Martial Arts Ain't Anything Special-Chapter 75: The Dao (1)

After spending all day helping Chunbong practice the new Blue Cloud Divine Art, Seojun strode out of his quarters the next day confidently.

Chunbong had reached a point where she needed to master it on her own, so there wasn’t much more he could do to help. Now it was time to set out in search of spirit pills.

Before departing, the proper thing to do was greet the master of the house. Probably.

When Seojun arrived at the Clan Head’s quarters, the door swung open on its own before the guards could even welcome him.

“Umm...”

As he glanced between the door and the guards, one of them smiled and gestured inside.

“You may enter. It seems the Clan Head thinks quite highly of you, Young Master.”

“Oh... Thank you.”

Young Master? Seojun’s body trembled as he entered the Clan Head’s quarters, hearing this unusual form of address.

Could all of it have been a scheme?

Looking back, almost everyone in the Namgung Clan seemed to consider him Namgung Suah’s lover.

While that might be fine for others, it was a major issue if the Namgung Clan Head viewed him that way.

If he suddenly said, “Actually, I’m not her loverrr~” the Clan Head might draw his sword and come for his head.

Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place. If things kept going this way he would end up as the Namgung Clan’s son-in-law.

“Oh?”

Big sis Namgung Suah as my wife? Honestly, that wouldn’t be bad. No, wait. It’s not that it wouldn’t be bad, rather big sis would be wasted on me.

Lost in these thoughts, he soon found himself before a thin paper door. Beyond it was Namgung Jincheon...

Click.

The door opened by itself.

Seojun awkwardly retracted his outstretched hand and bowed deeply.

“Greetings.”

“Welcome, son-in-law...”

Namgung Jincheon, still looking dazed, gestured in the air.

Teacups and various utensils on the table floated up, then began to move on their own, preparing tea.

“Oh...”

Of course, these weren’t magical tools, but Namgung Jincheon’s Void Manipulation.

It was similar to telekinesis if he had to compare, but since Seojun couldn’t do it himself, he didn’t know the full details.

But one thing stood out. There were unexplainable gaps in the moving nature qi. Probably where Namgung Jincheon’s intent resided.

Perhaps that’s why the teaware moves so naturally?

If so, Namgung Jincheon wasn’t devoting much attention to preparing tea with his Void Manipulation. His projected intent was doing the work for him.

“You’ll be able to do this effortlessly before long...”

“Uh... was it too obvious I was staring?”

“There’s nothing wrong with that... Please, have a seat...”

At his gesture, Seojun sat opposite him, and empty teacups were soon placed before each of them.

“Accept this...”

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Namgung Jincheon picked up a porcelain teapot. As Seojun held out his teacup with both hands, he slowly poured the tea.

“It’s a Namgung Clan Tradition...”

The teacup suddenly grew absurdly heavy from the weight of the qi imbued in the poured tea.

“Is this it?”

Seojun casually dispersed the weight of the qi within the tea like it was nothing.

Splash.

The tea filling the cup glowed blue, brimming with inner qi.

Is this radioactive or something?

Seojun looked at Namgung Jincheon with a sour expression, and he smiled faintly.

“It’s how the Clan Head has traditionally tested the son-in-law... Though it seems to have held little meaning for you...”

“Aha.”

Seojun took the teapot from Namgung Jincheon and poured tea into his cup.

Likewise, he filled it with qi, giving it tremendous weight.

“Oho...”

Namgung Jincheon didn’t disperse the weight, but simply wrapped the cup in qi to prevent it from breaking.

The tea inside boasted an absurd weight, but Namgung Jincheon stared intently at the golden glowing tea without showing any sign of strain.

“This is a refreshing experience... Indeed... There is no rule which says a son-in-law cannot test his father-in-law...”

“What? No, it wasn’t a test or anything.”

“Hmm...?”

“I just thought you might feel left out if I was the only one drinking this kind of tea.”

Seojun raised his blue glowing teacup, and Namgung Jincheon soon following with his golden glowing teacup as well.

“You... I like you...”

“That’s a bit surprising.”

Seojun grinned. Looking at it now, the Namgung Clan Head seemed rather ordinary after all.

In Seojun’s eyes, Namgung Jincheon was a bit strange, his thoughts were slightly unpredictable, and he had odd behaviors like talking to his sword, but he was surprisingly a nice old man.

“Please take good care of Suah... I no longer have to worry about the clan...”

“Of course. What could possibly happen to the great Namgung Clan?”

“Is that what you believe...?”

Namgung Jincheon stared at Seojun and smiled faintly.

“While I continue to live in the past... I hope you do not do the same, son-in-law...”

“Well, you should look towards the future too, Clan Head. To see your grandchildren later and all.”

“Oh... Perhaps you have plans...?”

“Ack.”

Seojun’s eyes quickly darted around, realizing his slip-up.

“We’ll... have to see? Not sure yet...”

“I see...”

Namgung Jincheon drank his tea, looking somewhat deflated.

Seojun watched him carefully before cautiously bringing the teacup to his lips.

Wonder if it tastes like a soda iced tube?

He tilted the cup, held the tea in his mouth to savor it lightly, then swallowed it down.

“Oh?”

Seojun’s eyes widened as he absorbed Namgung Jincheon’s qi imbued in the tea using the Supreme Law of Essence Absorption.

