Chapter 5

"……"

Defeat in just four moves.

Namgung Seongchan was so flabbergasted that he couldn't even continue speaking.

He hadn't made any particular mistakes.

If anything, it was his overconfidence.

His opponent, a mere youth, had relatively delayed the use of his inner strength, which was the only mistake.

No, upon further thought, there was one more.

When the young disciple took up the Three Disasters Sword, he unconsciously abandoned his specialty, the sword, and faced him with his fists.

Now he knew one thing.

His weapon, the Mingzhe, was not a child who knew nothing of sword techniques.

In just two moves, he made him ponder the sequential techniques and, taking advantage of the opponent's complacency, unleashed a lethal move without any hesitation.

His counterattacks were also too exquisite.

It was not easy to achieve such efficiency with just the Three Disasters Sword technique.

The problem was that, despite the outstanding skills of the disciple, it was hard to accept this defeat.

Namgung Seongchan, the Heaven Sword Immortal.

Apart from the current head of the Namgung family, he was considered the best swordsman in the Namgung family, as evaluated by the elders.

Even in a mock battle, how could he, who had honed his sword skills all his life, be outmatched in sword techniques by a disciple who hadn't even reached adulthood?

Namgung Seongchan forced a smile and stroked his beard.

"Hehe! Not bad! I was complacent! Delaying the use of my inner strength was the root of the problem!"

Namgung Seongchan's face turned benevolent.

"Hey, can we have one more round? I want to see more of your skills…."

Johui nodded without any hesitation.

"Sure. But this time, please give it your all. Like a real battle."

Namgung Seongchan's face lit up.

"Of course! I will give it my all without holding back!"

"Understood. Let's begin."

From the start, Namgung Seongchan unleashed all his ten years of cultivation and chose his specialty, the sword, instead of his fists.

"I should give you the first move."

"Alright. Then I will use the Sujakjeol to attack your left side…."

The next nine exchanges.

Namgung Seongchan thought he had given it his all. He fiercely engaged his mind to respond with the optimal sword techniques.

On the seventh move, he even used a technique that he found astonishingly exquisite, something he had never thought of before.

But he lost.

Too cleanly.

Before he knew it, a cold sword was at his throat.

Namgung Seongchan forced a laugh.

"Hehehehe! Truly exquisite! The final move, the Immortal's Path, was indeed a remarkable technique!"

"Understood."

At this point, anger started to rise.

"Can we have one more round?"

"…Sure."

Despite trying to act calm, Namgung Seongchan gritted his teeth.

"Giving the first move… or rather, the saying 'the one who strikes first wins'… doesn't this keep putting me at a disadvantage?"

Now there was no dignity left.

All that remained was a beast determined to win.

Annoyingly, Johui nodded as if he agreed.

"Then this time, I will give you the first move."

"Good!"

The next exchange.

This time, the battle was decided in just five moves.

"…Aaah!"

Namgung Seongchan, finding the situation utterly absurd, kept trembling his beard.

"Again! Let's do it again!"

"Understood."

Defeat, defeat, and another defeat!

In the end, Namgung Seongchan achieved a thirteen-game losing streak.

Is this a dream?

Namgung Seongchan's expression.

Seeing his appearance, Namgung Muchan cautiously offered some words of comfort.

"Brother, you're not familiar with the Three Disasters Sword. Why don't you give up…."

"Shut up! You brat!"

"Brother…."

Shaking!

Namgung Seongchan gritted his teeth.

"Not bad! You must have been practicing the Three Disasters Sword intensively. I need time to practice it as well to make it fair, don't you think?"

No, the Three Disasters Sword, a basic sword technique in the martial world, isn't something to practice grandly.

"…What should we do?"

After a moment of thought, Namgung Seongchan answered with difficulty.

"Hmm… Even though the Three Disasters Sword is a low-level martial art, I think it will take at least a week, or even two, to truly understand its essence."

Johui, after a moment of thought, had no choice but to nod.

"Heh… Alright. Let's have a mock battle in two weeks."

"Good! Stay in this Danluo Hall until then!"

With those words, Namgung Seongchan vanished using his light body technique.

Johui wondered what expression he would have if he found out that his opponent was a sword god.

The awkward silence was broken by Jo Hyuk.

"What are you…?"

The Three Disasters Sword was the sword technique he had practiced the most diligently.

Therefore, he didn't miss a single moment of the mock battle between Johui and Namgung Seongchan, and he could visualize everything in his mind.

A martial arts genius?

No, it can't be expressed so simply. It feels like facing a massive wall.

Moreover, he was hiding his inner strength?

Now, he is even scary.

Johui, as if sensing his feelings, sighed and said,

"Later… much later, I'll tell you. Brother."

