Martial Arts Ain't Anything Special-Chapter 71: The Namgung Clan (3)

Thankfully, Namgung Jincheon’s words about giving it his all didn’t mean he was going to try to kill Seojun with all his might.

He simply meant taking their sparring match seriously.

“Phew.”

Only after learning this could Seojun finally exhale.

He had absolutely no desire to fight an Unrestrained Realm martial artist to the death—not yet, anyway.

While he couldn’t speak for other Unrestrained Realm practitioners, Namgung Jincheon’s qi pressure alone eclipsed that of any martial artist Seojun had ever faced.

Like the furthest reaches of an endless sky or the depths of an unfathomable abyss, it was still too early, even for Seojun.

“Come...”

Namgung Jincheon took the starting stance of the Sword of the Boundless Azure Sky and waited for Seojun to make the first move.

Seojun scratched his head, then drew his sword, reminding himself that giving it his all would also benefit him.

“Here I come.”

What would be a good first attack to unleash on his pretty much father-in-law?

Though he would give it his all, he couldn’t use demonic qi. He didn’t want to cause unnecessary trouble.

That left the Orthodox Faction’s martial arts, which made up most of his repertoire anyway. Now, which move would be a good opener?

After a moment’s thought, he just went with what his heart told him.

Whoosh!

Seojun slid forward across the sound, unleashing Yellow Dragon Crossing the Rosy Clouds. The qi of the yellow dragon rising from his feet imbued his sword.

Yellow Dragon Splits The Heavens.

His sword, which had been pointing at the ground, soared skyward.

BOOM──────────!!

As the dragon opened its maw wide before him, Namgung Jincheon responded casually.

Clang!

With an upward parry, Namgung Jincheon deflected Seojun’s blade. As the sword veered off course, slicing only air, Namgung Jincheon snapped his wrist forward in a swift thrust.

Swoosh!

Seojun’s eyes widened, his head dodging to the side. Fast. Efficient. With merely two light motions, not only was Seojun’s movement broken, but a counterattack was launched.

As expected, he was no match with the sword.

Seojun fell back as if collapsing in the direction he had tilted his head, and then plum blossoms bloomed beneath his feet.

Stepping on the manifesting plum blossoms, he created distance from Namgung Jincheon and brought his hands together, mixing yin and yang qi.

Primordial Sun-Moon Art.

The guided explosion erupted forth, engulfing Namgung Jincheon.

“Oho...”

He exclaimed in admiration, leisurely raising his sword.

The sky. His sword traced a straight, endless line, stretching infinitely.

When Seojun’s momentarily blanked consciousness returned, he quickly straightened his falling body.

Boom!

His foot met the ground, throbbing. He looked at Namgung Jincheon while calming his heart pounding in his chest.

“Just now...”

“That would be the Sword of the Boundless Azure Sky...”

It was nothing like Namgung Suah’s. Only then did the truth dawn upon him.

Namgung Jincheon’s sword crushed down on everything around them, causing him to momentarily lose consciousness and nearly drive him to his knees.

The aftermath of the sword’s descent remained. Its weight still bearing down heavily on his shoulders. Drawing a deep breath, Seojun gently caressed the surrounding qi.

“Phew...”

The crushing weight vanished. Seeing Namgung Jincheon’s eyes flash, Seojun twisted in an instant.

Giant Spirit Divine Art. He unleashed his qi, straightened his body, and swung his sword powerfully. Sword force bearing the mysterious principle of the Wang family blade technique shot forth.

Boom!

Namgung Jincheon blocked it with a single swing and tilted his head.

“A blade technique...?”

In the brief instant when Namgung Jincheon swung his sword, Seojun closed the gap between them.

A distance neither too far nor too close, just beyond sword reach, yet close enough to strike.

“Hup!”

He exhaled sharply and bloomed plum blossoms.

Whoosh────────!!

A swirl of red and blue plum blossoms filled the air.

Just as he had once filled Namgung Suah’s sky with plum blossoms, he now covered Namgung Jincheon’s sky with those same blooming flowers.

With his vision obscured by plum blossoms, Seojun raised his sword.

The sky of Namgung Suah and Namgung Jincheon. He took only what he desired and made it his own.

Weight of the Heavens.

Lightning coursed through his sword.

Namgung Jincheon’s eyebrows twitched at this. Surely not? No, that’s impossible. It’s not possible to imitate a martial art after seeing it just once, let alone grasp its essence, unless one were a martial god.

At that moment, the meticulously calculated plum blossoms converged and exploded.

BOOOOMMM────────!!!

The devastation of the explosion consumed all but where Seojun stood. Within that chaos, he brought down his sword.

RUMBLE────────!!

The massive pressure not only concentrated the explosion in one place but brought down a devastatingly heavy sword upon it.

It was an attack that would reduce any ordinary martial artist to ashes, but Seojun wasn’t worried. If anything, he should be concerned for his own safety.

Flash!

Behold. A sword that cuts through all clashed with Seojun’s sword.

Ring.

A strange vibration seemed to resound, and Seojun felt his own sword become lighter.

“This is...”

At the same time, Namgung Jincheon’s lightly rotated sword soared skyward.

BOOM────────!!!

The aftermath of the two swords’ collision was deflected into the sky.

Seojun gaped blankly as he looked at the wretchedly torn clouds.

“This is ridiculous...”

This was the Namgung Clan Head and his sword.

Namgung Jincheon hadn’t even damaged a single thread of his clothes in that onslaught.

Seojun touched his cheek and chuckled dryly. The final collision’s aftermath had left a slight cut, and red blood stained his hand.

“Should we continue?”

“No... that is sufficient...”

When Namgung Jincheon grasped his sword with both hands and raised it above his head, Seojun panicked.

“Uh... Didn’t you say it was enough...?”

