Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 66

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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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Third-rate Martial Arts Family, Greatest Under Heaven – Episode 066
Composition. Literally, the character for “create” combined with the character for “melody.”
In other words, a tune created by connecting sounds at unique intervals.
Needless to say, I had never learned music throughout my entire previous life.
During my wandering days as a vagrant swordsman across the realm, music was something I could only hear when I spent considerable coin at high-class establishments in Juru.
I had no opportunity to learn, nor had I ever truly desired to.
“Master, why suddenly music theory…?”
“You’ll come to understand naturally as you compose.”
Probing further seemed pointless—Eum Hu would not elaborate.
“But I’ve never composed music before.”
“I harbor no great expectations of a swordsman. A melody with proper pitch and spacing will suffice. Surely you can manage this?”
I had always answered with confidence, but this time was different.
Compose music? Truly?
‘Sigh, this seems troublesome.’
I possessed unwavering faith in my martial talent.
Moreover, I loved martial arts more than anyone and harbored an earnest desire to advance further.
Yet suddenly, music theory.
“Honestly, I have no confidence in satisfying a master bearing the title Pacheon Eumhu.”
“I do not seek brilliance in melody, so it matters not. Then I shall go teach Seolha now.”
Eum Hu lifted Jegal Seol-ha with invisible force and vanished.
I was left alone.
‘Compose…? Truly?’
I am no fool. I quickly grasped why Eum Hu had issued this command.
‘She intends to teach me to harmonize Bongik Sound with music technique, advancing to a new level.’
I understand. Intellectually, I comprehend it.
Yet attempting to create melody leaves me utterly at a loss.
Had it been destruction, I would have rolled up my sleeves with confidence.
No matter how I considered it, ritual and music were not my strengths.
But what choice did I have? My master was none other than Pacheon Eumhu herself. I had to succeed somehow.
Bzzzzzzzz!
Eum Hu had not even provided an instrument.
Thus, my only means of producing melody were my voice and my blade.
I stared blankly at my sword, trembling with a sound like the buzzing of a bee’s wings.
Swift vibrations resonating at consistent intervals.
“Music theory. Melody. In other words, sound and rhythm.”
Differently stated, sounds with pitch and the regularity of such sounds.
Melody.
‘Perhaps I should approach it as I did at Jeongeum-ogwan.’
When I passed through the Eum-gwan of Jeongeum-ogwan, I had struck the iron core with my blade in rhythm with my heartbeat, drawing forth melody.
Since it was the tempo most familiar to me, approaching it the same way seemed best.
But.
‘Hmm. Hmm. This is harder than I thought.’
The Bongik Sound of the Bongik Realm isn’t merely about making the sword vibrate and emit noise.
It involves executing the first half of the Gae-cheon-bak-pal-geom techniques at high speed to generate vibrations.
And each technique possesses its own unique flow.
‘I need to harmonize the flow of the techniques with my heartbeat’s rhythm.’
Since this was an attempt I’d never made before, it felt quite unfamiliar.
‘Right. Let me start from the beginning.’
The reason the Gae-cheon-bak-pal-geom, composed of fifty-four techniques, bears the number one hundred eight.
It was because performing all fifty-four techniques twice in a single breath produces the sword’s distinctive resonance.
Though I’m still unable to manifest that level of speed.
I’ll compress nine techniques from one of the six directions into a single breath.
Whoooosh!
I unleashed six Bongik Sounds in succession, one for each direction.
Then, suddenly, I realized something.
‘The vibrations. The sounds are subtly different.’
For me, the Bongik Sound was merely evidence of my realm—not an important element in itself.
That’s why I hadn’t noticed this until now.
Depending on the direction, the form of each technique differs, and the Bongik Sound that resonates from the rapid repetition of such flows is also subtly distinct.
Which means.
‘I can implement pitch variation through the Bongik Sound.’
I’ve solved the tone aspect of melody.
What remains is rhythm—the tempo.
This shouldn’t be too difficult.
Whoooosh! Whoooosh!
Whoooosh! Whoooosh! Whoooosh!
Whoooosh!
I released six Bongik Sounds at varying intervals.
And thus, a melodic pattern emerged that could be considered musical.
…Composition turned out to be easier than expected?
‘Perhaps I do have natural talent for music after all?’
A sigh escaped me immediately.
“Talent means nothing.”
Buzz buzz buzz buzz?
There’s no way she’d be satisfied with merely this.
Such shallow thinking couldn’t possibly be Eum Hu’s intention from the start.
