Chapter 60
Journey Through the Jianghu (3)
While sleeping in the guest residence of Suseong Gate, Namgung Jun and Baekri Cheong opened their eyes simultaneously.
Both men sprang to their feet and exchanged serious looks.
"Young Hero Baekri, could you wake the Gate Master and the others?"
"Little Brother, will you be alright alone?"
"Of course."
Baekri Cheong nodded and immediately shot toward the inner compound of Suseong Gate.
Namgung Jun, meanwhile, headed toward the front gate.
It was an unusually dark night.
Neither moon nor stars were visible, leaving the sky completely black.
Even though torches had been placed at intervals along the walls of Suseong Gate, they provided little sense of illumination.
Instead, they only made the darkness seem deeper.
"Hm? Young Hero Namgung?"
"Why are you out instead of resting?"
The disciples standing guard at night called out to him, but Namgung Jun did not answer.
Instead, he drew his sword and swung it without hesitation.
Clang!
His blade passed directly in front of a disciple's face before colliding with something hidden in midair.
"Gah!"
The disciple, who had nearly jumped out of his skin thinking Namgung Jun had attacked him, finally understood when he saw a dagger fall onto the ground.
"An ambush?"
"Raise the alarm immediately."
"Thank you, Young Hero Namgung!"
As the disciples ran toward the inner compound, Namgung Jun stepped forward and blocked the path.
Holding his sword loosely at his side, he watched both stretches of wall extending outward from the front gate.
"Come out."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than figures began appearing over the walls.
One after another, members of the Jeongyeong Gang revealed themselves.
Finally, the Jeongyeong Gang Leader and an elderly man carrying a spear leisurely stepped through the front gate.
Unlike the fear he had shown when fleeing from Namgung Jun earlier, the Jeongyeong Gang Leader now looked completely at ease.
He clearly trusted the strength of the old man beside him.
"That boy is one of the Changcheon Society members who interfered with our plans."
Pointing his sword toward Namgung Jun, the Jeongyeong Gang Leader spoke to the elder almost as though reporting to him.
"Quite a sharp-sensed brat."
The old man slowly looked Namgung Jun up and down, a trace of admiration appearing on his face.
Yet the hand caressing his spear radiated unmistakable killing intent.
"Wake up! Enemies!"
"The Jeongyeong Gang has come!"
Hearing the commotion spreading throughout Suseong Gate, Namgung Jun raised his sword into a middle guard stance.
The warning reached the others safely.
All of his attention was focused on the spear-wielding elder.
Without hesitation, Namgung Jun launched himself forward and split the air horizontally.
The sword wind curved through the darkness like reeds bending in a gust.
Heavenly Wind Sword Art.
First Form: Gathering Wind.
WHOOOOSH!
The sword wind reached the old man in an instant.
Yet the elder's relaxed demeanor did not change.
With one hand, he casually spun his spear and tapped the side of the incoming attack.
The sword wind shattered immediately.
The only result was a slight fluttering of the old man's beard.
Even so, Namgung Jun's expression remained completely calm.
"Quite impressive for a youngster."
The elder glanced at the faintly trembling spearhead.
His eyes grew colder.
A single exchange had been enough.
He recognized the sword wind.
The refinement behind the attack.
The composure in the boy's eyes.
This was not some frog in a well intoxicated by temporary success and mediocre talent.
This one is genuine.
Countless young talents throughout the jianghu flaunted their gifts and sought recognition.
Yet those who truly possessed heaven-sent talent were exceedingly rare.
The boy standing before him was unquestionably one of them.
The elder became certain of one thing:
Anyone who underestimated him because of his age would suffer dearly.
True talent was the ability to shatter the limits of common sense itself.
Whoosh!
An overwhelming aura suddenly surged forward, causing Namgung Jun's hair to flutter.
Yet he did not move an inch.
In the blink of an eye, the elder crossed twenty paces and stopped directly before him.
Then he nodded.
"So the Changcheon Society possesses a jewel like this."
