Bachelor Swordsmanship Remastered [EN]: Chapter 192

192. The Owner of the Document

Thud.

The man’s face hardened.

His eyes, which had shown no movement until now, flickered for the first time.

“What are you talking about?”

However, the woman didn’t answer.

She collapsed to the side, a smile still on her lips.

Thump.

The woman’s slender body fell to the ground.

There was no sign of breathing.

She had died instantly.

‘My child?’

The man looked back at the child he had been about to kill.

The child was trembling in fear.

Even with his mother dying before his eyes, the man frowned at the child’s pathetic appearance, disgusted by his inability to act due to fear.

After a long while, the man asked,

“How old are you?”

The child couldn’t even meet his gaze and answered in a trembling voice.

“T-Twelve years old…”

“Huh.”

The man let out a hollow laugh.

It coincided exactly with the time he had left this place.

Moreover, the child’s appearance was strikingly similar to his own when he was young.

Intelligent-looking eyes, a handsome face, and even those terrified eyes.

The child couldn’t tear his eyes away from his mother’s body.

“Will you come with me?”

The child flinched at the man’s question.

He couldn’t answer. It was only natural, since this man had burned down the village and indirectly caused his mother’s death.

But the man had already made up his mind.

“Let’s go.”

Killing and saving were all subject to his will.

Therefore, this child would live and reign over all people.

That’s how the man decided the child’s fate.

Swish.

The man grabbed the child’s collar and lifted him up.

Then, he lightly kicked off the ground.

Whoosh.

The burning village and acrid smoke quickly receded.

Thus, the two left that place, and the child later gained the name Moon King.

“Hmm.”

At the man’s voice, a subordinate immediately prostrated himself before him.

The man, sitting in a long, large chair, lightly waved his hand with his eyes closed.

“No.”

It was a short word, but the subordinate understood his master’s meaning.

Swish.

The subordinate quietly disappeared into the darkness.

Then, another person’s voice echoed softly in the main hall.

“You haven’t slept in a long time, wouldn’t it be better to rest a little more?”

A middle-aged man dressed as a refined scholar spoke.

The man sitting in the chair wore a faint smile.

“Are you worried about me?”

The middle-aged man dressed as a scholar bowed deeply.

“I am only concerned that the Superior may be neglecting his rest.”

“Huhu.”

The man, called the Superior, laughed lightly.

“You seem surprised that I don’t sleep at all.”

Swoosh.

He rose from the darkness.

An immense sense of pressure emanated from him just from that.

“But I am surprised that I can still sleep.”

The middle-aged man dressed as a scholar lowered his head, and the Superior slowly walked towards the window.

“Have you found anything about the owner of the document?”

“No, I have not.”

The Superior fell into thought.

What he saw was clearly a great upheaval, a change in the owners of heaven and earth.

So he was certain that the heavens had chosen him as the new owner.

But there was something that bothered him.

It was a particularly unique passage recorded in the Bicheon Museo [Bicheon Museum, likely a repository of knowledge or artifacts].

[Power soars to the heavens and frolics among the clouds, wisdom descends to the earth and hides among the people.]

Just as there is earth beneath the heavens and yin and yang exist in all things, everything in the world has its corresponding pair.

Therefore, if there is a martial scripture (武書) [a text detailing martial arts techniques and philosophy] that records power, there should also be a document scripture (文書) [a text detailing scholarly knowledge and wisdom] that records wisdom.

Just as he, the owner of the Bicheon Museo, had realized the secrets of heaven through the end of martial arts, what would happen if the owner of the document scripture (文書) groped for the end of wisdom and obtained the power of heaven?

Only then did he realize that the great upheaval was not just about him.

The owner of the document, somewhere.

He had to find him.

Before he groped for the end of wisdom and obtained the power of heaven.

“To dream of that time again.”

The Superior looked up at the dark sky.

Even the stars were not visible in the dark night sky.

“It seems something has happened.”

The Superior said in a low voice.