‘The fact that she didn’t explain the reason in detail means I’m supposed to realize it myself.’
In other words, there’s something I must come to understand.
“Sigh. Let me reconsider this from the beginning.”
I posed the question to myself anew.
What, fundamentally, is musical rhythm?
It is refinement and harmony.
Refinement means exceptional skill, while harmony means a joyful and delighted heart.
‘Exceptional skill that uses sound as a medium to bring change to the human heart.’
Eum Hu commanded me to produce musical rhythm for the advancement of my swordsmanship.
I wonder what her reason could be.
Why did she suggest the direction of resolving the insufficiency of sword principles through musical rhythm….
‘I cannot fathom it.’
Without expertise in musical rhythm, no clues come to mind.
Then I must approach it from the opposite direction.
The harmony of sword and sound.
If I cannot understand sound, let me begin from the sword.
At least when discussing the sword, I have confidence I yield to no one.
‘What, fundamentally, is the sword?’
A weapon for taking lives?
Perhaps that is its essence, but for me, the sword was far more than such a thing.
A means to achieve the grand dream of becoming the greatest martial house under heaven.
‘…No….’
I descended deeper into my inner consciousness.
‘The sword. To me, the sword is.’
The sword as martial prowess.
Yes.
A milestone to advance further.
A staff to climb higher.
Such was what the sword meant to me.
Perhaps sound holds the same significance for Eum Hu.
‘To produce musical rhythm means, in other words, to imbue my sword with sound.’
Then the problem becomes method and means.
How can I imbue my sword with sound?
How can I harmonize these two forces—advancing further and climbing higher?
Back to the beginning.
‘Musical rhythm. Pitch and tempo.’
Comparing this to swordsmanship, it becomes techniques and spacing.
That is why in my first attempt, I released each Bongik sound at different intervals to create musical rhythm.
“….”
But it falls short.
Something must advance further, must rise higher.
“Cheon-yeong.”
A voice that pierced my eardrums. I surfaced my consciousness from its depths.
Before my eyes stood Eum Hu and Jegal Seol-ha.
“Master.”
“A day has passed. Shall I hear the melody you’ve created?”
I laughed awkwardly.
“Please don’t be disappointed by what you hear.”
I rose to my feet and performed a sword dance.
Whoooosh! Whoooosh!
Whoooosh!
Whoooosh! Whoooosh! Whoooosh!
Each technique distinct, yet flowing together as one dance.
The method was the same as before, but far more harmonious.
Unlike the beginning, it now possessed depth.
Of course, I still wasn’t satisfied.
“This is as far as I’ve come. I’ve managed to create melody with the sword, but I haven’t infused the melody into the blade itself.”
Eum Hu did not rebuke me.
Instead, she sent a gaze filled with faint admiration.
“Your insight is truly remarkable. I only threw the smallest hint to let you advance freely, yet you grasped the direction so brilliantly. And in just a single day at that.”
Fortunately, the enlightenment I’d drawn from the koan didn’t seem to be misguided.
“I’m grateful for the praise. However, I haven’t found the path to advance further.”
“That much seems certain. Still, you have progressed, so I’ll give you a hint suited to your current stage.”
Eum Hu flicked her finger.
Then a melody rippled outward.
Ting, tang, ting!
She had merely flicked her finger once.
Yet the sound continued for a long while, and a melody that brought joy to both body and spirit poured forth simply from listening.
Truly an impossible feat.
‘I’ve seen this before, but it never fails to astound me.’
So this is what one must achieve to reach the level of Cheonmu-sip-jon.
Even though this sound technique was unfamiliar, with such harmony as this…
When I meet someone who reached Cheonmu-sip-jon through sword mastery and witness their divine power, how extraordinary must that be.
“Tell me—what sounds do you think you can produce on your own?”
Rather than answer immediately, I released the Bongik resonance.
“Six sword names, I suppose. And if I add one more, perhaps my voice.”
Eum Hu shook her head.
“Is that truly so? With just the sword alone, you can produce countless sounds.”
What method was she referring to?
Could she mean infusing energy into the blade to produce tones of different pitches?
I immediately attempted it.
Boom! Booom! Boom-boom!
“That could also be a path. However, that’s not the direction I’m seeking.”
“Your student humbly asks for instruction.”
Eum Hu flicked her fingers three times.
Then the melody of ten thousand variations resonated through the air.
All three melodies were different.
“I can draw ten thousand sounds at ten thousand different intervals using merely my fingers. Namgung Cheon-yeong can accomplish the same with his sword. Right this very moment, in fact.”
