The Genius Grandson of the Namgung Family Chapter 24

The Genius Grandson of the Namgung Family

Chapter 24

After Ha Hyeon first came to the clan, time passed, and Ha Hyeon finally turned eleven years old. During that time, Ha Hyeon’s status within the Namgung clan had changed significantly. When he first arrived at the clan, he was just ‘the clever clan leader’s grandson’, but now he was much more than that.

‘Once-in-a-lifetime talent.’ ‘Heaven-sent ability.’ ‘The Sword Master’s direct disciple.’

And so on – the praise was so overwhelming that even Ha Hyeon, with his somewhat brazen personality, felt embarrassed enough to leave the room. Ha Hyeon began to form relationships with the Blue dragon pavilion members. Namgung Hwan got along well with most Blue dragon pavilion members due to his good personality. So he took good care of Ha Hyeon in many ways, including taking him around and introducing him to everyone.

This was really fortunate for Ha Hyeon. Being the leader of the Namgung clan wasn’t a leisurely position, so Namgung Mu-ryong was often absent. And Chwiwol Geolgae, who had volunteered to be his teacher, was so busy that he couldn’t even show his face much at the Namgung clan. In such circumstances, Ha Hyeon would have had to train alone for now, but thanks to Namgung Hwan, he could train while interacting with other Blue dragon pavilion members, which greatly increased his efficiency.

“Please guide me today as well.”

“I also ask for your guidance.”

Ha Hyeon exchanged formal greetings with Woo-jin, one of the Blue dragon pavilion members, and picked up his sword. The sword he was holding wasn’t his precious real sword that he usually cherished so much he would sleep holding it, but rather a wooden sword well-carved for sparring. As Namgung clan’s warriors had been increasingly requesting sparring matches with Ha Hyeon lately, he had to carry both a real sword and a wooden sword.

Clack!

Ha Hyeon and Woo-jin’s wooden swords clashed. Even at a glance, Ha Hyeon could swing his sword with equal power and speed as Woo-jin, who looked five or six years older than him.

Whoosh- Whoosh-

Woo-jin swung his sword earnestly, mixing in feints to try to strike Ha Hyeon’s body. However, Ha Hyeon somehow knew which were feints and only reacted to real attacks, either avoiding them with mysterious footwork or smoothly deflecting them with his wooden sword.

Clack-!

The outcome was decided after about twenty seconds of exchange. Ha Hyeon strongly struck the lower part of Woo-jin’s sword, and in the very brief moment Woo-jin took to recover his lowered sword, Ha Hyeon brought his sword to Woo-jin’s neck.

“I lost.”

Woo-jin cleanly admitted his defeat. The first time Woo-jin had sparred with Ha Hyeon was three months ago. Back then, Ha Hyeon couldn’t even touch Woo-jin with his sword tip, but now he was winning comfortably – everyone present was amazed at Ha Hyeon’s talent.

“Did you see any areas I need to improve today?”

“Hmm… You’ve improved since the day before yesterday, but your footwork application is still lacking.”

“Really?”

“You have a habit of dragging your feet first in the direction your sword will go, so just by watching your feet, one can predict which direction your next sword strike will come from. If you practice your footwork in a more orthodox way and eliminate this habit, I think you’ll improve greatly.”

“Thank you very much.”

Woo-jin nodded deeply and went to a corner of the training ground to practice, starting from the basics of infinite steps. And several warriors rushed to fill the empty space he left behind.

“Hyeon. You’re not tired, right? I’m next.”

“Didn’t you already have your turn yesterday? It’s my turn next.”

“Why don’t you both sit this one out? I feel like I’m about to have a breakthrough.”

Ha Hyeon smiled amusedly at their bickering. He found it funny that the Blue dragon pavilion members, who were renowned throughout the martial arts world, were lining up just to have one sparring match with him.

“I plan to spar with everyone as long as my stamina holds up, so please maintain order.”

For Ha Hyeon, sparring was also tremendously helpful. As his experience accumulated, the warrior in Ha Hyeon’s imagination grew stronger day by day, and ultimately, this led to direct improvements in Ha Hyeon’s actual skills.

“Alright. Then it’s indeed my turn.”

