Chapter 24 - Guidance Duel (1)
Namgung Jun, who had glanced at the sword wind laden in the girl’s sword, closed the secret manual and asked.
“Who are you?”
“You don’t know me? You must have at least heard the name Man Ye-won!”
But Namgung Jun remained silent. Because, contrary to the girl’s expectation, it was a name he had never heard.
At Namgung Jun’s indifferent reaction, Man Ye-won’s face crumpled completely as she shouted.
“Aargh! I am the granddaughter of the Elder Council Head!”
“The Elder Council Head?”
An Elder Council did exist in the Azure Sky Society.
Though their numbers were small, the Clouds who had survived long years of righteous deeds and fierce battles with the Sun and Moon Demonic Cult and had then retired belonged to the Elder Council.
They were ones who did not hesitate to move for the sake of the Azure Sky Society even after their bodies had grown old, so when hands were short, they would often show themselves.
He had heard that the current Elder Council Head was also an old righteous warrior who had spent his years on countless righteous deeds.
‘My Master said he is a person she respects.’
For the sake of the dignity of the old righteous warrior whom he had not even met yet, Namgung Jun decided to have a conversation.
“What is your business?”
“Let’s have a duel and decide for sure who is stronger.”
“Is there a reason I should do that?”
“If you don’t, a rumor will spread that you avoided a duel. Do you have no pride?”
Though Man Ye-won tilted her head provocatively, Namgung Jun spoke with an indifferent tone.
“Are you saying my pride will be protected if I defeat you?”
Namgung Jun looked straight at Man Ye-won.
Man Ye-won flinched at the clear, cerulean gaze shining from his two eyes.
‘What’s with that. Eyes like a little old man.’
The light in Namgung Jun’s eyes was not ordinary. They were absolutely not the eyes of a boy of a similar age to her.
They were like the eyes of a swordsman who had experienced long years of trials and tribulations. Like the old masters of the Elder Council.
While the slightly cowed Man Ye-won could not open her mouth, Namgung Jun added.
“My pride is not so light as to be affected by such things.”
Namgung Jun stared intently at Man Ye-won’s sword, which had already been drawn and was cloaked in a faint sword wind.
“And my sword is not so light as to be drawn for your satisfaction.”
Man Ye-won’s face turned red at Namgung Jun’s incredibly firm answer.
After thinking for a moment, Man Ye-won bit her lip and then let out a slightly smaller voice.
“If you duel with me, I’ll give you a spiritual medicine of extreme yang.”
“A spiritual medicine?”
“Yes. You have the Nine Yin Severed Meridians, don’t you? Don’t you need a spiritual medicine?”
Man Ye-won’s expression was full of confidence, as if she had brought out a trump card. From her triumphant face, one could get a glimpse of what she was thinking.
It was an offer that would normally be difficult to refuse, so she must have thought that he would surely accept.
But Namgung Jun merely looked at Man Ye-won and let out a smirk.
“I have something that cannot even be compared to a spiritual medicine.”
“What? That can’t be…”
“That would be my Master and the Heavenly Thunder True Yang Art.”
Man Ye-won stared at Namgung Jun with a dumbfounded expression.
She could tell from his leisurely smile. Namgung Jun’s words were not empty talk or a bluff.
Since he was born with the Nine Yin Severed Meridians, his life was in a dangerous situation, even if not right at this moment. But how could he be so calm? He was just a young boy who was not yet even twenty.
“How on earth?”
Though Man Ye-won muttered blankly, Namgung Jun did not bother to reply.
‘A spiritual medicine of extreme yang.’
He could not know what level of spiritual medicine it was, but it would surely be helpful if he were to consume it.
However, he had no intention of accepting the request of Man Ye-won, who was demanding a duel so unreasonably.
His sword was not so light as to be swayed by a mere spiritual medicine, and that would be troublesome.
“I’m not interested.”
Namgung Jun closed the secret manual and walked past Man Ye-won.
“I’m not done talking! Stop!”
Man Ye-won tried to chase after him, but at some point, there was a man blocking her path.
“Miss Man. Stop.”
It was the librarian of the Martial Repository of Self-Reflection, Muk Shim-jung. Though he always showed a smile to Namgung Jun, in front of Man Ye-won, he was maintaining a cold, hardened face.
