Chapter 78

As the sun slowly set, not a single one of us took our eyes off the tip of our swords.
Perhaps it was because they’d been spraying all day.
They could no longer see the thunderbolt that threatened to burn them all, nor the dragon’s dragon frame that threatened to devour them.
A single, banal stroke of an iron sword, a single stroke that can only be held with the muscles that stretch out and hold it.
The sight of such a sword, a master standing at the point of it, and a young man swinging it endlessly drew a crowd.
At first, it was a joke, a wager that would end in nothing.
And then the voices around me that told me it was hopeless.
Now it was no longer audible, only a steady, silent stare of waiting filled the two men.
The young man, however, doesn’t seem to mind, and extends his sword.
Aaaahhhhhh!
Whenever a trace of his dried-up inner strength shines through, he puts it into the tip of his sword and stretches it out, and when he shakes off the puddle and there is no trace of inner strength, he simply draws on the strength of his trained body and stretches out his sword.
The young man, or rather, I, the current Nan Gongban, could not lose. I couldn’t retreat.
In the beginning, I was an ogre. What’s the matter with you?
No matter how strong I am, it would be so difficult for me to touch a single hair.
But I felt my ego and pride crumble when I realized that what little strength I had left was gone, for I could see no end to the mad taoist in front of me.
The mysterious power of his churning hands dissipated thunderbolts before they could strike, and made me take a step back before I could reach him.
The absurdity of this power overwhelmed me with despair.
But in time, pride and ego gave way to desperation, and I fought back with the Iron Sword Sixty-Six, the Thunderbolt Thirty-Three, and the Gohon Sword. Yes, I’ll tell you all I’ve learned.
But it was nothing more than my rage. In a fit of rage, I summoned all of my remaining strength and unleashed the Thunder King Divine Blade and the Thunder Powerhouse with all my might. The manifestation of the Thunder Dragon, that was my will.
However, that too ended up only piquing the interest of the Lightning King.
“……It was good.”
His words filled me with pity. At the same time, I unknowingly asked the presence in my heart if I would become his disciple. What’s the harm, what’s the problem, what’s the problem, if I only get what I want from being a disciple, even if it’s not the path of the Southern Palace for a while?
Kwangseung laughs. His eyes and smile show that he has already won. Yes, I have already lost once.
Mentally.
And physically.
At that moment, a million questions raced through my head.
“Hyung-ah! Hyung-ah! You’re the best!”
My everything,
“Teach me that too! Bang, bang, bang!”
The child, my rock, faces me, his eyes still unwavering. My knees, which had nearly collapsed, stood up as if supported. It was a strength I didn’t recognize.
As I rise, I see it.
I see the wall of the South Palace, smiling and imitating a dragon,
Mrs. Bai, my mother, blinked at me with a determined smile, my uncle and master Namgung Yeol nodded, and Black Lake, Kang Wumen, and Dong Hui gave me a thumbs-up.
That’s it.
He saw something sparkle in Namgung Mu Baek’s dull eyes, felt the respect and more in Namgung Hyuk’s and Namgung Gal’s astonished expressions, and was talking about how the Iron Sword and Thunder Sword Squadron were showing the majesty worthy of the name Namgung.
Indeed.
This is the first time I’ve shown them my power since entering the Anhui. A proper one.
There are countless people like this on the path I’m on. I almost collapsed in front of them.
At the hands of a mere mad taoist in Qingcheng. I could not tolerate that.
So I turned around. I straightened my back and powered up my sword. The dwindling energy of the Thunderbolt filled me up.
He stares steadfastly at the Taoist in front of him.
I am Namgung.
You crazy taoist.
* * *
The sun is setting, the moonlight and starlight are blending together, and it looks like it’s going to rain at any moment.
Tada, tada, tada!
As he deflected the swords flying through the air with the skill of his sword, he felt a strange sensation.
The young man’s determination and willpower were such that he had begun this bet before the sun had risen in the midnight sky, and every step he took was as if it were his life’s work.
The sharp edge of his sword showed no sign of abating as it grew and grew, feeding off the enthusiasm of many who were eager to see the end of this bet.
He had seen countless talents and talents on his way to the Unseen Fifty, but talent often lacks humility, and humility is often hindered by talent.
So I realize. That the end of the sword he will reach is not beneath him.
The dull flow of time is still holding him back, but he is not less than or less than anything.
Because.
The madness in his eyes is no different from the madness he’s already been spewing.
Tens of thousands of slashes at the same time, and yet the tirelessness of this foot of will, I don’t know where it will end.
It’s as if I’ve rushed into countless battlefields to fight to the death, going days and days without food.
As he came to this realization, he laughed under his breath.
“……Fun.”
There was a glimmer of hope for the Zheng Clan. At least they wouldn’t be helplessly defeated by the Mado and Black Dao in the next generation.
