Aspiring to be the World's Greatest
“Yeah!”
“If I learn martial arts... how strong could I get?”
“If you learn it?”
Ryeon closed her eyes, pressed her fingers to her forehead, and declared dramatically.
“Hwaryun. Once you start learning it! You're basically guaranteed to be the next world's greatest martial artist. Who was the current one again? I heard it changed after Grandpa got hurt.”
“The Murim Alliance Leader?”
“Ah, right! The Murim Alliance Leader. He'll have to step down by the time you're twenty... no, even fifteen.”
“What about Bi and me?”
“Huh?”
“What if Bi or I become the world's greatest?”
Ryeon didn't retort with something like, 'You don't just become the world's best because you want to.' Instead, she thought about it seriously for a moment.
The achievements of Macheon-gyo’s Young Cult Master Cheon Hwaryun as she knew them, and the accomplishments she and Danmok Bi would achieve in the future.
Even if I learn more here, can I really surpass Hwaryun? I feel like I could manage something with my spiritual energy, but I have no inner power.
Maybe she could do something with this spiritual energy, but it wasn't happening right now. Fine, setting herself aside—what about Danmok Bi?
Bi has extraordinary talent too. Well, not ordinary, but...
Ryeon gazed tenderly at Danmok Bi, who had drifted off into a deep sleep with gentle snores, then whispered to Hwaryun while holding her breath.
“No matter who ends up as the world's greatest, we'll go easy on each other.”
“Pardon?”
“Among us, we'll go easy on each other.”
Ryeon emphasized. Hwaryun chuckled as if it were amusing.
A martial artist talking about going easy—how ridiculous.
“Will Nui go easy on me too?”
His voice held a hint of expectation.
“Of course!”
With that, Ryeon pulled Hwaryun into a tight hug and rubbed her cheek against his. Hwaryun immediately made a face of disgust and tried to flee backward.
“Eugh! Nui, just read your book.”
“What about you?”
“I need to fetch the brazier.”
“Brazier? No need, don't go—stay here.”
Ryeon tugged him back. She draped one of the two haphazardly tossed outer robes over Danmok Bi, then spread the other wide and pulled it over both herself and Hwaryun. They sat side by side and opened the book.
“See? Much warmer together, right?”
Ryeon grinned broadly. Hwaryun furrowed his brow, stared at her blankly, mumbled something about not getting it, and leaned against the table.
As a martial clan, they had at least one book on handling every common weapon, even if not in great depth. But since the Danmok Clan primarily used swords, there were far fewer manuals on sabers than swords, and few in the clan truly mastered saber arts.
One of those rare experts was the first seat of Yuseong Sibalsuk, Danmok Han-so.
After performing the Balsa Sesu on Ryeon, he had left Hangzhou for travels, but stopped by the estate briefly—only to get roped in by Danmok Cheon-gi to teach the two girls.
“Me? Teach the saber?”
“That's... how it turned out.”
Danmok Cheon-gi nodded, looking a bit sheepish.
“When I first said I wanted to learn the saber, you made me run barefoot from one end of the estate to the other. I thought I'd die if I got caught. Remember?”
“Ahem.”
Danmok Cheon-gi cleared his throat awkwardly. Their clan leaned heavily toward swordsmanship, so anyone declaring they'd take up the saber alone had always shocked him to his core.
“I only came back briefly because I heard Taeheo Jin-in was visiting—hoping to meet him. I'll be off again.”
“I'm asking you to postpone that departure for a bit.”
“Postpone it to teach saber to kids?”
Danmok Cheon-gi swallowed a groan at Danmok Han-so's words. He felt indebted to the man.
“One of them will take it seriously. That's why I'm asking you to teach. Are you going to make your successor suffer like you did just because it was hard for you?”
Danmok Cheon-gi recalled Ryeon's words. Danmok Seong had greater talent for the saber than the sword, so why not nurture it now?
No one knew Ryeon's insight better than he did.
“One of them? And the other is just for fun?”
“Not for fun.”
