Chapter 73

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Translated by Seoulbound

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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**

After the final Four Symbols Flowing Sword class before setting out on the mission ended, I nodded my head with satisfaction.

‘Now I have completely internalized the forms of the Four Symbols Flowing Sword.’

Internalizing the forms completely was nothing other than this.

That I had embodied the meaning contained within each stance.

Of course, that alone could not be said to have fully mastered the sword art.

From now on, I had to learn how to load internal energy to release force with each stance. I also had to grasp how to operate and vary the stances in diverse situations.

Although there was a long way to go, they did say that well begun is half done, did they not? I was quite satisfied with this level for now.

In addition, what was satisfying?

It was the gazes of the Yang generation martial nephews directed toward me.

The young children, including Hwan-yang, were sending infinitely respectful gazes, and the same went for close guys like Gye-yang and Bo-yang.

However, I had not expected the gazes of the martial nephews of prestigious family origins, who had shown hostile eyes all along, to change this quickly.

The highlight of such a change?

“Excuse me.”

Yeo Sim-yang, who had been exuding a hostile gaze during class, approached me with a gentle face.

And what he held out was a small letter.

I took the letter the fellow held out and asked,

“I just need to bring back a reply, right?”

“…I am sorry. And I was sorry in the past.”

After shedding tears upon being defeated in the Four Symbols Flowing Sword stance sparring with another martial nephew, Yeo Sim-yang’s attitude had completely changed.

In a word, the state of him acting rudely had completely vanished. Still, just in case, I left him with a word of advice.

“If you were sorry, train hard. Stop going around ignoring the other kids. If I catch you doing that again, I really will not let it slide.”

“…Yes.”

“Daring to use your martial uncle as an errand boy to fetch a letter reply. It is already quite cheeky, is it not?”

“I! I wrote it in the letter. That you are the martial uncle to whom I am truly indebted. If you arrive at our family, you will probably be handsomely rewarded.”

“Are you trying to tempt a Taoist with gold right now?”

“No… you have not even been registered in the Taoist registry yet, have you?”

I had felt inwardly sorry that the fellow, who was always confident to the point of arrogance, was so dejected, but

with those words just now, a load of worry was lifted from my mind.

“Right. Well, since I have not officially received a Taoist name yet. I will be back.”

As I turned around to leave like that,

“Thank you!”

I waved my hand to Yeo Sim-yang as he bowed.

Although his words and actions of criticizing me behind my back until now were cheeky,

he was fifteen at most.

It was an age to be swept away by childish behavior.

I thought that I, having lived another life albeit briefly through the Library Pavilion’s butterfly dream, should understand him. Hearing his story, he seemed pitiful as well.

Moreover, since Yeo Sim-yang had become considerably obedient after the sparring day,

‘if I roll him harder during training,’

I found myself inwardly pleased by the sight of my martial nephew who was likely to become even more obedient.

As expected,

my personality was not cut out for becoming a great hero.

**

Although it was a new mission, there would probably be little need to use martial arts.

This was because the place I was going to as an ‘envoy’ this time was not a martial world sect, but the Yeo Clan, one of the wealthy families representing the world.

The reason it seemed most unlikely that I would need to use martial arts was

“As a Taoist and a disciple of the Wudang Sect, there must be no behavior that breaches etiquette…”

“It is a family with whom we have maintained ties since the time of Grandmaster Sanfeng in the past. You must not look down on them or give such an impression…”

“They are a wealthy family. It will be a place where cultivation is required more than strength in martial arts. Correct your posture and…”

because of my master’s constant nagging that poured out along the way.

‘Hmm.’

My master’s nagging was so powerful that even the ear-washing skill I had trained for years was useless.

Thanks to that, I was able to ‘engrave’ my master’s words in my ears after a long time,

and we could also share something akin to a conversation.

“I hear the eldest young master of the Zhuge Clan has risen from his sickbed. Did you know?”

“Did such a thing happen? A few months ago, I did hear that the Zhuge Clan was summoning every single skilled physician under heaven. It seems he rose fortunately.”

