Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Emperor Sword Form
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When Baek Yuseong played the previous iteration, the game started with him as an orphan.
He had thought this time would be similar, but surprisingly, he had a family, which he found intriguing.
It turned out he was an illegitimate child.
Of course, once he realized he had possessed a character in the game, the fact that he was a bastard became trivial.
What did it matter how his relationships were with people who weren't even his real parents, when he, a modern man, was trapped inside a game?
After wandering aimlessly for a few days, Yuseong soon realized that clearing the game was the only way out and threw himself into martial arts training.
In any case, Baek Family Manor was where Yuseong began the game, and Baek Jinseong was the rightful heir there.
He and Yuseong were half-brothers.
Baek Jinseong had always been a nuisance to Yuseong.
From his position, where he had assumed he would inherit the family, Yuseong's sudden rise must have been a thorn in his side.
Yuseong still remembered the sneering face of that guy on the day he left the family, as if he had lost his martial arts and been chased out.
"Baek Family Manor isn't that prominent, but it seems they can still enter the Murim Academy."
Jegal Yeongyeong explained calmly.
"That's right. Originally, it wouldn't have been Baek Family Manor's turn, but this time, some of the Murim Academy cadets will officially join the Murim Alliance. They're filling vacancies, and Baek Family Manor happened to fit the criteria."
As she said this, Jegal Yeongyeong glanced at Yuseong's reaction.
'She's being considerate of me. The news of me being expelled from Baek Family Manor after the last incident has spread widely.'
He was grateful.
In principle, Baek Jinseong met the criteria for entering the Murim Academy.
Yet Jegal Yeongyeong had come here, prepared to break the rules for Yuseong's sake.
If Yuseong didn't want it, she planned to disqualify him from the academy.
'It's not a face I particularly want to see.'
Yuseong considered what harm Baek Jinseong entering the Murim Academy could do to him.
The Murim Alliance and Murim Academy were connected, but strictly speaking, they weren't the same organization.
And Yuseong had long known that Baek Jinseong aspired to join the Murim Alliance.
For a minor righteous sect to expand its influence, the easiest way was to become affiliated with the Murim Alliance.
It provided the pressure that even black path sects wouldn't dare provoke them lightly, knowing the Alliance could come to subjugate them.
Considering all these factors, the ways Baek Jinseong could harm Yuseong...
'...There are none?'
If anything, Baek Jinseong would be the one who had to watch his step around Yuseong now.
Yuseong's status had reached that level.
Many Murim Alliance warriors and Murim Academy cadets had received help from the Medical Pavilion, and especially those close to him were mostly high-ranking officials in the Alliance.
There was no need to make the Murim Alliance's Chief Strategist break protocol over someone as harmless as Baek Jinseong.
"I'm fine with it, so go ahead and accept him. I wouldn't want the Chief Strategist to strain herself on my account."
"Who said anything about straining? I have that much influence."
Jegal Yeongyeong lifted her chin and smirked confidently.
Yuseong recalled her collapsing from a headache and nearly burst out laughing, but he held it in.
"I think you said before that we shouldn't get caught doing anything risky..."
They had shared drinks and talked about such things once.
"That was when Elder Moyong Rim was still full of himself. You know what he's like now, don't you, Medical Pavilion Master?"
The man who once wielded great power in the Murim Alliance had become just another ordinary elder for zealously backing the Sima Family.
With the Sima Family caught doing dirty deeds in the Alliance, he was keeping his distance to avoid association.
Still, Yuseong declined Jegal Yeongyeong's consideration.
He didn't know now, but if some other rival later found fault with it, wouldn't she be in trouble?
And besides.
It might even give him a chance to pay back what Baek Jinseong had done to him in the past.
"Got it. If the Medical Pavilion Master is fine with it, then..."
"I guess that concludes your business. Safe travels."
Flash!
Yuseong's body shivered lightly at Jegal Yeongyeong's sharp gaze.
But as if it had been an illusion, her eyes softened again in an instant.
"Please have some tea. My throat is parched."
"Ah, of course. One moment, please."
He had nearly sent off a guest without offering tea.
Yuseong brewed some of the tea she periodically gifted him and served it.
"Let's chat a bit while you drink. That much is fine, right?"
"Of course."
He exchanged idle chit-chat with Jegal Yeongyeong.
She had said there was an agenda to settle today, but she seemed less busy than expected.
"How's your studying going these days?"
The reason she came every morning for treatment.
He didn't know exactly what it was, but for her to complain of headaches daily, it couldn't be ordinary studying.
"Thanks to you. I think I'll move on to the next stage soon."
She puffed out her chest proudly, looking adorable.
She was two years older here, but much younger than Yuseong in the real world.
After Jegal Yeongyeong left, Yuseong went back out to the small yard attached to his house.
