Chapter 29
Chapter 29: Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven
Yanghwi ordered the chaotic thoughts racing through his mind.
It was evident that the Sound Empress had never been entirely opposed to adopting a disciple.
Weighing what he knew of the future against her present behavior made the truth unmistakably obvious. To resolve this standoff, he simply needed to demonstrate that Zhuge Seolha possessed the qualities worthy of her tutelage.
So, her standard is refusing anyone not guaranteed to become a righteous soul?
While the Sacred Sound Jade Spirit Gate, governed by the Wave-Piercing Sound Empress, was shrouded in mystery, its devotion to righteous chivalry was so universally recognized that anyone across the realm would deem it an unblemished, orthodox order. Since its founding, the sect had pursued immortal transcendence, maintaining an essential duty toward the preservation and salvation of mankind.
Attempting to dispute notions of morality with the Sound Empress would be futile.
Arguments concerning virtue and wickedness, righteousness and depravity, had raged without pause since the dawn of time, never reaching an absolute conclusion. Any rationale brought forth could be countered just as swiftly as it was spoken. To initiate such a war of words now would mean stepping onto a path without an end.
The only answer was to present an undeniable truth.
A faint, cunning smile touched Yanghwi’s lips as he brought his hands together in a formal cupped-fist greeting before the Sound Empress.
“This junior is Baek Yanghwi of the Baek family. Might I have the honor of speaking my mind before the Sound Empress?”
“Speak as you wish.”
“I am grateful for your indulgence. If the Empress permits, I would put forth a single inquiry.”
“Proceed.”
“Since you seek an apprentice bound to develop into a virtuous soul, I must ask: are you yourself, Sound Empress, an agent of good?”
The question carried an audacity bordering on outright disrespect. Zhuge Seon turned pale with astonishment, while the Sound Empress merely lowered her eyes in quiet contemplation.
“Reflecting upon my path in this world, no shadow has ever tainted my conduct. On that ground, I can claim without hesitation that I am a person of good.”
“Allow me then my follow-up: If Seolha is destined to become a virtuous soul, will you welcome her as your pupil?”
The Sound Empress inclined her head faintly.
“My search was already directed toward finding an apprentice, so there is no cause for me to refuse.”
Yanghwi proclaimed with absolute clarity, “Then it is your duty to accept Seolha as your disciple!”
“Young master, do you take pleasure in playing with semantics before me?”
“I would never dare.”
Observing the slight furrow forming along her brow, Yanghwi offered a knowing, confident grin before driving his point home.
“Should you cast her aside, Seolha is doomed to endure a life of relentless torment. May I inquire: does a truly virtuous soul turn a blind eye when an innocent child faces perpetual agony?”
Her brow relaxed once more, yet the Sound Empress offered no reply, keeping her steady gaze fixed upon the boy.
“Prior to being embraced by the Baek family, I was merely a destitute stray without a roof over my head. The master of the Baek estate, the Great Hero Baek Muryang, revered as Peerless in Chivalry—the very man I now honor as my father—once shared these words with me:
‘I shall become your father, that you may be freed from your misery.’
“You noted your desire to guide an apprentice who will grow into a virtuous person. Yet understand this, Empress: the burden of walking an upright path does not rest solely on the shoulders of the child.”
As taught in the Elementary Learning: Master and father share a singular body, Sound Empress!
It was a maxim emphasizing that the grace bestowed by a master matches that of a father. While it paid tribute to the depth of their benevolence, from an alternate perspective, it cast light squarely onto the instructor’s inescapable obligations.
“If uncertainty lingers over whether a descendant of the Zhuge lineage will walk a righteous path, the remedy is clear. You, Sound Empress, must simply hold Seolha close day after day, instructing and guiding her without letting her leave your sight for even a breath.”
His argument boiled down to one unyielding premise:
Guiding a student properly is the master’s fundamental obligation, meaning that as long as you perform your role faithfully, there is nothing to fear!
“…….”
Long after his words settled, the Sound Empress remained entirely still. She merely studied Yanghwi with ancient, fathomless eyes that completely contradicted her youthful, maiden-like appearance.
As the quiet inside the establishment thickened with tension, she broke the silence at last.
“This matter has become tedious. It seems best to bring it to a swift close.”
Every shred of expression vanished from her features, as if wiped clean by running water. Raising a slender hand, she pointed a finger directly at the kneeling Zhuge Seolha. From outward appearances, it seemed no different than an ordinary young girl gesturing idly toward another child.
Yet the reality lurking beneath that gesture was utterly terrifying.
TIIING!
A pristine, sharp resonance tore through the surroundings—a sound of such absolute clarity that it seemed impossible to stem from a simple flick of a finger.
