Chapter 19 : Three, No, Four Feet

Chapter 19: Three, No, Four Feet

That question was also still a problem that, for him, was difficult to answer fully.

‘To move on to the next stage....’

He had to have the strength to deal with the enemies of the next stage. If he didn’t have that confidence, then no matter how slowly he leveled up, he had to keep hunting black-clad fighters. He had wiped out the black-clad fighters here, so even if he went to another city, the natural course was to hunt black-clad fighters.

He should first check the abilities he gained upon reaching Level 7, and then give an answer to that problem.

[Critical ERROR...]

As expected.

At the same time as he leveled up, the Critical ERROR message window—one he had now grown fairly used to—floated up and muddled his mind.

A fatal error.

It would have been fine if it stopped telling him, but this time too, without fail, the system informed him that he was the product of a fatal error.

Click.

Dong Bong-su closed the noisy error window that kept yapping on.

And calmly checked the benefits brought about by leveling up.

The Status Window, as usual, had nothing beyond a steady increase. The Quest Window was still overflowing with X marks, and there were no newly arrived gifts in the Inventory either.

Just like when he rose from Level 2 to 6, the only window with a distinctive change was the Skill Window.

First, the proficiency of the two Active Skills he had obtained at Level 5 rose little by little. He already knew that, and it was only natural.

What mattered was that, upon reaching Level 7 this time, two new skills had been added.

[Circulating Energy and Practicing the Art Lv.1 Proficiency : 0%]

- A training method that artificially guides the energy stored in the dantian through the meridians distributed throughout the body.

- Upon activation, Attack Power and Defense temporarily increased.

- Duration/Cooldown: 5/10 (minutes)

- Vital Energy consumed per use: 100 JP

- Current Skill Bonus: Attack Power/Defense 30% increase

[Three Talents Sword Art Second Form Straight Thrusting Yellow Dragon Lv.1 Proficiency : 0%]

- A sword art so common in Murim. Even ordinary people without internal energy could learn it.

- Straight Thrusting Yellow Dragon was an enhanced version of Thrust.

- All action bonus values of this skill are related to the proficiency of related skills and whether Sword Energy/Sword Force were activated.

- Current Applied Level: Lv.1 (The player could adjust this skill’s level range.)

- Thrust Range Bonus: 1%

- Thrust Attack Power Bonus: 1%

- Thrust Casting Speed Bonus: -0%

- Vital Energy consumed per use: 30 JP

[Lightness Skill], [Circulating Energy and Practicing the Art], [Three Talents Sword Art First, Second Form]

Dong Bong-su steadily examined the abilities of the skills he had obtained now, along with the skills he had obtained at Level 5.

Lightness Skill was something used like a Passive Skill as long as JP was infinite, and Three Talents Sword Art was, exactly as the word ‘sword art’ implied, an offensive skill.

On the other hand, Circulating Energy and Practicing the Art was the first ‘buff’–type skill he had obtained. The Vital Energy consumption looked quite large, but the abilities gained were extremely good.

Attack Power and Defense increase of 30%.

Even without using it, its enormity could be inferred.

Although it had the drawbacks of a 5-minute duration and a 10-minute cooldown, if it was used only when necessary, those drawbacks didn’t seem that significant.

Next.

Swish-, slash-.

He consecutively activated Sweeping a Thousand Armies and Straight Thrusting Yellow Dragon, the First and Second Forms of the Three Talents Sword Art. They connected very smoothly, but there didn’t seem to be any special bonus. He then tried using them in reverse order, but this time as well, the two movements merely flowed together flexibly, as if they had originally been one. That was the end of it. He realized that chaining forms of the same sword art didn’t produce any special benefit.

After finishing his check of the newly acquired skills, he put Jo Pyeong’s horribly dead corpse into the Inventory and advanced forward.

Splash, splash.

The road of Paradise Village, which had turned into a sea of blood, ended quickly. Behind Paradise Village, wide rice paddies and fields spread out, and in the middle of them stood a fairly large estate.

Paradise Estate.

“Paradise, huh.”

It was an unfitting name.

