If One Were Human
"Martial arts."
"……."
The answer was so unexpected that Namgung Jinbaek could not respond at once.
A brief silence passed before he spoke.
"You need martial arts?"
Sun Wukong nodded.
Namgung Jinbaek looked at him with genuine surprise.
He never seemed like the type to covet martial arts.
Most martial artists hungered for stronger techniques. That hunger, however, did not apply to those who had already reached a certain realm.
He must already have mastered something formidable.
Nothing else could explain the prowess he had displayed thus far. Sun Wukong already possessed excellent martial arts. There was no reason for him to covet more here. And few things invited suspicion quite like openly revealing that you wanted someone else's techniques.
"I could teach you the publicly circulated martial arts that the Outer Hall warriors used to practice."
Namgung Jinbaek let the words trail off. His expression made the unspoken question plain enough: did Teacher Sun truly need something like that?
Even so-called public techniques were not easily obtained. In the days when the Namgung Clan's influence had been at its height, these were the arts practiced by Outer Hall warriors who, though not of Namgung blood, had lived under the clan's protection. They were excellent secret techniques — enough to reach First-class, and depending on talent, even to glimpse the Peak Realm.
But they would be meaningless to Teacher Sun.
Namgung Jinbaek had, in truth, prepared himself to pay a considerable price. Not merely because of the request that Sun Wukong attend as an observer this time. The Azure Chivalry Hall incident had given the Namgung Clan a great deal. And above all else, there was the appearance of a master like Sun Wukong.
If we can make him Namgung's man…
No price would be too steep.
Sun Wukong shook his head.
"Not that. I mean the martial arts the Clan Lord uses."
Silence settled over the room.
He had spoken so mildly, so matter-of-factly, that Namgung Jinbaek did not immediately grasp the meaning. The man might as well have been exchanging greetings. The silence froze over. Namgung Jinbaek's expression hardened to stone. Namgung Muyoung, who had escorted Sun Wukong here, simply dropped his jaw and stared.
How much time passed, no one could have said. Namgung Jinbaek broke the stillness.
"There is a martial art that even among the direct bloodline, only the Clan Lord and the heir who will succeed him may learn. Is that the martial art Teacher Sun desires?"
"That'd be the strongest one, right? Then yes."
The sheer brazenness of it drew a great burst of laughter from Namgung Jinbaek. He laughed for a good long while before he finally nodded.
"Well. I suppose that's the level Teacher Sun would actually covet. But I'm afraid that's impossible."
Whatever his personal regard for Sun Wukong, the thing itself could not be done. The Clan Lord's direct-line martial art. A peerless technique that even among those of Namgung blood, only the heir was permitted to learn — how could it possibly be handed to an outsider who was not even a Namgung? The very act of naming it as compensation was absurd. Had it been anyone other than Sun Wukong, Namgung Jinbaek would have seriously taken the request as a veiled invitation to a death match.
"If Teacher Sun were a Namgung, and moreover the heir, it might be different. Regrettably, it cannot be done."
"Well, can't be helped then. But you've got wine, don't you?"
"Wine?"
"A prestigious clan like this must have some excellent stuff stashed away."
"Of course we do. We have some we bring out for distinguished guests."
"Then consider that payment for putting this Teacher Sun to work."
"Hah…"
Namgung Jinbaek let out a hollow laugh. Sun Wukong's attitude was utterly unbothered. He had even gone out of his way to stress that the wine had to be truly precious, his eyes gleaming as if this, and not the martial arts, had been the real objective all along.
What had he intended by bringing up martial arts in the first place? Even after being refused, Sun Wukong showed not a hint of disappointment. His matter-of-fact acceptance carried no emotion whatsoever — just a well-I-figured-as-much sort of air. And then to settle the whole affair with a single cup of wine… Namgung Jinbaek quietly studied him.
"Will that suffice?"
"Surely it won't be cheap swill. As something of a connoisseur, I'll give you my evaluation. I'll have to taste it and see if it's better than the Jade Emperor's imperial wine."
They say the seat makes the man. During the Orthodox-Unorthodox Great War, Namgung Jinbaek had been nothing more than a swordsman swinging a blade. After becoming Clan Lord, he had changed considerably. Discernment. He had developed an eye for reading people.
A truly fascinating man. Truly.
Even with Namgung Jinbaek's discernment, Sun Wukong was not a person one could define in haste. After a moment's thought, Namgung Jinbaek rose from his seat and drew his sword.
"I cannot pass it on. But I can let you witness it."
"Father!"
Namgung Muyoung, who had been watching in silence, cried out in shock. Namgung Jinbaek spoke calmly.
"Muyoung. You'll begin learning it yourself once you assume the Young Clan Lord's seat. Think of this as advance study and watch carefully."
"Father — no, Clan Lord. Witnessing another's martial arts is itself a taboo of the martial world, and moreover the Azure Firmament Unfettered Sword…!"
Namgung Jinbaek did not answer him. He looked at Sun Wukong and smiled lightly.
"There is only one type of person who has seen the Azure Firmament Unfettered Sword firsthand. Only those of Namgung."
Sun Wukong could not think of anything particular to say.
"An honor."
In truth, Sun Wukong had decided he ought to receive some compensation, but there was nothing particularly worth receiving. What meaning did anything in this mortal world hold, after all? He just needed to find Sanzang. Using the Namgung Clan for that purpose was something he had already resolved to do. The Namgung martial arts he had set aside when creating Myeol-yo-gong had simply come to mind, so he had floated the idea. He had not expected anything from the start. When refused, he had figured he would simply cadge some wine.
