ISS-Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Time passed, and the day of Uicheonmun’s opening ceremony arrived.

“Is this the place?”

Baek Riseong, who had arrived near Hwayonghyeon, looked around at the surrounding terrain and nodded.

“It’s a more prosperous area than I expected.”

He had heard about the location. However, having never been to Hwayonghyeon before, Baek Riseong had assumed it was some remote backwater attached to an isolated area. It would have made sense, after all.

Baek Riyun had an excellent mind, but was hopeless at making money in small amounts. He didn’t know how to properly spend or earn money, so the only way to establish a proper foundation would have been through a windfall.

Nevertheless, he had never heard stories of Baek Riyun, a Murim Alliance Commander, earning large sums of money. If so, his seed money should have been small.

“How did he manage to build a manor in such a prime location?”

“Ahem.”

At Baek Riseong’s question, Deputy Commander Lee Su, who had accompanied him from the Military Affairs Department for the examination, cleared his throat and drew attention.

“From what I’ve heard through rumors, he bought a haunted manor.”

“…A haunted manor, you say?”

At Baek Riseong’s dubious expression, Lee Su nodded and continued his explanation.

“That’s right. It was apparently a fairly famous manor in this Hwayonghyeon. For some reason, people who bought the manor invariably died before lasting even a day, so no one wanted to buy it.”

“Is that so?”

“Indeed. The price kept dropping until it fell to less than one-tenth of the original price. That’s when the Changcheon Commander happened to purchase the manor.”

“Hmm…”

As Baek Riseong stroked his chin briefly and let out a contemplative sound, Lee Su looked at him with a puzzled expression and spoke.

“Great Hero Baek? Why such a serious expression?”

“Hm? It’s nothing. I was just wondering how he purified that haunted manor. That boy never learned exorcism techniques separately.”

“What are you talking about? Surely it was luck, no? From what I heard, it seems he didn’t take any particular measures.”

At Lee Su’s casual response, Baek Riseong couldn’t help but chuckle. And at that sight, Lee Su bristled and raised his voice.

“Luck… Ha.”

“…Why are you suddenly laughing?”

“No, I had no intention of mocking Deputy Commander. I just felt that everyone would think that way.”

“…What do you mean everyone would think that way?”

At Lee Su’s puzzled response to Baek Riseong’s cryptic words, Baek Riseong answered casually.

“Isn’t it too coincidental? That among everyone who died from the ghostly energy of the haunted house, he bought the house without hesitation and survived to even establish a sect?”

It’s too perfect to call it luck. What kind of person is Baek Riyun to begin with?

In Baek Riyun’s mindset, there’s no such thing as ‘luck.’ What appears to be obtained through luck is all things that Baek Riyun transformed from not even opportunities into opportunities.

From the start, the Baek Riyun that Baek Riseong knew was someone who couldn’t be called lucky even as empty flattery, which made it even more so.

“He must have been confident he would survive, so he readily signed the contract. That’s the kind of person he is.”

“…You seem to care for him greatly?”

“How could it be otherwise when he was my most brilliant nephew?”

At Lee Su’s words, Baek Riseong gave a bitter smile and recalled the time when Baek Riyun was still with the Baek Ri Family.

“The boy who called me uncle and followed me around was so adorable that I’d rub his beard every time I saw him until he begged me to go away.”

“Changcheon Commander’s character is famous even in the Murim Alliance. But why did things fall apart?”

“That’s…”

Baek Riseong, who had been about to continue speaking casually, shut his mouth tight. A scene flashed through his mind in an instant.

—Uncle! Please help me! Uncle, you should be able to persuade Father!

—…Riyun.

—Is this really the Baek Ri Family? Has it become one of the Five Great Families by cowering and protecting itself without even protecting its own family members? If so, if that’s truly the case!

—Riyun!

—I will abandon the blood of Baek Ri…!

Baek Riseong, swallowing a contemplative sound at that scene branded like a burn mark, forced himself to continue speaking calmly.

“…It was nothing much. That’s not what’s important now.”

Right. Isn’t that so?

What’s important now isn’t how much Baek Riseong cherished Baek Riyun or how brilliant a child Baek Riyun was. The only thing that matters now is one thing.

Thoroughly crushing Uicheonmun established by Baek Riyun.

“Today, I am not Baek Riyun’s uncle Baek Riseong, but the Hall Master overseeing the Outer Hall of the Baek Ri Family. There’s no need to be swayed by personal feelings. What’s important is whether Uicheonmun plagiarized our sect’s martial arts or not.”

He probably didn’t plagiarize. Baek Riyun said he would abandon the blood of Baek Ri. So when he left the Baek Ri Family fifteen years ago, he likely stopped learning the Baek Ri Family’s martial arts as well. But even so, what of it?

The martial arts Baek Riyun learned belong to the Baek Ri Family. Even if he created different martial arts, as long as the foundation of those martial arts is the Baek Ri Family’s, the newly created martial arts must inevitably contain the Baek Ri Family’s martial flow.

Of course, it might be a very small commonality. But the Baek Ri Family has more than enough power to greatly inflate that small commonality. Therefore.

“That boy is of Baek Ri bloodline.”

