Chapter 35
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Perfect Imitation
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Swish, whirrrick!
“Ha ha ha! How about it?”
“…….”
Slash, papapow!
“Take a look at this! Impressive, isn’t it?”
“…….”
Yu Hyun rubbed his sleepy eyes and blankly stared at the old man wildly flailing about in front of him.
What was this nonsense in the dim light of dawn?
The moment he opened his door upon waking, Nangong Chang-seon had started swinging his sword as if he’d been waiting.
They say old folks need less sleep as they age, but this geezer sure had energy.
“This is the Emperor’s Sword Form.”
“…….”
“How about the Azure Bow Infinite Sword?”
“…….”
“Look. Incredibly fast sword strikes, right? This is our Nangong Clan’s pride, the Lightning Flash Thirteen Thunders. Thirteen bolts of lightning striking the world at once, isn’t it? Ha ha ha!”
“…….”
Nangong Chang-seon fluttered his white beard as he demonstrated the Nangong Clan’s swordsmanship from beginning to end, darting in all directions.
Schwing! Crack! Slash.
Sword qi scattered everywhere, shattering stone lanterns and carving sharp scars into the garden.
Whoa, that looks expensive...
“Haap! Flying Sword!”
Nangong Chang-seon finally shook his hand, sending the sword flying like a living thing to shred the ornamental trees.
Yes, Uncle.
That one looks useful.
“Huff huff, how about it? These are arts passed only to direct descendants, but if you just hold the wedding, I’ll teach you them all. Come on, say it! ‘I’ll hold the wedding!’ Say it!”
“…….”
Only then did Yu Hyun understand why this old man was causing such a ruckus at the crack of dawn. He took a deep breath in and let it out even bigger.
This geezer still hadn’t given up.
What was this, not a courtship dance, but courtship swordsmanship?
Even if he was a retired elder, did the Sword King really have nothing better to do?
When Yu Hyun turned his head away as if he’d seen something he shouldn’t, Nangong Chang-seon panicked greatly.
“Y-you brat, Hyun! Looking away! I came and waited before the first rooster even crowed!”
“…….”
Who asked you to wait? He was doing it because he wanted to...
Damn it, time to wash up.
Seeing this persistent old man first thing in the morning was already agitating his mind.
As Yu Hyun quietly rose to head to the well for his morning wash, Nangong Chang-seon stuck right by his side, being a nuisance.
“Hyun, don’t be like that—watch closely. This is what only our Nangong Clan’s direct line learns, got it? You couldn’t buy this with money. It’s worlds apart from trash like the Six Combinations Fist you see on the streets.”
“Yes, yes.”
“Hey! You brat! This isn’t something to be so half-hearted about! There are guys all over the world who’d kill to learn this. And I’m offering to teach you personally?”
“If I hold the wedding... right?”
“Of course! Naturally!”
“…….”
Yu Hyun glanced at him nodding vigorously, then chuckled.
“Never mind. I’ll just learn the Heaven-Earth Divine Book.”
“What!”
Nangong Chang-seon’s eyes blazed at the sight of Yu Hyun casually waving him off without a shred of hesitation.
“Heaven-Earth Divine Book? Ha! What’s so great about that measly art! You just don’t know, but our Nangong Clan’s arts are far superior.”
“…….”
“Yep, incomparably more profound than that Heaven-Earth Divine Book nonsense! Just try learning it. The movements alone are on another level!”
“…….”
He really didn’t get through to him at all.
What to do? He’d finally shaken off one annoyance, only for another to latch on.
“Hyun, the Nangong Clan’s arts are, well, they contain very profound principles...”
“What, from what I saw earlier, nothing special.”
“What?”
“Why?”
“…….”
At the utterly indifferent response, Nangong Chang-seon blankly stared at him before bursting into hearty laughter.
“Uh ha ha ha ha! This guy. If we weren’t related, you’d be picking a fight worthy of drawing blades.”
“…….”
“Yeah, it might look that way to your eyes still. I’ve heard of your talent, but you haven’t formally stepped into martial arts long.”
“…….”
“But martial arts aren’t like that. Very different from what they seem. You can’t even gauge them by form and technique alone. These are arts refined over hundreds of years across generations. Every step must embody the pursued intent...”
“No, it’s not. Didn’t look all that impressive...”
“Hm? What?”
“The Nangong Clan’s arts.”
“…….”
“Seemed easy to copy...”
“What? Ho ho, you’re spouting nonsense.”
“Why? Should I show you?”
“…….”
Nangong Chang-seon’s mouth dropped open in an instant.
Show what?
Nangong Clan arts he’d never learned? Or the Six Combinations Fist or Heaven-Earth Divine Book he knew?
Yu Hyun slowly rose, gazing at Nangong Chang-seon’s face, which looked ready to faint from sheer astonishment.
This annoying old coot—I’ll have to shake him off like this.
With all the talk of lacking talent or whatever, pretending to be a genius once wouldn’t change anything.
Nangong Clan arts?
That crap...
He already knew them inside out, down to tearing apart and recombining the forms.
“Hmm, walking like this, right?”
Swish swish.
As Yu Hyun moved his feet experimentally this way and that, Nangong Chang-seon shook his head.
What nonsense. What does he think he knows...
In Nangong Chang-seon’s eyes, Yu Hyun was just an arrogant young nephew.
Swipe, thud!
“……?”
But after a few practices, the moment Yu Hyun took his first real step, the pleasing footfall made Nangong Chang-seon’s eyes widen slightly.
What was that just now?
It landed too perfectly...
And what followed nearly made him cry out.
From Yu Hyun’s first step, there was an illusion of a small wind rising.
“W-Welcoming Wind?”
