Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Eyes Finally Open
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"Finally, looking decent."
Cheonhwi looked down at the Plum Blossom Sword Guards sprawled on the ground in a big character shape, lightly resting the scabbard in his hand on his shoulder.
The Plum Blossom Sword Guards' condition was a total mess.
Their faces were swollen in spots here and there, and their robes were caked in dust. The parts of their bodies hidden by their robes were no doubt in equally bad shape.
"Good. Now you look like martial artists. A true warrior needs eyes like that."
Cheonhwi was pleased more by the change in their eyes than by the state of their bodies.
Was it thanks to the repeated beatings?
After twelve days had passed, venom had begun to gleam in their eyes.
And that was not all.
Not wanting to endure the pain of getting hit again, they had grown adept at evasion. And since landing even a single blow would end the sparring match, they swung their swords with careful precision.
The results were tremendous.
Their vision, once too tense to focus, now tracked their opponent's sword and techniques. The swords they wielded had become sharper and more efficient than before.
But.
"......Stop."
"Please."
"Spare us......"
Tears clouded the Plum Blossom Sword Guards' vision.
They knew better than anyone that they had achieved tremendous growth in a short time.
But what good did that do?
Cheonhwi's sword techniques, once a blur, were now barely perceptible even as lingering afterimages from the scabbard.
In contrast, when they swung their own swords, it felt like they were merely slicing empty air.
An unfathomable gap in skill.
The more they sparred, the more they felt the disparity between themselves and Cheonhwi.
And.
Thwack! Thud!
"S-Stop......"
In the end, all that awaited them was a beating disguised as instruction, and pain.
By the time the Plum Blossom Sword Guards had collapsed in agony.
"Now that your eyes are finally open, shall we move on to the next stage?"
At Cheonhwi's voice seeping into their ears, the haggard faces of the Plum Blossom Sword Guards finally brightened.
"Finally......"
"......It's over."
"I-Is that true?!"
"Does that mean we won't have to get hit anymore......!"
"Ah! Infinite Buddha! Primordial Heavenly Venerable!"
Like parched earth meeting rain in a drought, they cheered and wiped away tears.
It was not because they were advancing to the next stage.
It was the prospect of escaping this brutal beating that filled them with joy.
But did they know?
That an even more grueling path lay ahead, worse than anything they had endured so far.
"Alright, get up first."
Cheonhwi called them to their feet.
"Urgh—"
Their bodies still ached from the blows, so as they moved, pain twisted their faces. Staggering, the Plum Blossom Sword Guards rose.
Once everyone was up, Cheonhwi spoke.
"Your eyes, the most important part, are now open......"
The Plum Blossom Sword Guards perked up their ears, focusing intently on Cheonhwi's drawn-out words.
"Now, let's move on to the next stage."
"N-No way......!"
"......It can't be, right?"
Jeokgeom and Seollan paled at the words "next stage," as if recalling something terrible, and pleaded desperately with their eyes.
"Haven't we already done that?"
"Martial Uncle, we've already been through it."
"They say learning has no end."
But Cheonhwi ruthlessly ignored their pleas and continued.
"The next stage is stances."
"Martial Uncle, please, anything but that......"
"Can't we just do more sparring?"
The moment "stances" left Cheonhwi's mouth, the two looked ready to faint.
Cheonhwi continued to ignore them completely and turned to the other three Plum Blossom Sword Guards, who were bewildered.
"You three. You know the Three Talents Sword Art, right?"
"Ah......"
For a moment, Jeokgeom and Seollan slumped over as if their souls had fled their bodies.
As the remaining Plum Blossom Sword Guards stared in stunned silence, Cheonhwi spoke in a lowered voice.
"You don't?"
Urged on, they hurriedly replied.
"Y-Yes, we know it!"
"We do!"
"Of course!"
"Then from now on, perform the Three Talents Sword Art ten thousand times a day."
For an instant, the Plum Blossom Sword Guards wondered if they had misheard, digging at their ears. Realizing they had heard correctly, they cried out in shock.
"T-Ten thousand times?! Impossible!"
"How could anyone do ten thousand in a day......!"
"It's impossible!"
"Impossible? What nonsense. These two already did it two years ago."
Jeokgeom and Seollan trembled violently.
"Please, no more......"
"M-My arms won't lift. Please, just one day off......"
As if recalling that time, the two tore at their hair and muttered blankly.
"Want to do it another way?"
The moment Cheonhwi's lips twisted.
