People, people, people, everywhere I go, there are people.
It was a feast so large that I could say with certainty that I had never seen such a big feast in my entire life.
The size of the Nangong family's manor, with a little exaggeration, is as large as a small village, and that one manor is filled with people.
'I don't know who is where, but everyone should be grateful to ...'
Last ti, because of Ho Baek-gwi, all these people would have gone back without getting anything.
Although I changed that, unfortunately, these people don't know anything.
Of course, I have no intention of advertising it with my own mouth.
Because although honor and fa can be good weapons if used well, they are usually cumberso baggage that arouses envy and jealousy and attracts unnecessary attention.
I try not to stand in the front as much as possible and in the shadows...
"Taoist Master Unhwi!"
"Isn't it Young Hero Unhwi?"
"Taoist master! I am Ma Yeon-ji of the Baek-eun Sect."
No way. Everyone who passes by recognizes , so I'm annoyed to death.
It's because I made too much of a fuss in the spar with Ho Baek-gwi yesterday.
Because I was trying to buy as much ti as possible, a considerable number of martial artists who were not there at first ca out to the main gate, and although I didn't know well because I fainted at the end, I heard that there was almost no room to stand.
"Ugh! Suddenly, the aftereffects of yesterday's spar!"
At first, I accepted the greetings of the surrounding rising stars, but when it seed like there would be no end to it, I grabbed my chest and pretended to stagger, and then I slipped away to a secluded place where there were no people.
As I was catching my breath there, a familiar voice called .
"Hwi-ya. Are you okay?"
"Senior brother. Don't you know Unhwi? I could tell at a glance that he was faking it."
"That's right. Hwi's eyebrows twitch when he's really in pain."
"Senior brothers!!"
I shouted with joy. Although it had only been a day since I had seen my senior brothers, I was so happy to see them, perhaps because I had crossed the line between life and death.
"I'm glad you seem to be okay."
"Yes. Because I received good treatnt. I should just shake off that much and get up."
"I thought you would, of course. Let's go to the central seat together. The head of the family has prepared a seat for us where we can see the Sovereign Sword Emperor's sword dance from the closest."
Senior Brother Uncheol said. The mont I heard that, my heart seed to pound.
Finally, the sword dance. What on earth did Nangong Sang-hyeon want to show the rising stars that he had made such a big deal out of it?
What did he want to show that he wanted to show his sword dance even by shortening his life?
"For now, let's move over there."
I followed Senior Brother Uncheol and moved my steps towards the seat that the Sword King had prepared.
Fortunately, perhaps because the five of us were moving together, no one ca to talk to , so I was able to move comfortably.
In the center of the Nangong family, there is a large garden.
In fact, although it is called a garden, its size and width are such that it would not be an exaggeration to call it a square.
A place where a large open space is connected around a large pond, as befits the Nangong family who loves ponds.
The main stage of today's feast is right here.
"You've co. Are you okay? I should have stopped by this morning, but I was busy greeting the guests."
The Sword King, Nangong Cheon-jin, greeted very warmly.
His face looks very tired compared to yesterday.
Because I knew why he was so tired, I felt both gratitude and apology at the sa ti.
"I heard you saved my life. Thank you very much. Head of the family."
"No. Didn't you save my life first?"
And he looked left and right to see if anyone was listening, and then he said in a small voice, "And it's natural to save the Grand Master. There's no need for a separate thank you."
And then he went sowhere again to prepare for the feast.
As I was waiting for the start of the feast while chatting with my senior brothers, familiar faces began to appear.
First, the Zhuge family siblings, who had just appeared, naturally ca to our side and joined us.
I said to Zhuge Yun in a playful voice, "Older brother. It feels like I'm seeing you for the first ti in a long ti."
"Actually, it's not been that long. I went to see you a few tis when you couldn't wake up."
Although I think I have lived a not-so-short life, including my previous life and my current life, Zhuge Yun is the person who has changed the fastest among the people I have seen so far.
And that is not just a physical change, but also includes a ntal change.
When he first ca out of the Zhuge family, he couldn't even make eye contact with people properly, but now he can make eye contact and talk as if nothing had happened.
Perhaps he is not changing, but returning, so he is changing quickly.
To his past self, who was intelligent and lively.
"Did you co to visit ? Thank you. The seat next to is empty, so please sit here."
"Shall I?"
Although Zhuge Yun tried to sit on the chair, he couldn't.
Because although I couldn't see properly how she had moved, Zhuge Ling had already sat down lightly next to .
"Uh... I'll sit here. Haha."
Zhuge Yun laughed awkwardly and sat in the empty seat next to Senior Brother Uncheol.
Zhuge Ling, who had sat next to , was not looking at but was staring straight ahead.
I couldn't help but let out a small laugh.
She has been showing her interest so openly for a while now, and I'm not so clueless as to not know that.
However, there is one problem...
'The problem is that no matter how pretty she is, I don't see her as a woman.'
It's not that I'm not interested in won.
On the contrary, I can say that I am very interested. In my previous life, whenever I had ti, I road around the martial world and got into fights, so I had no ti for dating or love, and after I opened my eyes again, I was a Taoist of the Wudang Sect...
To be honest, I want to et won and I want to date.
But from my point of view, Zhuge Ling, who has not even reached the age of majority yet, looks too young.
Of course, to others, she might look older than this body, but to , she just looks like a kid...
For now, there is nothing I can do but treat Zhuge Ling well so that she doesn't get her feelings hurt.
