Chapter 54 - The First-Rate Warrior Who Astonished the Divine Sword (2)

I decided to travel with the warriors of the Namgung Clan.

Originally, I was supposed to drop by the Namgung Clan before returning to the Taiyi Sect, and Namgung San had shown no intention of backing down, saying, "You absolutely must come with us. My grandfather was furious, asking why we let you go on your own." In the end, we ended up traveling together.

"It seems it will be hard to see each other for a while."

At the moment of our farewell, Moyong Sangwon let out a heavy sigh.

"I will be sure to drop by the Moyong Noble Clan when I have the time."

I tried to comfort him, but Moyong Sangwon shook his head.

"No. How could I make a busy man come and go as I please? I shall visit the Taiyi Sect sometime."

"... Uh, I will probably be away from the Taiyi Sect a lot due to various matters."

"Really? That's even better."

"Pardon?"

Moyong Sangwon was saying things I couldn't understand, and I had no idea what was so good about that.

"Ah, right! Do you happen to have a type of woman you dislike?"

I tilted my head at the sudden question.

"Well. I've never dated anyone, so I wouldn't know."

Sadly, in both this life and my past life, I had never been in a relationship with anyone.

Suddenly, a sense of shame washed over me as I wondered what I had been doing with my life.

"Is thaaat so?? Then, do you feel any aversion to a woman who is much stronger than you?"

'If he means a woman stronger than me right now, he won't be able to find one around my age.'

Moyong Sangwon's question, born from his inability to gauge the exact level of my martial arts, only made me smile bitterly.

"I believe a kind heart is far more important than something like that."

"Haha! Then there's nothing to worry about."

"...?"

I couldn't understand what he was talking about at all, but regardless, we left behind a satisfied, nodding Moyong Sangwon and headed toward Anhui Province once more.

Traveling in a procession with the warriors of the Namgung Clan was incredibly comfortable.

First of all, there was no one blocking the road.

With roughly a hundred people riding on horseback, a standard-bearer at the very front held high the flag of the Namgung Clan.

As a result, not a single hair was seen of the mountain bandit strongholds famous for extorting exorbitant tolls.

In mid-to-large cities, the Namgung Clan operated their own merchant groups and teahouses, meaning there was no need to secure separate lodging.

In places that had neither, the Namgung Clan's advance party would ride ahead and rent out an entire guest house.

Moreover, the guest rooms assigned to me were all of the same tier as those given to Namgung San and Namgung Seonhwa, making it the most comfortable journey I had experienced across both my past and present lives.

We were at a distance where we would arrive at the Namgung Clan in just one day.

With Mount Gueom—the final mountain we had to cross—looming ahead of us, Namgung Seonhwa pulled her horse up close to mine.

"Does it really not matter to you if a woman is stronger than a man?"

Having traveled and eaten together throughout the long journey, almost all formalities had vanished between me, Namgung San, and Namgung Seonhwa.

"What are you talking about?"

"... No, I mean. That conversation you had with the Minor Patriarch back at the Cheongmyeong Escort Agency..."

"Ah..."

In my past life, most female warriors had been stronger than me.

Close to home, Hong Saryeon had possessed higher martial accomplishments than me, and the gap between me and Moyong Seol, whom I would meet in the future, was practically astronomical.

"When a man and a woman love each other, what does it matter who is stronger and who is weaker?"

"Still... men don't usually like women who are stronger than them."

"Isn't it actually better? There's no need to feel anxious no matter where she goes. And it would be even better if she stepped forward to protect me."

"Hmm..."

Namgung Seonhwa nodded, making an odd sound.

"But is it also true that you've never dated a woman?"

Although there had been a somewhat awkward incident back at the Cheongmyeong Escort Agency, ever since we became close, Namgung Seonhwa treated me amicably as if she had forgotten all about it.

Though it had never been easy for me to interact with women, I didn't feel much pressure since she was always the one asking questions and striking up conversations.

However, if there was one minor inconvenience, it was that because Namgung Seonhwa's appearance was so exceptionally beautiful, passing martial artists and pedestrians would often mutter curses under their breath whenever they saw her talking to me.

"Ha! That bastard must have a fox's tail attached to him."

"He must have a lot of money."

"Considering how a daughter of the Namgung Clan follows him around like that, he must come from an incredible family."

Since I was merely overhearing what they were saying among themselves, I couldn't exactly call them out on it. Besides, I had been in their shoes feeling the exact same jealousy in my past life, so I didn't feel any great anger toward them.

"Having grown up in the Taiyi Sect my entire life, who could I have possibly met? Besides, even if a woman were interested in me, she would run away the moment I mentioned I was from the Taiyi Sect."

