Chapter 107
Leading the New Recruits (2)
Starting the day after his return, Namgung Jun personally took charge of Yu Geunsu's training.
Whoosh!
The iron sword Yu Geunsu raised cut through the air with a heavy whistle.
From Ilmunjusa (One Gate, One Thrust) to Dancheongsoae, and then into Palgyeongsanjeong (Eight Peaks Ascending the Mountain)—
They were all techniques of the Soyeon Sword Art.
“You can execute them continuously now.”
Yu Geunsu had already memorized every technique and verse of the Soyeon Sword Art, but his body still struggled to keep up.
The form and posture would occasionally fall out of alignment, and the transitions between techniques often broke apart.
Fortunately, one thing worked in his favor.
His fundamentals were exceptionally solid.
It was almost as if he had spent his entire life training only the Three Talents Sword Art.
As Yu Geunsu executed another sequence, his sword suddenly halted.
He had noticed the flaw in his own movement.
Scratching between his brows, he lowered his head.
“Ah... I'm sorry.”
“For what?”
“You've been teaching me so patiently, Senior Namgung, but my progress is still this slow...”
Namgung Jun looked at the bear-like man and shook his head.
“Were you always this impatient when training alone?”
“No. Back then, I didn't have to worry about what anyone else thought.”
“You don't need to worry about that now either.”
Namgung Jun gestured for him to raise his sword again.
“Maintain your own pace. You may learn and grow slowly, but your foundation is solid. That is your strength, and it should be refined.”
“My strength...”
“And your rate of progress is not something you should concern yourself with.”
“Why not?”
Shaking the Soyeon Sword Art manual in his hand, Namgung Jun replied,
“Because I'm the one teaching you. Your growth rate is my concern, not yours.”
Namgung Jun remembered the years he had spent teaching disciples in Namcheon Palace.
Not all of them had been prodigies or geniuses.
In fact, many had been ordinary talents—or even slow learners.
That was inevitable.
He had never chosen disciples solely for their aptitude.
If fate brought them together and their hearts were sincere, he accepted them.
As a result, teaching students who learned slowly was something he was thoroughly familiar with.
As long as the student maintained the proper mindset, that was enough.
“If the world contained nothing but talented hawks soaring through the heavens, it would be a rather boring place. We also need people like tortoises—slow, steady, and unwavering in their advance.”
After encouraging Yu Geunsu, Namgung Jun immediately resumed his instruction.
“Think of it simply. There isn't a single technique here that you cannot master.”
Namgung Jun did not teach directly from the manual.
Instead, he dismantled each technique and principle into the smallest possible pieces, explaining them one by one from the most basic elements upward.
If Yu Geunsu could not digest the entire structure at once, then Namgung Jun would break it apart and ensure he understood each fragment individually.
It was a method only possible because Namgung Jun possessed not only complete mastery of the Soyeon Sword Art but also profound understanding approaching the pinnacle of the Daeyeon Sword Art.
The method suited Yu Geunsu surprisingly well.
His learning gradually gained momentum.
Ah! So that's how the sword was supposed to move.
More and more often, Yu Geunsu found his body reacting before his mind.
It was an experience he had rarely known before.
At first, the countless small lessons had seemed disconnected and confusing.
But as training continued, those scattered fragments gradually merged together into a coherent whole.
Feeling his own growth clearly, Yu Geunsu willingly increased his training hours.
Namgung Jun occasionally had to intervene and force him to stop.
Thus, Yu Geunsu's progress steadily accumulated.
Teaching in an accessible manner was important, but another factor proved equally valuable:
The annotated manuals.
Because of that, Namgung Jun wrote annotated versions of both the Soyeon Sword Art and the Daeyeon Sword Art in a single day.
He had long since mastered the Daeyeon Sword Art and reached a level approaching its utmost perfection.
Combined with the countless insights he had gathered beyond the sword art itself, compiling an explanatory guide was not particularly difficult.
