Chapter 5
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: A Flawed Foundation
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Chapter 5.
Just as I was beginning to feel my dantian and body align with my will, the man I called my maternal uncle announced he would now teach me internal energy and swordsmanship.
I gave him a puzzled look at his sudden change of heart, but his response was as consistent as ever.
You didn't think shedding a little fat would be enough to earn my approval, did you?
And who was it that said just shedding the fat would be enough?
He was nothing if not consistent.
Just when I began to doubt if this drunkard, who still clutched a wine bottle in his left hand, knew a thing about swordsmanship.
Swish, clatter.
A wooden sword landed near my feet.
This is the Ten Forms of the Iron Sword and the Thirteen Thunders of Lightning Flash, the basic sword arts of the Namgung family. I don't plan on showing you twice.
The moment his Adam's apple stopped bobbing and my eyes were drawn to the wine bottle flying into the distance.
A chill ran down the nape of my neck. I could feel the distinct, thick scent of blood. At the same time, I frowned at the overwhelming smell of alcohol, but I couldn't look away.
There wasn't a trace of blood anywhere, but for the scent to be this strong meant his blade had been drenched in it countless times.
On top of that, beads of cold sweat broke out all over my body.
The blade-like aura, so intense it made the back of my neck stiffen, was not something you'd expect from a drunkard like him.
The more you know, the more you see.
And the more you see, the more you know.
I watched in silence, my lips sealed, as he demonstrated ten sword forms and thirteen strikes as swift as rays of light.
Both sword arts he showed me were ones I had learned as well.
Watch with your eyes, express with your body. Starting tomorrow, you'll be training in swordsmanship as well. I'll correct your posture, at least. Any sword arts beyond that, you'll have to earn the right to learn on your own.
As he turned away, my uncle's expression was not a pleasant one. For some reason, I thought I knew why.
The Ten Forms of the Iron Sword and the Thirteen Thunders of Lightning Flash are good sword arts. Why else would they be made available for everyone in the Namgung family to learn?
Still, the fact that for others they were merely stepping-stones had always been a source of regret for me, and it seemed I wasn't the only one.
I figured the main reason was that he couldn't learn more advanced techniques because he wasn't from the direct line of the Namgung family. He hadn't been able to learn the true, renowned sword arts only available to the main family, like the Azure Sky Unhindered Sword Art, the Heavenly Thunder Sword Art, the Imperial Sword Form, or the Heavenly Wind Sword Art.
And I.
I like him even more.
I felt a sense of kinship with my uncle's retreating figure. At the same time, the image of him training these two sword arts until he bled overlapped with the image of myself from my past life.
The Ten Forms of the Iron Sword and the Thirteen Thunders of Lightning Flashthese two arts had been Namgung Byeok's companions in his past life.
For now, these two would be enough. I didn't feel they were lacking or insufficient in any way.
The man named Namgung Ban.
My uncle's background.
The sword arts scorned by others.
All of it appealed to me. After all, I too was one of those lonely souls, no different from him.
Just as I gripped the wooden sword, ready to devote myself to training, my uncle's expression hardened.
The Great Expansion Art?
I nodded as my uncle grabbed my wrist. It was the internal energy technique widely known as the Namgung family's Great Expansion Art.
I was curious what kind of expression he would make upon discovering my dantian, which was quite developed for a nephew known to have meager talent.
It's a mess. Who taught you this Great Expansion Art?
His sigh wasn't directed at the size or purity of my dantian. It was a sigh of rebuke, aimed at something more fundamental.
Startled by his sigh, I tried to recall how I had come to learn the Great Expansion Art.
Where had I learned it?
"Little brother. Would you like to learn this? You're a Namgung too, so you should learn the family's internal art in time, lest you fall behind."
A memory flashed through my mind like a revolving lantern. I remembered pulling a fragment from my past life's memoriesthe cheerful suggestion of a young childand nodding, shouting my thanks.
Who told you the direct line of the Namgung family starts with the Great Expansion Art? Not when the Azure Sky Great Expansion Divine Art and the Heavenly Thunder Imperial Divine Art are right there for the taking.
If it were simply a matter of learning the Great Expansion Art as a basic technique, I wouldn't have sensed such discomfort in my uncle's expression.
He taught you in a very... twisted way. Maliciously so.
I couldn't say a word in response.
At the fact that the internal energy technique I had learneda mere basic art, no lesswas somehow twisted.
For now, the energy may only be gathering in your lower dantian, but this is an internal art that blocks the path to the middle dantian, which is necessary to advance to the Azure Sky Great Expansion Divine Art or the Heavenly Thunder Imperial Divine Art. Who on earth did this to you?
Blocks the path to the middle dantian.
Even if you become a peak master in a decade or so, it will take you twice as long as others to open the Governing and Conception vessels, let alone properly manifest your sword energy.
So that was why.
In my past life, despite my exceptional swordsmanship, I always struggled due to my pitiful internal energy. The Asura Corps Commander, Hwang Cheonho, used to sigh at every turn because my internal power couldn't support my outstanding sword skills.
"It feels like you're wearing ill-fitting clothes. Are you sure you learned a proper internal art from your family?"
