After my regression, I have met so many beings at the Peak.
First it was Baek Hyang-muk. Then I met Jin Gyun, the Flame Emperor Great Blade. Then I met with Jin Song-baek, my father.
I even managed to meet Mu Ack, a former Great Evil.
Then the Flashing Sword, Ja Gyun.
Let’s not forget Sima Chak, the Wicked Moon Sword.
If I had to choose from among them the one who gave me the most thrill and anxiety, it would be, without a doubt, Sima Young’s father, Sima Chak.
Sima Chak was among the Five Great Evils and among the five strongest in Murim. Before I decided to settle things with him, my father had told me this.
[Be careful. The Wicked Moon Sword has crossed the wall within the wall.]
[Wall within the wall?]
My father then explained.
It was said that a person who had crossed the wall within the wall would be known as Supreme. Among them, those at the Peak were of a different class.
I have yet to find his words to be wrong.
The Wicked Moon Sword didn’t even put all his strength against me. Every time we clashed, I couldn’t even get close to him.
However, the thrill I felt then was as if I was fighting a beast.
-And are those who are so strong part of the top five?
No.
From what I knew, this man was not in the top five.
The Wind Wave King, Huk Cheon-man, was considered to be the twelfth among the thirteen top warriors.
However, all my senses were telling me to be wary of him. Then, as he approached me, he even said an absurd thing.
Naturally, there was an uproar.
“The Wind Wave King claims that the Second New Star, So Wonwhi, is at the level of the Eight Great Warriors!”
“Does it mean that he has crossed the wall?”
“What is this?”
“He has gone beyond the limit. Did he really say that?”
Just as Wind Wave King had proclaimed, those around us continued to discuss his words.
‘Ah… this is bad.’
There was nothing particularly embarrassing here. However, since I was pretending to be a member of the Justice Faction, I needed to be faithful to my role.
I had tried to hide my growth, but it was no longer possible since it was mentioned by one of the Eight Great Warriors himself.
The aftermath of this was too troublesome to think about. Even the Hwang Young Escort Group leader was looking at me with wide eyes.
I hurriedly bowed to him and said,
“This junior of yours is quite taken aback by the words of such a great senior. How can I compare myself to the limitless heavens of our seniors in Murim? Please take those words back.”
I communicated my intentions clearly. I didn’t want everyone to know about my strength.
If my reputation as So Wonwhi increased, then I would inevitably get drawn to all of the Murim Alliance’s dealings. It would become tiring.
The Wind Wave King looked at me and said,
“Ahhh. Are you trying to hide your skills?”
‘… ah, for real.’
This person was more absurd than even Sima Chak.
He didn’t care about anything else and was going straight to the point. Of course, it didn’t matter if my skills were disclosed from his end. It was just troublesome for me.
It was also becoming embarrassing.
“It’s not that. All I am saying is that I am still lacking…”
Flinch!
At that moment, I felt an increase in the qi in his right arm. He was ready to reach out to me.
He was not one of the Four Great Evils but still one of the Eight Great Warriors. This man was planning to strike me with a blow.
I was suddenly unsure of how I should deal with it.
“I just need to prove that I am right…”
“Warrior Hyuk!”
Someone’s voice made the Wind Wave King pull his hand back.
Looking over at where the voice had come from, I saw a gray-haired old man wearing a blue silk robe walking along some escort warriors.
The escort warriors were all polite as they regarded the man. Hwang Hye-joo then told me,
[He is Elder Ho Jin-wong, the owner of the Gold Coin Merchants Union.]
That was one of the top five people with the most wealth in the Central Plains. As someone who had achieved such a feat, even if he was not skilled in martial arts, he looked quite amazing.
The Wind Wave King then bowed.
“Elder Ho, it has been too long.”
He didn’t seem like a man who would bow to anyone, so this was unexpected.
It seemed that they even knew each other. Ho Jin-wong then spoke to the Wind Wave King in a friendly voice.
“Thank you for listening to my request.”
“It isn’t something to be thankful about.”
“How can you say that? How can I not be thankful when someone who doesn’t stop at the words of anyone would listen to the last request of this old man?”
‘Last request?’
The tone of his voice felt sad. Seeing how they were conversing, it didn’t seem that this relationship was based on money.
Well, even if he was like this, Hyuk Cheon-man wasn’t someone who was known to change his ways even within the Murim Alliance.
Hyuk Cheon-man then told Ho Jin-wong, the owner of this merchant union.
“Elder, please step back for a moment. I need to finish my chat with this friend…”
“We are meant to depart around evening today. Before that, we need to hurry.”
