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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Severing the Heavens (2)
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"Begin!"
With Cheon Seon-hak's shout, the wooden sword in Cheon Muryang's hand shot toward the sky.
It was the optimized stance for a downward slash that Cheon Muryang had always swung in the corner of the training grounds.
'This bastard...'
But Yi Seok-gi let his guard down.
Seeing it plain as day, Cheon Muryang sneered at Yi Seok-gi, who was lost in a fool's dream.
"Idiot."
"Huh?"
For nearly a month, he'd been practicing that downward slash.
Everyone, including Yi Seok-gi and the other trainees, had watched its level firsthand.
'That's why he got complacent.'
It must have looked slow and simple on the surface.
Thud!
A dull sound rang out.
The lightning-fast downward strike smashed directly into Yi Seok-gi's crown.
"Gah!"
Yi Seok-gi's vision blurred.
In his fading sight, he saw Cheon Muryang's lips curl up.
'Damn... it.'
Drip.
Yi Seok-gi blacked out completely.
And that was it.
Incredibly, the spar ended in a single exchange.
"If I could have my way, it would've been a real sword instead of a wooden one, but I'll end it here for today."
Cheon Muryang murmured softly to the fallen Yi Seok-gi, then inhaled the suddenly still air around him.
"Hoo..."
Cheon Seon-hak approached.
Presumably to declare victory.
But Cheon Muryang had other ideas.
"I know all about your grudges against me."
"...!"
Cheon Seon-hak froze.
Undeterred, Cheon Muryang continued.
"No amount of excuses can cover the wrongs I committed in the past. I admit it all. Clearly, I was a wastrel and trash."
Everyone fell silent.
Not even breathing could be heard.
"I can't remember them one by one. I don't recall the faces of everyone I wronged."
That wasn't because of Nameless.
It was because of Cheon Muryang's deeds.
But Nameless had decided to bear that karma in Cheon Muryang's place.
'Because I am Cheon Muryang.'
Cheon Muryang met the eyes of everyone gathered there, one by one.
Some still held looks of contempt, others suspicious glances trying to read hidden motives.
"But here and now, I apologize for all the outrageous and wicked acts I've committed."
Cheon Muryang slowly bowed his head.
A brief moment passed like that.
When he raised it again.
He could sense that some of the gazes directed at him had changed.
"If that's not enough to quench your anger, come to the training grounds anytime."
"..."
"I'll be here."
With that, Cheon Muryang crossed the training grounds.
Wol Yeong followed behind him.
"..."
Cheon Seon-hak watched his retreating figure, lost in thought.
"Has he really changed?"
It was still too soon to be sure.
But the eyes Cheon Seon-hak fixed on Cheon Muryang no longer held only contempt and scorn.
"Ugh..."
Something stirred on the ground.
It was Yi Seok-gi, slowly regaining consciousness, letting out a groan.
Cheon Seon-hak clicked his tongue at the sight.
"Tch. Get him out of here."
Now, the looks of contempt and scorn turned toward Yi Seok-gi.
What was meant to be his chance had become his downfall.
"I'm heading back."
Cheon Seon-hak departed.
The Heavenly Dragon Sword Squad Leader and Heavenly Peak Sword Squad Leader followed.
"What? It's over already?"
Yi Seok-gi wailed in disbelief.
"I lost in one hit? No way!"
But his cries fell on deaf ears.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Cheon Muryang didn't particularly feel like resting.
It had been a spar, but he'd only swung his sword once.
Still, having left the grounds.
Going back now would look odd.
"Guess I'm stuck with meditation and energy circulation today."
"You need days like this too."
"Is that so? Come to think of it, you asked me yesterday to watch the match and share my thoughts, but there wasn't much to see."
He felt embarrassed instead.
All he'd shown was one slash.
But Wol Yeong's reaction was different.
"That was the same sword you showed back then, right?"
"Yeah. It was."
