Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: I Don't Remember
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"...What did you just say?"
"Exactly as I said."
"That's why I'm asking. The Fiend Demon Squad just invited you while you were walking by? And on top of that, they urged you to help them with a human sacrifice?"
Cheongun nodded.
Sure, a lot of the process had been skipped, but it wasn't wrong.
Jin Mu-seong, on the other hand, couldn't make heads or tails of it.
"The Fiend Demon Squad—they're Demonic Cult rabble, aren't they?"
"That's what it seemed like."
Jin Mu-seong clicked his tongue.
"So, you happily tagged along after them?"
Cheongun flinched.
He had, in fact, gone along quite happily.
Demonic cultivators had come rolling in on their own two feet—how could he turn that down?
But if he said that outright, he'd get beaten under the guise of training again.
So he exercised some modern ingenuity and dressed up the events.
"I didn't just happily follow them. Come on, it was suspicious from the start, right? And the Fiend Demon Squad has such a notorious reputation."
Cheongun rattled on as best he could.
He didn't mix in any outright lies.
He simply omitted all the internal processes, motivations, and psychological causes leading to his actions.
They invited him, so he went.
Once there, they spouted nonsense, so he killed them all.
Jin Mu-seong was impressed.
No matter how swollen-headed his disciple was, he still valued his own life above all.
For such a person to crawl into a demon's lair just to take down Demonic Cult trash...
That spirit and courage befitted a true hero of the jianghu.
"But it's strange. Didn't you just call it a Demon Lord?"
"Yeah."
"A Demon Lord means at least someone who's broken through the peak realm."
"Probably."
"And it used a fan?"
Cheongun nodded.
Martial arts using fans are called Fan Methods.
Naturally, experts proficient in Fan Methods are rare in the jianghu compared to Sword Methods or Spear Methods.
A peak realm expert.
And a Fan Method master.
A person combining those two rare traits had an obvious identity.
"...The Soul-Devouring Demon Lord?"
As expected of his master.
Cheongun nodded.
"Haha, you killed that old monster?"
"I shredded it to pieces with the sword basics you taught me."
Cheongun said proudly.
But Jin Mu-seong couldn't accept it easily.
"Haha, no way. No matter how much you push your sword qi, it can't pierce the Sword Aura wielded by someone who's crossed that wall."
Sword Aura isn't just compressed sword qi.
It's the stage where one's intent infuses sword qi compressed to its limit—Sword Qi into Sword Aura, shortened to Sword Aura.
Wielding Sword Aura means one's history and study of swinging the sword has finally reached a realm.
In other words, Sword Aura forms the essence of martial arts into shape and swings it, so mere sword qi would be sliced like paper no matter how much you throw at it.
"Even if the heart method you learned is exceptionally pure and your accumulated inner energy is refined, that alone can't bridge that gap."
"It did, though?"
"...Explain in detail."
Cheongun gestured animatedly as he explained.
He added as much detail as possible, fearing a vague account wouldn't convince him.
The guy kept pulling out his energy beams, black like filthy sludge.
Cheongun shoved in purified Primordial Unity Qi because it looked so dirty, and cracks formed like dried, twisted mud—crack!
Seemed promising, so he poured in more power, and gaps opened up?
Then he kept pushing, and his sword qi devoured the energy beams.
Cheongun finished his explanation.
"Haha."
Jin Mu-seong was dumbfounded.
The color of one's martial arts ultimately stems from the practitioner's mindset.
But sometimes, martial arts perfected to an extreme can even dominate the mindset.
That was why demonic arts experts' energy appeared like filthy black sludge.
'That's why demonic arts are dangerous.'
Demonic arts handle negative energies, so at lower realms, they outpower orthodox arts and progress faster.
But that's it.
Isn't the ultimate goal of Daoist martial arts ascension to immortality?
To achieve that requires the unity of essence, qi, and spirit through virtuous conduct, but practicing demonic arts makes one slave to desires, clouds the mind, and muddies the qi, deviating from the heavenly path from then on.
Only upon reaching the peak does that deviation become a fatal barrier, blocking them at the 'enlightenment' wall, wasting their years in vain.
That's why peak experts are common in the Demonic Cult, but absolute masters who've surpassed that wall are far fewer than in the orthodox sects.
So he couldn't understand it.
Piercing energy beams with sword qi?
It was like cracking a rock with an egg.
"..."
Jin Mu-seong stared quietly at Cheongun.
He was a headache in many ways, but not the type to lie over something trivial.
That meant his disciple's words were all true.
Under that assumption, one possibility emerged.
'Subduing Demon True Qi.'
Shaolin martial arts fundamentally subdue demons.
