After only dropping my luggage off in the guest room, I followed Namgung Jong, who walked ahead with a pleased expression, toward the training ground.
"By the way, you seemed to be training until just a moment ago. Aren't you tired?"
"It's fine. I did break a sweat, but not enough to call it fatigue. And even if I were tired, I couldn't possibly pass up an opportunity like this."
"True. It's not often you get help from an absolute master."
I had received regular instructional bouts from Seomun Hwa-rin both before my regression and now, and after Tang So-wol reached the Harmony Realm, I had also received teachings from her.
So there was a part of me that took it somewhat for granted… but in truth, the guidance of a Harmony Realm martial artist is extremely precious.
Not just because they're hard to come by across the vast Central Plains, but because each and every one of them is a martial artist who has reached the pinnacle in their own domain.
Pride aside, there are also cases where instructors find it difficult to bestow teachings freely due to the circumstances of the family or sect they belong to.
Take the Sword Demon, for example—he's likely quietly building his strength in Demonic Cult territory as we speak. On the surface, that man seems perfectly normal.
There might be some debate over whether a man who just eats and swings his sword can be called normal, but either way, isn't he about average for a martial artist?
In fact, back when the Demonic Cult was hunting him down and the Righteous-Unorthodox Alliance was being pushed back, he managed to slip in among the fleeing martial artists and hide within the Namgung Clan.
But a Demonic Cultist is a Demonic Cultist. The Sword Demon is certainly an unusual one even among the Cult, yet it's also true that he harbors a sloshing darkness deep in his heart.
The Sword Demon waited for the right moment to open the back gate, and in doing so, he lured in other Demonic Cultists and revealed his true colors.
The Heavenly Demon of that time was busy smashing Shaolin single-handedly, so he wasn't present at the scene…
The Sword Demon is one of the most powerful martial artists even within the Demonic Cult. And the Cult, after all, is full of people with a knack for achieving temporary power-ups through every trick in the book.
The Sword King, who had been gravely wounded by the Heavenly Demon when he tried to deploy the Unity Formation, and the key members of the Namgung Clan—including Namgung Jong, who was then called the Azure Heaven Sword Lord—all charged in at once.
Yet they could not overcome the Sword Demon and the other Demonic Cultists who aided him, and in the end, the clan met its extermination.
We were still far from that point, and I intended to make sure such a thing never came to pass, but…
Still, it was a genuine regret that the Namgung Clan, renowned for its swordsmanship, had been wiped out, and that their swords could never be witnessed again.
That was why I was quite looking forward to this chance to experience it firsthand.
I had watched from afar during the Dragon Phoenix Gathering, but facing them directly would be a completely different feeling.
As I quietly let my anticipation swell, Namgung Jong slowly shook his head.
"That's not what I meant."
"Pardon? Then…"
"I mean the chance to cross swords with a martial artist like you, the Blood Flower Sword Demon."
"…"
At my momentary flinch, Namgung Jong added with a look of regret.
"Ah, right. I recall you dislike that alias too, young brother Cheon."
"…It's not that I dislike it, so it's fine."
An alias similar to the one from my previous life. What's more, it was given by the same person, so hearing it always stirs a strange feeling—but that's all.
It's not like Seomun Hwa-rin, who truly detests being called by her alias.
"It's just that I was surprised you hold me in such high regard."
"Heh. I was wondering what you meant. If it were someone who didn't know you at all, that would be one thing—but anyone who has seen even once what kind of martial artist you are, young brother Cheon, would say the same as me."
"That's a little embarrassing."
"I'm being sincere. I could be wrong, but… young brother Cheon, haven't you grown much stronger than you were at the Dragon Phoenix Gathering?"
"How did you know?"
This was a bit surprising. I had reached the complete Transcendent Peak, but even before, I wasn't the type to let my aura leak out carelessly.
The energy I released outward was the same then as it is now. That meant he hadn't simply read my aura and figured it out.
And it wasn't as if I had just broken through to the Transcendent Peak for the first time, so there was no outward difference like a steadier gait or a more balanced posture to give it away.
