The Terminally Ill Young Master of the Baek Clan

Master Azure Sky was undoubtedly a martial master.

Not just an ordinary martial master, but one with a clear bloodline and background.

Even as a member of the royal family, it didn’t mean one could control everyone in the world at will.

Moreover, there were many kings besides King Gye-yeong, and inviting martial artists could be misunderstood as an attempt to grow one’s power.

Nevertheless, the fact that King Gye-yeong invited Master Azure Sky to teach the Crown Prince and the County Princess showed that he was very concerned.

「It’s rare for royalty to emphasize martial arts. How peculiar.」

Even Zhang Sanfeng commented as such.

Master Azure Sky was not only a great martial artist but also a great teacher.

His noble appearance and long, white beard perfectly suited the expression “the demeanor of an immortal and the bones of a Taoist”—a person with a transcendental demeanor.

Even the usually arrogant and rude Crown Prince respected and followed him.

The Crown Prince felt bitter and despondent.

Master Azure Sky, who was always composed, became like a child in front of Yi-gang, as if he was before a candy.

Even now, he postponed his own training to perform a sword dance.

It was a familiar Wudang sword dance, even to the Crown Prince. The Taiyi Sword Dance, a training sword dance that, just by performing, nourished one’s Qi and protected the body.

“Hup!”

Master Azure Sky’s sword glistened as it caught the sunlight.

There wasn’t a hint of flamboyance. He wielded the sword with a mastery that revealed his humble nature, devoid of any unnecessary flair.

And beside him stood Yi-gang, quietly with his arms crossed.

From that stance alone, the Crown Prince didn’t like it.

He had expected the young Yi-gang to shrink before a senior martial artist, yet here he was, crossing his arms.

“Hmm…”

And that attitude, as if he found something lacking, what was that about?

After finishing the sword dance, Master Azure Sky asked with a tense expression, “What do you think?”

Master Azure Sky was actually asking Yi-gang for his opinion on the Taiyi Sword Dance.

It was an odd situation where a master of Wudang, even as a secular disciple, was asking for feedback from an outsider and junior.

“Even if you ask for my opinion…”

“Heheh…”

“How could an outsider like me dare to comment on Wudang’s sword dance?”

Yi-gang responded with an awkward smile, refraining from answering rashly.

The Crown Prince thought that Yi-gang had finally realized his place.

It was a premature judgment by the Crown Prince.

“The Wudang sword is a soft sword.”

“Indeed.”

Yi-gang began to speak, and Master Azure Sky listened attentively as if he were receiving a precious truth.

“However, from what I’ve learned, Taiyi is meant to embody the harmony of the heavenly stems. This means that the sword should also contain transformation and express the vertical flow between heaven and earth. Yet, it seems that your sword focuses solely on softness.”

“That is exactly what has been troubling me!”

“I believe that as the Taiyi Sword Dance progresses, the sharpness of the sword dance becomes dulled because of this. As the Sword Emperor told me…”

At the mention of the Sword Emperor, Master Azure Sky nearly swooned with excitement.

This was why he treated Yi-gang, a junior by far, with such respect.

The Sword Emperor imparted his teachings to the Immortal Divine Dragon of the Azure Forest, a disciple of a fellow Taoist sect.

It was an open secret that just before his ascension, the Sword Emperor had personally taught Yi-gang, treating him almost like a disciple.

Although Yi-gang was not officially the Sword Emperor’s successor, the perception was even greater.

It wasn’t far-fetched to see Yi-gang as the Sword Emperor’s true heir.

“It feels like my eyes are opening!”

If the Sword Emperor had spoken, it was as if it were the truth itself.

Orthodox martial artists, especially Wudang disciples, regarded the ascended Sword Emperor as their spiritual pillar.

“Young master, please stay with us for a long time!”

“Haha, if circumstances allow…”

“Please continue to guide us in the future as well.”

“I should be the one saying that. Haha!”

The Crown Prince, witnessing this harmonious exchange, finally exploded in frustration.

“Ugh, what on earth is this!”

He abandoned the horse stance he had been forcing himself to maintain.

While he understood that the horse stance was meant to build basic physical strength, he was in no mood to continue.

“Aren’t we supposed to be training? Why are you so excited to talk to him instead?”

It was fortunate he hadn’t referred to Yi-gang as “that guy.”

Master Azure Sky had left the Crown Prince and the Honorable County Princess to maintain their horse stance while he excitedly chatted away.

“Are you ignoring us?”

Master Azure Sky, looking somewhat embarrassed, tried to ease the tension.

“Haha… It’s not like that.”

“If it’s not, then what is it! We’re just wasting time with this horse stance…”

At that moment, Yi-gang interrupted in a stern tone.

