Chapter 5
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: We Have the Sword of Completion (3)
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‘Did this guy really take down over a hundred warriors to get in here?’
Lee Ik-hyeon sized up Jin Je-yong from head to toe. There was nothing about his appearance that suggested he was a master.
But that man, Jeok-sam, had so confidently shouted about him being the Sword of Completion that Lee Ik-hyeon couldn't trust his own instincts.
‘Damn it, I can't just back out of this now.’
He couldn't tell what was happening outside—whether Jin Je-yong had snuck in or had actually subdued all his men—so he couldn't get a read on the man.
Jin Je-yong’s impression was so underwhelming that he couldn't figure out whether to bow down or stand his ground.
“Jeok-sam, what is all this?”
While Lee Ik-hyeon was lost in thought, Jin Je-yong ignored him and stood before the iron bars.
Jeok-sam forced his aching body up and knelt.
“Your first disciple, Jeok-sam, greets his master.”
“How are you? Are you badly hurt?”
Jin Je-yong assessed Jeok-sam's condition, then drew his sword as if the bars were too confining.
Lee Ik-hyeon, still pondering what to do, made his decision the moment he saw him draw the blade.
‘He handles a sword like a toy? He's no swordsman.’
While internal energy could be gauged through the temples or one's breathing, external skill was revealed in one's posture and how one handled their weapon.
To Lee Ik-hyeon, Jin Je-yong’s casual draw looked like someone carelessly pulling an umbrella from a stand.
The simple act of drawing a sword held a certain quality that only a man who had handled one for a long time could display.
Even Jeok-sam looked like a far more skilled swordsman when he held a blade.
“Hey, kid. What do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m here to get my disciple. Are you going to stop me?”
Jin Je-yong asked in a light tone, as if speaking to a friend or a neighborhood acquaintance.
Lee Ik-hyeon's brow twitched. Now convinced that the man’s skills were a bluff, he found the young man's attitude—who looked to be half his age—grating.
“Get lost if you don't want to die.”
“You know, I sometimes think.”
“I don’t know what you’re trying to say, but shut up and get lost. If you leave now, I’ll be generous and let you go in one piece. Oh! But not that one. He interfered with our business, so we have to make an example of him.”
Lee Ik-hyeon spoke with a vicious smile.
It wasn't just his large build; his face was as fierce as any mountain bandit's.
Lee Ik-hyeon possessed both skill and an intimidating appearance. Because of that, he had never met anyone who dared to challenge him so easily.
“Why is everyone so long-winded? When you have a perfectly good sword.”
Except, of course, for the clueless young man before him.
Whether he had nerves of steel or was just a country bumpkin ignorant of the world, Jin Je-yong spoke while casually swinging his sword.
“Hah… to think I’d be looked down on by a brat like this. Tsk! Fine. Let’s do this.”
Not even a single breath passed between Lee Ik-hyeon finishing his sentence and drawing his blade to slice at Jin Je-yong’s neck.
Faced with the lightning-fast movement, Jin Je-yong showed no reaction.
The blade cut through Jin Je-yong’s neck and returned to its sheath.
It had taken exactly two breaths. This was the sword-drawing technique Lee Ik-hyeon had honed.
“My swift blade doesn’t even draw blood.”
If he were to take a title, would the Bloodless Blade be fitting?
Of course, a title wasn't something you made for yourself, but something others gave you, so it was unlikely he would ever be called by the name he desired.
Still, Lee Ik-hyeon spoke with a triumphant voice.
“Is this the so-called Sword of Completion you spoke of?”
Lee Ik-hyeon approached Jeok-sam, a look of considerable disappointment on his face.
He felt he had worried for nothing because of Jeok-sam's words.
“Sam, the Sword of Completion… I haven't perfected my sword yet.”
“What?! How are you alive…”
Just then, Jin Je-yong spoke, standing there as if nothing had happened.
