The Tang Clan (5)

“Huuu.”

Even though he had soaked his entire body with cold water, white steam was still rising fiercely from Yeo Bang’s body.

He had grown a little thinner than last year, but his expression was far brighter. Today, in particular, was the day he would finally repay the debt he had carried until now, so he couldn’t help feeling even better.

Ok Jin smiled and spoke.

“You worked hard.”

Yeo Bang’s skill and character were excellent enough to make that stiff artisan smile brightly. Before either knew it, the two had become friends who had crossed the barrier of age.

Yeo Bang shook his head.

“It would have been impossible without the help of the Tang Clan smiths. You have needlessly gone through hardship all this time helping someone lacking like me.”

“On the contrary, I learned much from Ironworks Master Yeo.”

He was not saying it merely to be polite. To begin with, Ok Jin was not someone who said things he did not mean.

Although his pure technical skill was several levels below that of the Tang Clan smiths, Yeo Bang was exceptionally outstanding in his ability to look at iron and grasp a person’s nature.

Thanks to that, even the Tang Clan smiths had begun handing goods over to the people of Ziyang County. It was because, while watching Yeo Bang, they realized that a true artisan was not made alone.

“The Death God Saber you made for Steward Han before was also a remarkable item. At that time, I realized that even in technique, your skill no longer differed from ours, Ironworks Master Yeo.”

Yeo Bang scratched his head as if embarrassed.

“You honor me too much.”

“Heh heh heh.”

That was when it happened.

“The Patriarch is coming!”

Everyone turned their heads.

Far away, two men were walking along beneath the sunset as it slowly poured out red light.

The figure of the young man walking in front was mysterious enough to draw admiration from anyone who saw him. He wore black martial robes with a reddish long robe over them, and his abundant white hair, like a lion’s mane, was dyed by the sunset and appeared similar in color to the robe.

It was as if a red lion were walking toward them. Even so, the pressure he gave off was unexpectedly not that great. He was filled only with an aloof and mysterious air.

Ok Jin lowered his head.

“We greet the Patriarch!”

All the smiths followed Ok Jin and lowered their heads.

“We greet the Patriarch!”

Tang Jin-hyeon smiled and raised his hand.

“We agreed not to stand on needless ceremony, didn’t we? If you keep doing this, I’ll feel embarrassed.”

Ok Jin laughed loudly and spoke.

“Today is the day this clan’s Patriarch’s Supreme Treasure, your beloved sword, was born. How could we not offer proper respect?”

“That excuse sounds plausible.”

“Excuse? It is my sincere heart.”

Even though everyone knew Mun Jung was behind Tang Jin-hyeon, and that he was the Sichuan Branch Leader, they looked only at Tang Jin-hyeon.

Seeing that, Mun Jung realized.

‘This is truly absolute loyalty.’

It was not mere personal familiarity, but loyalty. The eyes of the smiths as they looked at the young Patriarch were filled with respect and affection.

They may have had ties from before, but receiving this degree of loyalty when the clan had not even existed for a year was no ordinary thing.

Tang Jin-hyeon walked up before Yeo Bang.

Yeo Bang bowed at the waist.

“Patriarch.”

“Ironworks Master.”

Tang Jin-hyeon bowed in return.

“You have gone through much hardship because of me.”

“How can you say such a thing? You are the benefactor of my ironworks and the one who opened a path of learning for me as an artisan.I am the one who should be wondering whether even ten thousand gold would be enough to repay you.”

Tang Jin-hyeon gave a small laugh.

“If we keep talking, we’ll only gild each other with praise, so shall we look at it right away?”

“Good.”

Yeo Bang brought over a sword that had been stood upright beside Ok Jin’s furnace in the central forge.

In that instant, Mun Jung’s eyes widened.

‘It’s good.’

Just from the scabbard and hilt, one could tell it was no ordinary weapon.

The thick and elongated scabbard was dyed black, and if one looked closely, its elegance was enhanced by workmanship so subtle it was almost invisible. It seemed to depict clouds, or perhaps mist. It was delicate craftsmanship.

The guard was adorned with gold and was thick vertically. Behind it, the hilt jutted out sharply and was close to a foot in length, giving it the form of a two-handed longsword, enough to grip and swing with both hands.

