The World’s Greatest is Dead - Chapter 283

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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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The Heavenly Supreme Has Died – Episode 283
Dawn breaks once more. It was the second day at Hwasan.
I move the moment my eyes open. A day at Hwasan was simple.
“Have you awakened?”
“Yes. I just woke up.”
“Then I shall bring you breakfast.”
Upon waking, someone checks on me, and Taeyong, one of the Three Disciples, brings rice.
Perhaps because I came as a guest, Hwasan provided private quarters and meals were well-maintained.
Of course.
“Still no meat today.”
Due to the sect’s nature, meat still never appeared on the table.
Yet it was acceptable.
“…The seasoning is good.”
This establishment’s chef prepared food so skillfully that vegetables alone were sufficient to satisfy my hunger.
After finishing the meal, I wash up appropriately and venture outside.
There isn’t much scheduled. From the start, this itinerary only had purpose for Jang Moonin, so without him, there was nothing to do.
So what I do is head straight to the Training Hall.
“…Why are you doing it so carelessly like that?”
“…My apologies.”
Usually I spend time watching Dok-ryong’s training and nagging him.
“That one was sloppy too, and this one’s no different. Do you not want to do this?”
“No, that’s not it…!”
I assist with Wol Cheon’s training under Sochul Daeju.
Even that takes only a few hours.
Since both showed slow progress in their training, it would end once I touched on it a bit.
Then came my own training time.
“…Haaah….”
The only training I could do was moderate external cultivation.
They said if I touched my energy incorrectly, my body would burst, so I couldn’t do this carelessly.
Thud-!
I dropped the iron sphere I was holding to the ground and loosened my body.
“Ugh, this is killing me….”
I feel it every time—I never get used to it.
While it’s somewhat crude training, from my perspective, I simply dislike moving my body.
[Your excuse is just that you dislike simple repetition.]
“…That’s true as well.”
I don’t deny it. It was indeed a fact that I was exhausted by simple repetition.
[Martial arts are inherently repetition. The entirety of it is discovering differences within repeated training.]
“You tell me to do it exactly the same, so how am I supposed to find differences within that?”
[Perfection doesn’t exist in this world. Saying to implement it perfectly means it’s efficient when done so. The body changes—how could it remain the same? What matters is the effort to keep it the same.]
“Words are easy to say, aren’t they?”
[Close your mouth….]
I chuckled hearing Yoo Cheon-gil’s grumble. Despite what I said, I often gained insight from his words.
‘…It’s not perfection that matters, but the enlightenment that comes from the process of striving for it.’
The repetition of the same movement.
The processes my body undergoes to make it perfectly identical.
He’s telling me to become aware of what I gain from there.
‘It’s not easy.’
He made such a difficult concept sound so simple.
‘The Sword Emperor is the same way. These people all struggle to explain things properly.’
The Sword Emperor tells me not to think, just move.
This man’s teaching method wasn’t much different when you got down to it.
‘Tsk.’
Frustrating.
I wanted nothing more than to draw my blade and swing it.
‘Hold back.’
Since I couldn’t do that, I had to endure. But that’s how it always goes.
‘The more you’re told not to do something, the more you want to do it.’
Damn it, my hands itched to use my sword.
In the past, I would have called that ignorant talk.
‘I’ve changed quite a bit.’
Over this past year, the greatest change wasn’t my strength or realm, but myself.
Pat, pat.
I brushed my trembling hands aside lightly.
Right now, I needed to control my body rather than draw my sword.
‘Otherwise I’ll get beaten senseless again later.’
Training with the Sword Emperor would resume starting today.
That was assault masquerading as training. Without a healthy body, I couldn’t endure it.
“Let me see.”
It seemed about time for lunch.
Should I fill my stomach first and think later?
As I stepped outside with that thought.
“Ah.”
“Hmm?”
I ran into someone.
“Yeo Hyeok.”
It was Yeo Hyeok. He greeted me with an awkward expression.
“Pardon my intrusion.”
“What brings you here?”
It seemed this wasn’t a chance encounter.
‘He was waiting for me.’
