Chapter 36
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: I am the Divine Sword's Disciple. (3)
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Hwa Wol-lyeong glanced at Jegal Eun-hye before opening her mouth.
"Young Lady, are you alright?"
Hwa Wol-lyeong asked with her usual bright smile.
It was the same smile Jegal Eun-hye always mocked as foolish.
But right now, it was a relief.
"Je-yong, what is all this?"
"Eldest Sister, these people insulted our school."
Jin Je-yong said in a chilling voice.
His gaze swept over the fallen young masters of the Namgung Clan, Jegal Eun-hye, and Jegal Hap.
"Did they?"
Hwa Wol-lyeong gave a bitter smile.
Master Jin Sang-ho and the Sinnae Sword School were like a raw nerve for Jin Je-yong.
He, who loved his master and his school more than anyone, would never forgive those who spoke carelessly of them.
'Come to think of it, this man also nearly got himself into deep trouble for saying the wrong thing in front of Je-yong.'
Hwa Wol-lyeong sighed as she looked at the gash on Jegal Hap's forehead.
[What are you really thinking?]
[These people seem to possess a jewel yet fail to recognize its value, so I intend to enlighten them.]
Jin Je-yong's voice, transmitted telepathically, was no different from that of the mischievous boy he was ten years ago.
Looking around, it seemed he had been angry, but was trying not to cross the line.
Probably out of consideration for his Eldest Sister, Hwa Wol-lyeong.
[Oh my? Am I the jewel? Our Je-yong has grown up so much. You even know how to please a woman. So, what kind of jewel am I? A cat's eye? A jade disc?]
Hwa Wol-lyeong asked with a slight smile.
Jin Je-yong didn't answer and raised his sword.
"Today, I will bury you all to uphold the honor of our school, and the honor of my Eldest Sister."
Jin Je-yong's sword trembled, and a blue light shot forth from it.
When the young man, who looked to be in his early twenties, drew out his sword energy as if pulling taffy, the young masters were stunned.
But that wasn't all. When Jin Je-yong opened his hand, the sword floated in mid-air as if fixed in place.
"A-Air-Rending Grasp?!"
The knowledgeable Jegal Eun-hye cried out in great surprise.
The sword soon spun as if it had a will of its own, filling the assembly hall with sword shadows.
The people from the Five Great Clans stared, their jaws hanging open.
Jegal Eun-hye was practically foaming at the mouth.
"S-Sword Control..."
Someone, terrified by the astonishing level of skill, muttered.
Just then, Hwa Wol-lyeong sighed and reached out her hand.
"I-It's dangerous! Sister Hwa!"
"It's alright, Brother-in-law."
Her outstretched arm created countless afterimages as it extended.
At her hand technique, which resembled that of the Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara, the people of the Five Great Clans gathered in the hall were once again astonished.
"W-What in the world is this martial art?"
In an instant, the sword shadows that filled the hall vanished at Hwa Wol-lyeong's touch.
Finally, she grasped the blade, which was coated in sword energy.
"S-She grabbed a sword imbued with energy so easily!"
Jegal Eun-hye sputtered.
Hwa Wol-lyeong handed the sword to Jin Je-yong.
"This should be enough, don't you think?"
"..."
"Please stop, for my sake."
"Hah... Well, I suppose it can't be helped."
Jin Je-yong, openly showing his displeasure, took the sword from her and sheathed it.
Jegal Hap let out a sigh of relief.
"Brother-in-law, my apologies. It was my failing that I couldn't take better care of Sister Hwa."
"Brother-in-law, in our school, Eldest Sister is like a mother to us. I hope you will be mindful of that."
"Yes, yes. No matter what happens, I'll take care of Sister Hwa."
Jegal Hap said, bowing his head.
But Jin Je-yong wasn't finished.
"You had better. I'm letting it go today for my sister's sake. But if something like this happens again, I will erase the Jegal Clan."
It was a calm voice, but Jegal Hap knew better than anyone that it was not an empty threat.
Seeing Jegal Hap nod in response, Jin Je-yong smiled.
"This conversation is not over."
The head of the Namgung Clan, Namgung Jun, spoke as he looked at the fallen children of his clan.
He asked in a menacing voice.
"Why did you harm a member of the Namgung Clan?"
"Because he pointed his sword at me."
"And why did our children draw their swords?"