“Hmmm.”
“That’s good.”
Thanks to the elder’s request, it felt like the situation was resolved.
I had no relationship with him, but I didn’t want to clash with him either.
The Wind Wave King looked at me with eyes that held regret.
Ho Jin-wong then said to him,
“Didn’t I inform everyone that Warrior Hyuk would have the right to select the bidders? Let us continue to talk about it then.”
‘…!?’
What was this now?
This man had the right to select the bidders?
Whisper!
Every one of the escort services looked anxious. They seemed upset that someone not related to the merchants, but instead, a Murim warrior, was making the selection.
Only those services who brought along talented warriors were smiling.
Hyuk Cheon-man, who followed the old man, then told me.
“I will make sure to keep track of your growth.”
‘…my growth?’
I didn’t understand what he was saying.
The only thing people knew about So Wonwhi was that I was a child of the Ikyang So family and a disciple of the South Heavenly Swordsman.
So why was he talking like this?
As I continued to wonder, Iron Sword spoke up.
-… no.
Wass he someone your former master knew?
-It seems so.
Was that it, then?
-It is shocking that he is one of the Eight Great Warriors.
Iron Sword stated his surprise.
Enough with the nonsense and just speak.
-Thirty years ago, there was this youth about 17 or 18 who had a strong physique.
Was that this man?
-It seems so.
-… why did your former master have to go around so much?
I wanted to ask the same thing.
-At that time, a certain boy came to my former master, who was building a name for himself while wandering around Yunnan, and asked him to teach him.
It was amazing that someone came from the northernmost provinces to the south to take up a challenge. At such a young age as well.
Did he then compete with the South Heavenly Swordsman?
-It wasn’t just once.
Then?
-I think he fought with my master around 15 times.
Fifteen!?
Not even against a warrior, but a novice?
-For 15 days, he came to the guest house that my master stayed at and challenged him. He had a crude way of using the sword, but my master indulged him because of his youthful enthusiasm.
And such a person was now one of the Eight Great Warriors?
That was quite shocking to hear.
Among the eleven people at the Peak, he crossed the wall at the youngest age. This meant that he was talented.
-Now you’re the youngest.
Short Sword giggled.
I will acknowledge that some talent helped me, but luck played a large role.
My swords were also there. If I hadn’t mastered the techniques perfectly, it would have been impossible for me to grow that quickly.
In any case, if Iron Sword was right, then Hyuk Cheon-man had crossed paths with my teacher.
It was clear now why he was so enthusiastic about fighting me.
He wanted to get rid of the feelings of being unable to defeat the South Heavenly Swordsman through me.
-Huh. Worse than that crazy old man.
Right.
However, he was very different from my teacher. He was a person who was purely close to nothingness. A person who grew by holding onto his defeats for thirty years.
Telling me that he would check my progress was similar to telling me that he wanted to compete against me.
And this felt like I was being pushed off a cliff.
-Why do things get upturned just when we think they are going well?
I felt the same way.
I had lied all the way until the end to come here as a guest for the escort service. However, if this man could jump in and decide things, then my identity might get shaken.
This also made it difficult for me to step back.
As I dealt with this shock, I heard Cho Seong-won’s message.
[… are you alright? It might be challenging to get the task done if one of the Eight Great Warriors is going to take the lead.]
Phew.
This was also a problem.
I needed to make contact with the 18 River Families, but it felt like I was doomed to failure because of the Wind Wave King.
It was doubtful whether the pirates would even aim for a ship when they heard that such a giant was on board.
Even if they did target it, the Wind Wave King would eliminate them.
‘Things are going perfectly wrong now.’
Life has always been a dilemma.
It was already arranged that there would be people participating as guests, and I won’t be able to give up now. Yet, if I didn’t give it up here, then I would just end up wasting my time.
-It might be good that he’s showing his will to fight.
‘What now?’
-I don’t know how the bidding might proceed, but if it is the Wind Wave King, he might lead it to where he could fight you. If that is the case, wouldn’t it be possible to get into a moderate clash and then lose?
Not a bad idea.
That would help a little.
Even if I was strong, I could not pass through the bidding part of the process if the Wind Wave King didn’t approve of it.
However, if that happened, I would feel bad for the Hwang Young Escort Group.
They had come from a faraway place to compete in this bid.
But this was inevitable.
Naturally, if we failed to get the right to the auction, pushing them into any positive future would become difficult.
Large wooden boxes laid open in the warehouse.
What could be inside such large boxes?
