Chapter 86 - Long Time No See, Brother

Two months had passed since my sparring match with Father.

In that time, my Heaven-Soaring Sword Art had reached the eleventh level. The insights I gained from sparring with Father and the Single Flower Sword Supreme had taken me to the next stage.

Now only one stage remained.

Like the stages before it, the final one would require some sort of catalyst. It might come through sparring or a real fight. I might attain it while admiring flowers with the Single Flower Sword Supreme, reading a collection of illustrated poems beside the Blood Heaven Saber Demon, or taking a moonlit stroll with Yi An. No one could predict how one would enter the realm of twelfth-level complete mastery.

For now, I left the completion of the Heaven-Soaring Sword Art to another turn of fate and devoted myself to training in the Art of Space-Time Transposition.

When practicing martial arts, there are times when a certain feeling comes over you. A tingling sensation runs through your entire body, and the art whispers, “Just a little more.” That is when you are ready to advance to the next stage.

With the Art of Space-Time Transposition, that sensation kept returning.

A little over ten days earlier, I had shortened the time needed to open the space to roughly a slow count of one hundred. Perhaps some restriction had lifted after that, because the time grew shorter each time I performed the Art of Space-Time Transposition.

If there was such a thing as compatibility between a martial artist and an art, this one suited me exceptionally well.

It was probably because depth of understanding and talent for martial arts mattered more to this art than the length of time spent training. In those two respects, I had already reached almost the highest possible level.

The more I trained, the shorter the time became.

From one hundred to ninety-nine, ninety-eight, ninety-seven...

I did not stop. I pushed all the way to the end, creating spaces like a madman, as though I had boarded a racing carriage. I thought a wrong turn might send the carriage plunging off a cliff, but I kept practicing without rest.

Training, and training again.

At last, the carriage reached its final stop. The horses had not collapsed, and I had not fallen out.

SNAP!

The instant I snapped my fingers, my surroundings changed.

At the same moment, a triumphant shout burst from my lips.

“I did it!”

At last, I could perform the Art of Space-Time Transposition instantly. It unfolded with perfect ease, as though it had been my own martial art from the very beginning.

I was standing on a pure white beach, with a blue sea stretching endlessly before me. The sky was blue and the sun hot. A broad-leaved tree stood on the beach, with a comfortable-looking chair in its shade. Far away, a seagull flew.

This was the private space I had dreamed of.

It was perfect.

As the time needed to create it decreased, so did the internal energy required to maintain it.

After reclining comfortably in the chair for a while, I stripped off my clothes and jumped into the sea.

I swam, then rolled onto my back to look at the sky. Watching the clouds drift by put my heart utterly at ease.

It was perfect time alone, free of interference from anyone. I was happy.

Then a thought suddenly occurred to me.

What if I could make time pass more slowly here than it did outside? What if that let me train in martial arts here? Even if I could not stop time entirely, what if I could at least slow it to half its usual pace?

It sounded like a dream, but wasn't creating a space like this a dreamlike feat to begin with?

I decided to discuss it with the Wind Heaven Cult Leader when he returned. Of course, he would probably call it nonsense.

I had been lying there by the sea for some time, savoring my freedom, when I sensed someone arriving outside the Art of Space-Time Transposition.

When I entered the spaces created by the Soul-Seizing Demon or the Wind Heaven Cult Leader, I could not sense anything outside. But when I created the space myself, I could perceive what was happening beyond it.

I immediately released the art and reappeared.

“Young Master, are you there?”

The person calling for me at the door was Jang Ho.

“I'm right here.”

When I suddenly appeared behind him, he spun around in surprise.

“Young Master? Where were you?”

On a beach beside a rolling blue sea.

I forced myself to resist the urge to answer that way.

“I was practicing concealment techniques for a moment. What brings you here?”

“Word came from the smithy. They've finished making the items you commissioned with the ten-thousand-year cold iron.”

“Then I'd like you to do me a favor. Go collect them, and summon everyone who gathered that day.”

“Understood.”

* * *

Seven of us stood in a circle, looking down at the objects on the table.

Besides me, there were Yi An, Seo Daeryong, Jang Ho, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon, the Single Flower Sword Supreme, and Go Wol.

