Chapter 53: The Successor of the Healing Sage

“Kuhahaha. That was fun.”

Thanks to Emperor Breaker Yeom Gi-ha, I was able to wield my sword with all my might for the first time after reaching the State of Harmony. Thanks to that, I also felt surprisingly refreshed.

How could I not know that crossing swords with a master comparable to the greatest under the heavens was in itself a miraculous encounter for me at this moment?

However, that didn’t mean I had no complaints.

“Isn’t this different from what you promised?”

“What is?”

As I opened my mouth with a pout, Yeom Gi-ha asked back.

“Didn’t you say you would only use the power of the initial stage of the State of Harmony?”

Because I couldn’t fully grasp it, I couldn’t know its exact depth, but I knew that the final move was by no means that of the initial stage of the State of Harmony.

It meant that the Murim Alliance Leader had told a lie to the foremost rising star of the righteous faction.

“I didn’t use the Formless Sword or the Sword Levitation Technique, so isn’t that the initial stage of the State of Harmony?”

“Um……”

It was right to call it a stretch.

“Let’s just go with that.”

But I gave up the argument.

It was because I realized that that old monster’s perspective was completely different from mine.

It was because the thought occurred to me that the Emperor Breaker might have been able to perform such a divine skill at the initial stage of the State of Harmony.

Yeom Gi-ha, who seemed to be done with me, concluded the duel and leaped down to Singija’s side.

“That fellow, he is definitely not of the Demonic Path.”

Hearing those words, I understood why he had acted this way.

I also knew well that a person’s character and disposition are imbued in their martial arts. He had gauged and tested me through the previous duel.

“What are your thoughts?”

Singija opened his mouth.

“I thought from the beginning that he wasn’t. Isn’t that something we can tell just by looking at the Heuksu Mun incident?”

When Singija answered as such, Yeom Gi-ha’s eyes became triangular.

“Then why did you make me do this?”

“Don’t they say it’s better to be safe than sorry?”

“Tsk.”

“Do you have a complaint?”

“……No.”

Alliance Leader Yeom Gi-ha avoided Singija’s gaze.

As expected, it would be right to say that Singija’s rank was higher than Yeom Gi-ha’s.

The greatest strategist in Jianghu, who had easily subdued the greatest under the heavens with his words, came before me.

“I have a question.”

“Please speak.”

I didn’t know what questions were left now, but there was no reason to maintain a vow of silence at this point.

“What do you think of the Demonic Path?”

It was truly a coincidental question.

It was because it was exactly like the question I had asked Bukgung Seol-a a while ago.

What do you think of the Demonic Path?

This was, in fact, no different from the question of what do you think of the Righteous Path or what do you think of the Evil Path.

Suddenly, the image of the Peerless Might Demonic Emperor Wiji Han came to mind.

What I saw in him was the domineering way characteristic of the evil faction, along with a profound fatherly love.

Thoughts that had been floating in my head for a long time were refined and expressed in words.

“I do not hate the Demonic Path.”

The answer came out like that.

“I do not reject the Evil Path, nor do I praise the Righteous Path.”

“I see.”

Even though it was a statement with many omitted meanings, Singija seemed to understand without misinterpretation.

Whether it was righteous, evil, or demonic, I knew they were nothing but paths.

The path one walks is not what’s important.

In the end, it is the person who walks the path that is important.

That was my conclusion after walking the path of Dancheon Myeong and the path of Myeong-gae.

And if I were to summarize the conclusion of that life in one sentence…….

“However, the Great War of Righteousness and Evil must not happen.”

It could be summed up with these words.

I realized once again that my ultimate goal was not the annihilation of the Demonic Path, but to prevent the Great War of Righteousness and Evil.

“Hmm.”

Was my mention of the Great War of Righteousness and Evil unexpected? I could feel both Singija and Yeom Gi-ha observing me with interest.

“May I ask for the reason?”

Yeom Gi-ha asked as such.

I knew my answer.

“Because it is a picture of hell that should not be unfolded in the human world.”

To some, this might be inference and imagination.

To others, it might be a matter of values and beliefs, but to me, it was the truth I faced.

I believe my words must have carried a unique power.

“I agree.”

Singija’s head, nodding on its own, would prove this.

However, Singija was just now getting to the main point.

“In that sense, I’m saying this but……”

He, who had been without hesitation until now, dragged his words for the first time, and what he said was.

