Dragon's Resolve
Cheon Seonhak reproached himself.
He knew the clan was falling apart, but he had not realized it had festered to this extent.
'I have lived far too cowardly all this time.'
Cheon Seonhak had entrusted everything about the clan to Cheon Wigang and never stepped forward.
He had devoted himself solely to nurturing the younger generation.
'Wanting to remain only a martial artist... in the end, it was no different from abandoning the clan.'
He wanted to remain a martial artist.
However, the thought that this choice might instead have caused the Cheon Clan to rot wrapped around Cheon Seonhak.
'Just how lonely a battle have you been fighting all this time, elder brother.'
Cheon Wigang was a man so strong he was called an iron wall.
So, Cheon Seonhak thought there would be no problem.
When Cheon Wigang reached the realm of Hwagyung, he believed the issue of legitimacy surrounding him had been cleanly resolved.
But it was not so.
That was merely Cheon Seonhak's misconception.
'I did not know because you did not show it. No, perhaps I did not wish to see it. Because I... wanted to remain a lofty martial artist.'
An empty training ground.
At its center, Cheon Seonhak stood alone, holding a sword, staring blankly.
'It is heavy.'
Though it was a sword he had wielded his entire life, today its weight felt especially heavy.
'Why did I ever take up this sword?'
He could not readily give an answer.
Perhaps because he had lived a life different from one lived merely to protect the clan.
'I was wrong.'
He acknowledged his mistake.
Cheon Seonhak could not think at all about how he should hold the sword.
Thud.
So, he discarded the sword.
'I am not qualified.'
He believed he no longer had the qualification to wield the clan's sword.
Suddenly, Cheon Muyang came to mind.
'The child I thought was only a hooligan is now trying to change the clan.'
Now, who is the hooligan?
Cheon Seonhak looked up at the sky.
Far away in the east, the sun was rising.
"Nothing can disturb the sky of the Cheon Clan."
Cheon Seonhak discarded the sword, yet grasped a new one.
Woooong!
Though he held nothing, an aura as if he were gripping a sword rose up.
Holding an invisible sword, Cheon Seonhak swung it as if dancing.
He forgot everything.
When he even forgot the sky of the Cheon Clan.
Cheon Seonhak trembled.
"Ah...."
The sky split open.
At the same time, a wall collapsed.
Beyond the world where that wall crumbled, the horizon of a new realm that only the chosen could enter came into view.
Paaat!
That light filled Cheon Seonhak's two eyes.
Could this be the gaze of an absolute being who looks down upon the world in its entirety?
"You have achieved Hwagyung."
Cheon Seonhak, who had lingered between the Supreme Peak and Hwagyung, finally reached the very threshold of complete Hwagyung.
The birth of a new absolute being took place in a training ground devoid of people.
It was the realm he had long desired, yet upon reaching it, Cheon Seonhak instead felt detached.
"This power... is not mine."
Cheon Muyang.
"For you, I will wield it."
Cheon Muyang had once said this.
He had asked him to become a shield.
"A shield, you asked me to become a shield, did you not."
However, Cheon Seonhak had no intention of becoming only a shield.
"I will become a sword as well."
Cheon Seonhak was convinced that his judgment to support Cheon Muyang was correct.
"You do what you must do. I will move in my own way."
He decided to no longer remain silent.
Just as Cheon Muyang had said.
If one seeks to cut the heavens, what is there to fear?
"Neung Ryeoun. Cha Myeonghak."
The first to appear in the empty training ground were Neung Ryeoun and Cha Myeonghak.
And almost simultaneously, Wolyeong also arrived at the training ground with resolute eyes.
"We pay our respects to the Chief Elder!"
"Gather all of the Heavenly Dragon Sword Unit and the Heavenly Phoenix Sword Unit."
"...!"
"Go."
"Yes!"
Without understanding what was happening.
Neung Ryeoun and Cha Myeonghak moved as Cheon Seonhak commanded.
"You are called Wolyeong, are you not."
"Yes, Chief Elder."
"What is your goal?"
"My goal?"
