Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 60

Weapon-Eating Bastard – Episode 60

I had simply drawn my sword, but First Brother’s aura changed in an instant.

He wasn’t even posturing or anything, just letting his sword hang, but even the slightest openings that had been visible disappeared.

First Brother opened his mouth.

“Those in the direct line who finish their cadet training receive basic training after their aptitudes are assessed. But this basic training doesn’t involve any formalized stances or forms.”

“Yes, I learned about that during the group education at the Naming Ceremony.”

All the bloodlines of the Soongmoo Yi Clan awaken their sixth sense.

This sixth sense is more of a concept of limitations than a form, so it can’t be explained through stances or forms.

Therefore, basic training is, to be precise, closer to a method of fighting.

It’s about handling a strong body to its limits.

“Even so, there is a framework to basic training. There’s no right answer in martial arts, but there are set patterns.”

I faced First Brother and drew Black Night.

“And our family, as always, finds its path in actual combat.”

That’s how it was.

First Brother’s sword was swung.

* * *

Basic training with First Brother was simple.

A sparring match that was endlessly close to real combat.

Time spent explaining any stances or theories was extremely rare, and rest was limited to catching a quick breath just before hyperventilation.

And the same pattern had been repeating for days now.

Clang! Clash!

The sound of glass shattering echoed each time I clashed swords with First Brother.

“Haa, haa-.”

I breathed roughly and looked at First Brother.

“I think it’s more meaningful to engrave things directly into the body than to teach with words.”

It was truly Spartan.

First Brother pushed me like crazy, just to the level I could handle.

Clang! Swish!

Twelve sword strikes poured down in a single breath.

‘To unleash sword strikes like crazy with such a relaxed expression…!’

Lee Myung-jung’s breathing didn’t even falter during the combo attacks.

I gritted my teeth and circulated mana.

Since this was training to master basic skills, not an actual battle, I didn’t use Aura yet.

“Aren’t you watching with your Magic Eye? Move properly.”

“Kugh!”

Clang!

A powerful sound erupted as sword met sword.

It was difficult to block each sword strike.

I was definitely reading the flow with my Magic Eye, but it felt like my body wasn’t following my will.

‘Sword strikes are pouring in from directions impossible for the body’s structure. If you swing a sword like that, not only the muscles but also the joints won’t be able to withstand it, so how….’

The sword strikes came from deformed angles.

It was a movement that would inevitably strain the body, but First Brother felt comfortable, as if it were nothing.

As if guessing my thoughts, First Brother opened his mouth.

“You thought it was an unreasonable movement? Wrong. The Soongmoo Yi Clan’s body is stronger than you think. From the start, we were born with bodies different from ordinary people.”

Clang!

The family’s basic training starts from understanding such a body.

Screech!

At that moment, one sword strike broke through my defense.

I inhaled sharply and widened my eyes.

‘It’s not just about blocking attacks. I have to learn First Brother’s teachings.’

While focusing on defense, I tried to read and follow the deformed movements.

Meanwhile, Lee Myung-jung was inwardly impressed as he watched his youngest brother.

‘He’s already following.’

He had been pushing him hard to see how long he could last. But beyond enduring, he was catching up at an alarming rate.

‘Excellent movements. His fundamentals are well-established, so his learning is fast. He wasn’t even properly taught the basics by a proper teacher, yet his fundamentals are so well-established….’

Orthodox.

It felt like his foundation was very solid.

He hadn’t learned the basics separately, but his movements were very solid.

It felt like facing a martial artist who had practiced one swordsmanship for a long time.

‘He wasn’t a child who showed these movements. Is this the enlightenment he gained from Cheonwisan [Heavenly Mountain]?’

Even so, who could gain enlightenment and change so much, and use that change as if it were originally their own?

Whoosh!

It was that moment.

His younger brother’s sword struck from the front.

“Hmph.”

Clang!

His young brother didn’t miss the gap when he was distracted for a moment.

There was a difference in skill, so he blocked it, but he almost got hit.

Moreover, even though he was careless, this sword strike was different from before.

It came in from an unorthodox space, not an orthodox direction.

That is to say.

‘He’s already getting the hang of it?’

Lee Myung-jung’s eyes widened. Then, he smiled meaningfully.

‘Hehe, okay, I’ll raise the difficulty even more. Let’s see if you can follow this too.’

Lee Myung-jung’s sword began to unfold even more sharply.

