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Chapter 98: Jehwa Contest (Part 2)

It was over a decade ago, just as winter had ended and spring was beginning, when Shin Hyeon, the second great disciple of the Hwasan Sect, first laid eyes on Gu Ryeonghwa. The sect leader, Maehwa Seon Dohwa, suddenly brought her in, declaring her to be their youngest sister disciple.

She hailed as a disciple of the Sword Demoness, a figure famed across the Central Plains.

At that time, it was the moment the three great disciples had just finished their discussions. Gu Ryeonghwa, a young girl thrust into their midst, created quite the stir.

There were serious concerns about adjusting to the sudden arrival of this young girl into the ranks of the second great disciple.

Yet, with the unwavering attitude of the sect leader and the elders, the disciples had no choice but to accept it. If the sect leader said it was right, then it was right. If wrong, then it was wrong.

That’s the kind of faith the disciples had in their leader.

A few days later, Shin Hyeon heard that Gu Ryeonghwa had finally arrived at the Hwasan Sect. However, due to discussions with the elders about various matters, he was delayed in meeting her.

As he approached the lodging where the second great disciples stayed, he noticed his fellow disciples gathered around something. Given their bulky sizes, they were quite visible from afar.

‘…They seem way too big, don’t they?’

He’d heard that as one ascends in their realm, their bodies would change too, but there were those who lamented over it.

– “What? You mean those broad shoulders and arms are going to vanish? No way, man… I’m putting my cultivation on hold from today!”

– “Right! How can I give up these strong thighs?!”

– “…Please don’t move your chest while speaking. It’s making me nauseous.”

They clearly looked like madmen…

Unbeknownst to them, Shin Hyeon cleared his throat to get their attention.

“Ahem…!”

At this point, one would typically pick up on the clue, but there was no reaction whatsoever.

Eventually, Shin Hyeon had to push his way through the muscular bunch.

In the center of their commotion stood a girl.

Whether it was the cold or the unfamiliar situation, the young girl trembled in fear, her eyes watery.

Right among the very few female disciples of the second great disciples, she was staring around with trembling eyes, her ears red.

“Move away a bit…! Don’t you see she’s scared?!”

The female disciple, Shin Mil, shouted.

Only then did the men gradually begin to back away.

Even with space, the child still looked like she might cry any moment.

They wondered what had even happened, but it made sense; dozens of burly men were crowding one small girl.

The others didn’t seem to grasp this fear.

“Why is she scared…? We haven’t done anything.”

“Wouldn’t looking at these rock-solid arms give her some assurance instead?”

“Right? It feels like anyone would be safe in our arms… She’s just a kid, she doesn’t get it.”

How on earth had they ended up like this?

Back when they were just third great disciples, things had certainly not been like this.

Sighing, Shin Hyeon approached the young girl, kneeling down to meet her gaze.

He recalled his mother saying that when you look into a child’s eyes, they feel more at ease.

“Nice to meet you. You must be Ryeonghwa. I’m Shin Hyeon.”

“.•..!”

But for some reason, as soon as he spoke, Gu Ryeonghwa snuggled deeper into Shin Mil’s arms.

What was going on…?

“I’m not a bad person…!”

“Eeeep…!”

He attempted to raise his hand in a reassuring gesture, but the moment he did, Gu Ryeonghwa shrank back, trembling.

Tears streamed down her large eyes.

“Oppa—!”

“Wow… the big brother made her cry.”

“She’s even crying at us…. What an embarrassment.”

“No, what did I do…!”

In truth, it wasn’t even Shin Hyeon’s suggestion to move away.

He felt quite wronged, but with the child’s tears before him, arguments were pointless.

In the end, he couldn’t even greet her properly and spent the day trying to soothe her.

Of course, it was the female disciples, like Shin Mil, who took on that responsibility.

Even the next day, Shin Hyeon found he was unable to speak easily with Gu Ryeonghwa.

Had she even gotten a good night’s sleep? Her eyes were so swollen.

Did she cry all night?

This made Shin Hyeon wonder.

‘…Why hasn’t the creator come yet?’

Normally, if it was a direct disciple, they would receive training separately, but for some reason, the Sword Demoness hadn’t shown her face.

The sect leader also hadn’t mentioned anything regarding it.

He had only been told to take good care of the girl.

So the issue was how exactly to care for her…

After trying to pull together efforts to help, it was no easy task.

One day, as he was observing Gu Ryeonghwa train, one of his fellow disciples spoke up.

“…Big brother, you know Gu Saemai, right?”

“What’s up?”

The disciple who approached, looking anxious, seemed at a loss for words.

“…I can’t even touch her in case I break something…!”