“Curse it all!”
A profound wave of dread washed over Yanghwi. Operating entirely on instinct, his body launched forward before his mind could catch up. The world seemed to decelerate into a painful crawl. He could perceive the cataclysmic vibration surging outward from the Sound Empress’s fingertips. Far removed from normal sound, it was a lethal tide of qi powerful enough to reduce a kneeling girl to ash.
A sudden realization struck him:
With my present mastery, enduring this is entirely impossible.
Even knowing the cost, Yanghwi threw himself directly into the trajectory, shielding Zhuge Seolha with outstretched arms. In an instant, two plain wooden chopsticks slid into his grasp.
Hundred and Eight Heaven-Splitting Swords, Third Form:
Hawk Wings Converging.
Hundred and Eight Heaven-Splitting Swords, Fifth Form Variation:
Hawk Feathers Scattering.
The complete system of the Hundred and Eight Heaven-Splitting Swords comprised fifty-four techniques in total, built upon six primal stances that drew from the Six Harmonies principles, each branch dividing into eight further variations. Within that framework, Hawk Wings Converging served as the pinnacle of defensive martial arts he was capable of manifesting at his current stage.
Channeling the technique through both hands simultaneously, Yanghwi brought forth the defensive barrier with the makeshift implements.
Even this will fail to halt the full strike, and yet…!
He refused to stand idly by while Zhuge Seolha was snuffed out before his eyes.
I must halt this strike, no matter the price!
Hardening his will, he drove the chopstick tips straight toward the immense wave of force carried upon the sound—
WHOOSH!
A gentle breeze drifted past, stirring the strands of his hair. The calamitous energy that threatened to swallow both children shattered, dissolving into an enchanting, musical melody that washed across the entire room.
Chara-rang, chara-rang!
Yanghwi whipped his gaze toward the Sound Empress. Even bearing the soul of a thirty-eight-year-old man, he was powerless to hide his complete and utter shock.
“…What game are you playing?”
“Did you honestly believe that after declaring my pride as a righteous soul, I would execute a harmless child?”
Catching the faint smile playing upon her lips, the entirety of the ruse fell into place. Zhuge Seon remained frozen midway through an attempt to reach his daughter, immobilized entirely by her formless qi. The lethal wave of energy had been paced intentionally, granting Yanghwi just enough time to intervene at his current level of cultivation.
I walked straight into her trap.
“So this was an examination?”
“I sought to measure the true spirit of a young master possessing the insight to see through my guise.”
The moment she had unleashed that strike, Yanghwi had vaulted forward to shield Zhuge Seolha. Without pausing to weigh his chances, he had willingly embraced fatal peril.
“Young master. No, young hero. Your character has proven beyond doubt that you are a righteous soul.”
“I was entirely certain my life was forfeit.”
“True nature shows itself only when the stakes are absolute.”
“…You are truly wicked.”
Branding a member of the Ten Paragons Under Heaven as wicked was an insolence that should never pass anyone’s lips, yet the rebuke slipped past his defenses before he could swallow it. Fortunately, the Sound Empress merely let loose a bright, airy chuckle.
“Leaving that aside, your response was genuinely astonishing. I anticipated only a reaction, yet you dared to counter the assault head-on. A talent of your caliber deserves nothing less than to be hailed as a once-in-a-generation genius.”
Yanghwi grumbled beneath his breath, “I am pleased to have met your expectations. However, I fail to see what testing my resolve has to do with accepting Seolha as your pupil.”
“It matters because I intend to welcome you as my apprentice as well.”
“…What?”
Yanghwi’s eyes widened in sheer astonishment.
Me? With no prior warning?
This was not a mere promise of occasional guidance, but an official induction as an apprentice. Throughout his former life, he had never once gained an audience with anyone among the Hundred Greatest Masters Under Heaven, let alone instruction from one of the Ten Paragons.
What in the world is happening? Did performing one righteous deed invite fortune straight from the heavens?
Observing the pure bewilderment written across his face, the Sound Empress spoke before he could voice his confusion.
“When an ancient being like myself encounters an extraordinary seed, an uncontrollable impulse takes hold to leave an indelible mark upon it.”
In essence, his revealed aptitude was simply too dazzling for her to pass by.
In the end, it boils down to my own brilliance, does it?
Even so, absorbing those words from someone bearing the likeness of a fifteen-year-old girl felt utterly surreal. As Yanghwi wrestled with the absurdity, the Sound Empress swept her sleeve, dissolving the formless qi that held Zhuge Seon immobile.
Instantly, Zhuge Seon fell back to his knees upon the floor.
