The World’s Greatest Martial Arts Instructor - Chapter 236

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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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Chapter 236. Wh-Who Are You?

 

 

He took out the bamboo leaf wine.

There was still more than half a bottle left.

It was liquor he would occasionally sip before bed when the mood struck him.

What remained was more than what he had drunk.

The previous day when Wi Ji-gun visited and the two of them drank three cups total was the most he had consumed.

But today, it seemed like cups wouldn’t be enough to dispel this frustration.

Namgung Hwi took the bottle and went outside.

Being in the small room would only make the stuffiness feel worse.

As he came outside like this.

A half moon happened to be shining brightly.

‘Hah. Even the moon looks like me.’

It looked exactly like himself with one arm missing.

It was a waxing half moon with the right side cleanly gone.

He brought the bottle mouth to his lips and gulped it down.

The lukewarm liquor flowed down his throat.

Even so, the stuffiness in his chest wouldn’t wash away.

“Hehe. What’s suddenly making you so frustrated?”

Wi Ji-gun, who had appeared at some point, asked.

“Suddenly my chest is filled with rage.”

Namgung Hwi answered with a bitter smile.

Then he brought the bottle mouth to his lips again.

“Hmm.”

Wi Ji-gun gazed quietly at Namgung Hwi’s appearance.

Perhaps assigning him to the Jamryong Corps training ground had been a mistake.

Such thoughts occurred to him.

“You who clean others’ swords so spotlessly can’t clean your own heart. Then try shaking off that rage while using a sword. After moving your body and working up a good sweat, that rage might flow out with it.”

At Wi Ji-gun’s words, Namgung Hwi lowered the bottle.

He gazed quietly at Wi Ji-gun.

“Would that be alright?”

“What wouldn’t be alright? Just because you’re a worker doesn’t mean you can’t do what you want? Our work hours are over too. Now you’re free to do whatever. Just like how you’re drinking that liquor.”

Wi Ji-gun answered with a gentle smile.

Namgung Hwi flinched and looked at the bottle in his left hand.

Right.

If he could drink liquor freely, then moving his body was nothing.

“Well, it should be fine in a corner of a training ground where the cadets won’t see you. From what I’ve seen, the Jamryong Corps First Year Twentieth Group Training Ground has the fewest people.”

After winking one eye, Wi Ji-gun left.

Namgung Hwi went into his room and gathered his sword.

Then he quietly walked toward the place Wi Ji-gun had told him about.

He raised his ki sense to the maximum and moved carefully to avoid encountering anyone.

At this late hour of the night, a worker walking around Gyoryong Hall with a sword wasn’t exactly a normal sight.

The training ground he arrived at like this.

Indeed, it was just as Wi Ji-gun had said.

You could tell just by looking.

How diligently those who used this training ground were cultivating.

At least the owners of this training ground weren’t the type to visit this place on such a late night.

Therefore, Namgung Hwi could draw his sword with peace of mind.

Seureureu.

The sword was drawn with a clear sound.

A pure white blade.

It was a well-maintained sword.

Like the family swords of Namgung Ji-hu and Namgung Ji-yu.

The sword moved slowly.

The only sword technique Namgung Hwi had learned was the Great Flame Sword Technique.

He hadn’t learned any techniques beyond that.

No, he could have learned them but missed the opportunity.

After being recognized for mastering the Great Flame Sword Technique, he had gained the chance to learn higher techniques, but he followed the Young Family Head’s persuasion to go on a journey.

And the Young Family Head didn’t teach him those techniques during the journey.

Saying he would let him learn the higher technique, the Azure Sky Unhindered Sword, after returning to the main estate.

The Changkong Wuai Sword Technique.

It was the ultimate technique of the Namgung Family Estate that only direct descendants or branch family members closest to the direct line among those bearing the Namgung surname could learn.

The Emperor Sword Form could only be fully learned by the Family Head, and only his brothers could learn the first half, so it was practically out of the question.

The sword technique that elevated the Namgung Family Estate’s reputation in Gangho was precisely the Azure Sky Unhindered Sword.

A sword technique that was no different from the face of the Namgung Family Estate.

For Namgung Hwi, who was from a very distant branch family, it was a sword technique he couldn’t even dream of learning.

The Young Family Head had said that if he accompanied him on the journey, he would use his authority to let him learn that technique.

Since it wasn’t unprecedented.

The path he had followed out of greed for martial arts.

‘I didn’t know that path led to hell.’

Daeyon Thirteen Sword Thunder.

He should have been satisfied with that.

