Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"You want to create a new unit from the Azure Dragon Pavilion's graduates?"

It was a request Namgung Pae had never anticipated.

"That is correct. Instead of joining the Three Great Sword Corps, I wish to form an independent sword company."

Namgung Geom stated his intention clearly.

"The Azure Dragon Pavilion's graduates number fewer than thirty. What could you possibly accomplish with a sword company made up of them?"

Namgung Pae's reaction was skeptical.

The numbers were one issue, but the Azure Dragon Pavilion's cadets had no real combat experience.

He doubted whether a sword company composed of them alone could properly carry out missions.

"The numbers may be small, but the skill is there. The three squad leaders in particular are on par with the squad leaders of the Three Great Sword Corps right now."

Namgung Geom countered.

A small number of elite members was far better than a large body of mediocre ones.

His fellow cadets from the Azure Dragon Pavilion were talented enough to have earned the title of the golden generation.

And over the past five years, Namgung Geom's drilling had brought that talent into full bloom.

The three squad leaders and Namgung Seol in particular had already reached the first-rate level, holding their own against the Three Great Sword Corps' squad leaders.

"Above all, with me leading them, we can more than handle any mission."

Namgung Geom's mastery was on the level of a Captain in the Three Great Sword Corps.

Combined, his and his peers' fighting strength was not far behind a single company of the Three Great Sword Corps.

"I acknowledge your martial prowess, but I am not convinced that you, with no experience in the murim, can handle missions properly."

Namgung Pae remained skeptical.

The murim was not a place where one could survive on martial prowess alone.

Experience was just as important.

Namgung Geom had never ventured out into the murim.

Whether someone with no murim experience could successfully carry out missions was doubtful.

"Experience can be built. If that still concerns you, appointing an advisor to offer counsel would be one option."

"An advisor. That is not a bad idea."

Namgung Pae nodded at Namgung Geom's suggestion.

"Then does this mean you are granting permission to create a new unit?"

Namgung Pae shook his head.

"Creating a new sword company within the family requires the consensus of the Three Halls' Masters and the Elders."

"But if the Family Head is willing, the Hall Masters and Elders will follow your lead."

The Namgung Family had a long tradition of strong patriarchal authority.

Moreover, Namgung Pae was one of the Six Venerables, regarded as the strongest in the murim.

The Hall Masters and Elders could not dare defy his authority.

If Namgung Pae made a decision, they had no choice but to comply.

"Other matters might be different, but forcing through something as sensitive as the creation of a new sword company would breed discontent."

In a martial family, military force was synonymous with power.

The Hall Masters of the Three Halls commanded the Three Great Sword Corps.

If a new sword company were created, their power would diminish by that much.

Worse still, the one to lead the new sword company would be Namgung Geom.

Having Namgung Geom—who might one day compete for the Young Lord's seat—gain military power was the last thing they wanted.

The Hall Masters would likely see it as Namgung Pae throwing his weight behind Namgung Geom.

With frustrations already mounting over Namgung Pae's delay in appointing a Young Lord, forcing the matter would provoke enormous backlash.

Even for Namgung Pae, that would be a burden.

"That is why, if you wish to create a new sword company, you must first persuade the Hall Masters and Elders."

"Then I will need to present conditions that leave the Hall Masters and Elders no choice but to agree."

Namgung Geom spoke with a meaningful expression.

"It seems you have already thought of those conditions."

Namgung Geom smiled faintly and spoke.

"First, I will prove that we possess the skill to form a sword company by sparring against one company from the Three Great Sword Corps."

"What format?"

"Five representatives from each side will spar, and if three or more of ours win, our qualification to form a sword company will be recognized. How does that sound?"

Namgung Pae nodded as if it were a sound approach.

"But what if three or more of your side fail to win?"

"I will give up cleanly."

"You seem confident that three or more will prevail."

Namgung Geom smiled at Namgung Pae's words.

"I simply trust my peers."

