Chapter 135: Hwa-an-geum-jeong
Yugokmun wasn't a major martial arts sect. The four brothers of Jang Do-cheon, the sect leader and the highest-ranking fighter in the current martial arts world, had already died, and since they weren't sect leaders, they hadn't trained any disciples.
Because of Yugokmun's tradition that only sect leaders could train disciples, the sect itself hadn't grown. As a result, aside from the eight masters who followed Jang Do-cheon, all that remained were Yu Gok-mun, Jang Do-cheon, and three disciples.
"I didn't know there was such a rule." Seo-woon's voice lowered at Jin-ryong's explanation. "Don't be so hard on yourself. The senior disciples will welcome you warmly. The first senior disciple runs the clan and isn't in the monastery, while the second senior disciple is a man who knows nothing but training. He may be a bit rude, but he's a good person."
"Yes."
"You'll have to live to understand." Jin-ryong was honest and good-natured, so he treated him like a brother, but there was no rule that the other two senior disciples would do the same. Besides, he wasn't even a disciple, and Jang Do-cheon had never even recognized him as one.
Finally, in the distance, he saw a mountain that radiated clear energy. The mountains reached up to the clouds, and their peaks were covered with clouds, making them difficult to see.
"I never thought I'd come here." Jin-ryong smiled bitterly at Li Lingwei's words. Even he couldn't have imagined that the granddaughter of one of Sapa's leading martial artists would one day set foot on Yugongmen.
"Wow… It feels different from the mountains in our world." Lingwei's mouth fell open as she gazed at the mountains, which had a completely different atmosphere from the lush, vast forests of her own world.
"Everyone, follow me. Jin is spreading, so don't go anywhere else." Jin-ryong warned them and went ahead. As he followed, skillfully using his lightness skills, the scenery around them was soon covered in a thick fog.
After following him for a while, strangely, everything around them was obscured in sight and sound, but the scenery and sounds ahead remained intact.
After following Jinryong for a while, the clear, refreshing view of the mountain began to appear again.
"From here on, just continue upwards." At his words, the team members began to earnestly climb the mountain using their lightness skills. Dump and Juriell followed the team members ahead, swinging their airboards back and forth relentlessly.
—Shoo! Shoo!
After climbing for a while, strangely, halfway up the mountain, there were stairs, and an old man could be seen sweeping them. The old man's sweeping sound gradually grew louder and finally became unbearable.
"Master Do! It's me."
"Who is it?"
A man with long white hair and eyebrows, The old man, dressed in simple clothes and looking like a Taoist priest or immortal straight out of a movie, finally stopped sweeping.
Just as he thought the old man had taken a step down the stairs, his body stretched as if it had been stretched, and in an instant, he was in front of the group.
"Are there really that many masters of this caliber in this world?"
Of course, he knew logically that it was unlikely, but Li Lingwei's grandfather and the old man standing before him were so prodigious in their martial arts skills that even he was astonished.
"Hmm. What's going on? I'm sure I didn't see him come out."
The old man stared at Jinryung intently, as if he couldn't believe his eyes, as if he thought he was faking it.
"It's a long story. You need to see my master." The old man knew Jin-ryung wouldn't say something like that for no reason, so he led the way without a word.
"You look hasty. Go ahead."
Bowing his head, Jin-ryong led the way, and when he saw Nam Sa-gwang among the team members following behind, the old man's eyes widened.
The old man, who hadn't paid much attention to the people Jin-ryong had brought, threw down his broom and ran toward Nam Sa-gwang, opening his mouth.
"Young man, what's your last name?"
Nam-sang-gwang replied simply, expressionless, without even looking at the old man. "Nam."
The old man didn't seem to mind his indifferent tone, but a wave of surprise spread across his face.
"Did you have an elder in your family with a name containing the character 'sang'?"
Only then did he carefully examine the old man's face. As if he couldn't remember, Nam Sa-gwang stared at him silently before opening his mouth.
"Who are you? I don't remember you."
