Chapter 21
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Founding a Sect
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"...Even though it might not look like it, my body is incredibly sturdy, so maybe I can endure a bit of twisting in the qi passages?"
"I'm not so sure. Leaving aside whether you can endure a structural twist, there's no reason to even try."
Practicing forms expands the qi passages, but enduring the pain doesn't gain you anything.
What's the point if you crash before reaching your destination just because you avoided an accident?
"What if I tear my body apart and expand the qi passages myself?"
"...I think you're misunderstanding something."
Qi passages aren't part of the physical body.
The three elements of martial arts: Jing, Qi, and Shen.
Jing is the martial artist's body and vitality, the vessel that holds all martial prowess.
Shen is the soul and essence, the helmsman that controls Jing and Qi.
Qi refers to creating the dantian while simultaneously forming virtual passages called qi acupoints throughout the body's meridians.
"In other words, qi passages aren't real organs. I used the term '' earlier, but it's actually the process of accumulating internal energy to carve out paths."
"...What if I control qi through intent?"
"You planning to do that for the rest of your life?"
Possessing Qi means imprinting habits on the body and establishing a system.
Controlling Qi solely through intent without that...
It's like not plowing the field to grow crops, but just scooping dirt into your palm and planting seeds on it.
"You're not going to hold your palm up for a thousand years, are you? Even then, you might not be able to gather qi properly."
The point was lack of sustainability; it was practically useless.
"...So you're saying I really have to practice forms?"
"What's the problem?"
It might feel frustrating at first, but with the Alliance Leader watching, So-hyang had the talent to reach the peak of any ordinary martial art in just a few years.
"If you reach the peak quickly, won't that solve your frustration?"
"...It's not that simple."
So-hyang's unrealistic swordsmanship sliced through steel with precise movements and tore the air to unleash storms.
It wasn't something that could be maintained casually.
Perfect control over the body was merely the bare minimum prerequisite.
It was a realm reached by honing the blade to the extreme every day, every moment, sharpening it down to the molecular level.
"Even skipping practice for an instant dulls the blade, and the longer it goes, the faster it rusts."
It had taken over a year to adapt to So-hyang's body and regain that edge.
If it wasn't just skipping practice but imprinting entirely new techniques on the body...
"I don't know how long it would take to regain the sensation. I might even forget it completely."
It was a sensation forged through endless effort, so even if she could rehone it, hesitation was inevitable.
Of course, that wouldn't diminish the swordsmanship that had bested the Sword Sovereign purely on skill.
No one else, but she herself knew it best.
The very sensation of wielding the sword would regress to an incomparable degree.
"...This is a headache."
At that moment, accompanied by a creaking sound, a man with hollow eyes pushed open the door to the Alliance Leader's chamber and entered.
Demon Seal Cave Master, Lee Se-min.
"Both of you are here."
------
"I've come to discuss the reward we talked about before."
Lee Se-min held out a booklet filled with various pieces of information to So-hyang.
A faint scent of ink suggested it was written not long ago.
"These are the rewards I can offer within my authority, given the Alliance's finances and current situation. If there's nothing you want here, just say so. I'll accommodate as much as possible."
The pages were densely packed with dozens of sheets of text.
Basically, money, gold, prime real estate owned by the Alliance, businesses, and such.
Various elixirs from the Medicine Hall, famed swords and divine weapons from the armory.
Even certificates for imperial office positions.
"...Selling offices?"
"The Murim Alliance is a legitimate organization cooperating with the Imperial Family. It's a proper authority, not corruption."
Turning to the next page revealed...
"Access to the Heavenly Martial Library?"
"I figured you'd be interested in that, Lady So-hyang."
Heavenly Martial Library
The repository of martial arts accumulated naturally over the Murim Alliance's long history.
A grand library housing dozens, hundreds of so-called divine ultimate arts.
"You can peruse all manuals from Human-grade, Earth-grade, Heaven-grade, and if you wish, even demonic arts with my additional authority."
Demonic arts books were typically classified as at least county-level threats, but that didn't apply to So-hyang.
"Among them are some high-level arts worthy of being called divine ultimates. Hate to admit it, but..."
"Why beat around the bush? I'll take this."
Deciding whether to learn martial arts required knowing exactly what they were first.
"...Pick something else too."
"Huh?"
"Do you know how immense your contributions are? Sharing accumulated knowledge is far too meager a reward."
"No, I don't really need anything else...?"