Ah, from my perspective, it’s a sufficiently fitting and romantic name.

At least, for me.

If only that place was brought down now, Bongyang’s Black Division would completely disappear.

He would decide after testing the newly acquired skills over there.

Whether to advance or to remain here a little longer.

● ● ●

Dong Bong-su stepped inside Paradise Estate.

Thinking that black-clad fighters might be hiding in the paddies or fields, he approached slowly and cautiously. However, there was no one to obstruct his advance.

Rather, the gates of Paradise Estate were wide open.

Seeing the open gates, he recalled the two possible strategies that Bang Po-yeom, the Society Leader of the Black Snake Society, could choose.

An Empty Fort Stratagem? Or was it Retreat Is Best?

If it were the Empty Fort Stratagem, he would have to stop advancing for now, and if it were Retreat Is Best, then he also had to stop here. Either way, if he went inside, there would be no one there.

Even so, Dong Bong-su stepped into Paradise Estate.

That was because, aside from those two strategies, there was one more option a human could choose.

That was,

Giving up.

When humans faced hardships they absolutely couldn’t deal with, or when they stood on the brink of losing everything, they chose one of two options. They either resolved themselves to death and fought back, or otherwise, they simply died as they were.

Dong Bong-su was convinced that Bang Po-yeom had chosen the latter. The entire Paradise Estate was enveloped in that kind of atmosphere.

The fight at Paradise Village had probably been nothing more than a desperate last stand before death.

“Are you the Unnamed Righteous Hero?”

As Dong Bong-su set foot inside Paradise Estate, a single old and hollow voice came from the darkness.

A gaunt old man with white hair was looking at Dong Bong-su. Dong Bong-su instinctively knew that the old man was Bang Po-yeom.

Even at Bang Po-yeom’s words, Dong Bong-su said nothing. He merely approached Bang Po-yeom slowly.

“If you’re a righteous hero, why are you so tightly covered up?”

“Because I’m not a righteous hero.”

A short reply.

“Heh heh. Not a righteous hero? Then why have you been going around killing the Black Division?”

“Because I’m not a righteous hero.”

The answer was the same. And both were correct. Because he wasn’t a righteous hero, he hid his face, and because he wasn’t a righteous hero, he went around killing black-clad fighters.

“Heh heh. You really fooled everyone in Bongyang.”

“I never fooled anyone. They just believed it themselves.”

Dong Bong-su was, as always, stating the truth. He had merely hidden himself within the belief people wanted to believe.

There was a saying that one only saw as much as one knew. Similarly, people believed what they wanted to believe, or saw what they wanted to see. Whatever was convenient for them. The truth behind it all didn’t matter.

“...An interesting fellow. Even if I cross the River of Three Crossings today, I don’t think I’ll regret it.”

Clang!

A clear sword ring echoed throughout Paradise Estate. Bang Po-yeom had drawn his sword.

“Come. Whether you’re the Unnamed Righteous Hero or not, you came to kill me anyway, didn’t you? Let’s have a bout.”

Dong Bong-su also slowly drew his sword. It was the Beginner’s Sword. And he even activated Circulating Energy and Practicing the Art, the skill he had obtained today. For a brief moment, a violent surge of energy burst forth from his body.

“A fine sword, and fine momentum.”

Bang Po-yeom exclaimed in admiration as he extended his sword toward Dong Bong-su. It was a kind of etiquette taken mutually when crossing swords. But Dong Bong-su didn’t know such a thing. And even if he had known, he wouldn’t have followed it.

Srrrng-.

The merciless cry of a sword.

To him, a sword was nothing more than a weapon to kill his opponent.

Without even a moment’s hesitation, Dong Bong-su charged at Bang Po-yeom.

● ● ●

How strong was I now? Was I strong enough to truly leap into Murim?

Step, step.

As Dong Bong-su left Paradise Estate, he asked himself that question once more.

Drip, drip, drip.

The answer was instead given by the blood flowing down from the tip of his sword.

That it was now time to advance to the next stage.

● ● ●

The World of Murim.

