Chapter 7
“...”
Ho Jo-yeong thought it wouldn’t last long anyway.
But shortly after watching Seo Mugyeom demonstrate the technique, that thought completely vanished.
Ho Jo-yeong was on edge, uncertain whether it was even right for him to keep watching it.
It was taboo to carelessly observe soone else’s martial arts, and Seo Mugyeom’s technique didn’t seem like sothing to be casually seen.
Although he was currently watching it because Seo Mugyeom asked him to, it didn't seem like sothing to be shown to just anyone.
It was more advanced than any martial art Ho Jo-yeong had ever seen.
The martial arts he had seen were almost entirely from the Divine Martial Sect.
Most of those would’ve been from the Tenth Division.
But what was now unfolding before his eyes opened them in a completely new way.
Ho Jo-yeong couldn’t close his gaping mouth.
He couldn’t say a word.
Seo Mugyeom seed so imrsed in his technique that he had completely forgotten Ho Jo-yeong was watching.
Though it began with the intention of showing it to Ho Jo-yeong, it now seed like he couldn’t stop because he himself was too curious.
Watching him, Ho Jo-yeong recalled what Seo Mugyeom had said.
Wasn’t it really as if he was doing what had just popped into his head?
Seo Mugyeom, lost in his demonstration, suddenly ca to and looked at Ho Jo-yeong.
“Uh…”
It sounded almost like he was asking if Ho Jo-yeong was still there.
Ho Jo-yeong stared at Seo Mugyeom, finding the situation both absurd and intriguing.
“Mugyeom, are you seriously saying this just suddenly popped into your head?”
“Yes, Senior.”
“Have you told anyone else about this?”
“No, but I used it to kill people during our mission against the Nine Dragon Gang. So those who were with that day would’ve seen using it.”
“What did they say? They must’ve noticed that this wasn’t sothing taught in the Divine Martial Sect.”
As he spoke, Ho Jo-yeong began to worry that this might beco a far more serious issue than he initially thought.
“Mugyeom, I think the Division Leader needs to know about this first. If the Eighth Division raises this as a problem, it could put you in a difficult position.”
Seo Mugyeom understood what he ant.
It seed like Ho Jo-yeong was downplaying it to avoid worrying him, but the situation could actually escalate far beyond that.
If it were revealed that a warrior of the Divine Martial Sect had learned and practiced a martial art not belonging to the sect, the consequences could be catastrophic.
In so cases, it could be treated as a grave cri punishable by severing one’s tendons and destroying the Dantian.
“Mugyeom, let’s go see the Division Leader first.”
Seo Mugyeom wasn’t too keen on the idea.
He hadn’t had many chances to get to know his Division Leader and didn’t particularly trust him.
He didn’t think the Division Leader would step in or protect him if he got into trouble.
Even now, it was only by chance that he’d had a few interactions with the Division Leader—none of which happened in his previous life.
The Tenth Division had nearly a hundred warriors, and the Division Leader usually only interacted with the Vice Leader and a few senior mbers.
Still, Ho Jo-yeong’s words couldn’t be ignored, and it seed necessary to et the Division Leader first.
The Division Leader was cold and difficult but had never acted unfairly toward Seo Mugyeom.
In this kind of situation, maybe it was better that his Division Leader was like that.
“You’re going, right?”
Seeing that Seo Mugyeom had at least spoken to him about it, Ho Jo-yeong took that as a clear sign that he needed help and pushed him along.
When the two of them went to find Pyo Inhaeng, he stopped his training in the martial arena and waited for them.
Though they were still quite a distance away, he already knew they were approaching.
Though his training had stopped, Pyo Inhaeng wasn’t wearing his upper garnt.
As a result, his body, seemingly forged through grueling training, was fully exposed.
It didn’t look like flesh—it looked more like layers of solid bricks.
Moreover, the countless scars etched across his body were eerie to look at.
Seo Mugyeom once again realized how little he actually knew about his Division Leader.
“What is it?”
At Pyo Inhaeng’s question, Ho Jo-yeong looked at Seo Mugyeom and answered for him.
“There’s sothing we’d like you to take a look at.”
“Sothing you want to look at?”
Pyo Inhaeng seed to realize that it was Seo Mugyeom’s issue and glanced at him.
“What’s going on?”
“Sir, a technique suddenly ca to mind, and during the mission with the Eighth Division, I unconsciously used it in battle. It definitely isn’t from another sect, but I thought it best to let you know before any suspicion arises.”
As Seo Mugyeom spoke, Pyo Inhaeng’s face filled with doubt.