"If you're going to show it, I'll watch with both eyes wide open."
"Hahaha. Teacher Sun, the statement that only those of the Namgung Clan can see the Azure Firmament Unfettered Sword is no joke."
"……?"
"Anyone who is not of the Namgung Clan has died the moment they saw the Azure Firmament Unfettered Sword."
Sun Wukong snorted a laugh.
"This is starting to sound like I'd be better off just taking the wine."
"But even if one is not a Namgung by blood, one can still be a person of the Namgung Clan. Like the Law Enforcement Hall Master, Teacher Sun."
Sun Wukong understood at once what Namgung Jinbaek was saying.
Ah. This guy's got a sly streak.
Sun Wukong had been the one trying to extract compensation, but Namgung Jinbaek had flipped the situation in a single stroke. He was trying to make Sun Wukong a person of the Namgung Clan — definitively. If he witnessed the Azure Firmament Unfettered Sword, he would be firmly on Namgung's side. And if he became an enemy — as just stated, anyone who had seen the Azure Firmament Unfettered Sword must die. A chilling warning, wrapped in courtesy.
That slyness suddenly reminded Sun Wukong of something.
Sanzang used to pull that same quietly sly act, too.
Acting all innocent about it. He would take everything he could get, and before you knew it he had completely won over Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing.
Sun Wukong wore a bitter smile.
"Good."
Namgung Jinbaek nodded. With that, it was settled. They had risen beyond a mere guest-and-host arrangement to a proper alliance with the Namgung Clan.
Namgung Jinbaek slowly assumed his stance.
When completed, it becomes the form of a sovereign — the Sovereign Sword Form.
Namgung Jinbaek had not yet reached that far, but his pride in his martial arts was unshakable. He was showing a peerless art to another, and yet he felt not a shred of worry.
Seeing it and being able to do it are not the same.
Even a genius of tremendous enlightenment could not learn and replicate it merely by watching. Namgung Jinbaek himself had spent decades of training to refine this result — how could anyone grasp it from a single viewing?
It's fortunate that Teacher Sun is a master, if anything.
Paradoxically, he felt more at ease precisely because Sun Wukong was a supreme expert. If a peerless master of that caliber decided to learn the Azure Firmament Unfettered Sword now, he would have to abandon a great deal. The martial arts he had cultivated thus far, the very direction of his path — everything was different. The internal arts, the footwork, the forms, the techniques — all of it. Could he discard everything and devote himself entirely to a martial art he had seen with his eyes only once?
Impossible. If one were human, that is. There was no martial art a human could complete after seeing it once to begin with. And this was the Azure Firmament Unfettered Sword of all things.
Yes. Impossible.
If one were human, that is.
"Is something good happening, sir?"
Ojeong looked at Sun Wukong with a peculiar expression. The man always wore a smiling face, but after sticking together this long, Ojeong had come to realize that those smiles carried different emotions. Right now, that smile looked genuinely, thoroughly pleased. The faint flush on his face said the same.
"You said you went drinking with the Clan Lord — what could have been so good that you're like this?"
"The wine was rather tasty."
"Well, how could wine not be tasty?"
"They called it Gujing Tribute Wine."
"Huk."
Ojeong's mouth fell open.
"Don't tell me you mean Gujing Tribute Wine, one of the Eight Great Famous Liquors of the Central Plains?"
"Eight Great Famous Liquors?"
"The color is crystal-clear like quartz, the taste is sweet, the fragrance deep and lingering…"
"Yeah, it was like that."
"Hey, if it was a drinking party like that, shouldn't you have brought me along?"
"You can't even drink."
"But it's that kind of wine!"
Sun Wukong waved a dismissive hand. The wine had indeed been delicious enough to send Ojeong into a fit like this. Even to Sun Wukong, who had tasted every wine the immortals of the Heavenly Realm ever brewed, it had been quite decent. The way Namgung Jinbaek's face had darkened as Sun Wukong habitually poured it down his throat had been rather entertaining. The man could not say a word. Watching the usually grave and sly Clan Lord fidget in his seat had been quite amusing.
He had drunk with the full intention of tormenting him for a good while, but Namgung Jinbaek had not been able to complain.
Well, of course. All he did for compensation was show his martial arts once.
Namgung Jinbaek had displayed the Azure Firmament Unfettered Sword intending to demonstrate the true depth of the Namgung Clan.
It was impressive, I'll give him that.
Sun Wukong pondered.
He could definitely cut down a Great Demon with that.
Namgung Jinbaek had placed great significance on making Sun Wukong Namgung's ally — but so had Sun Wukong. A sword that could slay a Great Demon. That kind of combat power was a good card for him as well.
And besides… I saw something good, too.
They said witnessing another's martial arts was taboo, but that was actually a funny notion. Almost no one could see through every strength and every weakness just by watching. Let alone perfectly understanding it in a short span of time and making it one's own — that was unimaginable.
Yes.
If one were human, that is.
Sun Wukong smiled faintly.
"Wow. The wine must have been truly spectacular. Your mouth's going to split from smiling."
At Ojeong's words, Sun Wukong cackled, then sprang to his feet.
"What are you doing?"
"Gotta earn the wine I drank."
"I didn't drink any, so I'll just go to bed."
"Come along."
Ojeong pouted. Sun Wukong snorted a laugh.
"The rising talents were gathered having a drink. I'll get you some wine out of them."
"…You're going to the rising talents' gathering? Now?"
Anxiety surfaced on Ojeong's face.