"I'll swing the sword!"
"M-Me too!"
Jeokgeom and Seollan drew their swords.
Without waiting for anyone to say anything, they began swinging, and Cheonhwi nodded in satisfaction.
He then gestured to the Plum Blossom Sword Guards.
"If you want another way, come over here."
As they hesitantly approached at his beckoning, Jeokgeom and Seollan looked at them with pity.
Realizing from their eyes that something was terribly wrong, the Plum Blossom Sword Guards urgently spoke up.
"I-I'll swing the sword too!"
"Martial Uncle, me too......"
"Me as well......"
But their words were meaningless.
Cheonhwi had already made up his mind not to let them.
"Too late."
Under Cheonhwi's forceful command, the three hesitated, then plopped down in defeat.
"What I'm about to perform now is a Ruist Qi Art called Variant Body Qi Gong."
With those words, he moved his hand.
Crack! Crackle!
In an instant, afterimages filled the air, precisely striking the three's acupoints.
"This Ruist Qi Art excels at loosening rigid muscles throughout the body by striking acupoints, making it ideal for forging a martial artist's physique."
Contrary to their expectations of horror, the explanation brought relief to the three's faces.
But that relief was short-lived. Despite the acupoint strikes, nothing changed, so Jeokun cautiously asked Cheonhwi.
"Is there such a technique?"
"Why? Think there isn't?"
"Then why hasn't anyone learned it?"
"It has a problem."
Cheonhwi cut him off.
At the word "problem," Jeokun and the others furrowed their brows.
"What problem?"
"It hurts a bit."
"It hurts?"
"Huh? That's it?"
"How much does it......"
"About on the level of muscle-tearing bone-dislocation."
"M-Muscle-tearing bone-dislocation?!"
The three cried out in unison.
What was muscle-tearing bone-dislocation?
It was a method so vicious and cruel it was used only as the final torture.
And pain like that?
"I-I'll swing the sword!"
"Me too!"
"Me as well......"
As the three tried to leap up.
"I already said it's too late."
Crack! Pop!
An ominous sound echoed.
The three looked anxiously at their bodies where the sounds emanated, then unleashed screams that could pierce the heavens.
"Kuaaaagh!"
Their arms, legs—no, their entire bodies' muscles and bones twisted grotesquely, as if bugs were crawling inside.
Cheonhwi swept his gaze over each one as the Variant Body Qi Gong properly took effect, nodding with a satisfied smile.
"Perfect."
The Variant Body Qi Gong was a Ruist Qi Art from the Bodhisattva Palace in the Heavenly Demon Repository, a unique technique that maximized flexibility throughout the body rather than internal energy.
'Great outer art for tempering the body.'
He nodded slightly.
Three years ago, when he tested it on Jeokgeom and Seollan, it had been highly successful.
Cheonhwi grinned at the three.
"See? Just like I said, right? Not less, not more—exactly muscle-tearing bone-dislocation level."
His bright smile clashed with the horrific words, sending the three's eyes rolling back.
Gurgle—
Staring at the three foaming at the mouth from the pain, he narrowed his eyes.
'Passing out already?'
Having lost consciousness to the agony, their screams faded. Cheonhwi extended his fingers again, striking their neck acupoints.
Flicker!
Their eyes snapped open.
Forced awake, they writhed anew in torment.
"Passing out? Now I'm going to explain the Variant Body Qi Gong, so keep your ears open."
After his one-sided declaration, he began the explanation.
"This makes your entire body's muscles and bones flexible, so when you swing your sword......"
The explanation continued.
But was the pain too excruciating to listen?
Cheonhwi's words failed to lodge in their minds.
About half an hour passed like that.
Thud—
Finally, as the Variant Body Qi Gong ended, the three twitched and face-planted into the dirt.
Cheonhwi finished his explanation in tandem.
"......And that's how swinging the sword becomes easier. Hey? What are you doing? Snap out of it. I even used this shortcut because you didn't want to train normally—can't have you collapsing now."
Cheonhwi mocked them, but the words didn't reach the ears of the fainted three.
And that was exactly what Cheonhwi aimed for.
"No helping it. Next time, if you can't recite my explanation, it'll be double the pain—so memorize it well."
He dropped those thunderous words on the unconscious trio, then turned away.
Jeokgeom and Seollan came into view, having stopped swinging their swords and gazing at the three with pity.
'Oh ho, look at these two.'
He immediately addressed them.
