Chapter 325. Through the Eyes of the Zaha Scholar
Suspecting that something might have happened during the night, I ate breakfast early and went out for a walk.
It was just a hunch.
I had meant to take a turn around the vast Murim Alliance, go as far as the Alliance Leader’s Hall, then come back, but my walk ended at the sparring platform.
Because someone was lying on the sparring platform.
A corpse?
I approached the platform and checked the person lying there.
“Alliance Leader.”
Im Sobaek, lying with one arm under his head as a pillow, answered.
“You’re here?”
“What are you doing?”
“I couldn’t sleep, so I lay down here. Like camping out.”
“Good thing it didn’t rain.”
I climbed onto the sparring platform, looked down at Im Sobaek dozing there, then sat nearby.
His face did not look good.
Judging from his stubbly beard and complexion, it seemed he had stayed up all night and then come out here to lie down. If he fell asleep here, the alliance members would wake him up anyway. This was the Murim Alliance, and he was a man of profound martial skill, so he likely had no need for guards, but he looked as if he needed some guarding of the mind.
“Were you rather unsettled after the Chief Strategist came to see you?”
“I was.”
“What did he say?”
“He said he wasn’t the leader of the scholars.”
“It would be odd for the Hundred Schools of Thought to appoint an overall head. I thought perhaps he was a leader in some other sense.”
“It seems there was a private gathering, and since he created it, he must have been the leader there.”
“Did you give him a proper scolding?”
“He was once my superior.”
“Now he is your subordinate. You should have slapped him across the face a few times.”
Im Sobaek answered with a laugh.
“He wasn’t the sort to be slapped. As we talked, it became difficult to keep my emotions in check, so I told him to retire.”
“When one grows old, retirement is only right.”
“I am old, and you will grow old someday too.”
“Then one should retire and live a new life. Paint pictures, learn an instrument, plant flowers, create martial arts, teach disciples—there are many things to do. Since he must have lived only in the Alliance, he should learn a little about life outside as well.”
“You mean the Chief Strategist?”
“Yes.”
From what I had heard alone, it was difficult to grasp what kind of man Gongson Sim was. However, seeing Im Sobaek this exhausted, I could tell he was someone the Alliance Leader had relied on a great deal.
Only then did Im Sobaek open his eyes.
“The previous Alliance Leader learned a martial art that conceals one’s presence, and the Chief Strategist had learned it as well. It was absurd that the previous Alliance Leader and the Chief Strategist had learned a martial art fit for thieves. I couldn’t determine his exact level of martial skill. Well, it had always been that way. You only know once you fight.”
“No, there’s even a杂 sort of martial art like that? It suits the title Sword God terribly poorly.”
“Exactly. Before he was the Sword God, was he a great thief? It seems he inherited Dao Zhi’s true legacy or something. It would have been a convenient martial art for slipping in and out of the Alliance as he pleased. Come to think of it, the previous Alliance Leader’s lightness skill was also remarkably outstanding.”
“Who is Dao Zhi?”
“An ancient bandit. One who commanded as many as nine thousand subordinates.”
“At that level, he was an Alliance Leader-class figure of the jianghu.”
“You advised me to form an alliance with the scholars, but for now I told them all to leave the Alliance. I didn’t ask in detail, but I became worried that alliance members may have died all this time because they were entangled in matters related to the scholars. If that is the case, then it is right for all of them to leave.”
“That is true.”
Im Sobaek looked at me and asked.
“What is?”
“They have to leave first before you can form an alliance. They should come to their senses a little too. Only by seeing the outside world with their own eyes will they be able to properly understand their own lives and the Murim Alliance. An old man like that is better off retiring.”
“Mm.”
“In truth, there is something more important than whether one is a scholar or not.”
“What is it?”
“Whether one knows shame, or does not.”
“That is true.”
“There are cases where a person’s affiliation is decided from birth. If the father is a mountain bandit, the child is a mountain bandit too. There are fellows like me who think an inn is home. Some are born into Demonic Dao families, and some, if they are fortunate, are born as heirs to prestigious clans.”
“And there are people like me who become the Murim Alliance Leader despite not being born to a martial family.”
“Yes. There are also people like the Sword Demon, who were kidnapped when they were young. In the end, once you grow older, the time comes when you must decide your own fate for yourself. Just as the Sword Demon fled the Demon Cult. I always thought that choice was magnificent. Isn’t it wonderful just to imagine? The feelings he must have had when he escaped the Demon Cult… He must only then have learned what freedom was.”
