Chapter 29
My disciples kept growing at a rapid pace.
Six years into their education, they had already reached the mid-tier of the second rank through my hellish training.
And after I met Kim Young-hoon, something shifted in me.
Once I realized that handling the saber came down to humans, and humans to their emotions, growth exploded within me.
‘I have discovered several more intent threads.’
Golden joy. Fiery anger. Blue sorrow. Purple pleasure. Pink affection. Crimson hatred.
Centered on these six sentiments, I kept advancing.
‘How strange.’
The realm of Five Qi Consorting with the Origin was supposed to be the hardest, yet I was progressing steadily through it.
‘Why?’
I walked among my disciples, observing the threads of their intents.
The more I watched, the clearer it became that humans possess even more colors in their intents.
My own power simply wasn’t enough to see beyond that for now.
But with steady practice of Wansuigungmurok and repeated observation, I had a strange certainty that one day I would see it all.
‘Why does the Five Qi Consorting with the Origin differ from other realms…’
It was at that moment of thought that I heard a voice.
“Instructor Seo, there you are.”
The Qi Condensation old man from the Jin clan family flew in on a flying artifact.
He was the one overseeing the assassination plans, visiting every so often to check on the disciples’ progress.
“What brings you here? Today isn’t a visit day.”
“Hmph. That’s right. Slowly, the clan elders want results.”
“Results…?”
He meant the assassination deployment.
The moment I heard it, my face darkened.
“That’s impossible. These children are still mid-tier second rank. Even the Imperial Guard consists of experts who can barely be approached, let alone taken out.”
“Hmph, I know that too. The elders know roughly the same. But they no longer want to drag things out.”
“Drag things out…?”
“Follow me.”
I followed him to a flying artifact and headed somewhere within the Jin clan family lands.
The place looked like a secret warehouse, surrounded by gloomy Yin qi.
The overseeing old man led me inside the warehouse.
Inside, tens, hundreds, even thousands of crystal orbs lined up in neat rows.
“This is…?”
“A Peak Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown cultivator may not have fully awakened their consciousness, but they possess some inspiration. See?”
It wasn’t visible up close, but within the crystal orbs, strange intents flickered.
Blue, crimson, and reddish lights swirled inside.
“It seems like something is suffering inside them.”
“Correct. These are the grudge spirits of the families your disciples trained. The restless souls we collected from the remaining fields after the Makri clan cultivators drained their blood and Qi.”
“…!”
The old man stroked the orb as he spoke.
“I’ve already told every instructor training disciples from the other divisions. Starting today, we will inject each disciple’s family grudge spirit into them to forcibly stimulate their potential and force their training forward.”
“If we do that, they could potentially awaken their talent to its absolute limit.”
“….”
“Of course, their lifespan will shorten a bit and their minds may suffer minor issues, but it won’t be a major problem. As long as we know exactly who the target is….”
“I refuse.”
I glared at him.
“Even with my training method, the disciples are already strong enough. If they gain strength through external methods, they still won’t reach the level of true Peak experts.”
“Hmph, I know you’re a good teacher. But the other instructors training the other divisions are barely mid-tier second rank. That won’t even compare to Qi Condensation first layer. If that’s the case, it’s better to use external methods and push them to the next realm as soon as possible.”
“...You said their minds would suffer and lifespan would shorten.”
“Those are assassins. They’ve all been told they can avenge their families but might die, and they volunteered anyway. None of them plan to live long.”
I barely stopped myself from punching the old man’s face.
‘What kind of warning is that to children who don’t even know? “You’ll probably die” and then “they volunteered”?’
What nonsense was that?
“...Could that be an external method that might kill them?”
“Hahaha, don’t worry. Would we bother collecting spirits if it wasn’t worth it? They were all their family members. Even if they became grudge spirits, they’ll recognize their blood relatives, so death isn’t likely.”
“…I understand.”
I clenched my teeth inwardly and left the warehouse.
Then I headed to the training ground and shouted at my disciples.
“Listen up!”
Even though they had reached Peak rank, they didn’t stop training.
