Chapter: 189
Chapter Title: The Backer of the Peak Expert (1)
Cheongwoon was unable to concentrate at all, even until the moment she climbed onto the stage.
The lingering scent of the poisonous dew still hovered thickly around her.
When she lay down to sleep, the spot on her forehead where Han Seojin’s lips had pressed felt hot.
Even when she woke up, she felt as if she were floating on clouds, unable to regain her senses.
She kept touching her forehead like a fool, staring blankly into space.
Her fellow disciples whispered among themselves upon noticing her strange behavior, but since she had been engaging in so many eccentric actions recently, even that didn’t last long.
Cheongwoon continued to fiddle with her forehead, constantly recalling the events of yesterday.
When she had put on her face veil and descended to the village below Mount Song to compose herself, everything felt like a dream.
It is hard to believe that she had crawled along this very road yesterday—a road now direly trampled by passing people.
Could it be that someone among them saw our acts and is keeping silent?
Surely, no one caught us, right?
Else after it was over, worries bit at her tail one after another, adding a sense of immunity to the world.
Cheongwoon retraced the walking path she had taken yesterday, mulling over what had happened with Han Seojin.
She didn’t know how to describe the indescribable sense of elation she felt when facing the sincerity he had shown her.
Her chaotic self remained, making her heart flutter.
Even though she had been forced to do such lowly and ugly things yesterday, happiness remained in Cheongwoon’s heart rather than unpleasantness.
Could there be a play as clean as this?
Usually, a faint sense of discomfort always lingered after their plays.
Thinking that this was all a memory that solidified her trust with Han Seojin, her heart felt warm once at that.
Cheongwoon walked to the back mountain of an inn, to the place where a small Buddha statue was placed.
The blind monk she had seen yesterday was sitting there.
Cheongwoon tried to pass by due to the tension rising upon seeing him, but the monk spoke to her first.
“Good morning, Donor.”
Cheongwoon couldn’t avoid him in the end and answered, stuttering.
“Ah, Amitabha. Good morning.”
“Hmm? Is that Monk Cheongwoon?”
Cheongwoon flinched and trembled. How on earth does he know that?
“Do… do you know me?”
“How could I not know the protagonist of the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly?”
She wanted to ask how he knew when he couldn’t see, but the young monk answered first.
“There is much one learns once the eyes are closed. I may not see what is in front of me, but I can distinguish more better than anyone else.”
Cheongwoon ended the conversation with the monk, considering it a thousand fortunes that she hadn’t backed, even clumsily, yesterday.
“Cheongwoon!”
And as she finished her walk and turned back toward the temple, she encountered her Eldest Senior Sister, Hyo-yul, who had been looking for her.
“Where have you been? Come quickly!”
By the time she came to her senses, she had been dragged to the tournament arena.
She was still dumbfounded.
Even with countless people chanting her name in front of her, Cheongwoon touched her hot forehead.
Waiting for her turn, she turned her eyes to the spectator seats.
Specifically, towards where Han Seojin was.
She had applied the Tracking Scent on him, so she knew his location well.
He was there.
In the past, this Tracking Scent was the only means to support her anxious heart, but now, the very fact that she had applied it was pricking her conscience.
Since some time had passed, the scent was continuously fading.
She had a few more hidden Tracking Scents, but it seemed she should stop applying them to Han Seojin.
It was a scent that would disappear in a month anyway.
Cheongwoon looked at Han Seojin.
Han Seojin was looking at her today as well.
As their eyes met, Cheongwoon’s hardened heart began to beat hotly.
Han Seojin clenched his fist for the first time, wishing her martial luck.
Cheongwoon also nodded. A smile mixed with tears threatened to leak out, but she had to hold it back.
Now, a being who truly believed in her had appeared.
A home where she could not had appeared.
“...Tang Soran of the Sichuan Tang Clan!”
Han Seojin said he had bet his entire fortune on her.
If so, Cheongwoon needed to earn money for him.
Before, she had felt quite… uncomfortable when he became wealthy.