I had thought that unless we had crossed swords, it would be difficult for anyone to discern this so readily unless they had reached a higher realm than mine.
As I tilted my head in puzzlement, Namgung Jong gave an awkward smile and spoke.
"It's nothing much. It's just that the young lady of Flying Butterfly Poison Peak and the young lady of Cheong-eum Ice Peak have clearly grown stronger than when I last saw them, so I simply assumed that young hero Cheon would have as well."
"Ah. I hadn't expected you to go that far."
Well, it made sense. The rumor that our group had suddenly run away with Peng Woo-jin and Eon Ga-hye would have spread quickly.
The clan heads, who had been stomping their feet in frustration because they truly couldn't reach us, suddenly gathered at the Eon Clan, and just a few days later, they came all the way here to find me. And the growth of our group was visible to the eye?
Clearly, something must have happened. And it meant we had overcome it successfully.
Moreover, martial artists are the kind who grow through hardship. Namgung Jong's guess had a rather sharp edge to it.
However, his concern stemmed from a slightly different reason.
"I've been meaning to ask, but so much has happened since we met that I only now get the chance. Is that boy Woo-jin doing alright? What on earth happened?"
"Ah, he was injured a little, but it's nothing that can't be healed with treatment. As for what happened… I'll save that for later. Either word will reach you soon, or Brother Peng will come by to pay his respects—one of the two."
"Word? Brother Peng? …Well, whatever. As long as that friend Woo-jin is fine, that's good enough. If he's alive, he'll find a way to contact me before he dies."
Only then did Namgung Jong let out a deep breath, as if he was finally relieved. At the same time, we were able to arrive at the Namgung Clan's training ground.
I had visited the training grounds of the Tang Clan, the Zhongnan Sect, the Murim Alliance, and the Eon Clan as well, but the Namgung Clan's training ground was far more spacious than any of them. And more splendid, too.
Though I had no idea why a training ground needed to be splendid in the first place.
Standing on the training ground, Namgung Jong placed his hand on the sword sheath at his waist and asked.
"I was thinking we could start right away. Is that alright? If you need time to recover from your travels, young hero Cheon, I can wait about a quarter of an hour."
"Isn't a quarter of an hour too short? Well. It's fine, though."
I let out a small laugh and stood across from Namgung Jong, drawing my sword.
Watching this, a glint of interest flickered in Namgung Jong's eyes.
"Good heavens. Surely that isn't a sword made of solid black iron?"
"That's right. You're the first person to recognize it."
"Haha! Well, that's only natural—there's no one around you who uses a sword, young hero Cheon. But while the sword itself looks fine, it seems a bit ill-suited to its owner."
"It wasn't originally mine, so I had no choice."
"If it wasn't originally yours, then…"
"The sword belonged to the Lord of the Black Heaven Sword Gate, the one who gave me my alias. I plan to ask the Tang Clan's blacksmiths to reforge it to suit me later."
"I see. So that's the reason. …Listen, young hero Cheon. How about a little wager?"
"What do you mean?"
"You already know I can't beat you in a sparring match. Our realms are simply too different. But I'm curious—what would happen if we fought with pure sword skill alone?"
"Huh?"
I blinked in confusion, wondering what he was talking about, and Namgung Jong continued with a confident expression.
"I'm suggesting we fight with minimal internal energy, focusing purely on swordsmanship. If you win, our clan's blacksmiths will reforge that sword for you. I know the Tang Clan's blacksmiths are more skilled, but when it comes to swords, I'm confident the Namgung Clan is a step ahead."
"…"
I cautiously glanced toward Tang So-wol, and she was nodding vigorously.
So what Namgung Jong was saying was that while the Tang Clan's blacksmiths might be superior in other areas, when it came to swords, they were the exception.
"Very well. Then, if Brother Namgung wins, I… hmm."
Thinking about it, I didn't have much to offer.
Of course, if I asked Tang So-wol, I could get all sorts of things, but… wouldn't Namgung Jong be able to obtain that level of things with his clan's power as well?
