Exclusive Possession of Silent Sword Forest in Chang'an (1)
After completing Yang Cheon-hak’s first dantian expansion treatment, the following few days passed in relatively peaceful tranquility.
Hmm. Calling it a “treatment” sounds a bit off, doesn’t it? Yeah. Let’s just call it inner energy transmission. There must be a better word for it.
First inner energy transmission. That sounds much better. Naming really is important for everything.
Anyway, after that day, what I taught Yang Cheon-hak was simply an expansion of the most basic fundamentals.
Transmitting inner energy isn’t difficult. But teaching someone to rapidly master martial arts is an entirely different matter.
It’s not something that can be resolved in just a few months or even a few years.
That’s why, wanting to raise the boy to a certain level right away, what I chose were simple attacks and simple defense.
His innate Cheon-mu-ji-che, the Heavenly Martial Body, combined with the inner energy I had passed on to him.
The method of simply overwhelming opponents with raw power.
“Alright. Here we go again.”
“Yes! Master!”
I raised my sword and swung it toward him at a frightening speed.
A speed that was perhaps a little excessive. A strike so fierce that he had to focus every ounce of his concentration just to barely block it.
CRACK!
“Ugh!”
He managed to block my sword by the narrowest of margins.
Because I had infused the blade with a fair amount of killing intent, he was panting heavily, drenched in sweat, barely holding on.
Well, that was only after he had already received dozens of exchanges.
“Well done. Then I’ll raise it just a little more.”
“Hup. Y-you’re saying you’ll raise it even further from here?!”
“You don’t want to?”
“Not at all! How could this disciple possibly say he dislikes it!”
Even as he spoke, the boy gripped his sword again and stared at me intently, as if determined not to miss a single movement.
It was simple, really.
If he could receive a strike like this from me now, he would be able to block or dodge most ordinary opponents’ attacks.
Roughly around the level below Chae Ji-gyu? Hmm. Chae Ji-gyu was actually quite skilled.
That man had reached a certain realm in his final moments, after all.
Let’s see… who would be good? Come to think of it, I haven’t faced that many opponents directly.
Well, I’ve hardly ever revealed my full strength openly…
One thing was certain: not many people would be able to land a clean strike on him now.
The sword I was swinging was that fast.
Most ordinary fighters wouldn’t even have time to think about blocking before some part of their body was split open.
The problem was that this was still only defense.
When considering other aspects, there were far too many prerequisites that needed to be met before he could truly fulfill his role.
The biggest ones would be attack power and mobility.
“Alright. Now it’s your turn. Swing with everything you have! Strike as if your life depends on it—if you fail, you die!”
“Understood!”
Shouting in response, the boy launched himself forward with his sword raised and delivered a full-powered strike.
Sword energy wrapped around the blade, a clean stance, and a killing blow fueled by the inner energy supporting his body.
Thud.
But I simply flicked it away and let out a small sigh inside.
Tsk. His attacks are still terrible. First of all, it’s way too slow.
“This won’t do. Let’s put attacks on hold for now. Lightness techniques should come first. Go run. Keep going until you’ve completely exhausted every last bit of your inner energy. Once it’s depleted, rest and then continue.”
“Understood! Master!”
With that, the boy strapped on his sword, activated the Ink Sword Instant Step, and dashed out of the Silent Sword Forest.
Once Yang Cheon-hak had left, Seolha quietly approached and called out to me.
“Great Hero.”
“Hm?”
“Young Master Yang’s rate of progress… it’s not normal, is it?”
Whoa. She must have been really surprised.
If even Seolha, who usually didn’t question much, was saying something like this…
“I suppose so. Right now, that boy’s level of achievement is about what you’d expect from someone who met an excellent master from a young age and received every possible form of support while growing up.”
“And you accomplished all of that in just a few days, Great Hero.”
“I simply restored what had been twisted back to its original state.”
“As expected, you truly are amazing, Great Hero.”
When I shrugged my shoulders, Seolha looked at me with eyes full of admiration.
What is it? Is she hoping for something? She’s always been devoted, but this seems a bit much.
As I pondered, something suddenly occurred to me.
“By any chance… do you want to become stronger too?”
At my words, Seolha simply smiled beautifully without answering.
Ah. I see. She’s a martial artist herself, after all.
“Alright. I was planning to do it for all of you anyway. Since the topic’s come up, shall we do it right now? Should I call Yeon-ha and So-hye as well?”
“Yes, Great Hero.”
Seolha’s steps as she went to call the other two looked especially light.
That’s right. Of course. If a martial artist has no desire for martial arts, they’re no longer a true warrior of the Wulin.
If someone is only concerned with preserving their safety and has lost the drive to achieve greater heights, they might as well be dead as a martial artist.
Seolha soon returned with Yeon-ha and So-hye, and I led the three of them to the sleeping quarters.
“Let’s see… I can give Wuji to Seolha and Yeon-ha. So-hye is the problem.”
“Great Hero. I still haven’t fully absorbed all the spiritual medicine in my body yet.”
“That’s true. But when will you finish absorbing it? It’ll probably take at least another month or so?”
“It looks like it will take another two months at least, Great Hero.”
“I see. That makes sense. Alright then, So-hye, let’s do this after you’ve absorbed everything.”
“Understood, Great Hero.”
“Seolha and Yeon-ha, come sit down.”
“Great Hero. Won’t what you’re about to do take quite a long time?”
