LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 58
Chapter 58: 10 Years, 0 Challengers
“······If it’s the Heavenly Body, then the odds are plenty. It’s not bravado. I apologize for underestimating the strength of the Gongdong Sect, Yujinhwi.”
“I have learned a lot from the move of Seomun Dae-hyeop. Thank you for your teachings.”
It wasn’t a teaching given with pure intentions.
However, it brought enlightenment to the martial artist of the Heavenly Body. That fact weighed heavily on Seomun Hyeon-cheon, but he was determined to turn away from it.
“Right. And as a fellow orthodox martial artist, as a figure of the Gansu martial arts, we cannot ignore the threat from the demonic faction encroaching on this land. I’ll make sure the main family participates as a witness in this contest. I’ll relay that to the Sect Leader.”
“Thank you.”
“Thank you, Seomun Dae-hyeop.”
A smile crept onto the lips of Lee Cheol-soo, who was studying martial arts.
At that moment, when the Seomun Family officially entered the contest as a witness.
[Master! I did well, right?]
Yujinhwi’s telepathic message reached his ears.
Despite her serious demeanor, Yujinhwi’s heart was currently racing.
Finally.
She had protected him.
This was different from the psychological warfare with Heuksaryong Wi Soryeon.
Wi Soryeon was merely a lowly opponent who couldn’t even stand against Yujinhwi. It wasn’t such a considerable risk after all.
But Jincheongyeomwang Seomun Hyeon-cheon was different.
She had been protected by a master among the seventeen renowned masters in the world.
She couldn’t not feel proud.
It was different from that night when her disciple didn’t even realize they were ambushed by a masked assailant in black.
For her disciple’s sake.
She could face even greater masters than Jincheongyeomwang.
[From now on, no matter who the opponent is or what the situation, I will protect my disciple. So don’t worry.]
Yujinhwi conveyed her reassuring voice towards her disciple.
She wanted to show him.
The fact that she was a reliable elder he could lean on.
That in this world, there was only her who thought about him and would wholeheartedly protect him without hesitation.
She wanted to say not to worry just like now.
‘This is the only thing I can do······.’
While Yujinhwi possessed a divine martial arts talent, her abilities were limited strictly to martial arts.
Her talents in other fields lagged a bit behind an ordinary person.
The fact that she was now on the run, that she had caused trouble for Seomun Hyeon-cheon, and that she had forced the wishes of the Gongdong Sect upon the Seomun Family.
Yujinhwi knew well that it was all thanks to her disciple.
By comparison, what she had done was merely display her martial strength. A trivial matter.
In unseen places, the disciple was devoted to the martial academy.
But the world wouldn’t acknowledge such efforts. Instead, they would praise her refined martial arts.
Yujinhwi couldn’t stand that fact.
‘So I need to acknowledge it myself.’
Even if the nine provinces’ monarchs all became enemies, she would stand on her disciple’s side.
With that determination in her heart, Yujinhwi turned her head to look at her disciple.
Their eyes met.
Her disciple, as if answering her telepathic message, slightly nodded.
Seeing her disciple, a soft smile appeared on Yujinhwi’s face.
Thump.
Her heart, which began to race, wouldn’t stop until Jincheongyeomwang finished greeting her and they stepped out to the contest together.
*
At the same time.
Mount Hengshan in Shanxi Province.
A paradise regarded as one of the Five Sacred Mountains of the Central Plains.
Known for its rugged mountain range and magnificent peaks, praised for the beauty of the North’s Hengshan, it boasts 108 peaks, so grand that it was often referred to as an entire mountain range.
On the highest peak of the treacherous Hengshan, piercing through the clouds, was the main base of the Gongdong Sect, who held a prominent seat among the Nine Great Sects.
Hangshan Sect.
Survivors of the Southern Sea Sword Pavilion, which was destroyed by the attack of the Blood Divine Demon 300 years ago, established this sect while fleeing from the chaos of the Blood Sect.
They replaced the fallen Gongdong Sect and became a well-respected major faction.
Even with the fall of the Blood Sect after the Great Battle at Payang Lake and the founding of the Ming Empire, Hangshan Sect still couldn’t return to their roots in Zhejiang Province.
