The Legend of the Northern Blade - Chapter 173: A Swordsman Decides Fate With Their Sword (2)

Chapter 173: A Swordsman Decides Fate With Their Sword (2)

Seomoon Hye-Ryung stood before a large bronze mirror. She held a red palace gown against her body, studying her reflection. The gown, as brilliant as fiery autumn leaves, was beautiful enough to capture the gazes of all who saw it.

“No. It’s too flashy. There’s no need to draw everyone’s attention from the very beginning.”

Disappointed, she hung the red gown back on the wall and chose a simple green dress instead. While not as magnificent as the red gown, the green dress seemed sufficient to accentuate her dignified air.

She changed into the light green dress, then twirled around, examining her reflection in the mirror. Her curvaceous figure was clearly defined, but she didn’t look the least bit vulgar.

Finally satisfied, she smiled.

“This should be enough.”

Today was an incredibly important day. There was no need to attract attention from the start. It was more important to leave a modest first impression.

KNOCK KNOCK!

“May I come in?” a familiar voice asked.

Seomoon Hye-Ryung answered immediately, “Of course. Welcome, Young Master Shim.”

Shim Won-Yi opened the door entered the room, looking sullen.

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“You don’t seem to be in a good mood,” Seomoon Hye-Ryung remarked.

“The dogs I set on the Triune Scholar lost him.”

Seomoon Hye-Ryung frowned. “He shook them off, huh.”

“Yes, it seems he has an accomplice. By the time my men realized their mistake, they were already trailing the wrong person.”

Seomoon Hye-Ryung let out a soft sigh. “He’s certainly not an easy man to deal with. Then again, attempting to learn Ha Jin-Wol’s intentions using such a basic approach was unrealistic from the beginning.”

Shim Won-Yi frowned. Even though Seomoon Hye-Ryung readily admitted her complete defeat, her expression showed no sign of disappointment, as if she had known this would happen all along. He asked, “Wouldn’t it be far better to just eliminate him now? Once he’s dead, we won’t need to rack our brains like this anymore.”

“Perhaps, but I don’t believe the Triune Scholar would orchestrate something so big without taking that possibility into account. Even if we eliminated him, he would have surely arranged things so that his plans would proceed smoothly.”

Shim Won-Yi widened his eyes in disbelief. “You think that highly of him? Aren’t you overreacting?”

Deep down, he couldn’t understand why Seomoon Hye-Ryung was so wary of Ha Jin-Wol. Although he had heard that the man was intelligent, his own investigation had revealed that Ha Jin-Wol was merely an ordinary eccentric who occasionally made a spectacle of himself in Yunnan.

Seomoon Hye-Ryung smiled mysteriously. “You will soon understand that I am not being cautious for no reason.”

“Hmph!” Shim Won-Yi snorted.

“Also, Young Master Dam will be coming out of seclusion training soon. We need to resolve this entire situation before Jin Mu-Won manages to steal the world’s attention,” Seomoon Hye-Ryung added.

In the world she envisioned, Dam Soo-Cheon would lead the Azure Dragon Society and usher in a new age. As such, Jin Mu-Won posed the greatest threat to the world she was building, even greater than the Silent Night. Furthermore, he was the only person who knew her and Dam Soo-Cheon’s shameful secret.

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It was only natural then that she, who was usually levelheaded and unflappable, found herself overcome with anxiety in the presence of Jin Mu-Won. Her intuition screamed that he had to be eliminated.

In contrast, Shim Won-Yi relaxed somewhat. “Is there any need to exhaust yourself so much? The outcome has already been decided.”

“I wonder.”

“Why? Do you think there could be a variable?”

“There are always variables, Young Master Shim. Master Jin being alive is one of them. He is someone who didn’t exist in any of the scenarios we planned for. In other words, his appearance could overturn the entire picture we’ve tried to paint.”

“Really?”

