Martial Arts Ain't Anything Special-Chapter 90: Sword Form of the Emperor (1)

How should they recognize the signal without having designated one in advance? There was no need to worry about that.

BOOM────────!!!

As a brilliant explosion filled the high sky, everyone simultaneously gripped their weapons.

“What a passionate lord.”

Jang Geuk grinned and raised his pudao high.

“Let’s go, you bastards! We’ve got an employer now, so I won’t forgive any slackers like before!”

“Yessir! Charge!”

“Kill them all!”

The Heavenly Wind Squad didn’t say anything. Instead, they exchanged glances and immediately rushed forward.

Seeing the two groups charging without hesitation, the Diamond Squad also departed, albeit a step behind.

“Don’t fall behind the Namgung Clan bastards!”

“Captain, are you alright?”

“...What do you mean?”

“Nothing, sir.”

“...Damn it.”

Hwangbo Jun gritted his teeth and stomped the ground hard.

Boom! The ground shook as his massive body soared high into the air.

Light brown fist force gathered in his fist. He swung it violently as if venting his anger, and the projected force smashed through the gate and building.

Crash!

“Hiyah!”

As the path opened, Jang Geuk immediately jumped in and swung his pudao.

“Aaagh...!”

“Stop them! Don’t let them break through!”

The Black Serpent martial artists tried to block the way, but about half of them hadn’t even reached the Peak Realm.

There wasn’t a single moment of resistance against Jang Geuk’s pudao, unleashing the inspiration he had gained from witnessing Seojun’s Giant Spirit Divine Art. The floor gradually became stained with the blood and flesh of the Black Serpent members.

The Heavenly Wind Squad meanwhile ignored the enemies and rushed straight inside.

“Young Master!”

Finding Seojun in a room, they immediately formed a formation and took defensive positions.

“Oh, you came quickly?”

Seojun was sitting on the floor playing rock-paper-scissors with Somi.

Of course, he had already cleared away the corpses. He wasn’t so deranged as to play with a child next to dead bodies.

Children were seated around Seojun watching the game, and when the song stopped, one child urged him.

“Mister! Hurry! What’s next?”

“Hey, I’m not a mister...”

Seojun scratched his head and signaled to Hwan Baeho to put down the child on his back.

“Big brother...!”

Somi jumped up and ran to the child.

“S-Somi...!”

“Big brother...!”

The siblings hugged each other tightly, rejoicing in their reunion. Watching them, Seojun smiled warmly and wiped his nose.

“Hmm. Makes me miss my Chunbong.”

“Mister! Hurry clap-clap-clap!”

“You little...! During this touching moment!”

“Come on, hurryyy!”

While the other children remained quiet, perhaps still not having shaken off their fear, this little one alone was full of energy.

Seojun chuckled and extended his hand, and the child’s eyes sparkled as she took it.

“Clap-clap-clap! Milky way in a clear blue sky”

“Th-This child...!”

A woman who appeared to be the child’s mother ran over, but when Seojun shook his head indicating it was fine, she stamped her feet anxiously, watching her child.

Seojun looked around while devoting just enough attention to the game. Judging from people’s expressions, they all seemed to have finally relaxed a bit.

Somi and her big brother Seohyul, along with their parents, were embracing and crying, and other families were also enjoying their reunion.

It seemed that regardless of martial prowess, from the commoners’ perspective, the uniformed Heavenly Wind Squad was indeed reassuring.

Boom! Bang!

It was a bit noisy outside, but who cared? Even that quieted down within minutes.

“My Lord! All taken care of!”

As Jang Geuk strode into the room, the child playing a handclapping game hiccupped and hid behind Seojun.

Seojun grinned.

“Hey old man, couldn’t you at least wipe off some of the blood?”

“Oh dear me.”

Jang Geuk smiled and wiped the blood with his sleeve, smearing it and making him look like a serial killer.

“Haha, these cute little ones. Want uncle to play with you?”

“Eek...!”

The child was so frightened that she wet herself. Jang Geuk awkwardly stepped back.

Seojun chuckled and asked Hwangbo Jun, who had followed in.

“They seem to be people from around here. Isn’t Shandong under the Hwangbo Clan’s jurisdiction?”

“...It is.”

“Then you’ll take them back, right?”

“...Me? I’m not that free to—”

“Choose your words carefully before you get hit.”

“...I will.”

“Good.”

Case solved.

*Before parting with the people, Seojun called over one child who had been particularly fond of him and Seohyul.

“Now, friends. I shall personally bestow upon you an awesome opportunity.”

Seojun pulled out a manual from his chest.

The Spirit Sword Technique. It was the martial art possessed by the idiot he had used as a human bomb during the demonic creature flood.

More precisely, it was Spirit Sword Technique ver. 2.

He had deliberately changed it a bit in case someone recognized it later and caused trouble, but he hadn’t expected to use it like this.

“What is this?”

The child who had followed Seojun closely, Heerin, scurried over and examined the manual.

“Ah, this is what we call a martial art.”

Of course, he didn’t expect them to learn martial arts just by reading the manual. That would be impossible unless they were exceptional geniuses.

