Chapter 120

While chatting about this and that, the carriage adorned with the imperial dragon symbolizing the royal family crossed the river and arrived at the Yi Royal Residence.

The guards of the Yi Royal Residence, upon seeing the carriage, immediately opened the gates. The carriage arrived at the inner palace without stopping even once.

“Your Highness, you’ve arrived.”

“Ah, was there any trouble?”

“No, Your Highness. Since everyone in Luoyang knows you went to observe the Martial Duel Competition, no one came looking for you.”

“Good. Let’s go in and rest now.”

Ju Si-yeol is a Feudal King.

A Feudal King is one of the princes who have been granted a title and territory, holding military authority and responsible for the defense of that region.

The Yongle Emperor, who usurped the throne from his nephew through the Jingnan Campaign, feared a similar incident and thus abolished many Feudal Kings and significantly reduced the authority of the remaining ones, effectively placing them under house arrest. However, the current Feudal Kings have regained some of their former authority.

The reason is simple. With the opening of the Ghost Gate, the royal family alone could no longer manage the vast territory.

In any case, seeing him in his role as a Feudal King, Princess Jihyang opened her mouth wide in admiration.

“Wow… Uncle, you really are a king. Kind of cool, huh? I feel like I should call you ‘Your Highness’ too.”

“Enough. I don’t want to hear ‘Your Highness’ from you. Just call me as usual.”

Ju Si-yeol returned to being the familiar, close uncle figure to Princess Jihyang.

With the Feudal King regaining some military authority and handling proper governance, the Yi Royal Residence has transformed into a palace befitting a king. Though modest compared to the Forbidden City where the emperor resides, the Yi Royal Residence is divided into outer and inner courts, just like a palace.

After entering the inner court and then the inner palace, dismissing the attendants, only Ju Si-yeol, Princess Jihyang, and Yang Se-rim remained.

However, the moment they entered the inner palace office, the number of people increased from three to five.

*Pat!*

Only after entering the office did Ju Si-yeol sense the presence and instantly prepared for battle.

The Heavenly Primordial Qi, a martial art passed down in the royal family, surged with a fierce energy. Though it was the same martial art that Han Gyeran had mastered, the feeling of the energy was distinctly different.

Even the same martial art changes slightly depending on who uses it and with what intent, and the Heavenly Primordial Qi is particularly influenced by the user’s disposition.

As soon as the Heavenly Primordial Qi surged.

A certain presence filling the room instantly erased that energy.

‘This is…’

In the sensation of being erased, Ju Si-yeol recalled the Peerless Masters he had met before.

Commander of the Imperial Guards Gwak Dan, Yang So-hu of the Shinchang Yang Family, Martial Arts Governor Han Won-chun… and Martial Alliance Leader Gakwon.

Absolute beings who dominate their territories.

He realized why he hadn’t sensed their presence until just before entering the room.

The opponent was a powerhouse far above Ju Si-yeol.

If such a person had decided to conceal their energy, even Ju Si-yeol, who prided himself on being among the top of his generation, would be helpless.

In the brief moment it took for a drop of cold sweat to roll down Ju Si-yeol’s cheek.

Unlike Ju Si-yeol, whose body froze from knowing too well, Princess Jihyang, still driven more by emotion than reason, gripped her sword and prepared to draw it.

The moment the blade was halfway drawn, Yang Se-rim, recognizing the intruder’s face, shouted.

“Princess! No! It’s someone we know!”

Yang Se-rim urgently stopped Princess Jihyang. Her urgency was no different from Ju Si-yeol’s.

Though better than himself, Yang Se-rim had only been to the Shinchang Yang Family and the Forbidden City in Beijing. Could it be someone from the Yang Family? Even so, sneaking into the king’s inner palace was no different from treason.

Princess Jihyang looked at Yang Se-rim with eyes demanding an explanation. Before Yang Se-rim could explain, Ju Si-yeol added a word to her statement.

“That’s right, Jihyang. I know this person too.”

“Uncle, you do?”

Ju Si-yeol nodded while staring at Namgung Woo.

“This is the first time I’ve seen him in person. Isn’t that right, Great Master of Changcheon Pavilion?”

Though the martial world lives apart from the government, Ju Si-yeol, as a Feudal King, couldn’t bring himself to utter the outrageous title of “Emperor.”

But the Great Master of Changcheon Pavilion is the Blue Sword Emperor, and the Blue Sword Emperor is the Great Master of Changcheon Pavilion, isn’t he?

Yang Se-rim, who had stopped Princess Jihyang by saying she knew Namgung Woo, was so shocked she nearly fainted.

“Great Master of Changcheon Pavilion…? R-really?”

Ju Si-yeol, puzzled by Yang Se-rim’s reaction, asked.

“You didn’t know?”

He had assumed she knew, but it seemed Yang Se-rim had met Namgung Woo through a different route.

“Uh, well… When I got lost last time, it was this gentleman who helped me.”

Mentioning the incident when she first arrived in Luoyang, Yang Se-rim kept glancing at Princess Jihyang’s expression.

