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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 118
Chapter Title: The Namgung Sega Granddaughter's Return
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Chapter 118
Until the envoy from Hwasanpa arrived, Seolhwa spent every day, all day, learning martial arts from Seop Mugwang.
Knowing that she would soon have to leave for Hwasanpa, he intensified the training.
First, she would run up to the training ground halfway up Mount Hwang, wearing weights and without using light-body techniques. The footwork, which began with small pebbles, progressed to traversing the entire mountain.
*Swish- swish- swish-*
As she ran through the dense forest towards her destination, Seop Mugwang's sword descended upon her like a bolt of lightning.
*Clang! Clack! Clang!*
Seolhwa countered his sword using only Pungnoegembeop.
Sometimes the sword sprang from between the bushes, sometimes from atop a tree, and sometimes it rushed from beneath her feet.
*Thump- tap-tap! Thump!*
In brief moments, her footwork moved with the most appropriate force, utilizing anything she could step on.
Noeyeongbo proved effective in dodging such sudden, aggressive sword strikes.
*Whoosh-*
"Huff... Huff... Huff..."
By the time she had circled the mountain and returned to the training ground, the sun was already setting behind the peaks.
"Tired?"
Seop Mugwang approached Seolhwa, who was catching her breath.
Despite undergoing the same training as Seolhwa, he showed no signs of fatigue.
Even though there was a difference between the Jeoljeong and Ultra Jeoljeong realms, Seop Mugwang's stamina was extraordinary.
"Hmm..."
Seop Mugwang scratched the back of his neck.
"Then, while you rest, I'll tell you a bit about your grandfather."
That was welcome news to her ears.
Seolhwa plopped down onto the ground.
Seop Mugwang stabbed his sword sheath into the ground in front of her.
"Your grandfather, you see. He is truly a man close to the heavens."
He stood with his shoulders squared, as if imitating Namgung Mucheon.
"He is truly one who looks down upon the world. Before I met you, I had never met anyone as monstrous as the Patriarch."
In Seop Mugwang's eyes, an undeniable awe for Namgung Mucheon was evident.
"Do you know why your grandfather is called Cheonryonggeomhwang?"
"Because he's excellent with the sword?"
"I mean, do you know when he earned that title?"
Seolhwa shook her head.
She knew Namgung Mucheon's title, but not the circumstances under which he earned it.
Seop Mugwang smiled, as if he had expected her answer, and began to speak.
"More than twenty years ago, there was a Heukdo group called Heukseonbo that dominated the Hunan region. This group originated in Ganghwa, Hunan, and rapidly expanded its influence."
Hunan borders the southern part of Hubei, where the Wudang Sect and Zhuge Sega are located, but Ganghwa is situated in the southernmost part of Hunan, allowing them to evade the notice of these two major powers.
"These fellows, they were quite clever. Knowing they'd quickly be blocked if they went north, they began expanding their influence south and sideways."
They spread into Guizhou and Jiangxi, Hunan's two arms, and Guangxi and Guangdong, its legs, and further along the sea routes to Fujian and Zhejiang in the southeast of Jungwon.
"Before anyone realized it, these rascals were dominating the southern Jungwon. At that time, no orthodox martial arts faction had grasped the seriousness of the situation. As they grew stronger, their evil deeds became increasingly severe."
They routinely plundered the property of commoners who knew no martial arts, raped women, kidnapped children, killed indiscriminately, and even raided government offices to loot their warehouses.
Upon hearing of their atrocities, martial artists from across the Jianghu rose up in droves, vowing to eradicate Heukseonbo.
"The problem was that the Heukseonboju was incredibly powerful. Even those known as the Ten Great Masters at the time attempted to subdue him and failed."
Of course, the Heukseonboju never faced them head-on, but the failure of the Ten Great Masters to subdue him sent a great shockwave throughout Jungwon.
Most of the Ten Great Masters at that time had reached the Hwagyeong realm, so their failure to subdue him meant that the leader of the Heukdo group was at least a master at the early Hwagyeong realm.
"That's when your grandfather stepped forward. He proposed a life-or-death duel to the Heukseonboju. At the time, your grandfather had the title Cheonryonggeomgaek, but he was just starting to make a name for himself, so virtually no one truly knew about him."
They said the young master of the Namgung Sega was strong.
They said his realm was high.
They said he was quite skilled with the sword.
However, twenty years ago, the sects' view of martial arts families was even worse, if not as bad, than it is now.
So all those rumors converged into one conclusion:
'He's decent for a young master of a martial arts family.'
It was a disparaging assessment, full of malice, meant to categorize and belittle martial arts families compared to sects.
"So when your grandfather proposed a life-or-death duel to the Heukseonboju, it caused an uproar. They said a precious young master of a noble family, ignorant of the world, was foolishly seeking his own death."
Seop Mugwang burst into laughter, as if recalling the situation back then.
"Think about it. Who would believe that a young master of a family, who had only recently entered the Jianghu, could defeat someone whom even the Ten Great Masters couldn't?"
"Did the Heukseonboju accept the proposal?"
