TDWAD 10

Chapter 10

Cloud Dragon Swordmaster, Dan Seol-woo (雲中劍龍).

Born and raised in Shanxi Province, he had already ascended to the position of the world’s greatest swordsman before even reaching the end of his youth.

A swordsman above swordsmen.

A dragon soaring among the clouds.

The fact that such a man crossed mountains and seas to settle in Joseon became a hot topic among the three Guardian Gods.

—A future shining bright, yet he suddenly leaves for a faraway foreign land? It’s obvious—he must’ve escaped from the Abyss.

—Then we should see it as him finding peace. Go, read, paint calligraphy… repeating simple hobbies over and over—that’s why, isn’t it?

—No, Ji-mo’s right, there’s definitely more to it. This Dan Seol-woo fellow… has never even shown his descendants the Heavenly Fortune Sword Art’s main scroll.

“…I wonder what kind of Abyss it must have been. The story of how Dan Seol-woo became Lee Seong-bin.”

Do-yoon stroked his chin.

Dan Seol-woo said nothing, not even blinking, glaring at Do-yoon as though nailed to the spot.

“I’ve been curious. The so-called Cloud Dragon Swordmaster, the revered greatest swordsman under heaven. The twisted face hidden behind that glamorous veil.”

“…You seem to know a great deal about me.”

Dan Seol-woo stepped closer.

“They did say the unwanted guests to come would have strange abilities….”

From behind his back, a glint of sword light was about to flash—

“Whoa, impatient much? At least hear me out before you try to kill me.”

“…?”

“Dying in here doesn’t mean your life is actually over. Same for you—you didn’t ‘escape’ from the Abyss either.”

Slowly, Dan Seol-woo’s hand lowered.

“There is no paradise where you’ve run away to. Personally, I don’t agree with that saying, but for you… it fits like a glove. Because this land—”

Do-yoon clasped his hands together, stretching them forward, eyes closed as he exhaled.

“…was the very Abyss that swallowed you whole. Or am I wrong?”

“What… are you trying to say?”

“You said earlier it was a loss of 29,070 points? Ah, no—it’s gone up again.”

That was thanks to his generous investments into Strength, Agility, Combat Skills, and Combat Sense.

Including the additional penalties, the total loss in points when all stats dropped by 1 was—

“30,510 points. Losing that would make me so mad I might just go pay your descendants a visit.”

“Hmph. As I said before, even if you threaten me with my descendants—”

“Who said anything about a threat? Why use fists when you’ve got plenty of money?”

Do-yoon glanced around.

“This manor—didn’t you pour in about 1 million nyang until completion? That’s about 3 billion won in today’s money.”

“…?”

“Sorry for the sudden money talk, but I’ve got enough to tear this place down and rebuild it twice over. So here’s my plan.”

He raised a finger.

“One: I offer too much money for you to refuse. Two: I order a DNA test to track down your real descendants in Shanxi Province.”

“…What?”

“For reference, they say kinship within five generations can be confirmed with over 90% accuracy. And the more physical evidence, the better. Now that I’ve seen your face, maybe I’ll even have a portrait painted, a nice, accurate one.”

“You… you…”

Dan Seol-woo was in disbelief.

It was shocking enough that his identity was exposed—

But the secrets he had buried deep in the grave—

A past he had never spoken of in his entire life—how could this brat possibly know?!

Don’t tell me… he even knows that?

Please, anything but that.

The unease tightening around his chest—

“What would they think, I wonder? That the exalted Sword Immortal, the ancestor they’ve proudly revered for generations—”

“Ah…”

—when they found out—

“That he snuck away like a rat to the southernmost tip of Joseon, had children, and lived out his life there?”

“Ahh…”

Finally, reality crashed down on Dan Seol-woo.

Yes.

The very thing that had left the Guardian Gods slack-jawed.

The cause that made him cower in darkness for the rest of his life and even cut off the lineage of the Heavenly Fortune Sword Art.

—A Sword Immortal who ascended to the heavens? My ass. In truth, he was a fraud who washed his identity in a distant land and lived out his days there!

That was his Abyss.

“No… anything but that…”

Dan Seol-woo’s white beard trembled violently.

The dignity of a grandmaster was nowhere to be seen, only his face twitching in spasms as he stammered—

“W-what do you want? The Heavenly Fortune Sword Art?”

“Correct.”

“If I hand it over, can you promise? To keep the secret?”

“I’m a busy man. No time to waste on pointless games.”

“…Fine. Take it.”

Dan Seol-woo closed his eyes.

Do-yoon slowly stood up.

He could feel strength returning to his body, which had been on the verge of collapsing.

Enough to look down on the Sword Immortal—

Puhk.

Even as the blade pierced him, Dan Seol-woo didn’t move a finger.

“Guh…”

Blood ran down his chest, dripping onto the ground.

His knees buckled—

And the moment his body hit the floor with a dull thud—

[You have overcome the final trial…]

[System halted! Emergency stop request!]

Reason for halt: An act that throws the noble purpose of ‘trial conquest’ into the trash bin.

[The ‘Ashen Phoenix’ expresses displeasure.]

[The ‘Ice Queen’ furrows her brow.]

[The ‘Patron of Ruin’…]

[The ‘Heavenly Monarch’…]

[The ‘Watcher of the Night’…]

[The ‘Judge of the Void’ is at a loss for words.]

