Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: No Thoughts, No Forms
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Cheongun did his utmost to flatter his master.
Honestly speaking, he wondered if it was really necessary to go this far.
But what could he do? He couldn't hold back.
It wasn't anything else—it was the Sword Control Technique!
Missing this chance would mean regretting it for the rest of his life.
Cheongun sneakily gauged his master's mood.
Jin Mu-seong narrowed his brow as he gazed at Cheongun.
Normally, when it came to training, Cheongun would tremble and come up with every excuse under the sun to dodge it.
Yet here he was, for some reason, throwing himself headfirst into begging for instruction.
He must really want to learn it that badly, huh?
Seeing him like this filled Jin Mu-seong with surging pride, and his shoulders lifted.
"Very well. I shall pass down the Sword Control Technique to you."
Sword Control Technique passed down.
At those words, Cheongun whipped his head up from its bowed position, his face lighting up.
Jin Mu-seong asked,
"What is sword control?"
"Hm."
Cheongun thought about it.
What was sword control?
Wasn't it just the sword flying around through the air like a wireless drone?
"To begin with, sword control isn't a specific technique."
"Oh?"
"Let me give you an example. What is sword qi?"
"Isn't it drawing qi from your dantian out beyond the sword?"
"Correct. But that doesn't make sword qi a technique. Sword control is the same. It's merely a feat made possible by freely manipulating your internal energy."
Cheongun fell deep into thought at those words.
Sword control wasn't a technique, but a feat.
Thinking about it, he could kind of see the difference.
So sword qi and sword control were like passive skills, while techniques were active skills?
Mapping his master's teachings onto game terms made it so much easier to understand.
"There are stages you must master first to wield the Sword Control Technique."
Cheongun nodded.
The Sword Control Technique was the final skill in the sword arts skill tree.
Of course, you'd have to unlock it step by step by learning the preceding skills.
He racked his brain, dredging up old memories.
Pure Morning Dew → Sword-Man Unity → Attracting from Empty Air → Sword Control Technique.
Was that the order? Seemed right.
Just to check, he asked casually, and his master burst into unexpected laughter.
"Sometimes you're dumber than anyone I've ever seen, but other times, you're sharp as a ghost."
"Haha, I have my moments."
"If you already know, that makes this easier. The realm of Pure Morning Dew may sound complicated, but it's simple in truth."
"What is it?"
"It means achieving an extreme purity in your internal energy and perfectly controlling even the qi leaking out of your body."
Cheongun paused to think.
The nature of his internal energy?
Since he used natural qi as-is, it was naturally pure.
Control over internal energy?
From character creation, he'd maxed out his qi sense stat, so that wasn't hard either.
Cheongun exclaimed in admiration.
"Nailed it, right?"
No, seriously.
That was exactly him.
"Listen carefully from now on."
"Yes, sir."
"The principle of moving an external sword with qi is simple. You divide your qi into two parts: the qi inside your body and the qi outside it."
Cheongun pondered.
Qi inside the body would be internal energy.
Qi outside... natural qi, right?
"You infuse the qi outside your body into the sword and connect it to the qi inside to control it. That's the Sword Control Technique. They call it imbuing the sword with intent."
"Aha."
"But how do you imbue intent into a sword you're not even touching? That's why you need the realm of Sword-Man Unity. Only when you become one with the sword can you imbue it with intent, right?"
"Then what about Attracting from Empty Air?"
"It's just semantics. Sword Control Technique and Attracting from Empty Air both involve projecting qi externally to move objects. The difference is that imbuing intent into a sword takes a lot of internal energy. If your internal energy is weak and you control the sword poorly, it's called Attracting from Empty Air. If your internal energy is profound and the control is free and effortless, it's called Sword Control Technique."
What?
So in the end, it all boiled down to having more internal energy?
Perfect.
Natural qi was everywhere for Cheongun, and it was essentially his internal energy. No one could match him there.
"Then that Sword-Man Unity? How do you achieve it?"
"How? Through training, obviously."
"No, I mean, how do you train for it?"
"Simple. Empty your mind."
"Pardon?"
What the...?
Empty your mind?
What kind of monk talk was that?
"Tsk tsk. You dimwit. Listen well."
His master's explanation continued.
Humans are composed of essence, qi, and spirit.
Qi gathers in the body, and that qi forms the spirit.
His master said that repeating this process through training is what martial arts are.
Using spirit to manipulate qi to temper the body—that is, essence.
Why did cultivating internal energy through mind methods also strengthen the body as achievement grew?
It was the same principle: cultivating internal energy was itself using qi to temper the body.
Thus, his master argued, you ultimately needed to temper the spirit, the root of qi.
That was why Daoist martial arts demanded meditation at every opportunity, and why Buddhist monks recited sutras to empty their minds.
"You, Cheongun, have a turbid mind. No, it's downright filthy."
"Hey, even if that's true, calling your disciple filthy?"
"You sold the gift I gave you at auction just to pocket a few coins. How rotten is that heart of yours?"
"……"
Was it?
Well, maybe, but still.
"So I should meditate all day?"
"Yes. You're not even thirty yet, so with consistent training, you'll see results soon enough."
