Chapter 91: Intensive Training (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 91: Intensive Training (1)
The Heavenly Sword Hall's intensive training, held in preparation for the upcoming strength evaluation, began in earnest.
Lee Se-ha packed her cherished weapon, a supply of inedia pills, and the hand-copied secret manual of the Sword-Root Foundation Art that Namgung Jun had given her. She was entering closed-door cultivation for three months.
She decided to entrust the hall's training to her disciple and focus on sharpening her own blade. This was to ensure that, as the Heavenly Sword Hall Master, she would not fall short when facing the hall masters of the Three Powerhouses.
Naturally, Namgung Jun took charge of the intensive training as its director.
Although there were several veterans present, including Gong Jun-am, they all decided to follow Namgung Jun's teachings without a single complaint. He had, after all, achieved promotion to the Third Cloud in a short period with an astonishing growth rate, and the advice he occasionally offered had proved to be of immense help.
"I wonder how Namgung Jun will teach us."
"Training one's subordinates is one of the crucial virtues of a superior."
"Isn't he actually quite good at teaching? His advice is always easy to understand and well-organized."
Rather than worry or anxiety, many of the Clouds harbored great expectations.
Just how would Namgung Jun train the Heavenly Sword Hall?
The swordsmen of the Heavenly Sword Hall gathered at the training ground, looking up at Namgung Jun, who stood upon the platform.
"I have been appointed as the director of this intensive training."
Namgung Jun looked down at his comrades and raised his index finger. Everyone's eyes naturally gravitated toward that single, raised finger.
"There are no special training methods or secret teachings in this program," Namgung Jun continued. "Only basic skills. We will solidify our foundation. Like building a fortress from the ground up, we will construct a solid base to raise ourselves to new heights."
They had only three months to measure their capabilities against the other Ten Halls. They wondered how much their strength could truly increase by just digging into basic skills, but the swordsmen of the Heavenly Sword Hall did not utter a word of doubt.
Judging by Namgung Jun's behavior so far, he was not one to make empty promises.
He surely had a plan.
All they had to do was trust the path he laid out and do their best to keep up.
With eyes full of trust, the members of the Heavenly Sword Hall gazed at Namgung Jun.
Seeing the conviction in their eyes, Namgung Jun nodded.
"Let us begin the intensive training."
Namgung Jun pulled out several secret manuals he had prepared in advance. These were the core manuals for the intensive training.
"First, this is the manual you must master before anything else."
Namgung Jun handed over copies of the Sword-Root Foundation Art—which he had neatly organized and supplemented with his recent insights—to the swordsmen of the Heavenly Sword Hall.
* * *
The intensive training led by Namgung Jun was simple.
It consisted of practicing the Sword-Root Foundation Art, engaging in martial duels that felt like life-or-death battles, and holding discussions on the sword.
They repeated these three things in an endless cycle.
"Haaa!"
"Keuhap!"
Lined up in rows at the training ground, the members of the Heavenly Sword Hall let out a unified battle cry. The dim dawn mist surged away, as if fleeing from their shouts. Though the air was still chilly, no one felt the cold.
Hot steam billowed from their panting mouths and rose from their bodies, which were heated by the Sword-Root Foundation Art.
Clang!
Thud!
Watching the members practice the Sword-Root Foundation Art from the platform, Namgung Jun spoke firmly.
"The rattling from the Iron Club Swords is getting louder. Again."
The Heavenly Sword Hall swordsmen were not holding wooden training swords, but rather thick, bizarrely shaped swords that resembled clubs.
The Iron Club Sword.
It was a training tool newly designed by Namgung Jun, who had requested that the blacksmiths of the Iron Forge Pavilion craft them specifically for practicing the Sword-Root Foundation Art.
Although it had the form of a sword, its blade was as blunt and thick as a club. There were hollow spaces throughout the blade, which contained numerous iron balls of various sizes. The principle was simple: every time the sword moved, the iron balls inside would roll about randomly, constantly shifting its center of gravity.
Furthermore, because the entire Iron Club Sword was forged from dark iron, its weight was comparable to that of an ordinary greatsword.