This was due to the fact that the Milgeumdang, an alliance of smugglers now controlling the hegemony of Zhejiang, had claimed their place as the leader of the demonic factions, taking over from the Gongdong Sect.
Adding to that, the entire Southern River Area had become a realm of the demonic factions, making the revival of Hangshan Sect a distant dream.
Adhering to the traditions of the Sword Pavilion, Hangshan Sect only allowed women to enter, thus all disciples were female.
Likewise, the Sect Leader of Hangshan Sect, a master of refined martial arts, inherited the title of Geumhu from their ancestors.
And at the age of 46 this year, the current Geumhu and master of Hwakyung was Eun Seol-ran, who was conducting her duties at Wol Eun Pavilion in the heart of the Hangshan Sect’s main base.
Thanks to her mastery of the Moon Maiden Sword, her hair and eyebrows glimmered with a translucent silver under the sunlight filtering through the bars, reminiscent of the moonlight.
Though she was 46 years old, her refined martial arts kept her beauty at that of a mid-20s maiden.
At that moment, while Eun Seol-ran was busy with her duties.
“Master!”
Creek.
The door opened, and a smiley girl with silver hair mixed in with her black locks, So Geom-hu Cheon Sobin, entered.
“What is it?”
Eun Seol-ran asked her in a voice as cold as her silver hair.
“I bring news that there are still no challengers today! Haha. Indeed, Master, the idol of all women of the martial world! How dare a man try to take you? They need at least a hundred years to be worthy! Hahahahaha!”
Cheon Sobin spoke with a gleeful expression.
“Is that so.”
Eun Seol-ran replied with an unchanging tone.
Seeing that, Cheon Sobin suppressed her racing heart and marveled inwardly.
As expected of the Master!
The idol of all female martial artists.
She could never be given away to any man.
Unlike Cheon Sobin, Eun Seol-ran’s insides were boiling.
‘Why hasn’t there been a challenger in ten years!’
Thirty years ago.
When she was still a vibrant sixteen-year-old Geom-hu.
At that time, in the Yongbong Society, she declared.
‘I will take a man who can defeat me as my husband. Anyone, if they are of equal caliber as an orthodox faction martial artist, can challenge me and take me as their partner if they win. But, only if that’s possible.’
In contrast to men choosing their partners, she made a shocking declaration to choose her husband.
That declaration shook not just the Yongbong Society, but the entire orthodox martial world, leading countless challengers to attempt to claim her as their partner.
The result was a total victory.
Given that she was the most talented in the history of the Sword Pavilion and the Hangshan Sect, perhaps it was a predetermined outcome.
The young Eun Seol-ran had been intoxicated with the belief that, unlike other women, she could determine her own fate.
It set her apart from the other maidens. In truth, the women of the martial world were fervent for her actions.
For most women in the martial arts, their destinies typically culminated in arranged marriages or matchmaking, forcing them to become outsiders. Thus, they were thrilled by Eun Seol-ran’s deviation from the ordinary woman’s life.
But as the years rolled by, ten years and then twenty.
Transitioning from Geom-hu to Geumhu and reaching the Stage of Transcendence.
Eun Seol-ran’s thoughts changed.
Friends she made back in Yongbong Society had now built families and birthed children, happily enjoying the joys of womanhood.
Whether through matchmaking or arranged marriages, many women embraced their lives and enjoyed companionship for a century as a devoted couple. Some friends even occasionally boasted about their children and grandchildren.
‘But what about me?’
She had no husband, nor a significant other.
In fact, she couldn’t even find one.
The declaration she made thirty years ago still shackled her.
To officially have a significant other, a partner, she needed to win in a martial arts match.
But naturally, since she became a master and a sought-after target, no man dared to challenge her from any orthodox faction.
Her beauty had long been known throughout the Central Plains martial world, yet male admirers merely revered her like a flower on a cliff, treating her with respect as a figure of authority.
No man in the world treated her as a woman.
It was all because of that martial arts contest.
