The Tang Clan (6)

Chiiiiik!

Im Yeo-wol’s hand movements as she skillfully swung the iron wok were now those of a proper cook.

Even taking her martial arts training into account, her cooking skill had improved truly quickly. Talent was one thing, but it was also because she had learned in an extremely free and unrestrained atmosphere, and because it was an environment where she could try all sorts of things.

Han Cheol-sang, who had been watching Im Yeo-wol from behind, quietly went outside.

“Huuu.”

The bright moonlight was truly clear.

Han Cheol-sang suddenly thought that he wanted to become that moon. Not someone who illuminated everyone like the sun, but a person who guided the dark night road with gentle moonlight.

At least for the clan members, as Steward, he wanted to be that kind of person.

‘But with this level of skill…’

Strictly speaking, his current skill was outstanding enough that no one could deny it.

At the age of thirty-four, if one had reached a realm right before the wall of the transcendent level, even the greatest prestigious clans of the Murim would see potential and spare no support.

However, Han Cheol-sang was not satisfied with his realm.

He recalled Tang Jin-hyeon’s words.

‘Come up. To this realm. Within half a year at the latest.’

Half a year.

It was a time that could be called fast or slow depending on how one looked at it. But if it was said about the transcendent realm, a realm every martial artist in the world wished to reach even in dreams, it was far too great a hope.

Han Cheol-sang did not think of it as a hope. Thinking that way always stopped growth.

He believed it would be possible and worked to reach it. He truly shaved time off his sleep at night and trained again and again.

Thanks to that, he had reached a deeper realm than last winter, but he still had not crossed the wall flickering right before his eyes.

‘This is not the time to despair by calling it a difficult or impossible realm. This is simply because I am lacking.’

Han Cheol-sang let out a sigh without realizing it.

“I am unqualified.”

That was when it happened.

“I wondered what you were doing, and it turns out you were cursing me behind my back?”

Han Cheol-sang gave a bitter smile and turned around.

Before he knew it, Tang Jin-hyeon was walking toward him from there.

“You have come.”

“Work gains momentum when you have the pleasure of badmouthing your superior. But do it so you do not get caught.”

“When did I ever curse you, Patriarch?”

“You said unqualified, did you not?”

“Not you, Patriarch. Me.”

“That’s cursing me. What happens to my face if I appointed an unqualified person?”

“Ah, is that how it works?”

“I did want to move forward together with you in the clan, Steward Han, but if your ability and talent had been lacking, there would have been no reason for me to give you the Steward position.”

“…”

“I may look like this, but my eye for people is accurate. You are a man qualified for that much, Steward Han. That is why I seated you in that position.”

Han Cheol-sang’s face turned bitter.

“If the position of Steward were one that handled this and that well, excluding martial arts, then I could see it as a reasonable appointment. I do look after people well.”

“You are wrong.”

Tang Jin-hyeon’s eyes were exceptionally clear and deep.

“In this clan, the Steward position is one capable in everything.”

“…”

“Naturally, that includes martial arts. The practical second-in-command of the clan. That is the position of Steward in the Tang Clan of Sichuan.”

“Shouldn’t you give it to Old Master Oh?”

“That man’s personality is too rotten for it. And who would look after whom? We have our hands full looking after that old man. Making him the Tang Clan’s Chief Instructor even in name was the limit.”

Han Cheol-sang gave a small laugh without realizing it.

“That is true.”

“Brother Han.”

“!”

Not Steward Han, but Brother Han. Han Cheol-sang’s face turned serious.

Tang Jin-hyeon spoke calmly.

“Branch Leader Mun found a suitable person.”

“…”

“We will begin the operation in one month, and once that happens, I will enter the Heavenly Will Alliance. I will stop by Sichuan from time to time, but for a while, you will have to lead this clan, Brother Han.”

“Yes. I know.”

“There will be many people helping from the side. Patriarch Seol, the Five Tigers Merchant Guild, and Branch Leader Mun will also support you firmly, so there should be nothing too difficult. But…”

“…”

“You know, don’t you? In this Kangho, the only things one can trust in the end are one’s own martial arts and one’s own family.”

“I know it painfully well.”

