The Fortunate Sword God of the Zhuge Clan - Chapter 44

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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 44.
Mu Heun smiled brightly and bowed respectfully to Jegal Cheonseong.
“Thank you for bestowing such precious instruction upon me.”
“What are you saying? It’s only natural that I should. Hah.”
Sword Qi and Body-Protection Qi.
Simply put, it meant channeling the Internal Qi accumulated in one’s dantian through the body or a weapon as a medium, releasing the Qi visibly to the naked eye.
To handle Internal Qi to this degree required not only technique but also a sufficient quantity of it, which is why martial artists below Peak Mastery couldn’t even attempt it.
Because of this, Sword Qi and Body-Protection Qi had become symbols of the Peak Mastery martial artist in the minds of countless warriors.
Mu Heun, too, had now become a true martial artist of Peak Mastery.
‘At last, I can try it.’
Mu Heun steadied himself, trembling with anticipation, and prepared to listen carefully to Jegal Cheonseong’s words.
As if in response, Jegal Cheonseong opened his mouth with a solemn expression.
“From this moment forward, I, as the head of this family, shall impart the method of wielding Sword Qi to my direct bloodline who have reached Peak Mastery, according to our family’s tradition.”
The Jegal Family had traditionally taught the technique of wielding Sword Qi and Body-Protection Qi directly to their direct descendants upon reaching Peak Mastery.
In fact, not only the Jegal Family but all of the Five Great Families did the same.
There was nothing particularly extraordinary about the Sword Qi and Body-Protection Qi of the Five Great Families compared to others.
To be precise, there existed methods that could alter their quality, but the initial instruction did not employ such methods.
The initial teaching was merely the technique of channeling Internal Qi into inanimate objects.
Layering Internal Qi onto inanimate matter rather than one’s own body was no simple task.
Most martial artists, before reaching Peak Mastery, circulated their Internal Qi only through the large Meridians within their bodies.
However, in the case of inanimate matter such as steel, grain structures existed, and their size was far smaller than the Meridians through which ordinary martial artists had traditionally circulated their Internal Qi.
One had to channel Internal Qi through these structures to create visible Sword Qi, which made the initial attempt extraordinarily difficult for most.
Body-Protection Qi was no different. To manifest Qi outside the body, one fundamentally needed to circulate Internal Qi through the entire network of Meridians.
Recognizing that Peak Masters from the Five Great Families were numerous compared to those from other sects or schools, the families had constructed a framework to make understanding easier and more accessible.
It was a privilege granted by virtue of being direct bloodline members of a great martial family, much like other martial arts.
At first, Jegal Cheonseong explained with a suitably solemn voice how to channel Internal Qi into a weapon, but his enthusiasm quickly cooled.
“I expected as much, but you’re not struggling with it at all.”
This was because ordinary standards did not apply to Mu Heun.
Through the Tianshan Continuous Practice, he had spent his life circulating Internal Qi through the infinitesimal Meridians of his entire body, rivaling the grain structures of steel itself.
“Even Mu Young still finds it troublesome to circulate Qi through all his Meridians for Body-Protection cultivation. Well, it saves me effort, so there’s no harm in it.”
Jegal Cheonseong laughed as if unsurprised, stroking his beard.
“From how quickly you grasp this, it seems you already knew something of how to wield Sword Qi. But why haven’t you cultivated it until now?”
“As a direct member of the family, I have long been familiar with our tradition.”
Jegal Cheonseong shook his head.
“This particular tradition was never meant for students like you in the first place. It is a privilege designed to teach those unfamiliar with the technique. There is no special punishment for circumventing it. In fact, praise for such talent would have been forthcoming.”
“That may well be true, but….”
Jegal Cheonseong’s words were correct.
Mu Heun, who had spent a lifetime collecting martial arts, naturally knew of the methods for wielding Sword Qi.
It meant he could have learned it whenever he wished. He also knew that doing so would incur no punishment.
Yet there was one reason he had refrained from learning it until now.
“There’s no great reason for it. I simply wanted to learn it from you, Father.”
It had been over decades since Mu Heun had directly faced his father and learned something from him.
Mu Heun wished to heal that profound wound from his past life.
At that earnest confession, Jegal Cheonseong’s expression froze momentarily.
“…Hah.”
Soon after, the corners of Jegal Cheonseong’s mouth turned upward.
“Your talent for flattery grows sharper by the day. You shall bring great wealth to this family.”
“I am grateful.”
Though hidden behind the jest, the joy shone plainly across his face.
“Ahem. Yes. Tell me—are you satisfied with what you’ve learned?”
“Of course. Had I learned from anyone but you, Father, I cannot even imagine what might have become of me.”
“Enough. If you understand, then you must put it into practice.”
Jegal Cheonseong waved away Mu Heun’s praise with a touch of embarrassment and continued.
“Show me your Sword Qi.”
At Jegal Cheonseong’s words, Mu Heun slowly nodded, then picked up the sword he had placed before him to aid understanding.
After a gentle, deep breath, he drew up his Internal Qi in a manner similar to the Tianshan Continuous Practice and poured it into the blade.