It was customary to provide information about the box and its contents when the bid was won. However, since there were so many voices of metal around us, I learned something about them.
‘… hear it?’
-Yes. There are quite a few.
The sound of countless swords came from the wooden boxes. It wasn’t only a few either, but they were coming from the five largest boxes.
It seemed that they were carrying important weapons. Perhaps this was why the Beggars Union was involved.
‘I don’t know.’
It was difficult to guess anything from these alone. I decided that it might be better to not participate in this.
If I was caught up in such troublesome things, I would end up failing my original purpose.
It would be difficult to get anything done.
Ho Jin-wong, the head of the merchant union, stood in front of the warehouse and shouted.
“As I have said before, the person who will determine the participants will be the Wind Wave King and Chief Jang of the Murang Escort Services.”
“Wahhhhh!!”
Those in the plaza shouted.
Since the person in charge was reputable, their desire to participate only increased.
Well, it was normal, but I needed to get out of here.
Chief Jang stepped forward.
“I am Chief Jang. This trip will be quite difficult, so I will try to pick based on your skills. Therefore, the Great Warrior, Hyuk Cheon-man, will review the bidding review. Guests of the escort services, please come this way.”
As he said this, Hyuk Cheon-man stepped forward.
To be precise, he moved to the center of the warehouse.
Thanks to this, the escorts naturally formed a circle around him.
Hyuk Cheon-man pulled one of the swords behind him.
Srng!
It was a treasured sword with a brilliant shine. This has to be the famous Silver Dragon Sword.
The sword spoke in a way that resembled his master.
-KYAKYAKYAK. They’re all fucking trash! Come on!
A sword that would make someone tired with its manner of speech and bizarre laugh.
Puak!
He then placed his Silver Dragon Sword on the floor and declared,
“I will not say much. Send out your strongest. I will let you know if you pass after you receive three attacks.”
‘…!!’
The noisy place became quiet.
It was a simple process, but he spoke arrogantly, yet no one could say anything.
It was simply because he had the right to do it.
The problem, however, was something else. This meant that the person who could decide participation was one of the Eight Great Warriors.
It wouldn’t be a disgrace to fight against him and lose, but if we fell short of his standards, then the pride of our associated escort service would collapse.
“How about letting the Kangmuk Escort Services go first?”
“No. Make them try!”
“Why push that to us? Don’t you want to win?”
Look at these people, trying to push it off to each other. The earlier one went forward, the more unfavorable the result would be.
Instead, it was wiser to let someone else go first to see what kind of level they needed to reach.
Of course, everyone thought this, which meant no one came forward.
Even Hong Geol-gae, the successor to the Beggars Union, simply watched.
“If no one comes forward, I will point to one.”
As the situation continued, this was the inevitable conclusion.
His eyes were on me, and naturally, everyone else’s gazes also fell on me.
‘… damn it.’
-You cannot step back.
Therefore, I stepped forward. Before I headed to the middle, I left my armor with Sima Young.
The Hwang Young escorts also cheered for me.
“Do well!”
Hwang Hye-joo placed her hands together and even gave me an earnest look.
What now?
I had no intention of just letting this go.
I was sorry, but I just wanted to finish this. I thought of only one thing.
As I stepped forward, I heard the mutterings of the people.
“Such a pity it is just for three attacks.”
“The disciple of the South Heavenly Swordsman and the Wind Wave King!”
“Where else can we see such a match?”
“The Wind Wave King also said that the Second New Star was equal to one of the Eight Great Warriors.”
“If the Second New Star has really broken through the wall, wouldn’t he be the youngest to do so?”
I had to break their expectations. To do so, I needed to make a convincing failure.
I could sense his qi becoming stronger.
He would probably guess at my strength, and I will be doing my best.
Looking at this situation, if his first attack was swift, then I wouldn’t be able to stop it without creating a gap for two or three more attacks.
Srng!
I pulled out Iron Sword. Seeing my blade, Hyuk Cheon-man’s eyes changed.
He seemed to be feeling some shock.
“South Heavenly Iron Sword.”
“You know the sword.”
“Everyone knows that sword. I was looking forward to this moment.”
He clearly wanted to fight, but I wasn’t sure I could fulfill his wish.
I grabbed my sword and took my stance as he pulled his sword from the ground.
He then told me.
“Show me your progress, sajae.”
“Uh?”
I doubted my ears for a second.
At that moment, he stepped on the ground and pushed his sword forward. A wind formed at the tip of his sword.
‘Chasing Until the End Sword!’
