Call Of The Spear [EN]: Chapter 301

Nangseon’s Adventures – Part 2, Episode 10

“The Cheon Clan. Kheu- Just the sound of it is pleasing, isn’t it?”

Lord Hwang savored a mouthful of Dragon Horse Wine, exclaiming in admiration.

“I’m curious. Although the Sangseo [a region or territory] is said to be nominal, there is the Sa Clan.”

How could they create a Cheon Clan named after Cheonbeom’s surname?

At his question, Lord Hwang stroked the Dragon Horse Wine with a satisfied expression.

“Dragon Horse Wine is made by gathering all sorts of precious ingredients and boiling them with Seon’s energy for 100 years. Then, the temperature is slowly reduced, and it’s cooled again for another 100 years. After that, it’s made with ingredients that only grow in Dragon Horse Valley… I can’t tell you more than that, but it’s a Seon Wine [wine imbued with spiritual energy] cherished and made over a millennium. It’s very popular because of its unique sweet taste. The tingling sensation in the throat is a delicacy among delicacies.”

That wasn’t wrong.

Cheonbeom also tasted the Dragon Horse Wine for the first time and certainly considered it a true Seon Wine.

That’s how excellent the Dragon Horse Wine was in taste and aroma.

But what he was curious about wasn’t the manufacturing method or its popularity.

“Hahaha, you’re glaring at me as if to tell me to speak quickly, so I must hurry,” Lord Hwang laughed pleasantly, then abruptly stopped and tossed a small jade orb into the air from his chest.

The greenish jade orb soon made a popping sound, and a Seon Bug popped out from within.

It was a Seon Bug he knew.

“A Bu Bug?”

A Seon Bug that looked like an overturned cauldron. It was the Seon Bug that had attacked the So-Seon procession before coming to Dragon Horse Valley.

“The High Immortal knows it well.”

The Bu Bug that popped out of the jade orb spun around in the air, twitching its antennae as if searching for something.

He wondered what he was thinking, taking out the Bu Bug, so he stayed still.

There must be a reason for taking it out, so he decided to wait a moment.

And then it happened.

The Bu Bug moved its antennae and then stopped at some point. The Bu Bug’s antennae and mandibles moved, and its eyes shone.

Then, suddenly, it charged at Beom!

“Hmm?”

Even with the Bu Bug’s sudden action, Lord Hwang just held his glass and watched with interest, as if he didn’t care what happened.

Thud!

“What are you doing?”

Cheonbeom put down his glass.

Already, a golden protective barrier surrounded him.

The Bu Bug, which collided with the protective barrier, burst into flames and disappeared as soon as it touched it.

“The High Immortal’s martial arts are indeed outstanding, but his Seon techniques are also extraordinary. To burn a Bu Bug to death with a lightly made fire without even touching it. This Hwangkon is once again impressed. Hahaha!!”

“You know that what I want to hear isn’t such flattery.”

Then Lord Hwang laughed heartily and shook his head.

“Hahaha! I’m sorry. I thought it would be easier to understand by seeing it once rather than hearing a thousand words, so please understand generously.”

“What were you trying to show me just now?”

“Did the High Immortal see it? Did you see why the Bu Bug suddenly rushed fiercely at High Immortal Cheon?”

“The reason it charged?”

“Just now, that Bu Bug got excited and rushed at Cheon High Immortal as soon as it saw him. Don’t you know why?”

He thought it was just a random occurrence, but seeing Lord Hwang speak, it didn’t seem to be the case. If so, there must have been a reason for the bug to rush at him.

Beom pondered for a moment and looked at his glass.

“Could it be….”

“Hahaha! That’s right! Strangely, the Seon Bugs get excited and rush at us whenever they see the Dragon Horse Wine from Dragon Horse Valley!!”

Cheonbeom’s hardened face relaxed.

Come to think of it, Tamhwa also ran to eat the Dragon Horse Wine as soon as he saw it.

