Chapter 203
Chapter 203
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 203
Chapter Title: Black Forest Summer
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The summer in the Black Forest was unbearably hot. Located at the southern tip and surrounded by ocean on all sides, the island's humidity clung to everything like a second skin. Even masters like Han Seo-bul-chim couldn't escape that summer discomfort.
The muggy heat tickled the throat with every breath, heat haze distorted the view, the sticky wind carried the fishy, salty tang of the sea.
The summer heat amplified the scent of the distant ocean. As if that weren't enough, Wi Sung-cheon left the Blood Palace before the season fully ripened.
There were no issues. His ally, Baek Ri-hyang, was the city's lord, and Wi Sung-cheon shared a star with her. If he had been the Black Forest's city lord, leaving the city would have required careful consideration, but Wi Sung-cheon was merely a student at the Heavenly Academy.
Baek Ri-hyang couldn't hide her regret at his departure from the Blood Palace, but lately, she was experiencing the joy of "cultivation" and "progress" for the first time in her life. In the end, she stayed in the Blood Palace with Yeo Myeong-a.
The White Night Witch recoiled at Wi Sung-cheon's sudden announcement of leaving the Blood Palace to live by the seaside but followed him anyway.
Ten days since arriving at the ocean. The White Night Witch spent most of her time in the shade of the hut Wi Sung-cheon had built for her. The humid hot winds and the briny, fishy sea smell were far from pleasant. The sand and salt that stuck to her skin with every gust of wind were irritating too.
Still, the White Night Witch didn't leave the seaside. She disliked the location, but quite liked other aspects.
"Hmm."
Wi Sung-cheon wasn't the only one out on the soft white sand. The Green Forest Demon Emperor brushed sand from his body as he sank into thought. He remained as capricious as ever, still intrigued by Wi Sung-cheon, still imposing his games. The change was that Wi Sung-cheon now actively enjoyed those games with him.
"How was it?"
A cheerful voice called out. Truth be told, Wi Sung-cheon looked a mess. His nose was crooked to the side with blood streaming down, his eyelids swollen. Having been launched into the distant sea with a splash, Wi Sung-cheon swept his drenched bangs aside with one hand as he rose from the waves.
He couldn't use his left arm. It had snapped blocking one of the Green Forest Demon Emperor's punches.
But Wi Sung-cheon made no pained expression or sound. He simply gazed at the Green Forest Demon Emperor with eyes sparkling full of questions, like stars.
"Not bad."
He said it dismissively, but the Green Forest Demon Emperor's eyes gleamed for entirely different reasons.
Truthfully, it was beyond "not bad." Wi Sung-cheon's movements were astonishing. No one would believe this was a spar with a junior decades his junior.
Even the White Night Witch acknowledged it. She subtly covered her mouth with the fan she'd been lazily fanning to ward off the heat.
No one was watching, but she worried someone might catch the pleased smile she hadn't meant to make. Changing her expression would be easier and quicker than hiding it, but the White Night Witch didn't want to.
'I must have a knack for teaching after all.'
She slowly realized the reason for her smile. Wi Sung-cheon's growth was gratifying and impressive. And she felt proud of herself for teaching him. If Wi Sung-cheon knew, he'd clutch his neck in shock. Her instruction had been reckless and brutal.
Still, it wasn't meaningless. Most would quit such harsh training, but Wi Sung-cheon was accustomed to it. No, more than accustomed—he had never known training that wasn't harsh.
"Give me a moment."
"What, like it's the first time?"
The Green Forest Demon Emperor chuckled dryly and plopped down on the sand. Wi Sung-cheon, emerging from the sea, heated his body to evaporate the water and flicked off the remaining salt. By then, his nosebleed had stopped. Then he spread his legs wide.
Supreme Purity Secret.
No need for the horse-riding stance. It wasn't perfect, but Wi Sung-cheon's Supreme Purity Secret had clearly advanced. The rate of improvement astonished even Yeo Myeong-a. Circulating the Supreme Purity Secret, he twisted his crooked nose back into place.
"A bit more to the side."
"I know."
He tapped his nose, rotating it to the point where breathing felt natural and unawkward. That alone would set the bone. Next, he aligned his broken left arm and squeezed it firmly with his right hand. Less than a day-night cycle passed before the fractured bone knit perfectly.
The Supreme Purity Secret activated true essence to bolster innate essence. Great attainment was distant, but the time for his body to heal injuries shortened daily depending on the damage. Internal wounds or complex fractures took longer and more care, but simple breaks or bruises mended quickly.
"It looks proper now, but your body can't keep up."
"Isn't seeing it at all progress enough?"
Wi Sung-cheon smirked and looked up. It wasn't vivid, but faintly visible.
A large eye floating above his head. That was the most basic form of his intent taking shape as intent formlessness. A single eye hovering seemed eerie, but Wi Sung-cheon liked it. Intent formlessness embodied the martial arts honed over a lifetime.
Imperfect as it was, that eye manifested the martial arts Wi Sung-cheon had learned and wielded. Through it, he saw and sensed much.
But seeing and sensing were worlds apart from moving accordingly. That imbalance was an unavoidable issue for Wi Sung-cheon.
Over months, Wi Sung-cheon had advanced his Supreme Purity Secret. As the White Night Witch desired, he'd grown accustomed to consciously wielding intent formlessness.
