The Jeomchang Sect's First Day
Clop. Clop.
The preferred mode of travel for any Murim expert is light-footwork. Only those who have reached the Super-Peak Realm can outpace a horse, yet most martial artists still prefer to travel on their own two feet. The moment you bring a horse or carriage into the picture, you inherit the endless chores of caring for the animal and the vehicle. When you weigh the fatigue, the baggage, and the extra work that come with managing a mount, simply walking is far more peaceful.
Speaking of carriages, that reminds me…
“Tch! We’re going back, Brother!”
“W-wait! I really don’t need to ride—!”
“What nonsense is that? Leaving the Bicheon Carriage behind to walk? We’re leaving now!”
“Aaaaagh!”
Tang Do-gyeong returned to the Tang Family Estate aboard the Bicheon Carriage. Once again, the wheels of that cursed vehicle were stained with another passenger’s blood.
I hope I get to see Tang Do-gyeong alive again someday.
At any rate, Heukmyo, Hyeok Gi-rin, and I had purchased a carriage of our own and were heading for the Jeomchang Sect. Both Heukmyo and Hyeok Gi-rin were the sort who could travel comfortably only when free of prying eyes. The real reason we needed a carriage, though, was that Hyeok Gi-rin had gone on a shopping spree for gifts to bring her fellow disciples.
“Heh-heh, and so you see!”
“Ah, that makes perfect sense…!”
Whatever they were talking about, the two of them looked thoroughly delighted. Heukmyo’s fondness for Hyeok Gi-rin had already climbed to a respectable height. This was the first time I had ever seen Heukmyo show genuine interest in anyone besides me…
They truly did make a good pair. As a woman living in male disguise, Hyeok Gi-rin had never been able to open up freely to a same-sex friend, and Heukmyo, under the influence of her Extreme Yin constitution, had found it equally difficult to form friendships with other women. Even without dwelling on those circumstances, the friendship between Heukmyo and Hyeok Gi-rin was clearly deepening.
Maybe this will finally teach Heukmyo the joy of having companions.
“Mm…”
I scratched the back of my neck. Lately I had been so absorbed in my own training that I had left Heukmyo completely on the back burner, and my conscience was starting to sting. Once I finished learning the basics of the Single Flash Blue Cloud Sword from Hyeok Gi-rin, I should ask her to look after Heukmyo’s training for a while.
While the two of them enjoyed their private girl talk, I drove the carriage, treating their cheerful chatter as background music.
“Oh, we’re here.”
My first impression of the Jeomchang Sect was… ordinary, really. If anything left a lasting mark, it was Mount Sunam itself rather than the sect nestled upon it. The mountain’s shape was nothing special, the kind you might find anywhere, yet it radiated such potent vital energy that any martial artist could feel the mountain’s essence the moment they set foot on its slopes.
“Great Senior Brother! You’ve returned!”
“Mm. I’m back. Ja-hyeong, Cheong-mun. Have you both been well?”
“What trouble could there be within the sect? More importantly, Great Senior Brother, have you been free of mishap?”
“I have. We’ll catch up later—guests have arrived, so open the gates.”
A sudden curiosity struck me.
Just how widely is Hyeok Gi-rin’s true gender known inside the Jeomchang Sect? Yeo Il-ye had clearly been aware… but that was the sect’s business to manage, not mine.
“First, let us go pay our respects to the Sect Leader.”
“Understood.”
The Guest Hall where visitors stayed was customarily located on the outer edge of a sect’s grounds, while the building used by the Sect Leader himself stood at the very heart of the compound.
“Great Senior Brother! You’ve come back!”
“Mm. It has been a while.”
Every disciple we passed along the way welcomed Hyeok Gi-rin’s return with open delight. Under their curious gazes we finally reached the Sect Leader’s Hall.
“Sect Leader. Your great disciple Hyeok Gi-rin has returned, bringing with her the benefactors of your disciple Yeo Il-ye.”
“Show the guests in.”
The Sect Leader of the Jeomchang Sect—Severing Cloud Sword Heo Gong-seo. His current realm was almost certainly the Transformation Realm.
“I pay my respects to the renowned Sect Leader of the great Jeomchang Sect. As a Sichuan nangin, I must ask your understanding that I cannot reveal my name.”
“I greet the Sect Leader of the Jeomchang Sect. For the same reason, I hope you will understand that I too cannot give my name.”
“Hahaha, of course. I am Heo Gong-seo, master of the Jeomchang Sect.”
Heo Gong-seo almost certainly already knew both Heukmyo’s name and mine, yet he chose the basic formal response. It was a transparent pretense, but a Sichuan nangin simply could not announce their true name in a setting like this.
“I have heard a great deal about the two of you. You have given our Il-ye considerable help, I am told.”
“We merely happened to cross paths.”
“Is that so… Even that is a form of fate. And that fate has continued to this very day, has it not? Primordial Heavenly Lord…”
Heo Gong-seo intoned the Daoist honorific before continuing.
