That evening.
The Grand Elder's office.
Namgung Cheong-un, who had not yet even wiped away his bloodstains, knelt like a criminal before Namgung Seon-hak.
“Losing to a mere trainee of the hall… and you still call yourself a direct descendant of the Namgung?!”
“…….”
Namgung Cheong-un only kept his head bowed and said nothing.
Namgung Seon-hak's gaze, which had been coldly looking down at his son, turned out the window—to the Earth Martial Hall, to be precise.
‘A mere trainee who has not even become a collateral member, daring to…….’
Namgung Seon-hak turned his head again and looked at Namgung Cheong-un.
“Do you think anything will change just because you sit there like that? I cannot even stand the sight of you!”
SLAM!
Having coldly glared at his son, Namgung Seon-hak brushed past him and stormed out of the office.
“…….”
Left alone, Namgung Cheong-un remained on his knees without the slightest movement.
How much time had passed?
When he slowly raised his head, suppressed rage and madness swirled coldly together in his eyes.
Grind.
The sound of grinding teeth rang sharply through the silent office.
‘……Just you wait, Seonwoo Hyun. I will never forget today's humiliation.’
A drop of blood fell from where his fingernails had dug into his flesh.
But Namgung Cheong-un still did not move, his eyes merely gleaming coldly.
***
Gulp!
Having returned to his quarters, Namgung Seon-hak roughly downed a cup of liquor.
“Damn it!”
SHATTER!
Unable to contain his anger, Namgung Seon-hak finally hurled the cup to the floor.
“This is all because of the Orthodox-Demonic War! If not for that!”
The Orthodox-Demonic War that had broken out a hundred years ago.
The orthodox sects had won that war, but the Namgung Clan itself had suffered damage close to annihilation.
It was a situation so precarious that, if it failed to rebuild its strength, the clan might well have been wiped out.
Therefore, there had been no choice.
They had to break the long-standing rule of passing down martial arts only to blood relatives and accept outside talent into the clan.
What was created then were the Heaven Martial Hall and the Earth Martial Hall.
In terms of the sword alone, the Namgung Clan was a renowned house counted among the top five in the Central Plains.
It was only natural that talented people from all over would gather to learn such martial arts.
And on their strength, the Namgung Clan rapidly regained its former renown.
However.
‘Who knew the price would come back like this!’
Namgung Seon-hak ground his teeth.
As outside talents began to take root in the clan, the number of collateral members steadily grew.
Among them were those who displayed talent no less than that of the direct line.
Meanwhile, the direct line, whose numbers had sharply declined because of the Orthodox-Demonic War, found even figures fit to carry on the lineage growing ever rarer, and its standing within the clan was no longer what it used to be.
Naturally, the authority carried by the name Namgung was no longer what it once was, either.
Namgung Seon-hak found that reality displeasing.
But even so, he believed that a collateral member could never surpass the wall of the direct line.
For him, that was a conviction that went beyond mere belief.
But today.
That belief cracked for the first time.
When the image of Seonwoo Hyun throwing his hands up on the dueling stage came to mind, his insides twisted again.
‘How dare he, my son…….’
A trainee who had not even become a collateral member had defeated Namgung Cheong-un, a direct descendant.
Merely recalling that fact made unbearable rage surge up.
But he forced the rage down.
For now, he had a far more important problem than venting his anger on the likes of Seonwoo Hyun.
‘I must make Cheong-un the Young Master, no matter what!’
The current Clan Head had no child to succeed him.
And this vacancy was an opportunity Namgung Seon-hak could not let slip.
The golden opportunity to reclaim the seat of Clan Head that his great-great-grandfather had passed on not to his son, but to his younger brother.
That was why he had long been preparing to make his son, Namgung Cheong-un, the Young Master.
Namgung Cheong-un was one of the few pure-blooded direct descendants now remaining.
Moreover, he possessed martial prowess that contended for the top among all the prodigies representing each sect.
His son was his pride.
At the same time, he was also the strongest card for persuading the Council of Elders to install him in the position of Young Master.
Everything had proceeded smoothly.
Only one thing now remained.
To take part in the Heavenly Martial Tournament and win with overwhelming skill.
That was the final gate the Council of Elders had set for the investiture of the Young Master.
But because he had failed to pass that final gate, everything had been shaken.
“Haah…….”
Namgung Seon-hak clenched his teeth and lifted the liquor bottle again.
Then he put it to his mouth and drank straight from it.
Gulp, gulp.
As he roughly set the bottle down, his gaze sank coldly.
‘For now, I will have to persuade the elders all over again. Damn it…….’
***
Several days passed.
The rear garden of Cloud Hall, where the Earth Martial Hall trainees lived together.
Here, two boys sat side by side, chatting.
One was Seonwoo Hyun.
And the other was Han Man-ho, the one he felt most at ease with in the Earth Martial Hall.
Han Man-ho, his shoulder wrapped in bandages, carefully raised his arm and said:
“It still only goes up this far.”
“The physician said it'd be fully healed in about ten days…… Aren't you exaggerating way too much, Hyung?”
