Chapter 10
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Discovery of the Divine Art
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“I wish to reach the Mountain Shattering Realm.”
It was a voice like a sonic technique, striking the very hearts of the martial artists.
Just one sentence had set their souls vibrating.
The Eighth Realm, the Mountain Shattering Realm—it was said that one could topple a great mountain with their bare hands, a dream coveted by all.
These men were warriors before they were members of the clan.
Not one of them had failed to dream, in their youth, of wandering the jianghu. Everyone had at least once imagined themselves as a young master, unfolding their ambitions in their mind's eye.
That had been once upon a time.
Now, these world-weary veterans burst into mocking laughter. Amid the familiar scorn and disdain, there was one man who never once smiled.
Seo Mun-ha, Seo Mun Jeong-cheon, Seo Mun Jeong-ryong, and Seo Mun-gyeol.
An unexpected storm in calm waters.
The elder assembly ended, leaving a lingering heat from that commonplace ambition.
“May I ask two more questions?”
The three who remained until the very end.
“Is the main house engaging in the same dealings as the Plum Sword Gang?”
“Who in this world is free of even a speck of dirt?”
“……”
“But the main house doesn't carry stains quite that deep.”
“That's a relief.”
Having received a satisfactory answer from Seo Mun Jeong-cheon, Seo Mun-ha exited the corridor.
The Seo Mun Clan desired the symbol of the Six Great Clans.
The path the clan was treading and his own destination were one and the same, even if the journeys differed.
“Is he serious?”
Though it was only the beginning, Seo Mun Jeong-ryong was already filled with worries.
“The cause lies with them, to be sure, but Ha-a's response was excessive. Facing off against numerous first-class warriors—who knows what means he used.”
“Leave him be. Doesn't he always say he handles things himself?”
“I've thought this before, but while you may not be the ideal patriarch, brother, you don't make a very good father either.”
“What can we do? He grew up without one from the start.”
“That was like spitting in my face.”
Seo Mun Jeong-cheon chuckled belatedly.
“Let's watch and see what he's thinking. There's no rush.”
“……I'll have the Black Dragon Unit leader tighten surveillance in Jungmu-hyeon. We'll need to keep an eye on movements from the officials and the Hwang Bo Clan as well. I'll prepare separate countermeasures. In order, the Plum Sword Gang and Golden Tiger Merchant Group come first, but no need to react to them directly.”
“What a shame, Jeong-ryong. If I had two more brothers like you, we'd be one of the Six Great Clans by now.”
“I already find my duties loathsome enough.”
A moment later.
As Seo Mun Jeong-ryong finished clan affairs, a sudden thought struck him, and he asked,
“By the way, brother. Why do you think Ha-a sought out a master of the Shadowless Hand Technique when there are none in the main house?”
“Who knows.”
“Go in and rest first.”
“Young master?”
“I'm fine.”
I forcibly pushed A-so on his way.
From the corridor where the elder assembly had convened to my quarters, he'd asked after my well-being dozens more times amid the commotion.
I shoved the tension-drained A-so, who'd been anxious all day, into his room.
“Will you follow me all the way to my bedchamber?”
And then I asked.
“Heh heh, the more I see of you, the more amusing you become.”
Clearly speaking from empty air, the voice I'd grown accustomed to clicked its tongue.
“I greet Great-grandfather.”
“Enough with the formalities.”
The elderly man gradually revealed himself.
Seo Mun-gyeol, my great-grandfather—comparing him to the previous watcher would be sheer insolence.
Indeed.
His martial prowess was at the Seven Realms. Unrivaled even within the clan. Word was he secluded himself somewhere beyond several ridges.
“How did you know?”
His eyes, probing me as if to dissect my hazy facade, brought to mind the adage: even if your mouth twists, speak straight.
“I just threw it out there on a hunch.”
But I brushed both aside lightly. No way could I reveal my past life outright.
“How could this foolish grandson presume to gauge even a shadow of Great-grandfather's presence?”
As I secretly sized him up, he drew near in a flash, his eyes brimming with interest.
“……But what business brings you here?”
“What do you think?”
A movement without form.
Just as the Seven Realms were called Soul Transcendence, it was a gait that utterly transcended stances and shapes.
“Teach me.”
Short and intense.
I moved my facial muscles to match the feeling.
“You refused before. Mentioning a nonexistent master, even preserving this old man's dignity in the process.”
“That's not it……”
“On the contrary, this old man wants to ask why you refused.”
His business was evidently the answer to my prior question.
“Any warrior of the main house would be desperate to learn even a single technique from me. I haven't reached the Mountain Shattering Realm myself, but I take pride in the depth of my martial knowledge.”
The same realm, yet in my past life, I hadn't fully shed form as he had—his teachings would be worth a fortune.
“I don't have time.”
But for now, they were as good as useless.
“To my reckoning, Great-grandfather, even your slightest instruction wouldn't digest overnight. What I need are martial arts I can use right away in real combat.”
The teachings themselves would differ. With my body unable to keep pace with my mind, any techniques usable in battle were mere facades.
“So it wasn't a joke—you'll handle the Hwang Bo Clan alone?”
