Chapter 10: Namcheon Iron Sword (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 10: Namcheon Iron Sword (1)
‘The sword is strong?’
Was he really talking about that rusty iron sword?
While I was reeling from the Lesser Conversation Sword’s remark, Hae Ak-cheon pointed a finger at the skeleton.
“This is the one who will be your master.”
“!?”
My skin crawled at the thought of a dead man being called my master.
Moreover, the skeleton was in terrible condition.
Even as a mere third-rate warrior, I had lived in the martial world long enough to have seen my share of remains, but this was different.
—That skeleton is missing an arm.
‘It’s not just the arm.’
Both leg bones were broken. To be precise, the kneecaps were practically pulverized. With injuries like that, he wouldn't have been able to walk for the rest of his life.
What on earth happened to leave him in such a state?
“A pathetic fool. To end up like this, dying in a cave where no human hand could reach him.”
Hae Ak-cheon’s tone as he rebuked the dead man was subtle. It didn't sound like mockery; it sounded more like pity.
“Follow me.”
Hae Ak-cheon led the way deeper into the cave. As he moved, he took a slight detour around the spot where the skeleton lay.
‘Ah!’
I saw why.
I hadn't noticed from the entrance, but there were words carved into the floor where the skeleton had collapsed. The script looked as though it had been etched with a bare finger.
How much power must one possess to carve into stone with a finger?
“This is what you will learn.”
“This… sir?”
“Yes.”
—A skeleton for a master. Ugh, goosebumps.
Just as the Lesser Conversation Sword said, it looked like this corpse was truly going to be my master.
A wave of unease washed over me, but my eyes naturally drifted toward the inscription. The first line began like this:
[Self-Sealing Internal Art (自斃內功)]
‘Wait.’
My brow furrowed at the absurd opening phrase. I wondered if I had misread it, but it definitely said Self-Sealing.
To seal one's own internal energy was essentially no different from destroying one's own Dantian.
‘So that’s why he brought me here.’
This was the reason. To learn this art, one had to have a sealed Dantian, whether by choice or by force. From Hae Ak-cheon’s perspective, there was no need to force someone into that state when I was already the perfect candidate.
‘I have a bad feeling about this.’
I might not have been a genius, but I was still born into a martial family. I may have lacked internal energy, but I was familiar with the cultivation methods of the Yikyang So Family and the basic heart methods used by Blood Cult warriors.
—Then you must be an expert in theory.
‘I’ve never heard of a technique that lets you learn internal energy after sealing your Dantian.’
Even if it were possible, it might be an Evil Art or a forbidden technique that required one's life as collateral. I had heard that Evil Arts were fundamentally different from orthodox heart methods. They allowed one to accumulate energy much faster than orthodox methods but came with devastating side effects.
“What? Do you think I’m telling you to learn some Evil Art?”
This old man read my inner thoughts like a ghost. When I remained silent, Hae Ak-cheon spoke with a voice laced with ridicule.
“I bring you a fruit that others would be desperate to eat, and yet you are filled with suspicion.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Who do you think this skeleton was?”
How was I supposed to know? It’s not like he was wearing an identity token. If he wanted me to know, he should have told me from the start.
“This man was… Tsk. Never mind.”
“...?”
For a moment, I felt my blood pressure spike. If he wasn't going to tell me, he shouldn't have started. Cutting off the explanation like that felt like being fed a dry sweet potato and then denied a drink of water.
The Lesser Conversation Sword muttered, seemingly annoyed as well.
—...Is this a new form of torture?
Whether he noticed our frustration or not, Hae Ak-cheon shifted the subject.
“Do you know what Essence, Energy, and Spirit are?”
Essence, Energy, Spirit (精氣神).
It was the very first thing one learned when starting martial arts. Jeong (Essence) refers to a refined grain of rice, often used to mean the most refined state of something.
In the context of martial arts…
“Essence is here. It refers to the Dantian.”
Hae Ak-cheon pointed to the area below his navel. Through breathing techniques, one refines energy into a single point of essence. That is the Dantian.
“Those who cultivate the martial path refine energy into essence through breathing or heart methods. That is what we call internal energy.”
This was common knowledge to me. It was what I called training. If I trained diligently to accumulate internal energy, I could one day become a master.
“Then what does Energy signify?”
“...Does it not refer to one's vitality?”
That was what I had been taught. The vitality one is born with is called the Gi (Energy) of Essence, Energy, and Spirit.
Hae Ak-cheon shook his head.
“You’ve learned only half the truth.”
“Pardon?”
“Vitality is correct, but that which resides in the center of the chest is called Innate True Qi.”
“Innate True Qi?”
I felt like I had heard the term before. But back then, I was told that because Innate True Qi is literally one's life force, exhausting it was tantamount to suicide.
I got a sinking feeling in my gut.
“They say Innate True Qi possesses twice the power of internal energy accumulated as essence.”
That was because it wasn't something built up artificially; it was one's natural life force. As far as I knew, there was only one use for it: to achieve a "double death" against an enemy you couldn't otherwise defeat.
‘Don’t tell me this method of handling energy is…’
As my anxiety grew, Hae Ak-cheon grinned broadly.
“In that regard, you are a lucky fellow. Because what is written there is the technique to manipulate Innate True Qi.”
‘Ah… of course. It never deviates from my expectations.’
He did have a hidden agenda after all. There was no way a man who was one of the top five masters in the Blood Cult didn't know what happened when one exhausted their vitality.
“There is only one thing for you to do here. Learn that.”
“Right now?”
“Who told you to master it? Start by sensing your Innate True Qi.”
This was a nightmare. He was telling me to learn how to consume my own life force. If I mastered this and kept using it, I wouldn't live long.
