Chapter 166: Southern Heaven (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 166: Southern Heaven (2)
Upon entering the office, Hahu Seon took a moment to savor the tea Namgung Jun had brewed.
"Hoh."
With a slight twitch of his brow, Hahu Seon tasted the tea once more and nodded in approval.
"Excellent. You have a profound understanding of the tea ceremony. I daresay you brew the finest tea among all the Hall Masters."
"My skills improved by brewing tea for my master."
"Haha. Se-ha also has a rather interesting way of brewing tea."
The image of Lee Se-ha, free-spirited and unburdened by the strict rules of the ceremony, was still vivid in his mind. As Namgung Jun recalled the memory, the corners of his mouth naturally curved into a smile.
"You have accomplished a truly great feat this time. To think you neutralized the Four Great Battle Groups with only two halls."
"It was a natural outcome of prioritizing the rescue of my master and the Heavenly Sword Hall."
"That is true. It was a mission you had to prioritize above all else."
Hahu Seon gazed at the steam rising from his teacup. Though the vapor rose thickly, it was not nearly enough to obscure Namgung Jun’s bright, steadfast gaze.
"When the news of the Four Great Battle Groups' annihilation spread, it sent shockwaves not only through the main fortress but through all our branches scattered across the Jianghu. I heard the morale of the Cloud Ranks has soared across the board."
Toppling one of the four pillars that were the Sun-Moon Demonic Cult's Four Great Battle Groups was a monumental achievement. It was all the more impressive considering they had not faced them with equal strength and that the Heavenly Sword Hall had suffered a preemptive strike.
This was an event that did more than simply reduce the Sun-Moon Demonic Cult's military power; it was bound to reshape the entire political landscape of the Jianghu. A massive dent had been put in the prestige of the Demonic Cult, which had long been revered as the greatest power under the heavens.
Hahu Seon was simply proud of and grateful to Namgung Jun, who had repaid his trust many times over.
To think he is already on the verge of the Five Qis Converging at the Origin.
Even after achieving the Three Flowers Gather at the Crown, Namgung Jun’s growth had not stalled. On the contrary, after reaching the Unity of Essence, Qi, and Spirit, his progress seemed to accelerate, his strength increasing even faster than before. It was as if he were only now absorbing the realizations his body had previously been unready to digest.
Although the aura Namgung Jun exuded was completely different, one part of him remained unchanged. His direct, deep blue eyes still looked as if they had been modeled after the stars in the southern sky.
This sight solidified Hahu Seon’s certainty about the purpose of his visit.
"I came today because there is something I wish to show you."
"What is it?"
As Hahu Seon turned his head, Namgung Jun followed his gaze out the window. The sun, which had been hanging at its zenith, was gradually beginning to sink.
"Let us go outside first," Hahu Seon said, picking up the wooden sword he had brought with him.
* * *
Namgung Jun and Hahu Seon climbed Lotus Peak, the highest peak of Huangshan. They ascended slowly, without using any lightness techniques, so the journey took a considerable amount of time.
By the time they reached the summit, the sky had long since been stained with multiple layers of pitch-black ink.
Namgung Jun looked at Hahu Seon, who was breathing heavily. A pang of sympathy struck him as he watched the old man’s bent back rise and fall with each labored breath.
"Are you alright, Association Leader?"
"Yes. This is nothing."
"You have overexerted yourself."
Namgung Jun had initially offered to carry Hahu Seon on his back using the Thousand-Li Lake Journey, but he could not refuse the Association Leader’s wish to climb Lotus Peak on his own two feet.
Hahu Seon set down the wooden sword that had served as his walking cane and sat on a large boulder.
"Wasn't the scenery of Huangshan we saw while climbing truly beautiful?"
"After returning from the Five Mountains, one looks at no other mountains; after returning from Huangshan, one looks at no other peaks."
Hearing Namgung Jun quietly recite the saying, Hahu Seon slapped his knee and rejoiced like a child.
"The Azure Firmament Hall Master knows this saying as well! It is my favorite. It strikes a chord deep within me, especially when I have to deal with those frustrating fools from the Five Great Mountains Sword Sects."
The words perfectly expressed the pride he held in his heart for Huangshan.
After returning from the Five Mountains, one looks at no other mountains.
Once you have visited the Five Great Mountains, no other mountain can capture your eye.
After returning from Huangshan, one looks at no other peaks.
