The White Hand Divine Art (2)
I stared at Na-rin, who was looking at me with an expression that clearly said she didn't understand.
"You're going to improve the Sosu Magong? But that's already an unparalleled demonic art!"
"You're right about that. The flow of qi and the way it's applied are incredibly smooth. Efficient, too. So yes, it's an unparalleled demonic art. But that doesn't mean there's no way to make it even better."
Na-rin still looked at me like she couldn't quite grasp it.
But I figured she would eventually.
These people were from the medieval era. I was from the modern world.
What we knew and what we'd learned were fundamentally different.
I wasn't claiming to be some incredible genius, but that difference couldn't be ignored.
The fact that I could examine martial arts and improve them in my own way was all based on that foundation.
"Alright. Let me explain it simply. Sosu Magong is fundamentally a technique that coats the hands in sword aura. You've already reached the Transformation Realm—what they call the Extreme Demon stage—so you should have a decent understanding of sword aura, right?"
"Yes."
"Look closely. Sosu Magong wraps your own sword aura around your hand in a grid pattern. It's like weaving a loom with warp and weft threads. You layer it over your hand like a glove... Ah, more like a gauntlet. There must be some mnemonic phrase for it in the manual, right?"
"Huh... There is..."
Na-rin looked at me with an expression that asked how I knew. Well, it was obvious. All secret manuals followed that same pattern.
"Exactly. Usually it's not sword aura but regular qi. For sword arts, they explain how to coat the blade with sword qi. For blade arts, how to coat the blade with blade qi. Those kinds of things are written in the manuals—usually toward the end. Because martial arts have to be able to explain what to do even when the practitioner has reached the Peak, Super Peak, or Transformation Realm. If those explanations are meticulous, detailed, and easy to understand, it's considered a divine art. If they're sloppy and poorly written, it's low-grade. Anyway, that's beside the point. Come here and look at this."
I tapped the table and wrapped sword aura around my finger, carving into the wood to draw a diagram.
"See? The current Sosu Magong coats your hand with sword aura in a square grid like this. This structure is exceptionally strong at blocking force that strikes at right angles. That's why, if you can wrap it perfectly, it becomes impervious to blades. The grid-patterned sword aura holds up that well. But what about this shape?"
I drew a hexagon on the table.
"This shape. Does it look familiar?"
"It's a beehive."
"Right. A beehive. Now, what if you wrapped your sword aura in this structure instead of a grid?"
"You're saying... to make sword aura in this shape?"
"That's right."
"It looks difficult. Would it really make that much of a difference?"
"It's difficult at first. But once you get used to it, it's not that hard afterward. If you create sword aura over the same area with the same amount of internal energy, but using this honeycomb structure instead of a grid, the power increases by at least thirty percent and up to fifty percent."
"What? Really?"
"Of course."
The honeycomb structure. A repeating pattern of regular hexagons.
It was true in reality. A repeating hexagonal structure demonstrated three to fifty percent higher durability and impact dispersion efficiency compared to a grid arrangement.
It also offered far superior resistance to twisting, shearing force, and pressure.
"If you learn it exactly as written in the Sosu Magong manual, this method would never occur to you. So if you can change just this structure, you should be able to increase the power you're currently producing by at least thirty percent."
Na-rin looked at me with eyes that clearly found it hard to believe.
Yeah, I understood that feeling.
If I hadn't given her the Maryeong Shindan, everything I was saying would probably sound like the smooth talk of a con artist.
"Changing the shape of sword aura isn't easy. It's like learning to walk all over again. But... let's see. For you, it should take about five days."
Honestly, it would probably take ten days. But I deliberately negotiated down by more than half. That way she'd work harder.
Na-rin frowned, seemingly lost in thought, then stared intently at her own palm.
She was probably trying it right now.
Up until now, simply coating her hands in sword aura would have been child's play for her.
She was probably so familiar with it that she could do it in her sleep.
But doing it while changing the structure was no different from trying to breathe while consciously counting the seconds—one second inhaling, three seconds exhaling.
Of course she could do it if she tried. But making it feel natural was an entirely different matter.
It required practice and repetition.
"Go ahead and try. Start with just your fingertips at first. Or just your palm if that's easier. A flat surface should be simpler. Creating a curved surface would be harder. Anyway, once you can form the structure, test it yourself. See how much more effective it becomes. How much it differs from the original method."
"Hmm... Understood."
"Let's start with that for now. I'll check back in five days. And in two weeks, you'll take another Maryeong Shindan."
"How should I empty my dantian?"
"That's something you'll have to figure out yourself. Don't tell me I need to explain that too?"
"You could just tell me... Never mind. I'll handle it myself."
"Good. Then I'll come back in five days."
"As you wish."
Na-rin gave me that answer and went back to staring at her palm.
Right. She probably didn't have the mental energy to pay attention to me right now.
Any martial artist would naturally want to test a new technique immediately.
Having left the Falling Moon Manor, I headed straight for Qing Mountain.