The entire process presented no difficulty. It felt nearly identical to retracing what he had done countless times before.
Then, from the sword, solidified Internal Qi erupted outward in a form like radiance.
‘…Hm?’
Mu Heun could not conceal his bewilderment.
It was because of the color of the Sword Qi.
Generally, the color of Sword Qi is determined by the martial arts a warrior has cultivated and their Mental Imagery.
Since Mental Imagery is shaped by the teachings embedded in one’s practiced arts, those who study the same techniques tend to develop similar imagery and thus similar colors.
This is even more pronounced among families bound by blood.
Thus, most members of the Jegal Family radiated a bright green Sword Qi.
But Mu Heun’s Sword Qi was a color entirely unexpected.
‘White?’
A white radiance, like fresh snow accumulated through the night, seemed to wrap around the blade.
There were many shades of white, but the reason snow came to mind first was simple enough.
‘…Why does Cold Qi emanate from my own energy?’
True, Mu Heun had not cultivated the Soqing Star Sword Technique of the Jegal Family, but the Manseong Heavenly Path Sword was unmistakably built upon it.
Moreover, having spent his childhood and grown up within the Jegal Family, there was no reason his Mental Imagery should differ greatly from theirs.
Certainly he had weathered many storms in life, but shouldn’t that mean darker tones mixed in, rather than this?
And how could it be that the Manseong Heavenly Path Sword, forged from martial arts that manipulate Yang Qi, now carries this cold Yin Qi that doesn’t match at all?
While these doubts flickered through his mind, Jegal Cheonseong’s voice broke through Mu Heun’s reverie.
“…Truly, it has been ages since I have seen such a color.”
Hearing Jegal Cheonseong speak as if he had witnessed this Sword Qi before, Mu Heun voiced his confusion.
“Father, do you know something about this energy?”
“Your mother’s Sword Qi was this white and this cold. How could I not know?”
“?!”
At this utterly unexpected revelation, Mu Heun’s pupils trembled.
“…Mother was a warrior?”
Mu Heun knew precious little about his mother.
She had passed not long after giving birth to him, and what little he did know came only from written records.
Since there was no record of her taking part in battles after becoming the matriarch of the Jegal Family, there was no way to know she had been a warrior at all.
Jegal Cheonseong, knowing this, smiled and nodded slowly.
A longing difficult to describe glimmered in his eyes.
“Indeed. When I first met her, she was a warrior stronger than myself.”
“Hm….”
Jegal Cheonseong was certainly counted among the most formidable in martial prowess throughout the Jegal Family’s history, yet she had been stronger than him, even in his youth?
Reading the question in Mu Heun’s expression, Jegal Cheonseong continued his explanation.
“Do you know your mother’s homeland?”
“I know she was from the Far North, outside the Central Plains.”
“Yes. There exists a power in that place called the Bingong Palace. I have never been there myself, so I cannot speak with certainty, but judging by your mother alone, it is a force with martial arts that rival any great sect of the Jianghu.”
“…I imagine so.”
The Bingong Palace.
One of the mysterious forces beyond the Jianghu, located far to the north of the northernmost reaches of the Central Plains.
In truth, Mu Heun knew little more than this.
It was because in his previous life, the Imperial Palace had destroyed the Bingong Palace on the pretext that they had killed a member of the royal family, making them the primary enemy.
By the time Mu Heun had gained the authority to investigate such matters, the Bingong Palace had already vanished into the shadows of history.
However, when the Imperial Palace destroyed the Bingong Palace, they had been so thorough in their preparation that they granted the title of Grand General—a rank that had not existed before—to one of the five commanders of the Five Military Commanders Bureau, which divided the empire’s armies into five parts.
Considering that it was then Sang Yeo had become a Grand General for the first time, this was proof that the Bingong Palace had not been an easy opponent even for the Imperial Palace.
‘So Mother was of the Bingong Palace….’
It meant that blood flowed through both Mu Heun and Mu Young.
“Yet you also said you have never visited the Bingong Palace, Father. Was it because the distance was too great, despite it being Mother’s home?”
Jegal Cheonseong shook his head.
“No. Your mother and her own mother—who would have been my mother-in-law—did not have a good relationship. She came to the Central Plains not for any particular reason, but after drawing their swords against each other and being driven out.”
“….”
At this utterly unforeseen explanation, Mu Heun fell silent for a moment.
Mother and grandmother had clashed with blades?
Mu Heun tried to console himself that the growing distance he felt was simply because he didn’t know her face.
Jegal Cheonseong, sensing that Mu Heun was experiencing some subtle emotion, smiled lightly and continued speaking.
“In any case, the color of your Sword Qi comes from your maternal bloodline, so do not worry yourself overmuch about it. I am grateful it allows me to see it again.”
“If it brings you joy, Father, then I am relieved. But there is one thing I remain curious about.”
“What is it?”
Mu Heun posed to Jegal Cheonseong the question that still puzzled him.
“Isn’t the color of externalized energy like Sword Qi determined by one’s martial arts and Mental Imagery? I have never heard that bloodline alone could determine the color of one’s energy….”
“Ah, I suppose I did not explain that part.”
