Chapter 196: Perilous Road (7)

A faint sense of pity slowly stirred in Namgung Hyeong’s heart.

In the end, they were both men whose light had been obscured by someone else’s shadow.

For him, it had been his father.

For Namgung Seon, it was another rival.

“...It’s all right if you don’t win.”

“Pardon...?”

Namgung Hyeong reached out and stroked the head of his fully grown son.

His hand was large and rough.

Just because his talent was poorer and his cultivation lower did not mean he had spent less time training.

The years Namgung Hyeong had devoted to tempering himself vastly exceeded those of his son, a genius even among geniuses.

His hands bore the proof.

Thick calluses.

Hard and coarse.

Strangely, Namgung Seon found the touch reassuring.

“I said it’s all right if you don’t win.”

“...Grandfather probably won’t feel the same.”

“Well, no. He probably won’t. But I won’t blame you.”

Namgung Seon slowly nodded.

He stood at the very end of Transcendent Apex.

If one were asked to name the martial artist closest to the Transformation Realm among every Transcendent Apex master in the Central Plains, he would almost certainly be the first name mentioned.

But his opponent was already at the middle stage of the Transformation Realm.

She was the one who had brought down Ak Jupae, the Flame-Saber Lord, in a single exchange—even after he had begun pouring out streams of Sword Force.

Victory...

Coldly speaking, Namgung Seon could not see it.

He let out a sigh.

There was simply too much resting on his shoulders.

The crushing weight of expectation.

His grandfather’s expectation that this time, at last, he would claim the title of strongest among the young talents.

The world’s expectation that, as heir to the Namgung Household, he would become the next number one martial artist under heaven and inherit the title of Sword Sovereign.

And even his own expectation...

That those three years of effort would not have been for nothing.

Yet they had both spent the same three years, and the results could hardly have been more different.

One of them still wandered before the threshold of the Transformation Realm, fingers brushing a doorknob that always seemed just within reach...

While the other had opened that door long ago and stepped into the brilliant world beyond it.

“...To be honest, I still want to win.”

“I know.”

“But I can’t deny that this is... a little discouraging.”

Namgung Hyeong gave a quiet chuckle and patted his son on the back.

Apparently, the way he spoke was not the only thing that had changed over the past three years.

To ascend in cultivation, one had to look inward and contemplate oneself.

A certain degree of mental maturity naturally followed that process.

At the Ilji Gathering, Namgung Seon had been a bright, carefree boy.

He had been intoxicated by his own talent and natural gifts.

He had believed no one in the world could possibly have been born with greater potential than he possessed...

And then that confidence had shattered.

Most martial artists who went through such a collapse eventually developed an inner demon.

Fortunately, Namgung Seon had succeeded in bringing his mind back under control.

Then he had chosen closed-door training.

...And even after all that, I still couldn’t catch her.

Namgung Seon sighed.

Perhaps it was time to admit it.

In the end, he might never defeat Cheon Soyak.

This was no childish competition over who would reach First-Rate first.

They had already passed through Apex and Transcendent Apex. Their rivalry now reached into the realm of Transformation itself.

And he had already fallen behind.

People praised him for being only a single step away from the Transformation Realm, but Namgung Seon knew better than anyone what that truly meant.

There were so many people who spent their entire lives with their hands on that doorknob, only to grow old and die without ever opening the door, that one basket would not have been enough to hold them all.

He could not exclude the possibility that he might become one of them.

And yet, amid that bleak self-mockery...

Namgung Seon felt a fierce desire rise within him.

Even if he was going to break, he would not sit down and surrender on his own.

Wasn’t gripping his sword, throwing everything he had against the obstacle before him, and dying in the attempt a fitting end for a martial artist?

“...Even so, I’ll give it everything I have.”

“Good. Then go and face her.”

Namgung Seon tightened his grip around the sword in his hand.

There truly were only a few days left until the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.

He had to do everything he possibly could with the time that remained.

*****

By the time Soyak reached the main hall, the day’s routine had already ended.

Dozens of monks were filing out of a single building, yet there was none of the pointless commotion one might have expected from such a crowd.

Soyak watched them with considerable interest.

There were young monks among them as well.

When she thought about what Flower-Haze Hall had been like...

It had certainly never been this orderly.

Of course, the second-generation disciples, who belonged to the same generation as her Master, had generally carried themselves with the lofty composure one expected of Daoists...

But the third-generation disciples?

