Chapter 9: A Misguided Fate (3)
"Huh?"
"You said you'd teach the greatest martial arts under heaven, right? But I’ve never even heard your na before, old man."
At this point, the Radiant Sword felt like coughing up blood.
Being asked whether he was strong?
Three hundred years ago, during his lifeti, if anyone had dared to question his strength in his presence, he wouldn’t have even needed to lift a finger—others would’ve hauled that person straight to the physician.
Wasn’t he the one who had reached the pinnacle of the sword, going so far as to create an entirely new realm of swordsmanship, a first in the history of the Martial World?
And yet now, in this damp, dark cave, he had to prove his strength to so cheeky young brat? If Radiant Sword still had a physical body, he might’ve shed the first clear tears of his life—aside from the day he was born.
"What nonsense! Back when I was alive, no one dared to lift their heads in front of . Even the baldies from Shaolin avoided , and the horse-faced bastards from Wudang didn’t dare speak of swords in front of . The whole world sang my praises!"
Wi Yeonho was unimpressed.
"Yeah, well, that’s hard to believe."
"I'm telling you the truth!"
"Sure, sure. Nostalgia tends to sugarcoat things."
"Grrr!"
Baek Muhan felt a twinge of sorrow.
The prestige he had built in his lifeti hadn’t been insignificant, so how could it be that not even a whisper of his na had survived three hundred years? If even a fragnt of his na had been passed down, things would’ve gone a little smoother.
'Back in my day, they raved that I surpassed Jang Sam-bong, called the Greatest of All Ti, and couldn’t praise enough!'
Had every one of those people turned their backs and changed their stories?
If even one of the countless voices that once lauded him to the heavens had passed down those words, he would’ve surely been rembered in history as a contender for the title of Greatest of All Ti. Yet, how fickle human life was.
"Grrr, I’m telling you, it’s true."
Wi Yeonho replied flatly.
"Yeah, yeah. Sure, let’s say it is."
"It’s not just 'let’s say'—it is the truth! I’m being serious!"
Baek Muhan had never once told a lie in his life, nor had he ever felt the need to.
Because of that, he had no idea how to persuade soone who didn’t believe him. What did he have to gain by lying to soone? Why would he ever feel the need to convince another?
To be forced to face such a situation after death, one he had never once experienced while alive—sorrow suddenly washed over him like a crashing wave.
"But even if you really were that strong three hundred years ago, it’s still pretty suspicious, you know?"
"What's that supposed to an now?"
"What's the basis for saying the greatest martial arts under heaven from three hundred years ago is still the greatest now? Martial arts evolve, don't they?"
"Heh heh heh."
Baek Muhan let out a laugh. That was an easy question to answer.
"Even now, isn't Shaolin and Wudang still contending for supremacy?"
"That’s true."
"When were the martial disciplines of Shaolin and Wudang created? If your logic held, they should've already fallen behind or been replaced by sothing new. But has anything surpassed Yigungeong? Has Wudang produced a sword art greater than Taiji Wisdom Sword?"
Wi Yeonho pondered for a mont, then shook his head. He certainly hadn't heard of such things.
"Nope."
"Exactly! Martial arts do evolve. But truly powerful martial techniques remain strong even in later generations."
"That’s true. But whether your martial arts are truly powerful is a different matter altogether."
Now Baek Muhan wanted to cry.
Suddenly, fury toward his descendants welled up in his chest. He had clearly left behind a command—to seek him out with sincerity if they wished to learn. So why had not a single one of them co here?
If even one of them had shown up, he wouldn’t be stuck in this frustrating situation.
But it was no use resenting them now.
"Hmm, to learn a martial art whose strength is unproven, and I can't even be sure I'll learn it properly..."
"..."
If Baek Muhan still had a body, his heart would’ve shriveled up at that mont.
This kind of tension!
Even when the horse-faced bastards from Wudang surrounded him with the Taiji Sword Formation, he had simply laughed it off. And yet, here he was, feeling anxious in this ridiculous situation.
‘Martial arts, huh... I should've just grabbed any random brat and passed it on.’
What could he do now?
It was a mistake from three hundred years ago, and there was no going back.
And unfortunately, Wi Yeonho’s response didn’t stray far from what he feared.
"Ugh, I’m done with this!"
"W-Wait, don’t be like that! Just give it a try! I promise you won’t regret it!"
"I don’t really feel good about it."
"In life, we can’t always do only the things we like. Co on, just take a chance. I’ll teach you well. I’ll give it my all!"
The roles had completely reversed.
In all of history, had there ever been a case where the teacher had to beg this desperately?
"Hmm…"
"I’ll get you out of this place within twenty years at most!"
"Twenty years?"
"Y-Yes!"
"Ugh, that’s too long."
"Twenty years are absolutely necessary! Even that is far too short a ti to learn my martial arts. But I’ll do my best—study and adapt so that within twenty years, you can reach the sa level as ."
Even after all that, Wi Yeonho’s reaction remained disinterested. He sat down in a corner with a half-hearted air, yawning repeatedly and opening his mouth wide.
"I might have considered it if you’d said three years…"
"T-Three years! How can you expect to master my martial arts in just three years! Even if Jang Sam-bong were resurrected, he couldn’t do it!"
"Is that so?"
"It is! The level of my martial arts is by no ans inferior to Jang Sam-bong’s. At the ti, I rely refrained from saying so out of respect for my elder, but in truth, everyone knew I was at least one step ahead!"