The old man was so taken aback by his words that his mouth fell open.
Startled, he looked back and saw Jin-ryung performing a light martial arts demonstration. Jin-ryong shook his head slightly with a bewildered expression. "Is that really you?"
"What? Don't you remember me? Or did you go stupid and become younger with the Elixir of Youth?"
The old man was speechless at Nam-sang's blunt words and looked at him in surprise. "Hey, old man. Where did you learn to look at someone's face so intently?"
The old man quickly averted his gaze and replied, "I'm sorry. When I first entered the martial arts world, I had the honor of meeting Nam Dae-hyung in person. I was in a difficult situation when I was captured by Suinchae, and I still vividly remember how Nam Dae-hyung single-handedly defeated Suinchae…"
Nam Sa-gwang considered his words for a moment, then shook his head. "I don't remember. There was a place called Suinchae."
"He was the leader of Suinchae, which operated in Hoegang for 30 years…"
Seeing that Nam Sagwang seemed uninterested in his explanation, the old man quietly interrupted him. After all, Nam Sa-gwang had conquered countless Suchae and Sanchae and executed hundreds of bad people. So how could he possibly remember all his achievements one by one?
"Back then, not long after seeing you, I heard you had gone into seclusion, and I was very disappointed. I had hoped to see you again, Great Hero…"
"There are many like you. People like that flocked to Taeryeosan and caused a disturbance. It was because of people like that that I had to move from my seclusion."
The old man was startled by Nam Sa-gwang's words. Because he had included himself among those Nam Sa-gwang referred to as "people like that."
Back then, there were countless martial artists who admired Nam Sa-gwang and wanted to follow him, and even members of other martial arts sects who hoped to see him from afar. If he had been a master of a major martial arts sect instead of a lone master, his fame would have endured to this day.
After climbing the stairs for a while, a large area, shrouded in clouds, appeared in the middle of the mountain.
Despite the small number of disciples, the large mansion was surrounded by bamboo trees, obscuring the view in all directions. The bamboo forest spreading out in the middle of the high stone mountain looked very mysterious.
"Rong-ah?"
Jin-rong responded to the voice echoing from the bamboo forest.
"Brother! Urgent. I must see the master."
At those words, a man emerged from the bamboo grove with a long sword slung crosswise across his back. Impressively, despite the crosswise sword, it didn't touch the ground.
"How did you bring so many guests here? Did something happen?" Jin-ryong saw the blood on the man's pants in his worn martial arts uniform, and the old man frowned. It was a natural reaction, as Yugokmun had no reason to see blood on him.
"It's about the Cloyd Game I mentioned. Is your master still at his closed door?"
"Are you really trying to break through your master's closed door? Is it about those strange players that disappear when they die?"
Jin-ryong frowned at Executioner Gajugyeong's words. "Are those players here too?"
"Yeah. They suddenly fell from the sky and attacked us, and we killed them all, but strangely, their bodies disappeared. I thought it was a strange story too, but then I remembered the dream you told me…"
"Executioner! This isn't a dream, I'm living it…"
"Ah, yes, yes. This time, having lived it, I realized it definitely wasn't a dream. So what the hell is going on?"
Jin-ryong briefly explained what had happened. That was enough to make Gajugyeong's face fall.
"We should ring the alarm bell."
Jin-ryong nodded at his words. The team members hurriedly followed him as he headed toward the bamboo forest. As they walked across the courtyard and out of the bamboo forest, they saw another staircase stretching toward the clouds with no end in sight.
Among the team members climbing the stairs, Lyle and Dump leaned against the wall, gazing at the dizzying view beside them. Despite being in the lead, they slowed down their airboards.
As they climbed the stairs, a small stone wall, imbued with powerful energy, hung suspended at the top of the peak.
"Wait here."
As soon as Jin-ryong finished speaking, he approached the stone wall and pulled the black rope with all his might.
Pulling once, a powerful wind blew out; pulling twice, dark clouds gathered, obscuring the surroundings. And pulling a third time, lightning struck the rock wall.
