The Woman (2)
Crash!
Sparks flew as Kim Young-hoon laughed in delight, sweat beads trickling down his face.
Swoosh… whoosh… whoosh…
The wind swept through the Three-Mok Forest, cooling the heat of the duel. I stood in the breeze, waiting for Kim Yeon’s words.
“Goe-gun told me. When that kid went to his fortress…”
Her voice continued and I listened in silence.
After a while, the dignitaries of the Supreme Council finished their duel with Kim Young-hoon. They all turned their heads toward me at once.
“We’ve long heard of it. You… reached the same realm as us, even with the body of a Heavenly Person?”
I had memorized every word Kim Yeon said. Then I stepped forward silently toward the Supreme Council of the Heart Tribe.
Chuk.
In that single step, the dignitaries who had been shooting ideas at me froze solid.
They stood there unmoving, staring at me. Even Kim Young-hoon beyond them was the same.
Kim Young-hoon’s eyes bulged as if they would pop out.
I looked at them calmly and let my sword hang loose.
Click.
No words were needed.
The moment I nodded, light flashed and the 22 leaders of the Supreme Council, who had only sent projections toward Kim Young-hoon, revealed their true bodies in the arena.
“To think we nearly failed to recognize a superior. Forgive us.”
I simply stared at them in silence.
Yet, despite only staring, they trembled violently, on the verge of collapse from my overwhelming pressure.
I took another silent step forward in that state.
At the same time, most of the 22 leaders began to collapse, kneeling with bodies shaking.
It seemed they could not recover their minds upon facing the soul that had realized the Asim Sword.
The Asim Sword was something that could not be perceived even at the realm of Entering Heaven with a Saber.
But the higher one’s realm, the more one could see. All of them received a tremendous shock.
Especially Kim Young-hoon. He was probably the most shocked. He stabbed the Dao into the ground and let out a mad sweat.
Yet, could they really be the 22 leaders guiding the Heart Tribe?
They all stood up in front of my pressure and assumed their stances.
Among them, I looked at the five who responded best to my pressure.
Their appearances were pathetic.
A tiny Small Person Clan elder, a withered Cactus Clan flower, a Shrimp Clan, a Monkey Clan baby, and a Mushroom Clan apprentice.
Yet the ones who looked most weak were the strongest in this place.
And among them, the most eye-catching figure.
He was a Small Person Clan member, a dwarf Heart Tribe elder a span tall.
The Small Person Clan was one of the famous slave clans. They looked human but were too weak, had no spiritual powers, and were hunted like pets.
Yet the scarred old man standing before me did not look small at all.
The Small Person Clan elder gripped a needle like a sword in one hand and looked up at me.
“I will learn from you!”
“Hah!”
With the elder’s shout, the five Heart Tribe members shouted in unison and charged at me.
From now on, no more words were needed.
Their coordinated assault began.
Whoosh!
The Small Person Clan elder swung the needle like a sword and unfolded his sword art right in front of me.
It looked adorable, but the result was anything but.
Whoosh!
I deflected the elder’s sword qi into the sky. The heavens split open right there.
The same divine technique Kim Young-hoon had shown!
It was literally a strike that aimed to cut through the entire Heart Tribe realm.
The withered Cactus Clan flower rushed upward and descended like the Heavenly Weight Technique.
Whoosh!
I stepped aside. Light flashed and the spot where the Cactus Clan flower had descended exploded. The surrounding terrain changed wildly.
Boom-boom-boom-boom!
I raised my sword amid the explosion light and calmly looked at the Shrimp Clan member rushing toward me.
He was probably a boxer. The shrimp-like body stretched two fists straight at me.
It was absurd. Just a shrimp stretching its fists.
But I smiled faintly and swung my sword with full power.
Crack-crack-crack-crack!
My sword and the Shrimp Clan boxer’s fists collided. Formless shockwaves covered the area.
It felt like the sound of the world had been wiped away.
Thanks to the shockwaves, my body temporarily lost its function and I heard a “beep” in my ears.
Boom!
Of course I quickly regained balance. Next came the Monkey Clan baby who grabbed the ground I had just stepped on.
Whoosh!
At the same time he swung the very ground I stood on and shattered my balance. Then the Mushroom Clan apprentice thrust both palms at me.
Kii-ki-ki-ki-gik!
His palms were packed with immense qi. Inside that qi, everything felt close to annihilation.
Behind me the Small Person Clan elder charged. Above my head the Cactus Clan flower. Below my feet the Monkey Clan. Straight ahead the Mushroom Clan and Shrimp Clan boxer.
Beyond them, 17 other Supreme Council leaders aimed to interfere with my “gaze” from a distance, each with their own theme.
The ones who had awakened the Musical System like Yu Hwa began playing.
With a sharp gayageum sound, my body was sliced open. I could not avoid the formless web that enveloped me. My entire body grew heavy as if weighed down by ten thousand catties.
