Chapter 9
"Sir, the Eldest Master is here."
"Show him in."
The door opened, and Yeon Ho-jeong and Yeon Ji-pyeong entered.
As they entered, the temperature in the room seemed to rise. The heat radiating from Yeon Ho-jeong was intense.
"Father."
"Sit."
Two cups of warm tea were already prepared. The fragrance of the tea, rising with the white steam, was quite pleasant.
Yeon-wi glanced at Yeon Ji-pyeong. His gaze seemed to question why he was present when only the eldest had been summoned.
Yeon Ji-pyeong scratched his head, looking embarrassed, and said, "I didn't get a chance to offer my morning greetings, sir."
It was a flimsy excuse.
"Both of you, sit."
Yeon Ji-pyeong sighed in relief and sat beside Yeon Ho-jeong.
Yeon-wi slid a teacup towards Yeon Ji-pyeong, who, distracted, didn't notice.
Yeon-wi scanned Yeon Ho-jeong from head to toe and nodded.
"Looks like you did it correctly."
"My legs are still shaking like jelly."
It was a joking remark, but Yeon-wi's expression remained unchanged.
"If you work hard and become a master capable of unifying Jeong, Gi, and Shin, you'll be able to maintain a horse stance for three days and nights straight."
"If I become that skilled, I won't be wasting my time with horse stances."
Yeon Ji-pyeong subtly nudged Yeon Ho-jeong's side with his elbow. He thought his brother was being too disrespectful to their father.
But Yeon-wi didn't seem to mind.
"What did you summon us for? To check our homework?"
"Let's be clear, that was punishment, not homework. I thought you'd learned your lesson, but it seems you just exhausted yourself."
"I suppose I won't change, even if I die."
He meant every word. Which was natural, coming from someone who'd died once.
The sentence about the punishment was removed because it was a thought and not a dialogue.
"I couldn't ask you this earlier because of the incident with the Namgung family. Are you planning to learn the Azure Net True Art?"
"Ah, yes, that's correct."
Yeon Ji-pyeong looked at his brother in surprise. He hadn't known that his brother had mentioned that to their father.
But at the same time, he understood. His brother had mastered the Soaring Swallow Mind Method, so it was time for him to seriously learn the family's martial arts.
Yeon-wi said in a stern tone,
"The Azure Net True Art is one of our family's Five Great Divine Arts. But if your foundation isn't solid, there's no point in learning it. You know that, don't you?"
"Of course."
Yeon-wi sensed strong confidence in Yeon Ho-jeong's reply.
"Have you mastered the Soaring Swallow Mind Method up to the ninth level?"
Yeon Ho-jeong held out his wrist without a word. He figured it was better to show than tell.
Yeon-wi, who had been quietly observing his son, placed his hand on his wrist.
'Hmm?'
Yeon-wi's eyes changed slightly.
A strong flow of true qi. Most of the acupoints in his head and limbs were open.
"When did this happen?"
"The morning I left the ancestral shrine."
Yeon-wi examined Yeon Ho-jeong's internal state once more.
And he realized something.
"The flow of true qi is unusual. You didn't awaken it gradually and adapt; you grasped it all at once."
This time, Yeon Ho-jeong's eyes widened.
'As expected, he's amazing.'
To figure out how someone mastered a mind method just by observing their true qi flow, blood circulation, and the traces of their acupoints...
This was by no means an easy feat. Even a high-level master might have missed those traces if they weren't perceptive.
Yeon Ho-jeong glanced at Yeon Ji-pyeong.
Yeon Ji-pyeong looked confused. He couldn't figure out why his father bothered checking his pulse when it was so obvious.
'Pyeong-i inherited his senses from Father.'
Compared to him, he definitely wasn't as gifted. His sharp senses only developed after countless life-or-death situations.
He was definitely different from his father and younger brother.
"You've overcome the confusion caused by qi. Did you take an academic approach to the mind method?"
"It just clicked."
"Sticking to one path is important, but when that doesn't work, trying something different is also good. Well done."
"……!"
Yeon Ho-jeong's eyes widened. Yeon Ji-pyeong's jaw dropped.
It was the first time they had ever heard their father say "well done."
Even Yeon Ji-pyeong, who was supposed to have the greatest talent in the family's history, had never been praised by Yeon-wi. Yeon-wi was sparing with praise and strict with criticism.
For the brothers, that one phrase meant a great deal.
"Good. I will permit you to practice the Five Great Divine Arts."
"Thank you."
"But why choose the Azure Net True Art specifically?"
Yeon Ho-jeong nodded.
"I believe it suits me best."
Each of the Yeon family's Five Great Divine Arts had its own distinct characteristics. At the same time, all five were similar in level and difficulty.
Ultimately, choosing which of the five arts to learn was up to the individual.
Yeon-wi, who had been silently observing Yeon Ho-jeong for a moment, spoke again.
"There is something I want to ask you."
"Yes."
"I am only now permitting you to practice the Five Great Divine Arts. Unless I, the Family Head, permit it, no one in the family can learn the Five Great Divine Arts."
"I am aware."
"But you told the Twin Guardians to inform me beforehand that you'd be learning the Azure Net True Art."
Yeon-wi was not trying to reprimand Yeon Ho-jeong for his arrogance.
"Did you already know the formula for the Azure Net True Art?"
That's correct.
The Five Great Divine Arts cannot be learned by family members without the Family Head's permission. That means the formulas haven't been leaked outside the family.
And yet, his eldest son had announced beforehand that he would learn the Azure Net True Art.
After a moment of silence, Yeon Ho-jeong spoke.
"It's not just the Azure Net True Art."
"Hmm?"
"I know the formulas for all Five Great Divine Arts."