"That's because..."
"That man defiled the name of the Sword of Completion!"
Someone shouted. He was wearing martial arts attire embroidered with a tiger, the symbol of the Paeng Clan.
Namgung Jun's brow furrowed, and Jin Je-yong nodded nonchalantly.
At the same time, Jegal Hap clutched his head.
'Damn it, those ignorant Paeng Clan bastards are always the problem.'
The stupid Paeng Clan idiot had just thrown a wrench in the works when everything was settling down.
Since 'Sword of Completion' was a title the proud Namgung Clan took immense pride in, they couldn't back down so easily.
"Sister Hwa, what should we do about this?"
"About what?"
Jegal Hap sought her advice on the rekindled conflict, but Hwa Wol-lyeong was smiling brightly as usual, as if she didn't see a problem.
Come to think of it, she was someone who firmly believed that Jin Je-yong was the Sword of Completion.
That was also why Jegal Eun-hye had volunteered to take charge of this Five Great Clans' young masters' assembly.
'Ugh, my head is going to explode.'
Jegal Hap agonized over how to navigate this situation, racking his brain until he felt his hair would fall out.
* * *
As I was about to draw my sword, Hwa Wol-lyeong shook her head.
Then she stood before Namgung Jun, the head of the Namgung Clan.
"I am Hwa Wol-lyeong of the Jegal Clan."
"Yes, we met five years ago, didn't we? As Hap's wife."
Namgung Jun spoke, his voice still simmering with anger after seeing his son's condition.
The Namgung whatever-his-name-was whom I had cut already had his hand lopped off.
It didn't take long for the look on Namgung Jun's face, directed at me, to change from shock and fear to rage.
"As you know, Lady Hwa, your Junior Brother has drawn the blood of a Namgung Clan member."
Power emanated from Namgung Jun's furious voice. He showed the spirit of one who would not back down, even against someone stronger than himself.
Hwa Wol-lyeong's slender eyes widened.
She rarely ever got angry. She was someone who always smiled and looked after her martial brothers and nephews.
'When Eldest Sister got angry, she was terrifying.'
When I got angry and gouged out Je Yung-geon's eye, Hwa Wol-lyeong didn't speak to me for days. She treated me as if I didn't exist.
She must have thought it was the most effective way to handle me, and just as she intended, it worked perfectly.
"Young Master Namgung must have been in the wrong. My youngest Junior Brother does not draw his sword for an unjust cause."
"Haha, I understand the desire to trust your own people. But I, too, do not believe my son committed an injustice."
Namgung Jun said calmly, suppressing his anger.
Hwa Wol-lyeong scoffed coldly.
"I'm sure you don't."
"Therefore, the price for this transgression..."
"You intend to exact it?"
"Even if the Jegal Clan tries to stop us, the Namgung Clan will not be deterred."
Hwa Wol-lyeong shook her head at Namgung Jun's threat.
"The Jegal Clan will not intervene. The Jegal and Namgung Clans are staunch allies, after all."
"Hmm, in that case..."
"I will simply act as a disciple of the Sinnae Sword School."
"Lady Hwa!"
Namgung Jun shouted, his eyes blazing.
Knowing Hwa Wol-lyeong's usual demeanor, Namgung Jun seemed to be underestimating my Eldest Sister.
"Long, long ago, I made a promise with our Eldest Brother. That when our youngest entered the martial world, we would help him."
Hwa Wol-lyeong continued with a bitter smile.
"But this unworthy Eldest Sister has instead made our youngest worry."
"What do you mean by that?"
"So, no matter what our youngest, Je-yong, has done, I have decided to trust and help him."
Hwa Wol-lyeong said, holding out her hand.
Namgung Jun, startled, stepped back.
"Is your Fourth Sister strong too?"
Yi Geum-yeong, who had been watching the situation, approached me and asked.
It seemed he hadn't seen my sister's hand technique, as he'd been doubled over with a stomachache, his head practically on the floor.
"She is. She's been receiving the Instructor's sword since she was a child."
The answer came from Jeok-sam.
"Huh? What does that have to do with anything?"
"Our Instructor, who was exceptionally talented even as a child, didn't know how to hold back. Naturally, the other disciples of the school often fled. But only the soft-hearted Fourth Sister received the Instructor's sword every single day. For over ten years."
