Chapter 75
Chapter 75
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: Sword Spirit
-----------------------------------------------------------------
—Whack!!
"Gah!"
Cheongun toppled straight backward.
Tears streamed from all five orifices of his face amid the massive pain.
It hurt. It fucking hurt like hell. His crown felt like it had shattered into pieces in an instant.
He'd nearly died.
Truly, he had come back from the brink of death.
Shit, was it because it had been so long since he'd taken a beating? The pain was brutally violent.
This was on par with the agony from the first time his master had "trained" him by beating him black and blue.
But did that even make sense?
This wasn't mere Protective Qi. It was Protective Hard Qi!
Just which fist in the world could pierce through Hard Qi to deliver pain like this?
Back then, he'd barely stepped into the Peak realm, and now he'd crossed the Wall?
But Jin Mu-seong knew full well that Cheongun had crossed the Wall.
That was why he'd ramped up the intensity of the training to match his disciple's growth.
And this was merely the beginning.
"U-na."
"……"
Cheongun nodded instead of answering.
The pain in his crown had momentarily sealed his throat.
"Have you sufficiently mastered the sword forms I've taught you so far?"
"Y-Yes... up to the sixth form."
"Ho ho, is that so?"
The Crimson Night Heaven-Severing Sword consisted of a total of twenty-four forms—an unparalleled sword art.
His master had said that the Heaven-Earth Primordial Unity Qi Art Cheongun cultivated was the finest heart method for mastering the Crimson Night Heaven-Severing Sword.
Most internal arts circulated qi through the body's vital acupoints, piercing and tempering the meridians.
Naturally, different heart methods utilized different vital points, which was why certain sword arts paired best with specific heart methods.
The synergy multiplied when practicing sword forms that leveraged the vital points developed through a given heart method.
That was why heart methods and sword arts were often bundled as sets.
"U-na, the heart method you've cultivated has pierced through every pore, meridian, and sub-meridian across your body—including the Dragon Fountain Acupoint—not to mention even the blocked qi passages ordinary people have. You can freely channel qi anywhere. Especially to places like the Lesser Shang Acupoint at your fingertips, the Hidden White Acupoint at your toes, or the Great Vertebra Acupoint along your spine. In typical sword arts, these are seen as points that disperse qi rather than concentrate sword qi, so they're blocked or ignored."
"Is that right?"
"Indeed. Ordinary sword arts focus solely on the major meridians—from the dantian to the Shoulder Well Acupoint, down the Curved Pool Acupoint in the arms, to the Great Abyss Acupoint at the wrists."
Jin Mu-seong continued.
"But the Crimson Night Heaven-Severing Sword is different. Its ultimate form lies in emitting sword qi from every pore and sub-meridian of the body, turning the body itself into a colossal sword and achieving the true realm of the Swordless Sword."
Cheongun was slightly impressed.
Indeed, before and after learning the sword art, he could tangibly feel how much easier it was to wield his qi.
He didn't grasp the exact theory, but his master's words about the harmony between heart method and sword art seemed spot on.
"So, it's time to proceed with the next phase of training."
"Pardon? Training?"
"I only taught you up to the sixth form since your realm was merely Peak. But now that you've properly crossed the Wall, it's time for the next twelve forms."
Training? That kind of training?
Cheongun began to sweat bullets.
At that moment, Jin Mu-seong rose from his seat.
"Let's begin right away."
"Pardon?!"
Suddenly? For real?
Jin Mu-seong hated hassle, dawdling, and any excuses to delay even more.
And sure enough.
Moments later, a massive torrent of qi erupted, spawning clusters of pure white Hard Qi in the air.
One, two, three, four... shit, how many were there?
The Hard Qi clusters intertwined, spiraling into complex trajectories as they surged forward.
It was a kind of sword form demonstration.
Cheongun freaked out.
"Wh-what? Just tell me verbally!"
"Keh heh heh! Too bothersome! With talent like yours, no need to cram each form into your head one by one! It's faster to let your body learn it directly!"
"Eek!"
Cheongun barely dodged the Hard Qi clusters tracing the sword forms as he shouted.
"Teach me the orthodox way!"
"What's the difference? This is the orthodox way."
"You madman, are you really trying to kill your disciple?!"
"Keh heh! Worry not. You won't die."
"Argh! Shit!"
Cheongun ended up staying in the secret meeting hall far longer than expected.
The reason was his master's mindless training.
Of course, "training" meant getting beaten senseless until the first twelve forms were forcibly imprinted into his flesh and blood.
But as promised, the results were tremendous.
Thanks to the Qi Sense stat he'd invested in during character creation, every blow let him forcibly absorb the sword form embedded in the Hard Qi clusters—its intent, will, and qi path.
"It hurts..."
Cheongun ground his teeth as he thought.
The training was utterly grueling. Yet its effects were equally outstanding.
With his master hovering tirelessly, offering pointers, Cheongun had grown far more adept at handling Hard Qi.
But why did it feel so unfair?
Was this even training? If the results were good, did the process not matter?
Cheongun pondered. On second thought, as long as it didn't cross certain lines, the process didn't truly matter if the outcome was solid. And no one knew that better than he did. Wasn't this yet another truth his master sought to impart?
Unlike his simmering resentment, he'd ultimately mastered the twelve forms smoothly, along with fixes for his flaws and the finer points of wielding sword radiance.