He had swapped shifts with the Cha Physician today, so he could continue the task he wanted to test in the sunlight.
Testing his newly acquired skill was exactly it.
The skill he had just obtained was a buff type.
Buff skills could be applied to himself or others.
It wasn't highly practical right now, but one never knew with people's affairs.
Better to check its performance in advance.
[Swiftness]
Yuseong's body flashed gold for an instant, and his form slid forward.
***
One of the Murim Academy's training grounds.
The training ground wasn't vast, but tall walls blocked out prying eyes from around it.
It was suitable for the Sword King to pass down the Nangong Family's secret technique, Emperor Sword Form, to his granddaughter.
The Sword King, with a solemn expression, looked at his unmotivated granddaughter and spoke.
"It's a promise, so you must learn it with all your effort. Otherwise, you'll have to return to the family right away."
A flicker of resolve appeared on his granddaughter's face.
She clearly hated the idea of going back immediately.
'I believe she'll overcome it someday, but I hope it's not too late.'
The one leading the family could not be swayed by personal affections.
Hiding his regret, the Sword King began teaching Emperor Sword Form.
"Emperor Sword Form is divided into the first half and the second half. The first half contains profound principles, so mastering it can lead you to the Transformation Realm, just like this old man."
Emperor Sword Form was the pride of the Nangong Family.
The reason the Nangong Family maintained its position among the Five Great Families was that, through their exceptional bloodline and Emperor Sword Form, they had produced Sword Kings generation after generation.
Understanding the profound principles in the first half of Emperor Sword Form allowed one to raise their realm more easily than with other martial arts.
However, the principles it contained were so difficult that mastering Emperor Sword Form was no easy task.
At least, that was according to the Sword King's common sense.
"...!"
After reciting the incantation and demonstrating the forms once, the Sword King was astonished to see his granddaughter, though imperfectly, adequately follow the first half of Emperor Sword Form he had shown.
There were still rough parts, but for imitating it after just one viewing, the completion was too high.
'She's learning even faster than Yuhyeon.'
When he had taught her the Heaven-Piercing Carefree Sword Art, Nangong Yurin had shown no enthusiasm for martial arts at all.
It was due to her guilt over turning her maid into that state.
But the current Nangong Yurin had somewhat untangled her heart's knots thanks to Yuseong and held the goal of not being dragged back to the family.
With a different mindset, her learning speed naturally differed as well.
Though Emperor Sword Form was far more difficult than Heaven-Piercing Carefree Sword Art, making exact imitation hard,
Emperor Sword Form was still rooted in the Nangong Family's martial arts.
By the Sword King's standards, Nangong Yurin absorbed Emperor Sword Form like cotton soaking up water.
What had started as a duty-bound task drew him in completely to teaching his granddaughter.
After going over the first half over several days.
He no longer felt the need to review it further.
He had thought his grandson was the best so far.
But realizing belatedly that the child with true sword genius was his granddaughter, the Sword King changed his plans.
"Your learning speed is remarkable. You'll have to comprehend the rest on your own to gain insight. In exchange, I'll teach you the second half ahead of time."
"The second half too? Even if I learn it now, won't I be unable to use it?"
The second half of Emperor Sword Form could only be used upon reaching the Transformation Realm.
Having heard that explanation before, Nangong Yurin voiced her doubt, but the Sword King shook his head.
"Strictly speaking, even you now could execute the second half forms. But without ascending to the Transformation Realm and achieving complete physical transformation, your body won't withstand it and will collapse. That's why I said not to use it.
Even so, I'm teaching it to you early because your learning speed is far beyond expectations. I want you to contemplate the principles in the second half forms whenever you have time, so that when you reach the Transformation Realm, you can progress even faster."
"...Yes."
The Sword King stood at a distance from his granddaughter, just as when demonstrating the first half forms.
"Watch closely. This is the path you must follow. One could say the true Emperor Sword Form begins with the second half."
The Sword King raised his sword into stance.
True energy rose from his dantian, creating a fierce flow like a dragon ascending to the heavens.
Along with destructive energy that would have torn his meridians and muscles if his body hadn't undergone complete transformation, blue qi surged over his entire body.
Then.
Boom—!
With the sound of air exploding, the second half forms of Emperor Sword Form unfolded.
"...!"
Nangong Yurin followed the Sword King's sword path as if entranced.
Blue lightning flickered from the blade.
Though she didn't realize it, the shock she felt was like the one from first seeing Heaven-Piercing Carefree Sword Art as a child, striking her mind.
'That's the true Emperor Sword Form!'
The sword genius latent within Nangong Yurin stirred.
In that moment, even thoughts of her maid vanished.
'Will I ever be able to wield the second half of Emperor Sword Form as freely as Grandfather someday?'
It felt like an impossibly distant goal.
Without achieving complete physical transformation, the body couldn't endure it, after all.