Chapter 3
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: We Have the Sword of Completion (1)
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Jeok-sam gasped for breath. His body was covered in blood, and his sword was nowhere to be seen.
Inside the gambling den, five warriors of the Gyeongmun Sect stood before Jeok-sam, each holding a sword.
Yet, it was the Gyeongmun warriors who looked worse for wear. Their faces were pale as they remained on high alert.
“Damn it, if I knew this would happen, I should've learned properly from our Child Instructor.”
“This crazy bastard… to cut down ten of our Gyeongmun Sect warriors… Who the hell are you?”
A large man with a vicious expression asked.
He was Yi Ik-hyeon, the strongest master of the Gyeongmun Sect.
He alone was a formidable opponent for Jeok-sam.
“Who am I? Well, a member of the watch protecting Yimunhyeon Street… no, that’s not it. I am Jeok-sam, a disciple of Instructor Jin Je-yong.”
“Jin Je-yong? Who’s that? Anyone know him?”
Hearing the unfamiliar name, Yi Ik-hyeon asked his subordinates.
But they, too, had never heard the name Jin Je-yong.
Jeok-sam answered Yi Ik-hyeon on behalf of the Gyeongmun warriors, who were shaking their heads.
“He is the Sword of Completion.”
* * *
“Ptoo! What did this bastard say?”
Yi Ik-hyeon, the master of the Gyeongmun Sect, spat on Jeok-sam’s head as he asked.
He nudged the unconscious Jeok-sam with his foot, checking his condition. Blood was gurgling from Jeok-sam’s stomach.
“Wait, this guy can’t possibly be a disciple of the Sword of Completion, the Azure Sky Sword Saint, right?”
Yi Ik-hyeon glared at the fallen Jeok-sam with narrowed eyes.
Ten Gyeongmun Sect warriors had been taken down by a man with no internal energy.
“Brother, isn't the Azure Sky Sword Saint another title for the Namgung Clan's Azure Sky Sword King? Besides, if this man were from the Namgung Clan, we wouldn't have stood a chance. He must have been bluffing. And he clearly said his master was Jin Je-yong.”
“Right, of course. He’s not wearing the Namgung Clan’s distinctive attire, he has no identification token, and he hasn't learned any martial arts.”
The former patriarch of the Namgung Clan, the Azure Sky Sword Saint, held one of the Seven King positions among the Twenty-Two Masters Under Heaven. He was also known as the Azure Sky Sword King.
Therefore, a disciple of the Azure Sky Sword Saint would naturally be a member of the Namgung Clan.
Jeok-sam, on the other hand, was dressed in coarse hemp clothes, a far cry from a martial artist. The sword he had wielded was one he had taken from a Gyeongmun warrior.
“And if this man were from the Namgung Clan, things wouldn't have turned out this way.”
A small, unorthodox sect like Gyeongmun couldn't even handle a mere snort from the Namgung Clan.
No matter how he looked at it, Jeok-sam did not seem to be a member of the Namgung Clan. If he were his disciple, it wouldn't be Jeok-sam who was beaten by Yi Ik-hyeon, but the entire Gyeongmun Sect that would have been annihilated.
“Still, just in case, take him with us. Make sure he’s treated so he doesn't die.”
Yi Ik-hyeon said, glaring at Jeok-sam.
He intended to keep him as a hostage to prepare for a one-in-a-million chance.
Since ten of his men had been beaten to a pulp, he had to get some compensation for the trouble.
“The Azure Sky Sword Saint might have taught him a few moves for fun.”
* * *
‘How can I make my master’s name known?’
Few people knew what a great man my master was. Only myself and the other disciples at the school, really.
Our numbers barely exceeded twenty, hardly enough to spread his name across the Central Plains.
First, I left my beloved hometown to inform the other disciples of my master's passing.
“Master Jin, who did you say was in Yimunhyeon?”
“Jeok-sam. He was my first disciple.”
At Yi Geum-yeong’s question, I thought of Jeok-sam, the first disciple I had ever taken.
My skills had been too lacking to teach others back then. Not just in the sword, but also in my judgment of people.
At the time, I taught with the assumption that everyone was like me.
Thanks to that, Jeok-sam didn't even last three months before he put down his sword.
‘I think I could teach him better now.’
Fifteen years had already passed since then. The twenty-five-year-old instructor, unlike the ten-year-old child instructor, had learned how to moderate his pace.
