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Chapter 189. Eight Years of Hardship and Suffering (10)

‘Mok Yong is my favorite child, but he’s a Paragon. I need to have him by my side. And Mok Yong likes him anyway, so it’s not like she’ll hate me for it.’

The crown prince was already planning on trying to find a way to have Mok Yong tied to Woo-Moon.

“You know, I’m not really a fan of small talk. What do you think about getting straight to the point?”

“Yes, I prefer things that way, too.”

“Swear loyalty to the crown. I’ll personally guarantee your status and promise that you’ll be ranked higher than anyone else. Moreover, I’ll give you Mok Yong’s hand in marriage as well.”[1]

“F-father...”

Mok Yong’s face seemed to turn even redder as she squirmed in her seat some more.

Both she and the crown prince turned to Woo-Moon’s lips, watching for his answer. Princess Mok Yong was mainly waiting for his reply, waiting with extreme eagerness.

“No.”

The crown prince wondered if his ears were working correctly.

He had just offered him the highest position in the empire and the hand of the most beautiful woman in the Forbidden City, someone whom he cherished more than anyone else. How could anyone refuse?!

His expression couldn’t help but harden.

“Why is that?”

Woo-Moon took his time to form an answer before speaking.

“First, regarding Princess Mok Yong.”

“Yes?”

Princess Mok Yong, who was now weeping, began to listen intently, focusing on keeping her broken heart together.

“First of all, I haven’t had enough time with Princess Mok Yong to have any sort of feelings regarding her, let alone love. Well, there’s more to it than that, but... I wonder if Princess Mok Yong’s feelings for me really are love or if they are just a young girl’s infatuation. If they really are just infatuation, and thus the illusion of love, I worry that Princess Mok Yong may become unhappy when she wakes up from her dream.”

“That’s not true! I...!”

The crown prince raised his hand to stop Princess Mok Yong from mumbling through her tears.

“Then why did you refuse office?”

“Can I be honest with you?”

“Yes.”

“Truthfully, I just wanted to use the government’s power to take down Martial Heaven.”

The crown prince was dumbstruck by Woo-Moon’s incredibly blunt answer.

He momentarily forgot what he wanted to say from how flabbergasted he was at Woo-Moon saying that he wanted to use the imperial government directly in front of said government’s leader.

He then burst into laughter.

“Hahaha! How entertaining. Well, I also wanted to use your power, so I guess that makes two of us. Good, then, don’t you think you have to take a government position to do so? Suppose you want to utilize the power of an imperial government official. In that case, not only do you need to have a higher position, but for certain things, you also have to be a member of the Imperial Family.”

“Yes, I understand. However, the idea of having to spend a long time receiving and taking orders as an official didn’t sit right with me. After all, I think I should be fine to take revenge on my own, even if it would be a little more difficult.”

“Oh, really? Then, let me make a new proposal,” the crown prince said as he pondered to himself for a moment.

“What do you think about this? I’ll grant you the title of general. Moreover, I’ll even give you the authority to mobilize any of the imperial government’s troops in whatever capacity you need to deal with Martial Heaven.”

“And?”

“And there will be no orders. Not from other officials, not from me, and not even from my father.”

“It’s tempting. But there’s a catch somewhere, right?”

“If our empire’s survival is ever at stake, you have to help us. And I will have the right to issue one command to you.”

Even the promise of a Paragon’s help would be enough to prolong the empire’s existence for a long time. After all, the crown prince was well aware that Woo-Moon would likely survive him and everyone else in the room.

“...I will not take a proper official’s position, die, or murder someone without cause. I will refuse to accept those kinds of orders.”

“Of course. I promise not to command you to do anything like that.”

“Then, okay. If it’s only that much, I can accept it. After all, I need the power of the imperial government to take my revenge.”

Princess Mok Yong looked over at the crown prince with an earnest expression. However, he no longer brought up the topic of an engagement.

“Good. Then, bring me what I prepared.”

At the crown prince’s order, an attendant came up with a sword, armor, a golden identity plaque, and an imperial decree.

“Can we really make this decision just like that?”

The crown prince smiled and nodded.

“I’ve already been given full authority by His Majesty. Also, my own coronation is only fifteen days away, so nobody is going to question my decisions.”

Woo-Moon accepted the items that were handed to him by the crown prince himself.

Thrum!

