The Genius Grandson of the Namgung Family Chapter 25

The Genius Grandson of the Namgung Family

Chapter 25

“What…?”

Paeng Heon-hong’s face slightly distorted. He was someone who would laughed even when he lost in sparring matches. But Ha Hyeon’s words just now couldn’t be laughed off.

“Honestly, I have doubts. Why are you trying to learn a sword that you’re not even familiar with?”

At that moment, Paeng Heon-hong recalled events from his family. Being born as the youngest late child among four brothers, and being pushed around between his brothers.

‘Ha Hyeon probably isn’t saying this because he knows about my circumstances.’

Paeng Heon-hong studied Ha Hyeon’s face. It definitely wasn’t an expression of mockery or teasing. He hesitated and couldn’t answer easily.

“Brother Paeng Heon-hong. I’m sorry. I was rude.”

Realizing the atmosphere had become strange, Ha Hyeon bowed his head and apologized.

“No, what rudeness?”

Paeng Heon-hong just smiled broadly. He knew well that Ha Hyeon hadn’t said this with any ill intent. No, rather, he probably said it out of genuine concern for him.

‘Speaking of the blade (sword)…’

Paeng Heon-hong recalled something he had forgotten for a long time since coming to the Namgung family.

That evening, Paeng Heon-hong retrieved something he had hidden deep in his quarters.

“Father…”

It was a blade sword. The blade he received from his father, Emperor Paeng Gil-san, on the day he left for the Namgung family. 

The blade was elegantly engraved with the characters “Lightning blade” (霹靂刀). Even at a glance, one could tell it was a precious sword. However, Paeng Heon-hong’s expression wasn’t very bright. While externally he was known as the beloved late-born son of his father, life in the Paeng family could hardly be called happy. Paeng Heon-hong’s eyes sank into darkness as he recalled those times.

‘Don’t get arrogant just because you have some talent.’ 

‘Just because you have father’s love doesn’t mean you can become the family head.’

His brothers were jealous of him despite his young age. The age gap between Paeng Heon-hong and his brothers was so large it could be considered a parent-child relationship. Even with his third brother who was closest in age, there was a twenty-year gap, and with his eldest brother, twenty-five years.

‘Usually when there’s a big age gap, the younger one is loved…’

But in the Northern Paeng Heon-hong family, which had an aggressive, practical, and militant atmosphere, such wasn’t the case. Since there was a chance they might lose the position of family head to a brother young enough to be their son, he always lived under scrutiny after his talents became known. Of course, one could say that this atmosphere of infinite competition had elevated the Northern Paeng Heon-hong family to its current position as one of the Five Great Families, but at least Paeng Heon-hong couldn’t endure it. His father too was direct in personality and valued efficiency. That’s why he sought out more elixirs for Paeng Heon-hong who showed outstanding talent at first glance, and tried to teach him more. Of course, the more he did so, the more his brothers persecuted him.

“Sigh…”

Paeng Heon-hong suppressed the demon in his heart that tormented him with a deep sigh. Naturally, this made him think of Ha Hyeon, who had caused him to remember the Northern Paeng Heon-hong family he had forgotten. And along with him, the direct descendants of the Namgung family here.

‘I never thought a place like this could exist.’

Ha Hyeon was loved by everyone here. The more his abilities were revealed to be outstanding, and the more he achieved. The more such things happened, he doubted if this was really a martial arts family with roots in the Central Plains like his own. The longer he stayed here, the more he understood why his father told him to build up strength at the Namgung family. When someone achieves something great, even if they surpass others, people sincerely congratulate and encourage them. And then they train with their lives on the line to catch up and surpass them. Paeng Heon-hong was convinced this was the biggest secret behind how the Namgung family could become the greatest family in the martial arts world.

creak

After being unable to sleep for a long while, Paeng Heon-hong finally opened the door and left his room. With nowhere particular to go, his feet naturally headed toward the training ground. Not the training ground for students that he had gone to tiredly for the past few months, but the official member training ground he had been granted access to starting today.

As it was approaching midnight, there was no one at the training ground. Paeng Heon-hong raised the Lightning blade he had brought from his room in the center of the grounds. And his blade began to move slowly.

swoosh

Paeng Heon-hong demonstrated the blade technique he hadn’t shown since coming to the Namgung family. Primordial Lightning blade (混元霹靂刀) As the extraordinarily sharp blade cut through the air, the moonlight reflected and sparkled.

Halt.

After demonstrating the blade technique for a while, Paeng Heon-hong stopped unnaturally mid-form. And then he looked at the Lightning blade as if wronged.

“Father, why did you give me this martial art…”

The Primordial Lightning blade is an incomplete martial art. More precisely, while it was once perfect, it became lost in parts as time passed. That’s why Paeng Heon-hong couldn’t fully master it. The signature technique that earned Paeng Gil-san the title of blade Emperor wasn’t the Primordial Lightning blade but the Five Tigers Gate-Breaking blade (五虎斷門刀). His father had taught that Five Tigers Gate-Breaking blade to his brothers.

Screech.

Paeng Heon-hong had to stop his train of thought as the training ground door opened. Because someone had come to the training ground.

“Brother Paeng Heon-hong. I knew you would be here.”

“Ha Hyeon?”

“Yes.”

“How did you know I would be here?”

Ha Hyeon scratched his head as he spoke.

“Well… Usually people who leave with that kind of expression after talking with me have trouble sleeping at night.”

While it could sound quite arrogant at first listen, Paeng Heon-hong burst out laughing. He thought this was truly a child with a talent for not offending others.

“That’s truly a magnificent blade. May I take a look?”

“Sure. Go ahead.”