"How long will that take? I can't use it right away?"
"Haha, do you think Sword Control Technique is your neighbor's dog or something?"
Jin Mu-seong chuckled heartily.
"There is one quickest way to temper the spirit."
There was?
Cheongun's eyes sparkled.
"Do you know of the Bedroom Arts?"
"No, what's that?"
"It's a training method that supplements yin qi from women to harmonize yin and yang."
"...?"
Supplement yin qi from women?
What did that mean?
Cheongun stared at his master with a blank face.
"Hoho, you don't even know about replenishing yin through chastity?"
"What's that?"
"Simple. Have relations with a woman rich in yin qi to supplement your own. When a man overflowing with yang qi gains yin qi, harmony between yin and yang is achieved, clearing the mind and sharpening intent."
"......"
Did I hear that wrong?
Cheongun rubbed his ears.
Then looked at his master again.
"Only when yin and yang harmonize does stability of body and mind follow, right?"
"Uh, um. So you're saying...?"
Jin Mu-seong smiled warmly.
And emphasized once more, word for word.
"Try the Bedroom Arts. Or read sutras to cultivate yourself."
Cheongun agonized.
No way that was real.
This as training?
Did that even make sense?
It sounded like something a lecherous Demonic Cultist would do.
Honestly, he couldn't believe it.
So he looked up the Bedroom Arts.
And sure enough, it was a real training method.
Even recognized by various sects as a Daoist cultivation practice.
But the method was tricky.
You couldn't indulge in lust during the act.
Nor could you blindly abstain.
The goal was harmony of yin and yang, with everything else mere means to that end.
So the moment you indulged in desire, it all became useless.
No, have sex without any desire at all?
Damn, did that even make sense?
Was he supposed to hook up with some unidentified, ultra-obese woman the total opposite of his type?
It was truly an absurd cultivation method.
Jeok Hwa-ryeon, who had been answering his questions one by one, tilted her head.
"But, Pavilion Lord. Why the Bedroom Arts?"
"You don't need to know."
Cheongun agonized.
Everything was prepared for wielding the Sword Control Technique.
But he couldn't because he hadn't tempered his spirit—the 'spirit' part of essence, qi, and spirit.
This was a disaster like no other.
Ah, how bleak.
His dream of sword flight crumbling like this.
"Why? Interested in the Bedroom Arts?"
"I was."
"...Really?"
Jeok Hwa-ryeon sneakily gauged Cheongun's mood.
"Then just do it."
"With who?"
"Do I really have to say it out loud?"
She gave him a meaningful glance.
Not sure if the oblivious Pavilion Lord would catch on.
At that moment, Cheongun said,
"You said it yourself earlier. The moment desire arises, it doesn't count as training."
"Huh?"
Jeok Hwa-ryeon blinked dumbly.
Then mulled over his words.
Because desire would ruin the training?
That meant...
"!!!"
Hwa-ryeon's cheeks flushed bright red.
She covered her mouth with both hands.
Her heart pounded in her ears.
Meanwhile, Cheongun was deeply troubled in various ways.
Because the Sword Control Technique still dangled tantalizingly before his eyes.
The Bedroom Arts were out for now.
The conditions were practically impossible.
Well, anyway, the core was emptying the mind, right?
There had to be another way if he looked.
With that, Cheongun sank into contemplation.
Emptying the mind.
Did that mean a state with no thoughts, no emotions, no desires?
When was my mind most at peace?
Couldn't remember.
No, wait—wasn't it just about supplementing yin qi?
Of course, it had to be pure, refined yin qi.
Come to think of it, there was one fated encounter like that.
"...Millennium Snow Ginseng."
Millennium Snow Ginseng.
The legendary elixir for ice art practitioners, but at its core, it was the crystallization of the purest yin qi between heaven and earth.
A spiritual herb grown for thousands of years absorbing only extreme yin qi from ice and snow—where could you find purer yin qi than that?
That was when.
"Pavilion Lord."
"Hm?"
Hwa-ryeon peeked her head in.
And smiled shyly.
"You've been staring at me like that this whole time?"
"What?"
"Yeah. Well, I get it. You're a man too. If it were some other guy, I'd be annoyed, but with you... maybe not so bad."
Hwa-ryeon poked Cheongun's chest with her finger.
"I told you, right? I'd be loyal forever."
Then she inched her face closer.
For a moment, it felt like his heart dropped.
Cheongun closed his eyes.
And repeated inwardly.
Mental peace. Stability. No thoughts, no forms. Harmony of essence, qi, spirit. Sword Control Technique. Sword flight. For that, temper the spirit...
Damn, his head was hot and his heart racing.
It was undoubtedly an unexpected crisis.
He was deep in agony when.
Hwa-ryeon blushed and giggled.
"Oh, right. You said if you feel desire for your partner, the training fails?"
"..."
"Then it'd be tough for you, huh? I can tell just from your face. Right?"
Her teasing continued.
Cheongun grinned.
Swish—
At the same time, he pulled out the wooden clacker he'd received from the Mad Monk.
And.
—Crack!
"Kyaa!"
"Don't climb higher."
"Damn it! Are you crazy, Pavilion Lord?"
"I'm always crazy."