"You already have money, power, influence—no losses there. If nothing specific, how about these...?"
Of course, So-hyang fully understood what Lee Se-min meant.
Even martial artists were ordinary humans living in society, and sometimes other powers were more effective than force.
Force was actually a tricky kind of power, hard to apply in many situations.
However, So-hyang found such things cumbersome despite that, so she had no desire to acquire them—
"If managing them is a hassle, hire a steward. Or take land outright; that's clean."
Seeing Lee Se-min fuss over her like a child ignorant of the world, with genuine concern, So-hyang couldn't help but chuckle.
"Anyway, thank you. I'll trust you completely—handle it as you see fit."
"...Trusting others so casually isn't wise. You're too reckless—"
"Hey now, it's not 'casual' trust."
Lee Se-min tried to protest but fell silent upon meeting So-hyang's softly curved gaze.
The trust in those milky-white eyes weighed heavier than he imagined.
Unable to fathom why she trusted him so much after all he'd done—or not done—Lee Se-min bowed his head deeply.
"...Understood. I won't disappoint you."
Memories of long-departed comrades stirred in his chest, tinting his eyes faintly red.
So-hyang patted his head fondly, and the Alliance Leader burst into hollow laughter at the sight.
"Good grief, you'll end up treating her like your real mother."
"-Don't talk shit."
Snapping back to reality, Lee Se-min spat rough words at the Alliance Leader, skipping all decorum.
"Well, well, no respect for superiors now? It's only been a day or two."
"W-Was it that bad...?"
As So-hyang subtly withdrew her hand with a hurt expression, Lee Se-min panicked and tried to explain.
"-L-Lady So-hyang, that's not it."
The Alliance Leader quietly chuckled at the village farce.
These past two days were far more entertaining than the last few decades, so he welcomed it.
-----
For the next month, So-hyang holed up in the Heavenly Martial Library, devouring knowledge.
From basic third-rate Human-grade arts to famed Heaven-grade divine ultimates, even demonic arts sealed in the Demon Seal Cave with perilous principles.
If the Alliance Leader had given an overview of martial arts as a field, the library provided detailed breakdowns of individual arts.
Based on the primitive breathing method of exhaling the old and inhaling the new, not limited to breath but improved through movement.
Implemented as form systems, elevating what would be dismissed as modern dance in her past life into practical martial arts.
An attempt to cultivate both qi and actual combat power, and it was highly successful.
"It integrated what was once called dynamic cultivation into all martial arts, truly a seismic shift that shook the Central Plains murim..."
A rare new paradigm in the vast history of martial learning.
Immortal Zhang Sanfeng, who devised exhaling the old and inhaling the new from alchemy.
Bodhidharma, who created the Muscle Tendon Scripture to refine the body with qi.
Achieving the unification of stillness amid motion.
"Martial God Sima Lüe-Tian..."
If the first two laid the foundations of martial arts in legendary antiquity,
The Martial God elevated martial arts to a higher realm.
In an extremely refined, systematic, and rational manner, even in So-hyang's eyes.
"An impressive figure."
"For your information, that guy's still alive."
The Alliance Leader appeared from thin air without warning, but So-hyang focused on his words without surprise.
"What? Records say at least four hundred years ago."
"I'm nearly a hundred forty-four myself. Think he can't live a millennium?"
The Alliance Leader muttered that calling it 'human' was ambiguous.
"So, have you reached a conclusion?"
Whether to learn martial arts or not.
"...Yes."
So-hyang had her answer.
-----
Martial arts struck So-hyang as highly systematic, refined, and profound.
"In my youth, I would've abandoned my old training without hesitation for it."
But late-life So-hyang wouldn't have bothered.
The deeper her understanding, the clearer it was that it opposed her lifelong achievements.
"Demolishing a lifetime's tower..."
With little time left, dismantling the golden pagoda she'd built over decades would've been impossible.
Yet current So-hyang was a paradoxical existence: young body, old soul.
Her deliberations deepened endlessly, culminating in a conclusion after a month's study and research.
Discard or embrace.
Old or new.
Not choosing one or the other.
"I came up with a third option."
"What?"
So-hyang explained her hypothesis to the Alliance Leader, urging him to hear it out.
It was a hypothesis, but flawless in logic to her, backed by precedents like demon weapons.
"Suck, seems plausible."
Even in the eyes of a Transcendent Realm elder, it was a credible theory.
"-It leans more toward sorcery, though. Need a sorcerer's input for proper judgment."