He'll have to learn the Daeyeon Sword Art eventually anyway. Better to prepare it now.
He paid particular attention to explaining how it connected naturally to the Soyeon Sword Art.
Though the path of the sword appeared to branch endlessly in countless directions, all roads ultimately led toward a single destination.
Of course, even Namgung Jun could not know which path Yu Geunsu would ultimately choose.
Still, if bridges were built at every crossroads, perhaps he could move forward more quickly.
And someday, if Yu Geunsu ever lost his way, Namgung Jun hoped he would remember one of those bridges and find his direction again.
Naturally, the first person to read the newly written commentary on the Daeyeon Sword Art was Yu Geunsu himself.
“Senior, you've gone through all this trouble because of me. It's because I'm lacking...”
“Don't worry about it. The other Clouds will read it, and so will the recruits who join in the future.”
With the annotated manuals supplementing Namgung Jun's instruction, Yu Geunsu's progress continued steadily.
Once his training reached a certain stage, his growth no longer accelerated dramatically.
However, neither did he stagnate or regress as before.
“Haah!”
Yu Geunsu never sought shortcuts.
Nor did he complain about hardship.
Instead, he divided every spare moment into training.
His dedication became an example for the other swordsmen.
The members of the Heavenly Sword Hall were already diligent by nature.
Even among them, however, few could match Yu Geunsu's work ethic.
That was how much effort he poured into his training.
It's difficult.
Perhaps because he had previously learned nothing but the Three Talents Sword Art and other third-rate martial arts that could be bought with money, the Soyeon Sword Art felt extraordinarily difficult from Yu Geunsu's perspective.
The senior members of the Hall did not regard the Soyeon Sword Art as some supreme martial art.
To them, it was simply a sturdy and reliable sword art that served as a bridge toward higher realms.
But for Yu Geunsu, it was an entirely different matter.
Even so, Yu Geunsu found the Soyeon Sword Art difficult to master.
Had he been left to study the manual alone, he likely would not have progressed beyond the second stage of mastery even now.
At first, he thought having an instructor would not make much difference.
Over the years, he had occasionally encountered experts willing to teach him, and he had even paid local martial academies to learn martial arts.
Yet every one of them eventually grew frustrated with his lack of aptitude and clicked their tongues in disappointment.
The young senior I met in the Changcheon Society was different.
Namgung Jun had told him to regard his shortcomings as strengths and continue forward as he was.
It was the first time anyone had ever said such a thing to him.
The words themselves were simple.
Yet they gave Yu Geunsu the courage to keep moving forward with unwavering determination.
Every day, he thought about the Soyeon Sword Art.
He rehearsed its techniques in his mind.
Whenever he encountered a sequence he could not fully imagine, he spent hours pondering what he lacked.
Eventually, he even began dreaming about practicing the sword art.
The reason he could immerse himself so deeply was largely thanks to the annotated manual Namgung Jun had created.
Yu Geunsu had thought he already understood every verse and principle of the sword art.
He had been wrong.
When viewed through the commentary, the principles hidden within the Soyeon Sword Art appeared far broader and deeper than he had ever imagined.
“Hyaaaah!”
Then one day—
As he thrust his sword forward with his usual vigorous shout, Yu Geunsu felt a strange exhilaration.
The sword extended unusually smoothly.
His arm felt free.
A confidence he had never known before surged through his entire body, making him feel as though he could execute any technique flawlessly.
He had rarely experienced such a sensation in his life.
Is this really okay?
Because it was unfamiliar, a hint of fear accompanied it.
Yet Yu Geunsu did not hesitate.
He trusted the sweat he had shed.
And he trusted Namgung Jun's teachings.
Originally, he had intended to practice only the first half of the Soyeon Sword Art.
Instead, he naturally flowed into the latter half.
He had neither planned nor intended it.
His elevated state simply guided his body forward.
Swaaash!
For the first time, the spacious training ground felt small.
As though trying to break free of an invisible restraint, Yu Geunsu swung his sword wider and with greater confidence.
