Jo Geol

Jo Geol (趙傑). 17 years old. Born on April 1st. His family includes his father, Jo Pyeong, his mother, Hwa Yeon-bi, and his older brother, Jo Ung. He is a Cheongja-bae, a third-generation disciple. He only earns the nickname 'One Sword Splitting Light' (一劍分光) 8 years later (when Jo Geol turns 25). He has a small scar on his chin and a mischievous appearance. He wears his uniform loosely, revealing his chest. His hair color and eyebrows resemble his mother's, while his overall eye shape and face resemble his father's. During battles, he tends to charge in recklessly, which is similar to his personality; he usually speaks without thinking and gets hit by his senior disciple, Yoon Jong, on a daily basis. However, his actions are closer to trusting that his senior disciples or uncles are there to control him, and as a disciple of the righteous path, he also shows a deep side when his comrades cannot be with him. Initially, he tried to treat Cheongmyeong, who had just joined the Huashan Sect, harshly as a welcoming ritual, but ended up being slammed into the ceiling of the Baekmae Hall and subdued by Cheongmyeong, like the other third-generation disciples.

He is the second son of the Sa-hae Trading Company (四海商會), one of the largest trading companies in Sichuan (四川). However, he himself feels ashamed of this and makes up a story about being a small merchant from a remote region. All the children of influential families in Chengdu are required to join the Dang family (當家) when they reach a certain age. He was originally supposed to join the Dang family and learn their martial arts, but he refused and joined Huashan instead. Since he is not a member of the Dang family, he could not learn the core poison and assassination techniques, only learning superficial skills for years, which he resented. Therefore, he joined Huashan instead of the Dang family. The reason for choosing Huashan was that Huashan was in decline at the time, so he wouldn't attract the Dang family's attention, but it still had a good reputation. He believed that if he excelled, he could develop his abilities, and most importantly, it was far from Sichuan. So, before meeting Cheongmyeong, he intended to practice swordsmanship at Huashan for a while and then return home to take over the trading company. However, after Cheongmyeong arrived, his mind changed, and he told his father that he would die as a disciple of Huashan in this life.

In fact, among the Five Swords of Huashan (Cheongmyeong, Yoon Jong, Jo Geol, Baek Cheon, Yu Yi-seol), he is the closest to the secular world, making him the most worldly and human character among the Five Swords. With his aptitude, and after meeting Cheongmyeong, his 'mouth-fu' reached its peak. Later, he became so annoyingly glib that even Cheongmyeong was taken aback, leaving both the provocateur and the provoked exasperated. He himself feels he is not qualified to be the sect leader. Therefore, his goal is to become the greatest swordsman of his generation at Huashan, standing beside Yoon Jong, who will eventually become the sect leader. In this regard, he considers Cheongmyeong his role model. Cheongmyeong's impression of Jo Geol was someone who always nitpicked and interfered with everything, as is common in every sect (...).

As he comes from a large merchant family, he often shows his business acumen in the story. Two years later (when Jo Geol turned 19), upon hearing that Jamocho, needed for the manufacturing of Hunwondan, could no longer be obtained because Yunnan had stopped trading with the Central Plains, he proposed hiring outsiders to procure Jamocho, earning the recognition of Hwang Mun-yak for his business talent. In a short period, he noticed that Yunnan's specialty, Pu-erh tea, was being distributed in Chengdu, earning the recognition of his father, Jo Pyeong, the head of the Sa-hae Trading Company. However, unlike Baek Cheon and Yoon Jong, who are clearly recognized as candidates for sect leader, Dang So-so, who is practically acting as the head of the Medicine Hall, and Woon-geom and Yu Yi-seol, who are indispensable candidates for the head of the Military Affairs Hall, Jo Geol's position as a candidate for the head of the Finance and Economics Hall is ambiguous. Jo Geol himself is not very interested, Baek Sang, a Baekja-bae, has rapidly risen in prominence after the martial arts tournament, and there is also Cheongmyeong, who is as shrewd as Jo Geol.

Several years later, when the Cheon-u Alliance was reorganized, he became the deputy leader. For reference, the alliance leader is Hyun Jong, the sect leader of Huashan; the chief secretary is Cheongmyeong; the strategists are Im So-byeong, the King of Green Forest from the Seventy-two Green Forest Forts, and Je-gal Ja-an, the Wise Scholar from the Je-gal Clan; the leader is Jong Ri-gok, the sect leader of Jongnam; the poison king Dang Gun-ak of the Sichuan Dang family; Meng So, the palace lord of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace; Pung Yeong-sin-gae, the Grand Elder of the Gaebang Sect; Mo Yong Wi-gyeong, the clan head of the Mo Yong Clan; the deputy leaders are Baek Cheon, Hye-yeon, the young monk of Shaolin, Jo Geol, Yoon Jong, and Namgung Do-wi, the Sword of Wrath from the Namgung Clan.

