Chapter 90: Rest Well (2)
【Bonus Mission Success】
【Eliminate Goryeo Sword Sect Elder Im Jo-yang.】
① Mission (33rd floor) counted as success (GOLD)
② Happiness Points 1,500,000!
③ 1 intact corpse will be provided.
【Ti taken to complete mission: 9 minutes 12 seconds】
【Overwhelming achievent (GOLD)!】
【33rd floor of the Murim Tower turns golden.】
【The entire world turns its attention to the Republic of Korea's tower.】
Im Jo-yang had fallen, and the mission success ssage appeared.
There had been rumors that his parents were buried sowhere in the ruins of the Sacheondang estate.
He had harbored a sliver of hope and tortured Im Jo-yang, but nothing had been revealed.
It didn't seem likely after all.
‘The Alliance Leader probably had the burial mounds demolished on purpose.’
He stared blankly at Im Jo-yang's corpse and exhaled a short sigh.
Im Jo-yang's corpse—in his past life, he had clung to the Murim Alliance.
‘In the end, that Alliance Leader bastard needed a scapegoat.’
It had all been the Alliance Leader's sche.
The Sacheondang Family had been annihilated, yet there would still be those dreaming of its revival.
His parents' graves could have beco a rallying point and a sacred site for them.
The Alliance Leader's plot had been to pin the bla on Im Jo-yang—making it appear that he had destroyed those graves, that rallying point.
‘In the end, I couldn't even offer a final farewell.’
‘Father, Mother……’
‘Father, who said he would soar and Ascend To Immortality.’
‘Without even a body, only a soul remaining—how could he enter the paradise of the peach blossom spring……’
Grrrk—.
He ground his teeth.
‘That Alliance Leader bastard!’
‘When we et, I'll chew him up piece by piece.’
Just then, one of the warriors who had fallen unconscious from his energy roar ca to.
"Ugh……!"
He looked around, then stumbled backward in horror.
The other Goryeo Sword Sect warriors had already been poisoned and were bleeding out.
In about a quarter of an hour, they would be dead.
He reabsorbed the poison energy that had been seeping out.
He gave the man an order.
"Collect the grave goods that were plundered."
"Y-yes……! Yes!"
The man moved hastily, stripping the jewelry and robes from the dead.
In the anti, he repeatedly clenched and unclenched both hands.
His body was definitely creaking.
Whether it was the tower's blessing or whatever it was in this life, he was simultaneously mastering both the Heavenly Poison Blood Divine Art and the Ten Thousand Streams Return To Origin Divine Art, advancing in each.
The founding ancestor of the Sacheondang Family had supposedly achieved it, and so he too was challenging it, borrowing the power of the Great Law Of Reversal.
Trying it in practice, it was several tis harder than he had imagined.
The principle of the Heavenly Poison Blood Divine Art was death.
Conversely, the principle of the Ten Thousand Streams Return To Origin Divine Art was life.
The very foundations of death and life were clashing.
‘Is there no way?’
The Reversal Secret Arts were holding things together well enough for now, but he couldn't rely on them alone.
‘In the end, a supre master must be backed by enlightennt.’
If it were sothing naturally acquired through the tower's blessing like other climbers, then he would be no different from the ordinary climbers he looked down upon.
Even if he advanced to the realm of a supre master by force through the tower's blessing, he would have no way of reaching beyond that realm.
Then it would be no different from his past life.
‘In the end, a 50/50 chance of winning.’
He needed power more than sufficient to deal with the Murim Alliance Leader, the Evil Path Alliance Leader, and the Heavenly Demon all at once—decisively.
He was walking a path in this life that he had never walked before.
To reach the realm of a supre master—and beyond—wielding two powers, he ultimately needed a new enlightennt.
An enlightennt that would converge both powers into one.
‘Co to think of it……’
From what he had vaguely heard from his father as a child—
In the early days of the Sacheondang Family, there was said to have been a once-in-an-era martial art called the Two Principles Limitless Divine Art.
Father had said it was a supre martial art that wielded two opposing forces.
In truth, the Two Principles Limitless Divine Art was said to be less of a martial art and more of a collection of ntal insights compiled into an essential text.
Even his father hadn't known the specifics.
‘I've heard of the Wudang Sect's Two Principles Divine Art.’
The Wudang Sect could supposedly wield both the energy of the sun and the energy of the moon separately with their Two Principles Divine Art.
In his past life, he had fought against the Wudang Sect as well, and had tried every ans to obtain the Two Principles Divine Art—but had failed.
‘There'll be a way. Even if there isn't, it's sothing I'll overco.’
He stood before the Black Iron Door.
The words engraved in relief caught his eye.
‘Only Those With Qualification May Open This Door.’