“For the Chief Strategist, that time has come now. When was it for you?”
“When my home burned down and I had nowhere to go.”
“What did you do?”
“It isn’t something I should say to the Murim Alliance Leader, but first, I killed every last bastard who set the fire.”
Im Sobaek let out a hollow laugh.
“Reflect on your actions.”
“Yes.”
“Is that the face of someone reflecting?”
“To be honest, I am not.”
“Sect Leader, place your hand on your heart and think calmly.”
“Yes.”
“When, exactly, did I become such a wicked bastard… I suppose you could call it the root. Or the beginning. When did you become so vicious?”
“I will search my memory.”
“Do.”
“It was probably from the moment I became capable of thought. In my case, even before I learned to walk, I grew up listening to drunkards barking nonsense and spouting bullshit. When I saw those bastards, even at that young age, I thought I wanted to beat them senseless.”
“You were quite mature.”
“That’s right.”
“Then as soon as you grew a little, did you go around beating up drunkards?”
“Of course not. How could I beat them when they were all carrying blades? For the time being, I would pretend to listen to the drunkards and nod my head, while inwardly thinking of beating them up with the Divided Mind Art (分心功). From long ago, my outside and inside were different. I had no manners.”
“Haha.”
Only then did Im Sobaek get up and roll his neck this way and that.
I asked Im Sobaek.
“Alliance Leader, your body and mind are exhausted. Can you beat the Sword Emperor in that state? If you are not in good condition, I will face him first today. Go take a nap.”
“Well now, you’ll take on the Sword Emperor…?”
“Yes.”
“I appreciate the words, but I have already devised a strategy. I intend to make it so the Sword Emperor has no choice but to admit defeat without saying a word. He’ll return to the Namgung clan and do nothing but sigh deeply. I don’t even need the title of Sword Emperor… I wonder whether that fellow will truly cut off his balls.”
I burst into laughter as well, clutching my forehead and cackling.
“…Ah, because I spoke carelessly. This is a duel between emperors, yet because of me, its dignity has fallen greatly. Please tell me what strategy you have in mind.”
“You’ll know when you see it. The method’s so simple there’s nothing impressive about it.”
By then, spectators were slowly gathering from all directions, and only then did Im Sobaek get up and loosen his body.
He hadn’t eaten or slept, and yet life was gradually returning to his face. Then he stretched lazily, sat down in the Alliance Leader’s seat of honor where he had originally been sitting, tilted his head back, and began to doze.
‘He’s doing all kinds of things.’
The Alliance Leader really did have an extraordinary stubborn streak.
I came down from the sparring stage and sat as well, and perhaps because I’d eaten a lot for breakfast, sleep started stealing over me.
* * *
When I opened my eyes after a short nap, the audience had already gathered in droves. Beside me, the Ghost Demon said,
“You said you were going for a walk, so why are you sleeping here?”
Before I could answer, the Sword Demon asked me,
“Why is the Alliance Leader sleeping his ass off over there?”
When I looked toward the seat of honor, Gongson Wol was just waking the Alliance Leader and speaking with him. I yawned like a tiger, then first spouted whatever nonsense came to mind.
“We came up with a bit of a strategy.”
“What strategy?”
“You’ll know when you see it. Now the Alliance Leader’s going to beat the Sword Emperor to his heart’s content.”
The Lust Demon said,
“The Alliance Leader should be stronger than him to begin with, so why would he come up with a strategy with you? Refrain from spouting bullshit so early in the morning.”
I stared at the Lust Demon, then abruptly raised my right hand, and the Lust Demon hurriedly assumed a guarding posture.
I lowered my hand and said,
“You’ve grown a lot. Trying to get smacked first thing in the morning, are you? A pants-shitter needs to be beaten once every three days.”
I suddenly shouted,
“Hey, you pants-shitting bastard!”
When the spectators flinched in surprise and looked this way, the Lust Demon grimaced with his whole face and spoke as if telling me to stop.
“Ah, all right. Sorry. I was wrong. Stop it.”
Gongson Wol appeared on the sparring stage and slowly looked around as if searching for someone. I followed Gongson Wol’s gaze and looked around, then realized the White-Robed Scholar and his party were nowhere nearby.
Gongson Wol said,
“Today, we will continue the sparring from yesterday. Before that, the Alliance Leader has said he will designate an opponent. Alliance Leader?”
Im Sobaek looked at the Sword Emperor of the Namgung clan.
“Sword Emperor.”