He wondered why, but….

“There was such a reason. Can you tell me why that is?”

“Before that, if you swear on the Simma [a sacred oath] that you will not divulge this story, I will gladly tell you.”

A Simma oath!

Cheonbeom looked at Lord Hwang’s strange face and his suspicion increased. But soon, after thinking about it carefully, he decided to do so.

“It’s because of a medicinal herb called Mochwihang, which is one of the ingredients in Dragon Horse Wine. It is said that Bu Bugs easily get excited and even aroused when they smell that scent. At first, it was a huge headache. Every time we made alcohol, the Bu Bugs kept attacking and emptying the alcohol. Only then did I understand why the ancestors made Dragon Horse Wine so secretly.”

At first, it was a coincidence.

And the coincidence would have led to curiosity.

If there is Mochwihang, you can use the Bu Bugs, which are nothing more than a nuisance, so if you try to use them, there are endless uses.

‘The frequent attacks of Seon Bugs in Sangseo are all….’

It was Hwang Gaju’s scheme.

“With this alone, it is not difficult to take away the collapsing Sangseo. Although it is barren land, if I, Hwangkon, help, it will not be difficult for the High Immortal to establish a new family.”

Even after telling a ridiculous secret, Lord Hwang proudly boasted as if showing off his prowess.

Cheonbeom, who had been listening to Hwangkon’s detailed story about the fall of the Sa Clan using Bu Bugs for a long time, asked curiously.

“But why are you telling me such a story? What if I spread this story to the Sa Clan or the So-Seons of Dragon Horse Valley?”

“Hahaha!! That can’t be! You’re not foolish enough to go to the collapsing Sa Clan. Besides… soon that Sangseo will be the High Immortal’s, so as a man, you can’t refuse.”

It was a natural attitude.

After all, even if an unrelated Sangseon knew such a secret, no one would want to step forward and resolve the affairs of the two families.

Whether it was the Hwang Clan or the Sa Clan, both were unrelated families to the Sangseon who had just ascended.

Besides, the Sa Clan was a collapsing family.

There was no reason to help them.

“Then what can I do for you? After hearing the story, isn’t it because you want something from me that you’re making this offer?”

Lord Hwang clapped his knee as if saying, “Exactly!” and replied.

“Please go to the Sangseon Martial Arts Competition in our family’s name!”

“Sangseon Martial Arts Competition?”

“You must know Tongcheonsugung [a governing body in the Water Realm].”

He knew.

Over the past month, Beom had learned about various families surrounding the Water Realm and a group called Tongcheonsugung, which represented the Water Realm.

“Tongcheonsugung gathers Sangseons [ascended immortals] at appropriate times to hold a martial arts competition. Didn’t the High Immortal have a sparring match with me before with the Janjanjeongdo? There, they hold sparring matches with genuine articles, not imitations.”

“If you do?”

“The winner of the martial arts competition gains immense honor and dignity. Tongcheonsugung also treats you as an excellent martial artist, so the treatment is amazing!”

Even if you don’t win, just going to the finals is a guaranteed success.

Talent is precious everywhere, and Tongcheonsugung is looking for strong Seons.

This is because Tongcheonsugung must protect the Water Realm from other foreign invasions and rule it peacefully.

‘And the family that produces talent….’

They are mentioned in the mouths of the major families of Tongcheonsugung and receive reasonable compensation.

Their position rises at once.

‘It’s like receiving a government post.’

Tongcheonsugung is like a country representing the Water Realm.

The Sangseon Martial Arts Competition is a system for identifying and employing talent among Sangseons.

‘There are hundreds and thousands of families in the Water Realm, and it takes 300 years to fly from Sangseo at the southern end to Hangwa at the northern end, so the number of Sangseons in the Water Realm….’

It must be an enormous number.

It’s an interesting fact.

If Cheonbeom colludes with Hwang Gaju as he says and wins the Sangseon Martial Arts Competition, it’s like walking on a smooth road.

