If one were to name the changes that had taken place in the Central Plains over the past year,
there were several major ones.
The first was the destruction of the Black Night Palace.
The exact details had not been announced.
But word had spread throughout the Central Plains that the Martial Alliance and the Gu Clan had joined forces to drive out the Black Night Palace,
and many people welcomed the disappearance of the Black Night Palace, once one of the great powers of the Unorthodox Faction.
However.
Why the Martial Alliance had suddenly engaged the Black Night Palace in battle,
and why the clan that had participated in it happened to be the Gu Clan,
had not been revealed in detail.
Moreover, although the Black Night Palace had fallen,
the details of what had become of the other martial artists of the Black Night Palace,
including the Black Night Palace Lord, the master of that faction,
were still unknown.
But simply because the Alliance had said so,
and because the Beggars’ Sect had spread the news as well,
people believed it.
After all, the destruction of an Unorthodox Faction was a good thing.
Whatever story lay behind it,
it was not particularly important to anyone else.
The second was the return of the Plum Blossom Sword Empress.
The heroine of the Central Plains, the Plum Blossom Sword Empress, who had vanished without a trace and remained missing for the past several years, had revealed herself once more.
Even in the same beautiful and powerful form as before.
As for why the Sword Empress had not shown herself until now,
Mount Hua had offered the incomprehensible explanation:
“It was her choice, and we merely respect it.”
The Sword Empress, for her part, had seemed to accept this as well.
Furthermore, just as had always been the case with the Mount Hua Sect,
even if they made some rather unusual statements, people tended to let them pass without much fuss.
Besides, the conclusion was simply that the Sword Empress had returned.
The third was the issue surrounding the Martial Arts Tournament held last time.
As for what the issue was,
it was because the Six Dragons and Three Phoenixes, known as the center and leading figures of the current younger generation, had mostly failed to attend the tournament.
The Dragon-Phoenix Assembly was attended by dozens, sometimes hundreds, of young martial artists.
It had been an unspoken rule that the dragons and phoenixes of the current generation attend the annual banquet.
Yet not only had half of them failed to attend the year before last,
last year had been even worse.
Perhaps because they truly were the most outstanding dragons and phoenixes in history,
each with a will of their own.
The Hidden Dragon had sent word that the journey was too far and tiring, so he would not attend,
while the Sword Phoenix had sent a letter saying that she was too busy with work.
The Snow Phoenix, too, had conveyed that she would be unable to attend due to clan affairs,
and Mount Hua had announced in the Sword Dragon’s stead that he had gained enlightenment while training and entered closed-door cultivation.
The Fighting Dragon and True Dragon had not even sent letters.
As a result, the only dragon and phoenix to attend the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly had been the Thunder Dragon and Poison Phoenix.
A rising star who had reaped great gains from the Martial Arts Tournament the year before last had participated as well,
but most people said there was little meaning in holding a festival with all its jewels missing.
‘Thanks to that, it looks like everyone’s going to be dragged to this year’s Dragon-Phoenix Assembly.’
Still, what did they mean, only two? Just two.
It wasn’t as if I had any right to say that when I hadn’t even sent a letter, but I hadn’t expected only two of them to go.
‘…I should have realized something when Moyong Hui-a said she wouldn’t be going either.’
There was a good chance the reason the Snow Phoenix had not gone was because of me,
but I hadn’t expected the others to stay away as well.
Because of that, and because of the Martial Alliance’s position, the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly would probably be held under coercion this year.
‘Even so, I don’t think I’ll be going.’
Coercion or no coercion, since when had the Gu Clan cared about such things?
Rustle.
When I opened the entrance to the tent and stepped out, I felt the faint fragrance peculiar to dawn.
It seemed the sun had risen only recently.
“Mmm…”
At that moment, a sound that tickled my ears came from the far end of the barracks.
I turned my head toward the culprit.
“…When did she crawl in here again?”
The person curled up asleep in the corner was undoubtedly Namgung Bi-a.
I had even fed her dinner last night and sent her back to her own tent.
So why was Namgung Bi-a here?
‘…’
Even as I thought it ridiculous, I had half given up by now.
It wasn’t as if this was the first or second time she had done something like this.
“…Wake her up in a little while.”
