CLS-Chapter 476

Chapter 476:

“That expression of yours.”

“Why are you scolding me the moment you see me!”

“Then what should I do when I see you—not scold you? Don’t tell me you were expecting praise?”

“……”

Wei Yan-ho lost his words looking at his master who spoke so boldly.

‘Come to think of it……’

It seemed like he had never heard a single word of praise.

The most positive thing he’d ever heard from his master was ‘Now you’re finally a little better than a grasshopper,’ wasn’t it?

Wei Yan-ho was newly reminded that this old man was no ordinary person.

“You could praise me this time.”

“For what?”

“I caught a clue! You must have seen it, right?”

“That?”

A sneer appeared on his master’s face.

Wei Yan-ho gritted his teeth.

‘When he sneers with that face, it makes me feel even worse.’

Though he was his teacher, he was truly handsome. It was quite a strange experience to feel handsomeness from such an old man.

“It was pretty decent.”

“That?”

“……”

Anger flared up.

“Come on! When someone does well, you should give them some praise! You always scold like this, so the kid lacks confidence in everything and dawdles around!”

“Bullshit.”

Wei Yan-ho became dejected at his master’s concise assessment.

“That’s really too much.”

“Haven’t I always told you? Working hard isn’t something to brag about. What use are processes in this world? Even if you brought results and asked for praise, I’d still have to think about it!”

“Still, that was pretty decent.”

“That?”

“……Stop killing people’s spirits with the same words.”

“Pathetic fool.”

“I should just stop talking.”

When Wei Yan-ho stuck out his lips, Baek Mu-han clicked his tongue.

“Where is that something to be proud of? If you had used that same martial art against that Gwanghonmaje or whatever that bastard was called, do you think you could have won?”

“……It seemed like it would be worth a try?”

“Do you think Gwanghonmaje showed you everything he had?”

“Hmm.”

Wei Yan-ho smacked his lips.

It was certain that he had become worth fighting compared to before. Wei Yan-ho had definitely become stronger than in the past. But he also hadn’t seen all of Gwanghonmaje’s abilities.

In the end, the outcome of a match would be uncertain.

“Still, I’ve improved.”

“Even a slug grows if it just eats grass all its life. But if a person stays in the same place, is that still a person? A person?”

“Argh!”

Wei Yan-ho burst out yelling.

“From the beginning, it’s also because master taught me wrong! You said there wouldn’t be many people in the martial world who could face me! What do you call ‘not many’? I’m about to die from a slap by some passing auntie!”

“How was I supposed to know the Demonic Cult had developed so much!”

“You said you knew everything!”

Thud!

Wei Yan-ho grabbed his head and rolled on the ground from the intense impact that came down on his head. It was pain he felt every time, but today it was a bit more intense.

“You put emotion into it!”

“Shut up! You brat!”

His master yelled “Bak!”

“This isn’t kids playing around—swinging your sword like that and bragging about what you did well!”

“If it were that easy, why would I be struggling like this! I would have already fought master.”

“Oh, well said. Pick up your sword.”

“What……”

Wei Yan-ho finally realized what he had said.

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

“Look, you’ve gotten talkative after wandering the martial world a bit. Let’s have a sparring match after a long time.”

“……Are you serious?”

“Do you think I’d be joking with you at my age?”

“You’ve done it often.”

“Shut up, you brat! Whether you pick up your sword or not, I’m going to attack now, so either block or get hit!”

“This is really too much.”

Wei Yan-ho drew the sword hanging at his waist.

‘My sword is here.’

His sword showed no signs of returning, but this was inside a dream. It hung naturally at his waist as if it were obvious. Feeling the familiar touch of his beloved sword after so long calmed his mind.

But that calm couldn’t last long.

Click.

Just his master placing his hand on his sword made his heart start beating like crazy. With just one movement, he felt an indescribable pressure.

It wasn’t intimidation.

His master had literally just placed his hand on his sword. The force pressing down on Wei Yan-ho was pressure that Wei Yan-ho himself had created.

“Ugh……”

He could barely breathe.

Now he knew.

The person who always acted grumpy, sometimes looked at him warmly, scolded him, hit him, and patted him……

He knew how great a martial artist this person called only by the title ‘master’ was.

The end of strength.

The end of strength that no one could dare look at with their eyes was now in front of Wei Yan-ho.

‘Really disgusting.’

An ordinary martial artist would fall into ecstasy the moment they saw the ultimate of martial arts. But Wei Yan-ho saw something completely different.

That was despair and frustration.

What would a person feel looking at an endless peak that pierced through the clouds?

They would be overwhelmed by its majesty.

Some would feel the greatness of nature, others would be intoxicated by the scenery itself.

But what would someone who had to climb that peak directly feel?

They couldn’t help but feel bleakness and frustration.

That was exactly how Wei Yan-ho felt right now.

In the past, even when he felt his teacher’s power with his body, he wasn’t particularly moved. Because it was a tree he couldn’t even think of climbing. But now that he had to aim for his teacher’s level, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, terrible despair was covering him.

‘Catch up to that?’

