The Genius Youngest Disciple of the Wudang Sect

Chapter 123

After arriving at the Nangong family and meeting Nangong Sang-hyeon, we spent some tedious days.

The next day, and the day after that, there were no special schedules or things to do, so we had nothing much to do other than look around the family estate or go outside the manor and look around the surroundings.

"If I had known it would be like this, I would have stayed outside for about five days before coming in."

"I know, right? I thought something fun would happen as soon as we arrived at the Nangong family, but there's nothing like that at all."

Even Senior Brother Unmi and Senior Brother Unsik were sitting in the shade of a tree near our assigned lodgings and having this conversation.

In the midst of all that, Zhuge Yun and Zhuge Ling were very busy.

Zhuge Yun said he had to check all the alleys around Hefei with his own eyes and draw them, so he packed a brush and paper and went out early every morning and came back late at night.

And Zhuge Ling followed him, saying she couldn't let her older brother go alone.

I wondered if they were running away because they thought I would make them train again, but seeing the two of them come back exhausted after walking and running such a long distance every time they went out, I thought that wasn't the case.

"Hwi-ya. If I ask them to lend us just one training ground... it wouldn't be possible, right?"

Senior Brother Uncheol, whose body was itching, asked me this, and then he finally took the initiative to ask the servants and borrowed a small training ground.

Then he took the rest of the senior brothers and started moving his body as soon as he opened his eyes, saying he needed to sweat a little.

That's almost at the level of addiction. I didn't want it to become like that.

In the midst of all that, the rising stars from all over the Central Plains are constantly gathering at the Nangong family.

It is a testament to how great the fame and presence of the Sovereign Sword Emperor, Nangong Sang-hyeon, is in the martial world.

The nine sects and one gang, and the five great families, who are said to be so proud, and the sects and families with power comparable to them, all sent their rising stars here without exception.

'This is, well, it's almost like the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly.'

The scene was reminiscent of the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly held by the Martial Arts Alliance once every four years.

One big difference is that the rising stars gathered at the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly either discuss swordsmanship, have spars, or have love affairs, but the rising stars gathering here were not interacting with each other and were subtly wary of each other.

And, I think I can vaguely guess the reason.

'The enlightenment of the Sovereign Sword Emperor. They are all here for that.'

Perhaps when the Sovereign Sword Emperor, Nangong Sang-hyeon, sent the invitations, the phrase that he wanted to share the enlightenment he had gained in his later years was not only sent to our Wudang Sect, but was included in all the invitations.

Because they are all looking at each other as if they are trying not to let others take away something delicious.

However, even in the midst of all that, there are bound to be some welcome faces.

"Monk Il-jik! Monk Il-yeong!"

"Patron Unhwi! Have you been well?"

Because Monk Il-jik and Monk Il-yeong, whom I had met at Shaolin, were also sent here to congratulate the Sovereign Sword Emperor.

I saw something shining in the distance as the sunlight reflected off it, and I thought it might be them, so I rushed over, and sure enough, it was the monks.

"I've been well. You two... no, haven't your bodies gotten so much better than before? What kind of training have you been doing?"

"You... patron, are no slouch either, are you? We have inherited the patron's will and have been continuing our training where the loser of a daily spar between our brothers has to do two hundred squats while holding a log."

"Wow, you're still doing that? But there probably aren't many people who can beat Monk Il-jik in a spar, but your thighs have gotten incredibly thick, monk?"

"Ahem... so my opponent is Senior Uncle Yeong Hwan."

"Ah! You have to skip a generation to find a match. That's amazing."

Just by looking at them, I could feel how serious Shaolin was about training.

Shaolin is, in name and reality, the number one sect in the Central Plains.

But they are still working hard on their training, whether others are watching or not.

That appearance of thinking of training as cultivation and constantly and silently striving. That must be the secret to Shaolin's strength.

'I wonder how our senior brothers are doing?'

