Black and White Martial Emperor

A heavy silence hung over the great hall.

No one dared speak.

Their lord had become considerably more lenient of late. He had even grown relaxed enough to personally correct the martial arts of subordinates he would barely have spared a glance in the past.

For the Twelve Zodiac, that change in Yangcheon had only deepened their loyalty. White Rat and several others in particular had been taught higher-level martial arts and had even begun to regard their lord almost as a master.

Yet now, not even they dared meet Yangcheon’s eyes.

How much time passed like that?

“Hmm.”

The silence had stretched on, but Yangcheon’s expression was not nearly as grave as one might have expected.

“At least the brat hasn’t neglected his training.”

Jeon Hong lay collapsed on the floor of the great hall, his entire body wrapped in bandages. He looked horrific.

But everyone present knew his condition was not as dire as it appeared. His internal and external injuries were serious enough that they could not be dismissed, but wounds of this degree would never kill him.

The problem was his arm.

Whether one practiced fist arts or sword arts, losing an arm meant losing more than half one’s combat ability. Worse still, Jeon Hong was a young man who had not even reached thirty.

CREAK.

Yangcheon rose from his grand chair, walked over to Jeon Hong, and sat down beside him.

THUD.

The instant Yangcheon sat, the Twelve Zodiac and the captains of the combat units arrayed to either side dropped into full prostrations.

Yangcheon paid them no mind and began unwinding the bandages wrapped around Jeon Hong’s body.

RUSTLE. RUSTLE.

The bandages covering his upper body came completely free.

Dozens of scabbed sword wounds were revealed beneath them. Some were deep, while others had nearly healed already and remained only as red marks.

Yangcheon’s eyes gleamed.

“Well, look at you.”

He pressed his fingers firmly into Jeon Hong’s muscles, then gave a faint chuckle.

“Seems you did put in quite a bit of work. Building muscles like these is damned difficult. Elasticity, density, flexibility—there isn’t a single weak point.”

Those words came from none other than the Fighting King. Considering they were directed at a disciple he had never viewed particularly favorably, calling them extravagant praise would hardly have been an exaggeration.

“But you still haven’t trained long enough.”

Yangcheon’s eyes turned cold.

“What a pathetic fool.”

The atmosphere in the hall grew heavier still.

“Martial skill can be built through effort and experience. Even that requires some heavenly fortune, but if you’re a disciple of mine, making up for a lack of strength is hardly difficult. The mind, however, is another matter.”

Yangcheon looked down at the unconscious Jeon Hong with genuine disappointment, his face icy.

“Once you reach a certain level, strength of mind often becomes more important than the level of your martial arts. I told you dozens of times why those pasty Orthodox Path fools place so much importance on mental discipline and cultivation, yet it seems you learned nothing.”

The Nine Great Sects possessed numerous peerless martial arts. If they taught those arts to every disciple under them, their overall strength would have been far greater than it was now.

Yet the Nine Great Sects—and indeed most orthodox factions—did not teach their disciples exceptional martial arts from the beginning.

The reason was obvious.

If the mind and heart could not support the martial art, then no matter how profound that art might be, it was meaningless.

There were countless martial artists with great strength and skill in battle. But those who also possessed the steadfastness of mind not to be swept away by the martial arts they themselves had learned were exceedingly rare.

Of course, Yangcheon’s idea of such steadfastness was different from that of the Orthodox Path.

What mattered was that he understood down to his bones that martial arts and the mind had to remain in balance.

“Gain great power and you may run wild for a while. But once you overcome that indulgence and begin looking toward the heavens, only then can you finally hold light within yourself.”

Yangcheon stood.

“They say raising disciples is no easier than raising children. They certainly never turn out the way you want.”

Fortunately, Yangcheon’s affection was not limitless simply because someone happened to be his disciple.

Being accepted as his disciple did not automatically earn Yangcheon’s approval. His interest and affection changed according to how that disciple chose to live and what they showed him.

Buseon, as she was now, was proof of that.

“Take him away. Once he wakes up, drag him back before me.”

“As you command.”

A short while later, after his subordinates carried Jeon Hong out, Yangcheon spoke again.

“You said there were men who brought him here?”

White Rat answered cautiously.

“Yes.”

“Did you verify their identities?”

“There was hardly anything to investigate. They were warriors the Third Young Master took under his command near the place where he had been training.”

“Under his command?”

Yangcheon burst out laughing in disbelief.

“A brat who couldn’t even properly tend to his own martial arts was out there playing commander?”

Jeon Hong’s level was already extraordinary enough. Considering his age and how late he had begun learning martial arts, even calling him extraordinary hardly did him justice.

It was a statement only Yangcheon could make with any credibility—the man counted among the strongest martial artists in the entire martial world.

“What did you do with them?”

“They were the Third Young Master’s men, so... for the moment, we gave them rooms in the guest hall.”

“Throw them out.”

“Understood.”

Considering Yangcheon’s anger, they were fortunate merely to have kept their heads. Before the Yin Desolation poison had been purged from him, every last one of them would likely have died a gruesome death.

“Everyone except White Rat, leave.”

“As you command.”

Before long, only Yangcheon and White Rat remained in the great hall.

Yangcheon asked,

“Have you determined who did this?”

“Yes.”

“Who?”

“That is... someone completely unexpected was involved.”

“Who?”

“Yeon Hojeong was among them.”

Surprise flashed across Yangcheon’s face.

“Yeon Hojeong came to Hunan?”

“Yes.”

“If that bastard had entered Hunan, we should have known long ago. Why wasn’t it reported?”