I first picked up the fan from the table and handed it to Go Wol.

“Here's the fan you requested. I examined it, and it's beautifully made.”

“Thank you so much.”

“The material is valuable, of course, but the fact that the Cult's finest craftsman made it gives it even greater worth.”

“I never imagined you would actually have it made for me.”

We had also made as many daggers as there had been people at that gathering, so I gave him one of those as well. Receiving a dagger in addition to the fan left Go Wol looking apologetic.

“I'm getting two gifts.”

“These daggers would never have existed without you. In a sense, you're the one giving everyone a gift.”

“Not at all. You were the one the Wind Heaven Cult Leader gave the shackles to. Thank you. I will never forget such generous gifts.”

They were generous gifts indeed.

A dagger of ten-thousand-year cold iron was incomparably sharp and would never break, making its value almost impossible to calculate. If sold for its true worth, it would bring enough money for several generations to live in idle comfort.

But that was not the last of my gifts to him.

I unwound the supreme-grade heavenly silkworm silk from the hilt of the Black Demon Sword. I cut off enough to fill out the fan and handed it to Go Wol.

“This is supreme-grade heavenly silkworm silk. Attach it to that fan, and you'll have an excellent weapon.”

Go Wol's eyes trembled with emotion. These three gifts were things one could scarcely hope to receive in an entire lifetime.

“I will repay this kindness, even if it costs me my life.”

“There's no need. I'm giving these to you because I believe you're worth that much now, not as a gift secured against your future life or loyalty.”

I said it to Go Wol, but the words were also meant for everyone else.

I distributed the remaining daggers.

“Thank you for standing by my side.”

“Thank you.”

“I'll put it to good use.”

“Thank you very much.”

Everyone received their daggers with delight.

Seo Daeryong looked down at his dagger and spoke worriedly.

“I'm afraid I might lose it.”

“Train even harder. The stronger you become, the less likely you are to lose it. Whenever training gets difficult, look at that dagger.”

“Yes.”

He nodded vigorously at my words. These daggers would come to hold different meanings for each of them.

Then the Blood Heaven Saber Demon picked a needless quarrel with Go Wol.

“With that scrawny scholar here, what have you got to worry about?”

Just then, someone entered and said,

“Isn't your disciple even scrawnier?”

It was the Wind Heaven Cult Leader.

I asked him in surprise,

“You're back already?”

He had returned sooner than expected. I had thought it would take at least six months.

“I've always been an impatient man.”

As he spoke, he glanced at Go Wol. Go Wol smiled at the arrival of his steadfast supporter.

“It seems I'm not destined to go hungry wherever I go. I've returned on the very day you're handing out daggers! Give me mine.”

The Wind Heaven Cult Leader examined his dagger.

“It's exceptionally well made. I could even make this a sacred relic. Thank you for saving one for me.”

“Not at all. We could only make them because you were generous enough to unlock the shackles in the first place.”

I welcomed his return with kind words. As he said, he had returned on a fateful day. But receiving a dagger was not what made it fateful.

Someone opened the door and entered.

The visitor was tall and undeniably handsome. His long white robe, embroidered with ornate yet elegant patterns, suited him well. He was my older brother, the First Young Master, Geom Muyang.

Everyone's eyes turned toward him. Three people followed Geom Muyang inside.

The Demonic Buddha entered first, followed by an old man and a young man together.

Spotting me among the others, Geom Muyang spread his arms wide and strode toward me.

“Little brother, have you been well?”

Yes. This was how my brother had been. So self-assured, so fully aware of his superiority to others.

His excessive belief in his own intelligence sometimes caused problems, but he also had a knack for making his arrogance look like confidence to those on his side.

“I've been well. Long time no see, brother.”

I pulled him into a tight embrace. It was genuine, not an act. I felt him falter slightly at my reaction. He could not know what I was thinking now.

'Brother, don't make me hold your dead body and regret it. Don't make me walk Father's path.'

I knew. Go Wol said the outcome depended on my brother, but that was not true. This time, it depended on my efforts.

'So I'll try. Not for your sake, but for mine.'