"You two have some spare time, huh?"
"N-No!"
Startled, they redoubled their sword swings.
"That's more like it."
Whoosh— Whoosh—
Hearing a heavier sound than before, Cheonhwi turned his gaze.
'Still hanging around?'
He coldly glared at those who had stopped approaching after the one he killed three days ago, now merely watching from afar.
"Guess I need to catch and thrash them all today."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A group of shadows entered Hamyang County.
Swish— Swish—
Eunsu Chamsal, the man at the group's lead who had returned after reporting to White Ghost Castle, was in a foul mood.
'In the end, it all falls on me.'
He recalled his meeting with the White Ghost Castle Lord.
The man, white from head to toe, had exuded an icy aura upon hearing his report and issued a chilling command.
'Take over the Tyrant Sect's role and erase the Bipung Merchant Company from the world.'
Originally, his and the Soul Killing Squad's mission had been to assassinate the Plum Blossom Sword Guards who came seeking revenge on the Bipung Merchant Company, and key figures of Mount Hua Sect.
But now the plan was in shambles.
Not only had the Tyrant Sect's ambush—which they were certain would succeed—failed, it ended with Cold Noodle Ghost's death, and the Tyrant Sect was wiped out by some unknown ferocious beast.
With things going wrong from the start, they couldn't proceed with the follow-up mission.
In the end, he had to handle it from the beginning.
Thus, after nearly twenty years, he led the Soul Killing Squad out of White Ghost Castle to execute the mission.
'That grudge from thirteen years ago runs deep.'
Eunsu Chamsal sneered inwardly.
The reason they nurtured the Tyrant Sect and gathered experts from Shaanxi was singular.
To exterminate Mount Hua Sect.
To settle the grudge of the Extermination Squad Leader and the Extermination Squad, and seize the golden opportunity for White Ghost Castle—whose prestige had fallen and power waned—to rise.
That was this plan.
The Mount Hua Extermination Scheme.
'First, meet the subordinates I left to surveil, then tonight, erase the Bipung Merchant Company without a trace......'
Spotting his subordinates just then, he halted his lightness skill, and the fifty Soul Killing Squad members following him stopped as well.
"Squad Leader."
Eunsu Chamsal eyed the Soul Killing Squad members—only half the number he had assigned to the mission—and raised an eyebrow.
"Samhon. Where are the rest?"
Eunsu Chamsal's eyes turned icy.
Meeting that gaze colder than frost, Samhon trembled as he replied.
"C-Contact was lost."
"Contact lost?"
Samhon nodded faintly.
"We sent them one by one to surveil the Plum Blossom Sword Guards at the Bipung Merchant Company, but all contact was lost."
"Weren't they all greenhorns?"
"The Plum Blossom Sword Guards are. Their skill has just barely surpassed first-rate, not reached peak."
At Samhon's words, Eunsu Chamsal's mind raced, deducing.
"Must be an elder-level expert."
"I can't say for sure, but it's highly likely."
"So there was one after all."
As if he had already anticipated it, Eunsu Chamsal furrowed his brow mid-sentence.
Sacrifices had occurred before the mission even began.
Eunsu Chamsal pulled a mask from his bosom and donned it, murmuring.
"The Castle Lord has issued a new mission."
Samhon and the Soul Killing Squad members bowed deeply upon hearing it.
"Tonight, the Bipung Merchant Company will be erased from the world."
"Understood!"
The Soul Killing Squad members' eyes gleamed.
Even after hearing Samhon mention an expert, Eunsu Chamsal and every squad member brimmed with absolute confidence in success.
It was only natural.
The opponents were merely five Plum Blossom Sword Guards from Mount Hua Sect and one presumed elder.
In contrast, the Soul Killing Squad had the power to annihilate a sect in a single night.
Failure would be the difficult feat.
'It's been a while since we've all moved together.'
Eunsu Chamsal smiled chillingly.
The Soul Killing Squad was the most secretive of White Ghost Castle's three elite units, a hidden weapon.
They were usually assigned missions separately, so it was rare for the entire squad to mobilize.
'First time since we wiped out the Ghost Blood Gang ten years ago.'
He recalled that night when they toppled the Ghost Blood Gang that once dominated Yurim County.
The night blood soaked the ground, beautiful screams echoing everywhere.
'Been a while since I'll see some blood.'
Excited, he licked his lips with a twisted smile.
Swish—
A shadow suddenly appeared before them.
"What are you doing here?"