The Sword Emperor gave a slight nod and answered in a curt tone.
“Speak.”
Im Sobaek answered in an even more curt tone.
“Come up.”
“…….”
Seeing it like this, it seemed Im Sobaek intended to take out his anger on the Sword Emperor. When the Sword Emperor came up onto the sparring stage, Im Sobaek also stood.
As Im Sobaek walked toward the sparring stage, he spoke to the Alliance members below.
“Don’t bring the wooden swords up. Throw them from there.”
Whose order was it that they would dare refuse? Though it was a somewhat absurd command, the Alliance member immediately threw a wooden sword to the Alliance Leader.
Im Sobaek snatched the wooden sword flying toward him, then jerked his chin at the Alliance member.
This time, the Alliance member threw a wooden sword to the Sword Emperor as well.
The Sword Emperor caught the wooden sword with a dumbfounded expression.
“Ha… Alliance Leader Im, why are you being so discourteous?”
Im Sobaek looked at the Sword Emperor.
“Go look for courtesy at the Namgung clan. Is catching a wooden sword thrown at you so difficult? We’re not performing ancestral rites here. I’m ready, so come at me.”
Without taking any stance, Im Sobaek looked at the Sword Emperor while holding the wooden sword.
“…….”
Suddenly, the Sword Demon watching beside me let out a faint laugh. I deliberately asked again.
“Eldest Brother, why are you laughing?”
The Sword Demon looked around at us, then explained in sign language. He struck his palm once with the edge of his hand, then made a sign as if something had snapped cleanly. It seemed he wanted to say the wooden sword would break with a single strike. Since the surroundings were quiet, he had shown it in sign language.
The three of us nodded.
Especially in my case, I had already seen Eldest Brother’s wooden sword break at Oksu Mountain Villa, so I understood even better what he meant.
I looked at the sparring stage.
‘Is he going to break it first and start from there?’
The Sword Emperor stared at Im Sobaek, who was standing still, and slowly moved left and right. Im Sobaek blatantly moved his head this way and that as he looked at the Sword Emperor. It was a simple motion of the head, but it was so absurd that even the people watching could feel their tempers rise a little.
The Sword Emperor announced his attack.
“I’m coming.”
“Come.”
As Im Sobaek nodded…….
The Sword Emperor’s form vanished, and the trajectory of the wooden sword falling toward Im Sobaek’s head became visible. With a simple movement, Im Sobaek struck aside the wooden sword descending from above and moved several steps quickly.
A thwack rang out…….
The Sword Emperor looked at Im Sobaek with only the hilt of the wooden sword in his hand.
“……!”
Im Sobaek, who had opened distance in preparation for a counterattack, glared at the Sword Emperor. The Sword Emperor’s expression was filled with the emotion of, How in the world did this happen?
This looked like Im Sobaek had properly executed the Six-Battle Great Sword.
Im Sobaek said to the Alliance member,
“……Throw a wooden sword to the Sword Emperor.”
“Yes, Alliance Leader.”
The Sword Emperor again caught the intact wooden sword that flew up from below the sparring stage.
Im Sobaek said to the Sword Emperor in a cold tone,
“Continue.”
In an instant, the Sword Emperor’s aura changed completely, and the second round began. This time, as if he intended to unleash a special technique without delay, he charged in while pouring out sword wind with his wooden sword. Just by watching the speed of his movements, one could sufficiently gauge how high his level was.
Im Sobaek retreated as he received the Sword Emperor’s attacks, then twisted his body at close range and fiercely struck the Sword Emperor’s wooden sword upward from below.
With a thwack, the Sword Emperor’s wooden sword shattered into pieces…….
The Sword Emperor immediately thrust out his left palm.
As if he had already read the Sword Emperor’s movement, Im Sobaek’s strike appeared even faster. Im Sobaek’s left palm, accelerated by speed, arrived as if blocking the Sword Emperor’s move right at its entrance.
A heavy thud sounded, and the Sword Emperor was pushed back two steps.
Like a man caught in a storm, Im Sobaek issued an order without giving him an opening.
“Throw a wooden sword.”
“Yes.”
Two had already broken, and this was the third wooden sword. This time as well, when the wooden sword flew toward him, the Sword Emperor caught it as if drawing it in from midair, then immediately linked it into a technique.
His swordsmanship had changed completely.
Perhaps he thought the wooden swords had broken earlier because he had used fierce, powerful force. The swordsmanship he was now unfolding was smooth and fast in its movements, as though he were using a soft sword. At a glance, it looked like a sword art capable of flexibly letting the opponent’s attack flow past before counterattacking.