The same action, yet entirely different sounds and rhythms.
I felt genuine admiration and astonishment.
‘It’s not a trick using qi. The amount and quality of qi channeled with each finger flick was clearly identical.’
As someone with the most sensitive perception of qi among all, and thanks to Eum Hu’s blatant demonstration, I could be certain.
‘…I think I understand. If I just reach out a little further, I feel like I could grasp it.’
Yet I fall short by a single measure. Lacking merely one joint of a finger, I cannot quite reach the end.
I suspect this stems from insufficient mastery of sound itself.
Had I instead taken a master swordsman as my teacher and discussed sword principles together, I wouldn’t feel this sense of helplessness now.
“Aha! Namgung Cheon-yeong, I wish I could show you your current expression in a mirror. To think the always-confident you could make such a face. Isn’t that right, Seolha?”
Jegal Seol-ha beside me was also raising the corners of her mouth as she looked at my face.
“Yes, Master! It’s wonderful to see this different side of my senior brother.”
Eum Hu continued speaking as she gently stroked Jegal Seol-ha’s head.
“Namgung Cheon-yeong. Are you feeling frustrated enough to die?”
I spoke honestly.
“…Yes.”
The brilliance to remember everything I’ve learned since birth without forgetting a single thing.
Bones and muscles born exceptionally superior, and qi perception more acute than anyone else’s.
From all of this came my martial talent of mastering a hundred techniques in a single day.
‘Is this why people must be humble?’
For the first time, I felt frustration.
I had never imagined that learning something throughout my life would bring such frustration.
“Frustrated, you say? I could teach you. However, I believe you will advance much further when you awaken to it yourself. So I give you a new command.”
Eum Hu turned her gaze toward somewhere far below the mountainside.
“A seed of the heterodox path has taken root in Hyeop-ha County near Gok-ryeol Mountain. I found it bothersome and planned to deal with it soon, but I wish for you to spare your master the trouble.”
In other words, she wanted me to do what I was most confident in.
Fighting.
‘Actually, this works out well.’
I was already irritated by the frustration anyway—I should go vent my anger thoroughly while dealing with them.
This is why living as a White Path martial artist is good.
Crush some heterodox bastards, relieve stress, and earn the reputation of a chivalrous hero.
“It is also a disciple’s duty to serve the master without burden. I shall handle this cleanly and return.”
I spoke with a belligerent and confident smile.
“Is that so?”
Eum Hu smiled faintly. For some reason, unease surged within me.
Whoooooosh—
My vision suddenly inverted.
Yang Hwi found himself standing in a town square somewhere.
“Please wait a moment.”
Eum Hu’s form vanished in an instant, then reappeared.
At the same time, a martial artist materialized in the center of the square and tumbled across the ground.
“A dark path practitioner who goes by the alias Heuk-sal-geom. Since you’ll struggle alone, face him together with Seolha.”
“Ugh, what in the world is this…?”
Heuk-sal-geom immediately rose to his feet and drew his blade.
His face bore expressions of bewilderment and shock.
It was a natural reaction—he’d been extorting money in Juru when a sudden gust transported him to this place.
“What are these brats… damn it!”
‘Oh. This bastard has decent instincts.’
Yang Hwi and Jegal Seol-ha were unremarkable, and Eum Hu appeared to be nothing more than a fifteen-year-old girl.
Yet Heuk-sal-geom immediately attempted to flee.
In the Martial Arts World, there was a saying: beware of women, the elderly, and children. He was following it faithfully.
‘Though there’s no way Eum Hu would simply allow it.’
A resonant sound wave rippled forth.
“Aaaaagh!”
Struck by the sonic wave across his entire body, Heuk-sal-geom collapsed in place.
“Former Master! Why are you doing this to me!”
Eum Hu showed no courtesy in explaining the situation to the dark path practitioner.
“Subdue my disciples. If you wish to leave this square alive.”
Heuk-sal-geom looked toward Yang Hwi and Jegal Seol-ha.
A boy and girl not yet ten years old.
“Please honor your word.”
Intense killing intent radiated from Heuk-sal-geom’s entire being.
He realized Eum Hu’s command would not be as simple as he’d thought.
‘This bastard is first-rate realm?’
She was asking two second and third-rate practitioners to defeat a first-rate master?
I’d sensed this since the Jeongeum-ogwan incident.
Eum Hu’s method of teaching her disciples was remarkably harsh and intense.

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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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