Chapter 33: I Reached the State of Harmony

Most martial families had a secluded training cave.

Ah, that might be incorrect.

Let me correct myself.

Most prestigious martial families or prestigious sects had a secluded training cave.

For martial artists who had reached a certain level, growth occurred more within than in the physical body, so training that blocked the external environment and allowed one to delve into their inner self was often helpful.

What other reason could there be for crawling into a cave, leaving behind the vast nature or a well-maintained training ground?

But wasn't the Yang Clan a family of merchants?

Although the Yang Clan also had many martial artists, they were not practitioners who accumulated training but performers of missions.

That was why the Yang Clan paid them a large sum of gold, and there was no reason for the Yang Clan to have a secluded training cave.

Especially not in the quarters of the family's second daughter, who did not practice martial arts.

“Is this really enough?”

“It's more than enough.”

The place Yang Su-rin gave me was a room in the corner of her quarters.

Although I said her quarters, there was no issue of propriety between men and women.

Wasn't this the Yang Clan, the wealthiest family in all of Anhui?

She was a precious lady who used an entire massive pavilion by herself, so there were plenty of empty rooms.

As for me, I wasn't going to be training but falling into a comatose state, so a single bedroom was more than enough, not a secluded training cave.

“I'll be in your care for a month.”

My body, having achieved the Third Stage of the Healing Sage’s Mind Cultivation Art, could block sword stabs and deadly poisons, but it couldn't prevent starvation.

So her help was essential.

For the sake of secrecy, I asked her to take care of me directly instead of a servant.

A martial artist's robust body, full of internal energy, could maintain its peak condition with just one meal a day, so I thought it wouldn't be too much of a burden for her.

“Don't worry. Keeping a promise is a merchant's credit.”

Saying so, Yang Su-rin left without any lingering attachment.

Although she wasn't a martial artist, she had lived a life with one foot in the Jianghu Murim.

She knew well the common sense that one should not peek at another's training.

Rustle.

I took out the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Fleeceflower Root from my bosom.

Chomp.

Without hesitation, I chewed and swallowed the thick root.

Compared to the Immaculate Pomegranate, which was sweeter than candy, or the Vermilion Fruit, which tasted better than an apple, eating this was an ordeal.

Crunch.

But I couldn't leave this precious thing behind, so I did my best to chew it thoroughly.

I lay down.

For the first time, I operated the Dancheon Mind Art in a lying posture instead of a cross-legged one.

Perhaps because my body had reached the Transcendent Peak, it wasn't difficult even though it was my first time.

And when I added the Healing Sage’s Mind Cultivation Art.

“Umm…….”

An irresistible drowsiness washed over me.

My eyelids, which had become as heavy as a thousand catties, closed on their own.

* * *

I had a dream.

Since I knew I was in a comatose state, it would be correct to call it a lucid dream.

However, despite knowing it was a dream, I couldn't move as I pleased, so perhaps it wasn't a lucid dream.

I was meeting my mother, whose face I couldn't remember.

There, I was brandishing my sword.

I was left alone.

There, I was brandishing my sword.

I was training with Uncle Yeo Baek.

There, I was brandishing my sword.

I was traveling the Jianghu with Chun-baek hyung.

There, I was brandishing my sword.

Before I knew it, I had become a peerless master who dominated the Jianghu.

There, I was brandishing my sword.

I was watching the Great War of Righteousness and Evil.

There, I…….

Was it because I was in a dream?

Although I knew it was a period of one month.

I spent quite, no, perhaps a very long time before I returned.

And when I finally opened my eyes.

“Hmm.”

I knew that I had reached the State of Harmony.

“You've worked hard. And thank you.”

I expressed my gratitude to Yang Su-rin, who was watching over me.

Perhaps because her care was not lacking, my body was in perfect condition despite being in a comatose state for a month.

“Try calling me Young Branch Lord.”

Her expression was bright.

The plan had gone as intended.

