Asura's Field

By the time In-gyeong finished copying, the Hour of the Rat¹ had already long passed.

He had been using his internal qi to keep himself warm, but the cold was too much for his abilities to handle.

‘Grand Master can really be petty sometimes.’

He respected his Grand Master more than anyone, yet sometimes could not understand his excessive pride and stubbornness.

“Guess I should start heading down now.”

The snow that had poured down since daytime made the descent treacherously slippery.

Despite being cautious, he had already fallen a couple of times and his body was battered.

Still, the thought of roasting sweet potatoes by a warm brazier lifted his spirits a little.

Tonight, unusually, there was no moon, and darkness blanketed everything.

When he noticed that the lanterns usually lit at the sect’s front gate were missing, In-gyeong began to feel uneasy.

On the sharp wind came a faintly sweet, fishy stench.

‘No way…’

His heart started pounding rapidly.

He recalled his Grand Master’s calm expression and shook his head countless times, telling himself it was just needless worry.

But his hope shattered the instant he opened the front gate.

“Ah!”

The scene before his eyes was nothing short of a hellish battlefield.

Dozens of corpses were strewn across the courtyard.

On the snow-covered bodies, patches of red pools were visible.

The pooled blood merged with others and flowed like a stream to the front gate.

“Master! Grand Master!”

Unable to bring himself to check the corpses of his senior brothers, In-gyeong froze in place before suddenly snapping back to awareness.

If it was someone like the invincible Grand Master, he surely must still be alive.

Though these people had perished, the remaining elders and disciples must surely be regrouping to plan for the future.

In-gyeong did not abandon hope.

He did not even shed tears.

Even as he stepped around the dismembered bodies of his brothers, he told himself it was not yet the time to cry.

Creeeak.

When he opened the main hall’s door and entered, the thick stench of blood forced him to instinctively cover his nose.

In the faint, flickering light, the sight was little different from the courtyard.

When he touched the wall, a sticky substance clung thickly to his hand.

He wanted to scream at the horrid reality, but only his mouth opened—no sound left his throat.

“Ah!”

Just then, something soft squished under In-gyeong’s foot.

Thinking it might be a corpse, he crouched down to touch it—only to feel faint movement.

With cautious hope, he shook the prone body.

“Uhh…”

“Ahh!”

Realizing he was alive, In-gyeong quickly brought over a nearly extinguished candle to light his face.

Though blood-covered and hard to recognize, his clothing made it clear he was a fellow disciple.

“You… you’re…”

“Sahyung…”

It was Yeong-jun, the youngest of the ten disciples.

Now fourteen years old, he recognized In-gyeong and wept uncontrollably.

“Are you alright? What happened here?”

When In-gyeong rasped the question again, Yeong-jun grasped his hand, gasping for breath.

“Taiyi… It was the demonic leaders of the Taiyi Divine Sect.”

When Master Shin Yangseon had drawn the forbidden line before the front gate, he never imagined such a hellscape would follow.

Of course, some senior brothers had fled in terror.

Even among the elders, there were those who crossed the line and left.

But Yeong-jun, who had an unusual attachment to the sect, thought them cowardly.

“At… that time… we should have… run away…”

It was only two people.

Though grotesque masked figures surrounded the sect to block escape, the actual massacre was carried out by just two men.

When Jeok-woo’s brutal blade hacked down the senior brothers, Yeong-jun felt as if he had encountered a true demon.

But the more terrifying one was Yi Seomun.

Though he felled dozens of disciples of the Eminent Mountain Sect, not a single drop of blood touched his pristine white fan.

With a serene smile like Guanyin on his face, he severed the lifelines of every single person still clinging to life.

“And Grand Master?”

In-gyeong’s hands trembled as he held Yeong-jun’s body.

No matter what, wasn’t Grand Master the famed Full Moon Sword?

No matter how great they were, he could not have fallen so easily.

“Uhh…”

Yeong-jun coughed up a mouthful of blood and weakly raised his finger.

