Chapter 5
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Slicing the Heavens (2)
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“Begin!”
The moment Cheon Seonhak shouted, the wooden sword in Cheon Muryang’s hand shot toward the sky.
It was the same stance Cheon Muryang always used in the corner of the training grounds, optimized for a slicing motion.
*'Look at this bastard.'*
But Lee Seok-gi was off his guard.
Seeing this clearly, Cheon Muryang sneered at the daydreaming Lee Seok-gi.
“Idiot.”
“Huh?”
The same slice he had practiced for nearly a month.
Lee Seok-gi and all the other trainees had watched and knew its level.
*'That's why he's so careless.'*
On the surface, it must have looked like nothing more than a slow, simple slice.
*Thwack!*
A dull thud echoed.
The downward strike, descending like lightning, struck Lee Seok-gi squarely on the crown of his head.
“Keuk!”
Lee Seok-gi's vision blurred.
Through his fading sight, he could see the corners of Cheon Muryang's mouth curve into a smile.
*'You... son of a bitch.'*
*Thud.*
Lee Seok-gi lost consciousness.
And that was the end of it.
To everyone's surprise, the duel was decided in a single exchange.
“If I had my way, this would be a real sword, not a wooden one, but I'll let you off with this for today.”
Muttering quietly to the fallen Lee Seok-gi, Cheon Muryang breathed in the suddenly silent air.
“Hoo...”
Cheon Seonhak stepped forward.
Likely to declare his victory.
But Cheon Muryang had other ideas.
“I know all of your complaints about me.”
“…!”
Cheon Seonhak froze.
Ignoring him, Cheon Muryang continued.
“Nothing can excuse the wrongs I committed in the past. I admit it all. I was undoubtedly a scoundrel, a piece of trash.”
Everyone fell silent.
Not even the sound of breathing could be heard.
“I cannot remember every single one. I don't remember the faces of those I've wronged.”
Because that wasn't Nameless.
It was Cheon Muryang who did those things.
But Nameless decided to bear the weight of Cheon Muryang's sins.
*'Because I am Cheon Muryang.'*
Cheon Muryang met the eyes of each person gathered there.
Among them were gazes still filled with contempt, and suspicious eyes trying to discern his hidden intentions.
“However, here today, I apologize for all my past misdeeds and atrocities.”
Cheon Muryang slowly bowed his head.
A moment passed.
When he raised his head again,
he could feel that some of the gazes directed at him had changed.
“If you're still not satisfied, come to the training grounds anytime.”
“...”
“I'll be here.”
With those words, Cheon Muryang walked across the training grounds.
Woryeong followed behind him.
“...”
Cheon Seonhak, too, watched Cheon Muryang's retreating back, lost in thought.
“Has he really changed?”
He couldn't be certain yet.
But, unlike before, Cheon Seonhak's eyes no longer held only contempt and scorn as he watched Cheon Muryang.
“Ugh...”
Something stirred on the ground.
It was a groan from Lee Seok-gi, who seemed to be slowly regaining consciousness.
Cheon Seonhak clicked his tongue at the sight.
“Tsk. Get him out of here.”
The gazes of contempt and scorn were now directed at Lee Seok-gi.
What was meant to be an opportunity had turned into his downfall.
“We're leaving.”
Cheon Seonhak left.
The leaders of the Heavenly Dragon and Phoenix Sword Corps followed him.
“What? Is it already over?”
Lee Seok-gi cried out in disbelief.
“I lost in one hit? No way!”
But his cries were ignored.
* * *
Cheon Muryang didn't particularly want to rest.
It was a duel, but all he had done was swing his sword once.
However, since he had already left,
it would look strange to go back to the training grounds now.
“Looks like I'm stuck doing breathing exercises for the rest of the day.”
“You need days like this, too.”
“You think so? Come to think of it, I asked you to watch the duel yesterday and tell me your thoughts, but there was nothing to watch.”
It was rather embarrassing.
All he had shown was a single slice.
But Woryeong's reaction was quite different.
“That was the same sword technique you showed me then, wasn't it?”
“Yes, it was.”
“In my opinion, even if your opponent hadn't been careless, he wouldn't have been able to block it.”
“You think so?”
“Yes!”
Cheon Muryang smiled.
Just then.
