Chapter 215

Jeok Mugun asked the flustered Jeok Rigeuk, “Well, then. Why don't you show me how much you've improved?”

Rigeuk grinned and nodded.

“Yes! I'd be happy to.”

“Look at you, brimming with confidence.”

“You might want to brace yourself.”

“Oh, really? Come at me, then.”

“Pardon? Right here?”

“What's wrong with here? Why bother going anywhere else?”

Seeing how utterly relaxed Jeok Mugun was, Rigeuk laughed to himself.

Enjoy that confidence while you can, Father. You're in for a surprise.

Jeok Mugun beckoned with one hand.

“You can have the first move.”

His voice was perfectly calm, without the slightest hint of tension.

Rigeuk gave a respectful salute and stepped back.

He steadied his breathing and began drawing up his energy.

It took hardly any time at all.

He had already completed his preparations a while ago.

BOOM!

The instant Rigeuk took his first step, the ground caved beneath his foot, and an afterimage lingered in his wake.

He thrust out his right hand with the speed of a lightning flash.

His palm strike shot forward like a bolt of lightning.

“Ha ha ha! You rascal.”

Jeok Mugun laughed as he effortlessly avoided the attack.

“You've eliminated all the wasted movement from your technique. You've certainly been working hard.”

Rigeuk had expected him to evade the first strike with ease.

After all, that attack had merely been intended to show his father how much his movements had improved.

The real attack began with his next move.

Limitless Heavenly Fist, Fifth Form: Eight Trigrams Wandering Dragon.

Leaving an afterimage where he had stood, Rigeuk leaped into the air.

His body appeared to spread along eight different paths simultaneously.

His movements were smooth and fluid, following trajectories that were impossible to predict.

RATATATAT!

Fist aura rained down on Jeok Mugun from every direction.

Every single strike was aimed at one of his vital points.

The danger was immediate.

Yet Jeok Mugun remained completely at ease.

Whoosh.

With his hands clasped behind his back, he executed his footwork.

RATATATAT!

He barely seemed to move, yet not a single one of Rigeuk's attacks found its mark.

“Ha ha ha. You've certainly gotten faster. I'm proud of you.”

Jeok Mugun smiled with unmistakable approval.

The sight made Rigeuk feel as though he were standing before an insurmountable wall.

He had given it everything he had, yet his father had casually brushed aside his attacks as though he were indulging a child's game.

It was enough to take the wind out of his sails.

Father really is beyond my reach.

A wall he could never overcome, no matter how hard he worked.

That was why he had never resented his father for not handing over the position of Lord of Heavenly Martial Castle.

He knew he wasn't the man to inherit it.

Besides, he had never expected much in the first place. His father would undoubtedly remain hale and hearty until Rigeuk himself was an old man.

The Divine Transformation Realm was also known as the Realm Beyond Life and Death.

It meant transcending the boundary between life and death.

Those who reached it escaped the limits of the human lifespan. Their aging either ceased entirely or slowed to an extraordinary degree.

Unless Rigeuk reached the Divine Transformation Realm himself, he might very well end up aging faster than his own father.

“What are you thinking about? Aren't you going to attack?”

“Would there be any point? Surely you've seen enough to judge how much I've improved.”

“I thought you were going to surprise me.”

“I was mistaken. I thought I was the only one who had made great progress, but it seems you've climbed to even greater heights, Father.”

“You could tell?”

“Yes.”

“I've reached the five-star level of the Divine Transformation Realm.”

“Pardon? You've advanced by a whole three stars since before?”

Rigeuk had known his father had reached greater heights, but Jeok Mugun had progressed far beyond anything he had imagined.

Rigeuk was convinced that no martial artist in the entire history of the Central Plains had ever surpassed his father.

Wihwang is going to have a difficult time of it.

His son would have to succeed a man of such extraordinary stature.

It was a position in which even doing everything right would invite criticism.

Whatever Wihwang accomplished, people would compare him to his grandfather. The pressure would be enormous.

Would Jeok Wihwang be able to withstand it?

As a father, Rigeuk couldn't help worrying.

Even so, he believed his son would overcome the pressure and prove himself worthy.

