Chapter 191
CHAPTER 191
Jinyeon had repeatedly told the Martial Alliance Elder that he would think about becoming an instructor, feeling burdened by the elder's earnest request.
Then suddenly, Namgung Cheon came running over, fuming with anger.
“Huh...?”
Apparently, Namgung Cheon had been talking with the child, and now claimed he had been insulted, demanding a duel.
No, but how could a pure and pitiful child who didn't even know his own name have suddenly insulted someone?
Jinyeon was so dumbfounded that he laughed.
He assumed it was one of Namgung Tae's schemes.
The Namgung Family was famous for instilling a sense of superiority into their children.
So Jinyeon tried to stop them, pointing out that they were picking a fight with a child who had held a sword for the first time today, but—
“Haha. Let's just watch. Cheon will show some restraint. He'll only settle the insult, no more.”
The irritating old man smiled slyly.
“Please stop this, Elder.”
“Just watch for a bit. If it goes too far, we'll intervene ourselves. Besides, the other side doesn't seem willing to let it go. Pride and all that. Tsk. This is why clan brats are troublesome.”
There was nothing he could do.
After confirming what happened, it turned out the child really had asked whether it was Namgung Cheon's first time holding a sword.
Whether he meant it as mockery or not, the child admitted he had said it.
That was enough for the other side to force the duel.
And so the match began.
“Child, be careful.”
“Yes!”
“If it hurts even a little, scream as loudly as you can. Remember, this isn't a fair duel.”
“Yes!”
“Sigh... I feel bad making you do this. The child you're facing has already practiced the sword for years.”
“Huh? Really?”
“Uh... no. He's a beginner too. Anyway, do your best.”
“Okay!”
The duel was strange.
“Th-this... Our Cheon has nearly mastered the Great Flame Sword Art...!”
“Hah... You really just picked him up off the road? He's not Mount Hua's hidden genius? Just where exactly did you find this monster?”
“Cheon! What are you doing?! Fight properly!”
“Elder Namgung, are you unable to accept what you're seeing with your own eyes? Hahaha!”
“Elder, perhaps you're laughing a little too loudly?”
“Hahahahaha! The Namgung Family's greatest genius in generations losing to a child who held a sword for the first time today! Hahahahaha!”
The Wudang Elder laughed so hard it seemed the mountains themselves would shake.
The Nine Great Sects and the Beggars' Sect together formed the Nine Sects and One Gang.
The Five Great Clans stood as the other pillar of the righteous martial world.
Together, these organizations upheld the righteous factions.
Shaolin stood at the head of the Nine Sects.
The Namgung Family occupied the leading position among the Five Great Clans.
And because of that, the Namgung Family had always looked down somewhat on Wudang.
They acknowledged Shaolin.
Not Wudang.
Naturally, relations were less than friendly.
“Hahahaha! That child is only using the Six Harmonies Sword—mostly simple downward strikes! Yet despite clearly knowing no other sword arts, he's dismantling Namgung's techniques at exactly the right moments. Are you certain this is the Great Flame Sword Art that's supposedly near mastery?”
“Elder... perhaps you should stop...”
Jinyeon whispered quietly.
It had no effect.
“Perhaps it wasn't actually close to mastery after all! Hahahahaha!”
“Urgh... Cheon, stop!”
Namgung Cheon managed to land several attacks.
Yet the child wasn't hit even once.
If anything, he looked as though he was enjoying himself.
Observing the opponent's sword.
Finding flaws.
Breaking through them.
Every time he did so, a smile appeared on his face.
That child was different.
The Wudang Elder roaring with laughter realized it.
The Namgung Elder, watching his clan's prodigy get completely overwhelmed, realized it.
Even Jinyeon, standing there in stunned disbelief, realized it.
These were movements and insights that no child taking their first steps into martial arts should be capable of displaying.
Soon afterward, Namgung Tae left the training grounds with Namgung Cheon and Namgung Hwang.