"…"

Namgung Yuchan, who had been observing the scene carefully, burst into a soft laugh.

"Hehe…"

He was proud of the young men who bravely stood up to the martial artists of the Jeong family and protected the Namgong.

That was why he wanted to treat them to a light drink.

But, a young martial arts genius who could defeat the highest elder in a mock battle….

Was there anyone among the young talents he knew who had such potential?

This was the first time he had encountered such a fortunate find!

He was definitely someone who would devour the world in the future.

Soon, as he surveyed his granddaughters, he exclaimed,

"Let's see… Hye-hwa and Yeon-sul are already married… Right! Ga-young is still here!"

But there was one more person who had the same thought.

"Brat. Have you heard of Namgung Seo-so, the best of the Namgung family?"

Startled.

Namgung Muchan's brother, whom he had never seen make such an expression before.

A kind face!

His smile was so warm, it was almost like a Buddha.

If there were a living Buddha, would it look like this?

"Is there anyone in Anhui who doesn't know the best of the Namgung family?"

Namgung Muchan, with a satisfied look, grabbed Jo Hyuk's hand.

"She is my granddaughter. Let's go. I will introduce you to Seo-so."

"Ah, no, Brother! Seo-so is already engaged!"

"Who? Who dares to be Seo-so's fiancé?"

"Huashan Xiaolong…."

At that moment, Huashan Xiaolong, the best among the young talents, became a worthless talker.

* * *

The situation had taken a strange turn.

It was good that he had gained the favor of the Namgung family's elders, but with the need to expand his business and visit the sword tomb, being tied up for two weeks was a problem.

However, he couldn't simply refuse the goodwill of the elders, as he had not yet met the head of the inner court and secured his patronage.

Shouting 'I am the weapon master of the Namgung family's elders!' and running around was different from officially receiving the Cangtian Sword Token.

The Cangtian Sword Token was a symbol of clear patronage.

He would not leave the Namgung family until he received it.

'But when is that Seo-so coming…?'

He was dragged to the Xiaochang Palace by Namgung Muchan and had been waiting for three hours, but there was no sign of her.

'What a strange place.'

The palace seemed to be a storage for musical instruments, with various old instruments neatly displayed.

Although he hadn't been in a band during college, he had briefly played music, so he was a bit curious.

'All pentatonic scale instruments.'

He had heard the music played by the street performers a few months ago.

Monotonous single-note melodies.

Having been accustomed to the elaborate music of the modern era, he found no interest in it.

In this world, there is no harmony in music. There is no sense of depth in the sound.

However, there is definitely depth.

Single notes can be pulled, released, and rolled.

This creates countless subtle pitches between the notes, evoking emotions.

But that's all.

The pentatonic scale has its limits.

Modern music, with its combination of bass and strong single notes, can create much more complex structures.

After all, harmony, which appeared in the Western Renaissance, is a musical rhythm.

"…Can it be done?"

He passed on the stringed instruments that produce sound by rubbing the bow against the strings.

Jo-hui looked for a stringed instrument that produces sound by plucking the strings, like a guitar.

"Oh…?"

What Jo-hui found was a guqin.

Similar to the Korean gayageum, but with eight strings instead of twelve.

Jo-hui, who had already approached and plucked the strings.

Tick-

Of course, it wouldn't work well from the start.

It's not an instrument that can be played lightly like a guitar.

The strings of a guqin must be plucked forcefully to produce sound.

Tick- Tick-

After repeated practice, a decent sound was finally produced.

Ding-

"Oh!"

Finally able to produce a sound, Jo-hui checked if he could add harmony as intended.

Gong Shang Jue Zhi Yu (Do Re Mi Sol La).

He skipped the remaining two strings, as he didn't know them.

He had found all the notes of the pentatonic scale.

In modern music, the most basic harmony is the C major chord (Do Mi Sol).

He had to press all three strings with his left hand and play all three strings simultaneously with his right hand, which felt like his fingers were being torn apart.

Ding Ding Ding-

Gong (Do) produced a squeak and no harmony was created.

After several attempts, he finally succeeded!

Ding-

'Wow… this…'

Indeed, it's a beautiful harmony.

What is this?

It's nothing, but it makes me feel nostalgic and almost brings tears to my eyes.

Jo-hui, playing all the harmonies he could with the pentatonic scale, was lost in the fresh memories of his college days.

"Exactly…"

Suddenly, a woman's voice made Jo-hui turn his head sharply.

A woman was standing there, looking at him blankly with Namgung Muchan.

"How did you do that?"

"Ah… I apologize."

Jo-hui quickly adjusted his clothes and gave a respectful bow.

Namgung Seo-so, with a curious look, observed him