Heaven-Defying Hero - Chapter 82

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#082

‘I was careless. But that wasn’t the decisive reason for my defeat.’

Even if he had fought properly, he couldn’t guarantee victory given their skill level. Considering the age difference, it was simply unbelievable.

“Well then, shall we begin now?”

Mugyeong couldn’t understand what Ja-gang-cheon, who had won the duel, meant.

‘Is he mocking me?’

But Ja-gang-cheon genuinely looked puzzled.

“Aren’t you going to do it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Since we had a duel, we should give critiques.”

“Ah!”

“I’ll go first.”

Ja-gang-cheon stood one step away from Mugyeong and began to speak.

“Your distance control was truly excellent. This style of fighting was new to me, so I was flustered. But when you swing your sword, your footwork is too standardized. It’s only forward and backward movements, and you don’t utilize sideways movement.”

Mugyeong was shocked to the point of feeling dizzy.

That was a method he had deliberately devised to create distance. Naturally, he was aware of the weaknesses that came with it.

However, Ja-gang-cheon was the only one who had noticed that weakness in such a short time.

“Also, when using your sword, there’s an imbalance between right and left cuts. Your right cuts that swing outward lose power quickly, making them easy to follow up on.”

This meant he couldn’t deliver sufficient impact. This was something he hadn’t even thought of.

‘With this level of perception, his instincts are exceptional.’

Mugyeong looked at Ja-gang-cheon before him again.

“Now it’s your turn, sir.”

“Ah…”

Honestly, he had nothing to say.

He hadn’t observed properly since he didn’t expect to give such critiques after the duel.

‘At some point, I stopped having duels and only focused on winning.’

He had forgotten the basic meaning of dueling.

“I’m ashamed. I have nothing to offer.”

His previously rough manner of speaking became more polite.

“It’s fine. But please keep your promise for sure. You’ll duel with our manor’s people for ten days.”

“I will do so.”

“That’s good. Then shall we have a meal first?”

“What?”

“You get hungry after exerting yourself. Let’s go together.”

Mugyeong thought, ‘I lost in magnanimity too.’

Two hours were enough for Mugyeong, who had inwardly admired the Young Master’s magnanimity, to develop different feelings.

“Huff. Huff.”

Before him, gasping for breath, stood a giant holding a silver staff.

“Then please!”

This was already the third duel with Pansuk.

Before that, he had three rounds with Cheon-gu, and three each with Jin Hyeon-pil and Ak-pung-jin.

‘There were daughters too.’

Jin Hyeon-pil’s daughter Jin Hwajin, and even Ak-pung-jin’s ten-year-old daughter.

‘What do they take me for?’

But what could he do?

“If you don’t want to keep your promise, you can just leave.”

“Will you duel with me after ten days?”

“If you are one who keeps promises, I too will keep my promise.”

This was a reason Mugyeong absolutely couldn’t give up.

“I can do it hundreds of times. Let’s begin.”

In the end, Mugyeong accepted all the duels they wanted.

“You won’t go easy, will you?”

“That won’t happen.”

The duel demon had fallen into duel hell.

As each day passed, the number of duels actually decreased.

This was because the time spent teaching after duels increased.

‘They have talent.’

He felt this way on the first day, but by the second day, he had grown attached.

“Just how much did you practice?”

“We worked hard all night.”

On the first day, he had made only one criticism each.

Cheon-gu was too cautious, resulting in too many feints, and Pansuk’s defense was sloppy because he relied too much on his sturdy body.

But when he pointed this out, they came back the next day having corrected it.

It was easy to say, but correcting habits was never an easy task.

‘These are people worth teaching.’

But after five days, he realized he had changed too.

“Oh ho. Excellent.”

Song Ja-in’s exclamation beside him proved this.

He had deliberately instructed Pansuk and Cheon-gu to attack together to increase tension, and what he had learned while teaching came out in his movements.

‘I had forgotten something very precious.’

At some point, he had become intoxicated with the superiority of victory. He had lost the true meaning of dueling by being obsessed only with winning.

“Teaching and learning. That’s how dueling should be done.”

Suddenly, his past days felt utterly empty.

‘Come to think of it, Dok-ja-mo never spared advice when watching my duels.’

Before he knew it, he was learning here too.

“The remaining five days will feel very short.”

“Seeing how you spoke loud enough for me to hear, you want to stay longer.”

“Would that be possible?”

“That’s for the Lord to decide. However, there’s no one who stays at our manor without having work to do.”

“Am I not a guest?”

“You came uninvited and committed the rudeness of requesting a duel with the Lord. You’re here now because you lost a bet, not because you’re a guest.”

Since there wasn’t a single wrong word, Mugyeong’s face reddened.

“If you want to ask the Lord to stay longer, you should first find work you can do at this manor. Free meals are only until the invited ten days.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Mugyeong focused on dueling again.

***

From Mugyeong’s perspective, Deungmyeong Manor was a strange place.

“Shall we begin then?”

He was always the one who requested duels first.

Even ten years ago, martial artists on dueling journeys would visit, but after defeating Yeomcheonseong of Sichuan, no such person came.

After that, he was always the one to request duels first.

If he made ten requests, seven would be rejected. When he later dueled with those who had rejected him, he fought even more viciously.

‘How dare you reject me?’

His malice gradually accumulated.

But Deungmyeong Manor was different.

‘He’s using me.’

The problem was that he didn’t mind being used.

“I’m going.”

Especially the morning sparring sessions with Jangju had become the driving force that energized his days.

