Chapter: 558
Inside a cave where cold air flows through.
In contrast to the barren and dry background, the tip of the nose is filled with the scent of plum blossoms.
It was the first time.
The plum blossom scent is so rich and beautiful.
A deep and mysterious fragrance that I have never felt even from a long-haired person.
Even though several days had passed, Yeongpung still vividly remembered the scene from that time.
The energy of plum blossoms, which at first glance felt rough but also warm.
[Nice to meet you.]
Even the voice I heard in my ear.
Yeongpung tried hard not to forget any traces of it.
[You can’t see or hear it, but if you can hear my voice, it must be the child of the volcano.]
It’s just a voice that can be heard.
The moment Yeongpung heard that voice, he unconsciously began to bow.
I don’t know who it is.
One.
Somehow, I felt like it had to be that way.
[How is the volcano now? Are the plum blossoms still beautiful?]
To the question, Yeongpung answered yes.
[I really hope so.]
The voice, unable to hear Yeongpung’s answer, gives its own response.
There was a vague sense of longing and faith in that voice.
[Child of the nameless volcano.]
[My name is Shincheol.]
Yeongpung had to open his eyes wide at the words he heard.
Throughout the long history of the volcano, many people bore the name Shincheol.
Now, there is only one person that comes to mind for Yeongpung.
Hwasan Seongeom (華山善劍) Shincheol.
He is one of the heroes who prevented the Blood Demon’s calamity.
He was a respected great man who created the shining volcano we see today.
And.
He was also Yeongpung’s ideal.
‘The greatest warrior ever produced by the volcano.’
The youngest Plum Blossom Inspector was said to be Yeongpung of that era.
Until then, the person who held that nickname was the Volcanic Sword.
Until Yeon Il-cheon, the greatest warrior of the time, appeared in the Central Plains.
An ancestor who never suffered a single defeat and was praised for having made the plum blossoms bloom.
That is the Volcanic Sword Shincheol.
If the Volcanic Sword wanted to make the plum blossoms bloom, it would have been during the seventh night, and the sky was said to turn a purplish hue.
In the name of the volcano, he wished to save the weak people.
A great man who plunged into battle while clutching the collapsing volcano.
He was a person worthy of being hailed as a hero and was revered by all the Taoists of the Hwasan Sect.
It is said that he was kind and warm-hearted, never ignoring the sick and weak.
How can one not dream of such a person?
Even though the person Yeongpung longs to surpass is but a son of the Googga family.
The one he aspires to become is the Volcanic Sword.
To that extent.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Yeongpung had to feel his heart pounding like crazy right now.
How can the Volcanic Sword Lord be here?
Is this truly his voice?
No matter how hard he tried to calm down, Yeongpung just couldn’t manage it.
He must believe.
How could he not, when the heavy scent of plum blossoms enveloped him?
With that in mind, he stared at the beads in front of him.
This warm energy and the fragrance lingering at his nose were all felt from that place.
[It must have been fate that you and I met here.]
[Hey, kid. Child of the Volcano.]
The voice of the Volcanic Sword fell with a solemn and heavy tone.
As Yeongpung answered the question.
The Volcanic Sword, after a moment of silence, spoke again.
[Soon, a calamity will descend upon the world.]
Without even having a moment to be astonished by the sudden words, Hwasan Seongeom continued speaking.
[The fact that I am conveying this to you means that ultimately… no, I have failed.]
Yeongpung couldn’t comprehend the current situation.
Failed? What did the Volcanic Sword Master fail at?
It was said that the calamity of that time was surely prevented by the Volcanic Sword and his comrades.
[I’m sorry for having such a disappointing ancestor.]
No, it isn’t true.
Yeongpung shouted inwardly that absolutely was not the case.
It seemed that Youngpung’s voice did not reach Hwasanseongeom.
[A child of a volcano whose name I don’t even know.]
[I wish for you to complete the story I couldn’t finish.]
He was simply expressing his own request.
Yet Yeongpung didn’t mind that at all.
What mattered was.
[After me…]
The one who dreamt of ideals.
It meant that he was trying to bestow upon him the unfinished task he couldn’t complete.
That was enough for Yeongpung.
Thus, without a moment’s hesitation, he grasped the nameless bead inside the cave.
He absorbed the outpouring energy entirely and placed it within his body.
Feeling the plum blossoms rising in his danjeon, Yeongpung was now convinced.
This energy is undoubtedly of that great man.
Therefore, accepting it was far from difficult.
Although it possessed a rough and sharp exterior, its roots were identical.
He simply needed to embrace it.
Even without performing any extraordinary feats, the energy naturally settled into Yeongpung’s body as if it were a humble abode.
After absorbing all the energy, when Yeongpung regained his senses, numerous transformations had already transpired within him.
