Chapter 69: Chapter 69
Three days later, as usual, when Cheon-hwi arrived at the lakeside, Namgung Jin-gyeong, who had been looking at the lake from the pavilion, raised his hand high.
“Little Daoist Cheon-hwi!”
He shouted and came running in one breath.
His face, which stood in front of Cheon-hwi, was bruised and bumpy because the wounds from that time had not healed, but it was full of a smile.
“I have been waiting.”
“You are overflowing with more energy than yesterday.”
“Hahaha. I am sorry. It is because I realized something from our spar yesterday…”
Namgung Jin-gyeong smiled awkwardly.
Because of his duel with him, he had lost everything.
But was it called a blessing in disguise?
Thanks to that, he was able to build a friendship with Cheon-hwi and a new goal had appeared.
“Then how about doing it right away?”
Cheon-hwi met eyes with him, who immediately started to draw his sword with an excited expression.
He had been waiting for the spar.
It was understandable, for the teachings of a master like himself were hard to find.
Thinking like this made it seem like he was the only one taking a loss, but that was not necessarily the case.
‘Since I am also experiencing the martial arts of the Namgung Clan, we are even.’
The martial arts he had unfolded were eight in total.
Most of them were martial arts he originally knew, but even just that was a pretty big harvest.
‘They are not called the clan of the Azure Sky for nothing.’
The learned martial arts were connected as one.
Azure Sky! Thunder! Lightning!
At first glance, they looked different from each other, but they all equally embraced that sky.
Just like how the Mount Hua Sect embraced the plum blossom and the Heavenly Demon Cult embraced defying the heavens.
Cheon-hwi, who was organizing the martial arts he had seen so far one by one, met eyes with Namgung Jin-gyeong, who was staring with quiet eyes.
“What martial art is it this time?”
Namgung Jin-gyeong immediately sparkled his eyes.
“It is the Heavenly Wind Sword Art!”
‘Oh, Heavenly Wind Sword Art? It will be the first time seeing it in a while.’
“It will be more powerful than the Great Evolution Sword Art I showed yesterday!”
At the now familiar confident shout, a chuckle leaked out of Cheon-hwi.
‘His impression really changed a lot.’
Due to the spars that took place over three days, his impression of him had distinctly changed.
Even though he suffered a miserable defeat in the spar every day, he was not gloomy at all.
Rather, he gnashed his teeth on the day of defeat and burned his fighting spirit while showing a new martial art the next day.
‘He is much better to look at than before.’
He quietly liked it.
Being sincere in martial arts and not yielding even when facing a strong opponent.
Soon, he flicked his index finger toward him.
“Then come.”
“I have been waiting for those words!”
At the hand gesture he had seen several times, Namgung Jin-gyeong drew his sword as if he had been waiting.
“Today, I will surely make the little Daoist draw his sword.”
Unlike his words full of spirit, Namgung Jin-gyeong’s goal seemed very small.
Namgung Jin-gyeong knew that the goal was more massive than Mount Tai.
Because the opponent was Cheon-hwi.
At that time, Cheon-hwi stimulated his competitive spirit that was starting to burn.
“I hope you can.”
Squeeze!
At the provocation, Namgung Jin-gyeong hardened his two pupils and tightly gripped the sword in his hand.
“Then I will go first!”
Namgung Jin-gyeong, who had already keenly felt the gap in skill with Cheon-hwi, took the initiative.
Cheon-hwi twisted his body to dodge Namgung Jin-gyeong’s rushing sword and moved his lips.
“Is this it?”
“It starts now!”
Namgung Jin-gyeong invoked his internal energy.
The lightning qi that bloomed in an instant crackled, and his sword was swung greatly.
‘It is no different from what I knew… Oh?’
Cheon-hwi’s eyes curved.
A little… No, it was considerably different.
Once, twice, as the number of times repeated, Namgung Jin-gyeong’s sword was getting stronger.
‘It should not be possible to continue this offensive just because of a lot of internal energy, right?’
But Namgung Jin-gyeong was doing it.
Whether it was thanks to the unique sword art called the Heavenly Wind Sword Art, or thanks to his sharply honed concentration.
The offensive continued to storm like a tempest.
‘If he continues to attack without resting like this, his internal energy will run out first, right?’
Interest resided in Cheon-hwi’s eyes.
