After Ten Millennia in Hell

Chapter 99: Sword Emperor Tian Wuchen (3)

"…"

There was a heavy silence.

Kim Si-Hun and the other party members couldn't understand Mandarin, so they remained silent. Kang-Woo, who understood what the Sword Emperor had said, also remained silent, but it was to figure out the situation.

Echidna tugged on Kang-Woo's clothes and asked, "Kang-Woo, what's a Martial God?"

"Hmm? Echidna, you understand Mandarin?"

Kang-Woo looked surprised, but he quickly realized that he had forgotten something very basic…

'Now that I think about it… How is it that Echidna's able to speak Korean?'

He had never thought about it. Echidna had spoken Korean so fluently when they first met that it never occurred to him that it was strange. He thought she'd naturally learned to speak his language after becoming his summoned beast.

"No, I don't know Mandarin. I can use magic and make it so we can understand each other," Echidna explained.

"Wow."

It seemed like the magic that Echidna was using had a similar effect to Kang-Woo's Authority of Language.

"Can you cast that magic on other people too?" Kang-Woo asked.

"Yup."

"Then cast that magic on Si-Hun and the others as well."

"Okay."

Echidna raised her hand and chanted a short spell. A wave of magic left her hand and enveloped Si-Hun and the others.

"This is..." Si-Hun uttered.

"Oh, the Sword Dragon speaks Mandarin as well?" Tian Wuchen asked.

"N-No. What happ—"

"It's magic," Echidna answered Si-Hun.

Si-Hun looked at her in surprise. He had never heard about a Player being able to harness magic for full language interpretation.

"Hm! It's not that difficult. This magic is very common in the continent of Aernor," Echidna explained.

She snorted triumphantly at the thought that she'd been helpful to Kang-Woo.

"I guess there was no need to bring an interpreter," Wuchen said and laughed.

The young man next to him flinched.

"Don't worry. I will still pay you what I promised," Wuchen told the young man.

"Th-Thank you very much!" the young man stammered in response.

"More importantly, I'm happy since this will make things much quicker. Sword Dragon, where did you learn the martial arts of the Martial God?" Wuchen asked.

Si-Hun's eyes widened.

He uttered, "H-How did you…"

Kang-Woo said, "I'm curious about something too. How did you know Si-Hun was using the Martial God's techniques?"

"Hehe. That is because our clan descended from the Martial God himself."

"Oh?"

Kang-Woo's eyes lit up.

If what Wuchen said was true, then that meant Martial God Tian Taihuang had existed on Earth a long time ago, and Wuchen was his descendant.

"Then does that mean you practiced martial arts before you awakened as a Player?" Kang-Woo asked.

"That's right. Although... I will admit that I was nowhere near the stage I am in now before I awakened."

Kang-Woo nodded as if he understood what Wuchen meant.

'Well, the Demon Cult also existed long before Players came to be.'

It had become clear to Kang-Woo that there had been people on Earth who could use martial arts, magic, and other fantastical abilities long before people had even started transitioning into Players on Earth.

Si-Hun said, "I learned the Martial God's martial arts when I awak—"

"Stop," Kang-Woo interjected. He grabbed Si-Hun's shoulder and stopped him from talking. "What are you going to do once you find out where he learned it? Are you going to kill him to protect your arcane arts?"

"Hahaha! It seems you've read too many martial arts novels."

'I don't want to hear that from someone who would appear in a martial arts novel,'?Kang-Woo thought.

After Wuchen was done laughing, he expressed, "I want to make a deal."

"A deal?"

"Yes. Our clan's arcane martial art techniques have lost their true forms after being passed down from generation to generation. However, the Sword Dragon's Cloud Dragon Sword Technique that I saw in the video was exactly the same as what's in our clan's records of the Martial God's martial arts."

"So, you want help in restoring your clan's arcane martial arts?"

"Correct."

Kang-Woo's eyes shone.

Now that he knew the other party's intention, the discussion would progress faster.

A wide smile appeared on his face as he said, "We should obviously expect something in return since it's a deal. Right?"

"Before that, I would like an answer to my earlier question. Where did he learn the martial arts of the martial god?"

"Well, you should hear it from the man himself."

Kang-Woo patted Si-Hun's back as if saying he could talk now.

With a confused expression, Si-Hun explained why he used the martial arts of Martial God Tian Taihuang.

The longer the explanation went on, the wider Wuchen's mouth fell open.

"What... The Martial God's soul dwells within you...?" Wuchen asked.

"I can't converse with him or anything like that. The knowledge of his martial arts just flows into my head."

"I see. So, you managed to unfold the Cloud Dragon Sword Technique to such perfection without anyone teaching you?"

"Oh, umm..."

"That's just because Si-Hun's talent is monstrous," Kang-Woo stated.

"How interesting," Wuchen remarked.

He scanned Si-Hun's body with great interest. As he took a closer look, he became awestruck.

'He has the Heavenly Martial Physique,'?Wuchen realized.

The Heavenly Martial Physique was a physique that was granted by the heavens. Those with this physique were able to realize the mysteries of a martial art just by seeing it once as well as master the essence of any cultivation technique. Wuchen had never thought that he would see someone with this physique in person.

He laughed, "Hahaha!! The word 'monstrous' truly doesn't even begin to explain it."

"Anyway, now that we've answered your question, let's get back to the deal," Kang-Woo said calmly.

He was acting so dignified that no one would think he was talking to someone as powerful as the Sword Emperor.

Wuchen then looked at Kang-Woo. Although the Sword Dragon's talent was impressive, Wuchen was also deeply impressed by the Player Oh Kang-Woo.

'Has anyone ever been this prideful before me?' Wuchen thought.

