Chapter 243: Young Palace Master Baek Seo-jun (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 243: Young Palace Master Baek Seo-jun (1)
After returning to the Namgung Clan from the Imperial Palace, Seo-jun focused all his efforts on finalizing the Namgung Lineage. He intended to complete it before departing for the North Sea Ice Palace.
After a few days of work, the final structure turned out much simpler than he had originally planned.
‘A 10-star or 12-star completion would have looked cleaner, though.’
That had been his initial goal, but by the time he finished, the number of stages had actually decreased. Only five manuals remained in total.
The first manual, representing the 1st-star realm, was the Azure Lightning Heart Method.
This was an auxiliary martial art meant to be learned alongside the basic Lightning Heart Method. It increased the speed of Qi accumulation, allowing for much faster growth than before.
There was no specific manual for the 2nd-star realm. Instead, the techniques learned within each specific branch of the clan took its place.
Depending on the unique characteristics of their branch, disciples would learn various sword techniques, footwork, and heart methods. Once they reached a certain level of proficiency in those foundational skills, they would move on to the next stage.
That led to the 3rd-star realm: the Thirteen Lightning Sword Forms.
At this stage, one simply had to follow the instructions. It was a process of becoming accustomed to the sensation of Sword Qi and the volatile nature of Heavenly Thunder Qi while practicing the forms.
Once a disciple successfully manifested Sword Qi on their own, they advanced to the 4th-star realm.
The 4th-star realm was the stage of Minor Heavenly Thunder.
Since the newly created martial art was named Minor Heavenly Thunder, he simply named the stage after it. As the name suggested, it served as a stepping stone for the Heavenly Thunder Demon-Extinguishing Art they would learn later. It included methods for manipulating Sword Qi and several advanced techniques for handling internal energy.
‘The 4th-star realm will probably be the biggest hurdle.’
To perform the Life and Death Breakthrough Art, which served as the 5th-star realm, one needed to be fully prepared.
Disciples would likely spend a long time at the 4th-star stage. If they grew impatient and recklessly attempted the Life and Death Breakthrough Art, a catastrophe could occur.
Of course, since this was the Namgung Clan, such a foolish mistake was unlikely.
From the start, Seo-jun had no intention of allowing anyone who wasn't ready to even access the manual for the Life and Death Breakthrough Art.
Anyway, after pushing through all that, one finally reached the 6th-star realm: the Heavenly Thunder Demon-Extinguishing Art.
Even for those who didn't specialize in Qi arts, it was incredibly useful as a support technique. Since they would have already become somewhat familiar with its foundations while learning Minor Heavenly Thunder, mastering it wouldn't be too difficult.
If they managed to follow along this far…
"Congratulations on your graduation~!"
Seo-jun clapped his hands.
"Is this the finished version?" Chun-bong asked.
Seo-jun nodded.
"Yeah. I originally wanted to add more stuff, you know? But when I thought about it, there are just too many different paths once you reach this level."
Usually, once someone reached the Super Peak Realm, there wasn't much even a master could do for them.
It was a realm that had already surpassed the peak of human potential. From that point on, a martial artist had to forge their own path.
"The Namgung Clan has plenty of different martial arts anyway. They can just pick whatever suits them best and learn that."
He also planned to add a specialized Qi art to the Heavenly Martial Pavilion soon.
Perhaps in the future, a specialized combat unit focused entirely on Qi arts might even be formed.
He was quite looking forward to that.
* * *
"Hooo… Hooooo…!"
Namgung Baek, the Chief of the Heavenly Martial Pavilion, bit his lip as he received the manuals for the Namgung Lineage.
Flip, flip!
His hands moved faster and faster as he turned the pages. Eventually, his face turned beet red. He stomped his feet in excitement before—Thud!—he slammed the manual shut, a refreshing smile spreading across his lips.
It was a pure, radiant smile, as if he had cast off all one hundred and eight worldly agonies.
"Hehe…"
Letting out a sage-like chuckle, Namgung Baek quickly transcribed the five manuals.
He classified the newly created Minor Heavenly Thunder as an Earth-grade Divine Art, and added the new content to the Azure Lightning Heart Method, the Thirteen Lightning Sword Forms, and the Heavenly Thunder Demon-Extinguishing Art.
Since the Heavenly Thunder Demon-Extinguishing Art had already been classified as an Earth-grade Divine Art, mastering the Namgung Lineage up to the 6th-star realm meant a disciple would have learned a total of three Earth-grade Divine Arts and two Human-grade Divine Arts.