Because I had told them to keep going.
They had simply been listening with their ears.
But I told them again.
“Today’s important matter. Everyone, stop training for a moment.”
All the disciples immediately stopped and turned to face me.
I relayed everything the overseeing old man had told me, word for word.
“...So, you will now receive your family grudge spirits into your bodies, awaken your talent, train, and participate in the assassination. But!”
I looked each disciple in the eyes one by one.
“If anyone doesn’t want it, I’ll make sure they don’t receive the grudge spirit. And if someone truly doesn’t want to become an assassin, I can arrange for them to leave the capital family as an external personnel member... .”
Before I could finish, all the disciples spoke in unison.
“For revenge, we don’t mind dying!”
“….”
Around the disciples, red anger and crimson hatred intents poured out like blood.
Every single one.
‘...Is this really right?’
I bit my lip quietly.
The disciples’ eyes were bloodshot with no exception.
I couldn’t understand them.
I had never seen someone I loved taken away so cruelly right in front of me in my past life.
I simply couldn’t grasp how deep their anger ran.
All I could do was confirm that they felt anger.
“...All right.”
I nodded.
“Do as you wish.”
No one here would choose not to seek revenge.
That night, the capital family’s cultivators took my disciples away from the Jin clan family lands.
Even then, no one told me they didn’t want the grudge spirit or to abandon the assassination.
Despite explaining the side effects, they remained firm.
The next day dawned.
“Everyone, are you all right?”
I scanned the group and asked.
Their intents had grown a bit duller.
“We’re fine!!”
An eerie madness swirled in the disciples’ eyes, something I had never seen before.
I bit my lip quietly and resumed training.
* * *
Four years had passed.
Shuaek!
I dodged the incoming hidden weapon and exchanged blows with Cheongya and Ganhap.
She had matured somewhat. Raising red intents, she read my movements and mine hers.
Chang, chang, chang!
I flicked away her hidden weapon, then pressed the blade against the tip of her chin.
“Done. Go back in.”
“Yes.”
She gave a brief salute and returned to the group.
I sparred with the next disciple and sent him away too.
In the last four years, my disciples had all reached the Peak realm.
Disciples who had barely reached that level in my entire past life now surged ahead in a single day.
But I felt neither pride nor admiration for their realm advancement.
In exchange for extreme talent awakening, their lifespans had shortened drastically.
They would continue to shorten as long as they carried grudge spirits.
Their eyes no longer held life.
Ghostly energy flowed through them instead, and when they occasionally unleashed killing intent, I flinched too.
I understood their limits even better now.
‘These disciples could never surpass mid-Peak, no matter what. No, they wouldn’t even awaken true intent in mid-Peak,’
In short, they could never use Sword Threads.
I knew.
If they infiltrated the Imperial Palace, they would surely be defeated by the Imperial Guard.
‘Is it really right to send these disciples on assassination missions?’
This thought had taken root in my mind lately.
Until now it had only been a faint sense of guilt from my past life.
And I had been training them out of responsibility for the past lives.
Now the feelings had changed.
Every time I practiced Wansuigungmurok and felt the threads of intent, every time I delved deeper into Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown and sensed even more colors, every time the time spent with my disciples grew longer,
‘These children are alive.’
The life in my disciples felt real.
Ghostly energy had thickened, killing intent and poison had thickened even more,
Yet Man-ho loved Gye-hwa.
He was happiest when eating dumplings that Man-ho made.
Cheongya seemed newly happy during breaks.
Gye-hwa, being devoted to martial arts, faintly smiled when praised.
Seongjin remembered his parents every time he saw dandelions and looked sad.
Jinsam hated when I corrected his posture.
Hea fell in love with a handsome young man from the capital family the moment she saw him...
...
All of them were alive.
And I didn’t believe I could watch them die.
“Master, when exactly are we going on the assassination?”
Man-ho asked after our sparring.
The other disciples perked up, curious about my answer.
I chuckled.
