"Well. I don't know what it is, but they must have prepared something quite good. Rumor has it that the Danri Family Head is trying incredibly hard to connect with the Namgung Family through marriage."
"Then wouldn't they have prepared a gift fitting for the occasion?"
Their conversation continued after that, but it was of no concern to Dong Bongsu.
He, having perfectly become So-sam, passed by the people chattering about the Nameless Righteous Swordsman and the Namgung Family's wedding without a second thought.
To him, a more important and pressing matter than such trifles was how, and in what way, he should hunt martial artists from now on.
As he pondered this, he arrived at the family's main gate before he knew it.
After entering the Danri Family estate, Dong Bongsu headed straight for his dwelling, the East Stable, without delay.
Even as he walked to the stable, various thoughts came to mind, but he hadn't settled on any one of them yet.
He would make that decision after arriving at the stable, carefully weighing each option one by one.
He and Yeoro had passed several of the Danri Family's buildings and were almost at the stable.
> [ SYSTEM MESSAGE ]
> An enemy with a level difference of 10 or more has approached within 20 meters. 20...
'The Spiritual Eye activated?'
He stopped dead in his tracks.
His steps halted instinctively.
Dong Bongsu's gaze naturally fixed upon the stable, his home.
The East Stable was located in a particularly isolated part of the Danri Family estate, so if someone had come to visit, it was obvious they would be inside the stable without even needing to look.
'Why?'
That question suddenly popped into his mind.
Not 'who?' but 'why?' was the question that came first, because the answer to 'who?' was already clear.
A short while ago, there might have been three possibilities, but now that he was Level 7, there was only one answer.
> [ 7, 6, 5... ]
Dong Bongsu couldn't find the answer to 'why,' but he continued toward the stable.
He was confident that the 'enemy' inside the stable had sought him out for a reason that was not dangerous.
If they had intended to kill or capture him, they wouldn't be waiting here.
Even so, he continued to ponder the reason for their visit.
Finally, he found one reason.
Another topic people in the marketplace had mentioned besides the story of the Nameless Righteous Swordsman.
For a very brief moment, Dong Bongsu's teeth showed before disappearing.
It seemed his next course of action had been decided by something unexpected.
He took hold of Yeoro's reins very carefully and entered the stable.
Creeak.
Thud.
Inside the stable.
As expected, an old man in his early sixties with a magnificent white beard that flowed down to his chest was standing there.
With his hands clasped behind his back, he was watching Dong Bongsu and Yeoro enter the stable.
He was none other than.
The Danri Family Head, the Flying Heaven Beautiful Sword, Danri Cheonwoo.
"So you are So-sam."
The moment their eyes met, Dong Bongsu prostrated himself flat on the ground.
As a servant of the family, it was what he had to do.
Swoosh.
Danri Cheonwoo glided toward Dong Bongsu and Yeoro.
Since Dong Bongsu had his head slightly raised while prostrated, he could naturally see Danri Cheonwoo's feet.
'That is......!'
Danri Cheonwoo had only moved for a brief moment.
But a jolt of electricity ran through Dong Bongsu's brain as he saw it.
From his perspective, Danri Cheonwoo's movement completely defied the laws of physics.
Could something like that even be called a step?
Humans can move forward because of the friction between their feet and the ground.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
If the friction is zero, one cannot walk forward or backward.
No matter how small the value, there must be friction to advance or retreat.
However, when the coefficient of friction of the ground material is very small, walking forward is not easy.
It's because one slips.
So in such cases, to move forward effectively, humans wear shoes that increase the coefficient of friction or reduce the surface area in contact with the ground to slide forward.
Mountain climbing boots or ice skates are examples of this.
But the shoes Danri Cheonwoo was wearing now were ordinary shoes made of silk.
Above all, the floor here was just a plain dirt floor.
He hadn't measured it, but the coefficient of friction would be high.
However.
Right now, Danri Cheonwoo was moving as if he were 'flying' over the ground, seemingly ignoring the laws of gravity and friction.
"..."
Dong Bongsu had seen many who possessed martial arts until now, but he had never seen anything like that.
'Is that what a true Lightness Skill is?'
The Lightness Skills he had seen so far---those of the enforcers and common warriors---were truly low-level Lightness Skills and Movement Arts.
Furthermore, the Lightness Skill he was using as a skill was completely different from that in another respect.
While it was also a technique that operated by game laws, transcending physical laws, it was merely a 'skill' that made the body faster and more agile, on a different dimension from that.
That thing.
In other words, the Lightness Skill as a martial art was no different from a unique enlightenment that utilized the natural laws of this place to move in a special way.
A new world, separate from the laws of physics.
Dong Bongsu could feel and see its existence in that single step of Danri Cheonwoo.
In that moment.
'I must learn it.'
For the first time since coming here, Dong Bongsu resolved to properly learn martial arts.
Until now, he had felt that just leveling up was enough, but in this very moment, that thought changed.
One small footstep from Danri Cheonwoo brought about a great change in Dong Bongsu.
Though no one else knew it, the murderer was once again approaching an evolution.
In the meantime, Danri Cheonwoo reached Dong Bongsu's side.
Dong Bongsu was still watching Danri Cheonwoo's feet, and Danri Cheonwoo simply raised his hand and stroked Yeoro's nose.
"It seems this is farewell for you, too."
Hee-hee-hing.
Yeoro neighed softly, welcoming its master's gentle touch.