The only thing I could do was stop Hong Wa as she passed by and ask her to wake Namgung Bi-a.
“Oh my…!”
Hong Wa peered into the tent at my words.
Then she looked at me with an expression that seemed to say, She’s here again?
But there was no way I could provide an answer to such a look.
“I saw Miss Moyong leave earlier… I didn’t know Miss Namgung was here too…”
“What?”
“Pardon?”
“Moyong… She left from here?”
“Yes…”
“Then why didn’t I know?”
Moyong Hui-a had left my tent?
When had she come in, and when had she left?
‘No, do they really think they’re cats? Why do they come in whenever they please?’
Anyone would think they had nowhere else to sleep.
‘This is ridiculous.’
The finest tent in this area belonged to none other than Moyong Hui-a.
My tent was somewhat large,
but it was still only an ordinary tent at best.
As a blood relative, I was allowed to sleep alone and was not required to stand watch.
Aside from that, the bed and the condition of the tent were nothing special.
It didn’t really matter to me, since I could sleep perfectly well even on bare ground.
‘Namgung Bi-a I can understand, if I make a hundred concessions. But what’s Moyong Hui-a’s excuse?’
Namgung Bi-a had been subtly stealing my bed and pretending not to notice as she slept there ever since long ago.
Even if I made a hundred concessions and let that pass,
I had no idea why Moyong Hui-a had started coming and going as well.
‘Doesn’t it bother her?’
Moyong Hui-a was finicky to an extraordinary degree.
I couldn’t understand why she would go out of her way to come to a tent like this.
“Have I not been giving her enough heat?”
But that wasn’t it.
I had been giving it to her faithfully once a week.
Furthermore, unlike before, she seemed to be receiving increasingly more heat each time.
It had reached the point where I wondered if Moyong Hui-a’s constitution was nearly recovered.
‘Looking at how much color has returned to her face lately, that may really be the case.’
It had returned almost too well.
Her skin had once been close to pallid,
but now it was pale skin filled with vitality. She must have improved considerably.
‘Lately, it also seems like there’s some heat circulating through her body.’
Wouldn’t that mean she was practically cured?
No, that couldn’t be it.
If she were fully recovered, why would she still come to receive the heat?
In any case.
I left Hong Wa behind and began walking toward Moyong Hui-a.
I wanted to find out why she had been coming to my tent,
but as I walked, I saw someone trudging toward me from far away.
That someone was Gu Jeolyeop.
Perhaps Gu Jeolyeop noticed me as well, because he flinched.
Then he subtly tried to change direction.
Look at this bastard.
“Where are you going?”
“…!”
“We made eye contact. Where do you think you’re going?”
At my words, Gu Jeolyeop approached me bit by bit with a thoroughly miserable expression.
It seemed he no longer bothered hiding his feelings.
That guy had changed quite a lot.
Good. I liked it.
“…I pay my respects to Young Master Il.”
“Yes, I pay my respects to the great Hero Yeolhyeop Sword as well. Have you been well?”
“Ugh…”
Gu Jeolyeop swallowed a groan at my heavily teasing words.
When he had first heard his nickname, he had been so pleased with it.
“Where are you coming from?”
“I just finished my shift and am heading back to rest.”
Looking at him, it seemed he had been standing watch and was now returning.
I listened quietly, then nodded.
“Then you can go train with me.”
“Pardon?”
“You said you have time now. Don’t you?”
I had been on my way to see Moyong Hui-a,
but I could visit her later.
Gu Jeolyeop continued speaking with an increasingly flustered expression.
“But, Young Master Il…?”
“Yes.”
“I just told you that I finished standing watch and am on my way back…”
“I heard you. I heard you clearly.”
“…Then what did you mean just now?”
“I said that since you’ve finished standing watch, you have plenty of time now.”
“How does that follow?”
“What are you going to do when you get back?”
“…I intend to sleep.”
Of course. Once you finished standing watch, you should sleep.
But I had a somewhat different opinion.
“Are you planning never to sleep again after that?”
“Pardon?”
“You can sleep even after you’re dead.”
At my words, Gu Jeolyeop wrinkled his face as if I were spouting absolute nonsense.
But I had already made up my mind.