It was merely inner qi, not true qi, so it couldn’t increase his own qi reserves, but that wasn’t his intention in absorbing it anyway.

“Wow, this tastes like heaven.”

“What does heaven taste like...?”

“Hmm... it’s hard to put into words.”

A vast sky unfolded before his eyes. That small taste of Namgung Jincheon’s qi had stirred something within Seojun’s dantian.

How could he describe it? It was as if he’d caught a glimpse into Namgung Jincheon’s inner world.

An endlessly vast, empty sky. Seojun observed him in silence.

“Hang in there.”

Namgung Jincheon smiled softly.

*No conversation with mother-in-law today. Did they have a fight?

Seojun left the Clan Head’s quarters with these frivolous thoughts. Heading towards the commander-in-chief’s location, he skimmed through the materials he had been given, finding them full of text.

It was obviously impossible to thoroughly read everything so he just read whatever caught his eye, realizing these bastards were just human trash.

First rape, then arson. Murder in the process. KIlling disciples from minor sects who tried to stop them, and not even stopping there. They even attacked the sect itself and killed its leader. Did they wipe out the entire sect?

Are they fucking insane? Where the hell do they find the guts to do such things in Anhui?

Seojun laughed bitterly and knocked on the door before him.

“Are you there?”

“Who is it?”

“A guest.”

“Ah, Young Master, please come in.”

This time, the guard recognized him immediately and guided him to the commander-in-chief, who greeted him with a wide smile and offered various pleasantries before quickly providing the guide he had mentioned earlier.

“He’s well-versed in geography and skilled in tracking, so he should be helpful.”

“Ohh, thank you very much.”

Seojun exchanged brief greetings with the guide as they headed towards his quarters.

“I am Hwan Baeho. It’s an honor to serve you, Young Master.”

“I should be thanking you, I’m not good with directions.”

“I shall do my best to guide you.”

“Yes...”

It was a bit uncomfortable how formal he was being.

When they arrived at his quarters, Chunbong was chatting away with Namgung Suah.

“Hey, Geum Chunbong! Did you finish all your homework before deciding to do this?”

“Why are you on some bullshit again...?”

“That’s because...!”

Seojun rushed over and picked Chunbong up.

“It hurts to be apart from my Chunbong~”

“What, want me to come along?”

“No... You need to practice... Big brother will be back quickly.”

Rubbing his cheek against Chunbong’s cheek made him feel a bit better.

Although she acted like she disliked it, she would have thrown a fit and pushed him away if she truly hated it. This kid secretly liked this sort of thing.

“Fufu, are you leaving now?”

“Ah, big sis.”

Seojun nodded.

“I’ll be back soon, but please take care of Chunbong in the meantime.”

“Of course. You can rely on me.”

Chunbong let out a dry laugh.

“I’m not a child, you know.”

“You are a child though?”

“Shut up.”

Seojun put Chunbong down reluctantly and sighed as he took out a map.

“Let’s see...”

He folded it again and handed the map to Hwan Baeho, who had been standing stiffly behind him.

“I’m counting on you~”

“Yes sir!”

Hwan Baeho answered with military precision.

Seojun grinned and waved to Chunbong and Namgung Suah.

“Well then, I’ll be back.”

*“Brother, are you sure we should be doing this?”

The self-proclaimed Five Heroes of Anhui whispered quietly in a small inn.

“Youngest, how many times do I have to tell you it’s fine? The Namgung Clan doesn’t have time to worry about trivial matters like this right now. Once we quickly leave Anhui, they can’t catch us.”

“But Second Brother, it’s not like the Namgung Clan is the only power in Anhui.”

“Fourth, why are you like this too? It wasn’t just me who wanted to do this.”

They found a beauty who was wasted on such a worthless town, so they claimed her, picking up some valuables along the way.

Sure, there was some trouble and a few people died, but it wasn’t anything serious.

“We’ll be in Jiangxi in a few more days. If we take a roundabout path to the Yangtze River, even if the Namgung Clan’s ancestors came, they couldn’t catch us.”

“Second Brother is right. They’d need considerable force to catch us anyway. The current Namgung Clan doesn’t have the luxury to spare that kind of force just to catch us.”

“Hehe, that’s right, Brother. And most importantly...”

The second brother discreetly pulled out a book from his clothes and passed it to the fourth.

“This martial art is surprisingly good. I think it’ll suit you well, Fourth.”

“When did you grab that?”

“It was in the Sect Leader’s room.”

“What a remarkable skill. Thanks.”

The Anhui Five Heroes burst into laughter.

“Anyway, let’s have a drink and work hard again tomorrow!”

“Cheers!”

The wine glasses clinked, and wine splashed.

For them, being a ‘hero’ was just another name for survival of the fittest.

*“Is it here?”

“Yes, Young Master. We’ll need to stop at two places for tracking, if that’s alright with you?”

“Of course. I should follow the expert’s advice.”

Seojun looked around. Their wariness towards outsiders was thick in the air.

He clicked his tongue and looked at the sky touching the distant horizon.

“Hide well.”

The Namgung Clan’s verdict for the self-proclaimed Anhui Five Heroes was immediate execution.

“Mommy and daddy are coming to find you.”

It wouldn’t be challenging whether there were three or five at the Peak Realm either way.

It’s time for a family reunion.