Because, Well... I Killed Him.

Three Talents Cultivation Method.

It was the most basic, easiest-to-learn internal cultivation method in existence, capable of building a qi foundation purer than any other breathing technique. Since it was a manual cheap enough to buy with the few coins a pickpocket could scrounge up, its easy availability was another point in its favor.

So why, then, did most martial artists refuse to learn such a merit-laden cultivation method?

The answer lay in one colossal flaw.

"Your qi-gathering speed is slower than dirt."

Because the internal energy it built was so extremely refined, recovery after use was quick. But imagine telling your opponent mid-life-or-death duel to please wait a moment while your inner power recharged. What kind of reaction do you suppose you'd get?

Cheon Seolhyeon gave a scornful little laugh and shrugged.

"They'd just run you through and call it a day."

"Exactly. And with a qi-gathering speed that slow, breaking through to higher realms becomes nearly impossible too."

To advance from Third-Rate to Second-Rate, one had to grasp how to reinforce the body with internal energy. To go from Second-Rate to First-Rate, one had to learn to infuse that energy into weapons. Unless you were a genuine genius, it was far from easy to arrive at those realizations starting from a trickle of internal power.

That was also why the pampered heirs of the great clans, who swallowed elixirs like candy, enjoyed such lofty realms. No matter how meager your talent, when your body overflowed with qi, those insights practically delivered themselves.

"So how did you manage it, then?"

"That would be... because I'm a genius?"

Cheon Seolhyeon puffed out her cheeks and spat the words out flatly.

"Insufferable."

"So — just one more technique."

Those soft, squishy cheeks had ballooned up like bubble gum, and before I knew it, my finger was reaching out to poke them.

And the very next moment—

Chomp.

Cheon Seolhyeon bit straight down on my index finger.

"Ah! Hey! Are you insane?!"

"Mmph mmph mmph mmph! Mmph mph mmph mmph mmph?! (You're the crazy one! Who asks for someone else's martial arts?!)"

"I already gave you one earlier, what's wrong with one more?"

"You really are a shameless little bastard, you know that?"

Wiping the saliva from my finger, I glared at her.

"So — are you giving it to me or not?"

"Why would I hand my clan's martial arts to just anyone, are you out of your mind?! Besides, you said you were heading to the Taoist sect anyway. In that case, going as you are now is the best option."

"Why?"

"Because it'll make it easier for you to accept the sect's teachings."

"Hmm..."

I closed my eyes and sank into thought for a moment. Come to think of it, how was I supposed to copy a cultivation method, exactly? Did I just need to watch her perform her breathing exercises?

"Then at least show me what your qi circulation looks like."

"Show you? Have I lost my mind? Ptooey. Get lost."

It was a battle between someone absolutely determined never to have her martial arts stolen, and someone determined to steal them by any means necessary. The one forced to give up first could only be me.

What could I do when she flatly refused?

"...Fine, whatever."

"Giving up this easily? That's unusual. I expected you to cling harder."

"The chance will come eventually."

If it wasn't something she could give to just anyone, then the answer was simple — I just had to stop being a nobody. If I stayed by her side, treated her well, and built up her trust, one day she'd open her heart and lay her arts at my feet.

Picturing that future, I found myself smiling for some reason.

But at my words, Cheon Seolhyeon's expression suddenly curdled.

"You... don't tell me you're planning to sneak into my room in the dead of night just to watch me circulate my qi?"

"I mean, it did cross my mind."

Cheon Seolhyeon shot me a frigid sideways glare, thick loathing soaking every line of it.

"You demented pervert. Go die somewhere. Stop breathing too. You're wasting perfectly good ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠air."

"I was joking."

"Doesn't sound like it."

"..."

"..."

A heavy silence descended. For a long while after that, I simply had to endure the weight of Cheon Seolhyeon's suspicious stare.

What finally shattered the awkward atmosphere was the fragrant smell of food drifting over from somewhere far away. I looked at the plates clinging magnetically to Jeomsoyi's arms, somehow keeping their balance, and marveled.

"...Now that's something I can't copy."

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing."

Jeomsoyi set the dishes down in front of us, calling out as she did.

