Chapter 30 : No, Already? -03

Chapter 30: No, Already? -03

It wasn’t that people never changed, but for the most part, people did not change easily.

Ban Hojin had experienced that far too many times.

Unless something truly significant happened, people did not change, and because of that, Ban Hojin could state it with certainty.

That Seonwu Cheong standing before him was someone who could be trusted.

‘His martial strength is lacking, but he has the people’s trust. He also doesn’t calculate gains and losses.’

As the head of a Murim family, Seonwu Cheong’s martial prowess was, in truth, greatly insufficient.

There was a reason the Seonwu Family couldn’t even enter the ranks of the Murim Ten Great Families.

However, Seonwu Cheong possessed something that the heads of the Ten Great Families did not have.

That was trustworthiness.

Even if he couldn’t entrust his back to others, Seonwu Cheong and the Seonwu Family were different.

That was why Ban Hojin, unlike with other rising juniors, had sought out Seonwu Bang first and formed a friendship.

“To be honest, even when I first heard it, I couldn’t believe it. He’s my child, but he’s such a shy fellow.”

“It’s not quite that bad.”

“Oh, it is. It’s been years since he started attending gatherings of the rising juniors, yet isn’t there not a single person you could really call a friend?”

“Ugh!”

Seonwu Bang let out a groan.

Because it was painfully accurate, there was no room for rebuttal.

“Having one true friend is better than having many friends who don’t really feel like friends. Friends who don’t feel like friends are just acquaintances.”

“Oh? You know quite well, don’t you?”

“I’m rather limited in my own relationships as well.”

“Then you resemble Bang in that regard.”

“But it causes no inconvenience in living.”

At Ban Hojin’s confident expression of his own view, Seonwu Cheong burst into hearty laughter.

That had been his first impression as well, but Ban Hojin truly seemed to possess a personality completely opposite to his son’s.

“That’s true. Connections are important, but in Murim, the most important thing is one’s own personal strength.”

“That isn’t necessarily so. There are many kinds of power. In the end, it’s just divided into those who get devoured and those who do the devouring.”

“Well now. This doesn’t feel like I’m talking with my son’s friend at all.”

“Didn’t I grow up in a temple? Just looking at my senior brother alone, he’s far older than I am.”

“When you put it that way, that’s true.”

Seonwu Cheong chuckled softly.

It was amusing to hear Shaolin spoken of as if it were just any ordinary temple.

But Seonwu Bang and Seo Joun seemed to think the same, as both of them were smiling silently.

“And this Jianghu is also a place where no one can guarantee that the current Five Great Families will still be the Five Great Families ten years from now.”

“That’s right. It’s not impossible. But how unusual. I didn’t expect to hear such words from a disciple of Shaolin.”

“I’m a lay disciple, aren’t I? Naturally, I can’t help but be interested in worldly matters. And in the distant future, I might even establish a family of my own.”

“As expected of the young. Youth indeed.”

Seonwu Cheong put on an intentionally envious expression.

Seeing Ban Hojin’s bold demeanor reminded him of his own spirited younger days.

At the same time, he thought that Ban Hojin and his son suited each other quite well.

“They say youth never comes again. That’s why I plan to spend it as meaningfully as possible.”

“For someone saying that, isn’t your martial learning far too outstanding?”

“Isn’t winning far better than losing?”

“Hahaha! That’s true enough. In any case, please take good care of Bang. If you need anything, speak freely at any time.”

“I understand.”

Although he had made time, unfortunately it wasn’t much.

Thus, Seonwu Cheong ended the conversation with a face full of regret.

Though it ended here, they could have even shared a meal, so Seonwu Cheong personally rose from his seat and saw Ban Hojin and Seo Joun off.

“He’s really considerate. Unlike my father.”

“You mean he lacks authority?”

“No. Authority doesn’t necessarily have to be heavy and harsh. There are many kinds of authority.”

“Is that so?”

At Seo Joun’s words, Seonwu Bang tilted his head in confusion.

However, his thoughts did not change.

No matter how much he tried to side with his father, words like authority or sternness simply didn’t suit Seonwu Cheong.