Slowly raising his spear, he pointed it at Namgung Jun.
"What is your name?"
"Namgung Jun."
"Namgung Jun? I've never heard that name before."
It was a subtle attempt to provoke him.
Yet Namgung Jun showed none of the reaction the elder wanted.
His response was calm and indifferent.
"It will be the last name you ever hear."
"You arrogant brat."
The old man chuckled.
"But you have the skill to back it up."
With a casual wave of his hand, he signaled the Jeongyeong Gang Leader and the others.
They immediately rushed past Namgung Jun.
Their destination was the inner compound of Suseong Gate.
Namgung Jun made no attempt to stop them.
There was no need to fight both the elder and the Jeongyeong Gang at the same time.
He was not alone.
Young Hero Baekri is inside. There's no need to worry.
Namgung Jun chose to focus entirely on the old man before him.
"This old man is the Crimson Spear, Sa Munchang. Since you're going to die anyway, knowing my title won't matter."
"The title of some demonic-path cur is not worth remembering."
Namgung Jun had no interest in further conversation.
Although Baekri Cheong was inside, ending this battle quickly and going to assist him would minimize the damage suffered by Suseong Gate.
BOOM!
With a powerful step, Namgung Jun shot forward first.
Since his opponent wielded a spear—a long-reach weapon—closing the distance was essential.
"I can see exactly what you're thinking!"
The spear in Sa Munchang's hands trembled and flowed like a whip.
In an instant, the spearhead split into four trajectories and targeted Namgung Jun's legs.
Namgung Jun neither retreated nor evaded.
He only advanced.
Following the straightforward movements born from the Infinite Step and the Heavenly Lord's Divine Movement, his sword moved naturally.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Sweeping low across the ground, his blade knocked aside the spearhead repeatedly.
At the same time, his right ankle twisted sharply.
Using the rebounding force from deflecting the spear as rotational momentum, Namgung Jun slipped into Sa Munchang's flank.
That footwork... just as I thought!
A flash of surprise crossed Sa Munchang's eyes as Namgung Jun closed the distance in an instant.
Those were not movements or techniques a mere youth should possess.
SHHHHK!
The spear thrusts tore through the air one after another, their trajectories twisting into a bewildering tangle.
Like dozens of intertwined serpents, the spearhead became impossible to track.
Yet the clear blue light in Namgung Jun's eyes never wavered.
Calmly, he read every movement of the spear.
SHRRRK!
Dozens of sword images split apart, painting the darkness blue.
Sa Munchang's spear art was filled with illusions meant to confuse the eye.
But Namgung Jun's sword surpassed it.
"What?!"
Displaying an even higher mastery of illusion and transformation, Namgung Jun stripped away every deception hidden within Sa Munchang's spear technique.
Only after all of his attacks had been neutralized did the composure vanish from Sa Munchang's face.
"How can a mere Peak Realm expert who has only reached full mastery wield such a sword?!"
Within the Peak Realm there were three commonly recognized stages:
Initial Entry, Full Mastery, and Peak.
A martial artist who had just entered the realm was considered to be at Initial Entry.
When one's control became refined enough to maintain sword qi for half a day and its sharpness and power surpassed steel itself, one could be called Fully Mastered.
The Peak stage referred to one who had begun harmonizing essence, energy, and spirit but had not yet achieved complete unity.
A degree of balance existed, but true harmony remained distant.
This boy hasn't even properly achieved harmony of essence, energy, and spirit.
Meanwhile, Sa Munchang stood at the Peak stage, already attempting to unite those three aspects.
The gap between Full Mastery and Peak was substantial.
For two fighters from those levels to clash evenly head-on was extraordinarily rare.
"The divisions between realms are not absolute. You should know that better than anyone."
BOOM!
Crushing Sa Munchang's spear art head-on with illusion swords and transformation swords, Namgung Jun seamlessly transitioned into the Heavenly Wind Sword Art.
Wrapped in sword wind, his heavy blade slammed into the spear shaft and shook Sa Munchang's entire body.