Seomoon Hye-Ryung nodded. “Yes, I can sense it. Jin Mu-Won will definitely become a major variable. That is why we must bring him down, no matter what it takes. We need to make people feel uncomfortable with the alias ‘the Northern Blade’. We must drag his reputation through the mud so that people no longer remember the Northern Army fondly, but instead see it as something disgusting and repugnant.”

Shim Won-Yi blinked in surprise. To think he could agitate this cold woman so much.

The people of the world were deceived by Seomoon Hye-Ryung’s gentle appearance and revered her, but Shim Won-Yi knew how truly resolute and ruthless she was. Even seven years ago in the Northern Army, when they were attacked by the Chaos Demon, she alone remained calm and saved them all.

Now, however, she was wavering.

A sense of crisis washed over him. Clearly, Jin Mu-Won was not just a ghost from the past, but a real entity threatening their dreams and ideals.

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Just then, a voice called from outside the door. “Miss, the event is about to begin. It is time for you to leave.”

“I understand.”

Seomoon Hye-Ryung stood up and opened the door, and Shim Won-Yi followed behind her. Outside, a group of warriors from the Seomoon Clan were waiting to escort her.

They passed through three gates and a well-manicured artificial hill on the way to a massive training ground. In the center of the vast, blue, stone-paved area was a large arena packed with several thousand martial artists.

These were the young martial artists who had entered Heaven’s Summit for the Demon Hunters event. Without exception, they stared up at the platform with eyes full of intense longing, the heat they radiated warming the expansive training ground.

A special seating area was prepared for the leaders and key figures of Heaven’s Summit on one side of the arena. There, several people were already seated, including Yeon Cheon-Hwa and Jo Un-Kyung.

Seomoon Hye-Ryung and Shim Won-Yi headed toward the special seating area, making sure to greet their senior martial artists before they took their seats. Fortunately, their seats were off to the left, allowing them to be somewhat free from the crowd’s gaze.

They sat down and looked at the duel stage set up directly in front of them. On the massive stage, which was thirty feet high and over a hundred feet wide, the Investigation Department’s martial artists were lined up in formation. The stern, sharp aura they emanated overwhelmed the entire crowd, to the point where no spectator dared make a loud noise.

And then they waited.

Finally, when the sun reached its highest point in the sky, a middle-aged martial artist with a refined demeanor and a smile on his lips ascended the stage.

“It’s the Sword-Tongued Scholar, Nam Seon-Woo!”

“It really is! To think that eloquent man would step up!”

Nam Seon-Woo smiled leisurely as he carefully observed the people below the duel stage. He had earned his title by defeating opponents in debate with a tongue as sharp and merciless as a sword.

After sufficiently enjoying the crowd’s attention, he announced, “As some of you have mentioned, I am Nam Seon-Woo, a humble man who has been undeservedly bestowed with the alias of Sword-Tongued Scholar. I am honored to be your host for today’s grand event at Heaven’s Summit.”

Although Nam Seon-Woo’s voice was very soft, his qi-infused voice was so clear that his words entered the audiences’ ears as if he were whispering right beside them.

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“First, I would like to express my gratitude to our fellow jianghu martial artists who have so readily rushed here for the Demon Hunters selection event. As you know, the Silent Night is on the move. The fate of the jianghu will be decided by the outcome of the war against them.”

At the mention of the Silent Night, many of the young martial artists began to stir.

“As you all know, the jianghu has suffered immense damage every time the Silent Night has appeared. For over a hundred and twenty years, they have coveted the Central Plains with greedy eyes and ravaged the jianghu with their cruel methods. They have killed tens of thousands of people. To protect the Central Plains, countless people have lost their lives. Our fathers and grandfathers threw their lives away like straw for the sole purpose of protecting the jianghu, and that is how they have defended it until now.”

Nam Seon-Woo’s long speech was clearly audible even to the martial artists in the back of the arena. The crowd held its breath and listened intently to his words.