Walking as if greeting the wind.
One of the Nangong Clan’s footwork techniques, the very first step Nangong Chang-seon favored most.
How could Yu Hyun, who’d never learned Nangong arts, know Welcoming Wind?
But Yu Hyun’s second step blurred with speed.
“Huh! T-That’s! Skimming Shadow!?”
Nangong Chang-seon unconsciously clenched his fist.
The steps that followed were light as if carrying wind, fast as stealing shadows, sometimes bold as a raging storm.
“Ch-... Heavenly Wind Stepwork?”
If his eyes weren’t deceiving him, Yu Hyun was clearly performing the Nangong Clan’s Heavenly Wind Stepwork.
And too perfectly.
Heavenly Wind Stepwork emphasized offense over defense—a storm-like fierce gait.
Yu Hyun’s body split into several, then suddenly merged, sweeping the garden like a fierce gale.
Tap!
At some point, Yu Hyun, skimming the ground, picked up a single twig.
“T-That...”
The moment Yu Hyun swung the twig, tracing a path in the air, Nangong Chang-seon couldn’t even speak.
How could he not recognize it?
The motions were soft yet weighty, changing yet not cluttered.
The name people gave it because that heavy sword form overwhelmed all sword arts.
“How is that child performing the Emperor’s Sword Form...”
It was indescribably shocking.
Heavenly Wind Stepwork and Emperor’s Sword Form.
The two arts Yu Hyun was displaying before him were ones no one without the Nangong surname could ever perform.
“S-Stop!”
As Yu Hyun’s twig rushed toward its conclusion, Nangong Chang-seon bellowed to halt him.
“……?”
Yu Hyun froze with the twig extended straight, cocking his head as he looked at him.
“You brat! What is this! How do you know the Nangong sword and steps!”
Nangong Chang-seon demanded angrily.
It was only natural.
Arts passed only to direct family meant, in other words, secret techniques outsiders mustn’t know.
Even as a nephew, he was an outsider by blood.
Unless someone had taught him, this was a serious issue.
“Tell me. Who taught you the Emperor’s Sword Form and Heavenly Wind Step!”
“…….”
Nangong Chang-seon gripped Yu Hyun’s arms and pressed him urgently.
Bewildering, no doubt.
Shocking, too.
But Yu Hyun wore a shameless expression, playing dumb.
“Who taught me?”
“What? You’ve never learned? Then how did you perform those two arts so perfectly?”
“I saw it.”
“...What?”
“Earlier.”
“…….”
“I didn’t know the footwork was called Heavenly Wind Stepwork, but you said it clearly, right? ‘This is the Emperor’s Sword Form.’”
“…….”
Nangong Chang-seon’s furious glare went blank at Yu Hyun’s answer.
“S-Saw it?”
“What? Already forgetting? How can you not remember what happened just now?”
“…….”
“You showed it earlier. The footwork and Emperor’s Sword Form... If you don’t believe me, want me to do the Azure Bow Infinite Sword too? I saw someone named Jeok Seong do it once, so I can mimic that even more perfectly.”
“…….”
Nangong Chang-seon just blinked at Yu Hyun’s utterly nonchalant expression.
Mimic?
Nonsense.
The Heavenly Wind Stepwork and Emperor’s Sword Form Yu Hyun showed lacked only internal energy—otherwise, near perfect.
“Hmm, I could do everything else, but that Flying Sword thing might be tough.”
“…….”
At Yu Hyun’s words, Nangong Chang-seon couldn’t collect his wits, as if his soul had fled.
“Uncle? Uncle? What’s wrong? Forgetting things isn’t enough—you zoning out too?”
“…….”
Yu Hyun waggled a finger before his eyes, touched his forehead, treating him like a senile old man with concern...
But he wasn’t angry—not even words came out.
A miracle.
Even seeing it with his own eyes, he couldn’t believe it.
No talent? Gifted?
Whoever had judged Yu Hyun with such lowly words, he wanted to rip their mouth apart right then.
If Yu Hyun’s words were true—if he could perfectly perform the Emperor’s Sword Form and Heavenly Wind Stepwork after one glance?
“Uncle?”
“Uh-uh?”
“Now you get it?”
“…….”
“So just give up. I’m not getting married. Got it?”
“…….”
Yu Hyun grinned, patted Nangong Chang-seon’s shoulder—his face dazed as if lost in a trance—and headed back to his quarters, even humming a tune.
No way he’d keep nagging about arts after this.
No money, no arts—he wouldn’t pester about the wedding anymore.
“…….”
Nangong Chang-seon watched until Yu Hyun shut his door. A glint flashed in his eyes.
That kid...
He’s the real deal.
This was no different from heaven blessing the Nangong Clan.
He had to snag him no matter what.
Nangong Chang-seon shot to his feet and dashed to the Clan Lord’s hall, eyebrows flaring as if it wasn’t worth another thought.
Bang!
“Ah, Father?”
Nangong Han-su, who’d just spread out documents for work, looked at Nangong Chang-seon puzzled.
“Hey, Clan Lord.”
“Yes?”
“We need to send a letter calling Hye back right now.”
“...Yes? Why?”
“What are you doing! Not a moment to waste. Write it now.”
“...Wait, why Hye all of a sudden?”
As Nangong Han-su tilted his head, Nangong Chang-seon glared and yelled.
“You punk! Didn’t you hear your father? Move it!”
“Yes? Y-Yes, Father!”
Nangong Han-su flinched, spread paper, and ground ink.
Leaning on the table before him, Nangong Chang-seon grinned with manic eyes.
“Money? Martial arts? If those don’t work, I’ll force them together. Heh heh heh, ku ha ha ha!”