Stunned, Lee Ik-hyeon looked back at Jin Je-yong. He was certain his blade had cut the man’s neck, yet Jin Je-yong stood in his original spot, completely unscathed.
“But our Child Instructor can slice mountains and part seas with his sword.”
“I’ve never seen the sea before.”
Sinnae Village was located in Sichuan, an inland province far from the sea. Having never left the vicinity of the village his entire life, Jin Je-yong only knew of the sea's existence; he had never actually seen it.
However, Jeok-sam naturally believed that Jin Je-yong could part the sea with ease.
‘It’s nice that my disciple has such faith in my abilities, but…’
Jin Je-yong scratched the back of his head, feeling a little awkward.
And Lee Ik-hyeon was watching the master and disciple.
Thinking he must have seen something wrong, Lee Ik-hyeon drew his sword and swung again.
“Neck! Stomach! Legs!”
With a slight tilt of his head, a single step to the side, and a small lift of his left leg, Jin Je-yong dodged all of Lee Ik-hyeon’s strikes.
Seeing Jin Je-yong evade his attacks without even looking, Lee Ik-hyeon immediately threw down his sword and bolted.
‘A m-monster. That man is not human.’
Whether he was the Sword of Completion as Jeok-sam claimed didn't matter. What mattered was that Jin Je-yong was a monster far beyond his ability to handle.
And as he fled, he was met with a completely unexpected sight.
* * *
Jeok-sam pointed a finger at the fleeing Lee Ik-hyeon.
“Instructor, shouldn’t you go after him?”
“My purpose is to save my disciple, not to catch people.”
“You haven’t changed a bit, Child Instructor.”
Jin Je-yong swung his sword. Sparks flew from the iron bars, which then clattered to the ground.
He approached Jeok-sam to check his condition.
“How badly were you beaten? These wounds are severe.”
“I still took down ten of them.”
“Sam, whether you take down ten or one, what’s important is that you don’t get hurt.”
Jin Je-yong helped Jeok-sam up and they left the underground prison.
On the smoothly packed dirt ground, the limbs of what appeared to be the Gyeongmun Sect’s warriors were stuck in the earth in grotesque arrangements.
And kneeling before them, with a dazed expression, was Lee Ik-hyeon.
‘Will you still deny he is the Sword of Completion?’
Looking at Lee Ik-hyeon's dumbfounded state, Jeok-sam felt a small measure of empathy.
It was a feeling every disciple of Jin Je-yong experienced at least once.
‘Underestimating our Child Instructor based on his appearance will get you more than you bargained for.’
The first to be deceived by Jin Je-yong's unassuming appearance was his very first disciple, Jeok-sam.
Jeok-sam had heard that a warrior from the Righteous Alliance had opened a school in a nearby town and had gone seeking instruction.
What he found was a ten-year-old sword instructor, Jin Je-yong.
‘Ah… those days were truly terrible.’
Jeok-sam grumbled inwardly as he looked at Jin Je-yong supporting him.
The unsparing instruction of a child had been hell for him.
The only sword techniques taught were slashing and thrusting. That was it.
Without anything that could be called a form, Jin Je-yong taught only the basic movements of the sword, and what followed was a beating.
If Jeok-sam showed an opening, Jin Je-yong would relentlessly jab him with a wooden sword. Thanks to that, his entire body would be covered in black and blue bruises every time he returned from the school.
‘It wasn’t that I lasted for only three months, it’s that I endured for three months!’
In the end, after just three months of learning swordsmanship from Jin Je-yong, Jeok-sam raised the white flag.
But with the skills he learned in those three months, Jeok-sam was confident he could easily beat down any common thug.
“Is he… really the Sword of Completion?”
Lee Ik-hyeon stared at Jeok-sam and Jin Je-yong with vacant eyes.
No matter how he looked at it, the solidly built Jeok-sam seemed more like the master. Besides, Jeok-sam had actually taken down ten of the Gyeongmun Sect’s warriors by himself.
“I am not yet at a level where I can say I have perfected the sword.”
