Chapter 39:
What I Gained From Flowers Filling the Sky Like Rain (1)
A Past Life From Childhood.
The final battle of the Sacheondang Family was imminent.
Father held out the secret manuals of the Sacheondang Family's hidden martial arts to .
"Seon, morize all of them."
"Father! Are these not the Sacheondang Family's secret martial arts?"
The hidden weapon arts of Celestial Maiden Scattering Flowers and Flowers Filling the Sky Like Rain.
The Heavenly Poison Blood Divine Art and the recipes for the Eight Great Extre Poisons—over a hundred and thirty volus in total.
Supre martial arts that only the head of the Sacheondang Family could access.
"Why are you suddenly giving these……?"
"morize them! Every single character, without exception!"
"Father!"
"There's no ti! Hurry!"
At the ti, I was eleven years old.
Father's expression was composed, yet his voice trembled faintly.
Three days was all I was given.
Even speed-reading wouldn't be enough to finish them, let alone morize everything.
I stayed up through the nights, reading and morizing.
Five hundred years of the family's secret legacy.
The manuals were written like ciphers, and young as I was, I could not comprehend their profound principles.
I simply forced myself to morize them blindly.
Father checked my progress each day.
"Wrong! Two characters."
"I'm sorry."
"You cannot miss even a single particle!"
Thwack! Thwack!
If I failed to morize correctly, I was struck with a switch—and even in the mont of being struck, I had to hold the book up and keep reciting.
When I finished morizing one manual, two would appear.
When I finished two, four were given.
Having been called a prodigy since childhood, I managed to morize most of them in a short ti—but the problem was the ti itself.
Father grew anxious, and would sotis take back a few of the manuals he had given .
The martial arts I could not morize in ti were none other than Ten Thousand Streams Return to Origin Divine Art.
The greatest recovery thod for absorbing techniques—and the reward for Min-jeong's chocolate master mission.
"Father, I cannot find the Ten Thousand Streams Return to Origin Divine Art manual."
"That one…… Is gone now."
"Pardon?"
"There's no ti! It can't be helped. Start by morizing the Eight Great Extre Poisons recipes."
And so I morized on, while Father gave no answers—
And kept taking the manuals away.
Each ti he returned to ,
Father's clothes were torn as though he had been through a fierce battle, and the wounds on his body kept multiplying.
Three days later. When I had morized everything.
"I'll take them all back now. Engrave them again and again in your mind so that you never forget."
"……Yes."
My calves, torn and bleeding from the beatings.
I stared up at Father with bloodshot eyes from sleepless nights.
I could not understand it then.
I simply resented him.
Father's frenzied appearance.
His hand, striking my calves with the switch.
The household servants of the Sacheondang Family fled at the sight of Father like that, and the family elders erupted in uproar.
"Word has it that the family head is selling off the Sacheondang Family's treasures!"
"Step aside."
"Family Head!"
"Get out of the way!"
Father, trying to protect his family, even ca to blows with the elders and senior mbers.
The last image I have of Father was just before he passed away—after unleashing his final Flowers Filling the Sky Like Rain, defeated by the Murim Alliance Leader.
……Now, I understand Father.
The Sacheondang Family's destruction was inevitable.
He was trying to pass on its lineage to .
"But why, I wonder?"
Since the family's end was unavoidable regardless, what was Father trying to buy by selling off the Sacheondang Family's secret martial arts?
***
【Entering 17th floor of the Murim Tower (Republic of Korea).】
【Bonus Mission: Eliminate the Valley Master of Wind Flower Valley, Wind Flower Flying Shadow Yeon Hwa-jin.】
—Ti Limit: 30 Minutes
Thirty minutes.
The ti limit, previously ten minutes, had been extended.
Sothing had also disappeared.
"The mission reward is gone. It used to give treasures or elixirs."
There was no ti for lengthy deliberation.
The location was a manor in Chengdu, Sichuan Province.
Where Wind Flower Valley had positioned itself for battle.
The sky was overcast. Heavy dark clouds had gathered.
……It was that day.
The day just before the Sacheondang Family's final battle.
"There it is!"
I fixed blade-sharp eyes on the manor's great gate, and imdiately hurled myself toward it.
Tension and anticipation crossed within .
"Open—open, please!"
If that gate opened, Father would not be far away.
Please, let see Father, even from a distance! Please!
Thud!
The gate did not open.
I leaped atop the wall and tried the other side, but—
It was blocked! Of course it was.
The sky and scenery were clearly visible, yet I could not get out.
"Damn it all!"