"I think even if that opponent hadn't let his guard down, he couldn't have blocked it."
"You think so?"
"Yes!"
Cheon Muryang smiled.
That was when.
He sensed footsteps outside his room.
"Come in."
It was Cheon Seon-hak.
Cheon Muryang faced him without waiting for a reply.
"Ah. I'll prepare tea instead of liquor."
Wol Yeong excused herself.
"She's a sharp one."
"More than worthy to be my personal maid."
"That sword you showed."
"..."
"What were you trying to sever?"
"The heavens. I aimed to sever the heavens."
Cheon Seon-hak's eyes trembled faintly.
Severing the heavens—Heaven-Severing Sword.
It was Cheon Seon-hak's lifelong pursuit, the path of the sword he still chased.
"The heavens..."
How ridiculous was this?
He never dreamed that someone who could understand his path would be Cheon Muryang, whom he'd despised and written off long ago.
"Life is full of surprises, as they say. This is exactly that."
Cheon Seon-hak let out a hollow laugh, then fixed Cheon Muryang with a serious gaze.
"Those words you said on the training grounds."
"Yes."
"Can you take responsibility?"
"If I didn't intend to, I wouldn't have said them."
"Good. That's how it should be."
"Is that all?"
"You won the bet."
"...!"
"Name your prize. I'll grant it."
"Access to the Heavenly Dragon Library..."
Cheon Seon-hak cut him off flatly.
"That's beyond my authority."
"Hmm..."
"Anything within my power, I'll allow."
Cheon Muryang pondered.
He thought about what he needed most right now.
'Real combat is the best training, after all...'
Then, something sparked in his mind.
He grinned.
"Assign one person a day to spar with me."
"That'll do it?"
"Yes. More than enough."
"...You'll grow stronger every day."
"That's what I want."
Cheon Seon-hak rose without another word.
"I'll take my leave."
"See you off safely, Uncle."
"..."
He seemed like he had more to say, but Cheon Seon-hak left without speaking.
"What was that about?"
Cheon Muryang shrugged.
With time to kill before Wol Yeong returned, he dove into meditation and energy circulation.
"No point slacking. Gotta stay diligent."
Cheon Muryang's consciousness sank deep.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
After that day.
Cheon Muryang's routine changed.
Running the training grounds and swinging his sword remained the same, but now he had to spar diligently with trainees at Cheon Seon-hak's behest.
"Why do I have to do this crap?"
On the first day, Cha Myeong-hak, selected as his sparring partner, cursed Yi Seok-gi.
"That top dog's been a pain since he started acting up. What a worthless punk."
Cha Myeong-hak harbored a grudge against Cheon Muryang.
"No, this works out perfectly. I'll crush him legally."
When he first joined as a trainee.
Cha Myeong-hak had witnessed the Eldest Young Master drunk and causing chaos.
That was their first encounter.
"Wastrel bastard."
Drunkenly swinging a blade wildly—that was the picture of a wastrel.
Cha Myeong-hak had tried to intervene and ended up with an indelible scar on his face.
"I'll fake a mistake and leave a mark on you too."
How could he forget that grudge?
Cha Myeong-hak arrived at the training grounds seething with malice and spotted Cheon Muryang.
He'd lost some weight, but he was still swinging his sword with that pudgy frame.
"..."
Standing in the center, Cha Myeong-hak assumed Cheon Muryang would stop.
He must have sensed his presence.
"..."
But no matter how long he waited, Cheon Muryang didn't stop.
Cha Myeong-hak took it as an insult.
Crack!
His brow furrowed.
At that moment, a faint tea scent wafted from somewhere.
Whoosh!
He turned his head.
A maid was calmly pouring tea.
"Ah..."
It was Wol Yeong.
Wol Yeong approached Cha Myeong-hak with a cup of tea.
"Have some of this while you wait. It'll take a bit—he just started."
"W-what?"
"Once he begins training, he doesn't notice anything around him."
