Chapter 70
Chapter 70
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: The Thunderbolt Sword
-----------------------------------------------------------------
‘Retired Family Head? No wonder he didn’t seem ordinary.’
Only then did it start to make a little sense.
His exceptional martial prowess, the guards disobeying the family head’s orders to let him in, and so on.
But there were still unresolved questions.
Why had he become an old man relegated to the back room?
Had he been ousted from the family head position?
At that moment, the Retired Family Head’s face crumpled.
It was the most irritated expression he had shown so far.
“What did you just call me? Retired Family Head? Haven’t I told you time and again from way back not to call me that?”
Startled by the booming voice laced with incessant shouting like a waterfall, Namgung Jingyeong hurriedly bowed his head.
“I’m sorry, Grandfather.”
“Just remember it.”
But contrary to his words, the Retired Family Head’s face hadn’t softened yet.
As Namgung Jingyeong awkwardly lifted his head.
“More importantly, what happened to your face?”
The Retired Family Head asked in surprise upon seeing Namgung Jingyeong’s battered visage.
The refined young man’s features were nowhere to be seen, his face mottled with bruises.
“Hahaha. You mean these injuries?”
Namgung Jingyeong gave an awkward laugh as he touched his still-bruised cheek.
“It’s my just deserts.”
“Just deserts...?”
“Yes.”
The Retired Family Head didn’t press further upon seeing Namgung Jingyeong respond so refreshingly despite his wrecked face.
“You didn’t set foot here for half a year, so what brings you back now?”
“It’s about the guest of our family...”
Namgung Jingyeong trailed off, suddenly turning his head to grin at Cheonhwi.
‘Why are you looking at me?’
Cheonhwi stared back at the out-of-the-blue gaze from Namgung Jingyeong.
“No, I came to introduce this place to my friend.”
He spouted something even more unexpected.
‘What, friend?’
“What, friend?”
For a moment, Cheonhwi thought his own thoughts had slipped out.
But it was someone else who had spoken.
“A disciple of the Mount Hua Sect is your friend?”
The Retired Family Head, with a slightly surprised look, pointed at Cheonhwi with his index finger.
“Yes.”
“Relations between our family and the Nine Great Sects are quite strained, aren’t they?”
“Hahaha. So what if relations between our family and the Nine Great Sects are bad?”
Namgung Jingyeong, who had been laughing, stared intently at Cheonhwi.
“He’s a friend whose hearts connect, utterly unconcerned with the world’s gaze.”
“Me, your friend?”
Unable to hold back, Cheonhwi interjected.
“Oh, you’re not?”
“What nonsense is that?”
He cut it off sharply.
Friend, my foot.
They had only sparred a few times; there was nothing between them to warrant friendship.
But contrary to Cheonhwi’s thoughts, Namgung Jingyeong seemed to genuinely consider him a friend, staggering dramatically.
“B-but didn’t we bare our souls to each other through honest swordplay?”
“Huh? When?”
“Through our spars, wasn’t it?”
“That was just sparring.”
“How could that be...”
Shocked, Namgung Jingyeong dropped to his knees with a dazed expression.
“Then it was all my delusion.”
Muttering to himself, Namgung Jingyeong suddenly lit up and sprang to his feet.
“In that case!”
He shouted so loudly it hurt the ears, then strode forward.
“How about we become friends starting today?”
What?
While Cheonhwi was dumbfounded, the Retired Family Head approached with a pleased smile.
“Hohoho. I like that my second young master and a daoist of Mount Hua are close friends!”
After laughing heartily for a while, the Retired Family Head’s eyes gleamed as he asked Namgung Jingyeong.
“But is that alright? Becoming friends with a Mount Hua daoist might distance you from the successor position you’ve always wanted...”
Namgung Jingyeong shrugged.
“Maybe in the past, but now I couldn’t care less about successor or whatever.”
“You?”
The Retired Family Head’s eyes widened round.
“Yes.”
“I tried to dissuade you so many times, yet you caused such a fuss to get the successor position.”
“I was a frog in a well all this time. Blinded by what’s right in front, I couldn’t see the distant horizon.”
As the Retired Family Head looked at him in surprise.
“You’re saying our family is the well?”
“Honestly, compared to the world, isn’t it a well?”
Namgung Jingyeong scratched the back of his head, glancing sideways.
“Hahaha!”
The Retired Family Head threw his head back and burst into roaring laughter.
“Right you are! Compared to the world, our family is indeed a well.”
Soon reining in his laughter, he gazed at Namgung Jingyeong with a much gentler expression.
“You’ve changed a lot.”
“I think so too.”
The old man’s smile deepened at the nonchalant agreement.
“A very encouraging change.”
“It’s all thanks to Cheonhwi Little Daoist.”
‘Me?’
Cheonhwi looked at Namgung Jingyeong for suddenly mentioning him.
As their eyes met, he wore a smile on his lips.
It was a refreshingly bright smile Cheonhwi had never seen before.
Then the Retired Family Head spoke up.
“Thank you for broadening my foolish grandson’s horizons.”
“I didn’t really do anything like that.”
“Hohoho. As expected of a daoist, your humility is excessive.”
No, really, I didn’t.
But the Retired Family Head, firmly under the misunderstanding, regarded him with warm eyes.
“Come to think of it, we haven’t properly introduced ourselves. I am Namgung Hansang. Once called the Thunderbolt Sword...”
The Retired Family Head seemed to regret saying it midway and added.
