Chapter 40
Vacation (2)
A vast, pure-white space — the Room.
In his previous life, this place had been nothing more than a shelter or a storage area.
But since his reincarnation into the martial world and his subsequent reawakening, things had changed.
[Would you like to activate the Virtual Duel Mode?]
A new ability that had unlocked upon reaching level 30.
It allowed Namgung Hyuk to materialize the martial artists he had faced in the past as illusions within the Room and spar with them virtually.
Why didn’t this function exist in my previous life?
If he had possessed such an ability back then, he would have grown far stronger as a Hunter.
He could only assume it was because, in this life, he possessed both the nature of a martial artist and the characteristic of martial arts (武功).
Well, the reason doesn’t really matter.
What mattered was that this new function had completely changed how he could train inside the Room.
Shrrrk.
As soon as he activated the mode, an illusion appeared before Namgung Hyuk.
To his surprise, it was none other than the Sword King, Namgung Bi.
Even though it was just a projection, the pressure radiating from it was identical to the real thing.
Even if it’s not real, I can’t afford to be careless.
The illusion’s attacks were nothing more than fabrications, but they felt so real that one could easily believe the wounds were genuine.
If one let their guard down, the mind could be overwhelmed—and die to a mere illusion.
“Alright, let’s begin.”
Namgung Hyuk took his stance.
The illusion of Namgung Bi raised his sword in response.
Tak!
Namgung Hyuk moved with blinding speed and launched his sword technique.
Chae-chang!
The sound of clashing steel echoed through the Room as the illusion’s sword effortlessly blocked each of his strikes.
Dragon-Breaking Form (破龍勢)!
Namgung Hyuk pressed forward without hesitation.
The illusion of Namgung Bi took several steps back under the relentless onslaught.
Chwachwachwaak!
Namgung Hyuk unleashed a flurry of sword forms, his movements sharper and faster than when he had fought the real Namgung Bi by the lakeside during the banquet.
His higher level had dramatically boosted his physical abilities.
Combined with his immense internal energy, he moved with explosive power that surpassed what anyone short of a master at the Peak Realm could achieve.
Cheok.
The illusion of Namgung Bi suddenly steadied his stance.
That posture…!
Namgung Hyuk immediately recognized it — the stance that had once brought him to the brink of death.
But this time, he stepped forward to prove that he was no longer the same man.
JJJJOONG!
A thunderous impact rang across the entire Room.
“…”
Even as the sword stopped just inches from his nose, Namgung Hyuk didn’t flinch.
This illusion was built from his own memories. It wasn’t truly Namgung Bi.
And yet, that one sword — the final strike of the Sword King who stood among the Ten Martial Sovereigns — contained the culmination of a lifetime of sword mastery.
The fact that Namgung Hyuk had managed to block it proved how far he had come.
After countless tries, I’ve finally blocked it. The next goal is to win completely.
The illusion embodied Namgung Bi’s strength as Hyuk remembered it.
It could not reproduce techniques Hyuk had never seen.
Even so, Namgung Bi’s overwhelming strength still pressed down on him.
“But now that I have time… I’ll master it, no matter what!”
With burning resolve, Namgung Hyuk began his full-scale training.
* * *
Hundreds of days passed inside the Room.
Now, a chaotic many-versus-one battle was underway.
Kwa-gwa-gang!
Countless sword energies filled the air, and Namgung Hyuk narrowly dodged through their deadly range.
Then he charged toward one of his assailants — his cousin Namgung Jin, the same opponent he had faced in the Sky-Bound Martial Tournament Finals.
Pababat!
The illusion of Namgung Jin unleashed the Thirteen Thunder Swords (閃電十三劍雷) to intercept him.
Azure Sky, Boundless! (蒼穹無涯)
Namgung Hyuk countered with the Azure Sky Infinite Sword Style.
It was the ultimate move of the sword art, one that could only be performed by those who had fully mastered it.
Brilliant blue sword light spread through the space, overwhelming Jin’s technique completely.
The illusion of Namgung Jin began to retreat swiftly—
Not a chance!
Namgung Hyuk, using his Celestial Wind Step—now refined to the 10-Star level—closed in instantly.
But at that moment—
Swaeeek!
Swords came flying from both sides.
He had anticipated this. Moving fluidly, he twisted his body and evaded both attacks.
The attackers were the illusions of Namgung Hwarin and Namgung Pae.
Expressionless, the two immediately unleashed the Azure Sky Infinite Sword and the Heaven-Splitting Sword against him once more.
Pabababat!
Namgung Hyuk countered with a newly honed Thirteen Thunder Swords, deflecting both assaults.
Even while facing two elite swordsmen at once, his movements were composed and unhurried.
Time to wrap this up.
Releasing his inner energy, Namgung Hyuk’s sword surged with an overwhelming aura.
Heaven-Splitting Thunder Sword! (破天劍雷)
It was the same technique Namgung Jin had once used against him, but now far more powerful.
Kwa-kwakwa-kwang!
The devastating wave erased both illusions instantly.
