Chapter 191: Dragon-Phoenix Assembly

Clack! The sharp sound of wooden swords colliding echoed, followed by one sword snapping in half, spinning through the air.

Namgung Shinjae stared blankly at the broken half of his wooden sword before tossing it aside with a thwack.

That made five wooden practice swords.

Qing scratched her head, feeling a bit awkward.

"Are these wooden swords a bit weak?"

"They're carved from ebony wood..." Namgung Shinjae sighed. "Hmph. This is going to be troublesome. Sword Brother, relying solely on strength won't improve your sword skill."

"What can I do if I'm strong?" Qing countered. "Should I just draw a steel sword meant for sparring?"

"I'm intentionally using a wooden sword," Namgung Shinjae explained. "Isn't it because humans are weak that we use tools? Of course, in a duel to the death, I would have lost instantly, but this isn't a spar just to determine victory or defeat."

Namgung Shinjae could be called the Lu Bu of sword duels. In a pure spar using only the sword, discarding hand and foot techniques, he had no equal due to his exceptional understanding of the blade. According to the Sword King's assessment, if he just developed the flexibility to incorporate some hand and footwork, he could immediately reach the Transcendent Realm.

Martial arts were techniques utilizing the whole body; swordsmanship, dealing only with the sword, was merely a small part of it. This wasn't a father boasting about his son; it was the utterly cold evaluation of the Sword King, one of the Ten Great Masters under Heaven. However, Namgung Shinjae stubbornly clung only to the sword, struggling along, making him the prime culprit behind the ever-increasing wrinkles on the Sword King's face.

"Anyway, Miss Gongson," Namgung Shinjae turned to her, "your sword skill is truly sharp as well. You mentioned the Emperor Xuanyuan's Sword? It is indeed a technique worthy of an emperor's blade."

"You praise me too highly," Gongson Yoye replied modestly. "I also gained much enlightenment facing the young master's sword. Truly, excellent sword skill befitting the reputation of the Greatest Sword Clan Under Heaven… Actually, is 'sword skill' an actual term?"

"What meaning does it have if it was an existing term?" Namgung Shinjae declared. "Since it's a word swordsmen can readily understand, it's simply sword language—the language of swordsmen."

Qing chuckled, throwing out a joke.

"Why stop there? If you eat, call it a 'sword meal.' If you rest, 'sword rest,' and if you sleep, 'sword sleep'."

"Hmm?" Namgung Shinjae pondered. "One doesn't eat a sword, so 'sword meal' is out, and swords don't sleep, so 'sword sleep' seems a bit forced. Hmm. 'Sword rest.' Resting during a spar could be called a sword rest. Sword Brother, do you have any more?"

"Hmm," Qing mused. "Choryeo calls her husband 'Half-Sword' and refers to herself as his 'Half-Sword companion'—so, a 'Dao companion'?" [^(Peng Choryeo's husband is likely known for the Half-Sword technique (반검술 Bangeomsul), hence the playful monikers.)]

"'Sword companion'!" Namgung Shinjae exclaimed. "Urgh, using 'sword companion' now would seem like plagiarism. It pains me, but I must concede victory to Elder Sister Peng! Besides, as the one who will inherit the clan, I cannot abandon my duties."

"What, you actually plan on getting married?" Qing asked, surprised.

"Truthfully, no," Namgung Shinjae admitted. "I wish I could dedicate my entire life to the sword, but as the eldest son of the Namgung, I must continue the family line. I plan to start looking for marriage proposals after I suitably reach about the Unrestrained Realm."

"Hey," Qing pointed out, "there's one person here in the Late Stage Peak Realm, and another who's surpassed the Peak Realm, you know?" [^(Referring to Gongson Yoye (Late Peak) and Qing (Beyond Peak))]

"Haha," Namgung Shinjae chuckled, "a sword life is long, and enlightenment comes quickly. Obsessing over momentary achievements only breeds impatience."

Coming from a guy utterly obsessed with the sword, his words lacked any persuasive power. Still, the fact that he felt absolutely no pressure about his achievements was quite remarkable; where did that confidence and leisureliness stem from?

Gongson Yoye was a master of the Late Stage Peak Realm! It was said she picked up a sword at five and did nothing but eat and swing her sword since. This wasn't just a figure of speech for training hard. She literally hadn't stepped outside the compound walls even once since picking up the sword at five. Her daily routine was: morning training, breakfast, training, lunch, training, dinner, training, then sleep for two shichen [^(approx. 4 hours)] before repeating indefinitely. Just hearing about it made Qing feel suffocated.