“Or should I let you sleep forever? I’m pretty good at that.”
At my words, spoken with a bright smile,
I watched Gu Jeolyeop’s expression crumple even further, until it seemed impossible for it to become any more distorted.
******************
Time passed through dawn and reached noon,
and I was finally able to bring our lightly begun training to a rough close.
Thud!
A heavy sound fell in the middle of the forest,
and—
Fwoosh!
The birds that had been hiding silently in the trees took flight, their cries echoing through the woods.
It was the sound of me setting down the boulder I had been carrying.
“Huff… haaah…”
Gu Jeolyeop lay spread-eagled on the ground, panting for breath.
His martial uniform was already soaked through with sweat,
and his hands and feet trembled violently. He seemed to have suffered quite a bit.
Watching him, I casually threw down the boulder I had been carrying as well.
Boom!
It made a sound twice as loud as the one when Gu Jeolyeop had set his down.
That was only natural, considering the boulder I had been carrying was already twice as large.
Unlike Gu Jeolyeop, who looked like a drenched mouse,
I had only gathered a moderate sheen of sweat across my forehead.
Looking at Gu Jeolyeop, who appeared to be on the verge of death, I asked,
“You lasted through the whole thing today?”
“Huff… huff, huff…”
He seemed to want to answer,
but he didn’t appear to be in any condition to do so.
I examined Gu Jeolyeop’s body from one side to the other and nodded.
‘His vessel seems almost ready.’
As a martial artist, Gu Jeolyeop’s vessel was more or less prepared for him to rise to the Peak Realm.
Well, it would have been strange if it weren’t, after I had worked him to the bone for an entire year.
‘At this rate, he’ll break through before summer ends.’
For a martial artist to break through a wall, they needed internal energy capable of penetrating the middle dantian,
but more than anything, the body had to be able to endure the process.
Of course, it was also possible to break through without the body collapsing if one possessed the strength to control one’s internal energy to an extreme degree.
Namgung Bi-a and Gu Hui-bi were examples.
Even if the vessel of their bodies was not fully prepared,
they could still break through by relying on their innate talents.
‘He could do it too, if he wanted.’
Gu Jeolyeop was talented enough to be called a genius in his own right.
So in a sense, this method was possible for him as well.
But for the sake of safety, and to make his foundation more solid in the future, it was important to build the body first.
‘A shortcut like the one I took isn’t very good in the long run.’
That was why I worked him over whenever I saw him.
And yet, without understanding the feelings of this kind older brother, the bastard tried to avoid me every time he saw me. It was truly irritating.
“Come to think of it, that’s annoying… Should I increase your training time?”
“Eek…?”
“This is all because your big brother wants you to improve.”
Technically, Gu Jeolyeop was older than me, but he didn’t seem to care much about that either.
Perhaps he kept quiet because he was afraid I would hit him if he argued.
In any case.
‘If I push him any further, he really will die, won’t he?’
If I made him train a little longer here,
Gu Jeolyeop might genuinely lose his mind.
So for now, I decided to let it go.
“It’s a shame, but I suppose that’s enough for today.”
At my words, Gu Jeolyeop let out a long breath of relief.
Could a martial artist really be that happy about taking a break from training?
‘I used to hate training to an absurd degree myself.’
So this was one matter where I wasn’t exactly in a position to criticize Gu Jeolyeop.
I watched Gu Jeolyeop relax in relief, then added one more thing.
“Oh, Big Sister said she plans to train with you later.”
“…Pardon? What do you mean?”
“That’s all. I’m leaving first.”
“Young, Young Master!”
Gu Jeolyeop called out to me desperately, but I had no intention of stopping.
The reason he looked so desperate was probably because training with Gu Hui-bi was far more grueling than training with me.
Gu Hui-bi was the type to work someone until they were literally on the verge of death.
Gu Jeolyeop knew that too, which was why he called out to me as if begging to be saved.
Unfortunately, since it was already past noon, I had something I needed to do.
‘If I was going to put him through this once more later, maybe I should have gone a little easier on him.’
That thought crossed my mind briefly.
‘Well, he’ll endure it somehow.’
Trusting Gu Jeolyeop wholeheartedly, I erased the thought from my mind.
Hang in there, Gu Jeolyeop.