The Lightning I Harbor Is Too Strong - Chapter 53

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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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Chapter 53
Jung I-sin glanced back as he stepped out of Gangmu Hall.
A lecture room in the corner of the second floor.
Ash-gray hair that hadn’t made it downstairs peeked out just above the windowsill.
Jung I-sin let out a murmur of genuine admiration.
“Even watching where his students go—”
Truly, a worthy teacher.
There was no trace of the indolence Bang Si-jeong had warned him about.
Jung I-sin guessed that Yeon Baek-ha, as a practitioner of the Thunder Arts, must have stirred something special in the old man’s heart.
And Jung I-sin himself, after passing through those who wielded what hardly qualified as Thunder Qi, had felt his heart drawn to Yeon Baek-ha’s genuine essence.
‘Exquisitely refined Qi. Noe-ryun was practically drooling over it.’
It lacked purity, perhaps, but in terms of purity of nature, there was nothing to fault.
He had only just managed to stop Noe-ryun from paying her respects.
‘Surely he wasn’t actually going to absorb it? And it’s not even the Demonic Sect technique.’
Maybe she was just going to seize control rights, like that time with the Nojeong Geommun’s information keeper.
‘That much would count as a light greeting even in the Jianghu…… wait, does that make sense? Am I insane?’
Snap—!
Whether it was Oh or anyone connected to Thunder Qi, they caused accidents the moment you let your guard down.
So Jung I-sin hurried along, nudging the rolling Noe-ryun onward, until they arrived at their destination.
“Quite a few people here.”
A grand five-story structure on the north side of the Great Plaza—Manmugak.
Beyond the wide-open doors, quite a crowd was visible.
Six or so first-year students in blue martial robes like Jung I-sin, and a couple of senior students in red robes.
Most of the rest wore plain, neat armor—apparently staff of Manmugak itself.
Passing through them as they hurried about, Jung I-sin spotted an elderly white-haired man sitting at that antique table in the center.
“Greetings, Elder Baek. It’s been a while.”
“Huh?”
Baek Noiin’s gaze lifted from the manuscripts before him and landed on Jung I-sin.
His long eyebrows twitched sharply for a moment.
“You! You! You!”
Baek Noiin shot up from his seat and pointed a finger at Jung I-sin.
“You take my tea……! Ahem! And now you show your face for the first time!?”
“I’ve been absorbed in adjusting to the Academy. I apologize, Elder.”
“Tch! Even so!”
At Baek Noiin’s outburst, a martial artist from Manmugak approached and bowed respectfully, asking—
“Is there a problem, sir?”
“……No, nothing. Get back to work.”
“Yes, I’ll withdraw.”
Bowing again and retreating, the man’s posture was unmistakably that of a subordinate.
‘Wasn’t he a librarian? ……Though, he does seem rather gruff for a librarian.’
With his snowy white beard and luxuriant eyebrows, Baek Noiin had the appearance of an immortal sage.
Jung I-sin admitted he had judged too hastily based on appearance alone.
One look at Baek Noiin’s discontent-laden face said it all—the resentment of such men ran deep.
What Jung I-sin needed to do now was clear.
“Still, thanks to you, Elder, my knowledge of the Jianghu has grown tremendously.”
“Hmm?”
“I heard stories about the Supreme Master of the Great River and Mu-myeong-seon.”
“Oh? And what of it?”
The tales Bang Si-jeong had told him came vividly to mind. This was no empty flattery born of desperation.
“It made me think—there really are such people in the world. If someone possessed such tremendous martial power, their spiritual refinement could hardly be shallow, yet why would they seek attention so?”
“……What?”
“It seems there are many paths to reaching the pinnacle. A friend of mine said Mu-myeong-seon must have been born with an attention-seeking nature. And perhaps that very trait helped her become a master——”
Jung I-sin, who had been speaking eagerly, suddenly fell silent.
‘What is this?’
His body suddenly grew heavy. A strange Qi enveloped him, yet he could not pinpoint its exact nature.
Neither his Celestial Thunder Qi nor his Reverse Muscle-Bone Scripture responded.
Both of his Qi seemed oblivious to it, remaining still and quiet.
“Your friend…… what is his name?”
That strange sensation vanished as Baek Noiin posed his curt question.
Jung I-sin, regarding him with an odd look, answered smoothly—
“My name is Bang Si-jeong. I entered the academy at the same time as Jung I-sin, and we’re both open-path students…….”
“Ho-gae’s disciple?”
“Ah! Yes, that’s what I’ve been told.”
Baek Noiin, who had been grinding his teeth, sank back into his seat.
“……Right then. What brings you here?”
“I have an assignment. Since I’ve already earned first-floor access, I can use Manmugak, can’t I?”
“Ahem! I say, help this young man out, will you.”
Baek Noiin, who had deceived Jung I-sin once before, hastily raised his hand.
At his summons, the usual martial artist of Manmugak approached once more and bowed.