"And after the skill verification, what comes next?"

Namgung Pae recalled that Namgung Geom had said "first" and asked.

"Like the Family Head, the Hall Masters and Elders will also question our ability to carry out missions."

"Most likely."

"So to prove our ability to carry out missions, I intend to personally lead a mission."

Namgung Pae wore an intrigued expression.

"You will take on a mission?"

"If we successfully complete a mission assigned from above, that proves the sword company's capability. There would no longer be any grounds to oppose the sword company's launch, would there?"

Namgung Pae nodded.

If their skill was verified through sparring and they completed a mission, the Hall Masters and Elders could no longer object.

"The Hall Masters might deliberately assign a difficult mission, hoping you fail. Does that not concern you?"

"I do not believe the Hall Masters would stoop to something so petty."

Namgung Geom's uncles were men with great pride as direct descendants of the Namgung Family.

He trusted they would not resort to such underhanded measures against a young nephew.

If they had intended to, they would have made their move several times over in the past five years.

Yet Namgung Geom's uncles had merely watched from the sidelines, never lifting a hand.

It was a sign that they would not, at the very least, resort to dishonorable means.

Namgung Geom believed this time would be no different.

"I have heard your conditions. I will discuss them at the leadership council and inform you of the outcome."

"Then I shall take my leave."

Having concluded his business, Namgung Geom promptly left the Family Head's hall.

Namgung Pae immediately convened the leadership council.

And they deliberated on the creation of a new sword company.

As expected, the Hall Masters of the Three Halls opposed the creation of the sword company.

Many of the Elders were also against it.

The crux of their opposition was the question of qualification.

These were graduates who had just completed their Azure Dragon Pavilion training.

Their martial prowess was still lacking, and they had no real combat experience.

Even if a sword company were created, could it actually carry out missions? That was their argument.

Namgung Pae presented Namgung Geom's conditions to them.

The Hall Masters and Elders had no choice but to accept.

Namgung Geom had volunteered to undergo both sparring and a mission, offering to dispel their concerns through demonstrated ability.

If they refused, the concerns they had raised would be exposed as pretexts.

Therefore, conducting the verification on Namgung Geom's terms was the logical course.

On the other hand, they also believed Namgung Geom and his peers would fail to meet those conditions.

The conditions Namgung Geom had proposed were by no means light.

Defeating a company of the Three Great Sword Corps in a sparring match alone would be a tall order.

Even if they won the sparring match, completing a mission would not be easy.

The Hall Masters and Elders accepted the conditions in the belief that Namgung Geom and his peers would fail the verification.

When Namgung Geom received word that the Hall Masters and Elders had agreed to his conditions, he smiled.

All he had to do was fulfill those conditions, and a new sword company would be his.

More than anything, Namgung Geom had worried most about his uncles' opposition.

But there was no longer any need for concern.

"Then how about I absorb the last of the extreme yang fire qi, for a decisive edge?"

Over the past five years, Namgung Geom had steadily absorbed the extreme yang fire qi.

As a result, he had absorbed eight of the nine clusters lodged in his meridians, with only one remaining.

Ahead of the match against the Three Great Sword Corps, Namgung Geom resolved to absorb the final cluster.

He had taken his time absorbing the extreme yang fire qi up to this point.

Each absorption increased his inner arts and elevated his mastery.

Yet he had not rushed the process, for the sake of maintaining the balance of his inner arts.

During his time training at the Azure Dragon Pavilion, there had been no urgent need to raise his mastery rapidly, either.

But with the sparring match against the Three Great Sword Corps ahead, absorbing the extreme yang fire qi was necessary for a decisive victory.

In truth, even without absorbing it, he could probably defeat a Captain.

Still, it was better to demonstrate an overwhelming display.

And at this point, absorbing the extreme yang fire qi would not disrupt the balance of his inner arts.

That evening, Namgung Geom immediately began the meditation to absorb the extreme yang fire qi.