“Would you mind saving the Alliance Leader?”

This was it.

“……Pardon?”

It was right to describe this as a request I had never imagined.

* * *

Murim Alliance Leader, Emperor Breaker Yeom Gi-ha.

If someone were to ask me to describe him, I would describe him as a mysterious figure.

The reason for the mystery stems from the fact that, contrary to his famous name, there is surprisingly little information about Yeom Gi-ha.

Yeom Gi-ha is the Murim Alliance Leader and a figure mentioned as the greatest under the heavens. It would not be an exaggeration to say he is the focal point of the current righteous Murim.

Usually, such a great and famous person would be a repository of information production.

Therefore, the fact that his personality is as boisterous as fire, or the fact that he stands at the forefront of the Pragmatist Faction, is famous.

The incident where he demolished a pavilion of Mount Hua, the time he burned the beard of a Wudang Elder, and the anecdote where he left a red palm print on the forehead of the former Shaolin Abbot are also known by those who know.

Although it is not a widely known fact thanks to the dedication and hard work of the Murim Alliance’s special operations unit.

In particular, his endless series of duels against the Nine Sects One Gang to be recognized as the Murim Alliance Leader is spoken of as a legend in Jianghu.

Nevertheless, I would say that I have no information about Yeom Gi-ha.

I can give several reasons.

First of all, there is no information about Yeom Gi-ha before his coming-of-age.

I heard that he, who learned basic fist and foot techniques from a wanderer he happened to meet in a remote mountain village of Jianghu, entered the Jianghu Murim at the age of twenty, and at that time, his realm was already at the Transcendent Peak.

However, this is just a rumor, too crude to be called information.

Who was the wanderer he met?

Where was the remote mountain village?

No one knows the type and nature of the martial arts he learned.

It means that the process of him reaching the Transcendent Peak is itself a mystery.

And to add a fact that only I know, he is a person about whom there is no information about his end either.

Four years from now, that is, five years before the Great War of Righteousness and Evil, Yeom Gi-ha will suddenly vanish from the Jianghu Murim.

It was a truly great incident for the Murim Alliance Leader and the greatest under the heavens to suddenly disappear.

-If the Emperor Breaker had been there, the aspect of the Great War of Righteousness and Evil…….

What more needs to be said when this was the topic that the members of the Secret Pavilion would debate whenever they had time?

In truth, I know that the reason the Great War of Righteousness and Evil was so difficult was that the absence of the absolute one played a part.

To summarize, it’s like this.

It would be right to say that the Jianghu Murim knows about the deeds of Emperor Breaker Yeom Gi-ha, but does not know about the person named Yeom Gi-ha himself.

Of course, just because I, an informant, do not know, I know that it doesn’t mean no one else does.

Someone must know about Yeom Gi-ha.

A representative example would be none other than Singija, the person who led the righteous Murim and commanded the Great War of Righteousness and Evil even after Yeom Gi-ha’s whereabouts became unknown.

During my Myeong-gae days, I know that Singija never mentioned Yeom Gi-ha’s whereabouts.

“Please save the Alliance Leader.”

But now, he opened his mouth in front of me and revealed the truth.

“The Alliance Leader’s lifespan will not exceed five years from now.”

It seemed I had glimpsed a secret that I had never known during my Myeong-gae days.

“Hey, still, I’ll live longer than five years, won’t I? I am Yeom Gi-ha.”

Yeom Gi-ha said confidently, but…….

“Shut up.”

“Sorry.”

He was subdued.

……Anyway, it was like that.

* * *

Leaving the training ground, we returned to Shadowless Pavilion. The place we entered was Singija’s neat and simple office.

I knew that this seemingly unremarkable space was an important place that decided the direction of the Jianghu Murim.

I had once described Emperor Breaker Yeom Gi-ha as a Grandmaster.

This was because, after the research of countless information organizations, they had concluded that the martial art Yeom Gi-ha had learned was one he had created himself.

It was something of an open secret.

The young Yeom Gi-ha, who had learned the crude fist and foot techniques and mind cultivation art of an unknown wanderer, created a peerless divine art through his own enlightenment.

The result was a rising master who entered the Murim at the age of twenty at the Transcendent Peak realm, and a supreme martial artist who reached the greatest under the heavens.

It was said that the path of a Grandmaster is a path of pioneering, not of following, so it would be right to describe Yeom Gi-ha’s every step as an unprecedented journey.

