Ghostly Sword, Noea (Thunder Fang).
It was a renowned sword under heaven called the Thunder Fang, and one of the most famous ghostly artifacts.
It was the cherished sword of none other than Namgung Myeong—the Thunder Sky Single Sword, hero of the Namgung Clan who had saved the world during the Blood Calamity—so it was only natural.
Moreover, Noea was a sword that held great meaning for me as well.
Because it was also the sword wielded by the Demonic Sword Empress, Namgung Bia.
Because of that, I had been able to observe Noea quite closely. Though I had never touched it directly, as the Demonic Sword Empress never let me handle it.
The blade exuded a mysterious atmosphere to the point of appearing transparent, yet it was an enigmatic sword possessing absolute, unbreakable hardness.
Not only that, there was one thing that showed a distinct difference from other swords, but—
That wasn’t important right now, so I would move past it.
What was important here.
Was that Noea, the ghostly artifact and, in a sense, symbol of the Namgung Clan, had ended up in the hands of a martial artist of the Wudang Sect.
Wudang Eccentric Immortal, Gyodo.
He was the current owner of Noea, the ghostly artifact of the Namgung Clan.
As Uhyeok said, he was indeed a famous figure.
Originally a Taoist of the Wudang main mountain, for some reason he was known to wander throughout the Central Plains.
He was also quite famous as a benevolent immortal. There was a story often heard: at the time when an uncontrollable Demon Gate ran rampant and demon beasts assaulted a village—
the Wudang Eccentric Immortal, who happened to be staying there, slew all the demon beasts, saved the villagers, then vanished without a trace.
Conversely, the reason the mysterious character ‘gwi’ (eccentric/strange) was included in the nickname of a man called a Taoist was the bizarre behavior he frequently displayed.
He would suddenly talk to himself and fly into a rage, or abruptly visit a merchant group he had no connection with and turn the place upside down.
He would swing his sword at the empty air alone and turn his surroundings into a wasteland, and so forth. Because he committed far too many acts that ordinary people could not understand—
people began calling him Gwiseon when they saw him.
One could see he was indeed a benevolent immortal through his good deeds, yet separate from that, he was a martial artist no one wished to get close to because of his incomprehensible actions.
That was precisely the kind of person Wudang Eccentric Immortal Gyodo was.
But.
‘That man was the Hidden Dragon’s master?’
This was a story I hadn’t known even in my previous life. Not only had the Hidden Dragon never told me, but it wasn’t even a story circulating throughout the Central Plains.
“Ah, I wasn’t going to tell you this.”
It was quite a shock to me who heard it. Uhyeok, who had let it slip, also repeatedly sighed as if he felt awkward.
“He’s a master you’d be ashamed to brag about anywhere, you see.”
Only after hearing Uhyeok’s trailing words could I understand the reason, if only a little.
…So that was why he had kept it a secret? Because he was ashamed…?
It was indeed a shameful story to give as a reason anywhere, but still.
“But… you’re saying you’ll go to Sichuan to find that kind of master?”
“It’s not like I have anywhere to stay if I go outside. Having the excuse of staying with my master is the best option.”
Indeed. The Wudang Eccentric Immortal was someone half-abandoned by Wudang, but he still belonged to the Wudang Sect.
If Uhyeok said he was going out to stay with his master, it would provide a certain justification.
“…So you’re saying you’ll come with me to Sichuan since you’re going anyway?”
“Isn’t it great? Between friends!”
“What do you mean, between friends? There are so many people coming with us already.”
We hadn’t properly discussed the details yet, but from the moment I chose to travel to Sichuan, there were quite a few people who would be coming along.
I had already finished talking with Paejon.
Regarding this, Paejon had said it was fine since he happened to have business in Sichuan as well.
Pae Ucheol had suggested going to his own clan together in the past, so we could stop by on the way.
Moreover.
If Dang Soyeol’s main family was the Dang Clan, called the rulers of Sichuan, then if he accompanied us…
‘Wait, then will the Poison King come with us too…?’
