Chapter 121: This Isn’t Right…? (1)

The Divine Dragon, Gu Cheolun.

Now the master of the Gu family, known as the Gallant Hero.

Namgung Jin, who was the leader of the Azure Dragon Brigade of the Martial Alliance, and Gu Cheolun, the leader of the Sacred Dragon Brigade, were not on good terms like this.

It was also because they were among the few late-stage martial artists of the same generation.

They were also often compared, with many debating who was stronger among the Dragon and Phoenix of the era.

Namgung Jin, possessing a strong sense of pride, had no intention of staying silent upon hearing this.

The arrogant young master sought out Gu Cheolun at the time and challenged him to a fight.

He was brutally defeated.

Namgung Jin remembers.

The intense heat and flames that filled the sky.

And the crimson eyes that looked down at him from within that blaze.

How could he forget? The memory of that day still binds him tightly.

While the core reasons for his later hatred of Gu Cheolun were not solely this, it remained an unforgettable memory nonetheless.

Namgung Jin hated Gu Cheolun.

There was petty self-doubt, and resentment towards his broken friend.

Above all else.

It was true that letting her go was his own sin.

But letting the flower wither after obtaining it was undeniably Gu Cheolun’s sin.

He sought to abandon everything, captivated by an unknown woman; if that wasn’t a sin, what was?

Even if he had learned about the Gu family’s secrets, Namgung Jin’s thoughts wouldn’t have changed.

The sword blade, bathed in moonlight, shone clearly. It was when Namgung Jin had surpassed the Grandmaster level and reached the Flower Realm.

The Heavenly Venerable told Namgung Jin.

‘You are hollow inside. Fill that first.’

He wouldn’t have meant filling it with internal energy. Namgung Jin wasn’t so dense as to not understand that.

A considerable amount of time passed after that. He underwent training, and experienced numerous real battles, yet Namgung Jin remained stagnant.

There was no progress in his realm, and it was overwhelming just to solidify his position as the head of his family.

The realm achieved through the family’s investment was ultimately only half-baked. His realm had reached the Flower Realm, but the enlightenment associated with it failed to properly permeate his body.

Could this be a form of martial arts deviation?

One day, his grandfather happened to order the summoning of a physician.

Namgung Jin sought out the physician. He received a diagnosis right on time, but after examining Namgung Jin’s body, the physician stated firmly,

-I don’t know what kind of diagnosis you desire, but there are no issues with the head’s physique.

The physician said there were no problems with his energy or body. Ultimately, it meant he was blocked as a martial artist.

He needed strength to firmly solidify his position as the head of the Namgung family.

Since the Namgung family was, after all, a martial family, a weak head as a martial artist would find it difficult to maintain a proper standing.

Although Namgung Jin’s realm was half-baked, reaching the Flower Realm allowed him to easily rank among the Hundred Great Masters of the Central Plains.

It was insufficient to sit upon the throne of the great Namgung family. That is why he desperately tried to draw strength from elsewhere.

Even if it was the Gu family he despised, or any other place.

KWAANG-!

The tip of the sword grazed Namgung Jin’s cheek along with the wind. Where did the intention to yield for ten seconds go?

Now, he was busy scanning the countless incoming sword paths, searching for an opening.

Namgung Jin had the upper hand in speed.

And strength as well.

Not using internal energy? That shouldn’t have any impact. Given the difference in years spent wielding a sword, it certainly should have.

Then what is the problem? What on earth is the problem that I cannot block that sword? Even if Namgung Jin is blocked by another wall, his realm wouldn’t change.

Yet, to be pushed back this much by a mere junior late-stage martial artist.

Gu Yangcheon showed none of the basic stances that a sword practitioner must possess.

In a way, it looked like he was swinging wildly, but from another perspective, it seemed like he was only making the necessary movements.

‘Am I dreaming?’

This means that Changcheon Geomwang Namgung Jin cannot even grasp the movements of a late-stage martial artist right now.

It’s not that he can’t see because the movements are slow. He simply cannot comprehend them.

‘Even if it’s a dream, this shouldn’t be happening…!’

The sword cuts through the air.

Namgung Jin’s movements are full of discipline. It was a duel decided solely by swordsmanship. Namgung Jin is the Sword King (劍王). Therefore, he absolutely shouldn’t be outmatched in swordsmanship.