—Kwaaang!
With a thunderous sound, a figure rose from the rock wall. Seeing the figure fall in front of the group, Seo-woon bowed his head.
"Howdy. It's been a long time." Seeing Jang Do-cheon, who looked exactly the same as when he first saw him, Seo-woon felt a new emotion.
"You… How did you get here? Judging by the guests behind you… It looks like something happened." Jin-ryong, who had arrived late, explained.
"So you went there too."
"Yes, Master. Since I heard that my Master had a connection to you, I've been playing games with him ever since."
"The contact I left you has reached out. But are you really saying that a mission to kill someone in this world has arisen?"
Jin-ryong nodded solemnly at Jang Do-cheon's question.
Looking at him, Jang Do-cheon said to Ga-ju-gyeong. "Send a message to my firstborn son. Dispatch all the warriors under his command to the eight provinces of Gangbuk. I will go to camp immediately. And…" As his words trailed off, Jang Do-cheon glanced at Nam Sa-gwang, bowed his head slightly, and then showed him his fist.
"It's been a long time, Nam Dae-hyeok."
"Ah. I'm getting old. Last time, you were wandering around the intersection, but it seems you've found your way."
Jang Do-cheon bowed his head at Nam Sa-gwang's words. The two disciples widened their eyes at seeing their master bow to someone else for the first time.
"Thanks to your advice, we achieved a good result. That was already 70 years ago."
"Save your feelings for later. We have to hurry. Ten thousand of them." As they were descending the mountain and chatting, Seo-woon suddenly shouted.
"What?!"
"I heard you say that by killing them, you earned the right to do something."
Seowoon was stunned by Joo Ga-kyung's words about earning the right to participate in the Cloyd Survival Game. He felt a small piece of the puzzle fall into place.
"In short, players earn money by killing people in this world…"
"And people in this world earn the right to participate in the game by killing players." When Li Lingwei finished Seo-woon's sentence, Jang Do-cheon narrowed his eyes.
"What's the purpose of this…"
"We don't know yet. But one thing is certain: the three worlds will change drastically because of Cloyd."
Jang Do-cheon nodded when Seo-woon finished.
A silence fell among the group. It was Jang Do-cheon who broke the silence.
"But you've made remarkable progress in such a short time. You were very incompetent back then."
Jang Do-cheon's eyes, as he looked at Seowoon, finally began to glow with curiosity.
"I was very lucky in many ways." He couldn't say it was anything but luck. Especially the insights he'd gained from the Mad Monk and his connection to Nam Sa-gwang. And the successive acquisition of Yoseon and Mushin's memories had transformed him into a warrior on a completely different level.
"The white door is definitely closed… I wonder if it's the item's help again?"
Seeing that Jang Do-cheon had immediately grasped his situation, Seo-woon nodded.
"Yes, you're right. If there's time, I'll show you the insights I've gained."
Jang Do-cheon immediately wanted to ask him what insights he'd gained that allowed him to accumulate heavenly energy instead of human energy in the midst of battle. If the situation hadn't been so urgent, he might have returned to the hermitage with the insights he'd gained from Seo-woon.
"I gave up too soon. I didn't know such an item existed."
"You gave up?" Jang Do-cheon answered Seo-woon's question.
"As you said, I had a brief revelation after going through the dangerous training a few times. But I deliberately quit because I kept getting called up. I did it because it was annoying during my seclusion. It seems like I did something pointless."
Now that I thought about it, it was strange that Jang Do-cheon's name wasn't on the ranking list. He hadn't even considered that he might have left on purpose.
"He left before he became an official player."
Jang Do-cheon thought for a moment and continued. "They said they'd give the participants the right to rejoin if they caught the player, right? Maybe I'll get a chance to rejoin." Seo-woon's eyes lit up at his words. "One-third of the rank holders were eliminated, so if that's possible… those eliminated from Cloyd will have a chance to revive." It was clear that 99% of those eliminated from Cloyd would want to rejoin.