Thinking about this sent an involuntary chill down my spine, but it couldn’t be helped.
Whether by coincidence or inevitability, right now was the perfect time to head to Sichuan.
The Divine Dragon Hall had also decided to close temporarily due to an unexpected incident.
This was because the graduation period had been moved up significantly.
The next incident I was keeping an eye on would occur in about two to three years from now.
If possible, I had to raise my strength even further before then.
Having now ascended to the Transformation Realm as well, what I had to prioritize was—
‘Obtaining the White Demon Stone first.’
It was a demon stone dropped by a white demon, the highest grade among demon beasts.
I had known of its existence and location for a long time, but had kept it until I reached the realm where I could best absorb it.
In this era where, at best, only blue-grade demon beasts appeared, the existence of a White Demon Stone was an extremely precious thing.
Moreover, when a demon beast died, the demon stone that emerged from its body would usually lose its energy not long after.
Yet the White Demon Stone I sought had maintained its energy despite the passage of a long time.
I didn’t really know the principle behind it.
What mattered was that the energy contained within such a White Demon Stone was so vast that it could not even be compared to any elixir.
To me, who could absorb the energy of such a demon stone, the White Demon Stone would be the greatest elixir in the world.
Although I had reached the Transformation Realm, because I had arrived at a considerably incomplete Transformation Realm, now was the time I had to obtain the White Demon Stone all the more.
That was why I was deliberately heading to Sichuan in the current situation where I still had time left.
In that sense, whether Uhyeok accompanied me or not didn’t matter as long as there was no harm.
“I need to get permission first. For now, our family head won’t allow it…”
“Ah, the Gu family head has already given his permission.”
“…What?”
I was stunned for a moment by Uhyeok’s words.
Father gave permission?
“When?”
“Huh? I asked yesterday when you came after fainting.”
“…”
From Uhyeok’s words, I could tell that the duel with my father had taken place last night.
“He gave permission…?”
“Huh? Yeah.”
“How?”
“What do you mean, how? I just asked if I couldn’t go with you on the way, and he said it was fine…”
It was funny that Uhyeok had asked my father about this so openly.
It was also bewildering that my father had said it was fine just because he asked.
“So it’s fine, right?”
“…Well… whatever… do as you please…”
Since there was no justification to refuse further, I eventually said it was fine.
If problems arose, he would deal with them himself.
‘This is actually a good thing too.’
Though I had grumbled that he couldn’t come, now that I had heard Uhyeok’s purpose, it wasn’t a bad thing.
Namely, the fact that he was going to see the Wudang Eccentric Immortal.
‘So things have turned out this way.’
I had business with the Wudang Eccentric Immortal anyway.
To be exact, it would be more accurate to say I had business with Noea.
Hwang Abulyeong had once said.
—“Find Namgung Myeong.”
These words meant that Namgung Myeong also had his soul residing in this world, and
moreover, around the time I headed toward the Namgung Clan, I had also heard the voice of a figure who seemed to be Namgung Myeong.
The words he had spoken were precisely:
‘Find Noea.’
He had told me to find Noea, his beloved sword.
I didn’t know what it meant, but I could tell it was related to Old Man Shin.
‘The problem is that Old Man Shin himself isn’t appearing.’
That old man kept disappearing and not showing up. It was truly frustrating.
Anyway… at the point where I had to find Noea,
if Uhyeok had to go see the Wudang Eccentric Immortal, it wasn’t a bad thing.
Because it meant I could take care of matters all at once during this Sichuan trip, including Noea.
After thinking it through, I spoke to Uhyeok.
“I’ll go with you on one condition.”
“A condition? What condition?”
The moment Uhyeok expressed doubt, I told him the condition.
“If we go to Sichuan, introduce me to your master.”
“…Huh?”
“Then let’s go together.”
Uhyeok’s face contorted upon hearing my words.
It was the first time I had seen him make such a face.