“This is something to celebrate.”

It was something I said to her.

And something I said to myself.

* * *

I spent a little over half a month with Chun-baek hyung, and a little over a month in Yang Su-rin's quarters.

Although there were still about seven days left until the two months I had promised my father, Dancheon Gang, my steps were headed towards the Dancheon Clan.

It was a starkly different appearance from most rising stars of the Jianghu who, on their first outing, roamed the Central Plains with romantic notions.

Wasn't it Myeong-gae who had roamed every corner of the Jianghu for the sake of fated encounters and his duties as a member of the Secret Pavilion?

In truth, I didn't harbor much of that Jianghu romance.

Since I had achieved all I wanted to on my journey in the Jianghu, I judged it would be better to return to the clan and prepare for the succession competition rather than wander the Jianghu aimlessly.

Although I said I would prepare for the succession competition, there wasn't much to prepare for.

It was closer to not needing to do anything rather than not being able to do anything.

The reason was that the realm of the State of Harmony had far surpassed the information and imagination I possessed.

Having entered the State of Harmony, I could realize that the plans I had made during my time as Myeong-gae in preparation for the succession competition were futile.

‘This is the State of Harmony…….’

Until now, the State of Harmony had been nothing more than a piece of information to me.

A realm where one blossoms the Spirit and communicates with all things in heaven and earth.

A realm where one begins to handle intent, a true master of the highest level.

A realm where one obtains the peerless martial power of Sword Flux.

Information that, even in the Dancheon Clan, known as a prestigious martial family, only the Clan Head Dancheon Gang, the Head of the Guard Bang Yeo-baek, and the First Elder of the Council of Elders had barely set foot in.

But now that I had entered the State of Harmony, I truly understood.

The power to shatter any half-baked preparations or information in an instant.

That was the State of Harmony.

I finally clearly realized why, in the Jianghu Murim, martial arts were ultimately valued above information or wealth.

The Peak, Transcendent Peak, and the State of Harmony were on different levels.

It also meant that I had only now realized how drastically my situation had changed.

Looking back now, I think I was actually anxious.

Even though I had regressed.

Even though I had obtained the Healing Sage’s Mind Cultivation Art.

Even though I had earned the alias of the Dragon and Phoenix.

Nevertheless, the position of the Young Clan Head of the Dancheon Clan still seemed far away.

It was because the fantasy of what I couldn't have had become a reality and inflated its own power.

But now, it was different.

It had changed.

Just as my Essence, Qi, and Spirit had united upon reaching the State of Harmony, I couldn't not know when the information I only knew in my head united with what I now possessed.

Now that I have achieved the State of Harmony, I know that the position of the Young Clan Head of the Dancheon Clan is something I can obtain if I wish to.

This meant I had gained confidence and conviction, which was the same as saying my anxiety had disappeared.

I will achieve what I desire.

If my elder brother, Dancheon Hak, had not also set foot in the State of Harmony in the meantime, this would be like an undeniable cause and effect.

It was impossible for Dancheon Hak to have already entered the State of Harmony, so in reality, the position of Young Clan Head was as good as mine.

In the face of overwhelming capability, background or politics would be rendered meaningless.

“It's been a while.”

I greeted the guard protecting the main gate of the Dancheon Clan.

“Young Master! You've returned!”

Now, even the retainers accepted my formal speech casually.

This was also a change over the past two years.

“We have been waiting for you, Young Master!”

However, his attitude was a little different from before.

“Please, hurry inside!”

“Thank you.”

His attitude was like that of a child greeting a hero of the Jianghu.

“We heard the news of your journey in the Jianghu!”

Thanks to him, who chattered endlessly while guiding me into the clan, I learned some information.

It was about a rumor that had shaken the Jianghu Murim.

A rising star who subdued a spy of the Demonic Cult on his first outing in the Jianghu.

A new divine star who would brighten the future of the Jianghu Murim.