The Blue dragon pavilion member who had arrived first stood before Ha Hyeon with a smile, and they soon began sparring. To be honest, if Blue dragon pavilion members were to fight seriously in a life-or-death battle, it might not be too difficult for them to defeat Ha Hyeon. No matter how excellent Ha Hyeon’s eye for martial arts was, absolute training time and experience were among the most formidable weapons. However, they learned something from Ha Hyeon, so they approached with respect and a mindset of gaining teachings. And receiving advice from a young child could be seen as quite damaging to one’s pride. But the Namgung clan’s warriors had no such unnecessary pride.

‘Ha Hyeon? Haven’t I discovered my own habits that I wasn’t aware of thanks to that child? That alone is enough to say I’m greatly indebted to him.’ ‘I especially admire His character. With that much talent, it would be understandable if he became arrogant, but he shows no signs of that?’

To the Blue dragon pavilion members, Ha Hyeon wasn’t just someone who had rolled in, but family to be cherished. And they firmly believed that feeling jealousy and envy toward family was something only fools would do. Two hours passed by in a flash after sparring with three Blue dragon pavilion warriors.

‘Is this it for today.’

Looking around, everyone was immersed in their individual martial arts training. Some warriors had entered meditation, perhaps having realized something from their sparring with Ha Hyeon, while others were repeatedly practicing correct postures to eliminate their bad habits.

‘These people are terrifying.’

Ha Hyeon even felt a little scared of them. Put negatively, they seemed like wolves who wouldn’t miss their prey. There was only one reason they requested sparring matches with Ha Hyeon. It was because they had something to gain from him. It was clear that this pure obsession and hunger for martial arts among the Namgung clan’s warriors had ultimately made the Namgung clan into the most powerful clan and sect it was today.

Just as Ha Hyeon was about to get up to return to his quarters and organize what he had learned today, someone approached him.

“Could I perhaps have a match with you too, Ha Hyeon?”

When Ha Hyeon turned his head, there was a welcome face.

“Brother Paeng?”

“Yes, Ha Hyeon. Even though we’re in the same clan, we haven’t seen each other for a while.”

It was Paeng Heon-hong, the youngest son of Apprentice Paeng Gil-san. Ha Hyeon grabbed Heon-hong’s hand with genuine delight.

“What brings you here? Ah! Have you become an official member too, Brother Paeng?”

Paeng Heon-hong nodded with an awkward expression.

“Yes. I tried to catch up to you as quickly as possible, but sadly, my talent couldn’t keep up and I was a bit late.”

Though he said this, it was actually an exceptionally fast pace. Moreover, he had heard that Namgung So-hwa would also be taking the promotion test soon, meaning there would be three trainees becoming official members in just one year. Ha Hyeon could almost see Namgung Gyu-hyeon’s smiling face.

“Congratulations regardless.”

Paeng Heon-hong seemed to appreciate Ha Hyeon’s greeting, responding with a bright smile and thanks.

“Were you serious about what you said earlier? About wanting to spar with me?”

“Yes. I want to show you my progress. And of course, I want to see yours too.”

Ha Hyeon nodded. Although he should have been tired after four matches already, the Changgung Meditation Technique steadily replenished his internal energy even while he was talking and breathing. Thanks to that, his stamina and internal energy were almost fully recovered.

“Alright.”

Ha Hyeon picked up the wooden sword he had set down. Paeng Heon-hong had already taken up his wooden sword and assumed a ready stance.

“Oh, look over there. The newcomer is going to spar with Ha Hyeon.”

“Isn’t that newcomer the Apprentice’s son? I heard he had excellent talent, seems he’s already been promoted.”

Though not as much as Ha Hyeon, Paeng Heon-hong was also one of the famous figures in the clan. The fact that he had come to study at the Namgung clan despite being from the distinguished Northern Paeng family was an interesting topic that caused speculation among gossip enthusiasts.

‘His energy is definitely different.’

Ha Hyeon slowly observed Paeng Heon-hong. His energy was clearly different from when they had fought months ago. It was apparent how much effort he had put in during that time.

‘And… what I can see is also clearly different.’

At the same time, it became an opportunity to reflect on his own progress. When he had fought with Paeng Heon-hong before, he could only see his outward appearance and stance. But now, besides his appearance, Ha Hyeon could also sense the fierce energy writhing near Paeng Heon-hong’s lower dantian and its flow.

Tat-

Ha Hyeon, who rarely made the first move, initiated his footwork toward Paeng Heon-hong. Then he channeled plenty of energy into his wooden sword and made a large horizontal slash.