“Now, it is our turn to shed blood. We must protect the jianghu our ancestors defended with their sacrifices. Now, the Demon Hunters will stand at the forefront of the battle against the Silent Night. They will make greater sacrifices and shed more blood than anyone, but the people of the jianghu will remember their courage forever.”

“Waaaaah!” A fiery roar erupted.

“Heaven’s Summit will spare no expense in supporting the Demon Hunters. They will be given immense authority and power, as well as elixirs to improve their inner arts. When the war with the Silent Night is over, the martial artists of the Demon Hunters will undoubtedly become the leaders of the next generation!”

“Destruction to the Silent Night!” someone shouted.

His cry spread like wildfire throughout the entire crowd.

“Destruction to the Silent Night!”

“Destruction!”

“Waaaaah!”

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Amidst the roars of the crowd, the massive training ground quaked and stirred up a hazy cloud of dust.

Nam Seon-Woo smiled, enjoying the audience’s enthusiasm. Likewise, the leaders of Heaven’s Summit appeared equally satisfied.

After waiting a moment for the crowd’s fervor to subside, Nam Seon-Woo continued, “I understand your feelings well. I am truly grateful for all of you who have willingly stepped forward to uphold justice in the jianghu. However, have you considered that while everyone is preparing to go to war with the Silent Night, someone has colluded with them instead?”

“Who is it?”

“I’m sure all of you remember the Northern Army. The people of the jianghu spared no support for them, yet they ultimately betrayed the Central Plains and colluded with the Silent Night. Ten years ago, the Northern Army Lord, Jin Kwan-Ho, paid the price for that. Does that make sense, everyone? We stood by them to protect the jianghu, and instead they sold the Central Plains to the Silent Night.”

“That’s absurd!”

“I don’t even want to remember the vile Northern Army’s name!”

A few people voiced their agreement, and the rest of the crowd followed suit, beginning to hurl insults.

As they watched this scene, several people secretly grinned. Shim Won-Yi was one of them.

“As expected of the Sword-Tongued Scholar,” he praised. “He captivated the audience in an instant and now controls the atmosphere as he wishes.

The martial artists reacted enthusiastically to every word of Nam Seon-Woo’s. There was no room for disagreement.

When the crowd’s reaction reached its peak, Nam Seon-Woo added more fuel to the fire. “Isn’t there a saying that history repeats itself? Now, just as his father colluded with the Silent Night, we have discovered evidence that his son has done the same.”

“Who is his son?”

“He is someone you all know well, for he’s the talk of the jianghu these days. The Northern Blade, Jin Mu-Won. In truth, he is the son of the former Lord of the Northern Army, Jin Kwan-Ho.”

“Booooo!”

“Execute the son of a public enemy!”

The crowd’s unified voice reverberated throughout the training ground with the force of thunder.

Nam Seon-Woo nodded toward one side of the stage, and Chief Inspector Geum Ju-Sang escorted Jin Mu-Won onto the stage alongside a dozen martial artists.

“Execute the son of the jianghu’s public enemy!”

“Like father, like son!”

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Geum Ju-Sang frowned. In his opinion, the atmosphere was far too one-sided. Nevertheless, Jin Mu-Won, the man at the center of it all, showed no signs of distress.

Even as the vast crowd glared at him with crazed expressions and hurled insults, Jin Mu-Won followed Geum Ju-Sang onto the duel stage coolly, as if none of it concerned him.

Suddenly, Nam Seon-Woo frowned. ” Chief Inspector, why have you not confiscated the criminal’s weapon and bound him?”

Geum Ju-Sang replied hesitantly, “That is…”

“Because I am not a criminal,” Jin Mu-Won interjected.

“What? How dare you run your mouth so carelessly in a place like this?”

“Then who are you to run your mouth so carelessly?”

“……” Nam Seon-Woo’s jaw dropped.

Jin Mu-Won smiled. Even though thousands of martial artists were staring at him with open hostility, he wasn’t the least bit intimidated.

This was only the beginning of his fight against the world.

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