Chapter 225: Leaving No Lingering Attachments (4)

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“Huh!”

Cho Yeon-woon exhaled a rough breath.

His face, drenched in sweat, showed clear signs of fatigue. But he had no time to rest and needed to take care of those around him.

“Is everyone alright?”

“Man-cheong and Jo-wol suffered quite serious injuries, and there are five others with minor wounds. The rest are fine.”

“Send the two to the rear, and make sure the minor injuries are properly treated.”

“Understood.”

Hearing his fellow disciple’s reply, Cho Yeon-woon sighed.

“Hah! If only Miss Jong Ri were here at a time like this, I’d feel more at ease.”

Though he knew it couldn’t be helped, he couldn’t help feeling regretful. But Jong Ri-yeon had long since left with Dam-ho.

Cho Yeon-woon looked around with bloodshot eyes. Numerous corpses were strewn across the ground. They were the elite forces of the Demon Cult who had just been engaged in fierce battle.

These were a kind of reconnaissance team sent to monitor the movements of the Shouzhou branch. The Demon Cult operated dozens of such organizations.

As the damage from these groups increased, the Shouzhou branch hurriedly formed an organization to hunt them down. Cho Yeon-woon and the disciples of Hundred Battles Sect were part of this effort.

Over the past month, Cho Yeon-woon and the Hundred Battles Sect disciples had ambushed and annihilated the Demon Cult’s reconnaissance teams three times already. While they had achieved great military success, Hundred Battles Sect had also suffered significant losses.

The Hundred Battles Sect disciples were exhausted to the extreme, and Cho Yeon-woon was also quite fatigued.

Cho Yeon-woon made a decision.

“Everyone return to base.”

“Yes!”

The Hundred Battles Sect disciples brightened at this.

Cho Yeon-woon led the Hundred Battles Sect disciples back to the Shouzhou branch.

“You’ve returned safely.”

“Welcome back.”

The first to greet them were Song Gyeong and Wu Yangchun of the Demon Extermination Squad.

Their eyes were filled with admiration as they looked at Cho Yeon-woon.

When Jang Il-wan was critically wounded by Nam Hak, he alone had taken their side. He fought against Nam Hak and advocated for the position of the wandering warriors.

After this became known, the wandering warriors showed fervent support for Cho Yeon-woon. Song Gyeong and Wu Yangchun were prime examples of this.

Cho Yeon-woon made a fist-and-palm salute to them.

“Thanks to you, we were able to return safely. How is Senior Jang doing?”

“He’s much better. He should be able to move around soon.”

“That’s a relief.”

“It’s all thanks to you, Junior Cho. The supplies for Demon Extermination Squad have improved, and we’re able to have quality meals. If it weren’t for you, we’d still be eating unidentifiable porridge. Thank you.”

“Ah! We’re all fellow martial artists, aren’t we? There’s nothing to thank me for.”

Cho Yeon-woon waved his hands with an embarrassed expression and left. His face was actually flushed red.

Song Gyeong didn’t speak any more words of gratitude out loud. He kept them in his heart.

‘I will surely repay this kindness someday, Junior Cho.’

Song Gyeong gazed at Cho Yeon-woon’s retreating figure.

Cho Yeon-woon hurried back to his quarters. But even after returning, he couldn’t rest comfortably.

“Yeon-woon.”

Someone suddenly came looking for him.

Cho Yeon-woon frowned as he recognized the face.

“Mu-yeong.”

The man who had suddenly appeared was Jin Mu-yeong of the Peerless Sword.

Jin Mu-yeong had been living in seclusion after being utterly defeated by Dam-ho. For the past month, he had not left his quarters. After being defeated by Dam-ho, he had no face to see people, and above all, he was ashamed of the public gaze.

Jin Mu-yeong had been on a winning streak befitting his title of Peerless Sword. This had made him unconsciously arrogant, looking down on people of the world.

His self-esteem and arrogance were shattered along with his defeat by Dam-ho. For the past month, Jin Mu-yeong had locked himself in his quarters, reflecting on himself.

Jin Mu-yeong looked noticeably haggard. His eyes, once sparkling with confidence, had deepened.

Even without checking, one could sense that many changes had occurred.

