Possessing Nothing

Chapter 73 Sword Dragon – (3)

Lee Sung Min stared back at Namgoong Heewon, who had asked him who he was. It wasn’t a hard question to answer. It was just that Namgoong Heewon was the young master of the Namgoong bloodline and the successor to be the next head of his household. Sung-Min was surprised that the name of Wijihoyeon, the “Son of the Heavenly Demon”, had come out of his mouth.

“… My name is Lee Sung-Min.”

“Lee Sung Min? Never heard of that name. Ah, sorry. I lack experience. I’m the type who hears what I want to hear and don’t listen to the things I don’t want to. In a way, I’m pretty rude.” Namgoong Heewon replied. He shrugged his shoulders.

“By any chance, do you have a nickname they call you by?”

“I do not. I’m not of the martial arts. I’m a mercenary.”

“A mercenary… meaning.. you are not a martial arts master? Are you saying you were never part of the martial arts?”

“I’m a No-Class.” Lee Sung-Min replied.

Namgoong Heewon’s expression slightly hardened. After a short moment of silence, he started to chuckle.

“A greater being than I thought you would be. You already seem to be on the verge of mastering your level. Am I right?”

“I’m not a martial arts master.”

“But you have familiarized yourself with the arts, have you not?”

“I did, but unlike the ‘real’ masters like yourself…”

“A ‘real’ master – what a laughable term.” Namgoong Heewon said.

He laughed loudly.

“I have mastered the arts and have the surname of ‘Namgoong.’ However, that does not mean I know the arts of Zhongyuan. It was my great-great-grandfather who was summoned to Eria from another world. He gathered all the masters with the surname of ‘Namgoong’ to start our household in this world. That is how I came to be. I have never been to the Temple of Zhongyuan, nor is it my birthplace. My hometown is Eria.” Namgoong said. He crossed his arms.

“Should I then be called a martial arts master? I learned my accent from my family, and it’s the same with my martial arts skills. Does that make me a martial arts master? I wasn’t even born in Zhongyuan and summoned to this world.”

“But you are closer to being real than I am.” Lee Sung-Min replied.

Namgoong Heewon laughed aloud once more.

“Perhaps. Are you able to use ‘Disciplined Strength’?”

“I am capable of doing so, yes.”

“But you haven’t perfected your cycle of qi yet. You haven’t even Mastered your level. Have you reached the highest Peak of your level yet?”

“I have not.”

“Does that mean your ‘Qi Vessel’ on your back has not been penetrated yet?”

(t/n  wuxia term – the energy flow of qi from your tailbone to your neck, similar to a blood vessel. This ‘qi vessel’ helps the qi flow more effectively. Once this flow is penetrated, it is a new step to reaching another level.)

Namgoong Heewon looked confused. At this, Sung Min blushed and nodded lightly.

“It has not been penetrated.” Sung-Min replied.

“ …. That doesn’t make sense.” Namgoong Heewon murmured at Sung-Min’s reply. and frowned.

“Are you saying you are at the level of using Sword Strength, but the ‘Qi Vessel’ on your back has not even burst? How’s that even possible?”

“Is one not capable of using ‘Sword Strength’ if the flow of the Qi Vessel is not penetrated?”

“Normally, yes. The blood flow in your body needs to withstand the flow of your inner strength and the circulation has to be at top speed. Having the Qi Vessel penetrated means the fastest path for your inner strength to flow has opened up.”

“Does it really matter?”

“Of course it matters. Using Sword Strength is very impressive, but without the Qui Vessel in your back penetrated, using those powers won’t be efficient at all. It would just be a waste of inner strength.”

Sung Min then realized he didn’t have to go through the process of ‘concentration’ when he was using his Sword Strength. He had simply thought he wasn’t using his powers efficiently, but it had turned out his Qi Vessel in his back hadn’t been penetrated at all, which was why his powers were not as effective.