"Urgh!"
Sa Munchang nearly lost his grip.
He tightened both hands and stomped heavily.
BOOM!
Spinning the spear with both hands, he unleashed crescent-shaped waves of spear wind one after another.
Six arcs of spear wind surged forward.
Yet they failed to withstand even a single sword wind from the Heavenly Wind Sword Art and were torn apart.
"...You truly aren't someone who deserves only two clouds. Three clouds would suit you far better."
Sa Munchang's complexion grew slightly pale.
He tried desperately to widen the distance.
Namgung Jun refused to allow it.
He never once yielded the range that was most advantageous to a spearman.
Instead, he began systematically dismantling Sa Munchang's spear art from the front.
Once more, over a dozen changes emerged from the deep-blue blade.
The flexible sword swayed strangely through countless bizarre trajectories, severing Sa Munchang's techniques one after another.
"Haaah!"
The spear thrust directly toward him vibrated before splitting into more than ten streams.
They shot toward every vital point of his body.
Namgung Jun stepped forward without hesitation.
Rather than merely deflecting the spear, he guided its trajectory exactly where he wanted it to go.
Three high. Five middle.
In a single instant, he deciphered the entire technique.
His sword subtly twisted the attack paths, preventing the technique from unfolding properly.
At the same time, he inserted his own strike through the gaps in Sa Munchang's offense.
SLASH!
Blood erupted from Sa Munchang's thigh.
Had his reaction been even slightly slower, the lower part of his leg would have been pierced clean through.
Staggering, Sa Munchang retreated while thrusting his spear.
As befitted a seasoned veteran, he did not simply back away.
The attack specifically targeted Namgung Jun's relentless forward momentum.
CLANG!
Namgung Jun tilted his sword as though resting it upon his shoulder and guided the spearhead upward.
Blade and spear shaft scraped against one another, sending sparks flying.
Namgung Jun paid them no mind.
His sword continued downward along the shaft.
If it continued, every finger gripping the spear would be severed.
Sa Munchang hastily released his right hand and grabbed the far end of the spear with his left, swinging it like a staff.
He managed to shake off Namgung Jun's sword.
But the structure of his stance collapsed in the process.
"Ghk! What in the world are you?!"
Sa Munchang shouted in disbelief after being overwhelmed by Namgung Jun's astonishing skill.
There was a profound maturity in Namgung Jun's swordsmanship that should have been impossible for someone of his age.
Worse still, fragments of a realm beyond Sa Munchang's own seemed to emerge from his blade.
"I've already taken everything there is to learn from you."
"Taken?"
In a flash, Namgung Jun crossed seven steps and closed the distance.
His sword began vibrating subtly.
Through continuous changes in grip and wrist movement, the nature of his sword strikes transformed countless times.
Mixed naturally among those changes were techniques he had absorbed from Sa Munchang's spear art.
WHOOOSH!
Sa Munchang, who had been about to counterattack, froze.
His vision filled with dazzling sword strikes.
Conversely, his mind went blank.
He could not tell where to block.
Nor where to break through.
Everything before him felt infinitely distant.
If Namgung Jun had simply unleashed illusion and transformation techniques at random, this sensation would not have occurred.
Exquisite. Sublime.
Countless profound principles revolved within a single coherent flow.
How could anyone wield such a sword?
The ever-changing strikes poured down endlessly.
Like a torrential summer downpour, they were impossible to stop.
And in the brief instant Sa Munchang found himself mesmerized by the beauty of that sword—
The countless strikes had already begun tearing apart his entire body.
SLAAASH!
Only after blood sprayed across his vision and dyed the world red did Sa Munchang finally realize the truth.
He had lost.
And he had lost utterly.
Within his fading vision, Namgung Jun's face came into focus.
"Remember this old man's title... My sect will avenge me."
Namgung Jun raised his sword with an indifferent expression.
"I don't remember who you were."
The blade plunged into Sa Munchang's throat.
The wet sound of flesh tearing echoed briefly.
Then the night fell silent once more.