The World’s Greatest Martial Arts Instructor - Chapter 240
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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 240. The Sea, It’s the Great Sea
Jeongcheon Alliance Leader So Hwi-ung.
He quietly looked down at the documents placed before him.
It wasn’t just any document.
The Hocheon Corps Leader’s vacation request form.
Right.
The Hocheon Corps Leader was also human, and had guaranteed vacation time.
Even so, it was quite an unfamiliar document.
As he recalled, the previous Hocheon Corps Leader had hardly used any vacation time.
‘Perhaps it was only once?’
But the current Hocheon Corps Leader had requested vacation after just over a year since taking office.
And it was quite a long extended vacation at that.
Well, it didn’t matter much.
He was just a puppet leader anyway.
He himself handled all important matters through the vice leader Dam Mu-heun, didn’t he.
Surely he had become Hocheon Corps Leader with some purpose, even mobilizing his family’s power.
It was rather strange that he had been so quiet all this time.
And then suddenly an extended vacation.
So Hwi-ung tapped one spot on his desk.
“Perhaps this might be the very purpose for becoming Hocheon Corps Leader.”
It was natural to think so, since this was the first move from someone who had been quiet until now.
“In that case.”
So Hwi-ung readily signed the request form.
After all, it didn’t matter whether he was there or not.
Then he secretly summoned Dam Mu-heun.
“What matter requires attention?”
A voice quietly echoed in the Alliance Leader’s office.
However, Dam Mu-heun’s form was nowhere to be seen.
Only his voice resonated.
“The Hocheon Corps Leader has requested extended vacation.”
“Yes.”
Dam Mu-heun answered briefly.
“What do you think it’s about?”
“It seems he has found what he was looking for.”
So Hwi-ung nodded slightly at Dam Mu-heun’s answer.
“He’s been frequenting Manbak Hall like his own home. Since he requested vacation after visiting Manbak Hall recently, it seems related to that.”
A natural assumption.
“Have him followed.”
So Hwi-ung commanded briefly.
“Understood.”
Dam Mu-heun answered briefly, and soon his presence disappeared.
“I hope the same thing that happened in Zhongnan occurs again.”
So Hwi-ung muttered with a slight smile.
The face of Hocheon Corps Leader Namgung Hwa-u that he had seen was not one to be satisfied with merely being Hocheon Corps Leader.
So Hwi-ung rose from his seat and approached the window.
Alliance Leader’s Hall.
The office on the top floor.
There was no place higher than this in the vast Jeongcheon Alliance.
He quite liked the view of the Jeongcheon Alliance from here.
“Who would have thought things would flow this way.”
The smile on So Hwi-ung’s face deepened further.
Hocheon Corps Leader Ha Mu-baek.
When he was demoted for an absurd reason, it truly felt like having both arms severed.
Ha Mu-baek wasn’t just a right-hand man to So Hwi-ung.
If he had to compare him to a body part, he was more than both arms combined.
However.
After he went to Gyoryong Hall, the situation flowed strangely.
The Peng Family suffered devastating damage, and the Yeon Family’s Young Family Head died.
Zhongnan had its Sect Leader changed.
They were all part of the Righteous Path Alliance composed of the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families.
Weren’t they the opposing force to Alliance Leader So Hwi-ung’s supporting faction, the Eight New Sects?
The Righteous Path Alliance had expelled Ha Mu-baek from the alliance to weaken So Hwi-ung’s power, but the result actually brought about the weakening of the Righteous Path Alliance instead.
“This is why worldly affairs are unpredictable even one step ahead, and interesting. Huhu.”
So Hwi-ung let out a pleased laugh.
At first, he had tried to somehow quickly bring Ha Mu-baek back to the Main Alliance.
But after that incident with the Peng Family, he decided to leave him be and observe for a while, which was an excellent choice.
This time, he had a feeling that something would happen with the Namgung Family Estate as well.
And that such a premonition was correct was soon revealed.
According to the news Dam Mu-heun secretly conveyed, Namgung Hwa-u had headed toward Muchang.
***
Late at night.
Even so, it was quite hot.
They were passing mid-May.
Summer was approaching.
Only about a month remained until the summer solstice when the Summer Martial Festival would be held.
The Waryong Corps 20th Group cadets were devoted to their training.
And one more person.
Namgung Ji-hu was also devoted to his training.
One month later.
When the first half of Gyoryong Hall ended, he would have to return to his family estate and compete for the position of Young Family Head.