‘Of course, I’m not interested.’

He refuses to do anything that stands out unnecessarily.

Even in the Water Realm, there are enemies.

If he catches the eye of the Sea Dragon, he cannot guarantee his life.

It was better to quietly focus on training until he gained adequate strength.

“How is it? I was convinced of High Immortal Cheon’s martial prowess that day!”

Hwang Gaju had an inexplicable conviction in his eyes. He couldn’t hide his excitement as if he already had a big dream.

“Then Sangseo….”

“Sangseo is always in my grasp. I’m leaving it alone because there’s no place to use it even if I get it now….”

It was a sinister face as if he could get it if he wanted to.

Beom pondered for a moment and nodded as if he had made a decision.

“Let’s do that.”

“Oh! Really?”

“Isn’t it a good story for each other? There’s no reason to refuse at all.”

“Hahaha!! I knew you would! A man should always look far ahead. Yes! I guess my eyes haven’t blurred yet, hahaha!!”

“There is one condition.”

“What is it?”

“Isn’t Sangseo now my land?”

“Hahaha! That’s right! Soon the Cheon Clan will be established!”

“Then the place where you are now….”

“You don’t have to worry about it, High Immortal Cheon. I’ll take care of everything.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Yes?”

“Please let me do it. I have to take a look around Sangseo anyway, and I’ll clean it up on the way. There are things I need to settle with So Seon Sa too.”

“Ah, I see. It would be cleaner to do that. I’ll tell them to prepare.”

That night.

Hwang Gaju and Cheonbeom drank with women until the morning sun rose.

After swearing on Simma that they would not divulge their secrets, the next thing was a matter of course.

Cheonbeom, who had finished drinking only after the sun rose, staggered towards Yongchaebong.

Shortly after.

Several figures appeared at the drinking table where Beom had disappeared and sat down.

“Did the story end well?”

“Hahaha, who do you think I am? I’m Hwangkon, who raised the Hwang Clan! It’s not a bad story for High Immortal Cheon, so there’s no reason to refuse.”

They were elders who belonged to the Hwang Clan.

“Can we trust him?”

“He swore on Simma. He won’t be able to divulge it anywhere.”

“Hmm… I’m still a little uneasy.”

“He’s an ascended Seon with no ties and only a month since he arrived in the Water Realm. He said he would give the family to someone who couldn’t have any connections. Is there any reason to refuse?”

There is none. There can’t be.

Ascended Seons have no ties, so they join families.

But he said he would establish his own family and help him, so there is no reason to refuse, let alone justification.

“Things will flow smoothly.”

Swish, swish.

Behind the elders who had hidden their appearance, the Hwang grandson approached Hwang Gaju.

“I’m going to entrust you with it one more time. Assist Cheon High Immortal and take Sangseo into your hands. If you succeed in this, your father will get you Wongyeoldan [a powerful elixir].”

“Really!?”

“You are also my child. Why don’t I know that there is no fourth child for So Seon? If this goes well, you will become a Sangseon, illuminate the family, and cultivate yourself to advance as a great man!”

“This Hwang grandson! I will successfully complete this task no matter what!!”

The Hwang grandson, who was laughing happily, asked carefully as if he had suddenly remembered.

“But… are you really giving Sangseo to High Immortal Cheon?”

It was pure curiosity.

His father, as he knew him, didn’t do things that would lose him money.

“It’s not bad. It’s a land with nothing… but something big might happen in the future. If High Immortal Cheon works hard to raise it, then what….”

The Hwang father and son twisted their lips.

* * *

Meanwhile.

Cheonbeom, who had been staggering precariously, stood up straight as soon as he entered the eastern part and sharpened his eyes.

In his hand was a transparent vial. It was the undiluted solution of Mochwihang, one of the ingredients of Dragon Horse Wine.

He said that with this alone, he could gather Bu Bugs and ruin Sangseo.