Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: The Supreme Family Head's Sword
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71화
The Supreme Family Head was flabbergasted.
You can perform it after seeing it just a few times?
It was hard to believe.
"Is that true?"
"Yes."
"It's hard to believe, but..."
Wearing a complicated expression, he stroked his fine beard that grew down to his chest.
"Judging from your face, it doesn't seem like a lie."
The Supreme Family Head's eyes gleamed.
"Then, if I perform a martial art right now, can you imitate it?"
Cheonhwi nodded.
"Sure, that much."
There was nothing to regret at all.
'If he shows it multiple times, it's all the better for me.'
He was thinking it was actually a good thing when...
"Good. Then."
The Supreme Family Head immediately clenched his fist.
"First, I'll show you our clan's fist art, the Nine Cleaving Divine Fist."
Soon, a sharp fist wind came crashing down.
A moment later.
"Hahaha."
The Supreme Family Head let out a hollow laugh.
'Unbelievable!'
Right now, Cheonhwi was perfectly reenacting all the martial arts he had just demonstrated.
'Amazing. Truly amazing. What a genius.'
He shook his head.
Even if it was only half a martial art without the accompanying inner cultivation method, it looked perfect from the outside.
The stances and forms too.
'Better than most of the kids in our clan.'
His evaluation of Cheonhwi rose.
The Supreme Family Head now understood why Cheonhwi brimmed with such confidence.
"Truly astonishing insight and talent."
The Supreme Family Head offered praise, but...
"Yeah, it is."
Cheonhwi declared confidently.
Seeing Cheonhwi overflowing with self-assurance, the Supreme Family Head couldn't help but smile.
"I was going to knock that arrogance out of you, but at this rate, I might be the one embarrassed."
His demeanor shifted.
Soon, he craned his neck and called out to Namgung Jinkyeong, who stood off in the distance, lost in a daze.
"Jinkyeong."
"Yes?"
Startled by the sudden call, Namgung Jinkyeong's voice cracked.
"You said you wanted to climb out of the well?"
At the Supreme Family Head's serious question, Namgung Jinkyeong's expression grew equally grave.
"Yes."
"But with your current skill, you seem far too lacking to wander the martial world."
The Supreme Family Head said this while glancing at Cheonhwi.
"I know."
Namgung Jinkyeong bit his lip.
If it had been before, he would have scoffed, but now he truly realized it.
Meeting Cheonhwi had made him feel his own weakness down to his bones.
"That's why I'm thinking of undergoing closed-door training to grow stronger."
"Good. Recognizing your own shortcomings."
Seeing him admit his deficiencies, the corner of the Supreme Family Head's mouth twitched upward.
"I'll help you."
Namgung Jinkyeong's eyes went wide.
"Grandfather will teach me?!"
"There's a sword art I've poured my blood and sweat into creating for many long years. It's still incomplete, but master it, and you'll be able to roam the world—no, stand unrivaled."
Namgung Jinkyeong swallowed hard at those confident words.
Meanwhile, Cheonhwi was full of anticipation.
'Wonder what sword art he created. I'm curious.'
Namgung Jinkyeong, harboring the exact same question, asked cautiously on his behalf.
"What kind of sword art could it be..."
"It's a sword art that consolidates all the sword arts of the Namgung Clan into one."
"Our clan's sword arts?"
Cheonhwi perked up his ears.
That's difficult.
He had walked that path before.
Thus, he knew better than anyone just how grueling it was.
As Cheonhwi focused intently on their conversation...
Swish—
Namgung Jinkyeong glanced his way.
"If I learn it, could I defeat Cheonhwi here, even if he's my opponent?"
Namgung Jinkyeong's expression was deadly serious as he asked.
If roaming the world was his ultimate goal, then right now, his top priority was Cheonhwi.
The Supreme Family Head burst into hearty laughter.
"Master this sword art, and you'll find few equals under heaven."
"T-That good?"
In lieu of a reply, the Supreme Family Head nodded.
"If it's that incredible, then why not teach it to Father..."
"That traitor who abandoned righteousness can never learn it."
The Supreme Family Head's face turned icy.
"The unorthodox sects are still thriving, and who knows where those demonic cult bastards are scheming from the shadows. I'm not teaching it to some fool blinded by petty power. Leaving the Murim Alliance wasn't enough—he had to go and form that nonsense Lowly Heaven Society or whatever. Tch."
After grumbling for a moment, his gaze pierced straight through Namgung Jinkyeong.
"But you, who will leave the clan and roam the world, are more than qualified."
In that instant, strength surged into Namgung Jinkyeong's shoulders.
The world's greatest sword art!
And only he could learn it.
Every word from the Supreme Family Head was more than enough to set his heart soaring.
The Supreme Family Head turned his gaze to Cheonhwi.
"Watch closely."
With those words, he drew up his inner energy.
Crackle crackle!