Because of that, my other disciples were able to train under me for several years.
“Your first disciple, so you must have taken him on when you were ten? Then his age would be…”
“He should be thirty now. He’s exactly five years older than me.”
“And now?”
“He travels all over the Central Plains as a merchant, selling goods. I sent a letter to inform him of my master’s passing, but the timing was off, and he couldn't make it to the funeral.”
Still, word had somehow reached him, and we had arranged to meet in Yimunhyeon.
Yimunhyeon was nestled at the foot of Mount Meokgol, visible as soon as one descended from the mountain.
This place was also a rural village, but it was two or three times larger than Sinnae Village.
This was likely because it was more accessible than Sinnae Village, which required crossing another mountain from the main road.
Perhaps for that reason, Yimunhyeon had an inn, a tavern, and even entertainment facilities like a gambling den, none of which existed in Sinnae Village.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been to Yimunhyeon. When I was young, my master would buy me sweets whenever we came here…”
But the last time I had visited Yimunhyeon was five years ago.
I hadn't left the village since my master had become bedridden.
“Child Instructor!”
As I was looking for Jeok-sam’s house, his mother opened the door and appeared, as if she had been waiting.
I bowed my head respectfully toward her.
“Oh, Mother Jeok-sam, it’s been a long time. Have you been well? Is Jeok-sam inside? Or has he not arrived yet?”
“It’s not that, Child Instructor. Our… our Sam-ie came home, but he hasn't come back inside!”
Jeok-sam’s mother said, her eyes welling up with tears.
I thought he might have gone out for groceries, but it seemed that wasn't the case.
I soothed Jeok-sam’s mother and asked.
“What do you mean? Are you saying Jeok-sam came home, or that he hasn’t arrived yet?”
“Child Instructor, Sam-ie did come home four days ago. But with those Gyeongmun Sect boys acting up lately, he went out saying he’d do something about it and hasn’t come back. It’s been three days already.”
Jeok-sam’s mother said, clutching my sleeve tightly.
Seeing her crying face, the situation seemed more serious than I had thought.
‘What did he think he could do when he never even learned swordsmanship properly…’
Jeok-sam had learned swordsmanship under me for only three months. Naturally, he had only done basic sword training, and even that was fifteen years ago.
He had never properly learned an internal energy cultivation technique or any forms, let alone the esoteric principles of the Three Talents Sword Art.
“Mother, please don’t worry too much. For now, go inside and rest. We’ll go look for him. You said the Gyeongmun Sect?”
“Ch-Child Instructor, this old woman is so worried…”
The elderly mother of Jeok-sam was panting so hard, it seemed she might pass away before we could even find him.
I gently comforted her and guided her back inside the house.
I set down my luggage by the door and turned to Yi Geum-yeong.
“Um… Warrior Yi Geum-yeong.”
“You want me to watch over your disciple’s mother, right, Master Jin?”
Yi Geum-yeong spoke first, having guessed my intentions.
I nodded my head.
“Yes, please.”
“Should I help you?”
Yi Geum-yeong was a warrior of the Righteous Alliance. If he got involved, things would be resolved much more easily.
But I shook my head.
“No. This is my disciple’s affair, so I must be the one to handle it.”
The reason was simple. Not only was I Jeok-sam’s sword instructor, but if I received help from the Righteous Alliance, I wouldn't be able to spread my master’s fame.
“Just having you protect my disciple’s mother is a great help.”
“Well, I suppose so.”
Yi Geum-yeong said no more.
I learned the location of the Gyeongmun Sect from Jeok-sam’s mother and set off.
* * *
“Gyeongmun Sect… Now, what kind of place was that?”
Yi Geum-yeong tried to recall after sending Jin Je-yong off.
As a warrior from the Righteous Alliance’s intelligence division, she had crammed information about the sects of the Central Plains into her head while undercover.
But information about the Gyeongmun Sect just wouldn't come to mind.
‘He’ll be alright, won’t he?’
Jin Je-yong was her guide to A-mun.
If something were to happen to him along the way and she couldn’t reach A-mun, her entire trip to Sinnae Village would have been for nothing.
“I don’t think this is right. I should go.”
Just then, a wrinkled hand grabbed Yi Geum-yeong’s sleeve. It was Jeok-sam’s mother.
“Young lady, have you eaten?”
“Pardon? I, I’m not a young lady…”
Before Yi Geum-yeong could make her excuse, Jeok-sam’s mother spoke.