The Tower……
Was determined to drive mad!
17th floor, Wind Flower Valley. 21st floor, Demon Wind Manor.
Between them, the final battle of my Sacheondang Family was unfolding.
And I could not take part in that battle.
Even if I killed the Wind Flower Valley Master on 17th floor, my past would not change.
It could not be changed.
"Then at least let vent my fury, please!"
Let join the battle and tear apart the Alliance Leader, the Cult Leader, the Heavenly Demon—
Anyone who stands before my eyes!
Boom!
I clutched the gate that would not open and trembled violently. Then it happened.
"Seize that person!"
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Thirty warriors of Wind Flower Valley surrounded .
Every one of them had their opposite hand slipped inside their sleeve.
They were preparing to unleash hidden weapons.
Slowly.
I let my shoulders droop and rose to my feet.
"Tower."
What it is trying to show —
……Was it despair?
"Strike!"
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Hidden weapons blanketed the heavens and earth, shot toward .
A storm of blood surged, my robes billowed, and the White Tiger Sword began to roar.
Wind Flower Valley was stained crimson in an instant.
The ornate gardens were trampled, and the ancient trees that had boasted their dignity were torn out by the roots.
Craaack!
The White Tiger Sword's thunderous roar echoed with screams.
Wind Flower Valley's celebrated beauty, its chivalry—all of it shattered beneath my hands.
"Out of my way!"
Boom! Crash crash!
Pavilions collapsing one after another.
Through the trembling warriors of Wind Flower Valley, Valley Master Yeon Hwa-jin appeared.
"What a cruel wretch. Did you co knowing what this place is!"
Yeon Hwa-jin shouted at .
Both his hands lowered with overflowing, arrogant confidence.
It seed his supre technique, Wind Flower Flying Rain, could be unleashed at any mont.
"Yeon Hwa-jin……"
I called his na softly.
"Your Wind Flower Valley was a branch sect of the Sacheondang Family."
"……"
"Why did you betray the Sacheondang Family?"
"So you were a warrior of the Sacheondang Family? No wonder your martial arts looked familiar."
"Answer !"
Yeon Hwa-jin smiled thinly as he replied.
"The Sacheondang Family was going to be destroyed anyway—siding with the Alliance Leader was only natural."
It was the answer I had expected.
Nothing remarkable.
The wind was cold. Cooling sweat scattered into the air.
I spoke to him in a voice tinged with weariness.
"……Co at . I will kill you in the na of the Sacheondang Family."
"Bwahaha! So the Sacheondang Family still has its loyal n! Foolish wretch. The Sacheondang Family was rotten from the top!"
The aning behind his words was strange.
"What do you an by that?"
Yeon Hwa-jin sneered as he spoke.
"Did you not know? The Sacheondang Family Head, Dang Cheon-ryong, ca by a few days ago. He even presented with the Sacheondang Family's secret manuals."
"……!"
He pointed to the spot where I was standing.
"Right where you stand, the Sacheondang Family Head knelt before and bowed his head to the ground!"
……Father?
"Speak plainly. And what is this about the secret manuals?"
"Bwahaha! What use is there in my telling you? Let show you directly."
Whooooosh.
Yeon Hwa-jin drew up his internal energy greatly.
A storm of energy erupted from around him, sweeping through the manor in an instant, and leaves and blades of grass began to scatter wildly.
This is……
This was a stance I recognized.
"Celestial Maiden Scattering Flowers?!"
Yeon Hwa-jin burst into uproarious laughter.
"Bwahaha! Did you see? The secret manual given to by the Sacheondang Family Head! Celestial Maiden Scattering Flowers! The Sacheondang Family's supre technique!"
Snap!
The mont he brought his hands together—
Whoooosh!
Wind Flower Flying Shadow Needles unleashed through Celestial Maiden Scattering Flowers!
Thousands of silver needles riding the formless wind ca shooting toward .
It was a breathtakingly swift strike, worthy of its reputation.
I launched into a movent technique and was even reduced to rolling on the ground like a donkey.
"Ugh……!"
The shock that he was using Celestial Maiden Scattering Flowers was so overwhelming that my energy channels surged in turmoil.
My hands and feet stumbled, and my vision blurred.
Tug! Tug—
I plucked the Wind Flower Flying Shadow Needles that had struck my vital points.
Drip— Drip.
Blood stread from my body, riddled like a beehive. Fortunately, the Dark Tortoise Armor had protected my vital organs.
Yeon Hwa-jin stroked his chin.
"Hooh. A capable one, aren't you."