“What brings you here, Mu-yeong?”

“I’ve come to… apologize to you.”

“Apologize?”

“I’m sorry.”

Unbelievable words flowed from Jin Mu-yeong’s mouth.

For a moment, Cho Yeon-woon doubted his ears. The Jin Mu-yeong he knew had such strong pride that he would never apologize to others.

“At first, anger rose up. I wanted to get revenge on Fist Demon somehow. But then suddenly I had this thought. Was I really right? Then and now, I still dislike Fist Demon. But if I wanted to drive him out, I should have done it with fair skill. I shouldn’t have incited people like that.”

“Mu-yeong.”

“Forgive my pettiness.”

Jin Mu-yeong bowed deeply to Cho Yeon-woon. Cho Yeon-woon was rather flustered by this gesture.

The fact that he acknowledged his mistake and apologized showed that Jin Mu-yeong’s capacity was not small at all. Perhaps an ordinary person would have thought of revenge out of shame, but would never have apologized like this.

Cho Yeon-woon shook his head.

“No! You don’t need to apologize to me. If you’re going to apologize, it should be to him.”

“Where… is he? I haven’t heard any news. It doesn’t seem like he went to Mount Hua either.”

“I don’t know that either.”

“Is that so?”

“But we’ll meet him again before long. He’ll come back out into the world.”

“Will he come out again? He must have been very disappointed with me and the world.”

Jin Mu-yeong’s voice was very cautious.

“You don’t know.”

“What do you mean?”

“Even if he tries to distance himself from the world, the world won’t let him go. Just wait and see.”

“Alright! When I meet him again someday, I’ll apologize. And I’ll challenge him again. Next time, I won’t lose so miserably.”

Cho Yeon-woon looked at Jin Mu-yeong with fresh eyes at these words.

When faced with setbacks, some people just give up, while others grit their teeth and charge again. It seemed Jin Mu-yeong belonged to the latter group.

Cho Yeon-woon patted Jin Mu-yeong’s shoulder.

“You’ll surely be able to do it.”

“Thank you!”

“But first we have to deal with the Demon Cult.”

“That’s right. The Demon Cult, then Fist Demon.”

Jin Mu-yeong nodded.

‘Someday I will surely surpass Fist Demon. With the martial arts of Wudang.’

***

An endless sea of clouds stretched out beneath Dam-ho’s feet.

The sea of clouds viewed from the peak of Mount Huang was truly spectacular. The sun rising over the sea of clouds and the cool breeze refreshing one’s sweat combined to evoke the image of a celestial realm.

Dam-ho stood motionless like a part of Mount Huang itself, taking in all the scenery.

The flowing clouds, the blowing wind, the moving sun – all these sights stirred a strange emotion in Dam-ho’s heart.

At that moment, someone’s voice echoed across the Mount Huang peak.

“A majestic view, as grand as Mount Hua.”

Dam-ho awoke from his reverie and looked in the direction of the voice. Sage Hyeon-so was climbing up, breathing heavily.

“Master.”

“Whew! Now I feel like my chest is opening up a bit.”

Sage Hyeon-so wiped the sweat from his brow and came to stand beside Dam-ho.

“You shouldn’t overexert yourself yet.”

“It’s alright. If you keep lying down because you’re sick, you’ll only get sicker. Moving around little by little like this helps the body heal faster.”

“…”

“If it gets too hard, I’ll say so. Don’t worry.”

Sage Hyeon-so smiled faintly and looked out at the scenery Dam-ho had been gazing at.

The majestic view of Mount Huang filled his retinas.

Though it belonged to the Five Great Mountains of China like Mount Hua, Mount Huang’s scenery was different. But the Taoist energy permeating it was similar.

As high as it was lofty, as vast as it was profound.

Sage Hyeon-so felt something move in his chest. That tiny thing sprouted a bud in Sage Hyeon-so’s heart.

He muttered without realizing it.

“It’s good.”

“It’s good.”

“Yes! It really is good.”

A mystical light gleamed in Sage Hyeon-so’s eyes. They were hazy, like the eyes of a child in a dream.

Dam-ho closed his mouth at this gaze, so different from before.

Whether aware of this or not, Sage Hyeon-so continued speaking.