He had stood before this door long ago.
The day he had interred his younger sister, Dang Seon-a.
Father had told him it was the resting place of their ancestors.
[Seon. When I depart from this world, lay this father of yours to rest here.]
[Don't say such things. Didn't you say you'd Ascend To Immortality?]
[Indeed……]
[I'll do that for you. That way, Seon-a will praise later.]
Father had stroked his head.
A lonely, sorrowful touch—but warm.
At the ti, he had thought it was just passing words……
Recalling that distant mory, he felt along the chanism formation on the wall.
Rummmble—.
The thick Black Iron Door opened with a thunderous groan.
Setting aside the painful mory, he looked at the dead Im Jo-yang.
‘Ancestors. They said only those with qualification could open it, yet even a wretch like him managed to open it……’
‘It is all due to my own incompetence.’
He reached his hand out toward the Goryeo Sword Sect warrior.
"Bring it here."
Shaking uncontrollably, the man handed over the robes and jewelry he had gathered.
"P-please spare my li—"
Crack—.
Thud.
He twisted the man's neck bones and killed him.
He did not wish to bring filthy blood into the burial chamber.
He walked into the burial chamber. Though it was a mont he had longed for so desperately, rage surged within him, and poison energy kept welling up against his will.
Ssss—.
The robe in his hands dissolved from the poison energy.
"Dammit."
In the center of the burial chamber floor, there was a stone slab inscribed with ‘Sacheondang Family Tomb’.
He placed the robes and jewelry on top of it.
He knelt and bowed.
"The 23rd-generation descendant of the great Sacheondang Family, Dang Seon…… Confesses his transgressions to the ancestors."
‘I failed to protect the family, and the resting place of our ancestors.’
Ssss—.
Whether he had clenched his fist until he bled, blood flowing from his hand onto the stone slab sent smoke rising from it.
‘A worthless descendant cannot destroy the ancestors' burial chamber.’
He rose to his feet.
Then he stood before the stone coffin of his deceased younger sister, Dang Seong-a.
"Seon-a."
He forcibly suppressed the urge to open the lid and hold even her bones.
He stroked the stone coffin and turned away.
"……Hm?"
But then a stone coffin in the corner caught his eye.
It was an unsealed stone coffin.
Every tomb in the Sacheondang estate had only sealed stone coffins after the funeral rites had been perford.
aning, no body had yet been placed inside.
‘Sothing that shouldn't be here……’
Could it be?
With trembling hands, he gently lifted the lid of the stone coffin.
Tears imdiately stread from both eyes.
He knew at a glance.
"Father……!"
Inside the stone coffin lay a corpse dressed in a green silk robe, resting peacefully.
The neck had been crudely stitched back together.
On the upper half of the robe, dried dark crimson bloodstains were vivid.
【1 intact corpse will be provided.】
So that was it.
His father's corpse had both fists clenched tight in a way that was almost uncanny.
‘Had he died that way……’
He took hold of his father's clenched fist.
A cold touch.
[morize it! morize all of it. That's how you'll survive!]
The hundreds of volus of martial arts manuals and books his father had beaten into him ca flooding back.
Now, even those beatings were sothing he missed.
Drip, drip—.
Tears fell, landing on his father's pallid face.
"You taught everything……but you didn't teach how to hold back tears……"
Unstoppable tears stread down.
"It's because I never learned. Please understand, just for today. Sob……!"
He collapsed, clutching the stone coffin, and wailed.
mories of his father, and the truth about his father he had only just discovered.
Countless recollections poured out along with his tears.
After weeping at the top of his lungs for a long while, he unsteadily rose to his feet.
He straightened his clothing.
‘Now I know. What Father's treasure was.’
He carefully extended his hand and neatly adjusted his father's garnts.
"I……am living."
Earnestly. Happily.
At that mont—
Shhh—.
His father's clenched fist slowly loosened.
"……!"
His lips trembled. He had a thousand, ten thousand things he wanted to say, but his mouth would not open.
He bowed twice deeply before the remains.
"I could not find Mother's remains."
Tears poured down.
"I, your son, promise. I will find them without fail."
What he could not accomplish in his past life—at least in this one.
No—even if he were to be reborn dozens of tis, without fail.
‘Decades have passed, and only now do I co to greet you.’
"……Rest in peace."
Rummble—.
He closed the stone coffin.
‘He knew. His past was already gone.’
‘The Murim Tower only lets him relive his past—it does not give it back.’
But it was no small comfort.
He closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath.
Ti to go back.
But.
Sothing seed off.
The stone slab inscribed with ‘Sacheondang Family Tomb’ before which he had prostrated and bled, looked sohow different now.
The surface had lted slightly, and inside it, sothing that looked like a handle had appeared.
