Bachelor Swordsmanship Remastered [EN]: Chapter 50

050. Great Disciple Mo Yongjin

Swish.

Yunhyun sheathed his wooden sword. Or, rather, since he didn’t have a scabbard, he simply switched hands, signifying the end of their sparring match.

“Even children know how to follow instructions.”

Yunhyun spoke slowly and deliberately.

“But if you don’t understand the meaning behind the swordplay, if you don’t grasp its flow, you’ll only ever be a servant *to* the sword, never one who commands it.”

Mo Yongjin didn’t respond, didn’t even twitch. He remained frozen, staring at the remnants of his broken wooden sword.

“Fortunately, your talent isn’t lacking. If you dedicate yourself to training, you’ll achieve significant results. So…”

Yunhyun continued, his expression earnest. The anger had dissipated, the urge to scold Mo Yongjin completely gone.

Instead, Yunhyun spoke with genuine sincerity about Mo Yongjin’s potential and his relationship with the sword.

The reason he’d chosen the Mo Yong family’s sword technique for his final strike was precisely this.

“First, abstain from alcohol and cultivate control over your mind. If you wish to be the master, you must first learn to master yourself.”

Still, Mo Yongjin remained silent.

Yunhyun studied Mo Yongjin for a moment before turning away.

Step, step.

After a few steps, Yunhyun glanced back, only to find Mo Yongjin still rooted to the spot.

Yunhyun clicked his tongue.

‘Tsk, it seems I took my frustrations out on the wrong person.’

Mo Yongjin’s interest clearly lay with the sword, but Yunhyun had still used him as an outlet for his own feelings.

If he’d exercised a little more patience from the start, none of this would have happened.

He’d allowed the drunkard’s words to provoke him, creating a disturbance in the middle of the night. By his own standards, he hadn’t handled the situation well.

‘Advising someone else to control their mind when I can’t even control my own…’

Yunhyun placed a hand on his chest, his fingers brushing against the ring.

Yunhyun had been genuinely surprised when Mo Yongjin’s wooden sword shattered against his own. It was understandable, considering he’d never actually cut anything with a wooden sword before.

Yunhyun was certain that the power imbued in his wooden sword stemmed from the internal energy [qi or chi] transmitted by his brother, Ilchunghyun.

‘I should leave as soon as dawn breaks.’

He’d been planning to leave anyway.

Besides, after causing such a commotion, his departure from the Mo Yong family was practically guaranteed.

It was best to leave before he was formally expelled for fighting with a drunken disciple.

“Hoo.”

With a soft sigh, Yunhyun headed back towards the family estate.

Step, step.

His footsteps gradually faded, but Mo Yongjin, left alone in the training ground, remained motionless.

He still struggled to comprehend the scene that had unfolded before him.

But wasn’t the shattered wooden sword in his hand proof enough?

“Heh heh.”

A disbelieving laugh escaped his lips.

His ‘One Sword Pierces the Heavens’ had been executed flawlessly, more perfect than ever before.

He couldn’t help but imagine how triumphant he would have felt if he’d achieved such success during the last sparring match.

But his One Sword Pierces the Heavens had been utterly destroyed at the last moment.

“Just… what *was* that?”

In the final moments, Mo Yongjin had witnessed his wooden sword disintegrate.

But what truly shocked Mo Yongjin, even more than the destruction of his sword, was the sword path demonstrated by Yunhyun’s wooden sword.

At first, he’d thought it was a variation of the Mo Yong family’s sword techniques.

But it wasn’t.

As far as he knew, no such sword path existed within the Mo Yong family’s repertoire.

Yet, in a way, it *was* the Mo Yong family’s sword.

The Mo Yong family’s sword, but uniquely his own, something no one else could replicate.

Yunhyun had shown him the essence of his own sword.

And he’d done it against the backdrop of the Mo Yong family’s most formidable technique, One Sword Pierces the Heavens.

“His own sword, his own flow, his own… something.”

Mo Yongjin repeated Yunhyun’s earlier words.

Since being adopted into the Mo Yong family, Mo Yongjin had possessed nothing truly his own.

Everything, including the name bestowed upon him by the head of the family, belonged to someone else.

He followed instructions diligently.

He strived to execute every task flawlessly, aspiring to be more devoted to the family’s sword than anyone else.

That was how he’d earned the title of Great Disciple.

But he’d always felt a sense of insecurity.

Losing a sparring match was an acceptable setback. And emulating the head of the family’s path of strategic retreat was understandable.

But he felt he had no real place in the Mo Yong family’s resurgence. He played no significant role in the Mo Yong family’s revival.

From that point onward, his wandering had taken a slightly different turn.

It had become a habitual form of self-deprecation.

“Heh heh heh.”

Perhaps today’s events had been inevitable.

For someone like him, who possessed nothing of his own, the day of reckoning, the day when everything would crumble, had already been predetermined.

Swish.

Mo Yongjin lifted his gaze.

In the dark night sky, starlight twinkled brilliantly.

It was a breathtaking sight, one he couldn’t find within the walls of any brothel or in the eyes of any courtesan.

“You say to become the master if you don’t want to be a servant?”

Mo Yongjin murmured.

“Heh heh.”

A hollow laugh escaped his lips as he gazed up at the night sky.

Mo Yongjin’s expression remained melancholic, but his eyes shone with a clarity that mirrored the stars above.

***

Early in the morning, before the sun had even begun to peek over the horizon, Mo Yong Danchun, the head of the Mo Yong family and wielder of the Gwanil Sword [a specific sword style or named sword], emerged from his room.

It was his customary way of starting the day, a habit he’d cultivated for decades: watching the sunrise after completing his morning training.

Step, step.

Breathing in the crisp morning air, Mo Yong Danchun made his way towards the training grounds.

