Chapter 94: Another Realization (1)

Yong Hwarin returned to his quarters and summoned Jong Seok and Jong Munhye.

“As Little Sister Hye already knows, Junior Brother Jong must enter isolated training. This is something that must be done for all our sakes. You will assist to ensure that nothing hinders his isolated training.”

Yong Hwarin placed a hand on Jong Seok’s shoulder, who was wearing a grave expression.

“Junior Brother Jong, I believe in you.”

“Do not worry. I will certainly return having achieved complete mastery.”

Yong Hwarin handed him a Demonic Poison Stoneflower and sent Jong Seok into the isolated training chamber.

From that day on, Yong Hwarin began leading a hectic life.

Through Mo Biyoung, he began instructing the clan’s martial artists in new cultivation techniques, aiming to refine them into an elite force.

He dispatched the Twin Dragons of Furys to serve as the Sect Leader’s personal guards and left the task of reinforcing the Bamboo Forest Soul-Sealing Formation as an assignment for Nan Myeonggwak and Jong Munhye.

The plans Yong Hwarin laid out were carried out without a hitch.

First, the disciples of Heavenly Central Sect began cultivating their martial arts with the new inner arts.

At first, there was much resistance. However, after demonstrations from Mo Biyoung and the Twin Dragons of Furys, that resistance faded like a passing shower.

Thereafter, those who witnessed their martial prowess were swept up in a whirlwind of training enthusiasm.

Even without anyone telling them to, they tirelessly practiced the Soaring Dragon Emperor Sword and the Azure Bamboo Sword day and night.

As they trained, and their accomplishments began to visibly manifest, their desire to reach the next level drove them to continue pushing forward.

‘At last, the disciples of the main house have come to understand the joy of martial arts.’

In any endeavor, the moment one begins to excel or sense achievement, the joy that comes with it naturally follows. Only by reaching that point could true progress be made.

It was the same for academics as it was for martial arts.

The reason martial artists fell so easily into demonic arts was because the results of their achievements appeared quickly and visibly.

‘Come to think of it, perhaps it’s because the martial arts of the main house also stem from the demonic path. Now that the inner arts are properly aligned, they’re improving at a startling rate by the day.’

Yong Hwarin was filled with anticipation.

Just how strong would the clan’s martial artists become if this continued for a year?

Ten days passed like that.

Until the Three Chivalrous Sisters arrived after recovering from their injuries, Yong Hwarin had barely a moment to catch his breath.

On top of that, in an effort to find the item that Deung Hwaun sought, he scoured every valuable possession within Heavenly Central Sect, searching high and low—but nothing could be considered the item in question.

‘If I only knew what kind of object it was, I could find it. Trying to search without any information is like finding a needle in a sand dune.’

Yong Hwarin began to think that it might be faster to capture and interrogate the Black Kill Sword rather than keep searching blindly.

For now, he put aside thoughts of the item and the Black Kill Sword and focused instead on ensuring that the clan could operate smoothly even in his absence, throwing himself into frantic management.

Yong Hwarin inspected the surroundings three hundred jang out from Heavenly Central Sect’s center, seeking locations to install the Bamboo Forest Soul-Sealing Formation.

Because Heavenly Central Sect was situated on a broad plain beneath Mount Tianzhong, there was an abundance of grain harvested from the surrounding farmland. However, its location left it completely exposed if enemies attacked from all directions.

In his previous life, Heavenly Central Sect had been unable to withstand such an onslaught during the war with the Great Dabie Sect and had ultimately perished.

Knowing this, Yong Hwarin had no choice but to carefully strategize the placement of the formations.

‘With the area so open on all sides, there are limits even if I install formations. I need to think of a way to install the formation within one hundred jang of the sect’s interior.’

As he stood looking toward Heavenly Central Sect and pondering this, five fine horses shot out of the sect gates and raced toward his location.

‘Oh, those people are……?’

Yong Hwarin recognized them and waited for them to approach where he stood.

“Young Master Yong.”

Three out of the five were the Three Chivalrous Sisters of the Jeong Family Manor.

Seeing them, my chest tightened.

It struck me that I had completely forgotten about them. As they looked at me with slightly disappointed eyes, the second sister, Jeong Suji, spoke coldly.

“It has truly been a long time. Who would’ve thought we’d have to seek out Young Master Yong ourselves to finally see you again.”

There was a chill in her tone, as if sulking.

But I instinctively felt that if I admitted fault here, these three sisters would drift away from me.

“You three have been focusing on your treatment and recovery, so I merely watched from a distance to avoid disturbing you. If I, acting like your host, showed up too often just to show off, I feared it might hinder your recovery, so please don’t misunderstand.”

“Hmph! That does sound plausible.”

These three women—especially Jeong Suji—were clearly upset that I hadn’t visited them even once in the past ten days.

“I received reports on your condition every evening. The precious spiritual medicine added to your decoctions was done under my instructions.”

At that, Jeong Minji gasped.

“Ah! So the reason my cultivation improved during Qi Circulation Training these past few days was thanks to that!”

In truth, I had given orders to the medical division to add spiritual medicine to their decoctions to aid in restoring their vitality.

That was all I’d managed to do for them.

But I didn’t hesitate to lie because I knew that saying such things wouldn’t upset them—rather, it would enhance their favor toward me and the Heavenly Central Sect.

Seeing the second sister, Jeong Suji’s, expression soften, I made sure to take some credit.

