Chapter 107 : Guiding the New Recruit (2)
Chapter 107: Guiding the New Recruit (2)
From the day after his return, Namgung Jun took full responsibility for Yu Geun-su's training.
Whoosh!
The iron sword Yu Geun-su raised emitted a heavy whistle as it cut through the air.
From First Cloud Piercing Thrust to Cutting Through the Narrow Clear Pass, then onward to Eightfold Mountain Steadfastness.
They were all techniques of the Lesser Expansion Sword Art.
“You can perform them immediately now.”
Yu Geun-su had memorized every technique and mnemonic verse of the Lesser Expansion Sword Art, yet his body could not properly keep up.
It was common for the forms and techniques to become slightly misaligned or for the transitions between techniques to break apart.
Fortunately, Yu Geun-su's fundamentals were exceptionally solid.
It was almost as though he had done nothing but practice the Three Talents Sword Art ever since first taking up the sword.
“Tch.”
The sword Yu Geun-su had been executing suddenly faltered.
He had realized for himself that his execution had gone astray.
Scratching between his brows, Yu Geun-su lowered his head.
“Sigh.
I'm sorry.”
“What are you apologizing for?”
“You've been teaching me so kindly, Senior Namgung, yet my progress is still this slow...”
Namgung Jun looked at the bear-like man before shaking his head.
“When you trained alone, were you always this impatient?”
“No.
Back then I didn't have to worry about what anyone thought.”
“You don't need to now either.”
Namgung Jun had Yu Geun-su raise the sword he had lowered once more.
“Follow your natural rhythm.
You may learn and grow slowly, but your foundation is solid.
You must continue refining that strength.”
“My strength...”
“And your rate of improvement is not something you should concern yourself with.”
“Why not?”
Shaking the manual of the Lesser Expansion Sword Art in his hand, Namgung Jun answered,
“Because I'm the one teaching you.
Your rate of growth is my concern, not yours.”
Namgung Jun recalled the days when he had taught disciples in the Southern Heaven Palace.
Not every disciple there had been a prodigy or genius.
On the contrary, there had been many ordinary and even dull students.
It could not be helped.
He had not chosen people based on talent.
He had simply accepted those with whom fate had connected him and whom he wished to take in.
That was why teaching disciples who progressed slowly was something he was thoroughly accustomed to.
As long as the one receiving instruction maintained the same proper mindset from beginning to end, that was enough.
“If the world were filled with nothing but prodigies soaring through the heavens like birds of prey, it would be rather dull.
There must also be those like tortoises, slow but steadfast as they move forward.”
After encouraging Yu Geun-su, Namgung Jun immediately continued the lesson.
“Think of it simply.
There isn't a single technique that you cannot perform.”
Namgung Jun did not teach directly from the Lesser Expansion Sword Art manual.
Instead, he broke each technique and every martial principle down into the smallest details, teaching them one piece at a time from the simplest parts.
If someone could not digest the entire whole at once, then the whole should be divided into smaller portions until each piece was thoroughly understood.
Only Namgung Jun, whose understanding had reached not only Great Mastery of the Lesser Expansion Sword Art but nearly the pinnacle of the Great Expansion Sword Art, could teach in such a manner.
This method suited Yu Geun-su remarkably well, and the pace of his learning gradually gained momentum.
‘Ah!
So this is how the sword should be extended.’
Yu Geun-su found himself experiencing something new.
His body reacted more quickly than his thoughts, moving the sword naturally.
It was an experience he had almost never had before.
At first, it felt as though he were receiving countless tiny, disconnected lessons.
Yet as the training continued, those scattered fragments gradually came together into a single whole.
Feeling his own growth with clarity, Yu Geun-su did not hesitate to increase the amount of time he spent training.
Namgung Jun eventually had to intervene and force him to stop.
And so, Yu Geun-su's mastery gradually began to rise.
Teaching in an easy-to-understand manner was important, but the annotated manual that simplified the mnemonic verses of the Lesser Expansion Sword Art was equally important.
Thus, Namgung Jun wrote annotated manuals for both the Lesser Expansion Sword Art and the Great Expansion Sword Art in a single day.
He had long since reached Great Mastery in the Great Expansion Sword Art and remained at the pinnacle of its mastery.