“I am So-ryang, of Manmugak. What is it you’re looking for?”
“Good day. I’m Jung I-sin, a first-year student.”
As Jung I-sin returned the bow, So-ryang looked at him with a surprised expression, then held back a smile.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Academy Student I-sin. If you tell me what you’re searching for, I’ll guide you at once.”
“I’m looking for books about Na Gun-cheon the Great Master.”
“This way.”
So-ryang led Jung I-sin with an amiable manner.
Even the first floor alone had a ceiling so high it made one’s head spin, and it was lined on all sides with bookshelves that reached that distant ceiling.
There wasn’t a single empty shelf anywhere, so one could only wonder how many books this place truly held.
Jung I-sin let out a genuine gasp of amazement.
“Without your guidance, I couldn’t have found it even if I had seven weeks.”
“That’s precisely why I’m here. It’s this section.”
The shelf So-ryang gestured to held an enormous number of books as well.
Na Gun-cheon, The Life of Na Gun-cheon, Purple Night Extinguishment, An Overview of Thunder Arts, An Introduction to Thunder Arts…….
Jung I-sin, standing a pace away and staring blankly, made a grimace.
“I think I’ll need more help.”
So-ryang let out a small laugh and nodded.
“As much as you need.”
“It’s books about the hidden history of Na Gun-cheon the Great Master. Where might those be?”
So-ryang’s ever-smiling face hardened for the first time.
He was clearly taken aback.
Looking at Jung I-sin intently, he spoke with caution.
“The hidden history of Purple Night Extinguishment is kept on the third floor of Manmugak.”
“……I’m sorry?”
* * *
His mind couldn’t quite process what he’d just heard.
Jung I-sin exchanged an awkward stare with So-ryang, who wore a confused smile.
“What the Great Master Na Gun-cheon left behind personally in his final years is stored on Manmugak’s third floor.”
The way So-ryang pointed his index finger up at the ceiling was almost smug, though Jung I-sin knew that wasn’t his intent.
“……Why?”
“Because both its value and security clearance are high.”
“Could I possibly see it?”
“Of course. Either when you become a third-year student, or if you can prove you have third-floor access credentials.”
He wasn’t trying to mock him…… was he?
‘What on earth is happening?’
Jung I-sin, arms folded, quickly scanned the shelves.
No matter how hard he looked, there were no books dealing with hidden history or secret records.
There were only books about the figure of Na Gun-cheon himself and records of his achievements.
These were books he would have welcomed just a day ago, but what Jung I-sin needed now was not such surface-level information.
Doubt soon turns to suspicion.
‘There’s no way Professor Yeon Baek-ha didn’t know the books were on the third floor. Which means he must have had a reason for specifically requesting that one…….’
No matter how he turned it over, there were only two possibilities.
Either he was being sent on a fool’s errand, or the professor trusted him.
‘Huh.’
A deep sense of emotion stirred within him.
‘He trusts me that much?’
A professor he’d never met before, even one he’d competed with for the position of guidance professor.
How could such a man send him on a wild goose chase?
Yeon Baek-ha believed that Jung I-sin could reach the third floor of Manmugak.
‘I can’t let him down.’
It was at that moment of resolve.
“What, you take something like that and still go hunting for Na Gun-cheon’s martial techniques?”
Baek Noiin clicked his tongue and stepped forward. Jung I-sin naturally drifted backward with So-ryang, admiring the seamless retreat even as he answered.
“Not his techniques—I need to learn about Na Gun-cheon’s hidden history. That’s the assignment.”
“Ha! That’s on the third floor.”
“…Yes, I’ve heard. That’s why I wanted to ask you something.”
Before Jung I-sin could even open his mouth, Baek Noiin was already shaking his head.
“Manmugak has no exceptions. Access to the third floor requires either third-year Academy Student status or proof of third-floor clearance—that’s all.”
“What was my proof of first-floor clearance, then?”
“….”
It had probably just been Baek Noiin’s simple jest.
Jung I-sin suspected as much himself, but now that things had reached this point, he couldn’t simply back down.
‘Third-floor clearance is impossible right now.’
They’d told him that the only proof achievable within Cheonmu Academy extended only to this level.
From the third floor onward, proof would require external dispatch or even solo missions—at the very least, he’d need to reach this academic year’s advancement for such opportunities to arise.
“Pardon me, Elder Baek. Do you know how startled I was that day when I encountered that shamanic priest possessed by a vengeful spirit in Manmugak’s underground chamber? I nearly reflexively snapped our Hyun-pung’s neck right there.”
“…That, that was…”
“What exactly is that stone chamber anyway? Could it be some suspicious hobby of yours, Elder? I’m half-tempted to report it to the Academy Master this very instant.”
“That’s not it at all!”
“But once I access the third floor, I think my mouth will seal itself shut!”
Jung I-sin knew no retreat.
