MTLNOVEL Ch. 7
Chapter 7: A Misguided Fate (1)
Wi Yeonho slowly opened his eyes. An unfamiliar sight entered his vision.
"Huh?"
The ceiling of the cave had clearly changed. He had stared at it while rolling around for three whole days. There was no doubt it looked different now.
Wi Yeonho slowly sat up and looked around.
"Where am I?"
Looking closely, he could see the cave where he had been staying off to his left.
What was strange was that the cave he had stayed in clearly had only one entrance and was rather narrow, yet now he was in a place even deeper than that cave.
"Hmm..."
Wi Yeonho slowly got to his feet.
It was a dead end.
The place he stood in was undoubtedly sealed off.
But after taking a short nap, the blocked passage had somehow opened wide, and he found himself inside.
Was this not something out of a ghost story?
Just then—
[Chosen one.]
A deep, echoing voice rang in Wi Yeonho’s ears.
“Gah!”
He turned his head sharply.
Something strange could be seen where the sound came from.
A white, gem-like object was glowing with bright light.
"Who are you?"
[Welcome, seeker of fate, who has followed destiny to this place. I am the descendant of the Radiant Sword, Baek Muhan.]
"Who's talking right now?"
[You, who have crossed the passage of time to inherit my sword—it has been a long wait. I now wish to pass everything I have to you. Chosen one, inherit my sword and devote yourself to restoring justice in the Martial World.]
"Where are you talking from?"
Wi Yeonho looked around.
But there was no one in sight.
What’s more, since they were in a cave, the echo made it impossible to pinpoint the direction of the voice.
[Chosen one, I have already transcended the limits of the flesh. I speak to you across time and space. Accept my will and bring peace to the world.]
Wi Yeonho’s face stiffened.
"Transcended the limits of the flesh?"
Then...
“A ghost?”
He instinctively stepped back in fear.
[There is nothing to fear. I have already ascended. What remains here is merely my will. I left it behind for the one who would someday reach this place. So, chosen one, have no doubt—accept my will.]
Wi Yeonho's ears perked up.
This… this was a scene he had heard of before.
An abandoned cave.
And the remnant will of a martial ancestor!
In the world of the gangho, people would surely call this:
“A miraculous encounter?”
As absurd as it was, a miraculous encounter had actually come to Wi Yeonho.
“Living a righteous life does pay off—heaven is finally blessing me!”
…It was almost certain heaven had made some kind of mistake.
[There is no time. Chosen one, you must inherit my sword and set the world’s justice right. I shall pass down to you my Radiance Sword Style. You must devote yourself to unceasing training and polish yourself. If my blood flows in you, then surely your talent will be extraordinary. With thirty years of rigorous cultivation in this place, you may be able to recreate a fragment of my abilities.]
At that moment, Wi Yeonho turned around without a second thought.
“Thirty years?”
That wasn’t a time span one could reasonably ponder or weigh. If it had been five years, he might have been tempted. But thirty?
What use was it to bury himself here for thirty years, training like a mad man to become a top master?
Living peacefully outside, even if a bit weaker, seemed a hundred times better.
[Chosen one.]
Wi Yeonho replied bluntly.
“No, I don’t think I’m the one you’re looking for. Try someone else.”
[Chosen one…]
“Alright then, goodbye!”
“W-Wait a moment!”
Wi Yeonho slightly turned his head.
The voice had changed.
It was no longer the echoing, resonant voice from before, but a clear one he could hear directly.
Wi Yeonho let out a long sigh.
Of course.
“A scammer!”
Clearly, someone was pretending something mystical, but when it started to fall apart, they couldn’t help but show themselves.
“A scammer, you say! How dare you speak to me like that!”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it. So, where are you?”
“I’m right in front of you!”
Wi Yeonho looked around in all directions, but not even a shadow of a person could be seen.
“I don’t see anyone?”
“I’m right in front of you! Right in front of your eyes!”
“Okay, but...”
“What an infuriating fellow! You can’t even recognize me glowing like this?”
“Huh?”
Only then did Wi Yeonho look closely at the glowing jewel before him. Sitting atop what looked like a stone altar, the gem radiated a brilliant light.
“Oh?”
“Yes, that’s me!”
Wi Yeonho hastily stumbled back.
“A g-ghost!”
“I am not!”
“Then where are you?”
“Right here!”
“Ghost!”
“I told you I’m not!”
“Then if you’re not a ghost, what are you?”
“I am merely a will—a remnant will! I am not something like a ghost. I have simply shed my physical body.”
“You’ve shed your body… and only your will remains?”
It was completely unbelievable.
“That’s right.”
Wi Yeonho screamed out.
“That’s a ghost!”
“I said it’s not!”
For a moment, the jewel flared brightly.
The voice resonating from the jewel was now soaked in frustration not heard until now.
“I am different from a ghost! Entirely different!”
“…Doesn’t seem all that different to me.”
“In any case, I’m not a ghost! You may not understand, but this is a technique called Will-Transmigration, something only martial artists who’ve reached the highest level can achieve.”
“So you're saying you are a ghost…”
“I’m not a ghost!”
The voice from the jewel rang thunderously through the cave.
It had been three days since Wi Yeonho entered the cave, and fifteen days since he had left home when this bizarre event unfolded.
Wi Yeonho nodded slowly.
“So, you’re saying... you passed away, but before that, you left your thoughts in this gem?”
“That’s right.”
“Most people would just call that a ghost…”
“I said it’s not!”
“Alright, alright. So, what exactly do you want from me? Should I help you ascend to the afterlife or something?”
The jewel pulsed violently with light.
“Ascend? I’ve already achieved enlightenment!”
“Hmm…”
“You don’t believe me, do you?”