The one who took in the Dark Heaven Demon Emperor, Bireon, and the Moon King, and the owner of the Bicheon Museo.

He was the one who called himself the Great Superior (一大上人) [a title implying a high level of attainment or mastery].

***

Inside the First Palace Lord’s Hall of the Northern Sea Ice Palace.

Those gathered were greatly agitated.

Bang.

“I absolutely cannot accept it!”

Kutulla shouted, slamming the table.

A veteran warrior who had been through countless battlefields, Kutulla did not hide his anger.

“The Blue Wolf! How can we give that glorious name to an outsider? This is an insult to all the warriors of the Northern Sea!”

“Calm down, Kutulla.”

The heavy voice belonged to the warrior Essen.

Essen, also a prominent warrior, spoke to Kutulla with a stern expression.

“The first Blue Wolf was originally an outsider. There is no law that only the warriors of the Northern Sea must receive that name. No, rather…”

“This is not the time to argue about the origin of the name.”

The warrior Kabul, sitting across from him, cut off Essen’s words with a bitter smile.

“The problem is that the person brought by the Third Palace Lord has obtained the name of the Blue Wolf. Do you not know what will happen if this matter becomes known throughout the Northern Sea?”

At Kabul’s words, Essen groaned.

He couldn’t not know.

Immediately, countless tribal chiefs would flock to the Third Palace Lord’s side.

Because now, she was the closest to the position of the next Ice Emperor.

“Hmph! It doesn’t matter how many weak tribes flock to her side.”

Kutulla said, breathing roughly.

“I, Kutulla, will defeat them all.”

No one regarded his words as mere bluster.

In fact, Kutulla’s martial prowess was among the best in the Northern Sea.

However, the problem was not simple.

“That’s not all.”

The warrior Kabul, who always looked at reality with a cold eye, said.

“He is the successor of the Sword Saint and the new owner of the Setting Sun [likely a powerful weapon or artifact]. Moreover, he has now obtained the title of Blue Wolf. If he takes the Third Palace Lord’s side, who will not waver? Even the elders of our tribe will surely be greatly shaken.”

Fear turns into reverence in an instant.

The successor of the Sword Saint and the owner of the Setting Sun.

He responded to the Ice Queen’s courtesy by expressing his intention to keep the covenant, and he confirmed his trust by saving the Ice Emperor’s life.

Now, who would not pay respect to him, who had obtained the title of the guardian of the Northern Sea, the Blue Wolf?

For the elders and older warriors who clung to the past, the meaning would be even more special.

“Hmm.”

Essen frowned and groaned as he listened.

“I can’t understand why the Ice Emperor made such a choice. What was she thinking…”

“Hmph! She’s probably senile.”

Kutulla sneered.

Essen’s expression hardened instantly.

“Watch your words, Kutulla!”

“You’re the one who needs to be careful, Essen!”

Kutulla shouted angrily.

“Don’t you understand yet? The Ice Emperor has completely turned to the Third Palace Lord. That damn Ice Queen.”

Grit.

Kutulla gritted his teeth.

“She blinded the Ice Emperor’s eyes and ears, and finally sold the name of the Blue Wolf to a greenhorn outsider!”

“Kutulla!”

Bang.

Essen stood up from his seat.

Kutulla also rose to his feet as if he couldn’t back down.

“Stop.”

At the low voice, Essen and Kutulla’s actions stopped.

The owner of the voice was the First Palace Lord.

“Is this the time for us to fight among ourselves?”

The young First Palace Lord’s eyes were cold.

Kutulla and Essen both groaned and sat down.

“Hoo.”

The First Palace Lord sighed softly.

“Lord Essen is right. We must not be disrespectful to the Ice Emperor. And Lord Kutulla’s point is also valid.”

The First Palace Lord said, his eyes gleaming.

“The Blue Wolf is the only being who can receive the Ice Emperor’s respect.”

No one in the Northern Sea can stand above the Ice Emperor.

The only exception is the Blue Wolf.

Only he can give teachings to the Ice Emperor, and therefore, he can receive the Ice Emperor’s respect.

