Chapter 96: Joint Training
From Shaanxi to Qinghai was by no means a short distance. However, Jin Seong-un and Chae Seo-ryeong chose to travel by light footwork instead of carriage.
The reason was simple. The level of their light footwork far exceeded that of most martial artists.
If it truly became too difficult, they could always ride a carriage in between or rest at an inn.
At least, that was what Chae Seo-ryeong had thought when they first departed.
“W-wait a moment…!”
Chae Seo-ryeong stopped urgently and shouted.
Jin Seong-un had leapt across a towering cliff in a single bound.
Jin Seong-un turned to look back at her with his usual emotionless expression and eyes.
“……”
From deep within, Chae Seo-ryeong felt something surge up. It was frustration and a fierce desire to win.
Just a few days ago, she had been certain that among martial artists her age, no one could outrun her.
In fact, she had robbed countless Murim factions and government offices. Even the most skilled martial artists had failed to catch her, or hadn’t even realized she was there.
But that confidence had been completely shattered since her visit to Yichang. Especially after departing from Falling Flame Manor, it was ground into dust.
“This is really too far.”
She looked once at the distant other side, then back down at the dizzying height below the cliff.
Her knees went weak.
If she fell from here, it was the end. With luck, she would die instantly. Without luck, she would feel pain for a brief moment before dying.
“Come.”
Jin Seong-un spoke in his plain tone.
Somehow, that manner of speaking felt cruel. Yet she did not want to voice her dissatisfaction or give up.
It made her feel like nothing more than a child.
Chae Seo-ryeong stepped far back.
Suddenly, she focused her gaze entirely on Jin Seong-un.
“Hoo…”
Letting out a short breath, she began running.
She approached the cliff’s edge at tremendous speed.
At the very end, she kicked off forcefully with her toes. The momentum of her sprint thrust her forward.
Swaek—!
Time seemed to slow.
A faint sense of anxiety struck her.
She wasn’t certain she could reach the opposite side.
“U-uaaaaah!”
Chae Seo-ryeong screamed and squeezed her eyes shut. No matter how firmly she steeled herself, fear of death was like that.
Just as it felt like her heart had dropped halfway down—
Tak.
Her toes barely touched the cliff. At the same time, her body instinctively regained balance.
She opened her eyes. She had landed safely on the other side, without any assistance.
“…I actually made it.”
She muttered quietly.
It felt like she had just brushed against the very limits of her limits.
That feeling continued throughout the journey to Qinghai. Though, it wasn’t by her own choice.
…
They climbed cliffs, crossed lakes, and leapt over canyons. Each was life-threatening. Yet, through the long journey, she remained alive.
It was only natural.
Because Jin Seong-un was beside her. If she fell, he caught her. If she sank, he pulled her out.
Through this repetition, she grew unafraid of challenges pressing against her limits.
By the time they finally reached Qinghai—
Tak!
She leapt across a cliff. There was no trace of fear or hesitation in her movements.
She succeeded lightly, even with a bit of leisure.
The gap she had just crossed was more than thirty percent wider than the first cliff.
“Wow!”
She raised her hands and bounced up and down.
Even she could tell how quickly her skills were improving.
Jin Seong-un watched her and nodded. There was a reason he had endured such a troublesome journey.
He didn’t know exactly how dangerous the Qinghai Iron Workshop would be, but even Master Divine Thief had suffered there.
Even so, he had promised Chae Ga-hee to return Chae Seo-ryeong alive. The more Chae Seo-ryeong’s skills grew, the easier it would be to keep that promise.
“But we’re already at Qinghai.”
It had actually taken quite some time, but because the journey had left no room for idleness, time seemed to pass in an instant.
Jin Seong-un nodded in reply.
“It’s best if we just steal the Falling Flame and leave.”
That was the conclusion he had reached after much thought.
Chae Seo-ryeong immediately agreed.
“Well, the Qinghai Iron Workshop is the greatest smithy under heaven. Their swords are used everywhere.”
