Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: This is Strange
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“Grand Commander….”
“You can’t, Grand Commander.”
“Why not? Escort Seo and Sect Leader. Do you both think I’m going to ruin that handsome face?”
The Grand Commander of the Iron Blood Sect was a woman who had dedicated her entire life to the sword. She never turned her gaze elsewhere. In her youth, she had briefly fallen for a man and wanted to live the rest of her life for him, but he already had another woman.
After that, she never looked at anything but the sword.
Perhaps that was why.
The Grand Commander, Jang Yeo, was always earnest when she held a sword. Even if her opponent in a spar was weak.
The Iron Blood Sect Leader was firm.
“Under no circumstances.”
The escort, Seo Ye, added her own words.
“Do you intend to break a sprout that has yet to grow?”
The Grand Commander had never once disobeyed the Sect Leader’s words. So, the Sect Leader expected to hear an affirmation from her as a matter of course.
“Escort Seo, you may leave.”
“Underst—.”
The Grand Commander cut off Escort Seo Ye’s words.
“Isn’t it strange, Sect Leader?”
The Iron Blood Sect Leader asked.
“What do you find strange?”
“That boy.”
“What’s so strange about him?”
“Look.”
“I have been watching him.”
He was just too handsome not to.
“That boy is currently assimilated with the others in the training grounds.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Weren’t you and Escort Seo watching him because of his face? You didn’t feel anything else strange.”
“No.”
“But that boy is now mixed in with that group. What I mean is, he’s blending in by exuding an aura similar to the others there.”
Namgung Urin, unlike his usual self, was intentionally projecting an aura similar to the other martial artists in the training grounds to avoid standing out.
If Namgung Urin had been emitting no aura at all, as he usually did, it was obvious that people would find it strange, and he would draw even more attention along with his looks.
“Is it a problem that he has a similar aura to them?”
“Sect Leader, do you truly not see it?”
“No. This is frustrating, Grand Commander. Just tell me directly.”
“That boy, at most, has just come of age.”
“Yes, he appears so.”
“He’s emitting such an aura at that age? Don’t you find that strange? No, don’t you find it incredible? Even you, Sect Leader, couldn’t project such an aura at his age. And you were called a genius among geniuses.”
“…!”
“…Th-that’s right, Grand Commander!”
“What if.”
“There’s more? Grand Commander?”
“This is a huge what-if.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Please, speak.”
The Grand Commander of Iron Blood, Jang Yeo, swallowed hard. Even to her, the words about to leave her lips sounded utterly preposterous.
“What if… that boy is intentionally emitting only that much aura with the intent to seem similar to the other martial artists?”
“That’s absurd.”
“Then we should marry him to our Sect Leader immediately.”
The Iron Blood Sect Leader looked at Escort Seo and said in a flushed voice.
“Escort Seo, you can joke at a time like this?”
The Grand Commander spoke in Escort Seo’s stead.
“It’s not a joke. If that’s truly the case, you must marry him, Sect Leader.”
The eyes of the Iron Blood Sect Leader, Han Seo-hui, widened like saucers.
“Grand Commander…?”
“Then… you could accomplish something no other leader in the history of the Iron Blood Sect has ever managed. The Iron Blood Sect could rise to become the greatest sect in the world, just like the Namgung Family.”
“…”
Without realizing it, Han Seo-hui was imagining the Iron Blood Sect ascending to the position of the world’s greatest sect.
Escort Seo said.
“But it’s just a ‘what if,’ isn’t it?”
“Exactly. That’s why I want to spar with him. Sect Leader, please grant me your permission.”
“…Alright, Grand Commander. Do as you wish.”
Namgung Urin, oblivious to the fact that one of his impromptu actions was causing a tremendous stir regardless of his own thoughts, was waiting in the training grounds for his sparring partner to be decided.
The Grand Commander strode forward. Her steps, which should have stopped at the upper platform, continued down toward the grounds below. A moment later, Jang Yeo came to a halt, facing Namgung Urin.
His head tilted in a puzzled expression, Namgung Urin spoke.
“…What is this?”
“I am your opponent.”
Finding the situation utterly ridiculous, Namgung Urin briefly looked up at the sky and let out a long sigh.
He, too, had at least a cursory knowledge of the Grand Commander of the Iron Blood Sect.
The martial artists in the training grounds began to murmur. They called it an absurdly one-sided duel.
They wondered if the Iron Blood Sect intended to crush a boy who hadn’t even shed his baby fat.
“I find this to be quite unfair.”
“I understand that you find it unfair. However, if you refuse to fight because of it, you are free to leave. What will you do?”
Namgung Urin tilted his head.
He was debating whether he should give up on the 500-year-old ginseng here and now.
There was no guarantee he could find the ginseng even if he stayed at the Iron Blood Sect, and even less of a guarantee that he could smuggle it out if he did find it.
Besides, hadn’t his mother’s Hangyeol Merchant Guild said they had five 500-year-old ginseng roots?
“Then I will not participate in this duel.”
“…”
This scenario had not crossed the Grand Commander’s mind.
Refusing a chance to spar with her, the Grand Commander of the Iron Blood Sect?
A rising star with a boundless future ahead of him?
He should consider it an honor just to be able to spar with a great master like the Grand Commander of the Iron Blood Sect!
Furthermore.
How could he refuse, knowing how much his martial arts could improve through this duel?