“What, exaggeraaating?! I took your sword dead-on, so how's this supposed to heal in ten days! Ow, I'm dying!”
“O-okay! Okay, so stop moaning like you're dying!”
When Seonwoo Hyun fretted at the sight of him sprawled on the floor, Han Man-ho finally grinned and sat up.
The memory of the recent Heavenly Martial Tournament flashed through his mind.
Han Man-ho, a skilled fighter vying for the top in the Earth Martial Hall, had met Seonwoo Hyun in the semifinals.
And though he had fought fiercely, he had ultimately lost to Seonwoo Hyun.
It was disappointing, but he thought it a natural outcome.
After all, the martial prowess Seonwoo Hyun and Namgung Cheong-un had shown in the final was several levels above his own.
‘Besides, I couldn't even see that last move. Reaching first-rate level only three years after learning martial arts…… This guy's the real monster.’
However, Han Man-ho soon shook off the thought and spoke again in a triumphant voice:
“Still, next time I'm definitely not losing. Just watch.”
“Yeah. Anytime.”
Just then, someone entered the rear garden.
It was Namgung Ki, the supervising instructor of Seonwoo Hyun and Han Man-ho.
“So this is where you were, Hyun.”
The two rose and bowed their heads politely to him.
“Yes, Instructor. But what brings you all the way here at this hour…….”
“Go to the Principal's office at once. The Principal is looking for you.”
“Pardon? The Principal is? Ah, understood.”
Though the sudden summons puzzled him, Seonwoo Hyun soon nodded.
And leaving the two behind, he immediately headed for the Principal's office.
***
Arriving in front of the Principal's office, Seonwoo Hyun knocked lightly on the door, then called out:
“Principal, it's Seonwoo Hyun.”
“Very well, come in.”
When he opened the door and stepped inside, he saw two people seated across from each other amid a faint fragrance of tea.
The one facing him directly was the Principal of the Earth Martial Hall, Namgung Woon.
The other man had his back turned, so his face could not be seen, but for some reason he gave off a familiar feeling.
‘Who is that?’
Just then, the man slowly turned around.
Upon seeing his face, Seonwoo Hyun's eyes grew as wide as lamp saucers.
“U-Uncle?!”
He was the person Seonwoo Hyun called uncle.
He, whom Seonwoo Hyun had not met even once since entering the Earth Martial Hall, had returned to the clan and was now right before his eyes.
“It has been a long time, Hyun.”
“…….”
As if unable to believe the situation, Seonwoo Hyun only stared at the man with round eyes.
Smiling, the man rose and slowly approached Seonwoo Hyun.
He placed a hand on the shoulder of the still-dazed Seonwoo Hyun and spoke in a low voice:
“……So I see you again after three years. Have you been well all this time?”
Because of the tears that suddenly welled up, Seonwoo Hyun could not say a word.
He could only nod ever so slightly, with great difficulty.
Namgung Woon, who had been quietly watching the scene, rose and said:
“Since you are meeting after so long, you must have much to talk about. I will step out for a while, so please take your time.”
“Very well, thank you.”
“Really, Hyung-nim, there is no need for that. Then I will see you in a little while.”
Once Namgung Woon closed the door and left, the Principal's office grew quiet again.
The man said nothing and looked at Seonwoo Hyun for a while.
As if feeling the passage of time.
“…You have grown a great deal.”
He said quietly.
At those words, the corners of Seonwoo Hyun's eyes burned hot again.
Azure Heaven Sword Hero, Namgung Seon-jae.
The Clan Head's younger brother by blood and a martial artist whose fame resounded throughout the Central Plains as an Inspector of the Murim Alliance, he was not related to Seonwoo Hyun by blood.
But he had been a friend who shared a bond thicker than blood with Seonwoo Hyun's parents, and the person Seonwoo Hyun looked up to even more than a father.
The one who had brought the orphaned boy to the Namgung Clan and cared for him was also none other than Namgung Seon-jae.
“I heard that you won the Heavenly Martial Tournament. They say it was truly remarkable.”
“It was only possible because you granted my request, Uncle…….”
When Seonwoo Hyun blushed sheepishly, Namgung Seon-jae smiled quietly.
The little child who had clung to his leg, begging him to buy candy, had now become a mature young man.
‘If only Sang and Seon-mi could have seen him like this…….’
A gloomy look briefly passed over Namgung Seon-jae's face.
But he soon spoke to Seonwoo Hyun in a bright voice:
“Instead of staying here like this, let us go to the training ground! I must see your accomplishments with my own eyes.”
“Yes, Uncle.”
***
After they moved to the training ground.
Seonwoo Hyun began to unfold the Iron Sword Twelve Forms before Namgung Seon-jae.
And Namgung Seon-jae was astonished.
‘How can this be? What on earth is this…….’
Namgung Seon-jae wondered whether he was seeing things.
That was how remarkable the sword Seonwoo Hyun unfolded was.
In terms of talent alone, he too was outstanding enough to be counted among the few in the long history of the Namgung Clan.