Because the number of women approaching him aiming for that wealth increased countlessly.
But not anymore.
Cheongwoon had reached the depths of the person named Han Seojin, and there was no need to be anxious any longer.
“Cheongwoon of the Emei Sect!”
Cheongwoon climbed onto the stage at the call.
On the opposite side stood Tang Soran, whom she had beaten once in the past.
Cheongwoon clasped her hands in greeting. Tang Soran did the same.
Two eyes settled coldly.
Dark circles under the eyes.
Tang Soran was originally cold in front of Cheongwoon, but today her momentum was even rougher.
…It didn’t matter.
She was going to win… Huh?
“Begin!”
As the host shouted, the start of Tang Soran’s energy suddenly exploded.
—Boom!
A rough wind rose from the center of Tang Soran, spewing out ferocious momentum.
Everyone gasped in surprise at that sight.
At the moment when everyone finally believed the true protagonist was Cheongwoon, Tang Soran stole the attention.
What?
“So, surely…”
Flutter, flutter. Tang Soran’s martial uniform shook.
At Tang Soran’s icy expression, Cheongwoon also stiffened her face.
Tang Soran looked as if she would cry at any moment.
But she said nothing. She didn’t ask questions, nor did she argue about anything.
Even Cheongwoon had predicted this appearance of Tang Soran.
She didn’t feel like this when they fought at Mount Emei.
No, she had never shown this kind of appearance even once during the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly.
Like a final dagger aimed solely for Cheongwoon, or perhaps for the finals.
The internal energy of Tang Soran, which had suffocated everyone, gradually subsided.
However, that rough momentum wasn’t weakening. It was condensing into one point.
A massive energy gathered and gathered, focusing into Tang Soran’s body.
The green energy flowing from Tang Soran’s body became distinct enough for even the eyes of the disciples to see, then it settled into her body.
Then, Cheongwoon could be certain she saw it.
That a blue light began to flow faintly from Tang Soran’s eyes.
At that moment, the Abbot of Shaolin and the masters of all the sects and clans watching rose from their seats.
“So, surely…”
“It can’t be…”
“It can’t be!”
Martial artists who can reach the Peak Realm are but a handful in this vast Central Plains.
Some through endless support. Some through miraculous encounters. Some through effort. Some through talent…
Regardless, there is no disagreement that it is a realm one can only reach if chosen by the heavens.
Even the rising stars, whom no one doubted would become the Best Under the Heavens, often grow old in despair, blocked by the wall of the Peak.
And sometimes, a dulled whom the heavens seemed to have abandoned would soar and cross the realm.
With a single enlightenment, a person crosses the wall, and through their respective enlightenments, a martial artist transforms into a singular, heterogeneous existence that is no longer human.
A first-rate martial artist can beat a second-rate one, and a second-rate one can beat a first-rate one, but a first-rate martial artist cannot dare to covet a Peak Master who has attained enlightenment, even if they die and wake up again.
The realm that rises so unfairly is the Peak, and one becomes unreasonably strong to that extent.
“Senior… Surely…”
“Forfeit.”
That was Tang Soran’s first word.
The moment Cheongwoon glanced at Han Seojin, Tang Soran spoke with the eyes of an abandoned puppy.
“...Cheongwoon, I have crossed the wall.”
Tang Soran was the one chosen by the heavens.
I’m screwed.
I felt like the ground was collapsing.
I bet all my money? It’s a box of gold?
One box of gold can be considered equivalent to about ten boxes of silver.
But I don’t have a single gold gathering at this Dragon-Phoenix Assembly, including wealthy merchants, gambling was quite exciting.
And I had bet all of that just now…
Without realizing it, I was clutching my hair until it was a mess.
Even the uncles [of the Beggars’ Sect] had eyes as wide as surprised rabbits.
I expected Tang Soran to become a Peak Master, but why so fast?!
It’s too fast, even if it’s fast. Even Black Dragon hasn’t crossed the wall of the Peak yet, so how the hell?
My breathing became rapid.
