Chronicles of the Lazy Sovereign Novel - Chapter 456

**Chapter 456: The lazy Investigates (1)**

“So, who the hell created that secret manual?”

Saha, the Historian, couldn’t contain his curiosity.

Although he normally avoided interrupting Gwanggu Shingae, this time he couldn’t resist.

“Are you that curious?”

“Of course.”

Gwanggu Shingae gave a mocking smile.

“It’s natural for you to be curious. It wasn’t just any matter.”

“Stop beating around the bush and tell me at once.”

“If I tell you, the rest of the story will lose interest. Do you still want to know?”

“I’m not asking for fun.”

Perhaps this was a taboo.

To understand history correctly, one had to avoid result-oriented thinking. The role of a historian was to reflect on why the people of that time made certain decisions.

If you knew the end beforehand, everything was divided into “right” and “wrong”. That inevitably led to judging history with prejudice.

Although he knew that, as a historian, he should avoid that attitude, Saha couldn’t help but ask. In the end, he was human, and curiosity got the better of him.

“I see you’re so intrigued that I almost want to tell you…”

Gwanggu Shingae looked at him with a playful expression.

Saha sighed and asked:

“Is it alcohol you want?”

“No.”

“Or maybe another banquet in your honor?”

“Neither.”

“Then what do you wish for?”

“I wish for nothing.”

“Huh?”

Gwanggu Shingae shrugged.

“It’s just that I have no answer to give you.”

“How so?”

“I don’t know.”

“…Excuse me?”

Gwanggu Shingae made a gesture of frustration.

“If I knew, I would have taken the opportunity to get a good banquet out of you. What a pity. But the truth is, I don’t know who the owner of that secret manual was.”

“How is it possible that you don’t know?”

“Wei Yanho seemed to realize something, but since he didn’t say it, there’s no way to know. Besides… it didn’t really matter.”

“Why not?”

“Because the urgent thing was to solve the problem that manual was causing. At that time, we didn’t even know if it really was a problem. And afterwards, it remained the same.”

Saha’s expression made it clear that he didn’t understand anything Gwanggu Shingae was saying.

“So, you better listen to the story. Surely in the end you’ll understand why I have no choice but to speak like this.”

“Alright.”

“Where was I? Ah, yes…”

Gwanggu Shingae took a long swig from his wine bottle and set it down hard on the ground.

***

I don’t know how to describe the situation back then.

It was chaos.

Everyone found out that what happened in the Tang Family wasn’t just their business.

Well, saying “everyone” might be an exaggeration. Those who really felt the gravity of the matter were those who controlled information in the martial world. For example, the Righteous Martial Alliance or the Righteous Heavenly Alliance.

Apart from them, perhaps the Nine Sects.

The rest didn’t even know what was going on. Ironically, crises capable of collapsing the world are rarely known by ordinary people.

If it breaks out, it becomes a historical event. If it’s solved, it remains a crisis that only a few know about.

Huh?

That our reaction was insufficient?

Well, of course.

Look, the martial world has faced many threats. But most were things like invasions or rebel groups that wanted to dominate everything.

In other words, no matter what happened, our solution was always to hit those who came to cause problems. Sometimes brilliant heroes or strategists emerged, but the basis never changed.

But this?

We couldn’t handle it like that.

It was something never seen before. Think about it: there was no enemy. How can you defend yourself if there’s no enemy?

Yes, we were incompetent.

Incompetent and stupid.

But what could we do? That was our limitation at that time.

Even if I went back to that time, I couldn’t do anything different. We could only resist the onslaught of the wave with our whole body.

Except for one guy.

He was always like that.

The guy who, if he’s resting and a wave comes, says he’s going to destroy it.

And…

he manages to do it.

***

“Mmm…”

Wei Yanho scratched his cheek in silence.

*’It’s a dream.’*

It was nothing new. There was no reason for him to be dragged back to this cave. Every moss on the walls was familiar to him.

“Are you around, master?”

Wei Yanho looked around. Every time he dreamed of this cave, his master was present. But this time, strangely, he didn’t see him anywhere.

“Maaaasterooooo!”

Wei Yanho cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Shut up, idiot!”

“Huh?”

Hearing the voice behind him, Wei Yanho turned his head. Above the only structure in the cave, a small platform, his master’s inner core resonated with a hum.

“Why are you in that state?”

“What do you mean? I’m always like this when I rest. Creating an illusion is also tiring, you know? Even I need to rest.”

“I don’t remember.”

“…Because whenever I rested, you were sleeping like a log.”

