The Great Heavenly Sword Emperor - Chapter 29

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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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#029 The Koan of Broken Backs (1)

Like Cheon Mugyeol before him, Beigong Danya arrived at the place Gwang An had marked for him.
The difference was that unlike with Cheon Mugyeol, enemies were already waiting for Beigong Danya.
There was no time to process what was happening.
More enemies than had come at Cheon Mugyeol rushed toward Beigong Danya.
Thump-thump-thump-thump-bang!
Watching several layers of enemies rush down the narrow mountain path—wide enough for only three or four men—Beigong Danya’s eyes darted swiftly across the terrain.
The experience from his last battle with Mogyeol was unleashed in this critical moment.
‘Trees, explosions, boulders. Left flank is lost. Right flank?’
He assessed the left situation quickly, but had no time to turn his gaze rightward.
The enemies were already upon him, swords drawn.
Crack!
Beigong Danya planted his foundation stance.
It began with Zhenbu. Recalling the Zhenbu that Cheon Mugyeol had demonstrated, he stepped through the footwork with confidence.
Replicating Cheon Mugyeol’s Zhenbu was impossible.
But adapting it within his own range of ability seemed possible.
Boom-crash!
The collision of Inner Qi erupted in a deafening blast.
But it dealt no serious harm to Beigong Danya, who was stepping through Zhenbu.
Instead, he surged boldly through the gaps between his enemies.
Screech!
Hyeonjeong Swordsmanship flashed brilliantly.
‘Hyeonjeong is the strength of Jungjeong.’
He echoed the teaching Cheon Mugyeol had given him.
With the straight, heavy swordsmanship of Righteous Force, it did not crumble easily; he rose again and again, subduing enemies with each stroke.
The more he recalled the martial truths embedded in Hyeonjeong Swordsmanship, the more his technique grew monumental.
Though surrounded by a great number of enemies, Beigong Danya remained unyielding.
The defense of Hyeonjeong Swordsmanship was impenetrable, and the attacks that followed it were vicious.
His enemies could not withstand the relentless weight of his strikes, advancing and retreating in a desperate rhythm.
The left flank was sealed off.
The right flank was a steep slope.
This location was ideal for Beigong Danya, who could only face enemies to his front.
‘Why choose a place like this?’
The thought flashed through his mind for an instant.
And in that moment.
‘Ah. These fools excel in frontal assault too.’
They had been confident.
Confident that they would win in a head-on engagement.
His pride was wounded.
No matter how fallen the Beigong house had become, its swordsmanship had not died.
Yet they had chosen such a location—which meant they had underestimated him far, far too much.
He would carve it into their very bones.
That the Beigong sword still lived.
That it remained a force not to be dismissed.
Beigong Danya’s legs and blade pressed forward with stubborn intent.
As Zhenbu transformed into Cheonjubo, a fiercer wind swept through the enemy ranks.
His swordsmanship changed as well.
Unyielding firmness hardened into something that compressed and then exploded with catastrophic force.
Cheonjubo and Cheonak Sword Form merged, beginning to overwhelm the insolent enemies.
Screech! Boom-crash!
Though outnumbered, Beigong Danya made the space his own.
The enemies’ blades dared not touch him; instead, those who ventured into his domain paid the price—their swords snapped and shattered.
Crunch! Crunch!
Beigong Danya’s blade withdrew mercy and began to deliver retribution.
The enemies who had charged forward with such momentum found their spirits utterly broken, their strength spent.
Beigong Danya pressed his advantage further.
The Inner Qi of the Jinmujeongshim Mantra formed a steady anchor, while the Tae-ak Qi Scripture unfurled boundlessly above it.
Yet he remained unswept away.
And so, unmade by forgetting.
His reason sharpened with each breath, while the fire in his heart burned all the brighter.
Crash! Crash! Crash! Bang!
The successive explosions left the enemies unable to hold their ground; they toppled like bamboo shoots after rain.
Most lay sprawled in defeat, though some scrambled to flee.
Beigong Danya moved to pursue them, unwilling to let even a single one slip away.
“That will suffice.”
Cheon Mugyeol’s voice dampened the flames that burned in Beigong Danya’s heart.
“Cheon?”
Beigong Danya turned, startled, to look at him.
“What in heaven’s name is happening? Enemies, suddenly. Surely you’re not—”
To Beigong Danya’s question, Cheon Mugyeol nodded silently in answer.
Then he approached those Beigong Danya had struck down and examined the marks etched upon their bodies.
Beigong Danya joined him, studying the same emblems.
“Bohyeonsa sent us here, didn’t he? What is he—”
“Bohyeonsa bears no fault in this.”
Beigong Danya had been on the verge of anger, thinking that Bohyeonsa had fed them false information twice over, but Cheon Mugyeol cut him short.
“These men fabricated the intelligence to lure us here.”
At Cheon Mugyeol’s words, Beigong Danya recalled what Gwang An had said.
Something about manipulated information.
And Gwang An’s indignant reaction when someone mentioned a resemblance to Bohyeonsa.
It could have been a perfectly natural response, yet doubt crept into Beigong Danya’s mind.
“Can we trust Bohyeonsa?”
Cheon Mugyeol met his gaze.
“What if Bohyeonsa is in league with them, or deliberately sent us into this trap?”
“There is nothing for them to gain by it. More persuasive is the idea that someone who has long known of our meetings, of my existence, and of all that has transpired thus far is behind this.”
With Cheon Mugyeol’s reasoning laid bare, Beigong Danya held his tongue, though he did not wholly abandon his suspicion.
He sensed that Cheon Mugyeol harbored the same doubts, outward composure notwithstanding.
“In any case, these are not Tongun Pavilion.”
“Not? But they bear the same mark, do they not?”
“Their methods follow those of a military unit. An organization that operates independently at the individual level would struggle to maintain such formations.”
“True enough—operating units openly risks exposure. The danger would be too great.”
Cheon Mugyeol nodded at Beigong Danya’s words.
“Tongun Pavilion and some unnamed second organization move under the same emblem. This suggests a hand guiding them from the shadows.”
Beigong Danya ventured cautiously into speech.
“Could it be the Eastern Four Great Families?”
“I cannot say. But as we walk this path, in time they will be forced to reveal themselves.”
The incidents beginning in the Palace of Returning Kings, flowing through the Silent Lotus, and then into Gui Valley.
And the incidents beginning with Beigong Danya himself, leading through Jeok Eum-gan to Tongun Pavilion.
With each fragment they uncovered, inevitably that someone would be compelled to play an ever larger hand, and in doing so, their true face would be laid bare.
For that to come to pass, strength was required—and Beigong Danya’s growth was essential.
“When did you arrive?”
Beigong Danya asked quietly, having fully mastered his fervor.
“Partway through.”
“I see.”
“Go. To Bohyeonsa.”
“Yes.”
Beigong Danya, who had half-hoped for some further word from Cheon Mugyeol, swallowed his disappointment and followed in his wake.

