Chapter 293: I’m Not Buying It. (1)

Chapter 293: I’m Not Buying It. (1)He was one of the Three Heavenly Venerables, the man infamously known as the Dishonored Venerable, who had ascended to the pinnacle of close combat arts. Born into the prestigious Bi Clan, but chose the path of a martial artist over a life of servitude to his clan’s honor.

The Dishonored Venerable, Bijuu.

If I had to use one word, I’d dare say ‘Madness’ described him best. He was a crazed martial artist, utterly obsessed with reaching the highest levels of martial arts.

Having been born a man, he set a singular goal for his life: to reach the Transcendence realm. With unwavering focus, he forged a single path to his destination, never once glancing back.

From the moment of his birth, Bijuu was different. When he was old enough to clench his fists, he easily beat up all his older relatives, his extraordinary talent making the clan’s Lord and Elders believe he was destined to revive the clan’s glory.

But then...

I’m not doing such a thing.

The Dishonored Venerable vanished one day, leaving behind nothing but a letter. At fifteen, he left the clan, severing all ties.

In other words, he ran away.

Why did Bijuu flee from a noble clan? The reason wasn’t anything grand. He simply wanted to experience the world, to seek enlightenment, and to create his own martial arts.

The Bi Clan’s Fangs of Flawlessness, their prized Divine Art reserved only for the direct members of the clan, didn’t interest him.

But it’s not fun.

Bijuu found no joy in it. Despite its prestigious status, he craved something more. He wanted to carve out his own path, and so his journey began.

He started with duels.

Wherever he went, he sought out masters and challenged them to fights. Some refused; others nearly killed him. Yet, Bijuu pressed on, undeterred by the prospect of death. After years of such victories and defeats, he had ascended to the Peak Realm.

Was that his starting point?

-It’s pointless.

He had left the clan to escape their arts, yet he found himself relying on them anyway. Realizing this, Bijuu decided to seek a new path, one that would satisfy him. The young prodigy then spent ten years in seclusion on an unknown mountain, abandoning the clan’s expectations.

Ten years.

It was certainly a long time, but far too short to create an entirely new martial art.

Furthermore, Bijuu already had Mind Arts ingrained in his body, and even if he developed a new style, it would be useless if it didn’t harmonize with those arts.

Thus, he made a drastic decision: he would erase the Mind Arts that had been etched into his body.

It meant sacrificing everything he had worked for so far, but Bijuu didn’t hesitate. It took him one whole year to erase the Mind Arts without destroying his Dantian or damaging his blood vessels.

That was only the beginning. To find a more efficient movement and to create a martial art that could surpass his old one, he embarked on a difficult path. But nothing could stop Bijuu.

The movement he envisioned already existed in his mind. To put it into practice, he spent a year erasing the clan’s Mind Arts from his body.

Now, all he had to do was move as he desired.

Others might have found the process torturous, but Bijuu, funnily, made it seem effortless.

He shattered his state of mind and goals, for in martial arts, goals existed only to be broken.

Bijuu spent countless days and nights crafting a path that allowed for efficient movement and optimal use of Qi. This journey took him another ten years.

Crack-

Kwoaaah!

The massive boulder behind the mountain shattered, and the ground trembled as Bijuu watched.

-I think it’s time to go down now.

He felt it was time to return to the Central Plains. Bijuu was a little over thirty years old then.

After a decade of isolation, he returned to a world that had changed dramatically.

The Azure Dragon had ascended to the position of Lord of the Namgung Clan, and the Five Sword Masters were gaining renown.

As the Wind Sword, a middle-aged man, began to spread his name, Bijuu resumed his challenges.

Before naming his own martial arts, he sought out masters across the land for duels. He faced three of the Five Sword Masters and even crossed paths with the Zenith of that time, Cheolhyun Buseon.

Bijuu didn’t care whether his opponents were from Orthodox Factions or Unorthodox Factions; he fought them all.

Despite creating his own martial arts, he continued to suffer defeats. There were still many stronger than him, but that didn’t deter him.

He simply got up after each defeat, and he was never content with a victory.

The Namgung Clan’s Azure Dragon wielded a sharp sword, the Wind Sword was powerful, the newbie from Mount Hua, the Celestial Plum Blossom was fast, and that greatest prodigy of the Kunlun Sect wielded a heavy blade.

