Chapter 233: Chapter 233

Chapter 233: Rehabilitation (8)

As the massive building on the outskirts of Pingliang County began to take shape, it naturally drew the attention of the locals.

"What's this place for?"

"Maybe some rich bastard from another town is moving in?"

Then, just a few days before the building's completion, word finally spread about what it was actually for.

"They're calling it the Hall of Arts."

When the locals looked confused, the Beggars Gang members, who were there to stir the pot, chimed in

When the residents asked with puzzled expressions, members of the Beggars’ Gang—who'd been spreading the word around town—were quick to fill them in.

"You know those duels that happen every evening? Well, they're gonna be held in that hall from now on. Plus, all the music and plays are going to be held there from now on."

"I was bummed we couldn't watch on rainy days, so this might actually be good."

Seeing their positive reactions, the beggar added, "Oh, but there's a catch, they're charging admission now."

"What? We've been watching for free this whole time and now they want money? That's ridiculous!"

"Look, it costs money to build and maintain a place like that, so they gotta charge at least a small fee. But it's not much, just ten copper coins a day. Let's just wait and see."

People weren’t happy about it when they first found out. And honestly, you couldn’t blame them.

Going from free to paid is never easy to accept.

A few days later, the hall was finally completed.

As the time approached for the first theatrical duel at the Hall of Arts, the residents of Pingliang County found themselves pacing anxiously inside their homes or wandering the streets.

At first, nobody planned on going. They didn't want to pay for something they'd always watched for free.

But after a day or two had passed, their attitudes slowly began to shift.

'Actually, it's really not that expensive.'

'I need to know what happens next! Jade Sword Young Master's definitely gonna kick that Black Wind Killing Demon's ass this time, right?'

As time passed, the urge to watch the duels grew stronger. Although the county was bustling with activity lately, it had originally been pretty damn boring before those Maitreya folks came.

The people here are just residents of a quiet county working hard to get by. That's all they'd ever been.

Then those scammer bastards exposed them to that horrible drug, and now their ordinary lives feel unbearably dull.

Those various performances had soothed their boredom and anxiety. And now, they could only see them again if they paid a fee.

'Screw it! Watching one show isn't going to hurt!

In the process of overcoming their Butterfly Dream Grass addiction, they'd become addicted to something else entirely.

What’s worse, the physicians and medical staff treating them were egging them on.

"Hahaha! If you want to watch, just go watch. It's only ten coins a day. You can earn that with just a little work, can't you?"

Through their consultations with the residents, the physicians were subtly encouraging the county’s people to return to work.

And so, that evening, most of Pingliang County's residents couldn't take it anymore and headed straight for the Hall of Arts.

Il-mok had orchestrated this situation deliberately, going so far as to order a halt to the matches and music performances for several days.

On top of that, he'd instructed the writers to make sure the last match ended on a massive cliffhanger to hype everyone up. They'd dropped baits that today's match would finally conclude the long-running storyline between the Jade Sword Young Master and Black Wind Killing Demon.

In the end, those addicted to the drama couldn't resist. They had no choice but to show up.

But the one who'd orchestrated this entire situation felt no guilt whatsoever. At least this was way healthier than being addicted to drugs, alcohol, gambling, or theft.

"Today's the day Jade Sword Young Master finally teaches that bastard a lesson, right?"

"I don't know. He looked a bit weaker than the Black Wind Killing Demon on their last encounter.”

As Pingliang’s locals lined up to enter the Hall of Arts, a commotion broke out at the front.

"What the hell? That guy only paid ten copper coins to get in, so why do we have to pay fifty?"

When one man shouted his complaint, the gatekeeper at the entrance shrugged and pointed to a sign.

"See that? Locals: ten coins. Outsiders: fifty. Kids under fifteen: half off."

The complaining man checked the sign the gatekeeper had pointed to, then quickly changed his tune.

"Ahem. I-I'm from here too. So I'll just pay ten coins."

"Buddy, I live here. You think I don't know what my neighbors look like?"

The outsider tried to argue, but people in the back started shouting.

"The show's gonna start without us at this rate!"

"Where the hell do you look like you're from here? I've never seen you in my life!"

In the end, the outsider and his group of four had no choice but to pay the full two hundred coins for admission.

The Pingliang residents who witnessed this exchange felt oddly satisfied.

"Hm. It sucks that it's not free anymore, but at least they're giving us special treatment."

"Right? And outsiders have to pay five times what we do."

After a few more minor arguments caused by tourists who'd stopped by Pingliang after visiting, everyone managed to enter the Hall of Arts.

Even with everyone inside, the seats were only about half full.

That was because the hall had been designed with extra capacity for the day when Pingliang County would become even more famous. For now, most of the people currently in town were here.

And soon, the theatrical duel they'd all been waiting for began.

To set up future storylines, the opening fights featured some no-name characters first. But unlike before, these weren't members of the Beggars’ Gang.

They were warriors from the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's combat unit, who had come here at Il-mok’s summons.

‘What am I doing with my life…?’

For a cultist whose reason for living was chopping off bad guys' heads, this was a seriously bizarre situation.

But the person who was most confused by all this was someone else.

"I am the Jade Sword Young Master! And I am here to avenge my Master!”

At the narrator's shout, Jeong Hyeon stepped forward and squeezed her eyes shut.

'H-How did I end up …?'

The reason so many people had gathered for today's performance was largely due to Jeong Hyeon.