My alias, without me knowing, was being called not the Severing Dragon, but the Divine Dragon of Dancheon.

I knew it was the result of the efforts of Jao-gae and the brothers of the Shanxi Beggar's Gang.

A two-month journey in the Jianghu.

I had not simply achieved the State of Harmony.

There were seven days left until the succession competition.

Internally, I had achieved the State of Harmony, and externally, I had gained the honor of a divine star.

Everything was perfect.

* * *

The Council of Elders of the Dancheon Clan.

It was one of the three pillars that formed the foundation of the prestigious Dancheon Sword Clan.

The difference from other prestigious clans would be the fact that there was no one with the surname Dancheon in the Dancheon Clan's Council of Elders.

In the Dancheon Clan, which had a tradition of primogeniture, all other sons who lost the succession competition were sent out of the clan, so the only ones allowed to have the surname Dancheon in the Dancheon Clan were the Clan Head and his direct descendants.

Therefore, the composition of the Council of Elders could be one of two things.

A martial artist from a collateral branch without the Dancheon surname, like Bang Yeo-baek, or a martial artist who had served the Dancheon Clan for a long time as a guest and had their contributions recognized, thus entering the Council of Elders.

The Council of Elders was where martial artists who had dedicated their entire lives to the Dancheon Clan resided after retiring from the front lines of the Jianghu Murim upon exceeding a Gapja in age.

The matriarch of the Dancheon Clan, Baek Yeo-hae, secretly visited that Council of Elders.

“It will be alright, won't it?”

It was to relieve her anxiety.

“Heo. Madam, what makes you so anxious?”

The First Elder of the Dancheon Clan, Cheon Il-san.

He received Baek Yeo-hae's words with a gentle voice.

They were colleagues who had long been in the same boat.

It had been well over ten years since they had been in the same boat, so despite their very different backgrounds, there was no discomfort in their dealings with each other.

“Of course, it's because of the Young Clan Head competition. When the Clan Head returns in seven days, the competition will begin, won't it?”

Currently, the Clan Head Dancheon Gang was absent from the clan.

Baek Yeo-hae judged that it was to coordinate matters related to the succession competition.

It was because the place Dancheon Gang headed to was the Murim Alliance.

“I suppose so.”

In truth, it was not just Baek Yeo-hae's guess.

Most people were guessing that the succession competition would soon begin in the Dancheon Clan.

Tradition was, after all, made through repetition and predictability.

“Madam, Young Master Hak has already reached the Transcendent Peak. To reach the Transcendent Peak at twenty-two, is it not truly a great fortune for the clan?”

“Of course. Whose son is he?”

As praise for Dancheon Hak came out, a look of satisfaction appeared on Baek Yeo-hae's face.

It was ambiguous to call her a doting parent, because the realm of Transcendent Peak at the age of twenty-two was truly remarkable.

Wasn't the Transcendent Peak the realm that even the clan's supreme master, Dancheon Gang, had reached at the age of thirty?

“Then what is it that worries you so?”

Worry reappeared on Baek Yeo-hae's face.

“Dancheon Myeong. That child makes me anxious.”

“May I know the reason?”

After letting out a ‘Hoo-’ sigh, Baek Yeo-hae continued.

“I know that child is a genius. Perhaps even more so than Hak.”

It was her innermost thoughts, which she had never told anyone.

Baek Yeo-hae might be the person who disliked Dancheon Myeong the most within the clan, but at the same time, she was also the one who had watched him the most.

She had come to be wary of Dancheon Myeong not because he was an illegitimate child registered under her.

It was because she had, by chance or by fate, found out that the child was a genius.

Enough to threaten her own son's position in the Dancheon Clan, which had a tradition of primogeniture.

“Still, I will make Hak the Clan Head. No, the position of Clan Head was Hak's to begin with.”

With a resolute expression, Baek Yeo-hae firmly pressed her lips together.

It was a mother's heart.