That is the meaning of the name Blue Wolf.

“So the question of whether the Ice Emperor has the authority to give the name of the Blue Wolf still remains.”

The First Palace Lord said, raising his eyes.

“What do you think, Overlord?”

The white-haired giant with white eyebrows and a white beard, Overlord Bayantu, opened his closed eyes.

Despite his old age, he was exuding an overwhelming sense of pressure, and he slowly opened his mouth.

“What happened to the assassin who ambushed the Ice Emperor?”

The young First Palace Lord gave a bitter smile.

He could understand what Overlord Bayantu was worried about.

“Yes. We can’t help but talk about that now.”

The Ice Emperor’s ambush was a very sensitive issue.

It was only natural that suspicion was poured on the First Palace Lord, who had the largest power, and there were even those within the First Palace Lord’s forces who were suspicious.

“The assassin who ambushed the Ice Emperor was the captain of the guard.”

At the First Palace Lord’s words, low groans flowed out from here and there.

It was a shocking story that the captain of the guard, who was supposed to protect the Ice Emperor, was the assassin.

“But the mastermind has not yet been revealed. Perhaps everyone is suspecting me.”

The First Palace Lord gave a bitter smile.

It was a joke-like remark, but no one laughed along.

The motive for ambushing the Ice Emperor, if one were to consider it, existed for all the Palace Lords.

But the person who would benefit the most if the Ice Emperor died was the First Palace Lord.

Because he was the closest to the position of the next Ice Emperor.

“Perhaps the mastermind was aiming for that.”

Essen, who was always cautious, said in a low voice.

“In that situation, the Third Palace Lord would not readily accept the First Palace Lord ascending to the Ice Emperor’s position. The result would probably be close to a civil war. Even if the ambush fails, the result is similar. The civil war will only be weakened to the level of political strife.”

It was certainly a plausible story.

Everyone was nodding their heads.

“Hmph! There’s also the possibility that it’s all the Ice Queen’s scheme.”

“Kutulla, again!”

Essen said reproachfully, but Kutulla did not stop.

“If the ambush was the Ice Queen’s self-inflicted act, then treatment would be easy. Moreover, why does the successor of the Sword Saint appear at a time like this? Does that even make sense?”

At his sharp criticism, unlike his usual self, Essen frowned.

Thinking about it, that was also strange.

The timing of the Sword Saint’s successor appearing in the Northern Sea was too coincidental.

It was as if he had foreseen that the Ice Emperor would be ambushed.

“An even stranger point.”

The First Palace Lord said in a low voice.

“The Ice Palace is not actively trying to reveal the mastermind behind the ambush. No, rather, the atmosphere is clearly one of trying to settle it as is.”

Even the fact that the assassin was the captain of the guard was not properly known.

Despite the unprecedented event of the Ice Emperor’s ambush, the Ice Palace was passive in tracking down the mastermind.

“Are you saying that the Ice Queen orchestrated all of this?”

Overlord Bayantu asked in a heavy voice.

The First Palace Lord shook his head.

“Personally, I don’t think that’s possible. But it is clear that the Third Palace Lord and the Ice Queen have gained the most from this incident.”

The First Palace Lord said with a bitter smile.

“Now, the Third Palace Lord will be the closest to the Ice Emperor’s position.”

That was by no means an exaggeration.

A moment of silence flowed, and Kabul quietly opened his mouth.

“The important thing is not the mastermind behind the ambush.”

Kabul, who was always realistic, said, looking at Kutulla, Essen, and Overlord Bayantu.

“If we don’t curb the Third Palace Lord’s momentum here, we will greatly regret it in the future.”

Everyone agreed with Kabul’s words.

“But how?”

Essen asked Kabul.

“How can we curb the Third Palace Lord’s momentum? The Third Palace Lord saved the Ice Emperor’s life. And now she even has the Blue Wolf on her back…”

“That Blue Wolf.”

Bayantu’s heavy voice echoed around.

“I will test him.”