The Undefeatable Swordsman

Chapter 147. Trying to Row a Boat On Land (18)

Chapter 147. Trying to Row a Boat On Land (18)

Any daughter born to the emperor from his empress was bestowed the title of imperial princess. Any daughter born to the crown prince or princess from his crown consort was bestowed the title of princess.[1]

The emperor had the crown prince very late; he had now reached an advanced age and had all but withdrawn from government affairs. Thus, it was only a matter of time before Princess Mok Yong became Imperial Princess Mok Yong.

Although he didn’t have much loyalty or affection for the imperial family, Woo-Moon still heeded the Saber Emperor’s words and greeted the two women formally.

“My name is Song Woo-Moon. It’s an honor to meet you, Your Highness.”

Princess Mok Yong spoke in a haughty tone.

“You can speak freely. Rise.”

“Thank you."

As Woo-Moon stood up, he sneaked a peek at the beautiful woman, seemingly in her early twenties, standing behind the princess.

‘She’s definitely an Absolute Master! There are three Absolute Masters within the Imperial Palace, and only one of them is a woman. Formless Flying Sword Yoon Ha-Rin!’

She was a young and beautiful Imperial Guard. Tales of her renowned skill were famous among the Imperial Guards.

She had been appointed to her first position at the young age of sixteen, and twenty years later, she had been promoted to the Head of the Imperial Guard.

“It’s an honor to meet the renowned Formless Flying Sword.”

Seeing Woo-Moon cup his fist first, Yoon Ha-Rin nodded her head slightly. Her eyes had been boring through Woo-Moon from the moment she had entered the room.

As for the princess, despite her stately appearance, she had a straightforward and no-nonsense personality, and she got right to the point.

“You want the government to step forward and clean up the Cruel Sandstorm Riders?”

“That’s right.”

In spite of her young age, the princess was filled with grace and dignity in every action. The education of a member of the imperial family was fully visible.

A strange smile spread across her face.

“Don’t you think that your official position and achievements aren’t quite enough to make such a request? After all, you’re just an honorary magistrate.”

Woo-Moon wasn’t so dense that he couldn’t understand what she was hinting at.

“I’m sorry, but I have no intention of taking office.”

“Even if you can’t achieve what you want without doing so?”

Woo-Moon looked the princess straight in the eye.

“Don’t you think it would be possible if I just used you as a hostage?”

The Saber Emperor faltered, suddenly feeling dizzy when he heard Woo-Moon’s response.

‘What the hell?! That bastard Palm Martial Emperor treated the Imperial Family like shit, but this brat’s attitude is even worse!’

Yoon Ha-Rin was momentarily taken aback by the utterly unexpected response, but then, a flash of bloodlust emanated from her body. In a split second, her hand flickered six times.

Swish!

Something sharp flew through the air.

Clang, clang, clang, cla—

The six throwing knives made of qi were simply repelled before they could even touch Woo-Moon. They were unable to get close to Woo-Moon’s clothes due to his defensive qi.

In order to make a statement, Woo-Moon had put in more effort than he had to. He would have been able to block the throwing knives with much less risk and qi consumption if he had drawn his sword or used his hands.

On the other side, Formless Flying Sword was utterly flabbergasted to see Woo-Moon block her attack with nothing but his defensive qi.

‘How does he have such strength at such a young age? Is he stronger than me?’

As Yoon Ha-Rin gauged his strength, Woo-Moon did the same while looking at her.

‘Formless Flying Sword Yoon Ha-Rin. Although she’s not at the same level as the Eight Heavenly Martial Emperors or some of the stronger Rising Challengers, she’s still at a similar level to the Absolute Master from Martial Heaven that I fought back then.’

He had no idea who those people were or where they were—only their level of power and the fact that they were members of Martial Heaven.

Most people weren’t really qualified to talk about this, but there were differences in power even within the same Absolute stage. As most of the famed Absolute Masters only fought without showing their true strength and retreated before things became serious, most of the gangho mistakenly believed that the Eight Heavenly Martial Emperors and the Six Rising Challengers all had more or less the same strength.

However, things couldn’t be further from the truth.

On the one hand, it was true that the Eight Heavenly Martial Emperors were all roughly on the same level. Although there had been differences when they first rose to fame, they eventually grew to approximately the same strength after years of battling.

On the other hand, there was a definite gap between the new and the old. If the Night Spear Devil or the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor were very close to the level of the Eight Heavenly Martial Emperors, the rest of the Six Rising Challengers were definitely one level below them. They were barely taking their first steps as they learned about the Absolute Stage.

The princess responded calmly, “Hostage? I am sorry to tell you but you are not the kind of person to do something like that.”

