Chapter 46 – Got a Character Problem

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read more at Nineheavens.org

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Chapter 46 – Got a Character Problem?

It was exactly the fifth day since the three Guyang brothers Head Instructors had plunged into sword wind education while emphasizing passion, effort, and grit.

"D-Did it!"

One disciple who had thrust his sword jumped up and down so hard the training ground floor might break while shouting.

He had finally succeeded in emitting sword wind.

The speed and power still couldn't be called top-tier.

However, just comprehending the essence and personally executing it in only five days was already a remarkable achievement.

Soon, disciples began to emerge one by one, emitting energy wind through their swords in short bursts.

"Ah!"

"Did you see that? I finally emitted it!"

"Me too, me too!"

"Wow… This feeling of accomplishment holding a sword is a first!"

"Haha! It actually works!"

Voices of excitement from everyone.

After a bit more time passed, the remaining members also succeeded in emitting sword wind and let out cheers.

Thus, without a single exception, all disciples achieved their goal exactly on the deadline Cheol Ryu-heun had set.

As the training ground instantly transformed into a bustling marketplace.

"Seeing that makes me happy too. Haha."

Yeop Hwon, who had been practicing the ultimate technique, stopped his movements and laughed, and Hyeop Mu-geuk also lowered his sword-holding hand and smiled warmly.

"Yes, Elder. Isn't this a good example of falling seven times and rising eight?"

The determination to rise eight times even if you fall seven – they were proud of all the disciples who had displayed that tenacious spirit and finally achieved their goal.

"The three Head Instructors who taught them sincerely deserve praise too."

"Yes, exactly. Just look at the Head Instructors' expressions. They're proud as if it were their own accomplishment."

True to his words, the faces of Guyang Cheon, Guyang Ji, and Guyang In were brighter than ever.

On the surface it looked like expressions of fulfillment, but their actual inner thoughts were…

'Ah! W-We're alive! We barely escaped crisis!'

'Phew… Progress was slow so my heart was pounding with anxiety!'

'So this is what a narrow escape feels like! I never want to go through this again!'

Completely different feelings from what Hyeop Mu-geuk had said.

Of course, achieving the desired result did make them proud, but their sense of relief was greater.

It couldn't be helped.

If they hadn't completed the sword wind emission training by today, all three of them would have fallen into the living hell of ten thousand whole-body twists.

-Well, if you die, I'll at least bury you somewhere over there.

Recalling Cheol Ryu-heun's words, the three Head Instructor brothers breathed sighs of relief again while muttering the same thing internally.

'No matter what, he can't have meant that seriously. Anyway, we got past the big hurdle.'

Suddenly, an indifferent voice reached their ears.

"What, did they succeed?"

It was the voice of Cheol Ryu-heun, who had appeared at the training ground at some point.

Turning his head, Guyang Cheon shouted with a happy face.

"Haha! Sect Master! Come, look! Everyone is now capable of emitting basic sword wind!"

"Oh, seems so."

Suddenly, Tae Sa-ja came running across the training ground.

"Sect Master, as you ordered, I finished digging the hole. Big enough to easily fit three people."

In one hand, he held a dirt-covered shovel.

Simultaneously, the faces of the three Guyang brothers went pale white.

'Gah! Were you really going to bury us if we died?'

At that moment, Cheol Ryu-heun spoke indifferently.

"Won't need it anymore."

"Huh? Th-Then… Should I fill it back in?"

Tae Sa-ja looked crestfallen.

Damn, all that work for nothing.

He didn't know why he'd been told to make a hole anyway.

"Just leave it."

"Pardon?"

"It'll be needed again soon."

Cheol Ryu-heun said this while staring directly at the three Head Instructors.

"Impressive, right? Really completing it in just five days."

The three Guyang brothers remained silent.

Hmph, isn't the Sect Master who gave such a ridiculous order in the first place more impressive? In a different sense…

Somehow it felt frightening.

Their hearts went cold.

Look at that emotionless expression.

Ominous premonitions always come true, as they say.

"Sword energy emission training will also be enough with five days, right?"

The three Head Instructors had eyes that had given up on life.

Um, Master Demon Cheol.

We'll just go get in the hole ourselves.

But Cheol Ryu-heun paid no mind and spun around to walk away.

"Guests will be coming later. Everyone dress properly in advance."

Huh? What guests are coming?

Everyone tilted their heads, then suddenly their expressions changed.

'What, is another enemy we don't know about attacking!'

It had been like that before too.

Prepare to greet the guests, he'd said.

When the Thousand Snake Gang's elite forces led by White Snake Head Sword Gul Ma-hun had launched a surprise attack.

