Chapter 1: Preface. Just a passing Gosui

“Who do you think is the number one martial artist in the world?”

Above the Yangtze River.

Amidst the deep darkness over the water, a woman rowing a boat broke the silence.

“This is the martial world. Everyone is curious about the number one. Young man, who do you think is the number one martial artist?”
“The number one martial artist…”

The fair-skinned young man in neat clothes wore a difficult smile.

His handsome face was refreshing, making him look like a young man who would have broken many hearts.

“If we’re talking about the number one martial artist, wouldn’t it be the Sect Leader of the Martial Alliance and the Heavenly Demon of the Heavenly Demon Cult?”

Sect Leader of the Martial Alliance.
Heavenly Demon.

They are the heads of the righteous and the heretical factions – and the Heavenly Demon is the leader of the most powerful faction among the heretics.

“The representatives of the righteous, including the Nine Great Clans, the Sect Leader of the Martial Alliance! And the strongest master of the Demonic Cult, the Heavenly Demon, leading the Ten Demons! If the two fight, who do you think would win?”
“Wouldn’t the stronger one win?”
“So, who do you think is stronger?”
“Hmm…”

The young man couldn’t answer easily.

“I’ve met someone who is strong separately, but I haven’t met the Sect Leader or the Heavenly Demon, so it’s hard to judge.”
“Hmm? Someone strong separately?”
“Yes. The Sect Leader of the Kunlun Sect.”
“Oh, you’re from Kunlun? You don’t look like a Taoist.”
“I’m not a Taoist. I’m just wandering around the world, and I happened to meet the Sect Leader of the Kunlun Sect.”

The young man reacted somewhat sensitively to the word ‘Kunlun’.

As he was a passenger who had boarded the boat after several days, the woman gave up the idea of having a conversation with the young man about Kunlun.

“I see… But, is the rumor true?”

She shouldn’t ask, but as someone who made a living with her mouth, she couldn’t quite suppress her curiosity.

“What rumor are you talking about?”
“That the ‘real Sect Leader’ of Kunlun, even if not the number one swordsman, is the most beautiful woman in the world.”
“Hmm…”

Beautiful woman.

The publicly known Sect Leader of the Kunlun Sect is a man.

But according to rumors, there is a true Sect Leader in the Kunlun Sect, a woman who has lived until now and is like the Taesa of all disciples.

“There is a woman who was alive when the Taesa of the first generation of disciples was alive. Only the Sect Leaders know about her.”
“It’s not even some secret technique of the Kunlun Sect…”
“You said it. It’s not like she doesn’t exist, she really does? That kind of woman.”

She is often called ‘Taesa’ within the Kunlun Sect, and her identity is known only to the Sect Leader of the Kunlun Sect.

“Even information groups like the Beggar’s Sect and the Haomun can’t figure out the Taesa of the Kunlun Sect. I want to meet the Taesa of the Kunlun Sect before I die. They say she’s so beautiful.”
“Hmm…”

The young man turned his head towards the Yangtze River and closed his mouth.

It’s best not to talk about a topic that makes the passenger uncomfortable.

Having been unable to resist her curiosity, she only ended up with an awkward silence until the destination.

But being a boatman is a job where you can’t stand to keep your mouth shut for even a little while.

The Yangtze River is too long to just row the oars quietly.

“Young man, do you know about the Nine Dragons and the Six Phoenixes?”
“Nine Dragons and Six Phoenixes?”

The young man’s voice rose slightly.

Of course.

There’s no martial artist in their twenties who isn’t interested in the Nine Dragons and the Six Phoenixes.

Men can’t live without the Six Phoenixes.

That’s the truth she learned while being a boatman as a woman.

“That’s right. You probably know about the Nine Dragons, and we can’t not talk about the Six Phoenixes.”

Especially if it’s about ‘women,’ which men love.

“Who is the most beautiful martial artist among the up-and-coming talents in the world! Some say it’s the Martial Alliance Sect Leader’s daughter, Geomhwa (Sword Flower), some say it’s the Namgung Family’s Geomrin (Sword Lin), and some say it’s the Mount Hua Sect’s Jacheongbi (Purple Clear Fly).”
“It’s different from what I know.”

As expected.

She knew that men all loved the Six Phoenixes.

The boatman, looking at the young man who was more focused on the conversation than before, rowed the oars even harder.

“Hehe, that’s what they say in the world. Well, unless the owner of the Six Phoenixes changed recently after a fight, as far as I know, these six people are considered the Six Phoenixes.”

Thump.

Lightly flicking the Yangtze River water, the boatman opened his mouth as if singing.

“Who are the six most beautiful phoenixes in the martial world!

The Martial Alliance Sect Leader’s precious daughter, ‘Geomhwa (Sword Flower),’ is the first.
The next family head of the Moryong Family, ‘Baekdojeop (White Knife Butterfly),’ is the second.
The Mount Hua Sect’s plum blossom swordsman, ‘Jacheongbi (Purple Clear Fly),’ is the third.
The successor of the Sword Pavilion and the Sword Empress’s disciple, ‘Geomhee (Sword Princess),’ is the fourth.
The Emei Sect’s ‘Seosi (Xishi)’ is the fifth,

And the last is…”

The boatman was about to say the last one but then stopped.

“The last one?”
“…Namgung Family’s Geomrin was there.”
“Geomrin was there? Not anymore?”
“Well, it got ambiguous.”
“Ambiguous?”

The young man’s voice was filled with wonder.

“It’s not some other place, isn’t Geomrin the daughter of the Namgung Family, one of the five great families? Does ‘ambiguous’ mean she lost her qualification as one of the Six Phoenixes?”
“She ran away.”
“…Ran away?”
“That’s right. The reason is, in the eyes of the martial artists, she is not suitable for the position of the Six Phoenixes, they say.”