To do that, he had to complete the Emperor Sword Form.
Even so, the sword technique Namgung Ji-hu was currently displaying was the Great Flame Sword Technique.
The Great Flame Sword Technique he began displaying in earnest after lightly warming up his body with the Three Talents Sword Technique.
It had changed beyond recognition from the Great Flame Sword Technique he had displayed when first meeting Namgung Hwi.
Namgung Hwi was watching such a Namgung Ji-hu with satisfaction.
He was a genius for whom the word ‘talent’ was insufficient.
‘It seems like he’ll break through the wall if he takes just one more step forward.’
That’s what Namgung Hwi could see.
That’s why he felt both proud and regretful.
But beyond that point, he had nothing more to teach.
He had already reached the end of the realm that could be attained through teaching.
So tonight’s training would also be the last.
From now on, it would be entirely Namgung Ji-hu’s own problem to solve.
Having performed the Great Flame Sword Technique once, Namgung Ji-hu quietly regulated his breathing.
“Excellent. It seems there’s nothing more for me to teach.”
Namgung Hwi said with a smile.
However, Namgung Ji-hu shook his head.
“No. This isn’t the sword you showed me that day, senior.”
He was quite ambitious.
“That’s something you must realize and overcome the wall yourself. It’s not something that can be taught by someone else.”
Namgung Ji-hu pondered deeply at Namgung Hwi’s words.
“Then…”
“Today seems to be the last day I’ll help with your cultivation.”
At Namgung Hwi’s words, Namgung Ji-hu showed an extremely regretful expression.
It was a shock beyond what he had expected.
It felt as if a part of his heart was being torn away.
‘Why am I feeling this way?’
Namgung Ji-hu was surprised by his own emotions.
It was a completely different feeling from when he received teachings from Ha Mu-baek.
Such feelings were the same for Namgung Ji-yu, who had been watching the training from the side.
She hadn’t even received the teachings herself.
She had merely watched the two people’s training.
Yet at the thought that this could no longer continue, one side of her heart ached.
It was a confusing emotion.
Why on earth.
It wasn’t just the two of them who felt such regret.
Namgung Hwi’s expression, who had spoken those words, also didn’t look good.
“Then… may I request a training match?”
Never once had the two of them crossed swords.
They had only demonstrated, observed, instructed, and shown examples.
It was a different teaching method from Ha Mu-baek’s.
At Namgung Ji-hu’s request, Namgung Hwi, who had been silent, nodded his head.
“Since it’s the last time, that wouldn’t be bad either. Though I don’t know how helpful a one-armed Left-Hand Swordsman will be.”
Namgung Hwi also felt regretful about ending things this way.
He wanted to cross swords with that child at least once.
However, he hadn’t done so because he thought he might become too overwhelmed to move his sword properly.
Today, being the last day, seemed like it would be fine.
He had become quite accustomed to meeting with the two children now.
The two drew their swords and stood facing each other.
The first to move was Namgung Ji-hu.
The sword movement naturally transitioned from the ready stance of the Great Flame Sword Technique to the first form.
It was smooth, unobstructed, grand, and expansive.
It could truly be called a perfected Great Flame Sword Technique.
Namgung Hwi swung his sword in response.
That sword’s movement was the same as Namgung Ji-hu’s, yet different.
It wasn’t simply different because it was left-handed swordsmanship.
The profound meaning contained within the sword was different.
Facing it directly before his eyes, Namgung Ji-hu could keenly understand this.
It was.
‘The sea. The great ocean.’
Once, in a village at the eastern edge of Gangso Province, he had directly seen the ocean.
An endless expanse of water stretching without limit.
It had a grandeur different from massive lakes like Dongting Lake or Taeho Lake.
The boundless sea stretching wide where it met the sky.
That day, he had first seen with his own eyes the meaning of the word “great ocean.”
And now, Namgung Hwi was showing him that once again through his sword.
Having perfectly mastered the Great Flame Sword Technique, Namgung Ji-hu could finally see the great ocean contained in Namgung Hwi’s sword.
What he had seen but failed to comprehend last time.
If the Azure Sky Unhindered Sword was the sky, then the Great Flame Sword Technique was the sea.
Violent explosions erupted several times in Namgung Ji-hu’s mind.
The focus in his eyes disappeared, and he entered a state of no-self.
Namgung Hwi immediately noticed this sign.
Namgung Ji-yu did as well.
Namgung Hwi didn’t stop his sword.