I may rampage recklessly, sweeping through everything in my path... but the result is the normalization of the murim, isn't it?
Look at it now. Though absorbing the secret meeting involved the drastic hostage ploy, it allowed him to divert his master's attention before he could kill the secret meeting lord, Black Orchid.
And that's not all. It gave Black Orchid—who had her sister held hostage—the wake-up call to surrender. Plus, two women who would've died by his master's hand survived purely due to his bold improvisation.
He'd settled his master's debts of gratitude and grudge. Absorbed the secret meeting. Saved Black Orchid and Moon Shadow.
Cheongun turned to Black Orchid, who sat quietly listening beside him.
"Hard to believe, but I planned it all."
"……"
"I saved your life. So I'm your benefactor."
"……"
"Repay that grace for life."
"……"
Black Orchid didn't bother responding.
There was nothing to say.
Having spent days with Cheongun, she'd gotten a rough read on his temperament.
Thus, she knew the best move when he spouted nonsense: don't refute him—pivot the topic entirely.
"Hey."
"What?"
"Can I ask one thing?"
Cheongun nodded.
"No."
"...Then why nod?"
"Shut up. Be quiet."
"……"
Crazy bastard.
But Black Orchid ignored it and asked anyway.
She was certain it'd pique his interest.
"That sword at your right waist. A demon sword, right?"
Cheongun blinked.
"You know about demon swords?"
"Of course."
"Tell me more."
"Simple enough. It's the magic sword forged by that Blood Demon Squad you slaughtered, using their grand ritual, isn't it?"
"You know your stuff. Any connection?"
Black Orchid shook her head.
"One day, they came to our hall seeking information. The Blood Mark Grand Ritual is a lost art nowadays. So they asked me for intel to complete it."
"And? Did you tell them?"
"As if. Even we who sell any info for the right price wouldn't peddle details on a perverse ritual demanding the hearts of boys and girls not yet past their teens. I played dumb and sent them packing."
Cheongun tilted his head.
"Played dumb? So you do know?"
"Naturally."
Curiosity sparked.
In the original story, demon sword lore was scant—just that it was a treasure of the Blood Cult.
Reading the intrigue in Cheongun's eyes, Black Orchid flashed a bewitching smile.
"You've been to the Blood Flow Valley."
"Yeah. Creepy as hell."
"The first requirement of the Blood Mark Grand Ritual is location. Mere yin energy won't cut it. Pick a remote spot devoid of human traffic and perform rituals over years to saturate the space itself with evil qi and yin."
Indeed.
There had been talismans scattered everywhere.
"Next comes pure blood. Gather corpses of those who've cultivated demonic arts—yet are under twenty—and extract their innate qi through refinement."
"Fucking insane."
"Heh heh. Insanely so. No wonder it's a demonic path grand ritual—and among the worst. Anyway, combine thousands of portions of blood, hearts, and innate qi. Refine it once more, again and again. The more you refine, the more the grudge spirits within devour each other in brutal survival struggles. Weaker souls perish, leaving only the strongest, most vengeful one. Seal that final soul into a sword, and you have your demon sword."
Cheongun scowled.
The more he heard, the more glad he was to have wiped them all out.
Black Orchid asked incredulously.
"Have you gripped it?"
"Dozens of times."
She nodded.
"Has the demon sword acknowledged you?"
"Acknowledged?"
"It must have, or how else could you wield it and stay sane?"
What the hell kind of leap was that?
As Cheongun stared blankly, Black Orchid asked back in surprise.
"You haven't met the sword spirit?"
"What's that?"
"The final soul residing in the sword."
"What happens if I do?"
"No idea. I only know the ritual calls its acknowledgment 'approval.'"
Approval? Cheongun's eyes widened.
He got it. Hidden piece. Fortuitous encounter.
He asked immediately.
"How do I get that approval?"
"Drench it in blood. Your blood."
Cheongun nodded and gathered sword qi at his fingertip, sharpening it.
Without hesitation, he slashed his other fingertip.
Drip, drip.
Red droplets fell to the floor.
He smeared them straight onto the demon sword.
In that instant.
—Thump! Thump!
A hallucinatory heartbeat echoed distantly.
The sword pulsed like a throbbing heart.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The vibrations grew louder and fiercer.
Suddenly, the sword slipped from Cheongun's hand and floated in midair.
The pitch-black bandages wrapping the hilt unraveled with a shra-la-la, falling away on their own.
Mysterious engravings on the sleek blade began to glow purple.
Rumble—rumble—rumble—!!
A explosive burst of purple flash erupted from the sword, engulfing the entire space.
The area drowned in purple, transforming into an entirely unfamiliar realm.
Cheongun's lips curled up.
Anticipation swelled.
'Fortuitous encounter!'
This was undoubtedly one.
And one even he had never seen before.
Gulp.
Purple lights scattered in the darkness.
They began coalescing in one spot.
A tiny dot at first, it grew, outlines forming. Hair took shape first, then face, then body.
And finally.
Whoooosh—!
The being revealed its full form.
Silver-white hair cascading smoothly, red pupils, clad in black robes—a woman.
She smiled.
Cheongun stared blankly, their eyes meeting.
She rose slowly and approached.
And lightly embraced him.