Realization
“Thank you for your instruction, Tang So-hyeong.”
Qingcheng bowed with a formal cupped-fist salute to Soyeong.
It was an odd sight: an elder of the Qingcheng Sect, a man nearing fifty, showing such respect to a girl who had not even come of age yet.
Awkward, and yet somehow not awkward at all.
For a martial artist, insight into the way of the sword was a grace beyond measure.
So it was only natural for Qingcheng to lower his head to Soyeong.
“...Yes.”
Soyeong brushed off Qingcheng’s thanks without much thought.
Not because she meant to be rude.
She simply had no room left in her head to worry about manners.
New.
She had not been the only one to gain enlightenment from that sword dance.
I thought there was nothing new left to find in Qingcheng’s sword...
But when she viewed it again, it was different.
No, it was not that Soyeong had personally swung the sword and come to understanding through her own movements.
Qingcheng, for all his modest appearance, was a true master who had refined Qingcheng’s sword to its absolute limit.
From observing that level of martial skill, from pointing out its shortcomings and then letting it be swung once more, she had arrived at something new.
At the very enlightenment her past self had searched for so desperately.
The path to the Life and Death Realm had come into view...!
The Life and Death Realm.
Known as the realm beyond the Profound realm, it was said to be the end of martial arts.
And yet there had never been anyone in Murim’s history who was known to have actually reached it.
People said the famed Dharmamaster and Zhang Sanfeng ascended to the Life and Death Realm and achieved liberation and transcendence respectively.
In other words, no one had ever reached that realm while still alive.
In my past life, I abandoned every martial art I had in order to touch the Life and Death Realm.
Strictly speaking, she had abandoned the forms.
Her past self could glimpse the essence of any martial art after seeing it only a few times, after swinging it a few times, and one day she had come to a realization.
Forms are, in the end, a road for those who do not know.
She already knew everything, so she had thought there was no need to cling to forms.
So she cast them all aside and rose one more level higher, but even then, she could feel that it was not the Life and Death Realm.
She had even considered trying a new method, but by then she had already been poisoned by demonic energy and could no longer walk.
I thought I was merely walking the road I had once walked before.
Living a new life in Soyeong’s body, she had thought she was simply rebuilding the martial arts she had once mastered.
But the scenery one sees while walking a road a second time is never the same as the first.
There were sights visible only on the second journey.
Thus, the one who could reach that realization had to be someone who had once stood at the peak and then relearned martial arts in the flesh.
It was a realm only Soyeong could reach.
Now I understand.
She traced the essence of Qingcheng martial arts and peered beyond it.
Perhaps this was the essence the founder of Qingcheng had wanted all along.
That essence settled into Hyeoncheon Jinwon Shingong and became a single form.
It was Qingyun Sword.
It was Chikha Sword.
It was also Qingfeng Sword, Songpin Sword, and Neungpin Sword.
In one single form, the martial essence of Qingcheng was gathered and unleashed.
Only after Soyeong, lost in that trance, swung her sword once did she become aware of the world around her again.
“...Clan Lord?”
“...Have you come to your senses?”
Tang Cheon-ak had been standing guard over Soyeong with Sun-hyeon.
Soyeong’s display of Qingcheng’s sword, perfected beyond Qingcheng himself, had been astonishing.
But the way she had then gained insight and swung her sword anew had been awe-inspiring.
It was a realm even Tang Cheon-ak himself could not have reached.
The realm of a grand master who created martial arts anew.
“Aaaah...! Aaaah!”
Qingcheng, having seen the true intent of the founder in the sword Soyeong had swung, was making strangled sounds.
He was crying, dropping to his knees, and worshipping Soyeong as though she were a god of martial arts.
If there truly was a deity of martial arts, would it not be the girl standing before him?
“Daoist Qingcheng.”
“...Yes.”
Just as he was wondering whether he should prostrate himself, Soyeong’s voice reached him, and his answer came a beat late.
Soyeong gave him a cupped-fist salute.
“I apologize for my rude remark earlier, when I said I had no interest in Qingcheng’s sword.”
“N-no, not at all! This young lady has shown us the essence of Qingcheng martial arts. How could I—”
“I gained enlightenment from Qingcheng’s sword.”
Enlightenment.
The catalyst by which a martial artist stepped beyond their limits and climbed to a new level.
There was no doubt that gaining it was something to be celebrated.
“In the process of that enlightenment, I created a single form. I would like to include the name Qingcheng in it, if you would permit me.”
“It would be an honor! Not just for me, but for everyone in the Qingcheng Sect.”
“Thank you for your generosity.”
“If I may... could I ask what you have named that sword form?”
Soyeong thought back on the sword she had just swung.
One sweep.
The Three-Wind Sword hidden within it, and the line between azure and crimson that it split apart.
“Qingcheng Wind and Cloud Returning Sword.”
The first form of Hyeoncheon Jinwon Shingong, which had once been nothing more than cutting, blocking, and thrusting, was now engraved anew.
“Qingcheng Wind and Cloud Returning Sword!”
Qingcheng sank to his knees and bowed his head, honoring the birth of a founder.
Not a single person there said that sight was ugly.
On the contrary, they all wished they could do the same.
I’m jealous.
Dharmamaster Jeonghyeon muttered inwardly as he looked at Qingcheng.
It should have been him who had taken part in the match.
Though Mount Emei was famous for its palms and spears, that did not mean it lacked sword arts.
