Episode 6: The Second Young Master’s Talent (3)
The gazes of the martial artists lined up in the Sword Inspector Hall were entirely fixed upon Namgung Rim. The composure and dignity radiating from him drew their eyes, but what surprised them most was the sword strapped to the Second Young Master’s back.
“Isn’t that Changse?”
“Why has the Second Young Master come out with that sword?”
While everyone muttered amongst themselves, a light of disbelief rose in Namgung Hancheon’s eyes.
*This is impossible.*
A hundred years ago, after the teachings of the Huashan Sword Immortal, much had changed in the martial world. Many martial artists came to prize flexibility, wielding narrow, light swords.
The Namgung Clan was no different.
Heavy, rigid swords had been discarded, and they came to learn the ornate Heavenly Wind Sword Art, rich with variations.
The same had been true for the Second Young Master.
Yet now, the Namgung Rim before his eyes had come with Changse on his back.
*I know the Second Young Master is also learning the Heavenly Wind Sword Art. So why has he come carrying Changse?*
Changse was far wider and heavier than an ordinary sword. Thus, it was poorly suited to sword arts with extreme changes like the Heavenly Wind Sword Art.
*Does he mean to put on a show of strength?*
Namgung Rim, the center of everyone’s attention, opened his mouth.
“I thought preparations were finished, but it seems I was mistaken.”
At those words, Namgung Hancheon cast aside his worries about Changse. In any case, once the duel began, he could confirm the truth with his own eyes.
“Preparations are already complete. Shall we begin?”
A faint smile crossed Namgung Rim’s lips.
“Of course.”
* * *
The martial artists of the Sword Inspector Hall formed a great circle, clearing a space for the duel.
Two men stepped into that space.
Namgung Rim and Namgung Danung.
“I am Namgung Danung, Northern Seat Great Captain of the Sword Inspector Hall.”
“I am Namgung Rim.”
After briefly exchanging greetings, Namgung Danung drew his sword and took his stance.
So did Namgung Rim.
He reached his right hand behind his back and grasped the scabbard of Changse.
*Rumble.*
A heavy reverberation filled the silent Sword Inspector Hall.
As all eyes focused on Changse, its dull blade was revealed.
Then, Namgung Rim lifted Changse to mid-height and took his stance.
The hall fell strangely silent.
Without realizing it, everyone was being overwhelmed by Namgung Rim.
The sight of him standing firm, holding Changse at midsection, was not the ordinary Second Young Master they had known.
Namgung Danung, standing across from him, felt the same strangeness.
*What is going on? This spirit...*
Usually, when one encountered a sword master in the martial world, one felt the impression of a well-honed blade—a sword sharp enough to cut.
In short, a keen, sharp aura.
But from Namgung Rim, not the slightest such sharpness could be sensed.
*Far from sharp... I feel like I’m being crushed.*
Sweat ran down his spine. At some point, his eyes met Namgung Rim’s. Facing that composed gaze, Namgung Danung unconsciously kicked off the ground and seized the initiative.
“Ah, the Great Captain took the first move?”
It defied everyone’s expectations. They had thought Namgung Danung, being of higher rank, would naturally yield the first strike.
But Namgung Danung had moved by instinct.
The instinct that if he did not attack first, an opportunity would never come.
*Shhhhhh—!*
With a crisp sound of tearing air, the Heavenly Wind Sword Art unfolded. The sword tip flashed, branching into myriad variations as it pressed in sharply.
Everyone’s eyes widened. They realized Namgung Danung was unleashing a technique with full force from the very start.
The eighth variation of the Heavenly Wind Sword Art: Storm of Scattered Light.
The ornate yet fatal sword tips surged forward, as if they would pierce Namgung Rim’s body at any moment.
Namgung Rim neither dodged nor retreated. Instead, he advanced, stepping forward with his right foot.
The surge faltered as Namgung Danung’s eyes widened. Soon, Changse sweeping broadly across his field of vision entered his sight.
*No...*
A straightforward, honest single slash—rarely seen in the present-day martial world.
That slash was being drawn precisely toward his opening.
*Boom—!*
“Kuk!”
Along with a massive impact rarely heard in ordinary duels, Namgung Danung’s ornate swordplay was neutralized in an instant.
As Namgung Danung staggered back, the Second Young Master closed the distance. The horizontal slash, as if returning to its original position, swept out once more in exactly the same manner.
The second horizontal strike aimed for Namgung Danung’s sword.
*Clang—!*
Namgung Danung had tried to hold firm. But the pain, as if his palm were being torn apart, was too much to endure, and he lost his grip on his sword.
Namgung Danung’s blade flew through the air and embedded itself in a pillar of the Sword Inspector Hall.
A heavy silence fell over the hall. No one spoke.
Namgung Danung’s defeat was surprising, but what shocked them more was the Second Young Master’s sword, which defied the current trends of the martial world.
Moreover, the young martial artists had never before seen such a simple, honest sword technique.
Shortly after, Namgung Rim returned Changse to his back, sheathed it, and looked toward Namgung Hancheon.
“How was it?”
“...”
“Do you think there have been some results?”
But no answer came from Namgung Hancheon.
Without waiting for a reply, Namgung Rim turned and left the Sword Inspector Hall building with Dancheol, who had been waiting.
Once the Second Young Master disappeared, the remaining martial artists finally began to murmur.
“What kind of sword art was that?”
“It was a simple, rigid sword. Not flexible at all.”
The martial artists lined up were all in their twenties. It was little wonder they did not recognize Namgung Rim’s sword art.
Yet there was one person there who recognized it.
Namgung Hancheon, the Sword Inspector Hall Master.