“You should be well aware that drawing a weapon in the Martial Repository of Self-Reflection is forbidden.”
“Huh? Wait a minute!”
Though Man Ye-won quickly twisted her body to the side, Muk Shim-jung performed a footwork technique and blocked her again. Muk Shim-jung’s expression, which had already been cold, became completely ice-like. His voice was the same.
“Miss Man? Shall I have to speak to the Elder Council Head directly?”
As the name of the Elder Council Head popped out, Man Ye-won’s body became rigid.
In that interval, Muk Shim-jung, who felt Namgung Jun’s presence growing distant, quietly hid a smile.
‘As long as I am here, you cannot bother Young Hero Namgung.’
Muk Shim-jung, who had been listening to the entire conversation from afar, lightly placed his hands on both sides of his waist.
“Miss Man. Follow me. Since you have recklessly drawn a weapon in the Martial Repository of Self-Reflection, you will have to listen to my scolding.”
Muk Shim-jung had decided to hold Man Ye-won right here so that she could not chase after Namgung Jun.
***
FWOOSH!
The faint sword wind, coming down along the sword that Namgung Jun swung. It swept across the ground heavily, and was thicker and clearer than usual. It looked as if several layers of sword-wind had been added on top of each other. Because of this, even the sword that Namgung Jun swung slowly felt thicker.
It was when the sword wind that Namgung Jun had unleashed was crossing the training ground, revealing a definite presence.
A stick-thin old man slowly stepped into the Heavenly Sword Hall’s training ground.
His blue changpao was stuck fast to his body, emphasizing his gaunt frame. But it did not give off an unimpressive impression. It was as if an old tree, which had overcome long years of trials and tribulations and had set down deep roots, was approaching.
At the old man’s appearance, the members of the Heavenly Sword Hall, who had been clashing fiercely amongst themselves, lowered their swords one by one.
They had no choice.
Even though the old man was not letting out any aura, he was exuding a mighty presence. Naturally, the gazes of all the Heavenly Sword Hall members were directed at the old man.
“Why is the Elder Council Head here?”
“Did he come to see the Hall Master?”
The old man’s steps, as he accepted the greetings of the Heavenly Sword Hall Clouds with a nod, went straight in one direction. It was the direction where Namgung Jun, who had gathered up his sword, was standing.
The Elder Council Head, Man Hun, looked at Namgung Jun and twisted his lips.
“So it’s you. The Divine Dragon who has recently been holding all the interest of the Azure Sky Society in his hands.”
Despite facing a big shot as rare as the Elder Council Head, there was no wavering in Namgung Jun’s eyes. He merely paid his respects with a composed bearing.
“I am not so much as to be attached with a grand name like Divine Dragon.”
Man Hun’s wrinkles deepened slightly as he observed Namgung Jun with sparkling eyes.
“Humility, if it goes too far, becomes a fault.”
The Elder Council Head, who had been smiling with a pleased face, twisted his body slightly to the side.
At that, Man Ye-won revealed herself. She had been hiding her presence behind the Elder Council Head’s solid body and aura.
“It seems my granddaughter has committed rudeness.”
“Grandfather!”
Man Ye-won, who had been cautiously reading Namgung Jun’s expression, cried out sharply. But Man Hun did not even pretend to listen and spoke in a gentle voice.
“First, it seems there was a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding, you say?”
Man Hun stroked his pure white beard, which came down to his collarbone.
“The spiritual medicine of extreme yang that this child proposed was originally a gift that this old man was intending to send to you.”
Man Ye-won tried to open her mouth to say something, but ended up closing it at Man Hun’s sharp-edged gaze.
As if she had been scolded before coming to the Heavenly Sword Hall, Man Ye-won showed a somewhat intimidated appearance.
Namgung Jun asked with a puzzled expression.
“A gift, you say? May I know for what reason you have sent a gift?”
“I wish for you to overcome your Nine Yin Severed Meridians and become the Divine Sword of the Azure Sky Society. For it is right to use a precious object on a worthy person.”
Man Hun, with his hands clasped behind his back, glared at his granddaughter.
“But this child, despicably, offered up the spiritual medicine as the price for a duel. I imagine you must have been very displeased.”
“It is alright. It must have been a childish whim of her youth.”
