CLS-Chapter 208

Chapter 208

As they entered the mountain gate, the Huashan disciples guarding the entrance spotted Gong Mu-jin and rushed over.

“We greet our martial uncle.”

“Mm…”

Gong Mu-jin nodded gravely. Even so, he stealthily glanced at Wei Yan-ho. After confirming that Wei Yan-ho’s mouth was firmly gagged, Gong Mu-jin felt relieved and opened his mouth.

“You’ve worked hard. How is the situation inside?”

Even saying such trivial words, he had to worry whether that troublemaker behind him might suddenly interject.

Recalling himself from just a short while ago when he had left this mountain gate—so dignified and confident—Gong Mu-jin secretly wiped away the moisture gathering at the corners of his eyes.

‘Everything went wrong after meeting that bastard.’

He shouldn’t have gotten worked up about catching that lecher. He should have just gone his way, but what glory was he trying to enjoy…

“Martial uncle?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Do you have some worry?”

“…Didn’t I say it’s nothing?”

I do have worries, but whether those worries will remain mine alone remains to be seen.

Gong Mu-jin sighed deeply, newly realizing what it meant to bring Wei Yan-ho inside the mountain gate.

‘Why did the sect leader decide to hold the martial competition here!’

If Gong Mu-jin had been present, he would have tried every means to dissuade him, but what could Gong Mu-jin do about what happened while he was away?

Come to think of it, the sect leader hadn’t done anything wrong. Without Wei Yan-ho, holding such a martial competition ten times over wouldn’t be problematic.

The problem was that currently in the martial world, there was Wei Yan-ho—who could be called a bomb of epic proportions—running wild, and the fact that Wei Yan-ho was participating in this martial competition.

“Many guests have already arrived.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. But… who is that person? A Demon Head?”

Demon Head?

A Demon Head is a Demon Head.

Since there couldn’t be two such wicked Demon Heads in the world, he should be called a Demon Head.

“…No. He’s a participant in this competition.”

“Then why is he in such a state?”

The Huashan disciples looked back and forth between Wei Yan-ho, bound tightly with rope, and Gong Mu-jin with bewildered expressions.

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

Though it would be better if you didn’t.

Though they had entered Huashan, they couldn’t see anyone from other sects.

Considering that other sects had probably sent as many people as the Righteous Alliance, it wasn’t easy to encounter a group of barely twenty people in the vast Huashan.

After the Righteous Alliance members unpacked in their assigned quarters, they each went to rest following Wei Jeong-han’s instruction to recover from travel fatigue.

“Ahh!”

Wei Yan-ho, who received the most secluded room—in other words, the room least visible to others—threw himself onto the bed. While others received large rooms to share in pairs or groups of three, Wei Yan-ho was assigned the most corner single room.

And no one objected to Wei Yan-ho receiving a single room.

‘We need to keep him as out of sight as possible.’

‘If he gets caught, it’ll be a complete disgrace.’

Whether they liked Wei Yan-ho or not, everyone’s interests aligned at this moment. Even Wei Jeong-han actively pushed his own son into the corner room and earnestly instructed him that if he needed anything, his father would bring it all, so he absolutely must not wander outside.

“…I wasn’t planning to go out anyway.”

Wei Yan-ho, lying on the bed, began muttering.

“They drag someone here against his will, then treat him like a burden once they arrive.”

The world is truly heartless.

Anyway, since the martial competition wouldn’t start for several days, it seemed he would have nothing to do for a while. Having gained a legitimate opportunity for rest after a long time, Wei Yan-ho yawned greatly and slowly began to fall asleep.

“…What did you say?”

Cheongmyeong, the sect leader of Huashan, rubbed his ears.

His disciple, who was called Huashan’s promising talent and closest to becoming the next sect leader, was currently saying something rather strange.

“Don’t you even dream of winning?”

“Yes.”

“Mu-jin.”

“Yes, sect leader.”

“Haven’t you seen So-ha’s sword?”

“I have.”

“You also know that So-ha has already mastered the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique beyond the basic level, right?”

“That’s correct.”

“Yet he can’t win? Are you now badmouthing So-ha by saying he’s not your disciple?”

Gong Mu-jin shook his head firmly.

“How could I do such a thing? As the sect leader knows, I am someone without the talent for raising disciples. Therefore, I don’t equate my disciple’s achievements with my own abilities.”

“Yes, you’re that kind of fellow. That’s both your problem and virtue.”

Cheongmyeong narrowed his eyes.

Then why was he saying such things?

“What did you see in the martial world?”

“Rapidly changing circumstances, and the Later Waves.”

“Later Waves…”

Later Waves, the waves that come after.

Since Gong Mu-jin wouldn’t have gone to the martial world just to enjoy river cruises, the “Later Waves” he was referring to probably meant the younger generation martial artists.

“Compared to what you saw, how does So-ha measure up?”

Gong Mu-jin seemed to ponder slightly before opening his mouth.

“Sword Dragon Shangguan Hong wouldn’t dare be So-ha’s match.”

“That would be so.”

“However, even someone at Peng Dao-ji’s level could compete with So-ha.”

“Peng Dao-ji? The Blade Dragon?”

The former Blade Dragon Peng Dao-ji.

Though Peng Dao-ji was always ignored, scorned, and called a water ghost by Wei Yan-ho, he was still a legitimate member of the Five Dragons.

“Are you saying that Peng Dao-ji, who is said to have the lowest achievement among the Five Dragons, is comparable to So-ha?”

“That’s correct.”

“Huh.”

Cheongmyeong shook his head in disbelief.