Now that a few months have passed since I returned from Shaolin, the atmosphere of the Wudang Sect has also changed a lot.

Because everyone is enjoying becoming stronger and is working hard to make the Wudang Sect stronger.

"By the way, did you two come from Shaolin?"

"No. A few of my junior brothers also came, and our guide, Senior Uncle Yeong Hwan, also came with us."

"Monk Yeong Hwan? I heard that he usually doesn't do external activities."

"Haha! That's right. Our senior uncle tried his best not to come, but the abbot threatened to make him do six months of wall-gazing meditation if he didn't come to the Nangong family this time, so he had no choice but to bring us."

I couldn't help but let out a small laugh.

Although everyone may think of Great Master Gak-il as a noble high monk, he is a surprisingly greedy person.

Is it so common to be able to see the enlightenment of the Sovereign Sword Emperor even over his shoulder?

So he would have tried to send Monk Yeong Hwan, who is currently the most talented among the Shaolin monks, by any means necessary.

"Perhaps our senior uncle will be very happy to know that Patron Unhwi is here."

"I'm happy too, you know? Shall we set up a meeting soon? I also came with my senior brothers. I'll introduce you."

"Ah...! Are you talking about the people you shared a room with?"

"That's right. Five of us from our room in Wudang came."

"Good. We will have an exchange with the disciples of the Wudang Sect like this."

As he said this, his eyes flashed.

That gaze is sharp. It seems he is thinking about the Buddhist-Taoist Grand Tournament, which we are not even paying attention to yet.

"Then I will see you later."

"Yes. Or I might go first."

"That's good too."

We shared the locations of our lodgings and then parted for now.

As I was returning to my lodgings, I realized one strange thing.

'I can understand that I didn't know about the Sovereign Sword Emperor's retirement banquet and Gold Basin Hand-Washing ceremony at all. Because at that time, I was still swinging my sword at the empty air alone in the Un family's estate.'

I thought I remembered the big and small events of my previous life quite well, but it was actually the first time I had learned that the Sovereign Sword Emperor had held his retirement ceremony so grandly.

This was before I officially entered the martial world, so I can let that slide.

'But why was there not a single person who was said to have inherited Nangong Sang-hyeon's legacy?'

The Sovereign Sword Emperor held his Gold Basin Hand-Washing ceremony so grandly, and there were more than one or two martial artists who participated.

Even Monk Yeong Hwan, who is currently the most talented in Shaolin, is said to have participated.

But does that mean they didn't gain anything?

'That can't be. They would have sent all the geniuses who are said to be flying and crawling, so is it possible that not a single person gained enlightenment?'

Thinking about it that way, about three possibilities come to mind.

First. No one really inherited Nangong Sang-hyeon's enlightenment. The Sovereign Sword Emperor's teachings were at such a high level that everyone could only see his sword dance as just a dance.

Second. For some reason, Nangong Sang-hyeon was unable to show his enlightenment to the rising stars.

Third. He showed the sword dance normally, and enlightenment was gained, but the person who gained the enlightenment did not tell anyone and kept it a secret until the end.

'Among them, the most likely one is...'

No matter how much I think about it, it can only be the second one.

Then it means that something might happen to the Nangong family within this week.

Ever since I opened my eyes as Unhwi of the Wudang Sect, this kind of intuition has been strangely accurate.

'I should check if there's anything going on.'

I was about to return to my lodgings, but I turned around and headed for the outside of the Nangong family.

It was to find out if there was any news related to the Nangong family.

The travel expenses that the head of the Zhuge family gave me were also generously left, and I also know well who are the ones who can find out this kind of news the fastest.

'Hao Faction.'

I started to wander around the Nangong family, gradually widening my search, and began to look for an inn with the character for swallow, 'yeon', in its name.

***

The head of the Nangong family's hall.

There, the head of the Nangong family, the Sword King, Nangong Cheon-jin, and his father and great-grandfather, the Sovereign Sword Emperor, Nangong Sang-hyeon, were sitting facing each other and sipping tea.

