Episode 86: Long time no see, bro.
Two months had passed since my fight with my father.
In the meantime, I have reached the eleventh level of the Bicheon Sword Technique. I have advanced to the next level through the experience gained through my fight with my father and the Ilhwa Sword Master.
Now there was only one step left.
The final step, like the previous one, will require some kind of trigger.
It could be a casual conversation, a real fight, or it could be while looking at a flower with Ilhwageomjeon, or while reading a poetry book next to a bloody swan, or while walking with Ian on a moonlit night. The realm of the Twelve Constellations is something that no one can predict.
Now, I have put off the completion of the Bicheon Sword Technique to another destiny of mine and am focusing on practicing the space-time teleportation technique.
As you learn martial arts, there will come a time when you feel it. The martial arts will tickle your whole body and whisper, “Just a little more.” That’s when you will grow to the next level.
The stimulation of space-time transference continued to come.
About ten days ago, I slowly counted to a hundred or so and reduced the time so that space could expand. Since then, the restrictions have been lifted and every time I use the space-time transfer technique, time has decreased.
If there is a compatibility between martial arts and martial arts, then this space-time transfer technique is a perfect fit for me.
Perhaps this is because the depth of enlightenment and the level of talent in martial arts are more important factors than the training period itself. In those two areas alone, I have almost reached the highest level.
As I practiced, time continued to decrease.
One hundred and ninety-nine, ninety-eight, ninety-seven… … .
I pushed on without stopping. I made space like crazy, like I was on a speeding carriage. I thought that if I took the wrong path, the carriage might fall off a cliff, but I kept practicing without stopping.
Practice and practice again.
And finally the carriage arrived at the last station. The horse did not fall, and I did not fall off the carriage.
Exactly!
The moment I snapped my fingers, my surroundings changed.
At the same time, cheers burst out of my mouth.
“I did it!”
Finally, I was able to immediately use the space-time teleportation technique. It unfolded so naturally, as if it had been my martial art from the beginning.
I was now standing on a pure white sand beach with an endless blue sea. The sky was blue and the sun was hot. There was a tree with big leaves on the beach, and there was a comfortable chair in the shade under it. A seagull was flying in the distance.
This is the space of my own dreams.
It was perfect.
As the time required to create it has decreased, the internal energy required to maintain it has also decreased.
I leaned back comfortably on the chair, took off my clothes, and jumped into the sea.
I lay down after swimming and looked up at the sky. I felt so at ease as I watched the clouds floating by.
It was a perfect time for me, undisturbed by anyone. I was happy.
Then suddenly this thought occurred to me.
What if time could pass more slowly here than outside? What if I could practice martial arts here? What if I could slow down time by half, if not completely?
It may sound like a dream, but isn’t creating a space like this a dream in the first place?
I thought that I should discuss this matter with the leader of the Fengchun sect when he returns. Of course, he would probably think that it was nonsense.
After lying on the beach for a while, enjoying my freedom, I felt someone arrive outside of the space-time transference technique.
When I entered the space created by the Lord of the Heavenly Demons or the Lord of the Windy Heaven, I could not feel the outside situation at all, but when I created the space myself, I could know what was going on outside.
I immediately released the space-time teleportation technique and revealed myself.
“Your Majesty, are you there?”
The person calling me at the door was Jangho.
“I am here.”
Jang-ho was startled and turned around when someone suddenly appeared behind him.
“Confucius? Where have you been?”
On the beach where the blue sea is overflowing.
I forced myself to hold back from answering like this.
“I was just practicing stealth for a while. What brought you here?”
“A message has arrived from the iron workshop. They say they have finished making the item you asked us to entrust to you for Mannyeonhancheol.”
“Then please do me a favor. Go get the stuff and call everyone who was there that day.”
“All right.”
* * *
Seven people were standing in a circle, looking down at objects placed on a table.
The remaining six, including me, were Ian, Seo Dae-ryong, Jang Ho, Hyeolcheon Doma, Ilhwa Geomjon, and Go Wol.
Among the things on the table, he picked up the fan first and gave it to Gowol.
