MTL NOVEL Chapter 29
“It seems like there’s some misunderstanding. I am not your son-in-law.”
Naturally, Byul Rak vehemently denied being the son-in-law.
“What? You’re not the lover of my descendant? Then why did you go out of your way to manipulate me so much for that child?”
But despite Byul Rak’s questioning, it seemed like the First Patriarch wasn’t giving any clear explanation.
“…If you dare say something like that to Miss one more time, no matter that you’re her ancestor, you won’t come out of this well off.”
“Ahh, I understand you rogue. Cease your hostility. What kind of child threatens their elder like this?”
However, when Byul Rak lowered his voice and growled, he quickly changed his word selection.
“In any case, then who are you? Why are you clinging to our descendant and causing such confusion?”
“I am merely Miss’s bodyguard.”
“Are bodyguards these days visiting their lords at night while they sleep? I’ve been secluded for a while, but it seems the world has changed much. Even the old saying ‘men and women should not share the same mat after the age of seven’ has become obsolete.”
Despite his usual sarcastic tone,
“It’s because of the resonance between you and Miss. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have come at night.”
“How do you know that my descendant’s internal energy resonates with mine? The more I see you, the more curious I am about your true identity.”
“I’m curious about you. Why exactly was someone of your stature, the First Patriarch of a family, sealed inside such a weapon?”
“How dare you ask questions of me without answering first? Truly an audacious rogue.”
“…Speak while I’m still treating you well. I’m not the soft man who would overlook matters related to Miss.”
As Byul Rak glared fiercely and leaned forward while sitting across from the First Patriarch,
Though Byul Rak was always calm, his presence at that moment was terrifying enough to make even a demon cower.
His voice was like the scratching of metal, making it even more so.
“Y-You insolent rogue!”
“First, properly introduce yourself. And also why you were sealed inside the weapon.”
With the constant half-coercive tone from before, the First Patriarch was slightly intimidated.
“Hmph, fine. I can see you’re serious about eating me alive. It’s fortunate for me, as I had no place to vent my own grievances.”
As he backed down slightly, he glanced at Byul Rak cautiously.
Even the First Patriarch, who was nicknamed the “Great Wanderer” during his lifetime for his reckless nature, couldn’t act carelessly in front of the unique sharpness that Byul Rak exuded.
Though he could prod a little.
“Bring me paper and a brush to write down my full name.”
“Are you making jokes in this kind of situation?”
“You’re trying to avoid answering, you insolent one. I will not give my descendant to someone like you.”
Trying to salvage as much pride as possible, the First Patriarch continued.
“Jin Woo-yong, that is my three-character name.”
“I see.”
“I don’t know how much time has passed… but I am the First Patriarch who founded the Taewon Jin Clan and also the founder of the sect that transformed into a martial arts school by creating the ‘Heavenly Frost Moon.’
“I had a sense of that already.”
“In my active days… you might not have heard of this… I was known as the ‘Heavenly Force Axe’ and ranked among the ‘Ten Great Martial Arts Masters of the World,’ but does that name still exist today?”
“If the era of the ‘Ten Great Martial Arts Masters of the World’ refers to… at least five hundred years ago. After that, it became ‘Five Great Peaks of the World,’ and it still is that way now.”
“Is that so? It seems the realm of martial arts masters at my level has decreased to just five. The martial arts world has regressed significantly.”
‘Regressed, indeed.’
As he listened to Woo-yong, Byul Rak nodded silently.
In the current martial arts world, there were absolute masters who couldn’t be compared to even the current ‘Five Great Peaks,’ though they were not recognized as such.
The absolute masters were in a completely different league from ambiguous figures like the Twelve Monks.
“Even so, your name is unfamiliar. I’ve never heard of the nickname ‘Heavenly Force Axe.’ And the prestige of the Taewon Jin Clan doesn’t seem to match the founders of the past families of the ‘Five Great Peaks.'”