“You realize that if you can’t learn it, you’re of no more use to me, right?”
It was a true "between a rock and a hard place" situation. The only difference was whether my life would slowly wither away by exhausting my vitality, or be ended instantly by this madman’s hand.
With those final words, Hae Ak-cheon turned to leave the cave as if his business was done.
“Is that all?”
“Why? Do you want me to stick by your side and watch you the whole time?”
I quickly shook my head at that. Having that old man looming over me would be like sitting on a bed of needles. He was likely going to teach the twin brothers.
“You know where to return once you can sense your Innate True Qi, right?”
His casual assumption made me angry. When I didn't answer immediately, Hae Ak-cheon glared at me with terrifying eyes.
‘Whew.’
I suppressed my anger. Showing my emotions would only disadvantage me here. In times like this, the best answer was to maintain my composure and show nothing.
“...May I ask one thing?”
“What is it?”
I asked the puzzled man.
“Are you not going to tell me about Spirit?”
He had stopped after Essence and Energy. At my question, Hae Ak-cheon tapped his head with his finger and walked out of the cave.
The Lesser Conversation Sword spoke up.
—The head?
*
‘He’s no fool.’
Hae Ak-cheon smirked as he used his lightness skill to return to his quarters. Judging by the boy's expression, he seemed well aware of the consequences of consuming Innate True Qi—his vitality.
Right now, the boy’s head was probably spinning as he tried to find a way out. Even so, he would eventually have no choice but to learn it.
‘A pity. If the entire text had been written, it would have been a blessing for you.’
Of course, if that were the case, he might have looked for a different candidate instead of So Woon-hwi. Even if it required sealing the Dantian, that was a secret technique that countless martial artists would have killed to possess.
*
‘What is this?’
As I read through the words carved by the skeleton, I was struck by utter dismay. The secret transmission wasn't complete. The author must have run out of strength and died mid-sentence.
‘You’ve got to be kidding me!’
I cursed the dead man in my heart. The part he failed to write at the end was the method to prevent the depletion of Innate True Qi. That meant there was a way to stop the life force from diminishing.
But it cut off at the most crucial part.
‘You should have written this part first!’
I knew he was dead, but I was fuming. If I learned it as it was, I would simply consume my Innate True Qi with no way to recover it.
Then, the Lesser Conversation Sword spoke to me.
—Woon-hwi.
‘Hold on, Sodam. I need time to think.’
I had to find a way. I didn't know when the duel would take place, but Hae Ak-cheon would surely wait until the twins were fully prepared. By then, my vitality might be completely drained.
—Hey.
‘Should I try to regulate it to save as much vitality as possible?’
The Lesser Conversation Sword shouted so loudly it rang through my head.
—Hey! You brat!
‘Whoa! You startled me.’
—It’s because you weren't listening. Hey, why don’t you ask him?
‘What?’
I had no idea what he was talking about.
—Ask him. That skeleton’s… Ah, this guy is getting really mad because I’m calling his master a skeleton.
‘Wait… are you talking about this iron sword?’
—Yeah. Just ask him. If he was with that skeleton the whole time, he should know… Ah, seriously! Why is he so sensitive? How was I supposed to know if your master was Ho Jong-dae or Mo Jong-dae?
“!?”
For a moment, I doubted my own ears.
‘...What did you just say?’
—The Ho Jong-dae or Mo Jong-dae thing? He says his master was the Southern Sky Sword Guest, Ho Jong-dae.
‘The Southern Sky Sword Guest!’
—Why are you so surprised?
Anyone would be surprised. He was a renowned swordsman who was said to have shaken Yunnan Province with nothing but an iron sword. He was such a formidable rising star that rumors suggested if he hadn't suddenly vanished fifteen years ago, the "Eight Great Masters Under Heaven" would have become the "Nine Great Masters" by now.
—Is he that big of a deal? No wonder he’s acting so smug.
If this skeleton really was the Southern Sky Sword Guest, he had every right to be smug. But I couldn't understand why a man who supposedly vanished in Yunnan was lying dead here on an unnamed peak in Guangdong Province.
‘Did that crazy old man Hae Ak-cheon do this?’
—He’s laughing.
‘Why?’
—He says that old man never managed to beat Ho Jong-dae even once.
‘!!!’
That was shocking. Bizarre Hae Ak-cheon, one of the Four Venerables of the Blood Cult, might not have reached the level of the Eight Great Masters or the Four Great Villains, but he was still one of the top experts in the Central Plains. And yet, he had suffered a defeat that no one knew about.
‘I see.’
Only then did I begin to vaguely understand why Hae Ak-cheon had made this proposal to me. It was likely to reclaim his honor. Regardless of their origin, most martial artists have immense pride in their craft. No one likes to lose.
‘If it really is Ho Jong-dae, this is perfect.’
Then, as the Lesser Conversation Sword suggested, this iron sword might know the missing part of the inscription. This was nothing short of a miracle for me.
I urged the Lesser Conversation Sword to ask the iron sword to tell me the heart method for managing Innate True Qi.
However…
—What am I, a matchmaker? He’s right in front of you, ask him yourself.
I let out a deep sigh at his words. I had tried touching other weapons, like sabers, but I never heard anything. It was the same when I touched hidden weapons. That was why I thought the Lesser Conversation Sword was unique.
‘I have to be able to speak to him to ask.’
Assuming it wouldn't work, I absentmindedly gripped the hilt of the iron sword.
In that instant, a voice echoed in my head.
—Haa. It’s been a long time since I felt a hand on me.
A chill ran down my spine, and I reflexively let go of the hilt.
‘W-what was that just now?’
At my question, the Lesser Conversation Sword replied nonchalantly.
—His voice.