Chapter vv15c3

It might sound absurd, but the one who had played the biggest role in their training was none other than the Heavenly Calamity Blood God himself.

Without him, without that deadly game of cat and mouse, they wouldn’t be as strong as they were now. In fact, they wouldn’t even be alive. They had already died once, two years ago.

They were living on borrowed time, spared by their enemy’s twisted sense of mercy. They had nothing to lose, nothing to fear.

They gritted their teeth, enduring unimaginable pain, pushing themselves to their limits. They trained relentlessly, rain or shine, hot or cold, never allowing themselves to rest. They had a goal, an enemy to defeat.

Stronger, they had to become stronger!

There was a wall before them, a wall they had to overcome. If they failed, they would die in shame. There was no other option, no second chance. They had staked everything on this one goal. And their efforts had finally borne fruit.

“Rin!”

Hyuk called out to his friend, snapping him out of his reverie. They were standing on the peak of Falling Goose Peak.

Hyuk Wol-Rin, known as Rin, the Supreme Harmony Divine Knight.

A tall, handsome young man with striking silver-blue hair. But the aura he exuded, the power that emanated from him, was anything but superficial.

“Yes? What is it?”

Rin replied without turning around.

His delicate features, often mistaken for a woman’s, had caused him a lot of trouble in the past. There were certain words that had to be avoided in his presence (although he had mellowed out considerably over the years).

“Have you… completed it?”

Hyuk asked cautiously. Rin nodded silently, his gaze fixed on the valley below. He could sense a powerful presence there. It had encountered a brief resistance, but it had overcome the final obstacle and was now approaching, slowly and steadily, without a hint of urgency.

“Barely. It was a close call. What about you, Hyuk?”

He asked, still without turning around. Hyuk nodded.

“Same here. If we hadn’t completed it, we wouldn’t stand a chance. We’d be dead already. We’d be nothing but corpses. But we struggled to survive, and the impossible became possible. Heh heh heh, like worms wriggling in the mud, desperate to escape the clutches of death…”

Hyuk’s voice was filled with self-deprecation.

“Don’t say that! We’ve earned a one in ten chance of winning!”

The fate of the martial world rested on that one in ten chance.

“One in ten… That’s slightly more optimistic than zero. To fight with the fate of the entire martial world on our shoulders… It’s too much pressure. I never want to fight like this again. And those fools in the Orthodox Alliance won’t even appreciate our efforts!”

“I agree! But someone has to do it, even if those fools don’t appreciate it. We can’t rely on them…”

There were things in this world that were worthy of trust, and things that were not.

“Heaven and Earth, Sun and Moon, United Wall…”

Rin murmured.

“You did it, Rin!”

Hyuk’s voice trembled with excitement.

“It was a close call!”

“You’ve finally overcome the Wall of Illusion? Congratulations! Even though it’s not the best time…”

The reaper’s reign of terror continued. Lives were being extinguished, the earth was soaked in blood, the air was thick with the stench of death. It wasn’t exactly a celebratory occasion.

“Hyuk, I have a favor to ask.”

Rin said.

“What is it?”

It was rare for Rin to ask for favors.

“If I die today and you survive, promise me you’ll pass on my knowledge, my final technique! If we fail here, it means that even that wasn’t enough to defeat him. But I don’t want my final insights to be lost.”

“Shut up! Don’t jinx us! We’re going to kill him and survive! Anything else is a defeat!”

Hyuk shouted, but he agreed with Rin. They had to consider the possibility that one of them might die. And if Rin died, Hyuk was the only one who could pass on his legacy.

Only those who had overcome the wall could see the world beyond. It was a world that those who hadn’t crossed the wall could never understand. You couldn’t explain the world outside the well to a frog trapped inside.

They both understood this. That’s why they needed each other, two warriors who had seen the world beyond the wall, who recognized each other as equals.

“When I first met you, I thought you were a stuck-up jerk… A pretty boy who was too shy to speak. I decided to keep my distance… Well, you’re still a jerk, but…”

Hyuk’s recollection of their first meeting was brutal. But Rin wasn’t going to let him have the last word.

“You’re one to talk! Heh heh, I thought the same thing about you! You had that ridiculous red hair, a face like a bandit, and I thought you were just a muscle-headed idiot.”

Rin said, chuckling. His voice was light and teasing, a far cry from his earlier seriousness.

“What? You dared to think such insolent thoughts about me? How dare you!”

“Look who’s talking! Shy? Are you blind?”

The memory of their first meeting was still vivid.

They had been like oil and water, two completely different personalities. And now, they were the best of friends, trusting each other with their lives. Their faces, which had been contorted in anger, relaxed into smiles.

“Hahahahahahaha!”

They laughed, their past differences forgotten. They were comrades, bound by a bond of trust and respect.

“Swear to me. If one of us survives, we’ll pass on our legacy! And we’ll fight for the future of the martial world! Not for personal gain, not for our sects, but for the entire martial world! For the future!”

Hyuk Wol-Rin was a man who cared more about the well-being of the martial world than his own safety. Even the rough and tumble Gal Jung-hyuk was moved by his noble spirit.

“Alright! I swear on my Heaven-Shaking Blades and my blood!”

Hyuk said, raising his voice in agreement.

They exchanged scrolls, their secret techniques written in meticulous detail. It was a gesture of trust, a symbol of their bond.

Hyuk swore,

“Even if the heavens fall and the earth splits, even if the seas overflow and the rivers run dry, as long as the flame of my life still burns, I will keep this promise! Even the King of Hell himself cannot break this vow!”

“Thank you, my friend!”

They were true friends.

The old man sighed, gazing at the moon with a wistful expression. He was wearing a simple robe, his hair, once a mane of black, now streaked with gray. His only true friend was gone.