Indeed, the Murim Alliance, the Nine Sects and One Gang, and the Five Great Clans all used weapons forged by the Qinghai Iron Workshop.
Other clans and sects of any renown were no different.
If they were to go into all-out conflict with the Qinghai Iron Workshop now, countless troubles would arise.
“If Young Miss points out its location, I’ll retrieve it. No matter how I think about it, that’s best.”
“Can’t I go in with you?”
Jin Seong-un shook his head firmly.
He knew why she said that. The Falling Flame was the treasure of her clan.
Of course she wished to take a more direct part in fulfilling her family’s long-standing wish.
But he could not accept it. If she were to die, both Chae Ga-hee and Chae Ok-hyeon would be devastated.
And if he knew Master Divine Thief at all, he would not want Chae Ok-hyeon to grieve.
“It wasn’t even my wager to begin with.”
Jin Seong-un spoke as he walked.
In truth, this was essentially a cooperative arrangement.
Perhaps Master Divine Thief had bent the truth a little to keep his promise not to force him into thievery.
‘Well, it doesn’t matter much.’
Winning or losing against the Falling Flame was never his concern.
The provincial capital of Qinghai, Xining (西寧).
Contrary to its name, which meant “Peace in the West,” the atmosphere in Xining was grim.
Naturally so.
Qinghai bordered Xinjiang, where the Demonic Cult was based.
Demonic Cultists often caused trouble even in the heart of the Central Plains. No one could guess how many were hiding here in Qinghai.
‘Deyang was different after all.’
At that time, Deyang had been under the influence of the Unorthodox Path. Because of this, the atmosphere of the town itself was rough and wild.
But Xining was different.
Here, there was something unlike the Unorthodox Path—an even more dangerous air that could be felt in people’s eyes.
Jin Seong-un looked at a passerby.
That passerby also stared directly at him as he walked by. His eyes were bloodshot with veins, leaving a strange impression.
The people here were generally like that. Even when their eyes met, they never looked away first. Nor did they carry hostility. They simply stared with hazy, unfocused eyes as they passed.
“That person must be really tired.”
“……”
Just as Jin Seong-un made an exasperated face at Chae Seo-ryeong’s joke—
A group appeared, and the passersby quickly scattered in all directions.
Everyone seemed to fear them.
They were certainly not Demonic Cultists. They wore light gray uniforms, and at their waists hung neatly sheathed swords.
“K-unlun Sect!”
Chae Seo-ryeong cried out with excitement.
Since she was born and raised in Xi’an, she often saw martial artists of Mount Hua Sect and Zhongnan Sect.
But Kunlun Sect was different. Among the Nine Sects and One Gang, they carried the most mysterious impression.
Far away from the Central Plains, they stood isolated here in Qinghai. Yet whenever the Demonic Cult stirred, they were the first to fight, giving off a fierce impression.
Indeed, the martial artists of Kunlun had eyes that felt different from the Daoists of Mount Heng or Zhongnan.
Instead of the mystical aura unique to Daoist sects, their sharp spirit made them seem almost like unorthodox martial artists.
Suddenly, Jin Seong-un met the gaze of a Kunlun Daoist. Somehow, their eyes felt strangely similar.
If Jin Seong-un’s dryness was innate, then the Daoist of Kunlun seemed to have gained that look after years of exhaustion and hardship.
The Daoists soon approached.
They neither exuded force nor intimidation, but there was a subtle pressure that weighed on Jin Seong-un and Chae Seo-ryeong’s shoulders.
Their eyes were particularly fixed on Chae Seo-ryeong’s red hair. Here in Qinghai, red hair carried an even clearer meaning.
Jin Seong-un subtly stepped forward, shielding her. At that, the Kunlun Daoists twitched their brows.
“Excuse us.”
The one leading them spoke in a deep voice.
He looked to be in his early to mid-thirties.
Jin Seong-un nodded.
“What is it?”
“Are you martial artists?”
“As you can see.”