Following the direction, In-gyeong’s eyes landed on a familiar sword lying on the ground.

“No way…”

He carefully leaned Yeong-jun against a pillar and slowly walked toward the fallen sword.

Its brilliant radiance had faded, but the unique markings on the blade revealed it could only be the Full Moon Sword.

And then—

“Grand Master?”

From the hilt dangled a severed old hand, all too familiar to him.

At that, In-gyeong’s tears poured forth at last.

It was obvious his Grand Master’s corpse must be nearby, but he could not bring himself to confirm it.

His legs shook violently, then buckled beneath him.

Slap!

Slap!

In-gyeong struck both his cheeks with his own hands, one after the other.

The lack of sensation made him think it was a dream.

‘Yes… this can’t be real. Of course not. What is the Eminent Mountain Sect? The very origin of the Five Great Mountain Swords! This is impossible—utterly impossible.’

But even after long, endless moments, the dream did not end.

Only In-gyeong’s cheeks swelled more and more, while he continued to deny reality.

“Then what must I do now?”

At Yun-seon’s grave question, Seong Gon burst out laughing until his belly ached.

“You, who could drop dead any moment, what could you possibly do?”

Yun Seol glared at her grandfather, thinking him cruel.

But Yun-seon could not refute him, for Seong Gon’s words were true.

“Now that I know why I must live, shouldn’t I also know how?”

At last, Seong Gon stopped laughing and looked down calmly at Yun-seon.

“First, you must know what Taiyi Divine Sect intends to do.”

“Yes.”

Perhaps that was the most fundamental question.

What began as a quest for his master’s revenge now had to carry the hopes of many more.

Whether he could do it or not no longer mattered.

He now had a cause; all that was left was to fulfill it.

“Gyeong Nation is divided into twelve provinces, and beneath them twenty-eight small prefectures. Each prefecture has some fifty sects, all under the oversight of the Five Great Mountain Swords.”

Yun-seon nodded deeply.

Formed around the great mountains of east, west, south, north, and center, the five great Orthodox sects divided the land into five regions, each safeguarding and governing its towns.

“For over a decade, the small and mid-tier sects in those twenty-eight prefectures have not only destroyed Ryeo Nation’s culture and history, but also seized countless Ryeo people and sold them abroad.”

As her grandfather spoke, Yun Seol quickly began to sniffle.

Since Yun-seon had met her, she had never worn anything but a smile—but now her face was filled with grief.

“Your father, Changhyeon—the last king of Ryeo—surrendered the land and all authority to Gyeong’s imperial family in exchange for the safety of his people. But the shameless Gyeong betrayed that promise.”

Yun-seon clutched the blanket covering his knees with all his strength.

His heart pounded so violently that bile rose up his throat.

“Yeonban Escort Agency, Ilshimbang, and the eight other sects we destroyed—all were hubs trafficking Ryeo people. And the key this time: Songrim Escort Agency!”

At the mention of that name, Seong Gon slammed his fist violently into the cave wall.

The thought of those scoundrels—deserving to be torn limb from limb—rekindled the fury he had long suppressed.

“They are traitors who sold out their own kin! How could they commit such a heinous crime as fellow Ryeo?”

At last, Yun Seol burst into tears she had been holding back.

Though she had faced the world’s storms early, this horror was too much for someone still so young.

Yun-seon felt he had no right to weep, so he only bit his lips tightly.

“Our goal is to destroy the sects that oppress Ryeo people—and sweep away the Five Great Mountain Swords who silently condone them.”

At last, Seong Gon calmed his rage and closed his eyes.

He knew well that the Taiyi Divine Sect, with only a few hundred members, striking down the Five Great Mountain Swords was like an egg against stone.

And yet, he bore the mission of protecting the Ryeo people.

“Using the Songrim Escort Agency as bait, Jo Sang-won gathered the sect leaders and elites of the Five Great Mountain Swords here at Dragon Gate Mountain. He even staged ambushes near Dragon Gate Sect to make it seem like we were operating there.”

