Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: One-Minded Immovable Heart Art
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Wi Seongcheon reflexively grabbed Paeng Yeonhwa's shoulder. Her shoulder was already trembling violently. Her breathing grew ragged, and her pupils narrowed.
Paeng Yeonhwa unknowingly clamped her hand over her mouth. The scent of blood lingered at the tip of her nose, her throat parched, and hunger gnawed at her stomach.
“Are you okay?”
Wi Seongcheon asked worriedly, but Paeng Yeonhwa didn’t respond. In her ears echoed the roar of a beast she shouldn’t have heard.
Ho Hwan’s,
Her brother’s roar.
Watching Paeng Yeonhwa tremble, the Taeguk Sword Lord gave a wry smile. He held out the necklace made from Ho Hwan’s teeth closer to her and pursed his lips.
“Gal!”
The low shout shook Paeng Yeonhwa and Wi Seongcheon’s minds. Light returned to Paeng Yeonhwa’s eyes, and Wi Seongcheon startled, turning to look at the Taeguk Sword Lord. It was a brief cry, but just hearing it made the hairs on his body stand on end.
“This is your brother’s tooth.”
From beyond the hand covering it, Paeng Yeonhwa bit her lip hard.
“I don’t know the full details, but from the circumstances, it seems your brother threw in his lot with the Demonic Cult. What will you do?”
“……What…… are you…… saying?”
“I asked what you’ll do, child. What do you plan to do when you meet your brother?”
Instead of answering, Paeng Yeonhwa glanced at Wi Seongcheon. In that instant, strength filled the Taeguk Sword Lord’s eyes.
“Are you ashamed in front of him?”
“……That’s…… no.”
“Then are you afraid?”
“……No.”
“Then there’s no reason to hesitate. What’s the source of the hesitation within you? The whole world knows of the Peng Clan’s tragedy. They know the Peng Clan abandoned heavenly principles to create a monster in human form, and that you siblings are the result of their heaven-defying sin.”
Paeng Yeonhwa said nothing. As the Taeguk Sword Lord pressed her, Wi Seongcheon clenched his fist.
Wi Seongcheon tried to step in front of Paeng Yeonhwa, but before his foot could move, the Taeguk Sword Lord’s gaze fell upon him.
A memory from childhood resurfaced. The memory of the first time he was ‘slashed’ by a blade. His ignorant father had ‘slashed’ Wi Seongcheon before he had even properly begun training in the Heavenly Flower Unified Art.
The reason was that he needed to know pain first. It wasn’t a fatal wound threatening his life, but Wi Seongcheon was only eight years old then. At an age when he’d wail at the sight of blood from a scraped knee, he was ‘deeply’ cut.
That chilling pain was still vivid. The sensation of a cold blade slicing through skin and flesh, grazing bone. After the stinging came a burning heat. Blood is that hot.
When the Taeguk Sword Lord looked at Wi Seongcheon.
Wi Seongcheon relived the pain of the blade he’d first felt at eight years old.
‘It’s not…… hot.’
But the same helplessness from that first slash spread through his body. He tried to endure, but he couldn’t.
‘Slashed.’
Wi Seongcheon knelt right there. He barely kept his waist from pitching forward.
What just happened?
His eyes met the Taeguk Sword Lord’s. In that moment, he felt the unpleasant pain of a blade. It’s not…… hot.
Wi Seongcheon raised a hand to his side. The pain had originated there, but there was no actual slash wound, no blood flowing.
“Huh.”
The Taeguk Sword Lord’s eyes gleamed.
“How did you know?”
“……What do you mean?”
“Where I slashed you.”
He hadn’t actually been cut. Yet the Taeguk Sword Lord said it like that. So he had slashed after all? Wi Seongcheon frowned as he replied.
“With pain this obvious, how could I not know?”
“Huh.”
The Taeguk Sword Lord shook his head.
“That’s a first for such a reaction.”
“Why did you slash me?”
“Because you overstepped.”
“What?”
“I was asking that child. The sole survivor of the Peng Clan. I was asking Paeng Yeonhwa, the only sister Ho Hwan didn’t kill despite losing everything to him. I was asking about the despair she bears and the true nature of the emotions born from it.”
The Taeguk Sword Lord said this while glaring at Paeng Yeonhwa. It was as if he’d become a different person.
“The one who must answer my question is that child, Paeng Yeonhwa, not you. If she wants to hesitate in answering, she must claim it herself.”
