Chapter 109: First Master (1)
Chapter 109: First Master (1)
“Wouldn’t taking those children to Mount Hua have been the better choice?”
The Sage of Bright Rock turned his head to look at Woon-seong, who had been walking behind him.
That was the first thing Woon-seong had said after leaving the village.
The Sage blankly responded, “Were you quietly thinking about that this whole time?”
“Just answer the question.”
Myung Am nodded to himself.
There was no reason not to explain, just that he was surprised Woon-seong had been thinking about the children at all.
Looking at the aura of blood and slaughter filling his two eyes, I was worrying that he might step onto the wrong path and become a great killing star.
But it looks like there’s nothing to worry about.
Though it was not apparent, such a thought was something only a righteous mind would worry about.
It was not something people would consider unless they had righteous thoughts.
If a man thought twice about conducting a righteous act, he was either a villain or someone who had the traits of a hero hidden deep inside.
And since Myung Am did not think Woon-seong was a villain, it could only mean that the young man still had a chivalrous heart deep inside, even if the young man himself was unaware.
I do not know who his master is, but he has been taught well.
Myung Am unknowingly complimented an old friend.
“To be honest, I would’ve liked to take all of them to Mount Hua.”
“And why didn’t you do so?”
“Because I am the head of the Mount Hua Sect.”
The Sage of Bright Rock was the head of the Mount Hua Sect.
It was a simple answer, but it held a lot of meaning.
Woon-seong may have just been enthroned, but he was also the leader of a large group of people who called themselves the Cult of the Heavenly Demon.
It was not hard for him to understand the hidden meaning.
If he simply took in children under the reasoning of conducting a good act, it would cause a problem with the discipline inside the sect.
Maybe one or two children would be fine.
But soon two would become three, and three would become four.
What should they do then?
No one disliked being called a righteous hero.
If the Sage of Bright Rock, the leader of the Mount Hua Sect, started bringing random people into the sect on his whim, the elders of the sect would begin to do the same.
Their strength and stability would inevitably collapse.
Now, it could be said that the Sage had established a way for the children to walk a righteous path.
One where they accepted the world and the world accepted them.
Did Woon-seong understand the Sage’s thoughts and intentions?
The Sage did not explain further.
Instead, he turned back around and mumbled to himself: “Heaven and Earth are not humane. At least us humans should seek to live virtuously [1].”
The words were carried in the wind, reaching Woon-seong’s ears.
They stuck with him.
Since this world is cruel, at least the people should strive for virtue…
***
Woon-seong arrived at Mount Wolong about seven days after leaving Yichang.
The Leader of the Justice Blood Sect is here…
Woon-seong looked at the mountainous region.
Maybe it wasn’t a man surnamed Jegal who lived here.
After all, it was not just the Jegal Clan that lived in these mountains. Perhaps it was just a righteous man who concealed his identity for a long time.
“To meet the First Master, we must enter Mount Wolong. The path is rough from here, so keep up with me.”
Sage Myung led Woon-seong along a quiet mountain pass.
Whereas the roads of the Jegal Clan were well paved, this pass was rough and untravelled. There were rocks protruding here and there, and the path itself was steep.
If it was anyone who had not mastered the Art of Lightness, they would have to climb up using their hands and feet to hug the cliff face.
The Sage walked ahead and pointed to a rope. “Some martial artists and apothecaries come here sometimes. The road is so rugged that even those raised in the mountains can’t climb without relying on this rope.”
Like he said, the rope was tied tightly to a tree above.
Woon-seong was sure that with it, the climb up would be much safer.
Of course, the rope was pretty useless for Myung Am and Woon-seong. The two climbed up the mountain on their own two feet, as if it was just a normal paved street.
As they had been walking, the sun began to set.
How much further do we need to go? It’s already been at least two hours.
In the mountains, the sun set early.
While it was getting darker, Woon-seong stared at the Sage’s back, navigating by moonlight.
There are fewer signs of people the more we go.
The road showed no sign of ending.
I get he’s trying to stay hidden, but does he have to live this deep inside the mountain?
That’s when fog suddenly appeared.
“Hmm?”
Woon-seong scrunched his eyebrows, as the fog began to disturb his eyesight. It was quite annoying.
The moment I perceived a fog, it covered me in every direction.
No matter how fast a naturally occurring fog spread, it would still take some time.
But this fog was different.
But even when this is happening, I can see Sage Myung’s back clearly…
So it was artificially made.