Every morning, there had been an uproar as everyone scrambled to make it to the training ground on time. ℴ

There were always two or three people who overslept.

Meals were no different.

Seen kindly, they had simply behaved like children.

Seen less kindly, they had been distractible.

The young monks here, however, seemed to have none of that restlessness.

Then, among them, Gong-eop appeared.

The Little Divine Monk had grown somewhat taller and looked more mature than before.

He recognized Soyak at once and brought his palms together.

“It has been a long time, Benefactor Soyak.”

“It has. Gong-eop.”

Soyak returned his greeting with a cupped-fist salute.

Beside them, Seol Yegang watched the exchange, thought for a moment, then spoke first.

“I’ll go see my sister. You two should catch up.”

“Of course, Benefactor. Thank you for bringing Benefactor Soyak here.”

Gong-eop politely brought his palms together toward Seol Yegang as well.

Seol Yegang returned the courtesy with a cupped-fist salute and left ahead of them.

Only then did Gong-eop slowly turn back toward Soyak.

His expression was gentle and warm.

“What brings you to Mount Song?”

“I was passing through. I have memories here, after all. It would have felt wrong to simply pass by without stopping.”

“If you are passing through... are you headed to Mount Tianzhu?”

Soyak blinked.

If even Gong-eop knew about the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering...

Perhaps he was planning to participate as well.

“Are you attending too? If our departure dates are close, we could travel together.”

“No, Benefactor. I have no intention of attending the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.”

Gong-eop quietly shook his head.

Soyak found that somewhat difficult to understand.

The Dragon-Phoenix Gathering existed to determine who among all the young talents truly deserved to be called a dragon or phoenix.

Naturally, the great sects usually sent their brightest and most renowned disciples.

“...May I ask why?”

“Why...?”

Gong-eop smiled and nodded, as though he understood the question perfectly well.

“Well, I am a monk. Going out to compete over who fights better and have everyone rank us accordingly is hardly a monk’s calling.”

“...I see.”

There was certainly logic to that.

Shaolin itself would surely have allowed him to participate.

Traditionally, at least one young talent from Shaolin appeared at the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.

But if Gong-eop himself felt this way, there was little anyone could do about it.

He simply had no interest in throwing punches for the sake of a meaningless ranking.

Even if such a thing brought him fame, worldly reputation held little importance in Buddhism.

Was not the ultimate destination of the Buddhist path to attain enlightenment, reach Buddhahood, and enter nirvana?

Besides, Gong-eop felt he had no need for any greater fame.

He had already been given the rather excessive title of Little Divine Monk.

And now he was thirty-two.

“There is also my age to consider.”

“Ah...”

Soyak nodded.

For some reason, that explanation resonated with her a little more than the part about it not being proper work for a monk.

Thinking about a thirty-two-year-old Gong-eop standing on the same tournament stage as seventeen-year-old Soyak...

Well.

Winning would be awkward.

Losing would be even worse.

By generation, Gong-eop was already roughly on the same level as Soyak’s Master, Eunsong.

That was even harder to ignore when Gong-eop’s own disciples, Seongeung and Seongwang, were eighteen and almost the same age as Soyak.

“When people speak of young talents, they generally mean gifted third-generation disciples. Most are around their twenties, are they not?”

“...That’s true.”

“In another five years or so, Benefactor Soyak may well have a disciple in their early teens yourself.”

At Gong-eop’s words, Soyak rested her chin on one hand and thought.

A disciple of her own...

Somehow, she doubted that would end particularly well for either the disciple or herself.

What could she possibly teach anyone?

She had always understood everything before anyone could even finish teaching it to her.

There was no chance someone like that would make a good teacher.

At least, that was how she saw it.

“...For some reason, I’m not especially looking forward to that future.”

“Hahaha! I am sure you would do well, Benefactor Soyak. You have such extraordinary talent for martial arts.”

Soyak quietly shook her head.

“What disciple would like a master who tells them, ‘Just try it and you’ll understand’?”

“Now that you put it that way, I find myself rather envious. I heard the news as well. They say you brought down the Flame-Saber Lord with a single stroke after he fell onto the path of the Demonic Cult.”

Apparently, the story had already spread everywhere.

At this rate, Soyak wondered whether it had already reached the Namgung Household.

“Everyone I meet brings that up.”

“That is because what you accomplished was significant. You did well.”

“...Thank you.”

“I have left an honored guest standing here far too long. Rather than continue like this, why don’t you come to my room and have some tea?”