Seojun asked the Heavenly Wind Squad members.

“Is there anyone who’s dreamed of being an instructor?”

One man raised his hand high.

“Oh, winner! Your prize is the Thunder Spirit Sword Technique.”

He couldn’t keep using a name like Spirit Sword Technique ver. 2, so he made up a new one on the spot.

Seojun handed the manual to the squad member.

“Brother Jacheong, it wouldn’t be bad for you to learn it too. It has good compatibility with the Namgung Clan sword techniques.”

“Thank you!”

“Yepyep.”

Seojun said to Seohyul and Heerin.

“If you have friends who want to learn together, they can join. Especially you.”

Seojun placed his hand on Seohyul’s shoulder.

“Don’t think this kind of luck will come again. Next time something like this happens, you need to protect your little sister.”

“Y-Yes!”

“Good.”

Afterwards, Seojun briefly demonstrated the forms of the Thunder Spirit Sword Technique to Jacheong.

The manual already had fairly detailed illustrations, and for someone at the Heavenly Wind Squad’s level, this much guidance would be sufficient to learn the martial art.

“You can decide when to return on your own. I’ve written down some cultivation techniques in the back, so teach the kids, and if anything happens, contact the clan.”

“Yes sir!”

Learning martial arts, stepping into the martial world.

Perhaps new dangers would come because of it, but Seojun still believed it was better to learn martial arts.

Martial arts are a weapon that gives one the strength to stand alone in the face of a crisis.

The kind of lunatics who would pick fights with people for learning martial arts would likely be the same type to boldly draw their swords against those who haven’t learned any either way.

Who knows?

Maybe the children will become awesome martial arts masters later and come back to thank me.

“Live well, friends,”

“See you again, mister~!”

“Thank you very much for everything!”

After saying goodbye to the children, exchanging farewells with the villagers, smacking the head of the guy who had acted unpleasantly, and also annoying Hwangbo Jun a bit for good measure, he departed.

“Aren’t you tired?”

“Haha! If I got tired from this much, I wouldn’t be a Namgung Clan martial artist!”

Of course, he was saying this while being carried on the back of a Heavenly Wind Squad member.

It wasn’t an abuse of power; he was riding because he was tired.

“Hehe, this is comfortable.”

Truly.

*The return to the Namgung Clan took quite some time.

It couldn’t be helped with Seojun groaning and moaning.

After about three weeks, when they arrived at the Namgung Clan, Seojun’s condition had improved considerably.

“Ah, home sweet home!”

Seojun exchanged his farewells with the Heavenly Wind Squad members. The Green Forest bandits also followed the squad to get accustomed to the Namgung Clan.

If Chunbong had finished her seclusion, she would probably have been lingering at the main gate, but there was no sign of her.

Since there would be no one waiting in his room anyway, Seojun headed to Namgung Suah’s quarters to report his return and encountered an unexpected figure.

“Oh, father-in-law.”

“You’ve returned...”

Seojun alternated his gaze between Namgung Suah, collapsed on the floor drenched in sweat, and Namgung Jincheon standing before her.

“Did I walk into some domestic violence?”

“Is that what you believe...”

“It isn’t?”

Seojun grinned and squatted next to Namgung Suah, poking her side.

“Big sis, are you alive?”

“Y-Yes...”

“Oh my, she’s on the verge of death.”

A squelch came out when he patted her back. The weather was getting colder, yet she was drenched in sweat.

“D-Don’t do thattt...”

She wriggled away.

“Why?”

“I’m all sweaty...”

“I don’t mind.”

“I mind...”

“I see.”

Namgung Jincheon watched them with a pleased expression and brought his sword to his ear.

Ring—

After nodding at the sword’s whisper, he called out to Seojun.

“Son-in-law...”

“Yeah?”

“I heard about it... They said this incident was quite dangerous...”

“It wasn’t that bad.”

“Facing two Transcendent Realm experts alone is indeed dangerous...”

“Now that you mention it...”

Realizing this, Seojun nodded. Namgung Jincheon then continued.

“There is a sword I wish to teach you...”

This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.

“The sword? You’re already teaching me, aren’t you?”

“Hmm... While the sword is indeed a sword, it is somewhat different...”

Ring—

Namgung Jincheon placed the sword to his ear again and nodded.

“It’s alright, my wife... I have already decided...”

Seojun suddenly had an ominous premonition looking at him.

Surely he’s not asking me to swing around mother-in-law? Even that would be...

“I wish to teach you the Sword Form of the Emperor...”

“Hold on? What did you just say?”

“I said the Sword Form of the Emperor...”

Seojun blinked.

“Wait, um... Is that allowed?”

“Of course not...”

“Ah.”

“However, how can I compare mere martial arts to family... In times like these, if one can become even slightly stronger, then that’s what should be done...”

At Namgung Jincheon’s gesture, the sword drew itself from its scabbard and floated in the air.

“Rather than losing and regretting, I shall bear this burden... I will take all responsibility so that my son-in-law need not shoulder the same regrets as I...”

A bottomless sorrow filled Namgung Jincheon’s eyes.