"So, they called him the Sword Immortal in the secular world, didn't they? Martial artists love giving people fancy nicknames, right?"
Aaaah!
Now I understand who this "Sunyangja" is.
It was the Daoist title of the Sword Immortal.
Then... does that mean she realized that the power referred to as her master's Dao wasn't the technique of sword energy manipulation but rather the power of Jade Form?
Even the Eight Great Masters and infamous villains couldn't see that.
Come to think of it, this woman spoke as though the Sword Immortal were her own master.
Could it be that she truly revered the one who transcended the mortal realm?
"...Who exactly are you?"
"Me?"
The woman chuckled softly, clasped her hands in greeting, and said boldly:
"I'm Yeo Yangseon, the official second disciple of Master Sunyangja."
"Official second disciple?"
I don't understand what that means.
She speaks as if she were the disciple of the living Sword Immortal.
If this woman who introduced herself as Yeo Yangseon truly inherited the Sword Immortal's legacy, she must have obtained the third and final treasure.
But claiming to be the second disciple implies there's someone else who inherited the legacy as well?
While I was still puzzled, she said:
"You've come this far, which means you were summoned and entered the realm of immortality to leave the secular world. Isn't it about time you revealed your identity?"
"My identity?"
"Yeah. We have to know whether you're one of us or not, to sort out the lineage properly."
This woman is unexpectedly playful.
I've never met anyone whose expressions change so vividly.
—What will you do, Unhui?
I've never revealed that I inherited the Sword Immortal's legacy.
That's because if I said I inherited the legacy of the greatest swordmaster in the martial world, it would create a huge stir.
But if this woman named Yeo Yangseon also inherited the legacy, perhaps it would be better to reveal that I, too, am part of the Sword Immortal's lineage.
So I clasped my hands in greeting and said:
"I am So Unhui, who inherited the legacy of the Sword Immortal."
No need to mention I inherited not just one but two legacies, right?
No point stirring unnecessary trouble.
At my words, Yeo Yangseon, who had introduced herself, returned her sword to its sheath with a look of understanding.
Then she muttered softly:
"Honestly... Master, you're really too much. If there was another disciple, you should've just said so. No wonder the senior brother got all worked up for no reason."
What is she talking about?
While I was still confused, she turned to the nearby Daoists, bowed respectfully, and said:
"I apologize on behalf of my fellow disciple for causing trouble to members of the other lineages."
At her words, the Daoists grumbled as they supported the fallen ones:
"It would've been nice if you'd told us sooner."
"No wonder he seemed like a monster..."
"Enough. Let's return to the main hall. That lineage really is too mischievous."
Yeo Yangseon kept smiling sheepishly and bowed repeatedly like a shameless person.
Once the Daoists left, she approached me and asked:
"How long have you been training?"
Is she asking how long I've trained since receiving the Sword Immortal's treasure?
This isn't typical martial arts training, so I'm not sure how to answer.
While I was thinking that, she said:
"I trained under Master for about fifty years. If you inherited a skill even your senior brother didn't, then you must've trained for over a hundred years, right? Ugh, looks like another senior brother has popped up."
'!?'
Fifty years?
Did she just say fifty years?
No matter how I looked at her, she barely looked over twenty.
That's why I thought she had talent comparable to Baek Hyehyang...
"Fifty years? Then you must be in your sixties or seventies?"
"If Master gave you the Golden Elixir, then you're probably way older than me. Why so surprised?"
"What are you talking about? I'm only twenty-two..."
"What?"
Before I could finish, Yeo Yangseon's eyes widened in shock.
She spoke in disbelief:
"Wait. You've only been learning for a few years, and Master passed on such incredible skills to you? That's seriously unfair. It's not just the senior brother who should complain, I should too!"
"What are you talking about?"
I can't make sense of anything she's saying.
I should get back to what I came here for.
"Miss..."
"You! If you've only been learning a few years, you should be calling me Sajeo (Elder Martial Sister)!"
"Sajeo?"
"Oh my. Of course I'm your Sajeo. Do I look young and pretty to you? I've studied under Master decades longer than you. How dare you call me 'miss'?"
'....'
Is she seriously trying to organize the lineage right now?
With a bright smile, she said:
"Go on. Try it once—Sajeo."
She looks genuinely delighted.
It feels like she's enjoying having a junior under her.
—Just go along with it, Unhui.
If she inherited the legacy long before me, then calling her Sajeo isn't entirely wrong.
I sighed deeply and said:
"Then I'll call you that."
"Sajeo!"
"I got it..."
"Sajeo!"
"...Sajeo. Now, about that white-faced man—"
—Squeeze!
"Mmgh!"
Suddenly, Yeo Yangseon hugged me tightly without warning.
"Kyah! I finally have a junior! No more being the youngest!"
My face was being crushed against her chest.