“The horse stance is not a waste of time. For a martial artist, the stability of one’s center is crucial. That stability comes from a well-trained lower body.”

“…!”

He gestured toward the back of the Crown Prince.

“It seems that Her Highness the County Princess remembers this well.”

When the Crown Prince turned his head, the Honorable County Princess was still maintaining her horse stance.

As the Crown Prince gaped in betrayal, she finally, feeling embarrassed, released her stance.

“Your Highness the County Princess, please maintain the horse stance for a little longer.”

As Yi-gang spoke gently, she resumed the horse stance.

The Crown Prince, with no other choice, also returned to the horse stance.

But Yi-gang wasn’t satisfied there.

“Since there’s no sweat and your calves haven’t hardened, it seems that Your Highness has become quite accustomed to the horse stance. Hmm, may I briefly touch your body…?”

The Crown Prince was about to shake his head, but Yi-gang had directed the question to Master Azure Sky.

Master Azure Sky nodded enthusiastically.

Without hesitation, Yi-gang took action.

“Like this.”

He pressed down on the Crown Prince’s thigh as he held the horse stance.

Although the action was gentle, the Crown Prince felt a shock in his leg as if it had been electrified.

He almost stumbled, but Yi-gang simply folded the Crown Prince’s leg over the other knee.

“Now, try to balance on one leg.”

“Ugh, what are you doing…?”

“This is like an exercise that strengthens leg muscles and improves balance. I do it every morning as part of my warm-up routine.”

The horse stance involved bending the knees and sticking the hips back, as if sitting on an invisible chair.

Even that was difficult, but trying to balance on one leg made it even more challenging.

The Crown Prince, his face flushed red, began to endure out of sheer stubbornness.

Yi-gang dusted off his hands and returned to Master Azure Sky.

Master Azure Sky had a peculiar expression on his face.

“Was I being too intrusive?”

“No… not at all. But do you really practice that every day?”

“Yes. We’ve even introduced this training to the disciples at Wudang. I haven’t been practicing it for very long myself.”

“At Wudang?”

Master Azure Sky was more intrigued by the fact that Yi-gang practiced such an unusual modified horse stance than by the Crown Prince’s struggle.

Moreover, he was even more interested when he heard that this training method had been adopted at the Wudang sect.

“While physical training is the foundation of everything, I never expected a master of your level, young master, to practice such a static exercise daily… By any chance, how did you come to…?”

After a moment of thought, Yi-gang decided to satisfy Master Azure Sky’s curiosity.

“It’s a method devised by the Sword Emperor. While it’s basic training that you, Master Azure Sky, might not need, I was born with a weak body…”

“The Sword Emperor devised it! Then I can’t resist trying it myself.”

Master Azure Sky immediately tried to imitate the stance the Crown Prince had taken. Yi-gang barely managed to prevent the Crown Prince’s dignity from being shattered.

Master Azure Sky seemed determined to try the stance later, even if he restrained himself now.

‘The teachings of the Sword Emperor’ clearly excited Master Azure Sky.

‘He must have been an extraordinary person.’

Yi-gang suddenly thought of the Sword Emperor.

Though he wasn’t there to witness the moment of his ascension, knowing that the one who had abandoned everything had spread his wings was moving.

In truth, Yi-gang had lied to Master Azure Sky.

‘It wasn’t something the Sword Emperor taught me…’

This was actually a body-strengthening method devised by Zhang Sanfeng.

The legendary Great Ancestor of Wudang.

A legendary immortal who subdued an evil dragon, became an immortal, and remained on earth for a third match against the Heavenly Demon. How would Master Azure Sky react if he knew it was something taught by Zhang Sanfeng?

「How would he react? He’d probably tell you not to lie. Haha… Haha.」

In reality, the legendary Zhang Sanfeng had a bit of a foolish side, enjoying silly jokes.

Yi-gang quietly gave Master Azure Sky a meaningful glance.

Master Azure Sky followed Yi-gang to a secluded spot.

Even there, Yi-gang asked his question through a secret transmission of sound.

-I have something to ask you.

-…What is it?

It was because he couldn’t speak lightly about the physical condition of royalty.

-The Crown Prince’s meridians are not in good condition.

-…You noticed.

-I discovered it by chance.

When Yi-gang had pressed on the Crown Prince’s acupoints, he realized that his body wasn’t normal.

-It’s not easy to notice. You truly are remarkable.

Master Azure Sky wore a bitter expression.

After a moment of hesitation, he nodded.

-The Senior Grand Secretary has pledged loyalty to His Majesty, King Gye-yeong, and you, young master, were appointed as the Crown Prince’s teacher by His Majesty himself. I will inform you.

