Chapter 33: The Hidden Place
...Is the Flowing Flower Kunlun Sword really a supreme martial art left behind by True Immortal Cheongun?
It was a thought that had been coming to me often lately.
Of course, I couldn't yet say that I had mastered the Flowing Flower Kunlun Sword deeply enough to call it completely mine.
Out of its five sword forms, I had only just reached the point where I could more or less perform four of them.
The final form still remained.
But at least according to the conclusion I had reached so far...
It's definitely an excellent martial art.
But it's not enough to be called the best under heaven.
For a martial art supposedly left behind by True Immortal Cheongun, who had reached the very pinnacle of the sword, it felt strangely lacking.
That didn't mean I could simply assume the Flowing Flower Kunlun Sword wasn't actually his.
Kunlun's old records clearly stated that True Immortal Cheongun himself had created and left behind the Flowing Flower Kunlun Sword.
Something's strange.
There has to be something I don't know....
Was the problem simply that I hadn't fully mastered it yet?
Would the hidden essence of the Flowing Flower Kunlun Sword only reveal itself once I completely mastered the fifth and final form?
Questions continued linking together inside my head.
Then...
someone suddenly broke through my thoughts.
“You're wasting far too much effort on something pointless.”
A sly voice came from behind me.
I didn't even need to turn around to know who it was.
I turned and bowed politely.
“Master. You're here.”
It was Jin Gwangung.
He held a bottle of alcohol in his right hand, and a faint smell of liquor followed him as though he had just taken a drink somewhere.
“What's so wonderful about swinging a sword around all day?”
He clicked his tongue.
“You'd be better off sleeping.”
Then he grinned.
“What? Are you planning to ascend beyond mortality like True Immortal Cheongun?”
“Kekeke.”
His words sounded mocking, but there was no real malice in his tone.
I smiled.
“Ascend beyond mortality?”
“How could I possibly dream of such a thing when my respected Master has yet to ascend himself?”
I placed a hand over my chest.
“As your disciple, I still have to remain here and serve you.”
Jin Gwangung raised his bottle.
“What's so special about ascension?”
“If you drink good alcohol and your mood rises to the heavens, that's ascension right there.”
I nodded solemnly.
“As expected of Master.”
“So you've been drinking every day because you're trying to reach the realm of immortals.”
“Exactly!”
Jin Gwangung laughed.
“To reach the realm of immortals, the heart must first become light.”
He slapped his stomach.
“You're finally beginning to understand true enlightenment.”
“Kekeke.”
My shameless answer made Jin Gwangung shake with laughter.
Perhaps because he was already somewhat drunk...
he looked even happier than usual.
When I first entered the Abandoned Martial Hall...
Jin Gwangung had almost completely ignored me.
But lately...
he had started hovering around me more often.
Sometimes he would appear while I was cleaning the Abandoned Martial Hall, look around for a while, and leave.
Other times...
he would show up after I finished training, throw out some pointless joke, and wander off again.
I guess he really does think of me as his disciple now....
But despite that...
Jin Gwangung still refused to teach me any martial arts.
By this point, an ordinary master would at least teach his disciple the basic forms of one of his martial arts.
Or perhaps a simple footwork technique.
Something to help his disciple grow.
Jin Gwangung showed absolutely no intention of doing anything like that.
In fact...
he was the exact opposite.
“What training? Forget it and come drink with me.”
“Don't get too obsessed with martial arts. Just do enough.”
“If you get too strong, you'll only shorten your life.”
And then there was his favorite kind of lecture.
“All that talk about Kunlun being the martial world's breakwater is bullshit.”
“It's just sweet talk from scheming bastards who want us to die against the Demonic Cult in their place.”
He constantly tried to convince me to stop training so hard and live as casually as possible.
Is that why he doesn't have any disciples?
But judging by what the Sect Leader said before, it sounded like he had several disciples around ten years ago....
How had someone like this ever had disciples?
Eccentric.
Shameless.
One of the strongest martial artists in Kunlun.
And yet he had absolutely no desire to teach anyone.
Jin Gwangung was full of mysteries.
At that moment...
he shook the wine bottle in his hand and muttered.
“Anyway, don't overdo it.”
“Don't get drunk on some pointless heroic dream about training martial arts and contributing to peace in the martial world.”
With those words...
Jin Gwangung casually walked toward his quarters with drunken steps.
Only after his back completely disappeared did I refocus.
Well, I'll probably learn about that old man's circumstances naturally someday.
There was no reason to think too deeply about it right now.
The most important thing for me was simple.
I need more power.
Only then could I charge forward on the path of revenge without hesitation.
The Righteous Alliance.
Moyong Cheonhwi.
With my current strength...
bringing down those enormous existences was still far too distant a goal.
I turned my head.
Then I strode toward the Abandoned Martial Hall.
I silently hoped that something inside would help shorten the road toward my revenge.
The inside of the Abandoned Martial Hall was as silent as always.
Once...
dust had piled everywhere because nobody maintained the place.
But after I started coming here regularly...
the entire hall had become so clean that not even a speck of dust drifted through the air.
An old lamp holder remained attached to one wall.
I had placed an oil lamp there.
Its flame gave off only a faint light...
but it was enough to illuminate the large room.
That soft glow fell across the shelves filled with martial arts manuals.
Even so...
the marks of age remained deeply engraved into every book.