His bones had thickened.
His blood flowed with a density entirely different from before, and his realm had ascended.
It was serendipity.
In his transformed body and elevated realm, Yeongpung exhaled deeply.
His heavy breath was thick with an essence.
Feeling this, Yeongpung pondered.
‘Am I truly his successor?’
That he must fulfill the task he couldn’t complete.
Even if naively chosen, it felt burdensome and chilling.
Yet Yeongpung managed to get fired up just with that thought.
I can do this.
No, I have to do this.
If there exists something he couldn’t achieve, then he would take on that challenge himself.
What kind of calamity could be approaching that He left such a message?
Following the Volcanic Sword, he must prevent disaster.
Sure, that’s what he thought.
“What the hell is this…! Get out of here!?”
Yeongpung felt a surge of inexplicable emotions as he beheld the sight before his eyes.
It was a feeling he had never experienced since the day he was born.
Something is wrong.
This was the first thought that crossed his mind as the situation unfolded.
‘This isn’t good…’
In the midst of the sudden mayhem, he turned his head to glance at his right arm.
There was something tightly secured around it, which had been empty just moments before.
‘…Dammit…’
He inwardly cursed at the sight of it.
The touch of the object felt unnervingly familiar.
Of course, it was something he had been carrying on his left arm for years.
If there was a difference, this one had a magenta hue.
‘The left arm is light blue.’
No, even that wouldn’t suffice to distinguish them.
The one on the left arm had also started as a magenta.
He bit down on his lip in realization.
‘It’s Guijeong.’
The creature that leaped upon his right arm was undoubtedly Guijeong.
After witnessing it firsthand, he felt certain.
This was indeed the item that once belonged to Shin Noya.
That implies…
‘Two Guijeongs?’
The one tethered to his left arm and the one that had now attached to his right.
They both claimed to share the same essence.
‘What on earth happened here?’
Questions flooded his mind regarding this perplexing situation, yet there was no time to probe into the details.
“…that.”
He looked up at the voice that rang out.
Of course, Gureunghwa and Yeongpung were present too.
And there’s that old man over there.
Even Woo-Baek was watching this with amused interest from behind.
As soon as he gathered his thoughts, his expression shifted.
He spoke with a look of shock and bewilderment.
“Hey, what is this?”
He felt dizzy as the words escaped him, his tone stiff and clumsy.
‘Rotten.’
No matter how he tried, his bad habit of being clumsy while trying to act remained intact.
Fortunately, it seemed that due to the sheer shock of the situation, no one caught on to his awkwardly disjointed speech.
“Your Majesty… What in the world is this? What’s happening here?”
When he directed his question to Geom-hu, Geom-hu responded with wide eyes.
“…That’s… Guijeong…”
“Gu-Guijeong?!”
As soon as he processed the words, he widened his eyes and turned to Geom-hu.
“Is this the legendary weapon used by Hwasan’s Heavenly Sword Master, Shincheol, the era’s hero who stopped the bloody calamity…?!”
“Uh… huh?”
“It appears shabby and worn like a rag, yet that’s the very essence of a legendary item that never breaks and can transform into any shape the wielder desires!?”
“…Uh… Yeah… Oh, you seem to know more than I expected.”
“Oh my! But how on earth did it suddenly end up in my hands…!!”
He did his utmost to display a shocked reaction.
He thought surely even Shin Noya, who had often chided him for his failures in lying, would appreciate his performance.
“…”
“Brother… Where does it hurt?”
Tsk.
Seemingly, that trick didn’t work either.
‘What now?’
He simply couldn’t grasp why this was failing so miserably.
He fancied that he had managed fairly well.
‘So what’s the next move?’
If even a fib fails, it’s best to act totally clueless…
“Old association.”
“Huh?”
He could feel someone tightly gripping his right arm.
It was Yeongpung.
“This is the treasure of the text.”
“A seal?”
Wondering why Yeongpung was behaving so strangely, he sought eye contact.
‘Hmm…?’
He had to pause as he noted something unusual in Yeongpung’s eyes.
‘What was that?’
It felt both familiar and vexing to him.
“Please give it back.”
Grasp.
He felt the strength in the hand that gripped him tighten further.
He tried to ignore it, forcing a smile as he replied to Yeongpung.
“Sorry, but I’d love to give you a seal as well.”
Did he assume he was refusing simply because he didn’t want to share?
‘I was surprised too, kid.’
Out of nowhere, a ghost suddenly flew from the air, sinking into his arm. How could anyone remain unfazed by that?
“First, can you explain what’s going on here? I’m also a victim of this situation.”
“…Please give it back.”
“Hmm.”
Though he was attempting a calm explanation, it appeared Yeongpung was not listening attentively.
In particular, he felt the grip on his arm increasing in intensity.