That too was an opportunity he had gained by having his talent recognized for mastering the Great Flame Sword Technique at a young age.

As he began moving his sword, past distracting thoughts filled his head.

This way, he couldn’t move his sword properly.

He shook his head vigorously to scatter the distracting thoughts.

Then Namgung Hwi took the ready stance of the Great Flame Sword Technique again.

A left-hand swordsman holding the sword in his left hand instead of his right.

It couldn’t be helped. He only had his left arm.

Thus, the Great Flame Sword Technique, changed from its original form to that of a left-hand swordsman, slowly unfolded from Namgung Hwi’s fingertips.

Slowly, yet swiftly, beautifully.

Namgung Hwi’s snow-white blade embroidered the night air.

This was the first time he had displayed sword techniques since entering Muchang.

He hadn’t had the opportunity until now.

Perhaps because his state of mind had changed greatly in the meantime.

His sword had also changed.

A sword that had advanced a step further than when he left the village.

Namgung Hwi felt it too.

Therefore, he sank even deeper into the sword technique.

The rage in his chest had disappeared without a trace.

Only the sword remained.

Namgung Hwi entered the state of no-self like this.

 

***

 

‘I must make it my own.’

Late at night.

Namgung Ji-hu picked up his sword again and headed to the training ground.

What he had gained from his training match with Ha Mu-baek.

It could end up being just a fleeting moment of enlightenment.

To completely internalize it as his own, the only way was to continue training.

That’s why Namgung Ji-hu headed to the empty Jamryong Corps training ground to swing his sword.

Only the half-moon illuminated the darkness.

How long had he walked like that?

From somewhere came the sound of a sword cutting through space.

It wasn’t far from the Jamryong Corps First Unit training ground.

Namgung Ji-hu tilted his head.

As far as he knew, there was no Jamryong Corps cadet who would be swinging a sword at this hour.

Naturally, Namgung Ji-hu’s steps headed toward where the sound was coming from.

It was really just simple curiosity.

It didn’t seem too far from his destination anyway.

‘It sounds like the Twentieth Group training ground for first-year Jamryong Corps?’

The closer he got, the more puzzled he became.

It couldn’t be helped.

As far as Namgung Ji-hu knew, those cadets weren’t such diligent friends.

The training ground he arrived at.

Namgung Ji-hu was startled.

A familiar figure was swinging a sword.

One arm missing and a scar on his face.

It was definitely the worker who had come recently.

But how could such a worker display such beautiful swordsmanship?

And with one arm missing, using his left arm at that.

Namgung Ji-hu found himself staring blankly at the sight without realizing it.

For a moment.

The instant he thought the sword technique the man was displaying looked familiar, his eyes widened.

It couldn’t be helped.

Because he was performing it as a left-hand sword technique, he recognized it a bit late, but.

That was definitely.

‘Great Flame Sword Technique!’

It was the Namgung Family Estate’s exclusive sword technique.

Although it was a sword technique learned by lower-level warriors of the Namgung Family Estate, it was also a technique that outsiders could never learn.

And now a worker at Gyoryong Hall was displaying it.

He swore he had never seen such a person at the family estate.

‘How on earth…’

Such questions had barely formed in his head.

Namgung Ji-hu became absorbed in the Great Flame Sword Technique the man was displaying.

What he wouldn’t have been able to recognize before.

The perfection that he could only see after realizing it through his training match with Ha Mu-baek was now unfolding before his eyes.

 

How long had he been swinging his sword while absorbed in the state of no-self?

He organized all the sudden enlightenment that had come and lowered his sword.

“Whew.”

A deep breath flowed out of his mouth.

His mood was refreshing.

He couldn’t even remember when he had felt anger.

The phantom pain he had felt from his severed right arm was now gone.

The pain that had tormented the scar on his face was now gone too.

Only a feeling of relief remained.

He had been able to pour everything out by swinging his sword here.

‘The elder’s words were right.’

Just as he was thinking he should swing his sword like this often and was turning to head back to the dormitory.

“!?!…”

Namgung Hwi’s eyes widened.

He hadn’t noticed someone approaching nearby while absorbed in the state of no-self.

In the meantime.

Namgung Ji-hu was right in front of him.

And he had shocked, blank eyes.

The two men’s eyes met in midair.

Focus gradually returned to Namgung Ji-hu’s eyes.

He had now escaped from the shock that Namgung Hwi’s sword had given him.

“Wh-who are you?”

Namgung Ji-hu asked with a trembling voice.

Without a doubt, he had never seen such perfect Great Flame Sword Technique even at the family estate.