As Namgung Jun, who was younger than Man Ye-won, said this, Man Hun burst out laughing.
“A childish whim of her youth. Truly amusing.”
Namgung Jun was slightly surprised as the Elder Council Head took a wooden box from within his robes. Just from the wooden box revealing itself, he could feel a faint, warm heat approaching.
“Can you accept it? It is quite a precious thing.”
The eyes of the Heavenly Sword Hall members, who were furtively listening in from the side, went round.
‘I don’t know what kind of spiritual medicine it is, but to give it to him instead of his own granddaughter?’
‘I knew the Elder Council Head’s generosity was great, but to think it was to this extent.’
But the Heavenly Sword Hall members had no choice but to be astonished once again.
It was because Namgung Jun had shaken his head without the slightest hesitation. The choice was all the more surprising because Namgung Jun had not yet consumed a spiritual medicine of extreme yang.
“It seems I would be shouldering a grace that is difficult to handle. It is a spiritual medicine too great for me to receive without any reason.”
Namgung Jun folded his hands and paid his respects politely. Man Hun looked at Namgung Jun as if he were a marvel.
“Do not feel burdened.”
“Is it not the way of the Martial World that grudges and favors must be settled for certain? To me right now, this is a favor that is difficult to handle, so it is right in principle not to receive it.”
Man Hun, who had been looking at Namgung Jun for a moment, let out a booming laugh.
“I can roughly guess what you are worried about. You must be worried about what kind of request this old man might make in the future, using the spiritual medicine as a pretext.”
Namgung Jun merely lowered his eyelids slightly and did not deny it. Man Hun’s lips twitched minutely as he saw this.
‘Even at a young age, his words and actions are not light, and his standards are clear. He is steadfast and stubborn.’
Having faced Namgung Jun directly, Man Hun’s desire to give him the spiritual medicine grew even stronger.
If a boy like this were to grow stronger with his current mindset, it would be a great blessing not only for the Azure Sky Society, but for the chaotic Martial World as well.
Man Hun’s gaze briefly turned to Man Ye-won. Though he often felt the desire to give it to his granddaughter, who was the most precious treasure in the world to him, no matter how he thought about it, it wasn't right.
‘If it were an ordinary spiritual medicine, it would be a different story, but this is a spiritual medicine of extreme yang. It is right that this child takes it.’
Man Hun, who had been contemplating for a moment while letting out a low hum, fixed his gaze on Namgung Jun once again.
“You said it to my granddaughter, did you not? That your sword is not light.”
“Yes. That thought has not changed, even now.”
The Elder Council Head bowed his head and politely performed a fist-and-palm salute. At that sight, the swordsmen of the Heavenly Sword Hall gasped without a sound. As they could not dare to open their mouths, the best they could do was to stare with wide eyes.
“In that case, would you not do me the favor of having a duel with my granddaughter, for the sake of this old man’s dignity? This old man’s dignity and a duel with my granddaughter. With these two things, I will substitute them for the favor of the spiritual medicine. I ask this of you.”
Namgung Jun let out a low hum at the sight of him not hesitating to pay respects to a newcomer who was so much younger.
‘He is even creating a justification for me to take the spiritual medicine.’
Namgung Jun looked at Man Hun’s pure and bright gaze.
There was no falsehood or wickedness in Man Hun’s words. It must have been a clear fact that there was no other intention.
At a glance, it seemed as if he had been conflicted between himself and Man Ye-won. Despite that, in the end, he had not changed his decision. He had not bent his own conviction.
“I have heard that you, Elder Council Head, are one who has proven his martial arts through long years of righteous deeds.”
“I am confident that I have not lived a shameful life until now.”
Namgung Jun quietly nodded his head.
“For the sake of the dignity of an old righteous warrior like the Elder Council Head, it is only right that I draw my sword.”
The old righteous warrior before him was a person who ought to be respected. For the sake of one who had lived his entire life for righteousness, Namgung Jun did not hesitate to draw his sword. This time was the same.
Namgung Jun placed his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist. Power entered the hand of Namgung Jun as he softly grasped the hilt.
“I will have the duel.”
Namgung Jun indifferently drew his sword.
Not for the sake of the spiritual medicine, but for the sake of an old senior who treasured his junior.
It was the best way that the current Namgung Jun could respect the path the old righteous warrior had walked.