Chapter 59
“Let me introduce everyone first. This is my younger brother and our sect’s head of intelligence. He’ll be in charge of receiving intel from the Heavenly Secret Hall in the future. Lady Dan here is the Heavenly Secret Hall’s Vice Leader.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Baek Mu-Ok. I look forward to your kind cooperation.”
“I’m Dan Seol-Young. I look forward to your kind cooperation as well.”
Mu-Ok and Seol-Young greeted each other after Mu-Gun introduced them.
“I have a favor to ask of you.”
“Go ahead.”
“My younger brother has limited experience when it comes to managing information, so I would like him to accumulate experience while traveling to and from the Heavenly Secret Hall. I hope you can take care of my brother, Lady Dan.”
“Understood. I’ll help him if there’s anything I can do.”
“Thank you. Oh, my father wants to meet the Hall Leader in person.”
“The Hall Leader herself?”
“We’re going to have a cooperative relationship by sharing information in the future, so shouldn’t we at least get acquainted?”
“Understood. I’ll tell the Hall Leader. Let’s decide on the schedule once I’ve confirmed the Hall Leader’s decision.”
“Please do. We’ll be leaving now.”
“Already?”
“I’m here today to request Lady Dan to look after my brother. Now that I’m done with what I came to do, we should go back.”
“We’re going to open soon, so since you’re here already, I don’t think it’s a bad idea to enjoy drinking, singing, and dancing.”
“Haha, my brother here is a little bit of a simpleton and doesn’t know of such things. I’ll drink and dance next time.”
Mu-Gun got up from his seat using Mu-Ok as an excuse.
“Do as you wish. However, please leave Young Master Mu-Ok here.”
“Just Mu-Ok?”
“If he has to gain experience anyway, wouldn’t it be better to start as soon as possible?”
“If so, then he should stay. Mu-Ok, stay here and learn from Lady Dan. I’ll be leaving first.”
“Alright.”
“Please take good care of my brother.”
“Don’t worry.”
After leaving Mu-Ok in Seol-Young’s care, Mu-Gun exited the Flower Honor Manor.
“The rumors are going to be severe.”
Mu-Gun complained. Mu-Ok would have to go in and out of the Flower Honor Manor as if it was his home in the future. From others’ perspectives, he’d appear to be drowning in alcohol and women, so rumors about him would naturally go around.
Moreover, most of those rumors would be judging Mu-Ok’s reputation. It would be hard to bear being undermined and having fingers pointed at him. The thought made Mu-Gun worry about Mu-Ok, but he believed Mu-Ok would be able to endure it.
***
The next day, Mu-Gun called his three uncles to the training hall, and they complied without any complaints. Receiving the Celestial Moonlight Sword Art from Mu-Gun was enough to make them think that Mu-Gun called them to hand down a martial arts skill to them again.
“Welcome.” Mu-Gun bowed to his three uncles.
“Long time no see, Young Patriarch. How was your trip?” Baek Cheon-Ho, his second uncle, greeted him.
“I had a great trip. Thank you for your concern. How have you been, uncles?”
“Practicing the Celestial Moonlight Sword Art you passed down to us made the past two months pass by quickly, Young Patriarch.”
“You were so absorbed in training that you didn’t even notice the flow of time. That makes me wonder about the current level of your Celestial Moonlight Sword Art. Speaking of which, may I test your swordsmanship, dear uncles?”
“I’m worried that we’d disappoint you, Young Patriarch.”
“Your efforts will not betray you. Your hard work will show in your swordsmanship.”
“Why does it feel like those words of yours are scarier.”
At Baek Cheon-Ung’s response, Mu-Gun smiled softly and asked, “Who wants to go first?”
His uncles looked at each other. No one volunteered.
“Ehem, elders first. Since you’re the oldest here, why don’t you go first, Second Brother?” Cheon-Ho suggested to Baek Cheon-Gi.
“Really? You only say that times like this.”
Cheon-Ho laughed loudly at Cheon-Gi’s scolding. “Haha, shouldn’t we let you go first in moments like this, though?”
Baffled, Cheon-Gi shook his head. “I’ll be your first opponent, Young Patriarch.”
“Can we begin now?”
“I did a light warm-up before coming here, so if you’re fine with it, I have no issues with starting right away.”
“Let's begin, then."
Mu-Gun and Cheon-Gi faced each other in the center of the training hall, while Cheon-Ho and Cheon-Ung stepped back to one side of the training hall and watched their spar. Cheon-Gi made the first move, attacking Mu-Gun using the Celestial Moonlight Sword Art. Likewise, Mu-Gun confronted Cheon-Gi with the Celestial Moonlight Sword Art.