‘What's that?’
Moving closer to look, he found that a tal plate had been fitted inside the stone slab.
A cold, frost-white tal.
Cold Iron.
‘Could it be!’
He imdiately ford a hand seal and channeled his internal energy by running the Heavenly Poison Blood Divine Art.
He blasted poison energy at the stone slab.
Smoke rose as the stone slab lted away, revealing a Cold Iron lid and handle.
On the tal plate, only a single character was inscribed.
Gate.
The gate that only those with qualification could open.
‘Was this the gate?!’
He gripped the handle and twisted.
The tal plate lifted, and inside it—
5 secret manuals were placed within.
‘Heavenly Poison Blood Divine Art, Ten Thousand Streams Return To Origin Divine Art, Flowers Filling The Sky Like Rain. And……Yama's Invitation?’
The long-lost Yama's Invitation had been discovered!
It was the ultimate technique of the Thread-Piercing Lock Art, unleashed through Yama's Life-Chasing Threads.
Reportedly rivaling even Flowers Filling The Sky Like Rain!
The crowning piece was the final secret manual.
‘Two Principles Limitless Divine Art……!’
Thud. His knees gave out.
‘It wasn't a legend. It actually existed!’
The secret manual was intact.
Hundreds of years must have passed, yet maintaining a perfect vacuum sohow, the manual showed not the slightest trace of age.
The consideration of the ancestors.
The Sacheondang Family's symbols, placed in the burial chamber out of concern they would be lost to history.
‘Ancestors……’
The Sacheondang Family had begun with the Heavenly Poison Blood Divine Art.
And so they had arranged it such that these secret manuals would only be discovered when the Heavenly Poison Blood Divine Art—practiced solely by direct bloodline descendants—was used.
He clutched the secret manuals to his chest.
He bowed once more.
* * *
That evening, after returning from the tower.
He t with Chief Han.
In front of the vending machine by the Han River bank, where they had t before.
He bought 2 cups of coffee and waited for her.
She appeared quietly, accepted the coffee from him, and asked with a worried tone.
"Tae-yang, did sothing happen?"
"No."
"Your face looks really bad. Your eyes are swollen too."
"I didn't sleep."
"Is that so? I'll have to send a bed by delivery this ti."
"Haha. Were you asking to see to check what I need?"
He took a seat on the bench, changing the subject.
Chief Han sat down beside him.
"Another Golden Tower appeared. Up to the 33rd floor this ti."
"So it has."
"Isn't it your turn to climb up to the 33rd floor, Tae-yang?"
"That's right."
She stared intently at his face.
"It isn't, is it?"
"What do you an?"
"……Never mind. Anyway, here."
Chief Han held out an invitation.
Super Climber K.
"I told you I won't compete."
"It's a VIP invitation to the competition venue. Not asking you to enter—"
Opening it, there were 3 invitations inside.
They would be for him, the Naless Hero, and Ghost—3 people.
‘Should I give them to my parents and Bo-reum to go watch?’
He put the invitations in his pocket.
"Is this why you asked to et?"
"No. The important thing is this."
She held out another invitation.
"It's the Naless Hero's competition entry pass."
"Master never even applied."
"That's fine. It's a special entry pass, you could say? It's actually a direct ticket straight to the finals."
Chief Han nodded slightly as she continued.
"We can't have the Hero fighting from the bottom up. He's the most famous climber in the world right now."
"There's no way Master would think of competing……it's an advertisent, isn't it."
She showed a sowhat apologetic expression.
"You'll let this much slide, won't you? His Excellency himself ordered it for the sake of the competition's success."
"His Excellency……you an the President?"
"Yes."
"I'll relay the ssage."
"Please. Ah, and His Excellency has invited the Naless Hero to the Blue House."
"He won't take kindly to it. He's soone who absolutely detests political gas."
"I know."
She took a sip of coffee.
She looked as though she didn't even expect the invitation to be accepted.
"You know that, right? That Kim Tae-yang is quite strange."
"In what way?"
"The composure you show, the words you use—all of it."
"……"
"Words like 'political gas' and 'absolutely detests'—those are expressions people of so age tend to use."
A slip.
He had watched a lot of shows young people watch and talked a lot with Bo-reum in order not to be found out.
But apparently, it had shown through in the end.
Chief Han smiled and said,
"I suppose it's because you've trained with the Hero for so long."
"Perhaps so."
"Your way of speaking is a bit old-fashioned. Though that's exactly why you're soone I rely on more."
"……"
"Tae-yang, you too, because of sothing from your school days, relying on the Hero—"
"Let's not dredge up each other's painful mories."
He cut her words short.
Killing intent rose involuntarily, and he fixed her with a sharp gaze—and Chief Han t his eyes head-on.
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