“Is that how you see me? Well, you’re right in a way, I used to be like that. But now, I don’t care about betraying my principles if it's to save my family.”

The deep sorrow and pain hidden within Woo-Moon flickered in his eyes as he spoke.

The princess, who had stood proud and arrogant even in the face of someone threatening her, suddenly blushed slightly.

“So you’re cruel, then. Fine, if you don’t want to take up an official position, I won’t force you to. However, it’s not easy for me to battle the Cruel Sandstorm Riders with my own forces. Thus, I also want something in return.”

“What is it? Please don’t hesitate, Princess.”

“Assassinate two people.”

In other words, she wanted Woo-Moon, a martial artist with skills beyond that of an Absolute Master, to become her personal assassin.[2] However, Woo-Moon wasn’t prideful enough to care.

“I’ll kill them as long as they deserve to die.”

“The first is the Gansu Province’s Regional Military Commissioner. The second, the Seal-Holding Eunuch Director of the Directorate of the Imperial Regalia,” the princess said.[3]

Yoon Ha-Rin continued where the princess left off.

“We’ve discovered that the Imperial Regalia Seal-Holding Eunuch Director Jin Cheong is related by blood to the Cruel Sandstorm Riders’ leader. Moreover, he receives bribes from them as well. In the past, he even directed the Gansu Province’s Regional Military Commissioner to turn a blind eye when the Cruel Sandstorm Riders left Gansu Province and aimed for Shaanxi Province.”

The Saber Emperor continued after Yoon Ha-Rin.

“As you may know, the Cruel Sandstorm Riders are a force that’s difficult to define as solely a murim force or solely a bandit entity. Countless of our civilians died because of them.[4] When I tried to work with the princess to eliminate them, the Seal-Holding Eunuch Director made sure we faced impediments at every turn. Although I don’t like assassinations... there are just too many lives we can save by doing this.”

Although he was not officially a member of the murim, in the end, Jeong Yi-Moon was still a martial artist. He had tried to resolve the issue somehow within the bounds of the law, but as all of his efforts in that direction were in vain, he agreed to resolve the issue using force.

The princess spoke again, concluding their explanation.

“In other words, our goals and your goals are the same. The destruction of the Cruel Sandstorm Riders. The biggest obstacles to fulfilling our goals are the Seal-Holding Eunuch Director and the Gansu Province’s Regional Military Commissioner.”

Woo-Moon, who had been listening quietly, nodded his head.

“If they are the only obstacles keeping the imperial government from interfering, then you don’t need to order me to do that; I would have done it anyway.”

There was always the chance that the princess was trying to use Woo-Moon to consolidate her power. This could all be a ploy, and they could be asking him to kill the Seal-Holding Eunuch Director and the province’s Regional Military Commissioner for some other reason pertaining to their own goals.

However, Woo-Moon didn’t think that was the case. He may not believe the princess he’d just met, but he certainly believed in the Saber Emperor’s judgment.

“Consider them dead. In return, I’d like to ask you for three more favors.”

“What is it?”

He took a manual out of his sleeve.

“First, please have this delivered to Ra Mi, a swordswoman of the Justice Coalition’s Wind Sword Battalion.”

The manual contained the new cultivation methods Woo-Moon had written down while traveling on Eun-Ah. After he had risen from lying in solitude for two seasons, Woo-Moon used that experience to devise the best cultivation art for Ra Mi to learn.

If she found it difficult to cultivate consciously because she was constantly asleep, then she could cultivate in her dreams instead. She’d be having a lucid dream, in a sense.

Woo-Moon had only been able to create this cultivation method because he had gained the enlightenment of the void and unlocked more of the secrets of the Gentle Celestial Sword.

‘If you learn this, Ra Mi, you’ll definitely be able to reach the Absolute realm.’

Woo-Moon was sure of it.

Of course, it wasn’t like any random person could do this, but thanks to Ra Mi’s peculiar problem, she could definitely reach the Absolute realm.

“That’s simple. Then, what other requests do you have?”

“Next, please don’t tell anyone I’m alive for the time being.”

“Of course. You don’t even have to tell us that, it’s only to our advantage. Then, what’s the last one?”

Woo-Moon explained what Dae-Woong, Jin-Jin, and Gun-Ha looked like.

“Please find them.”

“All three of your requests aren’t difficult. If that’s the case, then I can definitely do that. But do you really not have any interest in holding office?”

There was a subtle hint of anticipation in the princess’ eyes. She seemed to want Woo-Moon by her side in the same way Yoon Ha-Rin was.

“I apologize, but I don’t have any interest. I will not keep you any longer. I’ll take my leave now.”

The moment he finished speaking, Woo-Moon bolted from the room as if he were running away from punishment.