“Even if you face the weakest member of the Emperor’s Guard, you’ll get beaten badly. The Imperial Guard consists of experts from the top sects or senior elders. You’re at least one to three ranks below them. What kind of assassination talk is that?”
“...Still, if all five hundred of us charge at once...?”
I shot Man-ho a look.
“Is that what assassination is? That’s a war. It doesn’t look like the capital family wants to kill the Makri emperor quickly; they don’t want a war. Why don’t we fight without their support?”
“...”.
The disciple scratched his head with a frustrated look.
I remembered the time I had served in the Imperial Guard and how the entire Guard had faced a Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown expert.
“The Imperial Guard is a force that can kill experts of the same realm as me. Stop thinking uselessly and train harder.”
So far, the capital family had sent one assassin from each other division to the Imperial Palace.
Their talents had already awakened beyond their instructors’ abilities through grudge spirits.
But I still hadn’t sent any of my disciples, citing their incomplete achievements.
But in truth, I knew their strength better than anyone.
These disciples, who had mastered both my healing and poison arts, possessed combat power equivalent to a complete mid-Peak user of Sword Threads.
Five working together could pierce the Imperial Guard and even assassinate the Emperor.
But...
‘They can’t come back alive.’
I hoped my disciples could return alive.
What would killing the Emperor accomplish?
The Emperor was still a capital family member.
By the size of his intent, he was roughly Foundation Establishment fourth or fifth layer.
He probably had a life-saving technique like the one the Crown Prince had.
Even if two or three disciples sacrificed themselves to kill the Emperor, they would cause enough chaos to draw not only the Guard but the Emperor’s personal guards as well.
Going to kill the Emperor meant going to die.
‘If my mindset was still that of the early days, I would have revealed the palace map and secret passages, prepared all the poisons and medicines I could make, and sent them off like that. Then I would have sorted my feelings.’
But now I couldn’t do that anymore.
Because I had come to understand that these children were alive.
Because I had realized they carried their own lives.
A few days later, I headed back to Iron Dragon Star to fulfill my promise with Kim Young-hoon.
* * *
“Long time no see, Eun-hyun.”
“It’s been a while, hyung. I see you’ve raised your realm again.”
I looked at the Astral Qi Compression Orb spinning around him and spoke.
He had broken through into Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown again.
“Yes, I finally reached the realm of Astral Qi Compression Orb. Honestly, I’m almost fearless now. And you too... .”
Kim Young-hoon’s eyes lit up when he noticed my gaze.
“Amazing. You’ve already awakened six of the Seven Sentiments.”
“Yes, the progress is astonishing. Of course, out of thousands of intents, only six... .”
“Hahaha, just six? The Seven Sentiments are the most basic intents. Excluding survival instincts—blue and red—the foundation of intent is the Seven Sentiments. From those seven basic ones, countless human emotions are born.”
He split his flowing intents in detail and explained.
“If you master the six basic sentiments, you can discover new colors just by observing the derivatives from them.”
“Hmph... I see. Thank you for the advice. By the way, I was wondering about your realization at Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown.”
I asked the question I had been curious about.
“Hmm, you’re progressing fast.”
“Yes.”
“You?”
“...”.
After five years, Kim Young-hoon had reached Five Qi Consorting with the Origin at Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown, and I felt a bit embarrassed.
But I nodded.
Given my talent, I should have discovered colors much more slowly.
In fact, in the early days of my past life, I had prepared for three regressions just to reach Five Qi Consorting with the Origin.
Yet the number of colors I discovered had been astonishingly high.
“Um, well... honestly, I don’t know if you’re that fast, but... .”
“...”.
“Still, if it’s true, maybe you’re suited for Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown?”
I shook my head.
“That doesn’t seem right.”
I truly had zero aptitude for martial arts.
So why was my aptitude for Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown said to be outstanding?
“Hmph. Compared to me you’re slow, but even when compared to other Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown experts I’ve seen, your growth feels a bit faster. How strange. From what I’ve observed... actually, realization at Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown favors those who have lived longer.”
“Yes?”
I asked in surprise.
Longer age?