Baek Riseong was certain.

Uicheonmun cannot continue to exist. Baek Riyun’s dream will surely be shattered.

And Baek Riyun will return to the Baek Ri Family.

“…Great Hero Baek is a fearsome person. To go this far to bring back a single runaway blood relative. No matter how talented, he’s merely a blood relative, isn’t he?”

“Merely a blood relative. Merely a blood relative, you say.”

When Lee Su, considering the enormous losses the Baek Ri Family incurred to make this examination happen, subtly tested the waters, Baek Riseong chuckled and shook his head.

“If he were merely a blood relative, that would be so. When he himself said he disliked it and ran away from the family, on what grounds would we hold him back?”

“…Then why?”

“Because he’s needed.”

Baek Riyun doesn’t need the Baek Ri Family. By surviving on his own strength for fifteen years, Baek Riyun has proven that sufficiently. But what about the Baek Ri Family?

“The family needs that boy.”

The current Baek Ri Family is enjoying its prime among primes. Even compared to the other Five Great Families.

The Dang Family is the hegemon of the Sichuan region but cannot venture outside Sichuan. The Zhuge Family is extremely brilliant but falls short of other families in martial arts, and both the Paeng Family and Namgung Family also don’t match the Baek Ri Family’s prestige. Then why did it become so?

It’s simple.

“Because the Family Head, the Sword Emperor, is holding firm.”

If you were to name the ten greatest masters of the Orthodox Path, there’s a name that would surely be included. That is the current head of the Baek Ri Family, who holds the title Sword Emperor—Baek Rigang.

“While the Sword Emperor lives and maintains the position of Family Head, the family’s glory will be maintained. Even after the Sword Emperor steps down from the Family Head position, the Baek Ri Family’s prestige won’t diminish greatly. But what if a hundred years pass, two hundred years pass?”

“…”

Time is fleeting. No matter how exceptional Baek Rigang is, there are limits to establishing a thousand-year family through the power of one person alone.

“Then we need someone to succeed the Sword Emperor. Someone who can maintain the family even after the Sword Emperor steps down from the Family Head position!”

“Is that the Changcheon Commander?”

“…No. That boy isn’t that kind of person.”

Baek Riseong let out a small laugh and shook his head. A scene instantly came to mind.

“…Do you happen to know at what age my elder brother reached the realm of Sword Energy Manifestation?”

“Seventeen, wasn’t it? I heard the Murim Alliance was abuzz because his growth was so rapid.”

“Right. It was so.”

Just manifesting Sword Energy at seventeen earned Baek Rigang the reputation of being among the top handful of prodigies of his generation. And that wasn’t really wrong either.

Renowned prodigies typically grasp the profound principles of Sword Energy Manifestation in their mid-twenties on average. That’s how difficult Sword Energy Manifestation is, and to comprehend it at seventeen required no ordinary talent.

However.

“…I believe he was seventeen when he left.”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“Well.”

Baek Riseong, deliberately evading the question, closed his eyes and recalled a scene from his past memories.

Fifteen years ago, when leaving the family, seventeen-year-old Baek Riyun could already use Sword Energy freely. What that means is just one thing.

“Have you heard the phrase ‘the student surpasses the master’?”

“…Hm?”

“That boy isn’t something like the Sword Emperor’s successor.”

If Baek Riyun hadn’t abandoned the Baek Ri Family, if he had continued learning the Baek Ri Family’s martial arts.

“That boy himself would have been the Sword Emperor of this generation.”

Finishing his words, Baek Riseong clenched his fist and walked forward silently.

“That’s the only reason I don’t give up.”

Before he knew it, Hwayonghyeon had come into view before him.

***

Uicheonmun Grand Training Grounds.

“Ugh.”

At the sight of Lee Ryang clutching his stomach as if his insides were burning every time a new guest entered Uicheonmun and groaning, Ga Yeom looked at him incredulously and shook his head while speaking.

“…Why are you suffering so much?”

“Ga Yeom. Do I look like I shouldn’t be suffering right now?”

Two weeks ago.

After deciding to invest definitively in Uicheonmun, Lee Ryang used his connections to contact the Sado Alliance. Of course, the purpose was only one thing—to draw out the Sado Alliance Leader, the master of the Sado Alliance.

It wasn’t an opportunity he could use carelessly. Even for Lee Ryang, who had hidden and possessed quite a lot, this ‘one chance’ could be considered an enormous loss.

However, the reply that came from the Sado Alliance shattered Lee Ryang’s expectations.

“‘There’s no need for that’—I still don’t understand what that means. Ugh.”

“Well, doesn’t it mean he won’t go? ‘No need to go,’ something like that…”

“Don’t talk nonsense, Ga Yeom.”

“Well, it’s not like I suggested it.”

Leaving the grumbling Ga Yeom aside, Lee Ryang stroked his slightly grown beard and fell into thought.

‘There’s no need for that…’

Thinking conventionally, a letter saying ‘there’s no need for that’ would be read as a refusal.

However, the request Lee Ryang made this time wasn’t something even the Sado Alliance Leader could simply refuse. It was the nature of a request that, even if refused, would require a solid reason.

