Report
Chapter 1. Prologue
"So this is how it ends...?"
Even a jiangshi dies with its head cut off. A human doesn't stand a chance.
Thud!
The pungroe-bu (Wind and Thunder Axe) slipped from his blood-soaked hand and fell to the ground. The axe, which he usually swung as easily as a whip, felt like a ton of bricks.
Yeon Hojeong looked down at his hand.
His hand, tightly bound in chains, was completely crushed. It was a wonder how he had managed to wield an axe as big as a person's torso with such a hand.
Clink!
The broken chains fell off.
"I knew it would come to this."
Bitterness made him forget the pain. With this hand, he wouldn't be able to hold chopsticks, let alone an axe.
Still, he'd taken the head of the Corrupt Sect's leader -- the most vicious of the Three Teachings (Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism) -- wasn't that enough? Of course, he and that bastard were in the same boat, unable to even eat a bowl of rice.
"Is that bastard dead?"
Yeon Hojeong turned his head.
An old man was visible, leaning against a small rock. It was Moryong-gun, leader of the Murim Alliance -- the head of the Righteous Sects.
"Can't you see his head's gone?"
"I can't see."
Yeon Hojeong frowned. Looking closely, Moryong-gun's eyes were very cloudy. Excessive internal energy consumption and severe internal injuries had blinded him.
He walked over to Moryong-gun and collapsed with a thud.
"It's all over."
"You've worked hard."
Yes, he had worked hard.
The Righteous Sects and the forces of the Dark Path had joined hands to wipe out the Corrupt Sect. The Corrupt Sect's actions were so heinous that they had even overcome the deep-rooted hatred and distrust between the two groups, who had been enemies for hundreds of years.
That heinousness, and the unprecedented cooperative relationship, would end today.
And so would his life.
"Are you alright?"
"...More or less."
"Well, you're the giant they called the Supreme Grandmaster of the Dark Path -- the first ever. You should be tough."
At least this much…
Yeon Hojeong didn't say that the Corrupt Sect leader's last strike had severed his heart meridian.
That he was barely clinging to life with a sliver of internal energy, and that he would die soon.
"That's a surprise. Why are you praising me all of a sudden?"
"I'm just stating the facts. If it weren't for you, we could have crushed the Dark Path Alliance ten years ago."
"If that had happened, you guys would have been utterly destroyed before today came."
"That's true. It's like they say, 'every cloud has a silver lining.' Who knew we'd benefit from you guys."
Yeon Hojeong chuckled.
After a moment of silence, Moryong-gun opened his mouth.
"Why did you make that choice?"
"What are you talking about?"
"You weren't originally from the Dark Path, were you? If you had come to our side, you would have become famous as a supreme master, so why did you cross over to the Dark Path and become their leader?"
"Why are you bringing up that story now?"
"I wanted to resolve my curiosity before I die."
Moryong-gun's voice was somehow hollow.
Yeon Hojeong looked down at him silently and sighed.
"How long can you last?"
"Not even half a shichen (about an hour)."
Damn it.
Normally, he would have been able to see through someone else's physical condition in an instant. His heart meridian was severed, and his true energy was weakening, dulling even his senses.
'This old man is finished too.'
This is somehow bitter.
"Do you have any last words?"
"My life is my last testament."
"Fitting for the Murim Alliance Leader."
"So, the answer?"
"It just turned out that way."
Of course, there was a reason. But he didn't want to ramble on about his past in front of a dying man.
Moryong-gun smiled.
The smile of a blind man made one feel an unknown sadness.
"Typical of you."
"I'll see you off on your final journey."
"Thank you."
People certainly seemed to change when they were about to die. Both he and this old man.
"And."
"Hmm?"
"I'm sorry."
"What are you talking about?"
"……"
"How anticlimactic..."
Thwack.
Strength entered Yeon Hojeong's eyes.
"Cough!"
Yeon Hojeong vomited blood. A foul smell rose from the blood he spat out.
