Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: penny
Chapter Title: The Beginning of Change (3)
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The first to step forward was Baek Ri-seol.
Following the advice to conceal the 'Phoenix Flame Heaven Dance' in front of others, she simply drew her twin swords.
"Instructor, this is Baek Ri-seol! White Crane Sword Dance! Here I go."
A clear voice like jade beads rolling.
But as the twin swords moved next, a chilling whoosh of cutting air echoed across the training ground.
Shuk!
The left sword thrust into the empty air.
Srrek!
The right sword slashed forward like lightning.
With a sharp whoosh, sword light flashed, and soon the quick strikes wove intricately in all directions.
Swish! Swish-swish-swish!
Swift swords extended as if dancing across the training ground.
They were so fast that the hands moving beneath her wide sleeves were invisible.
Pas! Passs!
Finally, faint lines etched into the training ground floor wherever the sword tips pointed.
Even without channeling inner energy, the dirt was pushed away by the sword's sharp intent.
Witnessing this, Jegal Tan's eyes widened.
'Sword wind!'
A phenomenon that occurs when swordsmanship reaches a profound realm, allowing extreme concentration of the sword's intent.
'Sword wind already...'
Jegal Tan's eyelids trembled.
An exquisite technique impossible to imitate without precise sword control.
Not something a trainee who had practiced for mere months could mimic.
Even in Silver Hall, only a handful could achieve such sword mastery.
'I have to acknowledge this girl's talent.'
But Baek Ri-seol's expression as she stopped was sullen.
"Hmm. It's not coming out like I envisioned."
"Sister, it looked fine to me."
"But the instructor drew much clearer lines so effortlessly."
With a pout, she swung her sword at the air several more times before stepping back with a dissatisfied look.
Leaving behind the words, "I still need more practice~."
'Needs more practice? That?'
Her personality was the worst, but her aptitude was truly remarkable.
Next up was Moyong So-hye.
"Hmm. After seeing Sister's swordsmanship, I'm embarrassed to show mine. But please bear with my lacking skills."
She clenched her fist tightly.
"Moyong So-hye! Martial art: Wooden Puppet Hundred Hands! I'll go all out!"
As she clenched her fist, Nangong Yun-ho tilted his head.
"Huh? Wasn't it Asura Destroying Heaven Hands?"
"I heard it was Blood Heaven Beast Art."
Moyong So-hye, who had just assumed her stance, flared up with a "Wah!"
"Lies! All lies! I hate names that drip with blood!"
Fine.
Just go with Wooden Puppet Hundred Hands.
In the silence of the two, Moyong So-hye, tears welling in her eyes, clenched her cute little fist.
In front of her stood the straw dummy they had dragged over earlier.
Thwack!
Just a small fist hitting it made the ironwood dummy's head shake violently.
Lightning-fast punches and palm strikes followed.
Puk! Pababa-pak!
With every graze of her fist, the dummy's limbs shook as if they might snap off.
'It's different again.'
Not the old Wooden Puppet Hundred Hands.
Now it incorporated joint locks and elbow techniques beyond punches and palms.
Pakak! Pakak!
Jegal Tan swallowed dryly at the sight of her striking the dummy as if her entire body were a weapon.
'My god.'
Krunch. Krujik.
Wood tore away like cotton.
Wajik.
Striking the neck with a palm and retracting, splinters clung to her hook-like tiny grip.
Kwaduk.
Combined with a joint lock on the armpit, the chest split open.
Ppobeobeok.
Brow, solar plexus, throat. And collarbone.
Merciless pummeling reduced the dummy to shreds.
In this ruthless onslaught, Nangong Yun-ho was convinced.
'It's a beast's martial art!'
Baek Ri-seol realized it too.
'Asura Destroying Heaven Hands!'
Kwaduduk.
Finally, Moyong So-hye pierced the dummy's chest with both hands and twisted her fists.
"What in the world..."
Hudududuk.
The pitiful dummy that had held on split into four pieces.
"...did I even learn?"
Kwaang.
Looking at the wooden remnants turning to toothpicks in her hands, Moyong So-hye teared up.
"How am I supposed to use this on a person?!"
Definitely overkill.
A martial art that would surely get you arrested on the spot if used on someone.
Nangong Yun-ho, regaining his composure, asked.
"What exactly happened?"
"Well..."
Moyong So-hye recounted her conversation with the instructor.
"Good work. Blood Absorption Manual. This will make Asura Destroying Heaven Hands even stronger."
"Give me back my Wooden Puppet Hundred Hands!"
"However, your hands will now be as cruel as demons risen from hell, so you must learn to stop the chain attacks at will."
"Whoa—there's a way?"
"You'll have to figure it out."
"I can't! It's impossible!"
"If you can't, you'll turn your friends into bloody pulp."
"...That's what he said. Hic. Hic."
The three fell silent at Moyong So-hye's tearful words.
Because it sounded just like their usual instructor.
Baek Ri-seol comforted Moyong So-hye.
"First off, you should stop using full power. You'd get arrested for sure."
Even the awkward Nangong Yun-ho joined in.
"Like the instructor said, learn to halt the forms midway."
"Okay."
Huhk. Huhk.
Moyong So-hye sniffled for a good while.
Finally, Nangong Yun-ho stepped up.
"Nangong Yun-ho. I will demonstrate the first three forms of Divine Martial Swordsmanship."
Jegal Tan, who had been listening, asked.
"Yun-ho. Aren't you learning Clear Wind Swordsmanship? It's the Nangong Family's basic sword art—surely better than plain Divine Martial Swordsmanship?"