Swish, swish! The sound of the wind being cut becomes clearer. His body, having surpassed the Grandmaster level and permeated with internal energy, naturally assimilated it without needing to draw it from the dantian.

Even if he couldn’t use martial arts infused with internal energy, he shouldn’t lose in terms of speed.

Namgung’s ultimate techniques also include the Emperor Sword Form, but this is a divine art that cannot be unleashed without internal energy.

However, Namgung’s swordsmanship wasn’t limited to just that.

Swordsmanship can still be performed without internal energy.

With his mind settled, Namgung Jin’s hands unleashed the Boundless Firmament Sword Technique (蒼穹無涯劍法)…

CLANG!

‘…!’

The tip of the sword Namgung Jin held shot upwards.

Gu Yangcheon had struck the opening created by not using internal energy.

The sword tip faltered, creating a large opening for Namgung Jin as well. His chest was exposed.

‘Damn…!’

If Gu Yangcheon swung his sword now, the match would be over. For a fleeting moment, the ugly thought of using internal energy crossed Namgung Jin’s mind.

He had been taught to spare no means to achieve his goals, but the small pride remaining as a martial artist found this distasteful.

Unable to choose either option, Namgung Jin sensed defeat, but contrary to his expectations, Gu Yangcheon’s blade did not come flying.

‘What are you doing?’

Instead, he sheathed his sword and stood still, asking Namgung Jin,

‘I told you to do it properly, so what is this foolish act?’

Namgung Jin couldn’t understand what Gu Yangcheon was saying right now.

He wondered if Gu Yangcheon was trying to mock him, but Gu Yangcheon’s expression was serious.

‘When you should be giving your all, are you still blinded by appearances and unable to see properly?’

‘Wha…t are you… talking about?’

Namgung Jin became angry at the incomprehensible words. He desperately wanted to envelop himself in lightning energy right then and there.

He wanted to sear that damned mouth shut.

‘I commend you for not using internal energy until the end, but such a narrow-minded duel…’

Gu Yangcheon, who was about to utter something with a serious expression, stopped mid-sentence.

And then, his expression began to crumble. Namgung Jin looked at Gu Yangcheon’s face and asked,

‘What is that expression…? Why are you looking at me like that?’

Namgung Jin couldn’t understand why Gu Yangcheon was making such a face.

Despite Namgung Jin’s question, Gu Yangcheon, Shin Noyah, could only laugh hollowly.

‘Don’t tell me…’

[Why is that?]

Despite Gu Yangcheon’s question, Shin Noyah did not answer.

As if showing this to him, Shin Noyah began to wield his sword in front of Namgung Jin. It was different from the swordsmanship he had used until just now. Shin Noyah hadn’t fought with anything that could be called swordsmanship in the first place.

He had no intention of using the Plum Blossom Sword Technique, nor was there any need to. Looking at Namgung Jin, Shin Noyah felt as if the questions that had been lingering in his mind were finally being answered.

The sword path flowed with Shin Noyah’s movements. Even in Gu Yangcheon’s eyes, watching from within, it was a familiar sword path.

‘…I acknowledge your talent, but how dare you presume to teach me…!’

Namgung Jin, about to shout with indignation, lost his words as his gaze was captivated by the sword Shin Noyah was displaying.

And then, his jaw dropped as if dislocated. It signified his immense shock.

Shin Noyah’s movements were certainly not the swordsmanship of Mount Hua. But he had seen it before. Seen it a great deal, in fact.

[…How, how can Noyah be using that?]

Gu Yangcheon asked Shin Noyah in a trembling voice.

Although it wasn’t infused with internal energy, it was undeniably the Namgung sword style. More precisely, it resembled the sword style used by the Sword Marquis of the previous life.

While her style was rougher and filled with killing intent, the sword path Shin Noyah displayed now was honest and unwavering.

It was a sword style that had eliminated the inherent flaw the Namgung sword style possessed: the very swordsmanship the Sword Marquis used when annihilating the Namgung clan.

It wasn’t a perfect replication. His lower body barely moved, and it was closer to imitating with slight hand movements, yet the completeness imbued in the techniques was different.

After swinging it a few more times, he stopped the sword and looked at Namgung Jin.