Clack!

When Paeng Heon-hong blocked Ha Hyeon’s sword, a loud sound rang out. His hand that blocked Ha Hyeon’s sword felt a slight tingling sensation. Ha Hyeon gave a faint smile as if he had known Paeng Heon-hong would block rather than dodge.

Whoosh!

When Ha Hyeon swung his sword again, it cut through empty air. Paeng Heon-hong, who had seemed like he would stick to head-on confrontation, had suddenly leaped his body backward.

“To improve this much in such a short time?”

Paeng Heon-hong was shocked. Honestly, until now, he had thought that at least in terms of internal energy, he was better than Ha Hyeon. Because even the medicinal supplements his father had given him since childhood were too numerous to count on both hands. So from the start, he had planned for a head-on battle using internal energy. But with just one clash, he could tell that Ha Hyeon’s current internal energy level was certainly not below his own.

“It’s not impossible.”

“Did you drink the Azure Essence Stone Oil or something?”

“Haha. That’s not it.”

Ha Hyeon answered leisurely.

“My goodness, just how strong are you going to get?”

Instead of answering, Ha Hyeon responded with a dazzling smile. Then he gestured to Paeng Heon-hong as if inviting him to come.

“Here I come.”

Paeng Heon-hong charged at Ha Hyeon while maximizing his energy. His energy was so powerful that even his footsteps thundered as he executed his footwork.

Swoosh-!

The sword thrusting toward Ha Hyeon was sharp. The technique was the Changgung Sword Art that Ha Hyeon was also familiar with.

Kwang-!

Ha Hyeon too blocked Paeng Heon-hong’s sword with his sword filled with maximum energy. Though it was just wooden swords clashing, a sound completely unsuited to that rang out. Ha Hyeon’s eyes sparkled as he watched Paeng Heon-hong’s sword. Something that was invisible to everyone here, even to Paeng Heon-hong who was unconsciously executing it, Ha Hyeon could sense with his superior energy perception. That Paeng Heon-hong’s energy was overflowing from his sword, forming a thick, invisible energy wrapping around the blade.

Bwang-!

Sharrak

When Paeng Heon-hong swung his sword toward Ha Hyeon again, even though it hadn’t touched him, the front of Ha Hyeon’s clothes split.

“Hmm! Sword energy?”

The martial artist watching their match jumped up in shock. This was because he saw Paeng Heon-hong, who had just become an official member, using sword energy.

‘No, strictly speaking, this isn’t sword energy.’

But Ha Hyeon himself remained calm. What Paeng Heon-hong had just accomplished was merely a phenomenon caused by his excessive internal energy overflowing. Ha Hyeon had already noticed this.

‘Fighting like this, internal energy consumption is inevitable…’

Ha Hyeon also began channeling overflowing energy into his sword. However, Ha Hyeon’s energy was completely different from Paeng Heon-hong’s. It was thin and sharp, like laying a keen precious sword over the wooden sword.

‘The density also becomes lower.’

Swoosh-

Ha Hyeon’s sword passed through Paeng Heon-hong’s sword as if it had phased through it. Though nothing seemed to happen on the surface, Ha Hyeon could hear it clearly.

Crash-

The thick internal energy wrapping Heon-hong’s sword shattered and scattered. Simultaneously

Slice- Thud.

Paeng Heon-hong’s wooden sword was cleanly cut in half and fell to the training ground floor.

Tchak-

And Ha Hyeon brought his wooden sword to Paeng Heon-hong’s neck before he could think of resisting.

“I lost.”

Paeng Heon-hong readily admitted defeat. Ha Hyeon nodded and withdrew his sword.

“I thought I had gotten much stronger, but there’s no sign of catching up to you.”

“The pioneer is always the fastest. If you don’t give up, won’t we meet at the finish line eventually?”

“Haha. No need to comfort me.”

Paeng Heon-hong laughed. Perhaps because he lost too cleanly? Instead of feeling defeated, laughter escaped him.

“Brother Paeng. If it’s not too presumptuous, may I share something with you?”

“Yes, please do.”

Ha Hyeon paused for a moment, then spoke.

“Brother Paeng, I think you would be better suited to using a saber rather than a sword.”

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

If you would like to support these translations or read advanced chapters, you can do so by unlocking them.

Your support will allow for the continued translation of this novel.