Immediately after, he turned his body to continue on his way.
"Hey!"
A woman in red robes with a body that fluttered like plum blossom petals came out of Cheongcheong Pavilion and once again stopped the blue-robed man's steps.
Holding a sword with red embroidery hanging from it, she was undoubtedly a disciple of Mount Hua Sect.
"I'm still left. If you're just going to leave—"
"Will not... draw.... To a woman...."
The blue-robed man cut off the woman in red robes' words without even turning his body.
Did saying he wouldn't draw his sword against a woman touch her pride? The beautiful woman in red robes seemed offended, raising her straight eyebrows—sharp as a whetted sword—into an inverted 八 shape and shouted.
"Are you looking down on me because I'm a woman!"
Thud, thud.
Instead of answering, the blue-robed man moved his steps back toward the ferry dock. That answer was enough.
Clang!
"Stop! If you don't stop, this Hwa Ye-ji's sword will not forgive you...!"
Swish swish swish swish.
When Hwa Ye-ji drew her sword, only then did the blue-robed man move. His body once again stepped through the seven positions of the Big Dipper as he approached Hwa Ye-ji. So fast that his body seemed to stretch.
Unlike before, the blue-robed man didn't draw his longsword. He simply raised his right hand, extended his index finger straight, and poked Hwa Ye-ji's forehead.
While uttering stuttering words.
"I poked.... I am... stronger. Than you...."
"...."
Hwa Ye-ji couldn't say anything.
The man's eyes seen up close were terribly transparent. Transparent enough to fully reflect her appearance. Hwa Ye-ji felt that her current appearance reflected in those eyes was extremely ugly.
Whoosh.
The blue-robed man folded the finger that had cut Hwa Ye-ji's heart and walked toward the ferry dock again.
"Wh-what's your name?"
At Hwa Ye-ji's sudden words, the blue-robed man stopped walking again. Then he lowered his head. Just like someone who couldn't remember his own name.
Everyone at this place had their eyes and ears turned toward him. Though it was nothing special, he had a strange power to capture everyone's attention.
"Jong...Ji-hang. Probably...."
Jong Ji-hang.
Leaving behind those three characters of his name, before long he was too far from Cheongcheong Pavilion to be seen.
"Jong...Ji...hang...!"
Hwa Ye-ji still stood frozen in place, looking in the direction where the man had disappeared.
Soon, the disciples of Mount Hua Sect and Kunlun Sect who had been rolling on the ground got up and said something to her, but she remained silent, only staring into the distance.
In fact, not just her, but many people were deeply impressed by Jong Ji-hang's entrance and exit.
"An amazing fellow."
One of them, Eulji-tae, who had been watching everything from the second floor of Cheongcheong Pavilion, said.
Dong Gwang-cheon—no, Dong Bong-su—who had likewise watched the entire scene from directly across, also agreed.
In fact, Dong Gwang-cheon was Dong Bong-su whose hair had grown longer after leaving the Northern Plains.
He had left Guisui and returned straight to Datong. Before going out to the Central Plains, he had to meet the Soldier Eccentric. The item made by melting down [Novice's Sword]. He had to receive it. So he went to the Eight Directions Armory, but the Soldier Eccentric was already gone.
Instead, there was another master strong enough for Spirit Eyes to issue a warning. He said that the Soldier Eccentric was currently at the Murim Alliance.
Whether the Soldier Eccentric had some hidden agenda, whether there were some circumstances, or whether something sudden had just come up, Dong Bong-su didn't know. But he decided to follow that master, Eulji-tae, right away. He had judged that Zhengzhou wasn't a bad choice as the first step into the Central Plains.
The center of the current Central Plains Murim was, no matter what anyone said, Zhengzhou.
Because the main headquarters of the Murim Alliance was in Zhengzhou.
Dong Bong-su hadn't yet decided what to do or how to do it once he went to the Central Plains.
To run a 'ranch,' he first had to find good stock. Good stock isn't given away for free. Especially in this wasteland called the Murim, even more so.
He had thought about various things.
How should he establish what kind of ranch? After establishing it, would he really be able to secure stock? Money?
Then suddenly another thought occurred.
Why bother establishing a new ranch? How about acquiring the biggest and best ranch among those currently in the Murim? A ranch where big money and good stock would pour in even without doing anything... that is.
Murim Alliance, Heavenly Demon Castle, Hall of Gathering Evil.
Currently, these three places were the best ranches, that is, talent gathering centers. Without question.
Then which of these three should he go to? Also, how to acquire them?
Nothing was decided yet.
Dong Bong-su had left open possibilities in all directions among these.
As long as he could continue his hobby and grow efficiently, any direction was fine. And just in time, an opportunity to visit the Murim Alliance had arisen, so he was heading to Zhengzhou like this.
Jong Ji-hang appeared before such a Dong Bong-su.
As Eulji-tae said, an amazing person. So amazing that this thought even occurred.
'Like a protagonist from a martial arts movie or novel.'
A truly unvarnished, objective evaluation from Dong Bong-su.
The Jong Ji-hang he briefly saw was a mysterious person with an interesting aura that made those around him into supporting characters.
"To cause problems with one phoenix and one dragon each before even arriving in Zhengzhou. Should he indeed be called the Heavenly Rigid Swordmaster?"
The dragon Eulji-tae spoke of must be Kunlun White Dragon U Sim-gi, and the phoenix... must be referring to that woman called Hwa Ye-ji.