"Originally, my plan was to reach the Transcendent Realm and then embark on the life of a wandering expert to elevate the family name," Gongson Yoye explained calmly. "However, a spot happened to open up among the Ten Great Clans, and thanks to that, I got to meet you, Qing, didn't I?"

Something feels… off, very off about this.

Qing frowned behind her veil. No matter how much it was for the restoration of a family name or the clan's long-cherished wish, was it right to steal away all of a person's most enjoyable years? If Gongson Yoye's words contained even a sliver of complaint about hardship, Qing would have sympathized five hundred percent, agreeing how terrible it was. But the fact that Gongson Yoye herself considered it natural showed it had been firmly ingrained in her mind since childhood.

Hmm, this is totally child abuse… well, Ye is all grown up now and a proper young lady, but still.

Even Namgung Shinjae looked appalled. He was captivated by the sword, making training his job, specialty, and hobby—something purely enjoyable, not pursued out of obligation. His nature was relaxed and free-spirited; outside of training, he was a loafer who diligently ran around having fun. Looks like I'll have to concede the title of true Sword Lunatic to someone else, he seemed to think.

Murong Juhui's heart was broken. No, it had already been shattered on the seventh floor of the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly.

"Uwaaaaaah! Uwaaaaaaaaah! Uwaaaaaaaaah, uwaaaaaaaaaah, uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Sob, uwaaaaaah, aaaaaah..."

This wasn't weeping; it was a shriek born of indignation. It was the very same kind of roar drunkards let out in their drunken anger at the world. Who on earth screams so loudly using just one syllable purely out of sadness? Fortunately, she had buried her face in a pillow, muffling the sound escaping outside.

However, night words are heard by mice, day words are heard by birds, and the sounds of the Murong Clan are heard by Murong Jun. Hearing his older sister's cries, Murong Jun burst through the guest room door and rushed in.

"Sis! What's wrong? It's okay! Why are you crying!?"

Seeing her younger brother rush in with a worried face just when she wanted to cry made tears well up—no, explode! Murong Juhui burst into tears.

"J-Junnie! Sob, huuuuu..."

He was the younger brother who had once driven nails into her heart with harsh words, but knowing he had no malice, and also because Murong Jun had no chest, Murong Juhui had forgiven him. Of course, being a boy, he naturally wouldn't have a chest, but Murong Juhui, the Sword Flower of the realm, sometimes didn't forgive even men with chests, which was why her notoriety was widespread among the younger generation.

"What's wrong! Who bullied you!? Who bullied my sister!"

"Sniff, Junnie… that awful wench, sob, she said to me, hic…!"

One of Murong Jun's merits, according to Murong Juhui, was that he was the perfect size for hugging. The pathetic older sister clung to her younger brother and wailed loudly. Murong Jun gently patted his sister's back with his small, fern-like hands.

"Who bullied you, sis? Who was it! I'll punish them. Okay? Sis, don't cry."

"Sniffle, yes. My Junnie, really, there's only you, sniff. My good little brother…"

"Feeling better? What happened? Did someone really bully you? Tell me everything. I'll punish them real bad."

Indignation flared up again on Murong Juhui's face.

"Yes, that wench, no, that woman. You know, Junnie? Do you know what kind of humiliation your sister suffered today? Ah, do you know what 'humiliation' means?"

"Um. I don't know."

"It's when you feel incredibly sad, and angry, and embarrassed, and like it's all so unfair, all at the same time, that's called humiliation. And what I suffered from that woman today was exactly that humiliation. That awful wench."

"You shouldn't say bad words…"

"It's okay to say bad words to bad wenches. And when comforting a woman, you must always take her side. So, if you want to comfort your sister, Junnie, hurry up and repeat after me. Awful wench, damned wench."

"A-awful wench. Damned wench."

Surprisingly, this was solid advice an older sister should rightfully give her younger brother. When comforting a woman, it is the duty of a close man to unconditionally take her side, even if the woman is the world's most wicked villain and a public enemy of the martial arts world. A man who cluelessly says something like, "You were also at fault," will usually end up living alone for life.

However, one should stop at empathizing and taking her side; one must never believe what the woman says. Nine times out of ten, what a woman says in such situations is close to fabrication, twisted to her advantage. Occasionally, if a prefix like, "I know I was also a bit at fault, but…" is attached, one should understand it as, Ah, this woman really did something deserving of a beating, got beaten, and is now complaining to me, and then proceed to take her side.

"Yes, that's right, awful wench. How could she do that to me?" Murong Juhui continued, sniffling. "Junnie, listen, today your sister went to the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly for fun, and some crazy woman suddenly started spewing nasty words at me."

