“Grand…pa?”
So-ah held his grandfather’s hand.
He also held Grandpa Wi-ji’s hand.
But the two old men, who had collapsed at the same time, lay side by side and did not get up.
Cold.
Moreover, he could not feel their heart meridians.
Even if his grandfather had died, all his ki and blood could not have stopped so suddenly.
What on earth had happened?
“Grandpa…”
So-ah’s dazed voice became an echo that did not return.
***
Innate True Ki.
A type of internal energy, also called True Origin True Ki.
This is the purest internal energy that a human is endowed with from birth, a power that, once exhausted, leads to death.
In other words, Innate True Ki is a human’s life force.
Therefore, the human body places a kind of ‘self-prohibition’ on the use of Innate True Ki.
Thus, even a master at the peak cannot recklessly use all of their Innate True Ki.
Of course, just using a little Innate True Ki can lead to serious side effects, and if the amount exceeds a certain level, even a master cannot avoid qi deviation.
For that reason, the use of Innate True Ki is taboo for martial artists, and it is mostly used as a means of mutual destruction when there is no way to survive a life-or-death crisis.
“The two of them must have exhausted all their Innate True Ki!”
Moyong Baek, who was examining the bodies of Moyong Cheon and Wi-ji Un, let out a low sigh.
That’s right.
The two had already exhausted all the Innate True Ki in their bodies at the great waterfall.
But their indomitable spirit and obsession had allowed them to briefly enter the realm of a final burst of life, and thanks to that, they had been able to drink alcohol at the estate and leave words of blessing for the crowd.
And those words of blessing…
Became their last words.
“Grandpa!”
“Grandpa…”
So-ah and Wi-ji Chan each hugged their grandfather’s body.
The bodies, which had exhausted their Innate True Ki, had turned a deathly pale blue in an instant, like a jiangshi.
For the deaths of the top masters of the era, it was quite a shabby one.
“Father! Senior Wi-ji… in the end, the two of you reached a draw and passed away! The greatest under heaven… the star of the Jianghu is falling!”
Moyong Baek knelt.
It wasn’t just sadness over his father’s death.
He just resented his own position, where he didn’t even have time to be sad right now.
‘Father…’
Moyong Baek gently closed his eyes.
With a single tear, he had to pull himself together.
***
<Obituary.>
—Grand Elder of the Moyong Family, God of War Moyong Cheon, passes away.
—Chief Mourner: Eldest son of the Moyong Family Head, Moyong Baek.
—Chief Mourner: Top disciple, Jin So-ah.
—Samryun Peak Estate, Mount Daeak, Deyang County, Sichuan.
The obituary was simple.
But the impact of this simple obituary was truly something that shook the world.
‘The God of War has passed away!’
‘The God of War… the God of War!’
‘Was he defeated in the duel with the Heavenly Demon!’
The Orthodox Martial Path was in an uproar.
Some with speculation, some with sadness.
And some, rejoicing at the setting of the great sun that was the God of War, headed for the land of Sichuan.
It was the signal for a seismic shift in the Jianghu.
***
“Young Master Wi-ji. I am not qualified to recommend this, but if possible, how about holding the funerals of Senior Heavenly Demon and my father jointly and laying them to rest here, on Samryun Peak? Although they have passed away, the two of them ended their lives happily, and they were very close friends until the end, so I think it is not a bad choice.”
Moyong Baek said to Wi-ji Chan.
In fact, it might have been a little strange to lay his father, who was like a symbol of the Orthodox Martial Path, to rest with the Heavenly Demon, who was called the great mountain of the Unorthodox Martial Path. But his deceased father was a person who did not care about such things, and it would not be an easy task for Wi-ji Chan to move his grandfather’s body all the way to the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains. So Moyong Baek had recommended it out of consideration for him.
“I was also thinking of doing so. I have already sent a letter to our cult a little while ago, so the Sichuan branch leader of our cult will come here with people.”
“That’s good.”
Moyong Baek used honorifics with Wi-ji Chan.
