Translator: Nox
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Were You a Hidden Dragon All Along?
Peng Mi-yeon walked slowly, deep in thought.
Her little brother — her blood.
He wasn’t exactly lazy. It was more like... he was always melancholic, indifferent to the world.
His routine never changed. He would wake up in his little annex and spend the day staring blankly out the window or occasionally stroll through the streets. That was it.
Both her father and their late mother had tried urging him to train in martial arts, but he would always wave them off with an annoyed look.
Even their father — once a wild, reckless man — looked more responsible in comparison.
‘And now you’re in the training hall? What’s going on with you?’
No one knew what had caused the change in Hyeon-do.
He had always been the dispassionate, disengaged type.
Yet here he was.
“Hey, have you seen Hyeon-do?”
She stopped a young disciple passing by and asked where her brother was.
The reply surprised her.
“The Young Master? He’s in the grand training hall.”
“Not the small one?”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“Thanks. Train hard, alright~”
The boy ran off giggling.
Mi-yeon frowned. Was he in there demoralizing the other kids again?
When she reached the training hall, however, what she saw stopped her in her tracks.
Whooosh—
Whooooosh—
Hyeon-do, soaked in sweat, was swinging a saber with perfect form.
Vertical slashes. Diagonal cuts. Upward arcs.
Simple moves — but fundamental, and absolutely necessary to master saber arts.
The lifeless, apathetic eyes that had always bothered her... they were gone.
Now, his eyes were bright. Alive. Radiating a brilliance she’d never seen.
“Young Lady, you’re here.”
“Ah... Hello.”
One of the disciples — probably around fourteen or fifteen — approached her.
He was one of the few promising children the Peng Sect had taken in. Their father often spoke highly of him.
What was his name again... Yi Baek?
The Peng Sect had always accepted orphaned or abandoned children with nowhere else to go.
This one had shown martial talent, which is why their father paid attention to him.
“What brings you here?”
“I came to get Hyeon-do. Father is calling for him. But...”
“Yes, I also found it strange. For the Young Master to be out training this early in the morning...”
“Now I feel bad for interrupting.”
Interrupting someone’s training was extremely rude in Murim.
Especially when someone was in the zone, completely focused.
So Mi-yeon decided to quietly observe for a while.
Just then, Hyeon-do’s form shifted.
It was no longer basic training.
Now, he was performing the Peng Sect’s signature saber art — the Five Tiger Severing Saber.
“Is that...?”
“That’s the Five Tiger Severing Saber, isn’t it?”
“He... he’s trained in that before?”
Not just Mi-yeon. The other disciples in the hall had stopped what they were doing to stare.
[“Listen closely.”]
Behind Hyeon-do, the voice of the Thunderblade Emperor echoed faintly.
With Mu-hyeok’s guidance, the talent and knowledge embedded in Hyeon-do’s body began to shine.
He was the *Master of the Saber*.
And he possessed the *Heavenly Martial Body*.
A martial body blessed by the heavens could reproduce even complex arts perfectly — just from memory.
‘I’ve seen this in the game so many times...’
One of *Martial World: Supreme Heaven*’s highlights was its hyper-realistic depiction of martial forms.
Though virtual, the detail in every move — swordplay, staff techniques, hand-to-hand combat — was immense.
And Hyeon-do had memorized it all.
Because if you didn’t... you died.
“Huup—!”
[“Strike down like a tiger leaping over a ravine!”]
[White Tiger Crosses the Stream!]
CRASH—!
A powerful downward slash shook the hall.
[“A tiger’s roar summons the wind!”]
[One Roar, Wind Howls!]
A horizontal cut tore through the air, causing fabric to flutter from sheer pressure.
[“A saber must have both striking and slicing force! Chain them perfectly!”]
[Seamless Dual Strike!]
The saber blurred — too fast to follow — creating afterimages as it struck forward.
Like a tiger slashing with its claws.
[“Swing with dominance, as if you rule the mountains! A Peng Sect strike must be absolute!”]
[King of the Mountain Roar!]
Another horizontal cut — even stronger than before — split the air in front of him.
“...Huh?”
A disciple standing directly across from Hyeon-do stumbled back, clutching his chest.
Was that pressure... really from a ten-year-old?
A child with no formal training?
‘That’s insane. One swing from him could send several grown men flying.’
The more observant ones immediately recognized his divine strength.
And then—
[“Leap like a hidden tiger ascending the peaks! Rise from below and split the sky!”]
[Buried Elephant, Victorious Lion!]
An upward cut — like lightning rising from the ground.
The Five Tiger Severing Saber.
Its five key forms were executed flawlessly — and with overwhelming force.
“Fuuuuu...”
Hyeon-do exhaled and calmed the qi running wild in his body.
When he opened his eyes, everyone was frozen, mouths agape.
[“What do you think?”]
[“HAHAHA! A true genius of the world!”]
Mu-hyeok’s approval was unsurprising.
Hyeon-do smiled, satisfied—
When a low, heavy voice rang out.
“Hyeon-do. What... was that just now?”
---
The Clan Head had been waiting, wondering why Mi-yeon hadn’t returned with Hyeon-do yet.
So he got up himself.
And what he saw was...
His youngest son performing the Peng Sect’s saber arts.
Holding a massive saber the size of his own body.
The forms — perfect.
The energy — overwhelming.
It reminded him of Peng Mu-hyeok himself.
The Peng Sect’s golden age.
When they ruled over the central plains. When their reach extended even to the imperial court.
‘You... were a sleeping dragon all along.’
Just a boy in his early teens.
Far too young to take on the world.
But perhaps... he had simply been coiled, waiting.
The Clan Head was at a loss for words.
“Hyeon-do. That form just now... what was it?”
“Fath— Clan Head.”
“We greet the Clan Head!”
The disciples all bowed quickly.
The Clan Head stared at Hyeon-do, waiting.
“I just... felt like training. It didn’t feel right to keep sitting around anymore.”
“You’ve just been waiting this whole time?”
“Something like that.”
Well, technically, he was waiting for his soul to reincarnate.
Hyeon-do scratched his head nervously.
What was with that stare?
He just trained a bit...
[“Tsk. You think that’s a glare? That’s how stiff people show approval, boy.”]
‘Really?’
[“Yes. He’s trying *very* hard to look impressed. Now go. You’ve completed the Five Tigers. I’ll teach you the Thunderforce Saber Art little by little. For now, practice alone.”]
Mu-hyeok — the man who had once stood atop the martial world through his saber alone — had judged him.
And approved.
His combined traits — *Saber Master* and *Heavenly Martial Body* — produced results even beyond Mu-hyeok’s expectations.
‘He can reproduce any technique after seeing it just once...’
What kind of monster had just been born?
“Come with me. We need to talk.”
“Yes, Clan Head.”
Jin-mu remained calm and returned to the main hall.
Hyeon-do passed the saber to a nearby disciple and followed.
It was only then that Mi-yeon remembered—
“Oh right! Father told me to get him...!”
“......”
Her pouty face turned red, and some of the disciples couldn’t help but blush in secret.
【Continued in Chapter 5】