"Suddenly? When you didn't do anything?"

"Right. Your sister just wanted to be friendly and greeted her, but she suddenly started cursing me out. And she asked why a chestless wench like me was pretending to be a woman, called me a monster that was neither man nor woman, told me to get lost, and then started hitting me and pouring water on me… Sob, uuuugh."

If Qing had been there, she would have witnessed the moment Murong Juhui's good karma dropped by one point. But Murong Jun couldn't see that.

"Don't cry, okay? I'll, I'll get revenge for you."

"No. This doesn't concern you, Junnie."

"Why doesn't it concern me? Your business is my business. Leave it to me. I'll be really mean, give her… humiliation? Right? Yes! I'll give her humiliation."

"Just hearing you say that makes your sister happy, Junnie," Murong Juhui said, her voice softening slightly. "But it's okay. This is something your sister has to resolve herself. Wow, when did my Junnie become so dependable, comforting his sister like this? Mhmm. Yes, shall we take a bath together after such a long time?"

This is what's good about family. Her resentment having subsided somewhat, Murong Juhui smiled as she looked at her cute younger brother.

"I-I'm all grown up now too."

"Oho, listen to this little man. Then, shall we sleep together?"

"Uh, is that okay? I thought that was something you only do with a married woman…"

"It's okay between family. A married woman is also family, so it's okay, right?"

"Yeah! Then let's sleep together!"

"How can my own brother be so cute?"

Murong Juhui hugged her younger brother tightly. Yes, I haven't lost yet. It's do or die now. I'll pay her back properly. So what if my reputation gets tarnished a bit? I still have my loving family.

Peng Daesan was sitting by an open wall, watching the sunset paint the streets. His view was usually obstructed by a wall of women, so the sight of a street bustling with people paying him no mind was novel and entertaining. So this is what everyone else sees, he thought.

Then, he spotted a woman in a veil over there. She strode confidently down the exact center of the main street with large, masculine steps. Suddenly, her head seemed to turn towards him, and she raised her hand high, waving enthusiastically in greeting.

A smile unknowingly spread across Peng Daesan's lips. It was a smile handsome enough to make any woman who saw it faint.

"Hmph, did you have fun?" he asked as Qing approached.

"Of course," Qing replied cheerfully. "Ate yummy things, ate more yummy things, and… hmm. It was delicious. Aren't you going, San? It's delicious."

"I wouldn't know. Pointless chatter. The Dragon-Phoenix Assembly is just a gathering of familiar faces anyway."

"Hmph. Spoken like someone with no friends." Qing giggled and sat down. "Well, you're not entirely wrong. I didn't really get it either. Everyone's too busy flattering each other, nobody's saying anything interesting. Plus, because of what Master said, I have to pretend to be demure, and it's incredibly uncomfortable."

"Pretending to be demure?"

"Am I 'pretending to be demure'?" Qing asked. "Or is it more like a disguise? A transformation?"

"Closer to transformation, I suppose," Peng Daesan conceded. "But, for someone who didn't have fun, you stayed quite late, didn't you?"

"I ended up spending the whole time sparring with Sword Brother and Ye," Qing explained. "It’s been a while since I sparred properly, so it felt rewarding. Nanah left midway to see her family since the Tang Clan arrived."

"Hmm."

"Oh. Right. I saw the Golden Sun Sword Flower, you know?" Qing remembered. "Didn't you say the Peng Clan was coming with the Murong Clan? Doesn't that mean the Peng Clan has arrived too?"

"They arrived last night, apparently," Peng Daesan confirmed. "I was just thinking of heading to the guest lodgings myself. I've booked plenty of guest rooms here, so use them as you please."

"What, can't I go see Choryeo too?"

Peng Daesan shook his head.

"Actually, thinking about it, maybe Tang Nanah had a point. Besides, since you're representing the Divine Maiden Sect, you should receive a separate guest hall. I'll stop by tomorrow morning, and we can go pay our respects to the Alliance Leader together."

"Is that so?"

Peng Daesan then rose from his seat.

"Leaving already?" Qing asked.

"What's the point in staying?" he replied. "Ah. If you're hungry, I left some xiaolongbao and dumplings for you with the kitchen under your name. Go get them."

"Oooh. San! Hey, thanks, I'll enjoy them."

"It's nothing. Well then, see you tomorrow."

And just like that, he left without a backward glance.

Left alone, Qing leaned back in her chair, watching his retreating figure for a moment. Then, as if remembering something, she shot up and called out.

"Server! Bring out the dishes left under the name Ximen Qing!"