As the Sword Emperor intended, this time the sparring grew fairly lengthy.
The Sword Emperor linked his offensive forms with fluid grace, while Im Sobaek would occasionally stamp his foot, sending out a sharp craaack—. It was as if he were waging a psychological battle, hinting that he could unleash a fierce, forceful attack at any moment, disturbing the flow of the soft sword. Beneath their swordplay and movements lay a contest of nerves, each trying to steal the other’s rhythm.
Then the Sword Emperor’s attacks grew even faster. He mixed the fast sword with the soft sword, then suddenly slowed his movements to draw Im Sobaek into a trap before launching a fierce counterattack and employing the fast sword once more.
Because of the two men’s speed, the sparring stage seemed narrow.
It was merely a match with wooden swords, yet in that brief span, it contained a complex duel filled with psychological warfare, deception, fast sword, soft sword, orthodox swordplay and swordplay that strayed from the proper path, sword winds and palm force flying everywhere.
At some point, even I could see the great opening exposed on the left side of Im Sobaek’s body. Without the slightest gap in timing, the Sword Emperor’s short wooden sword came flying in, then changed direction.
At that moment, Im Sobaek casually extended his left hand, seized the Sword Emperor’s wooden sword, and with the short wooden sword in his right hand, snapped the Sword Emperor’s wooden sword in two.
Thwack!
In that instant, the Sword Emperor thrust out his left palm……
Im Sobaek rapidly spun his body, narrowly avoiding the palm force, then twirled the short wooden sword this way and that as he looked at the Sword Emperor.
“…….”
As the Sword Emperor, having discharged his palm force into empty air, stared at Im Sobaek……
Im Sobaek prowled about like a tiger and said to the alliance members.
“Give me a wooden sword.”
When the fourth short wooden sword came flying over, the Sword Emperor snatched it with a displeased expression. Then, without warning, he threw the short wooden sword to the Alliance Leader.
Im Sobaek caught the wooden sword the Sword Emperor had thrown and narrowed his brow.
“You’re suspecting me?”
The Sword Emperor nodded and said,
“Hand it over. I need to check.”
Im Sobaek also threw the short wooden sword he had been using to the Sword Emperor.
As soon as the Sword Emperor caught Im Sobaek’s short wooden sword, he laid it horizontally and struck its midpoint with a knife-hand.
With a crack, the short wooden sword broke pathetically. In the end, the Sword Emperor had proven with his own hands that it had simply been an ordinary short wooden sword.
The Sword Emperor, his face flushed red, looked at Im Sobaek.
“Alliance Leader, your skill has advanced even further. Since I lost, I will not challenge you for the next five years.”
Im Sobaek nodded.
“If I’m still the Alliance Leader five years from now, do that.”
The Sword Emperor was descending from the sparring stage when he stopped and looked at Im Sobaek.
“Of course you should still be doing it. Who else would?”
“Life never flows according to plan. Let’s think about it when the time comes.”
After the Sword Emperor stepped down, Im Sobaek slowly looked around.
“Heroes……”
“Yes, Alliance Leader.”
“Did you watch closely?”
“Yes.”
With an expression that had grown somewhat more relaxed, Im Sobaek said,
“From now on, if you want to challenge me, defeat the Sword Emperor first and then come. Understand? Don’t bother me. I’m a busy man. If you want to be a nuisance, be a nuisance to the Sword Emperor first. The difference in skill between him and me isn’t that great, either. The Alliance Leader isn’t some neighborhood martial hall master, so why do you keep challenging me?”
From below the sparring stage came the sound of the Sword Emperor’s sigh.
When someone clapped first, the alliance members soon let out a great cheer and congratulated the Alliance Leader on his victory. No one was injured, the Sword Emperor was silent, and the other challengers now looked as if they would have to harass the Sword Emperor first, so this was a perfect victory for Im Sobaek.
Since the White-Robed Scholar happened to be nowhere in sight, I calmly reviewed and analyzed Im Sobaek’s Six-Battle Great Sword and the match from the perspective of the Zaha Scholar.
‘My, what truly remarkable martial arts…….’
In truth, breaking the Sword Emperor’s wooden sword itself was no easy feat. It was likely only possible because it was the Six-Battle Great Sword, which even the Sword Demon had been unable to withstand. In any case, with the Alliance Leader holding firm like that, I felt as reassured as I had after eating pork backbone that morning.