Chapter 119
“I do not want you to imitate my sword exactly.”
Seop Mugwang slid his sword back into its scabbard.
The aura surrounding him gradually began to fade.
“I am prepared to pass everything I have on to you—but that does not mean you need to follow every step I took, nor copy everything I’ve done.”
“...”
Seolhwa understood what it meant for a swordsman to say such words. She knew it was not something one could say with a smile.
Martial artists take disciples because they do not wish for the martial arts they’ve forged over a lifetime to vanish with them.
Even if their body perishes, the techniques born of their life’s work and spirit remain. If those arts are transmitted to future generations, studied further, and developed, what could be more meaningful?
Through martial arts, a martial artist achieves a form of immortality. They remain as a mark upon the history of Murim.
That is what many martial artists long for.
But Seop Mugwang was not imposing that desire upon Seolhwa.
“You said it yourself. Learn the Namgoong sword arts and mine, and craft your own path.”