novelraw Chapter 47 : Chapter 47
Chapter 47 : Chapter 47
Chapter 47: That doesn't look like Namgung Clan sword art.
A bright blue sword ki rushes in with a geometric trajectory.
It's not as good as Namgung Sejin's Heaven and Earth Net's Power of the Clouds, but it's still quite impressive.
I twisted my body diagonally and then shook my shoulders.
Thwack!
Namgung Hyeok, whose sword path was blocked by my Soul-Returning Hammer striking with my shoulder, quickly retreated and readjusted his sword.
I also held my sword in a reverse grip and started my footwork.
Against my Ghost Hand Reverse Scale Sword, which persistently attacks only the lower body, Namgung Hyeok flew into the air without a moment's hesitation.
His instantaneous judgment is truly animalistic.
Swish—
The sword ki he unleashed as he fell split into two strands like a snake's tongue.
One of them is a feint.
It's a basic Non-Dual Sword, but its power cannot be taken lightly.
He countered my Hundred Silk Revolving Wheel, which coils with rotational force, with the same spiral cut.
Clang!
Screeeech!
Two streams of dense, blue sword ki scraped the training ground, creating long furrows.
Hmm? Both strands were real?
‘What is this? This bastard?’
His strong internal energy is one thing, but the application of his sword moves is at a level that makes even this Martial Emperor's experience seem insignificant.
The technique I see before me is clearly a Namgung Clan sword style, but the way he operates the variations is like watching the Flame Demon bastard in his prime.
Is this possible at that young age?
Only then did I realize why Namgung Sejin had sent his sons with such composure.
As I had suspected, this Namgung Hyeok was the real Namgung.
“Truly astonishing. This Diamond Flash Two Roads is a technique that surprised even my father. You are the first opponent to block it with a simple deflecting sword.”
Hmm? Diamond Flash Two Roads?
Was there such a technique in the Azure Sky Boundless Sword?
“That doesn't look like a Namgung Clan sword art.”
“Ah, I am ashamed. It is a sword move I created.”
At those words, I lost my composure and was shaken.
‘……He created a sword move?’
To feel a flaw in one's own style and see a new path is truly the level of a grandmaster.
Even this Martial Emperor only developed such martial arts insight in his later years.
It was an unsettling feeling, like seeing the childhood of a monster with three heads and six arms.
‘This bastard……?’
With a chill running down my spine, I glared at him fiercely.
I could no longer treat his sword moves as a junior's antics.
If he continues to grow like this, he might even surpass the Sword Saint.
I twisted my lips and smiled.
“A substance that looks like a feint. With the great and heavy sword of the Namgung family, you want to imitate a mere illusionary sword.”
“This is not an illusionary sword……”
“You say it's not? Anyone can see it's a sword move that imitates the Plum Blossom Sword Art. No matter how much you want to become the Sword Sect, that's not the way. Just because you steal it recklessly doesn't mean the scent of plum blossoms will suddenly bloom.”
A dense pressure flowed out from Namgung Hyeok's entire body.
“Watch your words. My sword is by no means a stolen sword.”
“Hey, let's get things straight. Anyone can see that's Fallen Plums and Scattered Reds.”
“H- how can this technique be Fallen Plums and Scattered Reds……!”
“An extreme illusionary sword that mixes substance with feints to confuse the opponent. That is the essence of the Twenty-Four Hands Plum Blossom Sword Art. Am I wrong?”
In fact, if you go by my words, every illusionary sword in Jianghu becomes a derivative of Mount Hua.
But that didn't matter.
I pressed him even more relentlessly, and Namgung Hyeok's face eventually contorted in anger.
“What kind of nonsense is that!”
“Wait? Now that I look at it, that bright blue sword ki looks like a sword art from the Illusory Demon Palace, doesn't it?”
When I mentioned even one of the Eight Great Demon Families of the Demonic Cult, Namgung Hyeok's eyes finally went completely crazy.
Trembling.
“H- how dare you……!”
As expected.
He's still just a prodigy after all.
Finally, even Namgung Hyeok has been blackened.
***
Namgung Jun couldn't easily accept the reality unfolding before his eyes.
Jaegal Hwi.
He had felt that he was no ordinary person even when they were arguing, but when that damn bastard held a sword, he became a completely different person.
A difference in skill?
What he felt was not that simple.
A vastness like looking at a distant peak from a very low place.
A huge wall that felt suffocating.
A vast feeling he had never felt even from that terrifying Brigade Leader, as if he were facing his father with a sword.
Furthermore, the shock he felt when he heard the bastard's thoughts on martial arts tournaments was beyond words.
No one had ever spoken of the proper etiquette of a martial artist, which he had considered natural, in that way before.
It was as if the world he had believed in until now was being dismantled piece by piece.
‘Brother……!’
The bigger shock was his brother.
He was blocking the sword of that damn bastard, which he himself could not withstand for even a single strike, with unimaginable skill.
That endlessly surging great azure dragon ki was the realm he had so desperately wanted to reach.
Until today, he had never felt ashamed of his own skills, which he had used to punish the remnants of the Demonic Cult.
But now, it all came crashing down.
‘…….’
He thought his brother, who only insisted on isolated training, was foolish.
He had thought that his brother, who distanced himself from the world, would eventually become a fool.
But today, he saw that he was the frog in the well.
Did his father really not know this?
