novelraw Chapter 90 : Let's Go! To the Sword Pavilion (2)
Chapter 90 : Let's Go! To the Sword Pavilion (2)
There are three beings in the fantasies of martial artists.
The first is the Dragon God.
In the distant past, in what is commonly called the ancient martial world, when Jang Sang-pung and Bodhidharma were alive, just before the Shaolin and Wudang sects appeared in the world, he was the number one in the world during an era rampant with legends and myths.
However, it was unknown whether the Dragon God was a real person or just a figure in a fantasy. Because the anecdotes about him were only briefly introduced in the books left by Bodhidharma and Jang Sang-pung.
Therefore, the second one could be said to be a little more real and credible.
It was the second-generation Demonic Cult Lord, the Divine Heavenly Demon.
It was recorded that the power of the Demonic Cult at that time was less than that of the current Demonic Cult. But after the Divine Heavenly Demon ascended to the position of Lord, the power of the Demonic Cult grew rapidly, and in the end, it was said to have reached beyond the Central Plains to Mongolia. However, although there are records of the Demonic Cult, there are almost no records of the Divine Heavenly Demon, so although this is more credible than the first, it was still unknown whether the Divine Heavenly Demon was a real person or not.
For this reason, there were often debates in the world about who was the best of all time, the Dragon God or the Divine Heavenly Demon.
Compared to the previous two, the third case has existed until now. It is the anecdote about the Sword Empress.
The story of how the 5th Sword Empress saved someone who had fallen into the sea and was about to be eaten by a whale as big as a castle by cutting it in one stroke.
The story of how the 7th Sword Empress caught a giant octopus bigger than the ship they were sailing on when the ship was about to be swallowed by the sea, and ate raw octopus with the sailors on the spot.
The story of how the 11th Sword Empress cut a giant typhoon that was rushing in with a single stroke.
The story of how the 12th Sword Empress cut a tidal wave.
And so on.
Although these were stories that people on land would not believe, for the people living by the sea, the two words 'Sword Empress' were their own pride and legend that they had heard since they were young.
Even if it was not an event that happened to the current Sword Empress, the Sword Empress had always existed in Hainan, and the successive Sword Empresses had always created unbelievable anecdotes.
Murong Seryeong was also one of the people who had a fantasy about the Sword Empress since she was young.
But somehow, she felt a slight distance between the figure in her imagination and the person who existed in front of her now.
Murong Seryeong had succeeded in entering the Sword Empress's room.
Compared to the prestige of the Sword Empress known to the world, the room was extremely shabby. To put it nicely, it was simple.
There was nothing except for the necessary items.
And the sense of incongruity that Murong Seryeong was currently feeling was the appearance of the Sword Empress.
The Sword Empress is a martial artist. That could be said to be a natural statement.
Although she hadn't looked closely before because she was in a hurry, the clothes the Sword Empress, who was preparing tea, was wearing were by no means something that could be called a martial artist's.
Because that was... a palace dress.
Simply put, the clothes worn by the women of the Imperial Palace.
Reflecting their lives that emphasized appearances, they were somewhat cumbersome and gorgeous. On the other hand, they were clothes that did not suit a martial artist who was very active.
Rustle, rustle.
The sound of the skirt dragging on the floor was heard. And inside it, there was an underskirt, and inside that, there was another underskirt.
On top, there was a jeogori, and inside that, there was an under-jeogori, and inside that, there was another under-jeogori.
But strangely, such an appearance was not strange. To the extent that if she had met the person in front of her on the street without knowing that she was the Sword Empress, she would not have noticed at all.
In a word, should I say that she felt a sense of dignity?
It was the appearance of someone who had not learned martial arts at all.
The Sword Empress brought tea.
"It's been a long time since I've had a guest, so the preparations are late. You've waited a long time, haven't you?"
"N-no! Thank you just for letting me in."
"It's good to see that your answer is so loud. Here! Have some tea."
The Sword Empress's hand movements as she prepared the tea were elegant. Her slightly lowered eyes and long eyelashes suited her current appearance as if they were painted.
Murong Seryeong, to follow the etiquette she did not know, straightened her posture.
When the teacup was about two-thirds full, the Sword Empress placed the tea in front of Murong Seryeong.
"It's hot, so drink it slowly."
"Yes!"
And the Sword Empress poured tea into her own cup and brought it to her lips.
"The temperature is just right. Drink it now. It's the time when the tea is most deeply brewed."
