Chapter 174
Chapter 174
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 174
Chapter Title: Sovereign Sword Form
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"Kuh! Good, great! This is the stuff!"
Nangong Hyuk came stumbling back to his quarters, humming a tune with the bottle still clamped in his mouth.
Geum Cheomsang rubbed his sleepy eyes and let out a deep sigh.
"How could you just leave the Grand Elder like that, Young Master? At least say something first."
"He drinks just fine on his own."
"......You were drinking so well that you nearly drowned yourself in the booze vat. If I'd been even a little later, you'd have been a goner."
"Turning into a dog and dunking your head in the vat. Tsk tsk!"
The kid learned to drink all wrong.
Doesn't he know the Way of Wine?
"Aigoo, Young Master! Watch your mouth! What if he hears you?"
"If he hears, he hears. What's wrong with calling a dog a dog? Then is that yellow mutt over there Mr. Wang, and the cat on the wall Ms. Kim? Huh?"
"......"
Nangong Hyuk scowled as he chugged the booze.
Geum Cheomsang put on the most aggrieved face in the world.
After mumbling to himself, Geum Cheomsang sighed.
"Hoo, just let it slide. You must've overdone it because you're in such a good mood. It's not like we get celebrations like this at the main house often."
"What's so great about making it to the preliminaries this time? What was the martial conference like before?"
"Three years ago?"
Geum Cheomsang thought for a moment, then scratched his cheek.
"We all got knocked out in the preliminaries."
"Ha, that's the Nangong Clan for you. No need to guess."
"......"
Geum Cheomsang sighed deeply as he watched Nangong Hyuk let out a cheer.
"Young Master, you're definitely headed to the Avici Hell."
"You're the one who looks like you're headed there right now."
"......Ahem! Anyway, I heard the atmosphere back then was no joke. Everyone got taken out in one match."
"And Jeomchang was one of them?"
"Huh? You know about it?"
"Met the guy."
"Oh, for real? You mean Jongbaek's dojo?!"
Ha, how badly beaten must they have been for the name to pop out right away?
Nangong Hyuk let out a scoff.
"How bad was it?"
"......I didn't see it myself, so I don't know the details."
"Tell me what you heard."
"Hmm...... They said it was like a kid fighting an adult. Jongbaek's dojo basically toyed with the Young Master. He had to recuperate for nearly three months......"
Geum Cheomsang flinched mid-sentence.
"Y-Young Master?"
"What? Keep going."
"I want to, but...... with that look on your face, I'm scared to say more."
"What look?"
"You're glaring at me like you want to kill me."
"Huh? Me?"
Crack!
The bottle in Nangong Hyuk's grip cracked.
"This bottle's weak."
"......"
Geum Cheomsang stepped back, assuming a guarded stance.
Nangong Hyuk tossed the bottle aside and tilted his head to the side.
"toyed with?"
It grated on him oddly.
He recalled Nangong Ryong's twisted expression at the Righteous Heaven Inn.
It was an expression he'd never seen before.
'The guy who toyed with my big brother three years ago?'
That Jongbaek punk deliberately acted like he knew me at the inn.
The little shit's already learned to play tricks?
Something started boiling in his chest.
'......But why am I getting pissed?'
This is weird.
Damn it.
"No, it's worth getting pissed about. My right-hand man...... ahem, my brother got done like that."
The Poison Overlord's subordinate...... no, his friend, getting beaten? Unacceptable.
As Nangong Hyuk narrowed his eyes and rubbed his chin, Geum Cheomsang asked.
"But where is the Young Master right now?"
"Dunno."
"Why are you taking it out on me?"
"Ah, it's not that!"
"......No, why are you getting mad......"
"I'm not mad!"
Nangong Hyuk scowled, and Geum Cheomsang shut his mouth like a clam.
'They say you turn into a dog when drunk...... and here you are.'
Geum Cheomsang grumbled and took another step back.
It was then.
Creak!
The door opened, and Nangong Ryong appeared.
Drenched in sweat, he looked like he'd been doing calisthenics under the moonlight.
Nangong Hyuk turned his head.
"Help me out."