Countless beings watching from beyond the starlight object in unison!

A bombardment of messages blurred his vision.

Already…?

These were beings who exerted influence from beyond the universe—an even higher class than the Guardian Gods.

The Constellations.

The culprits behind the fall of the nation in his 11th run.

The VIP spectators of the Colosseum, watching humanity’s desperate struggle for survival.

In the early runs, they had seemed like neutral observers… or occasionally generous supporters who would toss him a few points.

What a big misunderstanding that was.

They were nothing more than audience members tossing popcorn when excited.

And now, those once-entertained viewers were booing.

Standing alone in the very center of the arena—

Enduring jeers and pointing fingers from all sides.

“Hey—you people with the fancy titles in your names.”

Do-yoon stared into the empty air and continued.

“Let me just ask a couple things. So… it only counts as overcoming the trial if I beat him with swordsmanship, right?”

[The Constellations nod solemnly and sternly.]

“So that means… no other types of Awakened could clear this trial? Only swordsmen are eligible?”

[Opinions are divided.]

—One side says as long as you win by your own strength, it’s fine.
—The other insists that since you came for the sword art, you must be a swordsman.

The former is slightly ahead.

“Just curious—but then what’s the point of this trial existing? If you can already beat the Sword Immortal with swordsmanship, why would you even need the Heavenly Fortune Sword Art?”

[…]

[…]

The Constellations are struck speechless.

“One more question. Which is the more noble and valuable victory?
One: A top-tier swordsman retrieving what’s his.
Two: Someone who, through their own unique method, desperately breaks through the impossible.”

[The Constellations fall into thought.]

[The ‘Judge of the Void’’s eyes flare!]

[They retort rapidly, saying that bringing up unrelated cases is off-topic, and whether option one is meaningless or not has nothing to do with your cheap trick!]

“I read it. The intent of the designers behind this trial. And I was moved by the beauty of it. From the first stage to the last, what they demanded of the challenger was… Find the enemy’s heart.”

Do-yoon raised his right hand, moving his fingers—

Thump, thump.

As if mimicking a pounding heart.

“And once you’ve found it? Grip it without hesitation.”

He clenched his fist in midair.

“Isn’t that the true meaning of ‘Heavenly Fortune’ in this trial? If you won’t acknowledge it just because I didn’t do it with a sword… that’s disappointing.”

[The ‘Ashen Phoenix’ perks up.]

[The ‘Ice Queen’’s frozen lips curl slightly upward.]

[The ‘Patron of Ruin’ gasps in realization—“Why not just switch to this interpretation? Oh, wait…”]

[The ‘Heavenly Monarch’ is delighted.]

[The ‘Watcher of the Night’ changes stance.]

[The ‘Judge of the Void’ falls silent.]

A cold smirk tugged at Do-yoon’s lips.

As he suspected—these were the architects of the Sword Immortal’s Trial.

[Congratulations! You have cleared the hidden trial, ‘Questioning the Nature of the Trial.’]

…Hidden trial? Sounds like something they just made up on the spot. Ridiculous.

[Hidden reward: 50,000P acquired.]

But—50,000 points changed everything.

A crooked smile spread across Do-yoon’s face.

[You have overcome all trials.]

[You have cleared the ‘Sword Immortal’s Trial.’]

Trial Reward: ‘Heavenly Fortune Sword Art (Legendary)’

[World’s First] Trial Clear!

[National First] Trial Clear!

First-clear bonus: 25,000P acquired.

Consecutive clear streak bonus: 2,100P acquired.

[Current Points: 134,044P]

[The ‘Patron of Ruin’ takes an interest in you.]

[The ‘Ice Queen’ is curious about you.]

So… they’ve started showing interest.

Suppressing the urge to stare at that tempting 134,000-point total, Do-yoon instead focused on watching the manor return to its original state.

This was an achievement on a whole different level from clearing the Pocheon Gate or killing Jo Yong-bae.

A big event—releasing a legendary martial arts manual this early in the story. This will draw plenty more than just these Constellations.

The Heavenly Fortune Sword Art was worth the risk, but he would have to be more careful from now on. Too many eyes were watching.

“Whew…”

He trudged forward, plopping down on the dust-covered floorboards.

His whole body felt heavy, like soaked cotton, as if he’d been fighting all day—

But the flames of ambition burned far too brightly to be snuffed out.

Sitting cross-legged reverently—

He opened the newly appeared Items tab in his Status Window and tapped the sole entry.

[Heavenly Fortune Sword Art (Legendary)]
—The life’s work of Sword Immortal Dan Seol-woo. A martial arts manual that details everything from the teachings that lead to the flawless realm, to the ultimate technique of identifying an enemy’s vital point and piercing it in a single strike.

[Unlearned martial art. Learn now? Y/N]

There was no way he would accidentally hit N.

[Set as exclusive martial art? Y/N]

Warning: Setting as exclusive will increase the training speed of this martial art. Training speed for opposing martial arts will be greatly reduced.

Set it.

[Training begins.]

With that message—

A flood of insights poured into Do-yoon’s mind.

Even with his eyes closed, every movement was vividly drawn in his head.

As if his body remembered it, the stances and techniques became part of him.

[‘Heavenly Fortune Sword Art – 1 Star’ achieved!]

[Special stat unlocked: Qi – 2]