Martial Arts Ain't Anything Special-Chapter 91: Sword Form of the Emperor (2)

The memories remained vivid even when he closed his eyes.

I’m fine my love. Please don’t be so sad. I’ll get better soon. We promised to go on a picnic with Suah... and Myeong.

His wife often fell ill and would comfort him during those times.

Namgung Jincheon would hold her hand and smile.

I’m certain you will. I have prepared many things. Let’s be rid of this illness soon and go see the ocean with the children. You said you’ve never seen the ocean before.

Namgung Jincheon still had not seen the ocean.

He still couldn’t shake off her labored breathing, the way she had desperately clutched his hand that night.

My husband... my love... I can’t... breathe...

He couldn’t forget her voice as she clung to life, begging to be saved.

He couldn’t forget how weak her voice had become, despite how strong she had always been even during illness.

The children’s crying, the fading warmth, the sensation of her skin turning rigid—he remembered it all.

In that long yet brief moment, Namgung Jincheon opened his eyes and grabbed his sword.

The firm sword handle wrapped around his hand in a familiar way.

“Son-in-law...”

His grown daughter. The son-in-law she had brought home. Taking in the sight of the two, Namgung Jincheon parted his heavy lips.

“Always remember that martial arts are a means to harm others... They are useless after it’s too late... A sword that fails to protect what it should is worthless... Therefore, you must not be late...”

The heavens descended and pressed upon the earth with the Namgung Clan Head holding his sword.

Meeting his eyes, Seojun swallowed dryly.

“I understand.”

The Sword Form of the Emperor. A top-secret martial art passed down only to the Namgung Clan Head and their successor throughout generations.

Seojun nodded at his few words, which weighed more heavily than even that.

“I will never be too late.”

*The Sword Form of the Emperor is permitted only to the Namgung Clan Head and their successor.

This martial art, which everyone in the Central Plains acknowledged as a divine art without needing to be called one, not only had power befitting its fame but also served as proof of identity.

It must never be revealed to outsiders. Passing the martial art down to anyone other than the successor, let alone an outsider, would invite extreme disapproval from the elders and past masters.

Namgung Jincheon intended to bear this burden alone. He wished to protect his family even if it meant standing against the world itself.

Such a man now swung his sword.

His swordsmanship resembled less a sword technique and more the arrogant gesture of an emperor.

When his slowly moving sword fell vertically, the sky descended; when it swept horizontally, the earth flipped to become the sky.

The sword moved not with speed, but with absolute calmness.

But such a sword, could anyone truly avoid it?

No. Seojun could state with certainty.

It is impossible to escape the sight of an emperor watching over his domain from above.

Most martial artists will lose control of their bodies the moment that gaze falls upon them.

This is the Sword Form of the Emperor. The Sword of Namgung.

Without a single uneven breath, Namgung Jincheon withdrew his qi force.

“As you may have noticed... the Sword Form of the Emperor can be considered an extension of Sword of the Boundless Azure Sky... To be more precise, when an ancestor gained insight and rewrote the original sword art, it became the Sword Form of the Emperor...”

Namgung Jincheon sheathed his sword. His eyes, which had contained the sky, now contained Seojun. In an instant, all the hair on his body stood on end as he was overwhelmed.

“For whatever reason... I know that you have glimpsed into the mental image of the Sword of the Boundless Azure Sky...”

“Oh.”

Is it when he was teaching me swordsmanship? Seojun scratched his head, and Namgung Jincheon smiled faintly.

“This is indeed fortunate... It will make teaching much easier...”

At a gesture of his finger, three chairs flew in from somewhere.

Namgung Jincheon sat down first, followed by Seojun and Namgung Suah.

After a brief pause, Namgung Jincheon continued his explanation.

“The Sword Form of the Emperor, as its name suggests, is a sword art that embodies the image of an emperor... The Sword of the Boundless Azure Sky sought to contain the sky within the sword... but the Sword Form of the Emperor contains the image of the emperor who commands that sky...”

Namgung Jincheon’s sound transmission flew into his mind. A not-too-long sutra embedded itself in Seojun’s head.

He nodded upon meeting Seojun’s stare.

“As that which you seek to contain transforms, so too must the framework of the sword art evolve... Though the threads connect, it bears little resemblance to the Sword of the Boundless Azure Sky...”

Speaking robotically, Namgung Jincheon blankly looked up at the sky.

“From now on, you will train in the Sword Form of the Emperor with Suah... Of course, you need not be confined by it... With your talent, you should be able to incorporate the essence of the Sword Form of the Emperor into your own martial arts...”

