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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Entering the Heavenly Dragon Library
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The banquet had ended.
In the ruined banquet hall, Cheon Wi-gang and Cheon Seon-hak faced each other.
"So now I see it was all planned."
"Yes, it was."
"But what happened to Muryang? Did that wastrel truly turn over a new leaf?"
Cheon Seon-hak recounted everything that had transpired.
From the day he ran laps in the training grounds without ever taking a break, to the fact that he had never lost a single spar against the trainees.
Cheon Wi-gang could hardly believe his ears upon hearing it all.
"Is that really true?"
"Yes."
"So you've decided to stand behind that child."
"He needs at least one guardian so those fools won't act rashly."
Cheon Wi-gang fell silent at the mention of them.
"Hm..."
"Just trust him one last time. He's truly changed."
"Changed... I still can't believe it."
It was only natural.
Breaking through deep-seated prejudices wasn't easy.
"I felt the same way."
"..."
"Did you see his final strike?"
"Yes. It was your Reverse Scale Slash."
"I taught him that technique just two hours ago."
"What?"
Those words demanded attention.
Cheon Seon-hak's swordsmanship was special, after all.
"You mean he mastered your sword?"
"Yes. What else could it mean?"
"So he's broken free of the mold."
"Exactly."
The Cheon Clan's swordsmanship had a rigid framework these days.
But originally, the Cheon Clan's style was characterized by its wild freedom.
Because no one could presume to predict the heavens.
That boundless freedom led to wildly varying forms, eventually degenerating to the point where no one could even distinguish what was truly the Cheon Clan's sword.
"I still don't know what's right or wrong."
What was right, and what was wrong?
Cheon Wi-gang and Cheon Seon-hak.
Each had arrived at different answers.
Cheon Wi-gang had abandoned that wild freedom to master only the rigid heavenly forms.
Cheon Seon-hak, however, rejected the mold and pursued the free sword of the heavens.
"But that child sought to embody a new heaven."
"A new heaven."
In the current Cheon Clan, Cheon Seon-hak was the only one pursuing his own unique heaven.
Thus, his sword was special.
No one else could master his techniques, like the Reverse Scale Slash.
Not even Cheon Wi-gang could claim to have fully mastered it; he merely understood its principles.
"What a ridiculous tale. To think the hopeless Muryang possessed such talent."
"I intend to pass my sword on to him."
A lifetime's tower of gold built from his sword.
Cheon Seon-hak declared he would bequeath it to Cheon Muryang.
"Do you think that's possible?"
"My sword will merely be the clouds. Dragons have always ridden the clouds to ascend to the heavens, haven't they?"
In other words, it would serve as the foundation for the next generation.
"I'm placing a heavy burden on you."
"It's what I should do."
"Relations with the Sichuan Tang Clan may sour, but perhaps we've gained something even greater."
Cheon Wi-gang gave a faint smile.
With that, the two left the banquet hall.
"It's been a while. Shall we have a drink?"
"Sounds good."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Cheon Muryang dashed straight to the medical hall where Wol Yeong was.
Bam!
He flung the door open forcefully, and there lay Wol Yeong on the sickbed.
"Young Master!"
Beside her, Hwa Hong gripped Wol Yeong's hands tightly, her eyes filled with worry.
Her bluish lips and hands showed clear signs of severe poisoning.
"Here's the antidote."
Cheon Muryang personally fed it to Wol Yeong.
Then, he channeled his energy into her to help it spread quickly.
"Her color... her complexion is returning!"
As Hwa Hong said, Wol Yeong's face rapidly regained its healthy glow.
"Whew..."
Only then did Cheon Muryang exhale in relief and relax.
His muscles cramped up.
"This is killing me."
To master the Reverse Scale Slash in that short time, he had pushed himself to the brink.
Even his well-trained body had reached its limit.
"Y-Young Master?"
It wasn't just his muscles.
The Reverse Scale Slash was a technique that parried an opponent's attack and turned it into one's own flow.
In other words, the sword Cheon Muryang had to receive to learn it was Cheon Seon-hak's own.
Drip.
Drip, drip.
Blood trickled from beneath the sleeve of his robe.
"Ah, I overdid it a bit."
Whoosh.
The world spun around him.
For a moment, everything went black.
Cheon Muryang fainted on the spot.
"Young Master!"
Hwa Hong's scream reached him like a lullaby.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Roar!
The Cheon Clan was engulfed in flames.
Before the ashes of the main gate stood Cheon Muryang—no, Nameless.
'The Demonic Cult...'
Nothing grew where they had passed.
A deadly inferno had swept over the Cheon Clan, leaving no survivors.
'Countless people died...'
Why did they have to die?
Countless lives lost.
'It's all because of the Eldest Young Master.'
Even in his dying moments, Nameless had resented Cheon Muryang.
He believed the wastrel Eldest Young Master—who became Patriarch after Cheon Wi-gang's sudden death—had ruined everything.
'That's what I thought back then.'
And so Nameless died.
But the dead Nameless had become Cheon Muryang and regressed fifteen years into the past.
'Something feels off.'
Doubts arose.
Why had the Cheon Clan fallen like this?
'Why?'
The Cheon Clan wasn't the world's greatest house.
But it was always among the Ten Great Clans.
How could such a mighty clan collapse in an instant, even if its Patriarch was a wastrel under his father's thumb?
Indeed, the core reason was that Cheon Muryang had invited disaster.
'He brought in the Demonic Cult.'
