The Fortunate Sword God of the Zhuge Clan - Chapter 36

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 36.
A Martial Art that Seo Ryong had deemed impossible to master in his past life.
Since boarding the carriage that Ryeong was driving, Moo Hoon had not uttered a single word, lost entirely in thought.
The carriage Ryeong drove offered its customary smooth ride, and since she did not venture to speak first, Moo Hoon could concentrate fully upon the matter at hand.
—The Heavenly Martial Body, yet even my great-grandfather could not master it? Why is that?
At Moo Hoon’s question, Seo Ryong let out a light laugh.
—Look at this Martial Art you’ve created. It contains nothing but Peak Realms renowned throughout the land, does it not?
—And yet I designed it as harmoniously as possible, without unnecessary strain.
—Harmonious it is. But if such harmony alone allowed one to master so many Peak Realms, someone would have created such a Martial Art long ago. You understood that anything beyond these Peak Realms is mere greed.
Seo Ryong continued, his expression turning grave.
—The masters of old who walked the land did not arbitrarily preserve only these Peak Realms while remaking their Mental Methods to suit each Martial Art for nothing.
Finding the words reasonable, Moo Hoon nodded.
—And moreover, your Martial Art lacks character.
—Lacks character?
—Indeed. Every Martial Art possesses its own distinctive essence. Take our main branch’s Sovereign Sword Style—it makes its foundation the subtlety of the heavy sword through the principle of center of gravity.
Seo Ryong mimicked his own sword technique with a gesture.
His gesture alone, already renowned as a peerless master’s, revealed the majesty of the sovereign that the Namgung Clan took pride in.
—The Swift Sword of Huashan, the Soft Sword of Wudang, and beyond them the subtleties of the Strong Sword and Variable Sword. You have harmonized all of these admirably, and yet….
Seo Ryong paused, seeming to choose his words carefully.
—As a result, one cannot discern the direction this sword technique aims toward. Do you understand why that becomes a flaw?
—…When one masters a single subtlety, the body grows into the optimal state for employing that subtlety. Without such focus, the body develops haphazardly instead, doesn’t it?
—Precisely. And beyond that, one’s Qi also develops into the form best suited for using that subtlety. To be sure, with the Heavenly Martial Body, one might manage to master two or three of these. But to employ all of these subtleties simultaneously strikes me as fundamentally impossible.
—I see….
Moo Hoon smacked his lips in disappointment.
Seo Ryong, who had been watching quietly, soon laughed playfully.
—Yet, as I said, the harmony itself poses no problem whatsoever. I never dreamed I’d witness such a thing. Thanks to you, some inspiration has struck me. My thanks.
—Inspiration has struck?
—I may not possess the Heavenly Martial Body, but I am a genius nonetheless, am I not? Even if I cannot master your Martial Art entirely, I believe I can employ some of the subtleties within its harmony.
It might have sounded like boasting, but when a true genius speaks, one’s impression of such words transforms.
—You could employ some of it, could you? That is a statement only you could make.
At that time, the conversation had not continued beyond that point.
If Namgung Seo Ryong, a martial master, had rendered a verdict of impossibility, then so it was.
After all, creating the Martial Art had been scarcely more than a pastime to begin with.
Yet now, Moo Hoon found himself in need of a new Martial Art.
‘If a martial master has reached Seo Ryong’s realm, it becomes possible for them to wield that Martial Art to some degree.’
Even though his body had spent a lifetime training solely in the Namgung Clan’s sword techniques.
Of course, this result owed much to Seo Ryong’s martial genius, yet Moo Hoon found hope in that very fact.
‘If I continue to cultivate the Heavenly Mountain Continuous Energy steadily, then someday I will surely reach the Heavenly Martial Body.’
Then, if he trained this Martial Art from the beginning and reached a realm equal to Seo Ryong’s?
Could he not truly master this Martial Art that existed only in theory?
‘To achieve that… I must reconstruct the foundation of this Martial Art anew.’
He had not yet attained the Heavenly Martial Body, and even if he had, one could not wield a Martial Art containing all these Peak Realms from the very beginning.
Moreover, his current realm was merely the Peak Realm.