“He is the Sword of Completion.”
Jin Je-yong and Jeok-sam answered at the same time.
“Sam, it’s nice that you praise me, but when it’s excessive, it’s no different from insulting me.”
“I’m not praising you. And doesn’t it make sense for the disciple of the Divine Sword to be the Sword of Completion?”
“Well… I guess so?”
When Jin Sang-ho was brought up, Jin Je-yong quickly conceded.
Still, the title of Sword of Completion felt like a burden. He whispered to his disciple.
“Even so, it’s a bit embarrassing in front of others, so could you tone it down a bit?”
“If you say so, Child Instructor.”
“And that ‘Child Instructor’ thing too. I’m twenty-five now, so ‘child’ is a bit…”
“That’s true.”
Together, Jin Je-yong and Jeok-sam left the Gyeongmun Sect and sought out a physician.
“Good heavens! What happened here!”
The elderly physician exclaimed in surprise upon seeing Jeok-sam.
Jin Je-yong helped Jeok-sam onto a bed.
“There seem to be no internal injuries, but his muscles appear damaged, Physician.”
“Are you a physician?”
“I am not, but I can assess simple wounds. However, my skills are still lacking, so I would be grateful if you could give him a proper examination.”
In Sinnae Village, which had no physician, Jin Sang-ho, who had learned emergency medicine while wandering battlefields, was not much different from a doctor.
Jin Je-yong had also learned basic emergency medical skills from Jin Sang-ho and could treat cuts and internal injuries. However, his skills were not comparable to those of a professional physician.
“Well, isn't this Jeok-sam? And the first aid seems well done. I'll give you an ointment. Have him rest without moving for about a week to ten days.”
The old physician examined Jeok-sam’s condition and gave his prescription.
Jin Je-yong cupped his fist in a gesture of gratitude.
“Thank you, elder.”
* * *
Late at night, only Jin Je-yong and Jeok-sam were in the room.
“Instructor, that man said he asked my mother about Senior Uncle A-mun’s past.”
“You mean the senior brother who left twenty years ago?”
“Yes. I don’t know why the Righteous Alliance is looking for Grand Uncle…”
“Hmm, we’ll find out if we keep them around.”
“Then…”
“Until then, treat them as guests.”
“Yes. Understood, Instructor.”
* * *
Men dressed in black martial arts uniforms appeared at the Gyeongmun Sect’s estate.
At their appearance, Lee Ik-hyeon spoke up.
“Who are you people? I was the one in charge of Imunhyeon.”
“Jeunggyeongmun.”
A man in a black uniform answered curtly.
The Jeunggyeongmun Sect was a mid-sized evil sect based in Jungrang-hyeon, a school with a long history and tradition that had even participated in the War of Righteousness and Evil.
Of course, its power was not what it used to be due to the aftermath of the war.
“What about Jungrang-hyeon?”
“You don’t need to know.”
The man turned the tip of his sword toward Lee Ik-hyeon.
Lee Ik-hyeon steadied his breath, rose to his feet, and drew his sword.
Though he had lost his will to fight after encountering the monster that was Jin Je-yong, he was still a first-rate warrior. His skills were more than enough to be called elite anywhere he went.
“You intend to resist? Even after failing so miserably?”
“That’s… because you didn't see the Sword of Completion.”
“Sword of Completion? Ha, I haven't heard any news of the Azure Sky Sword King coming to Sichuan.”
“It’s not that Sword of Completion.”
Lee Ik-hyeon gritted his teeth and raised his sword, his eyes glinting with killing intent.
The men in black briefly stopped finishing off the Gyeongmun Sect warriors to watch the sword of the man in the black uniform, their leader.
Not a single one of them thought their leader would lose.
The sword of the leader of the men in black, Gu Gi-po, emitted a white light.
“Sword Aura?! A master?”
“Yes, a master.”
Gu Gi-po smirked and sliced Lee Ik-hyeon’s neck.