A hollow laugh came out.

Look.

There was the ultimate of martial arts.

Though it had human form, that was a being that couldn’t be called human.

Itself was a sword.

Blood, flesh, and even the soul—an incarnation of the sword made of sword was here.

Wei Yan-ho regretted that only he could see this scene.

‘Other people should have seen this too.’

What would happen if those gentlemen who claimed to be something with swords saw master wielding his sword?

Sword Masters would break their swords, and Sword Immortals would give up the way of the sword.

How could they continue holding swords after seeing with their eyes a perfect realm that they could never reach no matter how much they climbed?

Wei Yan-ho chuckled.

‘No wonder he was hated.’

He could understand how deeply the martial artists who lived in the same era as his master must have fallen into despair. His master was like a mirage. Though existing in the same world, he was like a fantasy living in a different world. If you run and run toward a mirage, you realize at some point that the mirage is a fantasy you can never reach.

The martial artists who chased after his master must have felt that despair.

How did the martial artists who had to live seeing and feeling with their eyes a great realm whose toes they couldn’t catch up to no matter what they tried overcome that despair?

Even Wei Yan-ho couldn’t easily escape from this deep despair.

Whether his master knew Wei Yan-ho’s feelings or not, his master’s sword slowly began to move.

“What do you think a sword is?”

Hearing his master’s magnificent voice, he felt his mind snap awake.

Wei Yan-ho gritted his teeth so as not to miss a single expression, gesture, or breath of his master.

‘Don’t miss it.’

No matter how lofty and despairing a peak might be, the fact that it was the world’s finest guide didn’t change. Being able to see and follow with his eyes a realm that everyone else could only imagine was a privilege that no one in this era could receive.

Swoosh.

It moved.

His teacher’s sword moved slowly, very slowly.

Wei Yan-ho couldn’t take his eyes off that scene.

He watched as if mesmerized.

The world was being sucked into the sword.

“Put true intention into the sword?”

His master shook his head lightly.

“A sword is just a sword.”

His teacher’s voice burrowed into his ears.

“A four-foot piece of metal. That’s all it is. A little sharp, or a little dull…… Just that kind of piece of metal. So what true intention could be contained in such a sword, what meaning could be contained?”

From bottom to top.

From top to bottom.

His teacher’s sword was moving like a dance.

The movement that started from the sword tip went to his fingertips, to his master’s body, and……

Even his teacher’s soul seemed to be dancing.

“What needs to contain true intention is not the sword. It’s yourself. You move the sword, and you move yourself. If you don’t have confidence in yourself, how can confidence be contained in the sword tip?”

The wind blew.

Clouds were pushed away.

Even the world was dancing along with his master’s sword.

Just a sword.

Swordwork without even internal energy infused was shaking the world, harmonizing the world, and becoming one with the world.

He realized.

What he had lost.

Who he had spent time with.

Wouldn’t it have been better for this great martial artist to live in the world even for just a moment rather than him living?

Looking back……

His teacher had always been a warm person to him.

Relying on that warmth, he couldn’t properly see his teacher’s greatness.

A distant and distant realm that he could never recreate even if eons passed. What should he do with this ecstasy where his whole body trembled with emotion just from watching?

“What is a sword?”

His teacher’s voice was stern.

“A sword is just a sword. But a sword can sometimes become yourself. You don’t become the sword. The sword becomes you.”

The sword moved.

Slowly, even more slowly.

It was his teacher’s sword.

The Sword Emperor’s sword.

And……

Yes, it was just a sword.

A sword is just a sword.

What meaning could a sword have?

Even the same sword couldn’t be the same sword when he held it versus when his teacher held it. What mattered wasn’t the sword but the person holding the sword.

Not the sword, but the human.

Yes, it was human.

His teacher’s sword was truly strange.

Though he had seen it thousands, tens of thousands of times, he saw something new each time he looked.

The great sea.

It was a sword like the vast sea that humans couldn’t conquer.

The sword tip drew the sea.

The sword tip drew the sky.

Everything was within it.

And his teacher’s sword was everywhere.

Wei Yan-ho’s eyes, which had been following the sword tip, became blurry.

“Ah……”

An unbearable moan.

Ecstasy as a swordsman.

And sadness as Wei Yan-ho.

Those two emotions mixed complexly and shook him.

His master’s sword, which had cut the sky, cut the sea, and called forth wind, slowly lowered.

What should that sword be called?

When Wei Yan-ho tried to put many things into his sword, his teacher’s sword had become the world itself. From where and how should he start to follow even those footsteps?

He could only feel.

His teacher’s greatness.

And……

“Wei Yan-ho.”

His master quietly called him.

“Yes, master.”

“Are you afraid?”

Wei Yan-ho bit his lips hard.

His master knew everything about him. That was natural. The master before his eyes now was another version of himself.

Wei Yan-ho raised his head.

Then he looked at his master and said.

“No. Not anymore.”

His master smiled gently.

“Yes, that’s enough.”

Swoosh.

“Pick up your sword.”

“Yes.”

Wei Yan-ho picked up his sword and faced his teacher.