Return of the God of War - Chapter 48

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 48. Which Sky is Larger—East or West?
“…….”
The hunched old man regarded Tian Hua Lin with an impassive gaze.
A moment passed.
Crack-crack-crack.
The old man’s spine began to straighten gradually, his skeleton shifting into place.
The frame that had been so frail it seemed ready to shatter at a touch expanded rapidly into something vast and imposing, and the wrinkled skin smoothed away as if unwinding.
His features sharpened, his lines hardened, and soon the face that everyone knew revealed itself.
Mu Woomyeong. The Lord of Sadocheon.
“Gasp……!”
The atmosphere of the banquet hall froze in an instant.
As if struck by lightning at point-blank range, everyone’s body convulsed.
It was only natural.
Who could have possibly suspected it?
The Lord himself, disguised as an old man using the Yi Yong technique, had been sitting in a corner the whole time.
Bu Yeon’s face in particular drained of all color.
The old man he’d just been chatting with was the master of the great Sadocheon, Mu Woomyeong?
What’s more, he’d thought the conversation flowed quite naturally, and had even exchanged a few jokes with the old man.
This must be what it felt like when the world tilted beneath you.
Meanwhile, Tian Hua Lin held her head high, her gaze fixed on Mu Woomyeong.
Even in the presence of the Lord of Sadocheon, her eyes blazed with an unafraid, audacious confidence.
Mu Woomyeong met her gaze steadily.
A strange silence settled over Changhyeon Hall.
Soon, Mu Woomyeong broke that silence.
But before asking what favor Tian Hua Lin had mentioned, he posed an unexpected question first.
“Little Cult Leader, have you ever seen the Master of Murim?”
A question whose intent was difficult to gauge.
Yet Tian Hua Lin showed no sign of confusion.
“Yes. I have had the honor of seeing him from a distance, once before.”
Mu Woomyeong nodded.
“The people call the Master, myself, and your father the Three Existences.”
Flap!
At some point, Ju Gok had drawn near.
He handed Mu Woomyeong a crimson Gonryong-po, which the Lord donned with natural ease as he continued speaking.
“You are the only one who has laid eyes upon all three of the Three Existences—tell me. Of the three, who do you think would be the strongest?”
The guests froze.
Truthfully, it was one of the common topics of idle speculation when men gathered in taverns and inns to drink in small groups.
But here.
And in the presence of the very people in question, it was an extraordinarily sensitive matter to voice.
Tian Hua Lin’s eyes narrowed.
But this was not the reaction of someone troubled by an awkward question—rather, it was the action of someone taking the measure of the Lord, Mu Woomyeong.
As she expanded her perception, an abyssal aura swept over her so profound it felt as though her vision might be swallowed into darkness.
After a moment’s pause.
Tian Hua Lin slowly opened her mouth.
And the answer that spilled from those small lips left everyone in the hall stunned beyond words.
“……By my reckoning, the Lord stands a step above the Master of Murim. And compared to my father…… roughly half a step below.”
“……!”
From all directions came the sound of sharp intakes of breath, and everyone clamped their mouths shut.
Of course, few would accept her words at face value.
The sky is the sky everywhere.
Have you ever heard anyone say the southern sky is smaller than the eastern, or the western sky is larger than the northern?
To the people of Murim, the Three Existences were such beings.
Yet everyone harbors in their heart their own ranking of the supreme master under heaven.
So there was nothing strange in Tian Hua Lin holding such views.
But speaking such thoughts aloud was quite another matter.
Especially before the man himself.
So brazenly at that.
The hall was seized by sudden tension.
In that moment, several people’s minds flashed with a single thought:
‘What if the Lord executes the little cult leader of the Demonic Cult here and now?’
If that happened, the Demonic Lord Tian Ilhwi would never stand idle after losing his daughter.
The guests held their breath.
Could they be witnessing, with their own eyes, that historic moment when the War of Demons and Immortals erupted?
But.
Their expectations fell spectacularly short of the mark.
Mu Woomyeong, who had been watching Tian Hua Lin, let out a soft laugh and lifted the corners of his mouth.
That was all.
The Lord did not press further.
He did not ask why she thought so.
Whether his laughter meant he too agreed with Tian Hua Lin’s answer, or whether it was simply a laugh that escaped unbidden at the absurdity of it all—no one could say.
No one could know.
Soon Mu Woomyeong wiped the smile from his face and asked.
“In any case, what favor are you hoping to ask of me, Young Sect Leader?”
At last, the heart of the matter.
Tian Hua Lin spoke without a trace of hesitation this time either.
“The young lady would very much like to give your youngest son a thorough beating, and I humbly beg that you might arrange a venue for this.”
“……?”
What in the world was this preposterous statement?
Battered by Tian Hua Lin’s relentless volleys, the guests could not collect their thoughts.
Every eye in the hall snapped toward Mu Yeojin.
Mu Woomyeong too tilted his head slightly and asked.
“For what reason?”
At that, Tian Hua Lin’s crisp voice rang out through the hall.
“Your son callously trampled upon this young lady’s tender heart.”
This was Tian Hua Lin’s scheme.
Mu Yeojin shook his head in dismay.
He had expected something, but even he could not have imagined something quite this reckless.
“This young lady waited and counted the days for a reunion with the young nobleman. Yet when it came, the young prince pretended not to remember those precious moments we shared.”
Her words sent another ripple through the gathering.
‘So when those two were huddled together whispering just now… that’s what it was about?’
As the guests began to murmur, Tian Hua Lin delivered her final blow.
“The wound your son has dealt me is too grave to bear. I humbly beseech you to grant me the opportunity to ease my suffering.”