Jegal Cheonseong stroked his beard and answered as if it were nothing remarkable.
“The bloodline of the Palace Master of the Bingong Palace—the Bingong Palace Master—is peculiar in that the color of Sword Qi is determined through bloodline itself. You inherited that blood quite strongly.”
“…What?”
Mu Heun blinked, then pressed the question again.
“Do you mean my mother’s… my maternal grandmother is the Bingong Palace Master?”
“That’s right.”
At the bland confirmation, Mu Heun fell silent for a moment.
Jegal Cheonseong knew well enough that this was weighty knowledge, and precisely for that reason he’d delivered it as lightly as possible.
‘When I first told Mu Young, the shock seemed considerable.’
Mu Young had struggled for some time—both with Jegal Cheonseong’s own reluctance to speak of it and with the resentment toward a grandmother who hadn’t even come to pay respects when their mother passed.
So with Mu Heun, he’d kept the tone deliberately casual.
‘But there was no avoiding the truth….’
Still, Jegal Cheonseong found himself anxious about how Mu Heun would react upon learning it.
Mu Heun then broke the silence.
“I see. How intriguing.”
“…?”
Mu Heun’s reaction was strikingly understated.
Rather than concealing emotion, his expression barely shifted at all.
It was Jegal Cheonseong who found himself taken aback, asking instead:
“I know it’s odd to ask after telling you, but you don’t seem shocked?”
“If you ask whether I’m shocked—yes, in a sense I am shocked.”
A family secret, after all. It had startled him.
But in the end, it amounted to nothing more than having unusual lineage.
“To me, it’s merely a story about someone else.”
The Bingong Palace Master had never come when Mu Young and Mu Heun were born, nor when their mother passed away; it was difficult to feel anything on account of bloodline toward such a person.
‘Though I have no intention of letting the Bingong Palace crumble as it once did.’
Yet this was not some scheme hastily devised after learning of the blood tie—rather, it was the natural consequence that would follow if he troubled the Imperial Palace, a side effect built in from the start.
If Mu Heun truly had still been only eighteen, perhaps the revelation might have confused him.
‘But with an old soul in a young body, even learning a family secret leaves me strangely unmoved.’
Mu Heun laughed bitterly at his own dulled sensibilities.
Jegal Cheonseong watched him with evident curiosity, then exhaled a breath of relief.
“Good. I worried you might be devastated.”
“It’s not as if I’ve inherited the blood of a terrible villain. What shock would there be? I do feel a bit cheated by my grandmother, but that’s all there is to it.”
Mu Heun shrugged lightly with a smile.
“All my family is here. Why would I waste sentiment on others? If anything, I’m troubled by the suspicion that my Severed Meridian Syndrome might stem from that bloodline’s Yin Qi.”
Of course, that wasn’t possible.
Mu Heun knew better than anyone that Severed Meridian Syndrome was not a condition born of family legacy but simply the result of extraordinary misfortune.
He’d added the remark only because he could plainly see Jegal Cheonseong’s worry.
Having inherited the Bingong bloodline deeply meant he had natural talent for martial arts that channeled Yin Qi; if anything, it would have aided him in overcoming his syndrome, not hindered it.
Jegal Cheonseong stared at him for a moment, then burst into laughter.
“Ha! You’re absolutely right!”
It was a relief to hear his youngest brother speak so straightforwardly about his worries.
Jegal Cheonseong continued with a smile lingering at his lips.
“Truth is, I’d thought neither you nor Mu Young had inherited the Bingong blood. You’ve suffered illness, yes, but both the meditation technique you created and your internal strength are founded on Yang-based martial arts.”
“I was surprised as well. When white Qi began emerging, I thought something had gone wrong.”
“Indeed. But now that we know, it pleases me greatly.”
At Jegal Cheonseong’s hopeful words, Mu Heun asked the meaning.
“What do you mean, sir?”
“Because now I can finally honor a wish your mother left with me.”
“A wish from Mother?”
Jegal Cheonseong gazed upward as if recalling something precious.
“When your mother left the Bingong Palace, she brought with her many rare treasures. At her final moments, she entrusted me with how they should be divided.”
Jegal Cheonseong repeated the request his mother had left behind, his expression tender with longing.
“If, among you two, a child in whom the Bingong blood expressed itself were ever to appear, she asked that I give that child only one treasure—and distribute all the rest to the other.”
One to the child bearing the strong Bingong bloodline, and all the rest to the other?
It was decidedly unequal.
Mu Heun thought he understood the reason and asked Jegal Cheonseong:
“Did Mother hate that bloodline because she quarreled with my grandmother?”
Jegal Cheonseong looked at him as though bewildered.
“No—your mother was not that sort of person. She may have hated your grandmother, certainly enough… but she would never have favored one of you over the other because of it.”
“Then this division means…?”
“That the one treasure given to you—the one who carries the blood—is worth more than all the other treasures combined.”
Mu Heun’s eyes widened, and he tilted his head in bewilderment.
“Is that so? What in the world could it be that warrants such words?”
At Mu Heun’s question, Jegal Cheonseong smiled as though inviting him to guess.
“Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron.”

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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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