I stared directly at him and asked.
"Did the Sacheondang Family Head…… truly give you the Celestial Maiden Scattering Flowers manual?"
"You saw it and still can't believe it? Hehehe. That's not all."
Snap. Yeon Hwa-jin reached into his chest and produced a manual.
Flowers Filling the Sky Like Rain.
A supre technique among supre techniques, mastered only by the Sacheondang Family Head!
"……!!"
"Bwahaha. So surprised, are you?"
"How did that co to be in your hands?"
"The Sacheondang Family Head gave it to . Crawling on his knees, presenting it with both hands."
"That is impossible!"
"Hehehe. Yes, I too found it unbelievable. That proud Sacheondang Family Head kneeling before , a re branch sect master."
My legs nearly gave way.
"Why would the Family Head……?"
"Do you wish to receive an answer from ? Then I'll give you a chance."
He pointed at .
"Stand where you are and endure my Flowers Filling the Sky Like Rain. If you withstand it as your Family Head did, I will tell you."
Withstand it?
……As Father did?
The shocks kept coming.
Whoooooosh!
Yeon Hwa-jin drew up his energy once more.
In an instant, wind arose.
Wind carrying killing intent. Wind carrying death.
Shhhhhhhhraaaaaak—!
The mont Yeon Hwa-jin's hand swung once, countless flying needles burst from his sleeve.
Thousands of needles gleaming crimson in the light beca a rain of slaughter, closing in from all thirty-six directions.
Death surged from the front, behind, above, left and right—from every direction.
There was no escape route. No space to evade, not even a place to hide.
"It's over……. Pathetic wretch!"
In the middle of the devastated manor, Yeon Hwa-jin smirked and brushed dust from his sleeve.
His internal energy had been depleted; he took an elixir pill and swallowed it.
And then—
"……!"
His face twisted with astonishnt upon finding still standing, my entire body run through.
"You—you wretch!"
I had not evaded.
'Withstand it as your Family Head did.'
When he said Father had endured it, I did not step away.
Father's suffering.
It was self-inflicted penance—a desire to feel it in full.
Sizzle, sizzle.
The needles lodged throughout my body dissolved in my poison energy.
The Heavenly Poison Blood Divine Art was activating on its own.
The surging energy wave made Yeon Hwa-jin's body recoil.
"Answer ."
"Ha……"
"Speak!"
Crackkk! The entire manor shook at my roar.
Yeon Hwa-jin stumbled back several more steps.
"Tenacious wretch……. Fine. You're about to die anyway, so I'll tell you."
He smiled thinly as he spoke.
"In exchange for giving the Sacheondang Family's martial arts, he asked to spare his child's life. That child's na was…… Dang Seon, I believe."
"……!"
"Now that he was facing death, the Family Head finally had his wits about him. Since there was no way the Alliance Leader would spare the Sacheondang Family, it seems he was willing to sacrifice everything just to save one thing."
I bit down hard on my teeth.
Yeon Hwa-jin continued in a mocking tone.
"It was absurd! The Sacheondang Family Head had apparently visited not only our Wind Flower Valley, but other sects as well. At each one, he presented the Sacheondang Family's martial arts and secrets, making the very sa request."
I could not fathom what that must have felt like.
The weight of being both a Family Head and a father—I do not know what that is.
For I have never knelt and begged before anyone for sothing of my own.
So that was it.
The treasure Father had bought by selling the family's secret manuals.
The treasure I could not find even after searching the entire world.
……Was it ?
I stood motionless and closed my eyes.
"Your current state is identical to your Family Head back then."
Yeon Hwa-jin said.
"The Family Head gave Celestial Maiden Scattering Flowers and Flowers Filling the Sky Like Rain, but how could I simply take his word for it? He may have tampered with the formulas. So I personally trained in Celestial Maiden Scattering Flowers and asked your Family Head to endure it. I told him that if he did, I would honor the request."
"……!"
"After enduring Celestial Maiden Scattering Flowers, the Family Head stood in exactly the sa state as you—blood pouring from his entire body—and left with just one sentence."
Yeon Hwa-jin mimicked Father's manner, speaking with a staggering gesture.
"'Please……' he said. 'Keep your promise'"
Thud.
My legs gave way and I fell to my knees.
"Hehehe. You lasted long. I'm still not quite accustod to Flowers Filling the Sky Like Rain, so I couldn't bring you down in one strike."
He shrugged.
"But now I feel confidence growing within . I think I understand the key principles of Flowers Filling the Sky Like Rain."
Yeon Hwa-jin drew up his energy.
