novelraw Chapter 48 : Chapter 48
Chapter 48 : Chapter 48
Chapter 48: Bring me proof! Proof!
From the moment that bastard Namgung Sejin appeared, I had thoroughly excluded any techniques from the Black Way lineage.
I did that because I didn't want to arouse unnecessary suspicion, using only martial arts that were commonly known in martial halls, such as the military's recommended arts, wanderer styles, or the Three Talents Sword and Five Elements Sword, which any martial artist would know.
Furthermore, I minimized the resonance of my true ki.
Unless one were to directly check my pulse, it would be impossible to fathom the source of my ki art.
Well, unlike the Sword Saint, he didn't know much about my One Ki Divine Origin Art anyway.
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
As if he had expected me to react this way, a strange, unreadable smile was playing on Namgung Sejin's face.
“A person holding a weapon in their hand does not enjoy close combat. If a person who cannot even handle their own sword properly senselessly enjoys kicking, what kind of treatment would they receive? In a martial family, such people are called third-rate.”
Soon, Namgung Sejin's gaze turned to the dirtied martial uniform of the eldest son.
“Shoulder, leg, knee, elbow…… the traces of close combat are abundant. Was it because of your sword moves that our eldest son was defeated?”
“Well, if you mix in hand-to-hand combat during a fight……”
“Yes, that's it. The fact that it is much more difficult to deal with variations executed with hand-to-hand combat rather than a sword. You already know that. But such a martial way is not easily realized.”
“…….”
“Most swordsmen dedicate their entire lives to perfecting just one sword style. For a swordsman who dreams of a pure realm to mix hand-to-hand combat with his sword. He must be either an arrogant person or a fool. Or a person who has truly gone mad for martial arts.”
I had overlooked something for a moment.
No matter how petty a Namgung bastard he was, this guy was also one of the Seven Revered of Jianghu.
That bastard Namgung Sejin looked at the eldest son's martial uniform again.
“Look at the crushed marks in the shape of spreading ripples everywhere. It means that he incorporated a rotating rotational force in every strike. It is a technique that cannot be easily imitated.”
No, why is this bastard's observation so sharp for no reason.
“I have seen something like this only once in my life. The one who was a stubborn Black Way member yet dared to be called by the alias of Martial Emperor, that Jin bastard. Moreover.”
Soon, Namgung Sejin shifted his gaze and looked at the plaque under the eaves of the Phoenix Martial Emperor Pavilion.
“Isn't it written right there, Martial Emperor?”
It wasn't just Namgung Sejin.
My father, the Old Man of Heavenly Wisdom, and even my two disciples were all looking at me with anxious eyes.
Ha, how on earth am I supposed to get out of this?
Even with this good head of mine, I can't think of a brilliant plan.
“What do you think?”
Looking at that smug bastard's confident expression, he must think he has me in a perfect checkmate.
A prodigy of a prestigious orthodox sect has inherited the legacy of a great master of the Black Way?
I would surely be dragged to the Wuhan branch and interrogated about my relationship with the Martial Emperor, and in the worst-case scenario, I could be sent to the Alliance and imprisoned in the notorious Forbidden Demon Prison.
If I admit it here, everything is over.
There is no other way.
First, I put on a thick-skinned face.
“Even the Purple Mist of Mount Hua in the old days was mistaken for a demonic art. There are still many people who think that the Peng Clan of Hebei stole Shaolin's fist art.”
In fact, the Mixed Origin Thunderous Palm and the Hundred Steps Divine Fist are similar even in their starting stances.
That majestic energy and the characteristic shockwaves that spread like an earthquake are difficult to distinguish unless one has a very sharp eye.
“Are you going to lecture me on the martial theory of all things returning to one source right here?”
“No, I'm just saying. And why is rotational force a martial art exclusive to the Martial Emperor? Have you not seen the Southern Barbarians' Tiger King Throw? Then Shaolin's Returning Wind Splashing Water Form would also be the Martial Emperor's martial art, wouldn't it? Wow! I didn't know that? The Namgung Clan's Heaven and Earth Net was the Martial Emperor's martial art!”
In fact, my rotational force was a martial art that was created with a lot of inspiration from a duel with the young master of the Beast Palace, Maeng Jin, in my youth.
As I started to argue like that, Namgung Sejin's eyes narrowed thinly.
“Do you think you can get away with wordplay in front of this Namgung Sejin.”
“Bring me proof! Proof! No matter how great a clan head you are, can you just connect things like that? Father? Please say something? Have I ever even stepped outside this family?”
My father stepped forward and chimed in.
“As the Clan Head knows, our Hwi-ah has been suffering from the Six Viscera Strange Disease since he was young and has been focused only on treatment. We have never allowed him to make his debut. If necessary, the servants of our family can all testify to this.”
“Then explain this. How does a child of your esteemed family, who has no experience in Jianghu, know about our family's Heaven and Earth Net and its martial principles? How does he know about the rotational force contained in the Beast King's fist art, and how is he also well-versed in Shaolin's martial arts? Can the Clan Head truly explain this?”
As my father hardened into silence, Namgung Sejin's gaze became even sharper.
“Even I would have to fight for a hundred moves if I were to have a technique duel with our eldest son with our internal energy sealed. But that eldest son was defeated in fifty moves. Is this really possible?”
Even if it's a technique duel with their internal energy sealed, he can last a hundred moves against that Azure Sky Divine Sword?
Only then did I understand my unsatisfying victory.
According to Namgung Sejin's words, that eldest son bastard is already at the level of the hundred great masters of Jianghu.
My father's expression hardened.
