Chapter 64
Chapter 64
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Living Sword
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A fragrant floral scent wafted through the dormitory common room. Bang Jun sniffed the air and plopped down in front of Wi Seongcheon. Wi Seongcheon had rolled up his sleeves and was lost in deep thought.
“……What are you doing?”
It was obvious, but he asked anyway. Wi Seongcheon glared at the flower in his hand and replied.
“Flower arranging. Can’t you tell?”
“No, that’s why I’m asking even though I can see it. Why the hell are you doing that…….”
Oh, right. This guy was part of the Youth Society, the ones into elegant sentiments. Come to think of it, Wi Seongcheon had been nowhere to be seen all afternoon.
He’d wondered if the guy had holed up somewhere plotting something, but it seemed he’d been at the Youth Society hall.
“I doubt you volunteered for this, so which senior put you up to it?”
“Senior U Ha-yeon.”
“As expected. If it’s Senior U Ha-yeon, then no choice.”
Bang Jun was basically rude by nature. He rarely added “senior” honorifics even to those older than him. But U Ha-yeon was an exception for him.
In fact, U Ha-yeon was pretty much liked by everyone—not just Bang Jun. Sure, they were all students, but Yongbong was hard to approach in many ways.
Even Geomryong Tae Hui-myeong was praised as a good person, but he wasn’t the type to approach first.
U Ha-yeon, though, came to you first. She always greeted juniors with a smile and never acted arrogant despite being Yongbong.
“She smiles so brightly and insists you give it a try—how do you say no?”
“True, but seeing you still at it even after coming back to the dorm, it’s not just because Senior U Ha-yeon told you to. You’ve gotten into it yourself, haven’t you?”
“You got it.”
Wi Seongcheon twirled the flower. It was one U Ha-yeon had cut for him. He stared at the cut end for a moment, then placed it back in the original vase.
Before heading back to the dorm, U Ha-yeon had shown him the vase as a reference.
‘I’d heard about it, but…….’
Honestly, he still couldn’t quite tell.
The flowers U Ha-yeon had cut were different. No doubt about that. The flowers sliced by her sword didn’t die—they brimmed with vitality, as if still rooted in the earth.
“Living Sword.”
Wi Seongcheon murmured, gazing at the vase. Bang Jun, who had been peeling a boiled egg from who-knows-where, looked up.
“What?”
“Living Sword.”
“What the hell, suddenly talking about clouds? What, you gonna pick up a sword now?”
“Not that. But Senior U Ha-yeon’s sword is a Living Sword.”
Wi Seongcheon muttered as he turned his gaze to the flower he’d trimmed himself. Bang Jun, shoving the boiled egg into his mouth, stared blankly at him.
“I’ve never paid attention to stuff like Living Sword my whole life.”
“So?”
“I don’t know what to call it. It just felt…… intriguing.”
“Straight up, I’m weaker than you.”
Bang Jun grumbled. At the out-of-left-field remark, Wi Seongcheon looked up. Bang Jun swept the eggshell fragments off the table and continued.
“I’m in no position to lecture you on martial arts or philosophy. But if I’m gonna butt in anyway…… every martial art has a ‘purpose.’”
“I don’t think you’re butting in, so go ahead.”
“Good to hear. Anyway…… Beggar Clan martial arts. You know ’em?”
“Dog-Beating Staff Technique.”
“There’s a bunch of others, but yeah, the Dog-Beating Staff Technique is the most famous from the Beggar Clan. You ever seen it?”
“Nope. Wanna show me?”
“Why bother? The Dog-Beating Staff Technique lives up to its name—it’s for beating dogs to death. Started out as beggars swinging staffs to kill stray mutts, and over time, it evolved into a proper martial art.”
Bang Jun scratched his chin.
“Nowadays, it’s gotten too grand just for dogs. It got stronger to beat down ‘other’ sons of bitches. The world’s full of masked bastards, after all.”
