Chapter 56 :

A First-Rate Warrior Who Shocked the Divine Sword (4)

A short table was placed at the highest seat.

It was a table where about six people could sit.

And at right angles to that table, long tables were connected on both sides.

I did not know if it was intentional, but inside the banquet hall, the direct line and branch line were sitting across from each other.

On the left sat Namgung Jinmyeong, his wife, and his children, Namgung San and Namgung Seonhwa, who were of the direct line.

Beside them sat the hall masters and corps leaders of each hall.

On the right sat Namgung Songju and his son, Namgung Gipyo.

And the hall chiefs in charge of the Outer Office, along with those who handled external affairs, each took their seats.

Me?

I was sitting on the left side of the highest seat.

At first, I thought I would just sit beside Namgung Seonhwa and approached, but Namgung Jinmyeong pointed to the highest seat.

Shocked, I refused several times, but in the end, he forced me to sit here.

“We prepared a small banquet for you.”

The time I had tried so hard to avoid had returned.

Just as I was wondering whether I had to endure this embarrassing occasion once again.

“I wonder whether that is truly the right decision, young family head.”

At Namgung Songju’s words, Namgung Jinmyeong’s brow furrowed slightly.

“What do you mean?”

“It is true that a benefactor has come to the Namgung Family. However, did the Namgung Family not suffer a grave incident? Five warriors died. Do you think the family’s warriors and the people of the family outside will look kindly upon this?”

Namgung Songju was stopping the banquet just as I had hoped, but strangely, because he was the one stopping it, a sense of resistance surged up in me.

“…….”

Namgung Jinmyeong could not say much else to Namgung Songju.

To outsiders, it was an act close to an absurd insubordination, but the warriors of the Namgung Family were not particularly surprised.

Only the gazes of those sitting on the direct line’s side toward Namgung Songju were somewhat unkind.

“Then what do you think would be best?”

“I have prepared around one hundred nyang in silver under the name of the Namgung Family. I believe that much would be more than enough compensation for a disciple of the Taeul Sect.”

“Are you saying the lives of the warriors of the Namgung Family are worth only that much?”

“One cannot dare put a price on the lives of warriors. However, is compensation not relative after all?”

Namgung Jinmyeong was clearly being pushed back.

This was one side of the current reality of the Namgung Family.

Namgung Songju, the guildmaster of the Changgung Merchant Guild.

Despite being from the branch line, he was someone who held enough influence within the Namgung Family to refute the opinion of the young family head.

The reason he could act like this was because the Changgung Merchant Guild, where he was the guildmaster, managed all the businesses the Namgung Family conducted outside.

In short, all the money earned under the name of the Namgung Family entered the Namgung Family through the Changgung Merchant Guild.

It was a situation where he was truly gripping the Namgung Family by the throat.

“…….”

As an uncomfortable silence spread through the hall, the door suddenly opened, and a large-bodied old man entered.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

In that instant, everyone in the hall sprang to their feet and greeted him.

“““We greet the family head.”””

He was an old man who was about six cheok tall, with firm muscles, and if not for the white beard and hair covering his chin and head, one could have called him a middle-aged man.

He took a seat right beside me.

“I ask you, Namgung Songju. What did you mean by that?”

Everyone else sat down, but Namgung Songju remained standing as he answered.

“It is exactly as I said. Just today, the direct descendants of the Namgung Family suffered a crisis where they almost died. In the process, five elite warriors of the Namgung Family lost their lives. I fear how the people of the world would view us if we held a banquet on such a day.”

“I heard that it was also this young man who played a great role in that very attack today. And just a few months ago, this young man personally saved more than four thousand people, including the warriors of the Namgung Family. If such a precious person visits the Namgung Family and we do not even hold a banquet, what would the people of the world say?”

Namgung Songju did not answer and quietly looked at Azure Emperor Divine Sword Namgung Taeha.

Surprisingly, there was not even the slightest trace of fear in Namgung Songju’s gaze.

It was merely the confident gaze of a young man looking at a pathetic old man.

“Mourning for the dead will be carried out with proper formality. However, does that mean our family is so concerned with the eyes of outsiders that we cannot properly treat a guest we barely managed to invite?”

“…….”

“Answer me!”

“……No.”

“Then that is settled. Let us begin.”

#

I did not particularly want to receive gratitude in such a thin-ice atmosphere, but regardless of my will, maids came in and began setting down food and wine.

“You are Jin Sowoon, are you not?”

“This junior of the murim, Jin Sowoon, greets the Azure Emperor Divine Sword.”

“Hmm, you look more ordinary than I expected.”

I could not answer words that I could not tell were praise or criticism.

“I heard you beat Namgung Gitae into a pulp?”

“Ah…… I did not know. I thought he was an intruder.”

“Puhahahaha, you saw what he was doing to the maid and still tell such a lie. You are quite a brazen child.”

He laughed heartily and patted my shoulder, and each time, my body rang.

When I glanced toward Namgung Songju and Namgung Gitae, their expressions looked as if they were eating insects rather than food.

“Um, Grandfather.”

