TL: Nmalada_micah
PR: SWAN
Chapter 6
I thought it would be easy. Since my martial arts were already close to completion.
But I learned that human greed knows no bounds.
Just when I thought it was complete, flaws emerged again.
As I needed to supplement and modify, five years had passed unnoticed.
What was surprising is that my master really helped. He was a bit strange, but a good person.
If I meet a hermit or yokai, I should tell them to be honored to serve in a good place.
That was the year when everything became clear.
Eunho’s martial arts were completed.
“Perhaps this is the end.”
A sense of nostalgia crept into the voices of Eunho and Namgung cheong as they faced each other.
“Yes, it might be.”
The two drew their swords.
Energy began to emanate from Namgung cheong’s entire body.
The energy emitted by the martial artist who had reached the peak was truly remarkable.
The wind created by the energy shook the surrounding bushes violently.
Strangely, there was silence only around Eunho.
The fierce wind couldn’t even move a single strand of Eunho’s hair.
“…Do it properly.”
Namgung cheong twitched.
There was a sense of regret as he said it was the last.
“Hmm.”
Soon, a white glow emanated from the tip of Namgung cheong’s sword.
Wong~ Wong~!
A majestic sound similar to the owner emanated from his sword.
The state of divine sword harmony.
If ordinary people had seen it, they would have been astonished.
Divine sword harmony meant the unity of sword and body, representing the ultimate mastery of the sword.
Only twenty-four Lords of the Inner Realm were known to have achieved this, and Namgung cheong had grown during the five years with Eunho.
It was unbelievable at his age of looking back.
“I’m going.”
Namgung cheong’s body disappeared from sight.
Eunho’s eyes narrowed momentarily and then returned to normal.
Kwooong!
It felt as if a stab came from the air.
Although only the swords met, the ringing sound was thunderous.
Namgung cheong’s momentum, which had distanced himself for a moment, changed.
The sword energy gathered back to the tip of the sword.
Although Namgung cheong preferred heavy swords, this time, he wielded a light sword with extreme speed.
The speed of the sword was too fast for the trajectory to follow, leaving an afterimage.
The sword energy attached to the tip of the sword shot out like a flying arrow.
The sword energy approached Eunho’s nose.
Eunho’s pupils momentarily shrank, and the muscles of his arm and shoulder, holding the sword tightly, tensed like a bowstring.
Tsusut-!
The drawn sword, creating friction with the air, collided with the sword energy.
Since Namgung cheong’s every intention and effort was condensed into the sword energy, it should have caused a massive explosion.
But,
“…There was nothing.”
As if swinging a sword in empty air, there was no explosion of light or thunderous noise.
Silence enveloped the two and their surroundings.
“Phew….”
Namgung cheong’s breath burst out.
His chest and shoulders heaved heavily.
Every nerve had been focused on a single strike, even his instinctive breathing stopped.
“How many times did I strike?”
“A thousand.”
“A thousand… Truly arrogant martial arts.”
“It’s complete.”
Namgung cheong nodded.
His attainment of the ultimate mastery, the vision of the twenty-four Lords of the Inner Realm rising.
And the disciple’s attainment seemed to surpass even that vision.
The twenty-four Lords? The greatest under heaven? Such titles meant nothing in front of his disciple.
Could he be considered the greatest under heaven?
It was mere curiosity.
But perhaps it might be possible.
The greatest under heaven…
Namgung cheong naturally recalled the names of the two.
“If you had existed in the time of Jang Sam-bong, Jin-in and the era of Cheonma; the heavenly demon, you would have contended for the title of the greatest under heaven with them.”
Ah, he remembered.
Jang Sam-bong.
The name of the person who had come with Dalma was Jang Sambong.
“Are they the greatest under heaven?”
“That’s right.”
Master Dalma created the martial arts, and Jang Sambong and the first Cheonma perfected it.
Their martial arts were said to split the sky and tear the sea apart, so they must have been the greatest under heaven.
Eunho nodded.
He knew better than anyone about Jang Sambong’s martial arts. He had fought him directly.
There was no need to tell his master everything.
Creating a new martial art and perfecting it took five years.
Finally, he truly became the strongest.
At first, he swung his sword for a purpose, but eventually, the sword itself became the purpose.
The desire for strength and instinct had brought Eunho this far.
“Now, I can close my eyes in peace.”
“Yes, you should be able to rest comfortably.”
“That damn habit of yours…”
“But first.”
Eunho’s and Namgung cheong’s gazes met.
Their eyes were different from before, filled with the acknowledgment of each other as master and disciple.
“Please. Give it a name.”
“What?”