‘But the Namgung Lineage isn't just a collection of several Divine Arts crammed together.’
Every single technique followed a single, unified path. That meant the Namgung Lineage was essentially one singular Divine Art composed of five separate parts.
Reviewing the flow from the 1st to the 6th-star realm once more, Namgung Baek trembled as a shiver ran down his spine.
"Ugh…!"
Phew. Taking a deep breath, Namgung Baek’s eyes flashed. Clutching the original copies of the Namgung Lineage to his chest, he walked down an unfamiliar path.
An unfamiliar space within the Heavenly Martial Pavilion for its own Chief?
It sounded absurd. No matter how large the pavilion was, it was like Namgung Baek’s own bedroom. He knew the location of every single object within its walls. It was impossible for there to be a space he didn't know.
However, even Namgung Baek had never walked this specific path for official business.
He could guarantee it. The previous Chief, and the one before him—every single person who had held the position of Chief of the Heavenly Martial Pavilion throughout Namgung history—had only ever looked upon this place from afar.
But not anymore.
"Phew…"
His breathing grew heavy with a strange tremor. Namgung Baek’s pace quickened. Eventually, he was almost running as he reached the deepest part of the Heavenly Martial Pavilion.
"A Heaven-grade Divine Art…"
His eyes trembled as he looked at an empty bookshelf.
‘To think the day would come when this spot is filled.’
A place reserved solely for Heaven-grade Divine Arts.
Namgung Baek carefully placed the original copies of the Namgung Lineage into the empty space.
"Ah, finally…!"
With this, the Namgung Lineage became one of only two Heaven-grade Divine Arts in the Namgung Clan, alongside the Emperor Sword Form.
However, the Emperor Sword Form was not kept in the Heavenly Martial Pavilion. Since it was a technique passed down only to the Family Head and the Young Family Head, the manual was kept by the Family Head himself.
Therefore, the Namgung Lineage was the first Heaven-grade Divine Art to be officially placed within the Heavenly Martial Pavilion.
"Ehehehe…"
Namgung Baek crouched down in front of the bookshelf where he had placed the Namgung Lineage. A silly, wide grin was plastered on his face. He couldn't help but laugh just by looking at it.
Just what kind of world was the Young Master… no, the Grand Master seeing that allowed him to churn out such Divine Arts so easily?
He had never imagined the Grand Master would eventually go as far as creating a Heaven-grade Divine Art from scratch.
‘I cannot even begin to guess what the world looks like through his eyes…’
But what did that matter?
This was a historical moment where the entire martial arts system of the Namgung Clan was being transformed by a single person—the Grand Master of Namgung. Namgung Baek had never felt more ecstatic to be the Chief of the Heavenly Martial Pavilion.
"Oh my, look how beautiful you are…"
Namgung Baek was certain. As time passed and the martial artists who learned the Namgung Lineage reached their prime, the Namgung Clan would undeniably become the Greatest Clan Under Heaven.
Imagining a clan filled with Super Peak martial artists, Namgung Baek quietly closed his eyes in front of the Namgung Lineage manuals.
"Ehehehe…"
In his dreams, Namgung Baek became the happy Chief of the Heavenly Martial Pavilion, managing dozens of Heaven-grade Divine Arts.
* * *
"You’re going to the North Sea Ice Palace?" Namgung Su-ah asked as she brewed tea.
Seo-jun used Void Object Grasping and Astral Qi to dispose of the leftover food scraps. He neatly stacked the plates—now as clean as if they were brand new—in one place before answering.
"Yeah. I thought I might find something there."
He had already shared the story he heard from the Emperor with Chun-bong and Namgung Su-ah.
Knowing the circumstances, Namgung Su-ah couldn't stop him. Since the group known as the God-Destroying Association had wiped out the Geum family, his relationship with Geum Mae could be severely damaged if things went wrong.
For that reason, Namgung Su-ah carefully observed Chun-bong’s reaction. Wearing a serious expression, Chun-bong was staring silently at Seo-jun.
"You."
"Yeah?"
"Why do you use Void Object Grasping so casually? I heard the internal energy efficiency for that technique is terrible."
Namgung Su-ah’s eyes darted back and forth at the completely unexpected topic.
Seo-jun gave a short laugh.
"That’s just because other people aren't good at using it. It’s actually super convenient."
Since reaching the Transcendent Realm, Seo-jun handled most menial tasks using Void Object Grasping.
It really was convenient.
Since he was already maintaining a faint Domain at all times, he could perform various chores much more easily than using his hands, even with his eyes closed.