And once you have visited Huangshan, even the Five Great Mountains pale in comparison.
Born and raised on Huangshan, Hahu Seon couldn't remember how many times he had muttered those words to himself. When he lost a martial duel to a swordsman of the Five Great Mountains Sword Sects while fighting under the name of the Azure Heaven Association; when he discovered the corpses of his comrades and his lover; when he lost both his eyes and his right arm.
Through every hardship life threw at him, he had repeated that phrase countless times, engraving it upon his heart. He had always aspired to be like Huangshan, which stood tall and embraced him.
"The Four Wonders of Huangshan are magnificent, as are Lotus Peak, Brightness Peak, and Celestial Capital Peak. But there is another sight I love most when I climb Huangshan."
Having finally caught his breath, Hahu Seon picked up his wooden sword and stood. He strode toward the south, stopping precariously at the edge of the cliff.
Namgung Jun immediately moved to Hahu Seon's side and gently supported him.
"Please be careful, Association Leader."
"I am fine. Look ahead."
Perhaps they had chosen a particularly clear night. The sky stretching endlessly to the south of Huangshan felt exceptionally vast.
"Do you know the meaning of 'Southern Heaven' in the name Namcheon Palace?"
"The southern sky… Nothing else comes to mind."
Namgung Jun shook his head, feigning ignorance as he took in the southern sky. The view from the south of Huangshan was completely unobstructed, making it the perfect place to admire the starlight.
"As you know, the main fortress of the Azure Heaven Association was established on the ruins of the Namcheon Palace."
"Yes."
"Lotus Peak is the highest peak in the south of Huangshan. They say that when you look at the southern sky from here, the stars in that direction shine with exceptional brilliance."
Hahu Seon paused, quietly gazing at the southern sky stretching beyond the peak. Though he shouldn't have been able to see anything, he was smiling contentedly, as if the sky and its countless stars were vividly visible to him.
Yes. It was like this in my past life, too. The starlight of the Southern Heaven, viewed from Huangshan, was brilliant.
It was a cloudless night sky, where countless stars scattered light of every magnitude. The brilliant starlight stretched in straight lines in all directions, blending in perfect harmony. Though countless beams of light crossed paths, each steadfastly forged its own way, making the night sky dark yet bright.
This was the Southern Heaven of Huangshan.
"They say the chivalrous heroes who first settled on Huangshan would steel their hearts while looking at this wide-open night sky and the stars that kept to their places. They prayed that their sense of chivalry would remain unbroken, stretching out straight like those beams of starlight and illuminating the darkness."
Hahu Seon, who had lost both his eyes long ago, could not tear his gaze from the southern sky of Huangshan. It was as if he was recalling the night sky and the starlight he had seen before losing his sight.
"That, they say, was the beginning of the Namcheon Palace."
Namgung Jun silently gazed at the night sky, which held a dense canopy of starlight. He already knew the origin of the Namcheon Palace, of course, but hearing it from Hahu Seon’s own lips filled him with a fresh wave of emotion.
"I truly love the stories of the Southern Heaven. I have ever since I heard them from my grandfather as a child. I, too, wanted to become like a star in that night sky."
"Are you not already doing so?"
"Is that so? Well, even though I lost my eyes and arm, I never lost my sense of chivalry. This broken old star must still be emitting some light."
Laughing heartily, Hahu Seon gently pushed Namgung Jun back to create some distance.
"The martial insight you shared with me last time came to me as another koan."
Since their conversation in the bamboo forest, he was no longer bound by the Namcheon Guiding-to-the-End Sword. Instead of chasing a martial art that was a mere shell with only a name, he had focused on something far more essential.
"Though I abandoned my lingering attachment to the Namcheon Guiding-to-the-End Sword, I did not let go of the Namcheon Palace's name, its history, or its pride. I simply wished to carry them on in my own way."
Hahu Seon aimed his wooden sword toward the vast night sky. The blade, held in the old man's hand, pointed toward the path he wished to walk beneath the stars.
He slowly thrust the wooden sword forward. For a fleeting moment, the sword and the starlight seemed to connect in a single, straight line. As the honest and upright sword paths gradually multiplied, the Sword Force imbued in the wooden sword stacked layer upon layer.
Strangely, even after the wooden sword had passed, a heavy residue of Sword Force lingered in the empty air. It was as if every time the blade drew a new path, it plucked a star from the sky.