From this, Dong Bongsu knew that his prediction from outside the stable was correct.
The reason Danri Cheonwoo had appeared here was to see the congratulatory gift to be sent to the Namgung Family.
While Danri Cheonwoo was stroking Yeoro's mane.
A long shadow was cast over his head.
"You've come."
"Yes, Family Head."
Dong Bongsu never forgot a voice he had heard once.
He had heard the voice of the person who just appeared before.
'Is it Gi Daehyo?'
As he expected, the one who appeared was the Black Crow Corps Leader, Gi Daehyo.
Gi Daehyo still didn't know what whim had brought the Family Head to call him to a place like this.
If he wanted to ride Yeoro, he could have just had the servants prepare it at the front of the estate.
He was wondering why the Family Head had come all the way to this smelly place himself, and why he had been summoned here.
As if reading his mind, Danri Cheonwoo spoke with a subtle smile.
"No need to make such a face. I simply wanted to see Yeoro one last time."
"... "
"...?!"
Gi Daehyo was startled.
It was because of Danri Cheonwoo's words, 'last time'.
Of course, for Dong Bongsu, who was listening to their conversation with his head bowed, it was a remark he had already anticipated.
"Hoho. I told you not to be surprised."
"But...."
"On the coming full moon, the second daughter of the Namgung Family Head will be married."
"Ah!"
The Namgung Family Head, Sword Immortal Namgung Byeok.
He was the head of the Namgung Family, the most powerful among the current Five Great Families of the Central Plains, and one of the greatest swordsmen in the Murim.
Above all, the prestige of Namgung Byeok, no, the Namgung Family, was absolute in Anhui.
It might have been a bit better if there had been a rival, but in Anhui, aside from the Namgung Family, there were no Nine Sects and One Union or other Five Great Families of the Central Plains.
There were no checks on their power at all.
There wasn't even a single major unorthodox faction.
That meant that the wedding of the Namgung Family Head's second daughter was an event that could shake the whole of Anhui.
The fact that Danri Cheonwoo had come here in person meant he had decided to send Yeoro as a congratulatory gift for the Namgung Family's wedding.
"Will you be alright with this?"
Gi Daehyo knew well how much Danri Cheonwoo cherished Yeoro.
But despite his decision to send Yeoro away, Danri Cheonwoo's face was full of composure.
In fact, a faint smile was spreading across his entire face.
"Of course I am. If I can send one of my children to the Namgung Family, would I not be able to send something even greater than this?"
"... "
"... ...!"
Only then did Gi Daehyo realize what Danri Cheonwoo was truly aiming for.
Sending Yeoro as a congratulatory gift was an expression of his will to connect with the Namgung Family in some way, using this wedding as a pretext.
That was clear.
To establish a foothold in Anhui, entering the shadow of the Namgung Family was indeed the best course of action.
There were, of course, many ways to do this, but the most certain methods were just two.
"A Hundred-Year Vow? Or the Nine-Bowing Ceremony?"
The Hundred-Year Vow.
A promise to be together for a hundred years, meaning marriage.
The Nine-Bowing Ceremony.
A ritual of bowing nine times.
It is a ceremony performed when a disciple forms a bond with a master.
Those two were the marriage alliance and the master-disciple relationship.
Listening to Gi Daehyo's words, Dong Bongsu once again predicted Danri Cheonwoo's answer.
And this time too, he was correct.
"Did I not just say so? One of my children. Is it not easier to cross a stream by laying down two logs rather than one?"
"But... the Namgung Family may not want either."
At Gi Daehyo's words, Danri Cheonwoo stroked his long white beard and smiled.
"Hohoho. Is that not why I have called you?"
"... "
"I do not care what means you use, but you must make it happen."
"Who do you have in mind as the target?"
The target.
Gi Daehyo did not specify which target he meant.
Nevertheless, as if he understood, Danri Cheonwoo stroked Yeoro's nose again and spoke.
"Let's go with the Thunderclap Hegemon Sword."
"I understand, Family Head."
Thunderclap Hegemon Sword.
It was the title of Namgung Hu, the third younger brother of the current Namgung Family Head and the youngest son of the previous head.
With that, the main point of why Danri Cheonwoo had called Gi Daehyo here was concluded.
And with that, Gi Daehyo understood all of Danri Cheonwoo's words.
What Danri Cheonwoo wanted was just a small connection to the Namgung Family.
It was not some grand scheme to aim for the Great Authority of the next generation of the Namgung Family.
Either his son, Danri Ganghae, would become Namgung Hu's disciple, or if not that, his second daughter, Danri Hui, would become the official wife or a concubine to Namgung Hu or one of his sons.
That was it.
He had chosen to secure a stable foundation over a risky, rapid advance.
"When should I depart?"
"Leave tomorrow at once. There will be much to do when you get there."
"Yes, Family Head."
Thinking the conversation was over, Gi Daehyo bowed his head once to Danri Cheonwoo and turned to leave.
At that moment, Danri Cheonwoo's final words reached him from behind.
"Before you depart for the Namgung Family, be sure to take this child with you. He will be essential in handling Yeoro."
With the hand that had been stroking Yeoro's nose, Danri Cheonwoo pointed at So-sam, Dong Bongsu, who was quietly bowing his head beside them.
With his head bowed, Dong Bongsu's eyes gleamed as he quietly listened to their conversation.
"Yes, Family Head."
Gi Daehyo's short reply.
With that, Dong Bongsu's Journey Outside was decided.