"Thank you for the decoction yesterday. Thanks to it, my body feels lighter."
"If it were the Zhuge family, I would have given you sothing better, but the situation was poor..."
"No. That alone was a huge help."
At that ti, a familiar voice was heard from behind us.
"Isn't it thanks to my older brother and father that the Grand Master's body has recovered?"
"Grand Master. Are you awake?"
"You're up. That's a relief. Really."
When I turned my head, the three Nangong siblings were walking towards this side and sat down in the chairs right behind .
Although Nangong Mu-jin and Nangong Ryu-jin's faces were very haggard, it seems they are able to get around sohow.
As expected, the martial arts of the Nangong family are amazing. I have also poured out my energy until I fainted, just as they did before.
At that ti, I think it took three or four days to recover enough to be able to walk.
"I know that there is a separate table for the direct descendants. Why did you co all the way here to sit?"
"My grandfather said that we should sit here because the sword dance will be seen well from here. We will go back to our seats after the sword dance is over."
And those two have been bickering whenever they et since yesterday.
It's not that I can't guess the reason...
I don't know. Anyway, I'm in a situation where I have to part with Nangong Yu-hwa in a few days. If I think too deeply, it will be a headache, so I decided to stop thinking about it.
And so, the preparations for the feast were in their final stages.
Most of the people who were going to co had already co, and the only remaining seats were a few VIP seats.
This feast will first begin with Nangong Sang-hyeon giving his thoughts on turning ninety, and then it will be followed by a banquet where people can eat and drink freely after seeing the sword dance he has prepared.
Therefore, a strange phenonon is unfolding where the more people gather, the quieter it becos.
Everyone here is preparing to concentrate. To concentrate on Nangong Sang-hyeon's sword dance.
"It's been a while. Unhwi."
At that ti, a deep male voice was heard.
It's the Saber King, Peng Jian-hong. It seems he is also participating in today's feast as a VIP.
At the joy of eting him, whom I had not expected, I shouted without thinking, "Uncle Saber King!"
"What?"
"Ah, no. I was just so happy to see you... It's a pleasure to et you. Elder Saber King!"
"Hahaha! I don't even know how long it's been since I've been called 'uncle'. I don't mind it? You can call that if you want."
As befits his magnanimous personality, he laughed heartily and said so, and then he sat down behind with a thud.
After that, when the big shots of the martial world had all taken their seats and there were no empty seats left.
Finally, the Sovereign Sword Emperor's retirent banquet began.
Nangong Sang-hyeon, walking slowly, step by step, from the end of the open space.
He was perfectly dressed from head to toe in a formal robe that he usually didn't wear.
A straight back and a still strong body.
Looking at his form alone, no one would think he was an old man.
Although it would be normal for the start of a feast like this to be noisy, today is different.
It seems that everyone here is concentrating on every single movent and every single breath of the Sovereign Sword Emperor.
Finally, when he reached the center, he opened his mouth.
"Thank you all for taking the trouble to co."
Although it was a low-spoken word, it echoed from one end of this wide square to the other.
He had truly exuded a profound internal energy.
To the point where there were even martial artists who let out a sound of admiration just from that one word.
To be honest, I was more worried than impressed... but fortunately, although it had only been a few days since he had learned the Dynamic Qigong, he seed to be in a body condition that could handle this much.
"Originally, I had a lot I wanted to say. The things I felt while living for ninety years, and the things I wanted to ask and request of you who are opening a new era, and even my feelings ahead of my retirent..."
He slowly looked around the audience, and then his gaze stopped at where I was, and he continued, "But I have decided to skip all of that. Because... this Nangong Sang-hyeon has decided to reverse his retirent and not have a Gold Basin Hand-Washing ceremony."
So began to murmur, and so were in an atmosphere of acceptance.
Because I had ntioned his reversal of retirent while fighting with Ho Baek-gwi yesterday, those who knew would have already known.
"So today, please just think of it as coming to celebrate this Nangong's birthday and enjoy this feast."
After he finished speaking, he drew his sword.
Although he was just holding a single sword, the atmosphere was completely different from before.
Until just a mont ago, I felt a friendliness like a neighborhood grandfather, but now, it was a figure that made understand why he was called the Sovereign Sword Emperor.
"Now I will perform a sword dance, but to confess, I am actually going to show you sothing completely different from what I had prepared a week ago. At that ti, I prepared it from the position of leaving the martial world, but now that I have decided to remain as a part of the martial world, there has been a change in my enlightennt. I hope that by seeing this lacking sword dance, it will be even a speck of help to the growth of you young people, and I will have no regrets."
His sword began to move slowly.
It was a sword dance that began so naturally that I didn't even know when it had started, but I was completely srized by its movents without realizing it.
It's not that he is holding a sword and swinging it and dancing, but it feels as if he himself has beco a single sword.
The Sovereign Sword Emperor's sword dance gave both enlightennt and hope and despair at the sa ti.
The hope that I will also beco like that soday, and the despair that cos from feeling the gap between him and .
However, that despair did not last long.
Because I think I know the real reason why the Sovereign Sword Emperor wanted to show his sword dance to the rising stars.
'He wants to present a target.'
We are all people who are climbing the mountain of martial arts together.
The Sovereign Sword Emperor, as a person who started climbing the mountain before us, wanted to show us where he had planted his flag.
But it was only for a mont that I had such thoughts.
In the end, I forgot everything and was imrsed in the sword dance.
My mind, which was watching his sword dance, gradually beca blank.
(End of Chapter)
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