Conversely, she still enjoyed an explosive popularity among women. As So Geom-hu mentioned, she had become an idol to all female martial artists in her position. Initially, that fame was enjoyable, but now it was not.
‘I too… wish someone was by my side…’
The first ten years had been pleasant. The next ten felt somewhat empty.
And the last ten… was terrifying. A feeling of being left alone in the world. She wished someone would fill this emptiness in her heart. Regretting her past youthful decisions, she realized it was too late to turn back.
Sometimes, she even dreamt sordid dreams of indecent acts embraced in the arms of an unknown man, hinting at her longing for male affection.
Men of her caliber were already all married or devoutly bound by religious reasons like Sinseung.
That’s why in the past decade, not a single challenger had arisen before her.
Yet it was unthinkable for her to retract her bold statement now; she had come too far. Allowing challenges from the demonic factions made no sense at all.
For thirty years, the admiration and envy from the young women of the martial world surrounding her had also played a role in the current prosperity of the Hangshan Sect.
The young Cheon Sobin standing right before her was one such girl.
Moreover, it was a matter of face. Would she really go back on the words of the Geumhu and master of Hwakyung? That was out of the question.
Thus, the best option would be for someone to defeat her in martial arts.
‘······I can’t go on like this. If this continues, I will live my life alone like that woman, and I can’t let that happen.’
Eun Seol-ran recalled Jeoksawol.
The Sado Family’s renowned beauty, known as the Most Beautiful Woman in the World, lived a life of solitude for sixty years.
Rumors suggested that she hated men and refused to associate with them, a mindset that Eun Seol-ran found incomprehensible.
She had absolutely no intention of living in solitude.
At this moment, she was already well past the right age for marriage.
She must act before it’s too late. Living in solitude until her sixties like Jeoksawol was something she would take to her grave.
Yet there hadn’t been a challenger for ten years.
“Oh, and Master! There’s one more thing! Strange rumors are circulating about the contest between the Gongdong Sect and the Heukryongbang. Whichever side wins will dominate the martial world for the next hundred years·····. People are already considering this contest as the Orthodox Faction Competition.”
So Geom-hu Cheon Sobin brought up another topic.
The contest between Heukryongbang and Gongdong Sect.
Eun Seol-ran was already aware of it.
For good reason, since the Hangshan Sect rose to prominence by replacing the fallen Gongdong Sect.
The discarded Gongdong Sect would naturally view Hangshan Sect with suspicion.
Thus, there was an unspoken grudge between the two.
Even if Gongdong Sect fell, they couldn’t simply ignore it.
“Is that so?”
But even so, it was just idle curiosity.
She had no intention of getting involved beyond that. There was no justification for her involvement.
In truth, if Gongdong Sect were to fall, it would benefit the Hangshan Sect since it would eliminate that grudge.
However, if it escalated from a simple contest to an Orthodox Faction Competition… then things would take a different turn.
As a member of the Gu Dae Munpa leading the orthodox martial world, Hangshan Sect could not turn a blind eye to the Orthodox Faction Competition.
“Yes. And I also received a letter from the Gongdong Sect Leader today.”
Swish.
Cheon Sobin extended the letter to Eun Seol-ran.
She glanced at its contents.
‘Request for witness participation······.’
It was a letter requesting participation as a witness for the contest.
“Other Gu Dae Munpa members have also received letters, Master.”
Upon hearing her disciple’s words, the Geumhu folded the letter.
If other Gu Dae Munpa also received it, then there was no option left.
Moreover, given the shared history of grudges between the Gongdong Sect and Hangshan Sect, it was only right to accept their request for witness participation, given that they initiated it.
Recently, with nothing happening at the main base and having no challengers, she felt miserable.
It wouldn’t be bad to take a trip to refresh herself.
Deciding on this, Eun Seol-ran stood up.
“It seems it’s time for a long-overdue outing. Prepare yourself. And don’t forget to send a response to Gongdong Sect first.”
“Yes, Master.”
So Geom-hu bowed her head.
Eun Seol-ran tucked the letter into her robes and left the Sect Leader’s office.
The Geumhu’s footsteps were now heading out of Hangshan, towards Gansu.