Danmok Cheon-gi pinched the bridge of his nose. In truth, the one who stood to gain the most from these lessons wasn't Ryeon or Danmok Seong—it was Danmok Han-so himself.
Ryeon knew exactly who Danmok Han-so was. The first seat of the clan's strongest strike force, Yuseong Sibalsuk, who had even lost some of his inner power performing Balsa Sesu on her. Because of that, he had stepped down from his position.
For one Balsa Sesu on Ryeon, he had given up nearly everything.
Simply because she was Danmok Cheon-gi's granddaughter.
Ryeon had told Danmok Cheon-gi she wanted to repay him by restoring what he had lost, if possible.
Danmok Cheon-gi hadn't taken her words lightly. She had overpaid for the Myeongnyeon Jigeuk Hyeolbo he had given her, healing his wounds and propelling him to a new realm.
Why not do the same for Danmok Han-so?
“If it's an order, I'll obey.”
Danmok Cheon-gi frowned. After the Balsa Sesu, he felt he owed Danmok Han-so too much to command him like this.
This isn't punishment. But offering a favor feels this hard!
He couldn't bluntly say the young Danmok Ryeon might aid your cultivation. If he were in Han-so's shoes, he'd think the former family head had gone senile in his old age, seeing his granddaughter's face.
The fact that Danmok Han-so wasn't retorting with, 'You want to burn my inner power and waste my time too?' already made him a living saint.
“Fine! I order you. The spar is in a month. Teach them well until then.”
“You know my teaching style can be rough, right?”
“I know, I know. Do it your way.”
“I'll leave right after that spar. I'm heading to Sichuan this time—long journey ahead. Have you tried Sichuan cuisine? They stir-fry boiled pork in doubanjiang for something called hui guo rou, and it's insanely spicy. I have to try it.”
“Eat it all. Stuff yourself.”
“...You're joining too?”
Before entering the training hall, Danmok Seong took a shallow breath and glanced at Ryeon beside her.
“Yeah!”
Danmok Seong's expression was stiff and hard to read.
“You're just here to listen with me. I'll be the one facing that Geum kid.”
“Yeah, got it!”
Ryeon smiled and nodded. Truth be told, she wasn't doing this to spar with Geum Jongha again.
Just watching a saber master like Danmok Han-so swing it would surely level up her Divine Eye. How could she miss this chance?
“Alright. Let's go.”
“Yeah, sounds good.”
“And I'll learn it all, then crush them.”
Danmok Seong lifted her brows in a cold glare, her presence commanding despite her youth.
“Yeah! Let's wipe them out.”
The two girls clasped hands and paced the training hall. Soon, a man with graying hair left unkempt appeared.
“Heh heh. I go wandering the world a bit, and suddenly two girls in the clan want to learn the saber. Never dreamed of this day.”
Danmok Han-so patted the sword at his waist and chuckled. Danmok Hyeon-yo, who had entered with him, turned serious and shot him a look.
“Our Seong will only face the Geum boy.”
Danmok Hyeon-yo had high hopes for her daughter. She had named her “Seong” after her brother Hyeon-seong, the most brilliant talent she had ever seen.
So Danmok Seong would revive the clan with the sword, living up to their nickname “Sword Wind” Danmok Clan.
“What happens after is beyond us.”
Danmok Han-so replied leisurely. A branch family member who had mastered the saber and risen this far, he carried himself without fear—save for his loyalty to Danmok Cheon-gi.
Danmok Hyeon-yo didn't argue further and left the hall. With the onlookers gone, Danmok Han-so looked down at the two girls and grinned widely.
“Well then, let's begin.”
As the girls jumped, ran, rolled, and stopped at his command, Danmok Han-so's face mixed mild concern and boredom at first.
Especially toward Ryeon. She was the eldest grandchild he had poured his inner power into for Balsa Sesu, but skill was skill.
Danmok Seong was a bit better—sturdier build and overflowing enthusiasm.
Still, Ryeon paid no mind to his expression. Even if he looked at her like a dog or cat, it wouldn't have mattered.