Black and White Martial Emperor

A month later.

“Wow! Brother! Look over there! Isn’t that carriage enormous?”

“It is.”

“I’ve never seen such a huge and splendid carriage before! Anhui really is more dazzling than our Jiangsu!”

“So it seems.”

“Gasp! Brother! Did you see that just now?! That little carriage—it’s tiny, but it’s so fast! How can there even be a carriage like that?”

“Indeed.”

“Let’s ride one of those someday! Please?”

“Perhaps.”

“Hehe, promise, Brother? You promised?”

“Alright.”

Yeon Jipyeong’s face was flushed with excitement.

It was the first time he had ever set foot outside his home province. Though Anhui bordered Jiangsu, where the Yeon Clan resided, everything from climate to culture felt different.

Watching his younger brother so thrilled, Yeon Hojeong’s expression was nothing but sour.

“Do you like it that much?”

“Of course! Don’t you, Brother? Isn’t this your first time in Anhui too?”

I’ve been here a hundred times or more.

“Honestly, I want to travel the entire world. To see more of it. I’ve always wondered how people live in other lands.”

They’re all the same.

Customs differ with the soil, appearances change with the region, but in the end, people never change. The good will laugh and endure even while struck from behind, and the wicked will rage even while being honored.

That was the world Hojeong had seen; that was what people were.

“And also...”

“Hm?”

“I like it more because I came here with you, Brother. Hehe.”

He scratched his head with a silly grin—cute in its own way.

Hojeong smiled, then his face twisted. Their father came to mind.

That man truly doesn’t know me.

When Hojeong had answered bluntly in the bamboo grove, Yeon Wi had glared for a long while before returning to the Clan Lord’s hall.

At first, Hojeong thought his father was angry at his coarse tone. But the very next day he was summoned and told:

“On reflection, it feels uneasy to send only Jipyeong. Of course, you worry me as well. But you are already eighteen, old enough to pull your own weight. If you vow not to cause any disturbance, I will send you with him.”

It was a gathering he had no wish to attend, but it was true that sending only Jipyeong was troubling. Besides, at the core of the dispute with the Namgung Clan was himself. He had no desire to saddle his younger brother with that burden.

“If they do not intend to stir trouble, I have no reason to either.”

“Even if they provoke you, you must endure.”

“That I cannot promise.”

“Hear me again. To endure insult is not patience but cowardice. Yet a man does not bark merely because a dog barks. First discern whether your opponent is a man or a beast, then act. Understood?”

“...”

“Why no answer?”

“...What can I say... I’m still not much of a man. My patience is...”

He had then been made to spend three days straight in Horse Stance. Without patience, it would have been impossible to endure.

Afterward, they had departed for Anhui much earlier than planned. His father’s command was clear: adapt to the climate, meet the heirs who had arrived early, and learn what “harmony” meant.

A strange man indeed.

He had always thought of his father as stiff, bound by law. But in this, he seemed to act out of emotion.

Still, Hojeong understood. A son walking a path other than the one his father wished—it was natural to be angered.

Well, it’s a good opportunity anyway.

His eyes burned.

I can confirm it.

Had there been nothing to gain, he would never have come. There were too many other things he could do with this time.

There was only one reason he had agreed to attend.

Can I uncover the enemy’s true face?

This gathering of the younger generation was, after all, a meeting of the heirs who would one day lead their clans.

If the enemy lay within the Seven Great Clans, then surely the heirs would also know of the Yeon Clan’s destruction. Even if not, traces of similarity in their True Qi and martial arts might surface.

For now, rule out Namgung, Mo Yong, and Tang.

When he had fought alongside the Orthodox to destroy the Cult of Perversity, those three clans had been omnipresent. Never once had their masters’ arts resembled those of the killers.

That left three.

Peng, Zhuge, and Ming. Those three I must watch.

“Brother?”

“Mm?”

Jipyeong looked uneasy.

“Are you uncomfortable?”

“Uncomfortable? With what?”

“No, it’s just...”

Hojeong smiled faintly. He must have been scowling, thinking of the massacre.

“Not uncomfortable at all. I’m excited too.”

For more reasons than one.

“Hehe. Then should we go find our lodgings first?”

“Good idea.”

At that moment, a heavy voice rumbled.

“Will you not travel further today?”

Jipyeong shrank instinctively. The low voice seemed to vibrate in his gut.

Hojeong answered.

“No, not today.”

“Understood. Then allow us to secure the lodgings. Please wait a moment.”

The man who cupped his fists in salute was a swordsman of about forty.

It was Shin Mo, Captain of the Azure Hawk Squad, famed across Jiangdong as a consummate master swordsman.

“No need. I already have a place in mind.”

“...Sir?”

“We’ll go to Choseong Pavilion.”

They were in Hua County of Anhui. To the northeast lay the Wu River, famous for the tale of Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu, encircled on all sides by enemy song.

Choseong Pavilion overlooked the Wu River. Unless one was local, few even knew of it.

Shin Mo asked, surprised.

“You know of Choseong Pavilion?”

“Yes.”

“It’s little known outside Anhui...”

“Just heard of it. But Captain Shin, you know it as well, don’t you?”

“Yes, I visited several times when I passed nearby from Jiangsu.”

“Then lead the way.”

“Understood.”

Shin Mo was unlike Kang Yun.

His martial strength surpassed Kang Yun’s, and he was more cautious. True to his Yeon training, he drew strict lines between duty and personal life, carrying out his orders to the utmost.

There were many stronger men, but few as reliable. That was ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) why Yeon Wi had sent him.