Jin Seong-un tapped the sword at his waist. The Daoists looked back and forth between his weapon and his face.
The leading Daoist then spoke.
“Where are you from?”
“From Shaanxi.”
“For what reason?”
Jin Seong-un frowned slightly.
“Must I say that too?”
“Ah, don’t take offense. Lately, children have been vanishing throughout Qinghai. We’re investigating because of that…”
He blinked as if he had just remembered.
“Ah, outsiders wouldn’t know. We are Daoists of the Kunlun Sect. I am the second disciple of Kunlun, Seok Kang. So, for what reason have the two of you come to Qinghai?”
“Hm.”
Jin Seong-un paused to choose his words.
He could hardly say they had come to raid the Qinghai Iron Workshop.
No excuse came to mind until…
Finally, Jin Seong-un said,
“We are on a Joint Training.”
Chae Seo-ryeong’s face flushed red at once.
The Kunlun Daoists looked at Jin Seong-un with eyes full of envy.
Joint Training.
It meant that martial artists, right after marriage, traveled the world together to train. Though called training, it was more like a honeymoon.
“Ho, forgive us for disturbing such a precious time.”
The Daoists of Kunlun gave awkward coughs.
Kunlun fundamentally forbade marriage.
Though they were grown men, they were terribly inexperienced in such matters, and even embarrassed.
Soon, the Daoists hastily bowed and left. Normally, they would have asked more questions.
But the words “Joint Training”…
Strangely clouded the minds of Kunlun Daoists. From the distance, a muttering voice was heard from among them.
“…The world is unfair.”
Having passed the inspection safely, Jin Seong-un and Chae Seo-ryeong walked side by side through the marketplace.
Her face was still a little red.
“J-joint training, wasn’t that a bit much?”
“We traveled together and trained together. Not wrong. And Young Miss’s skills have grown immensely.”
“…That’s true.”
People glanced at them strangely. Blushing even more, she hurriedly changed the subject.
“Did you see? Even those Daoists were carrying swords from the Qinghai Iron Workshop.”
Being the daughter of a blacksmith, she had the habit of looking at swords before faces.
Jin Seong-un nodded.
“It’d be nice to get a closer look.”
But he could hardly just stop a Kunlun Daoist and ask to inspect his sword.
All martial artists—especially swordsmen—treated their weapons like children or lovers.
After a moment of thought, Chae Seo-ryeong spoke.
“There’s one good way.”
“…What way.”
For some reason, Jin Seong-un felt uneasy. Whenever she smiled like that, she always came up with strange ideas.
Jin Seong-un climbed Mount Kunlun with a thoroughly displeased expression. Chae Seo-ryeong laughed beside him.
“Ah, lighten up. There’s no other way, is there?”
True enough.
That was why he was climbing Mount Kunlun despite his reluctance.
Before long, the Kunlun Sect appeared.
Having visited Zhongnan Sect once before, it didn’t impress him as much now. Still, he thought the mists surrounding Kunlun were quite splendid.
As they approached, a young Kunlun Daoist guarding the main gate asked warily. Once again, his eyes lingered suspiciously on her red hair.
“Who are you, and where are you from?”
A blunt question.
Jin Seong-un replied.
“On a jianghu journey, and I’ve come to request a duel.”
“A duel?”
The Daoist frowned.
This was, after all, Kunlun of the Nine Sects and One Gang.
For a young martial artist to suddenly request a duel was hardly fitting in status.
Still, the Daoist kept his composure and asked again.
“May I know your sect and your name?”
“I have no sect, and my name is Jin Seong-un.”
“Jin Seong-un… Seong-un…”
The two gatekeepers repeated the name, tilting their heads.
They had definitely heard it somewhere, though the memory was hazy.
Then Jin Seong-un added,
“Recently, I’ve been called Guest Dragon (客龍).”
“G-Guest Dragon!”
The Daoists exclaimed in surprise.
At the same time, Jin Seong-un’s face turned a little red.