He looked down at his solar plexus. A tiny needle, barely visible to the naked eye, was embedded there.
'A umochim?! A hair-thin needle?!'
Yeon Hojeong raised his trembling head and saw the blood-soaked face of the old man. The old man's face, gasping for breath, looked particularly dark.
Yeon Hojeong's eyes became bloodshot.
"D-Dangwan…!"
Dangwan of the Sichuan Tang Family, its head and the vice-leader of the Murim Alliance -- a major figure.
Yeon Hojeong had clearly seen Dangwan's chest pierced by the Corrupt Sect leader's Yin Desolation Finger (Shadow Desolation Finger). Even if it had missed the heart, his heart meridian would have ruptured from the force of the finger strike, so how was he alive?
No, why did he attack me?
"I won't ask you to understand."
Yeon Hojeong glared at Moryong-gun.
Moryong-gun said in a bitter voice.
"If I die, who will be there to stop you? The current Righteous Sect martial artists… cannot stop the Black Fortress."
"Cough!"
"I will apologize in the afterlife. Let's go together."
Damn it, he would have died even if I had left him alone.
The heart meridian he had barely managed to reconnect snapped again and again. The Tang Family's extremely poisonous danjangsan (Heart Severing Powder) evaporated his internal energy, and his internal organs began to melt. The pain was so severe that he couldn't even scream.
"Son of a bitch, did he have to use something this potent?"
Thud!
Yeon Hojeong knelt down.
At the same time, Dangwan collapsed. Having completed his last mission, he was the first to die after the tension was released.
"Why…"
The word came out involuntarily.
Guilt arose on Moryong-gun's face.
"I'm truly sorry."
Yeon Hojeong's eyes gradually became cloudy.
'Why is the end always so shitty?'
When there's a lesser evil, the worst happens, and when the best is about to come, the second-best moment arrives.
It had always been like that. His fate, which seemed lucky but was unbelievably bad, was causing trouble until the very end.
Even though he had mastered legendary martial arts, he couldn't become the strongest in the world, and just when he thought he had made a name for himself, it turned out to be as the head of a demonic cult.
It was a tiring life, full of responsibilities without ever reaching the top.
Still, well… at least I lived diligently.
'Alliance Lord. You'd better apologize properly in the afterlife, you.'
"매상궁구(每常窮究) 충위우가(忠爲虞家) 지득천세(知得千歲) 망화제신(望和諸神)…." (Note: This is a placeholder. Proper romanization and a footnote translation are needed.)
A voice resonating in a steady rhythm was clear and pure.
'Hmm?'
Beyond the soothing tone, a heavy incense smell was detected.
'What is it? Did I come to a temple or something?'
But this doesn't sound like Buddhist chanting?
"Please continue to watch over us and help the family's glory last for a thousand years."
Along with the clear voice, movement around him was perceived.
Yeon Hojeong opened his eyes.
'Huh?'
All around him, people kneeling and lying down were bowing.
Yeon Hojeong blinked.
'What's going on?'
But why?
This place somehow felt familiar. The people's attire, and that antique yet simple altar, he felt like he had seen them somewhere before.
Then, someone tapped him on the back from behind. Yeon Hojeong involuntarily turned around.
His mouth dropped open.
"Huh?"
A boy was visible, bowing but with his head peeking out. And the boy's face was turning pale.
The boy gestured urgently. It was a gesture telling him to bow quickly.
But Yeon Hojeong couldn't do that.
"Ji Pyeong?!"
The solemn atmosphere instantly subsided.
The air rapidly cooled. But Yeon Hojeong was not in his right mind to feel the atmosphere here.
The boy in front of him.
The boy with a witty face and starlike eyes, so impressive, was none other than his younger brother. His brother, who had met his end twenty-six years ago along with the annihilation of his clan, had appeared right in front of him.
'Is this a dream? An illusion?'
That couldn't be. He was not someone who had lived his life so lightly as to confuse reality with dreams or illusions.