Bijuu couldn’t defeat any of them with his newly crafted martial arts. Yet, time passed...

-Not bad.

Bijuu smiled as he lay on the ground, blood dripping from his mouth.

He didn’t hesitate. He was sure his martial arts would one day become an undefeated Divine Arts.

So, he wasn’t disappointed.

His limbs were intact, his eyes unharmed.

He was lucky. It was quite surprising, as he had expected to lose them one by one on this journey of his.

-This really isn’t bad at all.

He continued moving forward, finding his flaws through his defeats. That’s what martial arts was—an endless pursuit of improvement.

-A little more.

The path stretched on, rough and untrodden. It was a grueling journey, but...

-This is fun!

Bijuu found nothing more enjoyable than paving his own path.

Bijuu wiped the blood from his lips and stood up. Before him, three martial artists lay dead, their lifeblood staining the ground.

Who were they? Supposedly, they were well-known figures within the Unorthodox Factions, but Bijuu hadn’t even bothered to learn their names.

After inspecting their bodies one by one, a thought crossed his mind.

-Your fist... it destroys... the heavens.

The one who had uttered those words had ‘Heaven’ in his title. Was it the Monster of False Heaven? Something like that.

-Destroying the heaven, huh?

He wasn’t worthy of a title with ‘Heaven’ in it, judging by the fact that Bijuu couldn’t even recall his face. Probably just another nobody.

The word heaven brought to mind his fight against the Wind Sword—that blade, a blade so pristine that it seemed to hold the moon itself, was far more deserving of such a title.

Now, that man could cut through heaven itself.

Bijuu smiled, reminiscing about that fight. It was one that lingered in his memory, though it had nearly cost him his life.

-Heaven, huh? Not bad.

To destroy the heavens—it didn’t sound bad at all.

-That settled it. This martial art will be named Destruction of the Heavens.

The Fist that Destroys Heaven.

This marked the beginning of Bijuu’s rise as one of the Masters of the Central Plains. It was a title he earned by slaying three of the Four Emperors and Eight Kings.

But, Bijuu didn’t care for such trifling rumors. Perfecting his martial arts was far more important than whatever nonsense people whispered about him.

Time passed.

The Wind Sword became the Leader of the Murim Alliance without Bijuu even noticing, and the Zenith of that era, Cheolhyun Buseon, succumbed to a chronic disease.

The new prodigy of Mount Hua ascended to lead his Sect, and the disciple of the Kunlun Sect also rose to the same position.

Yet Bijuu remained just Bijuu.

He was content as long as he was called a martial artist. That was enough for him. Only later did Bijuu realize that he was being referred to as one of the Heavenly Venerables.

Again, Bijuu found perfecting his martial arts to be of the utmost importance. It was, after all, his lifelong goal.

Then one day...

-Oh.

Bijuu gained an enlightenment during his usual training.

Of course, there was a gem among them, but even that one wasn’t fully polished yet.

“So, what about it?”

Bi Eejin asked with a sour expression. Was she going to nag him again because he hadn’t gone to the tournament this year?

“Dragon! A new dragon was born at this year’s tournament of Dragons and Phoenixes!”

Thankfully, that didn’t seem to be the case.

“Dragon?”

A dragon, huh? Was she referring to the Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes or whatever they were called? Sigh... People were still messing around with titles, just like before.

“That’s right...! He’s called the True Dragon!”

The True Dragon.

It meant he was the real dragon among all the others. What a grand title.

“So? What’s that got to do with me?”

It was nothing new for more dragons to appear. After all it was the Murim Alliance who bestowed the Dragon titles, so it was completely up to their whims. He had lost all expectations of the Murim Alliance ever since that old man, the Sword Emperor, left.

Bi Eejin’s lukewarm reaction seemed to anger Bibi.

“It’s! It’s because the True Dragon is rumored to be the disciple of that man...!!!”

“That man? Who?”

“Our granduncle...”

“...?”

Bi Eejin couldn’t help but frown at Bibi’s words. Bibi’s granduncle. The only person older than the current Lord of the Bi Clan...

Huh? Me?

Was the Dishonored Venerable, Bijuu, himself.

“That is a false rumor,” Bi Eejin responded firmly.

I have never taken on any disciples after all. Instead of worrying about such a thing, perfecting my martial arts is more impor—

Wait.

