Myst, Might, Mayhem (Novel) - Chapter 37 - Martial Talent (4)
Chapter 37 – Martial Talent (4)
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Translated by Jinmu
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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Mok Yu-cheon, the youngest young master of Yeon Mok Sword Manor.
He had no choice but to mature earlier than others his age.
When Mok Yu-cheon learned that his mother was nothing more than a courtesan, he came to understand reality at a young age.
At first, he despaired.
No one acknowledged him as a young master of Yeon Mok Sword Manor.
He was nothing more than an illegitimate child born of lowly blood.
That was unhappiness itself.
There had been only one breakthrough for Mok Yu-cheon, who had spent his childhood in such despair.
‘……Become stronger.’
The world was fair.
His blood might be lowly, but his martial talent was extraordinary.
No, he had been born with it.
Martial arts were the only way for someone like him, who had nothing, to stand out.
If he became strong enough that no one could ignore him, then everyone would have no choice but to acknowledge him.
‘I will be acknowledged.’
And that truly came to pass.
Because of his outstanding martial talent, the Manor Lord, who had shown no interest in him for being an illegitimate child, gradually began to favor him, and even the retainers acknowledged him.
Even the brothers who had despised his mother and him could no longer treat him carelessly.
‘Perhaps…..’
The very one who had been mocked as lowborn might become the Manor Lord.
Little by little, he had swelled with hope.
But lately, that expectation had turned into anxiety.
‘What will happen when the Manor Lord dies?’
The Manor Lord had not named anyone as successor.
At this rate, the wastrel eldest young master or the scheming second one, Mok Eun-pyeong, might become the Manor Lord.
If that happened, the First Madam might even try to kill him, whom she regarded as a thorn in her eye.
‘Aaaah……’
It grew complicated again.
He had expected that effort would change everything.
But he felt as though he had hit a wall once more.
Even so, there was nothing he could do.
Unlike his half-brothers, he had neither the means nor the money to scheme or build up influence.
Right now, there was only one thing he could do.
Continue honing his martial arts.
So even today, he had been absorbed in training to empty his mind of distracting thoughts.
Yet the face he least wanted to see in the training ground, no, the face he hated most, appeared.
‘Mok Gyeong-un.’
Why on earth had this bastard shown up here?
Leaving aside the fact that he was mediocre, he was someone with no interest in training martial arts in the first place.
Just seeing him made the mind that he had barely emptied with sweat start to turn unpleasant again.
“Get out of the training ground.”
Since he had once beaten him half to death, if the fool had any sense, he would understand.
But then unexpected words came out of the bastard’s mouth.
“Do you also want to become the Manor Lord?”
“What?”
For a moment, he was dumbfounded.
“What nonsense are you talking about right now?”
“I meant exactly what you heard. I asked whether you also want to become the Manor Lord.”
At those words, Mok Yu-cheon raised his voice and said,
“I don’t know what trick you’re trying to pull by showing up in front of me, but stop babbling and get lost. Unless you want to crawl away like last time…..”
“Well. I think you’d want this, though.”
With those words, Mok Gyeong-un pulled something from inside his robe.
Mok Yu-cheon’s eyes widened at the sight.
“You……how did you get that?”
“Do you want it?”
Mok Gyeong-un waved the secret manual and asked Mok Yu-cheon.
Wood-Transforming Heart Cultivation Method.
It was a breathing method and internal energy circulation method that only the Manor Lord of Yeon Mok Sword Manor could learn.
As one who carried the blood of the Mok family, there was no way Mok Yu-cheon would not recognize this manual.
‘How did that bastard?’
Mok Yu-cheon could not understand this situation.
The Manor Lord was lying sick in bed and had still not awakened, so how could Mok Gyeong-un have the manual for the Wood-Transforming Heart Cultivation Method?
Then suddenly his thoughts became tangled.
‘Could it be?’
Did Father give that bastard the manual for the Wood-Transforming Heart Cultivation Method?
No.
That could not be.