“That’s right, because my foolish younger brother erased my name.”
“Ah…”
Naturally, Byul Rak sent him a look as if to say ‘You too…?’
Even if Jin Woo-yong didn’t understand the look, he could faintly sense the sentiment of shared sorrow.
“May I inquire about the circumstances?”
“Indeed, it’s fine to tell you. It’s been hundreds of years locked away, with no one to confide my grievances to, so it’s somewhat relieving. Back then, I was at my prime. Especially with axes, I had reached a level unparalleled, disputable only with the greatest throughout history. Ah… those days when I would split mountains with my axe every morning were truly golden…”
“What exactly happened then?”
“My younger brother was a fervent follower of the sword. He believed the sword was the king of all weapons while looking down upon the axe as something uncouth and unsophisticated, claiming it was fit only for butchers.”
“There are many like that. People with immense pride in their weapon.”
“Ultimately, that rogue betrayed me. After killing me, he usurped the Taewon Jin Clan. He used all his wealth to erase my greatness from history and transformed the ‘Heavenly Frost Moon’ into the ‘Heavenly Frost Sword.'”
“You were killed? Someone at the ‘Five Great Peaks’ level killed so easily?”
“Even I don’t know exactly. I went to sleep one night and woke up to find my spirit under the domain of the Moonlight Division, while my family held my funeral. If I wasn’t dead then what was I?”
“…”
With an unsettling explanation, Byul Rak was about to ask more but remembered the fall of the once First in Central Plains and remained silent.
Instead, he asked another question.
“The feeling of being forced to wear clothes unsuited to the Taewon Jin Family’s martial arts was due to this, wasn’t it?”
“Correct. To kill his elder brother over such martial arts… that man was truly mad. But well… aren’t martial artists still the same these days? They fight to the death over whether the sword is the king of all weapons or the dao knife is, don’t they? There’s a real king of all weapons, the axe, but they ignore it.”
Suddenly recalling the scene on the street yesterday, Byul Rak chuckled quietly.
The martial artists debating whose sword or dao technique was superior, eventually dismantling the inn and drawing blood, closely resembled what Jin Woo-yong had just described.
It was one of those moments when the adage ‘martial artists never change’ rang true no matter how much time passes.
“Eventually, the descendants who practiced improper swordsmanship slowly declined. I was remembered as the ‘Founder who occasionally used an axe when using a sword’ and I was saddened to the point of sinking into slumber in the Moonlight Division. But then, someone suddenly awakened me.”
“That someone was me, right?”
“Indeed. The mistaken assumption about you being my son-in-law came from watching the martial art I spent all day creating for my grandchild, and the similarity in your ages. And then seeing someone entering a woman’s quarters at night.”
“I understand, thank you. Then, please return to where you were.”
“Return just like that? What kind of talk is that?”
Jin Woo-yong looked at Byul Rak as if he had just seen an incredibly irritating person.
“You haven’t told me anything about yourself yet. Where are you telling me to go?”
“Ah, that’s…”
“I observed earlier this afternoon. You were passionately remodeling my Heavenly Frost Moon technique. Although I’m reluctant to admit it, your moon technique improvements were one level above mine.”
“…”
“Honestly, it amazed me. In such a short time, roughly half a day, you thoroughly deconstructed and remodeled my moon technique. Despite appearing so young, you seem to have delved into a deeper realm than I have, which made me feel a tad envious.”
“…There’s nothing I can say to that.”
“Fine, I didn’t expect much in that direction anyway. What I want to ask about is something else.”
Jin Woo-yong’s gaze swept over Byul Rak.
Following that, his eyes circled through the mental space they were in.
At a glance, it might seem reckless, but there was an unmistakable profundity within.
“Exactly, what kind of life have you lived?”
And so, the one who had always lived like this, asked ‘Byul Rak’ with an undertone of amazement.
“What kind of life have you lived… that this place is in such a state?”
