Reincarnated Sword Ghost-Chapter 38 : The Divine Physician's Tomb

The Divine Physician's Tomb
No one had the chance to speak.
As if they had agreed beforehand, everyone simultaneously leaped forward and dashed ahead.
A voice, resonating through the hills with profound internal energy, echoed out loudly.
Surely, everyone on Nokmun Mountain was rushing toward the source of that sound.
"Get out of the way—you're in the way!"
"You move aside!"
From afar, shouts of martial artists clashing and swordfighting could be heard as they yelled at each other.
But by now, such commotions had become mere trifles. The situation was different than just a while ago.
By now, the place where the noise had erupted might as well have become a living hell.
Moreover, all of the Heavenly Martial Hall's warriors would be heading in that direction, so going there first took priority.
Saaahhh—
The mountain's uniquely clear, crisp air brushed past Jeong-un's ears as a breeze.
Jeong-un was sprinting at the very front.
His true ki surged through his body, propelled by the essence of Moonlight Swift Steps.
His movements seemed as though he were walking on wind itself.
There was no doubt that all the effort he had put into training the body-strengthening art had borne results.
Even so, Jeong-un grit his teeth.
'... Again.'
Once again, someone was intentionally herding all the martial artists into one place.
From the entire Central Plains to Yangyang, and then to Nokmun Mountain, and now, here—
All while taking their time, drawing it out quite deliberately.
They were purposely summoning greedy warriors of the martial world like moths to a flame.
'For what reason, why?'
He still couldn't discern their motive.
One thing was certain: despite knowing how suspicious this was, he had no choice but to go.
'It was around here...'
As he neared the spot where the noise had arisen, Jeong-un slowed down a bit.
The thickly packed old trees, which had made it difficult to pick up speed, now began to space out gradually.
His vision, previously blocked by dense undergrowth, started to open up little by little.
And gradually, the sounds reaching his ears grew more varied.
'Voices... and...'
Water.
Although faint due to distance, it was clearly the sound of a violent current crashing against something.
Jeong-un shot forward in that direction.
He didn't even wait for the presence of the companions following behind.
"...!"
Suddenly, a wide, open clearing, rare for any mountain, spread out before his eyes.
At the end of that clearing, there was a cliff high enough to look straight into the sky.
It was as if the grassy land had been abruptly cut in half, its edge meeting the cloudless blue sky.
The sound of water seemed to be coming from a deep valley that flowed below the cliff.
And at the very edge, there really was a mound.
The mysterious scene was so otherworldly, anyone who saw it might suspect it was the grave of an immortal.
If it were not for the hundreds of martial artists packed like ants.
"Move!"
"Who are you to bar our path!?"
And standing before the mound, a group of warriors drew their swords, standing guard.
All clad in pitch-black martial uniforms—Heavenly Martial Hall warriors.
Tak!
Jeong-un vaulted over dozens of heads in one leap. Now, even the towering ancient trees were gone.
As he neared the ground, he stepped on someone's shoulder and soared up again.
Tap!
"Wh-what the!?"
The man hurriedly steadied himself as he felt a foot on his shoulder and looked up.
He barely kept from falling over.
Jeong-un nodded lightly at him.
"Excuse me."
"You lunatic!"
The man's curses quickly faded as Jeong-un left him behind.
The mound, which seemed small, came into view in an instant.
"Someone else is coming!"
"T-That's—!"
Those who had been crossing swords stopped and looked up with alarm.
Some, already sensing Jeong-un's approach with martial perception, closed their mouths and turned towards him—among them, the Blue Scale Corps leader, Yeom Baek, and a woman beside him.
"Yu Jeong-un."
Meeting Yeom Baek's somewhat surprised gaze, Jeong-un nodded slightly.
Given the circumstance, he omitted the customary greeting.
Next to him was the woman, her eyes alive with curiosity. Her age was hard to tell, but her beauty was dazzling.