-I will listen carefully and keep my mouth shut.

The Crown Prince’s meridians were in disarray.

However, it wasn’t due to a condition like meridian blockage disease.

It was, strictly speaking, a sign of internal injury. The kind that someone who had been wounded might have.

-His Highness and Her Highness were once attacked by an assailant.

-…!

-That’s why His Majesty, King Gye-yeong, insisted on teaching them martial arts.

Yi-gang opened his mouth slightly, then quickly closed it.

It seemed like many things were beginning to make sense.

-To be precise, there was an incident where the Crown Prince was almost kidnapped, and Her Highness the County Princess saved him. In the process, the Crown Prince was injured.

The siblings’ hostility toward others and their deep affection for each other…

Perhaps those feelings stemmed from that experience.

-I believe the Crown Prince’s harsh demeanor might be due to that incident. Please understand.

-How could I not understand?

It wasn’t just empty words.

Yi-gang himself had nearly lost his life because of his clan…

The way he looked at the grumbling Crown Prince changed slightly, now holding a hint of sympathy and understanding.

「They said the brat was unruly. Have you changed your mind?」

‘…’

Yi-gang ignored Zhang Sanfeng’s teasing.

He quietly approached the Crown Prince.

It was still too harsh to endure the modified horse stance.

Although he intended to correct the Crown Prince’s attitude, it didn’t seem like a bad idea to take it slow and steady.

Just as Yi-gang was about to say, “Your Highness, you may stop now,” he overheard the Crown Prince’s muttering, unaware of Yi-gang’s approach.

“That damned arrogant bastard. I’ll report him to Father and have him executed…”

“Keep your posture straight.”

“Huh!”

Startled, the Crown Prince quickly turned his head.

Yi-gang’s gaze had turned cold once again.

And then there was Huangtian Palace.

Apart from the Guardian, not even the most common eunuchs or court ladies could be found in the secretive inner sanctum of Huangtian Palace.

One might wonder how that could be possible when serving the emperor, but it wasn’t an issue since the Seven Great Immortals personally handled all the chores.

The eunuchs, guards, and court ladies stayed only in the outer sanctum of Huangtian Palace.

The Seven Great Immortals moved between the inner and outer sanctums, taking on the duties of the eunuchs as well.

Other than them, only beautiful women and occasionally beautiful young men, for the emperor’s pleasure, entered and exited.

However, today, even those women were absent from the inner sanctum.

The emperor and the Seven Great Immortals, and the boys and girls who had entered last night were now unable to leave.

Only the blood they shed filled the place.

There was a pungent smell that should never have lingered here.

The iron scent of blood, the smell of human sweat, the stench of excrement.

The acrid smell of incense burned during rituals.

The emperor was soaking in a specially crafted bathtub.

His bloated, fat body was hidden under the milky liquid, concealing his unsightly appearance.

However, there was something even cloudier than the liquid in the bathtub.

It was the emperor’s eyes, staring blankly into space with his mouth agape.

He appeared to be in a daze, likely due to the blue smoke from the incense lit by Mi Wi-hyeon, one of the Seven Great Immortals.

Heuk Seok-gye, with a cloth covering his mouth and nose, cautiously reached for the emperor’s arm.

As he applied a salve over the wound on the emperor’s arm, the bleeding quickly stopped.

There was a bowl beneath the arm, collecting the blood.

The emperor’s blood was something that should never be seen or touched, yet they were collecting it.

“Bring it here.”

Heuk Seok-gye handed the bowl filled with blood to Yi-ryong, the leader of the Seven Great Immortals.

In the midst of this, he inadvertently glanced at the ceiling.

Yi-ryong seemed to notice this.

“Don’t worry about it. The Guardian does not move.”

The Guardian, undoubtedly a formidable master, did not move despite the suspicious actions of the Seven Great Immortals.

However, it was certain that they were observing the actions of the Seven Great Immortals.

Regardless, Yi-ryong picked up the bowl filled with blood.

In front of him was a mysterious brazier with a flickering blue flame.

“Hmm.”

After briefly closing his eyes, Yi-ryong dipped his hand into the emperor’s blood and scattered it over the brazier.

Whoosh!

The blue flame flared up as though gunpowder had been thrown in, even though it hadn’t.

It was a strange and eerie sight.

The atmosphere grew even more ominous with Yi-ryong’s next words.

“It’s certain.”

They had been conducting experiments with the emperor’s blood here—

“A fragment of the Heavenly Demon’s soul resides within the emperor’s blood.”

—To bring about the resurrection of the Heavenly Demon.