Conveniently, a fairly skilled sorcerer resided in the Murim Alliance.
Wind Path Beggar: low combat power but adept at improvisation, with broad expertise in sorcery.
Valued in the Alliance, but not quite warranting a call from the Entry-to-Divinity Leader—
"Wh-Wh-Why have you s-summoned this lowly one...?!"
Under the overwhelming Transcendent presence crushing space, the beggar's tongue stiffened and body trembled like a leaf.
So-hyang ignored it, but the Alliance Leader forgot to rein it in.
"What are you doing to the kid?"
With a pitiful look, So-hyang waved her hand before the Alliance Leader, her intent-laden slash severing the presence.
"Hah, hah...!"
"Ah, sorry. Slipped my mind."
As the heavy, sodden weight lifted from his body, the belatedly realizing Alliance Leader withdrew the presence.
"I called you because this Leader has a question. You're a decent sorcerer, right?"
"N-No, hardly! I-I'm just...!"
"Eh-hey, enough. Listen first."
So-hyang explained the theory.
Why the monster disguised as the girl who traveled with her was beside the Leader, why its deferential speech turned elderly, what blocked the pressure with a gesture—
Wind Path Beggar initially couldn't process amid the confusion.
"-Creating and refining a sub-body linked to the soul."
Yet as a skilled sorcerer, he quickly grasped the theory's brilliance from So-hyang's words.
Questioning, then gasping in awe, eyes distant as he recalled memories—
"It's... possible."
He gave a positive verdict.
"Yes!"
Unable to contain her joy, So-hyang beamed and cheered.
A mere month's research; she believed in the potential but lacked certainty.
Affirmed by both a Transcendent martial artist and sorcerer.
"...But for maximum efficiency theoretically, you'd need to imbue spirituality, which is impossible, right?"
So-hyang smiled and focused her will on her upper dantian, drawing her consciousness outward.
[Ta-da! And so it happened.]
Her soul vibrated, conveying meaning soundlessly, bypassing senses straight into the mind.
"Wha-what!?"
"...Not even surprised anymore."
The sorcerer Wind Path Beggar recoiled at the absurd reality of human spirituality; the Alliance Leader just accepted it.
-----
If a high-grade spirit awakens spirituality,
Wouldn't imbuing spirituality into matter create a high-grade spirit?
A reverse causal idea, but surprisingly feasible.
Thus, So-hyang's third option was—
Crafting a spirit bound to her own by externalizing her spirituality.
Into an object like a sword, for instance.
Divine weapons didn't grow, despite special abilities.
But an object transcending tools, awakening as an entity with spirituality, was different.
In essence,
Create a sword that grows with its master, fulfilling martial arts' role itself.
"Like forging a lifebound treasure, but using one's own spirituality...!"
Wind Path Beggar couldn't gauge the resulting performance.
"Incredible. You've essentially founded a new sect."
The Alliance Leader was equally impressed.
Righteous sects pursuing unyielding orthodoxy, slow but endless.
Evil sects stacking and dismantling rapidly for ultimate efficiency.
Demonic sects treading the thorny reverse-heaven path, delving human depravity.
A new branch outside all sects.
"Sword Dao Sect fits nicely."
"Good name. Let's go with that."
Caring little for names, So-hyang adopted the Alliance Leader's coinage.
"Entry requiring spirituality generation? Doubt you'll take disciples."
"Not planning to for now, so no issue."
"Fair enough."
-----
"But to hold that much spirituality, ordinary famed swords won't cut it."
Using the Alliance armory's famed swords was an option, but custom-forging maximized quality.
"Finding such a smith isn't easy. None near the Alliance, at least."
Not on par with Demonic Cult's Demon Forger, Wandering Mad Forger, or Gold-Cloth Merchant Group's chairman—top artisans—making something to satisfy So-hyang would be hard.
But So-hyang smiled confidently.
"Who says there isn't one in the Murim Alliance?"
"What? I'd know if there was..."
A slender white finger curved gently, pointing at herself.
"...You?"
"Don't believe me?"
Past-life So-hyang had tried everything to reach higher realms.
Forging swords herself, tuning center of balance and structure to minimize movement error extremes.
"A sword that slices nuclear subs? You'd not get that."
So-hyang was a master artisan in smithing alone, without peer.
True craftsmen always used the best materials and tools; she was versed in materials science too.
"Ever heard of titanium-tungsten alloy?"
So-hyang could forge an absolute divine sword unknown to Central Plains murim history.