Moreover, countless additional realizations had accumulated on top of it, making the process of writing the commentary surprisingly easy.
‘He'll have to learn the Great Expansion Sword Art eventually anyway.
It's better to prepare it in advance.’
He devoted even greater care to the sections that linked naturally with the Lesser Expansion Sword Art so they could be understood more easily.
Though the path called the sword seemed to branch into countless directions, it ultimately always led toward the same destination.
Naturally, even Namgung Jun could not know which path Yu Geun-su would ultimately choose.
Still, if bridges were built at the entrance to every road, then one could travel more quickly.
He hoped that one day, should Yu Geun-su ever lose his way, he would remember those bridges he had once crossed and find his direction again.
Naturally, the very first person to read the newly written annotated manual of the Great Expansion Sword Art was Yu Geun-su.
“You've gone through so much because of me, Senior.
It's only because I'm lacking...”
“Don't concern yourself with it.
The other Clouds, as well as the new recruits who join in the future, will all read it countless times.”
With Namgung Jun's instruction added to the annotated manuals, Yu Geun-su's progress continued steadily.
Once his training reached a certain point, his rate of growth no longer accelerated.
However, unlike before, he no longer regressed or stagnated.
“Haaap!”
Yu Geun-su never cut corners and never complained about hardship.
Instead, he divided every spare moment into training.
His diligence became an example for the other swordsmen.
The swordsmen of the Heavenly Sword Hall were already hardworking by nature.
Even among them, however, there were few who could compare to Yu Geun-su.
That was how devoted he was.
‘It's difficult.’
Perhaps because he had only ever learned the Three Talents Sword Art and other third-rate martial arts that could be bought with money.
From Yu Geun-su's perspective, the Lesser Expansion Sword Art was more than difficult enough.
The other seniors never regarded the Lesser Expansion Sword Art as a supreme martial art.
They merely viewed it as a sturdy sword art that served as a bridge toward higher realms.
Even so, Yu Geun-su struggled greatly with it.
Had he tried learning it alone from the manual, he likely would still have been stuck at twenty percent mastery.
Even with someone teaching him, he had assumed the result would not differ much.
In the past, fortune had occasionally allowed him to seek instruction from experts, and he had even paid to learn martial arts at local martial academies.
Yet every one of them had simply grown frustrated by his aptitude and clicked their tongues.
‘The young senior I met in the Azure Sky Society was different.’
Namgung Jun had acknowledged his weakness as a strength and told him to continue walking that path.
It was the first time anyone had ever said such words to him since he first took up the sword.
Though it was only a simple sentence, Yu Geun-su found the courage to continue moving forward with unwavering determination.
Every day, he kept the Lesser Expansion Sword Art in his thoughts.
He rehearsed every technique in his mind, and whenever an imagined technique faltered, he would ponder for a long time what was lacking.
He became so absorbed that he even dreamed of practicing the Lesser Expansion Sword Art.
The only reason he could devote himself so completely to such contemplation was the newly written annotated manual Namgung Jun had prepared for him.
He had believed he had already memorized every mnemonic verse and martial principle.
But that had not been the end.
Viewing the Lesser Expansion Sword Art through the annotated manual revealed principles far broader and deeper than he had ever imagined.
“Hyaaaap!”
Then one day—
As Yu Geun-su thrust his sword with his usual vigorous shout, he suddenly felt an unfamiliar exhilaration.
His sword extended with astonishing ease.
His arm felt completely free.
An overwhelming confidence filled his entire body, convincing him that he could now perform any technique flawlessly.
It was a sensation he had almost never experienced in his life.
‘Is this really all right?’
Since it was his first time experiencing such a thing, he felt a trace of fear.
Even so, Yu Geun-su did not hesitate.
He believed in the sweat he had shed until now.
And he trusted Namgung Jun's teachings.
Thump!
His right foot naturally stamped the ground.
By the time Yu Geun-su consciously realized it, his left hand was already gripping the sword as it fiercely swept through the air.
Whoosh!
Yu Geun-su's sword stretched forth smoothly, tracing clean and concise sword paths.
He had originally intended to perform only the opening techniques of the Lesser Expansion Sword Art.