“This is the fan you asked for. I looked into it and it’s well made.”
“thank you.”
“The materials are good, but the fact that they were made by the best craftsmen in our school makes them even more valuable.”
“I didn’t know you would actually make it.”
Since there were as many knives as there were people gathered that day, they gave him one too. Go-wol looked apologetic after receiving the knives along with the debt.
“I got two.”
“This is a dagger that would not have been created in the first place if it weren’t for you. You are giving it to everyone as a gift.”
“That’s impossible. The one who gave me these chains was Confucius. Thank you. I will never forget this great gift.”
It was a great gift.
The dagger of the eternal iron was extremely sharp and never broke, so it was difficult to put a price on it. If it could be sold for a fair price, it would be worth a lot of money.
But this was not the end of the gifts given to him.
I untied the Supreme Heavenly Cloth from the hilt of the Black Magic Sword. I cut it off just enough to fill the fan and handed it to Go-wol.
“It’s a truly exquisite piece of clothing. If you attach this to that fan, it will become an excellent weapon.”
Go-wol’s eyes trembled with emotion. The three gifts were truly gifts that were difficult to receive in one’s lifetime.
“I will repay this favor even if it costs me my life.”
“There’s no need for that. I’m giving it to you because I think it’s worth it now, not because I’m pledging my future life or loyalty to you.”
I said it to Gowol, but I also said it to other people.
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I distributed the remaining knives to everyone.
“Thank you for being by my side.”
“Thank you.”
“I will make sure to use it well.”
“thank you.”
Everyone received the knife with joy.
Seo Dae-ryong looked down at the knife and spoke worriedly.
“I’m worried I might lose it.”
“Practice martial arts harder. The stronger you become, the less likely you are to lose. When training gets difficult, look at that knife.”
“yes.”
Seo Dae-ryong nodded vigorously at my words. This dagger will have many meanings for each person.
At that time, Hyeolcheon Doma picked a fight with Gowol for no reason.
“There’s that shabby gentleman too, what are you worried about?”
Then someone came in and said.
“Isn’t it more that your disciple is more ignorant?”
The person who entered was the leader of the Pungcheon sect.
I asked him with a surprised face.
“Are you back already?”
I came back sooner than I expected. I thought it would take at least six months.
“Because I am a person who is naturally impatient.”
Then he glanced at Gowol. Gowol smiled at the appearance of his strong supporter.
“I guess I’m not the type of person who goes hungry. I’ll come back on the fateful day when I get stabbed. Give me my knife.”
The leader of the Pungcheon sect examined the dagger.
“It’s really well made. I think I can use this as a sacred item. Thank you for taking care of mine too.”
“No. It was made possible because the leader of the church was generous and freed us from our shackles.”
His return was welcomed with good words. He returned on a fateful day, as the saying goes. But that fate was not the day on which the dagger was struck.
Someone opened the door and came in.
The visitor was tall and handsome to anyone who saw him. He was wearing a white robe embroidered with a splendid yet sophisticated pattern. He was my older brother, Grand Duke Geommuyang.
Everyone’s eyes were focused on him. Three people followed in behind Geommuyang.
The first person to enter was Mabul, followed by an old man and a young man.
Geommuyang, who discovered me among the people, opened his arms wide and walked towards me with brisk strides.
“Hey, how have you been?”
That’s right. My brother was like this. He was so confident and knew that he was superior to others.
Although he was sometimes problematic for thinking too much of himself, he also had a knack for making his arrogance look like confidence to his peers.
“I’ve been doing well. It’s been a while, hyung.”
I hugged my brother tightly. I hugged him sincerely, not pretentiously. I could feel my brother being slightly embarrassed by my reaction. He probably didn’t know. What I was thinking right now.
‘Brother, don’t let me regret holding your body. Don’t let me follow in the footsteps of my father.’
I know. Gowol said that the result depends on my brother, but that’s not the case. This time, it depends on my efforts.
‘So I’ll try. Not for you, but for me.’
When I left the school, I felt completely different, and a strange look flashed through Geommuyang’s eyes.