Darkness covered my eyes. The blood flowing in my body burned hot. I could no longer control my body.
And in that state, I silently extended my sword and began dancing with them.
Whoosh!
My sword ricocheted their attacks. Sometimes I let them slip through, sometimes I parried.
It seeped in.
My sword naturally melted into the center of theirs like water seeping into a rock crevice.
I and they became one in sword dance and spun together.
Their ideas reached me.
Excitement at facing an exceptional powerhouse. Joy and cheers. Reverence and respect…
I covered their ideas with my own.
I covered their martial arts with my own.
It was gloomy.
Painful.
Pitiful.
Frustrating.
The road ahead was pitch black…
The Heavenly Venerable bestowed upon me the title “Sword Demon.”
I felt no interest in that vicious nickname, but at this very moment I thought it suited me perfectly.
Because my sword right now was soaked in terrible screams and grief.
An empty yet terrifying sword style swept through my restrained sword art and met the supreme experts of the Heart Tribe.
Kim Yeon’s words from earlier floated by my ears.
“When I first met Goe-gun, he thought Hyang-hwa was one of his blood relatives.”
The needle-wielding elder landed his sword tip on mine and spun seven times counterclockwise, adding the force of that rotation to his strike.
“He said that in the Water Realm, the Qi-Character Dharma Refiner has only the Heavenly Punishment that belongs to one’s own blood relatives.”
I spun clockwise on my right foot, knocking the elder away and dispersing the rotation force of his strike.
“But he soon realized Hyang-hwa is not his blood relative. He said people with Qi-Character Dharma Refiners have a ‘curse.’ Since that curse differs by the blood relative the Qi-Character belongs to, Hyang-hwa does not have the ‘curse’ Goe-gun has. That is why he concluded the kid is not his blood relative.”
Wooong-wooong-wooong-wooong!
The sword vibrated.
I was sparring with the Supreme Council without flowing any qi.
Yet my emotions were expressed through sword art. My pain began descending from the soul realm to the qi realm.
The surroundings gradually turned dark with devilish qi.
“Goe-gun said the Qi-Character Dharma Refiner is like a bird trapped in a cage. The bird cannot leave the cage outside. At first I didn’t know, but those with Qi-Character Dharma Refiners cannot leave the world they were born in. The Heavenly Punishment and curse they bear begins the moment they try to leave the world. In other words… Qi-Character Dharma Refiners born in the lower world can never defeat one another.”
The surroundings darkened. Sword qi cut everywhere.
Not pulling in the qi or heaven-and-earth spiritual energy inside my body. Simply by strongly contemplating, the idea from the soul realm descended to the qi realm and began transforming into a slab.
And in the stream of devilish qi, a golden ray of light squeezed between the 22 ideas.
Kaaang!
Kim Young-hoon, watching, could not hold back and joined in.
But I pushed away Kim Young-hoon’s Dao and unleashed a storm of sword qi.
“The curse of the Jo Clan… is related to their surname. Details are unknown, but anyway… Hyang-hwa and his curse are clearly different yet share a common point.”
The sword dance of the duel, which had begun with a calm heart, had become a killing sword.
I struggled to contain the boiling dark emotion and poured even more killing intent into the sword.
“Those who bear the curse will eventually die. Goe-gun connected [Her] heart with his own and forcibly locked my soul to the surface with the Seopmyeong Ship power device. And Hyang-hwa…”
Kaaang!
My sword sent the needle-wielding elder flying.
And finally.
Flash!
The sword pressure spreading from my sword charged at the 22 Supreme Council members of the Heart Tribe and Kim Young-hoon. Only after repelling them all could I finally calm down.
“Gradually, the body’s senses are becoming blurred. If this continues, within decades instead of centuries, all five senses will fade. Eventually even the sense of breathing will disappear and we will die.”
Kwaak!
I stabbed my sword into the ground.
“Ha…”
I exhaled.
My chest felt tight.
Me and Buk Hyang-hwa had no relation.
Yet my chest was strangely tight.
I knew the reason myself.
Although the me of the 10th loop and the current me were different people, seeing her death again hurt.
“No, that’s not it…”
Exactly, it was not just that.
“How many times has it already been…”
Losing the Judo to Tae-san, embracing Kang Min-hee and dying—those were recent events.
Yet now, one of my connections was confirmed to leave me again.
Yes. This was loneliness.
The dam of emotion that had always hurt when connections left was slowly overflowing with the confirmation of Buk Hyang-hwa’s terminal verdict.
Coo-uwk…
I gripped the Colorless Glass Sword tightly and slowly calmed my complex emotions.
And toward me, the Supreme Council of the Heart Tribe, led by the Small Person Clan elder, bowed.
“It is an honor to witness such grand skill.”