Back then, I had dismissed it as nothing. I simply believed my talent was lacking.
I had laughed it off, thinking that even this much was an achievement.
But now, I was being told otherwise.
Perhaps my fate had been twisted and tangled from the moment I encountered the Great Expansion Art, which I had accepted as a kind gesture.
I'll teach you a new internal art right now. It might not be as good as the Azure Sky Great Expansion Divine Art or the Heavenly Thunder Imperial Divine Art, but it will be far better than that pathetic Great Expansion Art you've learned.
As he spoke, his eyes were filled with pity. It was the first time he had ever looked at me that way.
No.
Don't be stubborn. If you learn it now, it will be much more helpful in manifesting your sword energy...
I'm fine. I'll handle the internal art myself. And for swordsmanship, the Ten Forms of the Iron Sword and the Thirteen Thunders of Lightning Flash are enough. Let's make our bet with those.
It wasn't that I didn't want to hear what he had to say. I just hated the look of pity and sympathy in his eyes.
At my words, my uncle stared at me for a moment before finally nodding.
Those damn chunks of fat are still there. You'll have to carve them off while you polish those two sword arts.
His expression as he declared this returned to the way he'd always looked at me, like I was a reckless fool. I, too, felt much more at ease.
The supposedly broken Great Expansion Art.
The two sword arts, deemed insufficient for the Great Young Lord.
But my uncle didn't know. He didn't know that the internal energy of the Great Expansion Art he had briefly scanned wasn't just gathered in my lower dantian, but was spread evenly through every single blood vessel and meridian in my entire body.
It was a measure I had taken so that even the most skilled expert would not easily discover it.
This was an internal art I had agonized over, contemplated, and refined on the battlefield for over a decade. I would make it so that it could not be dismissed as simply a broken technique.
From that day on, I moved with even greater desperation.
I ran and ran.
I slashed, thrusted, and moved my feet relentlessly.
I ceaselessly cultivated the Great Expansion Art, building my internal energy and expanding my chestnut-sized dantian.
My hands, once as soft as tofu, became covered in calluses, and the thick layers of fat burned away until they were untraceable. In their place, muscles forged from swinging a sword, slashing, and running filled out my frame, finally transforming me into a true martial artist.
On the days after I collapsed from exhaustion, I would wake up feeling less tired than the day before, and I would have to listen to a remark from my uncle.
Do you have any idea how the nanny and the maids sweat, struggling to carry you inside and massage your knotted muscles whenever you collapse? You're a handful, you are. Always causing trouble.
At first, it was uncomfortable. I told the nanny and the maids to stop, but they wouldn't listen.
Because, as always, whenever I lost consciousness after a grueling training session, my body would feel lighter the next day without fail.
Half a year flew by like an arrow.
...Rumors are spreading that suspicious movements have been detected in and around Anhui.
Suspicious movements?
It seems to be the Green Forest. Attacks on escort agencies and merchant caravans have been increasing recently.
Hmph...
The recent damages alone are too significant to ignore.
The Namgung Family of the Azure Sky.
Namgung Mubaek, along with the elders and key figures of the family, held one of their frequent meetings to discuss and resolve important family matters.
Namgung Mubaek frowned as he scanned the report handed to him by the Fifth Elder.
Dispatch an additional thirty members of the Azure Sky Sword Unit and a hundred from the Iron Sword Unit. Ensure the caravans and escort agencies suffer no further harm.
Understood, Family Head.
Just as he said that and the meeting was about to conclude.
The Second Young Lord, Namgung Hyeok, is said to be looking beyond the Heavenly Wind Sword Art toward the Imperial Sword Form. Is he not a true genius? It is like seeing the Family Head in his youth.
Come now, why leave out the Fourth Young Lord? When it comes to the sword, he is certainly not lacking.
Nonsense. The one who absorbs the Namgung family's sword arts at the fastest rate, like the Second Young Lord, should be the next family head.
Swordsmanship is one thing, but what about the Third Young Lord? His Azure Sky Great Expansion Divine Art has already reached the third stage. Doesn't that show his talent shines even brighter?
It seemed each of them had a candidate for the next family head they were backing. Once the topic of the family's young lords came up, the discussion went on longer than the main meeting itself, as if they all had so much to say.
Then, someone brought up a certain name.
According to recent rumors, the Great Young Lord has not been leaving the training grounds.
The air instantly grew heavy.
Isn't that good news? If that good-for-nothing... I mean, if he has come to his senses.
Good news? With his level of talent, he can't even stand against the Second and Third Young Lords. He'll only stir up trouble.
The majority of the elders had a lukewarm reaction to the Great Young Lord. It seemed his past actions had already solidified their negative opinion of him.
Just as the elders, not bothering to hide their discomfort, began to rise.
Trouble, you say? You're all the same. Eager to take the sweet and spit out the bitter.
The man at the far end of the table, who had been gulping from a wine bottle, his Adam's apple bobbing, was now smirking cynically, his face flushed red.
It was An Baek.
What do you think, Family Head? Do you also believe the Great Young Lord is nothing but a troublemaker?
An Baek's gaze was fixed on Namgung Mubaek.