Seeing Namgung Jin’s expression, Shin Noyah opened his mouth. His emotions were filled with bitterness.

‘As expected, it wasn’t that you weren’t doing it… but that you couldn’t.’

‘What, what did you just do…?’

Namgung Jin’s tone had changed.

‘Just what, what was that…!’

‘Even though I displayed your family’s sword right before your eyes, your curiosity outweighs your killing intent, suggesting you are quite impatient.’

‘…!’

Even if it was just mimicking the form and structure, what was just used was indeed the Namgung sword style. Its essence was too strong to mistake.

[Noyah.]

‘It was always a question. The Namgung family’s sword I saw in fragments of your memory was incredibly crude. The Namgung family, of all people.’

Originally, it should have been a place teeming with monsters wearing the guise of emperors, channeling lightning energy into their swords. That’s how it was clearly in Shin Noyah’s memory.

Namgung Myung, the Thunderous One Sword, was a master of swift swordsmanship, capable of wielding dozens of swords per second, handling energy like thunder.

The achievements he accomplished were numerous even in Shin Noyah’s memory, but his greatest achievement, if one had to be named,

was completing the Namgung sword style.

Completion (完成).

These were words dared to be uttered by Namgung Myung, an extreme perfectionist.

He drank and laughed, saying he had created something to leave for his descendants. Even the Mount Hua Divine Sword would have considered the sword that day the culmination of all Namgung Myung’s enlightenment.

One man had rapidly accelerated the evolution of swordsmanship, which had progressed slowly over centuries.

‘Therefore, this situation should not be happening…’

Time passed. When Shin Cheol, the Mount Hua Divine Sword, opened his eyes, much had changed.

However, plum blossoms still scattered in the Mount Hua sect.

Mount Hua, which had vanished with his death, still shone brightly even after time had passed.

Other places certainly should have been the same.

At the very least, the seeds left by the five from that day should not have been in vain.

‘…It should be so, but what is that half-wit like?’

[Are you saying the current Namgung family’s sword style is flawed?]

‘If we speak of right and wrong, it should be called right. That sword is indeed outstanding.’

[Then what is the problem…]

‘It has merely devolved. Whether they failed to pass it on, or they forgot it, I do not know.’

Where did it go?

Where on earth did the achievements Namgung Myung left behind go?

Is that half-wit fellow strange?

‘…Even though he’s a half-wit lingering without even overcoming a wall properly.’

Gu Yangcheon’s physique is at the Grandmaster level. Even if he is in a superior state compared to those of the same realm due to his past life’s experience.

It was strange that Shin Noyah could so easily see through Namgung Jin’s physique, who had clearly reached the Flower Realm.

He stopped midway. Namgung Jin was currently hovering on the brink of the Flower Realm.

It must be that final step. To be lingering, unable to realize that one step-it’s the culmination of arrogance, impatience, pressure, and shattered pride.

Namgung Jin asks in a trembling voice.

‘…Tell me… What was that just now? Your, your true identity…’

If a stranger were using his family’s martial arts, he should have immediately seized them and expressed his rage, but Namgung Jin was wrapped in impatience.

Is it hope? Why did he harbor such hope for this insignificant reenactment?

To such an extent that Namgung Jin began to doubt Gu Yangcheon’s identity, whom he had been ignoring until just now.

‘Do not misunderstand. I am indeed Gu Yangcheon of the Gu family.’

[…If you’re going to say that, at least speak properly.]

‘Don’t butt in cluelessly, just stay quiet.’

[This seems to be going in a completely different direction than what I asked for… What are you trying to do?]

‘Aren’t you curious why the Namgung child didn’t receive the name Sword Dragon?’

[Are you saying that’s because the current Namgung sword style is flawed?]

Gu Yangcheon couldn’t easily empathize with Shin Noyah’s words. Namgung Cheonjun is outstanding. Especially for his age.

He possesses talent that could undoubtedly be called genius, but Yeongpung was simply more outstanding.

Even if Shin Noyah’s words were true, he couldn’t easily understand the reason for acting this way in the current situation.

‘Does a sword that cannot be completed without internal energy truly deserve to be called a proper sword?’