Besides, unlike Tang So-wol, who received plenty of affection from her family but was merely the youngest daughter, Namgung Jong was the young head of his clan.
Moreover, they said the Namgung Clan was the most powerful among the current Five Great Families, so he was someone who lacked nothing in material terms.
…In the end, the only thing that could truly be called entirely mine, and the only thing that would tempt Namgung Jong, was one thing alone.
"If Brother Namgung wins this sparring bout, I will teach you one sword art that I can offer."
So that was what he was after. Namgung Jong's eyes sparkled.
"Just how much of your martial arts are you willing to offer?"
"I'll show you that in this sparring bout. How about you pick anything you like, except for the last one?"
"That's excellent! You're saying you'll show me all the martial arts you possess, Brother Cheon!"
"It's not truly all of them."
"Don't worry. I wasn't expecting that much from the start. However, since you're willing to go that far, I'll show you everything I can offer as well!"
I had already thought about it to some extent ever since I heard that the Namgung Clan served as instructors to the Imperial Court.
If there was a clear benefit—more precisely, if it would help elevate his sword to even greater heights—Namgung Jong was the kind of person who would willingly reveal a portion of his martial arts.
And the same went for me.
It would be a problem if the True Body Martial Arts became widely known and everyone figured out how to counter them, but hiding one's other martial arts excessively was simply greed.
The reason people don't want to casually give away what they've learned is that, nine times out of ten, they intend to use it to gain a higher position or profit.
…Of course, in my case, I was also being generous because I calculated that even if someone managed to uncover the Oral Formula of the Crazy Wolf Life-Stealing Art, they would fall straight into Qi Deviation rather than actually put it to proper use.
In any case, the Namgung Jong I had observed was a man obsessed with the sword rather than personal gain, so I figured my offer would be well received. And indeed, it was.
Namgung Jong took his stance with a wide grin. His voice came through the glint of his well-maintained sword.
"First, I'll start with the Great Yan Sword Method. It's the first sword art you learn after mastering a few basic techniques. Every martial artist belonging to the Namgung Clan learns it at some point."
"Then I'll show you the Blood Wolf Sword. It's nothing impressive—just a third-rate martial art I picked up by buying a drunk third-rate martial artist a cup of honey water."
It's a sword art I learned as a bonus, paired with the Blood Wolf Technique, the first martial art I ever learned…
Honestly, the Blood Wolf Sword before its refinement is a truly miserable sword method. It's only natural, since it was a third-rate sword method suited to a third-rate mental cultivation method.
Even if its grade is lower than other family martial arts, it can't even be compared to the Great Yan Sword Method, which has a solid foundation.
But isn't what matters more than a strong martial art the fact that the person wielding it grows stronger?
I've seen countless swords that were more powerful, faster, and more precise than mine, yet most of their owners met their end at my hands.
"Still, it should be fairly useful."
"Heh. That's right."
At my words, Namgung Jong curled his lips into a grin and suddenly stomped the ground.
Pat!
A footwork focused on maintaining balance rather than any particular skill.
Namgung Jong's sword flew in, drawing a clean line. And then.
Clang!
My sword, swung with brute force, knocked it away.
And so the exchange began.
"Sister Tang. Sister Tang. Is there really any point in them sparring with such low-level swords they learned long ago?"
"Hmm? There's certainly a point, but not a very big one. In the end, martial arts are like spreading branches—the current martial art encompasses the past ones."
"Ah… so you're saying that if they fought with their strongest techniques from the start, they'd learn everything they could from fighting with weaker ones?"
"That's roughly the gist of it. In young hero Cheon's case, he's learned so many different martial arts that it's hard to say, but at least for Geomryong, it's certain."
"…Then why are they doing that?"
"Because it's fun?"
At Tang So-wol's words, which ended in a question, Seol Ri-hyang's expression twisted into a strange look.
Even amid all that, Tang So-wol, who hadn't taken her eyes off the sparring, added with a bright smile.
"Just let them enjoy themselves."
"Y-yes…"
Seol Ri-hyang nodded along for now, but her expression showed she wasn't entirely convinced.