Chapter 197 : No Matter How Fast Regret Comes, It Is Already Too Late. -01
Chapter 197: No Matter How Fast Regret Comes, It Is Already Too Late. -01
It sounded better to call it becoming a secondary wife or a later wife, but in truth, it was no different from telling her to consider becoming a concubine. So the Hao Sect Leader subtly changed the subject.
She did not want Nan Hee-ju to dig too deeply into that issue.
It was not that she truly wished for things to turn out that way—she had only meant to say that such a method also existed—so the Hao Sect Leader naturally shifted to another topic.
“Oppa has a rather fair personality, so he doesn’t show favoritism in matters like that. He’s also stingy with praise.”
“That can’t be helped. He’s reached that level himself—would just anyone be worthy in his eyes? Still, he’s neither arrogant nor does he make others uncomfortable. At his age, that alone is remarkable. What were the Orthodox later-generation experts like? The Four Dragons in the past?”
“They were a sight to behold. With skills that weren’t even that impressive.”
Nan Hee-ju let out a snort without realizing it.
Back then, she had thought they were extraordinary, but not anymore.
Just the people staying in this building right now could easily chew up and spit out the Four Dragons.
“It wasn’t that their skills were unimpressive. Honestly speaking, they were outstanding. At the time, there was hardly anyone to compare them to. It’s just that a dragon among dragons appeared. One might call him a heaven beyond heaven. But what amazes me even more than his skill is how he helps the people around him grow. That’s on an entirely different level. Anyone can focus on becoming strong themselves, but raising the people around you as well—that’s a completely different matter. Most say they don’t even have enough time for their own training, yet Young Master Ban even divides his personal time to look after his companions.”
“And yet he’s always so relaxed. There were even rumors at Shaolin Temple that he’d grown lazy.”
“If you judge by appearances, maybe. But what matters in the end is the result. Word has already spread everywhere that the Sect Leader of the Gongdong Sect was utterly humiliated.”
The Hao Sect Leader was genuinely curious.
Just what had Bang Manchun been thinking when he sent a challenge to Ban Hojin?
Ban Hojin had already proven everything when he defeated the Iron Blood Demon Emperor, so she truly could not understand why that fact was doubted.
And it wasn’t just some minor sect—the leader of one of the Nine Great Sects, the Gongdong Sect, no less.
“He brought it upon himself.”
“I heard he fled down Songshan as if running for his life, but they’ll surely meet again. The Jianghu seems vast, yet it’s surprisingly small. Especially among the Nine Great Sects and the Beggars’ Sect.”
“That’s true.”
“It’s a bit disappointing. Since we selected so carefully, I thought there might be at least one talent worthy of catching Young Master Ban’s eye.”
The Hao Sect Leader clicked her tongue after taking a drink.
Nan Hee-ju smoothly refilled her empty cup.
She even picked up a piece of fruit and handed it to her.
“It’s only just begun. We’ll have to observe them carefully from now on. Not just me—most of them are more children than young adults. Still, when I watch the disciples, I feel that our sect’s future is bright. They truly throw themselves into it with sheer grit and stubbornness.”
“I should take a look tomorrow as well. Since I’ve come all this way, I ought to see them with my own eyes at least once. And greet them.”
“They’ll be delighted.”
“I just hope they don’t dislike it.”
The Hao Sect Leader smiled faintly.
She might feel comfortable with the disciples, but the Hao Sect members might think differently.
“They’ll like it. You’ve come personally to see them. They might feel pressured, but I don’t think they’ll dislike it.”
“Feeling pressured and disliking it sound about the same to me.”
“They’re distinctly different.”
“I hope so. And I hope they won’t feel too burdened.”
Taking a sip of the wine Nan Hee-ju had poured, the Hao Sect Leader spoke in a voice filled with sincerity.
To say they had chosen carefully meant, in other words, that their expectations for the one hundred were equally high.