"Yes!"
Murong Seryeong was still dazed, but she took a sip of the tea. As the Sword Empress had said, it was the most bitter tea she had ever drunk. She just couldn't understand what taste it was supposed to be eaten with.
The Sword Empress put down the tea with an elegant motion. Murong Seryeong drank the tea in one gulp and quickly put down the teacup.
"You must have been thirsty."
As the Sword Empress poured tea again, Murong Seryeong drank it in one gulp again.
The Sword Empress was staring at her. Murong Seryeong's face turned red for no reason.
'The captain said you're not supposed to drink tea in sips!'
The Sword Empress, with a slight smile, continued to speak. At this, Murong Seryeong stiffened her body again and became tense.
"I thought you wouldn't listen outside, so I let you in, but the Sword Pavilion is in a pretty bad situation right now."
"I know! You have to have a duel with the Hainan Sect!"
"And you still want to enter the Sword Pavilion?"
"Yes!"
"You're a loud child."
Murong Seryeong was originally a quiet person and had a small voice. But rather than clearing up the misunderstanding that had already been built up, she chose to win the favor of the Sword Empress.
"Yes!"
"I have confirmed your will, so if you still want to stay in the Sword Pavilion after seeing what I'm about to show you, I won't stop you. Follow me."
Gulp.
Murong Seryeong followed the Sword Empress, wondering what she was going to show her.
* * *
The place she followed the Sword Empress to was a training ground located in the Sword Pavilion.
Murong Seryeong had seen five empty training grounds before.
And on the way, except for the ordinary family members in charge of meals and cleaning, she strangely did not feel the presence of any martial artists.
Inside the sixth training ground, two children of about five years old were training.
And the children did not seem to have learned any martial arts at all.
"Take this! Ultimate!"
"Block! Earth!"
Just two young children.
A game of playing with wooden swords that can be seen anywhere in the neighborhood.
It didn't look very special.
But it was something the Sword Empress had told her to look at.
There must be something special.
Murong Seryeong opened her eyes wide and observed the two children again.
The sword strikes they extended were crooked.
She couldn't think of them as techniques at all.
Her lower body was not fixed, and on the contrary, she was being swung around by the weight of the sword.
'Don't tell me I didn't notice?'
Even though she was at the Transformation Realm? Murong Seryeong, whose confidence had recently plummeted because the people she saw were all at the Transformation Realm, was still at the Transformation Realm.
It was possible to grasp what was contained in the movements of a five-year-old child in one second.
It had been about a moment since she had frowned.
'There's nothing.'
She couldn't understand at all. Murong Seryeong looked at the Sword Empress next to her. The Sword Empress was looking at the children's movements with a very satisfied expression.
The Sword Empress heads towards the children.
Murong Seryeong could guess what the Sword Empress was about to say. She would correct the wrong actions from before.
Because the most important thing when learning martial arts is habit.
A bad habit, once formed, was so difficult to correct that it was better not to have learned martial arts at all.
So it was a common rite of passage for most people learning martial arts for the first time to develop good habits.
"You're doing well."
Her prediction was beautifully wrong.
'Good?'
"Right? Look at this! Ta-da!"
"How refreshing!"
'That?'
"I trained hard today too!"
"Well done!"
'That mess?'
"Will we also be able to have the same skills as the Sword Empress someday?"
"If you keep this up, it'll be soon!"
"Hehe!"
"Heehee!"
'You'll never be able to, even if you do it for the rest of your life.'
"Shall we stop for today and rest?"
""Yes!""
The two children, who had answered in chorus, threw the wooden swords they were holding on the training ground floor and disappeared in a flash.
'Throwing away the sword?'
An act that could never be forgiven as a swordsman!
Murong Seryeong, convinced that the Sword Empress would scold those two children this time, turned her head.
The Sword Empress was still looking at them with a pleased expression and was picking up the fallen wooden swords.
'Wasn't the Sword Empress supposed to be a great person?'
Soon, only the Sword Empress and Murong Seryeong were left in the empty training ground.
The Sword Empress slowly turns back to her.
Whatever her previous appearance was, Murong Seryeong naturally became tense. Although the Sword Empress might have been just a neighborhood woman to the children, to Murong Seryeong, the Sword Empress was a legend itself.
"What did you feel after seeing that?"
Murong Seryeong honestly said what she had seen and felt.
"It was terrible."
