Chapter 97: Guiding to the End (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 97: Guiding to the End (1)
Hahu Seon unfolded the paper.
“Martial Conquest Hall, Iron Tower Hall.”
This much was expected. Since they were originally part of the Three Powerhouses, their inclusion wasn't strange at all. The final name to escape Hahu Seon’s lips would decide the outcome.
Of course, it was clear that the Heavenly Sword Hall had achieved outstanding results in the strength evaluation, but it was impossible not to feel tense.
Would the Flying Swiftness Hall, one of the existing three, maintain its position, or would the Heavenly Sword Hall reclaim its former glory?
Even the Clouds who belonged to neither hall hung on Hahu Seon’s every word.
“The Three Powerhouses have changed this time. The new member of the Three Powerhouses is… the Heavenly Sword Hall.”
The aging voice of the Azure Heaven Association Leader echoed gently across the Great Training Ground.
A moment later, cheers erupted from the Heavenly Sword Hall’s side.
“The Three Powerhouses? The Three Powerhouses! He said we're one of the Three Powerhouses!”
“We did it! We’ve risen to the Three Powerhouses again!”
“I thought it would take at least a few more years.”
The swordsmen of the Heavenly Sword Hall embraced each other in joy, then turned their eyes to Namgung Jun.
“Our youngest deserves the most credit.”
“Honestly, the youngest did everything. We just followed his lead.”
“Don’t just stand over there. Come here, Namgung Jun!”
The swordsmen dragged Namgung Jun from his corner into the center, ruffling his hair and clapping his shoulders in a shower of affection.
Man Ye-won also reached out a hand but quickly withdrew it when she caught Namgung Jun’s sharp glare.
Not bad.
Though Namgung Jun found the physical affection incredibly awkward, it also gave him a sense of validation—proof that he was doing well as a Cloud of the Heavenly Sword Hall.
With the announcement of the new Three Powerhouses concluded, a banquet immediately commenced. The festivities took place right there on the Great Training Ground.
An endless stream of food and alcohol was brought in, and the Clouds of the Ten Halls sat down to enjoy the feast.
While the Clouds had kept strictly to their own groups during the evaluation, the banquet was a different story. They mingled freely, going wherever their feet and hearts led them, without regard for their respective halls.
A few flagbearers and Clouds from the Flying Swiftness Hall even dropped by to offer their congratulations, sharing a few cups of wine before heading back.
While drinking circles formed haphazardly all over the grounds, the Heavenly Sword Hall was the center of attention no matter where one looked.
“It feels like it's been a very long time since I’ve been able to drink just to get drunk,” Heo Il mused, smiling as he stared at his cup. He clenched and unclenched his heavily scarred right hand.
The bright moonlight reflected beautifully in the cup Namgung Jun had filled to the brim.
“We need days like this once in a while.”
“Namgung Jun! Fill mine too!”
As Man Ye-won held out her cup, Namgung Jun smiled and lifted the bottle.
“You’ve improved quite a lot as well. I was surprised to see you achieve more than I expected.”
“Hmph. I only look lacking because I’m being compared to you. I was actually considered a highly promising talent, you know?” Man Ye-won grumbled, picking at the side dishes with her chopsticks, but the corners of her mouth twitched upward.
While Namgung Jun filled her cup, Clouds from other halls approached, carrying armfuls of food and alcohol.
“Brother Namgung. I watched your performance with great interest.”
“Brother Baekri. You’re here.”
Led by Baekri Cheong, the rising stars of each hall who had competed in the Mount Song Gathering's martial duel tournament had come to see him. Among them were Samyeop of the Flying Swiftness Hall and Jang Mun-hyeok of the Iron Tower Hall.
“Namgung Jun. You’re already active as a flagbearer, while we’re still a step behind.”
“Not only that, you displayed overwhelming martial prowess even among the seniors.”
“As expected of the Righteous Path's Number One Rising Star. Seeing your performance today made me feel proud for some reason.”
As they offered their congratulations, Namgung Jun reciprocated by filling each of their cups. He nodded, looking at the rising stars gathered around him.