“Has big sis been training beforehand?”

“She has already memorized the sutra, but hasn’t begun serious training... She merely solidified her sword fundamentals a bit more until your arrival...”

Seojun nodded. Then, remembering something, he asked.

“Could I also examine some of the other Namgung Clan martial arts? I’m particularly interested in looking at the basic arts.”

“Do as you wish... I will inform the Heavenly Martial Pavilion Lord, so speak to him when you wish to...”

“Great, thanks!”

So straightforward. It would probably be best to create martial arts to complement the basic arts with the mindset of producing a masterpiece.

Perhaps offering it as a birthday gift for his father-in-law would make him happy?

I should prepare a demonic art version too, just in case.

Demonic arts are the most efficient if nothing else. They just had severe side effects.

If the side effects could be reduced or eliminated, no martial art could match their growth speed.

Of course, at that point it would rank among divine arts.

Afterwards, Namgung Jincheon chatted a bit more before leaving.

By then, the sky had turned red with the evening. Seojun stood up and looked at Namgung Suah.

“I’m going to train right away. Are you coming with me?”

“Ah, you go ahead. I need to wash up first.”

“You’re going to sweat anyway, so why bother?”

“You know that feeling when dried sweat sticks to you? It’s really uncomfortable, right?”

“True, that’s fair.”

“I’ll be there soon, so start without me.”

Namgung Suah quickly moved away from Seojun and disappeared.

She doesn’t smell bad though.

People from wealthy families usually undergo bone marrow cleansing from childhood, so they hardly sweat or smell. Some even smell good.

Even Chunbong smelled nice despite living in the back alleys.

“I don’t get it.”

Must be a woman thing.

Seojun trudged towards the training ground.

*Seojun and Namgung Suah exchanged opinions as they learned the Sword Form of the Emperor.

He didn’t have much difficulty with the basics of the Sword Form of the Emperor.

Of course, as expected of the Namgung Clan’s ultimate martial art, he couldn’t master it instantly as usual, but at this rate, he felt he could reach proficiency without major issues given enough time.

Though enough time might mean years at minimum... but that was trivial. That was still considered fast.

The problem was the sword.

The Sword Form of the Emperor is, as its name suggests, a martial art rooted in the sword.

Seojun roughly glossed over that part and substituted it with inner qi, but it didn’t produce the original power of the sword art.

He received significant help from Namgung Suah in that area.

“Seojun, here you do it like this. Remove the lightness and imbue it with weight. Since you usually wield your sword lightly, you need to make it much heavier than you think.”

Namgung Suah embraced him from behind, holding his arms as he swung.

Whoosh!

The air displaced by the sword movement, without any inner qi, exploded outward.

Seojun leaned back, feeling the refreshing breeze.

“Ah, so comfortable.”

A high-end sofa? It can’t compare to this.

A giant suspension supporting his back, warm heat and soft sensation enveloping his upper body.

Namgung Suah chuckled.

“Shall we take a short break?”

“I’m already resting very comfortably.”

“But I can’t rest like this.”

“Ah, I see.”

Seojun detached himself from Namgung Suah and plopped down on the floor.

“I’ll watch you once before we rest.”

“Fufu, thank you.”

Seojun carefully observed Namgung Suah executing the Sword Form of the Emperor with her greatsword.

Unlike the longsword typically used in the Namgung Clan, Namgung Suah used a much longer greatsword. This required some modification to the Sword Form of the Emperor, and Namgung Jincheon had helped with that aspect.

Since they were training in the Clan Head’s private training ground, Namgung Jincheon came out daily to assist with their training.

Just full of generosity, the Namgung family.

Father-in-law’s kindness is like the vast ocean.

Namgung Suah, who physically inherited his expansive heart, completed her form with a downward stroke.

“Whoa.”

Seojun quickly diverted his eyes from her rippling kindness, patting his cheeks.

Truly worthy of the Namgung name.

To captivate someone just by swinging a sword. The ultimate principle of illusion.

Of course, he didn’t neglect observing her martial arts just because he was looking at her chest.

“Your swordsmanship is... well, much better than mine. But overall, the movement of your inner qi is too gentle.”

Seojun stood up and placed his finger on Namgung Suah’s lower abdomen.

“Mmf...”

“Hey now, don’t think weird thoughts. Concentrate.”

Seojun lightly moved his finger along the qi circulation path of the Sword Form of the Emperor, starting from her dantian.

“So... like this.”