But this happiness only had two days left.

Deungmyeong Jangju had suggested sparring from the sixth day onward, and now the end was approaching.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

Through the process of critiquing their sparring together, he had come to acknowledge the Young Master.

‘I want to stay longer.’

He had started his first martial journey at twenty and had never settled down anywhere.

But here, not only was sparring enjoyable, but it also made him reflect on his life up until now.

‘How I’ve lived, how I should live. Deungmyeong Manor seems to have the answers.’

He had begun to question his life of only sparring.

“Then let’s do it again tomorrow. And please take good care of our family.”

After finishing the sparring and critique with Ja-gang-cheon, as he turned around, his eyes met Song Ja-in’s.

Song Ja-in held up two fingers.

“Two days left.”

The moment he heard those words, Mugyeong clearly realized what he wanted.

And he acted on it in his own way.

After finishing a round of sparring with the manor family in the morning, he went to find Deungmyeong Martial Arts Academy.

“By any chance, aren’t you hiring instructors here?”

“We are short on instructors, but you won’t do.”

Jin Hyeon-pil, who knew Mugyeong’s identity, refused outright.

“Why won’t I do?”

“Do you call that a question? Your fundamental martial arts are different from the start, so how could you teach Deungmyeong Martial Arts Academy’s techniques?”

“I can teach the basics just fine.”

“Fine. Let’s say that just as Deungmyeong Manor and Jinggeuk Sect became one, we also become one. Then will you live as a Deungmyeong Sect person for life?”

“That, that’s…”

Jin Hyeon-pil sternly scolded Mugyeong, who couldn’t answer.

Now, regardless of martial arts level, this was a protest against trying to intrude on his life.

“Among the people at Deungmyeong Manor, no one has lived an easy life. The advisor was a mother who wandered the entire country to save her son, and someone who was born an orphan and sold himself to a merchant guild to escape hell serves as our subordinate. And I lost everything to the Hwangbo Clan, abandoned my sect’s name, and came under Young Master’s protection.”

As Jin Hyeon-pil’s story continued, Mugyeong’s face grew redder.

“Don’t take it lightly. Especially using our Lord – I’ll risk my life to stop that. He’s the one who fought alone against the Hwangbo Clan, the hegemon of Shandong Province, for us who had lost everything and been abandoned. Even when the entire world said he couldn’t win, he never backed down until the end. Just because he smiles innocently doesn’t mean he’s a foolish person.”

At the sharp reprimand, Mugyeong realized how foolish he had been.

“I made a mistake.”

“No. I was too harsh with a guest.”

Mugyeong politely apologized and left the martial arts academy. Then shame about himself washed over him once again.

“I’ve become an idiot from just sparring around.”

With a long sigh, his gaze fell to the ground.

“What are you worrying about so much?”

“Oh? Lord.”

The person who approached him as he lost his way at the port was Ja-gang-cheon.

“Have you tried fish soup?”

“No. I haven’t tried it.”

“Then let’s go together. I know a restaurant that makes it deliciously.”

Ja-gang-cheon went to the market with him.

“Lord! Hello!”

“Please try this! It’s just steamed and piping hot!”

“Hey you! Why are you giving Lord something like that! Not dumplings, but wonton soup! Today I specially made it with plenty of shrimp!”

Mugyeong was amazed.

‘Has there ever been a case where a person leading a region received such a welcome?’

The merchants’ expressions showing both respect and intimacy simultaneously were simply amazing.

“Here it is.”

They arrived at a small restaurant run by an elderly woman alone.

The fish soup he tried for the first time had a fishy first taste, but gradually a savory flavor rose, and in an instant, one bowl was emptied.

“It’s delicious, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then shall we go to the port now and drink some sweet sugarcane tea?”

Ja-gang-cheon shared what he liked. Mugyeong found this friendliness puzzling and asked.

“Why are you being so kind to me?”

“Because you seem to like our manor. I’m grateful.”

At the warm answer, Mugyeong gained courage.

“I want to stay at the manor longer. I still have many concerns about whether I’ll become family forever. But I don’t know in what capacity I should stay.”

“That was your concern?”

Ja-gang-cheon said with a smile.

“You could become a special instructor.”

“Special instructor?”

“Yes. If you’re a specially invited instructor for the martial arts training of the manor people, that’s sufficient qualification to stay.”

Mugyeong realized how foolish his concerns had been until now.

“I’m an idiot obsessed with sparring.”

“What? Why are you suddenly saying that?”

“Please call me a sparring idiot from now on. And thank you for letting me stay at the manor. I may not know about other things, but I’ll definitely fulfill my role as an instructor.”

“Yes. Please take care of us. Then shall we return to the manor now? It’s afternoon training time.”

Ja-gang-cheon and Mugyeong returned to the manor feeling much more lighthearted. But when they arrived at the manor, they saw Song Ja-in and Cheon-gu having a serious conversation.

“What’s going on?”

“This came.”

Cheon-gu handed Ja-gang-cheon a letter with a large official seal stamped on it.

“What is this?”

“It’s an invitation to the Martial Arts Competition from the Namgung Clan.”

It was the Martial Arts Competition hosted by the Five Great Clans once every four years, and this year it was held by the Namgung Clan according to the rotation.

The Seven Strongest Warriors of the Rivers and Lakes, referring to the most outstanding rising stars, were usually decided at this Martial Arts Competition.

“A formal invitation came to our Deungmyeong Manor.”

Ja-gang-cheon couldn’t contain his curiosity and unfolded the invitation.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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