However, the fact that he specifically said to dress properly suggested enemies weren't coming.

Having roughly guessed, Hyeop Mu-geuk quickly asked.

"Sect Master, are people from another martial sect visiting by any chance?"

"Right."

"Ah, I see. But which place?"

"White Mountain Gate."

"…!"

The moment Hyeop Mu-geuk's expression changed completely.

"I didn't invite them."

"Pardon? Then…"

"They're coming of their own feet because they want true education."

Cheol Ryu-heun left only those words and disappeared to the other side of the training ground without looking back.

* * *

Ten years ago.

At that time, ten-year-old Cheol Ryu-heun had lost his parents to an epidemic and come to live at the village chief's house.

About two months after that.

White Peak Sword Sect Master Sagong Woon happened to visit the village chief's house and came to meet Cheol Ryu-heun, who was in a pitiful situation.

That was the beginning of their connection.

-Living alone without family at such a young age is no ordinary difficulty. I know because I've been through it myself. I'll become your new family now. Learning martial arts will be of great help to your future. What do you say? Will you follow me?

Led by Sagong Woon's warm touch, Cheol Ryu-heun formally joined White Peak Sword Sect that very day.

It was only three years.

The time it took for Cheol Ryu-heun, who had been a regular disciple, to grow repeatedly and be appointed as a direct disciple.

Though he wasn't the genius or prodigy type, it was an achievement of filling in his inadequacies with even greater effort.

From that point, people began to harbor jealousy and envy.

Moreover, one of them had particularly bullied Cheol Ryu-heun.

Yi Du-hwang.

None other than the disciple taken in by Guk Gyeong-in, Sagong Woon's junior martial brother.

Yi Du-hwang, who had joined earlier than Cheol Ryu-heun, was base and petty by nature regardless of his martial skill.

Eul Sa-jeok, who was also a direct disciple, was tolerable since he treated Cheol Ryu-heun respectfully as a senior martial brother on the surface, whatever his true feelings.

But junior Yi Du-hwang was different.

He acted friendly when superiors were watching, but when no one was around, he'd bring his group and torment him with insults and beatings.

Since he knew well that Cheol Ryu-heun wasn't the type to tattle, it was almost to the point of enjoyment.

When hitting, he deliberately aimed only for the torso so it wouldn't show.

Yi Du-hwang had joined earlier and was four years older, and his martial level was also higher.

Perhaps that was why he felt jealousy and envy even more strongly toward Cheol Ryu-heun, who was below him.

-You can't even match my martial level right now, yet you're the Sect Master's direct disciple? Hmph, development potential my foot… Current ability is more important.

-Hey, why don't you tell on what I did? Do you like getting hit? Kekeh.

-I'm telling you in advance… If the day ever comes when you become Sect Master, I'll leave this place without any regrets. Hak, ptoo!

But Cheol Ryu-heun silently endured everything.

Quite maturely, he controlled his emotions and promised himself the future.

His plan was to work with blood and sweat to build more strength, prove his qualifications, then give Yi Du-hwang a chance for repentance and generously embrace him.

He thought that as the disciple of Sagong Woon, who was called the White Gate Sword Gentleman, he should have at least that much magnanimity and ambition.

As such, he thought mending the conflict was most important.

In truth, the sect's decline thirty years ago had started with a major dispute between factions.

The mindset to think that way came from his master Sagong Woon's upright teachings.

Of course, if Cheol Ryu-heun's nature had been bad from the start, no matter how good the education, he would have cultivated hatred the moment he had friction with Yi Du-hwang.

'Sigh, that's what kind of person he was. The original owner of this body.'

The current Cheol Ryu-heun, the Divine Martial Sword, smiled silently while walking along the stone path leading to Mountain Patriarch Hall.

Yi Du-hwang and his followers had left this place five years ago.

Following their own master Guk Gyeong-in, who had brushed off Sagong Woon's attempts to stop him, saying he was sick of this wretched life.

Thus, Cheol Ryu-heun had no choice but to helplessly see off Yi Du-hwang, to whom he had wanted to give a chance for repentance.

White Mountain Gate.

The place mentioned earlier was precisely the martial sect Sagong Woon's junior martial brother Guk Gyeong-in had separately established.

Strictly speaking, it was like a branch sect of White Peak Sword Sect.

Why?

Because the root of White Mountain Gate's martial arts was the White Peak Sword Manual.

Guk Gyeong-in had slightly modified only the initial and intermediate chapter sword forms and packaged them under the name White Mountain Sword Technique to teach.