Although he was a senior in the Jianghu, Wi-ji Chan would now become the young cult leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
In terms of status, he was by no means below him, so he had to be careful.
“Honey. You and Hwa-ah go down the mountain and prepare for the funeral. It will take time for the family members to arrive in Sichuan, so we will need manpower to greet the mourners.”
“We’ll have to find people to work first.”
“That’s right.”
“Alright.”
Yeon So-so thus descended the mountain with Moyong Hwa.
Then, Moyong Baek suddenly looked around the estate and looked for So-ah.
“So-ah.”
But there was no answer.
So-ah had disappeared with Huin-dung-i a while ago.
“Senior Moyong. So-ah has left with Huin-dung-i.”
“Hmm… I know he’s sad, but So-ah has to play the role of a chief mourner as my father’s top disciple. I’m worried.”
“He’s probably more heartbroken than anyone. Let’s just let him cool his head for a while.”
“I will do so.”
Moyong Baek nodded his head.
Moyong Baek and Wi-ji Chan were just as sad.
But they had to control their emotions.
Because it was still too early to be sad.
***
So-ah was engrossed in chopping wood.
So-ah, who had cut down the best paulownia tree on Mount Daeak, was making a coffin himself.
Was that all?
So-ah had already descended the mountain and had even prepared the burial clothes to dress his grandfather and Grandpa Wi-ji in.
‘Sadness is for later. At least for now.’
Moyong Baek and Wi-ji Chan thought So-ah was groaning, but in fact, the calmest person right now was So-ah.
“Let’s go, Huin-dung-i.”
Huin-dung-i followed So-ah’s heels from beginning to end.
***
‘What amazing mobility. I see why the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult is evaluated as being able to face the entire Orthodox Path as a single force.’
Moyong Baek was astonished.
Less than half a day after Wi-ji Chan had sent the carrier pigeon, the members of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult arrived at the estate with five eight-horse carriages and a hundred workers, as well as the most skilled undertaker in the Central Plains.
Of course, they were not dispatched from the main mountain, the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, but for a mere branch to be able to mobilize such a large procession in such a short time was a part that showed how outstanding the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was in terms of unity, cohesion, and mobility.
“Cult Leader!”
“Have you really passed away!”
“Cult Leader!”
They knelt before Wi-ji Un’s body, which was in the coffin, and wailed.
But they soon cleaned and tidied the area around the estate to be like a funeral hall, and the undertaker first prepared the bodies of Moyong Cheon and Wi-ji Un, placed them in the coffins, and then burned paper money.
At that, the once beautiful Samryun Peak estate was transformed into a proper funeral hall.
As the faint scent of incense began to prick their noses, only then did So-ah, Wi-ji Chan, and Moyong Baek realize the deaths of the deceased.
“So-ah.”
“Yeah, Brother Chan.”
“Are you okay?”
“No.”
“So-ah…”
“Are you okay, hyung?”
“My heart hurts too.”
“But we have to be strong, right?”
“We have to. At least the two of them were the history of the Jianghu, and we have to hold a grand funeral worthy of their fame.”
“But they were smiling.”
“Huh?”
“Both when they were deciding the outcome and at the moment they passed away.”
So-ah’s eyes, which were staring into the empty air, held numerous emotions.
But So-ah smiled.
Because it felt as if his grandfather was still watching him.
“So-ah…”
“Brother Chan. Let’s not cry. Let’s not cry and smile.”
A strange ripple arose in Wi-ji Chan’s heart.
The appearance of So-ah in his eyes right now was imprinted as the appearance of a mature man, not an eighteen-year-old boy.
‘So-ah. You have really grown up.’
Only then did Wi-ji Chan seem to understand why his grandfather had been so sure that So-ah would one day succeed Moyong Cheon and become a true God of War.
***
Without a doubt, such a scene had never unfolded in the current era.
The vast Samryun Peak estate.
When Moyong Cheon had first built this estate, he had built it wide for martial arts training, so it was a place that could accommodate hundreds of people with room to spare.