“That sounds like you're saying that even if the sky were to split in two, our Divine Skill Jaegal could not defeat your esteemed family.”
For a moment, Namgung Sejin's atmosphere changed completely.
“Listen carefully. All the elders of the Azure Sky Profound Origin Hall came forward for our eldest son's body cleansing. When the eldest son reached the age of five, no one in our family could defeat him in a sword debate. I dare to declare. Our eldest son is the greatest martial talent in the long history of our family.”
I was quite surprised.
For an orthodox sect bastard, whose etiquette and laws have seeped into his very bones, to so proudly declare him the best in Namgung's history.
“That kid with a talent that reached the heavens has never taken a break from his isolated training for even a moment. Although he is my son, I was frightened by the speed of his growth. Now, what about your esteemed family's son?”
Hmm.
You'll get hurt a lot if you really find out the truth.
I stepped in front of my again-silent father and opened my mouth.
“You have a bad habit of judging other people's lives carelessly.”
I glared even more venomously at the bastard who was putting on a noble and stern act.
“This damn Jianghu, you know. It always speaks with results. Even a guy who got struck by a stray blade and died somewhere has a poignant story like that. What are you, a child, going on about talent and effort, what kind of sob story are you trying to sell?”
I glared at the eldest son, Namgung Hyeok, who was standing there with the face of someone who had lost their country.
“So who won?”
The eldest son, born with the greatest talent in the history of the Namgung Clan.
For such a guy to have met this reincarnated Martial Emperor is just a sign that his luck has run out.
Like me, who died after meeting a monster called the Dark Spirit Revered One one day, it's just bad luck.
No matter how much you shout that such bad luck is absurd or unfair, nothing changes.
Jianghu is a place where you can be standing on a cliff anytime, anywhere, and that is the life of a warrior like us.
If you're wearing a sword on your waist without that much determination, it would be better for your life to retire a day earlier.
I walked over to the main hall and sat down in a cross-legged position with a calm expression.
After all, that bastard Namgung Sejin's claims are all subjective suspicions, there is no physical evidence.
Time is on my side.
“Your esteemed family, in a situation where the party to the martial arts tournament has clearly been defeated, did not accept it and an observer interfered. Of course, you still lost. If you are willing to bear this rumor, I will also acknowledge it. Keep being stubborn like that.”
Rustle.
As I calmly pulled the Go board towards me, that bastard Namgung Sejin gritted his teeth.
“What are you doing in the middle of a meeting between our two families.”
Clatter, clatter.
I held a neatly ground square Go stone in my hand and smiled at him.
“We clearly agreed to settle all conflicts with a martial arts tournament. But you were the one who didn't accept the result of the match and went on some strange rant about the Martial Emperor. Since Namgung is acting out of line first, do I really need to be polite?”
Finally, his mouth closed.
Since he's an orthodox bastard obsessed with justification, his mouth was forcibly shut in front of my strong justification.
I smiled faintly and picked up a square Go stone.
“Those who are angular and sharp see the world in a crooked way. You don't even know much about the other person's life, yet you say only your son's efforts are great, what kind of strange confidence is that. Heeya, it's ground so well and square!”
Looking at Namgung Sejin, who was biting his lip and trembling his eyebrows, felt like a ten-year-old indigestion was being washed away.
The Ghost Spirit should have seen this precious scene too.
“……Will you not regret it?”
I smiled.
Since I'm going on and on about squares to this extent, the memory of the Hua Family Village must be vividly resurfacing in his mind by now.
So what is he going to do about it?
Being reborn in a new body is this much fun.
“Regret? I'm busy enough living each day to the fullest, why would I do something like that? It's not like anything will change.”
Namgung Sejin was silent with his eyes closed.
Right now, he was the one in a checkmate situation.
If he accepts the result of this match, he has to withdraw the Azure Sky Sword Squad.
Of course, if he doesn't accept it, he has to bear the rumor that the Thunder Peak Sword and the eldest son took turns and still lost.
After a long time of barely controlling his emotions, he looked at my father.
“I will state clearly in this place. From now on, your esteemed family is our family's enemy.”
A chuckle escaped.
When were we ever not enemies?
‘Hmm?’
But my father's face had turned pale.
No, my father doesn't know the Namgung bastard well, that's all just a bluff, I'm telling you.
“For today, I will withdraw our family's sword squad. However, if the performance of the Wuhan branch remains as it is, nothing will change. This Namgung will personally move the Alliance Leader.”
Hmm?
Next time, he's going to team up with the Sword Saint and come at me?
This is not something to be ignored.
I hid my tension and opened my mouth.
“Are you trying to crush us with the power of the Alliance? Have you forgotten what kind of family we are?”
The power of this Jaegal Clan, the source of that power, lies in the Military Strategy Department, which is said to be on par with the power of the Alliance Leader.
Now, he is talking about the Alliance against the Divine Skill Jaegal, who is holding that Military Strategy Department in its grasp.
“This Namgung's patience is three months. If the Wuhan branch once again fails to match the performance of the Anhui branch, you will see me again.”
Finally, Namgung Sejin withdrew with his sons.
The Azure Sky Sword Squad, which had been lined up outside, began to withdraw in an orderly fashion.
My father looked at the retreating Azure Dragon Flag of the Namgung Clan and muttered.
“What should we do about this.”
Rooting out the Demonic Cult members.
I don't know how many those ignorant Namgung bastards can catch in a month, but it means they will come back if we don't produce similar results.
“Don't worry.”
At my calm answer, the Old Man of Heavenly Wisdom's eyes curved like a bow.
“You have some other strange plan up your sleeve, don't you.”
Well, you could say.
It's my area of expertise.
“Of course.”