The Grand Commander had never imagined the young man before her would make such a foolish and misguided decision.
“Then, I will take my leave.”
“…H-hold on, young man!”
“What is it? Is there still something you need?”
“It’s just a spar. Why avoid it when you’ve come all this way? Is it because it’s me?”
That was it.
He could just think of it as a single spar. But Namgung Urin despised losing. Even if his opponent was one of the five greatest masters in Anhui Province.
It wasn’t a matter of the Namgung Family’s survival, nor was it a life-or-death situation.
“That’s right. It’s because I despise losing.”
“So you’re confident you would win against any of the other martial artists here.”
“Of course.”
At Namgung Urin’s answer, the martial artists in the training grounds began to stir.
“The kid’s got some nerve.”
“He’s just spouting whatever comes out of his open mouth.”
“I was like that at his age.”
“Yeah. That’s how a man should be.”
“Oh my. How cool.”
“I’m going crazy. My body is heating up.”
“I’m making that man sleep next to me tonight.”
Namgung Urin’s single response had ignited all sorts of talk across the training grounds.
After a brief telepathic exchange with the Iron Blood Sect Leader, Jang Yeo’s lips parted.
“Then let’s do this.”
“Please, speak.”
“If you can withstand ten of my moves, I will grant you what you desire.”
“Is that true? And you have the Sect Leader’s permission, of course?”
“I do.”
“Very well. I will participate in this duel.”
This wasn’t a case of stepping in shit while backing away; it was like stumbling backward into five 500-year-old ginseng roots.
Honestly, the name Namgung kept nagging at his conscience about committing theft, so wasn’t this a fortunate turn of events?
Besides, he was confident he could withstand ten of the Grand Commander’s moves. It was a world of difference from sparring for the duration of half an incense stick.
The Grand Commander surely wouldn’t use her full power.
Namgung Urin’s words continued.
“And I will be attacking as well.”
Offense would be his best defense.
“You may do so. Shall we begin?”
“Yes.”
The Grand Commander drew her sword.
Namgung Urin also drew his.
“I’ll start lightly.”
“Thank you.”
Despite her words, a light swing from a master like the Grand Commander would still carry immense power. It would likely be no different from the all-out swings of the other martial artists gathered in the training grounds.
Furthermore, the techniques of the Iron Blood Sect were comprised of highly practical forms. In other words, they consisted solely of techniques proven useful on the battlefield.
Therefore, even in a spar that began lightly, the unique killing intent of the Iron Blood Sect was bound to be present in their moves.
And any martial artist facing that killing intent was bound to shrink back.
The Grand Commander began to move.
Though she took a slow first step, she glided as if flowing on water, closing the distance to Namgung Urin in an instant. Then, the hand holding her sword moved.
The Grand Commander’s first technique was the Iron Sword Form, a basic art of the Iron Blood Sect. Though it was a basic art, it was being executed by the Grand Commander herself.
What more needed to be said? It would just be a waste of breath.
The Grand Commander’s Iron Sword Form thrust fiercely toward Namgung Urin.
*Swoosh.*
But a faint smile spread across Jang Yeo’s face, filled with anticipation for what Namgung Urin would do.
*‘Just what are you hiding?’*
I’ll peel it back, one layer at a time!
Finally, the Grand Commander’s sword met Namgung Urin’s.
*Clang!*
Namgung Urin casually blocked the Grand Commander’s Iron Sword Form.
Pushing off each other, the Grand Commander and Namgung Urin each retreated a full step. Their expressions remained unchanged, but the same could not be said for the Grand Commander’s thoughts.
*‘As I thought!’*
This one was hiding a great deal.
She could tell from that single clash. A woman’s keen intuition was telling her.
This was no ordinary man.
And one more thing.
On the outside, he looked like a fair-faced scholar, seemingly weak and likely to wield a sword that prioritized finesse over power.
But contrary to his appearance, Namgung Urin’s strength was anything but ordinary. The force transmitted through her sword to her wrist was enough to make it tingle.
On the other hand, wasn’t Namgung Urin far too composed?
Jang Yeo herself could maintain her composure after rolling through the martial world for many years, but the young man before her was not of an age to have experienced sufficient real combat.
It was truly astonishing that he could maintain such composure nonetheless.
Perhaps because of that, her anticipation for Namgung Urin grew, and the faint smile on the Grand Commander’s face deepened.
“I may have started lightly, but you received it far too easily.”
“That’s because you started lightly, Grand Commander.”
“Hehe. I see. So that was it. Very well. I’ll raise the intensity a bit then.”
“…”
Was that… really necessary…?
Should I have whined and cried about how difficult and overwhelming it was?
Should I change my tune now?
Something like, ‘You may have started lightly, Grand Commander, but to me, it felt as heavy as a thousand pounds of gold.’
For a moment, the saying ‘A single word can pay off a thousand taels of debt’ came to mind.
No.
When have I ever lived with such regrets?
Right, no.
I am Namgung Urin, the Young Lord of the Namgung Family.
I will do as I please, with what I’ve been given, to the best of my ability. That is all.
Yes, that’s me!
Did Namgung Urin know?
That he was at an age of brimming vigor, and that the embers of competitiveness had just been lit in that fiery furnace?
“Well then, I’m coming again. You can look forward to this one.”
*Look forward to it? To hell with it.*
“Then I am ready.”