"Now, pick up your swords."
"...?"
At Cheon Mubaeck's sudden instruction, everyone stopped their actions.
The faces of the Demon Repelling Squad, who had been preparing to climb the mountain as usual today, were filled with puzzlent.
"What do you an, pick up our swords?"
"From now on, we won't be doing the mountain climbing training."
The mbers of the Demon Repelling Squad exchanged glances. They felt an ominous feeling at the sudden change in training. Hwangbo Sung stepped forward with a skeptical face.
"We haven't passed our test yet."
"That's why I'm so frustrated. If I wait until even one person passes, I'll die of old age. Really."
"..."
Hwangbo Sung felt a surge of anger from deep within, but he endured it with miraculous patience.
'Endure it. Endure it. Hwangbo Sung. Endure it. If you act up, you'll get slapped more. If your molars get knocked out, you won't be able to chew at anymore.'
What had increased while climbing the mountain was not just stamina and physical strength.
By consistently climbing towards the summit and concentrating their senses to find the blind spots of the formation, their ntal cultivation was also sufficient.
Concentration, patience, understanding...
Unknowingly, they were showing signs of growth.
It was just that they themselves didn't know it.
The corner of Cheon Mubaeck's mouth rose slightly as he watched the Demon Repelling Squad, who were barely exercising their patience.
"I will teach you how to hold a sword."
"...Hah."
How to hold a sword.
Wasn't that the very first thing one learned when they first learned martial arts?
Everyone here had calluses on their palms.
Good heavens. Not a ten-year-old child, but he's going to teach us how to hold a sword?
If it had been soone else, they would have snorted and stord out of this place long ago. But even the few who had let out a hollow laugh quickly shut their mouths at the murderous glare that Gyo Mun-cheok shot at them.
'Everyone, shut up! Just listen! Just accept it! Just understand! Don't act up and add sothing like a slap!'
As if their earnest feelings had been conveyed, everyone shut their mouths.
Gyo Mun-cheok, who had been slapped and had passed out every day after defying him, always regretted it.
'I feel like I'm going to die from just the slaps, so what will I do if sothing else is added?'
Looking at Cheon Mubaeck's gaze, Gyo Mun-cheok unknowingly let out a sigh of relief.
Because as everyone fell silent, his eyes showed a hint of disappointnt.
'As expected. He was deliberately provoking us like that.'
At the mont Gyo Mun-cheok was relieved. A sharp voice suddenly ca from the side.
"Do you know how arrogant it is to say you will teach us how to hold a sword?"
"...!"
At the firm voice filled with power, Gyo Mun-cheok's face contorted.
'Which bastard...!'
Gyo Mun-cheok's face, which was turning his head, hardened.
The owner of the voice that had rebelled and stepped forward was none other than Namgung Jincheon.
In fact, as Namgung Jincheon stepped forward, Gyo Mun-cheok couldn't say anything.
Because perhaps it was thanks to Namgung Jincheon that the mountain climbing had ended.
'He broke that damn formation.'
He had broken and dismantled the formation that was getting more and more cunning as the days went by.
Although a more ever-changing formation awaited the next day, Namgung Jincheon would break it again in a single day.
The mountain climbing training could not proceed.
Since he was the one who had freed them from the tedious mountain climbing, Gyo Mun-cheok couldn't say anything and just watched quietly.
Cheon Mubaeck crossed his arms as if he were interested.
"Arrogant?"
"The one who taught how to hold a sword is my father, the Sword Saint. To say you will teach how to hold a sword ans that my father was wrong. Am I right?"
Namgung Jincheon was nothing short of dignified. The pride that filled him was transmitted through his skin.
The Demon Repelling Squad held their breath and watched the confrontation between the two.
Because if he refuted Namgung Jincheon's words, it would be a situation where he was saying that what the Sword Saint had taught was wrong.
Would Cheon Mubaeck really take back his words? No matter how much he was the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero, in front of the fa of the Sword Saint...
"You were beaten like a dog on a hot day because you were wrong. You idiot."
"...!"
A silence fell around them. To think he would openly say that the Sword Saint's advice was wrong.
The Demon Repelling Squad had complicated feelings, wondering if they should see that as bravado.
But what about Namgung Jincheon?
His pale face trembled at the fact that his father had been openly insulted to his face.
"Why? You don't think so? If you think you're holding your sword correctly, then draw your sword and hold it. Prove it. That you're not wrong. That the way you hold your sword is not wrong."