A world of contests that crossed life and death, and a land of ambition where desires were realized. A place where revenge and grudges were tangled like threads, where the rules of everyday life were ignored, and the laws of Jianghu took precedence.

People sometimes classified martial practitioners with terms like the Orthodox Faction, the Unorthodox Faction, or the Demonic Path, but to ordinary people, all of it was nothing but nonsense. In their eyes, martial practitioners were all the same—mere ‘lawless ones’.

The current Murim existed in a state where three great powers were maintaining a balance. This was the so-called State of Tripartite Balance. Like a cauldron standing upright on three legs. If even one of those legs collapsed, the state of the world would rapidly change.

People thus called each of the forces forming the three legs of the cauldron the Three Dominators, and accordingly referred to the present Jianghu as the World of the Three Dominators.

The Murim Alliance.

A collective formed by the Nine Sects and One Gang, the Five Great Families of the Central Plains, and countless small and medium-sized orthodox factions of Jianghu. Since Shaolin had led the initial formation of the Murim Alliance, its main headquarters was also located near Mount Song, where Shaolin resided—specifically in Zhengzhou, the provincial capital of Henan Province.

When all orthodox factions belonging to the Murim Alliance united, there was no question that the Murim Alliance became the greatest force in Murim. However, under the laws of the Murim Alliance, the Murim Alliance Leader possessed very limited authority, so this massive organization could not be privatized under a single individual. As a result, in ordinary times, the Murim Alliance was merely a symbolic body of the Orthodox Faction.

That said, there were times when all orthodox factions of Murim united under the banners of the Murim Alliance and its leader, and that was when the Central Plains were invaded by foreign powers. Except for such times, it was nothing more than a loosely connected confederation, and at times, fierce secret struggles and conflicts erupted among the orthodox factions within it.

Heavenly Demon Castle.

A group that worshipped the Heavenly Demon, who had unified Murim over a thousand years ago, and was located in Xinjiang. Their influence, in truth, reached virtually every corner of the world, but their openly visible power was concentrated in Xinjiang and Tibet.

In practice, it was the single largest force in Murim, and the Lord of Heavenly Demon Castle wielded absolute authority within it. If he so desired, the experts of Heavenly Demon Castle could cross Qinghai and charge into the Central Plains as early as tomorrow. However, in such a case, the Murim Alliance Leader would immediately circulate Murim dispatches and launch a counterattack, which was why they could not easily make such a move.

The Hall of Unorthodox.

The weakest among the Three Dominators, and a force scorned as unorthodox side paths. However, if they sided with the Murim Alliance, the world would instantly become one ruled by the Orthodox Faction, and if they sided with Heavenly Demon Castle, Heavenly Demon Castle would immediately seize the world. In effect, the force that played the most crucial role in maintaining the tripartite balance was none other than this Hall of Unorthodox.

When one gained power, one reigned over the world, but if one fell behind, one had to lie down on the cold earth, bleeding.

Thus, sayings like the ruthless Jianghu or the heartless Jianghu came into being.

It wasn’t merely because they were masters of walking a tightrope that they were feared. As they controlled the underground world of the realm, they were the only force that, with their immense financial power, could move even the authorities from the shadows—albeit in a limited manner.

For the past hundred years or so, there had been no fatal clashes among these three forces. It was what people called a time of peace.

However, a tripartite balance was an unstable state that began to creak even if the balance on one side was slightly off.

In truth, this cauldron called the Murim Jianghu had been creaking nonstop for the past hundred years. It was merely that the Hall of Unorthodox’ dangerous tightrope-walking had maintained that equilibrium well.

But what if.

What if this cauldron didn’t have three legs, but four? And what if that leg stood at the very center of the cauldron, hardly visible from the outside?

What if that central leg had been maintaining the balance from the shadows?

The three legs might have been under the illusion that the balance held with just the three of them alone. At a glance, the central leg was barely visible, and even if it existed, it seemed like something that could just as well not exist.

But was that really the case?

If the central leg was far larger and sturdier than the other three legs combined, then even without the other three, the cauldron would naturally still stand.

Unseen....

If there truly was such a leg, and if that leg was bigger and stronger than the remaining three combined.