Ordinarily, when such romantic gossip spreads, it tends to bring greater harm to the woman than to the man.
But Tian Hua Lin cared nothing for such concerns.
In her mind, there was only one thing.
She was consumed with the thought of covering that clean face of Mu Yeojin’s with vivid purple bruises.
“Hehehehe. When a woman harbors resentment, frost falls even in the fifth and sixth moons. By the way, does the Palace Master know that your disciple has such a relationship with the Demonic Lord’s daughter?”
At Pi Yang Cheon’s question, Namgoong Ryeongryeong shook her head with an embarrassed expression.
“I myself am quite taken aback.”
Her son had ventured outside the Sadocheon main stronghold only a handful of times.
Had he formed a connection with the Young Sect Leader of the Demonic Cult in that span?
Namgoong Ryeongryeong furrowed her brow and muttered.
“What on earth has he been up to…….”
Mu Woomyeong too fell silent for a moment.
This situation was something he had not foreseen either.
His gaze swept across Tian Hua Lin and Mu Yeojin.
Then it shifted to the many warriors in black and white gathered in Changhyeon Hall.
Mu Woomyeong wore an expression of deep deliberation for a moment.
Then, at last.
“……This could be amusing.”
He gave a faint nod.
“Very well. However…….”
And then came his proposal.
The moment Mu Woomyeong finished speaking, the eyes of Mu Yeojin and Tian Hua Lin, as well as every warrior in the hall, went wide.
* * *
Mu Yeojin returned to his quarters with an exhausted expression.
This was after enduring a lengthy interrogation from his mother about where and how his connection with Tian Hua Lin had begun.
A sigh escaped of its own accord.
Outside, a full moon hung brightly in the sky.
As a result.
One could say that Tian Hua Lin had achieved her purpose — she had wanted a place to conduct a formal bout, after all.
Though the form it took differed somewhat from what she had envisioned.
“The Cheolhyeol-je…….”
The Cheolhyeol-je was a tournament abandoned decades ago, where martial artists from both righteous and demonic paths gathered to test their skills against one another.
It was the very same secret bout where Namgoong Ryeongryeong had once deliberately thrown her match against Gye Oh Soo.
Mu Woomyeong had proposed holding a smaller version of the Cheolhyeol-je during the remaining days of the banquet.
The guests’ reaction had been quite enthusiastic.
And for good reason.
This banquet had drawn numerous martial artists from across the Murim, beyond just those of Sadocheon.
Regardless of righteous or demonic affiliation, there were no shortage of individuals harboring grievances — between clans, between sects, between persons.
Had this not been Sadocheon’s ground.
Had it not been a banquet celebrating the new master’s inauguration, many would have drawn their blades long ago.
And so, amid that lingering regret, the lord of the manor had himself arranged the stage.
Of course, as a tournament, one might not face the opponent of one’s choosing, but the possibility had nonetheless emerged.
And whether righteous or demonic, ultimately they were all martial artists.
How could they not welcome a stage where they could test their martial skill in its purest form?
And Mu Yeojin would surely feel the same.
‘An opportunity to observe so many different martial arts in one place — that’s not something one encounters often.’
As he contemplated how tomorrow’s Cheolhyeol-je might unfold.
“Wait, this isn’t the time for that.”
Mu Yeojin hastily changed his clothes.
His mother had kept him so long that the appointed hour was nearly upon him.
He donned a White Scholar’s Robe in the style of a scholar, then placed over his face the Inpi Myeongu that Bu Yeon had given him beforehand.
It was a supreme-grade mask — as rare as stars in the sky.
Even experts in the art of skin masks would find it difficult to discern its authenticity, so exquisitely crafted was the thing.
His preparations complete, he made directly for Okyun-ru, the foremost of the pleasure houses near Sadocheon’s main compound.
As Mu Yeojin stepped into that magnificent eight-storied pavilion, a middle-aged woman who appeared to be the establishment’s manager approached him respectfully.
“Welcome, sir. Do you have a prior engagement, or are you a new guest?”
Mu Yeojin nodded.
“Please show me to the room reserved under the name Wolha.”
The woman’s manner became even more deferential.
That room was currently the establishment’s highest floor — the VIP chamber.
As they ascended, a man stood waiting for Mu Yeojin before the door.
“Welcome, Master.”
It was Bu Yeon himself.
“You’ll need to wear this.”
Bu Yeon handed him a white mask.
“Isn’t wearing both the skin mask and the face mask a bit much? I’m not going to assassinate anyone.”
He had come to this place today not as a scout of Sadocheon
but in a different capacity.
That capacity being Wolha Hwabeak.
A prodigy of the painting world whose reputation had begun to spread beyond Gangnam, reaching into Gangbuk and even quietly circulating within the Imperial Palace itself.
Tonight, Okyun-ru would host a gathering for discourse on the paintings of Wolha Hwabeak — the Wolha Hwantam.
And Mu Yeojin was scheduled to reveal himself at that very gathering.
“The mask lends an air of mystery. It will further enhance the mystique of Wolha Hwabeak as an eccentric figure, and it will elevate the value of the paintings themselves.”
Mu Yeojin didn’t entirely follow the reasoning, but when it came to matters of commerce, Bu Yeon’s word was law, so he accepted it.
Presently, wearing the White Mask, Mu Yeojin opened the door to the VIP chamber and stepped inside.
In that instant, the eyes of roughly twenty people turned upon him simultaneously.
As he surveyed the assembly, Mu Yeojin suddenly caught sight of a woman and started in surprise.
She was someone he knew.
An encounter he had never expected to have in a place like this.
Remarkably, she was Tian Hua Lin’s personal guard, Yeonsim.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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