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Chapter 23
She quickly changed into her training clothes, as there was nothing complicated about them. Soon, she tied her hair up tightly with a cloth ribbon. Her white hair swayed down her back.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
As she stepped outside the guest room, Wol, who had also changed into his clothes, was already waiting. The loosely tied training uniform made him look somewhat careless, but since he wasn’t one of the disciples here, she thought it didn’t matter. Sha Yeol headed towards the outdoor training grounds where the disciples of the Academy were practicing. There, dozens of disciples appeared to be doing basic training. Sha Yeol sat nearby and began watching them.
“What do you think?”
“What do you mean?”
Sha Yeol asked Wol, who then responded.
“Do you see anyone who looks good?”
At those words, Wol silently watched them. After observing for a brief moment, he responded calmly.
“About three.”
“That’s how it looks to me too.”
There were about three who might rise to prominence in the later stages. Still, since this was the Namgung Academy, it seemed they hadn’t completely given up yet. However, that was only if they continued to improve in the future. Considering the current state of the martial world, they might not even reach the levels they should have originally attained.
“How about teaching them a move?”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“Then what about you?”
At those words, Sha Yeol looked at Wol.
“You want me to do it…”
Sha Yeol stood up from her seat.
“Not bad.”
Sha Yeol approached a branch member of the Namgung family who was teaching the disciples of the Academy. Though his name was unknown, he had probably been teaching the third-generation disciples here for a long time. Sha Yeol approached him and spoke.
“Great hero.”
“Oh, you are…”
“I am Namgung Sha Yeol, from the Namgung family.”
“I heard someone from the main family was visiting. But, what brings you here?”
“Well, it’s actually…”
As Sha Yeol approached the branch member of the Namgung family, who was teaching the disciples, and said something, all the disciples’ eyes were drawn to them. With her delicate lips and her white, flowing hair, her appearance was nothing short of breathtaking. No one could deny she was a rare beauty, and everyone silently stared at her.
“I would like to teach a move to the disciples of the Academy.”
As soon as she spoke those arrogant words, the atmosphere started to stir. The senior members of the Academy had heard that someone from Namgung was visiting today, but no one knew who Namgung Sha Yeol was, so they were all confused.
“Didn’t the main family only have one youngest daughter?”
“…I heard rumors about an illegitimate child, though.”
“Is she that illegitimate child? Then, would she even have proper teachings…”
“Still, she’s from the main family. Who knows?”
They couldn’t read her intent. Her delicate appearance made her seem like a weakling, and some of the martial disciples were displeased. How could someone like her teach them, who were diligently receiving proper training?
“Miss, are you sure about this?”
The branch member who was teaching them spoke with a slightly embarrassed expression. He also knew nothing about Namgung Sha Yeol. He had heard of her, but he didn’t know what kind of person she was. He couldn’t read her intent, which made him even more uncertain.
“Don’t worry, I’m not someone who just talks without skill.”
“…Then I understand. However, if it looks dangerous, I will intervene.”
“Please do.”
Sha Yeol asked the instructor for a wooden sword, took her stance in the “poomse” (martial arts stance), and began examining the disciples one by one. Some were displeased with her, while others stared at her with curious eyes. Either way, it didn’t matter to her.
“I am Namgung Sha Yeol, from the Namgung family. I would like to formally request a sparring match with the disciples of the Academy.”
As Sha Yeol politely addressed them, the disciples’ atmosphere softened. However, no one stepped forward. It was difficult to gauge her skill, and even though she was an illegitimate child, she was still being treated with respect, so they were worried about possibly injuring her. After a short time, someone hesitantly raised their hand.
“May I… may I request a sparring match?”
“Thank you. May I know your name?”
“I am Yeon Myeongwol, a disciple receiving teachings from the Namgung Academy.”
“Yeon Myeongwol, I look forward to sparring with you.”
Upon Sha Yeol’s words, Myeongwol also took her stance and showed the proper etiquette. Once the two decided to spar, the other disciples moved back to form a space in the center. Sha Yeol and Myeongwol stood facing each other, keeping some distance.
Myeongwol nervously raised her wooden sword. Since she couldn’t read her opponent’s intent, it was difficult to strike first. Sha Yeol, however, stood still with the wooden sword hanging loosely in one hand, giving the appearance of an opening, but for some reason, Myeongwol couldn’t see any clear weak point.
‘Not bad.’
Sha Yeol thought as she observed Myeongwol, who didn’t recklessly swing her sword. If she were an inexperienced fighter, she would have immediately attacked when she saw Sha Yeol’s seemingly vulnerable posture, but instead, Myeongwol remained cautious. However, one could not let a young puppy steal the first move. Sha Yeol relaxed one leg, dropped her shoulder, and intentionally left an opening.
‘An opening…!’
Seeing that opening, Myeongwol immediately attacked, kicking the ground to close the distance. Thwack! The sound of the wooden swords clashing echoed. Clearly, Myeongwol had aimed for Sha Yeol’s shoulder, but before she knew it, Sha Yeol’s sword had come up and knocked her sword away. Off-balance from striking upwards, Myeongwol exposed her front, and Sha Yeol didn’t hesitate to take advantage, swiftly striking down on her chest with the sword.
Wham!
“Ahh!”
It was an excruciating pain, one she never expected to feel in her wrist. Myeongwol screamed and collapsed backward. Sha Yeol followed her fall and quickly lifted Myeongwol’s wrist, making her drop the wooden sword. In the blink of an eye, Myeongwol had been knocked down twice and rolled on the floor.
“That’s enough.”
“Th-thank you for the lesson.”
Myeongwol struggled to stand, clutching her aching chest and wrist. Despite the pain, she tried to take the stance again and picked up her wooden sword, retreating. The other disciples, who had been watching, swallowed nervously as they saw one of their top disciples lose so quickly.
“What do you think?”
At that moment, one of the Academy disciples asked the first disciple, Namgung Janggyeong. Janggyeong, with his arms crossed, narrowed his eyes. The movements had definitely been unexpected. If she had been personally taught by the main family, it was no surprise that she would be superior to the Academy’s disciples. However, there was something off about her movements.
“She has no foundation.”
“Huh?”
“Her movements lack any foundation.”
“What do you mean?”
“It seems she has no proper master.”
“That can’t be…”
Janggyeong, someone who taught the basic sword techniques, could tell. The way she wielded the sword was not from the Namgung family. In fact, he had never seen such movements anywhere before.
‘Did she reach this level on her own?’
He couldn’t read her intent, just like Sha Yeol couldn’t. At first, he thought it was because there was nothing to see, but after just this short spar, he realized it wasn’t that there was nothing—it was that she was in a realm he couldn’t access. If that was the case, then she had to be extraordinary.
‘Can someone really reach this level without a master?’
Even Namgung Do-wi, the genius of the Namgung family, couldn’t have done that. Moreover, he had never seen anyone reach such a level before they were even of age. It was likely that no one in the past had achieved such a feat. This was possible because Sha Yeol had brought the martial prowess of her past life with her, but Janggyeong, who couldn’t understand that, was baffled by Sha Yeol, who seemed to have reached this extraordinary level at such a young age.
‘Did they purposely hide the first daughter of the main family?’
But even if that were the case, her unusual movements didn’t add up. Janggyeong decided to watch her sparring a little longer.