But freely controlling his intent body remained impossible. His incomplete intent body had clear limits, and surpassing them required a new realm.
'The Manifestation Realm.'
It felt distant.
"No matter how much I watch, it never gets old..."
At the mutter nearby, the White Night Witch lowered her fan slightly. Sitting a bit apart, staring at Wi Sung-cheon entranced, was none other than Seo Il.
Seo Il and the Heavenly Academy professors who had escorted students to the Black Forest were staying near this beach, opposite the harbor, by order of the Dark Demon King. In the forest adjacent to this coast was a place for rare "guests." The professors, including Seo Il, had been there for months.
It was nearly mandatory. Whenever they tried visiting the students, ledger ghosts appeared with polite words and demeanor, sending them back. In the end, the professors idled away time at the idyllic forest manor perfect for vacationing, occasionally heading to the sea for fishing, sunbathing, and swimming.
Who would've thought they'd meet like this again. The reunion flustered both Seo Il and Wi Sung-cheon. Soon, Seo Il's fluster turned to shock. In just months, Wi Sung-cheon's transformation was miraculous.
"Not exactly a pretty sight."
"But it's not an evil art, is it?"
Look at this guy. The White Night Witch smirked at Seo Il. Casual as his words were, his gaze fixed intently on her.
"No, not an evil art. Even if taught by unorthodox folk."
"I hold no prejudice against the unorthodox."
"If you did, wouldn't that be self-loathing?"
Seo Il's eyes chilled at the White Night Witch's jab. She laughed as if his reaction amused her.
"Well, whatever your circumstances, not my business. Don't worry too much. No intent to dye your student in bad colors."
"...Bad colors. I don't hold such prejudices..."
"Others won't be as forgiving as you? Seems the other professors are sensitive about that guy learning moves from me and the Green Forest Demon Emperor."
"...Unavoidable. But please don't misunderstand too greatly. The professors are wary not because you're unorthodox warriors, but because you're revered among the Ten Heroes."
"For reverence like that, there's little envy."
"I am envious. I'd love to learn a move or two myself, if possible."
Seo Il spoke sincerely. The White Night Witch giggled.
"I don't know assassin arts."
"...Ah."
"But I know other arts, not assassin ones. No plans to teach you fully, but a pointer or two isn't hard."
"Haha, even the words are appreciated..."
"If you tell me who you are, beyond being a professor."
Seo Il's smile froze. Wi Sung-cheon and the Green Forest Demon Emperor had resumed sparring unnoticed, but Seo Il could no longer focus there.
"Assassins digging into pasts and living new lives isn't rare. Many assassins dream of it."
Few actually achieved it, though.
"But your case is special. Not Heavenly Killer level, but a skilled assassin by the looks... Retiring to become a Heavenly Academy professor. Golden Capture Whip Flash, was it?"
"...Yes."
"Background and skill got you the post, sure. But once they see through you as an assassin, questions arise. Backed by the Heavenly Academy Lord? Or the Murim Alliance?"
"..."
"If so, the Alliance Lord and Academy Lord are more flexible than I thought. Doubt it, though."
"Seems I can't receive instruction after all."
Seo Il smiled wryly. The White Night Witch cackled. Then, gazing at the distant sea, her eyes widened.
"...Huh?"
Wi Sung-cheon let out a startled sound too. Dodging here and there, he took a hit and gulped seawater right after. Clutching his bleeding lip, he turned. The Green Forest Demon Emperor halted attacks and looked to the far sea.
"Today, huh."
The Green Forest Demon Emperor muttered. Blinking at Wi Sung-cheon staring his way, he smirked.
"I see. You didn't know."
"...Pardon?"
"Know who's on that ship?"
The Green Forest Demon Emperor pointed seaward. Wi Sung-cheon narrowed his eyes at the distant vessel.
"...Not merchants, that's for sure."
Ships laden with goods came and went regularly in the Black Forest. But that ship wasn't a merchant vessel by any means, and even if it were, no reason to come here.
"Haha! Why would a cargo ship come here instead of the harbor?"
"To avoid the eyes of city lords near the harbor?"
No harbor on this coast. Close to the guest manor, it was the only beach forbidding low city lords' entry.
"On that ship is... Heh."
The Green Forest Demon Emperor's lips curled up. He strode past Wi Sung-cheon toward the sea.
Not just him. The White Night Witch rose from the shade and approached Wi Sung-cheon.
"Impatient too."
The White Night Witch spat irritably.
Soon, Wi Sung-cheon understood their movement. A figure detached from the distant ship, racing across the waves toward them.
"Huh?"
As distance closed, Wi Sung-cheon gasped involuntarily. He recognized who bounded over the surging waves.
Leading was the Taegeuk Sword Lord. Wi Sung-cheon's "eye" saw something new on him. A massive sword. Like the Nameless World's Greatest Sword he bore, it floated behind his back.
Slightly behind flew the former Beggar Sect Leader, the Eccentric Wanderer, using the same soaring lightness skill Muyeon-jun had once displayed—literally flying through the sky.
And behind them.
A girl Wi Sung-cheon had never seen. She advanced ramrod straight, cleaving the currents, gliding across the sea. Though a first sight, he instantly knew her identity.
'Poison Dance Marquess...!'
"Who'd have thought the Tang Clan's witch would come too."
The White Night Witch chuckled darkly.