"...."
In Dong Bong-su's view, Eulji-tae seemed to know something about Jong Ji-hang. And he could also read the anticipation for the 'Heavenly Rigid Swordmaster' flowing in those eyes.
Eyes just like movie audiences or novel readers hoping for the protagonist's active role.
Dong Bong-su was blank for a moment.
In that instant, the surrounding scenery all seemed to stop and was sucked into his eyes. Eulji-tae, Hwa Ye-ji, U Sim-gi, and various others. Everyone was expressing different emotions, but they were all without exception feeling and thinking about Jong Ji-hang. Whether they liked it or not.
'Should it be said that the appearance of the young hero called Jong Ji-hang was causing upheaval in some way?'
Then time flowed again, and Dong Bong-su's thoughts jumped to a strange place.
Heavenly Rigid Swordmaster and Heavenly Rigid Sword.
Jong Ji-hang and the sword he held.
And.
A thought that suddenly occurred.
'What would happen if the protagonist suddenly died in a movie or novel?'
1
'Wouldn't that also become an interesting movie or novel?'
1
'Is there a law that only the protagonist must be the protagonist? Wouldn't a picture of a suddenly appearing extra being cast as the lead also be cool?'
Smack smack.
Eulji-tae began eating.
Dong Bong-su also picked up his chopsticks and put a piece of meat in his mouth and chewed. Though juice flowed filling his mouth, he couldn't taste it. He couldn't feel it.
Not pork, but a true herbivore. Because he became curious about the taste of elephant.
***
Zhongnan Sect.
A member of the former Nine Sects and One Society.
However....
Now a forgotten sect.
Zhongnan Lone Sword. Or Zhongnan Poison Sword.
Lone Sword because he remained alone. Also Poison Sword because he possessed a terrible sword.
However....
Also a forgotten name.
It had truly been decades. Since Heavenly Rigid Sword shook off the heavily accumulated dust and revealed its hidden inner flesh.
The last and symbolic sword of Zhongnan. The Lone Sword's sword.
Jong Ji-hang was looking down at the Yellow River while holding Heavenly Rigid Sword in his left hand like before. Though not a beautiful sight, masculinity subtly emanated. Whether the Yellow River or Jong Ji-hang.
Swoooosh—
The boat goes east, east. Zhengzhou wasn't far.
An incident occurred as soon as he entered the Martial World. However, there were no regrets.
His master had said.
[Don't carelessly draw your sword. But if you draw it, handle it devastatingly. So that mountains, streams, grass, and trees tremble, and all Murim people piss their pants.]
He drew it and handled it roughly. He couldn't yet tell if all the mountains and rivers trembled, but at least he made one person piss their pants.
He had heard plenty about Kunlun Sect from his master too.
A sword sect full of superficial style and pretense. His teacher's assessment. Having directly faced them, Jong Ji-hang also found it difficult to give a different evaluation.
A weak sword reeking of women's powder.
His master's assessment of Mount Hua Sect that followed after Kunlun. But this time his thoughts were somewhat different. Though it reeked of powder, he felt it wasn't entirely weak. Because for just a brief moment, he thought he wanted to see Mount Hua's Plum Blossom Sword that had reached a certain level.
In fact, the reason he had gotten into a quarrel with them earlier was also because of that.
A strong plum blossom scent wafted from that woman. That scent mysteriously wafting out while she was just sitting quietly—the fact that he looked at her a few times because of it became the root of the problem. Of course, the more fundamental problem was the opponent's hypersensitive reaction.
Jong Ji-hang briefly reviewed what had happened a moment ago and then erased it from his memory. If he had finished what he needed to do as a swordsman, there was no need to think further. His master always said that. He agreed. The fight was over, and a new fight would be waiting afterward. With that, this fight's meaning was extinguished.
Swooooosh—
Jong Ji-hang stood alone idly. At the prow, the place where the splitting of the current could be seen best.
[Split the world like splitting the current.]
He had never even seen a current, let alone the world needless to say. Having spent his whole life at Zhongnan, to him the world was Zhongnan. At least until that time when he heard those words.
Jong Ji-hang answered yes. Because he couldn't object to his master's dying instructions.
Now that he was facing a real fierce current up close like this, he seemed to understand why his master had said such things.
Jong Ji-hang raised his right hand high above his head.
Whoong—
A hand blade falling as if nothing.
Nothing happens. The boat still majestically splits the current and heads forward, forward.
But what if that current was the world, and the hand blade was Heavenly Rigid Sword? Jong Ji-hang was curious. To the point of madness.
Then suddenly, between the splitting currents, the faces of the two men who had looked down at him from the second floor of Cheongcheong Pavilion earlier floated up.
One was a master. A master so outstanding that Heavenly Rigid Sword reacted with a tingle even at a glance.
The other man was....
'Hmm.'
He couldn't remember. He didn't know why.
Jong Ji-hang quickly stopped caring about him. His interest was in the strong. He had no interest in weaklings who didn't elicit a signal from Heavenly Rigid Sword.
'Can I win?'
He raised his right hand high again and drew it downward.
The imaginary opponent draws their sword and blocks his right hand.
The imaginary battle that began like that continued for quite a while, and the other person he couldn't remember disappeared even further into his memory.
And....
Was completely forgotten like that.
Because he seemed neither important nor particularly strong.
At least until now....