He had never experienced something like this ever since becoming a World Ranker—no, even before that. Wuchen had been born as the successor of an enormous force known as the Heavenly Sword Clan. Everyone had bowed to him ever since he had been a child.

"Hahaha. I have heard a few things about you, but... I'm surprised. Are you being so prideful while knowing who I am?" Wuchen asked.

"Why? Should I be kneeling and licking your feet instead?"

"Hahahaha! No, not at all. As for the deal... Oh, how about this? If the Sword Dragon helps us restore our arcane martial arts, I will personally teach him martial arts."

"You'll teach him martial arts…?"

"The Sword Dragon seems to have learned the Sleeping Dragon Sword Technique and Cloud Dragon Sword Technique. The Heavenly Sword Clan possesses the superior versions of those martial arts, the Azure Dragon Sword Technique and Heavenly Dragon Sword Technique."

"Didn't you say that they've lost their true forms?"

"Even so, they still possess power that's the Cloud Dragon Sword Technique can't compare to."

"…"

Kang-Woo got immersed in his thoughts.

If one of the World Rankers, Sword Emperor, were to teach Si-Hun martial arts personally…

'It would be of great help to Si-Hun.'

Si-Hun might be able to master the Azure Dragon Sword Technique with Wuchen's help. It wasn't a bad deal at all in many ways. No, it was too good of a deal.

'But…'

Kang-Woo turned to look at Si-Hun.

The deal wasn't Kang-Woo's to accept. The one who would be restoring the clan's martial arts and receiving the Sword Emperor's teachings was Si-Hun.

"Hyung-nim…"

"It's your choice. What do you want to do?"

"…"

Si-Hun considered the question. It did not take him long to give his answer.

"I would like to learn," he said.

After all, the one offering to teach Si-Hun was the Sword Emperor. It would be more difficult to find a martial artist who wouldn't accept the deal.

'But most importantly…'?Si-Hun thought while looking at Kang-Woo.

Si-Hun wasn't intimidated at all by the Sword Emperor. He wanted to become like Kang-Woo. Si-Hun didn't want to keep receiving help from him one-sidedly.

He placed his hand on the handle of his sword and thought resolutely, 'I want to become stronger.'

Si-Hun replayed the Isu Station incident in his mind. People had been crying everywhere, and smoke and wreckages had filled the streets. If he had been stronger, he would've been able to save more people.

Kang-Woo nodded.

"Then I guess we have a deal. Oh, I have one condition," he mentioned.

"Condition?" Wuchen asked.

"Restoration of the martial arts and your teachings—all of it will have to be done in Korea."

Kang-Woo couldn't send Si-Hun somewhere far away. If they were far apart, Kang-Woo wouldn't be able to look after Si-Hun if worst-case scenarios were to occur.

'I can't fully trust Tian Wuchen.'

Wuchen seemed trustworthy, but Kang-Woo couldn't completely trust someone just based on his gut feeling.

"Hmm. Korea, huh...? What do you think, Suyan?" Wuchen asked his daughter.

"I'm fine with it. I've always wanted to visit Korea," Tian Suyan answered with a bright smile.

Her smile brought about an odd mood. She turned to Kang-Woo and stared at him with sparkling eyes.

"In that case, we will spend about a month here for now," Wuchen stated.

"Sounds good," Kang-Woo replied, nodding in satisfaction.

He had been thinking of creating a special training regimen just for Si-Hun, but the need for it had just vanished.

"First, let's get out of this Gate. Oh, I heard you live near Seoul station. Is that correct?" Wuchen asked.

"Yeah."

"Then I guess I will have to buy a building near the area."

"Buy... a building?"

"We will need a training room to teach the Sword Dragon in and somewhere to stay for a month."

"…"

Kang-Woo couldn't believe Wuchen had said he would buy a building as if it were nothing.

Wuchen approached Si-Hun and said, "Let us talk for a bit as we head out. There are many things I would like to ask you."

"Ah, yes, sir! I-It's an honor!" Si-Hun replied.

Wuchen and Si-Hun took the lead, with Kang-Woo following from behind.

At that moment, the seductive woman who had been beside Wuchen approached him.

"Hello," she greeted.

"You're..."

"My name is Tian Suyan," Suyan continued with a smile on her face. "Kang-Woo, right? Fufu. I've never seen someone being so prideful in front of my father."

She looked at Kang-Woo with great interest.

Suyan had watched Wuchen ever since she was a little kid, but she'd never seen a man behave so pridefully in front of him.

'What kind of person is he?'?she wondered.

Her interest in Kang-Woo surged. Suyan couldn't imagine just how strong and self-confident he was, considering he had been so bold in front of the Sword Emperor.

'I heard that he neutralized the captain of the 3rd Squadron in just a single movement.'

Suyan's expectations soared. Her ideal man wasn't just a strong man but a man stronger than her father, Tian Wuchen!

She was instinctively attracted to strong men, but she had never met any man stronger than Wuchen. Hence, her interest was piqued by Kang-Woo, who had not been intimidated by her father in the slightest.

"I have no reason to be intimidated," Kang-Woo remarked.

"Hmm. Does that mean you're confident about beating the Sword Emperor?"

"Not sure," Kang-Woo said with a laugh.

Suyan felt the strong confidence hidden behind his short laugh. Her eyes shone like those of a wild beast stalking its prey.

'I don't think he fully understands how powerful Father is, but...'

She couldn't deny that those words piqued her interest even further.

Suyan licked her red lips while staring at Kang-Woo. She scanned him from head to toe excitedly.

'Hm?'

At that moment, Suyan felt something pulling on her clothes. She turned around and found a little girl, who was as pretty as a doll, looking up at her.

"Kang-Woo is mine. Back off," the little girl whispered so that only Suyan could hear her.