“My apologies. The Manor’s intelligence network lost track of Yeon Hojeong as well. More than eighty percent of our intelligence resources have been redirected north, so it appears detailed coverage elsewhere has suffered.”

“And the other twenty percent were sitting around doing nothing? This isn’t just anyone we’re talking about. It’s Yeon Hojeong. He’s not exactly easy to miss.”

“It seems he entered discreetly.”

Yangcheon snorted as though the excuse were ridiculous.

Still, he knew perfectly well that someone with Yeon Hojeong’s martial ability and judgment would have little difficulty moving without attracting attention.

“Start from the beginning.”

“Yes.”

White Rat recounted the events with such accuracy that one might have thought he had witnessed them himself.

The intelligence capabilities of Ink Dragon Manor were no longer what they had once been, with so much of their attention directed beyond the frontier and toward the Martial Alliance. Even so, when it came to reconstructing events that had already occurred, they remained remarkably capable.

Yangcheon’s gaze deepened as he listened.

“The Young Sect Master of the Ghost-Iron Sword Gate.”

“......”

“Come to think of it, when Yeon Hojeong came to treat me before, there was a young fellow he brought along like an attendant. I gave him a brief look because his presence was fairly impressive for someone so young.”

“You did not appear particularly interested at the time, Manor Lord, so I did not mention it separately. That young man was Gangryang, successor to the Ghost-Iron Sword Gate.”

“So that was him.”

The corners of Yangcheon’s mouth rose.

“Interesting. However half-baked my third may be, he cultivated the Monstrous Rock Art. Judging by the quality of his muscles and the qi lingering in his body, he was standing right at the threshold of the Wall of Martial Arts. Was the Ghost-Iron Sword Gate’s successor stronger than expected?”

“Judging from the traces left at the battlefield, the fight itself seems to have been extremely close. Yet Gangryang suffered very little damage. That suggests the outcome turned in an instant.”

Yangcheon replied indifferently,

“That is what actual ability means. You could be cultivating the greatest martial art under heaven, but let your guard down and your head can still come off in a single move. And if what they said at the restaurant was true, it seems my third was looking down on him from the beginning.”

“That appears to be the case.”

“Pathetic fool. The martial world is a place where even a three-year-old can be the death of you. He looked down on someone who was barely any weaker than himself. It’s a wonder he kept his life.”

“The other side probably had no choice but to hold back.”

“Obviously.”

Yangcheon rested his chin on one hand.

“Gangryang, was it? Fine, leave him aside. There’s no chance Yeon Hojeong would have simply let this matter end there. Did he send any message?”

“As it happens, word reached our intelligence network.”

“What did he say?”

White Rat pulled a letter from inside his robes. It had been prepared directly by the intelligence network.

Yangcheon took it, unfolded it, and soon burst into laughter.

“Gwahaha! Now that I see this bastard’s insolent way of talking, it finally feels real.”

“Do you intend to go?”

“What else should I do? He says he doesn’t want to come here, so I’ll have to go to him.”

“He dares summon a grandmaster as he pleases. I believe you should refuse this request—”

“If I had nothing to say to him myself, perhaps. But I have things to confront the brat about too, don’t I? We have matters to discuss, and he doesn’t want to come here. That leaves me no choice but to go.”

White Rat no longer tried to stop him.

“When do you intend to depart?”

Yangcheon rose.

“If he were the type to sit there fretting, I’d spend a few days indulging myself before going. But that bastard has nerves of steel, doesn’t he? No point wasting time. We leave immediately.”

“I’ll make the preparations.”

“Do that.”

Yangcheon clasped his hands behind his back and looked up at the ceiling with a smile.

“Yeon Hojeong... Yeon Hojeong.”

In an instant, his eyes turned cold.

“Do you know something? I like you far more than you probably think. But if you run that mouth of yours the wrong way when we meet this time, even you won’t walk away unscathed.”

******

“You really don’t have to go this far.”

At Yeon Hojeong’s words, the Master of Ghostfire Pavilion, Song Dap, bowed his head.

“I am a merchant, but I am also a man who understands his obligations. You gave an ignorant, uneducated merchant like me an insight that money could never buy. I must repay you as best I can, sir.”

Yeon Hojeong smiled bitterly.

“I’m truly grateful for your kindness, but if you give us the entire fourth floor, how are you supposed to run your business?”

“If you had not opened my eyes, I might have ruined myself before long. If I think of it as property I would have lost anyway, then something like this is truly nothing.”

“Hahaha.”

“If anything, I am embarrassed that I can repay you only with something so meager.”

Yeon Hojeong smiled.

“They say a warrior repays a debt with his blade, while a merchant repays one with money. Since you insist, I’ll gratefully accept this overly generous repayment.”

“It is my honor, sir.”

Thanks to Song Dap’s hospitality, the group had the entire top floor to themselves, complete with food and drink.

It was luxury beyond measure.

Song Dap asked,

“If there is anything else you would like done, please call for me.”

“Nothing in particular. There is one thing, though, that the Pavilion Master should know.”

“Please tell me, sir.”

Yeon Hojeong spoke with a cheerful expression.

“Within the next few days, the Lord of Ink Dragon Manor will be coming to meet me.”

“...Pardon?”

“It’s not as though anything will really change just because he’s coming, but he is a major figure in the Dark Path martial world. I figured the Pavilion Master ought to know in advance.”

“......”

“Oh, and just in case—there’s no need to give Yangcheon any special treatment. Just keep it in mind and... Pavilion Master?”

Yeon Hojeong stared at Song Dap for a moment, then sighed.

“Hey! Waiter! Come take your master away! He fainted!”