Though too grand a stage to call merely anything, it seemed no more than that when measured against the Martial Art he envisioned.
Moo Hoon closed his eyes as he had done when recalling the purpose of the Breaking Pattern Technique, and summoned forth the countless sword techniques that lived in his memory, casting them upon the river of consciousness.
Innumerable sword techniques rose like constellations, each taking its place upon the dark waters.
When creating the Breaking Pattern Technique, there had been purpose in seeking a specific Martial Art; now, with the purpose of creating something entirely new, he had to examine all Martial Arts with meticulous care.
As Moo Hoon held this thought, every Martial Art that rose forth gleamed with its own light.
Simultaneously, he became aware of another transformation gained upon reaching the Peak Realm.
‘My, such a thing is possible….’
Thanks to his Perfect Memory Ability, Moo Hoon could recall every minute detail of any Martial Art he had witnessed once.
With the perception of the Peak Realm added to this, the applications became truly boundless.
Where once he could observe a Martial Art’s movements only at a consistent pace, he now could view them slowly or swiftly as he wished.
Every shift in the center of gravity, every subtle footfall and hand movement of countless Martial Arts became discernible to him.
‘To think I once believed I understood these Martial Arts without knowing such fine details—I find myself ashamed.’
With an entranced expression, Moo Hoon savored each Martial Art one by one.
As always, there truly was no end to learning.
And therein lay the joy.
To be capable of understanding new truths no matter how much one studies?
Nothing could rival the satisfaction that learning bestowed.
Caught up as he was in fresh learning, the knock came.
Tap, tap.
Someone rapping at the carriage door pulled Moo Hoon from his concentration.
He’d been deep in Martial Trance, and part of him resented the interruption, but he showed nothing.
Fortunately, he’d seized the thread that would complete the first half of his theory just before surfacing.
Rather than disappointed, he welcomed the break—it was time to embody the finished theory through practice.
“A moment, please. I’ll be right out, Lord Ryong.”
Moo Hoon stretched lightly and opened the carriage door.
Creak—
“…?”
But the sight before him left him momentarily speechless.
It wasn’t Ryong waiting outside—it was someone he’d never expected to see.
“…So it really is you, Moo Hoon.”
Jegal Cheonseong, Moo Hoon’s father, regarded him with an expression of disbelief.
“…Father?”
Unable to grasp the situation, Moo Hoon’s question went unheard as Jegal Cheonseong suddenly pulled him into an embrace.
“You’ve actually done it. You’ve beaten that terrible affliction and come home. You’ve truly done it.”
Jegal Cheonseong’s voice trembled.
In that moment, Moo Hoon felt his shoulder growing damp.
Unable to ask what had happened, Moo Hoon simply held his father in return.
“Yes, Father. I have accomplished what I set out to do and returned as planned.”
“Good. Truly good.”
After this awkward reply, Moo Hoon’s eyes met those of Ryong, who stood behind Jegal Cheonseong.
True to his skill as a bodyguard, Ryong read the question in Moo Hoon’s gaze alone and sent a telepathic message.
—Your trance was so deep, Master, that I couldn’t bring myself to wake you before we arrived here. My apologies.
Moo Hoon smiled faintly and replied through telepathy.
—Not at all. Thank you for your consideration. Then we haven’t reached the clan residence yet?
Ryong shook his head.
—We’re still at the far edge of Hubei. The Patriarch came out to meet us shortly after we entered the province. I suspect he sensed your Qi now that you’ve reached the Peak Realm.
Alarm flashed across Moo Hoon’s face.
—He extended his Qi Perception all the way here from the clan residence?
—The Patriarch doesn’t make a habit of it, Master. But knowing your arrival was near, he must have widened his sensory range to watch for you.
Those words stirred a torrent of emotion in Moo Hoon’s heart.
His father had waited for him with such longing.
Shame at his absence mingled with a surge of reverence for a father who could extend his perception across such a distance.
Moo Hoon tightened his arms around his father once more, then stepped back.
He then bowed deeply to Jegal Cheonseong.
“It is only through Father’s permission that I was able not only to cure my affliction but to reach the Peak Realm itself. I am grateful.”