That’s what the Dog-Beating Staff Technique is for—killing those sons of bitches. The Beggar Clan’s brand of righteousness is about beating down every last one.
“Living Sword isn’t a term just for swords. The Dog-Beating Staff Technique can never be a Living Sword. It’s made to kill dogs, after all. No matter how you swing the staff—with what mindset—the Dog-Beating Staff Technique is for killing sons of bitches.”
Wi Seongcheon listened intently with open ears. Bang Jun met his gaze nonchalantly and pointed at U Ha-yeon’s vase.
“Senior U Ha-yeon’s art is Mount Hua Sect swordsmanship. Mount Hua is a Taoist sect from the start. Their swordsmanship is terrifyingly sharp, but that’s because the world turned out ‘like this.’”
A world nearly destroyed once by the Demon King, infested with the absolute evil of the Demonic Cult worshiping him. Demonic beasts that don’t belong prowl the Demonic Realm, and non-human entities roam alive.
“But the roots don’t change. No matter how powerful the Beggar Clan’s Dog-Beating Staff Technique gets, it’s still for beating dogs to death. Mount Hua’s sword isn’t fundamentally for killing.”
Bang Jun paused there. He stared piercingly at Wi Seongcheon’s thoughtful face.
“Mount Hua’s Plum Blossom Sword Technique imitates the beauty of plum blossoms in full bloom. Senior U Ha-yeon is the sect’s greatest prodigy. Her sword being a Living Sword is no surprise at all.”
“It’s different from mine.”
“I don’t know Heavenly Flower Sect’s martial arts. No idea what purpose they serve. But this much I get: Heavenly Flower Sect’s arts are definitely not a Living Sword.”
Heavenly Flower Sect’s martial arts seize. They grab, twist, snap, shatter, crush. They strike, kick, pulverize, pierce.
Bang Jun didn’t know their purpose. He’d seen Wi Seongcheon’s arts plenty of times. In them…… there was no ‘compassion’ or ‘restraint’ common in Taoist or Buddhist arts. Heavenly Flower Sect’s focused ruthlessly on destroying the opponent.
“If you wanna follow Senior U Ha-yeon’s Living Sword, you’ll have to change a ton. Is it worth going that far for a Living Sword?”
“Nope.”
Wi Seongcheon knew what Bang Jun was getting at. Heavenly Flower Sect’s arts couldn’t become a Living Sword from the root. But martial arts and the ‘person’ are separate. Even Plum Blossom Sword Technique, rooted in Living Sword, could easily kill if swung with killing intent.
To reach the pinnacle of Heavenly Flower Sect’s arts, one must empty the mind……
Wi Seongcheon thought of those words as he set down the flower he held and picked up a new one.
‘Empty the mind. What the hell does that mean?’
Pursuing the ultimate realm of one’s art was the dream of every martial artist. Wi Seongcheon was no different.
“Empty the mind.”
That’s what U Ha-yeon had said.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“What do you think it means?”
“That vague crap’s in every third-rate martial arts manual. You’re surprisingly weak on this stuff.”
“I focus more on moving my body than theory.”
“How can a person’s mind be emptied? It’s a metaphor.”
Even as he said it, Bang Jun’s face clouded with unease. He scratched his chin vigorously, looking uncomfortable.
“……Ugh. Maybe not entirely.”
“What’s with the sudden change?”
“When I was a kid…… my grandmaster saw me swinging my staff and said something like this. Wait, should I even be telling this…….”
“Your grandmaster? You mean Weird Trickster Dog?”
One of the Ten Heroes, Jang Beom, former Beggar Clan leader. Bang Jun hesitated, then nodded.
“Yeah. It’s not some big secret. Just casual advice.”
You idiot, you’re imagining a non-existent son of a bitch and beating it.
“He was way above me, but back then…… I was in my rebellious phase.”
“Fifteen, huh.”
“Ahem. Anyway. I cheekily talked back to him.”
Isn’t the Dog-Beating Staff Technique for beating sons of bitches?