The shock was doubling because the existence I had crossed the wall of the Peak faster than anyone else.
My head was too complicated due to this sudden phenomenon.
Of all the people participating in the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly, I naturally thought if anyone crossed the wall of the Peak, it would be Cheongwoon first.
After all, since the Younghoon Group are all people who have crossed the wall of the Peak, I thought Cheongwoon would cross it before long too.
…But Tang Soran crossed it first?
That brat?
That kid who is an expert at scratching people’s nerves gained enlightenment and rose to a Peak Master level?!
At that moment, Tang Soran looked my way while holding a dagger.
I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
She, who had been making tired eyes the whole time, smiled brightly at me, then faced Cheongwoon again.
My money…
My money…!
No, to be precise, Nangung Yeon’s money…!
What do I do about Nangung Yeon!
I asked around and heard she got torn apart by Cheongwoon and locked herself away; how am I supposed to handle this situation where I should be supporting her!!
The only thing I could do was bring her money, but now I’m in a position where I can’t even do that.
A strange sense of guilt was creeping up in my chest.
At that moment, Tang Soran began to storm forward.
“Haa… Haa…!”
Cheongwoon gasped for breath.
It had been a very long time since she felt the sensation of facing a colossal wall.
A sensation she had only felt when receiving teachings from her Master or the Sect Leader.
However, unlike then, the anxiety was eating away at her.
A variable that arose at the moment she had to live up to Han Seojin’s trust.
Cheongwoon was trying to endure somehow, but she was continuously being pushed back.
She was enduring because she didn’t want to give up, even knowing it wouldn’t work no matter how hard she struggled.
“Amazing.”
Tang Soran’s voice rang out from somewhere amidst the thickly blooming poison fog.
“Amazing. I didn’t know you would feel like this.”
“Ugh…”
“Once you once you stand on the wall, the ground below looks incredibly distant. It really feels like that.”
—Puk!
A needle flew from somewhere in the poison fog and embedded itself in Cheongwoon’s thigh.
“Ugh!”
Despite the stinging sensation, Cheongwoon quickly threw her body backward to dodge the follow-up attack.
Her head was complicated as she had to circulate her internal energy to detoxify the poison while pulling out the needle stuck in her thigh, all without a moment to breathe.
She tried every method to utilize her internal energy.
No matter how much she opened her senses, she couldn’t tell Tang Soran.
She thought she didn’t lag behind anyone when it came to the ability to sense opponents, but she now realized how just terrifying the difference in realms was.
Cheongwoon lifted her sword to the side and created a sword wind.
The poison fog scattered for a moment, then gathered again as if it had a will of its own, blocking Cheongwoon’s vision.
Will I feel like this?
“Haa… Haa…”
Then what about Han Seojin who believed in me?
Han Seojin trusted her and bet his entire fortune.
Didn’t they even engage in such intimate play yesterday?
“Haa… Haa…”
Cheongwoon did not want to betray that trust.
She absolutely did not want to see his eyes turn cold.
She looked around. The poison fog was thick, and she couldn’t see anything.
The choice was all too quick.
Right now, what she feared more than anything was disappointing Han Seojin.
At the same time, she couldn’t use the Extermination Sword.
She didn’t want to hold a sword that killed people right now.
…But, doesn’t she have to be that threatening to suppress the opponent?
She can’t swing the Extermination Sword, but it is fair for the opponent to use poison?
“Kill.”
Someone whispered in Cheongwoon’s mind.
Swing it with the intent to kill. Even then, you might not be able to win.
“Haa… Haa…”
Are you planning to have everything taken from you? You know the reason why Tang Soran is doing this, no?
While caught in the obsession that she couldn’t use the Extermination Sword but had to break the opponent.
A belated agony began for Cheongwoon as well.
It was always a question.
Why did the Emei Sect teach the sword? Why did they lift the sword while following the principle of non-killing?
Why do they insist on the Shanyang Sword Technique, yet the destructive Extermination Sword remains and is passed down to the inner sect disciples?