Seong Gon smiled in satisfaction, as if even he was impressed with the brilliance of the plan.

“We began with Eminent Mountain Sect—what’s easier than toppling an empty mountain?”

Only then did Yun-seon realize that Yi Seomun’s two conditions at the martial gathering had been bait.

The first—demanding no interference with Tae’eul Sect—made the Five Great Mountain Swords suspect a massive scheme.

The second—demanding no martial gathering—forced them to secretly mobilize elite members.

Who would have guessed they would set that bait and wait four whole years before reeling them in?

It was a meticulous plan spanning years, leaving Yun-seon in awe.

“Your task first is to decide.”

Seong Gon searched Yun-seon’s face for something.

Patriotism? Guilt? He hadn’t expected those from the start.

Rage and determination—those two alone were enough.

“My resolve was set the moment I leapt from the Tiger Rock. No, I don’t yet feel the awareness of being Ryeo, nor do I have conviction. But I fully understand why my life was spared—and the responsibility that comes with it.”

Even sitting was hard, yet Yun-seon straightened himself and knelt before Seong Gon.

“Sabaek, for that, I must become strong. I no longer want to live merely by clinging to life. I want strength.”

As he bowed his head hard against the floor, fresh blood burst from his fragile brow.

“You said you’ve already memorized the Taiyi Divine Art?”

“Yes. But I could not practice it alone.”

He knew Jeok-woo had already taught him the first stage.

Though it broke the rules, in some ways it had made things easier.

Mastering just the first stage of Taiyi Divine Art took eighty percent of the entire Art.

“You’ve built a solid foundation, slow but thorough. And also—”

Seong Gon looked at Yun Seol with a pleased expression.

She had personally taken Yun-seon’s pulse and knew his condition better than anyone.

“Your master seems to have deliberately withheld martial arts, closing the key meridians in your dantian, making it nearly impossible for you to learn.”

At his stunned expression, Yun Seol giggled.

“That is why you’re still alive. The Fire Qi Senior Brother Right Shadow injected was so strong, even if you had mastered the first stage, you wouldn’t have lived three years. And yet, you survived without even losing an arm.”

As she spoke of medicine, Yun Seol’s face flushed with excitement.

Her tale meant that Yul-cheon’s love—protecting Yun-seon from the world—had saved his life.

“While you were unconscious, I opened all the blocked meridians. If you complete the Taiyi Divine Art, not only will your arm heal, but few in kangho could rival your inner strength.”

Seong Gon nodded, looking at the two with satisfaction.

Yun-seon, though unaware, now had a body perfectly suited for martial arts.

And with his quick wit, grasping ten things when taught one, his talent surpassed even Seong Gon’s seven disciples.

“Sabaek, but there’s something…”

Yun-seon, instead of rejoicing, looked troubled.

“The Taiyi Divine Art I memorized had seven stages. But Jeok-woo Hyung said there were five. Could my memory be wrong?”

Seong Gon, tense for a moment, burst out in hearty laughter in relief.

“No, you memorized correctly. Taiyi Divine Art truly has seven stages. It is I who was too dull to reach them.”

At his answer, Yun-seon’s face grew gloomier.

“They say even the second stage is nearly impossible… can I truly complete it?”

Seong Gon smirked mischievously, then suddenly flopped onto the ground.

And soon, he was snoring loudly.

Yun-seon stared blankly at Yunseol in confusion.

“Unfortunately for you, among all the skeletons I’ve treated, you were born with the finest physique. With my grandfather’s temperament, even if you don’t want to learn, you’ll have no choice but to. Blue surpasses indigo! His dream was always to raise a disciple like that. So stop worrying and just get some sleep. You’ve got a long, hard road ahead.”

Yun-seon could only scratch his head at Yun Seol’s giggles, unable to ask anything more.

아수라장 (阿修羅場), Asura’s Field:

A place plunged into great chaos due to fighting or other events. Such a state.