The hundred must surely know that as well, and perhaps all of them were feeling an excessive burden.
“I’ll keep an eye on them. I observe them closely every day. Seol-i works incredibly hard too. Harder than I’ve ever seen her before.”
“Seol-i is a martial artist as well. Watching Young Master Ban’s companions must make her feel something. They’re around the same age. Even if their status differs, it’s impossible not to feel stimulated.”
“Sometimes it feels like she’s pushing herself too hard.”
“I heard Young Master Ban catches it instantly? The difference between reaching one’s limit and overexertion.”
“That’s right. If he sees that someone can do more, he pushes them without mercy. ‘You’re fine this time. You can go further.’”
Nan Hee-ju lowered her voice and straightened her expression.
She was imitating Ban Hojin during the Endless Sparring Training.
“Puhuhu! Don’t tell me you were imitating Young Master Ban?”
“Yes. He really says it exactly like that. He hardly shows any emotional fluctuation at all. He doesn’t get excited, doesn’t get angry. I don’t think I’ve even seen him laugh?”
As she spoke, Nan Hee-ju let out an awkward chuckle at her own words.
She thought she had seen him sneer or snort derisively a few times, but when she truly considered it, she had never once seen him genuinely laugh.
“That just means he maintains composure at all times. At that level, would his composure be shaken by trivial matters? It’s only natural.”
“But he’s only twenty-one. It’s the age when emotions are at their fullest. A person should show a little vulnerability, make a few mistakes—that’s what makes them human.”
“For someone like Young Master Ban, it’s fine even if he lacks that humanity. In fact, because he’s so perfect, it makes him all the more desirable. It makes me feel like I want to be the one to break him. Or rather, I want to be the only one who breaks him.”
The Hao Sect Leader smiled faintly.
Yet for some reason, that smile struck Nan Hee-ju as strangely sinister.
On the surface, it looked innocent enough.
“Wanting to break him… I don’t really understand.”
“You’re still young. After you’ve experienced this kind of man and that kind of man, you’ll understand. They say all men are the same, but I’m not so sure. If they were all the same, people would just grab anyone and get married—why bother choosing?”
“That makes sense. Even twins are different, so how could all men be the same?”
“Exactly. Only once certain conditions are met do people say they’re all similar. By the way, it would be difficult for us to conduct Endless Sparring Training on our own, wouldn’t it?”
“If there were someone with Oppa’s level of skill, it might be possible. Even if Martial Scripture-level understanding is difficult, someone with a similar eye for detail could replicate it to some extent. But it’s not easy to find such a person. And even if one existed, without proving their ability, there would be resistance.”
At Nan Hee-ju’s perfectly reasonable words, the Hao Sect Leader could only nod heavily.
It was regrettable, but there was no solution.
If anyone could do it, it would already be imitated everywhere.
“He’s leaving soon, right?”
“Yes. He’s finished what he came for. I heard that once he organizes everything gained from this journey through the Jianghu, he’ll return to Songshan.”
“Then we must learn as much as possible before then. If the foundation is set properly in the beginning, it will be of tremendous help later.”
“They’re overflowing with motivation, so I don’t think that part is a concern. The physicians are also on standby at all times.”
It was unfortunate, but there was nothing the Hao Sect Leader could do at present.
So she had to secure everything that could be secured in the current situation.
“I heard keeping the physicians on standby was Young Master Ban’s idea?”
“Yes. He said that not getting injured is just as important as training.”
“That’s right. It’s about using time efficiently. Truly, how did he even come up with that?”
“In my opinion, if he establishes his own family in the future, he’ll raise it well.”
“I think that will happen someday. Even the great Shaolin Temple feels small in comparison.”
The Hao Sect Leader swallowed the rest of her words.
She did not want to burden her disciple unnecessarily.
Yet inwardly, she hoped.
‘The bigger the dream, the better. And who knows?’
Many were aiming for him, yet nothing had been decided.