‘Damn it!’

I gritted my teeth as I faced First Brother’s sword strikes that blurred my vision.

* * *

Today’s training was over.

My training clothes were no different from rags, and my body was full of scratches.

First Brother scratched the back of his head.

“I’m sorry. Hehe. I got a little carried away.”

“Huk, huk. No. This is what training should be like. Thank you.”

I calmed my rapidly beating breath and bowed my head.

“That’s right, you seemed to have gotten the hang of it. Was what I saw correct?”

“Yes, I understood what First Brother told me. You told me to understand the body, didn’t you.”

I looked at the hand holding the training sword.

The Soongmoo Yi Clan’s body is strong.

The tendons are tough like steel wires, and the muscles are flexible and elastic like rubber balls.

And this strong body becomes even stronger with training.

Old records even tell of an ancestor who was hit by a flying arrow and bounced it off with only minor skin damage.

“So it’s okay to perform movements that strain the body. Because it won’t be a problem for the Soongmoo Yi Clan’s body, which isn’t an ordinary person’s.”

As a strong body, its durability is strong.

Therefore, the Soongmoo Yi Clan’s body can withstand movements that ordinary warriors would not be able to withstand.

Basic training starts from that point.

“That’s right. You understood well. It’s actually being applied to your movements as well.”

“I suffered all week to grasp just that one thing. I’m still far from enough.”

Lee Myung-jung chuckled in vain.

Far from enough?

Basic training usually takes months.

Some people train for over a year, but to grasp the basics in just one week and say something like that.

“Impressive kid. Make sure to visit the medical ward to treat your injuries. Let’s meet at the same time tomorrow.”

“Yes, Brother. I’m going to review today’s training a bit.”

“Okay, I’ll go first. Don’t overdo it.”

“Thank you.”

I escorted First Brother to the front of the training ground and returned to the training ground.

Then, I took a stance and moved my body, recalling First Brother’s movements.

My muscles were fatigued, and I had exhausted my stamina to the limit, so I quickly ran out of breath, but I didn’t stop.

“Haa, haa.”

And after finishing one set of movements, I recalled how to use my body again.

In the process, I felt a sense of déjà vu.

‘As expected, it’s similar to Manbyeon [Ten Thousand Changes].’

Manbyeon, the basic form of Mujin [Martial Dust], which established the movements utilizing Mujin as a theory.

The family’s basic training that maximizes the body’s usefulness based only on the essence of the body.

The framework of the two is so similar.

‘The difference is that Mujin focuses on weapons, and basic training focuses on the body.’

Although the differences between them are clear, I instinctively thought that the two martial arts came from the same root.

‘Thanks to that, I understood basic training more easily than I thought.’

I had the thought that Manbyeon and basic training might be different branches extending from the same root.

I looked at Mujin on my finger and had complex thoughts.

‘As expected, Mujin seems to have a close connection with our family. The man I saw in Mujin’s memory back then was clearly showing the characteristics of our family.’

It felt like I had discovered a secret in an unexpected place.

I clenched my fist tightly.

Not much time left until I set out on the Warrior Pilgrimage.

Perhaps I can easily fulfill my father’s condition of mastering basic training within that time.

‘Time will pass quite quickly.’

There was no time to stop even for a day.

I swung my sword again.

* * *

The elders of the Soongmoo Yi Clan hold regular meetings.

These meetings are not for actual work-related discussions, but to gather the opinions of the entire Council of Elders and determine the major direction of the family.

An uncomfortable atmosphere lingered inside the meeting room.

The elders were huddling together with those close to them, whispering words mixed with annoyance.

It wasn’t because there was an issue to discuss.

The story related to the youngest son, Yi Cheol, who had returned to the family, had been conveyed through the Lord.

Creak-.

Soon, the door to the meeting room opened and a person entered.

It was Yi Cheol-jung, the Head of the Council of Elders.

“I’m sorry for being late. I was on my way back from meeting the Lord.”

Yi Cheol-jung sat in the seat of honor with a meaningful smile on his face, as always.

Then, he scanned the faces of the elders and suddenly stopped his gaze at one place.

“Oh, my, the Head Manager of the main family, who is always busy with official duties, has come to join us. How long has it been?”

“I haven’t been able to attend often under the pretext of having a lot of work, so I just thought I’d come now. My face is getting hot because you think it’s so amazing.”

“I didn’t think that. Welcome. Hehe.”