“I don't need to kill all their warriors and retainers. Difficult, but not impossible, I believe.”
His smile deepened subtly. It carried a mischievous edge that inexplicably filled me with unease.
“I've never heard of a child like you in the main house.”
“Good that you haven't.”
I didn't know how much affection this recluse still held for the clan, but the deeds of my past self were indefensible, even if you split my skull in two.
“Martial arts for real combat—I'm no teacher, but I'll share something good with you.”
Something good?
“You'll know when you see it for yourself.”
Deeply suspicious, but I didn't show it.
“Depending on what you do…… you might grasp it.”
Contrary to my wariness, what emerged from his mouth was unmistakably a Seo Mun Clan technique.
“It's late— we'll meet again.”
Seo Mun-gyeol vanished as suddenly as he'd appeared.
“……Take care.”
Promising that descending the mountain would henceforth be a pleasure.
I offered a fist salute toward his departure.
Most murim clans divide themselves into various groups.
Not only do their roles differ, but above all, the martial arts they cultivate vary.
Unit leaders and squad captains might guide their subordinates' techniques beyond master-disciple bonds, but fundamentally, they learned martial lore from the clan's martial hall and grasped its principles there.
This held true even for direct bloodlines.
The martial scriptures stored in the library.
Especially advanced techniques like supreme arts—glimpsing them was nearly impossible.
Thanks to mentioning the Mountain Shattering Realm, perhaps.
Normally, one progressed step by step based on personal achievements, so skipping processes like mine was clearly exceptional.
That aside.
The library was vast and labyrinthine.
I'd passed its relatively low roof once before, but unlike other halls, its grandeur extended downward, not upward.
Creaking floorboards underfoot—it felt like I'd descended four more stories.
The deepest level of the underground floors.
Trailing the warrior of the Somnok Pavilion martial hall where I'd halted, I advanced until the solid weight beneath my feet signaled the end of the stairs.
“Remember the time limit.”
A young woman. She ranked with the patriarch, an unmarried swordswoman of the jianghu.
“Thank you.”
She'd said I had only one shichen allotted.
A clan's greatest treasure and value couldn't, naturally, be taken out.
Even memorizing formulas alone was tight on time, leaving no leisure to leisurely peruse the densely packed martial tomes.
I hurried my steps to find it.
A martial manual untouched by hand oils.
Rumor had it that throughout the clan's long history, not a single person had fully mastered it—not even the grandmaster who created it.
……This is it.
Its distinctive traits, plus an unusual name, let me find it quicker than expected.
Heaven and Spirit. Unlike the pristine cover, the contents were barely discernible amid erased characters.
“……”
No wonder they'd permitted it so casually.
They must have been certain. Certain it was meaningless.
Even the finest sword is mere ornament if unused—this nominal technique's worth was indescribable.
The intricate formulas began from the first page.
These outlined the technique's background and core principles.
Skipping explanations, I flipped rapidly page by page; the relatively intact sections drew admiration the more I read.
Incredible.
I hadn't thought highly of the Seo Mun Clan's martial arts before, critiquing their lack of depth due to overreliance on form.
But if form reaches this pinnacle……
Seventy-two sword forms composed the sword strikes.
A complete sword sequence consisted of twelve strikes, and twelve sequences formed a single sword path.
Five sword paths converged into one sword method.
Countless martial principles took form under the energies of the five elements.
Sarahk.
I lost track of time, immersed in the manual.
Sarahk.
My reading slowed, time per page lengthening.
The Flowing Cloud Sword and Flowing Cloud Step I'd glanced over my shoulder.
Even the lightly touched Five Inscriptions Twelve Divine Arts. The Seo Mun Clan's techniques etched in body and mind were pushed aside, replaced in my head by this nameless art's myriad strikes.
“Haha.”
And I realized.
This was a technique crafted for peak masters. One guiding to realms beyond. At minimum, it required first-realm internal energy to even imitate.
My current power? First-class at best.
Coldly put, hovering between first- and second-class. No chance of imitation.
That old man.
He'd said it was usable in real combat. I could almost hear Seo Mun-gyeol's mischievous laugh from somewhere.
Strictly speaking, this technique was half-complete.
The all-important heart method was missing. Not just the name had been erased—what a sly face Seo Mun-gyeol must have worn tossing me this homework.
Perhaps he'd seen through my shallow inner arts alongside the pretext of real-combat techniques.
“Amusing.”
Amusing indeed.
I closed the manual and left, having memorized only the formulas in haste.
Heaven, and Spirit.
What was its formal name, and what heart method matched it?
A technique leading to Mountain Shattering.
Mountain Shattering Heavenly Spirit Sword. I'd call it that.
My woefully lacking internal energy could blend with the Northern Guard Divine Cavalry Art.
By yin-yang and five elements logic, a Five Elements Heavenly Spirit Sword made sense, but regardless of name, it wouldn't manifest from my hands anytime soon. Still, a faint anticipation stirred that the day might come abruptly.
Anticipation is anticipation, reality is reality.
Ascending from the library, I checked my available weapons. For now, no other options.
“I need a spear.”