“How disappointing. I thought I might finally get to enjoy myself for a change.”

“I'm sorry, Father. I thought I'd worked hard, but all I've done is disappoint you.”

“Never mind that.”

“Is Rihyeon doing well?”

“Yes, he's doing quite well. Come to think of it, you'd better start working a lot harder.”

“Pardon?”

“Rihyeon has reached the Profound Realm, too. He's catching up to you at a frightening pace.”

“What? W-what do you mean? Rihyeon is the Sect Master of a little sect called the True Martial Sect. How could he have reached the Profound Realm?”

“Apparently, he had a talent for martial arts. I simply never noticed it. Well, he is my flesh and blood, after all.”

Jeok Mugun spoke with a broad grin.

“And his sons are exceptional, too.”

“Why did you bring this boy here? Are you planning to give him a position in the strategist's office?”

“The strategist's office? No. He's another candidate for succession.”

“Pardon?”

“Are you going to make me repeat everything twice? I said he's another candidate for succession.”

“A-a candidate for succession? From what I heard, Rihyeon's eldest son was born with a body incapable of practicing martial arts.”

“That's right. This rascal doesn't have so much as a scrap of inner qi in his body.”

“Then how can he be a candidate for succession? No matter how brilliant his mind might be, there are limits to what intelligence alone can accomplish.”

“Who told you he was brilliant?”

“Isn't he? If his body can't practice martial arts, what else does he have besides his mind?”

“Turns out there are people who can be strong without inner qi.”

“Pardon?”

“I'm telling you, some people are strong through sheer physical strength alone. This rascal here is one of them.”

“Has he practiced external martial arts?”

“Well, you could say that.”

“Are you telling me he's achieved an indestructible body, the very pinnacle of external martial arts?”

“Oh! That's right. This rascal has an indestructible body. Actually, I suppose you could say he's gone beyond even that.”

“What? An indestructible body actually exists?”

“There's one standing right in front of you. This rascal took one of my attacks and was still standing there without a scratch.”

Rigeuk could hardly believe it.

Someone without a trace of inner qi had taken an attack from none other than the Heavenly Martial Emperor and emerged completely unharmed?

“Y-you must have held back, Father.”

“Held back? What are you talking about? I used my full strength.”

“WHAT? And he's still alive?”

“Yes. Didn't have a scratch on him. I could hardly believe it myself.”

Is he serious?

Rigeuk studied Jeok Mugun's face, but his father didn't appear to be joking.

“Why are you staring at me like that? Do you think I'm lying?”

“How many people do you think would believe such a story?”

“Not now.”

“Pardon? Not now, what?”

“Relax that fist of yours before you say anything else.”

“Ah!”

“You were just about to attack that rascal.”

“It's just so difficult to believe...”

“That wouldn't be fair. I told you, didn't I? He's a candidate for succession, too.”

“Understood.”

Rigeuk unclenched his fist and took a step back.

The mention of an indestructible body had startled him, but wasn't it ultimately just a matter of being able to withstand a beating?

There was no particular reason to be wary of the boy.

Jeok Mugun watched his reaction with an amused expression.

If he had his way, he would reveal everything right here and now and make Jeok Wigang the next Lord of Heavenly Martial Castle.

But a test was a test.

He had given his word, and he intended to keep it.

“How do you plan to conduct the succession trials?” Rigeuk asked.

“Why even ask? We'll use the Three Rights Succession Trial.”

“Just as I expected.”

Rigeuk smiled.

The Three Rights Succession Trial consisted of three tests.

The first measured a candidate's ability to attract followers, the second assessed their capacity to govern Heavenly Martial Castle, and the third—and most important—tested their martial strength.

The first was the Right of Popular Support.

The time limit was one week.

Within that period, each candidate had to gather as many people as possible who would follow them out of genuine loyalty.

The second was the Right of Governance, which assessed a candidate's ability to rule Heavenly Martial Castle.

This test was somewhat more complicated.

A candidate had to secure the support of the Eight Stars of Heavenly Martial Castle, who were effectively the Castle's greatest source of strength.

