The Great Heavenly Sword Emperor - Chapter 20

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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 20. The Path Through Beigong (3)

Beigong Danya’s eyes lit with fresh exhilaration as he began to dissect the Hyeonjung Sword Technique anew, studying it with meticulous care.
Training had become a joy itself; his mind was consumed entirely by thoughts of sword forms and cultivation.
It was like those early days when he’d first begun to learn martial arts—no, even more joyful and passionate than that.
Having been bound to the Jeongshim Stance for some time, Beigong Danya had now advanced through the Hoengyun Danro and into the Jeongak Sword Technique and Banwol Hoebong forms.
Had he mastered the Jeongshim Stance and Hoengyun Danro perfectly?
No.
He’d chosen to move forward gradually, leaving the gaps unfilled—reasoning that clinging to what he couldn’t yet perfect would trap him in stagnation.
He’d decided that the incomplete parts would gradually fill themselves in through continued training and advancement.
For now, his priority was to reconstruct the Hyeonjung Sword Technique and grow accustomed to it.
Whish! Whish!
“Hah!”
Beigong Danya drew his breath, sweeping the blade through the forms.
Restructuring the sword path of each technique meant his breathing had to change as well.
This was far from simple.
Breathing patterns ingrained by habit could not be altered in a single night.
‘Don’t force what won’t come. The path will open.’
Beigong Danya set aside his impatience and moved forward steadily.
As the Hyeonjung Sword Technique’s forms took on new structure, insight arrived in tandem.
And that same insight awakened parts of earlier forms he’d overlooked during prior training.
Beigong Danya felt himself changing.
A sense of progress.
Confidence and certainty that he grew stronger with each passing day.
These two things were restoring his self-regard to new heights.
While Beigong Danya’s spirits rose daily, the light in Cheon Mugyeol’s eyes as he watched the training had begun to deepen and sink.
“Something troubles you, it seems.”
Gwang An ventured the observation.
Though Cheon Mugyeol seldom revealed his emotions, the growing time they spent together had sharpened Gwang An’s ability to read the finer shifts in his expression.
“I’ll need to examine it directly.”
“What do you—”
Before Gwang An could finish his question, Cheon Mugyeol was already moving.
He headed toward where Beigong Danya was in the midst of his training.
“What’s he doing?”
Cheon Mugyeol had kept his distance from Beigong Danya since demonstrating the sword technique, so his sudden approach caught Gwang An off guard.
Curious to understand why, Gwang An quickly followed in his wake.
“Ah, Cheon!”
Beigong Danya welcomed Cheon Mugyeol’s appearance as he paused his training.
Having gained considerable confidence in his progress, Beigong Danya’s face shone with assurance as he faced him.
But Cheon Mugyeol approached with an expressionless face and suddenly extended his hand.
“Tch!”
Beigong Danya instinctively twisted his body, pulling away from Cheon Mugyeol’s grasp.
‘Is this another test?’
Beigong Danya assumed Cheon Mugyeol had come to examine his achievements through trial.
After all, Cheon Mugyeol was a man whose actions always preceded his words.
Swish!
Cheon Mugyeol’s hand moved with blinding speed.
Beigong Danya weaved and twisted, struggling to evade Cheon Mugyeol’s fingers.
But it was in vain.
The Cheonheo Ginnara Hand.
This was the capturing hand technique Cheon Mugyeol had mastered.
In an instant, his wrist was seized in Cheon Mugyeol’s iron grip.
“Ah… Still far to go…”
As Beigong Danya sighed, acknowledging his shortfall, something unexpected happened.
A thin stream of unfamiliar Qi flowed into him through his wrist.
Startled, Beigong Danya turned wide eyes toward Cheon Mugyeol.
A moment passed.
The flowing energy faded, and Cheon Mugyeol released Beigong Danya’s wrist.
Then he fixed his gaze on Beigong Danya and opened his mouth.
“Tell me—when you deploy your sword techniques, does your breathing falter? Does your internal force weaken?”
“Ah, yes. It does happen. I thought it was simply a lack of mastery on my part…….”
Cheon Mugyeol continued after Beigong Danya’s reply.
“I believe we need to have a serious conversation.”
Beigong Danya, catching the gravity in Cheon Mugyeol’s tone, tensed and nodded.
“Wait for me at the Sansin Pavilion. Go there.”
Cheon Mugyeol turned without explaining what this was about.
Gwang An, who had followed hoping to satisfy his curiosity, now stood bewildered—his confusion only deepened.
Beigong Danya watched Cheon Mugyeol depart for a moment, then came to himself.
He had perspired heavily; he needed to wash first.