His powerful inner arts moved toward the extreme yang fire qi lodged in the ninth and final meridian.

Sensing the threat, the extreme yang fire qi spewed out heat.

But the inner arts of the Azure Sky Ice Fire Divine Art suppressed the extreme yang fire qi in an instant and began absorbing its energy.

Namgung Geom circulated the inner arts of the Azure Sky Ice Fire Divine Art, now infused with the absorbed extreme yang fire qi, through the heavenly cycle.

With each pass, the extreme yang fire qi dissolved further into the inner arts of the Azure Sky Ice Fire Divine Art.

Namgung Geom directed the inner arts toward the meridian where the extreme yang fire qi had been.

Namgung Geom had not yet achieved the Major Heavenly Cycle.

The meridians blocked by the extreme yang fire qi had been the reason.

But now that the extreme yang fire qi had been absorbed, nothing stood in his way.

The inner arts of the Azure Sky Grand Expansion Divine Art tore through the formerly blocked meridian without resistance.

BOOM—!

At last, the final pressure point was opened, and the Major Heavenly Cycle was complete.

The Major Heavenly Cycle was the stage of circulating inner arts throughout the entire body, beyond the Conception and Governing Vessels.

It was a gateway to reaching the transcendent level of mastery.

In the murim, completing the Major Heavenly Cycle was generally considered to mark one's arrival at the pinnacle level.

Namgung Geom did not stop there. He repeated the Major Heavenly Cycle, widening and strengthening the pathways.

His meditation continued through the night.

And as dawn broke.

Namgung Geom, having finished his meditation, opened his eyes.

FLASH—!

An intense spirit light flickered in his eyes and then vanished.

Namgung Geom examined his body.

All five senses had sharpened to an extreme, and his physical capabilities had leapt dramatically.

The inner arts in his qi center had also grown substantially.

The increase was not merely quantitative; qualitatively, the opposing energies of ice and fire had achieved mutual harmony, evolving into an energy of a far higher order.

"This should put me at the upper pinnacle level."

By completing and integrating the Major Heavenly Cycle, he had raised his mastery to the upper pinnacle level in one leap.

It was only possible because he already possessed the enlightenment from his previous life.

He would have liked to reach an even higher level.

But his inner arts were insufficient.

To ascend beyond his current level, enlightenment alone would not suffice.

Inner arts had to be there to support it.

In truth, reaching even this level was owed to absorbing the extreme yang fire qi of the Nine Yang Severed Meridians.

Without it, no matter how deep his previous life's enlightenment ran, he could not have even crossed the threshold of the pinnacle.

It was somewhat regrettable, but Namgung Geom was satisfied with his current level.

He was, after all, only twenty years old.

At that age, reaching the first-rate level alone earned the title of genius.

And he was at the upper pinnacle.

Moreover, factoring in the attributes of ice and fire within his inner arts, his actual combat power exceeded his level.

Add to that the experience and martial arts of his previous life, and even a master of the True Martial Realm would not be able to push him back.

If that still was not enough, it would be sheer greed.

Having assessed his mastery, Namgung Geom ate breakfast and headed for the Azure Dragon Pavilion.

He had stayed up all night meditating, but felt no fatigue whatsoever.

If anything, his body felt better and more refreshed than ever.

When he arrived at the Azure Dragon Pavilion, some of his peers who had come early were preparing for training.

Their energies were now far more vivid to his senses.

His heightened mastery had sharpened his five senses as well as his qi sense.

Conversely, the energy emanating from Namgung Geom had also changed.

The first to notice was Namgung Chang.

The instant he laid eyes on Namgung Geom, every hair on his body seemed to stand on end.

The overwhelming pressure, incomparable to before, made his brow stiffen.

"Don't tell me you've raised your mastery?"

Without a rise in mastery, it was impossible to exude such pressure.

Namgung Geom smiled faintly and answered.

"I felt a bit lacking to lead a new sword company, so I raised my mastery a little."