Chapter 234: Dragon Blood (2)

Chapter 234: Dragon Blood (2)

Master Azure Sky was undoubtedly a martial master.

Not just an ordinary martial master, but one with a clear bloodline and background.

Even as a member of the royal family, it didn’t mean one could control everyone in the world at will.

Moreover, there were many kings besides King Gye-yeong, and inviting martial artists could be misunderstood as an attempt to grow one’s power.

Nevertheless, the fact that King Gye-yeong invited Master Azure Sky to teach the Crown Prince and the County Princess showed that he was very concerned.

「It’s rare for royalty to emphasize martial arts. How peculiar.」

Even Zhang Sanfeng commented as such.

Master Azure Sky was not only a great martial artist but also a great teacher.

His noble appearance and long, white beard perfectly suited the expression “the demeanor of an immortal and the bones of a Taoist”—a person with a transcendental demeanor.

And how lofty was his dignity.

Even the usually arrogant and rude Crown Prince respected and followed him.

The Crown Prince felt bitter and despondent.

Master Azure Sky, who was always composed, became like a child in front of Yi-gang, as if he was before a candy.

Even now, he postponed his own training to perform a sword dance.

It was a familiar Wudang sword dance, even to the Crown Prince. The Taiyi Sword Dance, a training sword dance that, just by performing, nourished one’s Qi and protected the body.

“Hup!”

Master Azure Sky’s sword glistened as it caught the sunlight.

There wasn’t a hint of flamboyance. He wielded the sword with a mastery that revealed his humble nature, devoid of any unnecessary flair.

And beside him stood Yi-gang, quietly with his arms crossed.

From that stance alone, the Crown Prince didn’t like it.

He had expected the young Yi-gang to shrink before a senior martial artist, yet here he was, crossing his arms.

“Hmm...”

And that attitude, as if he found something lacking, what was that about?

After finishing the sword dance, Master Azure Sky asked with a tense expression, “What do you think?”

Master Azure Sky was actually asking Yi-gang for his opinion on the Taiyi Sword Dance.

It was an odd situation where a master of Wudang, even as a secular disciple, was asking for feedback from an outsider and junior.

“Even if you ask for my opinion...”

“Heheh...”

“How could an outsider like me dare to comment on Wudang’s sword dance?”

Yi-gang responded with an awkward smile, refraining from answering rashly.

The Crown Prince thought that Yi-gang had finally realized his place.

It was a premature judgment by the Crown Prince.

“The Wudang sword is a soft sword.”

“Indeed.”

Yi-gang began to speak, and Master Azure Sky listened attentively as if he were receiving a precious truth.

“However, from what I’ve learned, Taiyi is meant to embody the harmony of the heavenly stems. This means that the sword should also contain transformation and express the vertical flow between heaven and earth. Yet, it seems that your sword focuses solely on softness.”

“That is exactly what has been troubling me!”

“I believe that as the Taiyi Sword Dance progresses, the sharpness of the sword dance becomes dulled because of this. As the Sword Emperor told me...”

At the mention of the Sword Emperor, Master Azure Sky nearly swooned with excitement.

This was why he treated Yi-gang, a junior by far, with such respect.

The Sword Emperor imparted his teachings to the Immortal Divine Dragon of the Azure Forest, a disciple of a fellow Taoist sect.

It was an open secret that just before his ascension, the Sword Emperor had personally taught Yi-gang, treating him almost like a disciple.

Although Yi-gang was not officially the Sword Emperor’s successor, the perception was even greater.

It wasn’t far-fetched to see Yi-gang as the Sword Emperor’s true heir.

“It feels like my eyes are opening!”

If the Sword Emperor had spoken, it was as if it were the truth itself.

Orthodox martial artists, especially Wudang disciples, regarded the ascended Sword Emperor as their spiritual pillar.

“Young master, please stay with us for a long time!”

“Haha, if circumstances allow...”

“Please continue to guide us in the future as well.”

“I should be the one saying that. Haha!”

The Crown Prince, witnessing this harmonious exchange, finally exploded in frustration.

“Ugh, what on earth is this!”

He abandoned the horse stance he had been forcing himself to maintain.

While he understood that the horse stance was meant to build basic physical strength, he was in no mood to continue.

“Aren’t we supposed to be training? Why are you so excited to talk to him instead?”

It was fortunate he hadn’t referred to Yi-gang as “that guy.”

Master Azure Sky had left the Crown Prince and the Honorable County Princess to maintain their horse stance while he excitedly chatted away.

“Are you ignoring us?”

Master Azure Sky, looking somewhat embarrassed, tried to ease the tension.