Come to think of it, when I first sparred with my Eldest Sister, she was badly injured without being able to receive even a single strike of my sword.
That weighed on my mind, so I started to deliberately limit my speed and power. But as Hwa Wol-lyeong began to block my attacks little by little, I increased my speed and power to match her.
"So, besides our Grandmaster, Fourth Sister was the only one who could block the Instructor's sword."
"She seems similar to Warrior Nam."
"They're different. Gyeong is gentle on the outside and gentle on the inside. Fourth Sister is gentle on the outside, but strong on the inside."
I turned my gaze from them back to Hwa Wol-lyeong.
She stood before the head of the Namgung Clan without yielding an inch.
"Will you talk? Or will you, Lord Namgung, be defeated by me?"
The way my sister spoke was exactly as I remembered from the school a decade ago.
"Enough! Stop this! What is all this commotion!"
As the atmosphere grew tense, a new figure entered the assembly hall.
It was a familiar face.
One of my master's few friends, an old man who, until a decade ago, had constantly tried to set me up with his granddaughter.
"Hwa Wol-lyeong of the Jegal Clan greets you, Elder."
"Yes, it's been a long time. Has it been ten years since the wedding?"
The old man gave Hwa Wol-lyeong a warm smile.
Behind him, a young girl with her face covered by a veil followed.
"What's all this commotion? Did the Great Emperor of the Greenwood show up or something?"
The girl raised her voice after surveying the scene.
Hwa Wol-lyeong approached her and spoke warmly.
"It's been a while, Lady Mimi. You've grown so much."
"Ah! Sister Hwa. I know, right? Hehe, I really have grown a lot, haven't I?"
The girl called Mimi answered with a silly grin.
Hwa Wol-lyeong gave a small laugh and approached the elder.
"So, what is all this commotion?"
"There was a conflict between my youngest brother and the young lord of the Namgung Clan."
"...With him? Is the young lord still alive?"
"Yes. He didn't go so far as to take his life, Elder."
The elder asked as if I were some kind of Star of Heavenly Slaughter, mad for murder.
Then again, he had always seemed to see me as some ultimate weapon or a madman tainted by demonic energy.
"Hoho, the boy has matured. Or is it thanks to Sang-ho's good teaching?"
"It's both, of course."
Hwa Wol-lyeong laughed like a young girl.
The elder nodded as he looked at Hwa Wol-lyeong and the fallen young masters of the Namgung Clan.
"Still, it's a relief that he didn't take their lives."
"A relief! My son's hand was cut off, Father! Your grandson's hand was cut off!"
Namgung Jun shouted in a rage.
He seemed to have regained his confidence with the elder's arrival.
"Tsk, if he's the one who cut it, it'll reattach just fine. Hurry and send him to a physician before it's too late."
'Huh? Wait, the elder was from the Namgung Clan?'
When I saw him at the school in the past, I just thought he was some old man who knew his way around a sword and spouted nonsense.
When I turned to Jeok-sam with a surprised look, he quietly nodded.
"Elder Nam's real name is Namgung Cheok. In the martial world, he is known as the Azure Sky Sword King."
"Really? How did I not know that?"
"Because you were never interested."
Only then did I understand why Jeok-sam had suggested we take down the Twenty-Two Masters Under Heaven to spread the school's name.
An opponent on the elder's level wouldn't be too difficult, after all.
'Ah! I should greet him too.'
He was my master's friend, so I couldn't just sit there like an idiot.
"Je-yong of the Sinnae Sword School greets Elder Na... Elder Namgung."
"Hoho, you rascal! Yes, it's been a long time."
Namgung Cheok laughed heartily.
Then he asked with a mischievous smile.
"I saw Sang-ho's grave. Did you carve the epitaph?"
"Je-yong, what did you write on the Master's gravestone?"
Hwa Wol-lyeong asked, looking curious.
I couldn't understand why she was asking when she already knew.
"Eldest Sister, I only carved the truth."
"Haha, only the truth... So, the 'Divine Sword,' was it?"
The hall grew noisy at Namgung Cheok's words.
I paid it no mind and nodded.
"Yes, of course. For I am the Divine Sword's disciple."
At those words, the hall buzzed once more.
'Wait, why are they so surprised?'
I had no idea what part of my statement had shocked them, or why it was causing such a stir.