“Wow…”

Ha Hyeon examined Paeng Heon-hong’s blade carefully from different angles, eyes wide with admiration.

‘At times like this, he’s every bit a child.’

Paeng Heon-hong felt there was quite a gap in Ha Hyeon’s demeanor when he was holding a weapon versus when he wasn’t.

“But why haven’t you ever carried such a fine blade around when you have one?”

“I came to learn sword techniques, so I can’t very well use a blade, can I?”

Ha Hyeon tilted his head.

“Why can’t you learn sword techniques with a blade?”

“Well obviously because sword techniques include forms that use both edges. And there are many forms that use the sword tip. Compared to that, a blade can’t thrust and can’t use both edges.”

“Then, couldn’t you just not use those forms? Those forms aren’t the essence of martial arts, are they?”

Paeng Heon-hong felt slightly irritated. He felt that someone as intelligent as Ha Hyeon couldn’t be asking without understanding these differences.

“You know well that’s not all. A sword values sharpness more than a blade. Especially maximizing sharpness by channeling qi all the way to the sword tip.”

Ha Hyeon nodded and asked.

“Yes. Then what about the blade?”

“While sword techniques channel qi into the sword, the blade relies heavily on strength along with the sword. So it allocates more qi to the body. Rather than adding sharpness, the qi channeled into the weapon is meant to cause greater damage when cutting with force…”

Paeng Heon-hong suddenly trailed off. He felt like he was about to grasp something. Ha Hyeon seized the opportunity and said with a slight smile.

“Then, how are you doing it now, Brother Paeng Heon-hong?”

“Ah…!”

He let out a soft exclamation. It was something he hadn’t thought of until now.

“When you train, it seems you’ve been keeping this in mind.”

“Yes, that’s right, but during sparring, not at all.”

“Yes.”

Channeling qi to wrap around the entire weapon doesn’t suit a sword. Rather, it’s a method suited to a sturdy blade that won’t break.

“I still haven’t let go of the blade.”

“Is there really a need to abandon the blade? From what I can see, the blade suits Brother Paeng Heon-hong well.”

Paeng Heon-hong’s expression looked bitter.

“I’m a warrior who’s practically been expelled from my family. So I must put down the blade.”

“Expelled? That’s a bit different from what I thought.”

“Different?”

“From what I heard, Brother Paeng Heon-hong came to study abroad at the Namgung family. Doesn’t studying abroad imply an assumption of returning someday?”

“That was just father’s pretext for driving me out.”

Ha Hyeon shook his head.

“I don’t think someone like that would bestow such a fine blade.”

“Isn’t it just final affection for a beloved youngest son?”

“Rather than that… Perhaps he wanted to protect you?”

“Protect?”

Paeng Heon-hong’s eyes wavered. He had never thought of it that way before.

“Though I’m not in a position to say this… I know well that no place in the world is like our Namgung family.”

He looked into Ha Hyeon’s eyes

Looking at them anew, Ha Hyeon’s eyes were definitely not those of a simple child. They were the eyes of an enlightened monk who had comprehended the world.

‘It’s as if he’s lived life twice.’

He shook his head as if dismissing such a foolish thought.

“And, if someone has earned the title of emperor in one field of martial arts, I think there must be a clear reason why he sent Brother Paeng Heon-hong here.”

“Father’s reason for sending me…”

He fell into thought for a very brief moment before speaking again.

“Actually, I’ve thought about that before too. But I couldn’t figure it out. Why did father send me here? Was it simply because I showed interest in sword techniques?”

No, it couldn’t have been just that simple reason. His father, the blade Emperor, wasn’t such a soft person.

“After hearing your words, something suddenly comes to mind.”

“What is it?”

“If he truly wanted to protect me from my brothers… Perhaps it’s this? To complete an interrupted martial art in a place beyond my brothers’ influence and then return.”

Paeng Heon-hong raised the Lightning blade. Even he didn’t know why he was acting this way. But in this moment, he decided to act as his heart desired.

“Would you like to see?”

“Yes.”

Paeng Heon-hong nodded slightly and began to demonstrate the Primordial Lightning blade. The blue moonlight reflected off the sword, scattering light through the air.

Whoosh- Whoosh-

Indeed, the blade technique looked clearly different from sword techniques. More direct and militant. It seemed like with each strike there was a will to cut through any obstacle, including the obstacle itself.

‘Ah, so this is how blade techniques are different.’

Ha Hyeon watched each of Paeng Heon-hong’s movements as if engraving them in his mind. Though Paeng Heon-hong didn’t realize it, demonstrating the forms and qi manipulation this slowly and in such detail in front of Ha Hyeon was essentially the same as transmitting martial arts techniques to him.

Halt

At some point, Paeng Heon-hong unnaturally stopped his form just like before.

“Ah…”

Seeing this, Ha Hyeon let out a sigh of regret.

“This is all there is. I’m not stopping midway, this is everything that was passed down to me.”

“I see.”

Ha Hyeon’s eyes shone. They were eyes that seemed to have found something extremely interesting.

“Did you notice something?”

Paeng Heon-hong asked Ha Hyeon without much expectation. However, no answer came back. Ha Hyeon had already closed his eyes.

“…”

Ha Hyeon kept his eyes closed for a long while. Paeng Heon-hong silently waited for him.

After quite some time had passed, Ha Hyeon slowly opened his eyes.

“Honestly, I can’t know what the blade Emperor was thinking either. But, one thing is certain.”

“What is it?”

“Watching Brother Paeng Heon-hong’s blade technique, for some reason… I was reminded of sword techniques.”

“Sword techniques? What do you mean?”

Shing

Instead of answering Paeng Heon-hong’s question, Ha Hyeon drew his sword. Not a wooden practice sword, but his precious real sword.

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