Even though he must have been aware that it was a clear provocation, Cheon Mubaeck's voice was still unwavering. Rather, it was even more dry. Go ahead and try if you can. That kind of feeling was dripping from him.
Namgung Jincheon was not one to endure it even after hearing that.
Sreureung.
With a cool tallic sound, the sword was drawn.
And he took a ready stance.
"Wow..."
A low cry of admiration ca from among the Demon Repelling Squad. As they were all rising stars who were skilled in their own right, they recognized at a glance how perfect Namgung Jincheon's ready stance was.
Especially the gazes of the three idiots beca extrely serious.
"Hey. Can you do that much?"
Hwangbo Sung had trained his external arts and was relatively weak at using a sword. On the other hand, Gyo Mun-cheok was a typical swordsman.
That was why Gyo Mun-cheok's face was completely hardened.
"No. That's on a different level."
From the way one holds a sword, one can distinguish whether they are a skilled person or a bluff.
"It's the standard. That is."
Namgung Jincheon's posture was, literally, the standard, straight from the textbook.
The standard is the most difficult. Because it is bound to change slightly according to one's own habits or the martial arts one has learned.
But Namgung Jincheon was perfect, without a single error, as if he had only greatly honed the basics.
"Indeed, the teachings of the Sword Saint, is that it?"
"No. No matter how good the teachings are, if you don't do it properly yourself, it won't co out like that. That's because that friend has worked like crazy."
Gyo Mun-cheok was curious. What would Cheon Mubaeck's reaction be to seeing that ready stance?
But Cheon Mubaeck was still expressionless.
Not a single emotion was revealed.
Rather, a hint of a pitiful gaze was briefly seen.
"It's the standard.”
"Because I believe the standard is the pinnacle of martial arts."
"Namgung Jo... no, your father's teaching?"
"That's right."
Cheon Mubaeck nodded.
Just the standard that pursues perfection, itself.
It was the sa as the appearance of Namgung Jo he had seen.
'A fellow who thought of himself as Mount Tai.'
The belief that to climb Mount Tai, one must make constant efforts and head only on the exact path, without taking any shortcuts.
That was briefly seen.
That was why it was pitiful.
'He has confined himself to the limit of Mount Tai.'
He understood to so extent.
For Namgung Jo, it must have been a series of frustrations. Seeing the talent of the Sword Venerable Yoo Baek-gi. And seeing the sky of the Azure Sky Sword God above that.
Not only that.
The reason the Righteous-Demonic War had not ended quickly but had dragged on for a long ti was also because there were still formidable absolute masters in the Demonic Cult.
The nurous elders of the Demonic Cult were monsters.
Their pinnacle, the Heavenly Demon, was the sky of the Demonic Path.
Although the Heavenly Demon had been defeated by Cheon Mubaeck every ti, he was also the only one who had fought as Cheon Mubaeck's equal.
How would the scene of that ti have looked to Namgung Jo, who had believed in his own talent?
'He rationalized it.'
That he was Mount Tai.
That he would work hard and climb the mountain. But that he couldn't climb the clouds and the sky even with effort. That it was a talent determined from birth.
He did not scold such a Namgung Jo. Cheon Mubaeck also acknowledged the effort of becoming Mount Tai himself by steadfastly advancing without being completely frustrated.
But Namgung Jincheon was young.
There was no need to define himself as Mount Tai already.
That was why Cheon Mubaeck spoke with sincerity.
"You're wrong. The way you hold your sword."
"...I would appreciate it if you could make understand. If I cannot understand, I will wield my sword even if I die."
At that terrifying spirit and murderousness, the Demon Repelling Squad all admired him.
Although Namgung Jincheon had been slapped by Cheon Mubaeck and had been greatly beaten several tis, his spirit was still upright.
Sreung.
The mont Cheon Mubaeck drew his sword, Namgung Jincheon's eyes wavered.
It was the first ti.
That Cheon Mubaeck had drawn his sword in front of the Demon Repelling Squad.
Because until now, everyone had been knocked down by Cheon Mubaeck's empty hands.
Namgung Jincheon felt his breath slowly being choked.
A completely different posture from his own.
A hand that seed to be holding it roughly, and a wide-open chest.
No matter how you looked at it, it couldn't be seen as a ready stance. If Namgung Jincheon was the standard, then Cheon Mubaeck was nothing.