The true purpose of monks devoting themselves to sutras, cultivating the mind, and training the body daily is to vanquish all worldly delusions and demons.
And even in Shaolin, there's an absolute art.
Not just repelling demons, but suppressing them in reverse.
Called Subduing Demons.
"..."
Jin Mu-seong placed a hand on Cheongun's shoulder.
At first, he thought it was a Daoist heart method due to the dense vital energy, but now he also sensed the profound subduing demon nature felt only in high-virtue monks.
"My disciple."
"Yes?"
"That heart method you learned. Its name is..."
"Heaven-Earth Primordial Unity Qi Art."
"Right, that one. You said it's a family heirloom martial art?"
"Yes."
Jin Mu-seong chuckled.
Heaven-Earth Primordial Unity Qi Art?
Even Jin Mu-seong, who had wandered the jianghu for ages encountering all sorts of martial arts, had never heard of it.
No surprise there.
Aren't geniuses and eccentrics beyond common sense scattered like grains of sand along the Yangtze in the jianghu?
It wasn't shocking if some supreme demon-subduing divine art existed undiscovered, and his disciple had chanced upon it as a child.
He was dying to know when and where he'd gained such fortune, but Jin Mu-seong just smiled.
No matter how strict the master-disciple hierarchy, prying into a warrior's fortunes went against propriety.
So he didn't ask.
Just commendable.
"Impressive."
"A bit."
"Haha, yes. A true warrior must be so confident in all things. Well done."
Cheongun sneaked a peek at his master's mood.
For some reason, he seemed much happier.
He swallowed a sigh of relief.
And flashed a bright smile to flatter him.
Who knew? He might toss another 'gift' in his good mood.
That was when it happened.
"That sword—did you get it from the Demon Lord you killed?"
"Yeah."
"You like it that much?"
Cheongun pondered.
Like it? Of course.
An endgame weapon—how could he not?
"So, from now on, you'll carry that sinister sword instead of the one your master gave you, no matter what?"
"Uh... probably?"
"What about the sword I bestowed upon you?"
"Uh, should I give it back?"
That was when it happened.
"Out!"
Smack—!
A sudden fist slammed into the back of Cheongun's head.
Cheongun had heightened his senses, yet he hadn't sensed a thing.
Damn, was that even possible?
At that level, the entire process from extending the arm to throwing the punch was omitted entirely.
Jin Mu-seong looked at Cheongun groaning while clutching his crown and said,
"I won't nitpick your attachment to that weapon."
"Then why hit me!"
"But neglecting your master's sword is unacceptable."
Cheongun felt like jumping out of his skin.
What was he supposed to do about limited weapon slots?
It was a one-handed sword from the start, not a two-hander!
Was he supposed to dual-wield now?
Weapons were a warrior's life, so what was wrong with carrying a better sword?
Not to mention, the Crimson Night Sword looked tacky from the name alone.
The blade was worn and rough, the hilt plain and crude—like a sword for an old master.
But he couldn't say, 'The sword you gave me looks like something for dusty elders, so I can't use it' to his master.
Who knew what that grumpy old man would do.
So as he clutched his throbbing crown and held his tongue,
Jin Mu-seong spoke.
"The sword from your master is your life."
"That's why I'm not carrying it around! Something as precious as life should be kept safe, not toted everywhere!"
"Haha, enough. No backtalk."
This is unfair.
But he could sort of understand Jin Mu-seong's position.
As he pondered, Jin Mu-seong provided the answer.
"Carry both."
"Huh?"
Both?
Dual swords?
"Dual wielding is a bit..."
"Haha, not that."
"Then what?"
Jin Mu-seong clicked his tongue and said,
"Simple. Just wield both swords at the same time."
"That's dual wielding."
"There's more than dual wielding."
There was?
What?
No, did he even need to know?
He just wanted to use the good sword, and it wasn't like his master was offering an even better one—why the nagging?
"Don't want to?"
"Yes."
"Without even hearing it?"
"What is it?"
Jin Mu-seong grinned at the grumbling Cheongun.
And said,
"Qi Sword Control."
Hearing that, Cheongun blinked dumbly.
"...Qi Sword Control?"
"Yes."
"The one I know?"
"That's right."
Jin Mu-seong clicked his tongue.
"Since you don't want to, nothing to be done. It's a shame, but as your master, I can't force what you refuse to learn. I'll be off."
As Jin Cheon-u rose from his seat,
Cheongun, who had been standing tall, suddenly dropped to his knees and prostrated flat on the floor.
"What are you doing?"
"This unworthy disciple dared doubt the heaven-like teachings of my master."
"Haha, weren't you just saying no?"
"I don't remember."
"......"