The Great Heavenly Sword Emperor - Chapter 57

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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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#057. The Dongbang Door (1)

After his fight with Dongbang Cheonglyu ended, Cheon Mujgyeol and Bukgung Danya returned to the Inn where they’d been staying.
The moment they stepped through the entrance, the Innkeeper flinched, his pupils dilating.
He knew why these two men had taken lodging at his establishment.
He’d seen them leave that morning and knew where they were going, whom they meant to meet.
Yet here they were, walking back alive.
Alive and utterly unmarked, as though nothing had happened at all.
To look at them, they might have been strolling back from a casual walk through the countryside.
Cheon Mujgyeol brushed past the Innkeeper and climbed the stairs to the floor where their rooms were.
Bukgung Danya followed a few steps behind, then paused and turned to look back at the Innkeeper.
“There’s nothing to worry about.”
With that, Bukgung Danya climbed the stairs after Cheon Mujgyeol.
The Innkeeper stood rooted to the spot for a long moment, his expression a turbulent mixture of shock, concern, and relief.

* * *

Back in their room, the two men packed in silence.
Though their belongings weren’t much and shouldn’t have taken long, they moved slowly, deliberately, taking far more time than necessary.
They had been packing in silence for some time when Bukgung Danya finally spoke.
“Cheon Mujgyeol.”
“Yes.”
“What was your assessment of Dongbang Cheonglyu’s strength?”
At the question, Cheon Mujgyeol paused what he was doing and looked up at Bukgung Danya.
“Didn’t you see for yourself?”
“You know that’s not what I’m asking.”
Bukgung Danya’s gaze was steady and direct.
He was asking about the gap between his own strength and Dongbang Cheonglyu’s—the brutal difference that separated them.
Cheon Mujgyeol studied him for a moment, then opened his mouth.
“If we say Dongbang Cheonglyu’s strength is twelve…”
Gulp.
Cheon Mujgyeol paused, and Bukgung Danya swallowed dryly, his tension palpable.
“Then you are at three.”
At Cheon Mujgyeol’s answer, Bukgung Danya closed his eyes slowly.
He had known it.
He’d harbored no illusions.
He’d steeled himself, yet hearing the truth from Cheon Mujgyeol—who had fought Dongbang Cheonglyu directly—struck him like a blow.
To be worth so little.
Despair washed over him.
With his eyes still closed, Bukgung Danya steadied himself against the shock, then opened them again.
His gaze burned as he looked at Cheon Mujgyeol, and he asked once more.
“Can I grow to match Dongbang Cheonglyu—or the Five Great Dharma Protectors of the Dongbang Family?”
His eyes burned bright, yet beneath that fire lay a tremor of doubt.
He needed to hear something—anything—affirmative from Cheon Mujgyeol’s lips, or he feared he might shatter.
Without it, he might surrender to despair entirely.
“There is nothing impossible in this world.”
“No. That’s not the answer I want to hear. Not hollow philosophy.”
Bukgung Danya’s fists clenched, trembling visibly.
Anxiety and tension gripped his entire body at once.
Watching him, Cheon Mujgyeol finally spoke.
“Bukgung Danya.”
“Yes.”
“Does what I said sound like hollow philosophy to you?”
At his question, Bukgung Danya looked back, waiting for him to continue.
“Twenty years. That is how long I have been training in the Celestial Sword Emperor’s Martial Arts.”
Twenty years.
They say that in ten years, even mountains and rivers change their form.
Twenty years, then—two such cycles.
Quite a span of time.
Over all those years, training alone in the depths beneath Cheongeomjang, it seemed almost inevitable that Cheon Mujgyeol had reached his present level of mastery.
“Does it seem inevitable to you?”
As if reading Bukgung Danya’s thoughts, Cheon Mujgyeol asked the question.
Bukgung Danya’s eyes flickered, a tremor running through them.
“One might argue that it’s different because you carry the blood of the Celestial Sword Emperor. But by that logic, I carry the blood of Bukgung. What difference could there be between Bukgung blood and Dongbang blood?”
At Cheon Mujgyeol’s words, Bukgung Danya’s eyes trembled more visibly.
He was right. What difference was there?
Perhaps, until now, he’d been clinging to excuses—dwelling only on reasons for failure, never daring to imagine success.
“There is no such thing as the impossible. To call something impossible is merely self-justification by those who have never tried.”
At Cheon Mujgyeol’s words, Bukgung Danya closed his eyes again and exhaled slowly.
When he opened them moments later, his gaze was steady.
His expression, too, had grown calmer.
“Thank you.”
To Bukgung Danya’s words of gratitude, Cheon Mujgyeol began gathering his belongings.
Bukgung Danya watched him for a moment, then set about doing the same.
Soon, as the two men departed from the Inn, there was not a trace of hesitation or anxiety to be seen on Bukgung Danya’s face.