"Dongpo pork, sweet-and-sour ribs, and two bowls of beef noodle soup!"

"...You can eat all this?"

"Probably? If I can't finish it, well, it was worth a try."

I drooled at the beautiful spread of dishes laid out before me. In my past life, I'd lived as a hermit deep in the mountains and never once had a proper meal. Just how long had it been since I'd eaten a real cooked dish?

Thanking the second chance at life I'd been granted, I set my chopsticks moving at full speed. The moment I scooped up a piece of dongpo pork and popped it into my mouth, tears came streaming down my cheeks before I could stop them.

"Holy sh—"

"...Is it really that good? I thought men weren't supposed to cry."

"A man is allowed three tears in his life."

This was the first of this lifetime, so it was perfectly legal, thank you very much. Ignoring the look of pure incredulity she was giving me, I buried my face practically inside the plate and began inhaling everything in sight.

And then, a shadow suddenly fell across the table.

"...Huh? No way—"

CRASH—

A man came crashing down onto the table. Cheon Seolhyeon and I dodged out of the way without trouble, but the dishes hadn't exactly mastered any martial arts. Broken table splinters, shattered porcelain, and food went flying in every direction.

Chopsticks still in hand, Cheon Seolhyeon muttered with the weariness of a woman deeply wronged.

"...I'd only had one bite."

"Ughh..."

I looked down quietly at the man groaning on the ground. He wore green Taoist robes and looked to be just past thirty. Every time he rolled in pain, a sword at his waist rattled against the floor.

"Oh, that's—"

The tip of Cheon Seolhyeon's pale, slender finger pointed at the taiji emblem ornamenting the pommel of his sword.

"That's... a lay branch of the Taoist sect, isn't it? The symbol used by the Taeeul Sect."

"...Is that so."

That wasn't what mattered to me right now, though. What mattered was that my food was ruined before I could finish it. I turned my head toward the direction the man had come flying from.

There stood four men and one woman in black martial robes, ringed around the two Taoists. Emblazoned across each of their chests was a tiger embroidered in gray thread.

Cheon Seolhyeon murmured beside me.

"...The Black Tiger Gang. Those bastards again."

Even the name alone made my blood boil. Probably because of those repulsive little kidnapper scum. Any organization that harbored filth like that was bound to be rotten to the core.

While the tavern's other patrons slipped furtively out of their seats, sensing the storm coming, I rose from mine and planted myself squarely in front of the gang. Surveying their faces, I found every last one of them every bit as ugly as their conduct.

"Hey. You ugly pieces of trash."

"...Are you talking to us?"

"Are there any other ugly pieces of trash here besides you lot? Why are you brawling in someone else's tavern, hm? If you want to fight, do it somewhere empty."

I wasn't commenting on their looks. The men were admittedly homely, but the woman was actually quite striking. From the Acme realm and above, one could perceive a person's mental image — their heart-nature — so anyone of matching realm could read another's disposition through it. And these scum's heart-natures were rotten through and through. Looking at them, I could swear I caught a whiff of blood at the edge of my nose.

The brows of the men staring at me twitched.

"...Ha?"

"What backwater rock did you crawl out from under, that you've never heard of the Black Tiger Gang's fearsome name?"

The next instant, one of the men drew his blade faster than the eye could follow. A vivid azure edge whipped through the air like a bolt of lightning — a slash that tore through the void toward me, evoking the image of a falling thunderbolt.

And I answered it with the very same art, channeled through my sword. A bolt of lightning far thicker and larger than his split the air in two.

KrrrrBOOM—

A sound ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like rolling thunder shook the tavern to its rafters. The man who'd swung his blade went hurtling into the far wall, where he lay staring at me with eyes popped wide open.

"Th-that's! How do you know the Heaven-Thunder Sword Art?! And that power — what in the world is it?!"

"What good is a mountain of internal energy if you can't use it efficiently? Aww, tsk tsk."

Fundamentals weren't something you could paper over with elixirs. He probably had three or four times more internal power than I did — but the efficiency with which that power was spent wasn't even worth comparing.

One of them gritted his teeth and glared at the two Taeeul Sect disciples.