Regardless of birth, the two children Father regarded most pitifully were the eldest, Mok Yeong-ho, and the third, Mok Gyeong-un.
The reason was that neither of them had martial talent, and neither of them made any effort.
Had he not said it to him openly?
[If only your brothers resembled even half of you.]
Those words had not been spoken for nothing.
Mok Yu-cheon glared sharply at Mok Gyeong-un and said,
“Where did you get that? Don’t tell me you stole it behind Father’s back?”
At that, Mok Gyeong-un let out a snort and said,
“That’s not what matters.”
“Not what matters? Father would never have given a manual to someone like you.”
“Who knows? If the Manor Lord’s heart was drawn to it, he might have given it to me.”
“Nonsense!”
Mok Yu-cheon raised his voice.
‘Hup.’
At that moment, Gochan, who stood behind them, grimaced as the sound rang against his eardrums.
He must hate Mok Gyeong-un quite a lot.
He was even loading internal power into his voice to the point of making people dizzy.
On the other hand, Mok Gyeong-un showed no great reaction other than narrowing his brows slightly.
At that sight, a strange light appeared in Mok Yu-cheon’s eyes.
‘No reaction at all?’
Normally, Mok Gyeong-un would have made a huge fuss.
But he endured it.
Had he perhaps trained in martial arts diligently while out of sight?
Then again, why did he instead feel weaker than before?
While wondering, Mok Yu-cheon opened his mouth again.
“Do you have proof that it’s real?”
“Proof?”
Mok Gyeong-un let out a small laugh and then casually held out the manual for the Wood-Transforming Heart Cultivation Method.
At that, Mok Yu-cheon frowned.
What kind of trick was this?
After hesitating a moment, Mok Yu-cheon accepted the manual.
It was not because of greed, but because he was curious whether it was a real manual.
‘Huh?’
But the manual was thin.
When he opened it to see what it was, there were only two pages inside the cover.
The cultivation formula might have been short, but there was no way it would be only two pages.
Was it a fake after all?
So he read the formulas on the front.
But the moment he read them, Mok Yu-cheon became certain.
‘……..It’s real.’
Because he had perfectly mastered the basics, he could tell.
Naturally, he flipped to the back and inspected the remaining formulas, and when he saw traces showing that the rest had been torn out midway, he involuntarily swallowed in regret.
‘Ah…….’
For an instant, thirst seized him.
As a martial artist, he could not help but yearn for higher martial arts.
The Wood-Transforming Heart Cultivation Method and the Yeon Mok Star Sword Formula, the martial arts reserved for the Manor Lord, were the keys to higher learning.
If he learned them, he might reach the complete peak realm and, on that foundation, perhaps rise to an even higher realm of martial learning.
“Why is there no content after this?”
At that question, Mok Gyeong-un smiled and tapped his head with his finger.
Understanding the meaning, Mok Yu-cheon’s eyes narrowed.
‘This bastard…….’
Had Mok Gyeong-un originally been this crafty?
Showing this thing that retained only enough traces to prove it was genuine, while memorizing about ninety percent of the original, was a way of firmly ensuring there was no way to obtain the manual except through him.
It even seemed he had prepared for the possibility that the manual might be taken from him.
‘Is this really that bastard’s thinking?’
He glanced sideways at Guard Gochan behind him.
But looking at the way the guard seemed so tense and watchful, it did not seem to be his doing.
Then that meant it really was.
‘…….He changed.’
What had happened in those two years?
After that incident that day, they had never directly clashed or even spoken.
That was because Mok Gyeong-un had stayed frightened and avoided him the whole time.
But the Mok Gyeong-un he saw again after two years was very different from back then.
“Just what are you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Leaving aside how you got this, what kind of trick are you trying to pull right now?”
“Does it look like a trick?”
-Smack!
Mok Yu-cheon flung the manual to the ground and stepped up right in front of Mok Gyeong-un as he said,
“A bastard who has done nothing but run away while watching me and the other brothers for two years brings this here and starts talking about becoming the Manor Lord. Do you think that’s normal?”