“It’s a moniker from so long ago, you probably haven’t heard of it.”
“Thunderbolt Sword...?”
Contrary to his words, the moment Cheonhwi heard the title, a piece of information flashed in his mind.
The former head of the Namgung Family.
And Thunderbolt Sword.
There was only one who fit.
“One of the Five Great Swordsmen of the World from the previous generation.”
“How did you know...? It was a title from before the Nine Provinces Three Tyrants; I thought you wouldn’t have heard.”
The Retired Family Head couldn’t hide his pride, his lips twitching upward.
No wonder he was so strong.
Cheonhwi now understood his martial arts.
Far from casual, the name Five Great Swordsmen of the World carried immense weight.
They were the ones who dominated the era before the Nine Provinces Three Tyrants.
Rumors said their skills surpassed the era’s hegemon, shaking the world.
‘But to end up like this now...’
Looking at the Retired Family Head again, pity slowly spread across Cheonhwi’s face.
‘Must feel a great sense of loss.’
As if reading his thoughts.
The Retired Family Head’s expression grew peculiar.
“What’s that look?”
“What look?”
“Like you pity me...”
The Retired Family Head swallowed his words and shook his head side to side.
‘No way.’
Who in the world would look at him that way.
“No. It’s nothing.”
The Retired Family Head shook his head.
“More importantly, won’t you tell me your name? Or rather, your daoist title?”
“Don’t you already know?”
“I want to hear it directly.”
The Retired Family Head’s eyes sparkled.
Faced with the elderly man’s burdensome gaze, Cheonhwi promptly opened his mouth.
“Cheonhwi.”
“Cheonhwi. A fine daoist title.”
Nodding in satisfaction, he murmured softly.
“Is there anything you desire?”
“Pardon?”
“Due to circumstances, there are limits to what I can offer now, but I’ll help with anything.”
‘Desire?’
No need to think.
“Then spar with me.”
“Spar?”
Cheonhwi added to the wide-eyed Retired Family Head.
“They say the Namgung Family’s sword arts are unparalleled in the world, so I wanted to see them.”
A bright smile spread across the Retired Family Head’s lips at the praise.
“Hohoho. Our family’s sword arts are indeed unparalleled.”
A smile formed on Cheonhwi’s lips too.
‘Praise like this, and they eat it up.’
Martial artists always felt good when their sect’s arts were praised.
Especially for a family clan, it was extreme.
“Very well. Since you’ve done us a favor.”
The Retired Family Head declared refreshingly.
‘Good thing I waited.’
He had debated leaving several times as the conversation dragged, but fortunately, his patience paid off.
‘The Namgung Family’s arts from an expert of his caliber should be on another level, right?’
Cheonhwi’s mouth slowly opened in anticipation.
“Can I see it right now?”
“Hoho. Quite confident, aren’t you?”
“Anything else, and I’m just a corpse.”
The Retired Family Head chuckled at the cocky young daoist.
Exceptional skill, but still young.
“Your talent is outstanding, but excessive confidence can be a great weakness in the jianghu.”
“Never had that issue, so I can’t relate.”
“Then I’ll teach you.”
The Retired Family Head extended his hand toward Namgung Jingyeong, who had been quietly watching.
“May I borrow your sword?”
“Here.”
Namgung Jingyeong handed it over immediately.
A swordsman lending his sword to another was unthinkable, but they were grandfather and grandson.
The Retired Family Head drew the sword.
Shing―
Cheonhwi, who had politely drawn his own, hurriedly added.
“Ah! If possible, tell me the name of the technique before demonstrating.”
“Is there a reason?”
“I need to know what technique it is.”
“Quite interested in our family’s arts.”
“...Well, yes.”
Cheonhwi’s pupils deepened.
His pitch-black eyes, like an abyss, were chillingly sharp, but vanished in an instant, unseen by anyone.
“Then, from one of our family’s sword arts, the Lightning Flash Thirteen Thunderbolts...”
As the Retired Family Head spoke and raised his sword to demonstrate.
“Ah! I’ve seen that one.”
Cheonhwi interrupted.
“That guy demonstrated it.”
With those words, Cheonhwi immediately swung his sword.
“Like this, right?”
Flash!
The sword light grazed past the Retired Family Head.
“...!”
The Retired Family Head’s eyes flew wide open.
That sword light was the Lightning Flash Thirteen Thunderbolts.
Perfect, if only the internal energy had been proper!
“How do you know the Lightning Flash Thirteen Thunderbolts...”
Cheonhwi’s lips moved as he looked at the stupefied Retired Family Head.
“I saw that guy perform it, I told you.”
He pointed at Namgung Jingyeong.
He too stared at Cheonhwi’s Lightning Flash Thirteen Thunderbolts in shock, unable to hide his astonishment.
“You mean you imitated it?”
“Yes.”
The Retired Family Head’s face subtly hardened at Cheonhwi’s confident expression.
“...The Lightning Flash Thirteen Thunderbolts is a supreme sword art so exquisite it’s hard to even grasp after seeing it once or twice. How...”
‘Ah, that?’
Cheonhwi smirked inwardly.
Martial artists took great pride in their arts.
Having it mimicked so easily could bruise their ego considerably.
“It’s certainly an advanced sword art; I couldn’t even guess what it was after one or two looks.”
Seeing the Retired Family Head’s stiff expression relax, Cheonhwi continued.
“So I watched about six times? After that, I got it.”