"..."
"I prepared some snacks too!"
Somehow, Cha Myeong-hak found himself drawn in by Wol Yeong and snacking unexpectedly.
"Does he train like this every day?"
"Yes. Sometimes I'm worried he'll collapse."
"..."
Yet Wol Yeong watched Cheon Muryang with eyes full of admiration.
"You're his personal maid?"
"Yes."
"Must've suffered a lot. How can you root for him?"
"The Young Master did make many mistakes in the past. But he's changed. He's swinging that sword to atone for them."
"..."
Cha Myeong-hak mulled over her words.
"Atoning for his mistakes..."
He looked at Cheon Muryang with fresh eyes.
That body he'd dismissed as piggish now seemed sturdy somehow.
'I have to acknowledge the effort.'
It wasn't fake.
He'd seen it himself.
Scratch.
Suddenly, his brow ached faintly.
Something grated on his nerves.
His body tensed up for no reason.
He chalked it up to nerves.
Dismissing it, he watched Cheon Muryang.
Swoosh!
The sword cleaved the air.
'Come to think of it...'
The speed was remarkably consistent.
Cha Myeong-hak observed his form closely again.
Chill!
The hairs on his arms stood on end.
A shiver ran through him.
'Not a single deviation.'
It wasn't just the speed.
The trajectory, the peak height of the swing, the stopping point, the foot placement, the power distribution—even the grip on the hilt.
'Everything's identical.'
How was that possible?
No elite trainee, no matter how rigorously drilled, could repeat it so perfectly.
'H-how can a wastrel like the Eldest Young Master wield a sword like this?'
His prejudices shattered.
Then he realized where Cheon Muryang's sword was truly aimed.
'N-no way...'
Cha Myeong-hak touched his brow again.
Swoosh!
It stung.
As if a sharp blade hovered right before it.
'F-from the start... was he swinging at me?'
Even now.
Cheon Muryang's wooden sword was descending toward him.
"Th-this..."
What could he even call this?
Cha Myeong-hak was speechless.
The moment he'd stepped onto the training grounds, the match had already begun.
Cha Myeong-hak lowered his head.
That was when.
"Ah, I got too focused without realizing."
Cheon Muryang's voice rang out as he stopped training.
"Here to spar with me? Good to see you, Cha Myeong-hak."
"...!"
Cha Myeong-hak's eyes widened.
How did he know his name?
"H-how do you know my name?"
"You'll be an official warrior of our clan someday, right? I'm trying to memorize names as best I can."
Nameless had built rapport with Heavenly Dragon Sword Squad and Heavenly Peak Sword Squad warriors under Cheon Seon-hak's tutelage.
That's how he knew Neung Ryeo-un's name too.
Cha Myeong-hak was destined for the Heavenly Dragon Sword Squad as well.
"..."
"Well, shall we get started?"
"I concede."
"Huh? What was that?"
Cheon Muryang doubted his ears.
Coming to fight, only to admit defeat before it even started?
"I admit my defeat, Young Master."
He wondered if it was a joke.
But Cha Myeong-hak bowed with a solemn expression, seeming utterly sincere.
Glance.
Cheon Muryang, baffled, shot Wol Yeong a look.
[I... don't... know... either.]
Wol Yeong mouthed back.
She had no idea why he was acting this way either.
'I only offered tea because he seemed so hostile... Did I mess up?'
She second-guessed herself.
"Uh, but we still need to spar or..."
"I'll prepare properly and challenge you again, Young Master."
Cha Myeong-hak bowed in respect and left the training grounds.
"Tch... What the hell just happened?"
Wol Yeong approached, looking dejected.
"Was the tea I served no good...?"
"Hey, what kinda nonsense is that?"
Instead of sparring.
Cheon Muryang devoured Wol Yeong's snacks to cheer her up.
"Stop eating!"
"You told me to!"
"You'll gain weight again!"