"......Huh?"
Wait.
Did he just speak clearly?
"Jongbaek. I want to beat him."
"......"
"I'm stronger than I was three years ago. That's for sure. And I thought facing him again would be different this time. But it wasn't. I buckled under his presence just like before and lost. I want to change, Hyuk. No, I want to win. Help me."
Uh......
What?
Am I drunk?
Why am I hearing things?
"Hyung?"
"......"
"You said that, right?"
"......Please."
Nangong Ryong answered in a short, curt voice.
Nangong Hyuk's jaw dropped.
'What the hell? Why is he suddenly so eloquent?'
Is this the same mute Nangong Ryong I know?
Ha, unbelievable.
The sun might rise in the west tomorrow.
'......He's that pissed off, huh?'
Nangong Hyuk narrowed his eyes and stared at Nangong Ryong.
The clear intent shining from Nangong Ryong's eyes grew ever more intense.
"Perfect."
"......?"
"I was starting to lose it a bit myself."
"Hm?"
"Come out."
Nangong Hyuk schooled his expression and jerked his chin.
Nangong Ryong nodded and followed behind him.
Left alone, Geum Cheomsang muttered blankly.
"......What the hell just happened?"
His gaze fixed on the backs of the two brothers heading silently to the training ground.
* * *
Nangong Hyuk drew his sword from his waist.
The blade gleamed beautifully in the moonlight, sharp to the eyes.
His gaze turned to Nangong Ryong.
"To be blunt, that guy's stronger than you."
"......I know."
"More bluntly, at your current level, it's impossible."
He never dreamed Jeomchang would have a monster like that.
Even Nangong Hyuk had been shocked by the brief glimpse of Jongbaek's aura.
Nangong Ryong looked at Nangong Hyuk with serious eyes.
"That's why I'm asking you. Teach me."
He'd known for a while that Nangong Hyuk was stronger than him.
He just hadn't known the depth of that strength.
But it wasn't just because he was strong.
Because he'd learned firsthand that Nangong Hyuk's ferocity was as deep as the sea, and his way of transmitting it was brutal but certain.
Nangong Hyuk gazed at the dazzling sword light and murmured lowly.
"If you're going to do it half-assed, better not at all."
"I'm prepared."
Nangong Hyuk looked at Nangong Ryong, who nodded calmly.
In his Poison Overlord days, wandering the world, he'd encountered every kind of person.
Among the grains of sand-like multitudes he'd met and clashed with, there were always those types.
People who saw their words through no matter what.
Nangong Ryong was that type.
His expression might be clumsy, but the weight was different.
Resolve changes a person and tempers them like steel.
Nangong Hyuk said lowly.
"Then what are you waiting for? Get in here."
Swish!
Nangong Hyuk stepped forward, lowering his sword.
The Vast Heaven Bright King Art began its furious rotation.
The energy writhing in his lower abdomen spread through his meridians in an instant.
Whoooong!
Crackle-crackle-crack!
Blue lightning swirled in his pupils, and thunderbolts surged from the outstretched blade.
And in an instant, his aura transformed.
The momentum pouring from Nangong Hyuk's body swept over Nangong Ryong like a storm.
"......!"
Nangong Ryong's eyes widened.
A savage, brutal energy that could tear skin.
Even a beast's killing intent wouldn't be this ferocious.
A terror like plummeting off a thousand-foot cliff washed over him.
His shoulders hunched involuntarily, his back bent.
His heart pounded like it would burst, his pupils dilated.
He circulated the Heavenly Thunder Divine Art desperately and raised his sword.
Huaang! Crackle!
Sovereign Dominion Step for the Sovereign Sword Form.
Boom!
Nangong Ryong planted his foot and braced against the onslaught of Nangong Hyuk's momentum.
Crackle-crackle-crack!
Thunderbolts intertwined in midair.
The Vast Heaven Bright King Art's lightning devoured the flames from the Heavenly Thunder Divine Art.
Blue light flashed, and Nangong Hyuk advanced.
'Sovereign Sword Form......'
He'd clashed countless times with the Sword King, discussed it whenever they could.