“It will, won’t it? You’ll probably need to circulate energy for at least a full day. I won’t be as aggressive with you two as I was with Cheon-hak.”
“So what you did to Young Master Yang really wasn’t a normal method after all?”
Seolha spoke with a bright smile, her expression saying she had expected as much.
“He’s sturdy. Besides, men are supposed to be handled roughly like that. Still, keep this between us.”
At those words, all three women smiled and answered that they understood.
“But… if that’s the case, you won’t be able to sleep, Great Hero. So we’ll do it on the floor.”
“Missing one night of sleep isn’t a big deal. Just sit on the bed. We’ll do it there.”
I had Seolha bring more spiritual medicine again and seated the two women on the bed.
Two types of spiritual medicine placed in their mouths. The Wuji that formed from them.
I passed it to Seolha first, then released my energy differently than I had with Yang Cheon-hak.
Seolha already had a perfectly formed dantian from fully absorbing the Great Return Pill.
There was no need to destroy her existing dantian like with Yang Cheon-hak. It would be a waste since I had gone through the trouble of creating it.
However, Seolha’s dantian was already completely full.
That made expanding its size far from easy.
That didn’t mean there was no method.
A dantian is like a balloon—if you apply strong pressure little by little, it will expand accordingly.
Normally, this would require a very long time and years of effort.
But I knew another way.
A process I had personally tested and confirmed on my own body. One that had already proven successful.
So I began to compress the Wuji I had sent into Seolha’s body to an extreme degree.
I wasn’t sure if spiritual medicine had a concept of volume, but the principle was the same.
The method of forcing compressed Wuji into an already full dantian and using the energy that burst forth from it to forcibly enlarge the dantian’s size.
Performing the procedure itself wasn’t that difficult.
The only problem was that if I couldn’t properly control the compressed Wuji, Seolha would be in serious danger.
The energy would flow backward and devastate her entire meridian system.
And it wouldn’t end there. She would never be able to practice martial arts again.
Of course, I had no intention of letting that happen.
I compressed the Wuji. Carefully wrapped it, created an opening, and pushed it into Seolha’s dantian.
Now the energy bursting from the Wuji would push against the dantian and gradually make it larger.
After completing the process perfectly, I let out a long breath.
Seolha was done. Now it was Yeon-ha’s turn.
Yeon-ha didn’t take very long either. This kind of work wasn’t particularly difficult.
Both women sat on the bed and began absorbing the energy of the Wuji.
Until they properly settled into position, the two of them would have to remain completely still for at least a full day.
After that, they would be able to slowly absorb it while going about their daily lives.
“Great Hero.”
After finishing with the two of them, I was quietly watching when So-hye approached from the side and softly called out to me.
“Hm? What is it?”
“You’ve sweated quite a bit. You should take a bath.”
So-hye gave a slight, charming smile as she spoke.
The way her usually cool and composed face transformed with that smile was incredibly attractive.
And hearing those words, I finally understood why So-hye hadn’t seemed disappointed earlier.
This way, she could have me all to herself for at least a full day.
It wasn’t often that Seolha and Yeon-ha ended up like this at the same time.
“Pretty clever, aren’t you?”
“This girl simply said what needed to be said, Great Hero.”
Even as she spoke, So-hye’s smile never faded.
I let out a small chuckle and glanced at Seolha and Yeon-ha, who were sitting in lotus positions. From their expressions, I could read a hint of envy.
Good grief. What adorable girls. How can they only ever do such cute things?
“Alright. A bath it is. Shall we go?”
So-hye gently took my arm, and we headed to the bathhouse together.
She boiled the water and hung the bamboo pipe. Her relaxed demeanor.
Even the sight of her crouching down to add more firewood looked incredibly alluring.
“Do you like it?”
When I, who had been sitting in a chair waiting, asked that, So-hye added one more piece of firewood, then gracefully approached and sat on my lap before quietly replying.
“How could I possibly not like it, Great Hero?”
“It’ll take a while for the water to fill up, won’t it?”
As I slipped my hand into the front of her clothes and grasped her breast, So-hye slightly twisted her body to make it easier for my hand before quietly kissing me.
Our tongues slowly intertwined. The leisurely movements of a woman who was in no rush.
She must really be enjoying this. Her body was already reacting so strongly.
Every time I touched her breasts, her body would twitch slightly.
I pulled my lips away and looked at So-hye’s face.
A smiling woman. A graceful and radiant expression.
“Your hair grows quickly. Do women’s hair always grow this fast?”
“It’s because I think about you so much, Great Hero.”
Her words naturally brought a smile to my face.
A woman who had lived disguised as a man. A woman who once possessed an androgynous charm.
Watching her gradually transform into a complete woman was truly delightful.
Once her hair grew as long as Seolha’s or So-hye’s, she would become even more so.
Her current appearance was already lovely, but when that time came, this girl would boast a breathtaking beauty.
Of course, her beauty was already quite striking even now.
So-hye rose from my lap and untied the strings of her own clothes.
Her martial robes slid off with a soft rustle, revealing her slender figure.
Anyone who appreciated a beautiful body would find it impossible to look away from this sight.
Though of course, no one but me would ever get to see it, so the statement was rather meaningless.
“Come here.”
So-hye embraced me, and while holding her in my arms, I explored her lips and breasts until the bath was full.
To be honest, I even found myself hoping the water would take a little longer to fill.
Because right now, taking a bath wasn’t all that important.