Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Access to the Imperial Pavilion
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As Namgung Hyeok stepped into the family head's chamber, he saw Namgung Jangcheon seated on the grand dais.
The heavy atmosphere and stern expression made him look like a towering mountain.
Namgung Hyeok walked straight up to him with steady steps.
He could feel Namgung Jangcheon's gaze scanning him from head to toe, but he neatly ignored it and opened his mouth right away.
"Give me the manual."
Namgung Jangcheon's eyebrows shot up.
"You think that's what you say the moment you're summoned?"
His low voice carried a layer of reproach.
Naturally, it was demanding some excuse for defying the entry ban.
But Namgung Hyeok just stared blankly at Namgung Jangcheon.
'Should I greet him first? Or was it the tone?'
Even the Righteous Alliance Leader quaked before me, and I should bow to some distant descendant of the Sword King?
'Still, I need something from him.'
Namgung Hyeok spoke again in an awkward tone.
"Give me the manual... please?"
"......"
Namgung Jangcheon opened his mouth, then clamped it shut, swallowing whatever he was about to say.
He let out a deep sigh before speaking softly.
"How exactly did you get into the Soaring Heaven Martial Vault? How did you evade the guards?"
"I climbed over the wall."
A vein bulged on Namgung Jangcheon's forehead.
His eyes quickly swept the surroundings.
"You think the Soaring Heaven Martial Vault is your playground? How dare you sneak in there! And how did you even scale the wall!"
"I crawled."
"Crawled? You brat! Don't you know whose burden it is if you fall and get hurt again?"
"It's fine even if I fall."
"It's fine if you fall? The wall there is over ten feet high! If you fell with your body, there wouldn't be a single intact spot on you......"
Namgung Jangcheon raised his voice in anger, then paused.
He had caught the oddity in Namgung Hyeok's words.
"......You fell?"
Namgung Hyeok shrugged.
"I'm perfectly fine."
"......Perfectly fine?"
"Yes."
Namgung Jangcheon's eyes widened at the unexpected reply.
He scanned Namgung Hyeok up and down with those wide eyes before asking cautiously.
"Is that true?"
"Yes."
A brief silence.
Namgung Jangcheon flapped his lips, unable to find words.
His bulging pupils trembled as they fixed on Namgung Hyeok.
"......Ahem! H-how are your feet? Your fingers?"
Instead of answering, Namgung Hyeok turned and showed his feet.
Namgung Jangcheon's pupils shook violently. He twitched the corner of his mouth upward, then composed himself.
"Ahem! Y-you're unscathed."
"It was a bit sprained, but it's fine now."
"......So you climbed over the wall and entered the Soaring Heaven Martial Vault?"
"Yes."
"Uh......"
Namgung Jangcheon let out a groan.
The issue of unauthorized entry into the Soaring Heaven Martial Vault had long been pushed from his mind.
What mattered wasn't that.
'He's unscathed! How is this possible!'
Jumping off a table could break Namgung Hyeok's legs.
Yet he had leaped from the Soaring Heaven Martial Vault's wall and come out fine.
Namgung Jangcheon was moved.
In this moment, he couldn't help but feel joy not as the family head, but as a father.
Had the long-offered prayers finally borne fruit?
Or was it the medicinal elixirs he had steadily consumed finally taking effect?
'Could it finally be?'
But with his position, he couldn't show it.
He schooled his expression as much as possible and said sternly.
"Ahem! Even if you weren't hurt, it's still a fact that you trespassed into the Soaring Heaven Martial Vault!"
Namgung Hyeok replied indifferently.
"It's not a crime to enter the martial vault, is it? Why not let me in from the start?"
That was true enough......
"Ahem! It was all for your health. Even basic martial arts training is extremely dangerous for your body!"
"At this rate, I'll just die without achieving anything."
"Die? Grrrh! Making weak excuses again! How can you call yourself blood of the Namgung Clan like that!"
"Isn't it because I'm of the bloodline that I need to learn martial arts even more? What's wrong with the son of a martial family learning martial arts? I have to do something, or I'll really die. At least if I build up some internal energy, I'll have a solid foundation. Is this worth scolding?"
Namgung Hyeok's tone remained indifferent throughout, but his words were firm.
This left Namgung Jangcheon flustered.
'What? Was Hyeok always this kind of personality?'
Far from cowering, he stared right back as if daring him to say more.
It was almost a glare.
What was he supposed to make of this?
His expression was the epitome of worldly annoyance, like 'Do I really have to explain this much?'
Yet his speech was aggressively confrontational, his posture slouched defiantly, as if he'd grab him by the collar if provoked.
He could hardly believe this was his frail second son.
"They say even the wishes of the dead are granted, so why not those of someone about to die!"
"Stop with the weak talk......"
"So just give it to me!"
Namgung Hyeok stared piercingly at Namgung Jangcheon.