“When I told you to come up to this realm within half a year, I meant it.”

“I know.”

“I meant it, but it was closer to a wish than an order. If someone could come up just because they were told to, would Kangho not have so many transcendent masters that people would trip over them?”

“…”

“You may fall into self-loathing because you haven’t risen, but you must not lose what makes you yourself. As I see it, right now, you’ve lost that, Brother Han. That is how it looks to me.”

“Is that so?”

Tang Jin-hyeon grinned.

“Shall we walk for a bit?”

The two came down from the hill and stood before the riverside.

“Do you remember? When we caught the murderer, we suddenly had a fight at that thatched hut near the river.”

“I remember it vividly. Back then, I was truly shocked. I had no idea a regular customer would be that strong.”

“I was surprised too. I had never imagined that someone who used such splendid martial arts would be the owner of a dumpling shop. And to think you could even use the martial arts of the Blood-Saber Demon Lord and Life-Snatching Demon Lord, who had been vanguards of the Eight Wastes Alliance Leader.”

Tang Jin-hyeon looked up at the sky.

To Han Cheol-sang, the moon appeared first, but to Tang Jin-hyeon, the stars appeared first.

“Brother Han.”

“Speak.”

“The martial arts of the Blood-Saber Demon Lord and Life-Snatching Demon Lord were truly tremendous. The Sect Leaders of the Nine Sects at that time were also the greatest masters within their sects because it was wartime. Those Demon Lords were renowned powerhouses under heaven, men who looked down even on those greatest masters.”

“…”

“A man as talented as you has learned the martial arts of absolute masters who dominated that fierce era a hundred years ago, Brother Han.”

Tang Jin-hyeon lowered his head and looked at Han Cheol-sang.

“You can rise. If it is you, Brother Han.”

“Yes, I should.”

Han Cheol-sang, who had nodded by habit, soon had a light in his eyes.

“No, I absolutely will.”

“Good. That’s a good answer.”

Huk!

Tang Jin-hyeon leaped over the river in a single breath.

Though it was quite wide, he reached the opposite side in one jump. It was a remarkable movement art.

Han Cheol-sang also leaped over the river in a single breath.

Tang Jin-hyeon looked around and spoke.

“The space is wide, and the sound of the river is good to hear. A sword dance in the middle of the night. This has some charm.”

Han Cheol-sang’s eyes went wide.

“You mean to spar?”

“Did you jump over without knowing?”

“…”

“Steward Han, get a grip. Are you not getting too sentimental?”

From Brother Han, he had become Steward Han again.

“Even while living in self-loathing, you always carry the Death God Saber with you.”

Han Cheol-sang looked down at his waist without realizing it.

There was another divine weapon made through the combined efforts of the Tang Clan smiths and Yeo Bang. The Death God Saber.

In that moment, Han Cheol-sang felt a wave rise in one corner of his heart.

‘Even in the moment I forgot myself, my saber was always with me.’

That fact, both obvious and not obvious at all.

Han Cheol-sang’s eyes shook greatly. It felt as if a streak of hot flame had pierced through the crown of his head and stirred inside his skull.

“Your saber, Steward Han, was made by everyone joining forces. It is a saber suited to the Steward position, because you have to look after everyone. On the other hand, my sword…”

Seureureung.

The Heavenly Wolf Sword revealed itself.

Only then did Han Cheol-sang realize that Tang Jin-hyeon had a new sword. His thoughts had been so deep that he had not even noticed.

“The alloy was made with the smiths’ help, but the sword itself was made entirely through Ironworks Master Yeo’s skill. In a manner of speaking, your Death God Saber and my Heavenly Wolf Sword are practically cousins.”

Wooooong.

The Heavenly Wolf Sword, touched by the river wind, let out a faint sword cry.

“Cousin sword and saber, pulling and pushing each other along. Today is the day the sword pulls the saber forward.”

In that instant, Tang Jin-hyeon’s gaze changed.

Huk!

The darkness of night seemed to deepen further.

The starlight that filled the sky as if it might pour down, and even the bright full moon, all seemed to be devoured by darkness.

The air shook madly. The world was tensing.

Han Cheol-sang’s eyes trembled.