“None of you have stagnated since then, either. Everyone is making rapid progress, so there’s no need to feel impatient.”
“Hearing you say that gives me strength, Brother Namgung.”
“I hope we can duel again soon. Sparring with you is always a massive help to my own progress,” Baekri Cheong said, tossing a dumpling to Namgung Jun. “Now that the Heavenly Sword Hall has joined the Three Powerhouses, we’ll be undertaking far more joint missions.”
“Joint missions?”
Samyeop of the Flying Swiftness Hall answered in Baekri Cheong’s stead. “For large-scale or difficult missions, two or three halls sometimes deploy together. There are also missions specifically assigned only to the Three Powerhouses.”
“Come to think of it, has Brother Namgung never been on a joint mission?”
“That's correct.”
Samyeop and Jang Mun-hyeok nodded, looking genuinely surprised.
“Well, it’s not like joint missions happen all the time.”
“Even so, to think you haven’t experienced one yet… It really drives home just how fast your promotion has been, Namgung Jun.”
Namgung Jun chuckled, picking up his chopsticks. Most of the food had gone cold while they were talking, but that had its own charm. He sampled the dishes bit by bit, tilting his cup.
Sharing drinks with like-minded companions always felt good. Suddenly, he recalled the drinking sessions he had shared with his disciples in his past life. He had never been a heavy drinker, but accepting cups from his disciples one by one always led to him drinking quite a bit. He would end up tipsy, but he never bothered to expel the alcohol with his internal energy.
Those moments, drinking and watching their faces grow redder together, had been incredibly precious.
His disciples were not by his side now, but in their place, he had his comrades of the Azure Heaven Association.
Just as his throat burned as the alcohol slid down, a gentle warmth spread through a corner of his heart.
“Whew.”
It was just as Namgung Jun was catching his breath, wanting to engrave this moment even more vividly in his memory, that a voice entered his mind.
—Would you mind coming up for a moment?
Namgung Jun raised his head.
Judging by the direction, the voice had come from the tent pitched atop the platform of the Great Training Ground. It was a voice transmission from the Azure Heaven Association Leader.
* * *
When he stepped inside the tent, the high-ranking members—including the Azure Heaven Association Leader, the Ink Lord, the Head of the Elders' Council, the Hall Masters, and the Pavilion Masters—were all seated.
He had heard that the executives held a separate gathering so the ordinary Clouds could enjoy themselves without feeling constrained. Namgung Jun found it hard to guess why he, a mere Cloud, had been summoned to such a gathering.
“You’ve arrived.”
“I greet the Association Leader.”
Lee Se-ha, who had nudged her way between the Hall Masters on either side of her, patted a newly cleared spot beside her.
“Jun, come over here.”
“My word. You’re just overflowing with love for your disciple,” the Gleaming Wing Hall Master, who had been suddenly nudged aside, clicked his tongue but nodded as he looked at Namgung Jun. “Come on in. I’ll fill your cup.”
“I do not know if I am worthy of sitting in this place.”
“No one here thinks otherwise.”
As Namgung Jun sat down next to Lee Se-ha, the gazes of all the high-ranking members turned toward him. Some were familiar with him, while others were seeing him for the first time. However, the nature of their gazes was remarkably similar. It was the look one gave an outstanding junior, or the look one gave an equal martial artist.
Hahu Seon, who had been watching Namgung Jun, slowly spoke.
“In this strength evaluation, the overall rapid progress of the Heavenly Sword Hall was remarkable. No one can deny that you were at the center of it.”
Namgung Jun merely bowed his head humbly.
“Namgung Jun, I am so pleased with your growth that I wish to give you a gift. Though, it might be too trivial to even be called a gift.”
As Hahu Seon nodded, Yun Gyeong-jong handed a secret manual to Namgung Jun.
Namgung Jun’s eyelids trembled slightly as he received it.
The Namcheon Guiding-to-the-End Sword.
The primary sword technique that the Sword Emperor had mastered in his past life.
However, Namgung Jun could sense something strange without even opening the manual.
‘It looks like a fresh transcription, but it's thin.’