'If I hadn't sought separate advice from the Iron Tower Hall Master, I would never have been able to create this training tool.'
Having personally experienced the training of the Iron Tower Hall, he realized the importance of proper training tools and had applied that lesson to this intensive training. While one could practice the Sword-Root Foundation Art with a wooden sword or a training blade, using a specialized tool like the Iron Club Sword doubled the effectiveness.
Therefore, Namgung Jun had boldly proposed the creation of the Iron Club Swords to Lee Se-ha.
'The Heavenly Sword Hall's budget took quite a hit because of them... but it should be fine.'
Namgung Jun gave a bitter smile, recalling how Lee Se-ha’s eyelids had twitched when she saw the invoice from the Iron Forge Pavilion.
Determined to repay his master with good results, the disciple focused his attention back on the movements of the Heavenly Sword Hall members.
"Senior Jin, your wrist is bent inward. You must not be swayed by the irregular center of gravity of the Iron Club Sword. Hong Mok, catch your breath and focus on your lower body."
Standing on the platform, Namgung Jun constantly watched the movements of the members and offered guidance. Even when the advice wasn't for them, the swordsmen listened intently, using the opportunity to examine their own forms.
As time passed, Namgung Jun moved beyond simple corrections and began advising them on the deeper martial principles of the Sword-Root Foundation Art. As he and the Heavenly Sword Hall delved into the art with one mind, the average proficiency of the hall rose steeply.
Rattle!
Clang!
The shouts of the swordsmen practicing the Sword-Root Foundation Art were ceaseless, but the metallic clanging was just as loud.
"Ugh!"
"Be careful not to lose your grip on the Iron Club Sword! You'll get hurt!"
For the First and Second Cloud members, whose external arts were still developing, it was common for the Iron Club Sword to stray completely from the proper sword path. Even the veterans of the Third Cloud sweated profusely, finding the Iron Club Sword just as difficult to handle.
"This is rather difficult," Gong Jun-am muttered. As someone who primarily wielded a greatsword, he possessed some of the finest external arts in the Heavenly Sword Hall.
He had roughly adapted to the weight of the Iron Club Sword by now, but trying to combine its use with the methods of the Sword-Root Foundation Art was no easy task. Sweat dripped past his eyebrows and stung his eyes, but all of Gong Jun-am's focus was concentrated on thrusting the Iron Club Sword correctly.
'It's exhausting and difficult, but it's definitely different.'
No martial artist here had ever neglected their external arts training. They knew well that they could not reach a high realm if they did.
However, the external arts training they had experienced so far was distinctly different from the Sword-Root Foundation Art. Unlike the trial-and-error training they had done based on intuition, the Sword-Root Foundation Art was systematic, structured around clear martial principles.
Moreover, various sword paths and techniques were hidden within it. The art was structured so that if one trained their external arts while faithfully following its methods, their mastery of the sword would naturally deepen as well.
'To go beyond a mere martial artist and pursue and refine a body fit for a swordsman.'
Recalling the first mnemonic formula of the Sword-Root Foundation Art, Gong Jun-am swung the Iron Club Sword with renewed vigor. When he had swung it the same way on the first day, the sound of the iron balls had been incredibly noisy, but now it was much quieter.
Through the Iron Club Sword and the Sword-Root Foundation Art, he was beginning to master how to use both his body and his sword correctly. Although it had only been three days, Gong Jun-am felt a strong conviction: simply mastering the Sword-Root Foundation Art with the Iron Club Sword would elevate the overall strength of the entire Heavenly Sword Hall.
Gong Jun-am was not the only one who felt the underlying changes.
Crash!
Man Ye-won shattered the wooden dummy in front of her with a fierce swing of her Iron Club Sword, then stopped to catch her breath.
"Ugh."
With her hair tied back tightly so it wouldn't interfere, Man Ye-won grit her teeth and lifted the Iron Club Sword again. Though her palms were completely red, she refused to let go.
'I've relied too much on internal energy until now. My external arts and even my sword basics are severely lacking.'