No formulas needed; intent and will could be conveyed.
Stormcloud Thunder Barrier rose from Nangong Hyuk's sword.
The Vast Heaven Bright King Art spread its wings along the blade.
One step.
A heavy echo traveled through the ground.
Boom!
Thunderbolts raged.
Crackle-crackle-crack!
This was the Sword King.
One step pressed down on the surroundings with overwhelming pressure; one sword stroke held the power to split a mountain.
Nangong Hyuk raised his sword.
The stroke fell.
Shiiiing!
Space split.
Thunderbolts rose between the rift.
Intense light blazed in that space.
In Nangong Hyuk's mind, the Sword King's voice resounded.
- The Sovereign Sword Form is the sovereign's sword. It rules all above the heavens and below, dominating everything.
The immense pressure riding the blade tip crushed the surroundings.
- The Sovereign Sword Form contains all the Nangong Clan's swordsmanship. Become the Firmament Free Sword embracing thunder, carry the heavenly winds to sweep the skies, become lightning cleaving heaven and earth.
The Sword King's past movements merged with Nangong Hyuk's sword.
What he'd discussed and sparred with him was this.
All Nangong Clan sword arts contained the Sovereign Sword Form. It was the root, everything of the Nangong Clan.
Thousands of techniques became one form.
One stroke held the vast firmament, heavenly winds, lightning flashes......
The sovereign's sword knew no hesitation, was free and mighty.
- The Sovereign Sword Form can contain any resolve. Nothing cannot be held in the vast vessel of the firmament.
The sovereign's step was always dignified.
The sword blooming atop that step knew no obstruction.
Nangong Ryong's eyes shook wildly.
It felt like a massive sword was cleaving heaven and earth as it fell.
An immense pressure that could bisect his body any moment.
Cold sweat trickled down his back.
His mind went white, his heart hammered like a mallet.
Nangong Ryong struggled to raise his sword and respond.
Boom! Boom!
Nangong Ryong gritted his teeth.
A massive sword falling slowly.
Nangong Ryong stood to block it.
Craaaaaang!
A roar echoed as the air compressed and burst.
His skin churned as if being flayed, and Nangong Ryong dropped to one knee.
Kwaaaaa!
His face paled as the sword momentum grazed his shoulder like a wave.
Nangong Ryong stared vacantly at the energy swirling away.
Whoooosh.
Where the energy dissipated, Nangong Hyuk stood loftily, looking down at him.
Nangong Hyuk recited quietly.
"They say Jeomchang's sword topples the sun and splits the light. But that light cannot split a mountain."
"......"
"The sovereign's path must not waver. It is heavy, utterly prudent. Jeomchang's sword cannot cleave the heavens."
Nangong Ryong gazed at Nangong Hyuk with a dazed look.
Was it an illusion that he felt like a grandmaster?
He seemed like a different person.
His aura, momentum, atmosphere—everything was so unfamiliar.
But it was Nangong Hyuk.
More serious than ever, Nangong Hyuk looked at Nangong Ryong and said.
"The Sovereign Sword Form is the realm of the mind sword. It's a difficult path you must walk, so etch it in your eyes and body as much as possible."
"......I can do it."
"A hundred explanations are worth less than one real fight. The Sword King said it, and so do I."
Nangong Ryong's eyes shook faintly.
Nangong Hyuk sighed.
'An imperfect match.'
He'd only mimicked the supreme martial art of the Sovereign Sword Form.
But the meaning would get through, and if not, he'd make it so.
The Sovereign Sword Form was a sword art to learn and refine for life.
This was merely the first step.
Sword King, I've done it now. For real.
Nangong Hyuk chuckled and looked at Nangong Ryong.
"Stop spacing out and get up. We do it properly this time."
"......"
"I'll train you till you can shred some Jeomchang latecomer with a thousand cuts and myriad stabs."
At Nangong Hyuk's words, Nangong Ryong smiled faintly.
"Alright."
"Alright?"
"Yeah."
"Alriiiight?"
As Nangong Hyuk's sword flashed, Nangong Ryong swallowed hard.
And so the brothers' training continued, unaware of the dawn breaking.