Chapter 21
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Heavenly Sword Emperor Neung Cheonhwi
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Heavenly Sword Emperor Neung Cheonhwi
Ever since joining the Murim Alliance, I wake up each morning wondering about the night before.
What mission will call for me today?
Did that kid from yesterday make it home safely?
The one silver lining was that although the boy had run away, there was an adult looking after him.
What’s more, that person was a formidable master, capable of standing on a thin tree branch.
The boy must be the young master of some wealthy family.
“I wonder if he’s met with his father.”
Resolving family conflicts is often the easiest and yet the most difficult thing to do.
It’s not for nothing that families sometimes cut ties completely.
After finishing his dawn training, Ha Yuseong reported to the Murim Alliance as usual.
The Crouching Dragon Unit was the same as always, with one exception.
The Unit Leader was asleep.
It had reached the point where not seeing the Unit Leader sleeping would feel like a bad omen right from the start of the day.
The one difference was the sight of two people sitting cross-legged with their eyes closed.
Those two were, of course, Namgung Yuya and Hae Myo.
As if by prior agreement, both had been engrossed in their training ever since yesterday’s mission concluded.
Ha Yuseong felt a sense of envy watching them.
It wasn't jealousy that they were training without him.
*Hooo, haaa.*
That was it.
At a glance, they seemed to be just sitting and sleeping, but they were diligently engaged in something distinctly martial.
Meditative Breathing.
The act of gathering the energy of nature into one's dantian through respiration, the very starting point that separates martial artists from ordinary people.
It was also an area where Ha Yuseong had recently been feeling his limitations.
What was meditative breathing?
Simply put, it referred to the internal arts or heart techniques used to accumulate internal energy.
Currently, the only internal art Ha Yuseong knew was the Three Talents Internal Art.
The amount of internal energy one could gather with the Three Talents Internal Art was less than an ant's piss.
That was why Ha Yuseong had done his best to learn a new internal art after joining the Murim Alliance.
Internal energy was essential to becoming a master.
He had first visited the Fourth-Class Archive, searching for anything he could find. But while the archive had books on various martial arts, there was nothing on internal arts.
When he later asked the custodian, he was told that books dealing with internal arts were only available from the Third-Class Archive onward.
It was an understandable measure.
Internal arts were the foundation of all martial arts.
So, they couldn't be disclosed carelessly.
Access to the Third-Class Archive was granted only to third-rank warriors and above. In other words, Ha Yuseong had no way of finding another internal art at his current level.
The only other option was to learn an internal art outside the Murim Alliance, but that was no easy task either.
To learn an internal art separately, one had to join a family or sect and become one of their own, and if he could have done that, he would have done so long ago.
Which meant the only remaining method was…
“I have to become a third-rank warrior!”
At first, he thought he would have no regrets just by joining the Murim Alliance, but greed kept sprouting within him.
Ha Yuseong didn't want to ignore that greed.
If there was a steaming rice cake right in front of you, who wouldn't drool?
“How much fun would it be to perform martial arts if I could learn an internal art?”
Even now, when he practiced forms with his rejuvenated body, there were moments when he became so engrossed he would forget himself.
Afterward, he would feel a refreshing sensation in his body, similar to the feeling after completing meditative breathing.
“Just once! I want to learn an internal art other than the Three Talents Internal Art.”
Having already undergone a Rebirth, he wanted to do it right this time, starting fresh.
“This time, I have to at least reach the threshold of a first-rate master.”
But what good were grand ambitions like these?
In the end, the only internal art he knew was the Three Talents Internal Art.
While Ha Yuseong was lost in thought, Namgung Yuya and Hae Myo opened their eyes.
Ha Yuseong quickly hid his envious gaze and spoke with his usual vigor.
“Let’s go on a mission!”
Still, there’s no harm in asking, right?
“Brother Namgung. I have a question, if you don't mind.”
“Yes.”
“What’s the name of the meditative breathing technique you were just practicing?”
“It’s nothing special. Just the Divine Art of the Vast Sky that my family taught me.”
“I-I see. Nothing special, you say.”
The name alone sounded magnificent.
“Then, what about you, Junior Hae Myo?”
“Oh, it’s just the Plum Blossom Heart Art, which any direct disciple of the Huashan Sect learns.”