Man Ye-won looked back on her childhood. In her youth, she had been able to consume quite a few spirit elixirs, thanks to her grandfather, the Head of the Elders' Council, who had given her all the elixirs he had gathered in his own youth. Because of that, she possessed higher internal energy than her peers, but she had also developed a habit of relying on it.
She glanced at the other First and Second Cloud members nearby. Although they had less internal energy than her, they were all adapting quickly. Judging purely by their proficiency in the Sword-Root Foundation Art, a few of them even seemed to have surpassed her.
Man Ye-won did not dismiss this as a momentary fluke. This was a warning, delivered to her by the Sword-Root Foundation Art and by Namgung Jun.
'I've had an easy run of it until now.'
The numerous mnemonic formulas contained within the Sword-Root Foundation Art pierced her chest like sharp blades. She instinctively felt that if she did not change now, she would only fall further behind the higher the realm she reached.
'Depending on one's achievement in external arts, the sword tip will show a difference as vast as that between a twig and a mountain peak. The flower of Sword Qi that blooms from its tip will be entirely different, depending on the foundation of the swordsman who wields it.'
Reflecting on her past through the principles of the Sword-Root Foundation Art, Man Ye-won swung the Iron Club Sword with all her might.
Clang!
The endless metallic clanging and fierce battle cries echoed from all directions.
Namgung Jun was not only taking in the entire scene with his eyes but was also gauging their individual progress through the sounds they made.
'Their overall progress is not bad.'
Although they were all practicing the same Sword-Root Foundation Art, the changes and achievements they displayed differed according to their rank. For the First and Second Cloud members, who lacked both external arts and sword technique, the priority was carving their bodies into an ideal form. For the Third Cloud members, whose bodies were already trained to some extent, the focus was on muscle adjustment and correcting their sword techniques accordingly.
Though the primary goals they sought from the Sword-Root Foundation Art differed, it was clear that the entire Heavenly Sword Hall was drawing closer to becoming superior swordsmen.
* * *
The Sword-Root Foundation Art training, which had begun at dawn, only ended when the sun reached its highest point in the sky.
After devouring their lunch, taking a brief rest, and performing qi circulation, the members of the Heavenly Sword Hall immediately proceeded to their next training.
The format was simple: members took turns dueling Namgung Jun, while the others either practiced their sword techniques or sparred amongst themselves.
While conducting these instructional duels, Namgung Jun imposed one restriction.
They were to focus solely on the Great Derivation Sword Technique, without touching any other sword arts.
Once the swordsmen had mastered the Minor Derivation Sword Technique and the Great Derivation Sword Technique to a certain extent, they tended to learn other sword techniques that suited their individual tastes. Most members had learned anywhere from two to four other techniques, but Namgung Jun restricted them to practicing only the Great Derivation Sword Technique for the duration of the training.
'The potential of the Great Derivation Sword Technique is far greater than what the Heavenly Sword Hall thinks.'
As Namgung Jun saw it, the members' proficiency in the Great Derivation Sword Technique was around sixty to seventy percent at the lowest, and eighty to ninety percent at the highest. Aside from Lee Se-ha and himself, no one had achieved grand completion. Everyone tended to focus on the sword techniques they had learned afterward rather than the Great Derivation Sword Technique.
'The Great Derivation Sword Technique is an art that encompasses various branches of martial principles. At first glance, it might seem like a featureless technique that is merely highly versatile.'
But Namgung Jun thought differently.
Because it allowed a swordsman to meld insights from all branches of the sword into a single strike, he believed achieving grand completion in the Great Derivation Sword Technique alone would be far more effective than learning several other techniques. In particular, it was bound to create a powerful synergistic effect when combined with the Sword-Root Foundation Art, which refined one's basics.
Namgung Jun looked at the man who, more than anyone else in the Heavenly Sword Hall, desired to delve deep into a single sword.
"Are you ready?"
"Of course, Young Hero Namgung."
Heo Il pointed his sword toward Namgung Jun.
It was the opening stance of the Great Derivation Sword Technique.