“Hm. I thought you’d want to become the Manor Lord. Is that not the case?”
“What?”
“If you don’t want to become the Manor Lord, then this proposal is meaningless, after all.”
Mok Yu-cheon looked dumbfounded at those words.
A proposal?
What on earth was he talking about?
As he stood there puzzled, Mok Gyeong-un picked up the manual that had fallen to the ground, dusted it off, and said,
“If you don’t want to become the Manor Lord, then you don’t need this either, do you?”
“…………”
At those words, Mok Yu-cheon could not answer.
Even if it were not about wanting to become the Manor Lord, Mok Yu-cheon still wanted to learn Yeon Mok Sword Manor’s higher martial arts.
That was only natural for a martial artist.
But the reason he hesitated like this was because he could not tell Mok Gyeong-un’s true intention.
This was clearly bait.
“……..What kind of trick are you playing?”
“If you don’t care one way or the other, then I’ll be going for now.”
With those words, Mok Gyeong-un tucked the manual into his robe and tried to leave without any lingering attachment.
At that, Mok Yu-cheon called out to stop Mok Gyeong-un, who had not even taken more than a few steps.
“Stop!”
At that word, one corner of Mok Gyeong-un’s mouth lifted.
As expected, he had bitten.
They had only begun speaking just moments ago, but he thought he roughly understood what kind of person this fellow was.
He was quite rigid and the type who moved according to his own convictions.
This sort did not simply bite at bait.
You had to lay out the board for him appropriately.
Without turning his head, Mok Gyeong-un spoke casually.
“I thought you weren’t interested.”
“……..Not interested? What trick are you pulling?”
“The same question again.”
“Shut up. Just answer what I ask. You are the one who keeps asking whether I want to become the Manor Lord. What’s the intent behind that?”
“Intent?”
“If you had that in mind, then you could have quietly learned it in secret and aimed for the Manor Lord’s seat yourself. So why bring this to me and ask if I want to become the Manor Lord? What scheme lies behind that?”
At the question, Mok Gyeong-un shrugged.
Then he turned his body slightly and said,
“Believe it or not, I am not particularly interested in the Manor Lord’s position.”
“What?”
At that, Mok Yu-cheon glared at Mok Gyeong-un with suspicious eyes.
Not interested in the Manor Lord’s position?
Was he supposed to believe that right now?
“Ha…….”
Mok Yu-cheon let out a hollow laugh.
Right.
It was absurd.
He had obtained that manual, and yet the very act of coming to him and saying these things was itself a trap.
He did not know what the bastard intended, but he had clearly plotted something sinister.
From the start, because of the incident two years ago, he himself disliked this bastard, but this bastard also feared and hated him greatly.
Just then, Mok Gyeong-un stepped toward him and said,
“If you can’t believ….”
But before he could finish those words,
-Thud!
Mok Yu-cheon’s fist suddenly shot forward and slammed directly into Mok Gyeong-un’s face.
Struck by it, Mok Gyeong-un staggered backward and then fell flat.
-Drip.
Blood streamed from his nose.
One would expect him to show signs of pain, but the corner of Mok Gyeong-un’s mouth trembled as he lay there.
‘Different.’
That was what Mok Gyeong-un thought.
Leaving aside the man with the black sword, he had personally experienced the strength of Guard Gochan, Guard Gam, and others.
Because of that, he had come to understand the difference between second-rate and first-rate.
And now, directly experiencing the fist of the genius Mok Yu-cheon, who had reached the threshold of the peak realm at the mere age of sixteen, he realized with his own body the difference in power.
Now he understood why Gochan had described him as several times stronger.
This was not strength that could be dealt with by luck.
‘My body can’t react.’
He had seen it in that instant, but his body could not follow.
Unless one at least approached this level of strength, it would be impossible to face him.
‘……What?’
On the other hand, Mok Yu-cheon narrowed his eyes while keeping his fist extended.
