The Beggar Young Master of the Namgung Clan

Haaah—

Jong Seo-eon let out a deep sigh while squatting in a corner.

'In the end, I couldn't land a single proper attack.'

Jong Seo-eon was still concerned about the spar with Namgung Il.

No matter how much his opponent was Namgung Il, to lose like that without even being able to properly use his hands.

He felt as if he had tarnished the honor of the Beggars' Sect, so his heart was very heavy.

"Jong Seo-eon."

Just then, Namgung Il approached him with a voice.

As soon as he saw him, Jong Seo-eon hurriedly tried to leave.

For various reasons, he did not want to see Namgung Il now.

Grab—

But Jong Seo-eon's escape ended before he could even take a single step.

Because Namgung Il had quickly grabbed the scruff of Jong Seo-eon's neck.

In that situation, Jong Seo-eon flustered like a fish caught on a hook.

"I want to be alone now, so please just let me go!"

"I came to apologize."

When Namgung Il suddenly said that, Jong Seo-eon immediately became quiet.

As it seemed he would not run away anymore, Namgung Il finally let go of the scruff of Jong Seo-eon's neck.

"I'm sorry for saying that during the spar."

"..."

"I had no ill intentions."

Only then did Jong Seo-eon turn his head back.

"...It's nothing. Actually, I already knew that you didn't say that with ill intentions, Captain."

Jong Seo-eon himself knew best that Namgung Il was favorable to the Beggars' Sect.

Not only had he provided him with food and lodging, but wasn't it Namgung Il who had helped him in various ways in the exam?

For such a Namgung Il to have insulted the martial arts of the Beggars' Sect with ill intentions, if one thought about it a little, one could immediately tell that it was strange.

Swoosh—

Just then, Jong Seo-eon suddenly bowed his head to Namgung Il.

"I lost completely."

"..."

"But I hope you know that it was I who lost to you, Captain, not the martial arts of the Beggars' Sect that lost to you."

When Jong Seo-eon said that, Namgung Il quietly smiled.

But at the same time, a question arose.

Namgung Il could not understand why Jong Seo-eon, who had such pride in the Beggars' Sect, had only achieved that much in the Beggar's Staff Style.

'The Beggar's Staff Style and the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms. Although both are martial arts that represent the leader...'

Still, if he had to weigh the importance, Namgung Il thought that the Beggar's Staff Style was superior.

In fact, the biggest reason why he was able to defeat the Blood Demon was also because he had trained the Beggar's Staff Style to a high level of achievement.

Gae Du-sik would not be unaware of that fact, so he would surely have made Jong Seo-eon learn the martial arts in a balanced way... but when he checked, Jong Seo-eon's achievement was strangely biased to one side.

"Jong Seo-eon."

"...?"

"What is the level of your achievement in the Beggar's Staff Style?"

When Namgung Il asked, Jong Seo-eon raised his head with a slightly surprised expression.

"...Why are you asking that?"

"Because it's strange."

"..."

"I heard that the unique martial art that represents the Beggars' Sect is, after all, the Beggar's Staff Style. But the Beggar's Staff Style you showed me... what should I say... it just felt like you were simply following the movements."

When Namgung Il said that, Jong Seo-eon's fist clenched without him realizing it.

For even an outsider like Namgung Il to be able to notice that his Beggar's Staff Style was so poor.

Jong Seo-eon was now very angry about that fact.

"...You are right."

"..."

"My Beggar's Staff Style is nothing more than following the form."

The core of the Beggar's Staff Style could be said to be in its unpredictability.

The connection between the forms, and the subtle and swift changes in between, was the strength of the Beggar's Staff Style.

'But there was no such change in Jong Seo-eon's Beggar's Staff Style.'

As he had said, it was nothing more than just following the form.

If so, not only would the true power of the Beggar's Staff Style not come out, but if the forms were even slightly off, it would degenerate into a martial art that was neither here nor there.

"..."

Of course, it was impossible for Jong Seo-eon to perfectly master all the subtleties of the Beggar's Staff Style at that age.

But from what Namgung Il saw, Jong Seo-eon now looked as if he did not understand the martial art called the Beggar's Staff Style at all.

As if he had not received any teaching from his master.

The part that Namgung Il could not understand the most now was that point.

"Is there some kind of circumstance?"

"..."

"I heard that the key to the Beggar's Staff Style is the correct incantation and forms, and the unpredictable movements. The current leader would not have overlooked that and passed down the Beggar's Staff Style..."

"How do you know so much about the Beggar's Staff Style, Captain?"

It wasn't just this.

The Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms as well, and throughout the spar, it felt as if Namgung Il was completely seeing through his martial arts.

"Th-that's... I heard it."

"You heard it?"

"In the old days, the former leader of the Beggars' Sect and the former head of the Namgung Clan were close. The story I heard at that time was passed down to me."

It wasn't a lie.

Of course, Namgung Il did not reveal the fact that he was that former leader.

"Come to think of it, I think I've heard something like that from my master..."

Jong Seo-eon muttered and glanced at Namgung Il.

Of course, there were still parts that he could not accept, but since what he knew and what Namgung Il said matched to some extent, he decided to just let it go for now.

"As you said, Captain, the Beggar's Staff Style, along with the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms, is one of the unique martial arts of the Beggars' Sect."

"..."

"Do you perhaps know that the transmission method of the unique martial arts in the Beggars' Sect is done orally?"

Of course, he knew.

When Namgung Il nodded his head, Jong Seo-eon continued to speak.

"About twenty years ago, the Righteous-Demonic War broke out."

"...?"

"Because of that, numerous sacrifices were made. Among them, the Beggars' Sect could not avoid the blow."

Wait... the Righteous-Demonic War?