Namgung Jangcheon, who had been gazing at him in a daze, snapped back to attention.
"Um! You really want to learn martial arts that badly?"
"Yes!"
"Really?"
"Really."
"Your body might get ruined......"
"I'll die otherwise? I want to learn martial arts. Give it to me—I'm getting dizzy!"
Namgung Hyeok looked at Namgung Jangcheon and inwardly sighed.
Seeing him still conflicted, he knew he needed a decisive blow.
'I didn't want to resort to this.'
"Cough."
"Hm?"
"Cough hack! Hack hack! Kweeeek!"
As Namgung Hyeok started hacking dramatically, Namgung Jangcheon's eyes nearly popped out.
Namgung Jangcheon's face turned ashen.
"You, you!"
Namgung Hyeok wiped his mouth and turned to Namgung Jangcheon with a pale face.
"......Haah, just give me the martial arts manual. Even this haggling is exhausting."
Namgung Jangcheon's eyebrows twitched.
After a long deliberation, he finally nodded heavily.
"Fine. I permit it. I'll summon you again tomorrow."
Namgung Hyeok inwardly cheered.
'If you were going to give it, why not sooner? Such a hassle!'
The thought that tomorrow he could see the Namgung Clan's secret vault made a smile creep across Namgung Hyeok's lips.
Namgung Jangcheon gulped down the tea from the table and placed a hand on Namgung Hyeok's shoulder.
"Hyeok."
Namgung Hyeok flinched at the warmly chilling voice.
"I won't tell you to become a master. I don't need anything else—just grow up healthy......"
"What if... there are martial arts from past family masters?"
"Hm? Y-yes, there are."
"Oh! See you tomorrow then."
Namgung Hyeok bowed briefly and left the family head's chamber.
His steps were so light and brisk, it was hard to believe he was the same boy who had just been coughing up blood moments ago.
Namgung Jangcheon's fingers wriggled aimlessly in the air.
His face took on the expression of someone who had been smacked on the back of the head.
Geum Gwang-mo poured tea while chuckling.
"The young master seems full of vigor. He's even throwing tantrums he never did before."
"Um."
"I never imagined he'd go so far as to fake coughing blood just to beg for a manual."
Geum Gwang-mo chuckled heartily.
"Family Head, do you really intend to let the young master see the manuals just because he asks?"
Namgung Jangcheon cleared his throat and pondered for a moment before shaking his head.
"That's why I'm showing him."
"Pardon?"
"The boy who could barely put down the Thousand Character Classic because it hurt—how could he possibly master supreme martial arts?"
"Ah!"
"I'm easing his frustration a bit. Once he sees the supreme martial arts and feels overwhelmed, he'll either give up or cling even harder—one or the other."
Geum Gwang-mo admired Namgung Jangcheon's ploy.
"If he clings harder, will you really teach him martial arts?"
Namgung Jangcheon sighed.
"If he wants to learn that badly, I suppose I should teach him. It's better than him getting hurt climbing walls, isn't it?"
"Ah, true enough."
"Tell the guards not to block his entry to the Soaring Heaven Martial Vault anymore."
Namgung Jangcheon shook his head as he drank his tea.
"What incredible stubbornness."
"He takes after you, Family Head."
"Don't say such nonsense. He takes after his mother more. Ahem!"
* * *
Emperor's Pavilion.
It was the Namgung Clan's supreme secret vault, accessible only to the family head and his blood kin.
But without the fences surrounding it or the garden nearby, it would look no different from a shabby warehouse.
Of course, appearances were deceiving.
'Look at these formations? One, two, three, four... twelve?'
The Emperor's Pavilion was a modest single-story hall.
Yet twelve formations guarded that one hall, each one bewilderingly complex.
It was incomparable to the Soaring Heaven Martial Vault's defenses.
'I'd be dead if I tried sneaking in.'
As Namgung Hyeok quietly marveled while surveying the Emperor's Pavilion, Namgung Jangcheon summoned someone to dispel the formations.
A path opened, and the two entered the Emperor's Pavilion.
The scent of books hit them immediately upon entry.
Namgung Hyeok's gaze naturally swept over the bookshelves inside.
Namgung Jangcheon looked around the Emperor's Pavilion and said.
"The true essence of our main branch is here. Find the manuals you need. I'll select the one that suits you from among them."
There was no real need, but Namgung Hyeok nodded obediently.
"I'll allow you entry at this time every day. Study as much as you want. But don't overdo it."
Namgung Hyeok grinned in satisfaction.
"Yes!"
Now get out already.
He waved his hand inwardly while his eyes kept darting to the Emperor's Pavilion shelves.
'Where to start?'
He licked his lips, but then Namgung Jangcheon placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Hyeok. I'll say it once more: don't push yourself or rush. Just stay healthy......"
"Can I start over there?"
