Chapter 21. Dream Awakening (21)

In fact, there was a very simple reason for it: Si-Hyeon hadn't been told anything about the incident with Baek Sang-Woon, so there was no way she could ask Woo-Moon about it.

Those pretending to have pledged allegiance to her had thoroughly obscured her eyes and ears ever since her father had fallen into a coma and she was temporarily instated as the Leebi Merchant Guild Master. In spite of her earnest desire to live on her own terms, she was looked down upon as a mere pretty figure, and she was nothing more than a puppet under the control of others.

Moments later, as Si-Hyeon was feeding the baby silver tiger, the carriage stopped. The guild had finally arrived at Go-Ryang Pyeong. Woo-Moon looked around, and the sight instantly made him drop the conversation.

They had been traveling along the plains for a long time now, and they had seen no human settlements in the area. However, the normally barren Go-Ryang Pyeong was bustling right now, in spite of being large enough to hold a city.

"How did it come to this?"

Go-Ryang Pyeong's liveliness surprised Si-Hyeon as well, but she soon regained her composure.

"It's probably because of the Palm Martial Emperor Baek Sang-Woon and the Night Spear Devil Gyeong Hong's fame. Their status is simply that great. Thousands of

murim

people normally spread around the

gangho

have gathered to watch their duel; after all, witnessing a match between Absolute Masters first-hand is not something you can do every day. No...forget about that, most people wouldn't be able to see one in their

lifetime

. Of course, it's also natural for merchants to set up shop where people gather."

Si-Hyeon's explanation made Woo-Moon feel strange, since he had some kind of relationship with both Baek Sang-Woon and Gyeong Hong—though what he and Gyeong Hong shared was more of a one-sided favor from the latter. Woo-Moon didn't even get to see his face.

'That No-name guy is also an amazing person. Who should I cheer for?'

"Since our guild will be staying here for two days, you're free to do what you want for now," Si-Hyeon said as Woo-Moon was deep in thought.

"Alright."

'Did the baby silver tiger understand what she was saying?'

The baby silver tiger, who was in Si-Hyeon's arms, jumped off her and went to Woo-Moon.

"What is its name, by the way?"

"I haven't decided yet."

"Really? Then can I give it one?"

"Do you want to? Alright."

"Well... How about Baek-Ah?"

"Is it because it has white fur?"

Si-Hyeon nodded.

"Yes, that's right."

"Then let's go with Eun-Ah instead of Baek-Ah. From what I've heard, its hair color changes to silver as it grows older." [1]

"Oh, really? Alright. It will spend more days with silver fur than white fur, so let's go with Eun-Ah!"

"Eun-Ah... That sounds great. Thank you."

"

Kyaaaaa

." The baby silver tiger purred, seemingly loving its new name. Woo-Moon also liked its meaning, Silver Fang.

"Well then, see you later." With a neat greeting, Si-Hyeon left, as she had to say hello to other giant merchant guilds and clans. She had a lot of tiresome work to do and a lot of tiresome events to attend.

As she walked along with her escort warrior, Jo Mu-Jae, she could only repeat a vow in her heart.

'They better not take me lightly just because I'm a woman. I have to show everyone my abilities and close a deal that'll revive the Leebi Merchant Guild.'

Meanwhile, Woo-Moon had already disappeared before Si-Hyeon even knew it. To her, he was just an unusual employee. She found it easy to talk with him because his gaze was bright and clear. Moreover, whatever he said or did had no bearing on her life, so she had no trouble sharing her thoughts with him.

When the guild arrived, Woo-Moon would have to go to their designated place to eat and sleep. Since there was still some time left, he decided to wander around to get rid of his boredom. The merchants had set up a market already, with many booths along the road selling a variety of things.

As he walked down the path lined with taverns left and right, Woo-Moon blushed. He had just entered a street with red lights on both sides and scantily-dressed women waving at him.

"Hey, young hero! Come play with me! It'll be quite steamy today."

"Girl! I saw him first! Come here, young hero!"

Woo-Moon had only heard of prostitutes before, so he was completely inexperienced in these matters. He simply lowered his head and walked out of the street.