“Because you aided Il-ye in every possible way, and because a bond already existed between you and Hyeok Gi-rin, I felt it only proper to invite you here so that our sect might offer its gratitude in person.”
“We are grateful for your kindness.”
“I cannot claim that our hospitality is particularly outstanding, yet Mount Sunam itself pours forth pure vital energy. For those who cultivate martial arts, that alone is a great boon. If you have the leisure, why not remain a while, draw upon the mountain’s essence, and temper both your martial skill and your heroic spirit?”
“To accept Sichuan nangin as guests… I worry we may only cause you trouble.”
“Hahahaha. Failing to treat our benefactors properly simply because of their station would be a stain upon the name of Jeomchang itself. Think nothing of it and rest at ease.”
“We are deeply grateful for such generous hospitality.”
“Mm… Great Disciple Hyeok Gi-rin, listen well.”
“Yes, Sect Leader!”
“We have gone to great lengths to welcome these two precious guests. Attend to them with all your heart. As Great Senior Brother you have other duties, but I shall assign those to other disciples so that you may devote yourself entirely to hosting them. Understood?”
“I obey!”
So I’ll be able to keep learning from Hyeok Gi-rin. Not a bad arrangement at all.
“You must be weary after the long journey. First unpack your belongings in the Guest Hall and rest thoroughly.”
“Yes, Sect Leader. We shall take our leave.”
Once we stepped out of the Sect Leader’s Hall, Hyeok Gi-rin wore a light smile.
“Well then. It seems the three of us will be training martial arts together for some time. Heh-heh. I look forward to working with you both.”
“Shouldn’t we be the ones saying that? You’re our temporary teacher, after all.”
“Mm… ‘Teacher’ is a bit much…”
Hyeok Gi-rin looked bashful at Heukmyo’s words.
“Senior Sister may already have received lively instruction from Hero Hyeok Gi-rin, but this is my first time, so I’m rather looking forward to it. To be honest, I’ve never properly learned martial arts from anyone before.”
“Then… you mean to say you have trained solely through self-study until now?”
“Well… strictly speaking it isn’t quite that simple… but it’s true that I’ve never had anyone I could call a master.”
“I see. In that case, if you train diligently here at Jeomchang, you may well break through your current wall!”
Enthusiasm blazed in Hyeok Gi-rin’s eyes. Heukmyo watched her clench her fists and burn with resolve, then chuckled softly.
“I doubt Super-Peak is something one reaches so easily… but I’ll be counting on you.”
“Of course! Leave it to me!”
Reassuring, isn’t she?
And so the first day at the Jeomchang Sect drew to a close, and our true life within the sect began.
In the world of martial arts novels, one often encounters something called “subtle principles.”
So what exactly are these subtle principles?
If you simply tense every muscle and swing a sword, does that make it a “strong sword”? One cannot say it is entirely wrong, yet it is only half the truth.
Qi reinforcement is the true beginning of martial arts. Once a martial artist advances beyond merely sensing and accumulating energy and reaches the threshold of actively employing it—once they step into the First-rate realm and grasp the subtlety of Qi reinforcement—they become able to process and utilize that energy.
The question then becomes how one processes that energy.
The methods of processing, classified according to their nature, are precisely what we call subtle principles. A sword art said to contain the principle of Strength, for example, incorporates an internal-energy circulation method that amplifies the sword’s destructive power.
The Single Flash Blue Cloud Sword was a sword art that contained four such principles:
Strength, Speed, Change, and Softness.
Considering that most First-rate sword arts deal with only a single principle, this one could only be called greedy.
“Ordinarily a First-rate sword art focuses on a single principle. In that sense, I cannot particularly recommend the Single Flash Blue Cloud Sword… yet does Wanderer Ho have a reason for wishing to learn this art?”
A martial artist who has reached the First-rate realm, regardless of status or raw talent, concentrates on one goal alone:
reaching the Peak Realm.
Anyone can reach First-rate through effort alone—anyone except my past self, that is. Talent and diligence only determine how long it takes; eventual arrival is never in doubt.
The Peak Realm is different.
The Peak Realm is a star that effort alone can never grasp.
Some open that realm only through a once-in-a-lifetime flash of insight; others of rare talent comprehend its truths through pure training. Yet every path converges on a single conclusion.
Only those who have truly understood the principles of martial learning earn the right to stand at the Peak.
That is why most First-rate arts contain only a single subtle principle. Even if one pours every ounce of focus into mastering that one principle, there is no guarantee of grasping the martial truth that leads to the Peak. How, then, could anyone afford to glance at other principles?
And yet the Single Flash Blue Cloud Sword held four of them.
I had chosen this very art precisely because of that characteristic.
“Yes. That is correct. So I ask for your guidance.”
“Very well! A martial artist’s path is one each person carves for themselves! That resolve! That spirit! This Hyeok Gi-rin shall assist you with all her strength!”
“Yes!”
I answered with a spirited shout of my own.
This Ho Cheon-an—eight years after being dropped into Murim Cheonha and rolling through the mud like a dog—
was finally stepping through the true gates of martial learning.