“No, I believe you. Totally.”
“You don’t believe me.”
“I dooo~ I believe you.”
“To think someone like you is a descendant of mine…”
The jewel’s light flickered in distress.
It was as if it couldn’t comprehend how such a careless fool could be among its descendants.
“Wait!”
Suddenly, the jewel flared brightly and cast a beam of light over Wi Yeonho.
For a long moment, the light swept over him—from head to toe, slowly and carefully.
“You… Who are you?!”
A voice full of urgency spilled from the jewel.
Wi Yeonho answered calmly.
“Me? I’m Wi Yeonho.”
“Wi Yeonho? Wi Yeonho?! You’re from the Wi Clan? You’re not from the Baek Clan at all! What are you doing here?! You’re not the chosen one I had arranged for!”
A panicked voice erupted from the jewel like a waterfall.
Wi Yeonho looked at the glowing gem with amusement.
The way it flickered in different colors was oddly entertaining.
“I didn’t come here on purpose, though.”
“Then why did you meditate in the cave for three days?!”
“Not sure about meditating. I just slept.”
“…You slept?”
Wi Yeonho nodded nonchalantly.
“Yes.”
“You slept in one spot without moving for three days?”
“Yes.”
“What in the world…”
The jewel’s light flared wildly.
It seemed something had clearly gone wrong.
Fortunately, Wi Yeonho was a man with sharp instincts.
His years as a lazy turtle had gifted him with a keen sense of the situation and quick perception.
Clearly, this place wasn’t meant for him.
Wi Yeonho stood up.
“From the sound of it, I don’t think I’m the right person. I’ll get going now. Take care, ghost grandpa. Hope you find peace.”
“W-Wait!”
“What is it?”
Wi Yeonho turned, and the jewel flickered with a soft glow.
“…There’s no helping it. Things have gone this far—now you’ll have to carry on the fate.”
“Huh? But you said the fate should be passed to someone from the Baek Clan.”
“A will cannot remain in this world indefinitely. I had set specific conditions for when my will would awaken. One of them was to meditate for three days in the front chamber. But… I didn’t expect such a ridiculous condition to be fulfilled like this.”
“I just slept, though.”
“Who could’ve possibly imagined a person would sleep in one place for three days without moving a muscle!”
Wi Yeonho remained calm.
“Why are you getting all worked up?”
“Grrngh!”
Before he knew it, the jewel’s voice had turned rough.
The cause of all this was undoubtedly Wi Yeonho, who had done nothing but sleep like a log for three days, yet since it hadn’t been intentional, there was no real reason to lash out.
He couldn’t help but resent the heavens all over again. But what could be done now that things had already turned out this way?
“In any case, it has come to this—I suppose you’ll have to carry on the fate. Though I don’t like the idea of my sword flowing into a clan other than the Baek Clan, there’s no other choice. Consider it an honor.”
“I’m fine without it, though.”
“You have no say in the matter.”
“No, really. I’m genuinely fine.”
Wi Yeonho’s face grew serious.
“…Fine?”
“Yes. I’ll just not learn it.”
The jewel’s light trembled violently.
“Y-You dare refuse my sword even as I offer it to you? Do you not know who I am—Gwanggeom Baek Muhan?”
Gwanggeom Baek Muhan?
Gwanggeom Baek Muhan?
“Never heard of you.”
“You’ve never heard of me?”
“Nope. Not even once.”
“You haven’t heard of the Ten Thousand Sword Baek Clan either?”
Wi Yeonho tilted his head.
“Ten Thousand Sword Baek Clan?”
“That’s right! Don’t tell me you haven’t even heard of the Ten Thousand Sword Baek Clan!”
The voice rang with deep pride.
But Wi Yeonho coldly ignored that pride.
“This is the first I’ve heard of it.”
“What! Even if you’re not a martial artist, how can you not know of the Ten Thousand Sword Baek Clan! This is… this is!”
“I am a martial artist, though.”
“…What?”
“I’m a martial artist. I’m from the Grand House of Wi in Guangdong.”
“Grand House of Wi in Guangdong?”
“Yes.”
“The Grand House of Wi in Guangdong…? Never heard of that clan.”
Wi Yeonho frowned.
“You call yourself a martial artist and haven’t even heard of the Grand House of Wi in Guangdong?”
“There’s no reason I should know about some lowly family.”
“Lowly?! You’re pushing some no-name family I’ve never heard of and looking down on the Grand House of Wi in Guangdong?!”
“Never heard of them?! How dare you speak so freely with that mouth of yours! To think you’d insult the historically prestigious Ten Thousand Sword Baek Clan!”
The jewel flared with intense light.
“Whatever the case, I’ve never heard of them.”
“And I’ve never heard of your clan, either.”
“What do you mean you’ve never heard of us! We’re well known in Guangdong!”
“Guangdong? Hmm… wasn’t there the Iron Qi Sect in Guangdong?”
“Iron Qi Sect?”
“Yes!”
Wi Yeonho let out a disbelieving laugh.
“Wait, are you talking about the Iron Qi Sect that vanished two hundred years ago?”
“…Two hundred years?”
“Yes.”
“Did you just say… two hundred years?”
Wi Yeonho answered with full courtesy.
“You must be hard of hearing in your ghostly state, but yes—it’s been two hundred years since they were wiped out.”
“Th-Then… the Blood Massacre War… when did that happen!”
“That? Three hundred years ago.”
“Th-Three… Three hundred!”
The jewel's voice rang with utter despair, echoing loudly through the cave.
“W-What in the world is going on hereeeeee!”
Hearing that, Wi Yeonho let out a long sigh.
Of course. So much for a miraculous encounter—what a joke.