As he exited the red light district, he saw someone he hadn't expected to meet here.

"Woo—"

Woo-Moon excitedly tried to call out to the man in front of him, but his words were cut short.

Members of the Mount Hua Sect passed by in front of him as they headed to an unknown location, looking between the red light district and Woo-Moon with cold and contemptuous eyes.

"Woo...Gang..." Woo-Moon just swallowed the name without being able to keep up.

His younger brother, Song Woo-Gang, who was walking with a Mount Hua Sect swordswoman more beautiful than flowers, turned away from Woo-Moon coldly as if he didn't know him.

However, at that moment, the brilliant youngsters of the Mount Hua Sect suddenly stopped, and their eyes focused somewhere else.

A figure wrapped in black cloth had appeared out of nowhere—the Night Spear Devil Gyeong Hong.

Gyeong Hong casually glanced at them as he walked past them, but the Mount Hua Sect members couldn't act the same way. Unable to even breathe properly, they merely followed Gyeong Hong's movements with their eyes.

'Is this the presence of an Absolute Master? He's truly on the same level as our grandmaster.'

Gyeong Hong didn't bother hiding his energy. In case anything happened, he wanted to be sure that he could respond appropriately.

Woo-Gang initially wanted to ask Gyeong Hong for a few pointers the moment he saw him. As a swordsman, he naturally wanted to test himself against Gyeong Hong, who had reached the apex of spear arts. Not that he had any expectation of winning, but he thought that he would gain a lot of experience from it. However, Gyeong Hong's formidable presence crushed him just like the others and prevented him from speaking up.

Recognized for his talent, Woo-Gang left home and joined the Mount Hua Sect when he was still a child. He then became a disciple of Mount Hua's First Plum Blossom, Jeonbaek, who was a disciple of the Sword Emperor, one of the Eight Emperors of the Heavenly Martial Arts. He had been on a great streak since then and eventually became known as one of the best and most brilliant youngsters of the Mount Hua Sect.

However, in front of Gyeong Hong, one of the Six Rising Challengers, none of that mattered.

Meanwhile, Gyeong Hong was walking past the people of Mount Hua when he suddenly stopped and stared at someone.

Following the Spear Devil's gaze, Woo-Gang had the shock of his life when he noticed what Gyeong Hong was looking at.

His stupid older brother was standing there.

Gyeong Hong found himself right in-between the Righteous Faction and the Evil Faction. No, he was closer to the Evil Faction if anything, considering that his moniker included the word "Devil."

This kind of man was now approaching his older brother, which terrified Woo-Gang. Although he had pretended not to notice his older brother when he was walking out of the red light district, Woo-Gang still cared about him.

'W-what does he want with my older brother? What the hell is the Spear Devil up to?'

Woo-Gang quickly walked toward Woo-Moon and Gyeong Hong, placing his hand on the hilt of his sword.

His foolish older brother had nothing to do with the

gangho

. He was just an ordinary village idiot who'd die with just a swing of Gyeong Hong's hand. The Spear Devil had a reputation for brutally killing countless people, after all.

'I don't think a man like Gyeong Hong, whose fame resonates across the world, would suddenly attack someone who doesn't even know martial arts, but...'

Even though he thought it was impossible, Woo-Gang couldn't even bear thinking of the worst-case scenario. His older brother's blood splattered over and over again in his mind. He knew he wouldn't be able to withstand even just one move from Gyeong Hong, but if the Spear Devil attacked his older brother, Woo-Gang had decided to retaliate immediately, even if it meant his death.

However, what was fortunate for both Woo-Moon and Woo-Gang was the fact that the Absolute Master didn't approach Woo-Moon with evil intentions.

"As expected, you're still alive. Your future is quite promising. Let's have a good fight later."

He used such a quiet tone that the Mount Hua Sect disciples couldn't hear him since they were standing quite a distance away from them. However, what they all knew for sure was that Gyeong Hong had clearly ignored them, yet he had approached the young man who had just come out of the red light district earlier.

After saying his piece, Gyeong Hong returned to his original path.