The more the story continued, the stranger it beca.
“What are you talking about?”
He figured that unless he saw it himself, it would be hard to continue the conversation, so he asked Seo Mugyeom to demonstrate.
Seo Mugyeom felt this was the crucial mont and displayed the technique in front of him.
Pyo Inhaeng had been aware of the strange things Seo Mugyeom had been doing lately and watched carefully—but he hadn’t expected to be so astonished.
Listening to the two talk, he assud Seo Mugyeom had seen a high-level warrior within the sect training and unconsciously morized it.
Such mimicry usually held little value.
Since that sort of imitation wouldn’t produce real power, he assud Seo Mugyeom would give it up after a few tries.
But what Seo Mugyeom was showing now wasn’t sothing to be brushed off.
What shocked Pyo Inhaeng wasn’t just the sophistication of the technique, but the fact that it flowed so naturally.
Even a simple technique could vary wildly in effectiveness depending on the user’s martial ability.
What Seo Mugyeom was now displaying looked like a Peak Master Level expert showcasing the Three Talents Sword Technique.
It was hard to believe that a low-ranking mber of the Guardian Ten Division was the one executing it.
Even if soone had given him the formula and asked him to follow it, Pyo Inhaeng wasn’t sure he could replicate it to that level.
What’s more, Seo Mugyeom had said he used it in actual combat during a mission.
Practicing a technique was one thing; using it in a real fight was another.
Even after thousands of repetitions, applying it in battle was not easy.
Pyo Inhaeng regretted not having seen it firsthand.
‘Can soone really shift offense and defense this freely? Once he chooses to block, it becos difficult to find an opening.’
Seo Mugyeom had co to show off his technique, but Pyo Inhaeng couldn’t stay still.
Suddenly, he drew his sword, startling both Seo Mugyeom and Ho Jo-yeong.
“Sir, what are you doing? Mugyeom didn’t steal anyone’s martial art or break any sect rules. Please hear him out.”
With that, Ho Jo-yeong stepped between them.
Then Pyo Inhaeng realized they had misunderstood his actions.
“You’ve got so nerve, Ho Jo-yeong. If I intended to punish Seo Mugyeom, I would’ve cut you down first for standing in my way.”
Then, without saying much else, he walked up to Seo Mugyeom.
“Continue, Seo Mugyeom. Use that technique to block my sword.”
“What?”
Seo Mugyeom didn’t know how he was supposed to do that, but since he had already defeated the Nine Dragon Gang with it, it didn’t feel impossible.
Thinking Seo Mugyeom understood, Pyo Inhaeng began his attack slowly.
Not knowing how well Seo Mugyeom could apply it in real combat, he didn’t start fast.
It seed like he just wanted to test whether Seo Mugyeom could really block him.
But strangely, Seo Mugyeom handled it extrely well.
It was so unbelievable, Pyo Inhaeng almost laughed in disbelief.
He hadn’t expected Seo Mugyeom to be able to connect the techniques this effectively.
He had planned to give a little guidance—never did he imagine he’d be caught in Seo Mugyeom’s trap, flailing about.
He had assud it wouldn’t take five moves to throw Seo Mugyeom off.
Yet now, he was the one growing urgent and backing off.
And Seo Mugyeom looked just as surprised.
Seo Mugyeom was amazed to realize that by combining techniques differently, he could generate entirely new effects.
Had he been facing Ho Jo-yeong instead of Pyo Inhaeng, he might never have realized this.
Trying to block and counter Pyo Inhaeng’s attacks had brought it out.
But that wasn’t all.
Even more surprising than the technique linkage was the natural movent of his inner qi while executing them.
The qi moved on its own every ti, adding power to the technique.
Not once was there an exception.
‘Where on earth did this qi co from…?’
Seo Mugyeom wondered whether he should say sothing about it to Pyo Inhaeng, but he didn’t need to.
Pyo Inhaeng noticed it first.
“You…!”
He suddenly stared at Seo Mugyeom.
“Seo Mugyeom, let check your pulse.”
“Uh… yes, sir.”
Seo Mugyeom held out his hand, and Pyo Inhaeng placed his index and middle fingers on his wrist.
He closed his eyes and gently let his own qi flow in.
Seo Mugyeom stared at him, wondering if he was finally about to uncover the answer to what had been bothering him.
‘Was the Division Leader always this capable?’
He hadn’t thought about it when the Division Leader was swinging his sword, but now that everything had gone quiet, the thought finally struck him.
Just that brief mont of witnessing his martial skill made Seo Mugyeom realize that the Division Leader was far from ordinary.
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