* * *

In the Great Hall of the Dongbang Family Estate.
Within a heavy silence, Dongbang Cheonbaek, Dongbang Yeonhui, and the Five Great Dharma Protectors had all gathered.
After his battle with Cheon Mujgyeol, Dongbang Cheonglyu had received quick treatment and arrived ahead of Cheon Mujgyeol’s party.
“Cheonglyu. Speak. What was Cheon Mujgyeol like?”
In the weighty silence, Dongbang Yeonhui was the first to break the quiet.
They had already learned of Dongbang Cheonglyu’s defeat before his arrival.
After a moment of silence, Dongbang Cheonglyu spoke slowly.
“At first, I thought it would be easy. I believed he was beneath my expectations, and I was disappointed.”
All eyes turned toward Dongbang Cheonglyu.
He did not meet their gazes, but instead stared ahead into empty space with a hollow expression as he continued.
“What I saw was a single Revenge Spirit, consumed by vengeance and sorrow. I even questioned whether such a man was worth expending all the strength of the Dongbang Family upon.”
Then Dongbang Cheonglyu let out a bitter laugh.
“I sought to break him. As we fought, I dug deeper into the pain and suffering within him, believing that if I pressed relentlessly enough, he would crumble of his own accord.”
Dongbang Cheonglyu closed his eyes tightly.
“But I was wrong. What I saw was only a portion of his heart and spirit—what he permitted me to see. Nothing more. And then I understood.”
He opened his eyes and continued.
“It was I who had been completely exposed.”
At Dongbang Cheonglyu’s words, a hint of tension flickered across the faces of the Five Great Dharma Protectors.
“Cheon Mujgyeol is formidable. We have gravely underestimated him.”
Dongbang Cheonglyu spoke with absolute conviction.
Perhaps, under ordinary circumstances, one of the Five Great Dharma Protectors would have immediately objected.
They would have argued that Dongbang Cheonglyu’s defeat did not prove Cheon Mujgyeol’s strength.
All five Dharma Protectors were well aware of their own power and carried themselves with confidence.
They acknowledged one another as peers, yet each harbored a subtle belief in their own superiority.
But now, none could offer a rebuttal.
The weight in Dongbang Cheonglyu’s words was different from his usual tone.
Because they recognized his strength, his words carried all the more force.
A silence stretched out.
Dongbang Cheonbaek’s face was unreadable, blank as stone, while Dongbang Yeonhui’s mind worked visibly, calculations flickering behind his eyes.
The Five Great Dharma Protectors, too, bore the weight of complicated thoughts, each wearing an expression of inner turmoil.
“Yeonhui. Have you sorted through it?”
At last, after the long silence, Dongbang Cheonbaek spoke.
“Yes. I shall lay it out now.”
With that, Dongbang Yeonhui rose from his seat.
His expression was grave, his manner serious, his bearing taut with purpose.
The Five Great Dharma Protectors tensed, their full attention fixed upon him.
“Before I outline our next course of action, I believe we must first acknowledge certain truths and move past them.”
Dongbang Yeonhui paused, regarding the Five Great Dharma Protectors and Dongbang Cheonbaek in turn, before continuing.
“The many schemes that have pressed Cheon Mujgyeol into a corner up to now haven’t been entirely without effect. But in the end, they failed. That failure rests entirely on my shoulders. As the strategist of Dongbang Family, I should have employed a more certain method. I apologize.”
Dongbang Yeonhui bowed his head.
The strategist’s apology, he who had brought Dongbang Family this far, deepened the solemnity of the room.
Raising his head again, Dongbang Yeonhui’s eyes gleamed as he spoke once more.
“Which is why, from this moment forward, we must pour everything into bringing down Cheon Mujgyeol without the slightest gap in our resolve. And so I make this request of you, Patriarch.”
“Speak.”
“Grant me leave to transition all of Dongbang Family into Wartime Status from this moment onward. If you grant me full authority, I will not fail you.”
At Dongbang Yeonhui’s words, Dongbang Cheonbaek regarded him silently.
And after a moment.
“Very well. I grant it. Do as you see fit.”
“Thank you.”
Dongbang Yeonhui bowed his head again.
Then, turning to the Five Great Dharma Protectors, he continued.
“Until this operation concludes, I shall command all forces directly under the Five Great Dharma Protectors. Each of you is to issue no separate orders without my instruction. This is not a request—it is a command.”
At Dongbang Yeonhui’s words, the Five Great Dharma Protectors showed visible displeasure.
Having to hand over their subordinates wholesale was hardly a comfortable prospect.
But there was no choice.
Dongbang Yeonhui, bending even the proud Five Great Dharma Protectors to his will, drove the meeting forward.
“The forces directly under the Five Great Dharma Protectors shall confront Cheon Mujgyeol and Bukgung Danya outside the estate first. I will personally communicate each role and strategy to you.”
“The entire contingent is to mobilize?”
At Dongbang Jinhyeok’s question, Dongbang Yeonhui nodded.
“Yes. Abandon the thought that this is excessive. Now is when excess is better than insufficiency.”
Then, sweeping his gaze across the Five Great Dharma Protectors once more, he continued.
“I cannot predict the outcome. Still, considering the strength of these forces, I believe it unlikely that Cheon Mujgyeol and Bukgung Danya will break through them to reach the estate’s main gate. And even should they breach it, their power will be considerably depleted.”
At Dongbang Yeonhui’s words, the Five Great Dharma Protectors seemed lost in thought.
“The Five Great Dharma Protectors, for your part, must prepare thoroughly for any contingency. I will address further matters after we have organized what must be readied first.”
With that, the meeting came to a close.

