Chapter 15
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Venturing into the Martial World
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Chae-aeng!
It was a monotonous exchange of blows and parries.
"Not bad at all."
A man from the branch family, watching the spar, gave high praise.
To both the man and woman crossing blades.
"It seems Ha has honed her forms well over the years. More refined than I expected."
To be precise, it was an assessment based on Ha Eun-ye.
"Looks like suppressing Young-ryeong wasn't just a fluke."
"It's still second-rate at best. The main family's swordsmanship isn't so sloppy that you can reach that level in a short time. She's imitating it decently, but it'll cap out at first-rate, for sure."
Depending on the circumstances, she could even touch the second realm.
"She's just barely defending as the attacks come."
It was too high a level to dismiss as mere imitation. Especially considering her opponent. Yet to them, Seo Mun-ha was already firmly established as the clan's wastrel, so even as he held his own admirably against the representative of the younger generation, praise didn't come easily.
"He's been hiding his skills after all."
"I never tried to hide them."
Seo Mun-ha's approach was simple.
Dodge if he could, block if he couldn't.
He seemed on the defensive, yet he seized gaps to counterattack, and the precision of his occasional sharp forms kept Eun-ye from ending it quickly.
"What do you make of it, Eight Flame Unit Leader?"
It looked one-sided and overwhelming. The dull exchange of forms appeared to be led by her at a glance, but unseen, a fierce battle of wits was unfolding.
"Honestly? I'm astonished."
The man with arms crossed—the Eight Flame Unit Leader under the patriarch himself—voiced his frank feelings.
"Which side?"
His natural prowess went without saying, and he was one who could see the unseen.
"The Third Young Master. The Murim Alliance Lord's granddaughter lives up to her fame, no doubt, but purely on forms, the Third Young Master has the edge. He knows how to make full use of what he has. His eye for reading the flow is exceptional, and it's hard to believe he's only just entered first-rate."
Seo Mun-ha's achievements surpassed everyone's expectations in the clan.
His internal energy was first-rate.
But he compensated for his lacking power with experience.
A gap that no amount of shallow experience could bridge.
As a warrior's level rose, experience naturally followed, so each of Seo Mun-ha's diligently polished forms looked to them like a finely honed blade.
"The outcome's still decided, though. Look, he's already tiring. The Twelve Swords of the Five Inscriptions hold the essence of swift swordplay, yet he's all defense. Learning the main family's arts and not using them properly—what a disgrace."
There was no reply. No one thought that way. Not even the one who'd said it from the branch family.
Chae-aeng!
A timely sword form crossed offense and defense, canceling each other out, and as Seo Mun-ha steadied his wobbling stance, he closed the distance in reverse.
The two drew near in an instant.
With blades locked, it was as if wordless conversation passed between them.
"I didn't expect Ha to be this good."
"You saw it that way too, Patriarch?"
"He's got room to spare. He might even match her at the second realm."
"But that girl's at the third realm, peak at that. It won't be easy. At least victory doesn't matter here."
"When did he build such skill?"
Ma Hwi interjected between Seo Mun Jeong-cheon and the Eight Flame Unit Leader.
"A clever kid. No, 'clever' doesn't suffice. The Third Young Master is cunning."
"What do you mean, Ma Unit Leader?"
"I've already reported to you, Patriarch. I tried to keep it quiet, but lately, I've lost track of the Third Young Master's movements several times."
"You, Ma Unit Leader? At the mid-second realm, you were evaded by the Third Young Master?"
"Not just me—no one knew anything about him."
Jeong-cheon turned back to the spar, leaving his subordinates behind.
'Mountain Shattering Realm... so it wasn't youthful bravado.'
Ranked among the Hundred Great Masters of the world, he had reached the sixth realm. Thus, he wasn't just surprised by Seo Mun-ha's visible achievements.
The Seven Realms, Soul Transcendence.
To transcend something, one must first know it, so the seventh realm refined and altered forms.
Not perfectly flawless, but in the late-blooming sprout before him, Jeong-cheon saw signs. Seo Mun-ha's sword path.
"Hoo."
Seo Mun-ha shook off his sword and resumed his stance.
"Third realm? Not bad for a courtesan who knows a bit of martial arts."
He could suppress the first realm with his sword. Meaning his skill matched that. Peak warriors meant manifesting internal energy, and leveraging experience's strengths, he could aim to match even the second realm.
'First realm: seven parts. Second: four parts. Third...'.
And for now, to stand level with, and surpass, the third realm, he still needed a spear.
"Ha, that's my line."
Not some trick like ambush or sleight of hand—from a normal warrior's view.
Not life-or-death with many variables, but in terms of sparring.
"Benevolent Affection Transcendent Supreme Sword Canon, was it?"
From the measure of warriors gauging each other, her overall level was first realm.
Heart, energy, body.
With a heart at the seventh realm, her energy and body—mere first-rate—had only risen one step further.
Energy was one's cultivation, body the vessel holding internal energy. No wonder warriors prized internal energy most, speaking through the mouths of thousands.
"My great-granduncle created it himself."
The root was one; adding heart to harmonize the trinity was normal, making him the exceptional case.
'Of course, better than a dantian cripple.'