Puseuseuseu.

The pebbles by the river crumbled finely into powder and scattered. The stones around where Tang Jin-hyeon stood couldn’t withstand the terrifying pressure of a transcendent master.

Even though they were small, they were hard pebbles, yet they had been reduced to powder because they couldn’t withstand the qi waves.

This was the true skill of Tang Jin-hyeon, the current Patriarch of the Tang Clan of Sichuan. It was not clumsy teaching, but the roar of Sichuan’s foremost master, who would draw out all his strength to face his opponent.

‘Strong.’

Too much strength entered the hand gripping the hilt of the Death God Saber.

‘I knew he was strong… but to think it was this much.’

Pararararak!

His red long robe trembled madly in the fierce river wind.

The Patriarch’s gaze as he glared at him with his head slightly lowered was that of an extremely dangerous beast. His white hair, spreading in every direction, was filled with blue energy, making him look like an inhuman demon rather than a person.

He was a master of the Heavenly Wolf who was more reliable than anyone when fighting enemies together, but the moment he became an enemy one had to face, he became an unbearable terror.

Chaaaaang!!

As he drew his saber while raising the power of the Red Lotus Divine Fire Art as much as he could, intense fire qi spread from Han Cheol-sang’s body as well.

Chiiiiik! Peong! Peopeong!

Moonlit Pack-Wolf True Qi and Red Lotus Divine Fire True Qi collided and burst with explosive sounds.

In that instant, Han Cheol-sang almost stepped back without realizing it.

When qi waves collided with qi waves, he felt an overwhelming difference in power. He had heard Tang Jin-hyeon had gone quite far after crossing the wall, but to think the difference would be this vast!

“The North Wind Sword Art has been completed up to the Seventh Sword.”

“!!”

“If I create one or two more forms, the framework will be complete. There are still many places to refine, though.”

Seureuk.

Invisible blade winds rotated around the sword he aimed.

It was formless sword wind. But to Han Cheol-sang’s eyes, he could see thousands of treasured swords spinning madly around the Heavenly Wolf Sword.

“It’s not yet complete, but I wanted to show you first the realization I’ve gained so far, Steward Han. That is my trust toward you.”

Hwareureureuk!

Flames gathered on the Death God Saber.

The corner of Tang Jin-hyeon’s mouth rose.

“If you don’t keep your head straight, you’ll die.”

Huk!

The overwhelming qi waves pressing down in every direction disappeared in an instant.

At that moment, Han Cheol-sang heard a thunderous roar resound above his head.

Kwaaaang!

The Heavenly Wolf Sword plunging downward turned over the river water in the distance in one great upheaval. Hundreds of pebbles laid out densely were smashed by the gale and turned to powder.

Han Cheol-sang, who had barely evaded with Lotus Eighteen Steps, felt a chill run down his spine.

‘Tremendous power!’

If he had not dodged, he truly would have died. With a single move, Tang Jin-hyeon had shown that this spar was not simply one meant to draw out realization, but a spar where life and death could be decided.

Han Cheol-sang’s stance gradually lowered. He did not think of Life-Snatching Saber or Heaven-Shattering Saber. What mattered was reacting first to any attack, at any time.

Tang Jin-hyeon swept aside the shattered pebbles with his foot.

“This was not the North Wind Sword Art. I merely wrapped the silk-reeling force of the North Wind Sword around the strike and brought it down.”

“!”

“You dodged well. With this, you have gained the qualification to see everything of the North Wind Sword Art, Steward Han.”

Tang Jin-hyeon’s left hand faced forward.

His index and middle fingers stretched straight, as if designating a target. There was no real need to assume the stance, but this was the opening stance of the North Wind Sword Art.

“First technique of the North Wind Sword. Here it comes.”

Kwareureureung!!

The gale that shook heaven and earth in every direction gathered into the Heavenly Wolf Sword.

The moment Tang Jin-hyeon took a majestic single step.

Flash!

The Heavenly Wolf Sword, thrust straight forward, brought down a translucent gray vortex.

The first of the opening five techniques of the North Wind Sword Art, which annihilated all things, had manifested. It was the Wind-Facing Form.