‘What does that…’

‘I intended to awaken something in you, but if it’s like this, it’s meaningless…’

Not only Namgung Jin, but also the Namgung family’s martial arts used by Namgung Cheonjun, cannot exert proper power without internal energy.

This was the same for other martial arts, but Gu Yangcheon was able to glean more detailed information from Shin Noyah’s words.

The subtle gaps that occurred intermittently while wielding the sword. The sword paths that only became consistent upon infusing internal energy.

This was merely concealed. The barely noticeable gaps disappeared when internal energy was infused. As realms constantly rise, normally one wouldn’t bother paying attention, but…

Having seen Namgung Myung’s sword.

And having seen the Sword Marquis’s sword.

Shin Noyah and I knew how vast the difference was.

And the swordsmanship Shin Noyah briefly imitated was undoubtedly the same as the Namgung family’s sword style, but one could see how different the quality was due to that subtle difference.

If even Gu Yangcheon, who knew little of the Namgung sword style, could tell, how much more must Namgung Jin have noticed?

[Internal energy seems irrelevant now.]

His face was desperate. It was an expression of being captivated by this brief sword technique, unable to escape.

He looked as if he had swallowed a handful of opium poppies.

How Gu Yangcheon could wield a sword, or why he possessed such skill, seemed to matter no longer.

The insulting remarks directed at him, his subordinates groaning on the ground-all faded from Namgung Jin’s sight.

Internal energy seemed completely irrelevant now.

For the head of a prestigious family to be in such a state felt uncomfortable, like seeing someone else’s hidden shame, but it couldn’t be helped.

‘…I lost. I lost…’

Namgung Jin admitted defeat. Despite the clear difference in skill, he crumbled before the brief technique displayed moments earlier by the one who had stubbornly continued the duel.

‘If you tell me to kneel, I will kneel, and if you want an apology, I will gladly give it. I will give you anything you desire…’

Was he asking to be told what it was?

[He’s lost his mind.]

Normally, the first thing he should do is find out how to use this sword technique.

Was the sword displayed by Noyah that shocking? He seemed unable to maintain composure or think rationally.

And this, from a martial artist of the Flower Realm. This was definitely strange.

[Is there something wrong with his mind?]

‘…Hmm.’

Shin Noyah snorted, looking at Namgung Jin. Noyah seemed to sense something strange as well.

Or perhaps not? He seemed to be smiling slightly?

‘Do you want to know?’

[Noyah?]

At Shin Noyah’s words, I urgently called out. Was he really planning to reveal this suddenly?

‘Why? Although it wasn’t the way you wanted, didn’t you win anyway?’

[No, that’s that, but are you really going to tell him?]

‘What?’

[The swordsmanship that the Thunderous One Sword used.]

If he was friends with the Thunderous One Sword, he might regret the devolution of their sword style, but revealing something in this situation was absurd.

Noyah looked at me incredulously and said,

‘How can I possibly teach it? I barely know the stances.’

[Huh?]

What was he talking about now?

Namgung Jin looked ready to kneel halfway at Shin Noyah’s words. He never thought someone so wrapped in arrogance would crumble so easily.

Having shown himself in this manner, it was too much to use the easy excuse of ‘talent.’ Given that he used the Namgung family’s swordsmanship, and moreover displayed a more evolved sword style, other explanations had to be considered.

Perhaps Noyah had considered that as well?

[Then what are you going to do like this…]

‘Naturally, what’s left is for you to handle.’

[What did you say?]

What did this old man just say?

Handle it himself? What kind of nonsensical statement was that? How was he supposed to teach Namgung Jin the Namgung sword style?

With ominous thoughts flooding his mind, he urgently shouted.

[Noyah… Wait a moment, what are you doing?]

As if ignoring the shout, Shin Noyah spoke to Namgung Jin.

‘You’ll have to see me as your master from now on.’

[You… crazy…]

It was a ridiculous bombshell statement. He tried desperately to say something, but the ownership of the body was still with Shin Noyah.

More importantly, lights were gathering towards the annex. It was the Gu family members and Namgung Bi-ah, who had heard the news.

Namgung Bi-ah, upon arrival, widened her eyes seeing Namgung Jin in a disheveled state and Gu Yangcheon looking perfectly fine.

‘We’re screwed….’

These were the words he spat out the moment he regained control of his body.