He sensed a presence outside his room.
“I'm coming in.”
It was Cheon Seonhak.
Cheon Muryang faced Cheon Seonhak, who entered without waiting for a reply.
“Ah. I'll prepare some... not wine, but tea.”
Woryeong excused herself.
“A sharp girl.”
“She's more than qualified to be my personal maid.”
“That sword technique you showed.”
“...”
“What were you trying to slice?”
“The sky. I was trying to slice the sky.”
Cheon Seonhak's eyes trembled faintly.
Slicing the heavens.
That was the very goal Cheon Seonhak aimed for, the path of the sword he still pursued.
“The sky...”
How ridiculous.
Cheon Seonhak had never dreamed that the one who would understand his path would be Cheon Muryang, the very person he had so despised and long given up on.
“They say life is a series of twists and turns. This is exactly that.”
With a hollow laugh, Cheon Seonhak stared at Cheon Muryang with serious eyes.
“What you said at the training grounds.”
“Yes.”
“Can you take responsibility for it?”
“I wouldn't have said it if I didn't intend to.”
“Right. You'd have to.”
“Is that all?”
“You won our bet this time.”
“…!”
“Tell me what you want. I'll grant it.”
“Let me enter the Heavenly Dragon Library...”
Cheon Seonhak rejected it flatly.
“That is not within my authority.”
“Hmm...”
“I will grant you anything within my authority.”
Cheon Muryang thought hard.
He considered what he needed most right now.
*'Truthfully, there's no better training than actual combat...'*
An idea flashed in Cheon Muryang's mind.
*Grin.*
He said with a smile.
“Please arrange for one person to duel with me each day.”
“Will that be enough?”
“Yes. It's more than enough.”
“...You will grow stronger every day.”
“That's what I'm hoping for.”
Cheon Seonhak rose from his seat without another word.
“I'll be going now.”
“Yes. Take care, Uncle.”
“...”
He seemed to have something more to say, but in the end, Cheon Seonhak left without saying it.
“What was that about?”
Cheon Muryang could only shrug.
After Cheon Seonhak left, knowing it would be some time before the tactful Woryeong returned, he focused on his breathing exercises.
“What's the point of idling? I need to be diligent.”
Cheon Muryang's consciousness sank deep within.
* * *
From that day on,
Cheon Muryang's routine changed.
He still ran around the training grounds and swung his sword, but now he had to duel with a trainee chosen by Cheon Seonhak every day.
“Why am I doing this?”
On the first day, Cha Myeonghak, who had been chosen as the opponent, cursed Lee Seok-gi.
“I knew it from the moment he started acting all high and mighty as the top trainee. The bastard doesn't even have the skills.”
Cha Myeonghak held a grudge against Cheon Muryang.
“No, this is actually perfect. I get to legally crush him.”
Back when he first joined as a trainee,
Cha Myeonghak had witnessed the Great Young Lord causing a drunken ruckus.
That was his first encounter with Cheon Muryang.
“That damn scoundrel.”
Swinging a sword wildly while drunk—he was the very definition of a scoundrel.
While trying to stop him, Cha Myeonghak received an indelible scar on his face.
“I'll make it look like an accident and leave a scar on your body, too.”
How could he forget such a bitter history?
Cha Myeonghak harbored malice.
Arriving at the training grounds, Cha Myeonghak looked for Cheon Muryang.
He saw Cheon Muryang swinging a sword, his body still fat despite having lost some weight.
“...”
Standing in the center of the training grounds, Cha Myeonghak expected Cheon Muryang to stop.
He must have sensed his presence, after all.
“...”
But no matter how long he waited, Cheon Muryang didn't stop.
Cha Myeonghak took it as an insult.
*Twitch!*
His brow furrowed.
At that moment, the faint aroma of tea wafted from somewhere.
*Whip!*
He turned his head.
He saw a maid pouring tea with a calm expression.
“Ah...”
It was Woryeong.
Woryeong brought the filled teacup over to Cha Myeonghak.
“Please have some of this while you wait. It might take a while, since he's just started.”
“What did you say?”
“Once he starts training, he doesn't seem to notice his surroundings.”
“...”
“I've prepared some refreshments here, too!”
Strangely drawn in by Woryeong, Cha Myeonghak found himself unexpectedly eating the refreshments.
