—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
As Namgung-Woo’s voice echoed through the training ground, the sword that had been cleaving the air lost its fierceness and its tip dropped powerlessly to the ground.
The eyes that turned back were quite sharp.
Beyond being disturbed during training, secretly watching a martial artist’s training was a well-known taboo in the Murim.
As a martial artist, Namgung Sol spoke coldly at the sudden appearance of an uninvited guest.
“How rude. No matter if this is an inn’s training ground, there should be at least some basic courtesy, shouldn’t there?”
“I never hid my presence. It’s good to concentrate, but in an open place like this, it’s always better not to let down your guard against your surroundings. Or, did you trust the people outside?”
At the words implying he knew the identity of this place, Namgung Sol’s face loosened slightly.
“You must be from the Alliance. Did the Alliance Lord send a message?”
“No. I just came on personal business.”
“…To me?”
Namgung Sol’s slightly weakened rebelliousness noticeably intensified.
“If you have business with me, isn’t it basic to at least face each other?”
It was quite amusing how she reacted instantly when poked, but if he provoked her too much, it seemed neither this nor that would work out, so Namgung-Woo took a step back.
He didn’t know if she could identify him through his Qi or Qi wave, but he had thought she would at least remember his voice; was even that too much to expect?
With a slight sense of disappointment, Namgung-Woo removed his bamboo hat.
A look of bewilderment crossed Namgung Sol’s face as she saw Namgung-Woo’s revealed face.
“Uh, you… no, um, at the Central Heaven Pavilion last time… right? Thank you for last time. I was too flustered then to greet you properly, but surely it’s not because of that… right? Yes. It must be…”
Namgung Sol was confused, unsure whether to be angry or grateful.
Her rambling and flustered appearance was like watching a malfunctioning robot.
Then, a thought struck Namgung Sol, and her eyes widened as if in realization, and she spoke.
“Ah! Don’t tell me the Alliance Lord asked you to be my escort?”
Namgung Sol asked herself and, even before hearing an answer, continued, having already decided in her heart that it was the answer.
“If it’s something like that, please go back. To the Alliance Lord…”
“I refused.”
“Yes?”
“I did receive an escort request, but I refused it. I didn’t feel like it. Other wanderer groups might not, but I tend to be selective about requests. So, I just said I’d watch for now.”
It was surprising that he had refused the request, but hearing the latter part, Namgung Sol understood to some extent.
“So you came to see me.”
“That’s right.”
“That’s good. You’ve even seen me training, so that should be enough, right? What I have to say is the same. I have no intention of forcing an escort.”
Namgung Sol pushed others away with a strangely firm resolve.
However, Namgung-Woo saw through it, realizing that Namgung Sol’s attitude wasn’t because she disliked others.
She was still too young to completely hide her emotions.
No matter how harsh a past she had, there was an unavoidable immaturity of age that was revealed.
Even without relying on a special power like Ever-Clear Vision, Namgung-Woo could tell with his naked eye.
That Namgung Sol was lonely.
And yet, she couldn’t comfortably trust the people approaching her, and she was struggling with not being able to let them into her side.
Namgung Sol, trying her best to feign composure, raised her sword again.
“I think I’ve said all I can. As you said, this isn’t a private training room, so I won’t stop you if you insist on staying. But please, at least don’t disturb my training.”
Just before swinging her sword, Namgung Sol muttered softly, filled with resignation and self-deprecation.
“It’ll be meaningless even if you watch, anyway…”
Namgung Sol also had ears.
She had heard from the Sangpyeondang Hall Master, Yu Myeon, on the day they first met, that this person was the emerging super expert who had appeared in the Jianghu like a comet, called the Azure Sword Emperor.
How many years difference was there, yet Namgung-Woo was already one who walked far above in the distant sky.
What could such a person gain from watching her clumsy swordsmanship?
In Namgung-Woo’s eyes, her struggling to swing the sword would be no different from a three-year-old snot-nosed kid brandishing a tree branch.
Thinking so made her efforts feel futile, and she became gloomy, but Namgung Sol composed herself and readjusted her grip on the sword.
She had already chosen her path.
Hadn’t she resolved never to stop, even if she regretted it?
She couldn’t let go of her sword, swayed by such a momentary emotion.
Namgung Sol’s sword began to cleave the air once more.
Namgung-Woo’s thoughts as he watched were completely different from what Namgung Sol had guessed.
He watched her sword dance seriously.
Martial arts, by nature, are rooted in the mind-image.
It is the power to communicate with the outer universe through the means of the physical body, what is contained in the inner universe of the mind.
No matter how clumsy the sword strike, if a clear mind-image was formed within it and a definite will was imbued, that sword path would surely contain much information about the person.