Then he injected his inner qi into Namgung Suah and guided hers to execute his interpretation of the Sword Form of the Emperor.

This was possible because Namgung Suah accepted his inner qi without resistance, even subconsciously.

Boom!

The Sword Form of the Emperor executed this way pressed down on the surrounding space.

Namgung Suah blinked at the phenomenon that occurred naturally without moving a single finger.

Though weaker in power, it was definitely the Sword Form of the Emperor.

“This is... amazing to see every time.”

“Isn’t this way actually easier?”

“What are you saying? That’s just not possible, no matter what.”

“Okay, so.”

Seojun nodded and continued his explanation.

“From what I can see, you need to harden your heart a bit. Your sword doesn’t have this tendency as much, but the movement of your inner qi is too kind. Naturally, that affects your mental image.”

“Harden my heart?”

Namgung Suah raised an eyebrow.

“Hiyah!”

Her long greatsword cut through the air, and—

Whoosh—

Ended with just vibrating the qi in the void.

“Hmm... I’m not sure.”

“You’ll get it with practice.”

It wasn’t just empty words. Namgung Suah was definitely a talented martial artist.

Especially lately, watching her train made him worried.

Whatever she was thinking, she swung her sword so diligently without taking care of her body that he feared she might die.

It was amazing that she maintained such a gentle mental image amid all that.

It must be her inherent nature.

“Oh?”

Just as Seojun was staring at Namgung Suah, she spread her palm toward the sky.

“It’s snowing.”

This content is taken from freёnovelkiss.com.

Looking up, a few tiny snowflakes were indeed falling pathetically, just as she said.

“You’re right. Is this the first snow?”

“I believe so?”

“My Chunbong loves snow.”

“I hope she comes out before the heavy snowfall. Don’t you?”

“Yeah. I want a snowball fight.”

If the Namgung Clan held a snowball fight tournament, he was confident he would win.

Who could block if I form snowballs with yin qi and fire them?

As Seojun grinned at these silly thoughts, Namgung Suah pinched his cheek.

“You’re thinking weird thoughts again.”

“The weird thoughts are what you do every night.”

“N-No I don’t...? Why do you keep having such strange misunderstandings?”

“Sure, I’ll pretend to believe you.”

“It’s really not true!”

Namgung Suah pouted, set her greatsword down, sat down, and stretched fully.

“Mmm...! But it does feel good.”

Seojun quickly diverted his eyes from her emphasized Mount Tai and nodded.

“Right. On days like this, we should be out playing.”

— Elder brother! Elder sister!

And then, the Namgung Clan’s capybara appeared.

“Oh, little brother!”

“Wow, you were training!”

Namgung Myeong approached as if flying and landed.

For reference, this capybara is the next Clan Head of the Namgung Clan.

Seojun had seen him demonstrate his martial arts once before, and unlike his friendly personality, his sword was quite fierce.

“Did you know there’s a Dragon Phoenix Tournament at Shaolin this spring?”

“Ah, I remember now.”

The friendly bald monk had mentioned it before.

Was it Monk Hyeun? The secret friend monk who had turned back alley friends into bloody pancakes.

Even now, thinking back, he was truly a kind person.

“It seems I’ll be participating this time, but what about you, sister? This is your last chance...”

The age cutoff for the Dragon Phoenix Tournament is thirty. It’s typically held every four years and since Namgung Suah would soon turn twenty-eight, this tournament was her last opportunity to participate.

That was one matter, but Namgung had naturally become sensitive recently about her age and didn’t take those words well.

“...Myeong? Do you really have to say it like that?”

“Pardon? Did I say something wrong...?”

“...It’s nothing.”

With her gritting her teeth, it didn’t sound like nothing at all.

Seojun had been chuckling on the side, and patted Namgung Suah’s back.

“Why don’t you participate? It seems like a good opportunity.”

She seemed to have a lot on her mind lately, and this was a chance for her to gain fame since she wasn’t well-known.

Actually, it seems strange to hold tournaments like the Dragon Phoenix Tournament during a war with the Black Serpent, but... the Murim Alliance friends must have their reasons for holding it?

“Mmm... Should I...?”

“Yay! It’s confirmed!”

And so, the stage for Namgung Suah’s debut was set. Though there was still quite a bit of time left.

In these remaining days, he would devote himself to the fundamental arts, hoping to repay even a fraction of his father-in-law’s boundless grace.

More precisely, he would build upon the basics, pouring every ounce of his ability into the effort.

If he could create something truly magnificent as a gift, surely that would please his father-in-law?