The Heavenly Wind Sword Art he knew long ago was centered around free variable strikes.
But to unfold chain strikes as well.
‘Did this change too?’
The brilliantly shining pupils scanned Namgung Jin-gyeong swinging his sword for a moment.
Swish-
Cheon-hwi’s hand moved.
As soon as he deflected the Heavenly Wind Sword Art and counterattacked, Namgung Jin-gyeong reacted.
Tat!
He dodged by stepping on footwork in a single breath and twisted the blade to protect his body from the counterattack.
Seeing him react for the first time after helplessly suffering until now, Cheon-hwi muttered quietly.
“Now you know how to dodge.”
It was not much of a remark, but Namgung Jin-gyeong’s lips squirmed as if they had a cramp after hearing those words.
“Would I have only seen your techniques once or twice!”
Namgung Jin-gyeong, who heavily swallowed the laughter that was about to leak out, moved his lips.
“At this level, is it not enough for you to draw your sword?”
Cheon-hwi looked at the excited him and said.
“No.”
“What do you… Heup!”
Namgung Jin-gyeong opened his two eyes widely. Cheon-hwi, who suddenly appeared right in front of his nose, had his palm wide open.
The pure white palm grew large enough to entirely swallow Namgung Jin-gyeong’s field of vision.
Kwang!
Pitch-black darkness arrived.
Receiving a great impact on his forehead, Namgung Jin-gyeong felt his mind drift away.
‘S-still, this time acknowledge…’
In the end, Namgung Jin-gyeong, who lost consciousness, fell with a thud onto the floor in the shape of a large letter exactly as he was.
A nosebleed trickled down, but his face was completely smiling, making it feel bizarre.
“I have felt it before, but even if the other things fall far short, he generally unfolds the chain strikes quite usefully.”
He stroked his chin while recalling the martial art Namgung Jin-gyeong had just unfolded for a moment.
Swish-
He tilted his head back and opened his mouth.
“Why don’t you come out now?”
At that moment, a gust of wind rose before his eyes, and an old man appeared confidently with his hands behind his back.
‘That face is?’
As he was scanning the somehow familiar old man, he muttered softly.
“This is the second time seeing you.”
“Ah! The one from three days ago.”
Hearing the voice, he knew who it was.
It was the person who nagged the gate guard three days ago to allow them to visit the Namgung Clan.
“I thought you would keep hiding, but you came out.”
The old man stroked his beard as if feeling awkward.
“Did you know?”
“I couldn’t not know when you were continuously glaring like that.”
The old man cleared his throat and turned his head.
“In fact, I tried to come out in the middle. But it was so fascinating that a child of this clan was sparring with a Daoist of the Mount Hua Sect that I just watched… and forgot to come out.”
“You forgot?”
“That is right.”
He just forgot?
It was a suspicious remark, but seeing him repeatedly fake a cough in embarrassment, it did not seem like a lie.
“By the way, it feels refreshing that Daoists of the Mount Hua Sect are staying in our clan.”
The old man quickly changed the topic.
“I could not even imagine that figures from the Nine Great Sects and One Gang would stay in our clan again… But is it because we belong to the same Righteous Faction? It seems the relationship has improved again.”
“Pardon?”
“Heoheo. Still, he listened to my words. I told him there was absolutely nothing good about turning against the Murim Alliance…”
It was questionable.
What he felt while staying at the Namgung Clan for three days was mostly hostility and vigilance.
But to say the relationship was good.
“That cannot be.”
“The main enemy is the wicked Unorthodox Faction… What?”
The old man, who was muttering, glared with widened eyes.
“That cannot be? Then why are you staying in our clan?”
He looked at the old man strangely.
The reason for their visit was a matter already widely spread within the Namgung Clan.
Otherwise, would so many family members have gathered at the Azure Sky Great Hall?
He looked at the old man leaning his face close before opening his mouth.
“It is because of a deal.”
“A deal?”
“You should already know everything.”
Cheon-hwi stared intently at the old man.
“Ahem, ahem.”
Facing that gaze, the old man fake coughed and laughed as if trying to hide his embarrassment.
“Heoheo. I have only been staying here recently, so I do not know the situation of the clan well.”
‘Even so, it was a big enough deal for the Clan Head of Namgung to step forward, and he doesn’t know?’
The old man was showing an awkward smile on his face.