Everyone said it belonged to the White Peak Sword Manual, but White Mountain Gate itself denied this.

'Since Sagong Woon's funeral, I'm seeing those bastards' faces again.'

The purpose of the White Mountain Gate visit was obvious.

A request from the Azure Hound Merchant Guild.

That's right.

Previously, Cheol Ryu-heun had predicted and calculated this situation when he visited the Red Cat Merchant Guild.

Cheol Ryu-heun, no, the Divine Martial Sword muttered internally while tracing the memories of the previous body's owner remaining in his head.

'Your handling of things back then was composed beyond your years, but now I'll resolve it my way.'

Yes, debts must be repaid.

What was the Sect Master position?

It was the position representing the sect.

Personal prestige directly connected to the martial sect's prestige.

Since he, having borrowed Cheol Ryu-heun's body, had become Sect Master, he had to cleanly settle everything for his future actions.

Just burying the past humiliation and shame didn't suit his personality at all.

Over the past thousand years, he had seen countless times.

Groups that, if not stomped on early, would try even harder to crawl up whenever they saw an opening.

'Orthodox faction member? I don't care about that stuff. I'm just me, the Divine Martial Sword.'

The time for true education had approached.

* * *

About thirty swordsmen walking along the forest path in two long lines.

At the very front of the line, a middle-aged man with a mustache and a man in his mid-twenties with a broad face could be seen.

They were Guk Gyeong-in, Sect Master of White Mountain Gate, and Yi Du-hwang, his first disciple.

"We're almost there. To think we'd be visiting White Peak Sword Sect again after only half a year."

"Master, surely he won't fail to recognize our faces? You never know. If there are some aftereffects from spending such a long time as a vegetable…"

"Apparently he recognized Guild Master Choe immediately in Baizhou. That won't be the case."

"Ah, that is true. Anyway, hearing that guy became the new Sect Master makes my competitive spirit surge."

"How about formally requesting a sparring match on this occasion?"

"Heheh. I'd like that. As long as the opponent doesn't refuse."

"First, let's dig up the information the Azure Hound Merchant Guild is curious about."

"Yes, understood. I should test the strength I gained from taking elixirs recently."

Hearing Yi Du-hwang's words, Guk Gyeong-in gave a snort and looked far ahead while briefly thinking of the past.

-Junior, why are you trying to leave like this? Please, for the sake of our sect's revival, with me…

-Shut up! I'm done with all of it! Revival or whatever, you work hard at it by yourself, Senior! I'll find my own way!

-Junior!

-The connection through our sect is over! Just watch! This damned place probably won't last ten years! Bah!

Guk Gyeong-in didn't regret what happened then.

'Hey, Woon… You had to leave the world before that bedbound sick old man Yeop, and now look at White Peak Sword Sect. That young punk is playing master. What a sight. Apparently he recruited some master recently and is getting cocky, but it's all futile struggling. A maggot cannot become a butterfly.'

The White Mountain Gate party finally arrived at White Peak Sword Sect.

But then.

'Hm?'

Everyone looked toward the side of the main gate with puzzled expressions.

How strange.

Why was White Peak Sword Patriarch Do Dae-dam's stone tablet standing in a place like that?

"How odd. Why is this…"

Yi Du-hwang tilted his head and approached the stone tablet.

When he actually saw it, an old habit he'd forgotten came out.

A palm stroking the stone tablet surface.

During his days as a White Peak Sword Sect disciple, he used to touch it like this from time to time.

But at that moment.

Slide…

Suddenly the stone tablet tilted, then crashed into the ground in two pieces with a thunk!

Simultaneously, Yi Du-hwang's face went pale white.

'Gasp! Wh-Why is this happening?'

The reaction of Guk Gyeong-in and the rest of the party standing behind was the same.

At that moment.

The gate was thrown open and Cheol Ryu-heun, dressed in his Sect Master's formal attire, walked out step by step.

"Oh! Ryu-heun, it's been a while… Ah, I didn't do that."

At Yi Du-hwang's flustered non-greeting greeting, Cheol Ryu-heun cast an indifferent gaze.

"You carelessly destroy the revered ancestor's stone tablet?"

"What?"

"Got a character problem?"

"I only touched it! What nonsense…"

Cheol Ryu-heun grabbed Yi Du-hwang's chin, lifted his body in the air, and slammed him into the ground.

CRASH!

A shock as if his brain was being shaken.

"Gwuuhhh…"

The instant Yi Du-hwang, collapsed on the ground, let out a groan.

Whoosh-

Cheol Ryu-heun's right foot moved like lightning and mercilessly stomped and shattered the opponent's ribs.

CRACK-!