However, Seo-woon was certain of one thing. "They're forcing players and non-players to fight each other. The line between the two will crumble even faster."
Information about Cloyd had already spread widely among the general public on Earth. And it was clear that the current situation would soon spread as well.
Seo-woon couldn't even imagine the chaos that would follow. No matter how dangerous, human curiosity always pushes people to the edge of a cliff.
"Hyung. What should we do?"
"I know. For now, let's just focus on today. We need to finish the game as quickly as possible."
Ki-chan didn't need to hear his worries. But now wasn't the time to let his worries ruin his game. Not only their own scores, but also the lives of countless people were at stake, so they had to act quickly.
When they finished descending the mountain, Jang Do-cheon and Seo-woon were forced to separate.
"I wish we could go to Maeng together."
Jang Do-cheon looked at Seo-woon regretfully, but Seo-woon nodded.
"Right now, those madmen are probably searching for ways to massacre the weak. We have to stop them as soon as possible."
"Yes. We'll move as fast as we can. If the situation calms down, we'll meet again. Be careful."
"Yes."
As soon as their brief meeting ended, Jang Do-cheon, Joo Ga-kyung, and the eight old men quickly disappeared.
"Let's go too."
After confirming his master's disappearance, Seo-woon opened his mouth.
"There's something I need to do first." As soon as he finished speaking, he pulled out Jeon Dae-sung's soul stone from his subspace. This was the first time he'd shown himself outside of his subspace since obtaining the 400-coin item.
"This…"
Ki-chan, recognizing the item, was cut off in surprise by Seo-woon's intentions. "Jeon Dae-sung's soul stone."
Everyone gulped at his words and fell silent.
"Right now, our only option is to play this item. If it's him, he should be able to distinguish between players and non-players." Nam Sa-gwang frowned at Seo-woon's words.
"Can you handle it? If you mess up, it'll only bring about a new disaster."
"I can't be sure, but it'll only appear thanks to my spiritual energy anyway." After finishing his words, Seo-woon gathered his spiritual energy and looked around.
When he nodded, everyone stepped back and prepared for battle.
[Ding! Would you like to use 300 Seonma-gi to awaken the Jeon-cheondaeseong clone in the soul stone?]
Y/N
The moment Seo-woon pressed the Y button, the soul stone glowed brightly, and Jeon-cheondaeseong, surrounded by light, appeared from within.
!—Boom
Like a scene from an old Terminator movie, the ground shook around the figure that appeared on one knee on the ground.
"Who is this?"
The figure looked at Seo-woon, who was standing in the distance, took a step forward, and said. "It's been a while."
"Maybe for you, but not for me."
"Let's put the past aside for now. I called you here because I have a proposition."
As he listened to Seo-woon's words, Jeon-cheondaeseong continued to approach him, looking around cautiously.
"Go ahead and make your proposition. We're all in the same boat now. We have to cooperate with each other."
Even as he finished speaking, Jeon-cheondaeseong continued to look around in amazement, slowly approaching Seo-woon.
Just as Seo-woon was about to speak, the man suddenly charged at Seo-woon with a wave of his staff when they were only seven or eight steps apart.
—Hum-ni-chin-yapa-ha…
The man who was running towards him froze in place as the long chant flowed from Seo-woon's open mouth.
"Agh… First half… When the spell is complete, you will die!" The first half of the spell finally ended, and the second half began to flow from Seowoon's mouth.
"Agh!"
Everyone's eyes widened when they saw Jeon Dae-sung rolling on the ground, holding his head.
"Stop! Kuaaah! Stop!!"
Seo-woon stopped the spell when he saw the long spell lodged in the man's head. "I hid the second half."
Jeon Daesung raised his head with difficulty and looked at Seo-woon. "What do you want?"
"As I said, I'm not here to exploit you. I'm offering a deal. It won't be a bad deal for you either."