"Was there a woman who showed interest?"

"..."

For some reason, it felt like I was continuously being interrogated.

"I don't think there was."

"...' Don't think there was?' Didn't you say you never forget something once you've memorized it?"

I couldn't figure out why I had to keep answering her questions, or why I was continuing to do so, but things had certainly become more comfortable than when we had first met at the Demonic Spirit Plateau.

'What should I do...'

I looked at Namgung Seonhwa with complicated eyes.

Though I had saved her at the Demonic Spirit Plateau, the problem was that her life was still in danger.

Due to losing Namgung Seonhwa, the Namgung Clan would go through a massive war.

They would annihilate the sects involved with the Amitabha Holy Water, and in the process, the clan would be deeply shaken.

In the midst of that chaos, the branch line of the Namgung Clan would attack Namgung San.

Namgung San's skills were so outstanding that he didn't meet his death, but he suffered severe internal injuries in the process, leaving him with a body that could never properly use internal energy again for the rest of his life.

The branch line of the Namgung Clan used this as a pretext to isolate the direct line and aim to take control of the entire Namgung Clan.

Even though external affairs were already entirely entrusted to the branch line from the beginning, they harbored the thought that the direct family was monopolizing all the rights and privileges.

However, what they had failed to anticipate was that the Divine Sword would eventually draw his sword.

The part they had placed their faith in was that, no matter what, they were still people of the Namgung Clan.

They had foolishly assumed that the Divine Sword would never directly slaughter his own flesh and blood, dragging both the clan's honor and his own name through the mud.

But when the full truth of the incident was revealed by chance and the culprits were exposed, the Divine Sword eventually raised his sword and cut down every single person of the branch line who used the surname 'Namgung'.

Because of this event, the Namgung Clan's power drastically diminished, and in the end, they were unable to withstand the martial might of the Demonic Cult and ultimately met their annihilation.

The branch line's conspiracy hadn't even begun yet. It was certain that they would target someone from the direct line as the flare to kick off their grand plan.

'If they are going to target someone anyway, they'll aim for Namgung Seonhwa rather than Namgung San.'

Although Namgung San couldn't operate freely due to clan affairs, he was still a member of the Dragon-Phoenix Summit—a group where only the most outstanding graduates of the Murim Academy were admitted to be active.

Targeting someone who had already surpassed the first-rate realm and was on the verge of reaching the Peak Realm was a heavy burden even from the perspective of the Namgung Clan's branch line.

Ultimately, it was obvious that their target would be Namgung Seonhwa.

I felt a sense of pity at the fact that I knew the truth yet couldn't tell them.

"Why can't you answer? Do you remember but are just refusing to say it?"

"Lady Seonhwa."

"Yes?"

"We are approaching Mount Gueom soon. I think we will need to pause our conversation for a moment."

A bright smile spread across Namgung Seonhwa's lips.

"You're good at slipping away. What kind of mountain bandit stronghold would dare attack after seeing the flag of the Namgung Clan?"

Contrary to her relief, my qi sense could feel people currently hiding in Mount Gueom.

'Are there around five hundred?'

I couldn't sense all of them clearly, but roughly that many people were hiding their presence as much as possible.

It was a vastly different reaction from the other times we had crossed mountains.

Back then, they had watched us from as far away as possible to keep themselves hidden.

But right now, it looked just like a tiger lying low in preparation for a hunt.

As we entered Mount Gueom in earnest, the wide road began to gradually narrow.

Looking back, the warriors of the Namgung Clan had relaxed their guard and were chatting among themselves.

'Have they not sensed it yet?'

Just as I was pondering what I could do to raise their alertness.

Fortunately, Namgung San seemed to have noticed something, and he abruptly raised a clenched fist into the air.

"Halt."

NEIGH!

The horses snorted and reared slightly as they were abruptly brought to a stop.

"Be on guard. Someone is watching us."

As soon as Namgung San finished speaking, the warriors of the Namgung Clan instantly began to exude fighting spirit.

It was truly a sight befitting the warriors of a prestigious noble clan.

"Move slowly."

The horses began to walk forward again, and the path grew narrower until only two horses could barely pass side-by-side.

Right then, a massive boulder appeared, completely blocking the path.

"Draw swords!"

SHING! SHING! SHING!

At Namgung San's shout, the warriors of the Namgung Clan drew their swords in unison.

They, too, knew well enough that the boulder ahead of them was not something ordinary.

A brief moment of silence followed.

Then came the sound of bowstrings being drawn back.

I quickly shouted out.

"Arrows!"

SWOOSH! SWISH!

Before my words could even finish, arrows began pouring down from the cliffs above like rain.

"GAAAGH!"

"URGH!"