“It is sufficient... Simply watch this sword...”

Namgung Jincheon’s sword slowly descended.

The slightly nervous Seojun observed this sword closely, however, he didn’t sense anything particularly extraordinary.

As the falling sword stopped, Seojun felt something warm brush his cheek along with the wind.

“...!”

Seojun’s eyes widened as he touched his cheek. The wound had healed as if it had never happened. This was beyond him even with his extraordinary regenerative abilities. He stared at Namgung Jincheon.

“Sense it did you...”

“Is that... the Life Sword?”

“You could call it that...”

Namgung Jincheon sheathed his sword. His forehead, which hadn’t shed a single drop of sweat during the sparring with Seojun, was now drenched.

“The Mind Sword... I have managed to grasp only a fragment of it...”

“...I don’t think only is the right word here.”

“No, it is indeed merely that much...”

Namgung Jincheon blankly looked up at the sky.

The torn clouds had already been reshaped by the wind, becoming separate clouds.

“It has become a meaningless sword... For I was too late... all because of my inadequacy...”

After gazing at the sky for a while, he turned to Seojun.

“Your sword is lacking... You cannot match even half of your other achievements with pure swordsmanship alone...”

“Yes.”

“However, your qi manipulation is exceptional... When you reach the Unrestrained Realm, that potential will fully bloom...”

The realm where one can manipulate the qi of nature. That is called the Unrestrained Realm.

If Seojun were to reach the Unrestrained Realm, he would be able to unleash qi arts on a completely different level from other Unrestrained Realm martial artists.

“But no one knows when that will be... You may be too late, like me...”

Namgung Jincheon looked at Seojun vacantly. Meeting those unfocused eyes, Seojun felt his mind grow distant.

It’s so high. Seojun was certain. Namgung Jincheon stood at the very pinnacle of the Unrestrained Realm.

“I will teach you the sword... Though it may be an ordinary man’s sword... as a senior who is slightly ahead...”

Ring.

Just as Seojun was about to respond, Namgung Jincheon tilted his head as he listened to the sword resonance and asked.

“Son-in-law, how long have you been learning martial arts...?”

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“Uh...”

He roughly calculated the time.

“It’s been over a year... but not quite two years yet.”

“Two years...?”

“Yes.”

“Not twenty years...?”

“That’s right?”

“Hmm...”

Ring.

Namgung Jincheon put his ear to the sword and nodded.

“Son-in-law...”

“Yes.”

“Forget what I just said...”

“What?”

“An ordinary man tried to teach a genius... You’re progressing well, so don’t mind my words...”

“Huh...?”

Namgung Jincheon shook his head.

“Geniuses have their own path... I will teach you if you wish... but it does not seem necessary...”

“Didn’t you say my swordsmanship was lacking?”

“To reach this level in merely two years, your swordsmanship is not lacking...”

“I see.”

Still, when the Namgung Clan Head offers to teach swordsmanship, he can’t just refuse. Seojun made sure to store this information in his mind.

After watching him for a moment, Namgung Jincheon glanced at Namgung Suah and turned around.

“I apologize, but I’d like to rest for a while... If you need anything, ask Suah...”

Swoosh!

The sword at his waist drew itself and floated in the air.

Sitting on it, Namgung Jincheon spoke as if sighing.

“Suah...”

“Yes, Father.”

“Myeong was looking for you...”

“I understand...”

Namgung Jincheon slightly nodded his head towards Chunbong before disappearing, like different scenes had been stitched together, gone in an instant.

Flying Sword. He had flown away riding his sword, so absurdly fast it looked as if he had simply vanished.

Can someone block a sword flying that fast?

As he pondered this, Seojun laughed bitterly and looked at Namgung Suah.

“Father-in-law is quite formidable.”

“Yes, he is...”

She smiled weakly.

Flustered, Seojun exchanged glances with Chunbong.

Do you know anything?

Shake shake.

Chunbong didn’t know either.

While wondering what to do, he sensed a presence rapidly approaching.

It couldn’t be just anyone since this was the Clan Head’s private training ground.

From a slight glance at Namgung Suah, she looked slightly flustered.

“Elder sister! You’ve returned!”

“Myeong.”

A young man who had descended onto the training ground greeted Namgung Suah with a friendly smile.

His face resembled Namgung Jincheon’s quite a bit.

“Is he...?”

As Seojun tilted his head, Namgung Suah nodded.

“This is Myeong, Namgung Myeong that is.”

“Your younger brother, right?”

“Yes.”

When Seojun slightly bowed to Namgung Myeong, he immediately bent his waist at a 90-degree angle.

“Ah...! I’ve heard about you, brother-in-law!”

“Uh... I see.”

At the word brother-in-law, Chunbong’s brow furrowed sharply. Seeing this, Namgung Myeong once again bent his waist deeply.

“I’ve heard about the in-laws too! Please take care of me!”

“Yes...”

Chunbong rolled her eyes and exchanged glances with Seojun before immediately sending a sound transmission.

[What’s with this guy...? Is he really big sis’s brother?]

[He is, isn’t he?]

Looking closely, he seemed completely different from Namgung Jincheon too.

“Myeong, everyone just arrived today and must be tired. Shall we talk tomorrow?”

“Ah! Of course! I apologize! Please rest well!”

Namgung Myeong bowed at a 90-degree angle again and quickly disappeared.

Seojun laughed wryly.

“What an interesting family.”

“Fufu, isn’t it?”

Namgung Suah laughed as usual, completely erasing her earlier dispirited self.

But that very fact only made him more concerned.

Could something be wrong?

Seojun scratched his head.

“So... where should we stay?”

“Ah, I’ll guide you right away.”

Seojun chewed on his tongue, watching her back as she led the way.

This is bothering me.