Mu-Gun didn’t give his all. It wasn’t important who won right now. What mattered to him was determining how much Cheon-Gi had accomplished. On the other hand, Cheon-Gi fought Mu-Gun with all his might. He could feel Mu-Gun’s level was higher than his, so he naturally gave it his all.
Even so, his sword couldn’t even threaten Mu-Gun, who calmly dealt with his attacks and observed his swordsmanship. Cheon-Gi’s talent was inferior to Baek Cheon-Sang, but he was outstanding in his own right. In addition, he executed the Celestial Moonlight Sword Art quite skilfully, perhaps because he had put a lot of effort into sword training. After completely examining Cheon-Gi’s swordsmanship, Mu-Gun stepped back quite a distance and stopped the bout. Their spar lasted a hundred seconds.
“Thank you for your hard work. Your swordsmanship has shown me how hard you’ve trained in it, First Uncle. If you keep working hard at this rate, you’ll certainly reach a higher level.”
“Your words are a big help, Young Patriarch. I will devote myself to it even more in the future, just as you said.”
“Shall we check Second Uncle’s swordsmanship this time?”
“If I knew this would happen, I would’ve sparred with you before Second Brother did. His skills have increased your expectations, so I’m going to be at a disadvantage. Hmph.”
“There’s no need to make excuses. Your swordsmanship will show how hard you trained anyway,” Cheon-Gi spoke with a straight face as Cheon-Ho grumbled about going second.
“Dear me, can’t I even joke about it?” Cheon-Ho responded in embarrassment and stood opposite Mu-Gun.
“Let’s begin.”
As soon as Mu-Gun finished his sentence, Cheon-Ho quickly charged in and thrust his sword. Mu-Gun easily dodged his sword force by moving sideways. Cheon-Ho continued his unyielding offensive. Mu-Gun initially only evaded Cheon-Ho’s attacks using movement arts, but as the latter unleashed more sword techniques, Mu-Gun began to raise his sword and use it to block the incoming attacks. He carefully observed Cheon-Ho’s swordsmanship as well. There was much more weight and power behind Cheon-Ho’s sword as compared to Cheon-Gi’s, but his sword technique wasn’t as refined.
It was due to the difference in their inherent personalities.
Cheon-Ho had an energetic personality and focused on increasing the power of his sword, even if it meant giving up on his technique’s delicateness. On the other hand, Cheon-Gi had an organized nature and focused on refining his sword techniques. Due to the nature of the Celestial Moonlight Sword Art, which focused on the variation, it suited Cheon-Gi better than Cheon-Ho. Hence, it led to Cheon-Gi having a relatively higher accomplishment in his swordsmanship.
However, Cheon-Ho’s efforts weren’t lacking. Although Cheon-Ho practiced in a swordsmanship style that didn’t fit his nature, he still preserved the power behind his sword in his own way. If Cheon-Ho learned another sword technique that prioritized power instead of the Celestial Moonlight Sword Art, he would’ve achieved a much higher level than his current one. Mu-Gun decided to end the spar and think about a swordsmanship style suitable for Cheon-Ho.
He sparred with Cheon-Ung last. Like the uncles Mu-Gun fought before him, Cheon-Ung also put in a considerable amount of effort, and his sword technique performance was decent. It wasn’t as good as Cheon-Gi’s, but it was similar to or slightly better than Cheon-Ho’s.
“As I expected, you didn’t disappoint, esteemed uncles. Going up against your swordsmanship, I can see how much effort you’ve put into training.”
“This is all thanks to you, Young Patriarch. You taught us the Celestial Moonlight Sword Art, which was such an excellent sword technique that we trained so excitedly.”
“I’ll have to teach you something new so that you can train harder in high spirits, then.”
“The Celestial Moonlight Sword Art is already good enough. What else are you going to teach us?”
When Cheon-Ho said something he didn’t mean, Mu-Gun jokingly replied, “If it’s good enough, then I’ll stop.”
“Ehem, real men are a man of their word. If you decided to teach us, then you should do so.”
“I’m kidding. What I’m going to teach you today is the body cultivation method known as the Iron Blood Vajra Body Cultivation Technique and a sword formation called the Three Absolute Soul Crushers Formation.”
Mu-Gun put a lot of thought into whether he should teach his three uncles the Iron Blood Vajra Body Cultivation Technique but ultimately decided to do so. Their roles were important if he wanted the Baek Sword Sect to reach greater heights. It would also benefit the Baek Sword Sect if he taught them the Iron Blood Vajra Body Cultivation Technique, allowing them to reach a greater level.
