Chapter 476

Chapter 476 – The Lazy One Submerges (1)

“That expression of yours…”

“Why are you scolding me as soon as you see me?!”

“What did you expect me to do upon seeing you? Did you expect me to praise you?”

“……”

Wei Yanho was at a loss for words at his master’s confident retort.

‘Now that I think about it…’

He couldn’t recall ever receiving a single compliment in his life.

The most positive comment he had ever heard from his master was, “You’re now slightly better than a grasshopper.”

Once again, Wei Yanho realized that this man was no ordinary person.

“You could praise me this time.”

“Why?”

“Because I found a clue! Didn’t you see it?”

“That?”

A mocking smile appeared on his master’s face.

Wei Yanho gritted his teeth.

‘With that face, his mockery is even more irritating.’

Even though he was his master, he was incredibly handsome. It was strange to feel admiration for the appearance of an old man like him.

“It was pretty good, wasn’t it?”

“That?”

“……”

Anger welled up inside him.

“Hey! If someone does something well, you should praise them. You always scold me like that, and that’s why I lose confidence in everything!”

“Nonsense.”

His master’s curt assessment left Wei Yanho feeling dejected.

“You’re too cruel.”

“Haven’t I always told you? Striving isn’t something to boast about. What good is the process in this world? Even if you present results and ask for praise, I would hesitate to give you any!”

“Still, it was pretty good.”

“That?”

“… Don’t make me feel worse with the same phrase.”

“Pathetic.”

“I’d better shut up.”

Wei Yanho pouted, and Baek Muhan clicked his tongue.

“What do you have to be proud of? If you had used that same technique against that ‘Insane Demon’ or whatever, do you think you would have won?”

“… I think I could have tried.”

“Do you think the Insane Demon showed you everything he has?”

“Ugh.”

Wei Yanho fell silent.

It was true that he was more prepared now than before. Wei Yanho had definitely grown stronger. But he hadn’t seen everything the Insane Demon was capable of either.

In the end, the outcome was uncertain.

“But I have improved.”

“A snail also grows by eating only grass. But if a human stays in the same place, is he still human? Is he human?”

“Aaargh!”

Wei Yanho screamed in frustration.

“Besides, it’s partly your fault for teaching me wrong! You told me there wouldn’t be many in the martial world who could stand against me! And this is ‘not many’? Any lady on the street could slap me and kill me!”

“I didn’t know the Demon Cult would have grown so much!”

“You said you knew everything!”

Boom!

A heavy blow landed on his head, causing Wei Yanho to clutch his head and roll on the ground. Although it was a pain he often felt, today it was especially intense.

“You put emotion into it!”

“Silence, brat!”

His master shouted.

“It’s not child’s play! How dare you boast after wielding the sword like that?”

“If it were easy, I wouldn’t be like this! I would have fought you already.”

“Well said. Take your sword.”

“Ugh…”

Wei Yanho finally realized what he had said.

“No, I didn’t mean to.”

“Wow, after traveling the martial world, you’ve become more talkative. Let’s practice a bit.”

“Seriously?”

“Do you think I’m going to joke with you at my age?”

“You’ve done it many times.”

“Silence, brat! I’ll attack whether you take your sword or not, so defend yourself or take the hit!”

“You’re too cruel.”

Wei Yanho unsheathed the sword he wore at his waist.

‘Here’s my sword.’

Although his real sword never seemed to return, here, in his dream, it hung at his waist as if nothing was wrong. Feeling the familiar touch of his beloved sword, his heart calmed.

But that calm didn’t last long.

Toc.

With just his master placing a hand on his sword, his heart began to beat frantically. An indescribable aura enveloped him with just that gesture.

It wasn’t pressure.

His master had literally only touched the sword. The oppression Wei Yanho felt came from himself.

“Ugh…”

Even breathing was difficult.

He understood it now.

The one who had always been rude, sometimes gentle, who scolded, hit, and caressed him…

The one he simply called “master” was actually such a grand martial artist.

The pinnacle of power.

The end of strength, something no one dared to contemplate, was now in front of Wei Yanho.

‘It’s truly terrifying.’

Any normal martial artist would have marveled at witnessing the summit of martial arts. But Wei Yanho saw something completely different.

It was despair and frustration.

How would someone feel upon seeing an endless mountain piercing the clouds?

He would be overwhelmed by its majesty.

Some would feel admiration for the greatness of nature, others would become intoxicated by the sight.

But how would someone feel who had to climb that mountain?

He couldn’t help but feel despair and frustration.

That was how Wei Yanho felt at this moment.

In the past, although he had felt his master’s power, he hadn’t been impressed. He was like a tree that he wouldn’t even try to climb. But now, whether by his own will or not, realizing that he had to aim for his master’s level, a horrible feeling of despair enveloped him.