As soon as he passed the age of twenty, he had taken the head seat of the Five Dragons, the finest prodigies of the orthodox faction, and now, on the verge of forty, he was knocking on the door of the Transcendent realm.
And recognized for that martial prowess, he had even risen to the post of Chief Inspector, which could be called the gateway to becoming Alliance Leader.
Yet even he was astonished as he watched the sword forms Seonwoo Hyun was now unfolding.
‘Just from hearing that he defeated Cheong-un, I guessed he would be extraordinary… but this goes beyond that.’
Others had probably failed to properly recognize Seonwoo Hyun's talent.
He was a mere trainee of the Earth Martial Hall who had not yet even become a collateral member.
However much attention he had drawn by standing out in the Heavenly Martial Tournament, they would not yet have seen his true worth.
But Namgung Seon-jae's eyes were different from theirs.
It was said that a genius recognizes a genius.
Moreover, while serving as an Inspector, he had encountered countless martial arts across the Central Plains and faced many masters.
To his eyes, it was clear what kind of being the boy before him was.
‘He is a child born for the sword. Even I, at that age, could not unfold the Iron Sword Twelve Forms so free of excess.’
Some time passed.
When all twelve techniques of the Iron Sword Twelve Forms had ended, Namgung Seon-jae relaxed his expression and approached Seonwoo Hyun.
“That was truly a remarkable sword. Seeing it in person, it is far more remarkable than I had heard.”
“……Is it?”
When Seonwoo Hyun sheepishly scratched the back of his head, Namgung Seon-jae let out a laugh.
But soon he asked Seonwoo Hyun with a solemn face:
“However… the sword you unfolded seems a little different from the one I know.”
“Pardon? How so…….”
“As with all Namgung martial arts, the Iron Sword Twelve Forms take the principles of strength and weight as their foundation. Yet your sword seemed to place more emphasis on swiftness. How did it come to be so?”
“……!”
In that instant, Seonwoo Hyun's eyes sparkled.
‘He saw through that after only a brief look. As expected, Uncle is different.’
Seonwoo Hyun cautiously opened his mouth toward Namgung Seon-jae.
“Actually, it's because of my inner arts…….”
“……Your inner arts?”
“Yes. I don't know why, but inner arts just don't accumulate in my body as well as they do in others.”
“……!”
Seonwoo Hyun told Namgung Seon-jae the story of his three years at the Earth Martial Hall.
Although he had started far behind the others, Seonwoo Hyun trained harder than anyone.
And building on his hidden talent, he achieved rapid growth.
But that was not the case with his inner arts.
Compared to the growth of his skill, the rate at which his inner arts accumulated was absurdly slow.
The Namgung sword embodies the principles of strength and weight.
But Seonwoo Hyun, lacking the inner arts that served as their foundation, had no way to bring out those principles.
So, after many twists and turns, Seonwoo Hyun began to forge his own path.
Discarding needless trajectories and maximizing speed.
In other words, swiftness.
The moment his opponent gathered qi, Seonwoo Hyun read, a step ahead, the sword path his opponent was about to unleash.
And through the fleeting opening that appeared before the attack was unleashed, he thrust his sword in like lightning and sparks struck from flint.
As a result, his opponents had to undergo the bizarre experience of being defeated before they could even unleash their swords.
In that way, Seonwoo Hyun had overcome his weakness in his own manner.
And at last.
At the Heavenly Martial Tournament, he had brought down even Namgung Cheong-un, a first-rate master.
“…….”
It was a truly absurd story.
‘Only three years after learning martial arts, he changed the swordsmanship his own way, all by himself?’
Until just a moment ago, Namgung Seon-jae had thought Seonwoo Hyun was a child born to learn the sword.
But having heard the story, he was far more than that.
A martial genius who could change martial arts on his own to suit his weaknesses—it would not be strange if he someday became the grandmaster of a school.
However.
“You said your inner arts do not accumulate?”
“……Yes.”
“Turn around and sit for a moment.”
When Seonwoo Hyun sat cross-legged, Namgung Seon-jae placed a hand on his back and slowly began to send qi into him.
Hummm.
Namgung Seon-jae's inner arts, seeping in gently, swept through his body.
‘His qi channels are open without blockage. The size of his qi center is no problem either…….’
Judging only from what was visible, it was a body with absolutely nothing to fault.
However, Namgung Seon-jae soon frowned.
Of the inner arts that should have built up over a good three years, only about three months' worth remained in his qi center.
‘……How can this be?’
Namgung Seon-jae's eyes trembled faintly.
He examined Seonwoo Hyun's body once more in detail.
But that did not change the result.
A moment later.
Withdrawing his qi, Namgung Seon-jae spoke to Seonwoo Hyun with a stiff face:
“It is as you said. How could such a thing…….”
“…….”
His swordsmanship had already reached the first-rate realm.
But the inner arts he possessed had not.
‘His talent for the sword is this outstanding…… so why are only his inner arts not accumulating?’
Namgung Seon-jae, who had been lost in thought with a stiff face, opened his mouth again.
“This is not something we can reach a conclusion on right away. I will look into this matter a little more.”