The Five Great Families
The Five Great Families were the five martial houses that formed the core of the Wulin Alliance. At the same time, they were the five families that wielded the greatest influence across the world. Yet they were not the only clans under heaven. Others followed close behind them—the Dokgo Clan with their lethal swords, the Hyukryeon Clan with their heavy blades, the Hwangbo Clan with their fists and kicks. Because such rivals existed, opinions differed sharply on the hierarchy among the Five Great Families, especially regarding who ranked weakest.
The Sichuan Tang Clan, with nothing but poison to boast of, was weak. The Hebei Peng Clan, hopelessly simple and brutish, was weak. The Zhuge Clan was weak because their formations and mechanisms were powerless before a sword. The Moyong Clan, which only ever shouted about being capable of anything, was weak. However, there was no disagreement about who stood at their head. No one dared disparage them by calling them weak. The Heavenly Sword Clan. The Namgung Clan.
Namgung Hyeok, the patriarch of that very Namgung Clan, was naturally an extremely busy man. Tens of thousands of merchants sought ties with the Namgung alone, and sects from every corner of the Murim sent constant communications. Though Steward Yeongho and the other retainers assisted him, his workload remained endless. Within the family, people even joked that he could achieve ascension through paperwork alone.
Nevertheless, he had somehow set his current duties aside to make time. After moving his brush for a long while, he paused and quietly counted to three in his mind. One. Two. Three. At that exact moment, a dark shadow appeared beyond the door, bowed deeply with perfect respect, and spoke.
“Clan Head, this is Kang Uk of the Changgung Sword Squad. I have completed the mission you assigned and have just returned.”
“Enter.”
At his words, the shadow slowly opened the door and stepped inside. It was Kang Uk, the Changgung Sword Squad member tasked with bringing the boy named Jin Sowoon.
“Kang Uk. It’s been a while.”
When he offered the light greeting, Kang Uk bowed deeply once more.
“It has been a long time, Clan Head.”
Kang Uk was a new recruit who had joined the Changgung Sword Squad less than six months ago. He had belonged to the Namgung Clan before that, but of course he would never have had occasion to meet Namgung Hyeok in those days. Only then recalling this fact, Namgung Hyeok shook his head.
“There’s no need to be so formal. A proud warrior of our main house shouldn’t bow his head so easily.”
“Understood.”
Kang Uk straightened his back at once. Yet his rigidly stiff posture and arms pressed tightly to his sides still radiated sword-like courtesy. Namgung Hyeok had told him to relax, but the result only looked more uncomfortable. Even watching this is exhausting, he thought, and added another word. Only then did Kang Uk’s stance loosen slightly.
“Much better.”
His eyes felt relieved. He nodded unconsciously and asked with the gentlest smile he could manage.
“Do you know why I summoned you?”
Kang Uk closed his eyes for a moment in thought, then hung his head as if ashamed.
“I do not know.”
Though his answer was utterly serious, to Namgung Hyeok he still looked like nothing more than a young newcomer. The patriarch smiled faintly.
“I’ll only ask a few things. Answer comfortably.”
“Yes, sir.”
What should he ask first? He had considered the questions in advance, but now that the moment had come there were too many, and it was difficult to choose. After a brief pause, Namgung Hyeok posed the question he considered most important.
“...What kind of child is Jin Sowoon?”
Since this was a formal report of the mission results to the clan head, Kang Uk had organized his thoughts carefully before speaking.
“First, I will relay the evaluations and impressions of those around him. Upon arriving at Namhyang Village, before meeting Jin Sowoon, I asked a resident where the boy lived.”
“That servant boy? Aigoo. After he got hurt and came back, he suddenly went crazy for the sword.”
“He had slipped on a mountain path in early winter, lost consciousness, and by the time the villagers learned of it from the other children, he had already descended the mountain under his own power. From that day onward, he declared that he had been too weak and began training with the sword in earnest.”
“I don’t know why the warriors are looking for that kid, but he might still be up in the mountains past Yushi. Or maybe he’s at home? His house is over there anyway.”
“He had occasionally swung a wooden sword before, but it seemed to have been nothing more than a way to pass the time for fun. Now, however, he appears to spend the greater part of each day training with the sword. The traces of training visible on his body at that age were far from ordinary.”
