"...Haha. That would be interesting too."
"So, where is the Azure Dragon Hero? I haven't seen or heard from him in two days," the Sword Sage asked.
His gaze drifted to the city spread out below the pavilion, and the other two followed his gaze.
Namgung Su paused mid-sip. For a moment, he came close to losing his composure and furrowing his brow in front of the great jianghu elder he respected so much.
Fortunately, the Young Lord of the Namgung Clan managed to keep his expression neutral. Gulping down his tea, he replied monotonously, "He has some personal business to attend to, but he'll surely be back before the Heavenly Martial Festival begins."
Not a single flaw marred Namgung Su's demeanor as he faced the elder. This was the self-control he had forged after spending nearly a year with the unpredictable troublemaker Baek Suryong, combined with his own ironclad willpower.
The very essence of the orthodox sects of murim had gathered in Hubei.
"Hmph. A busy fellow, I see. I was hoping to thank him since one of my disciples owes him a debt." The Sword Sage slurped his tea, voicing his disappointment. Unlike Namgung Su, he cared little for formalities.
"You must be speaking of Student Yeon Soha," the Heavenly Martial Principal added with a gentle smile. "When I saw her last year, I thought she was extraordinarily talented. I was delighted to hear she had become your disciple, Sword Sage."
The Sword Sage frowned as if displeased, but he couldn't stop a pleased smile from tugging at his lips. "Ahem! What disciple? I just had some spare time, so I taught her a few moves. I'm not sure if her talent is all that special."
He trailed off suggestively, but it was clear to anyone watching that he was merely being modest.
"Chairman? Do you know who those people are?"
The Heavenly Martial Principal skillfully fed him the answer he wanted. "Student Yeon Soha is undoubtedly talented. Young Lord Namgung, as the Star Instructor of the Azure Dragon Academy, what do you think?"
"Hahahahaha!" The Heavenly Martial Principal burst out laughing.
"Student Yeon Soha has all the makings of a genius," Namgung Su stated unequivocally.
He was quite surprised to learn that Yeon Soha of the Vermilion Phoenix Academy was the Sword Sage's student. Then again, considering the Sword Sage's outstanding swordsmanship and free-spirited nature, it made perfect sense.
While some of them had attended the Heavenly Martial Festival in the past, never before had the sects and clans brought all their masters in full force, as if they were competing with one another.
"Ahem, ahem. There's no need to flatter her just because I'm here."
Suddenly, the conversation circled back to Baek Suryong.
A wide grin spread across the Sword Sage's face, betraying his joy. After all, no master could be indifferent when peerless masters praised their disciple as a genius.
However, Namgung Su was not finished. "She certainly possesses talent worthy of being called a prodigy. To achieve complete mastery, though, she'll need to change her lazy disposition. I also heard that she was caught drinking and cutting class several times during the school trip. Apparently, she even claimed to have learned the Dao of Drinking directly from her master, but perhaps..."
Faced with such a blunt assessment of his disciple and a question that pricked his conscience, not even the great Sword Sage could remain unfazed. "A-About that, I'll make sure to warn her... In any case, thank you for saving my disciple."
"Don't mention it. In fact, Student Yeon Soha was a great help to me."
"...I can't tell whether you're being polite or not."
While the Namgung Clan avoided public events, the Jaegal, Hebei Peng, and Sichuan Tang Clans subtly revealed and flaunted their strength.
"What do you mean?"
"......" The Sword Sage wore an indescribable expression.
The Heavenly Martial Principal chuckled, "Haha! Please understand, Sword Sage. Even back when this young man attended the Heavenly Martial Academy, he never hesitated to speak his mind. I recall he often clashed with others because of it. Do you remember?"
After a moment of thought, Namgung Su shook his head. "...Nothing particularly memorable comes to mind."
"Hahahahaha!" The Heavenly Martial Principal burst out laughing.
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"Is that the Heavenly Lightning Sword Technique? It's quite interesting. A lightning-based martial art that inflicts pain with every use... Will you demonstrate it again with all your strength?"
"I have already demonstrated it to you many times."
"You must keep training to grow accustomed to the pain. Are you saying you can't because it's too difficult?"
"No, sir. I will do it."
Namgung Su pushed the sudden flashback away and kept his cool as he met the gaze of the Heavenly Martial Principal, who beamed at his grown student in satisfaction.
Suddenly, the conversation circled back to Baek Suryong.
The Sword Sage chuckled. "Anyway, that friend, the Azure Dragon Hero. It's as if wanderlust was written into his fate, causing him to roam restlessly even after coming all this way."
"Anyway, retirement has its perks. Can you imagine the massive headache the Supreme Buddha and the Chairman must be experiencing right now, trying to coordinate everything?"
"If he weren't like that, how could he have found the Blood Cult, an organization that has been in hiding for decades, and achieved so many remarkable feats?"
"She certainly possesses talent worthy of being called a prodigy. To achieve complete mastery, though, she'll need to change her lazy disposition.
"Now that you put it that way, Principal, it does sound convincing."
Baek Suryong's sudden disappearance, leaving only a letter, was a clear breach of etiquette. Fortunately, both the Sword Sage and the Heavenly Martial Principal viewed him favorably. The Supreme Buddha and the Murim Alliance Chairman were not particularly displeased either. Or rather, they were too busy with the influx of martial artists into the city to care.
A single Lion's Roar had turned face after face pale. This man was a master! And a peerless one, at that!
Anyway, among the top masters in the city, the Sword Sage, the Heavenly Martial Principal, and Namgung Su had the most free time. As such, they gathered in the pavilion where they first met to chat, since it was one of the few places where the world's most renowned martial artists could converse comfortably.
"There is just one thing I regret. I wanted to discuss my theory on martial arts with the Azure Dragon Hero. I'm not sure I'll have the chance once the Heavenly Martial Festival begins."
The Sword Sage shook his head wearily. "Principal, have you still not mastered all the martial arts in the world? You really are a martial arts maniac."
Every year, the greatest martial artists in the world gathered at the Heavenly Martial Festival, along with the Nine Sects One Gang and the Five Great Academies. Since the Heavenly Martial Academy was the host, the Heavenly Martial Principal had witnessed more martial arts than anyone else alive. Nevertheless, his eyes shone with life whenever he encountered a new martial art.
"How could I dare claim to have mastered all the martial arts in the world? There are as many martial arts as there are martial artists. That's why my heart still flutters whenever a new master appears in the jianghu, and whenever the Heavenly Martial Festival comes around like this."
"Tsk, tsk. At this point, it's a chronic illness."
"I have not, and I've never felt the urge to," the Sword Sage replied firmly.
"Are you not the same, Sword Sage?"
"Me? I could swing a sword a little back in the day. After losing my arm, I let go of my ambition. I prefer to live a leisurely life."
The Sword Sage's loose right sleeve fluttered, caught in a gust of wind. He had lost his right arm in the war with the Blood Cult and retired afterward.
However, his claim of having let go of his ambition for martial arts was not entirely true. He had begun training with his left hand afterward, yet no one had ever seen him perform swordsmanship with it.
While the Namgung Clan avoided public events, the Jaegal, Hebei Peng, and Sichuan Tang Clans subtly revealed and flaunted their strength.
The Heavenly Martial Principal asked suggestively, "Since you started training with your left hand, have you ever drawn your sword in a real fight?"