“Yes. So if you do not want to catch a useless illness either, listen to this master of yours. Also, do not secretly eat spiritual medicines alone, but when I am around…”

“I understand. I get it. I will never eat spiritual medicines alone in a place like the Library Pavilion again. How long ago was that, and you are still brewing it? If you brew it that much, even the color of the tea leaves will turn like the fallen leaves over there.”

“This rascal?”

I swiftly dodged my master’s fist strike.

At the same time, I realized.

That my eyes for seeing martial arts had definitely improved.

‘As expected, experience has to pile up.’

Even though my internal energy had not increased much compared to before, my master’s touch was clearly visible to my eyes. My master’s hand gestures, not delivered with full force, were slower than those of the Young Spirit Slayer and less powerful than the hand strikes of the Great Sage Who Overturns Seas.

Therefore, I could easily dodge…

“You still have a long way to go, you rascal.”

“Mmf.”

…or so I thought, but that was not the case. In the end, grabbed by the nape of my neck, I had no choice but to helplessly surrender my Hundred Convergences acupoint to my master.

And the question that arose.

It was the curiosity of how a hand gesture slower than the Young Spirit Slayer’s and less destructive than the hand strikes of the Great Sage Who Overturns Seas had snatched the nape of my neck.

I reverse-played my master’s hand gestures and forms in my mind, and

‘Hmm?!’

At that moment, I was able to notice.

‘The space… was distorted?’

That a deformation had occurred in the space connecting my master and me.

It was a scene that could not be interpreted as anything other than that.

Otherwise, as if the video were suddenly fragmented, my master’s hand could not have suddenly touched the nape of my neck.

Since it was such an unfamiliar and mysterious phenomenon, it had not been perceived when I first saw it, but as I retraced the memory in my mind, it became clear.

However,

‘how… is this possible?’

Focusing on a single phenomenon, I began to sink into the cognitive world of my upper dantian.

**

Immortal Gangwon was slightly creeped out by the sight of his disciple grinning even after being struck on the crown of his head.

‘This fellow…’

He was a disciple who grew at a terrifying speed.

His depth of enlightenment in grasping the essential principles and mechanics of martial studies was extraordinary.

Now, it had become difficult to subdue him without using a considerable amount of force.

For that reason, he had unconsciously demonstrated the Shadowless Divine Capture Hand study, which was close to its peak.

It was a study that could play with space and even clasp shapeless minor demons and divine spirits in one’s hand.

The level of enlightenment contained within it could not possibly be shallow.

Perhaps due to that, the disciple’s condition was out of the ordinary.

Although he already knew well that his disciple possessed a talent for rapid mastery that quickly grasped any martial art, the Shadowless Divine Capture Hand was not a martial art that could be mastered rapidly.

‘Although the same goes for the Four Symbols Flowing Sword.’

The depth of enlightenment contained in the Four Symbols Flowing Sword was also not shallow, but compared to the Shadowless Divine Capture Hand, it was a martial art with a lower difficulty of entry.

Above all, since the Four Symbols Flowing Sword was a martial art related to the Tai Chi Sword Manual and the Four Symbols Wind and Thunder Palm that the disciple had mastered, it must have been easier to learn.

Therefore, even if the disciple had mastered it in a single day, Immortal Gangwon was not all that surprised.

That was why he was worried.

‘He is not going mad, is he?’

Because such things occasionally happened.

Since among disciples who encountered too profound studies, there were cases where they went mad from being overly absorbed in them.

Fortunately, his disciple’s symptoms of madness did not last long,

and soon, the disciple who regained his intelligence walked normally and began to open his mouth.

“The study you just showed me… to reach its profound meaning, one must possess at least a Nascent Soul Stage level of internal energy.”

At the disciple’s words, Immortal Gangwon was startled, but he did not show surprise, and

“Yes.”

he affirmed.

Because he thought that with the talent of the disciple he had seen so far, he would at least notice this much.