She felt stifled.
The sword technique was limiting her abilities.
It would be more effective if I did this. It would be more destructive if I did that.
Perhaps that freedom lay in the Extermination Sword, which is why the sword technique that fitted her best might have been the Extermination Sword.
One must not be afraid to violate taboos.
Violating beliefs one set for oneself is a problem, but complying with taboos one doesn’t even believe in is just a foolish thing.
Didn’t Han Seojin teach her that?
How much liberation and freedom did the forbidden acts crossed with him bring her?
Cheongwoon’s mind went blank even within the poison fog.
As the enlightenment deepened, she became increasingly buried in her thoughts.
Non-killing must not become a taboo.
It is a path and an attitude, but it must not become the goal itself.
The nature of the sword does not change according to the situation.
The sword technique the wielder must not limit her.
One shouldn’t choose non-killing just because it’s the Shanyang Sword Technique, nor choose massacre just because it’s the Extermination Sword.
The sword is just a sword, and the person who thought were rules and violating taboos.
The moment one becomes obsessed with the move, this frustration follows.
There is no need to mind the Master. No need to mind the Sect Leader.
She must become free.
…Doesn’t Han Seojin affirm me? He would affirm her no matter how her ugly appearance.
—Whoosh…
Cheongwoon felt an energy she didn’t know she had blooming from her dantian.
The moment her body accepted the enlightenment and embraced the imagery that came with it, a deeper and purer internal energy than ever before began to bloom.
The energy flowing from her body began to drive away the poison fog.
The thick fog that wouldn’t disappear no matter how many sword winds she made began to scatter.
Just a little more.
Something is coming.
Cheongwoon reached out toward that realm.
I must keep the trust. I must defeat the opponent.
She didn’t want to become a disappointing pup. -py.
—Kwoooo!
Internal energy exploded outwards.
The arena was filled with the screams and shouts of all kinds of people.
An energy twice as rough and crude as the energy Tang Soran had bloomed shook Mount Song.
The Abbot of Shaolin and the sect masters couldn’t even stand up from their seats this time.
“Ah…”
That comfortable feeling.
This sense of liberation.
Cheongwoon understood.
She, too, had crossed the wall.
“Are you done?”
At that moment, someone spoke to Cheongwoon.
Cheongwoon blinked her eyes in her daze.
Tang Soran was standing quietly right in front of her.
“Huh?”
While Cheongwoon was regaining her senses, thud, something pushed her lower abdomen.
Cheongwoon was pushed back helplessly and fell.
“Ah!”
There was no footing behind her, so she had to fall a fool.
—Thud.
When she came to her senses, Tang Soran was standing on the stage, and Cheongwoon was not.
After a deep enlightenment that felt like a day, when she regained her senses, not much time had passed and… she was in the middle of a tournament.
“Winner! Tang Soran of the Sichuan Tang Clan!”
The host shouted loudly.
“Uh…??”
Cheongwoon’s eyes trembled.
“Oo, Owner…”
The moment the tournament ended, Cheongwoon hurriedly sought out Han Seojin with her face well on, unable to do anything else.
Han Seojin was sitting blankly with his mouth open and a face that looked like his soul had been sucked out.
The thought that she had betrayed his trust, the thought that he was disappointed in her, made her heart sink.
Cheongwoon bit her lip, then grabbed Han Seojin’s wrist and led him to a small space between the houses.
“Oo, Owner… I, I’m really sorry…”
Cheongwoon had never felt like this at any time.
It felt like the moments when she was scolded by the Sect Leader were less scary.
She didn’t know how to fix the situation, and to end up like this already.
“I, I’ll pay it back somehow. Huh? So… so, do don’t hate me…”
“—It’s okay…”
Han Seojin whispered.
His dim eyes curved weakly.
“Ha, haha! Why is this your fault?”
“But…”
“Who would have known Tang Soran would cross the wall of the Peak? It’s just unfortunate.
You crossed it too; I want to praise you more for that.”
His eyes were speaking the truth.