But such an estate was now a sea of people, and in an instant, there was not even room to set foot.
Fortunately, the members of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and the workers from Sichuan dispatched by the Orthodox Martial Path were busy setting up huge tents and flat benches around the estate to create a resting place for the mourners.
So-ah’s group was in a daze.
Not only because of the footsteps of the mourners from both the righteous and unorthodox factions, but they were also relentlessly asking about the duel between the God of War and the Heavenly Demon.
‘They seem to be more interested in the gossip than in the prayers.’
So-ah was annoyed.
The people of the Orthodox Path certainly seemed to be more curious about whether the God of War had defeated the Heavenly Demon than feeling sad about Moyong Cheon’s death.
“Fellow martial artists of the Jianghu. When the Alliance Leader and the current cult leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult visit, I will tell you everything then. Before that, I would be grateful if you would burn paper money and offer incense to pray for the repose of the deceased.”
Moyong Baek was just as annoyed.
Because the people of the Orthodox Path were relentlessly pressuring him.
Some were even spouting nonsense among themselves, saying that the Moyong Family’s status as one of the Five Great Families should be reconsidered now that the God of War was gone.
‘The Jianghu was such a ruthless place.’
Moyong Baek was reminded once again.
He thought that the Moyong Family would have to face the great power struggle of the Jianghu head-on in the future.
Just then.
“Hmph! Moyong family head. I know this is presumptuous, but we are strictly members of the Orthodox Faction. But you ask us to pray for the repose of the deceased. Are you telling me to pray for the repose of a demon geezer as well?”
“That’s right! It’s unpleasant to even be face to face with them in the first place. A joint funeral for the God of War and the Heavenly Demon. How can such a thing happen unless one is mad?”
The Orthodox martial artists began to cross the line.
There was no one from the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult who had not heard their grumbling.
In particular, Wi-ji Chan clenched his fists and trembled. He was disgusted by the Orthodox people who were saying such things even in this situation.
‘How can those who claim to be righteous be so shameless!’
In the end, Wi-ji Chan spoke in a solemn voice.
“What is your esteemed name?”
Wi-ji Chan’s gaze, as he asked the middle-aged man who had referred to his grandfather as a demon geezer, was extremely fierce.
But the middle-aged man was relaxed.
There were countless masters of the Orthodox Faction here, and even if Wi-ji Chan was a member of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, he was just a young man who had not yet reached his prime, so he thought he was somewhat easy to deal with.
“I am the Golden Fist of the Kongtong Sect, Jang Myeong. Why do you ask?”
Golden Fist, Jang Myeong.
He was a master of the Kongtong Sect, one of the Nine Great Sects, and a master of fist techniques who was particularly proficient in the Seven Injuries Fist.
His fame was widespread, so no one in the room blamed him for being rash.
But.
“I thought I should know your name.”
“What?”
“Because I plan to flatten your nose someday.”
For a moment.
A cold energy enveloped the entire estate.
All the members of the Orthodox Faction, including Moyong Baek, looked at Wi-ji Chan with surprised eyes.
“You bastard… what did you just say to me?”
Golden Fist, Jang Myeong, could not bear the insult from a young man and got up from his seat in a rage.
In that moment, the members of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult all drew their swords and growled.
Chaeng!
Cha-cha-chaeng!
Chaeng, chaeng!
Gulp.
As the sharp sword light flickered, Jang Myeong could not help but be nervous.
But he did not show it and still glared at Wi-ji Chan with his eyes wide open.
“Everyone, sheathe your swords.”
At Wi-ji Chan’s command, the members of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult shouted.
“As you command!”
Only then did Jang Myeong sense that the young man before him was no ordinary person.
“Jang Myeong. I will remember your name. But if you ever cross my path again in your life, that name will be erased from this world.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“If you speak informally to me one more time, I will pull out your tongue.”
“You bastard!”
Just then.
A group of figures entered the entrance of the estate.
“Stop.”
(End of Chapter)