Did a master of the unorthodox, not even orthodox, willingly agree to a one-on-one duel where victory wasn't assured?
"That fool believed the rumors. The rumor that the young master Namgung's martial prowess wasn't truly that great. So, he planned to use the prestige of crushing the Namgung Sega as a stepping stone to solidify his own power."
The Heukseonboju accepted the life-or-death duel, and the duel lasted for three days and three nights.
It was truly an astonishing battle. There were even stories that an entire mountain was carved away during the battle fought in the mountains of Jiangxi.
Initially, those who flocked to witness the life-or-death duel between the two were scared out of their wits by the aura they emitted and fled, unable to approach the site until the battle ended.
It was to the point where one could lose their life if caught in the battle.
"Your grandfather's sword, Cheonmyeong, from the Heukseonboju's right forehead..."
Seop Mugwang's hand traced from his own right forehead, past his eye, down his right jaw, and touched his neck.
"It cut all the way down here."
A wound starting from the forehead, extending all the way to the neck. It was truly an enormous wound.
Seolhwa suddenly recalled someone.
Though his face was covered by a mask, the scar of Sa Hyeolju was so large that it couldn't be fully concealed.
'Was Sa Hyeolju's scar... all the way to his neck?'
She hadn't seen the starting point due to the mask, but it seemed to extend to his neck.
Her memory wasn't clear.
"After that wound, the tide completely turned in your grandfather's favor. The Heukseonboju, having lost his right eye, was no longer a match for your grandfather."
"Did my grandfather win?"
"Yes. With that event, your grandfather earned the title Cheonryonggeomhwang. After that, no one dared to disrespect your grandfather, and the prestige of the Namgung Sega began to rise even further."
"What happened to him? The Heukseonboju?"
Seolhwa asked, recalling Sa Hyeolju's appearance once more.
"What do you mean, what happened?"
Seop Mugwang shrugged indifferently.
"He died that day at your grandfather's hand."
"Did he really die?"
"Yes. No one saw the Heukseonboju die directly, but his decapitated head was found shortly after."
So that's how it was.
Sa Hyeolju wasn't the Heukseonboju, it seemed.
There were countless people with scars on their faces, so it could just be a coincidence.
"Your grandfather didn't have an easy life either, you know."
Seop Mugwang's smile held a touch of bitterness.
From that expression, Seolhwa sensed the unspoken hardships of the past.
However, that fleeting sentiment quickly vanished, and he drew his sword, shouting,
"So why am I telling you this story?!"
Seop Mugwang's sword glinted faintly under the sunset.
"After that day, countless swordsmen desired to follow in the Sword Emperor's footsteps. Just seeing the Sword Emperor's sword once would drive them mad, for it would never leave their minds. And one of them? That was me."
Seop Mugwang chuckled, swinging his sword with a *whoosh, whoosh*.
"I'll show you a sword art that was born from your grandfather's influence."
His expression was more relaxed and firm.
"Watch closely. This is Yuraecheonpunggeom and Changgungchiroegeom."
Seop Mugwang stood in the center of the spacious training ground under the sunset, taking his starting stance.
Soon, his internal energy surged, and Seolhwa unconsciously looked up at the sky.
It was an internal energy so powerful it felt as if heaven and earth were roaring. The aura of lightning tore through the space, emitting a furious momentum.
In the midst of it, Seop Mugwang moved.
Seop Mugwang's sword was still as powerful and fast as when he first showed her Pungnoegembeop.
However, this time, another kind of energy was added to it.
Before, the lightning energy seemed to rampage wildly on its own, but now...
'It's as if it's ignited by the heavenly wind.'
It was a flowing, more free and lively form, as if surrendering itself to the high winds of the sky.
Seolhwa saw Seop Mugwang, as he displayed his sword art, as the very lightning itself, swimming through the wind.
His movements were faster, sharper, and more graceful than before.
"..."
Her mouth involuntarily fell open in a chilling thrill.
Just watching the sword art made her heart pound, and her hands were clenched tight with tension.
In the midst of it, Seop Mugwang's sword art changed once again.
*Tzzzt-tzzzt-tzzzt-*
'Changgungchiroegeom.'
If the previous sword seemed to flow with the heavenly wind, now it was an aura that galloped across the vast expanse of the sky.
Lightning gallops between clouds, shaking heaven and earth.
It flashes across the sky, driving away the darkness.
Such was Seop Mugwang's sword now.
*Tzzzt-! Boom-!*
A delusion arose that the entire training field was filled with dark clouds.
Seop Mugwang's sword rampaged within them.
His roar was contained within that sword, and so was his awe for Namgung Mucheon.
It contained respect for the one who trampled on the world's prejudices and disdain, standing tall at the pinnacle of Jianghu.
*Hwooooo...*
Even after Seop Mugwang's sword stopped, Seolhwa couldn't take her eyes off him.
A tingling sensation flowed through her entire body.
Though not one of the Ten Great Masters, the sword of a man who had spread his name across the world with his unique martial arts was truly a marvel.
