Chapter 387
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 387
Chapter Title: Father's Legacy
It was as good as a confirmation.
Even so, Yeon Ha-min kept her head turned away.
"Hoo."
Han Seol-bing let out a quiet sigh.
If not for the story behind this martial art, she wouldn't have taken on this role either.
"Your father."
The moment Han Seol-bing's lips moved, Yeon Ha-min's head, which had been facing sideways, snapped back into place.
And she looked at Han Seol-bing.
"What did you just say?"
"Your father. Or more precisely, your adoptive father?"
Yeon Ha-min's eyes trembled at Han Seol-bing's repeated words.
Her youngest uncle had asked her to pass on the martial arts manual, so why was her father's story suddenly coming up?
"Great Hero Yeon Baek-un. It's the manual he left behind."
Yeon Ha-min flinched.
Her body stiffened.
It was because she'd heard something utterly unimaginable.
A martial arts manual left by her father.
It was a story she knew nothing about.
Her mother had never mentioned it either.
Yeon Ha-min was swept up in confusion.
Her gaze fell on the manual for the first time.
Phantasmal Moonfall Sword Dance.
Six characters came into view.
Yeon Ha-min tilted her head.
She had no intention of ever learning the Yeon Clan's martial arts, but she had a rough idea of what they entailed.
She'd picked it up from overhearing their chatter.
But there was no martial art called Phantasmal Moonfall Sword Dance among them.
Han Seol-bing watched her reaction before speaking again.
"According to the Vice Pavilion Lord, Great Hero Yeon Baek-un scoured the Yeon Clan's Scripture Pavilion to find a sword art to teach you. He entrusted it to the Vice Pavilion Lord."
Yeon Ha-min's eyes shook even more violently at Han Seol-bing's words.
"It's the exact manual that the Vice Pavilion Lord received from Great Hero Yeon Baek-un. That's what he said. He told me you'd learn this one. But ultimately, it depends on your will. I'm just doing what I was asked—delivering it to you."
Then Han Seol-bing closed her mouth.
She had said all there was to say.
She rose from her seat and boiled water in the kettle.
The water steamed up in an instant from the energy of the Threefold True Fire she summoned with both hands.
She filled the teacups with the hot tea.
She placed one in front of Yeon Ha-min and sat down with the other.
Slurp.
Only the sound of sipping tea echoed.
Han Seol-bing said nothing, and Yeon Ha-min didn't look at her.
It was a gesture to give her time to think.
Yeon Ha-min chewed her lips.
She reached out a hand, hesitated, and repeated the motion.
She wanted to see it because it was something her late father had left behind, but she stopped herself, remembering it was still a Yeon Clan martial art.
How long did she agonize?
Finally, Yeon Ha-min squeezed her eyes shut and flipped open the cover.
Flip.
And the first page revealed.
What should have been blank was filled with tiny, fine script.
"Ah, Father... Hic."
The moment Yeon Ha-min saw that handwriting,
tears spilled from her eyes.
It was the handwriting etched in her memory.
Her father's handwriting.
To think she'd see it again like this.
She never imagined she'd see it after the letters he'd sent from the battlefield.
Tears flowed endlessly.
She couldn't even think to read the words her father had left.
She just cried.
Slurp.
Only the sound of Han Seol-bing downing her tea rang out.
Before long, Han Seol-bing emptied her cup.
She rose and left the room.
It was her own room,
but she felt Yeon Ha-min needed to be alone right now.
In the room left behind by herself,
"Sob. Sob. Sob sob."
crying leaked out bit by bit.
Once alone, even the sobs she'd held back burst forth.
How much time passed?
Once Yeon Ha-min had composed herself, she read her father's words.
if you're reading this, you're probably dying to know who delivered this manual.
Did I give it to you myself, or did that rascal Baek Jin, whom I entrusted it to, pass it on?
I hope it's the former.
I've always felt heartbroken, wondering if my selfishness forced you and your mother down too harsh a path.
I'm sorry.
This manual—I searched every corner of the clan library to find the sword art I thought most suited you.
With your exceptional aptitude and bone structure, you can definitely master it.
Phantasmal Moonfall Sword Dance.
I discovered it recently myself, but upon examination, its profundity rivals our clan's Barrier Heaven Flower Sword.
