Chapter 129: Chapter 129

That evening.

Dan Woo-hyun stood before the burial mound on the hill.

Perhaps due to the exceptionally bright moonlight today, the scenery of the manor looking down from above was clearly visible. With even the blowing wind rustling gently, it seemed there could be no better time to drink pleasantly.

Sitting down in front of the burial mound, Dan Woo-hyun took out some Sohongju and poured it over the grave. Soon, swallowing a cup and looking up at the sky from time to time, it almost seemed as if he was using that as a side dish for his drink.

It was a strange feeling.

Dan Woo-hyun gently closed his eyes.

“Do you remember? When I told you to leave my side, you asked me for a surname.”

It was the memory of a certain person.

In her childhood, she lived in the world with only a single sword, but her skills were so humble that it would not have been strange for her to die at any moment.

Still, she did not give up holding the sword and walked to the end, eventually standing before the Martial God, who was called the worst demon. That young girl swung her sword fearlessly and was ultimately on the verge of losing her life.

“Please save me!”

The girl facing death spoke.

For a martial artist holding a sword, there was nothing more damaging to one’s pride than begging the opponent for one’s life, yet that girl spoke out and begged for her life because she truly wanted to live.

How amusing it had been.

But it was also interesting.

It was also the first time he had seen someone beg for their life more resolutely than ever, even while feeling enough fear to wet their undergarments.

That woman was none other than.

Nam Ju-ryeon.

She was one of the Three Heavens and the woman called the Sword Heaven.

Later, when Dan Woo-hyun sent her away, he gave her a surname.

Namgung.

Since the place they first met was the southern gate of the castle, he had given it to her without much thought, and he had not expected her to actually use it, but in the end, it seemed she had established the Namgung Family.

Namgung Cheon and Namgung So-hye.

The Blue Sky Boundless Sword Technique performed by the two.

That was precisely the swordplay she had been practicing.

“Ties are indeed strange and amusing. Even after a thousand years, the connection with you all does not break… is that what it is?”

Laughing “Haha,” he tilted his cup.

When he first met Namgung So-hye, the surprise was beyond words. When she performed Nam Ju-ryeon’s swordplay, which he had half-doubted, it was so shocking that it gave him goosebumps.

A thousand years.

Since keeping a single lineage unbroken and continuing for that long could never be called an easy task, the greatness of Nam Ju-ryeon, who founded the Namgung Family, was truly remarkable.

“You should have just lived like that and passed away with a smile.”

Dan Woo-hyun smiled bitterly.

In the end, Nam Ju-ryeon even gave up managing the family she created and met her death in the place where Dan Woo-hyun’s traces remained.

It was the same for the remaining two.

He had thought nothing would be better than for them to just live their own lives and pass away, but they could not forget the Martial God to the very end and met their demise in such a shabby cave.

Thinking about it now, he felt pitiful and even sorry.

Still, how surprising was it that the connection remained?

Sa Do-hak, who inherited the true teachings of Cheon Mu-gwang.

Namgung Cheon and Namgung So-hye, who were of Nam Ju-ryeon’s bloodline.

Could it be that the only one remaining was none other than Tae Gong-jin?

“Did they say it was Wudang? They created many martial arts using the Three Talents Sword Style you devised. If you were alive, you would have laughed heartily and boasted about it so much.”

He had never seen Wudang’s martial arts.

However, listening to the stories of many people, since it was said to be one of the two places called the pillars of Orthodox Martial World that protected the Central Plains for hundreds of years, he naturally came to know how grand its prestige was.

In this way, all the connections gathered into one.

With just that, Dan Woo-hyun could smile in satisfaction.

With a slight smile, he emptied his cup.

Then, he spoke with a very serious expression, quite different from before.

“The Demon Absorbing Art has appeared in the world. Since there is no way that fellow Black Wind Demonic God is alive, I suppose it must be his descendant.”

There was also something somewhat strange.

The martial arts of the Black Wind Demonic God were not cheap things that many people could learn. He could not help but feel a sense of incongruity from the fact that a multitude of people, rather than a single person, were practicing those profound martial arts.

If there was someone who could hand down the martial arts of the Black Wind Demonic God to others without hesitation.

Only one person came to mind.

Dan Woo-hyun put down his cup and quietly gazed at the burial mound.

“Perhaps… that bastard’s descendant might exist.”

Squinting his eyes, Dan Woo-hyun looked out at the world.

It was an arrogant gaze that looked down upon everything, but it was also the gaze of someone who had resolved on something and had no intention of bending his will.

“If I cannot escape in the end even if I hold my breath, bow my head, and lower myself… then I, Dan Woo-hyun… once again…”

“…shall step into the Central Plains.”

The next morning.

Namgung So-hye washed her face with a dazed look and went out to the yard. The very first thing she had to do was to hold and swing her sword.

Since she could not forget the time she was defeated by the Death Blood Squad, she had to reach a level where she could resolve everything by her own strength if the same thing happened again.

Therefore, she had to devote herself even more.

Although the members of the Namgung Family had survived, restoring the family required that much power, and she would add her own strength to it.

With even Namgung Cheon, whom they had thought dead, being alive, the Namgung Family was in a situation where they were only waiting to rise again.

With those thoughts, she headed toward the training ground.

There were two training grounds in this manor.

One side was used by Jang Sam-tae and Gwon Mu-jin, while the other side was only built but not properly used. It was located behind the main pavilion where Dan Woo-hyun and Dan So-mi stayed, and Namgung So-hye had trained there for a long time.