"These scum murdered our squad leader. So stay out of it and get lost. You may not have heard of the Black Tiger Gang, but you've heard of the Evil Black Alliance, haven't you? Cross us, and you won't meet a pleasant end."

"...Oh? And what makes you think that?"

"Because the only sect-affiliated Taoists operating near where they vanished were these two. Those bastards died to a Taoist's blade."

At that, the corners of my mouth curled up as I looked each of them over, one by one.

"This squad leader of yours... would his name happen to be Dongpali?"

"...! How do you know that?!"

"Because, well... I killed him."

"..."

At my words, the air in the tavern froze solid. Even through my honed senses, I could pick out the onlookers who'd stayed to watch the fight quietly slinking out the doors. Their eyes gleamed, slick with killing intent.

"Saying that openly to our faces means... you've made your peace with dying, I take it?"

"Nope."

Shiiiing—

A pristine white blade slid slowly from its scabbard with a clear, crystalline ring. My face reflected in its pure, flawless surface.

"What kind of resolve does it take to sweep out the garbage?"

I glanced back and met Cheon Seolhyeon's eyes. She was staring at me as if I'd lost my mind.

"...Should I help?"

"Nope? If you really want to help I wouldn't stop you, but..."

"Then I'll just watch. Good luck."

"Sure, fine."

Sweep out the trash, copy their martial arts. Kill two birds with one stone, wouldn't you say?

Grudges ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from all this? So long as the Taiji Sword Marquis kept showing such strong interest in me, the Taoist sect and the Marquis would shield me regardless. If you've decided to take me as your disciple, Your Excellency, kindly handle at least this much.

"Should be fine so long as I don't cause anything too outrageous."

And killing two Acme-realm fighters and three First-Rates... hardly counted as outrageous. Not in my book.

Vuuuum—

My still-unnamed sword met the azure sword-qi and let out a ringing cry. The qi that had wrapped the blade in shape-shrouded form began to shift, transforming into the figure of lightning itself.

"Show me more."

Their martial arts. Steal and steal and steal, and when I stitched the stolen pieces together... something interesting might very well emerge.

Even the footwork I was using at this very moment was the fruit of fusing the Wind-Cloud Steps with the Taiji Wisdom Sword. That was precisely why I had to keep collecting them.

Then, the only woman among them took a step forward. Long black hair gathered into a single plume behind her, skin white as fresh snow, she was a genuinely beautiful woman. Her deep, dark eyes — eyes you could drown in — traced a seductive curve as her steps came slowly toward me.

In the depths of those eyes ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠meeting mine, a faint crimson light flickered to life.

"You..."

And then a single thunderbolt tore through the air.

KRRAKABOOM—

Thunder rolled, and a flash of white light swept the tavern in an instant.

Thud.

The woman's charred-black corpse toppled over sideways.

"You even mastered Soul-Snatching Art? Impressive. Both of you."

An Acme-realm martial artist had fallen in a single strike. Without so much as a chance to react.

One of the men screamed until his voice broke.

"YEONA! No!!!!!!"

"Don't worry. I'll send you along to join her shortly."

Unfolding the Wind-Cloud Taiji Step, I crossed the distance to him in a single stride. And in that same motion, I raised my sword high above my head.

Two martial arts fused as one, unfolding from the tip of my blade. In that instant, I felt as though I had become the falling thunder itself.

The next moment—

The wrath of heaven erased a single mortal from the earth without leaving so much as a trace.

The power of it was enough to drag an involuntary, hollow laugh out of me. I stared quietly down at the blackened, scorched hole punched through the tavern floor.

"So I really was wasting my time on garbage martial arts all along."

"You devil! The Evil Black Alliance will wipe out your family, your master, and your entire sect!"

"...Uh, right. Sure. The Taoist sect? The Taiji Sword Marquis?"

Meeting head-on the killing intent of the sole surviving Acme-realm fighter among them, I scratched my cheek with an air of mild annoyance. I'd have to remember to tell the Taiji Sword Marquis when I got to the sect — that something absolutely hilarious had happened on my way here. Given her personality, I was certain it would earn a hearty laugh.

The blade, wreathed in darkling thunder, once again cleaved through the empty air.