The World’s Greatest is Dead - Chapter 6

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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 006
Martial arts, by nature, divides practitioners into ranks based on how they channel qi into their dantian and apply it.
If one merely channels qi into the dantian, they are third-rate.
If they begin to infuse this qi into their blade, they are second-rate.
When the qi infused into the blade begins to take physical form, they are first-rate.
Anything beyond that?
I have no idea.
They say that at the peak, qi does something or other with the body, but that has nothing to do with me.
I was merely a mediocre third-rate martial artist, which meant—
In terms of martial arts, I was utterly worthless.
Originally, I was a martial artist so weak I couldn’t even join the Martial Alliance.
That was my position.
“I have no idea what you’re doing….”
I touched my neck, where the sharp sensation still lingered.
It was where the blade had just been pressed against me.
Fortunately, there was no blood, but I could have easily died.
I recalled the eyes of that creature staring at me beneath the moonlight.
They were so murderous that I nearly lost control without realizing it.
I had spoken in the belief that it wouldn’t kill me, and the result proved me right, but it was an experience I had no desire to repeat.
“Are you satisfied now?”
I turned to the side and asked.
There stood an old man with clear eyes, grinning at me wickedly.
[Not bad at all. Yes, this should suffice.]
“After all, if you don’t put it to use, what’s the point?”
Putting weight into the waist, or whatever else.
The old man’s wish was to offer Yeon Socheon some pointers on martial arts.
In all my years, I never thought I’d hear martial arts instruction borrowed from a ghost’s words.
This was certainly a first.
“Since these are words I spoke, he won’t listen anyway. What meaning does this action have?”
Puzzled, I questioned the old man, and an answer came immediately.
[That child will listen.]
“Why are you so certain?”
[Because it’s worth hearing. It’s words that child needs. Tsk tsk.]
“….”
His conviction was vague in its reasoning, so I found it questionable.
“Then that’s fine.”
This was no longer my concern.
I had nearly died because of this, and my relationship with Yeon Socheon was already ruined, so there was nothing more I could do.
“I’ve fulfilled your request. Whether you achieve enlightenment or live in peace hereafter, I hope you manage it on your own… I’m leaving.”
As I moved without hesitation, the old man regarded me with a peculiar expression.
[Listen, boy.]
“Yes.”
[Why don’t you ask me anything?]
“Pardon?”
I wondered what he meant all of a sudden.
“What do you mean?”
[Why don’t you ask why I made such a request of you, or what my relationship is with that child, or who I am? Not a single question?]
“Ah.”
I nodded after hearing the Old Man’s words.
So that’s what he was getting at? Well, if it came to that, my answer was already decided.
“I’m simply not interested.”
[Hmm…?]
“Unsolicited advice and meddling—even if I try to understand them, I often can’t.”
Whether it’s about posture or technique, I wouldn’t understand it anyway.
“As for the relationship, well. It feels like grandfather and grandson, or perhaps master and disciple… something like that, wouldn’t you say?”
At least it’s not a married couple or lovers.
Besides, there aren’t many options to choose from anyway.
“Whatever it is, I have no desire to know or get involved.”
I’m no fool, and I know well enough that the Old Man is no ordinary being.
Especially those who remain so vivid even as ghosts—they were people of considerable standing in life.
I’ve met all sorts in my past life, so I know.
This Old Man must surely be of that ilk.
[Ho. You won’t even seek teachings from me now that you’ve become a martial artist?]
There’s considerable pride in the way he says “from me.”
What kind of man must he have been to be so confident?
Though I’m somewhat curious, I admit.
“That’s a poisoned chalice if I ever heard one. No. I’d rather not, all the more so.”
I don’t entangle myself with ghosts more than necessary.
So regardless of how remarkable a man this Old Man once was, I have no intention of seeking that knowledge.
‘Thin and long. Don’t be presumptuous, just live.’
That goal remained unchanged.
Still, I’m troubled by how much my relationship with Yeon Socheon has deteriorated.
Even if it happened against my will, I overstepped. I suppose I should be grateful it ended here.
[I see, I see.]
The Old Man shows a peculiar reaction to my answer.
“In any case… keep your promise.”
It was a vow that even if he encountered other ghosts, he wouldn’t speak of me.
[Of course, of course.]
The Old Man nods. Seeing that, I let out a silent sigh.
[But boy, I’m curious about something.]
The Old Man posed a question to me.
[My request has been fulfilled, but what if the situation were reversed?]
“…Reversed, sir?”
[You could make a request of me as well, could you not?]