Her robe fluttered lightly, so I hadn't noticed—but her chest was much larger than I expected.
Embarrassed to be buried in it, I hastily pushed her away.
"Please stop. Men and women should maintain boundaries—"
"Oh my, are you shy? My little junior is so cute."
She grinned mischievously at me.
She's treating me like a kid, and it's giving me mixed feelings.
I composed my face and told her:
"Enough. Tell me where that man is. That dagger is very precious to me."
Sodam Sword is like family to me—an heirloom from my mother.
I can't let someone else take it away.
At my words, Yeo Yangseon smiled and said:
"Must be a precious dagger. But junior, do you even realize that the white-faced man you're talking about is your senior brother?"
"Senior brother?"
"Yup. Senior brother. Actually, I should start calling him great senior brother now. Are you worried he'll break your dagger or something? He wouldn't do that."
Yeo Yangseon claimed to be the second disciple.
So this senior brother must have been the first to master the Sword Immortal's third treasure.
Well, considering he could forcefully draw Sodam Sword from midair using Jade Form, he clearly wasn't ordinary.
What an incredible coincidence.
I randomly entered the Misty Forest and ended up meeting people who inherited the third treasure.
But from the Daoists to the surreal landscape that feels like a paradise, and even the sudden shift from day to night—everything here feels unnatural.
I was curious, but finding Sodam Sword came first.
"Just take me to him for now."
"You must be in a hurry. Well, I was heading to see Master anyway."
"You're going to see Master? Is he at the Sword Immortal's shrine?"
At my question, Yeo Yangseon twitched her lips.
Then she suddenly burst out laughing.
"Ahahaha! Shrine? What are you talking about? People might think Master ascended to the heavens ages ago."
"...What do you mean?"
There'd been something oddly off about our conversation.
The Sword Immortal was believed to have transcended to the heavens over 600 years ago, and I even met his spirit.
Yet this woman speaks as if he's still alive.
"What do I mean? Master is over there in Sunyangjeon. Talking about a shrine is disrespectful."
She laughed as if her sides would split.
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
I turned to look where Yeo Yangseon pointed and saw a building with a signboard that read: "Sunyangjeon (殿 of Pure Yang)".
'The Sword Immortal... is alive?'
---
I followed Yeo Yang-seon into the Sunyangjeon building.
The first floor was a grand hall, and in front of a large statue of the Primordial Celestial Being, about twenty young Taoist disciples were chanting scriptures.
The atmosphere was solemn and awe-inspiring.
Yeo Yang-seon brought her index finger to her lips, signaling me to be quiet.
We crossed along the side of the hall, and soon a staircase leading to the second floor came into view.
We climbed the stairs, passed through the second floor, and ascended to the third floor at the very top.
On the third floor, we saw that the entire wall was covered with munpungji (traditional Korean paper windows), and in front of it, an elderly man with a hunched back was writing like a scribe.
Yeo Yang-seon bowed deeply to him.
"Master Sa."
"Ah, Yang-seon, you're here. Have a candy before you go."
The hunched old man pushed a dish of colorful sweets on the desk toward us.
Yeo Yang-seon shook her head and replied,
"No, thank you. I've come to see the Master. Is Senior Brother inside?"
"Yes, he is. But now may not be the best time to enter."
"Oh no... So the incident finally happened."
The old man shook his head.
"Seeing those two reminds me of the days when your Senior Brother was still under the Master. But who's this young man, entering Sunyangjeon without Taoist robes?"
Only then did the old man show interest in me.
I was about to greet him with a martial bow when Yeo Yang-seon quickly responded.
"Ah, he's a disciple secretly taken in by the Master."
"Secretly taken in?"
"Yes. He's even learned the Master's Way—he's definitely a true disciple."
"Ho? Is that so?"
The old man looked at me with interest and gave a slight nod.
I returned the nod with a polite martial bow.
"No wonder you've been so excited."
Yeo Yang-seon smiled brightly.
"Now we can finally stop cleaning up the mess between those two senior disciples."
She was acting as though I truly were a formal disciple.
All mysteries, it seemed, would be answered if I could just enter that room.
If what Yeo Yang-seon said was true, that the Sword Sage was still alive—it was truly astonishing.
At that moment, a thunderous shout came from beyond the munpungji.
—"You insolent fool! And that's what you have to say!?"
'!?'
I couldn't believe my ears.
That voice was unmistakably the Sword Sage's.
It was the same voice I heard every time I encountered him in the mental realm or when unlocking the new stars of the Big Dipper.
The only difference was the simmering fury in his tone now.
Despite the anger, Yeo Yang-seon giggled and whispered to me as if it were a common occurrence.
"See? Why build a shrine for a Master who's still alive and kicking?"
More than her words, I focused on the voice behind the munpungji.
The voices grew louder and clearer.