As soon as Woo-Moon touched the sword, sheathed in an antique scabbard, he felt a shiver throughout his body, and for some reason, he almost felt like letting out a roar. He didn’t quite understand why, but in that instant, he was incredibly happy.

Golden Dragon.

It was the name of the sword, engraved onto the scabbard. As if possessed, Woo-Moon drew the blade and looked at its steel, even though having a naked blade in front of the crown prince was not only disrespectful but explicitly illegal.

Even though he didn’t inject any qi into the sword, a brilliant golden light arose and filled the room.

Woo-Moon raised his hand and traced the blade of the sword.

“What a nice child,” Woo-Moon muttered with a mesmerized look on his face.

It was a Divine-Grade Sword.

Golden Dragon was undoubtedly a Divine-Grade Sword, like Inkblade. Moreover, its golden blade also appealed to Woo-Moon.

Buzz~

As if they were jealous, Inkblade and Lightflash trembled in their scabbards and cried out simultaneously.

“I’m glad to see you like it, hohoho. Now that you’ve seen the sword, how about you check the other gifts as well?”

It was only then that Woo-Moon tore his gaze away from Golden Dragon and took a look at the pure white shining armor.

The armor was made of an extremely hard metal, yet it was surprisingly lightweight. It was clearly a remarkable item. Even when compared to Golden Dragon, it didn’t seem inferior at all.

Still, Woo-Moon didn’t pay much attention to it as he didn’t wear armor in the first place.

After half-heartedly looking over the armor, Woo-Moon turned his attention to the identity plaque and royal decree.

The golden plaque had the words “Martial Subduing General” engraved on it. The imperial decree bore information regarding his appointment as a general, bestowment of the title “Martial Subduing General,” and the details of his authority.

‘Martial Subduing General... Does this mean that I’ll conquer Martial Heaven or the murim itself?’[2]

For now, they would try to conquer Martial Heaven.

Woo-Moon fully anticipated that if the murim were to be weakened by this war against Martial Heaven, the imperial palace would attempt to conquer and reign over the murim itself. However, that was a concern for later. Now, the critical thing was Martial Heaven.

“Thank you.”

“Haha, no need to thank me for trivialities. Just don’t break the promise we made earlier. That’s my condition.”

The crown prince had also learned of Martial Heaven’s existence after receiving the report.

Even from the imperial palace’s perspective, Martial Heaven wasn’t something that they could just ignore.

Even if the reason weren’t for Woo-Moon, they would have to fight against Martial Heaven at some point or another, which was why the crown prince was so easily able to make such an unconventional decision.

“It seems as though the fatigue of traveling is catching up with me. Would it be okay if I leave first?”

There was no way that a Paragon like Woo-Moon would become weary from travel. The crown prince was fully aware of this as well. However, he didn’t force Woo-Moon to stay. While the crown prince had a desire to get to know Woo-Moon more, he knew that if Woo-Moon didn’t want to wait, it would be better just to let him go for now.

“Of course! I hope to see you again soon.”

“I feel the same way. Then, please excuse me.”

Woo-Moon said his farewells before leaving the palace with Yeo-Seol, Ma-Ra, and the Ten Swords of the North Sea.

Watching them leave, Princess Mok Yong cried out, her face soaked in tears.

“Father, how could you just let them leave like that?! I... I...”

Seeing Princess Mok Yong start crying again, the crown prince whispered something into her ear. A few seconds later, her despairing expression transitioned into a wide, bright smile.

***

After leaving the Forbidden City, Woo-Moon decided that it was time for them to go to the Heaven Slaying Alliance, where Princess Namar and the others were.

He felt that he should go and visit them, considering he had left without ever thanking them for saving him.

After deciding to camp in the wilderness once more and taking a brief moment to find somewhere to set up camp, Woo-Moon walked over into the nearby mountains with his heart pounding.

He found a reasonably sized clearing, and there, Woo-Moon drew Golden Dragon.

Shing!!!

Even under the faint light of the moon and stars, Golden Dragon radiated a mysterious aura, exuding bright golden light in all directions.

“How beautiful! Thank the gods it has a scabbard, though. Otherwise, I might as well carry a bright torch with me wherever I go,” Woo-Moon muttered to himself as he swung Golden Dragon in the air.

As he moved, he slowly began to perform a sword dance.

First Raging Wind, then Heavy Rain, then Raging Storm.