To reach the training grounds from his residence, he had to traverse the family estate.

It was a tradition established by his ancestors, a way to begin the day by surveying the family’s property.

Step, step.

As he walked between the small buildings, Mo Yong Danchun paused, drawn by a faint sound.

‘Huh?’

The sound seemed to be emanating from the training ground used by the ordinary disciples.

Occasionally, some of the more dedicated disciples would commit themselves to training in the early hours of the morning or late into the night.

As the head of the family, he always found such displays of enthusiasm encouraging, so Mo Yong Danchun continued forward with a sense of anticipation.

“Tahat!”

As he neared the training ground, he heard a powerful shout.

Mo Yong Danchun peered into the training ground from between the buildings, careful not to disrupt the training.

“Haat!”

Whirly.

With a shout, a sword sliced through the air.

Sweat streamed down the young man’s body, evidence of his prolonged training.

In the dim light, the blue glint of the sword flashed, and steam rose from his muscles, revealing the intensity of his movements.

‘No?’

Mo Yong Danchun couldn’t suppress his surprise.

The young man, shirtless and completely absorbed in his swordsmanship practice, was none other than the Great Disciple, Mo Yongjin.

‘Jin?’

He’d received a report that Mo Yongjin had been at a brothel until yesterday.

Yet here he was, engaged in swordsmanship training at this early hour?

“Haa!”

The shout echoed through the training ground once more, and a very familiar sword path unfolded from Mo Yongjin’s sword.

It was a sword technique that every disciple of the Mo Yong family learned as their first lesson.

A sword technique that the Great Disciple Mo Yongjin had mastered long ago.

But the sword path now unfolding from Mo Yongjin’s sword was different.

At first glance, it appeared clumsy, yet at times it displayed surprising sharpness, like a sword being forged in a furnace.

It was a sword path that the old Mo Yongjin, who had simply followed the established path, could never have conceived.

‘Hoo.’

Mo Yong Danchun’s eyes gleamed.

‘The tip of the sword is alive.’

Mo Yongjin’s sword clearly exhibited subtle deviations from the established sword path.

Perhaps because of these deviations, Mo Yongjin’s sword was brimming with life.

But even more striking than the sword itself was Mo Yongjin’s gaze.

Mo Yongjin’s eyes, fixed on the tip of his sword, shone like the stars in the night sky.

“Taha!”

At Mo Yongjin’s shout, the head of the family, Mo Yong Danchun, smiled.

He understood what his Great Disciple was doing.

Savage [in this context, meaning raw, untamed, or in the process of being refined].

Mo Yong Danchun quietly retreated.

He didn’t want to disturb the disciple’s training.

But as he walked away, Mo Yong Danchun’s heart swelled with immense pride.

‘It’s done.’

He was an 아이 [Korean word for child, but in this context implying someone he has been watching over] he had always been 기대하고 [Korean word for anticipating or expecting great things from].

His momentary lapse had disappointed him, but it now seemed that even that period hadn’t been entirely wasted.

In fact, he was even more impressed to see him overcome his past regrets so magnificently.

“Hehehe.”

Finally, a hearty laugh escaped his lips.

Mo Yong Danchun stroked his beard and muttered.

“The world will know that Gwanil Sword Mo Yong Danchun is not the only master in the Mo Yong family.”

The smile remained fixed on his face.

How could it not, now that he was convinced that the future of the Mo Yong family would be even brighter?

Gwanil Sword Mo Yong Danchun headed towards his training ground with a lighter heart than ever before.

He was briefly curious about what had prompted his grandson Mo Yongjin, who had been indulging in alcohol until yesterday, to change his ways, but that was a question he could address later.

***

Yunhyun, who had woken up early to pack his belongings, suddenly sensed a presence outside his room.

‘Huh?’

Someone was clearly standing in front of the door, but they weren’t speaking or moving.

“Who’s there?”

As if in response to Yunhyun’s voice, a polite reply was heard.

“Are you awake?”

Yunhyun frowned slightly at the unfamiliar voice coming from outside the door.

It sounded like someone from the family estate, but what was with the overly polite tone?

“I’m awake, but…”

Yunhyun answered and opened the door.

Click.

“You are…”

Yunhyun’s frown deepened.

The person standing outside the door was the drunken young man from the previous night.

The young man, Mo Yongjin, bowed respectfully to Yunhyun.

Yunhyun returned the bow.

“I apologize for coming so early in the morning.”

Mo Yongjin’s courteous demeanor was a stark contrast to his behavior the night before.

Yunhyun already felt awkward about encountering the person he’d fought with, but Mo Yongjin’s politeness only amplified his embarrassment.

“Ah, it’s okay, you don’t need to apologize…”

Yunhyun stammered.

He felt even more ashamed because the other person was being so considerate.

“I’m also sorry about last night. It’s alright to have a drink occasionally…”

Yunhyun offered an apology, but Mo Yongjin shook his head.

“No. I came to my senses thanks to you. I am grateful for your teachings, Great One.”

‘Great One?’

It was the first time anyone had addressed him as “Great One.”

Yunhyun felt rather uncomfortable with his overly polite apology.

“Oh, gee…”

Observing Yunhyun’s reaction, Mo Yongjin asked with a curious expression.

“But what brings you to the family estate, Great One?”

“I was planning to pay my respects to the head of the family, but he seems occupied, so I’m about to leave.”

Yunhyun replied with an awkward smile, and Mo Yongjin tilted his head.

The head of the family he knew would never neglect a guest.

“Have you known the head of the family for a long time?”

Yunhyun shook his head.

“No, not at all. It’s just that the Mo Yong family is renowned, and I’ve heard many stories about it…”

Yunhyun mumbled.

But Mo Yongjin seemed to fully grasp the situation.