It seemed Yeo Hyeok had been waiting for me.
What was this about? I asked, puzzled.
“…That is.”
He spoke with a darkened expression, his words trailing off.
Seeing this, I understood.
‘I see.’
It seemed likely.
‘The roots are about to be uprooted?’
It appeared the time had come for the roots I had cultivated to be uprooted.
Well, that’s simple enough.
“I—”
“Have you eaten?”
“Pardon?”
“If you haven’t eaten, let’s share a meal.”
I should shake those roots that were about to be uprooted, making them easier to pull free.
I dragged Yeo Hyeok along to get some food.

* * *
I took a bite of rice with steam still rising from it.
“Every time I eat, I realize how delicious the food is.”
“Haha. Isn’t it? This chef was brought here with great care by Jang Moonin.”
“Is that so? That explains it.”
A chef personally brought by Maehwa Ilgeom? There was a reason the rice was so well-prepared.
The place where I now sat appeared to be a dining hall used by the disciples.
It was a place I had deliberately sought out to eat with Yeo Hyeok.
As we ate together like this.
“So then, what exactly did you wish to tell me?”
I asked Yeo Hyeok. As my question finished, he hesitated.
“…That is….”
-Is it about Patcheon Gung?
“…!”
When I spoke through transmission, Yeo Hyeok flinched. His eyes asked how I knew.
‘Predictable, this man.’
In this situation, what Yeo Hyeok had to tell me with that expression was painfully obvious.
It would be foolish not to anticipate it.
-…You’re right.
Yeo Hyeok broke his silence and spoke to me through transmission.
I had guessed correctly.
-What did you wish to say about it?
You said it wasn’t the case before, so what are you trying to say now?
At my question, Yeo Hyeok laughed awkwardly, appearing embarrassed himself.
-…The words I spoke last time. I wished to discuss this matter further, so I’ve come to see you.
-The words from before?
-Regarding the circumstances that have unfolded within the current Hwasan Sect.
-Ah, yes.
Hwasan is not ordinary. This was something I’d heard from Jang Moonin as well.
‘Even if that weren’t the case.’
In just these past few days—even from merely a single day of observation—it was something I could discern.
‘The atmosphere is desolate.’
I couldn’t speak to the atmosphere of Hwasan’s outer disciples, but the current atmosphere within Hwasan itself was far from pleasant.
Wariness was evident, and even for an outsider, the distance they maintained was unnaturally pronounced.
This ultimately meant.
‘Something is amiss.’
While ordinary people might be unaware, within Hwasan there was clearly something grave occurring.
At this, Yeo Hyeok broached the subject with me.
-Just as you anticipated, there is currently a problem within Hwasan….
-Ah.
I nodded.
-Is this problem connected to Patcheon Gung?
-…That is….
Yeo Hyeok hesitated for a moment. Just as I wondered if I’d approached the main point too abruptly.
-I am not certain.
-You’re not certain?
-Yes, recently I’ve been suspecting Patcheon Gung as a candidate, but this is merely a candidate, not a certainty. However….
Yeo Hyeok trailed off. I was already anticipating what he would say next.
-But you’re certain about the scheming, aren’t you?
-….
Yeo Hyeok fell silent.
Scheming.
Someone within Hwasan was engaged in treacherous plots. At least that much, Yeo Hyeok did not deny.
-Am I wrong?
I pressed again, seeking a definitive answer.
-…You’re right.
Yeo Hyeok spoke. As I suspected.
-Then you’re saying there is scheming, but you don’t know if it’s Patcheon Gung?
-….Yes.
*Click.*
I leaned my back against the chair and touched my lips with my thumb.
‘It’s a matter of timing.’
I understand why he would think that way.
‘I only recently learned of Patcheon Gung’s existence.’
What happened in Hannam. Word of Patcheon Gung spread because of it, so it seemed he had added it to his list of candidates based on that.
‘But there isn’t enough evidence to be certain.’
That’s how I chose to understand it.
-Then, what is your reason for telling me this now?
So what was the real point he was getting at?
Why he came to find me despite knowing the moles existed.