If Cheongmyeong hadn't existed, Jo Geol would have been the strongest among the Cheongja-bae. He is considered a genius wherever he goes. During the Hwajongji meeting, Cheongmyeong said that Jo Geol could win at least one match against the second-generation disciples of Jongnam. In terms of talent alone, he is not inferior to Lee Song-baek of Jongnam. However, his father thought he was only slightly better than a merchant and not particularly talented. Perhaps he couldn't accurately assess Jo Geol's potential because he wasn't a martial artist, or perhaps Jo Geol's talent was particularly compatible with Huashan's swordsmanship. In fact, Jo Geol's swordsmanship, like Huashan's, is often described as fast, bizarre, and unorthodox. In terms of sharpness, he is superior to Baek Cheon and Yu Yi-seol. Everyone acknowledges Jo Geol, saying that such things cannot be learned but require innate talent and sensibility.

Among the Five Swords of Huashan, he uses swordsmanship that is the most unorthodox and bizarre, making it unpredictable. His rapidly unleashed sword strikes are subtly misaligned, which is said to shock opponents with its bizarre form and erratic speed. He pursues practical swordsmanship that aims to strike the opponent quickly (快) and strongly (强). Therefore, he often fights in tandem with Yoon Jong, who uses slow and basic defensive swordsmanship. Because of this, he is unlikely to receive high marks in terms of sword mastery.


- Cheongmyeong
Jo Geol's junior disciple. Their first meeting was not good; he was hit in the chin and slammed into the ceiling while attempting a welcoming ritual. After that, he began training under Cheongmyeong's initiative. As Huashan Sect began to show hope, he abandoned his plan to return to his family home after a certain period and developed a dream of becoming a master who could command the world like Cheongmyeong. Later, influenced by Cheongmyeong, he blossomed as a 'mouth-fighter,' evolving into Huashan's second-best provocation machine after Cheongmyeong. Like the other Five Swords, he usually avoids Cheongmyeong but secretly cares for him. Two years later, during a match against Dang Gun-ak, when Cheongmyeong's face was almost hit by a flying dagger, he raged, threatening to kill Dang Gun-ak, and was only stopped by Baek Cheon. When Cheongmyeong was hit by a dagger thrown by Dang Pae, he openly cursed Dang Gun-ak.

- Yoon Jong
Jo Geol's senior disciple. They have the closest relationship within Huashan. However, when Jo Geol talks nonsense, Yoon Jong intervenes. Initially, he tried to reason with him, but as it worsened, he has recently become physically violent towards Jo Geol. He often charges into battle, and it's said that Yoon Jong holds him on a leash. His swordsmanship and disposition match well with Yoon Jong's, and they have often fought strong enemies together. As the second eldest among the Cheongja-bae, he held more influence than the then-gentle Yoon Jong before Cheongmyeong's arrival. Later, he came to admire Yoon Jong's help and cooperation and developed a goal to achieve them together.

- Baek Cheon
Jo Geol's senior disciple. He seemed to admire Baek Cheon, who showed a cool demeanor as the eldest disciple before Cheongmyeong's appearance. Consequently, as Cheongmyeong's influence transformed Baek Cheon into something strange, he and Yoon Jong would lament his state. However, unlike Yoon Jong, who described Baek Cheon as gentle, he also had a stern side, suggesting he was often scolded.

- Yu Yi-seol
Jo Geol's junior disciple. When the second-generation disciples were arranged, Cheongmyeong looked at Yu Yi-seol, and Jo Geol praised her beauty. While discussing Baek Cheon's romantic feelings, he became dejected by Cheongmyeong's sharp remark ("If you had practiced swordsmanship instead of worrying about other people's love lives, your skills would have improved by now."). Later, seeing Yu Yi-seol chasing after Cheongmyeong, he expressed surprise, asking if she was always so talkative. After that, they are called together as the Five Swords and travel together, but they don't have much contact otherwise. Yu Yi-seol herself seems to secretly envy Jo Geol's circumstances, contrasting with her own orphaned state after losing her father.