“Just listen...! The True Dragon supposedly came with a recommendation letter from our grandunc— “

A disciple?

Bibi continued talking, but her words no longer reached Bi Eejin.

Disciple...Yes! A disciple!!

Bi Eejin’s lifelong goal was the perfection of his martial art. But if he couldn’t achieve it with his own body, then...

Isn’t it okay for another bastard to perfect it for me?

Doesn’t it still count as achieving my goal if I see the pinnacle of my martial arts through another person with enough talent and a capable body?

“Moreover, people say he might’ve reached the Peak realm, when he isn’t even twenty yet! Just how in hell is that possible?!!”

“Hmm? Peak realm? Who?”

“...? The True Dragon? Wait, were you even listening?”

Bi Eejin’s eyes widened at Bibi’s words.

“Do you know that little friend’s name?”

“Who? The True Dragon? Wait, answer my question!”

“Yes, him.”

“Gu...? Yeah, it was Gu something... I don’t remember the details. But I did hear that he’s the younger brother of the Sword Phoenix.”

“...The younger brother of the Sword Phoenix.”

The Sword Phoenix.

Bi Eejin was familiar with the clan the Sword Phoenix hailed from. It was a place where many a monsters hid their fangs, and it was also home to one of the very few friends he had.

The son of that clan, huh?

Bi Eejin had heard about him a few times. He recalled Gu Ryoon inviting him to the clan on several occasions, mentioning how the boy was growing stranger by the day.

“...Peak realm, and a body that hasn’t yet reached the age of twenty.”

“Brother?”

“Hehe! I see... Is that so?”

“Brother? Hello?! Wha? Where are you goi—Hey!”

Bibi shouted after him, but Bi Eejin ignored her and continued walking. This was the moment when the name Gu Yangcheon became etched into his mind.

******************Back to the present.

When Bi Eijin finally met Gu Yangcheon in person, he was far more impressive than he had anticipated.

It’s impressive.

Bi Eejin could hardly recall the last time he had laughed so much—perhaps it was when that raccoon from the Beggar’s Sect had approached him with Gu Yangcheon’s commission.

Do we share the same intention? It will work out better if that is the case.

“How about it?”

Here was a talent who had reached the Peak ream at such a young age, with a body close to the absolute perfection that he had long sought.

He had heard that Gu Yangcheon was a close-combat martial artist, so it was highly likely that his movements had been trained in precisely the way Bi Eejin desired.

This meant...

This boy was born to master the Destruction of Heaven.

Everything about him was perfect.

Gu Yangcheon checked all the boxes required to perfect Bi Eejin’s martial art.

It was to the point that Bi Eejin even wondered if Gu Yangcheon had undergone Eternal Youth himself. He was that impressive.

Moreover, despite his linering doubts, Bi Eejin was convinced the moment he grasped Gu Yangcheon’s neck. There was no way this young man could have such a clean, firm vessel of a body without any exceptional circumstances.

With such thoughts lingering in his mind, Bi Eejin spoke, “Our master happens to be looking for some disciples.”

He honestly felt a twinge of embarrassment at selling himself out like this, but it was fine since Gu Yangcheon had no idea.

He had never taken advantage of his Dishonored Venerable title before, but now he had no choice but to use it—he knew just how impactful it was.

There was no way Gu Yangcheon would an offer to learn from a Heavenly Venerable.

Bi Eejin daydreamt as he stared intently at Gu Yangcheon, waiting for his inevitable agreement.

That body and that talent. If the boy gains my guidance on top of that...

Bi Eijin would be able to witness the peak of his martial art, the Destruction of the Heavens, finally perfected.

Now, hurry and answer. Then I shall...

The moment Gu Yangcheon would accept the offer, a new page in history would be written. He would be able to reach never before seen levels as a practitioner of the Destruction of the Heavens.

“I’m not buying it.”

“Humu! That’s good, then I shall—Wha?”

A flabbergasted expression hung on Bi Ejin’s face.

“Huh? What did you say?”

“No, it’s not that I don’t buy it, I’m just not gonna to do it.”

“I believe you’re not fully informed, but as I said last time, my master is—”

“Yes, I know already, but to reiterate. I’m not gonna do it.”

Bi Eejin hadn’t been at such a severe loss of words other than the time he was reborn.