“……It was horrific. Who would want to answer that?”
“It’s for her to choose whether to face it or turn away, not you. I know. It’s horrific. Her blood brother committed an unspeakable crime of incest, and she witnessed the full tragedy at a young age. She’s still so young.”
Clink. The Taeguk Sword Lord shook the necklace.
“That’s why she must choose. Paeng Yeonhwa. Before answering my question, you looked at him. You said you weren’t ashamed or afraid. Then why did you hesitate?”
“…….”
Blood trickled from her bitten lower lip. Paeng Yeonhwa let it flow without licking it up. The hand covering her mouth lowered.
“……I hate it when others pity me.”
Paeng Yeonhwa steadied her trembling breath. The roaring still echoed in her ears. Even after tasting her own blood, the scent in her nose and mouth was of someone else’s ‘blood.’
“I hate…… being pitied. That’s all.”
“Unavoidable.”
The Taeguk Sword Lord replied.
“If they know who you are, it’s unavoidable. They’ll pity your misfortune or fear your blood.”
“……I hate either one.”
“Then you have no choice but to prove it yourself. That you’re not pitiable enough for pity and not an object of fear.”
Come.
The Taeguk Sword Lord looked at Paeng Yeonhwa with unwavering eyes. She struggled to calm her ragged breathing and took a step forward.
The distance to the Taeguk Sword Lord wasn’t far, but to Paeng Yeonhwa, it felt like a thousand li. With each approach, the ringing in her ears intensified. Her blood seemed to boil.
“You still haven’t answered my question.”
Watching Paeng Yeonhwa approach with difficulty, the Taeguk Sword Lord spoke again.
“What will you do with your brother? Ho Hwan, Paeng Yeon-u. When you face the monster who slaughtered the Peng Clan, what will you do?”
“……Don’t ask the obvious.”
Paeng Yeonhwa’s eyes flashed gold.
“I’ll cut him down and kill him.”
“What if he begs for mercy? What if he excuses it as unavoidable?”
“Even then, I’ll cut him down and kill him.”
No hesitation. That was the sole purpose keeping Paeng Yeonhwa alive. ……Her nails and teeth grew.
Her shaking vision focused. The necklace in the Taeguk Sword Lord’s hand loomed enormous.
“The madness in your blood is inevitable.”
The Taeguk Sword Lord’s voice softened.
“The hatred and fear etched into your bones is a curse you can’t shake off. Even if demonic cult sorcery amplified it, facing just a tooth from Ho Hwan—not even him himself—has made you lose yourself.”
“Haa…… haa……!”
“Is that what frightens you?”
“I’m not…… afraid……!”
Paeng Yeonhwa spat out through gasps. She who had struggled to advance was now just a few steps from the Taeguk Sword Lord.
But though her will to move forward was resolute, her body was transforming into the beastly form from her rampages, defying her intent.
“That’s enough.”
The Taeguk Sword Lord said softly. He tucked away the necklace of Ho Hwan’s tooth he had drawn out.
With that alone, the ‘curse’ encroaching on Paeng Yeonhwa faded. She staggered and collapsed there.
Thud.
A sealed scroll dropped before Paeng Yeonhwa.
“One-Minded Immovable Heart Art.”
Paeng Yeonhwa stared at the scroll, entranced.
“The inevitable madness in your blood won’t vanish until you kill Ho Hwan. This heart art will help you control that madness. It’s not an internal energy method but a mental cultivation technique, so I had no intention of teaching it to anyone…… Heh. How amusing. To think the Peng Clan’s young tiger would inherit my insights…….”
“It’s too much for me.”
“It’s fine. Didn’t I say it? This isn’t a martial art but a mental cultivation technique. It’s not about building more internal energy, wielding a sword well, or moving your body skillfully.”
Saying this, the Taeguk Sword Lord helped Paeng Yeonhwa to her feet.
“When I was young, I received a favor from Senior Paeng Ji Hu. Not martial arts instruction, but he told me my sword stance was poor.”
Paeng Ji Hu was Paeng Yeonhwa’s great-grandfather. She knew the name, but she had never met him.
He had died facing demonic cult fiends before she was even born.
“Now I repay that favor. Just as Senior did for me, as a senior in the martial world, I’m simply passing on helpful teachings to you.”
“……Thank you.”
With words like that, Paeng Yeonhwa couldn’t refuse further. She bowed deeply and picked up the fallen scroll of the One-Minded Immovable Heart Art.
