Chapter 44 – In Search of a Fateful Encounter (1)

As Yu-jin walked slowly down the road, he sensed a familiar presence. Soon, a woman with a familiar face appeared before him.

“Ye-jin? How are you here?”

He hadn’t even told Namgung Hwa-rin, so he never imagined she would already be here. Even the great Yu-jin couldn’t help but be flustered.

He had planned to leave with just Ran and Eun Seol-rin, who were hiding in his shadow, but this changed everything. Na Ye-jin smiled and spoke.

“It would be troublesome if you left for another place without me, Yu-jin. Don’t you know that I can no longer live without you?”

Yu-jin gave a bitter smile as he looked at her. However, it was clear that having Na Ye-jin along would make things easier. The places he planned to go were just that troublesome.

After speaking, Na Ye-jin swung her sword toward Yu-jin’s shadow. A pure white sword energy flew out. To an onlooker, it would have seemed like she was slashing at empty air, but it wasn’t that simple.

*CRASH!*

A blood-red sword energy shot out from the shadow, deflecting the white aura. Then, two women, Ran and Eun Seol-rin, emerged from within Yu-jin’s shadow.

“My, what a rough hand for the renowned Moon Empress.”

Eun Seol-rin’s sarcastic remark made Na Ye-jin’s face scrunch up. However, she realized she couldn’t act rashly. Eun Seol-rin was a master whose skills were not inferior to her own.

‘Was there such a female master in the martial world?’

Na Ye-jin was known as the strongest female swordmaster after the Sword Empress, one of the Ten Great Heavenly Masters. She couldn’t believe there was another female master on par with her.

“I always felt someone was by Yu-jin’s side, but I never imagined they’d be this strong. Still, the feeling of displeasure remains unchanged.”

“Oh, my? We’re thinking the exact same thing. I also find it quite displeasing that you are traveling with my master.”

At Eun Seol-rin’s words, Na Ye-jin’s eye twitched slightly. The title ‘master’ bothered her. Na Ye-jin hastily looked at Yu-jin, who nodded with a troubled expression.

But it was only for a moment. Not wanting his women to fight, Yu-jin wrapped one arm around Na Ye-jin and pulled Eun Seol-rin close with the other.

“You are both precious women to me, and I do not wish for you to fight. If you still wish to fight, then please leave my side.”

At his words, the two women quickly retracted their killing intent. Their bodies had already become unable to live without Yu-jin; leaving him was not an option. Satisfied with their reactions, Yu-jin smiled and nodded.

“Ye-jin, this is Eun Seol-rin. Her title is the King of Assassins. And this woman is Ran. She has been my guard for a long time and has recently become Eun Seol-rin’s disciple.”

Na Ye-jin couldn’t hide her surprise at the title ‘King of Assassins.’ To think the absolute assassin who had claimed countless lives in the shadows was a woman.

And what did that make Yu-jin, who commanded such a woman as if she were his servant? Furthermore, the woman who was said to be Yu-jin’s guard looked to be only twenty, yet she was already near the peak realm.

‘The more I learn about Yu-jin, the less I understand.’

Was it not enough that he had reached the absolute state of the Profound Realm at the young age of twenty-five? He was also commanding a legendary assassin and her disciple as if they were his servants. And then, Na Ye-jin blushed.

‘And am I not his woman as well?’

She was aware that he had shared relations with several of the Five Phoenixes. Most of the renowned women in the martial world had become Yu-jin’s women.

“Seol-rin, and Ran. This is the renowned Moon Empress of the martial world, Na Ye-jin. By a twist of fate, she will be traveling with me. Please get along without fighting.”

At Yu-jin’s words, Eun Seol-rin and Ran nodded. However, Eun Seol-rin looked at Na Ye-jin with burning eyes, and Na Ye-jin returned the gaze.

Seeing them look at each other, it was clear they would have a go at it before long.

‘Hierarchy is important, after all.’

Ran was the type to not show her emotions, but Eun Seol-rin and Na Ye-jin, whose pride had soared to the heavens after reaching the Transformation Realm, were highly likely to clash to establish their ranks.

However, that was not an area for Yu-jin to interfere in. He was satisfied as long as they didn’t fight in front of him.

“Now, since the people who will be leaving with me have been decided, I should tell you our purpose, shouldn’t I?”

At Yu-jin’s words, Na Ye-jin and Eun Seol-rin ended their standoff and listened intently. They were curious why Yu-jin was moving separately.

“There is something I must find. Something truly important to me.”

To find and master the three martial arts necessary to complete the Nine Heavens Divine Demonic Arts. For this purpose, Yu-jin was giving up the chance to embrace countless women and taking action.

Well, even with just the women following him now, he could still enjoy the journey enough.

“It won’t be a very long journey. I have already pinpointed all the locations. However, it will definitely get a bit troublesome. That’s why I needed another master besides myself, and with Ye-jin joining, I feel truly reassured.”

Just where were they going that a Transformation Realm master and a peak realm master weren’t enough?

Eun Seol-rin felt a sense of wonder and asked Yu-jin.

“Where are we going that you say that?”

“I’m planning to find a Martial Emperor’s Tomb.”

At Yu-jin’s words, Eun Seol-rin and Na Ye-jin couldn’t hide their bewildered expressions.

In the history of the martial world, there was more than one martial artist who held the title of Martial Emperor.

Since ancient times, dozens of people had held the title of Martial Emperor.