“I’ve been dreaming for the past month.”

“…”

“In my dreams, I was a nameless porter, a woodcutter. I was also an ant, a dog, a bird flying in the sky. Perhaps the life I wanted was realized through dreams. Anyway, while you were suffering so much, I was comfortably dreaming.”

“…”

“Just before waking from the dream, I even met the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord. It was so vivid that only after waking did I realize it was a dream.”

Sage Hyeon-so’s murmuring continued, and Dam-ho listened silently.

“I was scolded a lot by the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord. He scolded me so fiercely that even though it was a dream, I was terribly frightened.”

Sage Hyeon-so closed his eyes.

“Why did he scold me so? What did this powerless old man do so wrong?”

“…”

“Perhaps it was because of indifference to the world. A Taoist not fulfilling a Taoist’s duty. A Taoist not being Taoist-like. Looking back, I wasn’t a true Taoist. I was just an unsightly old man worrying about his disciple.”

“Master.”

“Now that I’ve met you, this master will return to the proper attitude of a Taoist. I shouldn’t be scolded by the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord after death. Amitabha!”

Whoosh!

Suddenly, the wind blew, gently caressing Sage Hyeon-so’s entire body. Watching Sage Hyeon-so’s hair flutter in the wind, Dam-ho held his breath.

He sensed signs of some change in Sage Hyeon-so. Though he couldn’t tell what it was, he could feel an inexplicable mystical energy emanating from Sage Hyeon-so.

“A warrior should be warrior-like, a Taoist should be Taoist-like, and a person should be person-like. That is the way of heaven, one of the supreme principles of the world. I will now walk the path of a person, the path of a Taoist.”

At that moment, Dam-ho saw a streak of light emanating from Sage Hyeon-so’s body. The soft yet warm light spread gently like sunlight.

‘Taoist energy?’

It was clearly Taoist energy. An energy that only those who have attained enlightenment can possess. Sage Hyeon-so had unknowingly stepped into the realm of enlightenment.

As he gained enlightenment, an energy imbued with Taoist qi moved within Sage Hyeon-so’s body.

It was similar to the energy Dam-ho knew.

‘Heavenly Heart Determination?’

The forgotten inner technique of ancient Mount Hua.

Though its understanding had been passed down to Dam-ho, Sage Hyeon-so also knew this inner technique.

Dam-ho had desperately tried to master the Heavenly Heart Determination, but Sage Hyeon-so had completely forgotten about it. However, its verses were deeply engraved in the depths of his heart.

The Taoist energy moved the Heavenly Heart Determination, and the Heavenly Heart Determination absorbed the profound energy permeating Mount Huang.

Swoosh!

Like the tide coming in, the energy of Mount Huang was absorbed into Sage Hyeon-so’s body.

Sage Hyeon-so was experiencing a great karmic opportunity as a Taoist.

His Jungcheon Simgyeol was different from the one Dam-ho had learned. While Dam-ho’s Jungcheon Simgyeol was destructive, Sage Hyeon-so’s was filled with profound energy.

The energy absorbed by the Heavenly Heart Determination swirled through Sage Hyeon-so’s body and then disappeared as if it had never been there.

Even after all the changes had ended, Sage Hyeon-so remained motionless like a stone statue.

It was only after a long while that he opened his eyes.

His eyes, looking at the world, were exceptionally clear and pure.

Sage Hyeon-so smiled.

“My body feels light.”

“Master.”

“I feel very refreshed.”

Sage Hyeon-so stretched. He exuded a purity like that of an innocent child.

Even without Dam-ho telling him, Sage Hyeon-so sensed the changes that had occurred within his body.

He felt infinitely light and refreshed. As if an opaque veil covering his eyes had been removed, everything in the world appeared clearly.

The abundant vitality reflected in the blades of grass, the dense Taoist energy emanating from the leaves – he could almost grasp them with his hands.

Suddenly, he recalled words he had spoken to Dam-ho long ago.

“All I need is one firm resolve, then heaven will open the way for me.”

He hadn’t realized it then. That those words, spoken out of habit, would become the starting point for becoming an Taoist of Accumulated Virtue.

Heaven was opening the way for him.