toward Dam Jeok-san.
There were likely those already moving to find direct evidence.
The Council of Elders was, after all, the true source of the Eldest Young Master’s power.
“Tsk, tsk. It seems everyone here is plotting something sinister behind the scenes.”
At that moment, a particularly large-framed old man clicked his tongue as he looked at the elders.
His name was Gwon Gi-il. In his active days, despite not belonging to any of the Five Great Families, he had risen to a position comparable to a Corps Commander—a true heavyweight.
He was also one of the few neutrals within the Council of Elders.
“Gentlemen, I support neither the Third Young Master nor the Eldest Young Master. I am loyal only to the main fortress. I do not expect everyone to be the same as me.”
“……”
“But if you are to sit here as elders, at the very least you should possess a shred of conscience.”
Gwon Gi-il knew as well. From the Head of the Council of Elders onward, most of the council supported the Eldest Young Master.
And it was not limited to the council. Even the Imperial Dragon Battle Group that guarded the main fortress was filled with the Eldest Young Master’s people.
Still, there were lines that should not be crossed. With the Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle still alive and well, it was absurd for the Council of Elders to actively move against the Third Young Master.
‘I should meet the Third Young Master myself.’
Watching those who merely averted their gazes even after his rebuke, Gwon Gi-il let out a sigh.
He had no intention of supporting a successor, nor of swearing loyalty to anyone.
But if the Third Young Master had truly lost his dantian and still managed to make a comeback and become an Ultra-Peak expert—
‘He is a junior worth protecting.’
One day, he would inevitably clash with the Eldest Young Master. Before that day arrived, he must not be sacrificed to schemes and intrigue.
That was the belief of Gwon Gi-il, both as a martial artist and as an elder.
***
It was not only the Council of Elders who were debating Dam Jeok-san.
There was someone who waited for him with far greater longing, and with a pure heart.
A girl with short-cropped hair swung her fists with disciplined movements.
Each time she threw a punch, the loose fabric of her martial robes fluttered.
Her small fists were aimed at a training dummy.
THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!
The steady rhythm of the impacts was proof that neither her breathing nor her body wavered in the slightest.
In other words, her fundamentals were firmly established.
Even compared to the children training alongside her, her posture and power did not fall behind at all.
“Excellent.”
Mu-yeong, who had been watching in concealment, murmured a quiet word of admiration.
Most of the trainee warriors of the Hidden Heaven Guard were children who had learned martial arts from a very young age.
They learned how to ground their lower bodies as they learned to walk, and how to grip a sword as they learned to hold chopsticks.
For her to be comparable to such children showed just how brutally hard Lee Hyang had worked.
To speak of talent in the face of such effort would be discourteous.
And yet—
‘Without talent, there are realms one can never reach, no matter how much one tries.’
Rather, they were realms that could only be reached by those with exceptional talent. That did not diminish Lee Hyang’s effort in the slightest.
After watching the training for a while, Mu-yeong casually slipped into the midst of the trainees.
No one, not even the instructors, could detect the concealment techniques of the Hidden Heaven Guard’s leader…
But Mu-yeong deliberately allowed only the instructor to sense his presence as he approached Lee Hyang.
So that the instructor would know he was taking special care of the girl. A precaution against any unforeseen incidents.
“Come here by the Hour of the Rabbit tomorrow. Someone wishes to see you.”
“…!”
Lee Hyang was startled by the sudden voice in her ear, but the moment she saw Mu-yeong’s masked face, she calmed herself.
Having trained here for several months, she had learned how to maintain composure no matter how extraordinary the situation.
Once her heart settled, she reconsidered who it was that had spoken to her.
At first, she had thought of him as just an older man. But he was the personal guard of the Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle, and the head of the Hidden Heaven Guard.
How many people in this world could move Mu-yeong? And among them, who would specifically seek her out?
‘Not many.’
Living here, she could not help but hear the rumors circulating through Shanxi Province, whether she wanted to or not.
Among them were stories of the man who had saved her—Dam Jeok-san—returning to this place.
Lee Hyang’s heart began to race. She had wanted to be a proper martial artist by the time he returned. That was still difficult, but…
Still, she could take pride in one thing. She was no longer the same person she had been then.
The Sword Dragon had returned.
With a meaning different from when he had fallen and returned before.
And the impact of that return would be no less profound than it had been then.