Namgung cheong was greatly surprised by the unexpected request.
When did he ever say such a thing? And why now? And he didn’t like it?
“Just give me a little time…”
“Right now.”
Namgung cheong’s mind spun quickly.
Yeah, after living for so long, it should be about time.
He thought about Eunho and his martial arts, and what stood out the most was…
“…”
It was arrogance.
The name of the disciple’s sword was arrogant.
“Ah, quickly. If you don’t say anything by the count of three, this martial art will remain nameless. One.”
Namgung cheong’s mind spun frantically.
‘Imperial Sword Formation? That’s Nam Gung’s vision. Emperor’s Divine Sword? No, it’s too cliche.’
“Two, three…”
He quickly thought of a word that suited arrogance and blurted it out.
“Skybreaker Sword Formation!”
Namgung cheong’s expression wrinkled.
He had said it hastily, and it wasn’t anything special.
Skybreaker Sword Formation (破天劍形).
A sword that breaks the sky, truly it meant defying heaven.
It suited his arrogance, but…
“Very well.”
“Huh?”
“I like it. It suits my taste.”
In Eunho’s mind, the bastards in the sky came to mind.
How wonderful it would be to break them.
He couldn’t help but laugh.
It seemed his master unexpectedly had talent in this area.
“Are you going back now?”
“Yeah, even though I look like this, I don’t have much time left.”
“It seems so.”
“Haha, you never change until the end. I’ve been wandering without a goal, so now I’m going back to where I belong. But do you really like the name?”
“I like it very much. Be careful on your way back. I won’t go far.”
He was truly a consistent disciple.
However, now Namgung cheong felt like he understood him a little.
From his grumbling, he could sense a mix of regret and concern.
“Drop by from time to time.”
A benevolent smile appeared on Namgung cheong’s face.
“Yes…, sure.”
As Eunho turned to leave,
“Oh, wait.”
Namgung cheong called him back.
“What is it?”
“What are you going to do from now on?”
“I’ll live a normal life as originally planned.”
“A truly difficult yet good goal.”
Namgung cheong chuckled.
There was something more he wanted to say.
“Do you have something else to say?”
“I don’t care what my disciple does. It’s your life. However, if you spill too much blood or…”
Eunho, whom he had been observing for five years, was an upright person.
The problem was that his sense of righteousness wasn’t based on universal morals but on his own beliefs.
If he believed he was right, then it was right; if he believed it was wrong, then it was wrong.
In other words, he was stubborn.
It would be fine if he were opposing distant demons or rebels aiming for the throne, clearly disturbing his mindset as the greatest under heaven or targeting the emperor.
But what if he inadvertently offended someone from the same faction and ended up with a derogatory term attached to his disciple, like blood (血) or demon (魔)?
“Master, I belong to the same faction.”
Since he had received martial arts from a figure of the Nam Gung family, he could definitely be considered part of the same faction.
But what was this uneasiness?
“Well, try to resolve it with words if it’s from the same faction. Especially our children…”
Eunho narrowed his eyes.
Referring to ‘our children’ clearly meant Namgung sega’s figure.
Ah, this must have been what he wanted to say.
It was his master’s request, so what could he do?
As Eunho nodded, Namgung cheong’s face brightened.
“Well, stay healthy, and make sure to bring Somyi next time. If it weren’t for that little rascal, I would have left here long ago.”
The daughter of the Lord of the Realm, Somyi, had been the driving force behind Eunho’s perseverance and sensitivity.
Unlike his own granddaughter, she was full of charm.
If he had a granddaughter like Somyi, there would have been no need for him to wander the world.
“I’ll do that.”
With that, Eunho turned away.
Their meeting had been like a sudden shower.
Of course, no one could have predicted that this shower would later turn into a typhoon.
*****
Since the master left, peaceful daily routines repeated.
I trained upon waking up, had meals when it was time, trained again, and ate again.
“Ah, truly boring and ordinary. I love it.”
Eunho stood at the door with a satisfied smile before knocking.
“Father, I’m coming in.”
Eunho’s gaze wandered around in the air.
Since reaching a new level, the concept of ‘walls’ had become faint.
The sensations of everything inside the door felt vivid, almost as if he could see them.
As Eunho’s gaze moved from a distant place to a closer one, it eventually reached right in front of him.
Swoosh.
The door opened, revealing Ha Jin- wi’s face.
“Well, come in.”
The two sat facing each other across the table.
“Do you have anything to do today?”
“I’ll be training.”
“I see. If you have nothing to do, go bring Somyi.”
“No. I’ll train…”
“Go and bring her.”
“Yes.”
He said so, but a strange sense of rebellion surged within him.