“From Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown onward, not only martial strength but one’s own life becomes important. The stage of excavating the Seven Sentiments that make up life and observing the countless derivatives. The more experiences you’ve had and the more years you’ve lived, the more advantageous realization at Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown becomes.”
“...Huh.”
“Actually, I thought the reason it only took me five years to reach Five Qi Consorting with the Origin at Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown was because I was already old. Isn’t it true that I reached division head at a mid-sized company? I was in my young prime saving our company... .”
Kim Young-hoon suddenly remembered his past and began recounting old company days in a rare, nostalgic tone.
But with his words, my realizations finally made sense.
‘...I wasn’t realizing quickly.’
Ten years of observing six sentiments hadn’t made my realization speed fast.
‘At my age, not realizing that much would be strange.’
Physically, I was thirty-nine now.
Mentally, I was older than Kim Young-hoon’s grandfather.
Through multiple regressions, I had lived hundreds of years in completely different lives.
Among the martial artists of the Yeon Kingdom, I was probably the oldest in mind.
Even so, my talent was so poor that I realized things slowly compared to others who had lived longer.
‘...I should be happy.’
Among all my past realms, I had the best conditions for realization at Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown. Thanks to that, I was realizing and understanding intents faster than in any previous life.
But because my talent was so terrible, if I had been someone else, I would have realized thousands or millions of intents in the same time. Instead, I had only realized six.
‘If Kim Young-hoon had lived the same amount of time as me, he would have crossed from Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown to Five Qi Consorting with the Origin in two or three seconds.’
For some reason, I felt a strange emotion.
“By the way, about the information you sent me these past few years...”
I had been sending information about the capital family to Kim Young-hoon while training my disciples, especially about places connected to Makri clan territories.
“With that information, I was able to enter the capital family’s territory.”
“Really?”
Gradually, anger appeared in his eyes.
“They are committing heinous acts hidden behind formations... They are making medicine from humans!”
His furious explanation continued for a while.
“...So, will you not help me deal with those heinous capital family bastards? They shouldn’t be alive in this world!”
“...Yes, that’s right. But... hyung, it would be impossible for you to kill them all alone.”
“Of course. So gather like-minded people... .”
“That’s still not enough.”
I looked into his eyes and spoke.
“To punish evil, we may need to use another evil.”
“Hmph...?”
I told him about the Jin clan family.
A capital family opposing the current Makri imperial family.
A family from the previous imperial generation of the Yeon Kingdom.
A capital family that was slightly better than the openly demonic Makri clan.
“Perhaps we could take one of their hands?”
“Hmph... that’s true. It would be better than challenging them bare-handed... .”
He pondered for a moment, then accepted my request.
Kim Young-hoon and I headed to the Jin clan family territory.
“Hmph, that looks like a real cultivator I’ve never seen before. What’s the matter at the Jin family territory?”
A Qi Condensation old man guarding the Jin clan family territory’s formation asked Kim Young-hoon.
Probably because he had sensed his intent area.
“A cultivator... I’m a martial artist.”
“Hmph? A martial artist? Don’t joke around. State your purpose for entering the territory.”
Kim Young-hoon calmly explained his purpose.
The old man’s face changed to one of scorn.
“You’re not a capital family member. You seem to have learned martial arts without realizing you have a spiritual root. How about joining the external members of this family? Without even learning capital family techniques and not even reaching Qi Condensation first layer, you have this level of insight... you do have some aptitude... .”
“...Did you even hear me? I came to block the Makri clan’s demonic path with you... .”
“Hmph. What kind of martial arts can rival capital family members? Stop talking nonsense and think of me as an external member as I say.”
Kim Young-hoon glanced at the Qi Condensation old man, then drew his saber from its sheath.
I sighed quietly.
‘He’s angry now.’
“Ha, put the blade away. The moment you swing that, you’ll be ash... .”
Booom!
Kim Young-hoon’s action was short.
He released Astral Qi and aimed it at the formation covering the Jin clan family territory.
A massive crack instantly formed in one corner of the formation from his Astral Qi blast.
