'As expected, it's here.'
Once the foul energy was purged, it revealed itself.
Clusters of spiritual energy hidden here and there within the blood vessels!
'Yes, I thought there would be. I remember how shocked I was when I discovered this before.'
Being the eldest son of the Danmok Clan, he must have been fed all sorts of beneficial things. Every cluster of spiritual energy was so harmonious that it could blend with anything.
Even in the past, when he discovered this at the age of twenty, it had become the foundation for him.
'But this time, it's five years earlier.'
The clusters of spiritual energy were far larger and denser than Danmok Yun had expected.
Even at a glance, it was an impressive amount.
A smile naturally appeared on his lips. With this much spiritual energy, there were countless things he could do.
Danmok Yun closed his eyes again.
If he used this to instantly increase his inner strength, his skills would rise dramatically.
'But I can't be satisfied with that.'
In the Central Plains, there already existed martial arts that increased inner strength through such shortcuts, and sects that relied on them.
The Heavenly Demon Cult.
They practiced demonic arts, and its practitioners were called demons.
'The important thing is the foundation.'
A pavilion built on sand cannot last long. Even if growth was slow now, he needed to build up the basics solidly from the start.
'I'll use all of this inner strength to temper my dantian and meridians.'
So that later, he could obtain even purer and cleaner inner strength.
Danmok Yun once more closed his eyes and focused. As he circulated his energy through the small heavenly circuit again and again, the foul energy receded, and the clusters of spiritual energy gradually shrank.
The sweat flowing across his body darkened in color.
Early dawn. Someone was standing in one of the Danmok Clan's training grounds.
Whoosh! Swish!
Every time the sword cut through the air, sword winds surged forth.
The movements were so precise and graceful that anyone would be struck with admiration.
"…Haaa."
Unlike the unwavering sword, a deep sigh spilled from the man wielding it.
The man was none other than Danmok Hong, the head of the Danmok Clan.
"You called for me, Clan Head."
At that moment, someone entered the training ground.
"Cheonggak."
The Twenty-Eight Swords.
The proud elite of the Danmok Clan, and the leader who guided them.
A martial artist whose skills could stand against anyone in the clan, and someone he especially trusted.
"How is Yun?"
"…The eldest young master…"
Cheonggak held his words for a moment. His eyelids sank quietly, carrying deep concern.
Lifting his bowed head, he looked at Danmok Hong.
"He is still at the inn."
"Still?"
"Yes. Since he entered, he has not taken a single step outside. It seems food keeps going in, but…"
Danmok Hong's brow twitched.
"Life outside must be comfortable enough."
Danmok Hong clicked his tongue.
In truth, he had thought his son would apologize at the front gate. Or, at the very least, slip back inside, receive his mother's scolding, and reflect in his room.
He figured that after a few days, his son would come to apologize, and if he still showed no change of heart, then he would have to assign him a teacher.
But his son had defied all expectations.
Dragged out, he had shouted and cried for his parents, and yet now he had shut himself away in an inn, not even thinking of returning.
"That wretched brat."
Told to leave, and he really left?
"Did I ask for something so great? I've said time and again that all I wanted was for him to do his part and grow up healthy."
"With respect, Clan Head…"
Cheonggak lowered his head toward Danmok Hong, who was clicking his tongue.
"Even so, have you not always said this?"
"What do you mean?"
"That since he is the clan's eldest young master, he must excel in both learning and martial arts."
"As the eldest son, he must set an example."
"You said he should not only be versed in poetry and books but also skilled in painting."
"Isn't that natural?"
"How is that merely letting him grow up healthy?"
"He has strong bones like me, so he will do well in martial arts. He has his mother's brains, so he will excel in study. What's so difficult about that?"
Danmok Hong sheathed his sword and added,
"I managed to do at least that much."
"…"
"There may be things he wishes to pursue. But if so, he should first fulfill the duties he must."
"…"
"If there is nothing he wants to do, then he should learn as much as possible."
"That is…"
"As the eldest son of the Danmok Clan, and as my son."
Cheonggak narrowed his eyes, looking at his clan head.
A man he truly respected, but in times like this, he found him frustrating.
Cheonggak trusted and followed Danmok Hong, but that did not mean blind obedience.
For the elite of the Danmok Clan, loyalty was not only following their lord, but also offering sincere counsel grounded in trust.
"Clan Head, I humbly ask you to permit me a word."
"Go ahead, speak."
Whenever Cheonggak spoke like this, occasionally a good solution would come out of it.
Rare, but still sometimes helpful.
Expecting the same now, Danmok Hong nodded in permission. As soon as it was granted, Cheonggak cried out with strength.
"It's all because of you, Clan Head!"
His eyes were strangely moist.
"How can you put all the blame on the eldest young master? Everything has turned out this way because of you!"
"…Because of me?"
"We only did as you commanded. For the last fifteen years, ever since the young master was born, we gave it our all."
For the Twenty-Eight Swords, one mission had taken precedence above all else for the last fifteen years.
That was—
Ensuring the eldest young master would naturally grow close to the sword, training in the perfect environment with perfect support.