If that child truly had the talent to reach the end of the sword, perhaps she could have awakened the essence of Mount Emei through Emei’s sword.
Amitabha. Even that is greed, I suppose.
Jeonghyeon chanted a prayer and drove the turmoil from his heart.
If Soyeong’s gaze had not landed on her, she would surely have been free of such thoughts by now.
“Dharmamaster Jeonghyeon.”
“Amitabha. How may I help you?”
“I would like to observe Mount Emei’s martial arts.”
At Soyeong’s words, Jeonghyeon felt the receding desire surge up again.
No, could this still be called temptation when what she had considered greed was now approaching on its own?
This was an opportunity.
“Then—!”
“No.”
Tang Cheon-ak cut between them.
Soyeong glared at him irritably, and Jeonghyeon shot him a resentful look.
Tang Cheon-ak ignored the glares and pointed at Soyeong’s body.
“At her current condition, it would be impossible.”
“Ah... yes, certainly.”
Jeonghyeon studied Soyeong through Tang Cheon-ak’s hand and nodded.
Soyeong’s body had already reached its limit.
Using a body that was, at best, only first-class, she had dueled a Qingcheng elder, demonstrated Qingcheng’s sword, and even created a new martial art.
All in the span of a very short time.
Soyeong had overreached.
“If it’s only observation, I can manage.”
“That’s greed.”
But Tang Cheon-ak did not yield.
Would Soyeong really just observe Mount Emei’s martial arts and stop there?
She would surely gain enlightenment again in no time and drive her body into the ground once more.
“...This is an order from your clan lord.”
“...Understood.”
Soyeong nodded obediently.
She acknowledged that what she had just said was reckless.
Her body had reached its limit.
Any new insight gained in this state would be poison.
“I’m sorry, Master.”
“Amitabha. No. We simply lacked the proper connection.”
“If it’s not too presumptuous, I would like to climb Mount Emei after I recover.”
“...By all means! Mount Emei will receive you as our honored guest!”
Jeonghyeon clasped both of Soyeong’s hands tightly as he spoke.
Soyeong’s gaze slipped toward Tang Cheon-ak.
He met it for a moment, then sighed and nodded.
It was permission.
“Once this young lady recovers, I’ll send her to Mount Emei. However...”
Tang Cheon-ak glanced lightly at Sun-hyeon.
It meant he would assign Sun-hyeon to accompany Soyeong whenever she moved.
That did not mean he would ever allow her to formally join Mount Emei.
“Amitabha. Just your visit is more than enough for us.”
“Th-then, uh... if possible...”
Qingcheng awkwardly joined the conversation.
Seeing that, Soyeong looked at Tang Cheon-ak.
Tang Cheon-ak caught on and answered Qingcheng for her.
“I’ll have her stop by Qingcheng as well.”
“Th-thank you! Qingcheng will also welcome you as our honored guest. I hope you’ll come and show us that sword again.”
Soyeong nodded at Qingcheng’s words.
Asking someone to demonstrate their martial arts could be rude, but she didn’t really care.
In the end, it was just her weaving together Qingcheng’s own art.
And even if two people looked at the same thing, what they understood from it would differ, so it hardly mattered.
Watching that, Qingcheng finally managed to take out a Qingyun Pill and offer it to Soyeong.
“I had so much on my mind that I nearly forgot... this is a Qingyun Pill. When you come to our sect next time, I’ll prepare something even better for you.”
“I won’t refuse.”
“Amitabha. Mount Emei will also prepare a small token of gratitude.”
“I look forward to that too.”
Seeing the spirit pill in her hand, the corners of Soyeong’s mouth lifted.
Whether her martial prowess was climbing or not, internal energy was always in short supply.
Elixirs were one of the fastest ways to replenish what she lacked.
She would visit each sect, observe their martial arts, and gradually complete Hyeoncheon Jinwon Shingong one form at a time.
And while she was at it, she’d strip some spirit pills from them too.
If she kept that up, her spirit, energy, and body would one day rise together to a new realm, and she would surely reach the Life and Death Realm she had once sought in her previous life.
This is becoming interesting.
Though, of course, she had revenge to finish first.
She had no idea how far Yeon So-ha had grown by now, but one thing was certain.
He would never reach the realm of Soyeong’s past life.
He lacked what was absolutely necessary to rise to the Profound realm.
Revenge would not be difficult.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Guangdong, Sapae Alliance Headquarters.
Two men stood before the vast ravine that served as the alliance lord’s training ground.
One was a handsome man with a neat face, holding a sword in his hand.
He was none other than the adopted son of the previous Sapae Alliance Lord, and the current Sapae Alliance Lord.
Yeon So-ha.
“Congratulations, Alliance Lord.”
A man who seemed to be one of his subordinates bowed low.
On one side of the ravine wall, a massive sword mark had been carved into the stone.
It was domineering and overwhelming, yet at its source it was nothing more than a third-class sword style anyone could see anywhere.
It was the trace of Hyeoncheon Jinwon Shingong.
And on the opposite wall, there was another trace of Hyeoncheon Jinwon Shingong.
Even more destructive, even more overwhelming.
“At last, you have reached the former alliance lord’s realm.”
That meant Yeon So-ha had completely absorbed the martial arts of the previous alliance lord.
And that he had now become the strongest person under heaven.
“The preparations are complete.”
Yeon So-ha muttered as he looked up at the sky, speaking the words like a declaration.
“We go to the Murim Alliance.”
South of the Yangtze, the sleeping Sapae Alliance had begun to move.