He was going to bring her. It wasn’t a difficult task, and he could train anytime.
But for some reason, he felt like he wanted to argue.
It seemed like his personality was changing, becoming like the original owner of this body, a boy.
Looking at Ha Jin- wi, he seems like a real father, I feel affectionate towards him, and I even want to obey him and be filial.
Me, Haeunho, who had ruled over millions of demons with fear for over a thousand years, feeling filial piety.
Huh? No, that’s not it. I am Eunho, not Haeunho.
Even thinking that made Eunho’s thick brows twitch.
Strangely, his pride was hurt, and his rebellious spirit grew stronger.
“Father.”
“What’s the matter?”
“Uh, isn’t bringing Somyi something that the Chief Inspector usually does?”
It was a somewhat disrespectful tone, but Ha Jin- wi didn’t even flinch.
He had long since adapted perfectly to his son’s rudeness.
“Chief Inspector’s mother’s condition has worsened recently, so I asked him to take a few days off. We should also visit her soon.”
Eunho nodded.
Well, then, there’s no choice.
***
Golden Crown Academy
It was a place where children of merchants gathered to learn how to make money and build connections while learning the art of managing money.
Somyi, who had been called a prodigy since childhood unlike himself, was gathered here. Even among the children of the academy who were said to be geniuses from a young age, she had shown remarkable talent.
“They’re really working hard on money nonsense.”
Carriages adorned with all sorts of jewels and decorations were lined up around the academy.
Surely the Chief Inspector wouldn’t be pulling such a carriage, right?
Just the thought made him embarrassed.
But as he shook his head, a carriage approached.
Oh, that’s really impressive. Is it even a carriage sent by the emperor?
Of course, that wouldn’t be the case, but the carriage was indeed magnificent.
Wow, it’s so dazzling.
As Eunho frowned, a guard standing next to the carriage suddenly spoke up.
“Hey, what are you looking at?”
It was a curious shout, but unfortunately, Eunho’s attention was still fixed on the carriage.
What? Did they even need to embed jade in it? Geez, how much did that cost? Light is even emanating from the carriage.
It was evident that the showy display was pointless.
In a place like the Golden Crown, which was akin to a battlefield, there was no need to show off extravagance.
Quietly, Eunho thought of some mediocrely strong beings from his past life who used to pick fights.
Some demons came to mind, and Eunho chuckled.
“You’re laughing? Are you disrespecting me now?”
Ironically, it was the guard who was disrespecting the other.
He probably thought Eunho came from an unremarkable place, judging by his relatively simple attire.
Finally, Eunho’s amber eyes turned towards the guard, piercing through everything.
First-rate? Ha..
It was absurd.
Eunho clenched his fist firmly and placed his hand on his waist.
In response, the guard swiftly prepared to draw his sword and said, “Are you going to try something?”
If a fight were to break out, it needed to be ended as quickly as possible.
No parent would enjoy seeing their child involved in violence, especially in front of their disciples.
Even the disciples of the four largest academies in the central plains, didn’t usually fight each other, for instance, Golden Crown.
“What?”
Contrary to his expectations, what Eunho drew from his waist was not a sword but a palm-sized gold medallion.
A gold medallion with cloud patterns engraved on it.
It meant only one thing.
Golden Crown, one of the four largest academies in the central plains.
“Hmph.”
The guard cleared his throat and averted his gaze.
Seeing his reaction, Eunho smiled satisfactorily.
Indeed, money was everything. How efficient.
Meanwhile, the guard’s mind quickly raced.
Of all things, he had just provoked someone from the Golden Crown.
The only fortunate thing was that the guy’s demeanor seemed rather humble.
What could a mere bodyguard do?
If this incident ever came to light, he’d pay him a visit at night and teach him a lesson.
At that moment, the door of the academy opened, and children began to come out one by one.
As they all headed towards their carriages as if it were natural, Somyi suddenly spotted Eunho and ran towards him, throwing herself into his arms.
The surrounding voices murmured in response to her actions.
Whether to respond or not, Eunho lightly stroked his sister’s head and said, “Somyi, you’re sixteen now, almost a proper young lady. Why are you acting like a child?”
Somyi, with her lips pursed at her brother’s mild reprimand, was a sight to behold.
With large eyes resembling her father’s and a pert nose, along with lips as red as painted flowers, she resembled her mother quite a bit.
Though her cheeks were still round with baby fat, she still managed to exude an air of elegance, bringing smiles to the adults around her.
While many looked on with warm expressions at the affectionate siblings, there was one person who couldn’t.
His face was shrouded in darkness, a stark contrast to the extravagant carriages around them.