Perhaps I felt quite different from how I had been when he left the Cult, because a curious glint crossed Geom Muyang's eyes.

“I hear you've made quite a name for yourself while I've been away.”

“The fox played king in the valley while the tiger was gone.”

“If your older brother is a tiger, how could you be a fox? You needn't pretend to be humble with me.”

On the surface, he truly looked like a loving older brother who cherished his sibling.

But in my previous life, he had tormented me relentlessly. At the time, I had not recognized it as torment.

Ever since I was very young, he had tried every possible way to plant negative impressions of Murim and power in my mind.

Stories of martial artists fighting and dying, of people going mad after succumbing to inner demons, of Demon Supremes betraying the Heavenly Demon.

Most of the stories he told me were cruel and bleak. If I so much as tried to open my conception and governing meridians, he would unsettle me with stories of people dying when their blood vessels burst.

My innate resolve had allowed me to overcome it, but it had certainly harmed me in ways both apparent and unseen.

Perhaps I could not fault someone for using every means at their disposal in a succession struggle. But that was still no way to treat your six- or seven-year-old brother.

Then the Demonic Buddha interjected.

“Second Young Master. Now that the First Young Master has returned, you must do all you can to help your brother. Who else will look after you both in this harsh Murim? People betray one another as readily as they eat their meals. There's no one you can trust.”

As he spoke, he looked at the Blood Heaven Saber Demon. His words had been aimed at him from the outset. He was openly condemning him for switching his support from Geom Muyang to me.

Feeling some guilt toward the First Young Master, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon merely snorted.

Unlike the provocative Demonic Buddha, Geom Muyang treated the Blood Heaven Saber Demon respectfully.

“Have you been well, sir?”

“Quite well, thank you. Have you only just returned?”

“Yes. I've just arrived.”

“Have you seen the cult leader?”

“Father had already retired to his bedchamber, so I couldn't see him. I expect I'll pay my respects tomorrow morning.”

“He'll be pleased.”

After exchanging greetings, Geom Muyang said casually,

“I've heard you've been helping my brother a great deal lately.”

“Old men tend to be more fickle. I hope you'll understand.”

“Not at all. My brother's affairs are my affairs, and the Cult's as well. As his older brother, I thank you.”

“Thank you for being so understanding.”

Geom Muyang turned next to the Single Flower Sword Supreme.

“You're as beautiful as ever.”

“You certainly are brothers. Our First Young Master is quite the flirt too.”

He took something from the sleeve of his robe and handed it to her.

“These are cosmetics I went to some trouble to obtain beyond the frontiers. They're reputed to be far superior to what women in the Central Plains use. Please try them.”

“Thank you, First Young Master.”

Surely he had not brought a gift only for the Single Flower Sword Supreme. He must have obtained plenty of things to please the other Demon Supremes as well.

Even this brief exchange made it clear why my brother had been ahead of me at this point. Back then, I had not even known how carefully he cultivated the Demon Supremes. I really must have seen nothing but myself. Nothing but my own ambitions.

“Commander Jang, my congratulations on your appointment as commander, though they come late.”

“Thank you, First Young Master.”

That was where the greetings ended. He did not greet Yi An or Seo Daeryong. My brother was an authoritarian through and through. His belief was that if he firmly won over those at the top, all their subordinates would naturally follow.

After Geom Muyang finished greeting the two Demon Supremes, the Demonic Buddha stepped forward.

The moment he saw the Wind Heaven Cult Leader, he picked a fight.

“Did someone smear honey on the Cult's pillars? Why do you keep prowling around here?”

Of course, the Wind Heaven Cult Leader was no pushover either.

“I took a shit and left without cleaning it up. A small, cute, golden piece of shit.”

The Demonic Buddha's expression instantly hardened. They glared at each other as though ready to kill. These two, once the closest of friends, had become estranged, showing how growing close could take an age while growing apart took only a moment.

As the tension between them mounted, Geom Muyang signaled with his eyes to the two people behind him.

The old man and the young man who had entered with the Demonic Buddha stepped forward to introduce themselves.

A cold smile formed on my lips. Ever since they entered, this was the moment I had been waiting for most. In truth, I had waited decades for this moment.