“My gratitude! Thank you, Sound Empress! I shall preserve the memory of this kindness until my bones crumble into dust!”
His declaration spilled over with overwhelming joy.
“Descendant of the Zhuge lineage. Father to Seolha, who stands to become my disciple. Your celebration comes too soon. I have voiced my willingness to take her, but that promise remains bound to her proving her worth.”
Before Zhuge Seon could offer a response, Zhuge Seolha rose swiftly to her feet.
“Sound Empress… No, Master. What task must this disciple fulfill?”
“My order maintains a trial designed to test the natural aptitude of a prospective student. The Five Halls of Proper Sound serve that very purpose.”
The rite of passage belonging to the Sacred Sound Jade Spirit Gate. Inferring from the title Five Halls of Proper Sound, it clearly demanded overcoming five distinct, successive trials.
“In ordinary circumstances, the Five Halls of Proper Sound are fortified with protection arrays, allowing even an untrained youth to endure the trials without suffering harm. The singular goal is assessing intrinsic potential. And yet…”
Letting her voice trail away, the Sound Empress glided toward Zhuge Seolha and set a gentle palm upon the girl’s shoulder.
“I had not intended to take an apprentice so early. Because of that, the preparations remain unfinished, and the peril is severe. You may very well lose your life within. Knowing this, do you still choose to step forward?”
Had she been asked this not long ago, hesitation might have paralyzed her. But the present Zhuge Seolha had already shattered the chains that once restricted her spirit.
“If you grant me the chance, I will face it, Master.”
Her voice resonated with unwavering conviction. A subtle, approving smile curved the Sound Empress’s lips.
“I cannot simply dispatch a child destined to become my direct student into peril without a measure of safety.”
She shifted her gaze back toward Yanghwi.
“Just as our young hero proclaimed, guiding a youth along a righteous path is the duty of an elder. Is that not the truth?”
A cold shudder of intuition ran down Yanghwi’s spine, yet he answered nonetheless.
“That is so, Sound Empress.”
“I specified that I would accept you as a lay disciple. A lay disciple holds no right to use the address of Master, so you are to refer to me as Honored Teacher.”
“I understand, Honored Teacher.”
“Then hear the directive your teacher grants to the third lay disciple to ever enter our lineage: You are to protect the maiden who will stand as the sect’s direct disciple. Young hero.”
Essentially, because she was plunging Zhuge Seolha into the uncompleted Five Halls of Proper Sound before the warding arrays were active, she had appointed Yanghwi to serve as the living shield.
Well, managing that shouldn’t prove too troublesome. Moreover, it places the Zhuge clan heavily in my debt.
And yet, why did a lingering sense of catastrophe refuse to leave him?
A single breath later, Yanghwi found his answer.
“Reflecting upon our exchange, that biting tongue of yours forced me into a rather uncomfortable corner moments ago. Now that I have assumed the mantle of your instructor, surely a touch of playfulness toward my student is permitted, is it not?”
A feeling of imminent doom matching the horror of her earlier finger strike surged violently up his back.
“Honored Teacher, before we proceed, there is something I must—”
“Quiet now.”
Ensnared by an inescapable shroud of formless qi, both Yanghwi and Zhuge Seolha were dragged directly into the Sound Empress’s grasp.
PAAAANG!
In an imperceptible fraction of time, heaven and earth inverted into a spinning blur. When Yanghwi reclaimed his senses, the tavern had completely vanished; an untamed mountainous expanse stretched into the horizon on all sides. Focusing his spiritual perception to its absolute threshold, he instantly identified an anomaly.
The surrounding atmospheric qi is severely distorted. Especially near the edge of that precipice—the instability is overwhelming.
“Where have you brought us…?”
“Before you lies the gateway to the Five Halls of Proper Sound that I have been establishing across Gokyeol Mountain.”
“The gateway, you say…?”
The Sound Empress cast her eyes toward the rim of the sheer drop. Yanghwi felt a hollow pit form in his stomach as the realization dawned on him.
“You cannot be serious.”
“Did I not warn you? The safety wards have yet to be properly established.”
Without a second’s delay, the Sound Empress tossed both Zhuge Seolha and Yanghwi clean over the cliffside.
“May fortune favor you, Seolha. And I place my faith in you, young hero.”
WHOOOOSH!
Their forms plummeted directly into the yawning chasm below.
“KYAAAAAAAAAH!”
“YOU CRAZY OOOOOLD HAAAAG!”
Amidst the young girl’s shrill terror and the young man’s furious, echoing roar, the Sound Empress maintained an undisturbed, serene expression.
“Once he climbs back up, I shall certainly have to discipline that mouth of his.”
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