So The Real Genius Was This One.

When he opened his eyes, an unfamiliar ceiling greeted Gyo-ha.

An elegant ceiling. At a glance it was nothing like the storage room where he had fallen asleep.

“Urgh.”

A cry burst from Gyo-ha’s mouth as he tried to sit up.

His whole body throbbed with pain.

When he lowered his head, he saw that his clothes were stained red.

The blood was bright, as if the wounds had only just been made.

‘Do the wounds I got in the dream carry over too?’

His neck was stiff as well. Even moving his head had become difficult.

It was the aftereffect of Flying Dragon Chasing Lightning.

Just then, he heard signs of someone outside.

“That sound just now… huh?”

A woman who looked like a maid opened the door and met eyes with Gyo-ha.

And then.

“Kyaaa!”

She let out a scream.

Gyo-ha had no time to stop her.

And before long, he heard countless presences.

Among them were people whose qi didn’t feel ordinary.

‘Martial artists.’

Gyo-ha’s eyes changed.

He forced his creaking body up. A fight might break out.

Soon he felt the martial artists surrounding the room.

Beyond the door he could see martial artists wearing swords.

Blue martial robes.

They looked so expensive it made him wonder if you could really fight in them.

As Gyo-ha clenched his fists, he sensed a familiar presence among the martial artists.

“Gyo-ha!”

It was Ah-ryeong who poked her head out between the martial artists.

Ah-ryeong was about to greet him happily, then screamed when she saw Gyo-ha’s state.

But thanks to that, the martial artists, realizing something had happened, relaxed their guard.

After that brief commotion, the martial artists withdrew.

They had not gone far.

He could feel people here and there.

Only after his wounds were wrapped in bandages and he changed clothes could Gyo-ha hear what had happened.

“The Namgung Clan?”

“Yeah.”

The place where Gyo-ha was now was the Namgung Clan.

“I don’t know the details either. It seems Young Master Heowon told his fiancée.”

Young Master Heowon?

Gyo-ha tilted his head.

‘Ah.’

Then a memory he had forgotten came back. He had gone through such a shocking experience in that other world that he had forgotten it.

And that wasn’t the only reason.

‘…So his surname isn’t Heo.’

Gyo-ha gave a small nod.

Come to think of it, they had said something like that.

That matchmakers had gone back and forth between the Namgung Clan and him.

The Namgung Clan.

One of the Five Great Clans and a famed clan of the sword.

Unlike the Nine Great Sects, the Five Great Clans were noble houses of power.

It wasn’t strange for every martial artist to be dressed in martial robes made of fine cloth.

To them that much didn’t even count as luxury.

If anything, it was the Tang Clan of Sichuan, another of the Five Great Clans, who were strange for wearing only black martial robes.

“When did you wake up, Sister?”

“I also woke up only half a day ago. More importantly, what happened?”

At Ah-ryeong’s question, Gyo-ha told her what had happened.

Then Ah-ryeong’s face darkened.

“…You went through so much. Because of me…”

“It’s fine. Thanks to you, it was fun.”

Gyo-ha smiled brightly. It wasn’t a lie.

Realizing that, Ah-ryeong stared at him in surprise, then burst into laughter.

“More importantly, what about you, Sister?”

Seeing that she had come out, she had clearly taken care of the Dream Moth.

“I went back to my beggar days. Yeom Hong appeared.”

Up to that point, Ah-ryeong spoke, then burst out laughing as if something had come to mind.

“Back then Yeom Hong wasn’t that kind.”

If anything, she had been like a hedgehog.

It had been Ah-ryeong’s role to soothe Yeom Hong, who was always bristling.

But the Yeom Hong in the dream had been so gentle and mature.

There was no way the quick-witted Ah-ryeong would not have realized it.

Thanks to that, she had been able to find it easily.

She was similar to Gyo-ha.

Both of their standards for happy times were different from those of ordinary people.

“Even so, it was hard work catching that flying butterfly. I had to find a fire iron just to take it down.”

And she said there had been nothing special about it just because it was a Dream Moth.

It had been like an ordinary butterfly.

Unlike with Gyo-ha, it had not even been able to change the world around them multiple times.

The one Gyo-ha had faced, Mok-geum, had been special.

At that moment, he sensed someone outside.

It was different from before.

He couldn’t even hear their footsteps.

When Gyo-ha turned his head, Ah-ryeong turned hers as well.

Before they knew it, a woman was standing at the door.

She was a graceful woman.

“My greeting is late. I am Namgung Su-hwa.”

“Ah.”

Realizing something, Ah-ryeong let out a sigh.