“Don’t think of me as your master. I don’t like being bound like that.”
“Yes. I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Don’t neglect cultivating the One-Minded Immovable Heart Art. If all your will weaves into perfect unity, even the madness and curse of your blood won’t shake your mind. Yes…… I’ll give you a simple goal.”
Thud. Tapping his chest where he’d stored the necklace, the Taeguk Sword Lord smiled.
“Let’s make it your goal to wear this monstrosity around your neck and maintain perfect reason.”
Impossible to imagine now. Far from wearing it, just approaching it muddled her mind and heralded a blood rampage.
Yet despite it being unimaginable, Paeng Yeonhwa nodded resolutely.
“Yes.”
If she could achieve that, then someday, when she met her hated foe, she believed she wouldn’t lose her reason. The Taeguk Sword Lord smiled faintly at Paeng Yeonhwa, who had risen with a calm expression.
“Now, cultivation starts today. Let’s see…… Yes, memorize the heart art over there.”
The Taeguk Sword Lord pointed to a large boulder far off. Paeng Yeonhwa looked there, then pointed at Wi Seongcheon with a troubled expression.
“Lord Taeguk Sword.”
“I still have business with this child.”
Alone. Meaning he didn’t want Paeng Yeonhwa to hear. Paeng Yeonhwa gave Wi Seongcheon a long look, as if she had no choice.
Wi Seongcheon was still clutching his side, kneeling on the ground.
“I’m fine. See, no blood.”
The pain lingered, but Wi Seongcheon smiled as if it didn’t matter. At his words, Paeng Yeonhwa’s expression softened.
“……Thank you.”
Paeng Yeonhwa bowed her head deeply. ……She hated being pitied. She probably always would. But that didn’t mean she hated the one offering the pity.
Because she knew that pity stemmed from good intentions.
The Taeguk Sword Lord watched Paeng Yeonhwa head to the boulder until the end before turning to Wi Seongcheon.
In the meantime, Wi Seongcheon had casually sat with legs splayed, stroking his side.
“My apologies.”
The Taeguk Sword Lord let out a short sigh. He’d thought he needed to teach drawing the line, but his hand had been too heavy. Unconditional goodwill can sometimes shatter resolve and dull determination.
“What did you do?”
Wi Seongcheon looked up at the Taeguk Sword Lord and asked.
“What do you think it was?”
The question came back as a question. Wi Seongcheon furrowed his brows, lost in thought for a moment.
“……I was slashed. That’s what I think. But…… I’m not sure. You didn’t even draw your sword, Lord Taeguk Sword, and I wasn’t cut by any sword.”
“What cut you was indeed a sword.”
The Taeguk Sword Lord stared straight at Wi Seongcheon.
“Heart Sword.”
“……Heart Sword?”
“I have many questions for you as well.”
“Yes?”
“Heart Sword. As the name implies, it’s a sword of the mind.”
Thud. The Taeguk Sword Lord pointed to his abdomen. The dantian.
“The internal energy accumulated in the ‘lower dantian’ takes form when the middle dantian opens.”
The Taeguk Sword Lord’s hand, which had pointed to the lower dantian, rose to tap his chest. The heart, the middle dantian.
“And when the upper dantian opens, you can manifest not internal energy but your own will as a sword. That is the Heart Sword.”
“I see…….”
It was beyond Wi Seongcheon’s reach. Most martial artists spend decades just opening the middle dantian.
Once fully opened, the lower dantian’s internal energy takes on a complete form incomparable to before, gaining destructive power.
Opening the middle dantian was essential to properly entering qi arts.
Yet beyond the middle was the upper dantian.
“The Heart Sword is invisible.”
“But the pain remains.”
“That pain is peculiar. You pinpointed exactly where I intended to slash. Do you still feel it?”
“Yes.”
“Huh…….”
The Taeguk Sword Lord shook his head. Wi Seongcheon couldn’t fathom what he found so peculiar.
“……The Heart Sword, drawn by the mind, slashes not the body but the intent body.”
The Taeguk Sword Lord’s eyes narrowed.
“The fact that you ‘distinguished’ the site of the pain means your intent body already has form.”
“……What does that mean?”
“You’re not even aware?”
The Taeguk Sword Lord looked surprised instead.
“Even after cultivating such a divine art?”
Divine art?
At the grandiose term, Wi Seongcheon blinked.