Charging swiftly, Seo Mun-ha thrust the regripped sword.
"Fancy name, but..."
"The performance is solid, right?"
With sword in hand, against a third-realm warrior, his odds were one in ten. Even that was optimistic.
'Having odds at all is something.'
Ha Eun-ye was holding back appropriately. Starting with probing, ending with probing—her goal. Forgetting internal energy, unlike her initial momentum, she was now enjoying the spar.
"No spear?"
A warrior was ever a warrior.
"You know we don't have spear arts in the main family."
As the adage "one who enjoys cannot win" surfaced, a greater gleam suddenly lit her bright eyes.
"What?!"
The Eight Flame Unit Leader blurted in shock.
Along with him, the Seo Mun Clan warriors gasped, unable to close their mouths at the single form Seo Mun-ha unleashed.
Hwaaak!
A slow glow shot out in an instant.
Before showing her full power, her vision stolen by the brilliant sword path, she stared blankly at him.
"Mountain Shattering Heavenly Spirit Sword."
Even leaving aside the lingering chill in her eight limbs.
"...I lost."
Yet winner and loser were reversed.
"Young Master Seo Mun?!"
Ha Eun-ye hurriedly supported the utterly exhausted Seo Mun-ha, drained from overusing his energy.
* * *
"His qi and blood are disrupted, but nothing to worry about. Just his imperfect meridians got shocked."
"Hah, to think the Third Young Master would attempt that."
"It was less than half a form, though."
Ma Hwi and Eight Flame Unit Leader U Gil looked at the silent Seo Mun Jeong-cheon.
"Still, I didn't expect the Third Young Master to win."
"Who could've predicted it against her? Shame it's unofficial."
Those itching to demean him for once created a harmonious atmosphere.
"What will you do, Patriarch? Sending the Third Young Master to the Murim Alliance seems fine."
"You saw those two earlier. Friends, they said, but honey dripped from Ha Unit Leader's eyes."
Thus, baseless fabrications weren't hard.
"I thought they were lovers too. Don't most man-woman relationships start that way?"
"The betrothal to the Baek Ri Clan is the hurdle, but the Sword King's granddaughter? No dilemma there."
"She's three years older, right? Older women don't cradle wastrels like the Third Young Master well..."
With the parties and direct kin silent, people were already naming their hypothetical grandchildren.
"Have some shame!"
U Gil, unable to bear it, shouted.
"The Third Young Master's betrothal was decided by both patriarchs! The clan lord's decision is no light matter! Do you mean to insult the patriarch and the main family?!"
They glanced at Jeong-cheon.
Those about to retort shut their mouths at his heavier mood.
"U Gil Unit Leader."
"Yes."
"Bring Ha here once he stabilizes."
"Understood."
* * *
From A-so, I heard our first meeting was four months ago.
The second took half a month, the third less than a day.
"Are you alright, Young Master?"
My meetings with Father had shortened dramatically.
"I'm fine."
"What did the Patriarch say?"
A-so's face mixed worry and anticipation equally.
"Just simple questions."
"Questions?"
"When and to what extent I'd learned the Five Inscriptions Twelve Divine Arts and Mountain Shattering Heavenly Spirit Sword?"
"Not simple at all..."
"My answers were."
I shrugged and returned to my quarters.
"That woman... I mean, that young lady?"
"She left already. U Chong-gwan wanted to host her as a guest, but she'll come back tomorrow. Didn't expect you to wake so soon."
"I didn't faint."
"You say that, hehe."
Compared to Northern Guard Divine Cavalry Art, it was far milder.
Hard to declare simple superiority between fundamentally different arts, but physically, Mountain Shattering Heavenly Spirit Sword was definitely less taxing.
Its Wood Node and Phoenix Wing Form were basic to begin with. She must've left because it got late.
"No more to discuss here anyway. Good for her. You head back too. Busy from dawn tomorrow."
"Tomorrow? Something planned?"
Yes. Of course. The reason I'd stirred up Plum Sword Gang to buy time—a pivotal turning point.
"Time for you to see the world and broaden your horizons."
"Leaving Shandong?!"
A hint of fear leaped ahead of prior fuss.
"You've never left Shandong either, right Young Master?"
"Nope, so neither have you."
"Will the Patriarch allow it?"
"Not sure about allow, but I gave him a heads-up. Anyone'd think I'm running away."
Like it or not, Seo Mun-ha's home was still the Seo Mun Clan.
"Plum Sword Gang's no issue now. The problem's what comes after."
"Right!"
"But on second thought, dragging you along by force..."
"I have to go! You skip meals without me, Young Master!"
"Fine. Tell Gu Chil and Yang Jeong too. Prepare thoroughly."
Mentioning preparations, A-so asked as if remembering.
"By the way, where are we going?"
Depending on destination, timeline and gear differ.
"You'll see when we get there."
What I wanted: sturdy spear, spirit medicine. A place to get them.
Deulgeureok.
The next morning.
Leaving the clan, an inexplicable déjà vu hit me, like hearing a resentful woman's scream.
'He left?!'
In the rickety carriage, A-so repeated his question.
"This the right way?"
"Yes."
"Destination..."
"To Sichuan. Like I said yesterday."