Namgung Hyeok deftly dodged Namgung Jangcheon's hand and dashed deep into the Emperor's Pavilion.
Namgung Jangcheon's hand twitched awkwardly in the air.
"Ahem! Be careful not to get hurt! Don't run!"
With an embarrassed cough, Namgung Jangcheon exited the Emperor's Pavilion.
Namgung Hyeok scanned the manuals lining the Emperor's Pavilion.
The Namgung Clan's thousand years of history was here.
"What to look at first? Past masters? Or direct lineage arts?"
A happy dilemma—this was an enormous privilege.
The Emperor's Pavilion was off-limits without the family head's permission, even to direct descendants.
Even the eldest young master hadn't entered until his twenties, so this was a special favor among special favors.
Namgung Hyeok hummed a tune, pondered briefly, then grinned.
"I'll just memorize them all."
Anyone hearing that would call him mad.
Or interpret it as vowing to study diligently without greed.
But Namgung Hyeok was serious.
He truly intended to memorize every manual in the Emperor's Pavilion.
He only really needed an internal energy method, but who could resist a cat passing up fish?
His heart pounded with greedy excitement for the martial arts.
Namgung Hyeok circulated the Heaven-Opening Myriad Memory Art.
The Heaven-Opening Myriad Memory Art was a foreign technique created by monks from the western regions.
It was merely a martial art that enhanced memory, but at great completion, it could store ten thousand pieces of information in the brain.
The concept was creating ten thousand rooms in the mind to store ten thousand pieces of data.
That was how Namgung Hyeok had stored hundreds, even thousands, of martial arts in his previous life.
With the Heaven-Opening Myriad Memory Art active, Namgung Hyeok began rummaging through the Emperor's Pavilion.
Countless pieces of information flooded his mind.
The text, shapes, diagrams, and even the feel of the manuals were meticulously stored in his head.
The stored martial arts were then categorized.
Discard or keep.
"This one's too simplistic."
"Internal energy is too weak. Can't reach supreme realms."
"Huh? Why preserve trash like this? Beginner luck? What era is this from?"
"Oh, this one's usable."
"Not bad?"
Namgung Hyeok's immersion peaked.
Finally, the top five supreme martial arts in the pavilion were stored in his mind.
[Heavenly Thunder Divine Art]
[Emperor's Divine Art]
[Emperor's Sovereign Step]
[Lightning Thirteen Thunders]
[Thunderclap Divine Sword]
"Why do all these arts have thunder or emperor in the name?"
Talk about naming sense.
"Now I see why the Sword King strutted around."
Namgung Hyeok reflected on the importance of early education as he reviewed the stored arts in his mind.
"......Hmm, still a bit lacking."
Namgung Hyeok rubbed his chin.
"Good isn't enough."
Right now, he was searching for the framework for a new martial art.
With that framework, he would overcome the Nine Yin Severed Meridians, then achieve ascension.
And......
"I'll smash those immortals' heads."
Thoroughly.
He vividly remembered the downfall they caused.
Beyond their obnoxious immortal faces, the humiliation of not landing a proper counter before plummeting.
"Without those bastards, I would have ascended too. Both they and I were at ascension realm, yet it flipped in one move. That can't be right. There's something more fundamental."
A more root issue.
Mutual克制.
The immortals' arts clearly carried the power of Evil-Breaking Demon-Exterminating.
His own martial arts leaned toward demonic rather than orthodox, and later absorbed even demonic path arts.
Without a physical body, the difference manifested starkly.
If not for that, he wouldn't have fallen without even coughing once.
And the Namgung Clan was one of the pinnacles of the orthodox faction.
So he had to find it here.
A new internal energy method to build the roots and framework.
Fleshing it out and refining would come later.
"Is this really all? Let me check again."
A thousand years of history.
No one like him across the ages, but surely some worth mixing with?
Just as the demonic path had its Demon Sovereign, didn't the Namgung Clan have someone with insights at that level?
For a clan consistently at the peak of the martial world for a millennium, it was entirely plausible.
Namgung Hyeok slowly circled the Emperor's Pavilion.
One lap, two laps.
His eyes relentlessly scanned the manuals.
Even as day turned to night, he didn't stop.
It was around the time he felt blood draining steadily from his heart.
Clunk.
Namgung Hyeok's steps halted abruptly.
"......What is this? Was it always like this?"
The青石 floor beneath his foot shifted.
Stepping on it a few times, the青石 tile rose and fell each time.
Clunk, clunk.
Namgung Hyeok tilted his head and pried up the青石 slab.
"Urgh! Damn, it's heavy!"
He had forgotten his pitiful stamina.
Bracing his hips and barely lifting the青石 floor, a question arose on Namgung Hyeok's face.
"What's this?"
Namgung Hyeok's eyes narrowed.
Then they widened gradually, soon vibrating as if about to pop out.
With the青石 removed, writing was revealed underneath.
"Uh uh?"