Chapter 314 |
314. Guest (2)
There were many reasons overlapping, but as for the spar itself with the Namgung father and son, I was looking forward to it greatly.
I had grown stronger than before, and above all—I could now see the flow of qi whenever I wished.
Not only sword intent but even the internal energy of the Namgung Clan’s martial arts—
It would be strange not to look forward to it.
And there was another reason.
“Congratulations, Namgung-hyung. You’ve crossed the wall.”
“Heh. As expected, you saw it immediately.”
Namgung Jong nodded, a laugh escaping as if he tried to suppress it but couldn’t.
Not just the entry level, either—He had already reached a stable mid-stage level, accustomed to his new realm.
I remembered he was seven years older than me.
Not even thirty yet.
Before my regression, he reached Sub-Perfection the moment he turned thirty and earned the title Azure Sky Sword Lord.
Which meant… he had reached it about three years earlier this time.
I admired that inwardly as I stepped onto the empty training ground.
“Achieving Sub-Perfection before thirty… you might surpass the Sword King someday.”
“Hearing that from someone who reached Sub-Perfection before twenty and Flowering Stage right after… I don’t know how to feel.”
“It’s troublesome if you compare yourself with me.”
I had begun the race from an unnatural starting line thanks to regression.
I never lacked sword talent, but in front of the Namgung Clan, even I felt a little insufficient.
Of course, I couldn’t reveal any of that because of the mental restriction, so the words coming out of my mouth were predetermined.
“I’m a genius, aren’t I? If you compare yourself to me and end up suffering qi deviation, how would you face the Sword King?”
“Hmph. I already thought your arrogance was something to behold during the Yongbong meeting, but you get more insufferable each day.”
“As days pass, my true nature simply reveals itself. I’ve always been like this.”
“Good thing you’re an orthodox martial artist, then.”
Namgung Jong smiled faintly.
Whether because his realm had risen or he had matured with age, he was much calmer than the version I remembered.
Now more fitting of the title Azure Sky Sword Lord, he took his stance and drew his sword.
Srrring—
Feet shoulder-width apart, sword pointed to the center of vision, middle-level stance…
To an untrained eye, it might look no different from the Three Talents Sword.
But I could feel it—
Namgung Jong’s stance was orthodox because it was designed to contain the extremity of the sword.
He merely held the sword pointed forward, yet shadows of infinite sword trajectories stretched out around him.
He wasn’t actually swinging—
It meant he could swing in any path instantly.
His sword had not moved, but his qi already formed a domain around him.
Azure Palace Boundless Sword
A sword seeking to contain the heavens, and so becoming like the heavens.
Just looking at it was refreshing enough that I lifted the corner of my lips and drew my own sword.
“Three seconds. Shall I give you that much?”
“Gladly.”
The moment he answered, Namgung Jong dashed forward.
Tat.
Light as a breeze that cools sweat and passes by—So natural, so swift.
His sword swung as he closed the distance effortlessly. His domain widened, touching me—and then—
Swaeeeek!
A sky-blue blade flew for my shoulder.
A sword technique expressing swift clarity, perhaps chosen because it was the simplest starting strike and allowed maximum synergy with his footwork.
Qi so condensed it produced sword flames—And behind the blade, a deliberate hole allowing qi to vent naturally.
The escaping energy pushed the sword from behind, accelerating it beyond Namgung Jong’s own speed.
So that was the structure of the technique.
I observed clearly what I could never have perceived before, and calmly raised my sword.
Not sword force, but sword flame—to match his level.
Blue flame collided with white flame, scraping against each other.
Kagagagak!
Sparks sprayed everywhere.
To an observer, it might seem I barely managed to block after failing to keep up with his speed.
But the truth was different.
I had condensed my internal energy as much as possible without using willpower.
Weighted qi settled heavily into my blade, drawing a rough but unwavering line that held its ground.
Weight.
From sword, to body, to the earth beneath my feet—All combined into a deep, heavy force embedded in the blade.
The result—
Teuong!
Namgung Jong’s sword, unable to endure the rebound, flung backward violently.
He winced, fingers trembling, but he didn’t back down.
Grinding his teeth, he spun midair and counterattacked from the opposite side.
His qi, previously alternating between condensation and release, suddenly shifted.
Like dark clouds filling the sky on a rainy day, qi pooled around his shoulders and wrists—Then distorted the sword flame on his blade.
Less condensed than before, but in exchange—More fluid, extending naturally in any direction.
A graceful crescent slash tangled with my immovable blade.
Flow.
Its purpose: to scatter the weight I had gathered, to sweep it aside.
But—
“Good attempt.”
I swung a counterstroke.
The internal energy that had been weighted down began to surge.
The moment our blades met—
BOOOOM!