—"The royal oppression is leading the pitiful people into misery. How can we just stand by and watch?"
That voice.
There was no mistake.
It belonged to the one who took the Sodam Sword.
"Your Senior Brother never ceases to amaze."
"He's just naturally gifted at giving the Master more wrinkles."
I wanted to go inside, but it seemed I had to wait.
The voice of the one who took the Sodam Sword continued.
—"Do you think it'll end with the suppression of martial artists? No. That man of ambition will eventually come for reclusive Taoists like us."
—"Ha. And how exactly do you think they'll find us? This place is…"
—"Are you going to overlook the Mosan Sect?"
What?
Did he just say Mosan Sect?
Why bring up a sect that was wiped out?
I strained my ears even more.
—"Why are you bringing them up?"
—"Because we must. Did not many Masters decline to invite them to the Fuse Conference for desecrating the dead?"
—"Their path diverges from ours. How can we possibly walk together?"
—"Even if their resentment turns toward the martial world and us? What if they align with that man?"
The more I listened, the more confused I became.
It sounded like the long-destroyed Mosan Sect still existed.
Or... could they have survived all this time?
—"Enough now. Why does your talk grow more extreme by the minute? You should learn from your Junior. As someone who should have cultivated himself deeper, you're still too attached to worldly matters."
—"Weren't you and Senior Master once the same? Perhaps even more so than I am."
—"And you know what became of your Senior Master. Is that what you wish for yourself?"
—"..."
A long silence fell.
Even Yeo Yang-seon and the old man were silent, focused on the voice from inside.
Then it resumed.
—"Weren't you already planning this? Haven't you already erased me from your heart?"
—"How could you say such—"
—"If not, why would you not acknowledge the relationship between me and Sister Yeo?"
—"You expect a Taoist to approve of such worldly attachment? You've truly lost your way. Go to Hwapyeong Hermitage and reflect—"
—"No. I will not leave."
—"What!?"
The argument was escalating beyond normal bounds.
Even Yeo Yang-seon, who had been smiling moments ago, now wore a dark expression.
—"If I were truly the successor to your Way, you wouldn't have taken in another disciple. What is this, then?"
—"What is that dagger?"
Dagger?
Could he be showing the Sodam Sword?
I flinched and instinctively moved forward, but Yeo Yang-seon grabbed my arm.
"Wait, disciple."
At her words, I exhaled and stopped.
The voice from behind the munpungji continued.
—"Can you not read it for yourself, Master?"
—"You're forcibly binding the sword's aura—how could it possibly respond?"
—"...Did you really never trust me? Is it wrong to care for the suffering people and the Masters and disciples of the Fuse Conference?"
—"Gyeongjeong…"
—"Then why won't you give me a chance!?"
—"I've always given you chances."
—"No. Then why, after seventy years of loyal service, would you pass on your Way to someone else?"
—"Who did I pass my Way to? What nonsense is this? You've been consumed by delusions. Come here."
—"Can you still say that after seeing this?"
—Crash!
At that moment, the munpungji door was torn off its hinges.
In the broken doorway stood a pale-faced young man with his palm extended toward us.
Behind him, a white-robed old man with a sage-like air stood with arms behind his back, frowning and turning toward us.
'The Sword Sage!'
My eyes widened.
He was really there.
And he looked even younger and more vigorous than in the mental realm...
'Younger?'
Unless my eyes were mistaken, he was indeed an old man, but he looked somewhat more youthful.
Even his hair wasn't entirely white—some black strands remained.
The pale-faced youth pointed at me and shouted.
"How do you explain him? Isn't he your hidden disciple!?"
To this, the Sword Sage frowned and said,
"...I have no idea what you're talking about. Who is he to enter the Fuse Conference?"
His expression was sincere, as though he truly didn't know me.
How could that be, when I saw him in the mental realm?
Or then... just what was the Sword Sage I saw?
"Senior Brother. That's enough. This isn't like you."
Yeo Yang-seon stepped forward and addressed the pale youth.
He remained unmoving, instead looking back at the Sword Sage and scoffing.
"Ha! Still pretending until the end, huh? If he's not your disciple, then why—this dagger…"
—Grab!
Before he could finish his words, I had already stepped forward and grabbed the wrist holding the Sodam Sword.
The youth turned toward me, face twisted in fury.
"What do you think you're doing?"
I replied in a cold, icy tone.
"Bold of you to act so righteous for a thief."
"Thief? Ha!"
Energy surged in his hand.
He was trying to resist and push me off with internal force—but could he?
I too summoned my internal power.
—Vrrrr!
Our hands trembled from the power clash.
'!?'
His wrist didn't budge, no matter how he tried.
His eyes narrowed as he stared at me.
I warned him in a low voice.
"If you want to keep using chopsticks, you'd better let go of the Sodam Sword."