“I heard you became quite famous while I was away?”
“In a valley where there was no tiger, the fox reigned as king.”
“If the older brother is a tiger, how can the younger brother be a fox? You don’t have to be humble in front of me.”
At first glance, he seemed like a very caring older brother who cared for his younger brother.
But in my past life, my brother bullied me relentlessly. At the time, I didn’t know it was bullying.
Ever since I was very young, my brother tried to instill in me a negative image of martial arts and power.
A story about a man fighting with another man and dying, a story about a man going mad from obsession with a demon, a story about the demons betraying the heavenly demon.
Most of the stories he told me were cruel and negative. He shook my heart by telling me that if I tried to open the two veins of the Im-Duk-Yang-Maek (任督兩脈), my veins would burst and I would die.
I overcame it with my natural tenacity, but it was true that it had a negative effect on me, whether I knew it or not.
I can’t say anything about using every means and method in the fight for succession, but that doesn’t mean I should do something like that to my younger brother who is six or seven years old, hyung.
Then Ma-Bul intervened and said.
“Gongja. Now that the Grand Duke has returned, you must help your brother a lot. In this dangerous world of martial arts, who would look after each other? Humans betray as easily as they eat, so there is no one to trust.”
Then Ma-bul looked at Hyeon-cheon-doma. It was a word that was originally aimed at him. It was an open criticism of Hyeon-cheon-doma, who had supported Geommu-yang but then turned against me.
Bloodthirsty Demon, who felt sorry towards the Grand Duke, simply laughed.
Unlike the provocative Ma-bul, Geommu-yang was polite to Hyeon-cheon-do-ma.
“How have you been, sir?”
“Thanks to you, I had a good time. Are you on your way back now?”
“Yes. I just got here.”
“Have you seen the leader?”
“My father is already in bed, so I haven’t been able to see him. I guess I’ll have to pay him a visit tomorrow morning.”
“The leader will like it.”
After exchanging greetings, Geommuyang spoke quietly.
“I heard that you have been helping your younger sibling a lot lately.”
“Old people tend to be more fickle. You have to understand.”
“No. My brother’s business is my business and the school’s business. As an older brother, I thank you.”
“Thank you for your understanding.”
This time, Geommuyang spoke to Ilhwageomjon.
“You are still beautiful.”
“I wonder if we are brothers. Our Grand Duke is also quite a philanderer.”
Geommuyang took something out of the sleeve of his long robe and gave it to Ilhwageomjon.
“This is a cosmetic that I had a hard time finding overseas. It is said to be much better than the ones used by women in the Central Plains, so try it.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
Why would he only bring gifts to Ilhwageomjon? He must have brought a lot of things that would please the moods of other demons.
Even from this short greeting, I could clearly see why my brother was ahead of me at this time. At the time, I didn’t even know that my brother was taking care of the demons so meticulously. I guess I really only looked at myself. I guess I lived only looking at my own greed.
“Your Majesty, although it is late, I congratulate you on becoming a monarch.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
The greeting ended there. Ian and Seo Dae-ryong were not greeted. My brother was a thoroughgoing authoritarian. His motto was that if only the superiors could make their own people, the rest of the subordinates would naturally follow.
After Geommuyang finished greeting the two demons, this time Mabul stepped forward.
As soon as he saw the leader of the Pungcheon sect, he started to pick a fight with him.
“Did you put honey on the pillars of the main building? Why do you keep wandering around?”
Of course, the leader of the Pungcheon sect was not easy either.
“He took a sh*t and didn’t clean it up. It was a cute little golden shit.”
Mabul’s expression hardened in an instant. The two glared at each other as if they were going to kill each other. It only takes time for people to get close, but it only takes a moment for them to grow apart, and the two people who were the closest of friends had become separated like this.
As the two people built up a tense atmosphere, Geommuyang gave a signal to the two people behind him with his eyes.
Then the old man and the young man who had come in with Ma-Bul stepped forward to greet them.
A cold smile formed on my lips. They came in and it was the moment I had been waiting for the most. In fact, I had been waiting for this moment for decades.