When that name suddenly came out, Namgung Il felt a sense of foreboding.

"The former leader of the Beggars' Sect... so he would be my grand-master. He also died in the line of duty after a fierce battle with the Blood Demon in the Righteous-Demonic War."

"What does that have to do with the Beggar's Staff Style..."

"Didn't I say it earlier? That the unique martial arts of the Beggars' Sect are passed down only orally."

Hearing those words, Namgung Il was able to know the identity of the anxiety he had felt earlier.

"The Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms could be achieved sufficiently with just my master's efforts. But... the Beggar's Staff Style could not."

"..."

"There are thirty-six basic forms alone. And if eight incantations are added, the number of variations increases geometrically."

"..."

"First, all those numerous forms must be displayed accurately without a single error, and in addition, the changing forms and connections must be added to be called the true Beggar's Staff Style... but no matter how much of a genius one is, it is impossible to perfectly master it alone."

That was right.

Even Namgung Il had not completely mastered the Beggar's Staff Style alone.

If it hadn't been for his master's advice every time his achievement was blocked in the middle, he would never have been able to reach the same level of achievement as now.

"..."

But his disciples did not have a master to give them that advice.

Although he had taught them all the basic forms, he had died in the battle with the Blood Demon before they could reach a higher level of achievement.

Moreover, since it was passed down orally, there would have been a greater difficulty in executing the correct forms.

Come to think of it, it was somewhat natural that Jong Seo-eon's Beggar's Staff Style was in such a state.

'It was all... because of me.'

Namgung Il had never regretted the fact that he had sacrificed his life in the battle with the Blood Demon until now.

Although he had lost his life, because of that, the peace of the Central Plains was protected.

But Namgung Il was now regretting the fact that he had died at that time for the first time.

"..."

He had protected the peace of the Central Plains. But he had not been able to protect the Beggars' Sect.

If he had had just about three years, a situation like this would not have happened.

Since both disciples had outstanding talent, if he had just raised their achievement to a certain level, they were talents who would grow on their own after that.

However.

Before he could even raise them to that minimum starting point, Namgung Il had died.

"Especially, because of the tradition of the Beggars' Sect, the situation has become more difficult because it has been passed down orally until now."

"..."

"There are also incomplete forms and incantations... my master is still trying to restore the Beggar's Staff Style, but... the reality is difficult."

Jong Seo-eon's master had outstanding talent.

That was a fact that could be known just by the fact that he had raised the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms to that level of achievement by himself.

But even he could not do anything about the Beggar's Staff Style by himself.

Unlike the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms, the Beggar's Staff Style was a martial art that was realistically impossible to master without someone's advice from the side.

"...Ah."

Just then, Jong Seo-eon belatedly realized that he had told Namgung Il all sorts of things.

Since it was an internal matter of the Beggars' Sect, it was content that was usually not told to outsiders...

Jong Seo-eon could not understand why he had said all these trivial things.

'Is it because I thought he had some similarities to my master?'

Besides that, the fact that Namgung Il had first asked about the Beggar's Staff Style would also have had some influence.

Since he could not take back the words he had already uttered, Jong Seo-eon belatedly added a word to Namgung Il.

"Uh... I would appreciate it if you would keep what I've said so far to yourself."

"..."

"Captain?"

"...Alright."

Just then, Namgung Il muttered to himself as if he had decided something.

As Jong Seo-eon was looking at him with an incomprehensible expression, Namgung Il raised his head.

"You want me to keep it to myself, right?"

"...Yes, please."

"Alright."

Although Namgung Il answered, Jong Seo-eon was not completely relieved.

Still, since there was nothing he could do, he had no choice but to just believe him.

Just then, Namgung Il suddenly said something to Jong Seo-eon.

"Thank you."

"Pardon?"

"You told me all those circumstances because you trusted me."

"Uh... well, yes."

"Don't worry."

What on earth was he telling him not to worry about?

After thinking for a moment, Jong Seo-eon was able to understand what it was.

"Ah... I understand. I believe you won't tell anyone else, Captain."

"..."

Namgung Il just smiled quietly at those words.

Don't worry. Jong Seo-eon did not know that the meaning of those words was different from that.

'The lineage of the Beggar's Staff Style was not properly passed down because of me.'

Namgung Il was regretting that fact.

But now, rather than regretting, wouldn't it be better to do the duty he had not been able to do in the past?

Fortunately, he was now given that opportunity.

'I have to clean up my own mess.'

The current leader of the Beggars' Sect had not properly learned the Beggar's Staff Style.

So his disciple, Jong Seo-eon, had only this level of achievement in the Beggar's Staff Style... if he thought about it that way, the solution was really simple.

If he, who knew the Beggar's Staff Style perfectly, were to teach Jong Seo-eon, the lineage of the Beggar's Staff Style would continue to flow without being cut off.

'As fate would have it, we met here like this.'

Wasn't this also the heavens helping him?

To raise Jong Seo-eon's Beggar's Staff Style to a certain level while attending the academy. This was Namgung Il's current goal.

Since he was a talented brat, if he just helped him a little from the side, he would probably be able to improve to a satisfactory level while attending the academy.

'After that, Jong Seo-eon will master the Beggar's Staff Style on his own.'

Then the broken lineage would also flow again.

Namgung Il's 'don't worry' meant that.

"The winner, number eighteen thousand and fifty."

Just then, Cha Yul-ryeong's voice was heard from the sparring stage.

"With this, all the spars are over."

"..."

"The results after grading will be announced tomorrow morning, so all examinees, please gather here again at the same time tomorrow."

The final eighty people.

The exam that would decide that number had just ended.

The Beggar Young Master of the Namgung Clan

(End of Chapter)