"Well... The instructor told me to seal all other martial arts for the time being and only use the first three forms of Divine Martial Swordsmanship."
The instructor again?
'What is he thinking...'
It was an utterly inscrutable instruction, but Jegal Tan stepped back obediently.
"Here I go."
Srung.
Nangong Yun-ho drew his sword.
And plainly slashed at the air.
- Single Stroke Vertical Slash.
A straight frontal cut.
- Wind Scattering Horizontal Sweep.
Next, the sword tip dropped to sweep horizontally through the air.
- Clear Wind Moon Slash.
Finally, scraping the ground then an overhead slash into the air.
Very familiar three forms.
Jegal Tan's evaluation of the demonstration was succinct.
"Clean."
"Very clean."
Baek Ri-seol and Moyong So-hye agreed.
But that was it.
Nangong Yun-ho turned and asked.
"Still lackluster, huh?"
"It was textbook perfect, like a drawing."
"Meaning nothing standout."
"Divine Martial Swordsmanship is the most basic of basics."
Even clever Jegal Tan couldn't find further praise.
"I see."
"Now that you've mastered the flow unlike before, how about referencing a slightly different sword art?"
"No, it's fine."
Srung.
As he sheathed his sword, Nangong Yun-ho replied.
"I have to trust and follow. He's not the type to teach without reason."
"Urgh. Is that so?"
To Jegal Tan, the instructor seemed mostly sloppy.
Made of eighty parts laziness, ten parts hunger. Willpower barely one part.
His skills were mysteriously profound, but he spent most of his training ground time snoring asleep, right?
It looked exactly like thoughtless instruction, yet Nangong Yun-ho's faith seemed rock-solid.
'If this guy believes it, nothing to be done.'
It was then.
Baek Ri-seol beside him furrowed her brow, eyes narrowing intently.
"What's wrong, Sister?"
"Nothing. I just had a sense of déjà vu."
Déjà vu?
Puzzled, but Jegal Tan soon lost interest.
Dealing with that sharp-tongued girl came after comforting his dejected friend.
'I wasn't planning to step in...'
Sring.
Drawing his sword, Jegal Tan said.
"If you've made up your mind, fine. But my Phantom Swordsmanship is the opposite style. Unlike simple, stable Divine Martial Swordsmanship, it lacks stability but is flashy and dazzling. Sparring an opposing style might help your training. What do you say?"
"Sounds good to me. Thanks."
The two faced each other.
Exchanging gazes thick with trust, they clashed.
"Sister. Shall we start too?"
Chaeng! Chaechaeng!
Passionate clashes of steel rang unceasingly across the training ground.
A few days later.
As dusk settled, Chu Un-hwi returned to his room and sighed deeply.
"Ugh. Another wasted effort."
He trudged in and stared blankly at the wall.
Beyond the wall, left unrepaired due to Yeo Mae-hong's opposition, there was no sign of life.
"Still not done?"
He'd heard that lately, with the winds of change started by Lone Eye Divine Sword, overtime was common.
Maybe even tonight, brainstorming new training methods.
"I don't get why everyone seeks out hardship."
Tsk tsk tsk.
Shaking his head, he halted his steps.
Time to surrender completely to the bed's comfort.
"Sleep really is addictive."
How had he survived without it before?
All thanks to Heavenly Destruction Society.
Recalling the past, he chuckled softly.
"...All in the past."
Or never to return.
Just enjoy the present pleasures.
Fidget fidget.
As he slithered out of his Bronze Hall uniform like shedding skin and crawled into bed.
"Hm?"
His sharp hearing caught something.
A distant sound, but identifying it was easy.
He'd been hearing it for days now. Just different today.
The ring of steel was distinct.
Perking his ears, Chu Un-hwi chuckled.
"Finally getting the feel?"
Told you it takes hands-on work.
Muttering, he rose.
The bed, just starting to warm, was tempting.
"Gotta play instructor sometimes, right? Earn that paycheck."
Thung.
His toes on the windowsill, and in an instant, Chu Un-hwi's form soared dozens of feet away.
Darkness swallowed his silhouette instantly.
Chaeng! Chaechaeng!
"Huff! Huff!"
Jegal Tan staggered back, pushed away.
His breath rose to his throat.
Not just stamina—his cherished inner energy had long depleted.
Yet Jegal Tan stood again.
Dusted with dirt, he raised his sword, spotting Nangong Yun-ho still steadfast in the darkness.
"Ha. Ha. Unreal."
The change had come suddenly.
Until recently, Nangong Yun-ho could barely fend off Phantom Swordsmanship.
Then, at some point, it shifted.
Yesterday, he began blocking it bit by bit; now, even his stance had changed.
'Such explosive growth in so short a time?'
In the end, Jegal Tan drew his hidden ace.
- Azure Flame True Art.
A breathing technique the instructor said would aid Phantom Swordsmanship.
This would leave even stronger, flashier sword afterimages.
The suspicious instructor hadn't stopped there.
Illusion Gaze Bewitching Formation to deceive distance.
Myriad Transformation Illusion Formation to create phantoms.
Even Hidden Presence Art to erase presence and form.
No idea how he knew such things, but it allowed fooling sword length, creating illusions, and concealing trajectories.
'This should be enough.'
Who in the world could pinpoint the real blade amid a sword that arbitrarily lengthens and splits into countless illusions?
"My god! The sword vanished!"
"That's... Phantom Swordsmanship?"
Even the watching Moyong So-hye and Baek Ri-seol were stunned.
But it was an illusion.
Zzah!
A simple horizontal slash cut through the phantoms.