- Dang So-so
Jo Geol's junior disciple. Although the youngest of the Cheongja-bae, Jo Geol is strangely drawn to Dang So-so, who wields immense power as a physician. He claims it's a remnant of living under the oppression of the Dang family in Sichuan and that he will overcome it, but he still flinches at mere words, indicating he has a long way to go.

- Hye-yeon
Several years later, he meets Hye-yeon in the quarterfinals of the World's Best Martial Arts Tournament and is eliminated. Later, Hye-yeon visits Huashan as a guest and becomes close with the Five Swords. He sometimes envies Hye-yeon's martial arts that push enemies back over a wide area and regrets not joining Shaolin, but he usually gets hit by Yoon Jong and shuts up. He calls Hye-yeon's shaved head 'bald head' and teases him the most, but becomes confused when reprimanded, saying it's not intentional but natural.

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The image animal is a monkey that can't stay still for a moment (...). Despite being in a position of power among the Cheongja-bae, he somehow plays the role of the actual youngest among the Five Swords when they are together. This is because the real youngest, Cheongmyeong, has no intention of acting like a youngest, and when any incident occurs, he takes on the role of planning the overall strategy. When traveling, he rides in a carriage and acts as a training instructor. Later, Dang So-so also joined and took on the role of physician, becoming an outlier that even Cheongmyeong couldn't defy, thus his actual rank fell to the bottom. He seems to have many complaints about this, and upon returning to Huashan and catching other Cheongja-bae, he proudly thinks, "This is the taste." He is gradually becoming like Cheongmyeong. As time goes by, Jo Geol receives the same shocked and contemptuous glances from Huashan disciples that Cheongmyeong used to receive. Each time, Yoon Jong smacks Jo Geol. In the first place, if one were to pick the Huashan disciple most similar in personality to Cheongmyeong, it would be Jo Geol from the beginning. However, Cheongmyeong has also become more responsible while fitting in with the current Huashan Sect, so the atmosphere is quite different from when he first returned. But Jo Geol himself, influenced by Cheongmyeong, has become stronger as a martial artist, and most importantly, unlike Cheongmyeong, he has senior disciples and uncles who can restrain him if he goes too far, so he just charges ahead without worrying about appearances. In fact, this applies not only to Jo Geol but to most Huashan disciples who have gone somewhat off the rails to the point where even Cheongmyeong can't do anything if they go too far. Since the Five Swords he travels with are Baek Cheon and Yoon Jong, who are sect leader material, and the taciturn Yu Yi-seol, Jo Geol's words and actions stand out particularly, but it's a tendency of the Huashan Sect itself (...).

However, he unexpectedly becomes the only sane person at times. Several years later, during the World's Best Young Masters Martial Arts Tournament, when a dispute arose with the Hae-nam Sect, Baek Cheon, Yu Yi-seol, Yoon Jong, and even Dang So-so lost their minds and started beating the Hae-nam disciples. Jo Geol lamented that there was no one normal and observed his senior and junior disciples rushing ahead and resorting to violence from an observer's perspective. Furthermore, after the Hae-nam Sect incident, when conflicts arose among Huashan disciples due to differences in thinking, he, unable to bear the suffocating atmosphere or trying to mediate with Dang So-so, attempted to contact Yoon Jong, Cheongmyeong, and others. Paradoxically, because he is the simplest, he maintains his usual demeanor the best.

He teases Hye-yeon about his bald head quite frequently, almost as much as Cheongmyeong does (...). He is the only one among the Five Swords who knows how to cook. Later, when he rescued Madam Chu, he made gruel as patient food. This is because merchants, being from merchant families, often go on business trips, so they must learn to cook food that can be prepared and eaten outdoors.

When giving feedback on training or sparring matches, Cheongmyeong tends to be particularly harsh on Jo Geol. While he overlooks mistakes made by Yoon Jong, he is unforgiving towards Jo Geol. During training, he even rides on Jo Geol's back to increase the weight. He himself has thought that he is the one who suffers the most at Huashan. Separately, Baek Cheon has mentioned that he was probably the one who got hit the most (...). It is highly likely that Cheongmyeong is keeping a close eye on him because he is the disciple closest to the secular world and has a somewhat slippery personality, to prevent him from getting distracted. In fact, his tendency to get easily agitated leads to frequent mistakes despite his skill, and the mention that he is unlikely to receive high marks for sword mastery further reveals Jo Geol's disposition. Nevertheless, his talent is so outstanding that Cheongmyeong considers him worth directly mentoring.