Finding the tombs of such powerful martial artists was the dream of many fortune hunters, but most were likely to be fake. They never thought a master with such powerful martial arts like Yu-jin would believe in such a fanciful thing.

“Don’t make that face. The ones I’m going to are all real. They actually exist.”

Yu-jin said, looking at Eun Seol-rin.

“Yu-jin. I’m sorry to interrupt, but there is one thing I must confirm before we proceed.”

“What is it, Moon Empress?”

At his words, Na Ye-jin’s face scrunched up slightly again. This was precisely what she didn’t like.

He spoke informally to Eun Seol-rin, but still used honorifics with her.

“From now on, speak informally to me as well. There is no longer a need to use honorifics with me. I wish to become closer to you.”

Ye-jin blushed as she spoke, as if embarrassed. Seeing her like this, Eun Seol-rin scowled, but Yu-jin smiled.

“Alright, Ye-jin. As if that’s a difficult thing to do.”

At Yu-jin’s ready acceptance, Ye-jin smiled faintly. Looking at her, Yu-jin spoke again.

“The place I’m going to is the tomb of the Martial Emperor Mun Gil-je, who founded the Martial Emperor’s Castle in the past.”

Martial Emperor Mun Gil-je.

The ruler of the Martial Emperor’s Castle, which represented the righteous path before the Martial Alliance was formed.

From a young age, he detested the Demonic Cult, but he believed the system that made up the cult itself was worth learning from. So, when he turned exactly one hundred years old, he established the Martial Emperor’s Castle, adopting the Demonic Cult’s military-style system.

But the Martial Emperor’s Castle did not last long. The other righteous sects, which valued freedom, all rebelled against it.

Because of this, the Martial Emperor’s Castle disappeared from the world in just a short span of ten years, and thereafter, the Martial Alliance was born.

However, the reason the Martial Emperor’s Castle collapsed so futilely was due to the death of the Martial Emperor Mun Gil-je.

He could not handle the martial arts he had mastered and lost his life. To honor his death, the Martial Emperor’s Castle placed an enormous amount of martial arts manuals and divine weapons inside his tomb, and they eliminated everyone who knew the secret of the tomb, making its location unknown to anyone.

Even now, countless fortune hunters and tomb raiders search for that tomb, but no one has been able to find it.

“Was that really real?”

Eun Seol-rin’s words were filled with a tone of disbelief. It was only natural for her to be skeptical. Countless people had tried and failed to find even a trace of it, so for Yu-jin to claim he knew its location, she couldn’t help but be doubtful.

“I do not lie to my woman.”

With Yu-jin putting it that way, Eun Seol-rin had no choice but to believe him.

‘Then again, considering my master’s strength, it must have been possible due to a few fateful encounters.’

“Ye-jin, do you have something to say?”

“No, I do not think you would lie. I will simply follow you, Yu-jin.”

At her faithful attitude, Yu-jin gave a bright smile.

* * *

The place Yu-jin was headed to was the Cheongjin Valley, located deep in the northern lands. The group crossed the Great Wall and headed north.

A week had passed since Yu-jin’s party left Shanxi Province, but they still had about three more days of travel ahead. To conserve their stamina, Yu-jin always tried to avoid camping outdoors.

As night approached, he decided to stay at an inn in a small village they came across.

“We’ll stay here for tonight.”

The three women nodded at Yu-jin’s words. Yu-jin rented the largest room in the inn, and the women went to bathe. However, the only person who came to Yu-jin’s room after bathing was Ran.

“Where are Seol-rin and Ye-jin?”

At Yu-jin’s question, Ran was momentarily at a loss for words. It was the first time Ran had acted this way, so Yu-jin looked at her with a puzzled expression, urging her to answer. Then, as if she had no choice, Ran spoke.

“The two of them said they had something urgent to discuss…”

From Ran’s words, Yu-jin immediately understood the situation. The two women were undoubtedly going to have a discussion that involved force. The tension between them had been immense during the journey here, and it had finally exploded.

“I won’t stop them from fighting, but it would be troublesome if it gets too intense.”

When two masters who had reached the Transformation Realm clashed, it could never be a light matter, no matter how casually they approached it. Moreover, as it was a fight to determine their hierarchy, Yu-jin could roughly predict how fierce it would be.

“The Martial Emperor’s Tomb, by its very nature, is filled with various killing formations and trap mechanisms. Wasting energy in a place like this is a waste. I suppose I’ll have to intervene once a winner is roughly decided.”

Thinking it was truly a sad thing for his women to fight, Yu-jin launched himself into the air, and Ran followed right behind him.

* * *

“The sight of you constantly fawning over Yu-jin is not pleasant to watch.”

“Oh, my? It is only natural for a slave to act cute for her master.”

Eun Seol-rin retorted without missing a beat to Na Ye-jin’s murderous words. At Eun Seol-rin’s attitude, Na Ye-jin revealed an even stronger killing intent.

“If you are a slave, then act like one and be cute only in the bedroom at night. Don’t just cling to him at any given time.”

“A slave’s duty is to please her master at all times, so I can’t help it.”

At Eun Seol-rin’s unyielding demeanor, Na Ye-jin drew a sword that radiated a cold chill instead of a reply. That was a sufficient answer.

“This is interesting.”

Eun Seol-rin also drew her sword with an air of not wanting to be outdone.

“Let’s decide the hierarchy as of today.”

“I agree. I will personally teach you what a slave’s duty is.”

Na Ye-jin spoke as she approached Eun Seol-rin, and Eun Seol-rin also approached Na Ye-jin.