"Whoa..." Woo-Gang let out a sigh of relief as soon as the tension disappeared. Sweat was dripping from the hand gripping the hilt of his sword.

'That's a relief. Why did the Spear Devil approach my older brother, though? What the hell did he tell him?'

𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

At that moment, Woo-Gang made eye contact with Woo-Moon. This time, Woo-Moon fearfully looked at Woo-Gang, then turned his gaze away.

'How dare you look at me like that? You can't do anything right. Isn't it enough that you've been making Mother and Father worry? You just had to go to the red light district now!'

Woo-Gang was frustrated enough just because of seeing his foolish older brother, and now the man was also coming out of the pleasure street, to boot! Hence, it was only natural for Woo-Gang to pretend he didn't know Woo-Moon.

However, in his anger, Woo-Gang missed two crucial details—he didn't bother to think how the "stupid" Woo-Moon had reached Go-Ryang Pyeong, or why Woo-Moon had such a sharp gaze in his eyes when he was, by all accounts, a fool.

Woo-Gang returned to his room and lay in bed, and only then did he realize his older brother's behavior seemed strange. He didn't want to go to Woo-Moon first and ask him, however, since he had somewhat hurt his pride. The sound of grass bugs annoyed him so much that day that he couldn't sleep well.

And at that same moment, for the same reason, Woo-Moon could not sleep.

'Woo-Gang, that asshole! He ignored me and looked down on me just because I acted like a fool before. Just wait and see. Sooner or later, I'll show you what your older brother is made of. Damn bastard, damn bastard, damn bastard! Cheeky bastard!'

Meeting Gyeong Hong was a great honor. However, that night, it didn't occupy a large part of the two siblings' hearts since they were still fighting for their pride.

After giving up trying to sleep, Woo-Moon got up, took out the

Martial Arts Fundamentals

from his pocket and started going through it. It was a thick book, but it wasn't too difficult to understand, so he had actually managed to finish it in his spare time.

Although there were no special techniques included, the

Martial Arts Fundamentals

was nonetheless a comprehensive guide to all types of martial arts and their basic concepts. As he went through it, Woo-Moon grew interested in palm techniques, fist techniques, lightness techniques, and saber techniques.

'Right now, I know a bit about qi cultivation, swordsmanship, and footwork, but it wouldn't hurt to learn palm techniques and lightness techniques, too.'

Woo-Moon didn't have a master. He wasn't in a position to learn martial arts from anyone.

At that moment, a brilliant idea popped into his mind.

'Why don't I create another martial art based on the Gentle Celestial Sword?'

It seemed fun. When he changed the direction of his thinking, things went smoothly.

'For some reason, the Raging Wind seems to go well with palm techniques. What if I use the Raging Wind with my palm? I'll call it the Raging Wind Palm. It's perfect. And with the Heavy Rain... A kick? No... I think a punch would be a better fit for it. I'll call the combination the Heavy Rain Fist.'

Excited, Woo-Moon started formulating the Raging Wind Palm and the Heavy Rain Fist in his mind while thinking of the basic martial arts described in the

Martial Arts Fundamentals

. He worked on the two new techniques until the sun had almost come up, but in the end, he failed to complete them.

In both cases, the last step was the problem. They made sense overall, but they clearly had flaws in critical places. Moreover, he couldn't fix these flaws no matter how much he tried to.

After wrestling for a while with this seemingly unsolvable problem, Woo-Moon forced himself to sleep, thinking that he wouldn't even be able to see the duel properly if he didn't sleep.

The next day dawned.

The time had come for the Palm Martial Emperor and the Night Spear Devil's duel. From the early morning, people started gathering around a large open space at the center of Go-Ryang Pyeong.

As soon as Woo-Moon opened his eyes, he first cultivated for a bit, then went through some mental training exercises before heading to the arena of Go-Ryang Pyeong.

In the distance, he could see the martial artists of Mount Hua sitting on comfortable seats.

1. Baek (? / 白) means "white," Eun (? / 銀) "silver," and Ah (? / 牙) "fang." ☜