* * *

Cheon Mujgyeol and Bukgung Danya were climbing a steep hill.
The path was more treacherous than expected.
Yet the two did not pause, their steps relentless as they continued upward.
“Once we cross this hill, you’ll see Dongbang Family Estate.”
Tension threaded through Bukgung Danya’s voice.
Cheon Mujgyeol said nothing, merely pressing forward.
The crest drew steadily nearer, and at last the two reached it and halted briefly.
As they crested the hill, their vision opened wide.
“There. That is Dongbang Family Estate.”
Bukgung Danya pointed with his fingertip toward a distant place.
Rather than follow his gesture, Cheon Mujgyeol took in the sprawling vista before him in its entirety.
A vast town spread out below the hill.
Countless tile roofs and thatched roofs stretched in unbroken sequence like waves, and a wide thoroughfare cut through the town, straight and smooth as a drawn sword.
At the end of the thoroughfare lay an expansive plaza, and beyond it rose the Dongbang Family Estate’s massive main gate and towering walls.
Behind the high walls.
Parts of layered pavilions and towers came into view.
Even so, a sense of grandeur emerged, and the overwhelming dignity accumulated across long ages pressed down upon him.
Neither Cheon Mujgyeol nor Bukgung Danya spoke, both studying the sight before them for a long moment.
Their gaze traced from the town along the thoroughfare, finally fixing on the Dongbang Family Estate.
At last they had come.
To the place where a duty that should have been kept to the end for glory greater than the past had been abandoned.
“Let us go.”
At Cheon Mujgyeol’s words, the two resumed their steps.

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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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