Plum blossoms! The very identity of the Huashan Sect!
“I-I see. Something anyone learns. Haha!”
I take back what I just said.
I’m definitely envious.
Isn’t there an elixir of power that could just fall from the sky somewhere?
***
Evening.
Neung Cheonhwi, silhouetted against the sunset, looked every bit the hero.
“So cool!”
At Neung Baekdo's praise, a wide grin spread across Neung Cheonhwi's face. He quickly composed himself, mindful of his dignity as the Alliance Leader, and spoke with a solemn tone.
“First, let me briefly explain what martial arts is.”
“Martial arts?”
Neung Cheonhwi gazed for a moment at Neung Baekdo’s face, who tilted his head and asked back, before clutching his chest.
*Ugh!*
“Father, are you okay?”
Neung Baekdo asked worriedly, wondering if Neung Cheonhwi was in pain.
Having lost his mother at an early age, Neung Baekdo couldn't help but feel anxious that he might lose his father to illness as well.
Seeing his son's concern, Neung Cheonhwi quickly fixed his expression.
‘My heart almost couldn’t take it.’
Indeed. To Neung Cheonhwi, seeing his son after two years was as impactful as a supreme master's ultimate technique.
‘My wife! Our son! He is too adorable!’
Unaware of Neung Cheonhwi’s inner turmoil, Neung Baekdo spoke with sincerity.
“Father. Please don’t be sick. You have to live a long, long time.”
“Ugh!”
Clutching his heart again, Neung Cheonhwi said he was fine and drew his sword.
‘My wife! Our son! He’s so kind, too!’
He hadn’t been able to pay attention to his son because he was so busy with his duties as the Alliance Leader.
It was just an excuse, but he couldn't help it.
To rise to the position of Alliance Leader with no foundation other than his martial skill, and to carve out his own standing between the Nine Sects and the Five Great Families, was a feat that no one but Neung Cheonhwi could have accomplished.
But he had no intention of forcing his adult circumstances onto his son, who had yet to grow up.
No matter what anyone said, this was his fault as a parent.
‘I’ll do better from now on!’
The thought of having left such an adorable son alone filled him with regret for the lost time.
When he died and went to heaven, his wife would surely scold him.
To make up for all the time he had missed.
Neung Cheonhwi was determined to do it right today.
“The stages of martial arts can be broadly divided into six.”
“Yes, sir!”
Gathering his scattered thoughts, Neung Cheonhwi continued.
“Third-rate, second-rate, first-rate, peak, transcendent, and enlightenment.”
“Yes, sir!”
“These are the names of the stages I will now demonstrate for you.”
If anyone else had been present, they would have watched without blinking.
To witness a demonstration by the man closest to being the world's greatest martial artist was a fortuitous opportunity in itself.
Unfortunately, the little boy here didn't quite understand that.
However, Neung Baekdo's heart was pounding for a different reason than most people's.
‘Father is showing me martial arts for the first time!’
Neung Baekdo had worried that his father, busy with the affairs of the Murim Alliance, might find him a nuisance.
He was also afraid that he would be scolded for his recent actions.
—*It’s okay. There are no parents in this world who don’t love their children.*
He had only managed to muster his courage because of what his big brother had said.
To Neung Baekdo, his father was still an intimidating figure.
Even now, he flinched at every one of his father’s expressions and actions.
Still, Neung Baekdo resolved to be brave.
“First is the third-rate. Watch closely.”
Neung Baekdo answered energetically.
“Yes, sir!”
***
Neung Cheonhwi steadied his breath.
He meant what he had just said.
He planned to give a proper demonstration today.
When it comes to learning martial arts, the beginning is the most important.
First, I need to get rid of that damn rock.
That evil thing that dared to tempt my son!
Neung Cheonhwi lightly swung his sword down.
*Slice.*
The boulder split in half.
“The third-rate is merely the stage of swinging a sword.”
However, Neung Cheonhwi was unaware.
He had no idea what consequences his actions would bring in the future.
Though he himself didn't realize it, Neung Cheonhwi was a genius who might appear once in a hundred, no, two hundred years.
As a father, Neung Cheonhwi’s talent was close to third-rate, but as a martial artist, his talent was close to being the greatest in the world.