“Ah, right. Sometimes I woke up and didn’t see you, but I went back to sleep and forgot.”

“Useless.”

*Zzzzz.*

In the center of the cave, the figure of Baek Muhan began to materialize.

Snow-white hair that reached his waist, sharp eyebrows and big eyes…

“Master.”

“What?”

“I have a question. Is that really your face?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

Wei Yanho pursed his lips skeptically.

“After all, it’s just an illusion. You could have made yourself more handsome if you wanted to.”

“Tss, idiot.”

Baek Muhan clicked his tongue.

“I appear like this because it’s my original form, the easiest to recreate. It’s what I know. Changing my appearance requires a lot of effort. And if I were going to do it, why would I choose an old form? Besides…”

Baek Muhan looked around the cave and gave a mocking smile.

“Who am I going to dress up for? To impress you?”

“It’s not that, but…”

Wei Yanho pouted.

Even for him, Baek Muhan was incredibly imposing.

“What’s the problem?”

“Honestly, I think it’s unfair.”

“What thing?”

“You were born into a prestigious family. The Great Family of the Infinity Sword was the best in the world in its time, right?”

“That’s right.”

“And besides being strong, you’re handsome… Come on, you had it all.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Except for your personality… Well, on second thought, the world isn’t so unfair. If you make up for it all with an unbearable character…”

*Paf!*

“Aaaagh!”

Wei Yanho grabbed his head and rolled on the ground.

*’This is too much.’*

Although it was a dream, the pain was as vivid as the countless blows he received for five years in that cave. It was as if his mind was screaming at him: *”Do you think you could forget this pain after so long?”*

“Pathetic. Instead of envying me, you should aspire to surpass me.”

“That sounds nice, but…”

Wei Yanho grimaced.

“When I was in the cave, I thought it would be possible. Partly because you gave me an advantage.”

“Now you understand.”

“But when I went out into the world, I realized how strong you are. If you had come out with a real body, I doubt you would have found a rival in the whole world.”

“Nonsense. Don’t underestimate the martial world.”

“I’m serious. I myself am quite strong, and I don’t think there are even ten people stronger than me.”

“Tss, tss, tss. How pathetic.”

Baek Muhan twisted his face.

“And is that something to brag about?”

“Don’t compare me to you. You are the Sword Emperor.”

“Sword Emperor?”

“They say that in the martial world they called you that. The greatest in history.”

“Hmm, what a mediocre title. Those fools. If they were going to say that I am the best in history, at least they could have given me something more impressive. Like “The Strongest and Most Beautiful of All Time”.”

“……”

It was scary that he was serious.

“Anyway, saying that I surpass you is like asking me to be the best in history.”

“And what’s stopping you?”

“Oh, you have to be realistic. I’m happy being a local expert. It’s like asking someone who has just learned the classics to surpass Confucius.”

“The bigger the goal, the better. And who says you can’t surpass me?”

“Impossible.”

There are things that can only be understood with time. The stronger Wei Yanho became, the more he understood the greatness of his master.

“I prefer a quiet life. But lately, because of you, I can’t have it.”

“Because of me?”

“Yes. Master, did you create any secret manual in your life?”

“Secret manual? Why would I create something so inefficient and stupid?”

It was just the answer he expected.

“Master, being honest, you are not the real master, are you? But tell me, do you think the real one would have created a manual?”

“Not a chance. If I had wanted to transmit my arts in such an easy way, why would I shatter my internal energy to leave a core with my consciousness?”

“Hmm…”

Definitely, he was right.

His master wasn’t that kind of person.

“But just in case…”

“No way.”

Baek Muhan became irritated.

“Do you think a miserable book could contain all my knowledge? If I broke down my martial arts into words, it would fill the Shaolin library. The Hall of Imperial Palace Archives? It would also fall short.”

He was arrogant, but he wasn’t lying.

If Baek Muhan invented a technique to kill flies, it would surpass all the staff techniques in the world. If he created a sword style to chop firewood, Tai Chi would seem like a children’s game.

*”The more I think about it, the scarier it is.”*

“But, a secret manual?”

“I saw one with techniques similar to yours.”

“Hmm, techniques similar to mine…”

Baek Muhan tilted his head.

“There shouldn’t be something like that.”

“Huh? It could be related to the Great Family of the Infinity Sword.”

“My arts are different from those of my family. You may perceive similarities, but the execution is different.”

“Really? Wasn’t your style the pinnacle of the Great Family of the Infinity Sword?”

A mocking smile appeared on Baek Muhan’s face.

He was already starting to get in a bad mood.