‘Am I going to reach that?’

He couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.

Look.

There is the pinnacle of martial arts.

Although he had a human form, he couldn’t be called human.

He was a sword himself.

Blood, flesh, and even the soul, everything was a sword. The embodiment of the sword was here.

Wei Yanho regretted that only he could witness this spectacle.

‘Others should have seen this.’

What would those who boasted of being sword masters do if they saw his master wield his sword?

The Sword Saint would break his own sword, and the Sword Sage would renounce the path of the sword.

How could they continue to wield a sword after seeing such an unattainable level, even after climbing again and again without reaching the top?

Wei Yanho smiled wryly.

‘That’s why they hate him.’

He understood the deep despair that the martial artists who lived in the same era as his master must have felt. His master was like a mirage. He existed in the same world, but lived in another, like an illusion. If you ran and ran towards that mirage, you would eventually realize that you could never reach it.

The martial artists who pursued his master must have felt that despair.

How did those who had to live seeing and feeling such an unattainable level of power overcome that despair?

Even for Wei Yanho it was difficult to escape this deep despair.

Regardless of whether he understood Wei Yanho’s feelings or not, his master’s sword began to move slowly.

“What do you think a sword is?”

His master’s resonant voice made him regain his focus.

Wei Yanho gritted his teeth so as not to miss a single gesture, expression, or breath of his master.

‘Don’t miss it.’

No matter how high and unattainable the mountain was, it was still the best guide in the world. Being able to see with his own eyes and follow a level that others only imagined was a privilege that no one else in this era could have.

Softly.

It moved.

His master’s sword moved slowly, very slowly.

Wei Yanho couldn’t take his eyes off that scene.

He watched it as if hypnotized.

The world was absorbed by the sword.

“Imbue the sword with your will?”

His master shook his head slightly.

“The sword is just a sword.”

His master’s voice resonated in his ears.

“A four-foot piece of metal. That’s all. Sharp or dull… it’s just a piece of metal. What will can it contain? What meaning can it have?”

From bottom to top.

From top to bottom.

His master’s sword moved as if dancing.

The movement started at the tip of the sword, flowed to the fingers, to his master’s body, and…

Even his master’s soul seemed to dance.

“What must contain your will is not the sword. It’s yourself. You move the sword, and you move yourself. If you don’t have confidence in yourself, how can you have it in the tip of your sword?”

The wind blew.

The clouds scattered.

Even the world seemed to dance to the rhythm of his master’s sword.

Just a sword.

A simple sword movement, without even internal energy, shook the world, harmonized it, and merged with it.

Once again, he understood.

What he had lost.

Who he had spent his time with.

Wouldn’t it have been better for this great martial artist to live in the world for one more instant, instead of him?

Looking back…

His master had always been warm to him.

Settled in that warmth, he hadn’t been able to truly see his master’s greatness.

A level so distant that, even after eons, could never be replicated. A joy so deep that just seeing it his body trembled with emotion. What was he supposed to do with that?

“What is a sword?”

His master’s voice was stern.

“A sword is just a sword. But sometimes, it can be yourself. It’s not that you become the sword. It’s the sword that becomes you.”

The sword moved.

Slowly, even slower.

His master’s sword.

The Sword Emperor’s sword.

And…

Yes, it was just a sword.

A sword is just a sword.

What meaning can a sword have?

The same sword in his hands and in his master’s hands couldn’t be the same. The important thing was not the sword, but who wielded it.

Not the sword, but the human.

Yes, the human.

His master’s sword was strange.

Although he had seen it thousands, tens of thousands of times, every time he saw it he discovered something new.

An ocean.

A sword as vast as an ocean impossible to conquer.

The tip of the sword drew the sea.

The tip of the sword drew the sky.

Everything was inside.

And everywhere was his master’s sword.

Wei Yanho’s eyes, which followed the tip of the sword, blurred.

“Ah…”

An involuntary groan.

The joy of a swordsman.

And Wei Yanho’s sadness.

Those two emotions mixed, stirring him.

His master’s sword, which cut the sky, the sea, and summoned the wind, descended slowly.

What should he call that sword?

While Wei Yanho tried to imbue his sword with many things, his master’s sword became the world itself. Where to start? How to follow in his footsteps?

He could only feel it.

The greatness of his master.

And then…

“Wei Yanho.”

His master called him softly.

“Yes, master.”

“Are you afraid?”

Wei Yanho bit his lip.

His master knew everything. It was natural. After all, the master in front of him was his other self.

Wei Yanho raised his head.

And looking at his master, he replied:

“No. Not anymore.”

His master smiled gently.

“Good. That’s enough.”

Softly.

“Take your sword.”

“Yes.”

Wei Yanho wielded his sword and faced his master.