When I asked that.
-You mentioned that Wol-hyeop has been investigating the existence of Patcheon Gung.
-That’s correct.
-And you also said that this entire schedule is actually an investigation into Patcheon Gung, yes?
-Yes.
It wasn’t a lie.
-I was wondering if I might receive your assistance regarding this matter.
-What kind of assistance are you referring to?
-…The existence of the moles. And whether they are indeed Patcheon Gung or not. Could I receive your help in determining this?
-Hmm.
So he was asking if I could help identify the moles and determine whether they were actually Patcheon Gung or not.
That’s all fine. It’s all fine, but.
‘What matters here.’
There was still one thing I needed to clarify.
-This is your personal thought, Master Yeo Hyeok, not that of the Maehwa Sword Master or Hwasan Sect, correct?
-Ah, yes.
It had to be Yeo Hyeok’s personal will, not the voice of the Maehwa Sword Master or Hwasan Sect.
-First, I plan to seek permission from Wol-hyeop before making a report, but….
-No. Please don’t do that.
I stopped Yeo Hyeok.
-Pardon? How could-
-If moles exist, then you cannot trust anyone. Not even.
I spoke to him while meeting his gaze seriously.
-Even if they are fellow disciples of the Maehwa Sword Master or members of Hwasan Sect.
-…!
-Moreover, you must not trust me either. This is a matter that requires it.
Now that I had determined moles existed, I needed to be even more cold and calculating.
When I pointed that out, Yeo Hyeok nodded.
-…Thank you for your words.
-If that is acceptable to you, I can offer my assistance. But if not, we can forget this conversation ever happened.
I had no intention of entangling myself with Hwasan Sect itself. I chose Yeo Hyeok first.
At my words, Yeo Hyeok remained silent for a moment before asking me.
-Wol-hyeop.
-Yes.
-Forgive my impertinence, but do you truly trust me?
-Pardon?
-You said a traitor exists. And I could very well be that traitor, could I not?
-Yes, well, that’s certainly possible.
Yeo Hyeok could be the traitor? It’s conceivable.
But what grounds does he have to trust me like this? That’s what Yeo Hyeok’s question implied.
-I have chosen to trust the sect. That is all.
I answered with an earnest expression.
-…Ah.
At those words, Yeo Hyeok gazed at me with an impressed face.
-…I seem to have asked an embarrassing question.
-Not at all. This is merely my choice, after all.
It was a lie.
‘I don’t trust anyone.’
I didn’t trust Yeo Hyeok either. I only trusted my own eyes.
-So you need not trust me, Sect Leader.
I spoke plainly.
-That’s not true. I trust you as well, Wol-hyeop.
Of course I should. That’s what I told him to do.
‘People always want to believe what they’re told not to believe.’
It was a technique I learned from the greatest con artist of my past life. And it works surprisingly well.
-I am grateful for your assistance.
-Think nothing of it. I’m simply glad to be of service to Hwasan’s future.
The conversation continued with laughter. His favorability had risen considerably.
So is it time now?
-But Sect Leader.
-Speak freely.
-If you know a traitor exists, do you have anyone in mind who seems suspicious?
-….
If he’d figured it out, he would have already mentally listed the suspicious individuals.
I needed to obtain information about them.
‘Whether they’re right or wrong, I can judge by seeing them directly.’
I had identified thirteen individuals at Patcheon Gung.
And.
‘Even without a distinctive aura, they could still be the traitor.’
If he mentioned anyone else, I would add them to my list of information as well.
With that intention, I posed the question to Yeo Hyeok.
-It may seem strange, but….
-I don’t think that way.
Maehua Daeju is already in a precarious position as we speak. Why would I find anything strange about it? If anything, it’s pitiful that Yeo Hyeok hasn’t anticipated what’s coming.
He probably has no idea in his wildest dreams that his own Daeju is a spy for Patcheon Gung.
As I waited for his answer while thinking this through,
-…The person I’m currently suspecting is.
Yeo Hyeok spoke to me with a grave expression.
-My Daeju himself.
-…What?
…It was truly an unexpected statement.

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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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