The Qi Condensation old man just stood with his mouth open, staring at him.
* * *
From then on, Kim Young-hoon’s demands were easily met.
A Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Jin clan family measured his power and was beaten so thoroughly that dust flew on a rainy day before he had to admit Kim Young-hoon’s strength.
Kim Young-hoon was recognized as a proper Foundation Establishment cultivator within the Jin clan family.
And after accepting the Jin clan family’s offer, Kim Young-hoon gained the right to move freely around the territory as a combatant of the family.
I took Kim Young-hoon to the training ground where my disciples were.
“Hyung, these are my disciples.”
“Hmph.... Hmm? Why do these kids have multiple souls inside them?”
“That’s...”.
When I explained about my disciples, subtle anger appeared in Kim Young-hoon’s eyes.
“...Honestly, they’re better than the Makri clan. But after hearing your explanation, I wonder if they’re really good people. They can’t save their souls properly or guide them to the afterlife, yet they cram them into the bodies of living blood relatives and shorten their lifespans?”
“...According to them, it seems the grudge spirits are meant to help the blood relatives seek revenge together.”
“Hmph. That’s nonsense. The dead should leave their future to the living and rest in peace. This is just another way of desecrating the deceased.”
“...That’s correct. That’s why I brought hyung.”
I asked Kim Young-hoon while watching the training disciples.
“Could you please remove the grudge spirits stuck to my disciples’ bodies so they can go to the afterlife?”
Kim Young-hoon looked at the disciples for a moment, then shook his head.
“It’ll be hard. I can interfere with spirits using Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown. Anyone who has reached Five Qi Consorting with the Origin can do it. But... these children are keeping their family souls bound.”
“...”.
“They don’t want to be separated from their families. In that state, no matter what martial arts I have, it’s impossible. The only ways are for the children to release themselves or for them to die and go together to the afterlife.”
“...I see.”
“Or... if there’s someone they trust enough to open up to, it might be possible through him, but even capital family members would have no way out in that state. The children are clinging to their families like this... .”
He clicked his tongue, cursed the capital family’s cultivators, and left, saying he was sorry he couldn’t help.
From then on, Kim Young-hoon roamed the martial world, gathering Peak experts and Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown martial artists who shared his ideals.
I sat quietly and watched my disciples’ training.
‘Don’t be sorry, hyung. I can’t help them either.’
Soon the capital family began pressuring me too.
They wanted me to send at least one disciple to attempt an assassination.
I had suggested sending twenty disciples per group, but they rejected it as too noisy and unnecessary.
In fact, bringing Kim Young-hoon had also been partly to escape that pressure.
‘...I’m sorry.’
There was nothing else I could do.
I closed my eyes slightly while watching the disciples’ intents within the training ground.
Several days passed like that.
* * *
“What... what...!”
I had originally given my disciples two days off per month, but after they reached Peak rank,
I had given them two rest days out of seven.
Especially because the grudge spirits inside them would make them tired, I wanted them to enjoy human life through rest rather than constant pressure.
But on this return rest day,
One disciple, Nok-hyeon, had left a letter on my place and disappeared.
―I can’t keep living like this forever. I’m going to avenge my hyung and noona. Even if I die, it doesn’t matter. Thank you for teaching me until now.
‘You bastard...!’
I clenched my teeth and crumpled the letter into my chest.
“Man-ho! Have you seen where Nok-hyeon went?”
I asked Man-ho, who led the disciples in reality.
But Man-ho kept his mouth shut.
“...Didn’t I ask? Tell me where Nok-hyeon went.”
“...”.
“Man-ho!”
At that moment,
“Why are you scolding that poor kid? Don’t do that.”
“...You.”
I glared at the assassination group leader old man who had just flown in on a flying artifact.
“That kid volunteered on his own. He said he wanted to at least strike back at the Makri clan bastards who killed his siblings even once. I admired his spirit and praised him.”
“You encouraged him. I told you! My disciples aren’t ready for assassination yet! If you must send them, send twenty per group!”