I staggered to my feet.
"……Let us fight, Yeon Hwa-jin."
"Ha! In that state? What's a man who can't even properly grip a sword going to do."
"It will be a hidden weapon duel."
Yeon Hwa-jin's expression perked up with interest at my proposal.
"I too am of the Sacheondang Family's household. I have trained in hidden weapon techniques."
Clatter.
The White Tiger Sword dropped to the ground.
I drew the Storm Pear Blossom Needles from my chest and gripped them in my trembling hands.
"Storm Pear Blossom Needles?!"
He recognized them too.
The Sacheondang Family's secret weapon, Storm Pear Blossom Needles. The ultimate goal of Wind Flower Valley's Wind Flower Flying Shadow Needles.
"If you win, I'll hand over the Storm Pear Blossom Needles."
"Bwahaha! You fool. I could simply take them by force right now."
"Did you not witness my poison arts? Try any underhanded tricks and I'll dissolve everything."
Yeon Hwa-jin clicked his tongue with a tsk— and said to ,
"With your current state, you think you can face ? Do you even know the rules of a duel between hidden weapon masters?"
Hidden weapon duels are decided by one thing.
Who strikes first.
Yeon Hwa-jin—first under heaven for swift strikes.
He went around boasting that his was the fastest hand in the world.
I asked him.
"Are you afraid?"
"Afraid? Bwaha! Nonsense. I already defeated the Sacheondang Family Head long ago."
He smiled as though recalling an old mory.
"I once attended an annual gathering hosted by the Sacheondang Family Head. At a drinking party that stretched until dawn, we held a speed contest as entertainnt—seeing who could hit a target first."
"……"
"The result was my victory. The Sacheondang Family Head begged so insistently to keep it secret. Saying that a branch sect was no different from family, asking to overlook it. That undignified spectacle of a Family Head—I couldn't even laugh. Tsk tsk."
Yeon Hwa-jin clicked his tongue.
Had such a thing happened.
"Let us begin."
I took my position.
The very spot where Father had knelt.
Right there.
A bloodstain was visible.
Father's trace, which I had never been able to lay to rest, was here.
Yeon Hwa-jin took his stance as well.
His fingertips moved as though grazing the air.
His words about being more accustod to Flowers Filling the Sky Like Rain appeared to be true—the energy he was emanating was more still and quiet than before.
The wind rose.
A single fallen leaf drifted and settled to the ground.
Yeon Hwa-jin and I were ready.
I sensed instinctively that when the leaf touched the ground, the contest would be decided.
The corner of my mouth curved upward.
Yeon Hwa-jin sneered at the sight.
Thinking it was resignation.
That I was beyond pathetic, in his laughing eyes.
But my smile did not co from fear.
It rose from the thought that at last, I had co to know Father.
A tremor—
Snap!
The air tore apart.
Wind Flower Flying Shadow Needles unleashed through Flowers Filling the Sky Like Rain!
Silver needles carried on a formless wind.
At a speed that seed to vanish from the air and reappear!
The hidden weapons poured down like teors, enough to tear apart even the dark clouds, and surged like waves!
His Flowers Filling the Sky Like Rain turned the manor into a wasteland.
***
Yeon Hwa-jin was certain.
'I am faster.'
That presumptuous young fool had slow hands.
There was no sense of the swift strike essential in a hidden weapon duel.
If anything, his movents were soft—like a dance.
Like petals scattered by a maiden—no, a celestial maiden—
'……Celestial?'
Surely not.
He had heard of it once.
That if sothing moves faster than the eye, it appears slow instead.
Yeon Hwa-jin's eyes snapped wide open.
"True Celestial Maiden Scattering Flowers!"
***
Cough!
Yeon Hwa-jin spat blood and reached with trembling hands to feel the back of his neck.
"……Impossible."
A cold sensation.
A silver needle was embedded in his throat.
He stared at with disbelieving eyes.
Celestial Maiden Scattering Flowers.
To have mastered this technique ant I was a direct descendant of the Sacheondang Family.
"You, you are?"
"My Father was faster."
"……Then?"
Yeon Hwa-jin's eyes widened.
"You who were once of the sa lineage—you'd know, wouldn't you."
The rcy of a family head.
My voice was colder than anything.
In Yeon Hwa-jin's eyes there passed the regret of one who had once been called family.
Thud—
He collapsed alongside Wind Flower Valley.
In the place where the wind and the flowers were gone.
I crumbled and clawed at Father's bloodstain until my fingers bled, crying out.
User Comments
0 comments from readers