"Yes, this is the situation of the Sword Pavilion. And those children are the last remaining disciples of the Sword Pavilion. Now that you know, you can leave."
The Sword Empress walks past her.
The distance gradually increases.
She had to hold on to the Sword Empress here.
It didn't matter about the duel challenge or the situation the Sword Pavilion was in. The reason she had come here was to receive the Sword Empress's teachings, and for that, she could even bet her life.
Murong Seryeong shouted.
"Those children just now!"
Please!
Thud.
No more footsteps were heard.
Swish.
The Sword Empress stopped and turned back to look at her.
Murong Seryeong, without knowing what she was saying, just said it.
"It was a movement that had not learned martial arts."
A reaction came from the Sword Empress.
"And?"
"They also didn't have the right habits. It would have been better not to have learned martial arts at all."
"And?"
"They didn't even have the basics, like how to hold a sword, how to move their weight, and how to fix their lower body. They wouldn't even teach like this in a city's martial arts hall."
"And?"
At the Sword Empress's repeated questions, Murong Seryeong couldn't think of anything else.
Murong Seryeong tried her best to recall the appearance of the children just now, but she couldn't find anything else.
She also couldn't understand why the Sword Empress kept asking.
What was clear was that the Sword Empress had something she wanted to hear from her, and she had stopped for that.
If it's a problem without an answer, I don't know, but if there's an answer, find it! Murong Seryeong!
"And?"
Murong Seryeong closed her eyes tightly and opened her mouth.
"It was unsightly. I couldn't feel any talent or value as a martial artist from those children just now. If it were me, I would have advised them to find another job rather than learning martial arts!"
The Sword Empress turns back again.
Phew. Murong Seryeong, who had taken a deep breath, shouted with all her might.
"And! I saw it!"
The Sword Empress stops and looks back again.
Murong Seryeong blurted out whatever came to mind.
"The children's swords had will in them!"
For the first time, the Sword Empress's question changed from 'and'.
"So?"
"So... it was good to see!"
The Sword Empress approaches. She touches Murong Seryeong's body here and there.
"Ugh!"
Murong Seryeong, making a strange sound, closed her eyes tightly.
The Sword Empress took the sword hanging from Murong Seryeong's side and headed to the center of the training ground.
'What is she trying to do?'
Murong Seryeong stared blankly at the Sword Empress.
"Child, do you know what will is?"
The Sword Empress, holding the sword, looked completely different from before. The clothes she was wearing were still long and cumbersome, but such things did not catch her eye at all.
There was just a martial artist there.
"Will is the driving force to achieve a goal. Like wanting to become stronger, wanting to protect someone, wanting to achieve something. Do you understand?"
Murong Seryeong, although she knew it was impolite, couldn't help but nod her head first. Fortunately, the Sword Empress didn't seem to mind Murong Seryeong's appearance.
"To make your will stronger, you need to set your goals in detail. For example, if you want to become stronger, how do you become stronger? If a swordsman sets a goal of swinging the sword faster, what kind of posture and breathing are needed to execute it, what kind of training is needed for that, what kind of plan should be made for that training, what kind of prior preparation is needed to practice that plan, and so on."
The Sword Empress slowly raised her sword.
"To wish, to want, and to accumulate it and finally achieve it. That is will. And to put that will into the sword."
Slice!
It was a simple downward cut.
A swing that anyone could imitate.
But Murong Seryeong, at that swing, had her eyes, her mind, her heart, her everything stolen.
"It is the first beginning of martial arts."
On this day, Murong Seryeong suddenly realized.
"Oh my, I got carried away for the first time in a long time. I'm sorry for using your sword without permission."
Regardless of the purpose of coming here, she had her soul stolen by the person called the Sword Empress, by the single stroke she had swung.
* * *
At that time, Yoo Jae-ha was staring with his mouth wide open in surprise.
"Who is the Sword Empress?"
The Divine Monk answered nonchalantly.
"You didn't know? She's Princess Ju Hae-ryeong."
"Princess Ju Hae-ryeong?"
"Yes, the current emperor's sister. It was a famous story in our time."
"When was that?"
"Hmm... 40... 50 years ago? I can still see it clearly in my eyes."
Only then did he understand the question that had not been solved in the past.
Why a delegation from the Imperial Family had come after the Sword Empress's death.
The current emperor's... sister is officially non-existent.
This means that the Sword Empress was the current emperor's half-sister.
(End of Chapter)