The hilt, colored the same black as the scabbard and marked here and there with gold like sword rings, also carried a simple yet strangely luxurious air.

“We mixed top-grade Hundred-Forged Silver Steel, a small amount of Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron, and part of the top-grade Mysterious Iron that came in three months ago to create an ultra-high-strength alloy.”

“I see.”

“I was able to complete it with the help of Master Hammerer Ok and the other smiths. You will not have seen an alloy like this anywhere else.”

“I look forward to it.”

Tang Jin-hyeon grasped the scabbard.

‘Good.’

It was far lighter than the Indestructible Sword, but far heavier than an ordinary longsword. The blade itself was also broader than most longswords, so it couldn’t help being heavier, but even taking that into account, it had considerable weight.

But for Tang Jin-hyeon, whose body had been completed through the Body-Refining Art, it was exactly the right weight. If it had been lighter than this, he felt he would have struggled to control his sword speed.

‘Extraordinary.’

It seemed intense heat was leaking from the sword itself.

Tang Jin-hyeon gripped the hilt.

As his long fingers folded one by one and half-covered the hilt, Moonlit Pack-Wolf True Qi reacted in an instant.

Wooooong!

The blue energy spreading faintly immediately entered the sword.

It wasn’t intentional. Tang Jin-hyeon’s Soul-Refining Art reacted to the intense artisan’s soul felt from the sword, and on its own, began engraving the power of the Heavenly Wolf into it.

Tang Jin-hyeon calmed his trembling heart and drew the sword.

Seureureung.

The sound as it scraped against the Iron Whetstone inside the scabbard was like a single song.

In that way, the broad blade revealed itself to the world.

“Waaaah!”

“Oh…!”

Exclamations flowed from the smiths’ mouths.

Mun Jung also stared blankly at the blade, and Tang Jin-hyeon looked outright bewitched by something.

Yeo Bang spoke.

“Although I am its maker, because this sword is so special, I did not engrave a sword name into it. Since it is also the Patriarch’s Supreme Treasure, please give it a sword name yourself, Patriarch.”

The blade under the sunset gave off a light slightly clearer than an ordinary iron sword, so at a glance, it did not look incredibly special.

But the finely engraved blood grooves, the thickness as if two longswords had been joined together, and the blade that stretched straight without a single inch of tilt were art in themselves. Even looking only at the blade’s form, not its color, one could naturally tell it was a work of art made by a master craftsman under heaven.

Woooong! Wooooong!!

Moonlit Pack-Wolf True Qi surged.

As the true qi gradually increased in density and surrounded the entire blade, the blade, dyed red by the sunset, looked like a divine sword born within red and blue flames.

‘It’s incredible.’

Beyond the blue energy, a faint pale-green radiance also shimmered.

It was a divine sword that drew in Tang Jin-hyeon’s soul. Even Soul-Refining Qi moved and engraved itself into the sword, and unlike Moonlit Pack-Wolf True Qi, which stayed for a while before disappearing, part of the Soul-Refining Qi was truly engraved into the blade and settled there.

‘I want to swing it right now.’

Tang Jin-hyeon was certain. If he swung this sword, even if he brought out the power of his original martial arts beyond their limits, it would not become unstable.

A good weapon possesses the power to multiply its master’s strength. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a divine weapon. A weapon that perfectly fits its master’s martial arts, habits, physique, and soul is truly a ‘good weapon’ worthy of spending a lifetime together.

Tang Jin-hyeon felt as if he had met the companion of his lifetime. He liked this sword that much.

“I have never seen such a magnificent sword before, and I will never see one again.”

To an artisan, it was the highest praise.

Yeo Bang smiled proudly.

“Thank you.”

Even as he offered praise, Tang Jin-hyeon’s gaze remained fixed on the sword.

Even if Tang Jin-hyeon didn’t meet his eyes and smile at him, no, that very sight of him bewitched by the sword made Yeo Bang feel even prouder. It was all the more so because he knew Tang Jin-hyeon was not the type to offer empty words.

Yeo Bang’s face grew light, as if he had fulfilled Heaven’s mandate.