But what caught Jeong-un's attention was her dark blue uniform.
'The same clothes as the corps leader.'
That meant the woman before him was also a corps leader, like Yeom Baek.
Jeong-un nodded lightly to her too. The woman responded with a bright smile.
"I am Yu Jeong-un of the Blue Scale Corps."
"So you're the one—Annihilating One-Slash."
"..."
"With such a fearsome nickname, I thought you'd look as rough as your corps leader, yet you're quite handsome."
"Lotus Blossom Divine Sword 蓮花神劍. No idle chatter during a mission."
Though Yeom Baek spoke sternly, the woman continued on, unconcerned.
"The rumors are true. It's incredible you're not from the old sects or Five Noble Houses. If you manage to survive another five years, want to serve under me?"
"Stop spouting nonsense and keep your eyes ahead."
Yeom Baek was right.
Jeong-un's sudden arrival had only briefly stopped the commotion.
Now, they stood before the mound, surrounded by hundreds of martial artists.
And there were only about a hundred or so Heavenly Martial Hall warriors left.
Most of them were one- or two-striped warriors.
Heavenly Martial Hall's warriors were considered superior to most martial artists in the world.
But such things meant little in the face of overwhelming numbers.
Even with deep internal energy reserves, stories of master swordsmen perishing to a stray blade in the chaos were common.
"Would've been nice if the more higher-rank kids were here."
"No choice. Most three-striped and above are out on solo missions."
Yeom Baek answered bluntly to the Lotus Blossom Divine Sword's comment.
He was right.
The Central Plains was vast as the sea, and martial artists everywhere acted by the rule of strength.
Even though the Murim Alliance had established the Heavenly Martial Hall and dispatched warriors everywhere, there were many places beyond their reach.
So those with greater martial might had to take on solo missions.
Jeong-un, after silently listening, asked,
"Corps leader, what should we do?"
"I've sent an urgent message, so backup will come soon. Just hold out until then."
Upon hearing this, Jeong-un placed his hand on the sword guard at his hip.
It was the sword he had received when leaving the Yu household.
Now, it fit his grip perfectly.
Srrrk—
He smoothly drew his blade and took his place before the mound.
Standing there, he noticed the corners of Yeom Baek's lips lifting almost imperceptibly.
It was funny—and somehow reassuring—that a newly inducted one-striped warrior would stand by his side.
"Move aside!"
"Who gave you the right to block us!?"
"You'll verify the tomb's authenticity before making a public announcement? Ridiculous!"
The uproar, paused at Jeong-un's arrival, erupted once more.
They now formed a semi-circular formation before the mound, hopelessly outnumbered by the crowd gathered around them.
The opponents were brimming with murderous intent.
All of them were seasoned enough to wield blades as second nature.
'And...'
Jeong-un's gaze swept to the periphery of the crowd.
In the distance, various groups of martial artists stood back and watched.
More than the furious warriors poised to charge, these onlookers bothered Jeong-un.
They all radiated considerable strength.
'They're all from the Righteous Faction.'
Even those unfamiliar with the martial world could tell they weren't members of the Evil Faction or Dark Path.
It was as if they had agreed to wear luxurious silk uniforms in an array of dazzling colors.
While they weren't from the old sects or Five Noble Houses, they still seemed well-established members of recognized sects.
Of course, there were some from the old sects and Five Noble Houses mixed in too.
Indeed, Jeong-un also spotted Peng Mu-gyeol, whom he'd exchanged greetings with earlier.
"..."
Meeting Jeong-un's eyes, Peng Mu-gyeol smirked as if this situation was inevitable.
"They're just lurking back there, waiting for the right moment to swoop in and snatch everything."
Baek Il-gang's voice came from beside him.
Arriving late, he had assessed the situation and joined Jeong-un at his side.
"Surely you're not expecting those guys to help us?"
"Of course not."
Jeong-un dismissed Baek Il-gang's sarcastic remark calmly.