Nangong Sang-hyeon, as if recalling old memories, looked around with a wistful gaze and said, "In a few days, it won't be easy to come and visit this place."

"Why do you say such a sad thing? Even if you go into the mountains, this place will forever be your home, father. You can come whenever you want."

"Hoho... thank you for saying so."

Nangong Sang-hyeon looked at his son, Nangong Cheon-jin, with affectionate eyes.

There was a very slight hint of sadness mixed in his eyes.

It sounded as if the reason he said it would be difficult to come here again was not just because he had retired.

"The last... is the sword dance you will show to the rising stars well prepared?"

"The sword dance? Of course. You don't have to worry about that... cough, cough!"

He suddenly stopped talking and coughed continuously.

Nangong Cheon-jin naturally handed him a cloth, and Nangong Sang-hyeon coughed into it without stopping.

When the coughing finally stopped, there was blood on the cloth.

"Father. Your body seems to have gotten worse."

"Hoo... this body. I've used it for a long time."

"It would be better not to prepare the sword dance. If you overexert yourself..."

"Tsk. Are you telling me to let this father and the Nangong family become a laughingstock?"

"Becoming a laughingstock is better than you overexerting yourself, father. But your body condition has gotten seriously worse than a few days ago... did you perhaps perform any martial arts?"

"Ahem. It's a bit difficult to say that I didn't perform it, and it's also a bit difficult to say that I did..."

"Father! Didn't the doctor say that you should absolutely not use martial arts?"

Although Nangong Cheon-jin shouted, he, as if this had happened once or twice, just let it go in one ear and said to him, "At that time, there was something that I really had no choice but to do."

"What was it this time?"

"Actually, I met a child from the Wudang Sect a while ago."

"Ah... was his name Unhwi? I heard about it."

"It seems Yu-hwa has already tattled."

"Rather than tattling... I naturally found out because it's something that happens within the family."

Nangong Sang-hyeon, who was also the head of the Nangong family and had the title of Sword King, found it funny that his son was making excuses, so he let out a small laugh and opened his mouth.

"Anyway, I happened to meet that child and accidentally learned about the Dynamic Qigong he created."

"A child created a Dynamic Qigong?"

"You don't believe it, do you? In fact, I didn't believe it at first either. I even suspected that he was lying that he had created a Dynamic Qigong that someone had taught him."

"To have created a Dynamic Qigong at that age. It's an incredible aptitude. But what does that have to do with you using martial arts again, father?"

"That is... after I encountered that Dynamic Qigong, I couldn't stay still. My body moved before my will, and I was performing that martial art."

"Even so..."

As Nangong Cheon-jin was about to continue nagging, Nangong Sang-hyeon interrupted him and began to speak.

"Cheon-jin-ah. What if that child's martial art can solve my current problem?"

"Yes?!"

At those words, Nangong Cheon-jin's eyes flashed.

"The words that it can solve the problem...?!"

"It doesn't stop there, but it might even be able to solve the problem of our family that has been passed down since ancient times."

Nangong Cheon-jin, forgetting his dignity, stood up from his seat with a thud. The chair fell over behind him, but he didn't care.

The story he had just heard was as joyful as it was shocking.

"If that's true, then there's no need for you to leave the martial world, father, is there?"

"That could be the case. Although it would look unsightly to have gathered people like this under the pretext of a Gold Basin Hand-Washing ceremony."

Although he said that, his eyes were also full of joy.

In fact, there is another real reason why he is trying to have a Gold Basin Hand-Washing ceremony.

He was dying day by day.

It might sound natural considering his age of ninety, but his body dying and his lifespan coming to an end had a very different meaning.

"This curse where the body cannot withstand the overly powerful martial art and collapses. It means that this curse can be broken."

Nangong Sang-hyeon's voice was full of seriousness.

(End of Chapter)