The boatman twisted the corners of his mouth.

“Well, it seems she ran away to find her beloved man!”
“Uh, um…”

The young man’s expression became serious.

“Is that true?”
“That’s right. It’s so famous that no one in the Anhui Province doesn’t know. Even the Namgung Family still hasn’t found her, so they haven’t issued a gag order for boatmen like us, and they’re looking for their precious daughter, aren’t they?”
“Running away…”

The young man swallowed hard and looked disgusted.

A precious daughter running away to find a man she loves.

It’s a great disgrace to the family, but how much did she fall for the man that it happened in the Namgung Family, of all places?

“Some say that the Namgung Young Lady has already found her man and is living separately. Hehe, maybe in a year or so, a baby will be born.”
“That won’t happen.”
“Huh?”
“…It won’t. Probably.”

The young man was sweating.

The Yangtze River at midnight was quite cold due to the cool wind, so he had to wear several layers of clothing, but the young man was sweating profusely and looking embarrassed.

“Hmm…”

The boatman looked the young man up and down.

Even looking again, he was handsome.

Well-developed muscles, looking like a proper adult, but a naive and pure look was glimpsed.

A typical appearance that women would like.

“Ahem. By the way, what brings you to Anhui Province?”
“I’m just… meeting someone.”
“Ugh…”

But he’d been looking quite uncomfortable for a while, fiddling with his clothes.

Why was he sweating like this?

Something, as if something was about to happen…

Thump, thump.

“!!”

The boatman was startled by the sound coming from afar.

“No, why at this hour…?!”

Swoosh.

Cutting through the water, a huge shadow appeared from the mist.

A warship, which seemed like it could accommodate hundreds of people, dwarfing the boat the boatman was rowing, appeared on the Yangtze River.

“Hey! By whose permission are you passing here?!”
“Hahaha! You’ll pay the toll to our Jomangchae, won’t you?!”
“Ah, no…! I definitely paid the toll at the port…!!”
“That was to the Dongjeong Soolip Palchae! We are Jomangchae! We are different from the Dongjeong Soolip Palchae!”
“Ugh, ugh…”

The boatman despaired.

Looking at the wicked bandits who looked like they’d been in a knife fight, licking their blades, he had no means of dealing with them, as a normal civilian, not a martial artist.

“Oh, please save me…!!”
“Bandits in this place.”

The young man’s voice from behind was so calm.

“It’s a good thing.”

Sarak.

The boat, slightly lifted.

The weight of one person disappeared, and the boatman looked up blankly.

Sarak, sarak, sarak.

Along with the warm wind, the young man stepped into the air and jumped onto the deck.

“Air Step…?”

The martial art that only the top masters in the martial world could use.

He was surprised that a young man who seemed much younger than himself had used it, and he was twice as surprised that he had gone up to the boat with light steps, as if walking on clouds.

And.

“Hey, you! Our Jomangchae, Kaaah!”

Puk, puk, puk.

Something was breaking, crumbling, and being destroyed on the boat.

Whether it was a person folding, the boat crumbling, or both, the boatman was pressed close to his boat, unable to tell the dull sounds.

“Ugh, ugh…!”
“It’s over.”

Taat.

The young man landed on the boat with the same light steps as when he left.

There was no sign of injury at all, and his white martial arts uniform was no different from when he jumped onto the boat.

“Wh-what…?”
“My master said. Rule the Green Forest bandits, who try to take other people’s lives and wealth, with your fists.”

The young man brushed his hands lightly.

“Don’t take lives, but make them unable to think about banditry again, unable to do banditry, he said.”

Bbak.

Along with the sound of something breaking, the huge warship slowly began to sink into the Yangtze River.

“Th-this, this…?”
“You’d better row quickly. The boat will sink soon and…”

The young man’s voice and tone changed in an instant.

“Those who are sinking in the boat will try to get on here.”
“…!!”

If he was a polite, handsome young man just a moment ago, now he felt the dignity of a master who was proud of his strong skills.

Splash, splash, splash.

One by one, people began to sink.

It took less than a quarter of an hour for the bandits who introduced themselves as Jomangchae to grab the broken planks of the boat and gasp.

“Wh-who are you…?”
“Why? You were treating me comfortably until a moment ago.”
“Ah, no…”

The boatman’s spine turned cold.

“If I’d known you were a master…”
“Whether you knew it or not, the relationship between you and me doesn’t change. I’m a guest, and you’re the owner of this boat.”
“…….”

The boatman swallowed hard.

He quickly rowed to the point where the bandits couldn’t get on, then took a martial artist’s bow and bowed his waist.

“This Jang has received a great favor.”
“A favor? I’m the one who caused this by asking to ride the boat at this late hour.”
“Ah…”

The boatman’s heart was strangely moved.

How long had it been since he met a master with such a good character?

“May I ask your alias?”
“Alias? It’s nothing grand…”

The young man took out one piece of silver with the boat fare and placed it on the boat, then stood on the surface of the water.

“My acquaintances call me ‘Seonryong (Immortal Dragon).'”

Saaah.

The young man disappeared.

“…Seonryong?”

The boatman’s face quickly turned pale.

“The beastly bstrd who makes countless women cry and leaves them wherever he goes…”

Swoosh.

Late at night.

The boatman’s curses were only scattered into the air at the sound of the Yangtze River flowing endlessly eastward.

Seonryong (Immortal Dragon).

A member of the Nine Dragons and the public enemy of all martial artists.

• Be careful of Seonryong. Only two things disappear where he goes.

• Virgins and devoted wives.

• If Seonryong comes, hide your daughter first. Do you understand? You must never let your unmarried daughter face Seonryong.

According to rumors, women’s blood and tears flow wherever he goes.