Jeon Daeseong's eyes filled with suspicion as he glared at Seo-woon. "What kind of deal are you offering me?"
"If anyone heard, they'd think I was a bad person. I plan to collect all three spirit stones."
Hearing this, the man lay down carelessly on the ground and looked up at the sky.
"Whatever you say, what does this have to do with me?"
"If you collect all the spirit stones, I'll break the seal."
"It's not bad right now. No need to make it worse." Seo-woon smiled at the man who seemed completely uninterested, turned his back to him, and lay down to admire the view.
"I'll help you get your revenge."
"..."
The man suddenly stood up and glared at Seo-woon. Seo-woon smiled and spoke as if he knew everything.
"The absolute being who split the Heavenly Emperor and sealed him away. That's him, right? I see. You must have made a deal to lift the seal in exchange for a certain period of cooperation. But the result was that the spirit stones ended up in human hands. If you don't want it, you'll never be able to return to your original form."
Only then did the calm expression on his face turn into a fierce frown, revealing his true form.
"What do you know to talk like that? You're just a simple human!"
"I know enough. Cooperate with me. It's the only way you can return to your original form and take revenge on the person who did this to you."
"How can I believe you…?"
"You have nothing to lose by believing me. There's no other way."
At Seo-woon's words, the man threw the magic staff he was holding into the air. The magic staff rose into the air and disappeared as if by magic, while the man walked towards Seo-woon. Seo-woon watched the man walk toward him, both feet planted firmly on the ground.
The man walked up to Seo-woon and opened his mouth.
"Kee-ing."
The man raised his hand, and a complex pattern appeared in the air along with the sound. "This is an agreement that binds our souls. If either party breaks it, our souls will be destroyed."
Seo-woon silently extended his hand toward the floating influence.
—Ding! The agreement between Jeondaeseong and the spirit is now in effect. This agreement is engraved in his soul. It is an unbreakable contract. Be careful.
"In exchange for my help, you must collect soul stones without the slightest hesitation. You will do your best to collect soul stones without the slightest laziness and I will free you in return. Do you accept?"
"I accept."
As soon as he answered, the influence split in two and disappeared into their heads. Jechondaeseong asked Seo-woon, who briefly touched his forehead with a strange feeling.
"What kind of help do you need?"
Seo-woon explained briefly.
"Damn it, those bastards are doing all kinds of things."
"Operator… You know who created this game, right?"
Jeon Dae-sung's eyes narrowed at the question.
"Didn't you already know?"
"No. It was just a guess."
"You jerk!"
Jecheon Daeseong shouted at Seo-woon, but couldn't bring himself to resort to physical violence.
"Forget about the small stuff. If you know anything, tell me."
"Damn it! I can't. I want to, but if I reveal a single word about their identities to anyone, my soul stone will be destroyed."
Seo-woon smiled inwardly, realizing he'd gleaned quite a bit from his words.
"Then let's get back to the main topic. Can you help me distinguish between the players?"
"I can help, but your soul magic can only last me for 30 minutes at most. It seems you've learned the Yoxun technique, but if I use my power, your soul magic will run out in less than a minute."
His words made Seo-woon's expression turn serious. The Yoxun technique was now a significant part of his power. The source that allowed him to use the Yoseon technique was his senmaiki.
Seeing Seo-woon's worried expression, Jeon Daeseong gritted his teeth and spoke. "Damn! I always act rashly and lose." After finishing his words, he put his hand to his eyes.
—Kagagak!
With a rough voice, he pulled out one of his eyes and handed it to the faintly glowing Seo-woon.
"Hwa-an-geum-jeong. This is one of my eyes. There's no need to hide it anymore. I'm sealed in the soul stone, divided into my eyes, bones, and flesh. Take this eye. With this eye, you'll be able to tell the difference between what you want and what you don't want."
As soon as he finished speaking, Hwa-an Geum-jeong left his hand and settled on Seo-woon's left eye, regardless of his will.
"Agh!"
He groaned as he was startled, and his left eye began to redden.