“I, I am Seol Mae, no, Ah-ryeong. And this is…”

“I know. Young Master Gyo-ha of the Kunlun Sect. That is correct, is it not?”

At Namgung Su-hwa’s words, Gyo-ha nodded.

“I had heard the rumors, but I didn’t think I would see you in person like this.”

Had Yeom Hong sent a separate message?

As expected of one of the Five Great Clans, she knew who Gyo-ha was.

Soon her gaze turned to Ah-ryeong.

Ah-ryeong flinched and trembled.

“You must be Seol Mae.”

“Yes. As for Young Master Heowon and I…”

“I know you are nothing to each other. So there is no need to shrink back like that.”

At Namgung Su-hwa’s words, Ah-ryeong’s eyes went wide.

Only then could Gyo-ha understand why Ah-ryeong’s reaction had been strange.

The woman before them was none other than Heowon Chang’s fiancée.

Looking at the startled Ah-ryeong, Namgung Su-hwa spoke calmly.

“Do you think the Namgung family would send matchmakers without doing any investigation?”

“Ah.”

Ah-ryeong swallowed.

“On top of that, we also know that you have someone you love.”

She wasn’t a lover.

It was Yeom Hong. But neither Ah-ryeong nor Gyo-ha bothered to say so.

“Though it seems that person doesn’t know, not only the Namgung family but the Heowon family as well are already aware.”

Prestigious households were not so easygoing.

They knew and left things as they were.

“Even if he had enjoyed a bit of amusement, it would not matter. We are not marrying for love.”

They were marrying because it was necessary.

It was a political marriage.

“Of course, if he did the same after marriage, that would be a problem…”

She looked at Ah-ryeong and smiled gently.

“Fortunately, he doesn’t seem to be that sort of person.”

If he were that kind of man, they would not have sent matchmakers in the first place.

Even if it was a political marriage, the Namgung Clan wasn’t the side in need.

It was simply that their interests aligned.

Since Heowon Chang had been judged the best among many candidates, they were proceeding with the political marriage.

Going in and out of a pleasure house a few times didn’t even count as a flaw.

Much less when it wasn’t a red brothel that sold bodies but a blue house that sold talent.

As scions of noble houses, they had to interact with others as well.

Their way of thinking was different from that of ordinary people.

“You also seem to be a better person than the rumors suggested.”

“Th… thank you.”

Ah-ryeong quickly bowed her head.

Ah-ryeong seemed uncomfortable in this place. That was only natural.

And Gyo-ha, standing a little behind, realized the hidden intent in Namgung Su-hwa’s words.

‘So she knows about the Hao Gate.’

That was only natural.

The Namgung Clan was one of the Five Great Clans that supported the Murim Alliance.

It would have been stranger if she didn’t know.

At that moment, Namgung Su-hwa took her eyes off Ah-ryeong and looked at Gyo-ha.

“I heard you defeated Taoist Song Hak of Qingcheng. Is that true?”

Song Hak.

It was a familiar name.

Without answering, Gyo-ha simply stared at Namgung Su-hwa.

He was trying to read her intentions.

But that alone was enough of an answer.

Namgung Su-hwa spoke, looking somewhat surprised.

“So it really was true.”

Ah-ryeong also looked at Gyo-ha with a newfound gaze.

She also knew of Song Hak of the Qingcheng Sect.

Qingcheng’s greatest prodigy.

“Ah, please don’t misunderstand. I asked only because there is something I would like to request.”

They had brought a stranger into their clan.

It was only natural to look into him.

Under Gyo-ha’s gaze, she continued speaking calmly.

“Namgung Hyeok. He is my younger brother. A child whose talent is such that even the elders of the clan are impressed.”

At the sudden boasting about her younger brother, not only Gyo-ha but even Ah-ryeong looked blank.

“But considering the times we are in, I became a little worried.”

“Ah.”

Gyo-ha understood what she meant.

She was saying he was a young master who thought too highly of himself.

It wasn’t a problem the adults could fix simply by stepping in.

Yet it was hard to ask another of the Five Great Clans.

It was a matter of face. The Five Great Clans were also rivals.

In the midst of that, Gyo-ha had arrived.

“That child will soon be going to the Murim Alliance. And I must prepare for the wedding as well…”

Gyo-ha and Ah-ryeong both nodded.

It was more than understandable.

One could not put off a marriage just because war had broken out. It was natural for an elder sister to worry.

“But I thought only of myself too much. I didn’t know your wounds were this severe.”

The smell of blood was getting stronger.

An embarrassed look had appeared on her face.

It was only natural, since he had been perfectly fine when she saw him yesterday.

Seeing her like that, Gyo-ha tried moving his body a little.