“…”
I smiled bitterly and could not meet their eyes or Kim Yeon behind me. I simply looked up at the sky and said,
“I could not control my emotions. The sword road has accumulated slab.”
“I see.”
“…”
“You will not ask why this is so?”
“If you wish, speak. We of the Heart Tribe have lived with nothing but pain. We have at least a hundred kinds of suffering in our hearts. Therefore, in the Three-Mok Forest we have no custom of prying into each other’s hearts.”
“…”
I was grateful.
I looked at those who showed respect to me. Ashamed, angry, grieving, and drowning in indescribable panic, I finally bowed.
The Small Person Clan elder smiled faintly and said,
“Anyway, from looking at your sword I understand. Both that kid and you… you are not evil. You could not control your heart, yet you never used killing intent. With respect for such kind hearts, we of the Three-Mok Forest will accept you and the Sword Demon as our own.”
“I thank you once more…”
I calmed my mind troubled by Buk Hyang-hwa and asked,
“Then what will you do with the Human Clan’s whereabouts?”
That was the biggest issue.
The duel just now had been fought purely in the realm of martial arts. I had won.
If we had truly opened our full power and fought, I would have been defeated.
Why?
Uuuung—
“They are all Jang Ik’s disciples.”
It was obvious from their minds.
A Heart Tribe branch of Jang Ik’s saber had been stabbed into each of them.
If they could pull out the saber with their own will, they could swing it with the “original power” Jang Ik had used.
In short, the moment I decided to oppose them, I had to survive at least 22 Sword Shattering Venerable-level strikes.
Uung—
I observed the qi flowing in my body.
“I have reached the front line of battle.”
I could now use Sword Shattering-stage attacks.
Of course… for now only about three breaths.
It would take a long time to become familiar with this realm.
So right now I could only be the “subject” in my relationship with the Heart Tribe.
At my question, they looked at each other and said,
“Normally we would conduct a trial and execute the sentence.”
“How is the trial conducted?”
“Simply. By realm. The Heavenly Venerable and Four Pillars elders will first spar with our Supreme Council to reveal their emotions, thoughts, essence, and actions. If evil deeds are revealed during that, immediate execution.”
“…”
“The Heavenly Persons and Devas will be sealed for ten days and undergo interrogation. Those who crack during the process will be executed. From Core Formation onward, detailed interrogations will be conducted and execution methods will be divided according to the crimes. Beginning with a peaceful beheading, there are many options including beheading with weapons or drowning.”
“Too many executions.”
“What can we do? To us, Heavenly Persons and Earthly Persons are not targets for reformation or salvation. Only judgment. If there is truly no innocent person who has never abused the weak without reason, even an Integration-stage Heavenly Venerable who has mastered demonic arts will face no punishment.”
The Small Person Clan elder laughed and said,
“Of course, among the Six Great Clans of the Heavenly Persons, the Human Clan… even Qi-Condensation investigators would naturally step on others’ sacrifices. Most of them are evil, after all.”
It was a contemptuous remark, but I could not deny it.
Because even if only tens of thousands of the souls sucked dry by Kang Min-hee from the Human Clan territory could give a glimpse of humanity’s evil.
But I looked at the Small Person Clan elder and asked,
“If you truly planned to do such things, you would have wiped out the Human Clan before I awakened. But instead you waited and only told me after I came out. Doesn’t that mean you have something you want from me?”
At my words, the Small Person Clan elder smiled faintly.
“Correct.”
“Say what you want.”
The Small Person Clan elder bowed respectfully and said,
“In the duel just now, I understood you did not use your full power.”
“…”
“That’s true.”
If I had begun using full power, every single member of the Heart Tribe would have died without exception.
“Please give us one of our own members a true heartfelt strike.”
“…”
“If you can withstand your strike with your body, we will postpone the judgment on humanity’s sins for now.”
I could feel the burning passion in their eyes.
“A chance to face a superior of a higher realm is truly rare for us. Especially for us who have already reached the limit of the front line of battle. Isn’t that right, Venerable?”
At their words, I wriggled my lips, glared at them with gloomy eyes, and said,
“…”
“I’m sorry, but I respect your enlightenment. I also want to spar with you. But… not now.”
“Why not?”
“…”
“My qi is unstable. If I put my heart into it, I might kill you.”
Losing the Judo to Tae-san,
embracing Kang Min-hee and dying—just a few days ago!
And now the terminal verdict for Buk Hyang-hwa had been added.
One by one!
My connections!
They were leaving me!
Swish-swish-swish-swish—
Upon realizing the fact, dark slab, ghost qi, and devilish qi rose around me again.
“…”
“I do not want to kill those who treated me as guests. Please, if possible, come again after stabilizing your mind.”
And at my words, every one of the 22 Supreme Council leaders’ faces twisted into hideous grins.
“Venerable, may I speak frankly?”