* * *

Gwang An paced restlessly, waiting for Cheon Mugyeol and Beigong Danya to return.
Word of what had befallen the two had already reached him, and his face had gone ashen at the news.
It was happening again—the same calamity that had struck during the Silent Lotus incident.
Scarcely days after he had sworn such a thing would never occur.
Now, should Cheon Mugyeol press him for answers without mercy, he would have no defense.
‘How could such a thing have happened? Could it be—?’
Gwang An recalled the Tongun Pavilion.
“Then they’d already realized Cheon Mugyeol and Beigong Danya were here?”
“It seems so.”
“Hah!”
The voice that came from behind without warning made Gwang An feel as though his heart had stopped beating.
Just barely managing to steady himself before his legs gave way entirely, Gwang An approached Cheon Mugyeol, who was entering through the mountain gate of Bohyeonsa.
“Forgive me. I’m deeply ashamed.”
Gwang An bowed his head low.
What would Cheon Mugyeol say in response?
How would he assign blame?
No matter what form it took, Gwang An felt that Bohyeonsa was finished.
Cheon Mugyeol passed by Gwang An’s side without a word, as if brushing past him.
That silence terrified him far more.
Though Cheon Mugyeol was not ordinarily talkative, it was plain that this time he was truly furious.
And following behind, Beigong Danya too passed Gwang An without speaking.
When even Beigong Danya—with whom he shared deeper rapport—walked past in silence, cold sweat began to pour down Gwang An’s face.
‘It’s truly over now!’
With grim resolve to accept whatever censure might come, Gwang An followed them toward the Sanshin Pavilion.

* * *

“Truly, I apologize.”
The moment he entered the Main Hall, Gwang An fell to his knees before the two men and offered his apology.
He felt it had to be done this way.
As Cheon Mugyeol had said before, it was a mercy the outcome turned out well, but everything else had been a disaster.
With this happening not just once but twice, the reputation of Bohyeonsa had plummeted, and he had no face left to show either of them.
“I’m truly sorry, but might you hear my explanation, just this once?”
“I already know. That you fell victim to their scheming.”
“You do?”
Gwang An cautiously lifted his head and looked at Cheon Mugyeol.
“I’m only guessing at it myself—how can you be certain?”
Cheon Mugyeol opened his mouth to answer Gwang An’s question.
“Those porters who came this afternoon. They were not ordinary porters.”
“What?!”
Gwang An sprang to his feet in shock.
They were people he had dealings with over more than a decade, people he knew well.
If Cheon Mugyeol spoke truth, then he had known nothing for ten years?
“They must have known long ago that Bohyeonsa is an information organization, and that we are here.”
Gwang An’s face went ashen.
Some of the porters who came today had occasionally visited Bohyeonsa to make their prayers.
In plain terms—he had allowed spies inside all this time without realizing it.
Because he had never suspected a thing, the shock Gwang An received was all the greater.
“Those you met today also bore the same mark upon their bodies as those of the Tongun Pavilion.”
At Cheon Mugyeol’s words, Gwang An fought to contain his shock.
“It’s difficult to think they belong directly to the Tongun Pavilion. There must be a larger organization above the Tongun Pavilion, and they likely belong to a different faction within that organization.”
Even amid the shock, Gwang An’s mind worked quickly, and Cheon Mugyeol nodded at his words.
“I no longer know what we should do. In truth, no course of action comes to mind.”
Now, no matter what they did going forward, information manipulated by the Tongun Pavilion could seep through.
Though they might filter it out somehow, confusion would compound and harm would mount inevitably.
As Gwang An sank into confusion, Cheon Mugyeol offered a very simple answer.
“Simply continue as before.”
“But then we might fall into their trap again…….”
“Eventually, they will reveal their true faces to us. Or at least, evidence that lets us identify who is behind it will come to light.”
At Cheon Mugyeol’s words, Gwang An nodded.
From this point forward, every single step Cheon Mugyeol took would be fraught with danger.
Gwang An regarded Cheon Mugyeol quietly.
There seemed to be a picture forming in his mind, yet he could not determine what it was.
“In any case, I apologize. I will do my utmost to minimize the risk.”
Gwang An’s voice carried no strength.

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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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