“My son eats a lot, you see. The Child Instructor eats well, too.”
Is it dementia?
She began to spout nonsense.
Unlike a moment ago when she was shedding tears over her son, Jeok-sam's mother now looked as calm as if she were waiting for her son to return from work.
“Since the Child Instructor has gone, there’s no need to worry. I should cook some rice so he can eat his fill when he returns.”
“But, Master Jin is…”
An instructor at a swordsmanship school in a backwater village. All he had learned was the Three Talents Sword Art, a third-rate warrior with less than half a cycle of internal energy.
No matter how much of a countryside riffraff sect the Gyeongmun Sect was, if they called themselves a sect, they must have at least ten members. That was not a number a third-rate warrior could handle.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. There’s something my son always says.”
“What is that?”
Jeok-sam’s mother said with a fond smile.
“There is a Sword of Completion in Sinnae Village. And that person is our Child Instructor.”
“The Sword… of Completion?”
Hearing the old woman’s story, Yi Geum-yeong covered her mouth. She had almost burst out laughing without realizing it.
‘No way, the master is the Divine Sword, and the disciple has completed the sword? Is this master-disciple duo insane?’
There was a limit to bluffing, but this master and disciple from a remote village had far surpassed it.
The swordsmen of the Central Plains would surely have a good laugh at the arrogant titles they had given themselves.
“My son lacked perseverance and came running home crying after just three months, but it wasn't that he lacked respect for the Child Instructor.”
“Come to think of it, you said Master Jin took on his first disciple when he was ten, right? Is that why he’s called the Child Instructor?”
“Yes, yes, Sam-ie was always calling him ‘our Child Instructor, our Child Instructor,’ he followed him so much. Anyone would think the Child Instructor was his mother, not me.”
Jeok-sam’s mother, who had been on the verge of tears, was now so at ease that she was even smiling.
Yi Geum-yeong concluded that she might be able to hear more detailed stories about the Sinnae Sword School from this old woman than from Jin Je-yong himself.
“Then, do you know someone named A-mun?”
“A-mun? Hmm, I’ve never heard that name before…”
“I heard he was from the Sinnae Sword School.”
“I’ve heard stories about the Sinnae Sword School through my son, but I’ve never been to Sinnae Village myself.”
“Then what about Instructor Jin Sang-ho?”
Swallowing her disappointment, Yi Geum-yeong asked about Jin Sang-ho this time. He was Jin Je-yong’s master and the head of the Sinnae Sword School who might have taught A-mun.
Upon hearing Jin Sang-ho’s name, Jeok-sam’s mother smiled sadly.
“He was such a wonderful person.”
Jeok-sam’s mother began to pull out old memories.
When Jeok-sam gave up the sword and dreamed of becoming a great merchant instead of a martial artist, Jin Sang-ho had given him advice without holding back.
In fact, Jeok-sam might have considered Jin Sang-ho, who taught him how to live in the world, more of a master than Jin Je-yong, who had only taught him swordsmanship for three months.
“And our Child Instructor followed such a master very closely.”
“Well, I could see that much. Even now, it’s always ‘our master, our Divine Sword.’”
From Yi Geum-yeong’s perspective, Jin Je-yong’s behavior seemed as if he had been brainwashed.
Jeok-sam’s mother chuckled softly as if she understood.
“That’s why our Child Instructor shows no mercy. To those who insult his master, to those who disgrace his master’s school.”
“Pardon?”
A question suddenly arose in Yi Geum-yeong’s mind.
How could Jeok-sam’s mother be chatting so idly when her own son was in danger?
“Young lady, have you ever seen the wrath of the Sword of Completion?”
The answer to her question came from the lips of Jeok-sam’s mother.
Absolute faith in Jin Je-yong.
In her words, Yi Geum-yeong could feel the conviction that Jin Je-yong would undoubtedly crush the Gyeongmun Sect and bring her son back.
* * *
“You bastard! Do you know that this is the great Gyeongmun Sect you’re causing a ruckus at?”
A Gyeongmun Sect warrior shouted as he drew his sword.
Finding the Gyeongmun Sect wasn't difficult.
I had visited Yimunhyeon several times, and I remembered hearing about a new estate being built five years ago.
“So this is indeed the Gyeongmun Sect.”
I performed a cupped fist salute towards the guard.
“Jin Je-yong, disciple of the Divine Sword, has come looking for his student, Jeok-sam.”