‘It seems there is something, right?’
It was suspicious, but he did not interrogate.
It was not a very important issue, and the matter about the deal was already known anyway.
“We gave them the corpse of the Black Valor Slaying Demon and agreed to receive something in return, but I don’t know exactly what we are receiving.”
“The Black Valor Slaying Demon?!”
The old man’s expression completely changed.
The awkward smile disappeared like a mirage, and coldness resided in his pupils.
“Are you saying you killed that bastard who wouldn’t be satisfied even if damned and brought his corpse?”
Cheon-hwi’s eyes narrowed like threads.
The old man’s momentum revealed in a very brief flash was fierce and intense.
‘He seems stronger than the Clan Head…’
“Then did the Mount Hua Sect take care of that guy?”
“Pardon?”
At the old man’s continued words, Cheon-hwi could not help but tilt his head again.
“That is true, but it is fascinating. Usually, people don’t think the Mount Hua Sect took care of it.”
The old man’s eyebrows twitched greatly.
“Hm? What do you mean by that?”
“People cannot imagine that the Mount Hua Sect could catch a master of that level.”
“Heoheo. To say the Mount Hua Sect could not handle the Black Valor Slaying Demon, what kind of nonsense is that.”
“Pardon?”
“Hm?”
The two tilted their heads simultaneously.
For a moment, they looked at each other with expressions of utter incomprehension.
‘Does he perhaps not know the condition of the Mount Hua Sect?’
Suddenly, one assumption came to mind.
In five years, he had never once seen anyone speak highly of the Mount Hua Sect.
Most ignored it as a collapsing Daoist sect or treated it as a has-been.
Of course, on the outside, they would praise it, saying ‘as expected of the Mount Hua Sect,’ but they could not hide the emotions contained inside.
‘But this person is different.’
He genuinely thought so.
Because thick goodwill and reverence were contained within the old man’s words he had uttered a moment ago.
‘Ay, but surely he can’t not know?’
The fact that the Mount Hua Sect was nearly collapsing was something the whole world knew.
He was not living in seclusion in some deep mountain valley; it was strange that he did not even know that while living inside the Namgung Clan.
‘Still, I never know.’
Did not the saying go that an assumption can catch a person?
Cheon-hwi looked at the old man and asked.
“Do you know that the Mount Hua Sect has collapsed?”
“What? The Mount Hua Sect has collapsed? Heoheoheo. It seems the Daoists of the Mount Hua Sect nowadays even learn how to joke.”
The old man waved his hand and laughed.
“To say the Mount Hua Sect, of all places, has collapsed, is that even a plausible remark?”
Wow, to think he really didn’t know.
The moment he confirmed that the reason their conversation had been crossing until now was genuinely because of that.
Ah! Could it be…
Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind, and he clicked his tongue, saying, ‘Tsk, tsk.’
‘I thought it was strange he knew none of the information, he was an old man chased out to the back room.’
The questions that kept rising were now snapping perfectly into place and beginning to make sense.
‘Pitiful.’
No matter how profound his martial arts were, what of it.
Was it not a situation where his ears were blocked and his eyes covered by people of the same clan.
“The Mount Hua Sect is now at the bottom seat of the Nine Great Sects and One Gang.”
Cheon-hwi informed the truth to the old man who still did not know his situation.
It was a more affectionate tone than usual.
It was out of a heart to treat him a little kindly since being chased out to the back room was already pitiful enough.
“What? The bottom seat of the Nine Great Sects and One Gang…?”
The old man stared intently at Cheon-hwi with an expression fallen into shock.
“Is, is that statement true?!”
“What would I gain by lying?”
“Such a ridiculous…”
“Of course, we will rise again, though.”
He added a follow-up remark, but those words did not reach the ears of the old man who was captivated by the statement that the Mount Hua Sect was at the bottom seat of the Nine Great Sects and One Gang.
“How could the Mount Hua Sect… The sword flowers they bloomed blossomed throughout the whole world, and the sword fragrance swallowed everything…”
Just when he was starting to feel sorry looking at the old man unable to escape the shock.
“Heok!”
Namgung Jin-gyeong regained consciousness and jumped up.
“L-Little Daoist!”
Namgung Jin-gyeong, who looked for Cheon-hwi as soon as he woke up, flinched upon discovering the old man.
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