"I’m jealous…"
Chun-bong stroked her chin with a serious look. Watching her with a faint smile, Seo-jun scooped her up in his arms.
"Why are you trying to change the subject again?"
"…W-what do you mean?"
"You don't have to feel burdened. The Geum family’s business is my business, too."
Chun-bong bit her lip. Her mouth twitched a few times as if she wanted to say something, before she finally spoke.
"…It’s not like that. I’m just worried it might be dangerous."
"It probably won't be that dangerous."
The power of the Black Lotus Union had been significantly weakened. Although the North Sea Ice Palace was technically part of the union, it was located far to the northwest.
Looking at the current map of influences, the Ice Palace was actually closer to the Demonic Cult than the Black Lotus Union.
"The Giryeon Sect was the closest thing to them, but they’re gone now."
He had wiped them out himself.
Furthermore, after the incident with the Divine Priestess, the Ice Palace Master was currently suffering from Qi Deviation. The North Sea Ice Palace was completely isolated.
The people of the Ice Palace were likely trembling in anxiety, watching to see how the Righteous Faction or the Demonic Cult would react.
"That’s exactly when the Young Palace Master makes his grand return. The Young Palace Master, having reached the Transcendent Realm, saves the North Sea Ice Palace from crisis."
Even if it were written as a novel, didn't that sound like a pretty decent plot?
"If I play my cards right, they might even cooperate on their own."
Of course, Seo-jun knew the chances of that were slim. The Ice Palace Master would probably suffer another bout of Qi Deviation just by looking at Baek Seo-jun’s face.
However, there was no need to mention the possibility of having to fight the North Sea Ice Palace right here.
"Anyway, as long as I use my words well, we won't have to trade blows."
"…As if you’d actually do that."
Chun-bong pouted. She knew Lee Seo-jun very well.
It wasn't that he was stupid, but he rarely bothered to use his head in the first place.
She didn't know the details, but it wouldn't be surprising at all if he ran into a wall at the Ice Palace and decided to proceed with the mindset of, ‘Maybe if I hit it, something will come out.’
Geum Chun-bong, who held a metaphorical PhD in Lee Seo-jun Behavioral Studies, could guarantee it.
"Hey, the New Lee Seo-jun is different! You need to rewrite your theories."
"Then…"
Chun-bong started to say something but shook her head.
"…Never mind."
"What?"
There are two main ways to make someone angry. One is to stop talking in the middle of a sentence…
"You brat…!"
An enraged Seo-jun launched a merciless barrage of kisses on Geum Chun-bong’s cheeks, but she refused to open her mouth.
Instead, she bit her lip, feeling a sense of self-loathing at her own thoughts.
‘I was going to tell him to make a baby before he leaves…’
She had thought that having a child might make him more responsible and cautious, but then she realized it was a terrible thing to do to both the child and her brother.
Wasn't that just using a child as a tool?
If she said something like that, it might become a jinx and cause things to go wrong.
"It’s nothing. But you, don't you dare forget that we’re getting married this coming spring, okay?"
"If I forget that, I’ll really become Geum Chun-bong’s younger brother. I’m not that bad."
Besides, this trip wouldn't take that long anyway.
"I’ll be back soon, so make sure you behave while I’m gone, okay?"
Seo-jun squeezed Chun-bong’s cheeks with both hands and used Void Object Grasping to pull a book from his robe.
Namgung Su-ah caught the book as it flew toward her. A peculiar title was written on the cover.
‘Namgung Discriminator’
A look of confusion appeared in Namgung Su-ah’s eyes.
"What is this?"
"I forgot to give it to you last time. Could you deliver that to the Chief of the Heavenly Martial Pavilion for me?"
It was nothing major. In a way, it was an extension of the Namgung Lineage.
Now that he had established the framework for the path the Namgung martial artists would walk, wouldn't it be much easier to select those with the appropriate talent?
He would start with Anhui Province. This manual would be a huge help in gathering talents worthy of the Namgung name.
* * *
That day, Namgung Baek, the Chief of the Heavenly Martial Pavilion, briefly saw the path to Ascension.
"Gasp…!"
For some reason, he felt like he had seen the face of the previous Family Head.
* * *
Seo-jun didn't dawdle. It wouldn't take long to reach the North Sea anyway.
After giving a brief explanation to Namgung Myeong, he immediately left the clan estate.
And so, the North Sea.
The rightful heir revealed himself upon the white, frozen earth.
"Open the gates. I, Young Palace Master Baek Seo-jun, have returned."