Chapter 93. Dong Gwang-cheon
After going a bit farther like that, Sanmenxia Gorge came to an end, and a fairly large ferry terminal clinging to a village appeared.
It wasn't a place suitable for people to live, but thanks to its geographical advantage as a grain-transport route, it was quite bustling.
It couldn't compare to a big city, but it was more than enough to soothe the bodies and minds of weary boatmen and travelers.
Now, if they changed to a large ship here and went straight to Zhengzhou, the journey would be over.
Eulji Tae paid the ferryman his fare and then took the lead, walking into the village. The long-haired youth followed right behind him.
The village was not a quiet place even on normal days. But right now, compared to before, it was far more crowded.
Seeing that many of the people wandering around were wearing martial robes and carrying swords, it seemed that most of the guests who had newly arrived here were martial artists. And young ones at that.
Eulji Tae knew very well why so many young martial artists of the martial world had suddenly gathered here.
'They're the candidates.'
He muttered in a very low voice and then walked past them toward the nearest inn. The youth followed right behind him.
"Welcome! Are there two of you?"
A still boyish-looking waiter greeted the two loudly. Behind him, a large signboard with the words Qingqing Pavilion written on it also tempted them.
Eulji Tae did not say a second word and stepped into the inn.
Inside was already quite noisy. The first floor was already full, so the waiter led them up to the second floor.
On the second floor, there were plenty of tables left where the two of them could sit.
The seat the waiter guided them to was by the window. The outside scenery was quite noisy and bustling, but Eulji Tae was not the type of person who cared about such things. In his view, the youth seemed the same. Though he couldn't be certain.
Eulji Tae simply ordered Five-Spice Braised Pork.
"Bring another of the same."
The youth said indifferently in a flat voice. It was a voice Eulji Tae was hearing for the first time in a long while.
Was it because he was hearing the voice of someone who, even when they stopped by inns before, had not said a single word? Eulji Tae let out a small chuckle. What on earth about this youth had made Byeonggwae laugh like that? Perhaps it was this taciturn nature. Such a pointless thought suddenly crossed his mind.
'Come to think of it, this guy made even me laugh after Byeonggwae.'
In some ways, he was a man with even fewer smiles than Byeonggwae. Basically, he didn't talk much, so it couldn't be helped. But for whatever reason, the youth had made him laugh.
He thought it was interesting.
Just as a rare smile was forming at the corner of Eulji Tae's lips—
"Dong Gwang-cheon."
The youth's flat voice caught Eulji Tae's ear as he was about to turn his gaze out the window to hide his awkward smile.
"…..?"
"That's my name. You looked like you were curious."
At last, he learned the youth's name.
When he spoke, the youth's long and smooth jawline was revealed now and then. He was clearly a handsome man. But why did he grow his bangs so long and hide his face like that?
Now that the name had been settled, other things became curious. The other party was a man who naturally drew such questions. Frustrating, yet interesting.
"Eulji Tae."
Eulji Tae said.
"...…"
"That's my name."
Even though introducing themselves at this point, after a week had passed, might have felt awkward, there was nothing like that between the two. The belated mutual introduction ended as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
After the introductions were over, the two silently admired the scenery outside the window.
The young martial artists going back and forth were mostly warriors from nameless sects whose names no one knew. But among them, there were also some from major sects like Mount Hua, Kunlun Sect, and Kongtong Sect. They were probably disciples from the Nine Great Sects and the children of the Five Great Families, all mobilized to attend this martial arts tournament.
However, Eulji Tae wasn't very interested. He would see plenty of them once he returned to the Martial Alliance anyway.
But Dong Gwang-cheon seemed different. He was carefully scanning the martial artists passing by with great interest. It was probably curiosity about martial artists of his own age.
After waiting like that for a while, the Five-Spice Braised Pork arrived—a dish of pork braised in soy sauce, its flavor enriched with spices like fennel and cinnamon. The smell was excellent, suggesting that the chef here was quite skilled.
Saliva naturally gathered under the tongue. Even when Eulji Tae picked up his chopsticks first and took a slice of the pork, Dong Gwang-cheon was still looking out the window.
"Is there something interesting outside? Come on and eat. The sooner we eat, the sooner we'll reach Zhengzhou, won't we?"
Perhaps because he had broken the ice once, he could now speak a little more comfortably.
It was just as Eulji Tae threw out that question. As if his words had become reality, some 'entertainment' appeared outside the window.
Puh-bung!
The wall of the inn's first floor collapsed, and something shot out into the street like a bolt of lightning. A few tables and some broken branches of ornamental trees beside them also spilled out together. It was a person.
'Did a fight break out?'
With hot-blooded young men gathered together, it was probably hard to avoid trouble. And with competitive young martial artists of the martial world swarming here, it wasn't even worth talking about.