I won’t have to suffer the heartache of being beaten down by those rotten bastards, he thought.
Hui Yan of Shaolin.
Guangxiang of Qingcheng.
Mubai of the Southern Palace.
Zhu Hu of the State of Qi.
The balance of the Zhongyuan Forest, which had been barely maintained by the four of them, was slowly unraveling.
The whiteness of the green forest.
The Yangtze River’s Gu Man.
The sharpness of the Great Shield.
The grain of the four horses.
The killing star.
And finally, the Heavenly Demon of the Dao.
At first glance, the balance may seem similar, but Shaolin and Qing Shui are already quite old. In a battle between absolute masters, a single point of difference would be a disadvantage, not an advantage, as the possibilities were endless.
Only when he saw the young man in front of him, and even the pillar of the Southern Palace, did Guangxiu smile slightly. His gaze naturally fell on the Southern Palace Master.
“You must have had a hard time, big brother.”
The moonlit mark of Qing Shui seemed to reach out to the members of the Southern Palace, who were all around him. Maybe it’s not an illusion.
“……I lose.”
The young man in front of me breathes out harshly at the words, and his expression immediately changes. The young man in front of me exhales harshly.
“Cut the crap, senior.”
“It’s not bullshit.”
“Either he is, or you’re just messing with me. Don’t let this go to waste. Let’s do it again.”
The winner shook his head at the steady stream of speculation. Then he rolled up his sleeves.
“You’ve already won the game, what more do you want?”
The young man’s eyes narrow. A trace of scorch marks remained on his sleeve, the marks of a lightning strike.
“……No, why this.”
“Don’t be impatient with your accomplishments.”
“…….”
“Didn’t you tell me that the Way is to be free, to be uninhibited in action, to be a continuation of the process?”
“I did.”
“Do not think you have fulfilled your duty if you run for the sake of the goal, for that will only exhaust you. For you are not built on the foundation of freedom, of being uninhibited in your actions, of being a continuation of the process.”
“Why is that?”
“Because your Dao is right there.”
The Berserker’s gaze falls upon the multitudes of the South Palace. There are countless swordsmen, all of them glowing, all of them looking like fierce beasts that could lunge at him at any moment. This is the power of the Southern Palace, united by a trust and faith that Qing Shui would never have.
The young man’s mouth fell open at those words. He seemed to have understood. The Master walked over and patted the young man on the shoulder.
“I have already imparted my enlightenment, and if it troubles you, what is this but a priest’s kite? Knock on the door of the Blue Castle anytime. Your crisis is my crisis.”
The winner was the winner.
And.
“Brother Southern Palace, night is falling. We must go our separate ways.”
“I will not catch you.”
At Namgung Mu Baek’s words, Kwangseung clicked his tongue.
“That’s why everyone likes this guy, not you, so you’d better mend your ways.”
Everyone was stunned by this casual remark, and they all turned to look at Namgung Mu Baek. But while the real party, Namgung Mu Baek, didn’t react, Gwangseung chuckled.
“It’ll be sooner or later. You should drop that authoritarian air, and stop whining and crying in front of me again.”
Grrrr.
Seeing the sword drawn from Nangong Mu Baek’s waistband, he somehow felt his steps quicken.
* * *
He apologized directly to Ye Gong, and from the look on his face, Nangong Muyue had already felt enough, so he accepted the apology graciously.
He seemed like he was going to leave at any moment, but he used this and that as excuses to sit in Anhui for a while, and even drank with Nangong Mu Bai without even trying.
Even the Namgung Mu Bai was just another person in front of him, showing him the way of the elder brother.
From time to time, he would visit me, ask me to unsheathe my sword, and then disappear when he had seen enough swordplay to run out of alcohol.
“……what.”
After a few days of this, I got a little angry. What the hell is going on?
I mean, I’m just showing off my swordsmanship, I should be saying something, not training my dog.
Nevertheless, he did the same thing again for a few more days, ordering me to perform sword techniques.
I gritted my teeth and refused, but an unspoken force compelled me to unfold my sword.
Then, for the first time.
“Grunt.”
He stood up by his pants, snatched the sword from my grasp, and spoke.
“I’m not going to show you twice.”
“……I see.”
“I, too, have not yet perfected this sword.”
……Said the winner.
Unexpectedly, I turned to look at him.
“Strange.”
“It’s not strange, I’m just curious as to why you would show me a sword that you haven’t perfected.”
“Strange. You are the one who unfolds the sword, but why is that not the mindset of the wielder?”
The mindset of the wielder.
“Have you been consumed by a talent that surpasses most, or by the abyss within you? Is there an end to swordsmanship, and if there is, what is it that you think it is?”
Is there an end to swordsmanship.
Of course…….
But I couldn’t answer, and I was left mesmerized by the unanswerable question.