Nothing could justify his actions.
Yet doubts naturally followed.
'Didn't the clan operate independently of the Young Master?'
Cheon Muryang held no real power.
He had final approval authority, but he was just a figurehead.
'Was the clan's system itself rotten?'
Even as Cheon Muryang's bodyguard, Nameless had spent more time outside after the Patriarch's death, propping up the crumbling clan.
That suited him fine, so he hadn't questioned or doubted anything then.
'There was something I didn't know.'
There had to be.
Having blamed everything on Cheon Muryang, Nameless now wondered if he wasn't the sole culprit.
He had no idea what it was, though.
Stab!
He saw Cheon Muryang's sword piercing Nameless.
'...'
Why?
Viewing it from a third party's eyes, Cheon Muryang looked terrified.
Soon, Cheon Muryang's throat was slit too.
Even in death, his eyes held fear—of something, or someone.
'What were you so afraid of?'
Crack!
He knew this wasn't reality.
Thus, this world woven from Nameless's memories shattered like glass.
Flash!
A breaking world.
Amid the fragments, unfamiliar memories flowed in.
'Eldest Young Master...'
They were fragments of Cheon Muryang's memories.
It seemed shortly after the Patriarch's inauguration ceremony.
"Eldest Young Master, you'd best remember who made you Patriarch."
The voice was indistinct.
But the terror Cheon Muryang felt transmitted fully.
'Who are you?'
He had to find out.
Nameless realized he might have only held the prejudice of Cheon Muryang being a wastrel.
'Perhaps... the Young Master was backed into a desperate corner too.'
His unchanged wastrel behavior as Patriarch might have been a desperate struggle to survive.
'Were you that desperate? Enough to bring in the Demonic Cult?'
Cheon Muryang's fear seeped in.
What could it be called?
Could it be called understanding, or assimilation, since Nameless understood Cheon Muryang?
Impossible to say.
With that, Nameless's consciousness sank back into the abyss.
Wol Yeong's voice called out.
"Young Master?"
"Ugh..."
Cheon Muryang opened his eyes.
The familiar ceiling came into view.
Beside him was Wol Yeong's tearful face.
"How much time has passed?"
"You've been out a full day."
"A full day? Guess I got some unexpected rest."
Cheon Muryang sat up.
A wave of dizziness hit him, perhaps from the sudden blood flow.
"Urgh. Looks like I need one more day."
"Young Master, I heard you fought because of me."
Hwa Hong must have talked.
"Ah."
"Why did you do that?"
Wol Yeong shed tears upon hearing how Cheon Muryang had crossed the Sichuan Tang Clan for her sake.
"I told you."
"..."
"I'd never let anyone touch my people, no matter who they are."
How could he forget?
Those words were unforgettable.
"And that special dish you prepared? It was delicious."
Tears streamed down as Wol Yeong smiled.
But her tears flowed with the laughter.
Feeling awkward for no reason, Cheon Muryang changed the subject casually.
"I'm hungry. Got anything to eat?"
"Yes, I'll prepare something!"
Wol Yeong left the room briefly.
Cheon Muryang rose, feeling the lingering muscle soreness.
The memories from his dream were still vivid.
"Eldest Young Master, this isn't revenge for you. But I want to know why the Cheon Clan of the past had to fall so meaninglessly."
He clenched his fist tightly.
Whose will was this?
Perhaps some of Cheon Muryang's will lingered.
"But not now."
He was still too weak for that.
He needed to grow strong enough that no one could touch him.
"I have to get stronger. Stronger than anyone."
Creeak.
The medical hall door opened.
Not Wol Yeong, but Cheon Seon-hak entered.
"Amusing. I wanted to make you stronger than anyone too. Looks like we've synced up nicely."
"Uncle, I want to get stronger."
"I'll give you my sword."
"...!"
"But create your own sword that surpasses mine. That will be your top priority."
Cheon Muryang understood.
This was his one chance.
A turning point to walk a different path from his past life.
"Yes."
Did he see the resolve in those eyes?
Cheon Seon-hak smiled.
He was looking forward to it too.
Cheon Muryang tried to stand immediately.
Cheon Seon-hak stopped him.
"Hold on. I'll give you three days. Recover fully by then."
Smirk.
Every word from Cheon Seon-hak was a challenge.
As always, Cheon Muryang accepted it.
"One day. Just one day of rest."
"One day... Fine."
Cheon Seon-hak pulled something out.
"Take this."
Whoosh!
It was a wooden plaque.
"This is...?"
"Didn't you want to enter the Heavenly Dragon Library? This is your pass. Think one day will suffice?"
"..."
One day was short.
He'd lost this bet, it seemed.
"Give me two days."
Cheon Seon-hak laughed.
"If you can manage that, go ahead."
"...?"
"But you'll be different when you enter the Heavenly Dragon Library and when you leave it."
A meaningful statement.
But Cheon Seon-hak said no more and left the medical hall.
"Thank you, Uncle."
It probably wouldn't reach him anymore.
Cheon Muryang bowed deeply.
"The Heavenly Dragon Library..."
He vowed to grow stronger.
Redoubled his resolve.
"Young Master! Here!"
Wol Yeong brought porridge.
He didn't want it, but shoveled it down for recovery.
After resting another two hours, Cheon Muryang sprang up.
"Young Master? Where are you going?"
"To the Heavenly Dragon Library."
"...!"
Cheon Muryang smiled as he left the medical hall.
"It starts today."
"I'll cheer for you!"