Yet before he knew it, he had naturally transitioned into the latter half of the techniques.
He had neither intended nor willed it.
His heightened awareness simply guided his body.
Shraaak!
For the first time, the spacious training ground felt far too small.
As though trying to cast off that feeling of confinement, Yu Geun-su swung his sword with even greater confidence and force.
“Hm?”
“Wait, look over there.
The techniques that recruit is performing...”
As the sword strikes, now carrying an entirely different momentum, spread across the training ground and drew the attention of every swordsman in the Heavenly Sword Hall—
Yu Geun-su completed every technique from the latter half of the Lesser Expansion Sword Art.
At the same time, his body spun in a complete circle.
Naturally, the final technique flowed directly back into the very first technique.
His breathing and movements never broke.
The sword moved as smoothly as flowing water.
His body raced freely as though gliding across the ground.
It almost felt as though he had completely lost control.
Yet Yu Geun-su had no intention of stopping.
No—
He could not stop.
He was too busy engraving the sword paths he himself was drawing into his eyes.
How long had he continued swinging his sword?
Only after executing the Lesser Expansion Sword Art twenty consecutive times did Yu Geun-su finally regain his senses and stop.
“Huh?”
As Yu Geun-su stared blankly at the sword in his hand, Namgung Jun's voice sounded beside him.
“You've gained enlightenment.”
“Senior Namgung!”
“At that level, calling it eighty percent mastery would not be an exaggeration.”
“Eighty percent mastery?”
Yu Geun-su was utterly stunned.
Before this realization, he had been trapped at forty percent mastery.
He had remained stuck on the verge of reaching fifty percent.
And now, suddenly, eighty percent?
Never in his life had he experienced enlightenment like this.
Nor had he ever swung his sword so absentmindedly, as though guided by something beyond himself.
“But... I didn't realize anything.
I don't even know what changed.
I simply let my body guide me...”
“That too is enlightenment.
Finding clear fragments within mist-like realizations is itself part of cultivation.
Begin meditating!”
At Namgung Jun's words, Yu Geun-su offered no objection.
He immediately sat down in a cross-legged position.
Namgung Jun murmured softly,
“Recall the sword paths you just performed.
Do not try to gain anything.
Simply recall them over and over, and contemplate them.
Even if you gain nothing, that is fine.
Continue meditating.”
Yu Geun-su's meditation continued through the entire night.
That day, all training within the Heavenly Sword Hall came to a halt.
Yet even after training had ended, more than half the swordsmen remained in the training ground.
They simply sat scattered throughout the grounds, leisurely waiting.
They would remain there until Yu Geun-su finished meditating.
Protected by the Heavenly Sword Hall as he continued his meditation, Yu Geun-su finally opened his eyes the following morning.
His gaze was clear, as though he had witnessed something unmistakable.
“So he really did it.”
“Well, he even went as far as creating a completely new annotated manual for the Lesser Expansion Sword Art.”
“Now that we're talking about the annotated manuals, everyone should read the commentary on the Great Expansion Sword Art as well.
I thought I'd already reached Great Mastery, but after reading it, I found entirely new insights.”
The members of the Heavenly Sword Hall watched the three people leaving the hall with travel packs on their backs.
Leading the group was Namgung Jun, followed by Man Ye-won and Yu Geun-su as they departed on a mission.
Four days after Yu Geun-su reached eighty percent mastery of the Lesser Expansion Sword Art, his first mission had finally been assigned.
Barely twenty days had passed since Namgung Jun confidently declared to Lee Se-ha that he would prepare the recruit within a month.
“Namgung Jun is a genius.
But he's even good at teaching.
That's rare.
Geniuses usually don't understand the perspective of ordinary people.”
“When Maknae returns, should I ask him to teach me?
I've been stuck at a wall I can't overcome lately.”
“I'm curious to see how Yu Geun-su performs on his first mission as well.
He may learn slowly, but somehow I don't feel worried.”
After watching Namgung Jun's group depart, the other swordsmen of the Heavenly Sword Hall also turned away.
By now, Heo Il and Gong Jun-am, who had borrowed the annotated manual of the Great Expansion Sword Art first, would have finished reading it.
They intended to line up in advance so they would not lose their place in the queue.