Then, Northern Blizzard, Impenetrable Golden Wall—all of his techniques were unleashed.

Woo-Moon then tested how it felt to direct Golden Dragon in the air using Sword Control, using Sword Control to perform his various techniques autonomously this time.

After practicing his techniques for about an hour, Woo-Moon exhaled and finally stopped for a moment.

It was the first time he had moved his body and trained like this since he had ascended to the Paragon stage.

“Are you done, Gege?” Yeo-Seol asked. She had followed him to the clearing and watched him throughout with a happy expression.

“Yes! Oh, but... aaaargh. I’m sleepy. Let’s go to bed now.”

As Woo-Moon spoke, Ma-Ra emerged from the shadows. The three of them went back to the bed that Yeo-Seol had prepared earlier and lay down.

Woo-Moon lay in the middle as Ma-Ra and Yeo-Seol lay on either side.

Wrapped in the arms of both women, Woo-Moon found it challenging to fall asleep even after a long time had passed and kept his eyes wide open.

‘Why am I like this?’

The trembling in his heart from meeting a new friend, Golden Dragon, and the excitement from training hadn’t yet subsided.

After tossing and turning some more, Woo-Moon suddenly turned sideways and faced Ma-Ra.

Ma-Ra\'s ample chest could be seen slowly moving up and down as she slept.

Gulp.

After swallowing for no reason, Woo-Moon pretended to turn over and placed his hand on Ma-Ra\'s upper stomach nervously. Fortunately, Ma-Ra didn’t seem to react at all.

Gathering his courage, Woo-Moon very slowly moved his hand up to Ma-Ra\'s chest. Finally, he tried to touch it very carefully.

Thwack!

Ma-Ra had caught Woo-Moon’s hand, and her expressionless eyes now stared through him.

“Ha... haha.”

Extremely embarrassed, Woo-Moon turned a bright red and let out an awkward laugh.

“I’ll kill you.”

After hearing Ma-Ra\'s cold words, Woo-Moon gathered his courage once again.

“I can’t? It’s not like I’ll wear them out.”

Ma-Ra gave Woo-Moon the touch of sweet dreams.[3]

“No. Go sleep.”

“Tsk.”

Thus, Woo-Moon spent the night suppressing his pounding heart.

***

Si-Hyeon had one problem.

The Vice Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult, Bloodrush Archdemon, was a troublemaker.

Just as his title suggested, he had an impatient and easily angered personality and desired revenge against the Righteous Faction more than against Martial Heaven, as his father had lost his life at the hands of a Righteous Faction martial artist.

Si-Hyeon had declared that Martial Heaven was the main enemy of the Heavenly Demon Cult rather than the Righteous Faction. Because of that, she had ordered that conflicts with forces other than Martial Heaven had to be stopped as much as possible.

However, the situation was not allowing her to have her way; the Righteous Faction’s view of the Heavenly Demon Cult had swayed due to the overlapping of their long-standing grudge and Martial Heaven’s efforts.

It wasn’t uncommon for the Heavenly Demon Cult to be attacked by the Righteous Faction as they carried out attacks against the Hegemon Clan. So, talks about the need to deal with the Righteous Faction before taking down Martial Heaven grew more and more within the cult. Moreover, the proponents of this course of action had reasonable arguments—indeed, it would get dangerous to battle Martial Heaven if the Righteous Faction was there to stab them in the back.

The one at the forefront of the movement to take down the Righteous Faction was Bloodrush Archdemon.

***

The Hebei Peng Family.

They were one of the three families that served as the main strongholds of Daoism within the Righteous Faction.

Bloodrush Archdemon and those within the cult loyal to him had hidden themselves in the hills near the Hebei Peng Family Estate.

“Peng Family, I’ll give you a nice surprise,” Bloodrush Archdemon said venomously as he ground his teeth.

The man who had killed his father, Peng Yinggang, was the previous head of the Peng Family. It was said that he had now passed the position of head to his son and spent his time leisurely enjoying himself.

‘The bastard who killed my father cannot be allowed to die happily of old age.’

“Is... is this really okay? If the Supreme One hears about this, she...”

1. For clarity, the highest status in this case doesn’t include the status of emperor; the emperor is a deity and cannot be replaced. ☜

2. Remember, “martial” is 武 (mu) in Korean and is the same as in murim. ☜

3. See back when Woo-Moon was teaching Woo-Gang a lesson. ☜