If that was true, then it was a staggering claim.
Who in the world would dare to say they surpassed Jang Sam-bong with their own lips? If soone from Wudang heard that, they’d likely charge over with their sword in hand, ready to tear him apart.
Yet despite the weight of such an outrageous statent, Wi Yeonho still looked completely unimpressed.
"Then I guess we’re done talking."
"'Done'?!"
"Well, it can’t be helped. I suppose we just aren’t fated to cross paths."
Baek Muhan wanted to lose his mind. But with only his Will remaining, he couldn’t even do that.
"Three years is impossible! Absolutely not!"
"I said I got it."
"Then five years! How about five years?"
"Five years?"
"Yes, five years! I’ll do whatever it takes to make you the best under heaven in five years!"
Wi Yeonho responded with a skeptical look.
"Are you sure you’re not just scamming ?"
"Trust ! I promise I’ll make it happen!"
"Hmm…"
Wi Yeonho appeared to be giving it so thought.
To be honest, digging a tunnel for an entire year wasn’t sothing any sane person would do. If he was going to commit, then it was better to spend a bit more ti learning top-tier martial arts—it had always been obvious.
The real issue was that the ti commitnt and training intensity hadn’t been what Wi Yeonho was hoping for.
Now the ti fra was more or less settled.
"Is it hard?"
"You an the training?"
"Yeah."
Baek Muhan carefully watched Wi Yeonho’s expression.
No doubt, the mont he said it was hard, the boy would pick up that sword again and start digging. Sure enough, Wi Yeonho hadn’t let go of the sword in his hand yet.
"Hard? What could possibly be hard about it! Not hard at all!"
"Are you being serious?"
"Of course! Hahaha!"
Wi Yeonho looked suspiciously at the jewel from which Baek Muhan’s voice was emanating.
‘The greatest martial arts under heaven…’
He had to admit—it was tempting.
But sothing about him reeked of a con man. Everything he said sounded like exaggeration, and the man had no sense of gravity whatsoever.
Still, there was one thing that kept nagging at him.
That jewel.
From what he could tell, a dead person had sohow infused their Will into that jewel. He had never even heard of such a phenonon in his life. Soone capable of sothing so extraordinary couldn't possibly be ordinary.
Maybe it was just that his legacy hadn’t been passed down properly. Perhaps half of what he said was actually true. In that case, he really might have been the greatest master under heaven.
‘The greatest under heaven…’
His father, Wi Jeonghan, who trained day and night without rest, had only just barely made it onto the bottom rung of the Top 100 Masters of the World. But to beco the best under heaven in just five years without backbreaking training? That was a luxury no one in the world could afford.
‘Right, this is my chance to beco a top-class master!’
Once again, Wi Yeonho had always dread of becoming the greatest under heaven, and he had the willingness to work for it. The problem was that his laziness always outweighed his motivation, and he never managed to take that first step.
If he could reap the rewards with just a reasonable amount of training, even Wi Yeonho was willing to compromise a little.
"I’ll do it!"
"Truly?!"
"Yeah!"
Baek Muhan was overjoyed.
"Then quickly perform the formal nine-prostration ritual! The first step is to complete the master-disciple rite!"
Wi Yeonho gave him a cheeky grin.
"Nope."
"...Huh?"
"You were going to change your attitude completely once I beca your disciple, weren’t you?"
"......"
"I’d rather just keep things the way they are. So you just stay like this too, old man."
A heavy silence fell inside the cave.
"Is there a problem?"
"...No."
"Alright then."
Wi Yeonho bead brightly.
Radiant Sword Baek Muhan.
It was the day when a sorrowful hardship began—one he had not experienced even once in three hundred years.
* * *
"Did you say Radiant Sword?"
The Historian tilted his head curiously.
He was a man who recorded the history of Martial World. Although he was currently investigating matters related to Wi Yeonho, he prided himself on having a deeper understanding of murim history than anyone else.
And yet, he had never once heard of anyone with the alias Radiant Sword.
"That’s strange."
Who was Wi Yeonho?
He was the Radiant Martial Sovereign.
It didn’t make sense that soone who had earned such a grand alias would have a teacher whose na was completely unknown.
Of course, it was possible if the person had lived in seclusion their whole life. But from what he was hearing, the man clearly once had renown—so how could the Historian never have co across that na?
"You’ve never heard of it?"
"No, this is the first ti I’ve heard the na Radiant Sword."
"Then what about the Ten Thousand Sword Baek Clan—do you know them?"
"Of course I do! How could anyone not know the Ten Thousand Sword Baek Clan?"
Divine Mad Dog nodded in agreent.
"Right. Then who’s considered the greatest figure the Baek Clan has ever produced?"
"A clan like the Ten Thousand Sword Baek Clan wouldn't be known for only one or two great masters. There’s the founder Ten Thousand Sword Master, and then the Mountain-Crushing Sword Sovereign, who was said to collapse mountains with a single sword strike… But if I had to choose only one, everyone would na the sa man: Sword Emperor. The one who was called the Greatest Sword of All Ti. There are others whose skills were certainly not inferior, but before the na of the Sword Emperor, they all seem to fade."
Divine Mad Dog smiled.
"Exactly. That’s the one."
"...Excuse ?"
"Before he was called Sword Emperor, his alias was Radiant Sword."
"...What?"
Divine Mad Dog let out a quiet chuckle.
"Of course, back then Wi Yeonho had no idea. Poor guy. Of all people to et at the end of his life, it had to be that one."
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