'Right now, they're just one of the many martial sects here.'
Their only reason for coming was to secure the Immortal Spirit Pill—none of them had any intention of helping the Heavenly Martial Hall.
Even if their own disciples or sworn brothers were here, it would be the same.
Formally, Heavenly Martial Hall members had to sever ties with their original sects.
In circumstances like this, the sects had no need to concern themselves with those sent to the Heavenly Martial Hall.
"It's laughable for you to pretend you're officials!"
"Just admit that you're as greedy and black-hearted as the rest of us!"
"If you dig up the tomb and find the cultivation pill, who's going to claim it!?"
The martial artists crept forward, little by little.
By now, a single step would bring them nose-to-nose with the defenders.
Jeong-un could see the greed shimmering in their eyes.
At that, Yeom Baek roared,
"How do you even know if this tomb is really that Divine Physician's, huh!? Why are you all acting like this!?"
Silence fell for a moment so absolute that some of the men in front fell backward in shock.
It was a roar carrying powerful internal energy—almost to the level of sound-based martial arts.
And yet those standing beside him, the Heavenly Martial Hall warriors, were unfazed.
At this level, one might almost call it sonic mastery.
'A corps leader of the Heavenly Martial Hall is said to stand among the Hundred Masters of the martial world.'
How much strength does it take to be counted among the hundred strongest in the vast sea of martial artists?
Perhaps today he would catch a glimpse of such power.
Jeong-un's heart quickened in spite of himself.
"... There are more and more of them."
Jo Gwang's trembling voice could be heard behind.
He was right.
The number of martial artists, already in the hundreds, now approached nearly a thousand.
Although more Heavenly Martial Hall warriors continued to arrive, their numbers were still far from enough.
"If it's come to this, maybe we should just let them dig up the mound?"
"And if something really comes out?"
"Do you really think that's possible?"
"If—just if—it does, a bloodbath will erupt here."
"Then how are we supposed to stop it?"
Two Heavenly Martial Hall warriors behind them exchanged anxious words.
Though they were trying to ease the tension with light banter, the subject struck close to the core.
'If—just if...'
All this chaos was due to that tiny possibility.
In truth, everyone here probably thought it extremely unlikely that this unassuming mound could be the grave of the strongest under heaven.
And the odds that the world's top cultivation pill was buried within?
Even slimmer.
But what if this was really the grave of the Divine Physician?
And what if the Immortal Spirit Pill was actually buried here?
That slim chance clung to them, making them tense and impatient.
And their determination to block the others made it seem all the more plausible.
'Wait.'
At last, Jeong-un considered a hypothesis.
What if this really was the Divine Physician's tomb?
And someone had deliberately revealed the location?
What if all these martial artists had been lured here on purpose?
'Why...?'
Without realizing, Jeong-un turned sharply to look back.
Through the crowd, he spotted the small tombstone before the mound.
― King of Martial Arts 武林之王.
It was inscribed with the very phrase he had heard in rumors.
So it wasn't just an unfounded story.
'Why are they gathering all these people?'
If the tomb was real, why not simply monopolize it alone?
Yet someone kept drawing martial artists here, en masse.
Something about the whole situation simply didn't add up.
Jeong-un glanced forward once more.
By now, the number of sword-wielding warriors must have exceeded a thousand.
"... Wait."
At that moment,
A rumbling sound, as if something was boiling up from deep underground, reached everyone's ears.
"What is that noise?"
"My feet are tingling for some reason..."
Then an explosion erupted.
KWAAANG—!
Simultaneously, the ground shook violently.
Rocks and clouds of earth burst high into the air.
"Wh-what is this?"
"This is crazy!"
No one had time to grab onto anything.
The whole canyon was shaking and rupturing as if struck by an earthquake.
Kugugugugu!
And in an instant, the ground collapsed beneath them.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
It's a trap!
【¯\(ºдಠ)/¯】