He would never pass down a martial art of the Heavenly Descent Thunder God Sect to them no matter what, but that wasn’t the case with the Iron Blood Vajra Body Cultivation Technique. It was a martial art technique that he was willing to teach as long as it was required.
“Brothers! Don’t you feel something amazing about that technique just by hearing its name?” Cheon-Ung expressed his high expectations.
Cheon-Gi and Cheon-Ho were no different. Their experience with the Celestial Moonlight Sword Art was enough for them to know Mu-Gun wouldn’t teach them ordinary techniques.
“The Iron Blood Vajra Body Cultivation Technique is a body cultivation method that trains the body. If this body cultivation method is trained to the peak, you’ll be able to unlock the Adamant Vajra Body State.”
“Is it really possible to achieve that?”
“I haven’t reached that level yet, so I can’t give you a definite answer. However, even at the 7-star realm, it would allow the practitioner to deflect off sword qi and saber qi with their bare body. Taking that into consideration, it wouldn’t be entirely impossible to achieve the Adamant Vajra Body State.”
“Woah! Have you reached the 7-star realm, Young Patriarch?”
“That’s right.”
“That’s amazing. It hasn’t even been that long since you recovered from qi deviation. I can’t believe you’ve already reached such a realm.”
“You all will be able to reach that level without difficulty as well, esteemed uncles.”
“What about the Three Absolute Soul Crushers Formation?” Cheon-Gi asked.
“It is a joint attack formation made up of three people. Unlike ordinary joint attack formations, executing the Three Absolute Soul Crushers Formation creates a special aura called the Three Unbreakable Bulwark Aura. It restrains the opponent trapped in the sword formation. Due to the sword formation’s effect, your internal energy and sword power will also be amplified up to a maximum of four times depending on your respective levels. If you three execute the Three Absolute Soul Crushers Formation with your current skills, you’ll be able to overpower an Upper Peak Realm master.”
“Does such an incredible sword formation really exist?”
“Yes. Are you willing to learn it?”
“Of course we are.”
“Will we be the only ones you’ll be teaching it to?”
“I plan to teach it to our martial artists in the intermediate rank and above. However, the Iron Blood Vajra Body Cultivation Technique is only yours to learn, esteemed uncles.”
“Hoho, if the Baek Sword Corps’ members learn the Three Absolute Soul Crushers Formation, the Baek Sword Sect’s combat power will increase further. You definitely are the Baek Sword Sect’s treasure, Young Patriarch.”
Cheon-Gi gave Mu-Gun a thumbs-up.
“Your roles are also important in the Baek Sword Sect’s growth. Moreover, I believe in you, esteemed uncles.”
“That’s the scariest thing I’ve heard. We will do our best to not disappoint you, Young Patriarch.”
“Now then, I’ll teach you the Iron Blood Vajra Body Cultivation Technique first.”
It took three days for Mu-Gun to teach and pass on the Iron Blood Vajra Body Cultivation Technique to his uncles. As soon as he did, he immediately continued with the Three Absolute Soul Crushers Formation, which was as complicated and profound as its domineering power.
In fact, it took seven days and nights for Mu-Gun to completely teach them the Three Absolute Soul Crushers Formation.
***
The verification assessment on the Baek Sword Corps was held while Mu-Gun was teaching his uncles the Iron Blood Vajra Body Cultivation Technique and the Three Absolute Soul Crushers Formation.
A basic physical strength assessment was first conducted, but it had a much higher standard than before. As a result, among the people who passed the basic physical assessment last time, thirty-six people, all low-rank warriors, failed to meet the requirements and were eliminated. Mu-Gun was dead set on expelling them, but he chose to listen to Cheon-Sang and his uncles’ opinion that they should be given one more chance. Mu-Gun decided to give them a grace period of a month before conducting additional assessments.
Those who passed the basic physical strength assessment had to go through a martial arts evaluation. This time, too, Mu-Gun conducted the martial arts evaluation. It lasted over seven days and nights.
In conclusion, there were four special-rank members, fifteen advanced-rank members, one hundred and five intermediate-rank members, and eighty-five low-rank members. Compared to the previous martial arts evaluation, the number of special-rank members increased by two, advanced-rank members increased by four, intermediate-rank members increased by eight, and low-rank members decreased by fifty.
Although the total number of their members decreased since many of the low-rank warriors failed the basic physical strength assessment and were eliminated, It was encouraging to see that some of their members’ skills had improved, albeit a little.
However, there was a limit to how much they could expand their power with just over two hundred people. In addition to qualitative improvement, they had to pursue quantitative growth as well. Hence, in an upper brass meeting with Cheon-Sang, Mu-Gun, and his three uncles in attendance, a plan was discussed to resolve this matter.
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