“The clan elders are upset because there’s a division that has only trained without ever participating in assassination. We had to send one. Twenty was nonsense. We need to move secretly. Sending a large group of assassins would only give the Makri clan more justification.”
Rattle!
I gathered my weapons, poisons, and hidden weapons.
“Where are you going?”
“...Nok-hyeon cannot go. Because today he broke both legs in an accident and has no choice but to rest.”
Absolutely not.
Without at least twenty per group, the Imperial Guard could never be broken through.
Suicide.
The leader old man just clicked his tongue at me and didn’t stop me.
I tracked Nok-hyeon’s trail out of the territory.
‘It seems he erased his trail.’
He probably underestimated my martial experience a bit.
Since I had run the Ghost Pavilion information group, erasing trails and handling information had been my specialty.
‘Daring to erase a trail weakly in front of me?’
I was a cunning martial artist who had lived over a hundred years in the martial world.
In actual combat, even Kim Young-hoon couldn’t show his face before me.
I followed Nok-hyeon’s trail and chased the disciple.
Spreading Wulnyakbi, I crossed the mountain ridge.
From far away, Nok-hyeon’s scent began to reach me.
He may have erased the scent, but to me, who constantly maximized my senses, erasing it meant nothing.
Shuaek!
As I closed in on him with the wind.
Clatter!
A steel whip sliced through the air.
From the steel whip, three threads of intent shot out.
Three consecutive techniques.
In a spar, I would have praised him and matched the rhythm.
But I wasn’t in that mood now.
Schwa!
With the foot blade, Sword Gang formed on the blade.
My single sword directly pierced the intent blend and severed Nok-hyeon’s steel whip.
Plop!
“Come out, Nok-hyeon.”
Nok-hyeon, who had been hiding in the bushes to ambush me, came out by releasing his stealth technique.
“Where are you going?”
“...To kill the trash that drank the blood of my hyung and noona.”
“To the Imperial Palace?”
The disciple nodded silently.
I clicked my tongue.
“Your skill isn’t enough. The Imperial Guard isn’t a place you enter by gambling. If you don’t bring twenty people with good chemistry at once... .”
“Twenty isn’t necessary.”
Nok-hyeon cut me off.
“About nine people would be enough. We can kill the Emperor. So why do you keep setting such unreasonable conditions to stop us?”
“Nine would definitely be able to put the Emperor’s neck on the blade. But... you will all die.”
“It’s okay to die!!”
Bloodshot eyes appeared in the disciple.
“What do you know! Did you see your family being torn apart alive right in front of you? Right now, in my head, hyung and noona are calling my name!
It’s too painful! It’s too painful! Please let me avenge this grudge! You! Do you understand how rotten this wound is?!”
For a moment, silence fell between me and Nok-hyeon.
We simply looked at each other without exchanging intent blends.
“...I don’t know.”
“If you don’t know, then!”
“What I know is.”
I looked into the disciple’s eyes and spoke.
“You like Gye-hwa.”
“I don’t... yes?”
“And because Man-ho seems to like Gye-hwa, you don’t like Man-ho.”
At my sudden words, Nok-hyeon stared at me blankly.
“You like dandelion. You hate watermelon, don’t like watermelon either. During breaks, you mostly play alone. You don’t mind me correcting your posture, but pointing out your Qi flow is annoying.
On a cold winter day, training, then after changing into cold water, you feel great happiness when you bath in hot water. And you always feel a surge of melancholy when you have to go to the bathroom alone.”
“...”.
“I don’t know how rotten your insides are. I can only see the surface. But from my surface view, you are this kind of person.”
Nok-hyeon’s intents churned.
Colorful intents revealed themselves, showing his emotional state.
“You have lived like this. You are living like this, and you will continue to live like this. I want you to live.”
I took a fighting stance.
“Therefore, I cannot let you go to die. Come at me. If you don’t fall in fifty seconds, I’ll let you go.”
The disciple, biting his lip, took out a new hidden weapon from his pocket.
Paat!
Our intent blends intertwined.
One second passed.
And my fist punched straight into the disciple’s face.