“A leader doesn’t necessarily need authority. What’s important is doing well what needs to be done as a leader. In that regard, he seemed more than worthy of respect.”

“How would you know that?”

“Because I didn’t hear a single bad thing on the way here.”

“Huh?”

At Ban Hojin’s firm tone, Seonwu Bang, who had been wearing a dumbfounded expression, suddenly gaped.

He had thought it was a joke, but listening closely, it clearly wasn’t.

Faced with such sharply reasoned words, Seonwu Bang was momentarily left speechless.

“I heard it too. Servants and maids alike—there was no gossip at all. People even criticize emperors behind their backs where they can’t be seen. But here, everyone only had good things to say. The household retainers all looked bright as well.”

“For someone who doesn’t look it, you’re surprisingly perceptive.”

“I’m from a prestigious family too.”

Seo Joun replied with a sly grin.

Although his family circumstances had declined greatly, the Seo Family Estate had once been a prestigious family that dominated Murim beyond Shanxi Province.

And it would be so again in the future.

That was what Seo Joun intended.

“It is a prestigious family. The moon waxes and wanes. And then it waxes again. What’s important is surviving.”

“That’s right.”

Seo Joun’s eyes sparkled.

For a hero, adversity and hardship were indispensable elements of the narrative.

He believed that now was the time for the Seo Family Estate to overcome hardship and adversity.

He had more than enough confidence to revive the family.

“So for now, diligently lay the foundation first.”

“Yes!”

In order to treat the Nine Yang Severed Meridians, not only his parents and siblings but the entire family had poured everything into him for seventeen years.

After receiving such devotion and care, failing to repay it would mean not being human.

Thus, Seo Joun was determined to repay the family with far more than he had received.

Clang-clang-clang!

From early morning, a series of crisp metallic sounds burst forth from the front courtyard of the detached annex where Ban Hojin was staying.

Under Ban Hojin’s lead, a sparring match between Seonwu Bang and Seo Joun was underway.

“Eek!”

However, Seo Joun, who had initially been full of confidence, had his face twisted in agony before even a quarter of an hour had passed since the sparring began.

At the start of the match, Seo Joun had inwardly thought that while winning would be difficult, he wouldn’t be pushed back too badly.

Although the time since he had formally entered martial training was short, he possessed Extreme Yang Energy accumulated in his body for seventeen years and talent incomparable to anyone else.

Moreover, although Seonwu Bang came from the prestigious Seonwu Family, he was not a rising junior who made a name for himself like Ban Hojin, so Seo Joun had inwardly looked down on him.

Tap.

However, that was arrogance—and a mistake.

Seonwu Bang was by no means an easy opponent.

Even now, he perfectly blocked every single attack and even counterattacked in return.

And not by the skin of his teeth, but casually tapping Seo Joun’s shoulder with the flat of his blade.

Crunch!

If this had been real combat, an arm would have been severed, or half of his upper body would have been split apart without question.

Seo Joun knew that better than anyone.

Even though Seonwu Bang wasn’t completely refraining from using internal power, Seo Joun failed to gain even the slightest advantage.

Even after unleashing the family martial art that Ban Hojin had said lacked nothing to become unrivaled under heaven, Seonwu Bang received every attack perfectly, like an iron wall.

“Heh heh!”

Seeing Seo Joun’s face, clearly etched with shock and disbelief, Ban Hojin, who had been watching from a distance, let out a quiet chuckle.

Just by looking at his expression, he could tell exactly how Seo Joun was feeling.

However, Seo Joun still knew one thing and not the other.

The fact that the expression he was making right now was visible to Seonwu Bang—and how much it amounted to underestimating him.

Tap.

Even so, Seonwu Bang’s expression did not change much.

As if he knew this was the stage where one rampaged about relying solely on talent, he merely pointed out Seo Joun’s openings with an impassive face.

Moreover, perhaps because he had trained diligently after returning to the main house, Seonwu Bang’s sword had grown sharper and more refined than when Seo Joun had seen it at Shaolin.