It seemed as though the princess would continue to insist he take a government position if he stayed any longer. But just like his grandfather, the Palm Martial Emperor, Woo-Moon didn’t have even the slightest desire to become an official.

‘Now, then, I guess I’ll have to go to the capital first.’

The Seal-Holding Eunuch Director was definitely more challenging to kill than a Regional Military Commissioner.

Usually, the correct course of action would have been to handle the easy assassination first and then move on to the more difficult one. However, that logic didn’t apply to this current situation.

‘If I kill the Regional Military Commissioner first, it’ll reach the ears of the Seal-Holding Eunuch Director, causing him to suspect something and raise his guard. However, if I kill the Seal-Holding Eunuch Director first, it’ll be the other way around. I can handle a mere Regional Military Commissioner even with his guard up.’

To be frank, it wasn’t difficult for Woo-Moon to enter the capital and assassinate the Seal-Holding Eunuch Director.

No, in fact, it was actually pretty easy.

Woo-Moon had already surpassed the Absolute realm and reached the Paragon realm.

Even if the Saber Emperor or Formless Flying Sword were in the imperial palace, and even if his target was the emperor himself, he could simply go in, kill the target, and escape. Nobody could stop him

What’s more, he would be entering an imperial palace without any Absolute Masters to kill a mere eunuch.

‘With that said, Martial Heaven really is incredible. To think I’ve already seen three Paragons among their ranks...’

He had clashed with the Forgetful King at the Heavenly Demon Mound and those two Paragons residing within the Cruel Sandstorm Rider’s main base.

The gravity of his enemy’s strength weighed on Woo-Moon once again as he continued to run forward while calling for Eun-Ah.

ROAR!

Eun-Ah had been waiting on a deserted mountain some ways away. At his call, she suddenly appeared before him.

“Let’s go.”

Woo-Moon got on Eun-Ah’s back and headed to the capital.

It was already dark when he arrived, the perfect time for an assassination.

“Go have fun nearby.”

Grawr.

Nodding her head, Eun-Ah licked Woo-Moon with her now-enormous tongue and ran over to a nearby mountain.

Growl!

Suddenly, the mountain became noisy with the screams of the tigers and bears caught in Eun-Ah’s games.

“You naughty little rascal.”

She most likely would be playing like that until either Woo-Moon came back or she got bored.

“The Forbidden City...”[5]

After briefly looking down at the Forbidden City from the top of a mountain, Woo-Moon put on a mask and leaped forward.

Flying through the sky like a bird, he descended above a pavilion on the southeastern section of the Forbidden City and sent finger strikes in all four directions.

Those hiding on top of the pavilion felt nothing as they lost consciousness.

‘The soldiers would be too stubborn. It’ll be difficult to get them to talk.’

The easiest solution would be for him to capture a consort and interrogate her. However, Woo-Moon felt uncomfortable doing that to a woman.

‘On that note, all of the women here are really beautiful.’

The emperor’s consorts were walking around in groups, each beautiful in her own way.

‘Well, it makes sense. The consorts are gathered from all over the Central Plains. The emperor really enjoys luxuries, it seems. To think all of these beautiful ladies are his women.... Well, they aren’t as beautiful as Ma-Ra or Si-Hyeon, anyway.’

Again, he had accidentally thought of Si-Hyeon.

After grimacing for a moment due to the streak of pain in his heart, Woo-Moon caught a eunuch in his late teens who was passing nearby.

“...!”

Woo-Moon paralyzed the eunuch, then pulled him onto the roof of the pavilion where he had been hiding. There, he drew his sword and put it at the eunuch’s throat.

‘Hey, brat. I have something to ask you. If you don’t want to see what your kidneys look like, it would be best if you were careful with how you answer me.”

With that kind reminder, Woo-Moon released the eunuch’s speech acupoint.

Finally able to respond, the young eunuch trembled and opened his mouth.

“W-what can I help you with...”

“Where is the Seal-Holding Eunuch Director of the Directorate of the Imperial Regalia right now?”

Terrified at the prospect of his own death and even more terrified at the possibility of having his organs removed beforehand, the eunuch immediately raised a hand and pointed somewhere for Woo-Moon.

1. Technically, the titles are princess and monarch, respectively. Please see TL notes for more explanation. ?

2. Note this is something really shameful within the murim. ?

3. The Seal-Holding Eunuch Director is the highest official within the Directorate of the Imperial Regalia. He’s one of the 15 most powerful eunuchs in the imperial government, and there are a lot of eunuchs there. ?

4. Remember that the murim is essentially a parallel state; they do not get involved in matters concerning the country, and the country leaves them alone. The murim handles its own, which is why this distinction is relevant. ?

5. Do check it out if you visit Beijing. It’s the residence of the emperor, and it really is massive. ?