The youth who had burst out after smashing through Qingqing Pavilion's wall was a handsome Kunlun Sect disciple in his twenties, dressed in white. The cloud-shaped tassels attached to the edge of his robe at the shoulder were proof of that.
Whirlick—.
Even though he had crashed into the wall hard enough to destroy it, he calmly did a somersault in midair and landed upright. It was quite impressive.
"That's a fellow called Kunlun White Dragon."
Eulji Tae recognized the youth at a glance.
Kunlun White Dragon, Hundred-Shattering Sword, Woo Sim-gi.
He was one of the Three Stars, Five Phoenixes, and Nine Dragons—a title made up by the loose tongues of the martial world that loved ranking people. The Three Stars, Five Phoenixes, and Nine Dragons referred to seventeen outstanding rising stars of the martial world.
Eulji Tae wasn't the type to believe in such things. He wasn't particularly pleased that he himself was included among the Twenty Great Masters Under Heaven either. He didn't know about the Two Gods and Three Eccentrics, but the Five Elders and Ten Great Masters below that were a bit much. There were plenty of people in the martial world who were stronger than them.
The martial world was truly vast, a place where you never knew what kind of master might be hiding where. Naturally, countless extraordinary people whose true strength was hard to measure existed. And yet they ranked people so easily. Even in the councils of elders of each major sect, there might be one or two masters at the level of the Ten Great Masters among the Five Elders and Ten Great Masters.
And that's not all.
This ranking itself was mostly composed of orthodox-path figures, so it didn't even properly reflect the entire martial world.
What does orthodox or demonic have to do with the level of martial arts?
Except for a few like the Heavenly Demon Castle Lord, who were impossible to deny, almost all of the Twenty Great Masters Under Heaven were filled with figures from the orthodox path. And the Three Stars, Five Phoenixes, and Nine Dragons were all composed of children of the orthodox path.
'Probably, before long, all those standards will be overturned.'
Eulji Tae was certain of that. In the meantime, the martial world had stagnated because it had lived without major friction with Heavenly Demon Castle, the Hall of Gathering Evils, or other forces, and many masters of the demonic path and unorthodox faction were not known in the Central Plains.
However, due to the war over the past year, many masters of the demonic path had already become known to the orthodox path. Probably in a few more years, many of the names among the Twenty Great Masters Under Heaven would be replaced.
Of course, the same would go for the Three Stars, Five Phoenixes, and Nine Dragons.
Anyway, whether Eulji Tae liked it or not, Woo Sim-gi was currently one of them. As such, his skill among the young generation of the orthodox path should be outstanding.
But someone had sent one of them flying like that?
'Is the opponent another one of the Three Stars, Five Phoenixes, and Nine Dragons?'
Eulji Tae guessed as much. Even if the words of gossipmongers weren't very reliable, at least in a place like this, the front yard of the Martial Alliance, they were worth believing. It would be nonsense to think that a young master from the unorthodox faction or demonic path had suddenly appeared here and sent one of the Nine Dragons flying.
As he slightly heightened his spiritual vision and waited for the opponent to appear, someone wearing blue martial robes slowly walked out through the broken wall.
Tab-tak, tab-tak.
He was a man with a relaxed demeanor, like a seasoned middle-aged master. Rhythm, you might call it? There was a strange breathing pattern to his steps, and one hand was naturally gripping the sword hilt.
Since he was a man, he was excluded from the Five Phoenixes...
Was he one of the Three Stars or the Nine Dragons? He thought it must be one of the remaining ten, excluding Blade Star Do Heo-ok who had died before and Woo Sim-gi who was there now—but that wasn't it either.
Eulji Tae hadn't met all of the Three Stars, Five Phoenixes, and Nine Dragons, but he knew their appearances well.
A tall figure that looked over eight cheok. Long hair grown out wildly, roughly tied back. A few strands sticking out and fluttering carelessly in the wind. A worn-out martial robe that must have originally been deep blue but had faded so much it had turned sky-blue, with visible patched spots and frayed parts here and there. A beard that hadn't been shaved, covering his entire jaw.
Even so, he didn't look old. His eyes were full of vitality and sparkle—the eyes of a young man.
There was no one among the Three Stars and Nine Dragons who looked like that. None of them were heirs of families or sects who would wander around outside their own sphere of influence in such a shabby state.
And yet.
Unlike the ragged appearance of the youth in blue, the longsword in his left hand had an ancient and dignified air. The blade length was about three cheok eight chon, the width about the span of three fingers. It was old, but it was a genuine sword that exuded elegance. There were no patterns engraved on the scabbard or hilt, nor any jewels embedded, but a faint blue light shimmered over it, making it look mysterious. If only the whitish layer of dust were brushed off, it would surely be a famous sword boasting a unique luster.
"That is...?"
Eulji Tae recognized that sword. It was a sword he was seeing for the first time in decades, but it was too impressive not to recognize.
"Great Heavenly Steel Sword!?"
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