Her handsome appearance, her quiet demeanor, her backstory as the disciple of Azure Sword Hero who'd once been the protagonist of these matches, and the narrative of her gradual growth and strengthening with each performance.

Without a doubt, she is the biggest celebrity in these scripted matches.

Not that she wanted any of this.

"Jade Sword Young Master! Please look over here!"

And so, Jeong Hyeon's match began amid the crowd's thunderous cheers.

She'd originally trained in archery, but the character Jade Sword Young Master was a swordsman. But it was no problem for her to wield a sword. She was already at what could be called the Peak Realm in the martial world, and these scripted matches were choreographed.

To ignore the screaming fans and all the staring, Jeong Hyeon pushed her Ghost Spirit Divine Bow to its limits and focused entirely on the performance.

She focused only on the next move, sticking to the script for a while.

Finally, following the script, the sword wielded by Jade Sword Young Master slashed through Black Wind Killing Demon's chest.

Immediately after, the crowd screamed so loud the roof nearly blew off.

And then Jeong Hyeon did something completely unplanned.

She suddenly dropped into a cross-legged meditation position and began circulating her energy.

In this unexpected situation, the experienced storyteller shouted out, "Ahhh! It looks like Jade Sword Young Master has gained enlightenment from this life-or-death duel with Black Wind Killing Demon!"

And as soon as the narrator finished speaking, several martial artists appeared from various corners of the hall and surrounded her in a protective formation.

This wasn't part of the act.

These were people who'd genuinely noticed that Jeong Hyeon had achieved enlightenment and rushed to protect her.

Between the missionary work, Baek Cheon's plays, and acting as the Jade Sword Young Master, she had been practically forced to get over her fear of people.

All those accumulated experiences had reached a critical mass, and she'd finally broken through to the next level.

"JADE SWORD YOUNG MASTER!!"

While the crowd went nuts at the sight of a martial artist attaining enlightenment—something they had only ever heard of in stories—Hong Gae, who was watching from one side of the hall, wore a dumbfounded expression.

"...How the fuck can a person gain enlightenment from a fake fight???”

As an ordinary martial artist, Hong Gae couldn't understand how someone who practiced Demonic Arts could achieve enlightenment this way.

Despite the minor incident on opening day, the Hall of Arts continued to enjoy immense popularity.

In addition to the theatrical duels, they also taught people how to read and how to play musical instruments.

Among the town's residents, those with mild addictions got hooked on watching the fights or learning instruments. Slowly but surely, they started overcoming their Butterfly Dream Grass addiction.

A few more days passed, and now...

"Cheap! Get it while it's cheap!"

The marketplace in Pingliang County was bustling with incredible energy as countless people called out to potential customers and shouted their wares.

It was all because of the people flocking in for the upcoming festival and cooking contest. Word had spread thanks to the hikers and tourists who had passed through Mount Kongtong and Pingliang County.

The town's atmosphere was incomparably more lively than when he'd first arrived here.

Il-mok walked through the marketplace with a satisfied expression as he took in the bustling scene.

Then, he suddenly looked down as he sensed something strange.

A breeze had blown through the marketplace.

It felt like something had flown away with that wind.

Il-mok quickly employed his lightness skill and rushed toward the magistrate's office.

With a tense expression, Il-mok then carefully grasped the handle of the demonic sword.

He'd always kept it at his side, but had never once actually wielded it because the lingering ghostly qi made him uneasy.

With a crisp metallic sound, the demonic sword slid smoothly from its sheath.

Just as Il-mok had expected, he could feel a sharp aura that seemed like it would cut through skin at the slightest touch, but the previous ghostly qi was gone.

"Looks like you're satisfied now."

The vengeful spirits who'd been worried about the residents addicted to Butterfly Dream Grass seemed to have finally found peace after seeing how lively the townspeople had become.

Il-mok gazed at the sword for a moment, then gripped it gently and began performing a sword dance to honor the souls of the departed spirits who'd finally found peace.

As Il-mok danced with his sword, he felt something strange. Even though this was the first time he'd actually wielded this sword, it fit in his hand remarkably well.

‘...I guess there's a reason swordsmen never shut up about legendary swords.'

Since he was a modern guy just a few years ago, he never really cared about swords even though he learned how to use them. But now that he'd tried wielding a sword that fit his hand this perfectly, he didn't want to use any other blade.

After finishing his dance, Il-mok caught his breath and picked up another sword lying nearby.

It was a training sword he’d recently used since his old one had broken.

He had used it because one could never know what kind of disaster could unfold if he trained with the demonic sword while the Ghostly Qi still lingered.

With a sword in each hand, Il-mok poured the same amount of energy into both and struck the two blades against each other.

With a clear metallic ring, one of the swords cleanly snapped in two.

"...Yep, definitely a legendary sword," he muttered while tossing out the broken training sword onto the floor.

"Hmm. I can't keep calling it the demonic sword forever. I should give it a proper name."

Il-mok stared at the sword he'd been calling the demonic sword, and pondered for a moment.

Before long, he just shrugged and muttered, “Since the spirits have been appeased and now found their peace, I guess Ascension Sword (昇天劍) fits you quite well.”

It also had the double meaning that it could send any enemy straight to heaven.

Il-mok just came up with it on the spot, but the Ascension Sword seemed to like it as it let out a pleased hum.

Watching the Ascension Sword hum all on its own, Il-mok frowned slightly.

"...Wait, there aren't still ghosts in there, are there?"