“Of course.”
“We cannot understand what kind of heart the Venerable has. No, we cannot read each other’s hearts.”
The Small Person Clan elder’s words were quite amusing.
We Heart Tribe are called that because we have the eyes to read others’ hearts.
Yet from the mouths of Heart Tribe members who have those eyes comes the statement that they cannot read others’ hearts?
It was an odd remark.
“I think I get it.”
But somehow I understood his words.
“We have eyes that can look into hearts, but that is nothing more than appearances no matter how much we read them. Truly comforting someone in the same position as them is impossible. Therefore, in our Three-Mok Forest, not only is prying into others’ feelings forbidden, but also casually comforting others is strictly prohibited. Comforting others is only possible between those with significant closeness.”
He looked me in the eyes.
“Therefore, none of us will comfort the Venerable. None of us will say we understand the Venerable’s heart. However! Just as we have not rashly judged the Venerable, we ask that the Venerable not rashly judge us! Who among us would fear death!”
Kung!
The 22 Supreme Council leaders stood before me and declared together.
“If it is for the sake of seeing the realm beyond us, we can give our lives at any time! Stop with the strange talk and show us sincere power!”
“…”
I looked at them and felt a bit incredulous.
“They call me Venerable but do not treat me like ordinary Heavenly Persons.”
Ordinary Heavenly Persons were like gods.
So they never dared to look directly at a god, and took the posture of disciples obeying the god’s will.
But these were different.
“You have good disciples. Master…”
They were all of the type who would rather die than swallow their words even to a god.
Or rather, that was why they had become Heart Tribe, risen to this realm, and climbed to this height.
“There is one more issue.”
“What is it?”
I smiled bitterly at them.
“I am also a disciple of the Heaven-Sinking Venerable.”
“Um…”
“In other words, if I kill you, as a senior I would be executing my juniors. So…”
“What do you mean!!”
The Small Person Clan elder shouted loudly again.
“Use your heart in sincere intent! And even if it is a senior-junior relationship, discussing enlightenment between seniors and juniors is only natural! If the one ahead has obtained enlightenment, please save the slower juniors!!”
At the elder’s words, I could not find words and eventually said with gloomy eyes,
“…”
“I understand.”
Tremble, tremble…
I controlled the darkness pulling up killing intent in my chest and asked,
“Then who among you will receive the senior’s sincere strike?”
The one who answered was none other than the Small Person Clan elder.
“I will go.”
I looked at him for a moment and said,
“Do not regret it.”
“I will not regret it.”
“Then I will go.”
Tsu-tsu-tsu-tsu—
The speed at which we two accelerated our awareness gradually quickened.
In an instant the surroundings darkened and only I and he remained in this world.
In this world, no physical conditions mattered.
What remained was only who would respond to whose sword style how.
[Asim Sword.]
I showed the full power of my sword style from the very beginning.
Throwing ambiguous sword styles in front of those who showed such resolve was an insult to the opponent!
I poured everything into this one strike!
[Ling-yu-yue-gan.]
The sword in my mind plunged into his mind at the speed of perception.
Every time I recalled him, the sword cut his heart!
But this was not the end.
[Ying-you-wol-gan.]
Whoosh!
[Cheon-seop-wol-sim.]
Deeper the river, more dangerous. Deeper the crossing, more profound.
The human heart, once it enters a single path, deepens by ten thousand paths and has no end.
The Asim Sword that had cut his heart from the soul realm descended to the qi realm by converging with the power of the All-Heaven Sword.
In short…
Puk-kwak!
Originally the Asim Sword Ying-you-wol-gan that cut only the heart to inflict pain now cut the body as well by recalling me.
Kwa-kwak!
The needle he held broke.
But I clearly felt it.
“I responded.”
It was clearly insufficient, but I had “responded” to the formula of Ying-you-wol-gan.
If my output had been heaven-and-earth level, perhaps I could have completely crushed his Asim Sword.
But that was the end.
The Small Person Clan elder, one of the leaders of the Supreme Council, died standing.
I understood.
When I unfolded the Asim Sword, I had succeeded in perfectly controlling my emotions.
But because the Small Person Clan elder had truly come with full power, this death was caused by his counterforce.
“Sleep peacefully, junior.”
“Junior.”
“Junior…”
The Supreme Council leaders bowed to the Small Person Clan elder in unison.
I knew who he was.
The one with the highest share among Jang Ik’s current disciples.
The vice leader of the Heart Tribe Supreme Council.
The real supreme leader of the Heart Tribe in the absence of Jang Ik.
“Gyeong-chang junior! Your spirit will be remembered for ten thousand years!!”
The Small Person Clan sword elder, Gyeong-chang!
On the first day I awakened in the Three-Mok Forest, the Heart Tribe realm,
I had killed one of Jang Ik’s oldest disciples.