“Haha... It’s not like that.”

“If it’s not, then what is it! We’re just wasting time with this horse stance...”

At that moment, Yi-gang interrupted in a stern tone.

“The horse stance is not a waste of time. For a martial artist, the stability of one’s center is crucial. That stability comes from a well-trained lower body.”

“...!”

-His Highness and Her Highness were once attacked by an assailant.

-...!

-That’s why His Majesty, King Gye-yeong, insisted on teaching them martial arts.

Yi-gang opened his mouth slightly, then quickly closed it.

It seemed like many things were beginning to make sense.

-To be precise, there was an incident where the Crown Prince was almost kidnapped, and Her Highness the County Princess saved him. In the process, the Crown Prince was injured.

The siblings’ hostility toward others and their deep affection for each other...

Perhaps those feelings stemmed from that experience.

-I believe the Crown Prince’s harsh demeanor might be due to that incident. Please understand.

-How could I not understand?

It wasn’t just empty words.

Yi-gang himself had nearly lost his life because of his clan...

The way he looked at the grumbling Crown Prince changed slightly, now holding a hint of sympathy and understanding.

「They said the brat was unruly. Have you changed your mind?」

‘...’

Yi-gang ignored Zhang Sanfeng’s teasing.

He quietly approached the Crown Prince.

It was still too harsh to endure the modified horse stance.

Although he intended to correct the Crown Prince’s attitude, it didn’t seem like a bad idea to take it slow and steady.

Just as Yi-gang was about to say, “Your Highness, you may stop now,” he overheard the Crown Prince’s muttering, unaware of Yi-gang’s approach.

“That damned arrogant bastard. I’ll report him to Father and have him executed...”

“Keep your posture straight.”

“Huh!”

Startled, the Crown Prince quickly turned his head.

Yi-gang’s gaze had turned cold once again.

And then there was Huangtian Palace.

Apart from the Guardian, not even the most common eunuchs or court ladies could be found in the secretive inner sanctum of Huangtian Palace.

One might wonder how that could be possible when serving the emperor, but it wasn’t an issue since the Seven Great Immortals personally handled all the chores.

The eunuchs, guards, and court ladies stayed only in the outer sanctum of Huangtian Palace.

The Seven Great Immortals moved between the inner and outer sanctums, taking on the duties of the eunuchs as well.

Other than them, only beautiful women and occasionally beautiful young men, for the emperor’s pleasure, entered and exited.

However, today, even those women were absent from the inner sanctum.

The emperor and the Seven Great Immortals, and the boys and girls who had entered last night were now unable to leave.

Only the blood they shed filled the place.

There was a pungent smell that should never have lingered here.

The iron scent of blood, the smell of human sweat, the stench of excrement.

The acrid smell of incense burned during rituals.

The emperor was soaking in a specially crafted bathtub.

His bloated, fat body was hidden under the milky liquid, concealing his unsightly appearance.

However, there was something even cloudier than the liquid in the bathtub.

It was the emperor’s eyes, staring blankly into space with his mouth agape.

He appeared to be in a daze, likely due to the blue smoke from the incense lit by Mi Wi-hyeon, one of the Seven Great Immortals.

Heuk Seok-gye, with a cloth covering his mouth and nose, cautiously reached for the emperor’s arm.

As he applied a salve over the wound on the emperor’s arm, the bleeding quickly stopped.

There was a bowl beneath the arm, collecting the blood.

The emperor’s blood was something that should never be seen or touched, yet they were collecting it.

“Bring it here.”

Heuk Seok-gye handed the bowl filled with blood to Yi-ryong, the leader of the Seven Great Immortals.

In the midst of this, he inadvertently glanced at the ceiling.

Yi-ryong seemed to notice this.

“Don’t worry about it. The Guardian does not move.”

The Guardian, undoubtedly a formidable master, did not move despite the suspicious actions of the Seven Great Immortals.

However, it was certain that they were observing the actions of the Seven Great Immortals.

Regardless, Yi-ryong picked up the bowl filled with blood.

In front of him was a mysterious brazier with a flickering blue flame.

“Hmm.”

After briefly closing his eyes, Yi-ryong dipped his hand into the emperor’s blood and scattered it over the brazier.

Whoosh!

The blue flame flared up as though gunpowder had been thrown in, even though it hadn’t.

It was a strange and eerie sight.

The atmosphere grew even more ominous with Yi-ryong’s next words.

“It’s certain.”

They had been conducting experiments with the emperor’s blood here—

“A fragment of the Heavenly Demon’s soul resides within the emperor’s blood.”

—To bring about the resurrection of the Heavenly Demon.