Not his father who was the family head, nor the previous generation’s elder called Namgung Greatest Sword.

None of them had been able to show such Great Flame Sword Technique.

Naturally, he became curious about the man’s identity.

“I am merely a worker at Gyoryong Hall. I apologize for showing you my unsightly appearance and disturbing your eyes, young master.”

Leaving only those words with a trembling voice, Namgung Hwi hurriedly left the spot.

“W-wait…”

Namgung Ji-hu tried to reach out his hand, but the other’s retreating figure was already far away.

He thought about chasing after him, but his legs wouldn’t move.

He had to organize this inspiration exploding in his head.

And he had to try it out.

‘First things first. Finding that person can be done later. I know who he is.’

He didn’t even have time to go to his own training ground.

Namgung Ji-hu stood in the very spot where Namgung Hwi had been swinging his sword just moments before.

He drew his sword and slowly began to perform the Great Flame Sword Technique.

 

“Hmm. It seems there’s a story there.”

Ha Mu-baek, who had been watching from afar.

He stroked his chin and nodded.

“It seems Nameless was from the Namgung Family Estate.”

Han Seol-bing said from beside him.

“Not Nameless, but Nam Hwi.”

Ha Mu-baek corrected Han Seol-bing’s words.

“Then it would be Namgung Hwi. Shall we look into it?”

Han Seol-bing asked.

Deep curiosity was dwelling in her eyes.

“That’s bothersome…”

He thought it was unnecessary meddling.

“Aren’t you curious about that story?”

“Well…”

Ha Mu-baek didn’t give a clear answer.

“Didn’t you see that worker Nam Hwi’s eyes just now? They weren’t ordinary eyes. And to perform the Namgung Family Estate’s Great Flame Sword Technique like that…”

Han Seol-bing said excitedly.

With Ha Mu-baek having set up an energy barrier, there was no chance of their conversation leaking out.

“Do as you wish.”

With those words, Ha Mu-baek left the place.

Han Seol-bing remained a bit longer to watch Namgung Ji-hu’s cultivation before soon departing as well.

There was another gaze watching Namgung Hwi from afar.

Wi Ji-gun.

He was the one who had deliberately told him about the Twentieth Group’s training ground.

“It seems there’s a deep story in his heart.”

His eyes held sympathy as he muttered calmly.

 

***

 

Namgung Hwa-hyeon’s face was full of dissatisfaction.

It was because of his nephews.

He had called them together to see their achievements so far, but every single one of their accomplishments was meager.

No, mastering the Emperor Sword Form to this extent in such a period should have been praiseworthy.

However, the problem was the subject of comparison.

His eldest son, Namgung Ji-hu.

If it were that boy, he would have achieved superior results than these ones with just a single demonstration.

Moreover, hadn’t he even taken the transcribed secret manual with him?

Sensing that Namgung Hwa-hyeon’s mood was far from ordinary, they quietly kept their heads bowed.

“At this rate, none of you will be able to become the Young Family Head. For Namgung’s premier sword technique, the Emperor Sword Form, to look like this. Tsk tsk.”

Clicking his tongue, Namgung Hwa-hyeon turned around and left the training ground.

Those remaining in the training ground could only grit their teeth and clench their fists tightly.

Returning to the Family Head’s office, Namgung Hwa-hyeon had no way to relieve his frustration.

“Family Head. This is Il-yeong.”

Just then. A voice secretly heard from above the ceiling.

“How did it go?”

“The Grand Young Master seems to be devoted to cultivating the Great Flame Sword Technique rather than the Emperor Sword Form.”

Namgung Hwa-hyeon tilted his head at the response.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Gyoryong Hall’s security was too tight for me to see directly. Instead, I used people to investigate. Analyzing the reports that came back, that sword technique appears to be the Great Flame Sword Technique, not the Emperor Sword Form.”

At Il-yeong’s words, Namgung Hwa-hyeon couldn’t make any judgment at all.

That outstanding child suddenly practicing the Great Flame Sword Technique.

“I understand. Continue observing.”

“Yes.”

With those words, Il-yeong disappeared.

Namgung Hwa-hyeon, left alone.

“The Great Flame Sword Technique…”

Suddenly, one person’s face came to mind.

Someone who was no longer in this world.

‘Is this what they call bloodline after all…’

Irritation appeared on Namgung Hwa-hyeon’s face.

“If he focuses on pointless things and fails to properly master the Emperor Sword Form. That too would be unavoidable.”

Muttering words that no one could hear, Namgung Hwa-hyeon looked out the window.

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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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