That came out of nowhere.
Me, making a request of that old man?
‘There’s no way that would happen.’
I shook my head.
A request to a ghost? That would absolutely never happen.
“Should that occur, I will grant whatever you desire, sir.”
[Is that so?]
Upon hearing my words, the Old Man broke into a grin.
That smile was deeply unsettling.
[Very well. Until next time, then.]
The Old Man waved his hand and promptly vanished.
He didn’t seem to have achieved enlightenment, and given how freely he moved about, he clearly wasn’t a bound spirit either.
Watching him disappear, I found myself scratching the back of my neck uneasily.
‘Next time…?’
‘See you next time.’ Those words lingered with me.
A ghost cannot directly interfere with the mortal realm.
Even knowing this, I felt inexplicably anxious.
‘…Ah, what could possibly happen?’
Nothing significant would change, surely.
With that thought, I passed the night.
“How… How on earth… What have you done?”
‘This is bad.’
My worst premonition had come to pass—trouble had struck.

* * *
The morning right after I finished the night watch.
Cursed timing—the night watch ended just before the morning watch, so I’d barely slept at all.
Stumbling out into the courtyard in such a disheveled state.
Someone suddenly grabs my exhausted body.
“Bang… Bang Disciple.”
Wondering what this was about, I check who’s grabbed me.
‘It’s Yeon Socheon?’
The one who’d seized me was none other than Yeon Socheon himself.
The very person who’d held a blade to my throat yesterday.
Studying him with suspicion, I notice something distinctly odd about his appearance.
“What’s wrong? Yeon Disciple, didn’t you sleep?”
Yeon Socheon’s condition was quite peculiar.
His hair was somewhat disheveled.
Dark shadows hung beneath his eyes, and his skin looked pallid.
One might call it haggard.
‘Could he have trained through the night?’
I’d heard that once you reach the Second-Rate level, you can go days without sleep without much strain.
Yet this seemed to be more than just a matter of training.
Then.
Crunch—!
“Huh?”
Yeon Socheon grips my shoulder with surprising force.
“…Yeon Disciple, why are you doing this?”
“Just who exactly are you…?”
“What?”
Identity?
“What do you mean…”
I narrow my eyes before finishing my sentence.
Ah… this must be it.
‘That thing from yesterday.’
The words I’d spoken to Yeon Socheon, borrowing the Old Man’s wisdom.
I’d wondered how much help it could possibly be, yet Yeon Socheon had indeed followed the Old Man’s guidance.
Had he gained some kind of enlightenment from it?
‘But his appearance doesn’t quite match that…’
If he’d gained enlightenment, he should be pleased instead.
Yeon Socheon’s state was far from that.
Yet the way he’s acting toward me suggests he’s definitely gained something.
‘What on earth happened?’
This looks like it’s going to be quite the troublesome situation.
How could I escape this? My mind raced through possibilities.
“My back, my back….”
Meanwhile, Yeon Socheon kept repeating the same words about his back, and he seemed almost like a broken record.
Seeing this, I scratched my cheek awkwardly.
“Just as Bang Disciple said, it really….”
“Yeon Disciple.”
I cut off his words and spoke.
“Eh… Yes?”
“The carriage has already departed.”
I continued speaking with an expressionless face.
“Didn’t you tell me yesterday? Never come near me again.”
“…!”
Yes, Yeon Socheon had said exactly that to me yesterday.
There was no next time.
He had said it with a warning mixed in.
I had trembled so much back then.
When I returned, I was nearly checking if I had soiled myself.
…Well, that was then.
‘Now is the time to use it.’
Those words he spat at me back then.
Now was the time to use them differently.
“I have nothing more to say to Yeon Disciple. I will honor what you said, so don’t worry.”
“That, that is….”
Yeon Socheon’s expression darkened.
I had no idea what enlightenment he was pursuing, but it had nothing to do with me. The same went for the Old Man’s affairs.
“Just think of it as a dream in the night. I’ll live that way too. What would a third-rate martial artist know to say? I was simply mad back then.”
After speaking, I waved my hand dismissively to pass by, but Yeon Socheon didn’t release my arm.
“Hey, would you let go of me…?”
“…You couldn’t possibly not have known.”
“I really didn’t know….”
“If you hadn’t learned the same things as me, you could never have identified my weaknesses. I’m not a fool. Which means… you’re also from that place.”
“Whoa whoa? Mouth! Mouth!”
I forcibly clamped Yeon Socheon’s mouth shut.
“Have you lost your mind?”