And so, the Yeon brothers, Shin Mo, and twenty Azure Hawk soldiers moved toward Choseong Pavilion.

“Whoa!”

The pavilion was bustling. Even in the chill, visitors flocked year-round to bask in the Hegemon-King’s legend.

“Let’s secure some rooms and rest. We’ll depart in three or four days.”

“Yes, sir.”

They settled in the rear courtyard of Choseong Pavilion.

But the Azure Hawk men guarded them relentlessly. With Captain included, twenty-one men rotated in three shifts, never leaving the brothers unattended.

Hojeong clicked his tongue as he hefted his iron staff.

“You should rest too.”

“We are fine.”

So stiff.

“Then, my thanks.”

They were bound by the Clan Lord’s order. Hojeong didn’t bother pressing them.

“Hmm, here should do.”

Whoom, whoom.

He spun the iron staff, centering it smoothly.

Shin Mo’s eyes gleamed.

He’s practiced.

The single-handed spins carried a seasoned ease, like one who had trained staff arts for years.

But wasn’t his weapon the sword?

Until now, Hojeong’s practice had been breathing exercises and slow hand forms. Never once had Shin Mo seen him train staff work.

Thud!

The iron staff slammed into the ground with force.

“Shall we try.”

With a flick of his toe, Hojeong snapped it up.

Whumm!

The staff whirled with a menacing hum.

He gripped its center with both hands and swung in a rising storm. The cold, dry air seemed to flee from the blows.

“Haah.”

Thud!

With powerful emission, Hojeong began in earnest.

Whoooosh!

Shin Mo’s eyes widened as the movements accelerated.

Whumm! Whummm! Crack-crack-crack!

The longer it went on, the faster and sharper the staff work became.

He handled the nearly twenty-cattie staff with ease, lending centrifugal force to build speed, then cutting off and striking precisely. Surprisingly fluid, surprisingly beautiful.

A faint smile crept onto Hojeong’s face.

As I thought.

Until now, he had restrained himself, practicing only the Yeon Clan’s Thirteen Fists to embed flexibility and center of gravity into his body.

The result was clear: the Whirlwind Staff Method was alive in his hands. With a little more polish, it would be ready for real battle.

Good. Let’s press further.

Whack!

The Jade Wave True Qi steadied his body. The stabbing staff-tip was sharp, the descending strikes heavy, the spinning draws like a sweeping river.

But then—

Whack! Thump! Boom!

The smooth flow broke.

The strikes chopped at the air, harsh and blunt.

“What stiffness.”

Shin Mo turned. It was Yang Heum, from First Squad of the Azure Hawk. He was due for dawn watch but had come to spectate.

“The forms are collapsing. He doesn’t seem tired... perhaps unfamiliar with the style.”

“Is that what you see?”

“Uh—yes. I mean, it looks high-level, but still...”

“The First Young Master understands the staff.”

“...What?”

“They look crude, but not one strike is wasted.”

Yang Heum frowned.

“Those... odd strikes?”

“You only see the forms. Can you not see the True Qi carried by the staff?”

Shin Mo’s gaze deepened.

“The First Young Master is aiming only to break the enemy most efficiently. Even tailoring it to his True Qi’s nature. That is why it looks crude.”

“....”

“Likely it derives from a fast, violent inner method.”

Adjusting staff flow to match an inner method?

Yang Heum couldn’t believe it. Even for a first-class, it was almost impossible.

Shin Mo’s heart shook.

Such talent?

Even he could hardly believe what he was saying. At Hojeong’s supposed level, such a thing should be unthinkable. And yet—he was doing it naturally.

Indeed, blood does not lie.

Moments later—

“Haa... haa...”

Hojeong halted his practice.

“Good. This much will do.”

“Young Master.”

“Mm?”

He turned. Yang Heum stood there.

“I am Yang Heum of the First Squad.”

“And?”

“If it is not presumptuous... would you cross forms with me, leaving inner energy aside?”

An audacious request.

Shin Mo’s face hardened.

“Yang Heum! How dare you be so rude to the First Young Master! Return at once—”

“That sounds good.”

Shin Mo froze, staring at Hojeong.

Hojeong spun the staff lightly with a grin.

“I was looking for a partner anyway. Why not.”

“It would be an honor. I’ll prepare at once.”

“Do it.”

Hojeong smirked.

“Just don’t hold back because I’m the First Young Master.”

****

The next day.

Zhuge Ayeon’s eyes lit up as she looked around Choseong Pavilion.

“Ha! Splendid! Coming early was worth it!”

“S-sister...”

“Hm?”

“There are too many people. Please, your tone—”

“What’s wrong with my tone? I call good things good. What’s the problem?”

“Sigh... That’s exactly why you keep getting into trouble. Just yesterday, those men—”

“No matter. They don’t know I’m Zhuge Clan’s eldest daughter.”

“That’s the problem! If you had just settled it clearly instead of—”

“You sound like an old woman. Be bolder, will you?”

“You’re too careless! And what does gender have to do with—”

“Enough chatter, let’s eat. My stomach’s touching my spine—”

Then—

Thud!

“Graaah!”

A savage scream tore through the rear of the pavilion.

Ayeon’s eyes widened.

“You heard that, right?”

“...N-no.”

“You did! I know you did!”

“I didn’t! I swear I didn’t!”

“Then stay here.”

“Please! Are you trying to cause more trouble again?!”

“You fool. What if that scream belonged to some innocent, beautiful maiden, eh?”

“Sounded more like someone choking on phlegm...”

“Anyway, it’s suspicious. For the sake of chivalry, I must see for myself!”

“Sister! Wait—are you serious? Sister! Sisteeerr!!”