Even if it wasn't reality.
Even though their relationship had broken down, family members he had wanted to see even in a dream had appeared. Yeon Hojeong felt a fierce emotion surging up from deep within his heart.
"Pyeong, Pyeong-ah!"
Yeon Hojeong hugged the boy tightly.
The boy, Yeon Ji Pyeong, was flustered. He thought this guy had gone crazy.
The boy whispered quickly and quietly.
"H-Hyungnim! Don't do this! You'll get scolded!"
"You rascal!"
This warmth and subtly trembling reaction.
It was definitely his younger brother. Yeon Hojeong's vision blurred.
"Hyungnim! Hyungnim! Ah, seriously, why are you being like this…"
It was then.
"Hojeong."
Yeon Hojeong's body stiffened.
His brother's face and voice were just as he remembered. And so was this voice he was hearing now.
Yeon Hojeong released Yeon Ji Pyeong and slowly turned his body.
A middle-aged man, who had somehow come to stand in front of the altar, was glaring at him with fierce eyes.
"What in the world are you doing right now?"
It wasn't a harsh rebuke, nor a question. It was just a plain voice, but it carried an unbearable weight.
It was a voice he had been so afraid of and disliked as a child. It was family he had tried not to encounter because he didn't want to hear that voice.
"Father?"
The middle-aged man, Yeon Wi, frowned.
His son's appearance, standing up blankly and walking over unsteadily, was too different from usual. His eyes were filled with emptiness, disbelief, surprise, and emotion.
It was certainly a quite impressive moment. His eldest son had never once made eye contact with him since he was young. He was a fellow who had never properly straightened his shoulders due to suppressed oppression.
"F-Father!"
Yeon Hojeong ran towards Yeon Wi. He was in a posture as if he would hug him right away.
Yeon Wi's hand moved.
He grabbed Yeon Hojeong's wrist in an instant and applied force.
Thud!
'Cough!'
Yeon Hojeong knelt down. The energy flowing through his wrist had drained the strength from his legs.
"Making a ruckus during the ancestral rites, are you truly in your right mind?"
Even this voice that sent chills down his spine now sounded only endearing.
Yeon Hojeong raised his head.
A hint of bewilderment flickered across Yeon Wi's face as he looked down at his son. Yeon Hojeong's face, looking at him, was full of sorrow.
Somehow, his eldest son was a bit strange today.
"The sin of disrupting the rites will be questioned later. Go to the office and wait."
It was the same cold tone as usual.
But the answer that came back was different from usual.
"Yes!"
Wasn't that answer too confident?
Rarely flustered, Yeon Wi turned away with effort, and Yeon Hojeong stood up and looked around.
Everyone participating in the rites was looking at him. The eyes of about twenty people were all filled with confusion.
Yeon Hojeong, who had been looking around at them with a smile, suddenly froze.
'Wait a minute.'
He was so overwhelmed that he only now realized that this was strange.
He looked down at his chest.
The hair-thin needle was gone.
'Am I not dead?'
It wasn't just that.
'No. It's not just not being dead, but…'
Yeon Hojeong, looking around again, was filled with astonishment.
'This is my past?'
He examined his hands and touched his body. He ran his fingers through his hair and looked at his clothes.
That's right. This was his body, but not his body. His body, hardened by countless battles, was full of scars, and his hands were covered in calluses.
His slender frame and clean hands were clearly the body he had in his childhood.
"No way. Is this really possible…"
"What are you muttering about!"
Yeon Wi finally burst into anger. Yeon Hojeong lowered his head sheepishly and slipped out of the place.
After stepping out, he looked around again.
"…It's really my house!"
One of the Seven Great Families, called the most prestigious family in the Gangho martial arts world.
The Iron Family, which had only fifty years of history but whose presence was comparable to the other Six Great Families.
Yeon Hojeong, the eldest son of the Byeoksan Yeon Family, had returned.