“…Mmph.”
Whatever that place was, please don’t say it aloud.
It was obvious that Yeon Socheon had come here hiding his identity. Actually, most of the sect probably knew. They were just pretending not to.
But this fool had somehow gotten the wrong idea and was about to reveal something related to his identity to me.
“I won’t listen.”
Getting entangled was out of the question.
At first glance, it was unmistakably a suspicious place.
“Whatever you might be thinking, I’m truly not involved. Whatever it is, please don’t entangle me in such matters.”
“….”
The more I spoke, the more an inexplicable certainty filled Yeon Socheon’s eyes.
Ah, no matter how I look at it, this feels like I’ve stepped in something foul.
‘He said my movements bothered him and asked me to speak only a little.’
What on earth did that old man have me do?
A few seconds passed in silence.
Whoosh.
Yeon Socheon released the grip he had on my arm.
“I… understand….”
His demeanor showed he understood nothing at all, yet he was reluctantly letting go.
His lingering reluctance was quite bothersome.
‘What can I do about it?’
Since there was nothing more I could do, I simply ignored him and moved forward.
Who would have thought he’d come looking for me from the crack of dawn.
As I walked, I continued to feel his gaze.
I ignored it.
The old man had vanished and not reappeared, so now it was simply a matter of time passing until peace returned.
I merely hoped nothing would go wrong.
That was all I wished for today.
And so Bangseong-yeon disappeared into the distance.
“….”
Yeon Socheon, who had been quietly watching him, softly murmured.
“…Pung Yeon.”
-Yes, Young Master.
A telepathic transmission from his bodyguard. Hearing this, Yeon Socheon continued.
“What Pung Yeon told me last night. Is it truly so?”
-Yes, not a single falsehood.
Pung Yeon repeated to Yeon Socheon the words he had spoken yesterday.
-That fellow certainly noticed that I was watching him.
Yesterday afternoon.
Right after Bangseong-yeon spat water at Yeon Socheon.
Pung Yeon had secretly followed Bangseong-yeon.
Though Yeon Socheon had forgiven him, Pung Yeon could not forgive what he had done.
So he had intended to teach him a lesson without revealing his identity.
‘…What is this?’
Bangseong-yeon, who had been alone, turned his head and looked directly at the hidden Pung Yeon.
And he spoke without any hesitation.
In that moment.
Ssshhhhh–!!
An indescribable sensation swept across Pung Yeon’s entire body.
Sensing it, Pung Yeon could instinctively understand.
It was a warning.
Clearly, someone was watching him—a warning not to attempt any tricks.
Pung Yeon was a master at the Peak realm.
A martial artist who had transcended the wall between first-rate and his level—a chasm between heaven and earth.
If he could sense such power…
“…Is Bang Disciple a Peak realm master, then?”
-…I cannot say with certainty. However, the possibility exists.
At Pung Yeon’s words, Yeon Socheon furrowed his brow.
“Then why did you report this so late?”
Yeon Socheon, who had been struck by shock as Bangseong-yeon departed and wielded his sword.
At that moment when he couldn’t properly grasp the situation and stood dumbfounded, Pung Yeon had spoken belatedly.
Had he spoken such words even slightly earlier, Yeon Socheon would not have sent him away so easily.
-…My apologies. I believed it to be a misunderstanding, but only after observing the situation did I become certain.
At Pung Yeon’s words, Yeon Socheon bit his lip slightly.
He had heard that Bangseong-yeon had not yet reached adulthood.
If he truly were a Peak realm master, it would be inexplicable.
Moreover.
‘When I touched him just now, I felt nothing at all.’
When I grasped his arm to discern his realm and infused my inner energy, what I sensed from Bangseong-yeon was nothing more than third-rate inner energy.
No other aura was felt.
‘Did he conceal his power?’
Had he noticed my infusion of inner energy and deliberately hidden his realm?
…But that would be far too thorough.
The perfection was such that believing him to be merely a third-rate martial artist seemed more credible.
Yeon Socheon nodded and recalled.
‘Regardless, if he is a person from that place, everything becomes possible.’
All suspicions about Bangseong-yeon were explained if he were from that place.
Why he deliberately hid his realm while enduring contempt and oppression.
Why he had attempted to offer guidance to me.
Why a figure from Yeolyeong was here in Anhui of all places.
‘…Yes.’
Yeon Socheon’s eyes widened as though everything had become clear.
Suspicions accumulated and intertwined, leading to the conclusion.
‘He is also a disciple of Cheongwol Gate.’