“You sneaky bastard. You left me with all the burdens and ran off on your own…”

His voice was filled with sadness.

“It’s not something one person can bear alone.”

The future of the martial world. It was a burden too heavy for one man to carry.

“Damn you…”

His only confidant, the one who could have shared the burden, was gone. His absence only made the weight heavier.

“And you left me with two troublesome legacies! Two troublesome legacies for one troublesome promise… What a bad deal!”

He grumbled, but he didn’t seem to mind too much.

He stood up, brushing himself off. The moonlight bathed him in its silvery glow.

It was a bright night.

He still had a lot to do. He had to take it one step at a time.

“Alright! Time to keep my promise to my friend! It was… this way, wasn’t it?”

He set off in a specific direction, his steps firm and resolute.

“Hmm… And I have to deal with those two red and blue brats as well…”

They were all troublesome, those disciples of his.

* * *

Mo Yong-hwi was also gazing at the full moon, hanging high in the autumn sky.

The pale orb, reflected in the dark waters of the lake, sometimes felt like a mirror, reflecting the dark depths of his soul.

Was it just a figment of his imagination, a product of his weakness?

A moment of shame, a memory he wanted to bury, but couldn’t, surfaced in the moonlight’s reflection.

To turn his back on his friend, to entrust him with a task he wasn’t even sure he could handle… He still couldn’t forgive himself, even though it had been to save Eun Seol-ran.

He hadn’t thought they were completely hopeless. He knew that Bi Ryu-yeon possessed a hidden power, something he couldn’t quite grasp. But even so, the enemy was too powerful. It had been a gamble, a desperate gamble. What if Bi Ryu-yeon hadn’t returned? He would never have forgiven himself.

Since then, he had spent a lot of time alone, lost in thought. It was a new feeling for him, a feeling of shame that burned his cheeks and tore at his heart.

If it hadn’t been for Bi Ryu-yeon, both he and Eun Seol-ran would have died that night. The moonlight that had bathed them would have been their last.

He had failed to protect Eun Seol-ran. He had put his friend in danger.

“And I call myself the best swordsman of the white path?”

He felt miserable, defeated.

‘I can’t stay like this! I have to become stronger!’

The moonlight’s reflection pulled him back to that night. He remembered Eun Seol-ran’s face, pale and luminous in the moonlight, like a pearl. The memory took his breath away.

He swore to the heavens and the earth,

“I will become stronger!”

He had to, for her sake.

He shouted at the moon, his voice filled with determination.

Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!

A sudden burst of applause erupted behind him. It was unexpected, as if it had come out of nowhere.

“Who’s there?”

He could have shouted, “Who are you?” but he was too polite.

A figure emerged from the shadows of the trees. It was an old man. And not just any old man.

“Excellent! Excellent! Jung-cheon’s grandson is a fine young man! A man should have that kind of spirit!”

The intruder, who had praised him so enthusiastically, was none other than the mysterious old man who had introduced himself as Elder Hyuk. Even Binggeom, the Ice Sword, and Yeomdo, the Flame Sword, treated him with respect.

There were countless eccentric masters in the martial world. He was clearly someone important.

“Elder Hyuk.”

Mo Yong-hwi bowed respectfully. But he was also curious.

What was this old man doing here, at this late hour, in this secluded spot? And who was Jung-cheon? Even Mo Yong-hwi, with his impeccable manners, couldn’t help but feel a twinge of annoyance and confusion.

It was clear from the context that he was referring to his grandfather, Mo Yong Jung-cheon, the Sword Saint, one of the Three Stars of Cheonmu. To address him so casually… And yet, the old man seemed unconcerned.

Who was this old man?

“What brings you here…?”

Mo Yong-hwi asked. But he soon realized that not all questions had answers.

“Do you think it’s possible for a human to control both yin and yang energy?”

A question for a question. But there was no connection between them.

Mo Yong-hwi answered without hesitation,

“It’s possible. In theory.”

“In theory… Hmm? Why?”

The old man asked, his eyes twinkling with interest.

“Because someone has already done it.”

A hundred years ago, Hyuk Wol-Rin, the Supreme Harmony Divine Knight, the Martial God, had saved the martial world from a great calamity by mastering both yin and yang energy.

But no one had been able to replicate his feat since then.

But existence preceded essence. Even if Hyuk Wol-Rin was the only one, the fact that he had done it proved that it was possible.

“You’re right, from a certain point of view. But that’s not the answer I’m looking for.”

“Then what is it?”

“Have you ever heard the saying, ‘When things reach their extreme, they must reverse’?”

* * *

“Where have you been, Elder Hyuk?”

Yeomdo asked, seeing Hyuk Jung strolling back towards the lodgings. He was still awake.

“Oh, Red Hair? You’re still up?”

If anyone else had called him that, he would have exploded. But he couldn’t do that to this old man.

“Yes, I couldn’t sleep, so I was enjoying the moonlight.”

“You have a poetic side? I find that hard to believe.”

The old man said bluntly. Yeomdo smiled wryly.

“But what were you doing out so late?”

“I went for a walk. I had some courting to do.”

“Courting…?”

Yeomdo’s face contorted in confusion.

“Yes, courting! But… I got rejected!”

Yeomdo’s eyes widened.

“You got rejected?”

The old man nodded enthusiastically. He looked surprisingly cheerful for someone who had just been rejected.

“That’s right. I was so confident, but I got turned down flat. Hahahahaha!”

His laughter echoed through the moonlit valley.

‘Why is he laughing?’

Yeomdo couldn’t understand why he was so happy about being rejected. He stood there for a while, watching the old man walk away, his face a mask of bewilderment.