Shwiit!
At that moment, the illusion of Namgung Jin — who had quietly retreated earlier — attacked from behind.
But—
That kind of ambush won’t work on me!
Namgung Hyuk had spread a web of lightning energy across a ten-meter radius, alerting him to every disturbance.
He already knew exactly where the attack would come from.
Chwaak!
His sword flashed faster than sight, cleaving the illusion cleanly in two.
“Phew…”
Only when all the illusions vanished did Namgung Hyuk relax his stance.
This sort of training had become second nature.
This time, he had chosen to fight the three opponents he’d once faced in the tournament — to test something.
“At last… I’ve completely made the Namgung Clan’s martial arts my own.”
He had reached the 10-Star Great Mastery in all of his family’s techniques, including the Azure Sky Grand Meditation Art.
To confirm this, he had deliberately chosen to spar against those who used the same clan arts.
“Now that I’ve achieved mastery, I can use these as materials for martial fusion.”
He was genuinely curious what kind of sword art would emerge if he combined Azure Sky Infinite Sword with Thirteen Thunder Swords.
Of course, he knew that fusing them would erase both from his memory.
Those two sword arts are symbols of my Namgung heritage… but still…
He had already left the comfort of the clan behind to walk his own path.
Did he really need to prove his lineage through swordsmanship?
Namgung Hyuk made up his mind.
[Conditions met. You may now fuse the following sword arts:
‘Small Extension Sword (小衍劍法)’, ‘Azure Sky Infinite Sword (蒼穹無涯劍法)’, and ‘Thirteen Thunder Swords (閃電十三劍雷)’.
Proceed with fusion?]
He even added the basic sword style of his clan — the Small Extension Sword — as a fusion component.
“Let’s see what comes out of this.”
He selected “Yes” with eager anticipation.
At that moment, he saw through his mind’s eye the sword arts merging and integrating into one.
This sword…!
Even after a single glimpse, he knew it was unforgettable.
The completed sword form in his mind looked exactly like the Imperial King Sword Form (帝王劍形) — the legendary technique that the Sword King Namgung Bi had shown only once.
Could it be… that I’ve recreated the Imperial Sword Form myself?
Opening his eyes, Namgung Hyuk grasped his sword.
He performed the new technique slowly.
With each descending stroke, he could feel a heavy, majestic pressure.
It was almost identical to the true Imperial Sword Form.
Is this coincidence? Or is it because all the fused techniques stemmed from Namgung swordsmanship?
All of Namgung Clan’s sword arts shared a single origin.
Though their forms and philosophies varied, their roots were one and the same.
That was why mastering the basic Small Extension Sword made it easier to learn the advanced Azure Sky Infinite Sword.
And at the end of that lineage lay the Imperial Sword Form.
In that sense, this result made perfect sense.
I haven’t seen the full, true Imperial Sword Form… so I can’t be certain. But still…!
Namgung Hyuk decided to name his new sword art Imperial Sword Form.
In his eyes, it was powerful enough to stand alongside the original.
And why shouldn’t it bear the same name?
Someday, I want to cross swords with the true Imperial Sword Form—to see which is stronger.
That would mean facing either the current clan head, Namgung Hwang, or the Sword King, Namgung Bi himself.
Would such a day ever come?
Namgung Hyuk began his breathing meditation, replenishing the inner energy he had burned during his fierce training.
But this time, something felt different.
The energy circulation method he was using wasn’t the Azure Sky Grand Meditation Art — it was the Thousand Suns Divine Art (千陽神功).
Hoooom.
A wave of heat rose from his seated body.
It was a unique phenomenon that appeared only when using the Thousand Suns Divine Art.
As the ambient energy of the Room entered his body, it circulated through him like fire, burning away impurities and condensing into pure qi within his dantian.
“Amazing.”
When he finished, Namgung Hyuk let out a breath of admiration.
The Thousand Suns Divine Art he had acquired from Gi Woo-sung was not simply an art of controlling heat energy.
Its true value lay in its ability to purge impurities and cleanse blocked meridians during cultivation.
Fortunately, because of my Martial Art Trait, I can handle completely different internal arts without suffering inner deviation. Otherwise, I’d have had to abandon all my existing cultivation and start over.
The two arts—the Azure Sky Grand Meditation and Thousand Suns Divine Art—were completely different systems.
Yet Namgung Hyuk successfully refined his internal energy with no side effects.
As a result, his inner strength, already exceeding four cycles, now approached five — a massive improvement.
At this stage, accumulating more energy is nearly impossible. The best path forward is to enhance its quality.
His dantian was now nearly saturated.
No matter how much he cultivated within the Room, the increase in energy was minimal.
Still, the power he possessed was enough that few in the martial world—save for absolute masters—could match him.
Once I break through to the Transformation Realm, my capacity will expand again.
For now, though, even he hadn’t yet crossed the wall to the Transcendent Peak.
“Time to head out, I suppose.”
He still had some time left for training, but there were things outside the Room that needed his attention.