“But even so… I suppose there are cases like you. I haven’t experienced it myself, but I’ve heard stories of cases like this. I heard that the physical body isn’t able to keep up with the martial arts techniques if the physical body is incapable of completely accepting the powers.“

“Are you saying that’s the case with me?”

“I’m saying it’s a possibility. You should hope that’s not the case, however. Most of those cases… they don’t end well. The imbalance of the heart, body and energy result in a disability in the body.”

Sung Min’s face hardened at Namgoong’s words. Although it was unclear whether there was an imbalance of his heart, body and energy, it was clear that his condition was dangerous in the long run.

“When are you going to stop talking about all of this stuff that’s hard to understand?” Scarlett piped up abruptly.

She had been listening in to the conversation looking deadpan. Scarlett was a magician and wasn’t able to understand most of the conversation the two men were having.

At this, Namgoong Heewon let out a laugh and bowed his head slightly.

“Haha.. I apologize. It was disturbing me, so I couldn’t help it..”

“By the way, about the Son of the Heavenly Demon..” Sung Min said cautiously. Sung Min felt apologetic towards Scarlett, but he couldn’t help mentioning her.

.

“What is she like?”

“Are you interested in her?”

“I’m not a martial arts master, but I know how serious it is to have ‘Heavenly Demon’ as a nickname. She may be a ‘Minor Heavenly Demon’, but a demon is a demon. I am only asking out of curiosity.”

“Haha.. how many people do you know of who is called a ‘Heavenly Demon?’”

“Almost none.” Sungmin replied. Namgoong laughed aloud.

“In Eria, there are currently three figures with the nickname of ‘Heavenly Demon’ in Eria.”

Their orders had come out. Scarlett had given up trying to interrupt their conversation. She picked at her dish of seasoned shells and vegetables with her chopsticks, her lips pressed in disapproval.

“First of all, Baek Mu-Sun : the Bloody Heavenly Demon. He is a young man satisfies the terms and has been known in the region since four years ago. He is active is the northern regions of Eria, where it snows all year. He is still young, but he reigns over the area by using violence. It is suggested he might unify the area soon and spread out to other regions.”

Sung Min also knew of Baek Mu-Sun, the Bloody Heavenly Demon. Around the time he had died, Baek Mu Son had left the northern regions for the south. Sung Min didn’t know what happened afterwards.

“Another one is Byuk Won-Pae, the Crazy Heavenly Demon. I actually find his nickname to be quite fitting. He is very old in age and the sky is the limit to his martial arts skills. Bloody Heavenly Demon Baek Mu-Sun certainly has skills exceeding the Peak Level, but the Crazy Demon Byuk Won-Pae…. He is a much greater master than that. Plus, he has a cruel personality and has no compassion at all, so he is just fit to be a demon. Bloody Demon Baek Mu-Sun has his followers, the Bloody Demon Army, but the Crazy Demon Byuk Won-Pae doesn’t have followers. He roams on his own. If you cross paths with him by any chance, make a run for it. He has no mercy at all.”

The Crazy Demon Byuk Won-Pae. Sung-Min knew of the name. However, compared to the Bloody Demon Baek and the Minor Demon Wijihoyeon, the name of the Crazy Demon Byuk hadn’t left a lasting impression in his memory. Byuk was an infamous being for being crazy and cruel without mercy, but he was such a nomad that he had never been the center of a big gossip.

“And finally, we have the ‘Minor Heavenly Demon’ – Wijihoyeon. The nickname ‘Minor Demon’ may be less impressive then the ‘Bloody Demon’ or the ‘Crazy Demon’, but that is not the case at all. Truth is, ‘Minor Demon Wijihoyeon is a veiled figure- I am not able to wrap my head around what he is like. What I am sure is that Minor Demon Wijihoyeon is as much of a monster as the Bloody Demon or the Crazy Demon.” Namgoong Heewon, the young master of the Namgoong household and also known as the Sword Dragon spoke gravely.

Sung-Min could feel Namgoong’s authority in his words.