There was no apology.
The famed Namgung prodigy's eyes were even filled with tears of frustration.
Once they disappeared, the child walked back over.
“I worked hard!”
The elder standing nearby bent down slightly.
“Yes, you did well. Tell me honestly—have you truly never held a sword before?”
The child recognized the elder's face.
After all, he had repeatedly tried to persuade Jinyeon to become an instructor.
“Yes.”
“I heard you don't remember anything else either. Let me see your hands for a moment.”
The elder examined his hands before telling him to go back and play.
“Junior Nephew! How did you do that?!”
Hyunwoon was practically jumping up and down with excitement.
Jinyeon watched the scene behind him.
Then he wore a complicated expression.
“The Black Sword Ghost... no, the Demonic Cult's Young Cult Leader. If he had held a sword for the first time, would he have looked like that? What do you think? There wasn't a single trace of prior martial arts training on that child's hands.”
“Are you saying his talent rivals the Black Sword Ghost's?”
“Yes. No... perhaps it might even surpass it. Didn't you see the level he displayed? Namgung Cheon was undoubtedly talented. There was nothing strange about him being called a prodigy of the Namgung Family. Yet that nameless child defeated him.”
If nobody had explained who was the beginner and who was the prodigy, everyone would have mistaken their identities.
“Haha... This is giving me a headache.”
“What part? That the child's talent is too extraordinary? Or that we know nothing about his past?”
“A bit of both. I'm still wondering if what I saw was even real. He toyed with a child who had trained for years using nothing but basic techniques.”
Could talent alone explain something like that?
Ah.
So that's why he told me about the Black Sword Ghost.
“What do you intend to do?”
“I don't know about everything else, but one thing is certain.”
“What is it?”
Jinyeon turned around and looked at the child, hands clasped behind his back.
“I will take responsibility for him. Mount Hua will as well. We made that promise.”
“A proper answer. Heh heh heh. But Mount Hua will have a difficult time.”
“Hm?”
The elder's voice dropped.
“You don't seriously think Namgung Tae will sit quietly, do you?”
“Will he seek revenge?”
“No. He'll do something even more troublesome.”
“What?”
“He'll spread rumors.”
“Rumors?”
“That Namgung's prodigy was defeated by a child who had never held a sword before.”
“What? Surely not... He'd spread such a rumor himself? Then Namgung Cheon would—”
“Remember this carefully. That child has no affiliation.”
“...”
“If a monster like that had appeared as a disciple chosen by Mount Hua, people would already be making all sorts of moves. But that child?”
The elder chuckled.
“He's merely a nameless orphan you happened to pick up along the road.”
“Ah...”
Jinyeon finally understood.
“There are many methods—persuasion, kidnapping, threats, or even murder. Plenty of ways to crush or steal the budding talents of another sect. But from Namgung Tae's perspective, if he wanted to make a move, he'd have to kill both me and you before you returned to Mount Hua, wouldn't he?”
“That would be difficult. Perhaps he could deal with me, but not you, Elder. You'll remain within the Alliance.”
“Exactly.”
They were members of the righteous factions.
That was why they did not openly resort to such methods.
But behind the scenes, the scheming was no less vicious than that of the unorthodox factions or the Demonic Cult.
All for the sake of elevating their sects.
Jinyeon knew that reality well.
“Why do you think people like Namgung Tae, who normally never leave their homes, gathered here? They expect their disciples to be taught by countless masters, to rise above the rest, and become the one who opposes the Heavenly Demon—the hero of the righteous path. The story about the Black Sword Ghost being a twenty-year-old Young Cult Leader inspired all these masters to unite and raise talents, regardless of sect? You know that's not the real reason.”
“Of course.”
“But today, we—and Namgung Tae as well—saw it with our own eyes. A talent capable of reaching the same heights as that Young Cult Leader can be recognized at a glance. Their disciples are all prodigies, yes, but they are not monsters who shatter common sense. You can tell from the moment they pick up a sword.”