“Then grandmaster burst out laughing and said this.”
You’re imagining a son of a bitch and swinging, so your form’s obvious.
Clear your stray thoughts, erase your delusions. Empty your mind like that, and fill it purely with yourself.
“I still don’t fully get it. But ‘empty the mind’…… that’s probably what he meant.”
Wi Seongcheon rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought.
As Bang Jun said, ‘emptying the mind’ was the ultimate pursuit of many arts.
“And your brother.”
Bang Jun spoke up.
Thoughts of martial philosophy vanished cleanly from Wi Seongcheon’s mind. He snapped his head up to look at Bang Jun.
“Transmitter pigeon just arrived. I checked it.”
“Show me.”
“Can’t, you punk. It’s restricted to Third-Disciple level and up. I’ll tell you everything, so don’t worry too much—just be grateful.”
Bang Jun grumbled as he straightened his posture.
“Wi Seongyeol of Heavenly Flower Sect. Was nineteen when he ran away, twenty-two now. Distinguishing marks: scar under right ear, mole under left eye…… Searched by those, five matches. Two too young or old, one uses a sword, another has a scar spreading to the cheek.”
One perfect match left.
“Timeline fits too. Three years ago, a young ‘hunter’ was active briefly in Yunnan’s jungles.”
Hunter. In Yunnan, that didn’t mean beast-hunting. Like Qinghai, it’s a demonic beast-infested frontline. A hunter there hunts demonic beasts for a living.
“Word among hunters is he was impressive. Some fresh-faced kid risking his neck daily, prowling the jungles bare-handed for demonic beasts.”
Bang Jun spread his hands as he spoke. Listening, Wi Seongcheon swallowed hard.
“Bare-handed, he’d twist off limbs and rip torsos apart with his hands. They called him Red-Faced Ghost Slayer there.”
“Why no rumors?”
“Idiot, frontlines lose hunters daily. One alive yesterday could be shredded tomorrow.”
That’s why frontline hunter tales don’t spread. ……Even Wi Seongcheon’s grandfather, Wi Seonak Wi Jeonguk, was the same. Taiji Sword Lord acknowledged his strength, but he died in the Demonic Realm.
“……Red-Faced Ghost Slayer died too?”
“Dunno.”
Bang Jun scratched his head.
“No corpse found for Red-Faced Ghost Slayer. He hunted in Qinghai about two months. But…… this is weird.”
“What’s weird?”
“Red-Faced Ghost Slayer wasn’t alone.”
Wi Seongcheon’s expression hardened.
“From the start in the hunter village, he was with two men. They always tagged along when he went demonic beast hunting.”
“Could be comrades he picked up along the way.”
“Didn’t seem like it. And get this—they did ‘nothing’ during hunts. Just stood far off, watching him fight.”
Definitely odd. Comrades would fight together, but they just followed and spectated.
“……Don’t know if he’s your brother. But I bet Red-Faced Ghost Slayer didn’t die.”
“……Why think that?”
“His place was cleaned out.”
Before Red-Faced Ghost Slayer’s ‘final’ hunt. His house in the hunter village was already tidied—no sign of returning.
“Spotless, nothing left. Naturally, the two men following him left with him that morning and never came back. ……Red-Faced Ghost Slayer didn’t die. He vanished.”
“After that?”
“Nothing. Red-Faced Ghost Slayer was just a brief nickname in Qinghai, active two months. No trace of where he went.”
It’s him.
Wi Seongcheon was silently certain. The one called Red-Faced Ghost Slayer hunting demonic beasts in Qinghai was undoubtedly his brother Wi Seongyeol.
Even the exploits…… felt familiar. It reminded him of his grandfather wandering the Demonic Realm, slaying beasts.
“Good.”
Wi Seongcheon let out a deep sigh and bowed his head.
He didn’t know where he was now.
But his brother was alive, not dead.
Wi Seongcheon smiled in relief.