To earn their support, the candidate had to complete the tasks assigned by the Eight Stars.

The final test was the Right of Martial Might, which measured the strength that mattered most in a Lord of Heavenly Martial Castle.

The candidate had to enter the Heavenly Martial Supreme Formation and survive as many stages as possible.

The formation contained a total of one hundred stages, and Jeok Mugun was the only person who had ever cleared all one hundred.

The person who had advanced the second farthest was none other than Jeok Rigeuk.

He had made it to the fiftieth stage before being forced to stop.

Having experienced the trial himself, Rigeuk would be able to offer Jeok Wihwang plenty of advice.

He smiled with satisfaction at receiving precisely the answer he had expected.

After all, he had already been making all his preparations with the Three Rights Succession Trial in mind.

“By the way, has Ripae still not come out?”

“I imagine he isn't satisfied with what he's accomplished yet. Still, I'm sure he'll emerge in time for the appointed date.”

“Well, that's his concern. I won't be giving him any extensions.”

“Quite right, Father.”

Rigeuk's smile deepened.

Yes. Better yet, don't come out at all.

“I should go and get some rest.”

“Yes, Father. Please rest well.”

“Very well. Let's go.”

“Yes.”

Rigeuk noticed something strange as he watched Jeok Mugun leave with Jeok Wigang.

How should he put it?

It almost seemed as though his father had already decided that Jeok Wigang would be the next Lord of Heavenly Martial Castle.

Come to think of it, hadn't the boy openly corrected Jeok Mugun earlier, without the slightest hesitation?

His father had an almost pathological dislike of being corrected by anyone, yet he had simply laughed it off.

Why?

“Hmm?”

Rigeuk sensed something unusual about the four people following Jeok Wigang.

The energy emanating from them was anything but ordinary.

Not one of them was beneath him in strength.

And there were four such extraordinary experts following the boy.

His questions only continued to multiply.

But he couldn't very well seize the boy and force him to answer.

Jeok Mugun was right beside him, and until the trials were over, no one was permitted to lay a hand on any of the succession candidates without just cause.

“This curiosity is going to drive me mad... I suppose I'll find out on the day of the trials.”

Wishing the day would arrive sooner, Rigeuk forced himself to turn away and leave, though his feet seemed reluctant to move.

*****

RUMBLE...

The doors of another secluded-training wing opened, and Jeok Mugun's second son, Jeok Ripae, the Eightfold Adamant Fist, emerged alongside his son, Jeok Wisin.

Ripae was startled to see the person standing before him.

“Elder Brother? What are you doing here?”

Jeok Wisin bowed at the waist in greeting.

“It's good to see you, Uncle.”

The man standing before Jeok Ripae was none other than Jeok Rigeuk.

“Good to see you, too. Well, did you make much progress?”

Ripae gave a derisive chuckle at his elder brother's question.

“Is that why you've been waiting here? Because you're curious about our progress? Do you really think I'd tell you?”

Seeing how guarded his younger brother was, Rigeuk replied, “You're awfully touchy. I was only asking.”

“Well, my son happens to be quite exceptional, you see. He's made tremendous progress. You'll see for yourself soon enough.”

“Is that so? More importantly, there's a new candidate for succession.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Father brought Rihyeon's eldest son here.”

“Rihyeon's eldest son?”

Ripae thought for a moment, then his eyes widened as he remembered.

“Ah! The one who supposedly can't practice martial arts? Hold on. Are you saying Father himself has made someone who can't even practice martial arts a candidate for succession?”

“Yes. Apparently, he has an indestructible body.”

“An indestructible body, you say... I suppose he must have practiced external martial arts since he can't cultivate inner qi. But surely that alone isn't enough to qualify him to become Lord of Heavenly Martial Castle?”

“Not even close. But there's something strange about it. Father is positively doting on the boy.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Whenever he's around that boy, he turns into an ordinary grandfather.”

“Ordinary? Who does? Father?”

“Yes. He treats the boy like a doting grandfather would treat his grandson.”

“What exactly does he do that makes you say that?”

“The boy openly corrects Father, you see. And Father just laughs it off.”

“That's impossible!”