He was convinced this was the only method available, forced or otherwise.
In the end, Baek Noiin’s expression crumpled into a concession of defeat.
“Come with me for now.”
Though Manmugak wasn’t exactly solemn in atmosphere, the bickering between Baek Noiin and Jung I-sin had apparently drawn attention.
Back at his desk, Baek Noiin spoke again.
“As I said, Manmugak has no exceptions.”
“But…”
“Na Gun-cheon’s hidden history. If that’s the only thing you want, there is a way.”
* * *
When Jung I-sin returned to Cheongryong Hall and stepped into the dormitory, he caught sight of a man seated on the first floor nursing tea.
They had met before.
He now wore the same blue martial robes as Jung I-sin, though when they first encountered each other, he’d been draped entirely in the most luxurious silk.
‘Mo-yong Sa-ha.’
A scion of the Moyong Clan, the leading family among the Eight Great Families, he’d caught eyes during the Evaluation Tournament by completely overwhelming his opponent.
He was said to have achieved mastery early in the Moyong family’s refined Eye Technique, and so his martial style centered on reading his opponent’s movements and dismantling their attacks.
‘He’d pinned everything down perfectly.’
This was the very person who’d sparked his interest in the study of Eye Technique, yet they’d never exchanged so much as a word.
Wondering if now might be that chance, Jung I-sin approached—only for Mo-yong Sa-ha to rise abruptly and bow lightly before heading upstairs.
“…”
Resting unintentionally in the seat that had been vacated, he was soon interrupted by commotion at the dormitory entrance.
“The Guidance Professor’s instruction truly is different. You could really feel Cheonmu Academy’s reputation.”
“That mountain is strange. It never ends. We nearly died for real.”
“Tae-gang, at least your mind was at ease, wasn’t it? Today I looked straight down into the depths of who I really am!”
It was Mu-jin, Nam Tae-gang, and Bang Si-jeong.
All of them were drenched in sweat, yet their expressions held not a trace of regret.
As they poured out their impressions of the first lesson, Jung I-sin felt his lips press into a line.
Bang Si-jeong, spotting Jung I-sin, waved a hand.
“Master Jung, you arrived first, did you? Ha! The top scholar indeed. How do you manage to look so pristine? Every single person I saw on the way back looked like they’d been put through the wringer.”
“Even Seo Geom-hou was a mess. I’ve never seen that woman looking so battered.”
“Isn’t your Guidance Professor supposedly Noe-ryun the Great Sword Master? The rumors about him being cold-blooded were flying around.”
Envy crept into their gazes, twisting something inside him.
‘I was just hunting through books in Manmugak, that’s why I look fresh.’
Jung I-sin suppressed the creeping jealousy and anger with a gesture.
“Master Bang, could we talk for a moment?”
Before Bang Si-jeong had even sat down, questions came pouring from Jung I-sin.
“Did you know that Cheonmu Academy was originally a school where both Orthodox and Heterodox practitioners studied together?”
“Hmm? Isn’t Jianghu history class today?”
“Don’t joke.”
At Jung I-sin’s serious tone, Bang Si-jeong shrugged his shoulders.

“Who doesn’t know that? It’s hardly a secret. The Cheonmu Academy was founded to clean up the devastation from the Great Demonic Confrontation and stand against the Demonic Sect. How could there be any division in the righteous faction when it comes to suppressing demons?”
“Then you must understand why the righteous faction split apart again.”
Bang Si-jeong’s competence remained undiminished.
Press the right point, and the answer fell out.
“Under the fourth academy director—Oh Jin-myeong, the Golden Scale Tyrant Blade. He openly discriminated against Academy Students from the Orthodox School and tried to push through instructors from his own sect.”
He was the first martial artist from the Heterodox School to become an academy director.
By then, more than two decades had passed since Je-gal Gi-cheon’s death.
The hands that had clasped together beneath the banner of demon suppression had grown strained long before.
“The academy’s ethos followed his tyranny. Records indicate they conducted teachings that would be unimaginable now.”
“For example?”
“Many Academy Students actually lost their lives to Mechanism Formation Techniques and formation methods.”
……
There it was.
In truth, Jung I-sin hadn’t been particularly curious about why the righteous faction had fractured again.
Heterodox dogs would do what heterodox dogs do, he’d figured.
But because of this, Jung I-sin needed to understand the Mechanism Formation Techniques from that era.
The words of Baek Noiin from Manmugak flickered through Jung I-sin’s mind.
‘There exists a verification method from when the Heterodox practitioners once attended this academy. Manmugak’s underground has five levels—the same as the levels above. If you reach the third level of that Reverse Tower… I will give you the Hidden History.’
……He’d never heard mention that there had been casualties.
Jung I-sin exhaled slowly and pressed Bang Si-jeong once more.
I Held Lightning Within Me
Author |
Woo San-yu
Publisher |
(주) Samyang C&C
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Editorial Team
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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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