He had thrown that punch to shut the bastard’s mouth.
Since his skill was only third-rate at best, of course he knew he would not block it.
But there was one thing different from the fellow he knew.
‘He didn’t close his eyes.’
He had been staring straight at his fist.
Normally, if a punch could not be blocked, fear would make a person flinch and shut his eyes.
But right up until the moment he was hit, he kept looking straight at the fist.
‘He wasn’t afraid?’
That Mok Gyeong-un?
While he stood there puzzled, Mok Gyeong-un raised his upper body.
Then, wiping the blood flowing from his nose with the back of his hand, he said,
“That is a fierce fist.”
“Fierce?”
It made him snort.
Strictly speaking, that had not been a proper punch.
He had merely thrown a blow to scare him because he was convinced the bastard was trying to play tricks on him.
“You’d better not get up. If you get up again, what just happened will seem laughable compared to how much harder it gets.”
Mok Yu-cheon warned him.
And he truly intended to carry it out.
Yet Mok Gyeong-un let out a laugh and said,
“I think your suspicion is only natural.”
“It isn’t suspicion. It’s certainty. I do not believe a single thing that comes out of your mouth.”
“Is that so?”
“So I will make you regret coming here to pull that kind of stunt on me.”
Mok Yu-cheon clenched his fist.
Since things had come to this, he would deal with him like two years ago, no, even more thoroughly than then.
That way, he would never be able to try this sort of thing again.
While he was making up his mind, Mok Gyeong-un smiled and said,
“Then I have no choice but to give it to the First Madam or to Elder Brother Mok Eun-pyeong.”
“…….What?”
“Believe me or don’t. That is your freedom. But if you choose that, then I also have no choice but to give the manual to those two sides in order to get what I want.”
At those words, Mok Yu-cheon paused.
Because he understood what those words meant.
Mok Gyeong-un continued speaking.
“Once the Manor Lord passes away, the retainers will ultimately support a member of the Mok bloodline who has learned the manual as Manor Lord. What do you think will happen if Mok Yeong-ho or Mok Eun-pyeong becomes the Manor Lord?”
“……..”
“Do you think they will leave you alone?”
Those words struck directly at the point, and Mok Yu-cheon was left speechless.
He had been frustrated because he could not gauge what would happen from here on.
That was why Mok Gyeong-un’s words dug into his ears.
In that opening, Mok Gyeong-un rose to his feet and continued,
“I don’t know for sure, but since you received the Manor Lord’s favor and showed greater promise than either them or their children, I don’t think they would simply leave alone such an excellent successor candidate.”
‘…….’
At those words, Guard Gochan inwardly could not hide his bewilderment.
‘No, what is he trying to do by provoking him even more?’
This was not persuasion.
It was almost a half-threat.
If he provoked him like that, it was no different from asking to be beaten to death, so what was he thinking?
Sure enough, Mok Yu-cheon’s face turned red.
“……..Are you threatening me right now?”
“At least you’re not too dull to understand.”
“What?”
It seemed this would not end with a simple beating.
Filled with anger, Mok Yu-cheon moved to act once more.
Then Mok Gyeong-un spoke in a cold voice.
“This is a matter of life and death. Does a threat not sound like a threat to you?”
-Stop.
At those words, Mok Yu-cheon halted his hand.
He was furious, but he absolutely could not ignore what Mok Gyeong-un had just said.
Because the Manor Lord had not clearly chosen a successor, in the present situation the chance was extremely high that the one who learned the manual would become the Manor Lord, just as Mok Gyeong-un had said.
And if it fell into someone else’s hands instead of his…….
-Clench.
The result he feared would come to pass.
Then Mok Gyeong-un approached him with light steps, lightly placed a hand on his shoulder, and whispered in a low voice.
“Looks like you finally understand the situation. Who is holding the hilt, I mean.”
Mok Yu-cheon’s eyes trembled.
‘This bastard…….’
Was this really the Mok Gyeong-un he had known?
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