“I am not sure what this Wijihoyeon is like. All I know is that she is evil and has no mercy, but at the same time she is compassionate and courageous…. HAHA! So many ironic rumors I’ve heard! We do not even know if Wijihoyeon is a male or female. The only thing I am sure of is WIjihoyeon’s strengths. She has not even met the age requirements, but she is already at the peak of mastering her powers. The other three “Heavenly Demons” would definitely acknowledge her as a genius.”

Sung-Min knew. Wijihoyeon was a genius. Sung-Min knew this better than anyone else.

“You two.” Scarlett, who had been picking at her food, glared her eyes. “Eat up, won’t you?”

Sung-Min silently picked up his chopsticks and stared to eat. Namgoong Hee-Won also let out a cough and started eating.

It seemed Scarlett didn’t have the appetite for Zhongyuan food so it was Sung-Min and Namgoog Hee-Won who had no choice but to finish up most of the food. Namgoong Hee-Won, who had said he had already eaten, ate most of the food.

After drinking some tea to rinse out his mouth after the meal, he spoke up.

“I heard you are headed for Shaolin.”

“Looks like you were eavesdropping on us.”

“Not really. I just happened to hear you. I happen to have excellent hearing, you know.” Namgoong replied lightly. “If you are headed to Shaolin, why don’t you go with me? I just happened to take care of some matters at Shaolin myself.”

“May I ask what your purpose of going to Shaolin is?”

“I’m going to go pay my respects to the Great Master Bul-Young of Shaolin. Four great households including the Namgoong Household pay respects to the Great Master once a year. We’re staying committed to an old promise.”

The four great households Namgoong was referring to were the Namgoong household, the Mo-Yong household, the Tao Line, and the Jae-Gal Household. Sung-Min was curious what the ‘old promise’ could be, but he didn’t ask Hee-Won. He felt Hee-Won wouldn’t take it kindly if he asked things like that.

“I hate this city all of a sudden.” Scarlett muttered. She had finished her meal. She had been anticipating good Zhongyuan food, but it seemed she was in a bad mood because it hadn’t fit her appetite.

They had originally been thinking of touring around the city, but they decided to head to Shaolin right away since they had decided to accompany Namgoong.

However, the city of Brethun was very big, and the sun had set before they could reach the South Gate of the city, which led to Mount Song. It seemed rude to knock on the doors of the Shaolin Temple in the dead of the night, so the trio decided to stay in an inn and leave the following day.

“Ah, if that’s all right with you.”

Perhaps it was because the city was near Mount Song, or perhaps it was because the city was full of martial arts masters, but there was a tourney hall behind the inn. Seeing this, Namgoong Heewon turned to Sung-Min.

“Would you like to have a light tournament?”

Sung-Min was slightly shocked at his offer. He had not thought Namgoong would suggest they have a match. Sung-Min pondered about this for a while and nodded.

“Only if it’s a friendly competition.” Sung-Min replied.

“Of course.” Namgoong replied, smiling brightly.

Scarlett went up to her room, uninterested.

Luckily, there was no one using the hall so Namgoong and Sung-Min were able to prepare for battle right away. They had asked the inn owner if they could use weapons and they were able to borrow a wooden sword and staff that didn’t have blades.

“I did think you would be a spearman.” Namgoong murmured quietly as he twirled the wooden sword lightly in his hands.

Sung – Min took off his armor and stood facing Namgoong in light attire. A spear and a staff were two completely different weapons but using weapons with blades in a friendly match was too dangerous.

“Honestly, I do prefer real competitions, but such matches would be too dangerous, since we don’t have any observers. So, let’s just enjoy this.”

“I’m not sure whether I’ll be good enough to meet your expectations.”

.

“Haha! You are too humble. Well, I guess we’ll see.” Namgoong replied and adjusted his posture.

The playfulness was nowhere to be found and his eyes gleamed dangerously. Namgoong had simply changed posture fit for fighting with a sword, but he looked completely different.

Holding the staff with both hands, Sung-Min gulped as he saw the energy creeping off Namgoong.

He was certain about one thing.

Namgoong Hee-Won was powerful.