Even though I have lost my eyes, the Southern Heaven of Huangshan that I gazed upon with my grandfather remains vivid in my heart.
The intent of Hahu Seon as he performed this nameless sword technique was engraved upon all of creation. It was the intent of a peerless expert, which was not heard by the ears but struck directly into the mind.
Since the Southern Heaven of Huangshan remains the same as it was in my childhood, my heart and my sword shall never change.
Hahu Seon's intent filled the entirety of Lotus Peak. This was the very core of his nameless sword technique.
Just as the night sky steadfastly keeps its place, I shall maintain an upright spirit; just as the stars shine even in the darkness, I shall preserve a steadfast will.
The wooden sword stretched boundlessly like the vast night sky and soared straight as starlight. As the nameless sword technique reached its climax, hundreds of overlapping sword paths rippled vividly across the darkness. The Sword Force layered along those paths was so incredibly powerful that the very atmosphere vibrated and warped.
"This is the destination I have chosen. My own Guiding to the End."
"Ah!"
An exclamation escaped Namgung Jun's lips before he could stop it, his heart swelling with emotion. The old man, who had been bound by the Namcheon Guiding-to-the-End Sword his entire life, had begun to search for his own truth. He had reclaimed the true things he had missed and, one by one, reached a new end.
Huangshan, the southern night sky, and the starlight.
The old man existed entirely at the center of it all.
He has surpassed the Namcheon Guiding-to-the-End Sword. With a sword technique of his own.
This was an assessment only Namgung Jun could make, as someone who knew the Namcheon Guiding-to-the-End Sword from his past life. A warm smile spread across his face. The joy of witnessing a successor forge their own path and surpass their predecessors was a truly mysterious and deeply moving feeling.
At this very moment, it felt as if all the starlight in the night sky was gathering toward Hahu Seon.
"I am starting to tire."
His entire body drenched in sweat, Hahu Seon slowly lowered his wooden sword. Namgung Jun quickly moved to support the staggering old man.
"You overexerted yourself. Are you alright?"
"The sword paths, the Qi Waves, and even the intent… did you memorize them?"
"Of course."
"This is my answer to the koan you gave me in the bamboo forest. I hope it will be of some help to you."
Nodding quietly, Namgung Jun spoke after a brief pause.
"It is an incredibly grand gift."
He meant it. As eras change, so too do people. He had thought it would be enough if the Azure Heaven Association could simply walk its own righteous path. But Hahu Seon had not forgotten the Namcheon Palace; he had sought to preserve its will in his own way.
Hahu Seon’s reverence for the Namcheon Palace brought Namgung Jun immense comfort. It felt as though the old man was cheering for and taking pride in the choices made by the Namcheon Palace, the Sword Emperor, and his disciples in his past life.
Though the Namcheon Palace had collapsed long ago, its will and spirit clearly remained.
The sword technique he just displayed is the same.
It was a sword technique that had distilled the life of an old man who wished to be like Huangshan. A sword technique born from his admiration for the stars in the southern night sky. The steadfast and upright intent dwelling within it suited Namgung Jun perfectly.
Supporting Hahu Seon, Namgung Jun raised his head once more.
The southern night sky of Huangshan remained unchanged.
"It is truly a wondrous sight."
The night sky seen by the chivalrous heroes of Huangshan, the night sky seen by the Sword Emperor and his disciples in a past life, and the night sky seen by Hahu Seon in his childhood.
Was it the same Southern Heaven of Huangshan for all of them?
Namgung Jun dared to be certain. Though their eras differed, they had all looked upon the same sky with the same heart.
The southern night sky and the starlight of Huangshan would never change. For new heroes would surely appear to fill the empty spaces left by those who had gone ahead for the sake of chivalry.
"The stars of Huangshan's Southern Heaven shine bright; eternally illuminating the Jianghu, unchanging chivalry."
The stars of Huangshan's Southern Heaven shine bright.
Just as the host of stars shines in the southern sky of Huangshan.
Eternally illuminating the Jianghu, unchanging chivalry.
So too does unchanging chivalry eternally illuminate the Jianghu.
This poetic couplet encompassed the countless emotions, inspirations, and insights swirling like a cluster of stars within his mind. Having captured this incredibly precious realization, Namgung Jun turned his back on the night sky.
His steps were steadfast and upright.