Bangseong-yeon was a disciple from the same place as me.
Or a successor.
Yeon Socheon became certain of this.

* * *
Just before noon.
I had been summoned to Daeju’s Room within the Branch.
Not just me, but most of the members of the Second Battalion to which I belonged had gathered here.
“Orders have come down.”
Everyone leans in to listen to Daeju’s words.
“A report has come in that traces of Sanchen Gwiin have been discovered in the nearby area.”
“…What.”
“Sanchen Gwiin!?”
“Daeju, is that really true?”
At Daeju’s words, all the disciples wear expressions of shock.
I feel the same way.
‘Sanchen Gwiin, you say…?’
Sanchen Gwiin—a heretical sect martial artist.
An unregistered martial artist with the Martial Alliance, famous throughout the Anhui and Zhejiang regions.
In other words, a member of a Heretical Sect.
I’ve heard they wield a great blade as their weapon.
And their cultivation level is said to be at the pinnacle.
Apparently they killed a martial artist from the Namgung Clan, one of the Five Great Families, and are currently fleeing.
‘…Of all places, why did they have to be discovered in this region?’
My luck is absolutely rotten.
Well, of course I was talking about myself, not Sanchen Gwiin.
‘Ugh, if you’re going to flee, at least flee far away.’
Shandong or Hebei would have been so much better.
I’ve heard the Martial Alliance branches there are well-managed, so why did they have to stay right here in Anhui and get discovered?
‘It seems life never gives me a break.’
I barely managed to suppress the sigh that was about to escape.
“The First Battalion will handle the suppression… and we, the Second Battalion, along with the Third Battalion, will be responsible for the search.”
Daeju’s words brought some relief.
Right, with a combat unit in place, we won’t have to engage directly.
As long as we don’t search too diligently, there’s no chance we’ll encounter them.
Or rather, there shouldn’t be.
‘A pinnacle-level martial artist? Are they insane?’
Even reaching the first rank makes one a human weapon, so what exactly would a pinnacle-level martial artist be?
From what I’ve heard, they can use blade force that transcends mere blade energy.
They say they can cleave boulders as easily as cutting tofu.
‘…I really don’t want to encounter them under any circumstances.’
Just imagining it sent chills down my spine.
I don’t even want to participate in the search, but there’s no way I can avoid it, is there?
The moment such a thought crossed my mind.
“The Branch Director has high expectations for this matter, so everyone must do their best.”
‘Damn it.’
Daeju had driven the nail in so deep that I couldn’t possibly remove it.
I never expected the Branch Director to be mentioned here.
‘Is he drooling at the prospect because the Namgung Clan is involved?’
The reason for all this fuss to capture Sanchen Gwiin was naturally that very thing.
Since this was a heretical sect member that even the Five Great Families were attempting to capture, if our branch managed to apprehend them, we could gain considerable standing.
That’s why he was mobilizing all available disciples to capture them.
“The personnel assignments are already written down, so go out and prepare for operations.”
“Yes—!”
“Yes—!”
“…Yeeeees….”
Only I responded with a voice that sounded half-dead.
Was there nowhere I could hide away and kill time?
As I was scheming like that.
Zzzzzzzt!
“….”
Suddenly, I felt something hot on the back of my head.
That gaze I’d been feeling since coming to Daeju’s Room.
Feeling it, I steadied my resolve.
‘Absolutely don’t turn around.’
The owner of that gaze was none other than Yeon Socheon.
Ever since what happened this morning, he’d been glaring at me constantly.
During training, while eating, and even coming here—continuously and relentlessly!
‘At this rate, I’m going to get indigestion for real.’
How long would it take for that gaze to fade?
I was ignoring it, but it wasn’t exactly easy.
‘…Fine. If I just stay quiet, it won’t even last a month anyway.’
Whatever misunderstanding occurred, it would die down quickly if nothing else happened.
And perhaps Yeon Socheon might even disappear before then.
For now, I just needed to think about how to avoid him.
‘Today I can hide under the pretense of the search, so I only need to worry starting tomorrow.’
Surely we wouldn’t be assigned to the same team?
People would be lining up to go with Yeon Socheon anyway.
‘Hmm, that should be fine.’
As always, I would be paired with Yoo Hyeong-in, so there would be no reason to be entangled with him.
Having thought so and nodded in relief, just five minutes later.
“I humbly ask for your cooperation, Bang Disciple.”
Seeing the white-haired young man offering a slight bow to me, I had to cover my face.
“…Ah, life.”
Nothing ever seemed to work out.

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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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