Qi erupted at its limit, blasting apart the vague aura around him.
His sky-like clarity vanished.
“—!?”
Shocked, Namgung Jong stumbled back, a string of blood dripping from his lips.
A light internal injury from confronting explosive sword qi head-on.
He returned to his starting point with a hollow laugh.
“You gave me three seconds, but was the point to finish within three seconds?”
“You’re simply collapsing on your own.”
“Of course. You haven’t shown any technique or clever maneuvering—you just countered my sword with perfect opposites.”
He was right.
I had not used overwhelming strength or higher sword arts.
I merely swung the most precise counterstroke to each of his sword paths—
Possible only because I could see his internal energy’s flow, and because my sword comprehension had reached a higher level.
Understanding of the sword + delicate control of internal energy—That alone had dismantled him completely.
Yet Namgung Jong showed no discouragement; instead, his fighting spirit flared.
“It seems simple forms won’t work on you. Then let’s see if you can read this.”
He resumed his stance. But his qi flow changed entirely—
Condense. Release. Soften. Sharpen.
Like fickle weather shifting endlessly.
But in time, those fluctuations settled.
After storms and disasters, what remains is a clear open sky—
A blue heaven.
Namgung Jong raised his sword.
A simple vertical cut—But it carried the sky within it.
“…Ah.”
I had seen only fragments from afar before.
But now, for the first time, I could see its true essence clearly.
Azure Palace Boundless Sword.
The full meaning within it.
Long ago, Master Jeonghyeon said this of Diamond Vajra Body:
“The swift breaks easily, The heavy is easy to evade, The flashy scatters…But the ordinary and firm has no weakness.”
Namgung Jong’s sword embodied similar truth.
The Namgung Clan gathered countless sword arts and forged them into a new sky.
But precisely because they studied everything, they knew— No matter how profound a technique, because it is a technique, it carries unavoidable limitations.
Thus—
A sword that contains all profundities contains all weaknesses.
As proven by how I had broken his last two techniques.
But the Namgung Clan challenged this premise—
And through the Azure Palace Boundless Sword, they found an answer:
The ordinary sword is the flawless sword.
And flawlessness leads to infinite horizons—Boundlessness.
This martial art was considered one of the greatest advancing sword arts in the Central Plains—
Yet to the Namgung Clan, it was merely the foundation from which to begin.
Only now did I understand why they were so open-handed about sharing martial arts—
Why they obsessively collected and studied every sword art.
For in the sky they envisioned, the Azure Palace Boundless Sword was foundational, and even their Sovereign Sword Art was incomplete.
Naturally, they would share and desperately seek completion.
“Hah…”
I didn’t know exactly what kind of sky they aimed to forge—
But I could sense how distant it was.
Maybe it would never be completed, even on the day the Namgung Clan perished in the declining future.
But now—It was this incomplete sword that stirred my heart.
“Magnificent.”
Smiling, I lowered my sword diagonally.
A posture that looked weak, sagging—But to me, it was the perfect answer to his sword.
Sss— Hoo…
A deep breath in and out.
The beginning of distinguishing self from other—The beginning of dividing heaven and earth.
I emptied myself, body in natural form, focusing solely on Namgung Jong’s sword.
The blue-flamed blade approached, nearly touching my hair.
“Hup!”
I held my breath for a moment and swung full force.
From below upward—
White thunder surged in reverse.
As I once separated “I” from “you,” my sword separated heaven and earth—Or perhaps pierced them to unite both.
KWAAANG!
Only after the sword completed its arc did the roaring thunderclap erupt.
I hadn’t used aura or willpower. Thus, the only thing I could cut—Was the sword Namgung Jong had just swung.
Holding a broken blade, Namgung Jong smiled in satisfaction.
“Th-the sword… its name?”
“Thunderclap Sword.”
“…Magnificent… ku-heok!”
With those words, he spat blood and collapsed.
A significant internal injury.
The snapped half of his sword belatedly fell, embedding itself in the ground.
Thunk!
A scene like the heroic final stand of a warrior.
Only then did I snap back to reality.
I had restrained myself—
But even restrained, Flowering Stage strength was too much for a Sub-Perfection martial artist.
A child being punched by an adult—who then claims he wasn’t using full power because he didn’t kick.
Feeling guilty, I looked toward Namgung Dowi.
He tilted his head, wearing an excited expression.
“Hm? You gave good instruction—why look at me like that?”
“I… may have been a little harsh…”
“Don’t worry. A son should be raised strictly.”
“But he’s not my son.”
“If he saw a sword like that before collapsing, he’d be satisfied.”
“Please don’t say such ominous things.”
“No one blames you, so set your mind at ease.”
“And please stop looking at the sky with that wistful expression.”
Anyone would think someone actually died.