"Yes. I am asking what goal you seek to achieve by learning martial arts."
The atmosphere was different from usual.
However, Wolyeong answered firmly without the slightest hesitation.
"I want to become Young Master's strength."
"Is that all?"
"Yes. That's all."
Whooong!
Cheon Seonhak was clearly not holding a sword.
Yet Wolyeong felt a sharpness as if a single blade were aimed straight at her throat.
"That is insufficient. With that alone, you can never become strong."
A vague resolve to merely become someone's strength was not enough.
What was needed was firm determination.
Cheon Seonhak intended to plant that determination within her.
"Th-then, um...."
"...?"
"If possible...."
Wolyeong rarely showed emotion.
Thus, her impression was strikingly cold, like ice.
The only times Wolyeong revealed emotion were when it concerned Cheon Muyang.
This was one of those moments.
The icy coldness in Wolyeong's eyes melted away.
"I want to become the scabbard where Young Master can rest his sword."
"A scabbard, you say...."
The corners of Cheon Seonhak's lips curled up faintly.
'So you truly are a child who pierced through the true intent of my sword at a glance.'
The claim that Wolyeong had seen through Cheon Muyang's sword was no lie.
Cheon Muyang had already become a sword himself.
The sharper the sword, the more a scabbard is needed.
"Good. However, remember this—
the finer the sword, the finer the scabbard must be as well."
"Yes. I am prepared."
"Good. Do not forget that resolve."
Cheon Seonhak picked up the sword that had fallen to the ground.
Then, he held it out toward Wolyeong.
"Take it. From now on, it is your sword."
"M-me? This is...."
"I have no need for it."
"...Thank you."
Cheon Seonhak was a pillar of the Cheon Clan.
To hold the sword of such a person was by no means a light matter.
Wolyeong could not yet be called a martial artist,
but she understood the weight of a sword.
"From today onward, you will train with the sword. Your assignment is...."
At that moment.
The members of the Heavenly Dragon Sword Unit and the Heavenly Phoenix Sword Unit, summoned by Neung Ryeoun and Cha Myeonghak, were approaching the training ground in formation.
"Steal their swords. Including mine."
"Yes?"
At Cheon Seonhak's sudden words, Wolyeong was confused.
Steal them—how was she supposed to steal swords?
"I am telling you to look at their swords and make them your own."
"Ah...."
Wolyeong understood.
It was in line with the instruction to observe swords.
"One month. I will give you one month.
In that time, you must forge a sword of your own."
"Yes."
Wolyeong steeled her resolve.
Watching her, Cheon Seonhak nodded.
"Have they all arrived?"
"Yes, Chief Elder."
Their gazes fixed on Wolyeong.
More precisely, on the sword she was holding—Cheon Seonhak's sword.
"Could it be...."
The leaders of the Heavenly Dragon Sword Unit and the Heavenly Phoenix Sword Unit were Cheon Seonhak's direct disciples.
Because of that, they were the first to grasp what it meant that Cheon Seonhak had set down his sword.
"Chief Elder... congratulations!"
"...."
One showed open emotion, while the other congratulated him in silence with an expressionless face.
"Thank you. I will now tell you why I summoned you at such an early hour."
From Cheon Seonhak emanated a vast presence that could not be described in words.
It was something that could be called resolve—
something that had not existed before.
"Until now, I wished to remain a martial artist."
Cheon Seonhak was a martial artist.
A martial artist like an unshakable rock.
"But that is no longer the case."
"...!"
Kooong!
Everyone's hearts sank.
They clearly understood the meaning behind his words.
Cheon Seonhak met everyone's eyes.
No one avoided his gaze.
"From now on, I will take up my sword for the sake of the Cheon Clan's eldest young master."
"...."
Silence fell.
Those were words the Chief Elder of the Heavenly Dragon Sword Unit and the Heavenly Phoenix Sword Unit should never utter.
"Therefore, as of this moment, I will step down from the position of Chief Elder."
"Ch-Chief Elder!"
The leader of the Heavenly Dragon Sword Unit panicked.