The Blue Sword Emperor. That name was the very reason Princess Jihyang had left Beijing.

Princess Jihyang, who seemed ready to draw her sword and charge at any moment, blinked her eyes and stared at Namgung Woo, her sword half-drawn.

While Princess Jihyang was speechless, Ju Si-yeol spoke.

“First, I understand that you mean us no harm.”

Ju Si-yeol, despite his young age, had the dignity befitting a Feudal King.

Facing an opponent he had never expected to meet, someone overwhelmingly stronger than himself, he was tense but not cowed.

He calmly analyzed the situation, confirming that the opponent meant no harm by the fact that they had waited patiently during their conversation.

“Have you finished speaking?”

“Yes. Thank you for waiting.”

The conversation seemed somewhat reversed.

Namgung Woo had come uninvited to someone else’s residence, yet he was thanked for waiting during the conversation.

But such is the martial world. A world where strength is power, law, and legitimacy. Even a Feudal King, a central figure in the government, cannot be entirely free from these rules once he steps into the martial world.

In a world where even the emperor can be assassinated by madmen, let alone a mere Feudal King.

In fact, among the princes, there have been those who treated martial artists like commoners and were killed for it.

“I’ve wanted to meet you once. You came to find me, so you must have something to say. Why don’t we sit and talk?”

“If you offer me a seat, I will gratefully accept.”

Only after Namgung Woo sat in the offered seat did Ju Si-yeol notice another uninvited guest behind him.

He had been overshadowed by Namgung Woo’s presence.

Knowing about Changcheon Pavilion, Ju Si-yeol recalled that there were female members named Paeng Ha-ryeong and Myorin. Paeng Ha-ryeong, being from the famous Paeng Family, was easily recognizable.

“So. What brings the renowned Great Master of Changcheon Pavilion to my humble abode in the middle of the night?”

Namgung Woo first offered a simple greeting.

“First, I apologize for coming so abruptly.”

Namgung Woo’s cooperative attitude eased Ju Si-yeol’s tension somewhat. Though not entirely, as Namgung Woo could easily kill everyone present with a single sword stroke if things went wrong.

“You may or may not know, but the Martial Alliance is currently in chaos due to a murder case.”

“A murder case? I haven’t heard anything about it…”

“The Martial Alliance is keeping it under wraps, so it’s possible. And I believe this murder is the foundation for a larger conspiracy.”

“A larger conspiracy? And how do you know about this?”

“I was commissioned by the Alliance Leader.”

Namgung Woo showed the commission letter stamped with the Alliance Leader’s seal.

“I see. So you came to seek my help?”

“Similar, but a bit different.”

Ju Si-yeol tilted his head, not quite understanding Namgung Woo’s meaning.

Namgung Woo spoke.

“I didn’t come to seek help, but to offer it.”

“To offer me help?”

“Yes. I predict that the next target of the murderer I’m pursuing is Your Highness.”

And Namgung Woo’s prediction came true.

§

“What a monster…”

Watching the clash between Namgung Woo and the assassin, Ju Si-yeol muttered unconsciously.

In this era, reaching the level of a Supreme Peak Master before the age of thirty is considered a prodigy destined to become the world’s greatest.

But what about the man before his eyes?

He’s only twenty-seven, just three years older than Ju Si-yeol, yet the gap between them is so vast that comparing them feels disrespectful.

Even though Ju Si-yeol, as a royal, has access to all sorts of rare medicines and techniques.

It’s clear that there was no exaggeration in the tales of Namgung Woo defeating Yi Ja-ryong in Beijing.

“Uncle…”

While Ju Si-yeol was staring blankly at Namgung Woo fighting the assassin, Princess Jihyang, standing beside him, tugged at his arm.

“Ah, Jihyang. Are you scared? It’s okay. Don’t worry. You might not know how strong Peerless Masters are, but they are like living natural disasters. As long as the Great Master of Changcheon Pavilion is here, that assassin can’t harm us.”

“No, it’s not that.”

“Huh?”

For a moment, Ju Si-yeol doubted what he was seeing.

Princess Jihyang, known in the royal family as a tomboy, preferred famous swords and martial arts over dolls and makeup, which most girls her age liked. She was so wild that she followed Ju Si-yeol, a distant cousin, more than her own sisters.

But now, Princess Jihyang’s face was flushed red, and she was fidgeting nervously. With a girlish expression he had never seen before, she cautiously spoke.

“Last time, grandmother said she had arranged a marriage for me…”

“I heard the engagement with Hwang Yong fell through.”

“Well, grandmother said she changed it to someone else…”

By now, Ju Si-yeol understood what she meant.

If it were the old him, he might not have, but as a Feudal King who had learned politics.

The chaos caused by Yi Ja-ryong in Beijing. Namgung Woo, who resolved it, and Han Gyeran, who witnessed it.

How must Namgung Woo, a young man capable of filling the void left by Gwak Dan’s death, have appeared to Han Gyeran?

“Don’t tell me…!”

“Yes, it’s him.”