Even if you gave a sword to a ten-year-old younger sibling, they would be better than that.
'But what is this? It's not internal energy, he's just standing there holding a sword...'
Namgung Jincheon's eyes shook like crazy.
Cheon Mubaeck slowly approached and swung his sword lightly.
Namgung Jincheon was startled and raised his sword to block.
Jjaeaeng!
He took a sharp breath at the repulsive force transmitted to his wrist. Cheon Mubaeck's low words pierced him.
"A sword is easy to break."
Jjaeng! Jjaeng!
The swords clashed continuously.
"It is strong vertically, but weak horizontally. So when you block a sword, you must put strength in the horizontal."
Jjaeng!
It was a very obvious statent. It was a fact he knew. But he didn't know it.
What he knew and what he felt while clashing with Cheon Mubaeck's sword were on different dinsions.
There were inevitably tis when he had to block vertically, and at those tis, Namgung Jincheon's sword shook continuously. As if it would break at any mont.
Namgung Jincheon had to concentrate thoroughly to endure it sohow, or to let the force flow away.
He didn't do it by thinking about sothing ticulously. There was no ti to think ticulously, as the sword strikes rushed in.
"Therefore, when you use a sword, you must apply force evenly to the exact position and the exact place."
Jjaeng!
At that mont, sothing tickled in Namgung Jincheon's mind.
A sword is easy to break. So you should block horizontally as much as possible.
But a true master would deliberately induce the opponent to have no choice but to block vertically.
It's a common occurrence for a sword to break in the middle of a fight while trying to block by force. That's why ordinary people want a stronger sword, a better famous sword.
But that's not it.
"Knowing how to balance by applying force appropriately to the right places inside the sword."
"..."
That was right.
When you have no choice but to block as a species, you have to apply force to respond to the nurous impacts transmitted to the sword. Even to the minute parts of the sword.
In so parts, you have to pull back and let it flow, and in others, you have to apply force and fight back.
Now, Namgung Jincheon was learning that with his own body.
In an instant, a thrilling sense of elation shot up from the tips of his toes to his head. The repulsive force transmitted to his wrist felt weaker and weaker. Was it because Cheon Mubaeck was going easy on him? No. He was rushing in more fiercely, more strongly. And yet, as ti went by, it beca easier to block.
Cheon Mubaeck's laughter pierced through that sense of elation.
"That is the royal road and the standard for advancing with the sword. This is how you hold a sword."
In an instant, he realized.
He truly felt it while blocking and deflecting Cheon Mubaeck's continuously rushing sword strikes.
'He is truly peerless.'
There was no one to match him with a sword.
That was Cheon Mubaeck.
* * *
In the end, Namgung Jincheon dropped his sword.
He knew the way to hold a sword that Cheon Mubaeck was talking about.
His father had also said it. To put strength into the sword.
Wasn't that a given?
He had always done so. Because you had to put strength into the sword to execute the forms.
But why hadn't he done so until now?
'Internal energy...!'
In an instant, his body twitched as if struck by lightning. His internal energy was sealed. He had to pour all his concentration into the distribution of force.
Usually, he had deflected and blocked with his imnse internal energy.
Only then did Namgung Jincheon, who had understood Cheon Mubaeck's teaching, place his sword on the floor and perform a fist-and-palm salute.
His voice trembled slightly.
"...I will learn how to hold a sword again from the beginning."
Cheon Mubaeck shrugged his shoulders.
"It's not over yet, why did you drop your sword?"
"...What?"
"You swing until I say stop."
"......!"
Looking at the smile that appeared on Cheon Mubaeck's lips for a mont, Namgung Jincheon felt the elation that had been soaring up fade.
"Whether your arms and legs are broken, your shoulders are shattered, your wrists are cut, or your chest is slashed. Once you've challenged, you have to swing until I say stop. Hurry up and pick it up. You bastard."
"..."
Recalling the nightmare of the slaps from a few days ago, Namgung Jincheon's face turned pale.
And behind him, the angry gazes of the Demon Repelling Squad were fixed on him.
"I told you to just stay still..."
"Another one acted up and now we're all going to hell."
"This is why you can't have a guy who stands out."
"Tsk, tsk."
Namgung Jincheon picked up his sword again with a pitiful heart.
And he truly realized it once again.
'He is peerless. For real.'
It was a sentint he felt while being beaten countless tis with the back of the sword, covered in bruises.
(End of Chapter)
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