Now he could move well enough.

“There is no need to do it today, right?”

“Pardon?”

“I should be fine by tomorrow.”

He would not be in perfect condition.

It would take at least a week to heal completely.

But you never knew when or where a fight would break out.

She blinked as she looked at Gyo-ha.

Gyo-ha was wrapped in bandages from head to toe.

No matter how you looked at him, he was in no state to fight.

She began to worry that this person might be the same as her younger brother.

---

A table piled high with food.

There were many splendid dishes, befitting the standing of a powerful noble house.

There were dishes that Gyo-ha was seeing for the first time in his life.

As he ate without a care, Ah-ryeong beside him asked cautiously.

“Are you really going to be all right?”

“With what?”

When Gyo-ha blinked, Ah-ryeong let out a sigh.

“I have heard the name Namgung Hyeok too. He has only just reached the age of fifteen, yet there are rumors he is a once-in-an-age genius.”

If even Ah-ryeong had heard the rumors, it meant they were real.

Much more so when it was the Five Great Clans, where geniuses and prodigies were everywhere.

Being acknowledged within them wasn’t easy.

On top of that.

“Hmm, if he’s at the age of learning, that means he’s fifteen, right. Then he’s a year younger than me.”

A year had passed, so Gyo-ha was now sixteen.

Since there was only a single year’s difference between them, that means they could still be considered friends.

Gyo-ha answered as if it were nothing.

At that, Ah-ryeong let out a sigh without realizing it.

“I see.”

She had heard it before, yet had forgotten.

Ah-ryeong looked at Gyo-ha with fresh eyes.

At sixteen, he had only just stepped out of boyhood.

He was still young to be called a youth.

The feats that such a Gyo-ha had achieved were astonishing.

Namgung Hyeok could not even compare.

‘…So the real genius was this one.’

Judging from Gyo-ha’s behavior and way of fighting, he seemed far from a genius.

But the path he had walked was different from that of ordinary people.

And the next day, the two of them were able to meet Namgung Hyeok, whom Namgung Su-hwa had mentioned.

---

“You suddenly call me in, and it turns out you want me to fight a patient?”

A boy who could be considered short for a martial artist.

He looked about the same as other boys his age.

Namgung Hyeok sighed, then cupped his fist toward the two of them.

“My elder sister has been rude to our guests. Please rest here at ease and then go.”

Gyo-ha tilted his head. He was more polite than expected.

But Ah-ryeong, standing behind, knit her brows as if she felt something.

“This is Taoist Gyo-ha of the Kunlun Sect. They say he defeated Taoist Song Hak of the Qingcheng Sect.”

“Kunlun?”

At the words Kunlun Sect, Namgung Hyeok looked at Gyo-ha with renewed interest.

Seeing that Namgung Hyeok seemed interested, Namgung Su-hwa spoke again.

“You know of Taoist Song Hak, do you not?”

At Namgung Su-hwa’s words, Namgung Hyeok snorted.

What made Namgung Hyeok react had been the name Kunlun.

“He is only Qingcheng. It’s not as if he’s Wudang’s Profound Sword or Mount Hua’s Flower Dragon.”

Gyo-ha blinked at the unfamiliar titles, but Ah-ryeong beside him didn’t.

Profound Sword Jin-gyo.

Flower Dragon Jeon Pung.

They were the names of the finest young experts in the current Murim.

He meant that someone like Song Hak didn’t even catch his eye.

Then he turned back to the two of them with a well-mannered expression.

“I know for what purpose my sister has invited our guests. She worries too much, so you don’t need to concern yourselves with it.”

Now even Gyo-ha could pick up on it.

The vague discomfort Ah-ryeong had felt.

Their opponent didn’t even see Gyo-ha as a rival. He was nothing more than a guest whom Namgung Su-hwa had brought.

‘What should I do about this?’

Gyo-ha scratched his cheek.

There was no need to step forward over something like this.

He realized that Namgung Hyeok was looking down on him, but he didn’t particularly mind.

However, to just turn away from it…

“He does look stronger than Brother Jeon-pyeong at least.”

“When you say Jeon-pyeong, you mean Mount Hua’s Azure Cloud Sword, right?”

Namgung Su-hwa asked.

The Azure Cloud Sword.

At the unfamiliar title, Gyo-ha felt puzzled for a moment, then nodded.

It was surely a title that had arisen after they had parted ways.

Namgung Hyeok, too, seemed to have heard the name and nodded as if it were only natural.

“Still, I guess he is only about on par with Sister Nun?”

Or maybe about half a step below.

At Gyo-ha’s words, Namgung Hyeok’s brows twisted. As expected, he reacted.