Namgung-Woo read such information from Namgung Sol’s sword path.
‘Great Evolution Sword Art following the Ten Forms of the Iron Sword, is it? But it’s awkward. She didn’t learn it under a proper master. She must have learned it by herself, perhaps by looking at a secret manual.’
The internal energy of the Great Evolution Heart Method residing in Namgung Sol’s dantian was pure internal energy, unmixed with other miscellaneous energies.
That was not easily obtained by self-studying a secret manual alone.
Unless one possessed once-in-a-thousand-years talent or was born with a special constitution, everyone would inevitably go through trial and error with just a secret manual.
‘She had a master. But what he taught was only the internal energy heart method. The sword art is self-taught.’
If she had a proper master, he would have pointed out and corrected the parts that didn’t fit Namgung Sol’s body, just like the advice Namgung-Woo had given her earlier.
‘The Great Evolution Sword Art is fundamentally tailored for men. So the movements are large, and there are many parts where power is applied. It’s a sword art that doesn’t fit her body.’
No matter how much martial artists strengthen their bodies through internal energy and exhibit superhuman strength that transcends age and gender, the limitations of their innate physical structure still exist.
There were grotesque martial arts that extended joints or made bones and muscles pliable to achieve a range of motion originally impossible for the human body in order to overcome even that, but at least that was far from Namgung Sol’s case.
Namgung Sol swung her sword honestly.
If judged purely on the basic sword path of the Great Evolution Sword Art, Namgung Sol was showing a standard sword path deserving of praise.
However, was it an excellent sword art?
No, it wasn’t.
Martial arts must be tailored to the user.
Techniques that are difficult to implement are revised and supplemented, and techniques with good synergy are maximized; thus, even with the same martial art, the form of the techniques changes slightly depending on who performs it.
Namgung Sol’s sword path had none of that.
It was a sword path focused solely on faithfully reproducing the movements exactly as written in the secret manual.
“There, put more power into your upper body. A man’s center of gravity is in the upper body, but a woman’s center of gravity is in the pelvis. Just mimicking the movements won’t allow you to fully exert the power imbued in the technique. It’s always better to be conscious of why that technique was created.”
“…Hmph!”
Namgung Sol, while pretending not to hear and not replying, subtly tensed her waist and straightened her upper body, as if bothered.
It wasn’t like there was a video; Namgung Sol, who had implemented more than 90% of the movements by looking at a secret manual consisting only of text and pictures, definitely had talent.
She had immediately corrected what Namgung-Woo pointed out and translated it into actual movement.
However, Namgung-Woo’s coaching didn’t end there.
“Just turning your waist isn’t everything. The power extending up from your firm stance is too lacking.”
“Heup!”
“Being flexible is a good advantage. But you’re not utilizing it at all. You don’t necessarily have to match the angle perfectly. Why don’t you compensate for the lack of power with the centrifugal force from your flexible body?”
“Hiyak!”
Namgung Sol did her best to follow Namgung-Woo’s advice.
And as she made corrections one by one, she clearly felt the sword path, which had made her doubt if this was right, gaining stability.
How long had it been since she felt joy in swinging a sword?
For a brief moment, Namgung Sol escaped her sense of duty and immersed herself in the sword without any worries.
However, there are times when the mind goes far ahead, but the body cannot follow.
Due to physical limitations, Namgung Sol bent over, panting for breath.
The process of consciously eliminating bad habits ingrained in the body was more arduous than imagined.
Namgung Sol, who was catching her breath and internalizing the growth she had gained this time, laboriously lifted her head as she saw a new shadow overlapping her own.
“The sword is one thing, but even excluding that, impatience has completely consumed your mind. What makes you so anxious? What on earth is it that makes you act so chased?”
Suddenly, Namgung Sol thought.
Right now, wouldn’t it be okay to just say it?
Wouldn’t it be okay to pass it off as something said carelessly, caught up in the atmosphere?
But no.
This was karma Namgung Sol had to bear.
“That… is something you don’t need to know.”
“Isn’t it a bit cheap to listen to advice well and then keep your mouth shut?”
“……I am grateful for the advice. That’s why I can’t tell you more.”
Namgung Sol hardened her face resolutely and declared.
“…I know you are strong, Great Hero. Probably stronger than someone like me can even imagine. Perhaps to you, all my worries are trivial. But… this is something I can’t entrust to just anyone, something I must do myself.”
Namgung-Woo felt the sincerity in those words.
It wasn’t a slip of the tongue uttered out of mere petulance.
The immaturity that couldn’t skillfully hide emotions, rather, highlighted the firmness of that resolve.
Therefore, Namgung-Woo no longer beat around the bush.
“Is that because you are a Namgung?”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