At that moment, Namgung Seonhwa rose from her seat.

“Do you have something to say?”

“Yes. I would like to give the Great Swallow Divine Pill I am supposed to receive this time to Young Master Jin Sowoon.”

“!”

“!”

The commotion in the hall suddenly stopped.

At Namgung Seonhwa’s sudden words, even I dropped the meat I had been eating.

I had heard that the descendants of the Namgung Family received one Great Swallow Divine Pill every five years.

Was she really giving that up?

“The Namgung Family has already prepared a gift to give him. You do not need to step forward like that.”

“No. Apart from that, I once again owe him my life this time. I believe not repaying a favor would stain the name of the Namgung Family.”

“You…… will soon have to take the regular examination for the Martial Academy. Will you be all right?”

“I will not use the Great Swallow Divine Pill as an excuse to cover up my own shortcomings.”

“Good. Then do so.”

A brief groan escaped Namgung Jinmyeong and his wife, but once the family head made a decision, no one objected.

The banquet proceeded quietly in its own way.

There were no group greetings like the ones at the Cheongmyeong Escort Agency, though there were people who occasionally approached me personally to offer thanks or pour me wine.

Around the time the banquet was about to end, the Azure Emperor Divine Sword spoke.

“You should come see me.”

This was originally the reason I had come.

“Understood.”

“Ah, do not get up right away. It seems there are still people who want to speak with you, so I will leave first.”

The Azure Emperor Divine Sword left first like that, and only a long while later was I able to rise from my seat.

“Disciple of the Taeul Sect. May I see you for a moment?”

As I was about to go to the family head’s private training ground, Namgung Songju called me aside separately.

“What is the matter?”

Instead of answering, he wrapped energy around us to prevent his voice from leaking out.

At Namgung Songju’s action, Namgung San and Namgung Seonhwa furrowed their brows, but they could not particularly stop him.

“You may not know this, but you do not look good in my eyes.”

“For what reason?”

“There is no need for you to know that reason. What you need to know is that even without borrowing the power of the direct line of the Namgung Family, the power of the branch line alone is more than enough to erase something like the Taeul Sect.”

“……Is this because of what happened at Mount Gueom?”

Namgung Songju’s eyes widened.

Soon, a smile appeared on his lips for the first time.

“I heard you were sharp, and it seems that was no lie.”

“Are you not afraid of the Azure Emperor Divine Sword?”

“……The Azure Emperor Divine Sword is frightening. However, not enough to stop a great undertaking. You can tell that by the fact that even after what happened at Mount Gueom, I am still walking around the family perfectly fine.”

“…….”

“You may think it is only about what happened at Mount Gueom, but for me, it is not. You have done many things wrong against me.”

“…….”

“So keep this in mind. The moment I make up my mind, the Taeul Sect will disappear from Anhui Province.”

Namgung Songju soon withdrew the energy barrier and left.

Namgung San and Seonhwa approached and asked in serious tones.

“What did he say?”

They clearly looked certain that there had been something.

I shook my head and reassured them.

“It was nothing important. Let us hurry. The family head is waiting.”

“…….”

#

Daeyeon Hall.

It was the residence of the family head, located in the deepest and highest place of the Namgung Family.

In the front yard, beautiful flowers of all kinds were in full bloom, and when we went around the residence to the back, a training ground the same size as the large training ground in the Taeul Sect had been set up as the family head’s private training ground.

Standing there, the Azure Emperor Divine Sword was stroking his beard while looking at the peak of Mount Huang.

“Family head, we have arrived.”

“The meal was not comfortable, was it?”

The dignified appearance of the Azure Emperor Divine Sword was gone, and he had changed into the appearance of an old man who wanted to play a prank.

“Not at all. I ate delicious food and was treated well, so I was very satisfied.”

“But you see.”

“…….”

“I heard you stole our San’s divine pill?”

“!!!”

The Azure Emperor Divine Sword suddenly struck at an unexpected angle.

Namgung San quickly stepped forward.

“I am so wronged I could die. Grandfather, I feel as if I had my nose cut off with my eyes wide open.”

I looked at Namgung San with the feeling of having been struck hard on the back of the head.

“What do you mean…….”

“Do you know that the Seven-Colored Jewel you took was actually one of my most cherished treasures?”

“Ha…….”

The sky turned yellow.

Given my father’s personality, he would certainly have sold off a jewel he could not even eat long ago, saying there was no point in keeping it.

And there was no way I could return it now.

‘No, why did the grandson take the Azure Emperor Divine Sword’s possession and bet it as he pleased!’

In any case, there was no solution.

I decided to act shamelessly.

“That was a fair and square match with Senior Namgung San. If you must scold someone…… please scold Senior Namgung, not me, for using the Divine Sword’s treasure as a wager without permission.”

“Pfft!”

“Khehehe.”

Namgung San and Seonhwa giggled, and the Azure Emperor Divine Sword had a faint smile on his lips.

“How amusing. I heard you grabbed a sword with your hand, and it seems your nerve is truly great.”

Was it a joke?

I shook my head, feeling as if my energy was being drained.

“……!”