He wondered how further to explain when a sudden sigh erupted from him.
‘Ah, this is a drag.’
As that thought crossed his mind, his arm moved as if under its own command.
“Hold on, let’s settle down first…”
As if sensing Yeongpung’s unusual atmosphere, Geomhu rushed over to stop him.
BANG!
“…!”
However, his hand was swifter than her.
Crack…
Youngpung, suddenly struck under the chin, fell back, letting out a soft groan.
He seized Youngpung by the collar to ‘support’ him so he wouldn’t hit the ground completely, and then looked at Geomhu.
Maybe because he acted without hesitation, Geomhu’s face was adorned with surprise.
He met her gaze and asked blandly.
“Could you explain this again?”
“…”
“I might have missed it.”
He smiled when saying that, but the atmosphere had already turned cold.
Later, he managed to somewhat stabilize the situation.
While Yeongpung did faint, Geomhu and Gureunghwa were there, so there were no significant issues.
‘It nearly became a bit of a hassle.’
Anyway, he navigated through it. Of course, others suffered more than him.
‘What can I do? I didn’t do anything.’
In this instance, it was not his intent; hence, he felt aggrieved.
He glanced down at his right arm.
Unlike before, it now appeared empty. Observing this, he took a moment to compose himself and reflect on what happened earlier.
‘At least it’s obedient.’
Compared to the one on his left arm that wouldn’t leave no matter how desperately he asked, the one that jumped on him this time was deceptively compliant.
Asking to detach, it came loose before long.
‘Thanks to that, things went smoothly.’
He could escape the sensation of having unexpectedly snatched Guijeong.
The real concern was.
‘What caused this?’
Why did that Guijeong come to him?
Rumor has it that the moment the inspector brought and set down the box on the table, Guijeong fled on its own towards him.
‘What a terrifying thing.’
Upon hearing that tale, he couldn’t contain a laugh.
It was the first instance he had ever heard of an object possessing will and merely taking off like that.
‘Could it have caught a whiff of my intentions or something?’
From Guijeong, he felt nothing.
Thus, he devised some hypotheses.
‘The most plausible explanation is the energy of Noya residing within me.’
As Shin Noya’s favored item, if one sought reasoning for why Guijeong behaved that way, this was likely the only rationale.
However.
‘Then what of Yeongpung?’
This immediately raised questions regarding Youngpung.
Yeongpung claimed he had clearly discovered Shin Noya’s traces within the cave and obtained the secret.
If that’s the case, Guijeong should have approached Yeongpung instead of dashing toward him.
‘That didn’t happen.’
Then natural inquiries rose within him.
The traces Yeongpung possessed.
‘Is it genuinely the trace of Noya?’
Thus continued the whirlpool of thoughts in his mind as he journeyed back and forth.
Is it truly correct that Yeongpung is, in fact, the descendant of Shin Noya?
If so, then what about him?
What exactly defines this peculiar situation?
Had Noya been present, it would have been a simple matter, but with him absent, the complexity deepened.
Yes, contemplation.
He was trudging through thoughts, absolutely certain he was Noya’s descendant.
The reason being simple.
‘Because I’m not convinced.’
He wasn’t stating uncertainty regarding being Noya’s descendant.
‘I’m not convinced whether Noya’s energy is genuine.’
This hesitation stemmed from uncertain feelings about the authenticity of both the energy and traces that Youngpung carried.
Though it felt somewhat ambiguous, the energy that Youngpung held was undoubtedly Noya’s.
That certainty stood firm.
‘After a few days, I’ll know.’
He knew that they shared a common energy.
Thus, being overly cautious, he made sure they wouldn’t resonate excessively.
Tsk.
‘This has grown absurdly tedious.’
Whether it was Guijeong or some other complexity, this was undeniably convoluted.
It would have been easier had everything turned out to be fake, but the realness of it all was infuriating.
‘Damn old man, why now?’
He stifled the urge to curse that illustrious old fellow within himself.
It was hardly just that he wanted to chastise the elder who tackled issues in his stead, as his minuscule conscience nudged him.
So.
While he had mixed feelings about the situation.
‘Let’s put aside these thoughts for now.’
First and foremost, let’s address the immediate matter at hand.
With that thought, he gathered strength into his legs.
Grrrgh!
By pressing down firmly, a groan escaped from the floor.
He looked down to see the source of the sound.
Someone lay beneath his foot, wincing in pain.
Staring at them, he said.
“I tend to keep my word.”
By any means necessary, he intended to keep his promise.
So, he was doing just that.
“I said it earlier.”
As the words escaped his lips, fear flickered in his opponent’s eyes.
He relished the moment while smiling and continued.
“If you draw your sword, you will die.”
At those words, the shaman’s dragon sword, Ji-cheol, began to tremble lightly.
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