The unprecedented path is like that.

Because they go ahead of anyone else, they are more dangerous than anyone else.

Although I admire the foresight and talent of those who set their direction in a pure white snowfield and take steps forward one by one, I know that the path they walk is also one where there could be a cliff one step ahead.

I, who follow the path arranged by the Grandmaster called the Healing Sage, could be said to be the person who feels this fact more keenly than anyone else.

Therefore, I could intuitively figure out the problem Yeom Gi-ha was facing.

“An explanation of the Alliance Leader’s current situation is needed.”

“I ask of you.”

Even so, the process of listening to the explanation would be necessary.

“The Alliance Leader’s martial art is the Fire Spirit Heaven-Breaking Art. As you may know, it is a martial art the Alliance Leader created himself.”

“It’s the Heaven-Shattering Flame Spirit Divine Art.”

Yeom Gi-ha attempted a correction.

“Do not interrupt while I’m speaking.”

“Ahem.”

Undaunted by the scolding, Yeom Gi-ha, after clearing his throat, continued speaking. It seemed he had more he wanted to say.

“The character ‘Pa’ in my alias was also taken from the name of the divine art.”

Emperor Breaker Yeom Gi-ha said proudly, snorting. It seemed he really wanted to say that.

“Um……”

As someone who knew his deeds well, I strongly felt that was not the case, but I didn’t mention it.

It was right to call it a kind of social life.

Singija stared at such a Yeom Gi-ha intently and then…….

“Should I just go back then?”

He asked this.

“……Sorry.”

Yeom Gi-ha capitulated.

Singija, who had easily subdued Yeom Gi-ha, continued.

“As you know, the name of a martial art contains many things.”

When I nodded, Singija continued his explanation.

The energy of fire can be said to have the properties of strength and explosiveness.

Yeom Gi-ha’s martial art, which was based on the Fire Spirit, was like that. I would say it was the reason he was able to achieve stronger and faster accomplishments than anyone else.

“In truth, the description of the Alliance Leader as a Grandmaster is not correct. What is so great about a martial art that only you yourself can learn?”

“I understand what you mean.”

Compared to the works of the Three Peaks True Man or Bodhidharma, which could be learned by all, it was lacking.

“Tsk.”

Yeom Gi-ha also looked dissatisfied but could not deny it.

“The problem is that the Alliance Leader’s achievement is too high.”

Because he possessed a peculiar constitution and a talent that reached the heavens, he reached the greatest under the heavens, but that itself became a problem.

“Having reached an achievement that a human body cannot endure, the balance of the five elements has collapsed. You can think of it as having reserved a waiting line in the book of the dead.”

Since my insight was not lacking, I could understand all of Singija’s words, but there was still something I could not understand.

“Why are you telling me this story?”

A secret of the highest echelons of the Murim Alliance that would not be revealed even in the future.

“Because you are the successor of the Healing Sage.”

I had a bad feeling.

“I cannot know all its mechanisms, but you must have a way to find elixirs, right?”

“Um.”

I could neither deny nor affirm.

Although I had consumed numerous elixirs, it was not due to an outstanding ability like the Healing Sage’s, but merely a privilege of a regressor.

I knew that in times like these, it was best to wait for the other party to spit out more information rather than rashly opening my mouth.

“An elixir is needed for the Alliance Leader’s life-saving. What would it be?”

It was said that Yeom Gi-ha’s current state was one where the Fire Spirit had exploded.

If so…….

“Is the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Snow Ginseng needed?”

This was a natural deduction. Isn’t the harmony of yin and yang in the realm of common sense?

“No.”

But Singija shook his head.

“Power is originally suppressed by a greater power. In the Alliance Leader’s current state, if he wrongly takes an elixir of extreme yin, which is its opposite, he would be likely to burst and die, unable to handle the rampage of his qi and blood.”

“Ah.”

Enlightenment came.

Thanks to that, I figured out the correct answer Singija was demanding. It was because his words had reached the Fifth Stage of the Healing Sage’s Mind Cultivation Art.

“The Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Extreme Blood Treasure.”

“The Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Extreme Blood Treasure.”

Singija and I said the same name at the same time.

As if pleased with my intelligence, Singija gave a gentle smile.

“So that was it.”

Now, I understood the whole situation.

At the same time, my troubled heart vanished as if washed away.

The reason was that I knew the whereabouts of the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Extreme Blood Treasure.

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