Unsuspecting warriors were struck by arrows and tumbled down the other side of the path.

The other warriors didn't even have the time to go save them; they hurriedly abandoned their horses and dove straight behind cover, barely managing to deflect the incoming barrage of arrows.

RUMBLE! CRASH! BOOM!

With the sound of a landslide, a massive pile of rocks crashed down from behind, completely sealing off our retreat path.

The enemies standing atop the cliffs were shooting arrows like madmen from behind cover, making it impossible to scale the cliff side.

"Damn it! Abandon all the horses!"

With most of the horses already struck by arrows and dying.

The warriors of the Namgung Clan had no choice but to push the horses down the slope just to barely secure some breathing room.

Namgung San attempted to break through the rain of arrows and scale the cliff, but the situation made it anything but easy.

I quickly spoke to Namgung San.

"Senior. Please buy me just a little time. I will try going up."

"You will?"

"Yes. I have a way."

"... Understood."

Sheathing his sword, Namgung San gathered internal energy into both of his hands.

"UAAAGH!"

He then began to unleash Heavenly Wind Palm Force.

BOOM! BAM! BANG!

Along with the sound of the air bursting, a section of the cliff collapsed, and the assailants who had been firing arrows plummeted through the gap.

SWOOOSH.

Exploiting that opening, I launched the Flying Dragon Claw to embed it into the cliff face, kicked off the wall, and leaped straight to the top of the cliff in one go.

"A-Above us!"

Astonished to see me suddenly pop up, a few archers loosed their arrows, but they couldn't hit me as I retrieved the Flying Dragon Claw and fired it toward the ground to pull myself down.

"GAAAAGH!"

The moment I no longer needed to worry about the eyes of the Namgung Clan upon me.

I scattered the Twin Heaven Sword Art like the unfolding ribs of a folding fan.

"URGH."

"GUK!"

"PUHUK!"

Fifteen illusionary swords materialized in an instant, claiming the lives of five archers.

Warriors wielding sabers tried to squeeze their way in from behind the row of archers lined up on the cliff, but the densely packed archers made it difficult.

How many archers could realistically draw a bowstring while their own lives hung by a thread?

I showered in rain-like splatters of blood, moving unhindered through the ranks of the archers.

Eventually, as the warriors approached one by one and clashed swords with me, I was able to grasp the extent of their skills.

'Their skills are somewhere between first-rate and second-rate. Their martial arts seem to be of the Underworld style. Are they using retired soldiers for their archers?'

Since Anhui Province already had the formidable presence of the Namgung Clan reigning over it, there were no major Underworld factions here.

Thus, these people were outsiders from beyond the province, and they had audaciously launched this ambush fully aware that their targets belonged to the Namgung Clan.

'Has the branch line already made their move?'

Then again, in my past life, when Wang Soso had already died and Wang Geumsan gave up his position as salt merchant, the Cangqiong Merchant Group—who subsequently claimed that salt merchant qualification—had been highly active.

In a way, taking action now could even be considered late.

"Young Master Sowoon! Are you alright?!"

As the rain of arrows ceased, the warriors of the Namgung Clan climbed up the cliff.

"I am fine. Is the damage below severe?"

"We are still okay. However, as soon as the arrow rain stopped, the enemies lying in ambush down the slope began advancing upward."

Blocking the front and rear, and attacking from both flanks.

Even against the warriors of the world-renowned Namgung Clan, a force of five hundred was a number worth gambling on.

"I will take care of the archers first."

"Please do."

Perhaps the warriors of the Namgung Clan didn't have high expectations of me, for they readily left the archers to me and moved on to confront the saber-wielding enemies.

I darted back and forth along the edge of the cliff to dispatch the archers, firing the Flying Dragon Claw at those scaling the cliff and pulling them up.

"Thank you, Young Master!"

There wasn't even time for them to ask how such tremendous strength could be contained within such a thin wire.

Once a sufficient number of warriors had gathered, they immediately deployed the Cangqiong Sword Array.

"Advance!"

With the Cangqiong Sword Array formed, the enemies—who had initially seemed to possess an overwhelming numerical advantage—could no longer easily overwhelm the Namgung warriors. Instead, they quickly became wandering ghosts upon their sharp blades.

Having swiftly eliminated the archers clinging to the cliff, I immediately looked down.

If I were part of the Namgung Clan's branch line and had orchestrated this ambush, it was certain I would want to kill either Namgung San or Namgung Seonhwa.

Sure enough.

The assailants were risking their lives to prevent Namgung San and Namgung Seonhwa from joining the sword array.

While the Namgung Clan's warriors were maintaining a fairly stable sword array, those two were in an incredibly precarious situation.