In that short span of time, he had advanced by a whole step.

“Hup!”

But that wasn’t what mattered to Seo Joun.

He couldn’t even tell that Seonwu Bang had improved.

What mattered to him was only that none of his techniques were working.

And Seonwu Bang increasingly felt like a wall.

A wall he absolutely could not overcome at present.

At the same time, Ban Hojin’s words resurfaced in his mind.

That talent itself wasn’t what mattered—it was awakening that talent that was far more important.

Sssshk!

The moment those words came to mind, Seo Joun changed his method of attack.

If everything he had tried so far was being blocked, there was no chance it would work going forward either.

So, to increase his odds even slightly, he had to try something different.

Tzzzt tzzzt tzzzt!

Seo Joun’s sword completely changed.

Seo Joun, who had been scattering orthodox sword forms, began to unleash an unorthodox offensive.

The unpredictable swordplay, entirely different from before, was accompanied by changed footwork as well.

As if determined to show unexpected movements even if they were crude, Seo Joun relentlessly shifted his position while pressing Seonwu Bang.

Thunk! Thud! Thud-thud-thunk!

Yet even against Seo Joun’s incomprehensible wave-like assault, Seonwu Bang did not waver.

Just as before, with his solid fundamentals, he simply and succinctly blocked Seo Joun’s attacks without any special techniques.

No matter how dazzling the sword, no matter how eye-deceiving the sword momentum, its true form was ultimately just one.

Seonwu Bang understood that well, and without the slightest panic, he crushed Seo Joun’s onslaught head-on.

“It’s useless.”

Seo Joun had found what he thought was a breakthrough, but in Ban Hojin’s eyes, it was a futile effort.

Unlike Seo Joun, who had only just entered martial arts, Seonwu Bang was a martial artist who had trained for nearly seventeen years.

Moreover, he had held a sword for over fifteen years.

When Seo Joun had been toddling around, Seonwu Bang had already been swinging a child’s iron sword.

“……I lost.”

No matter how heaven-defying his talent was, it was impossible to topple Seonwu Bang’s martial arts, built up over long years, in such a short time.

Seo Joun felt and realized that bitterly through this sparring match.

Just how arrogant his thinking had been.

“Good work.”

“I really lost completely. It was a perfect defeat with no room at all.”

“Still, you were amazing. Compared to the amount of time you’ve formally learned martial arts, it’s honestly unbelievable.”

“So what? I got utterly smashed.”

“If I lost to you, what would that make me?”

Seonwu Bang said with a faint chuckle.

But inwardly, he was quite shocked.

He had heard that Seo Joun had suffered from the Nine Yang Severed Meridians and that it had only recently been cured.

Even so, this level was beyond reason.

“I guess that’s true too?”

“I’ve trained martial arts for almost as long as you’ve been alive. I shouldn’t be caught up to so easily. No matter how different the scale of innate talent is.”

“But I also have a goal I want to achieve, so I need to become strong as quickly as possible.”

“A goal you want to achieve?”

Though his tone was teasing, Seonwu Bang wore a kind smile.

To him, Seo Joun felt like a youngest brother.

Despite his words, his nature was good.

And he was always respectful in daily life.

“Yes. I’ll raise the Seo Family Estate back into a prestigious family. The estate lord will be my eldest brother, but the head doesn’t necessarily have to be the strongest.”

“That’s true. Still, the best case is when the head is the strongest.”

“I’m not greedy. I’m already plenty happy as it is.”

“You sure had an enormous greed for martial arts.”

“Come on, that’s just the mindset a martial artist should naturally have. Aspiration and competitiveness—aren’t those natural not just for a martial artist, but for a man?”

Seo Joun laughed playfully.

But his eyes were serious.

Seonwu Bang found that amusing.

“Hm.”

Meanwhile, Ban Hojin looked at Seonwu Bang, who was conversing with Seo Joun, with a peculiar gaze.

The image of Seonwu Bang blocking Seo Joun’s extraordinary wave-like assault replayed repeatedly in Ban Hojin’s mind.

“So even this future changes.”