* * *

The Secret Temple Behind Sansin Pavilion.
Cheon Mugyeol sat with a grave expression.
Struck by his unusual demeanor, Gwang An remained silent, merely preparing tea.
“It is Beigong Danya. I enter.”
As he spoke, the door opened and Beigong Danya stepped inside.
The suffocating silence and heavy atmosphere pressed down, amplifying his anxiety.
Beigong Danya entered quietly and took a seat across from Cheon Mugyeol.
In perfect timing, Gwang An set tea before them both.
“This conversation you wished to have…….”
“I need to hear about what has happened within the Beigong Clan. Especially events concerning you personally.”
“Events concerning me personally…….”
Beigong Danya searched his memory.
Yet beyond the clan’s recent troubles, he could recall no significant incident or misfortune that had befallen him personally.
As Beigong Danya furrowed his brow in concentration, Cheon Mugyeol spoke again.
“Have you ever been ill? Even minor ailments will do.”
“I have fallen ill many times. I was always somewhat frail from childhood. My digestive system especially was poor—I frequented the privy often. It is embarrassing to speak of.”
Cheon Mugyeol continued to regard him.
“But I was never gravely ill. Weak though I was, I never took to bed for days. Why do you ask?”
Beigong Danya ventured the question carefully.
Gwang An also waited, his curiosity evident, for Cheon Mugyeol to speak.
“Though I have limited knowledge of such matters, it appears the Young Master of Beigong has been poisoned.”
“Poisoned?!”
Beigong Danya cried out in shock.
Gwang An’s eyes darted between them both, disbelief written across his face.
“I suspect that previously, whenever you deployed your sword techniques, you felt your internal force weaken at certain moments—or suddenly cut off entirely. You likely experienced the same during your bout with Mok Ryeon.”
“Yes, that is true. But I attributed it to insufficient attainment in my Jinmu Jeongshim Scripture and Taeag True Scripture.”
Beigong Danya’s voice trembled faintly.
The revelation of poisoning struck him like a thunderbolt he had never anticipated.
“That cannot be ruled out as a contributing factor. But there is certainly another reason your attainment has reached a plateau.”
At Cheon Mugyeol’s words, Beigong Danya swallowed hard.
The shock was so profound that the blood seemed to drain from his entire body.
“My assessment is that an infinitesimal quantity of poison has been administered over an extremely long period. This has prevented your meridians from opening fully and warped the flow of your Qi and Blood subtly. This represents a grave obstruction to cultivation of the Mind Technique.”
Beigong Danya’s body began to tremble.
Who could it be?
In all his years, he had never suspected a single member of the Beigong Clan.
If Cheon Mugyeol spoke truth, then a traitor or spy dwelt within the Beigong household.
The thought chilled him.
A spy who had executed their mission so flawlessly that he detected nothing.
What if his assigned task had been assassination?
He would surely have been sent to the grave long ago.
Goosebumps rose across Beigong Danya’s skin.
“Now, search your memory again. Every small detail must be drawn out. Only then can we find the path to restore everything.”
At Cheon Mugyeol’s urging, Beigong Danya raked through his recollections desperately.
“Now that I think of it…….”
Beigong Danya opened his mouth.
A tiny fragment of memory, buried deep in the recesses of his mind, slowly surfaced like something rising through water.

* * *

“Young Master, it’s time for your medicine.”
A Servant entered Beigong Danya’s chambers carrying a bowl of herbal decoction.
The young Beigong Danya frowned the moment he saw it.
“Do I have to take it?”
“You must, if you want to get better. I’ve brought you candy too. You should take it even though it tastes bitter.”
“It’s not about the taste. I’m just tired of taking medicine.”
“I understand how you feel. But you still need to take it, don’t you?”
The Servant handed Beigong Danya the bowl of decoction and waited beside him with the candy in hand.
Beigong Danya hesitated, holding the bowl.
He’d offered fatigue as his excuse, but the real reason was that he knew the medicine made no difference.
Even when it seemed to help for a time, everything always reverted to how it was before—a cycle that repeated endlessly. What was the point of medicine if that was all it could do?
“Sigh…….”
Beigong Danya exhaled and brought the bowl to his lips.
With the Servant watching, he couldn’t refuse.
He squeezed his eyes shut and drank the decoction down.
Bitterness coated his entire mouth, then spread deep down his throat.
“Here, take the candy.”
Seeing Beigong Danya’s pained expression, the Servant quickly offered him the candy.
He took it and put it in his mouth, but his frown didn’t ease.
“Did you hear about something?”
“What do you mean?”
“After taking medicine, your stomach aches for a while and your bowels smell really bad.”
“I haven’t heard that…… I’m not sure, but wouldn’t a strong smell be a good thing? It might mean bad things inside your body are leaving.”
“I suppose.”
“That must be it. Now, get some rest!”
The Servant picked up the empty bowl and left the room.
“I hate it. Really.”
Beigong Danya murmured quietly.

* * *

It was the first and only time he’d doubted the medicine he took every day.
Beigong Danya had managed to dredge up that memory and share it with Cheon Mugyeol.
After listening, Cheon Mugyeol fell silent in thought.
The incident was too ordinary to yield any answers.
He didn’t even know the formula of the herbal decoction taken back then.
The only clue was that the medicine caused stomach pain and foul-smelling bowels afterward.
“But I stopped taking the medicine after several years. At the time it seemed to have no effect, but after I grew up, my health improved greatly—likely because of that medicine’s effects.”
Beigong Danya added to his account.
“Children are prone to minor ailments. It’s possible Gongja originally had no health problems at all.”
Gwang An ventured his thoughts carefully.
Then he turned to Cheon Mugyeol and asked, “Is there a way?”
At Gwang An’s question, Cheon Mugyeol gave a quiet nod.
Beigong Danya’s and Gwang An’s faces brightened.
“But it’s impossible now.”
At Cheon Mugyeol’s words, Beigong Danya’s expression darkened again.
“There is a method, but your body is not in a state to withstand it.”
“What kind of method could it be…….”
“The poison was no longer administered long ago, but its aftermath has damaged your Qi and Blood and Meridians. The method would involve deliberately breaking them further to restore them.”
At Cheon Mugyeol’s words, Beigong Danya’s face went pale.
Tampering carelessly with Qi and Blood and Meridians was dangerous enough to cripple a person.
If that was the only method, then effectively there was no method at all.
“How can this be…….”
Beigong Danya murmured, sinking into despair.

She had just found a glimmer of hope, only to sink back into despair.
“Please inquire after a physician. One with exceptional skill.”
Cheon Mugyeol spoke, turning to Gwang An.
“Yes. I understand.”
Unlike Beigong Danya, who had surrendered to despair, Cheon Mugyeol seemed entirely unmoved by it.
“We should reach out to the Medical Association.”
At Gwang An’s words, Cheon Mugyeol nodded.

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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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