For some reason, he seemed extremely reluctant to introduce me, but I had no intention of backing down on this point either.
Uhyeok hesitated for a long while, then finally nodded, as if resigning himself to the inevitable.
The deal was struck.
******************
After finishing my conversation with Uhyeok.
Since there was nothing more to discuss, I grabbed Uhyeok and threw him out the window.
The building looked quite tall, but I knew someone of his level wouldn’t die from this, so it didn’t matter.
I remember him screaming that I should at least give him his outer clothes while he was being thrown, but—
He would figure it out.
Amidst it all, I felt refreshed.
In my previous life, no matter how much the Hidden Dragon acted up, I couldn’t do anything about it and it infuriated me, but now I could handle him like this.
Creak.
I left the room and came down the stairs. My destination was, of course, where my father was.
“Hmm?”
As I descended, I saw Gu Huibi climbing up the stairs in the distance.
She seemed to be returning after finishing her morning training.
She really never skipped her training and kept at it diligently, it seemed.
I looked at her, wondering if I should offer a morning greeting, but Gu Huibi burst out laughing with a “pfft” the moment she saw my face.
“What?”
“Why are you laughing the moment you see someone’s face? It’s offensive.”
“Kh… khhk… No… hahaha!”
She even laughed louder, as if she couldn’t hold it in.
“What are you doing?”
“Haha… Ah… little brother, what’s with your face?”
“My face?”
“Your eye… khhk… where did you get hit?”
At Gu Huibi’s words, I touched my eye with my hand.
Then a throbbing pain flashed through.
Why did the area around my eye hurt so much… Ah.
“Your eye is all black and blue. You look hilarious.”
“…”
So that’s what it was—the injury from being hit by my father. Did that mean it had bruised?
Gu Huibi was laughing so hard she clutched her stomach.
“Who did you get hit by? Tell this sister and I’ll scold them for you.”
“The family head.”
“…”
“Why aren’t you answering? You said you’d scold them, sister.”
At my words, Gu Huibi averted her gaze.
She had said she would scold the one who hit me, but it seemed this wasn’t what she’d had in mind.
I almost laughed at that reaction for a moment, but decided to let it go.
“Forget it… where is the family head?”
“…The training ground.”
“The training ground?”
Honestly, I had suspected as much, and it seemed my guess was right.
As I passed by Gu Huibi and tried to walk away, she called out to me.
“Little brother.”
“Hm?”
“Did something happen with the family head?”
“Can’t you tell? I got hit.”
“…Not that.”
She had teased me about my bruised eye just moments ago, and now she was asking if something happened? It was absurd.
“Then why?”
“No, it’s just… the family head seemed oddly happy, that’s all.”
“What does the family head being happy have to do with me…?”
“Never mind, then.”
Without giving a proper answer, Gu Huibi went up first.
I watched her back with a strange look, then moved my feet as well.
My destination was the training ground.
An open area behind the inn.
Since this was Henan, where martial artists often stayed, it felt like an open area had been remodeled into a training ground.
There should have been other martial artists here as well, but that didn’t seem to be the case, likely because Lady Mi had rented out the entire inn.
Moreover, even if there had been martial artists here to begin with, I wondered how many could endure the heat emanating from this place.
‘It’s sweltering.’
The moment I set foot in the open area, the heat was so intense it felt suffocating.
At the heat drawn out by the internal energy, I immediately identified the owner of the heat.
Sure enough, it was my father.
The heat gradually subsided.
It seemed my father had recognized me.
The fluttering robe settled, and my father, having fully retracted his internal energy, turned around to confirm it was me and opened his mouth.
“You’re awa… hm.”
“…?”
Upon seeing my face, my father cut short what he was saying and pressed his lips tightly together.
I could see his eyebrows twitching. Could it be—
‘…Is he holding back laughter?’
Anyone else, sure. But the very person who made my eye like this?
“You’re awake.”
“Just laugh.”
“…What do you mean?”
He was trying to play dumb now.
But it was a far too delayed reaction for that.