At this point, he was genuinely curious.
What had the Demonic Cult's Young Cult Leader looked like when he first held a sword?
And what kind of world did that child see?
“In any case, Namgung Tae will spread the rumor. If he tries to suppress it alone, he'll look foolish. I don't know how you and I will respond, but if the matter grows? Kidnapping may be impossible, but stopping the child from entering Mount Hua is another matter. Once that happens, everything afterward becomes easier. By tomorrow, the rumor will spread. Two days later, the people gathered here will be knocking on your door to confirm it. And after that?”
The outcome was obvious.
“Exactly. Do you understand now what you should be worrying about?”
“Yes. How to escape back to Mount Hua safely.”
“Hahaha. No. There is another way. I'm sure you've already thought of it.”
“But if we do that, the child will never be able to enter Mount Hua. No... he may spend his entire life without belonging to any sect.”
“Even so, you could become his master.”
“But a martial artist without a sect...”
“Don't worry. After seeing talent like that, are you really worried he'll be ignored? If the child enters the division and learns from multiple masters, they'll later use that as an excuse to prevent him from formally joining Mount Hua.”
“Jinyeon. Do you wish for Mount Hua to obtain an absolute genius and become the strongest sect under heaven?”
“Yes... but not if it means putting that child's life in danger. I only wanted to take him there because Mount Hua is a good place.”
“Then take him later. Does it truly matter whether he becomes a Daoist of Mount Hua immediately? As long as he remains your disciple.”
Jinyeon sighed.
“I thought I would become his Martial Grandmaster. Instead, I'll become his master. And Hyunwoon will gain a junior brother rather than a junior nephew. Very well. I'll accept the role of instructor in the new division. And the child will enter it as he is.”
“Hahaha! Then even if the rumors spread, there's nothing to worry about. In fact, because he has no affiliation, people will tread carefully as long as he doesn't do anything strange. They'll want to leave a good impression on the future strongest martial artist under heaven. A wonderful thing. Truly wonderful.”
The elder laughed as he looked up at the sky.
“Are you happy because you think that child might be able to stop the Young Cult Leader?”
“No.”
The elder's grin widened.
“I'm happy because Mount Hua won't become any stronger.”
“Hahahaha!”
As the two men laughed together, the child stopped swinging his sword and looked over at them.
Then he smiled brightly as well.
He must have been truly enjoying himself.
“Elder... if Namgung Tae hadn't spread the rumor, would you have done it yourself?”
“Hehehe. Who knows?”
Seo Jun quietly reflected on those memories for a moment before answering.
“Yes.”
Without the slightest hesitation.
Namgung-whatever-his-name-was. Looking back, he was actually pretty talented.
At first, Seo Jun had genuinely thought he was another beginner.
In any case, he had been good from the moment he first picked up a sword.
No—
He had been good even before holding one.
And so he answered confidently.
“From the very beginning?”
“Yes. I mean, can you even imagine me being bad at it?”
He certainly couldn't.
Still...
A nostalgic smile slowly appeared on Seo Jun's lips.
A stark contrast to the expressions of his teammates, who looked as though they had just bitten into something rotten.
In the end, I never got to see it.
Jinyeon died young before he could ever take Seo Jun to Mount Hua.
And afterward, Seo Jun deliberately never went.
“Child, if you ever see Mount Hua covered in blooming plum blossoms, you'll definitely love it.”
A sentence he had heard countless times while learning the language.
Would I have liked it?
Now, he would never know.
Well.
The past was the past.
“Anyway, everyone?”
Seo Jun glanced around the room.
“Shouldn't we hurry up and eat?”
“Seo Jun, please! At least when we're eating—!”
“Guarantee our one-hour lunch break! Guarantee it!”
The room immediately erupted in protest.