There were things I needed to confirm, and I couldn't ask anyone else to do it.
Qing Mountain was still the same.
That pure, teeth-rotting sweetness. The kind of sight that made you cheer for them automatically.
But they still hadn't fully connected. Those two hadn't crossed the final line yet.
The flowers were blooming and the wind had grown quite warm.
So why hadn't spring's breeze touched those two yet?
Was the timing still too early? Did they need the flowers to bloom fully and the warm spring wind to blow gently before they could come together?
With those thoughts in mind, I headed to the Black Merchant Sect next.
Outer Hall Master Jeong Gwang. The guy who was still going through all sorts of hardships in his life.
I really couldn't understand it. Why live like that?
So hurry up and give me something to catch you on. Why aren't you doing anything suspicious?
After observing the Black Merchant Sect as well, I returned to Chang'an.
Then, remembering something, I stopped by the ruined Mount Hua Sect.
And just as I thought, in the golden vase placed in the Golden Heaven Palace, there was a branch with fully bloomed plum blossoms.
Baekbal Gwihwa. It must have been that woman.
Since the flowers hadn't wilted yet, it seemed like it had only been a few days.
If I'd been lucky, I might have run into her here. What a shame.
I left the Golden Heaven Palace and descended Mount Hua.
Mount Hua was a rocky mountain with no plum trees. To find a plum tree, I had to go all the way down to the base.
Once I found one, I broke off a branch, climbed back up Mount Hua, and placed it in the vase.
There was no deep meaning to it. I just felt like doing it.
It was simply a touch of regret that I hadn't been able to see the Mount Hua Sect I'd only known from martial arts novels.
After gazing at it for a moment, I returned to Chang'an.
I reviewed Seolha, Yeon-ha, and So-hye's martial arts.
We bathed together and tumbled around on the bed.
Through So-hye, I received reports on the Tang Family's situation.
I took a lap around Chang'an to see if anything unusual was happening.
I checked on the Hao Gate and made sure Maewol was doing well.
Oh right. I still needed to go flower-viewing with Yeon-ha.
And I had to go catch poisonous creatures with So-hye.
There was so much to do. Once I finished helping Na-rin with her training, I'd have to take care of those things too.
Five days later, in the morning, I visited the Falling Moon Manor again.
Unlike last time, Na-rin was already awake, so I went straight over and made my presence known.
"I'm here."
When I called out in front of the door, it flew open. Na-rin's face popped out as she shouted excitedly.
"Look at this!"
Na-rin thrust her hand forward.
At first I was startled, thinking she was cursing at me, but that wasn't it. Two segments of her fingers had turned pure white.
"You managed that much already? The honeycomb structure?"
"Yes! It's truly amazing! It really feels like the power has doubled! Would you like to see?"
She extended one finger and poked the wall with a sharp thunk.
A hole was instantly bored through the wall. Then her hand returned to normal before turning white again.
Another hole. But this one dug much deeper than the previous one.
"It's the same internal energy and the same power. Yet the effect is this much greater!"
"See? What did I tell you. But... only two finger segments?"
"T-that's... I worked really hard! But it's not that easy to..."
"I know. Originally it would have taken at least ten days even if you were fast."
"Ehh!?"
"Anyway, it looks like you've got the hang of it. Keep practicing."
Na-rin glared at me slightly, as if angry about being tricked.
Then, as if something occurred to her, she asked me.
"By any chance... doesn't absorbing the Maryeong Shindan originally take about two months?"
"What are you talking about? You're the one who said it would probably take you two months. I said two weeks would be enough."
"Ah, right. That's what happened. This lady was mistaken."
She paused again, then asked me carefully.
"Um... Did you really have to pass the Maryeong Shindan mouth-to-mouth?"
Oh no. Her suspicions had grown. Maybe saying five days was a mistake.
"Why? Do I seem suspicious to you?"
"No... That's not it... It's just that if that's the case, it could cause problems later, couldn't it? If this lady ever needs to pass on Geukche Jeon-gong to a disciple in the future..."
"Ah. That's true. Then just only accept female disciples."
"Eh?"
"Alright. I'll come up with another method."
Even though I said that, Na-rin's suspicion still seemed to linger.
Well, I could probably gloss over this. If I just said I worked hard to make it possible, that would be the end of it.
"Is the absorption of the Maryeong Shindan going well?"
"I'm working on it."
"Good. Completely emptying your internal energy is important. Anyway... everything seems to be progressing nicely, so I'll come back in five days."
"Huh? Aren't you going to teach me anything else?"
"You're quite greedy. Just focus on what you're doing now. One thing at a time."
Why did women like multitasking so much when they couldn't even concentrate on one thing properly?
Then again, men also tended to become neglectful of other things when they immersed themselves in one, so it was similar in that regard.
Each had their own strengths and weaknesses, I suppose.
Still, men did seem to have an advantage when it came to learning martial arts.
Because martial arts required deep focus.
That might be why men's realms were generally higher.