There was no other way to deal with proud women like these.

Instead of showing humility, one had to let them know that you cared more than they expected in order to win their favor.

Listening to Jeong Minji, I realized they had been mostly spending time cultivating their Qi.

“I even gave orders to add spiritual medicine to your decoctions, so I couldn’t possibly disturb your Qi Circulation Training. I tried visiting several times, but each time I saw you deeply engaged in training day and night, I turned back.”

Now that I’d said enough with a touch of flattery, it would help dissolve their anger easily.

“If even after all that, you still don’t understand my sincerity, it truly saddens me. Still, seeing you well enough to confront me like this brings great satisfaction to this Humble Yong.”

This side of Yong Hwarin was, in truth, not something one would ever see in a properly trained heir of a prestigious clan.

Those heirs were typically rigid and formal, always mindful of their dignity and manners as befitting nobles.

Seeing someone like Yong Hwarin, who seemed a little frivolous, felt oddly more human.

In fact, this made him feel closer and more familiar than the heirs of prestigious clans.

“But if you came here in such haste on horseback, is something wrong?”

“There’s an urgent matter. We couldn’t wait for you, so we came to greet you directly.”

Yong Hwarin frowned at the sudden remark from Jeong Minji.

“Ah, I see. You must be angry because I didn’t treat you properly.”

To that, Jeong Minji shook her head.

“Not at all. Just earlier, we received a report from the Head Escort of the Sky Ocean Merchant Union that traces of the Black Kill Sword have been found.”

Even while recovering from their injuries, the three sisters had continued receiving reports from the Sky Ocean Merchant Union.

They had been using its intelligence network to track the whereabouts of Black Kill Sword Wonho.

Upon hearing that, the Head Escort of the Sky Ocean Escort Agency beside them offered a clasped hands greeting.

“Greetings. I am Oh Gong, Head Escort of the Sky Ocean Escort Agency.”

The escort warrior standing behind Oh Gong also clasped his hands slightly in reverence toward me.

“It is an honor to meet the Heavenly Sword Hero. I am escort warrior Yang Choongseong.”

I never thought I would hear someone call it an honor to meet me in my lifetime.

I returned the clasped hands greeting and briefly sank into thought.

‘For me too, finding Black Kill Sword Wonho is the most urgent task at hand. Preventing Father’s assassination, locating the Demonic Master—everything hinges on it.’

Not long ago, I had secretly sent people to the manor that the Demonic Master used as a hideout, but the report I received said that place had long shown no signs of life.

Even without that, I had already planned to use the belongings I obtained from the Sagaram Shadow Unit that attacked the Three Chivalrous Sisters to track them down.

My intention had been to wrap up sect matters and then pursue them to uproot them completely. And now, they say traces of the Black Kill Sword have been found—what good fortune.

“May I come along as well?”

For some reason, perhaps they were hesitant, they couldn’t immediately answer my question.

After a short pause, Jeong Minji opened her mouth.

“After falling into their trap last time, the three of us came to believe that our strength alone is insufficient to capture him. If Young Master Yong, the Heavenly Sword Hero, joins us, it would be like gaining a thousand troops.”

“Then please wait a moment. I will go to my main house and—”

As I spoke, Jeong Minji interjected.

“Ah, we don’t have that kind of time. We currently know the whereabouts of the Black Kill Sword, but we have no idea when he might move again, so we cannot afford to wait until Young Master Yong finishes preparing. So we’ll go first, and you may join us later—”

I shook my head.

“No. Let’s go now.”

To that, Jeong Minji replied,

“Is that really alright?”

It was out of concern, since I was leaving without even my usual escorts.

“Now that I think about it, Miss Jeong is right. I’ve heard that Black Kill Sword Wonho is skilled in both disguise and stealth techniques. To capture someone like that, fewer people and faster movements are better. If we go in a large group, it’ll only be easier for him to notice us. Besides, I doubt he’ll politely wait while I return to the manor and prepare everything.”

Jeong Minji nodded, appreciating how well I understood her thinking.

“Understood. In fact, because of our previous experience falling into his trap, Miss Hoi has already requested warriors from the Sky Ocean Merchant Union this time. We also have no shortage of skilled fighters, so there’s no need to worry. With someone like Young Master Yong, a peak-level expert, joining us, it’s only a matter of time before we catch him.”

Everyone in the family was busy with their own affairs, so I saw no reason to call them unnecessarily.

The three sisters of the Jeong Family Manor were first-rate experts, and with the escort warriors from the Sky Ocean Merchant Union also involved, capturing the Black Kill Sword wouldn’t be a difficult task.

Most of the escort warriors from the Sky Ocean Merchant Union might not be first-rate, but they had reputations as the most elite among their ranks.

‘With them, we won’t lose him.’

Still, I thought I should at least inform the family of where I was going, so I spoke to Head Escort Oh Gong.

“If one of you could visit the main house and let them know I’m going after the Black Kill Sword, I would be grateful. Since you both know where Miss Hoi will be gathering, it won’t be an issue even if we’re not all together.”

At my request, escort warrior Yang Choongseong stepped forward.

“I’ll go and inform them. Who should I tell?”

I thought about it for a moment. Rather than worry my parents, it seemed better to inform my younger sibling.

“Let my younger brother Kijoong know.”

“Understood.”

As escort warrior Yang Choongseong headed back toward the Heavenly Central Sect, I followed after the three sisters of the Jeong Family Manor and Head Escort Oh Gong.

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