Jin Woo-yong pointed at the mental space they were sitting in with his finger.
“A mental space reflects the mind of a person.”
An ordinary person’s mental space is moderately clean and moderately ugly.
There are places where light shines and others corrupted by darkness.
But Byul Rak’s mental space was different.
Not just different, but extremely so.
“What exactly is wrong with my spirit?”
In some areas, it was on fire and in shreds, with blood fountains spurting up.
There was an abundance of light, but to a fault.
The places where the light had reached were sizzling and burning, and the others were reduced to hellfire-black ashes.
Occasionally, something resembling screams could be heard.
“Undoubtedly, the Path of Hell.”
“Well, everyone has their own story, don’t they?”
“Even stranger is your body.”
Jin Woo-yong pointed at Byul Rak with his finger as if gesturing.
“One’s soul is the only thing that can enter the mental space. Which means your body now is your soul… but…”
“Why, is there something wrong with my soul?”
“…You madman.”
When Byul Rak opened his arms to show no problem, Jin Woo-yong found it even stranger.
The sight of someone covered in blood, with a massive hole in their abdomen showing entrails barely hanging on, certainly wasn’t something to be looked at easily.
The clearly exposed ribs, legs barely holding their shape, and a face scarred as if forcibly torn off were unmistakable horrors.
Yet, Byul Rak himself was slightly smiling as if it posed no issue.
“What kind of life must you have led for your soul to be in such a state? Even the soul of the Ancient Devil King of countless eons ago wasn’t in such condition.”
“That’s…”
“No, don’t bother speaking. I shall ascertain this myself.”
Before long, Jin Woo-yong from his past as ‘Heavenly Force Axe’ grabbed the handle of a door in a corner of the mental space.
It was the door to the ‘Domain of Memories.’
“Wait… don’t open that door… Opening that…”
When Byul Rak hastily raised his hand to stop him, Jin Woo-yong disregarded it and turned the doorknob.
“Let’s see what kind of life you’ve lived.”
Click.
Before long, as the ‘Domain of Memories’ opened, there came…
– Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!
A piercing scream.
And then…
– Resist! Resist! Resist! Resist! Resist! Resist! Resist! Resist! Resist! Resist! Resist! Resist! Resist! Resist! Resist! Resist!
– Giving up is not an option! Giving up is not an option! Giving up is not an option! Giving up is not an option! Giving up is not an option! Giving up is not an option!
– Reviving is an option! Reviving is an option! Reviving is an option! Reviving is an option! Reviving is an option! Reviving is an option!
A repetition of words filled with madness.
They were extremely painful and desperate emotions.
“What in….”
Overwhelmed by the immense echo of sound, Jin Woo-yong lost his words as his gaze shifted inside the door.
– Boom!! Crumble!!
Uncomparable to the mental space, a grand and magnificent Path of Asuras unfolded.
Overflowing with blood and flesh, with the earth cracking and the heavens collapsing.
Bizarrely, no matter how much he looked inside, the horrid scenes continued without end.
“…”
Now unable to even mutter, Jin Woo-yong blankly watched until Byul Rak, who had approached without notice, calmly closed the door to the memory domain.
Even until the moment the door closed, Jin Woo-yong remained struck by the scene he had just witnessed, unable to utter a single word.
“You did tell me not to open it, didn’t you?”
“…”
“Sorry, it seems to have shocked you a bit. But it wasn’t that extraordinary.”
As if genuinely expressing the truth, Byul Rak acted as if it were no big deal.
Jin Woo-yong simply couldn’t comprehend that behavior.
“Now go, please. We’ve discussed everything, haven’t we? You’ve even seen the memories I told you not to.”
“…”
Even though it was only for a fleeting moment, he saw it clearly—the Abyss.
An Abyss formed by countless overlaid memories stretching across eons.
“What are you exactly?”
After seeing something like that, how could he just leave?