Today, just like any other time, the moment she headed there, an unknown wind blew in and fiercely swept across her entire body.

“Kyaa!?”

Startled, she let out a beautiful cry.

In a situation where not a single breath of wind was blowing, when something like a storm suddenly raged, she could not help but be surprised. After everything quieted down, when she cast a dazed look, she saw a figure standing blankly in one spot of the training ground.

“Yo… Young Master Dan…”

It was Dan Woo-hyun.

Having cast off his upper garment, he revealed his solid muscles. His gaze was stroking his sword, and at that alluring expression, Namgung So-hye felt as if she would lose her mind for a moment.

That was how beautiful Dan Woo-hyun’s gaze looking at the sword was.

Soon, his eyes turned toward Namgung So-hye.

“Training so early in the morning… It seems you finally feel like doing it properly.”

“T-That is only natural, of course.”

Namgung So-hye turned her head with a coy expression.

What did he take her for to think like that?

Even though she was a woman, she was also a martial artist.

“Besides that, I am the one who is more surprised. It seems you have never used this training ground until now… This is the first time I have seen you train.”

“If I do not hold the sword once in a while, it gets rusty…”

Dan Woo-hyun chuckled and sheathed his sword.

Soon, he gathered and put on his upper garment.

Namgung So-hye, who was quietly watching that sight, bit her lips tightly.

“Wait a moment!”

“What is it?”

“…Could I receive a lesson from you?”

She already knew that Dan Woo-hyun was strong.

However, she wanted to know how well her sword would work against him.

No matter how strong he is, could he be as strong as Grandfather?

With such determination, she sent him a look.

Yet, what returned was a sneer.

“It is impossible. I do not think you can learn anything.”

“A-Are you running away?”

“Think whatever you want.”

“Ugh…!”

What?

Indeed, Dan Woo-hyun waved his hand dismissively and snorted. He seemed to feel that even if they sparred, there would be nothing Namgung So-hye could gain.

That was highly damaging to her pride.

For a martial artist to spar with another and gain nothing meant that there was an unspeakable, immense difference in skill.

That touched a nerve in Namgung So-hye’s pride.

“H-Hmph! You must be scared of me, right?”

“It is fine if you think that way.”

“W-What is that, seriously! Let’s just try once!”

“Haha, it is my policy not to engage in useless sparring. If you want to do it so badly, go to your grandfather.”

“The difference in skill with Grandfather is too vast.”

Dan Woo-hyun let out a chuckle.

Did she then think that the difference between her and himself was not that great? Since she could not discard that vanity now just as in the past, her growth could not help but be slow.

“Fine… but it will not be me.”

“Eh? Someone other than Young Master Dan? Is there anyone like that?”

“Of course there is.”

Dan Woo-hyun nodded lightly and smiled.

“Excuse me… what on earth are we doing?”

Jang Sam-tae asked with an expression that truly showed he did not understand. He stood in the middle of the training ground, and in front of him, Namgung So-hye, who looked somewhat dumbfounded, was visible.

“What else would it be but sparring.”

Anyone could see that.

Jang Sam-tae glared at Dan Woo-hyun with an incredulous look.

Seriously?

Was he serious?

If the opponent in front of him was not an illusion, she was undoubtedly Namgung So-hye. She was an expert counted among the top five rising stars of Martial World, and at one point, she was a talented individual who led a squadron in the Martial Alliance.

Not to mention the difference in experience, the high and low of their martial arts were also on completely different dimensions.

But what did he want him to do?

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

“I am going to die, you know?”

When Jang Sam-tae spoke with a dazed look, Dan Woo-hyun chuckled. Then, taking a seat on one side, he cast a glance at him with a somewhat crooked expression.

“If you do not forget what you have learned from that old man in the meantime, you will win.”

“No, even if you say what I learned…”

“It was nothing but getting beaten up…?”

Sa Do-hak had beaten him up under the guise of a sort of sparring. He had thrashed him while shouting that there was nothing as good as real combat for learning martial arts.

His whole body still ached.

With that kind of beating, who did he expect him to win against?

He might as well tell him to just get hit.

“Exactly! This makes no sense! This man has barely learned martial arts, yet you want him to spar with me?”

Namgung So-hye also raised her voice with a dumbfounded expression. Even if he looked down on people, how could he tell her to do it with someone who had only practiced martial arts for a little over a year?

Had he really gone mad?

Unable to understand, she glared at him with an angry expression.

Yet, Dan Woo-hyun’s words were even more spectacular.

“I guarantee it. You cannot win.”

“W-What did you say?”

“Even though that fellow looks like that, he is quite strong.”

Gnash-grinding her teeth, Namgung So-hye glared at Jang Sam-tae. If it were possible to kill a person with just a gaze, his heart would have stopped dozens of times already.

“I will not go easy on you.”

“There is no need to go easy either. When you cannot win, what meaning would there be in going easy or going all out?”

“Eeek!”

Jang Sam-tae broke into a cold sweat as he stared blankly at Namgung So-hye. Then, it suddenly occurred to him that Dan Woo-hyun believed he would win this match.

It was none other than Dan Woo-hyun.

If he guaranteed it, there had to be a reason.

Jang Sam-tae tightly clenched his fists and shouted.

“Come at me, wench! This Lord Jang Sam-tae will teach you a lesson!”

“Do you want to die?!”

“…”

As expected, scary was scary.

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