Is it a fog made with illusion arts?
Woon-seong glanced down at the swirling fog.
If it felt hostile, I would’ve forcefully broken the balance…
Recently, his achievements with the Divine Flame had begun to climb. Using it, he could burn the entire place, illusion included, into ashes.
His semi-divine level of qi could also crush the formation.
But I don’t sense anything like that.
Not only did it not seem threatening, the illusion did not even produce a hallucinatory vision.
Just fog.
It must be an illusion created to prevent people from entering.
Probably.
People would feel anxious the moment the fog surrounded them and immediately retreat.
I wasn’t able to sense an abnormality aside from the fog spreading.
It’s such a natural illusion… Impossible without remarkable talent.
And the illusion in the form of a fog…
That could only lead to one answer.
I don’t know who the leader of the Justice Blood Sect is, but it’s clear he’s related to the Jegal Clan.
Meanwhile, the fog had begun to part.
The receding fog slowly split along Woon-seong’s path.
With the fog gone, he could see a garden filled with all sorts of beautiful flowers.
Plants planted in formations of trigrams here and there in the garden… Is that the foundation for the illusion?
Even if Woon-seong had little to no knowledge of gardening or illusions, he could still tell that much.
If the foundation is here, it must mean the creator is somewhere nearby…
At that time, the Sage stopped walking forward.
“It’s there. This is where the master of the First Jade Knife, the Leader of the Justice Blood Sect, lives.”
There was an old wooden house before the two of them.
An old wooden house that seemed to have been there for decades.
No, it wouldn’t even be called a house at this point.
It was just a shack built with rotting wooden planks. It looked like it would fly away if the wind was a little stronger.
The leader of the Justice Blood Sect lives here…?
While Woon-seong was staring doubtfully at the wooden shack, the door opened with a creak.
A man walked out. “Welcome. Thank you for coming such a long way.”
The Sage of the Bright Rock looked at him and said, “He’s the leader of the Justice Blood Sect.”
The man who appeared was dressed like a school teacher.
However, it was difficult to call him an ordinary man.
There was strength within the man, beyond that of his unknown age. It was a kind of strength different from that of internal qi or pure muscle strength.
Woon-seong recognized it.
An aura of elegance that shrouds him like clothing, and dignity that can only be expressed by someone who has reached the pinnacle of a way!
For that sense of dignity, Woon-seong was filled with admiration. In respect, the young man soon let out part of his own aura. Expressing himself by revealing part of the true him.
Instantly, Woon-seong’s presence grew stronger, becoming quite huge. “Are you the leader of the Justice Blood Sect?”
The man nodded.
It was a simple action, but it was refined.
Woon-seong had not been wrong. This person was skilled enough to reach the pinnacle in his field.
As if proving so, the man’s eyes burned with energy.
Except…
Even if this man was a giant of his time, Woon-seong was the Heavenly Demon. He was in a position where he could easily squash such a giant.
“Yes. I am the leader of the Justice Blood Sect and the master of the First Jade Knife, the ‘Venerable Dragon’.
The Venerable Dragon… That sounds familiar. Where have I heard that name before?
Woon-seong had definitely heard of it somewhere, but he could not remember.
Wait a minute.
He suddenly remembered someone.
The giant of Murim and the intellectual who brought the Jegal Clan, which was at the brink of destruction, to its current prosperity with his own two hands.
The star of the Jegal Clan, who deserved to be respected and feared the moment he raised his head, because he was a true dragon residing in Mount Wolong!
The man who granted the position of Clan Head to his son and was currently wandering the world with no destination!
“Grand Elder of the Jegal Clan, the Venerable Dragon, Jegal Sung?!” Even though Woon-seong had come to that conclusion, he could not help but add, “But your looks…”
If this man really is Jegal Sung, he should be 100 by now.. But the man in front of me looks to be around his forties.
The man nodded, smiling and laughing. “I am Jegal Sung alright. I only look young because I’ve rejuvenated.”
The man said that with a teasing face.
Woon-seong turned to look at the Sage.
Sage Myung nodded, agreeing to the words of Jegal Sung. “This man is indeed Master Jegal Sung. Why he looks so young isn’t simple rejuvenation. It’s because of the age reversing revival.”
“Hoho. Why explain simple rejuvenation with such big words.”
Age Reversing Revival!
[1] “Heaven and Earth are not humane, they regard all things as straw dogs. The sage is not humane, he regards all people as straw dogs.” (Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching chap.5)