To name a few parts of that mission:
Training every morning in the closest training ground to his quarters with strict discipline.
Placing military strategy or martial arts texts among the books he read.
Managing meals and snacks so that he regularly consumed various medicinal herbs.
Reading cultivation formulas by his bedside after he fell asleep to induce subliminal learning.
And many other such things.
Yet despite all those painstaking efforts, in the end the eldest young master chose not to practice martial arts. Why was that?
Clearly, there was something wrong with the plan.
Then it was time to change methods.
"Clan Head, this time please entrust it to us."
"What do you intend to do?"
"We will turn the young master's heart around."
So that he would learn martial arts no matter what.
Danmok Hong looked at the burning passion in Cheonggak's eyes and let out a shallow sigh.
Cheonggak, despite his appearance, had a quirky side. But Danmok Hong knew his loyalty and sincerity well.
If he was so insistent, then it was only right to entrust him this once.
"Fine. This time I'll entrust it to you, the Twenty-Eight Swords."
"Clan Head, before that, I ask one promise."
Cheonggak clenched his fists tightly.
The reason for all his efforts had always been one and the same.
"If I succeed in changing the young master's mind, grant me the position of his swordsmanship teacher."
"…"
To personally teach swordsmanship to the eldest young master, Danmok Yun, and contribute to his growth into a great tree—
That single desire had driven him all this time.
"Clan Head!"
Danmok Hong let out a deep sigh, clasped his hands behind his back, and looked to the sky. He felt Cheonggak's passion and wish reaching him.
He trusted Cheonggak as both clan head and as a man. Cheonggak was a good friend and advisor.
That was why he could speak to him frankly and without embellishment.
"Cheonggak. You are an excellent and capable martial artist. But there is one thing you lack."
"What is it? Tell me, and whatever it is, I will correct it—!"
"You're not fun."
Danmok Hong added firmly,
"No."
One of the Danmok Clan's training grounds.
Twenty-eight martial artists were training with strict discipline. It was the middle of the Twenty-Eight Swords' drills.
Step, step.
The sound of dignified, weighty footsteps echoed across the training ground.
"The Sword Chief has arrived."
Hyunwi, the strategist and vice-leader of the Twenty-Eight Swords, shouted boldly.
"Cease movements, assemble!"
"Assemble!"
The Twenty-Eight Swords instantly gathered. With Hyunwi at the front, all of them bowed their heads toward Cheonggak.
"You've come, Sword Chief!"
"Yes."
Cheonggak nodded and stood before them. Hyunwi carefully spoke.
"Did you speak well with the Clan Head? You said you would petition him to entrust this matter to us."
"…Haaa."
For the Twenty-Eight Swords, nothing was more pressing than the eldest young master, holed up in the inn.
They had to find some way to change his heart about disliking the sword.
So the Sword Chief had decided to negotiate directly with the Clan Head.
"All is lost."
"…What?"
His reaction was ominous.
"Why? Did things not go well?"
"Haa… Truly, it is a difficult matter."
Hyunwi's face hardened.
When he first heard that the eldest young master had quarreled with the Clan Head, he hadn't thought too much of it.
After all, the Danmok Clan was a martial clan, one of the seven most prestigious families in the Central Plains. Surely the young master would understand the weight of his position, and with a little persuasion, things would be resolved.
But had that been naïve? Judging from the Sword Chief's response, clearly something serious had happened.
"Even if the young master changes his mind, in the end we will not get what we hoped for."
"…What do you mean by that?"
Hyunwi asked back at Cheonggak's words.
But everyone there, including Hyunwi, already knew. What they hoped for was only one thing.
That their Sword Chief, Cheonggak, would teach the young master.
That they, the swordsmen, would become his friends, comrades, and rivals, learning together and growing alongside him.
That was the future they envisioned.
"Surely… no, right?"
"No, it can't be. It mustn't be!"
"Please, tell us it's not what we think, Sword Chief!"
Uneasy murmurs spread among the swordsmen.
Cheonggak lowered his head, ashamed. Covering his face with his hands, he finally spoke with difficulty.
"I am sorry."
"…"
"It is all because of my lack of virtue."
The unbelievable words silenced the training ground. No one dared to open their mouth.
"I understand the situation. But—!"
Then, Hyunwi's narrow eyes gleamed.
"It is too soon to despair, Sword Chief."
"…Do you have a way?"
Cheonggak, still slumped, seemed not to expect anything. But Hyunwi's face brimmed with confidence.
The swordsmen, seeing his expression, looked on in curiosity.
"Vice-Chief, do you have some trick to turn this around?"
"Tell us, what is it?"
Instead of answering, Hyunwi's lips curled into a long smile. He tapped his chest confidently.
"Heh, leave this matter to me."
After all, as long as the destination was reached, the path did not matter.
The key was simple.
First, to make the eldest young master willing to learn martial arts.
Second, without involving the Clan Head, to have him choose the Sword Chief and the Twenty-Eight Swords himself as his teachers and comrades.
Wasn't that the point?
"I am Hyunwi, strategist of the Twenty-Eight Swords. Just give me a few days. I'll prepare an excellent plan."
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