Then why did the reply come as ‘there’s no need for that’?

‘Was he planning to come originally? Or does he mean there’s no need to come? Does it mean there’s a way to break through this situation without the Sado Alliance Leader coming personally?’

If the reply had been long, he could have grasped the true meaning by examining the context. But the reply from the Sado Alliance was too short, leaving room for multiple interpretations.

Having thought that far, Lee Ryang gently rubbed his burning solar plexus with his hand and frowned. And at that moment, Ga Yeom asked casually.

“I wonder if the Uicheonmun Master has completed the martial arts?”

“…I don’t know. I’ll have to believe he completed it. Of course, I understand that restructuring basic martial arts isn’t an easy task…”

“It’s not just ‘not easy.’ If he accomplished that in just two weeks, saying Uicheonmun Master is a genius wouldn’t be enough! I’ll bet fifty taels that Uicheonmun Master just gave up everything and used market basic martial arts…”

“Ga Yeom.”

“Yes?”

“Why don’t you just hold a ritual praying for the company to go bankrupt?”

“Ah.”

Only then realizing what he had been saying at Lee Ryang’s rebuke, Ga Yeom scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

“I apologize. I misspoke.”

“Knowing is enough.”

Lee Ryang gave a small bitter smile, shook his head once, and shrugged his shoulders. And at that moment, a booming voice rang out.

“We will now begin the opening ceremony! All guests, please rise from your seats!”

“…It seems to be starting.”

At the sight of Wangpal declaring the opening ceremony, Lee Ryang rubbed his burning stomach once more with his hand, made a resolute expression, and directed his gaze toward the center. A familiar face of a disciple who had climbed onto the platform at some point.

“It’s Young Hero Wangpal.”

At the welcome face, Lee Ryang crossed his arms and nodded. And when the attention of the entire audience was focused.

Boom—!!!

Wangpal struck the drum placed beside him strongly and shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Open the Gates (Gae-mu-uuuun)—!!!”

As if responding to Wangpal’s command, the manor’s main gate burst open from outside. And immediately, people began entering in two lines.

One by one, ceremonial attendants wearing the temporarily made Uicheonmun uniform positioned themselves on both sides as if welcoming a king, creating a path. And above it.

Baek Riyun, who had been waiting behind the gate, stepped forward.

“Wow, look at that dignity.”

Watching Baek Riyun walk out confidently wearing a durumagi, with the Uicheon Sword at his waist and carrying the banner on his shoulder, Lee Ryang nodded. Even Lee Ryang, who wasn’t a martial artist, seemed to understand—like the ideal image of a martial artist.

Everyone’s gaze focused on Baek Riyun walking along the main road laid within the manor. One step, one step. If the king of beasts were to stroll through his own domain, would it feel like this?

“…Mm.”

At the dignity that strangely pressed down on the audience, several people let out contemplative sounds while pressing down on their stiff shoulders. And then.

When Baek Riyun’s steps came to rest on the platform prepared in the Grand Training Grounds.

Thunk!

Baek Riyun, who had stopped lightly, quietly intoned.

“Open Heaven (Gaecheon).”

Simultaneously, the banner Baek Riyun was holding was driven deep into the platform.

Kwa-a-a-ang—!!!

“…!”

With a fierce explosion, wind that burst from the center of the training grounds tousled the guests’ hair. Sensing the powerful energy that had descended upon the audience, Ga Yeom let out a contemplative sound. And as if responding to that contemplative sound, Baek Riyun slowly unfurled the banner and began to speak.

“Thank you for gathering. I am Baek Riyun, Master of Uicheonmun.”

With a cold, sharp gaze, Baek Riyun slowly swept over the audience and continued.

“I have much to say to the guests gathered here. I should convey my gratitude for coming all this way, and I should also convey how I will lead the sect forward. But before that.”

For a moment, Baek Riyun, who seemed to be searching around with keen eyes, fixed his gaze on one side with a faint smile. At that sight, people unconsciously turned their heads following Baek Riyun’s gaze.

A brief silence flowed. A silence that seemed to have intentionally cut off all sound covered the audience. However.

The silence didn’t last long.

“Before the opening ceremony, I believe there’s an issue that must be resolved first.”

“…Surely not.”

Watching Baek Riyun pause for a moment, Lee Ryang licked his dry lips in anxiety.

“What are you planning to do, Uicheonmun Master…”

He had expected something would happen. But why did it have to be now?

Bringing up the story of the plagiarism examination at the opening ceremony is a poor strategy. Even if trying to gain sympathy votes, some would give looks of ‘perhaps.’ It’s not like Uicheonmun Master wouldn’t know that either.

“Why.”

Lee Ryang, who had unconsciously muttered, clenched his fist and fixed his gaze on Baek Riyun with a stern expression. And then.

“Those who haven’t heard the news probably won’t understand what I’m talking about. So I’d like to address it first.”

The moment Baek Riyun, who had smirked, continued speaking.

“Our sect, Uicheonmun.”

A bomb dropped.

Completely shattering all of Lee Ryang’s expectations.

“Has plagiarized the martial arts of the Baek Ri Family.”