“And…”

“More?”

“Demon-Slaying Sword Wei San-ho is an incomparable talent to So-ha. Even if So-ha improved dramatically, he wouldn’t reach even a tenth of Wei San-ho’s capability.”

“A tenth?”

Cheongmyeong’s eyes widened.

“You wouldn’t speak nonsense, so are you saying the Demon-Slaying Sword is that strong?”

“Demon-Slaying Sword Wei San-ho is a talent that appears once in a hundred years, no, once in several hundred years. His sword is already on par with mine.”

“That’s too much of an exaggeration.”

“Sect leader.”

Cheongmyeong sighed as he looked into Gong Mu-jin’s serious eyes staring at him wordlessly.

“You’re serious, truly serious.”

Then Gong Mu-jin’s words about winning being difficult made sense.

“And…”

“What else is there!”

Looking at Cheongmyeong frowning as if he didn’t want to hear more, Gong Mu-jin finally spoke the words he absolutely didn’t want to say but ultimately had to.

“Wei San-ho’s younger brother Wei Yan-ho is stronger than me.”

***

“What are the other fellows doing?”

“They’re probably training.”

“There doesn’t seem to be a proper place to train.”

“Can’t they use the training ground in the back? Those who arrived first would naturally be training.”

“…Listen, San-ho.”

“Speak.”

“Not everyone in the world trains as diligently as you do.”

“Do you think so?”

Wei San-ho chuckled and pointed out the window.

Jang-il, wondering what Wei San-ho was talking about, looked out the window and frowned. It seemed like they had barely arrived an hour ago, but someone was already out at the training ground practicing.

“Isn’t that your younger sister?”

“That’s right.”

Don’t think it’s Wei Yan-ho just because he said younger sibling. There’s no way Wei Yan-ho would come out to train. The one who came out first to the training ground was one of the Two Peaks, Jong Mi-ryeo—no, Wei Su-ryeon.

“Truly, an exemplary attitude.”

How curious.

Wei San-ho is acknowledged by everyone as a model citizen, and his younger sister is devoted enough to martial training to be called a training maniac, yet Wei Yan-ho between them is like that.

Brothers should have some similarities.

“But… I’m really curious, so I’m asking.”

“Mm?”

“Are you and Yan-ho really brothers?”

“Nonsense.”

“No, no. I’m not just saying that. Brothers should have some resemblance. Frankly speaking, I only know he’s your brother because you say he’s your brother, but if someone who didn’t know saw you two standing side by side, who would think you’re brothers?”

Wei San-ho chuckled.

“Are we the only brothers who don’t resemble each other? Come to think of it, there are fewer cases where you can tell people are brothers just by looking at their faces.”

“That may be true, but…”

Jang-il scratched his head vigorously.

But shouldn’t brothers usually have some similarities? Not just appearance, but even in personality and atmosphere, Wei Yan-ho and Wei San-ho had absolutely nothing in common.

Wei Su-ryeon being a woman was understandable, but it was certainly strange that male brothers weren’t similar at all.

Even Peng Dao-hyeong and Peng Dao-ji, who had different mothers, could be recognized as brothers when standing side by side.

“Stop the nonsense and loosen up your body.”

“…What would I loosen my body for?”

“Aren’t you participating in the martial competition too? Don’t get disgraced by poor body management.”

“It’s fine. We beggars get beaten up everywhere as part of our job. We can beat dogs, but we’re not the type to beat people.”

“You really have a mouth on you.”

Wei San-ho chuckled and turned his head outside.

“Dao-ji, that fellow is also working hard.”

“Hmm?”

When he looked in the direction Wei San-ho was watching, Peng Dao-ji was positioned opposite Wei Su-ryeon, slowly swinging his blade.

“He’s someone who’d be a corpse if you took away his effort. He’s always been like that.”

“He’s improved a lot.”

“Really? How much?”

“You’re probably no match for him now.”

“Hmm.”

It was good to gain new information, but that new information wasn’t very pleasant. Even when making comparisons, why compare him to that person?

“I don’t know why he trains so diligently.”

“Is that something a martial artist should say?”

“You can say that because you’re you. Could Peng Dao-ji or I catch up to you or Yan-ho no matter how much we train ourselves to death staying up all night? Yan-ho will win anyway.”

“That’s uncertain.”

“Do you think there’s a younger generation martial artist who could surpass Yan-ho?”

Wei San-ho smiled and said:

“Perhaps this isn’t something I should say to you, but rather something you should say to me? Though it’s a bit strange.”

“Huh?”

“The martial world is vast. There are countless extraordinary people and hermit masters in the martial world. Isn’t it frequent that completely unexpected masters suddenly emerge to astonish the world?”

“…That’s true.”

“Though Yan-ho is strong, I can’t guarantee that Yan-ho is the strongest among his peers.”

“Bah!”

Jang-il snorted as if asking what nonsense that was.

“Such generalizations only work among ordinary people. You’re a monster yourself, but Yan-ho is an even greater monster! I absolutely cannot believe there’s a younger generation martial artist stronger than Yan-ho.”

“…Actually, I feel somewhat the same way.”

“Right?”

Jang-il looked triumphant as if to say “I told you so,” but Wei San-ho’s following words properly deflated Jang-il’s momentum.

“But that doesn’t guarantee Yan-ho will win.”

“Why not?”

“If that fellow were serious, winning would be as good as guaranteed, but would that fellow really give his all to such a mere martial competition? Without someone constantly watching him, he’d probably just lie down sleeping and get disqualified.”

“Ah…”

It was the moment when the seemingly obvious martial competition became thrilling.