The assailants closing in around Namgung San piled up in layers as corpses, but conversely, the number of wounds on Namgung Seonhwa's body continued to multiply.

I immediately threw myself off the cliff and fired the Flying Dragon Claw.

Using the tension of the Flying Dragon Claw lightly anchored in a tree to shift my trajectory, I kicked off the trunk, plummeted to the ground, and thrust the Lesser Heaven Sword Technique into the necks of the two assailants trying to attack Namgung Seonhwa from behind.

"Th-Thank you."

She only realized the assailants had been there when their blood splattered across her face.

"Let's save the pleasantries for later."

I swiftly unleashed the Lesser Heaven Sword Technique.

SLASH!

Another assailant fell to the ground.

But space was not secured. New enemies immediately filled the gap.

The assailants were hyper-focused on Namgung San and Namgung Seonhwa.

Furthermore, because the two of them were gathered in the same spot, the number of enemies swarming them was far beyond what three people could handle.

"Lady Seonhwa! Forgive me for a moment."

"Yes?! What do you mean?"

I grabbed Namgung Seonhwa by the waist and fired the Flying Dragon Claw, utilizing its tension to launch us into the air.

"KYAAAH!"

Firing the Flying Dragon Claw into a massive tree once more to place Namgung Seonhwa atop the cliff, I sent a sound transmission to Namgung San.

-Senior, can you hide behind the boulder?

Perhaps lacking the focus to reply via sound transmission, Namgung San merely nodded while fighting.

-I will give you the signal.

At the same time, I pulled out something resembling a silver bud from my robes.

It was the artifact that Yang Gunbaek, the owner of Yueyang's black market inn, had given me in lieu of a 'friendship fee'.

'The ghosts of Sichuan won't sit still after I use this, but putting the Divine Sword at the forefront should smooth things over.'

Hundred-Hair Fire Tube.

It was one of the forbidden hidden weapons crafted by the Sichuan Tang Clan, the originators of poison and hidden weapons.

I had no idea how something like this ended up being sold at a black market inn in Yueyang, but right now, it was the only thing that could save me and the warriors of the Namgung Clan.

Namgung San was being swept away by the wave of people, his figure almost completely obscured.

-Now!

The Hundred-Hair Fire Tube would never trigger, no matter how hard it was struck.

However, if one used a specific method involving internal qi to press down on the leaves of the bud, it would activate from even the slightest impact.

Launching himself the moment I spoke, Namgung San dove behind the boulder, and I lightly tapped the flying Hundred-Hair Fire Tube with the Flying Dragon Claw.

CLACK-CLACK-CLACK.

The leaves wrapping the bud unfurled all at once, violently scattering Ox-Hair Needles from within.

SWISH-SWISH-SWISH-SWISH-SWISH!

Like the rain of arrows they had fired earlier, the Ox-Hair Needles began pouring down like rain.

And unlike obvious projectiles such as arrows, the Ox-Hair Needles were incredibly stealthy, barely visible to the naked eye.

The assailants struck by the Ox-Hair Needles began toppling over like sheaves of straw.

"URGH."

"GUK!"

"GASP!"

"S-Save me..."

With nearly fifty people dying helplessly in an instant, a momentary silence fell over the battlefield.

Soon after, Namgung San leaped out from behind the boulder and roared a thunderous Lion's Roar.

"If anyone wishes to see this to the end against the elites of the Great Namgung Clan, then stay!! We do not take our enemies alive!"

At that, the hesitant assailants began jumping down the slope, while the enemies atop the cliff started fleeing backward.

The surviving warriors of the Namgung Clan let out a roar.

"WAAAAAH!"

I brought the still-dazed Namgung Seonhwa down the cliff, where Namgung San approached us.

Seeing me carry Namgung Seonhwa down, Namgung San's eyes were as complex as could be.

"Thank you. ... I am indebted to you again."

"Don't mention it."

Namgung San quickly shook his head to clear his thoughts and spoke while looking at the injured warriors.

"By the way, who on earth would have the audacity to commit such an act? Have the Green Woods completely lost their minds?"

Namgung San seemed to have not caught on yet.

"Watching from above, they seemed unusually determined to prevent Senior and Lady Seonhwa from joining the sword array."

"Hmm?"

Both of them still had blank looks in their eyes.

"... This is just my thought, but I believe this ambush was explicitly targeting the two of you."

"!"

"!"

I drove the point home.

"But it is strange. How could they dare to even think about ambushing the direct line of the Namgung Clan right here in Anhui Province? Not to mention, how did a considerable force of five hundred men evade the eyes and ears of the Namgung Clan spread throughout the entire province?"

"..."

"..."

Locking eyes with each other, the faces of the two siblings stiffened rigidly.