At the same time, an invisible energy tried to enter my body.

‘What is this!’

The level of probing energy was on an entirely different dimension from what I had experienced so far.

If my father, Jin Taesan, had been at the level of sensing like a stream, the Azure Emperor Divine Sword felt like a massive current like the waters of the Yellow River, trying to bind my entire body tightly.

I quickly stepped two steps back and stirred the Taeul True Scripture.

“?”

“?”

Namgung San and Seonhwa did not know what was going on.

The Azure Emperor Divine Sword soon withdrew his probing energy and chuckled.

“How amusing. There was a reason a child not even yet of age caused the murim world to shake.”

“What do you mean, Grandfather?”

Namgung Seonhwa asked, but the Azure Emperor Divine Sword shook his head.

“Hoho, you do not need to know. If you find out, you will regret your choice.”

The Azure Emperor Divine Sword looked at me and asked.

“I hear there is something interesting among the things you learned on your own?”

Seeing how he glanced at Namgung San as he spoke, he seemed to be talking about the breaking form.

“……I do not know what you mean.”

“I see. San, go bring my sword, and Seonhwa, you go down.”

“I want to watch a little longer, Grandfather.”

“I will send San down as well. I have something to discuss with this child alone.”

“……Yes.”

Namgung Seonhwa, pouting her lips, looked back at me several times as she went down.

Once the two of them moved away from the training ground, he asked me again.

“I heard from San. You know the weaknesses of the Boundless Blue Sky Sword Art inside and out?”

In the end, my guess had been right.

And the Azure Emperor Divine Sword was quite certain.

For now, I feigned ignorance.

“How could someone like me know the weaknesses of such a profound and mysterious sword art? Senior must have exaggerated.”

“Even if that child Namgung Gipyo’s aptitude is lower than San’s, he is not at a level where he would be subdued in just two techniques by a child who has only just come of age.”

At that moment, Namgung San was coming out of Daeyeon Hall carrying the Divine Sword’s sword, and the Divine Sword reached his hand toward Namgung San, who was far away.

Then the sword slipped out of Namgung San’s hand and was caught in the Azure Emperor Divine Sword’s hand as if drawn by a magnet.

“Tell me, what price must I pay to see your sword?”

“I am merely at a loss because you say you will pay a price for something that does not exist.”

The gaze that had been filled with goodwill gradually turned cold.

The pressure exuded by someone who had spent his life reigning over others was as difficult to endure as killing intent.

“I do not like lies.”

Even while feeling a sense of crisis as if my life was hanging by a thread, I could not easily open my mouth.

The foundation of the Namgung Family was the Boundless Blue Sky Sword Art.

For generations after the founder who created the Boundless Blue Sky Sword Art, the Boundless Blue Sky Sword Art had been famous as the Namgung Family’s secret essence and greatest sword art.

Even after the Imperial Sword Technique appeared, the murim world’s treatment of the Boundless Blue Sky Sword Art remained no different from before.

Knowing the breaking form of the sword art that formed the foundation of a family meant holding and shaking the roots that formed that family’s very basis.

“If you want to act expensive, you may act as expensive as you like. If you knew how urgent I am right now, you would ask for anything. Even that, I will allow.”

I knew why the Azure Emperor Divine Sword was salivating over the breaking form of the Boundless Blue Sky Sword Art.

The branch line of the Namgung Family also learned the Boundless Blue Sky Sword Art as their main sword art.

When the branch line was trying to act recklessly like now, the breaking form was the best card that could subdue their sword art and restore discipline.

“It would not happen, but let us say that I knew the weakness of the Boundless Blue Sky Sword Art. Would I be able to preserve my life? No, even excluding myself, could the Taeul Sect remain intact?”

The reason I, having regressed, did not reveal the breaking form to the world.

It was because the breaking form was something dangerous that could cut off both my lifeline and the lifeline of my sect.

Any sect in the world, if a breaking form existed for its representative martial art, would try to eliminate it by any means.

“!!!”

The Divine Sword withdrew all the energy he had been radiating as if struck by lightning.

“If the end is death no matter what price I receive, then would receiving anything not be meaningless?”

The Azure Emperor Divine Sword stared at me for a long time with a blank expression, like an old man struck by a stroke.

“……Good. Then you are saying you have no such thing as a breaking form?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

“Then how much do you intend to sell that nonexistent breaking form for?”

“Are you so urgent that you must buy something that does not exist?”

“If it exists in hell, I must go there and buy it even then.”

Since the Azure Emperor Divine Sword had resolved himself, I would eventually have to hand over the breaking form.

I also wanted the Namgung Family to remain whole until the Righteous-Demonic War, so I had been thinking of handing over the breaking form.

Then what was the highest price I could obtain from the Namgung Family right now?

“Does it truly not matter what it is?”

“Say it.”

If anything was acceptable, then there was only one thing I wanted from the Namgung Family.

“Please give me the Changgung Merchant Guild.”

“……What?!”

The Azure Emperor Divine Sword’s mouth opened as wide as a washbasin.

It was the first time I had seen the Divine Sword look flustered.