What did his father feel when he heard his alias, Thunder Peak Sword?
Did he really feel happy about him, who was getting carried away with a trivial reputation?
He couldn't know anything about his heart.
But then.
He suddenly felt a warm sensation on his back.
“Have you seen it.”
Startled, he saw it was his father.
The Azure Sky Divine Sword of the world, Namgung Sejin, was gently patting his back.
“What you are seeing now is the future of our Namgung. The one who has inherited the will of the great Namgung family. That man is the son of this Namgung Sejin, and your older brother.”
Namgung Jun gritted his teeth.
As expected, his father knew everything.
His trivial heart that was puffed up with a small reputation, and the small ambition that writhed in the depths of that heart.
But rather than shame, anger welled up first.
If he had seen through even his heart, he could not understand his father's actions until now.
“……Why did you do that to me?”
The alias Thunder Peak Sword, the rumors in the world that he had surpassed established Jianghu figures, were the work of storytellers.
It was none other than his father who had greatly praised his achievements and even created his fame.
“The moon cannot illuminate the entire world, which is why the sun is so dazzling.”
At his father's words, Namgung Jun froze in shock.
He understood exactly what his father's words meant.
Kindling.
He had thought he was just a nominal eldest son, but that man was surprisingly revealing an overwhelming divine authority that made even the Thunder Peak Sword look shabby.
The people of Jianghu would whisper that the Namgung Clan was living up to its reputation.
His fame had been sacrificed for the glorious debut of the eldest son, who would shine brightly in the future.
Namgung Jun felt goosebumps all over his body.
Why on earth did his father go this far?
“That is the path of the Sword Sect.”
His father's eyes were directed towards the distant sky.
“Your brother will become the Namgung Sword Sect that surpasses Mount Hua. I have bet my entire life on that.”
Finally, Namgung Jun realized.
That in his father's entire life, his fierce life, he had been completely consumed.
He couldn't hold back the rising sorrow, and the urge to cast off the name Namgung welled up, but he was even more stunned by his father's next words.
“If you are so angry, you can sever the ties of father and son.”
What on earth did he just hear?
“If you can abandon the honor of Namgung and become an ordinary man, that would not be a bad life either. Since you don't have to fulfill your responsibilities and duties.”
It clearly meant that he would take away the benefits he had received as a Namgung.
Unable to control his resentful heart, tears flowed endlessly from Namgung Jun's eyes.
“It is just that what had to be done someday has come quickly. As a father, I am sorry.”
That father was walking towards the center of the training ground.
“Look. That dangerous fellow is the one who has gifted us father and son with this miserable day.”
Namgung Sejin, staring blankly at the eaves of the Phoenix Martial Emperor Pavilion.
“The Jaegal Clan, which had been crouching all this time, has finally raised a hidden dragon.”
***
Namgung Hyeok, who had barely blocked my Flowing Cloud Shattering Dust, finally withdrew his sword.
Seeing his pale complexion, it seemed that his true ki could no longer continue inside him.
He stood there for a long time with a bloodless face and finally bowed his head.
“……I have lost.”
“Hmm?”
It was a clear declaration of defeat, but I didn't feel refreshed.
Even though it was a new body, I was still the Martial Emperor, yet I couldn't completely overwhelm him.
Of course, I had hidden my true skills after that bastard Namgung Sejin started watching, but the result was still very unsatisfying.
Well, anyway, a win is a win, so it was time to collect the spoils.
“Then your advance into the Wuhan branch is off the table. And of course, you'll take back that insidious marriage proposal letter as well. No complaints, right?”
“…….”
Namgung Hyeok just closed his eyes and kept his mouth shut.
As expected, when it comes to political maneuvering, his younger brother Namgung Jun is superior.
“So be it.”
The one who answered my words was, as expected, Namgung Sejin.
The Sword Command Divine Tablet of the Namgung Clan was already hanging from his belt.
In the distance, my father was also walking over with the Old Man of Heavenly Wisdom.
Seeing the smiles blooming on their faces, it seemed they had watched the entire martial arts tournament from afar.
I slowly sheathed my sword and looked at Namgung Sejin.
I already knew.
This bastard was not one to back down so easily.
“Well, you're probably going to come up with some other strange justification and make another proposal, so I'll hear you out.”
Namgung Sejin, remaining silent with an impassive face.
This damn bastard always takes his time like this.
Those vacant, absent-minded eyes are all a smokescreen.
He's a guy who would have taken control of the imperial court if he had gone into politics instead of being a swordsman.
“Why do you drag things out so much at the crucial moment. You must have already organized everything you want to say. Aren't you tired of these mind games yet?”
It's truly tiresome.
The orthodox bastards' game of justifications.
I almost died holding back my disgust at the Pavilion of Floral Beauty.
If my father had been a little later in giving me the Phoenix Command Seal, I might have really flipped the table.
“Before that, there is one thing I am curious about.”
Namgung Sejin's insidious eyes were constantly scanning my gaze.
What is this bastard trying to do when I'm already struggling just looking at his face?
He wouldn't be rolling his eyes so blatantly for no reason.
An unsettling feeling was creeping up on me.
“What is it?”
His gaze was now directed at the plaque of the Phoenix Martial Emperor Pavilion.
“Have you by any chance inherited the legacy of the Martial Emperor?”
Ah, damn it.
I'm screwed.