Boom!
His right foot naturally stamped the ground.
By the time his mind registered what had happened, his left hand was already wielding the sword, carving fiercely through the air.
Whoosh!
The blade shot forward repeatedly, tracing clean and concise sword paths.
“Wait, look over there. The recruit's techniques...”
The Heavenly Sword Hall swordsmen turned their attention toward him as his sword suddenly displayed a presence entirely different from before.
Yu Geunsu proceeded to execute every advanced technique of the Soyeon Sword Art.
At the same time, his body spun once.
Naturally, the final technique connected back into the first technique of the opening sequence.
His breathing never broke.
His movements never halted.
The sword flowed as smoothly as water.
His body raced freely, almost as though it had escaped his control.
Yet Yu Geunsu had no intention of stopping.
Or rather—
He couldn't.
He was too busy staring at the sword paths he was creating.
How long did he continue?
Only after performing the entire Soyeon Sword Art twenty consecutive times did Yu Geunsu finally regain his senses and stop.
“Huh?”
As he stared blankly at his own sword, Namgung Jun's voice sounded beside him.
“You've gained an enlightenment.”
“Senior Namgung!”
“At that level, it would not be an exaggeration to say you've reached the eighth stage of mastery.”
“The eighth stage?!”
Yu Geunsu was stunned.
Before this breakthrough, he had been stuck at the fourth stage.
He had been hovering just short of the fifth stage for quite some time.
And now, suddenly, the eighth?
This was the first true enlightenment of his life.
Likewise, it was the first time he had swung a sword without thought, simply allowing something beyond himself to guide him.
“But I didn't realize anything! I don't even know what changed. I simply followed where my body led...”
“That too is enlightenment.”
Namgung Jun continued calmly.
“Finding a clear fragment within mist-like insights is itself cultivation. Begin meditating.”
Without a word of protest, Yu Geunsu immediately sat cross-legged.
Namgung Jun spoke softly, almost in a whisper.
“Recall the sword paths you just created. Do not try to obtain anything. Simply revisit them again and again. Contemplate them. Even if you gain nothing, continue meditating.”
Yu Geunsu's meditation continued throughout the night.
That day, training at the Heavenly Sword Hall was suspended.
Yet despite the suspension, most of the swordsmen remained at the training grounds.
They simply sat around the area and waited.
They intended to remain until Yu Geunsu completed his meditation.
Protected by the Hall's guardians, Yu Geunsu continued meditating until the following morning.
Only then did he open his eyes.
His gaze was crystal clear, as though he had finally seen something definite.
“So he actually did it.”
“Well, considering all the effort that went into creating that annotated Soyeon Sword Art manual, it's not surprising.”
“Speaking of annotated manuals, everyone should take a look at the Daeyeon Sword Art commentary as well. I thought I'd already mastered it, but some parts struck me in a completely new way.”
The Heavenly Sword Hall swordsmen watched three figures depart from the hall carrying their travel packs.
Namgung Jun.
Man Ye-won.
And Yu Geunsu.
After achieving the eighth stage of mastery in the Soyeon Sword Art, Yu Geunsu's first mission had been assigned only four days later.
Barely twenty days had passed since Namgung Jun confidently promised Lee Seha that the recruit would be ready within a month.
“Namgung Jun is a genius. But being good at teaching as well? That's rare. Geniuses usually can't understand how ordinary people think.”
“Maybe I should ask the maknae for guidance when he gets back. The wall I'm stuck at these days is proving difficult to overcome.”
“I'm curious how Yu Geunsu will handle his first mission. He learns slowly, but strangely enough, I'm not worried about him.”
After watching the trio leave on their assignment, the other Heavenly Sword Hall swordsmen finally turned away.
By now, Heo Il and Gong Jun-am had probably already finished reading the annotated Daeyeon Sword Art manual they had hurriedly borrowed first.
The others intended to study it before their turn in the queue arrived.