Since Ban Hojin had not stated that he liked anyone in particular, she believed the possibility still remained.
At the hour when everyone slept—
Even when Sama Uiseong, the one who slept the latest, had fallen asleep—Ban Hojin alone was meditating.
Sitting cross-legged atop his bed, he reviewed the battles he had experienced thus far.
‘It was impressive.’
The recent sparring match—the highest-level duel he had fought—was undoubtedly with Sword King Woon Sang.
As the Sect Leader of the Wudang Sect and one of the Ten Great Masters Under Heaven, and considered the strongest in swordsmanship among them, Woon Sang’s sword was powerful and threatening.
Far more troublesome than the not-yet-fully-matured Iron Blood Demon Emperor.
Moreover, he pursued a path entirely different from Ban Hojin’s own sword.
‘Softness and harmony. And Taiji.’
It would not be an exaggeration to say that Woon Sang’s sword embodied the very essence of the Wudang Sect.
It contained everything of Wudang’s martial arts.
‘But that’s not what’s important.’
That Woon Sang’s swordsmanship was remarkable went without saying.
Otherwise, he would not have been granted the title of Sword King.
Thus, Ban Hojin focused not on Woon Sang’s Taiji Wisdom Sword, but on his pure swordsmanship.
On how he had built up his sword forms.
‘Completely different from mine.’
Ban Hojin had trained his sword by maximizing his strengths.
He had set his direction toward excelling even further at what he already did best.
Woon Sang, however, was similar yet different.
He walked his own path.
But that path aligned perfectly with the martial arts of the Wudang Sect, and so he became the Sword King.
In a way, it was a matter of perfect compatibility.
In other words, Woon Sang’s master had chosen his disciple well.
‘It’s not about whose path is right or wrong—each has their own path. Still, one can learn from another.’
Having reached the Transcendent Realm, the path he had walked could not possibly be wrong.
If it had been wrong, he would never have risen to such a level in the first place.
To attempt to walk a different path now would only amount to regression.
However, observing another’s path and taking reference from it—that was possible.
‘Woon Sang resembles Bang Yi. He has natural talent, but he also works steadily and persistently over a long time. He fills in his weaknesses as he goes.’
Just as no two people in this world are identical, the same applied to martial arts.
Even when two people learned the same martial art, they could display completely different techniques.
It depended on how they understood and internalized it.
‘My sword.’
After dwelling on Woon Sang’s Taiji Wisdom Sword, Ban Hojin soon returned to himself.
He stopped admiring it and began retracing his own martial art from the beginning.
True to its reputation as the most enigmatic martial art of Shaolin Temple, the Three Dharma Swords had no fixed framework.
Even in the martial manual, only the Martial Principles and mnemonic verses were written—there were no illustrations or annotations whatsoever. The Three Dharma Swords was a martial art that had to be seen and comprehended entirely on one’s own.
‘In other words, it means it has no limits. Depending on how one unfolds it, the variations are endless.’
For those accustomed to structured forms, even entry into the Three Dharma Swords was difficult.
But for Ban Hojin, it was different.
At first, he had thought it sounded like the ramblings of a madman, utterly bewildering. Yet as time passed, he fell into the boundless freedom contained within the Three Dharma Swords.
‘Still, it’s not enough.’
The Three Dharma Swords was an Absolute Sword Art that did not fall short even when compared to the Taiji Wisdom Sword of the Wudang Sect or the Emperor’s Sword Form of the Namgung Family.
It could easily be called the greatest sword art under heaven.
Yet at his current level, he could not confidently say he would surely defeat the Lord of the Northern Sea Ice Palace.
He would not lose easily, nor would he die—but neither could he feel certain of victory.
‘The Lord of the Ironblood Fortress may not be at the same level as in my previous life, and perhaps the Lord of the Northern Sea Ice Palace isn’t either—but that’s far too optimistic an assumption.’