Even Yeon-wi couldn't help but be surprised this time. His slightly widened eyes revealed his inner feelings.
Of course, Yeon Ji-pyeong looked like he was about to faint.
"You know the formulas for all five divine arts?"
"Yes, I do."
"How?"
Because you taught them to me, Father.
During the time when the family was attacked by some unknown group.
While the brave warriors of the Yeon family were bleeding and fighting on the front lines, Yeon-wi had passed on the formulas for all Five Great Divine Arts to his two sons.
Of course, there wasn't enough time to memorize all those numerous formulas. Yeon-wi handed Yeon Ho-jeong five volumes of the original texts and Yeon Ji-pyeong five volumes of copies, trying to get them to safety.
However, Yeon Ji-pyeong was unlucky. He died fighting some masters who had blocked their escape.
Yeon Ho-jeong fled, crying tears of blood. He wanted to avenge his brother then, but the reality of his helplessness and the responsibility of restoring the Yeon family forced him to retreat into the forest.
Three months later, Yeon Ho-jeong met his master and conquered the Murim within a few years.
"Did you enter the Martial Arts Library?"
The Martial Arts Library was a library where the martial arts manuals of the Byeoksan Yeon family were collected. It was also a place thoroughly guarded by some of the most skilled warriors in the Yeon family.
"I've never entered without permission."
"Then how?"
Yeon Ho-jeong stared silently at Yeon-wi.
"Father showed them to me."
"What?"
If he could, he wanted to tell him everything.
That he was Yeon Ho-jeong, returned to the past. He wanted to tell him everything about how the future would change and what kind of life he had lived.
He truly wanted to tell his father everything.
Yeon Ho-jeong's fist clenched.
'Not yet.'
He might not believe him, and even if he did, now was not the time. That's what he thought.
"I showed you the manuals of the Five Great Divine Arts? When was that?"
"When I was a child, didn't you take me into the Martial Arts Library a few times?"
Yeon-wi furrowed his brow.
"When you were young… are you talking about when you had just started learning martial arts?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"You still remember the formulas for the Five Great Divine Arts from back then?"
"Yes."
In the end, he had no choice but to gloss over it like that.
Actually, Yeon Ho-jeong's memory was several times better than when he was a child. It made sense, since he'd trained his mind and upper dantian so intensely.
He was sorry to deceive his father, but he thought it couldn't be helped.
'This is better, even for the future.'
The Yeon family's best martial art was not the Five Great Divine Arts.
In fact, you need to know all Five Great Divine Arts to unlock the Yeon family's ultimate technique.
Yeon Ho-jeong saying he knew all the formulas was a strategic move. Once he mastered the Azure Net True Art, he planned to learn the Yeon family's secret technique, too.
Because you have to master the secret technique to become the best.
"Remembering martial arts formulas from over ten years ago..."
Yeon-wi shook his head.
"Why didn't you say anything before?"
"What good are the Five Great Divine Arts to someone who's still struggling with the basics?"
"Now that you've mastered the mind method, you're ready to discuss it?"
"Yes."
It felt a bit uneasy.
"Just one of those formulas is over twelve hundred characters long."
Yeon-wi shook his head again.
"You've got an incredible memory."
One unexpected point was that Yeon-wi did not ask Yeon Ho-jeong to prove it.
"Just knowing the formulas doesn't mean you had to learn them all immediately. Unless you were just trying to show off your memory, there's no reason to rush."
There is.
These were words he only shouted in his heart. Of course, Yeon Ho-jeong couldn't say those words this time either.
"I just wanted to learn them as quickly as possible."
"When you're learning divine arts, you need to be calm and careful. Don't forget that."
"I understand."
Yeon-wi leaned back slightly in his chair.
"Good. I will permit your training in the Azure Net True Art."
"Thank you."
"Come here before breakfast tomorrow. I'll guide you through the basics of the mind method and how to convert Soaring Swallow Qi into Azure Net True Qi."
"I understand."
He knew he could probably learn it faster on his own, but he went along with his father's instructions.
There are some things you just don't disregard, no matter how much of a hurry you're in. For Yeon Ho-jeong, that meant promises to his family and showing them he cared.
'I'll just get a little help in the beginning, then I'll handle the rest.'
If that little bit of help meant he could spend a little more time with his father, that was enough.
Slowly, step by step, they were getting closer. At least in this life, he wouldn't have any regrets about not being there for his family.
"Go on and take care of your business."
"Ah, there's one thing I wanted to ask."
"What is it?"
"Have you heard anything from the Namgung family?"
He asked just in case, but the answer was surprising.
"There has been."
Yeon Ho-jeong frowned.
"They contacted you? Don't tell me they apologized?"
"It wasn't an apology from the Family Head himself."
"Of course, it wouldn't be. The distance to Anhui is quite far. It's impossible, timewise."
"But I did receive a letter from the Clan Lord himself. He apologized for what happened that night and for his nephew's disrespect."
The Clan Lord sent a personal apology overnight?
Yeon Ho-jeong's eyes suddenly turned cold.
'This isn't good.'
A hothead apologizing this quickly?
It's possible. However, Namgung Dae-san was the Clan Lord of the Namgung family and also the younger brother of the Family Head. Even if they were in the wrong, there's no way they'd apologize so readily.
"What are they up to?"
Yeon Ho-jeong muttered to himself involuntarily.
Yeon-wi's gaze wasn't as stern as it used to be.
"I'll take care of this. You are both dismissed."
"Yes."
Yeon Ho-jeong and Yeon Ji-pyeong bowed politely and left.
Yeon-wi, noticing the cold tea, emptied the teacups that had been in front of Yeon Ho-jeong.
He leaned back in his chair, his face still unreadable.
"It didn't even take twenty years."