“Does he train like this every day?”
“Yes. Sometimes I worry he might collapse.”
“...”
But even as she said that, Woryeong gazed at Cheon Muryang with a look of pride.
“Are you the Great Young Lord's personal maid?”
“Yes.”
“You must have been tormented a lot. Why are you cheering for the Great Young Lord?”
“The young lord certainly made many mistakes in the past. But he's changed. He's swinging his sword to right his past wrongs.”
“...”
Cha Myeonghak mulled over Woryeong's words.
“Righting his wrongs...”
He looked at Cheon Muryang with new eyes.
Looking again, the body he had still thought of as fat now seemed somewhat sturdy.
*'I'll acknowledge his effort.'*
That effort wasn't a lie.
He was seeing it with his own eyes, after all.
*Scratch.*
Cha Myeonghak felt a slight sting between his brows.
Something felt like it was grating on his nerves.
His body seemed to tense up for no reason.
He thought it was just nerves.
So, thinking nothing of it, he watched Cheon Muryang.
*Whooosh!*
The sword slicing through the air.
*'Come to think of it...'*
The speed of the sword was incredibly consistent.
Cha Myeonghak observed Cheon Muryang's stance once more.
*Shudder!*
The hairs on his arms stood on end.
A thrill ran through him.
*'There's not an inch of error.'*
It wasn't just the speed that was consistent.
The trajectory, the height the sword reached, the stopping point, the placement of his feet, the distribution of power, even the position of his grip on the hilt.
*'Everything is identical.'*
How could that be?
Even the most precisely trained elite couldn't be this perfectly identical.
*'H-how could... the scoundrel Great Young Lord wield such a sword?'*
The prejudice surrounding Cha Myeonghak was sliced away.
And then, he realized where Cheon Muryang's sword was aimed.
*'N-no way...'*
Cha Myeonghak touched the space between his brows again.
*Whoosh!*
It stung.
It felt as if a sharp sword was poised right before his eyes.
*'F-from the very beginning... was he swinging his sword at me?'*
Even at this very moment.
Cheon Muryang's wooden sword was falling toward Cha Myeonghak.
“Th-this is...”
What could he even call this?
Cha Myeonghak was at a loss for words.
From the moment he had stepped onto the training grounds, his duel with Cheon Muryang had already begun.
Cha Myeonghak's head drooped.
Just then.
“Ah, I got lost in my concentration.”
Cheon Muryang's voice, having stopped his training, reached him.
“You came for a match with me, right? Good to see you, Cha Myeonghak.”
“…!”
Cha Myeonghak's eyes widened.
How did he know his name?
“H-how do you know my name?”
“Ah, you'll be an official warrior of our family someday, won't you? I'm trying to memorize as many names as I can.”
Nameless, while learning from Cheon Seonhak, had been acquainted with the warriors of the Heavenly Dragon and Phoenix Sword Corps.
This was also how he knew Neung Ryeoun's name.
Cha Myeonghak, too, was destined to become a member of the Heavenly Dragon Sword Corps.
“...”
“Well then, shall we begin?”
“I have lost.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
Cheon Muryang couldn't believe his ears.
Where was the logic in coming for a fight only to admit defeat before it even began?
“I admit my defeat, Great Young Lord.”
He wondered if he was being mocked.
But Cha Myeonghak, bowing his head with a serious expression, seemed sincere.
*Glance.*
Not understanding the situation, Cheon Muryang shot a glance at Woryeong.
[I. Don't. Know. Either.]
Woryeong mouthed back.
Woryeong also had no idea why Cha Myeonghak was acting this way.
*'He seemed so malicious, so I just offered him some tea... Did I do something I shouldn't have?'*
She could only second-guess herself.
“Ah, but still, we have to have the duel...”
“I will prepare properly and challenge you then, my lord.”
Cha Myeonghak bowed respectfully and left the training grounds.
“Tsk... What in the world just happened?”
A teary-eyed Woryeong approached.
“Was it because the tea I made for him tasted bad...?”
“Hey, how could that be the reason?”
Instead of dueling,
Cheon Muryang began to devour the tearful Woryeong's refreshments.
“Stop eating!”
“You told me to eat!”
“I'm worried you'll get fat again!”