Lee Tae-hong coughed lowly, clearing his throat, and fidgeted uncomfortably.

Yi Cheol-jung picked up the teacup prepared in his place, took a sip, and slowly opened his mouth.

“Judging from your expressions, the elders seem to have already heard the story?”

As he opened the floodgates, the elders began to raise their voices as if they had been waiting.

“Of course, Head of the Council of Elders. Isn’t this too much! A greenhorn going on the Warrior Pilgrimage!”

“That’s what I’m saying. If he’s a bastard, he should know his place and stay quiet. I’ve also received pressure from Lady Baek regarding this matter.”

The reason why the elders were so furious about the Warrior Pilgrimage was simple.

The three tests that the direct line of the Soongmoo Yi Clan take.

The Iron Thread Ceremony, the Naming Ceremony, and the Warrior Pilgrimage.

The direct line who pass all of these are treated as key figures in the family and are given numerous rights and qualifications.

And that includes the right to attend various meetings and the right to speak on major issues.

In fact, they are treated as quasi-elders, so the elders couldn’t help but be sensitive.

The fact that a bastard, not anyone else, is challenging the Warrior Pilgrimage, which is sent after the training of the Small Virtue, at an unprecedented young age, even though he was from the direct line.

That itself seemed like a disregard for tradition and a rebellion against the system.

“I heard that the presumptuous bastard directly demanded it from the Lord. He said that he had returned from Cheonwisan, so he should be allowed to pass.”

“That won’t do. We couldn’t help it with Cheonwisan, but the Warrior Pilgrimage? If that’s the case, what’s the point of the education process and why is there a procedure?”

The elders showed their discomfort and complained.

“…….”

Lee Tae-hong was silent. He only looked at somewhere in the air with his eyes half-lowered.

Thump!

Then, one elder hit the table and opened his mouth.

“Head of the Council of Elders. Are you just going to watch? This isn’t a simple problem. That guy is a dirty bastard, unless he’s a complete direct line. If we continue to let the bastard cause trouble, the lower ones will also ignore the main family.”

He was one of the elders of the hard-line conservatives.

At the sharp words directed at the Head of the Council of Elders, Yi Cheol-jung smiled again with an unreadable expression.

“I think everyone is misunderstanding. The Lord has not already decided on this matter.”

“Does that mean……?”

“As always, he told us to decide in the Council of Elders and give permission.”

Then, one elder raised his hand and asked.

“Does that mean that the final decision on the bastard’s Warrior Pilgrimage is in our hands?”

Yi Cheol-jung nodded.

“Nothing has changed. As always, the Lord told us to wrap up this matter with the decision of the Council of Elders.”

The elders finally relaxed their expressions.

“As expected! I knew it. Now that it’s come to this, we should just say no unconditionally. The Warrior Pilgrimage at fifteen? A guy who hasn’t even completed the Cadet Corps.”

“Hehe, the problem is that we can’t simply do that.”

The Head of the Council of Elders put his hands together with a meaningful smile and placed them on the table.

“The decision of the Council of Elders means that we have to give a reasonable reason. The bastard has met all the conditions necessary for the Warrior Pilgrimage, so there’s no justification for opposing him without any reason.”

“He has met all the conditions? Isn’t he a guy who hasn’t even completed the Cadet Corps yet?”

“The Lord said that the child has martial power equivalent to a 5th grade warrior. Everyone knows what this means.”

“……!”

The elders’ eyes were dyed with astonishment.

A 5th grade warrior was already far beyond the level of the Cadet Corps.

If that were true, it wouldn’t be difficult to prove his 5th grade warrior status and graduate from the Cadet Corps early.

“Is that…… true?”

“It must be true since the Lord confirmed it himself.”

“Then, we can talk about basic training. Still, he’s using the Yi surname, so to a guy who hasn’t even learned the basic training of the main family…….”

“I heard that the First Son is directly teaching him. He’s already been to Cheonwisan, his level has been verified, and he’s even passed the Bloodless Dream, so there’s no reason to refuse.”

The elders’ expressions twisted.

Yi Cheol-jung continued as if it were nothing.

“So we have to create a suitable justification for the bastard’s trouble-making that disregards tradition. Well, elders, please suggest appropriate alternatives.”

At Yi Cheol-jung’s words, one elder who had been silent opened his mouth.

“I have something to say.”

It was Lee Tae-hong, the Head Manager of the Soongmoo Yi Clan.