Jegal Cheonseong, somewhat embarrassed at having shown tears, coughed lightly and helped Moo Hoon to his feet.
“Ahem. No—wasn’t it your own effort that accomplished this? Remarkable. I have nothing more to say than that.”
“It is only because Father raised me well. I shall never grow vain in this achievement, and I pledge myself fully to the clan and to the Martial World.”
As his youngest son, having recovered so fully, offered the credit back to him with such humility, emotion welled in Jegal Cheonseong’s eyes once more.
But this time, he didn’t hold it back.
“I’ve already seen your destiny, and you will be a great blessing to the Martial World. Seeing you now, my conviction only deepens.”
“You honor me with such words.”
“No. It is not excessive—not in the slightest. Stand, and let us walk into the clan residence together with pride.”
Moo Hoon raised his eyes, and father and son’s gazes met.
Was this moment moving only for Jegal Cheonseong?
For Moo Hoon too, this was a scene he had seen only in dreams across decades of his past life.
Yet neither Moo Hoon nor Jegal Cheonseong expressed such emotion through tears.
While tears of joy are not wrong, shouldn’t one smile when joyful?
Moo Hoon held this belief, and as a father, Jegal Cheonseong felt it in him.
And so the two simply smiled at each other.
***
Jegal Cheonseong had ridden hard from the Jegal Clan Residence all the way to the outskirts of Hubei.
Yet it would still take another day by carriage to reach the clan residence from here.
At this point, any of them could reach the Jegal Clan Residence faster on foot than by carriage, but Jegal Cheonseong chose to ride with his son in the carriage that Ryong drove.
While they couldn’t leave the carriage behind, he wanted time with his son now that he was healed.
The Jegal Clan would hardly collapse in his absence for a day.
Of course, his return would leave him twice as busy as usual, but this time was worth it.
“Well, so you’ve met Joong Dal.”
“Yes. I was able to receive much instruction from him.”
Beyond that, the experiences Moo Hoon had undergone were stories compelling enough to capture interest even apart from being a father’s account of his son.
“Were you not afraid to press forward in that situation?”
“I regarded it as a moment where I had to take one step forward while carrying that fear. You must have anticipated that I would be frightened, after all.”
“Hmm. Indeed.”
Jegal Cheonseong was aware that he was something of a pedant, yet viewed objectively, Moo Hoon’s talent as a formation master was exceptional.
As a father and as a master of formations alike, he could not bring himself to cease the conversation.
And so the two of them spent the remainder of the day in unbroken dialogue, talking until the sun had set.
“A single drop of essence distilled over a thousand years—truly it lives up to its name.”
“Yes. The roughness of the energy was no ordinary thing, and without the Heavenly Mountain Continuous Energy, I would never have reached the Peak Realm.”
“Even so, I would not have cared one way or another, but to see both my sons surpass the Peak Realm—as a father, there is no greater joy.”
“Having only now been able to perform the filial piety I could not offer before, I too share in this happiness.”
“Do not speak so. You have always been a son of whom I am proud. But now, there is something…”
Jegal Cheonseong suddenly recalled the moment he had first seen his second son after reaching the Peak Realm.
“According to Ryong, from the moment you departed Cheongseong Mountain, you remained in a Martial Trance for six days and nights.”
Moo Hoon nodded, his expression tinged with a faint smile.
“That is so.”
“Did I perhaps disturb your enlightenment?”
“No. Rather, I had found the very clue I sought, and I was thinking it was time to awaken.”
“Then I am relieved.”
Jegal Cheonseong set his mind at ease and asked what had been troubling his curiosity.
“Tell me then—what did you contemplate for so long that you remained lost in that trance?”
At his father’s question, Moo Hoon gazed into his eyes for a moment, then slowly nodded.
“It would be better to show you than to speak of it.”
“Mm?”
Moo Hoon asked Ryong to halt the carriage and stepped outside.
“As it happens, there was something I wished to ask of you, and matters have worked out well. Would you be willing to see it?”
“See what? I cannot give you an answer unless I know what this is about.”
Moo Hoon smiled lightly and answered as though it were nothing of great consequence.
“It concerns a Martial Art I have created myself.”

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