The position of Chief Elder was highly symbolic—a post of honor.
"I will not ask you to follow me."
"...."
"However, just as always, I ask that the Heavenly Dragon Sword Unit and the Heavenly Phoenix Sword Unit maintain neutrality."
Why was it?
Rather than regret, Cheon Seonhak felt a sense of relief.
"You have all worked hard."
"...Thank you, Chief Elder."
Everyone knew it.
That Cheon Seonhak would never reverse this decision.
"I will give you my final lesson."
Cheon Seonhak's martial arts were unique.
Thus, no one had been able to learn them.
It was because their understanding of the heavens was insufficient.
"Hhk!"
However—even without the heavens—
There was still a gift he could give them.
Paaat!
From Cheon Seonhak's empty right hand,
a single strand of blue light sprouted vividly.
Kugugugugung!
That alone released a pressure that overwhelmed the entire body.
"S-sword… sword force...!"
They were all first-rate masters capable of generating sword energy.
Sword force was merely an extension of sword energy,
so it should not have been shocking.
"Open your eyes wide and watch."
However, Cheon Seonhak's sword force was different.
The sword force that bloomed after becoming a complete, singular sword exerted pressure enough to distort the surrounding air.
"Keugh!"
As a result, those with relatively weaker martial arts could barely remain standing.
Whooong!
A sword soared into the void.
Then Cheon Seonhak brought it straight down toward the earth.
"Ah...."
A blinding radiance burst outward in all directions.
"Devote yourselves even more to your martial arts."
With those words, Cheon Seonhak left the training ground.
Nothing could stop Cheon Seonhak's light, unburdened steps.
"Freedom, is it."
For the first time in a long while, Cheon Seonhak left the Cheon Clan alone.
Cheon Muyang arrived in Sohung.
Sohung was territory of the Cheon Clan.
So Eungbang had merely been granted rights over Sohung as an allied party of the Cheon Clan.
"Hm...."
Sohung was near Hangzhou.
Thus, as a town travelers passed through on their way to Hangzhou, street stalls lined the roads.
"The atmosphere is strange."
Indeed, something felt off.
Despite the well-developed commerce and presumably decent income, the people looked gaunt and haggard.
"...."
Cheon Muyang wandered about as if he were merely a customer, observing his surroundings.
A commonality soon became apparent.
'I sense fear.'
Fear emanated from all of them.
What were they afraid of?
However, not far away, he found the source of that fear.
"You ought to pay your stall fee!"
"Ah, but didn't you already collect it not long ago...."
"That was protection money! The stall fee is separate! You don't want to do business here anymore?"
Men known as ruffians were causing trouble.
'So Eungbang, then....'
Otherwise, mere ruffians would never dare to pull something like this.
Cheon Muyang watched their actions with cold eyes.
"Money! Money! Money! Hand it over! If you did business, you should pay up!"
Clang!
As if intent on wrecking the shop, they began smashing all kinds of items.
"Oh dear! Oh dear!"
Yet the couple who appeared to be the shop owners could only kneel and beg.
They could do nothing.
"I don't understand."
He truly could not understand.
This was Sohung—
That is, territory of the Cheon Clan.
And—
"The Cheon Clan clearly forbade such exploitation."
"Huh? What's this?"
Seeing Cheon Muyang approach, the ruffians of So Eungbang snickered.
"Beat it. Go on your way. Don't get hot-blooded and end up bleeding."
"Let me ask you one thing."
"What?"
"Are you So Eungbang?"
"What kind of bullshit is that?"
"I asked whether this exploitation is being done by So Eungbang."
"Hah, this bastard. How dare you bring up So Eungbang."
Glance.
The one who seemed to be the leader signaled with his eyes.
Several of them surrounded Cheon Muyang.
"Rough him up a little."
"Yes."
The man closest to him threw a punch at Cheon Muyang.
In that instant, Cheongwang flashed with light, and the wrist was severed.
Thud.
"Kyaaaaagh!"
"I won't kill you.
That should count as roughing you up just a little, wouldn't you say?"
Clang!
All of them drew their swords at once.