Chapter 630: That’s Enough For Me

From afar, the Sword Sage observed Yeon Soha being accosted by well-wishing Vermilion Phoenix Academy students. Fondness and warmth flickered in his eyes.

“That kid... I warned her time and again that relying on talent alone would land her in serious trouble someday...”

Yeon Soha had always been a bright, mischievous disciple. Although her love of alcohol and lazy temperament didn’t bode well for her future as a Wudang Taoist, she had genius-level talent and potential as a swordswoman.

Seeing her cry tears of regret after losing the Dragon and Phoenix Tournament made him feel both proud and sorry as her master.

“Shouldn’t you go comfort your disciple?” Baek Suryong asked, wearing an annoyingly smug expression.

Since declaring himself a disciple of his four masters, Baek Suryong had stopped using honorifics with members of the Nine Sects One Gang. Technically, he was not wrong. Still, such an abrupt change in attitude was irksome.

The Sword Sage shot him a sideways glare. “I am watching from afar because I believe her peers can comfort her better than her master can right now.”

“Her Taiji Wisdom Sword was impressive. It’s very different from the one I remember.”

The Sword Sage’s lips twitched at Baek Suryong’s interest in his swordsmanship. No matter how old he got, he was still a swordsman at heart. Regardless, he scoffed for good measure. “I taught her a lifetime’s worth of insights, so of course it’s different. If our Soha had come to her senses just one year earlier, that duel would have ended very differently.”

Baek Suryong snorted and shrugged, relaxing in a way only a victor could. “Well, maybe. Not that losing to someone three years one’s senior is all that shameful.”

“...I heard the Azure Dragon Academy children are skilled at provoking people. Now I see they learned it all from their teacher,” the Sword Sage grumbled.

Even now, he did not leave. His disciple’s duel was over, so he had every reason to leave, yet he remained seated, stealing glances at Baek Suryong. Clearly, there was something he desperately wanted to say.

Baek Suryong shrugged. “If you’ve got something to say, spit it out.”

The Sword Sage reluctantly obliged. “In my younger days, I once met the Sword Saint.”

“...Master Moyong?”

“I’ve noticed this before as well. You talk about him like you knew him personally. Didn’t you say that you had only seen some records he left behind?”

Baek Suryong did not answer, only staring at the Sword Sage.

The Sword Sage clicked his tongue. “I was young and hotheaded back then. I was hunting a villain branded a public enemy of the murim, but I walked straight into his trap instead. Just as I was certain I would die, the men surrounding us began dropping one by one.”

The memory of that day was still vivid in his mind. At the time, he had only recently shed the label of young prodigy.

However, the Sword Saint’s swordsmanship was far beyond him. He could barely follow it with his eyes, let alone understand it. When he came to his senses, every villain lay on the ground. A lone man stood among them, his sword hanging loosely at his side.

“He was an elderly martial artist, and he introduced himself as Moyong Hon. He politely asked whether the men he had killed were truly public enemies of the murim. If so, he wondered if I could spread a few rumors on his behalf. He was a very peculiar swordsman.”

“...Sounds like that was from the time when he ran himself ragged trying to make a name for himself.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing.”

“You’re no fun at all. In any case, I traveled with my savior for a while. He wasn’t especially talkative, but whenever the subject turned to the sword, his eyes sparkled like a child’s.”

The Sword Sage paused, his gaze drifting toward Wiji Cheon. The boy had come down from the duel stage and was now surrounded by his seniors and classmates. He smiled shyly as they congratulated him.

Physically, the boy bore no resemblance to the Sword Saint. Nevertheless, the two were undeniably similar, most likely because Wiji Cheon had inherited both the Sword Saint’s martial arts and mindset.

“Before we parted ways, I asked him what his sword technique was called. This is what he told me.” The Sword Sage cleared his throat and awkwardly imitated the Sword Saint’s manner of speaking. “My swordsmanship is not yet complete, so I have not been able to name it. If you must call it something, I suppose it would be the Nameless Sword.”

“...Hah!”

A silly laugh escaped Baek Suryong before he realized it. He could almost hear the Sword Saint’s voice in his ears.

The Nameless Sword. Yeah, that’s exactly the sort of thing Master Moyong, who loves talking in riddles, would say.ℯℯ𝑙.

The Sword Sage chuckled along with him. “That meeting remained a subject of contemplation for me for a very long time. Every swordsman chases a different summit, of course, but rarely does one leave such a deep impression...”

“He ultimately decided to call it the Unlimited Sword. Though you already know that, since I mentioned it yesterday.”

The Unlimited Sword. In other words, a sword without limits. The name of the martial art embodied the Sword Saint’s spirit of endlessly pursuing the ultimate swordsmanship.

“...From Nameless to Unlimited. A fitting name. He chose well after all that deliberation.”

Baek Suryong smiled and nodded.

This was the first time he was hearing a story about Master Moyong from someone else. Just as when Artist Pung Wol told him about Master Eun, or when he discovered Master Maeng’s connection with the Viridian Scholar, a part of his heart tingled warmly.

Suddenly, a question popped into his head. “Why are you telling me this all of a sudden?”

“I remembered the look on your face yesterday when you spoke of your masters, so I thought you would want to hear it.”

“......”

“You are a strange fellow. I was startled enough by the fact that you chose to silence the Nine Sects with such outrageous nonsense, but at the same time, I was also moved by the raw emotion in your words. I can’t say that I fully buy your story, but even so, I could tell that you love your masters sincerely.”

Baek Suryong bowed sincerely to the Sword Sage. “Thank you. For a lot of things.”

The Sword Sage must have guessed at least some of the truth. He knew that Wiji Cheon’s martial arts were the Sword Saint’s, but at the same time, they were also the martial arts of a Blood Cult Apostle.

However, he had not demanded an explanation. And neither had the Supreme Buddha.

They had likely filled in some of the blanks that he left in his story, but they held their tongues out of respect for his four deceased masters. After all, had those two giants of the orthodox murim spoken up, yesterday would have been far more exhausting.