Rather, he performed the Great Flame Sword Technique with all the power he could muster.
Knowing that his swordsmanship had given this child some kind of clue.
Because he had to help the child trying to overcome the wall as much as possible.
He drew up to the maximum even the internal energy he had been hiding.
And he clashed swords matching Namgung Ji-hu’s internal energy level.
“Hm?”
Ha Mu-baek’s expression changed as he lay on the bed in the dormitory, spending his leisure time.
He got up and left the dormitory.
His body movement disappeared in an instant.
And he appeared on the academy rooftop.
Right after Ha Mu-baek arrived, Wi Ji-gun also revealed himself.
“Did you sense it too, Master?”
“With qi energy leaking out like that, how could I not notice? Hehe.”
Ha Mu-baek and Wi Ji-gun quietly watched Namgung Ji-hu and Namgung Hwi.
“If he overcomes the wall today, there won’t be any child who can face that boy now.”
At Wi Ji-gun’s words, Ha Mu-baek nodded.
Baek Ri-pyeong or Ju U-myeong.
If those two didn’t overcome their walls, it was clear that Namgung Ji-hu would be the winner of the next Eastern Tournament.
Right now, Namgung Ji-hu was growing frighteningly strong to that degree.
Namgung Ji-hu’s sword was gradually coming to resemble Namgung Hwi’s.
He was beginning to contain the sea within the Great Flame Sword Technique.
Namgung Hwi.
The village where he had lived was close to the sea.
It had to be.
It was a village east of Sanwol Demon Forest, located in southeastern Zhejiang Province.
It wasn’t very far to the Zhejiang Province coastline.
On a day when he was blocked by a wall.
He had overcome the wall by looking at the sea.
A part of the sea’s appearance he had seen then was now contained in Namgung Ji-hu’s sword.
‘Finally, he’s beginning to contain the sea. I can see the great ocean.’
Namgung Hwi felt overwhelming emotion watching Namgung Ji-hu’s Great Flame Sword Technique.
The rough sea with crashing waves and the endlessly calm great ocean stretching without limit.
That was visible in Namgung Ji-hu’s Great Flame Sword Technique.
As the Great Flame Sword Technique ended.
Namgung Ji-hu’s sword technique changed.
Contrary to expectations that he would perform the Great Flame Sword Technique once more.
It was a completely different sword path.
‘Azure Sky Unhindered Sword!’
Namgung Hwi recognized it immediately.
Though he hadn’t learned it himself, he had seen it many times.
Namgung Ji-hu was displaying the Azure Sky Unhindered Sword right after the Great Flame Sword Technique.
And in that Azure Sky Unhindered Sword.
‘Sky… it truly is the azure heavens.’
Namgung Hwi used all his strength to receive and deflect Namgung Ji-hu’s sword.
Though it was a clash between the Azure Sky Unhindered Sword and Great Flame Sword Technique, Namgung Hwi had reached the pinnacle realm.
Even if the Azure Sky Unhindered Sword was a superior technique, he had no difficulty matching it.
No, Namgung Hwi’s Great Flame Sword Technique was by no means inferior to the Azure Sky Unhindered Sword.
After fully displaying the Azure Sky Unhindered Sword, Namgung Ji-hu’s sword showed change once again.
Namgung Hwi couldn’t identify what sword technique it was.
It felt like something he had seen before, yet also like he had never seen such a sword.
The reason for this ambiguous feeling was simple.
The great sea and azure sky met and became one.
And only one sword that overturned the world existed in solitary nobility.
It was truly.
An emperor.
It was an emperor.
‘Ah. The Emperor Sword Form!’
From that sight alone, Namgung Hwi could tell what sword technique Namgung Ji-hu was creating.
Because he was a person of the Namgung Family.
The supreme sword art of the Namgung Family that one couldn’t help but recall when facing what that sword displayed.
The Emperor Sword Form.
‘The Emperor Sword Form that Namgung Hwa-hyeon displayed was fake. This is the true Emperor Sword Form!’
Namgung Hwi’s heart trembled violently.
As a retainer of the Namgung Family, it was the emotion of witnessing the family’s truly strongest sword art.
Though it was the sword art that had driven him to the brink of death, that had been fake.
That’s why when he first saw it, it felt familiar yet unfamiliar.
Because what he had seen was fake.
Something not even worthy of being compared to the real thing.
Like a firefly before the full moon.
Namgung Hwi crossed swords while his heart swelled with emotion.
Slowly, the focus in his eyes was beginning to fade.
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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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