I can't fathom why such an exquisite sword art was gathering dust in the library.
But it's all the better for it.
Thanks to that, I can pass it on to you.
This art isn't one of the Yeon Clan's techniques.
So there's no restriction on you learning it.
It's just regrettable that the clan's current atmosphere prevents me from handing it to you personally.
I've entrusted it to the most reliable Baek Jin, but I eagerly await the day this chaotic war ends and I can teach you this sword art myself.>
Having read all her father's words, Yeon Ha-min broke into heartrending sobs.
She couldn't help it.
She was only now learning of the arrangements he'd made for her.
She felt his regret and love for her in every line.
She could only cry.
The composure she'd barely mustered was useless.
She cried and cried again.
Han Seol-bing stood outside the door, spreading her energy to keep the sobs from spreading.
So she could cry until all her pent-up grief was fully released.
She waited a long while.
Only after Yeon Ha-min's crying stopped did Han Seol-bing open the door and enter.
"Thank you, Instructor Han."
Her voice was still thick with tears.
"No need to mention it. Have you decided?"
Han Seol-bing asked Yeon Ha-min.
"I'll learn it. It's the martial art Father painstakingly found for me. And he said it's not one of the Yeon Clan's arts."
A resolute answer.
Han Seol-bing nodded.
"Good. I understand. Train hard. And if it's too hard to learn alone... ask Instructor Ha for help."
Truth be told, Han Seol-bing wanted to assist her herself,
but she wasn't particularly skilled at interpreting and teaching other sects' arts.
Ha Mu-baek was unmatched in that regard.
He was a monster who could flawlessly demonstrate someone else's martial art after seeing it just once.
"Yes. Thank you."
Yeon Ha-min thanked her once more, tucked the manual preciously into her bosom, and returned to Graceful Dragon Dormitory.
"Your guard switch is too slow there! Raise the shield higher!"
Ha Mu-baek's voice rang out.
The Fierce Dragon Corps sprang into action at his command.
Just four people,
but moving as Ha Mu-baek directed, the famed formation operated organically.
The Demon-Sealing Corps also employed the Flowing Dragon Sword Formation as Ha Mu-baek had taught.
Their movements were on an entirely different level from before.
Pyeong Deok-jo was the same.
He marveled repeatedly at how superb the Initial High Sword truly was.
In the meantime, they'd mapped out much of the western region's jiangshi territory distribution.
They'd been scouting everywhere with Ha Mu-baek day after day.
There were no more hidden blood jiangshi nearby.
They weren't the type to hold specific territories anyway.
However, there were three dark iron jiangshi.
They usually lurked deep in Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest, not appearing in the outskirts like this.
Ha Mu-baek silently watched them handle ten blood jiangshi.
He offered no more pointers.
He'd already taught them the key points in their current state.
He couldn't spoon-feed them forever.
As veterans with vast experience, they improved quickly.
The frequency of his corrections was steadily decreasing.
Moreover, their martial prowess was rising rapidly.
'At this rate... Hmm.'
As Ha Mu-baek pondered while eyeing the Demon-Sealing Corps,
the group was fully occupied.
Ten blood jiangshi.
When had they ever faced jiangshi in such numbers?
Ha Mu-baek had incrementally increased their assigned numbers, and now it was ten.
This was more than one squad could handle.
It should have required at least two squads from the Demon-Sealing Corps.
Yet astonishingly,
they were managing ten without much difficulty.
The Fierce Dragon Corps' shield, manned by just four, deftly blocked the assaults of all ten blood jiangshi.
The shield movements were different from before.
Gwan Ha-kyeong's saber severed a blood jiangshi's neck.
Pung Geon's reverse-gripped sword smashed the falling head.
It was because they'd witnessed the beheaded hidden blood demon recently.
Since then, they made sure to destroy the heads of every jiangshi they felled.
Precisely five wielded shields.
Pyeong Deok-jo.
He too held a shield and fought alongside the Fierce Dragon Corps.
As an instructor for Dragon Training Pavilion's Fierce Dragon Corps, he needed to teach the formation to the disciples.
So he was gaining hands-on experience by fighting jiangshi here directly.