*That was the first form of the Boundless Azure Sky Sword Art... Raging Waves Cleaving the Shore.*
A question bloomed on Namgung Hancheon’s face. Because in his memory, Raging Waves Cleaving the Shore had possessed no such power.
* * *
I, having left the Sword Inspector Hall with Dancheol, recalled the duel from moments ago.
*If it’s the Sword Inspector Hall Master, he must have recognized the Boundless Azure Sky Sword Art.*
The Boundless Azure Sky Sword Art, which had once symbolized the Namgung Clan. But now, it was a technique that no one in the clan practiced.
Dancheol had failed to recognize it as well.
“Was the sword art the Second Young Master displayed the Boundless Azure Sky Sword Art?”
“It was.”
“Then the martial art you have been training in at the training chamber recently was that sword art. I am relieved to see you have achieved something.”
At Dancheol’s congratulations, I shook my head.
“No, I cannot be satisfied with merely this.”
To aim for higher ground, I needed to learn supreme sword arts as well. But the other sword arts had all fallen out of use.
*I must not be satisfied, but I must not be impatient either. I need only climb the steps steadily.*
The power of the Five Great Clans—and above them, the Nine Sects—was immense. To surpass them, I needed time, effort, and preparation.
*I must grow not only my own strength, but the clan’s strength as well.*
As I was organizing my thoughts, Dancheol’s voice reached me.
“But judging by the Sword Inspector Hall Master’s expression, it seems he will make a move again soon.”
“It is obvious how he will move.”
“Sir?”
“I know what kind of person he is. He does not dislike the direct line for personal advancement. It stems from a desire to revive the fallen clan.”
“Well, I know he is not a bad person. But how do you mean he will move?”
“What such a person wants is but one thing: a talented individual. Now, he will want to place me beneath him.”
Namgung Hancheon’s lifelong wish was but one: for a talented person to lead the clan.
He was someone who would not care in the slightest whether that person was from the direct or collateral line, as long as they possessed talent.
Namgung Hancheon would surely try to teach me after placing me in the Sword Inspector Hall.
“But I am thinking of placing him beneath me, instead.”
Surprise gathered in Dancheol’s eyes.
“The Sword Inspector Hall Master?”
“Yes. That way, the bothersome process is eliminated.”
Namgung Hancheon wielded the greatest influence over the collateral line. If I placed him beneath me, I could silence everyone at once.
*I must place him beneath me to unite the clan.*
* * *
The Sword Inspector Hall building, from which Namgung Rim and the other martial artists had all withdrawn.
There, Namgung Hancheon stood alone, ceaselessly recalling the Second Young Master’s duel in his mind.
*When he brought Changse, I thought it was mere pretension. But that sword art of the Second Young Master’s...*
It was unmistakably the Boundless Azure Sky Sword Art.
A technique that no one in the clan currently performed, gradually fading into the distant corners of memory.
*It was Raging Waves Cleaving the Shore, the first form. But Raging Waves Cleaving the Shore does not possess such power.*
Had it been the Boundless Azure Sky Sword Art of a hundred and fifty years ago, it might indeed have been capable of such might. But the Boundless Azure Sky Sword Art passed down today was nothing like that blade.
Nowadays, it lacked power in its sword momentum, and its sword trajectory was simple. Thus, it could not properly counter sword arts with many variations.
*But how does it possess such power? Could he have suppressed Great Captain Namgung Danung with internal energy?*
He might have consumed spirit medicines secretly stored using the direct line’s authority. But he had not sensed such energy from the Second Young Master.
*Whatever method he used, what is certain is that he neutralized the Heavenly Wind Sword Art.*
He had thought the Second Young Master was merely hiding away in the training chamber. Even if he had learned martial arts by some chance, he had believed there would be no notable achievement with ordinary talent.
But it had been a complete misjudgment.
The Second Young Master had neutralized the Heavenly Wind Sword Art with a technique that no one in the clan practiced.
Truly something impossible without outstanding talent.
*Could the shock of his father’s death have caused some mental transformation?*
The explosive blossoming of previously faint talent.
It was entirely possible.
In that instant, Namgung Hancheon moved.
With such talent, he had to verify it properly. He wanted to place the Second Young Master in the Sword Inspector Hall, teach him sword arts, confirm his talent, and make it blossom further.
*If the talent I confirm with my own eyes is truly outstanding, I will change the Clan Head with my own hands.*
It did not matter whether the one leading the clan was from the direct or collateral line. What he wanted was only talent.
If he could lead the Namgung Clan back to the path of supremacy, it did not matter who it was.
Namgung Hancheon immediately headed for Namgung Rim’s quarters. He did not even consider summoning him. He felt he had to go see him directly.
“Second Young Master.”
Namgung Rim emerged from his quarters and calmly met Namgung Hancheon’s gaze.
“We meet often.”
“I will ask directly. Have you learned the Boundless Azure Sky Sword Art?”
“Yes. Just as you saw.”
Namgung Hancheon was astonished. That he had learned a technique which no one currently trained in, reaching such a level entirely on his own.
“Come into our Sword Inspector Hall. I will teach you the Heavenly Wind Sword Art step by step. You possess talent. The talent to master the Heavenly Wind Sword Art.”
“I believe you are mistaken at this moment.”
“What do you mean?”
“What can move me is solely my own will. And...”
Namgung Rim’s voice, continuing his words, was infinitely calm.
“To learn something like the Heavenly Wind Sword Art while bearing the surname Namgung. I do not wish to abandon the clan’s pride.”
Yet in that voice, there was clear conviction.
Namgung Hancheon’s face hardened.
“...What?”