Ok Jin suddenly thought that this was the face of an artisan who had truly seen the end. Even if his skill was lacking, the face of a completed artisan who had devoted everything in his life for one person was precisely like that.

It was a realm even Ok Jin had not yet reached. The moment the master of this sword saw it, Yeo Bang had become, if only for a moment, the greatest master craftsman under heaven.

Ok Jin carefully asked.

“Patriarch.”

“Yes?”

“What is the sword’s name?”

Everyone’s gaze turned to Tang Jin-hyeon.

Tang Jin-hyeon did not hesitate. The moment he saw the sword, he had decided its name.

“From now on, this sword is the Heavenly Wolf Sword.”

Generally, Heavenly Wolf referred to the brightest star in the sky, the Heavenly Wolf Star¹.

Because it was a name drawn from the Heavenly Wolf True Art, it might seem simple, but the sword name carried his resolve as Patriarch to become not the sun or the moon, but the brightest star.

In that way, Tang Jin-hyeon was able to obtain his own true beloved sword.

It was the day Sichuan’s strongest divine weapon and wondrous artifact was born, already perfect, yet destined to break the frame of perfection together with its master, grow higher, and reach completeness.

“Kkeung.”

Do Min’s face, while she was circulating her energy, twisted sharply.

Her exposed skin was bright red. She looked as if she might faint at any moment.

But she gritted her teeth and endured. Unlike the bright image she usually showed, she possessed an extraordinary grit.

“Huuu.”

A faint look of satisfaction flashed across Oh Gyeong’s face as he puffed out tobacco smoke.

How much time had passed like that?

‘Mm?’

The familiar presence of the Patriarch.

But over that presence, something heavy had settled.

“Old Master Oh.”

“Patriarch.”

Oh Gyeong immediately looked at Tang Jin-hyeon’s waist.

In that instant, his eyes flashed.

“A divine weapon?”

“It is called the Heavenly Wolf Sword.”

“…Huh. That friend Yeo Bang finally did something extraordinary.”

Tang Jin-hyeon drew the sword without hesitation.

Huk.

The drawn blade gave off an intense presence. It was a sword that still could not be said to have any particular color, yet its presence as a weapon was tremendous.

Oh Gyeong was genuinely impressed.

“I have wandered the Kangho all these years, but I have never seen a sword like this. It suits you well too, Patriarch.”

“Ironworks Master Yeo went through great hardship.”

“He went through great hardship, but he must be proud. I can tell without seeing him. That friend poured into it everything he learned as an artisan.”

“It seems so.”

“Congratulations.”

“Thank you.”

Tang Jin-hyeon sheathed the sword and looked at Do Min.

“She is at a critical juncture.”

“She reached this juncture too quickly. Two years earlier than I expected. She is a child overflowing with talent.”

“That may be true, but it is also because the martial art you taught her suits her so perfectly, Old Master Oh.”

“Of course.”

The energy flowing from Do Min’s body was strangely unstable. It was the instability just before rising to a higher stage.

Tang Jin-hyeon quietly watched Do Min, then asked as if tossing the words out.

“How is Unit Leader Gwan?”

“He is gradually improving. Physician Lee’s skill is excellent.”

“That is a relief. That man Guild Leader Gang had no contact for so long that I thought he had given up, but it seems he retrieved it properly.”

“Physician Lee was also startled when he saw the condition of the medicinal herbs, was he not?”

Oh Gyeong smiled.

“He’ll soon be fine.”

The final medicinal herb to treat Gwan Ho’s illness had arrived, and Lee Jung-myeong, who had once been the personal physician of the Divine Iron Merchant House’s Patriarch, was treating him.

Now, all that remained was for him to recover.

“Branch Leader Mun has found a proper candidate for us. We will begin the operation in one month, so prepare to enter the Heavenly Will Alliance.”

Oh Gyeong’s eyes flashed.

“It has already come to that.”

“Thanks to that, this clan has grown well.”

“It’s because you are outstanding, Patriarch.”

“But there is still one problem we haven’t resolved. Unless that problem is resolved, I think my steps toward the Heavenly Will Alliance will feel heavy.”

Oh Gyeong exhaled smoke with a huu.

“…Steward Han.”