In addition, Immortal Gangwon said as he pressed the meridians around his disciple’s swollen Hundred Convergences acupoint,

“It is the study of the Shadowless Divine Capture Hand. Before achieving the Nascent Soul Stage and the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown, the skill of

‘playing with space’ that I demonstrated will be hard to show. You must train diligently.”

Whether Immortal Gangwon’s words worked or not, the disciple succeeded in circulating his energy while walking.

It was the skill of the Primal Chaos Tai Chi Art’s dynamic cultivation.

Watching that scene with satisfaction,

**

Immortal Gangwon also began to breathe with the study his disciple had created.

In this way, master and disciple did not stop training in harmony even as they traveled.

The place where the manor of the Yeo Clan, one of the five wealthiest families in the world, was situated was a city called Nanyang, which was the largest city in the southern Henan region.

Although it administratively belonged to Henan Province, in terms of distance, it was actually closer to the Wudang Sect, and thus had been considered a transport hub since ancient times.

“…In the past during the Han Dynasty, it was even counted as one of the Five Capitals along with Chang’an, Luoyang, and Chengdu.”

This also served as the background for my master’s mouth to run.

After floundering in the overflowing flood of information, I soon discovered something peculiar.

“Is it because it is counted as one of the five major cities as you said? I do not see any beggars here.”

At my words, my master looked at me with a slightly pathetic gaze before replying.

“If a city is large, there should naturally be more beggars. What kind of logic is it that beggars are not seen just because it is one of the five major cities?”

“Just because. I do not see the street-callers that are common everywhere.”

“Hmm. Hearing you say that, it is indeed so. Actually, the Yeo Clan is famous for widely distributing wealth to their surroundings, so it might be because of that.”

At that moment, whether having overheard my master’s words or not, a market merchant struck up a conversation with a sigh.

“That is also all in the past, Taoist priest.”

When my master expressed doubt with his eyes at the merchant’s words, the merchant began to pour out words as if he had been waiting.

“Ever since the great elder, that is, the head of the Yeo Clan retired, their spending has become stingy. Thanks to that, the good old days are all gone lately.”

That ever since the head of the Yeo Clan retired and his eldest son inherited the position of family head, the generous favor of the past had vanished.

In addition to that,

“they say even human shadows are rarely seen in that massive manor. It is a family where dozens of carts used to come and go in a single day, but these days, they say it is hard to see even one entering or leaving.”

“So all kinds of talk are circulating that the eldest son who inherited the family has been possessed by a ghost, or no, that the retired family head is possessed by a ghost.”

Since this story was a bit unusual, I also asked with a serious expression.

“Was there no entry or exit of couriers bringing letters either?”

I asked because the letter of my martial nephew Yeo Sim-yang was in my robe. He had said that he had not received replies to most of the letters he sent this year. In other words, he had not even heard the news that his father had retired.

It was not for no reason that the kid was so dejected.

However, at my question, the merchant replied in a voice lacking confidence.

“As for whether couriers came and went…”

“Just a moment ago you said it was hard to see even a human shadow…”

“That is just what people are saying. Still, given the decrease in passing carts and all, is it not certain that something unusual is going on?”

The merchant seemed cautious, as if wondering if he was spreading false rumors for nothing.

“If you are Taoists coming from afar, they still will not turn you away. They say that in the early days of the Yeo Clan, they treated a certain Taoist priest of deep Taoist power with extreme hospitality, which opened up great fortune and allowed them to be counted among the five wealthiest families under heaven. They will not shut the door on Taoists.”

“Who knows? If the rumor that a ghost is attached to that house is actually true, and if you Taoists drive out the ghost attached to the Yeo Clan, you might gain great wealth.”

Although the merchant said this without knowing that my master and I were from the Wudang Sect,

“I think that is a good idea. We will try going there once.”

since our destination was the Yeo Clan anyway, my master readily nodded and began to move his steps once more.

“Why was this kind of matter not known to the outside? If it is news of this level, the Beggars’ Sect should have already noticed it.”

At my question, my master replied in a low voice.

“The Beggars’ Sect is also busy lately.”

“Yes?”