Since it was an ancient martial art and the manual could have been damaged during the extermination of the Namcheon Palace, it wasn't entirely strange. Still, Namgung Jun asked, feigning ignorance.
“What is this secret manual?”
“This sword technique is not even kept in the Self-Reflection Martial Repository. It has been passed down through generations of Azure Heaven Association Leaders, but more than half of the manual has been damaged. It is an incomplete manual.” Hahu Seon smiled bitterly and continued, “So much of its content has been lost that it is difficult to even learn. But seeing the form you showed today, Vast and Empty Sky, I thought this might be of some help to you.”
“May I read this?”
“Of course. It is only half a manual, but I hope it will be of help to you.”
Namgung Jun nodded. Now that he had obtained the secret manual of the Namcheon Guiding-to-the-End Sword, there would be no major issue even if he demonstrated its martial principles in the future.
“Thank you.”
“If you ever get stuck, feel free to ask anytime.”
* * *
The strength evaluation ended, and life returned to normal.
The reward for rising to the Three Powerhouses was clear. The budget allocated from the Ink Fragrance Department increased, and spirit elixirs were distributed for all members of the Heavenly Sword Hall to consume. Of course, as they were mass-distributed elixirs, their effect on increasing internal energy was not great, but it was certainly better than nothing.
The swordsmen of the Heavenly Sword Hall, having consumed the elixirs, continued their training as usual. Having realized the utility of the new methods, the members devoted themselves to practicing the Sword-Root Foundation Art and the Great Derivation Sword Technique on their own. Although the all-day martial duels and sword discussions from the intensive training period were over, Namgung Jun never turned away the swordsmen who sought his guidance.
Meanwhile, Namgung Jun examined the secret manual of the Namcheon Guiding-to-the-End Sword.
‘It certainly has been lost in large parts.’
There were many places where the mnemonic formulas or illustrations were cut off. At the same time, he was curious.
‘The Namcheon Guiding-to-the-End Sword is strictly a heavy sword technique. On the other hand, Vast and Empty Sky contains the martial principles of all the sword techniques I have mastered in this life. Why did he recommend that I look into this?’
As he examined the manual, a thought suddenly flashed through Namgung Jun’s mind.
‘I know the complete Namcheon Guiding-to-the-End Sword, but…’
The successive Azure Heaven Association Leaders would not have. Looking at the same mnemonic formulas, they must have branched out in different directions to fill in the missing content. They would have gazed at their own sky from different times and spaces.
Even if the endlessly unfolding sky was the same, what was contained within it would be infinitely different.
Because he knew everything, Namgung Jun realized his perspective had momentarily narrowed.
He raised his head and looked outside. Through the narrow window, the sky stretched out endlessly.
Had he, too, been looking at only a fraction of the sky, trapped behind bars at some point?
‘Was I complacent? Perhaps I was too buried in the memories of my past life.’
After being lost in thought for a moment, Namgung Jun stepped outside, the secret manual of the Namcheon Guiding-to-the-End Sword in his hand. Instead of looking at the sky through a window, he wanted to raise his head and experience its vastness firsthand.
‘How strange. When I change my way of thinking, even the same sky looks different.’
A smile slowly formed on Namgung Jun’s lips as he took in the sky. He had believed he had attained much enlightenment in his past life, but looking at it now, he could see many things he had missed, as well as new things to gain.
Moving forward was not the end. Perhaps something precious, which he hadn't known before, was hidden behind his back.
“The martial path is not a straight road, but a sky that stretches endlessly in all directions.”
Namgung Jun took a breath and opened the secret manual of the Namcheon Guiding-to-the-End Sword once again.
Shaking off the preconception that the Namcheon Guiding-to-the-End Sword was strictly a heavy sword technique, he dismantled the mnemonic formulas one by one. He gradually became immersed in the art.
When he changed his perspective, even the formulas he had known before—and the traces left by successive Azure Heaven Association Leaders in their attempts to restore the sword—looked entirely different.
And so, Namgung Jun began to devote himself to the Namcheon Guiding-to-the-End Sword all day long.