Hall of Jade and Memory
When I offered a greeting, the reactions split cleanly in two.
"S-Sojin? Ah…."
Namgung Hye, who had been straightening her clothes the moment she saw me, blushed red as a ripe tomato and lowered her head shyly.
"Cheon Sojin, you bastard… what are you doing here?"
Namgung Jin, on the other hand, wore a disgusted expression and burned with open hostility.
What do you mean, what am I doing here?
That was what I wanted to ask him.
Why the hell were you here?
You weren’t fit to go out to the Central Plains yet; you still needed more training.
"……."
I had only greeted them because there was no way around meeting them.
Honestly, Namgung Jin wasn’t even worth my attention. The greeting had been for Namgung Hye anyway.
I shrugged one shoulder without a word and started up the stairs.
"Hah, that bastard… you’re ignoring me? You were just lucky last time. Cheon Sojin, you’re still beneath me."
A bastard who lost a fight was always the loudest.
Maybe he still hadn’t gotten over the humiliation in the main lecture hall, because he was glaring at me with his eyes slit thin.
Jesus.
He was exhausting.
He fell because of his own mistake, and now he was blaming me? There was no bigger idiot.
Hell, there had been a huge gap between Second-rate and Peak level back then too.
And that kind of fool was the young master of the Namgung family…
Now that my own martial power had reached the Tenth Blossom, giving Namgung Jin a lesson would have been no trouble at all. The only thing that gave me pause was the thought of beating down a blood relative right in front of her.
I should probably keep it light and stop at a warning.
"Looks like I’m going to have terrible luck all day. I mean, I saw you first thing in the morning, Cheon Sojin."
Whether he understood my thoughts or not, the idiot kept running his mouth.
A pathetic provocation.
"……."
That was when I sensed something odd.
Namgung Jin must have known full well that, on his own, he couldn’t do a thing to me. Yet he was absurdly confident, and that made him suspicious.
Hadn’t I already dealt with those two self-important cadets yesterday?
No way…
My mind flashed back to Tang Soyeong coming to see me last night.
"Well, fine. Sojin. I have something I want to talk about for a moment. Could you spare me some time?"
I had thought she’d just come to bore me with ridiculous conditions and pointless chatter, but if she’d gotten properly chewed out by that bastard, then things were different.
Did she already get Namokcheolgeom?
The Namgung family’s famous sword—one that had taken countless lives among the righteous martial artists of the Central Plains.
It was a peerless divine weapon so exceptional that even Blood-Ripple Hand, one of the Blood Sect elders, had admired it after taking it into his hands.
I could already picture Tang Soyeong getting defeated by the bastard and pouting in outrage, nearly in tears.
I knew it was only a matter of time, but…
I thought she’d bring it to me around the time of the martial match…
That probably just showed how enormous the Namgung family’s expectations for their young master were.
Which was good for me.
It meant an opportunity to get my hands on Namokcheolgeom had opened up.
Still, it’d be best to win the life-and-death match, right?
It was a little annoying, but I needed to start planning things now.
A weapon worth that much trouble.
Until I obtained the Heavenly Sword, it would be extremely useful.
"Heh heh."
Namgung Jin rested a hand on his scabbard and laughed with obvious confidence. Looking at his eyes, it seemed like he was ready to draw his sword at any moment.
Having beaten Tang Soyeong, he had that arrogant, frivolous air again, the same as when I’d first met him.
"……"
I never avoided a fight that came my way.
Especially not in a situation like this.
If he wanted to try something, that suited me just fine.
Even if the power of Namokcheolgeom exceeded my expectations, once I had mastered Pungsinbo, dodging his attacks would be child’s play.
Maybe I should provoke him a little.
And then, at that very moment, Namgung Hye lifted her head and glared at Namgung Jin with eyes full of killing intent.
"Jin big brother."
She called to him in a voice so cold it felt like ice—no, colder than ice.
"W-What is it, Hye?"
Maybe it was because of her unfamiliar tone. Namgung Jin turned his head and flinched at her presence, his body trembling.
"To think the young master of the Namgung family would make such a low-grade provocation and even try to strike first… I’m disappointed."
"What are you talking about? Stop interfering for no reason and…"
"Stop it right now. If you don’t, I’ll tell Uncle everything, including what happened last time."
"What? Why are you suddenly…"
Frowning hard, Namgung Jin glanced at me once before grinding his teeth.
He didn’t want to show weakness in front of me.
I could have stepped in, but I stayed quiet, because I had a pretty good idea where this was going.
"Do what you want. I’m the man who’ll carry the Namgung family one day. I won’t bend my will over something this trivial…"
"Oh? Then it’ll be very interesting when I stand behind Big Brother Chang at the next family council."
Namgung Hye crossed her arms and gave him a cold, contemptuous smile.
"W-What! Namgung Hye…! You dare!"
"Think carefully. I believe you’re wise, Jin big brother, so I’m sure you’ll make the right choice."
The guy’s face turned blue with indignation.
"N-No, why are you doing this all of a sudden? You never said anything when I fought the other cadets!"
At his grief-stricken cry, she stole a sidelong glance at me.
Why were they both checking my reaction?
"I-Is that the same thing as now? Anyway! Do as you please!"
"E-even if you side with Chang now, it won’t change the fact that I’ll become the young master!!"
"If you’re so sure, then go ahead and try."
"……."
She chided him in a calm voice, like a parent soothing a foolish child.