“…What?”

At first, Shin Hyeon thought this was ridiculous, but looking at Gu Ryeonghwa, who was small and frail, it did seem like if he mistakenly nudged her, she might shatter.

Moreover, even trying to approach her was challenging since she was still crying…

But still…

“Exactly! Like that! Good job!”

“Wow! She picked up the sword! Our little sister has picked up the sword!”

“What now! Is she actually a genius?”

His fellow disciples were clearly excited.

It made sense since among the third great disciples, there hadn’t been any girls, and the second great disciples were all just like any other men.

Especially for Shin Mil, one wondered if even her big brother, Shin Hyeon, could win against her physical prowess.

In the realm of martial artists, gender limitations became meaningless.

But here came a gentle, delicate girl as their junior disciple, and it was understandable that they were all thrown off balance.

Would this even lead to real training?

‘What a chaotic scene, these guys have lost their minds.’

Though internally rolling his eyes, Shin Hyeon found Gu Ryeonghwa difficult to handle.

At this rate, it seemed like training would go out the window.

Regardless of the late arrival of a sister disciple, treating her too sweetly would only blur the essence of true training.

So, Shin Hyeon thought about a way to train Gu Ryeonghwa amidst the third great disciples.

Maybe it would be better for her to train among younger disciples instead of these grown men.

The sect leader had also told him to handle it as he saw fit, so he thought it wise to try and help.

Given Gu Ryeonghwa’s frightened but determined gestures, he figured it’d be okay.

Then he discovered a problem.

Four days into her training with the third great disciples, someone ran up to Shin Hyeon.

“Big brother!”

“What now?”

It appeared the others had their eyes on Gu Ryeonghwa while she was training among the third great disciples, making comments and causing unnecessary ruckus.

Having seen their antics before, he had decided to let it slide.

Breathless, the disciple said, “Gu… Gu Saemai has collapsed!”

“What?”

Gu Ryeonghwa had a surprise incident.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before she woke, but she curled her whole body up, visibly frightened.

Seeing this, Shin Hyeon inquired of a third great disciple who had been training with her about what on earth had happened.

They only replied with grievances, claiming they’d done nothing. Instead, they approached her to help but were met with her crying and shouting, making it difficult to communicate.

It turned out one of them had accidentally brushed against Gu Ryeonghwa, and she suddenly lost consciousness.

They stated it was a problem beyond her physical state.

They claimed it was psychological…

While Shin Hyeon was starting to make a name for himself as a notable swordsman in the Central Plains, he felt utterly weak in addressing this aspect.

What was the problem?

What was it that troubled this little girl so much?

Though she was an unexpected arrival, she was indeed his sister disciple, part of his family, as the sect leader had said.

“Big brother, what should we do…?”

“The elders said that comforting her now could be detrimental, so let’s observe for a while.”

The physician said it would actually be better not to approach her carelessly.

So they watched as time passed.

Eventually, Shin Hyeon learned about Gu Ryeonghwa’s fears.

She was terrified not just of the environment but fundamentally due to people.

Especially males.

And the younger they were, the more she seemed to recoil.

‘Can this even be called fear?’

At first, he thought so, but as time went by and he watched her, he realized it went beyond simple emotions.

In one gaze, he sensed a myriad of feelings.

From fear and resentment to dread and despair, many negative emotions were evident.

Within that, he could also feel a subtle longing.

Thus, it became clear that an easy definition of her emotions couldn’t be made.

At this rate, he realized he could not leave her with the third great disciples, especially since it seemed she was uncomfortable around men; he had no choice but to leave her with the other female disciples.

Time continued to flow, and the seasons changed several times.

Gu Ryeonghwa had grown into a little girl, but despite the passage of time, her demeanor remained uncertain.

She seemed to have improved somewhat, but still showed signs of distress.

The only relief was that there were days when she appeared to be in better spirits.

‘It’s probably because she’s going to see the creator.’

He had heard that the sect leader was stationed at the top of the mountain, yet Gu Ryeonghwa often climbed up whenever she had a moment.

The other disciples were forbidden from going up there, leading to much speculation.

Most of them wondered if there was an issue with the health of the Sword Demoness.

Regardless, there was plenty of gossip circulating since no good news ever came from that area.

In the midst of this, an incident arose which required a search party to be assembled.

A few practitioners from the Sword Team, who had gone out, were reported missing.

A desperate search ensued, but the leads were scant given the time elapsed.

Just as Shin Hyeon, feeling somber, was returning, Yeongpung claimed he felt something and broke formation.

Given that Yeongpung often acted on instinct, Shin Hyeon sighed as he followed to clean up the mess.