In other words, Neung Cheonhwi’s martial arts were already far beyond the standards of an ordinary person.
By the standards of the common world, a third-rate martial artist could never split a boulder with a single stroke.
“Yes, sir!”
A new concept was taking root in Neung Baekdo’s mind.
‘Third-rate means splitting a boulder in one strike!’
*Smirk.*
Smiling with satisfaction at the scene he had created, Neung Cheonhwi raised his sword again.
He could still see the rock. The one with a hole punched through its center.
“Stronger than before!”
“When you can impose the path of forms onto an untamed sword, that is the second-rate.”
*Slice!*
As the sword was drawn, the ground was gouged in a straight line, and the rock in front of him split into exactly four pieces.
Neung Cheonhwi didn't stop and immediately continued.
“Surpassing that!”
“When you can project your will into your forms and release what is called internal energy, that is the first-rate.”
*Vwoom.*
Neung Cheonhwi's sword hummed, and soon, a three-foot-long blade of sword qi shot out.
At that moment, a light gleamed in Neung Cheonhwi's eyes.
Heavenly Flow Shadowless Sword, First Form.
Creation from Nothingness.
A single line consumed the empty space.
The line moved as if alive, then vanished after felling four massive trees.
The trees touched by the line shattered into pieces all at once.
In that instant, Neung Cheonhwi's presence was markedly different from before.
Birds, sensing his aura, took flight in unison.
It was as if a natural disaster had struck.
Neung Baekdo also felt a chill run down his spine.
“The foundation for what comes next!”
“The preparatory stage to transcend the weak human body and become a superhuman, that is the peak. At this stage, one can wield sword qi at will.”
An unapproachable aura emanated from Neung Cheonhwi's body.
In the world, martial artists who reached the peak level were generally called masters.
The energy coiled around the sword Neung Cheonhwi raised was distorting the surrounding view like a heat haze shimmering in the hot summer.
This was a strange phenomenon caused by the energy, compressed to its limit, heating the surroundings.
Naturally, this was a sight that someone at the mere peak level could never produce.
Neung Cheonhwi swung his sword down.
Heavenly Flow Shadowless Sword, Second Form.
Forging a New Path.
The air itself split apart.
Everything in front of him vanished.
Its task completed, the sword qi remained, not yet dissipating.
And above Neung Cheonhwi's head, three flower buds were now floating.
“The starting point of a superhuman!”
“When Essence, Qi, and Spirit become one, and the body achieves perfect harmony, this stage is called the transcendent! It is also known as the Three Flowers Gather at the Summit!”
The blades of sword qi merged.
The boundaries between them blurred until they became one.
From it emanated an overwhelming energy, different from anything before.
Sword Aura.
The most powerful energy in the world manifested from him.
Heavenly Flow Shadowless Sword, Third Form.
The Principle of Life and Growth.
As the sword was drawn, everything in the space around Neung Cheonhwi turned to nothingness.
Soon, Neung Cheonhwi's eyes half-opened.
“And the stage that is the pinnacle of all things.”
The ideal and dream of every martial artist.
The martial artists known as the strongest in history all reached this stage, as did those who left their names in history.
“The stage where one transcends the limits of the human body to create a new one! Another name for Five Qis Return to the Origin!”
The flower buds above his head transformed.
Their shape changed into rings, and their number increased to five.
The sight was as if a celestial being had descended from the heavens.
“This is called the stage of enlightenment.”
Heavenly Flow Shadowless Sword, Secret Art.
Opening the Heavens.
In the space that had been emptied by Neung Cheonhwi's sword strike just moments ago, sprouts began to bloom, and around them, living creatures like butterflies and insects gathered.
The stage of creating life, not death, with the sword.
This was the Sword of Life.
Having exerted himself seriously for the first time in a while, Neung Cheonhwi wiped the sweat from his brow and looked at his son with expectant eyes.
“What do you think?”
Neung Baekdo said.
“I still think I like fists more than swords.”
And so it was.
No matter what one encounters, the first impression is the most important.
What Neung Cheonhwi had shown today was something any martial artist would foam at the mouth to see, but to the young Neung Baekdo, it was so far advanced that he couldn't even begin to comprehend what was what.
***
At that moment, Ha Yuseong gripped his sword and said.
“When it comes to martial arts, it has to be the sword!”