The manifestation of the Heavenly Thunder Sovereign Divine Art!
In that moment, his sword trembled.
No—it was an illusion caused by the intense aura radiating from him.
In the blink of an eye, inky darkness blanketed the area around him, as if storm clouds had gathered.
At the same time, thunder crashed through the gloom.
Rumble—
A spectacular display of fierce lightning qi unfolded.
'Oh ho, that's pretty strong.'
Cheonhwi's mouth stretched into a wide grin.
The sheer momentum made the hair on his body stand on end.
This was on par with the White Four Gods?
No, they weren't comparable.
Both auras were so overwhelming that it was impossible to declare one superior.
As he watched, Cheonhwi moved his lips.
"What's the name of the martial art?"
The Supreme Family Head looked at him in astonishment—Cheonhwi, utterly unaffected by his aura, casually asking for the name—and replied.
"I haven't named it yet."
"What about the technique name?"
"That neither."
As he spoke, his neatly combed white hair spiked upright, and his pupils began to glow yellow.
"It's just a single sword stroke."
"Sounds good."
Cheonhwi's eyes curved into crescents.
In that instant.
Crackle crackle crackle!
The Supreme Family Head's sword cleaved through the swirling darkness and struck down like a bolt of lightning.
Just as it neared Cheonhwi...
Halt.
The Supreme Family Head stopped his sword.
"......"
"......"
A peculiar silence hung between them.
The massive bolt of lightning had already vanished, and heaven and earth had returned to their usual state.
Yet the lingering aftershock of that single sword stroke hung thick in the air around them.
"Th-that's an incredible sword art. This rivals the Heaven-Soaring Unhindered Sword Art without yielding an inch."
Namgung Jinkyeong, who had been completely detached from their exchange until now, made a huge fuss.
"But it's still incomplete."
"This is incomplete? Meaning if it's completed..."
"It will surpass the Heaven-Soaring Unhindered Sword Art created by our ancestral master."
The Supreme Family Head declared in a resounding voice.
He was that confident.
How many sword arts of the Namgung Clan had he meticulously mastered and dissected, one by one, to forge this? Over thirty years' worth.
And that was just the beginning.
Creating a sword art was no easy feat—he had failed countless times.
He had even sustained internal injuries from botched attempts.
But he never gave up.
And at last, he had borne fruit.
'Still incomplete, but...'
It wouldn't be long now.
"Once completed, this sword art will be hailed as the greatest in the world—no, throughout history."
Namgung Jinkyeong's Adam's apple bobbed violently as he listened to those pride-filled words.
"Does that mean... I can learn this sword art?"
Seeing Namgung Jinkyeong unable to conceal his joy, the Supreme Family Head's chest swelled with pride.
"Didn't I say I'd teach you?"
Pleased by the reaction, the Supreme Family Head turned to Cheonhwi, who had already sheathed his sword, and asked.
"What did you think of it?"
Cheonhwi, reflecting on the sword art that had just been demonstrated, shared his impressions.
"It's an incredibly outstanding sword art. If completed, it'd rank among the very best I know."
These weren't empty words.
If perfected, it would indeed contend for the top spot among all the sword arts he knew.
But.
"That's why it's such a shame."
To reach that level, the martial art first had to be completed.
And moreover.
"It would've been better if you'd focused on just one aspect..."
Overkill, as they say.
If he'd abandoned one or the other, it could have become a transcendent sword art, but his refusal to let go left it halfway there.
The Supreme Family Head furrowed his brow.
"Focus on one? What do you mean by that?"
"You were aiming for offense and defense in perfect unity, right?"
The Supreme Family Head flinched.
"How did you see through it so quickly..."
"It's obvious at a glance. With a sword that flawed, you couldn't have retracted the form mid-stroke so suddenly. But you did, which means you designed it to switch to a defensive stance anytime."
"Exactly."
"That's why it's mediocre. If you'd devoted yourself entirely to just offense or just defense, it would've been far superior."
"Haha. As expected, for all your brilliance, you still don't fully grasp martial arts."
The Supreme Family Head gave a wrinkled smile.
He kept getting surprised by the boy's feats relative to his age and forgetting, but Cheonhwi was still just an inexperienced child.
"Focusing solely on attack would leave openings, and focusing solely on defense couldn't produce power like that."
"Isn't that exactly why it's incomplete?"
"Haha. It'll be done soon."
"You've probably been saying that for years."
The Supreme Family Head flinched at the words that struck right at the core.
It was true—he'd been stuck at this point for years.
"Instead of half-heartedly chasing both, focusing on just one would've been much better."
The Supreme Family Head scowled.
"...What would you do in my place?"
"If it were me, I'd ditch defense entirely and pour everything into attack."
"Even if that leaves openings when you commit fully to offense?"
"What does that matter?"
Cheonhwi stated matter-of-factly.
"It's a one-stroke sword art, isn't it? Meant to settle it all with a single sword."