"And we don’t have time for this. Didn’t Master tell you to bring only the trustworthy members? There’ll be other chances to fight, won’t there?"
So that’s the end of it.
Once she’d even given him a respectable excuse to save face, he couldn’t keep digging in his heels.
Though it was a little disappointing that I hadn’t gotten to see his real skills.
"…Cheon Sojin, I’ll let this slide for today, but if we meet again…"
"Hurry up and go!"
After she shouted at him, he looked thoroughly offended and stormed back down the stairs without even looking over his shoulder.
"Sojin, my idiot… no, that brute was rude to you. Uncle spoiled him too much, so he has no manners."
"Not at all. Thanks to Namgung young lady, things passed without incident."
I greeted her politely with a martial salute.
"I… may have overstepped, but I hope you weren’t offended."
How perceptive.
"Young lady, not at all. Please don’t worry about it."
"You were looking out for me? Thank you. …I was a little worried, so I acted without thinking."
"……."
"That brute’s sword at his waist wasn’t an ordinary weapon."
Of course. She had probably worried that I might not realize the significance of Namokcheolgeom and end up in trouble because of it.
I’ll try to tempt him into it the next time I meet him alone.
As long as Namgung Jin had the sword, the opportunity would come around eventually.
"I only caught a brief look, but it was clearly an excellent weapon."
"As expected of Sojin! You recognized the sword’s value from such a short glance…."
I already knew it, though.
And I certainly couldn’t tell her that I was the one who had forced that bastard to bring it to me.
"I was lucky."
"Such modesty… That is Namokcheolgeom, a divine weapon passed down only to the family head from generation to generation. It amplifies internal energy and helps the flow run smoothly."
Even if it was handed over from him, it was the kind of weapon that would inevitably bring trouble later.
Just as I thought.
From the beginning, I had planned to use it only until I found the Heavenly Sword, then return it.
That was, of course, provided the Namgung family still existed by then.
Anyway, she spoke to me about the family’s secret as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Was that really okay to tell me?
"I had no idea such a peerless weapon existed. That’s terrifying. But, Namgung young lady, is it really all right to tell an outsider like me such a secret?"
Namgung Hye trembled all over, lowered her head, and muttered to herself.
"Because you’ll soon be my husband. Heeheeheehee…."
She was clearly imagining something happy, and the way she laughed childishly was rather adorable.
"Young lady? Are you all right?"
"Huh!? Ah! It’s nothing. But… Sojin, do you perhaps like that?"
What was her intention?
Could it be…?
"Isn’t it only natural for a martial artist? I’d be shameless to deny it, but yes, I like it."
"Really?"
Her eyes curved into crescent moons, and she smiled as brightly as a flower in spring.
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"You came sooner than I expected."
"I barely slept last night thinking about entering the Hall of Jade and Memory."
"Hoho, zeal is a fine thing. It makes me happy to see you so eager."
"I won’t waste the opportunity Master gave me."
After parting with Namgung Hye, I followed him deeper past the main training yard, continuing inward.
Her words still lingered in my mind, but it was something time would answer on its own.
The atmosphere has changed. A formation? And beyond that… mechanical arrays too…
"From here on, be careful not to lose me and follow closely."
After another quarter-hour or so, we passed a huge towering tree, and a vast training ground spread out before me.
The signboard read…
"Hall of Jade and Memory."
"That’s right. This is the place."
So it’s this large. I hadn’t expected that.
With no disturbances, it was the perfect place to train my martial techniques.
Master Raeji, hands clasped behind his back, looked around and said, "There shouldn’t be anyone in the outer chamber right now, so use whichever space you like. However, the inner chamber is occupied by the Second Hall manager, so don’t approach it."
The Second Hall overseeing master, huh…
"Understood."
I had no intention of wasting time on nonsense, because time was too precious.
"But you must remember to come find me no later than thirty days from now, since you’ll have to set out for the Central Plains. And when you leave here, you must depart from the west gate."
"I’ll keep that in mind."
"Then I’ll be on my way. It’s not a long stay, but I hope you make progress in your martial arts."
With that, Master Raeji vanished in a flash.
So this is the north gate.
Since I was here to train, I had no reason to go anywhere far.
Once inside the building, I changed at once into plain training clothes.
From now on I’d be working on techniques and their deeper principles, so it was only a matter of time before my clothes turned to rags.
What, you ask why not just train naked?
Stop right there.
I don’t have that kind of exhibitionist fetish.
Anyway, I should start by relearning the Sun-and-Moon Mad Dragon Seal.
Never in my life had I expected to be doing this again…
Then—
"Hmm-hmm~ hmm-hmm~ hmm-hmmm♪"
Someone was humming as they walked this way.
I was told the Second Hall manager wouldn’t be coming out of my room?
This was getting troublesome.
Still, if anything happened, Master Raeji would bear all the responsibility, so I had nothing to fear.
Rattle—
"Helloooo…."
I didn’t manage to finish the sentence.
Fine, I admit it. I was a little startled.
That face… I was sure I’d seen it somewhere.
I met the eyes of a girl with a milk-white body and pronounced curves.
"……."
"……."
She looked nice enough.
"Kya—"
I never would have imagined there’d be someone training naked.
"Kyaaaahhhhhhh!!!"
The black-haired girl let out a shriek at the top of her lungs.
Why are you screaming when you were the one who came into my room?
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