This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.

Upon swiftly arriving at the scene, Shin Hyeon encountered Gu Yangcheong.

Initially, he appeared to have lost consciousness, which made Shin Hyeon think Yeongpung had stirred up trouble.

Fortunately, that wasn’t the case, and the misunderstanding cleared up quickly.

After conversation, Shin Hyeon realized that Gu Yangcheong was indeed connected by blood to Gu Ryeonghwa.

When he heard that Gu Yangcheong had come to take Gu Ryeonghwa back to the Gu Clan, he felt a flash of joy.

In recent times, Gu Ryeonghwa had seemed somewhat impatient, and he momentarily hoped she would take a break from Hwasan.

Perhaps this sentiment resonated with the other disciples as well.

While Shin Hyeon did not know much about the Gu Clan, he was aware of the famous Gu Bong.

Without a doubt, the Clan Leader, Ho Hyeop, stood out, and for good reason.

It went without saying that even someone as skilled as Yeongpung would have to be careful around her.

Shin Hyeon had never truly met her, yet it was hard to fully grasp such talk.

The idea that someone so young could shine brighter than a sword peak at such an age was hard to accept.

Then, things took an unexpected turn for Shin Hyeon.

During an impromptu spar with Gu Yangcheong, Yeongpung was defeated.

‘…Yeongpung lost?’

Shin Hyeon’s mind reeled as he watched Yeongpung tumble, coughing up blood.

Before he could even chastise Yeongpung for his rudeness, he was unable to comprehend the situation where a boy younger than him had set the Plum Blossom aflame.

‘…The Plum Blossom burned? What on earth is happening?’

The petals that had filled the air dissipated, engulfed by the flames emanating from the boy’s body.

From the standpoint of Shin Hyeon, who resided within the Hwasan Sect, this was an unimaginable spectacle.

In that moment, he made a conviction.

‘…One day, the seat of Shin Ryong will belong to that child.’

Though there was little known about Gu Yangcheong, it was understandable if it were due to his youth.

The actual reason was that Gu Ryeonghwa had not experienced the Dragon Meeting due to her late-stage talents.

Originally, Shin Ryong, known as Peng Woojin, had stepped down from the roles of the Lesser Clan Leader of the Peng Family, which led to the title going to the sword peak.

This same title would eventually move on to Yeongpung once Jeon Bong had established himself and exited.

Shin Hyeon had thought along those lines too, but after witnessing Gu Yangcheong’s prowess, he had no choice but to reconsider.

‘…What else can one even say? Truly a monster.’

The way he seized opportunities and struck without hesitation, backed by destructive power and speed, was unbelievable.

Despite weaving through wild flames, he maintained an eerie calmness that made him seem far beyond his years in the late stage of talents.

Gu Yangcheong was already skilled enough to possess the instincts of an experienced martial artist or those gained through real combat.

If all this wasn’t sheer talent, then what could one call it?

‘…What kind of place is the Gu Clan, anyway?’

He’d just viewed it as a notable family from Mount Shan, yet they produced monsters like Gu Bong…

“It’s frightening…”

At some point, Shin Hyeon began to find himself drawn to Gu Yangcheong rather than the prestigious reputation of the clan he had brought with him.

Part of that had to do with the oddly liberated gaze he possessed despite his youthful appearance.

It was curious how he mingled with his peers without differentiating between ranks, yet as a young boy, he also kept a steady regimen of training, making Shin Hyeon think he likely had a commendable character.

‘Perhaps he would make a good big brother to Gu Ryeonghwa.’

Shin Hyeon occasionally thought about whether something had happened in the Gu Clan to put Gu Ryeonghwa in such a state.

Yet he vividly recalled the emotional scene when Gu Ryeonghwa had sought comfort in Shin Mil’s arms, calling for an older brother.

However, that sort of appearance had almost completely vanished after the last time Shin Hyeon had visited the Gu Clan years ago.

Instead, he felt that Gu Ryeonghwa seemed to have found a degree of resolve, providing him some peace of mind.

Of course, even so, the behavioral distance between Gu Ryeonghwa and the disciples hadn’t lessened entirely… but perhaps it had improved just a little.

However.

After Gu Yangcheong entered Hwasan, Shin Hyeon witnessed a peculiar change in Gu Ryeonghwa.

Gu Ryeonghwa’s gaze, which had been unveiled since Yangcheong’s arrival, brought back layers of complex emotions she had carried from childhood.

Resentment, fear, anxiety. And longing, grief.

Shin Hyeon could finally understand that the source of Gu Ryeonghwa’s distress was Gu Yangcheong.

‘Is my vision flawed?’

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