Ha Mu-baek had planned to assign him anyway, but Pyeong Deok-jo volunteered first.
Thus, Pyeong Deok-jo alternated between shield and sword.
How long had the battle raged?
In the end, all ten blood jiangshi fell.
Their heads exploded, needless to say.
Ha Mu-baek sliced open the blood jiangshi torsos.
With a casual wave of his hand in the air, the inner pellets were drawn out one by one.
Dull gray or black inner pellets.
Ha Mu-baek examined them briefly before handing them to Pung Geon.
"Removing the inner pellet should prevent beheaded blood demons from forming."
The beheaded hidden blood demon had no inner pellet.
It was something hidden blood jiangshi should have had.
Evidently, inner pellets were needed for them to become beheaded hidden blood demons.
They hadn't known and acted accordingly, but since the Demon-Sealing Corps had taken all the inner pellets, fewer beheaded blood demons had appeared than expected.
"More importantly, you've gotten pretty strong."
It hadn't been long since they'd started training with Ha Mu-baek, yet they'd improved beyond recognition.
It was thanks to the accumulated real combat experience in Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest filling their potential.
The sun was dipping low.
The group quickly secured a spot to camp for the night.
As they prepared dinner,
"Gwan Ha-kyeong."
Ha Mu-baek called her.
"Yes."
"Bring your saber."
Gwan Ha-kyeong moved immediately at his words.
She knew exactly what he intended, so her heart pounded.
"Come at me."
At Ha Mu-baek's curt command,
Gwan Ha-kyeong drew her saber and assumed her stance.
Ha Mu-baek frowned at the sight.
"Not Heavencleaver Sword Method. Heaven-Severing Demon-Slaying Blade."
Her stance shifted at his correction.
But the difference was subtle.
It was impressive that Ha Mu-baek had noticed.
He was likely the second best in the world at Heaven-Severing Demon-Slaying Blade.
He'd seen Righteous Heaven Alliance Leader So Hwi-woong wield it countless times on the battlefield.
Confirming Gwan Ha-kyeong's stance, Ha Mu-baek beckoned with a finger.
At the signal, she kicked off the ground and unleashed her saber arts.
Ha Mu-baek nullified her attacks effortlessly with minimal movements.
"You're open here."
Ha Mu-baek swung his sheathed sword lightly.
"Stronger on this side!"
Gwan Ha-kyeong's saber cleaved the air.
"Too much power! You're killing your speed!"
His ceaseless critiques flowed as if he knew Heaven-Severing Demon-Slaying Blade inside out.
Gwan Ha-kyeong struggled to keep up.
Yet she gritted her teeth and swung relentlessly.
By the third form of Heaven-Severing Demon-Slaying Blade, it was unrecognizable from the start.
Ha Mu-baek nodded.
"This time, I'm coming for real. Block properly."
Shing.
His sword slid from its sheath.
He swung it straight at Gwan Ha-kyeong.
Seeing the incoming sword path, Gwan Ha-kyeong was startled.
And for good reason.
It was a sword, but the trajectory was pure Heaven-Severing Demon-Slaying Blade.
'Wh-what?'
Before she could question it, she swung her saber.
Clang! Clang!
Despite the clash of heavy saber and light sword, Ha Mu-baek's blade didn't yield an inch.
Instead, Gwan Ha-kyeong's saber was pushed back.
Ha Mu-baek pressed her like a torrent,
targeting the flaws he'd just pointed out.
Gwan Ha-kyeong could only defend desperately.
How many exchanges?
How many times had she executed Heaven-Severing Demon-Slaying Blade?
She couldn't even think.
By the time it blurred whether she wielded the art or it wielded her,
her body reacted on instinct, thrusting the saber.
The others forgot their camp preparations and stared blankly.
"Enough."
Ha Mu-baek said shortly and stepped back, but Gwan Ha-kyeong charged on.
Heavenfall Demon Annihilation.
The final form of Heaven-Severing Demon-Slaying Blade flew at Ha Mu-baek.
"Tch."
Ha Mu-baek clicked his tongue lightly.
It was good that her body reacted first.
"But you rushed the progress beyond your realm. You've been consumed by the saber art."
Ha Mu-baek, who had slightly retreated, charged forward toward Gwan Ha-kyeong's saber.