He did not forget to add that the boy had likely encountered someone in the mountains who became his master and received instruction. Kang Uk swallowed once. He remembered the moment they first met. The level he witnessed after hearing the name Jin Sowoon was something he could never have anticipated.
“As for his martial ability, having observed it myself, although it is below my own Peak Realm level, I cannot measure it precisely. Therefore, I assess him as First-class.”
“...First-class?”
Namgung Hyeok, who had been listening quietly, asked back in astonishment.
“You said First-class?”
“...That is my assessment.”
“....”
Namgung Hyeok remained silent for a long time, stunned. Nearly half a ke later, he slowly opened his mouth again, his voice hollow.
“Kang Uk, did you hear the news?”
“Three days ago, word that our Seha had become a First-class expert.”
“Until then, I believed my daughter was undoubtedly a once-in-a-millennium genius. And with good reason—reaching First-class in only three years is no ordinary feat, is it?”
Kang Uk nodded slowly, affirming his lord’s words. First-class was a realm countless martial artists spent their entire lives trying to reach. His lady had attained it after merely three years of holding a sword. It was news that should have called for celebration, yet Kang Uk could say nothing. He already knew exactly what Namgung Hyeok would say next.
“I had been losing sleep, worrying whether she would be hurt by others’ envy or approached by strange men. It seems those worries were pointless.”
“...Two months... Now that is what you call a true heavenly genius.”
Neither man could speak for a while after that. Only after a much longer silence did Namgung Hyeok open his mouth again.
“Is there anything else surprising? Impressions, perhaps?”
“...The Squad Leader was present there.”
When asked for impressions, Kang Uk suddenly mentioned that their squad leader had been there. The squad leader could only mean the leader of the Changgung Sword Squad—the greatest sword of the current generation of Namgung. Namgung Hyeok found it strange; after the expedition last summer, the squad leader had not left Hapbi.
Kang Uk continued.
“Though clearly weaker and smaller than me, his spirit was extraordinary. It felt like standing before a tiger spirit. The pressure he gave off was similar to what our Squad Leader emanates.”
“...It’s not as if he undertook a long journey in the Murim during that time, so it must be innate.”
Namgung Hyeok could not help but be astonished again. For a martial artist, profound martial arts were of course paramount, but spirit and aura could not be dismissed lightly. That natural ability to pressure others was difficult to obtain through training alone; it truly belonged to the realm of talent.
“Even setting his martial arts aside, he was a fine boy. I heard he lost his father at birth and his family circumstances were not comfortable, yet he showed no greed and devoted himself completely to caring for his widowed mother. I am unsure of his relationships with his peers, but among the adults he received nothing but praise.”
Excellent martial talent and excellent character. At first, Namgung Hyeok had simply been curious what kind of lunatic had suddenly become friends with his daughter. But the more he listened, the more he realized the boy was no ordinary child. Setting everything else aside, he began to wonder if there was any way to draw Jin Sowoon into the Namgung Clan.
“This Jin Sowoon really does seem to produce nothing but praise no matter how deeply you dig. I wonder how Seha came to know such a child.”
“Ah, but...”
At that moment, Kang Uk seemed to recall something and began to speak, only to trail off and close his mouth. Namgung Hyeok looked at him with subtly expectant eyes.
“What is it?”
“...This concerns the young lady.”
Seha? When the story suddenly returned to his daughter, Namgung Hyeok’s brow furrowed. Feeling the pressure, Kang Uk shrank back slightly and spoke with care.
“She approached Jin Sowoon first and greeted him.”
“Greeted him?”
Those words alone made Namgung Hyeok’s insides twist with discomfort. Sensing the shift, Kang Uk spoke rapidly, as if refusing to look back.
“...And she smiled brightly. Their conversation looked joyful. They seemed as close as squad members who had been through life and death together for days.”
Thud.
Namgung Hyeok reflexively slammed his desk. The stacked papers fluttered and scattered into the air. Seeing Kang Uk unconsciously retreat a step, he barely regained his composure.
“...Seha smiled?”
“Yes.”
Confirming the fact once more, the shocked Namgung Hyeok leaned his head back with hollow eyes.
“You may leave… You’ve worked hard.”
At those words, Kang Uk departed faster than anyone, though he did not forget to bow. A long while later, while picking up the scattered papers one by one, Namgung Hyeok thought to himself.
…How should I deal with that bastard?