“Information came in through the Sea Fog Pavilion. It said that the Beggars’ Sect’s Dragon’s Fangs Squad clashed with the subordinates of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven of the Chaotic Heaven Green Forest.”

The Great Sage Equal to Heaven was one of the Seven Great Sages of the Chaotic Heaven Green Forest.

Among the Great Sages, the one counted as the strongest except for the Great Sage Who Levels Heaven, who was the Chief Banner Leader of the Chaotic Heaven Green Forest, was the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.

“Then it must be an all-out war for the Beggars’ Sect as well.”

“Yes.”

It was a Nanyang land where beggars were rare in the first place, and since the Beggars’ Sect happened to be devoting their full strength elsewhere,

these two factors worked together to create a void in the Beggars’ Sect’s intelligence.

“Then what about our Sea Fog Pavilion?”

“The family with the most influence in Nanyang is the Yeo Clan. The information of the Sea Fog Pavilion is also supplemented through the people of the Yeo Clan.”

“Ah.”

The Wudang Sect was not the Beggars’ Sect.

Although the Sea Fog Pavilion was a considerably large organization, there were limits to its manpower.

Since there was already a friendly Yeo Clan in Nanyang, the intelligence of this place had been collected through the Yeo Clan.

The problem was that because some kind of trouble had arisen in that Yeo Clan, even the Sea Fog Pavilion had no answers for the time being.

It was a trial-and-error-like situation experienced by our Wudang Sect, which did not have a long history.

My master and I visited a teahouse in the market first before entering the Yeo Clan.

Whatever it was, it was certain that something unusual was happening in the Yeo Clan.

My master went into a teahouse situated on one side of the market, ordered tea, and said,

“Stay here for a moment. Try to listen to more rumors regarding the Yeo Clan if you can.”

“What about you, master?”

“I have a place I must visit. I should prepare at least a minimum safety device.”

After saying those words, my master left the teahouse.

Left alone, I listened to the voices of the people.

When I heightened the sensitivity of the Tai Chi Diagram Exposition, I could hear not only the voices of the people on the floor I was on, but also the speech of everyone on all the floors.

“I hear that not long ago, beggars were massacred in the southern part of Kaifeng?”

“What is this world coming to?”

“They also say that bandits are rampant here in Nanyang.”

“Look here. In these times, it would be faster to find a mountain path without bandits.”

While listening to all sorts of people’s words for a long while,

the talk regarding the Yeo Clan that I had been waiting for was overheard.

“I hear that the Yeo Clan is unusual lately?”

“Dozens of carts used to enter and leave in a single day originally, but lately they are not seen at all.”

“They say the distribution volume of iron ore has also been cut in half. Even the merchant groups are slowly trying to pull their feet out.”

“According to what is heard, there is also a rumor that the family head did not collapse, but… is possessed by something.”

“I wonder if we will shrink from the five wealthiest families to the four wealthiest families at this rate.”

‘It is definitely true that some kind of problem has arisen.’

By the time I heard the news and was organizing my thoughts like that,

my master had also returned,

and I delivered the rumors I had heard regarding the Yeo Clan to my master.

As soon as he heard my words, my master said,

“We must enter and see.”

Leaving the market where the teahouse was, we arrived at the space where the wall of the giant manor began.

The vicinity of the Yeo Clan’s manor was so deserted that it was hard to believe it was near one of the five wealthiest families under heaven.

To the extent that even though it was broad daylight, a somewhat desolate and eerie energy circulated.

Certainly, an unusual atmosphere was distinct.

For that reason, my master spoke to me cautiously.

“How does it feel to you when sensing through the Tai Chi Diagram Exposition? Do you sense any dangerous figure in the manor, or anything of the sort?”

At my master’s question, I immediately raised the sensitivity of the Tai Chi Diagram Exposition, and

‘Hmm.’

Although I could not sense all of it since the scale of the manor was so massive, as a result of selectively sensing the energy waves of the people,

“there do not seem to be any who present a highly threatening aura.” At my words, my master nodded, and we stood in front of the main gate of the Yeo Clan’s grand manor.