The Broken Sword Spirit

After leaving the great hall, Yeop Pung pried Heukgu out of the clutches of Maeng Chang-haeng and Bone. He headed for Pyeongun Peak with the teary-eyed creature in tow.

Pyeongun Peak was familiar ground. The outer disciples of Cheonun Sect all lived and trained here, and Yeop Pung himself had spent eight grinding years on this mountain. When he returned to the cottage he had once called home, a tide of old feeling rose in him.

Everything was as he remembered it, yet the peak that had once bustled with life now stood hollow and still. Most of the five thousand disciples who had left were outer disciples with little true attachment to Cheonun Sect.

Walking the mountain path, he felt even a faint killing intent seeping through the hush. Before long, Cheonun would stand face-to-face against the Military Supply Bureau and the chaos of a crumbling age. Whether a diminished Cheonun Sect could hold back the Commandery Administrator's tiger-like iron cavalry was a question Yeop Pung could not answer with any certainty.

Still, a veteran like Lee Sujol would never pick a fight he could not win. A man with the nerve to wipe out ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eight thousand of the Cheonbong Army would surely have prepared a means of defending Cheonun. The mysterious Seven Peaks Heaven-Locking Sword Array, and the Makmun Dao Sect Yeop Pung had never even heard of until now — those were likely the trump cards Lee Sujol had poured his heart's blood into preparing.

Lost in thought, Yeop Pung found himself arriving at the summit of Pyeongun Peak before he knew it. He located the hidden cave Lee Sujol had told him about. A dense wall ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of Profound Qi stretched across the entrance. When he raised his right hand and stirred the sword spirit, the barrier yielded, and he passed through without resistance.

The interior was as spacious as two training halls joined together. It had not been specially furnished, but it held every basic amenity, and the stone couch and stone table were neatly arranged. A plate of fresh spirit fruit sat on the table, giving off a faint fragrance.

The moment Heukgu followed him inside and spotted the fruit, he lunged for it. Yeop Pung left the pitiful creature to its feast, sat down on the stone couch, and began to sort through his cultivation plans.

The first thing he needed was a higher martial realm. He had completed the Five Meridians. Now it was time to cultivate the last of them — the sixth, the Spirit Meridian.

The Spirit Meridian was, as the name suggested, the channel that opened onto the soul. It branched from the Five Meridians and ran up the nape of the neck to the Baihui acupoint at the crown of the head. When those slender profound meridians fully encircled a martial artist's skull, a new world opened within — the Spirit Sea.

Cultivating the Spirit Meridian was the most critical step in opening that sea. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠It was also the longest and most difficult stage of the entire six-meridian process. A martial artist who opened the Spirit Sea before the age of thirty was considered exceptionally gifted. Yi Hwawu, who had become a Spirit Realm expert just past eighteen, possessed a talent that was monstrous even among monsters.

At present, Yeop Pung's sixth meridian had only just begun to sprout. It had not yet reached the Baihui acupoint, and he could already feel his cultivation speed slowing. Opening the Five Meridians had taken him roughly two months. At this rate, fully piercing the sixth and forming the Spirit Sea would take at least half a year.

In truth, only a few months had passed since he broke through to the Profound Realm. Even adding another half year, he would go from Profound Realm to Spirit Realm in a single year — a pace that would make every soul in Cheonun Sect die of envy.

But what Yeop Pung lacked most right now was time. A great calamity was bearing down on the sect. To stand against the experts of the Cheonbong Army, he needed far greater power in his hands. If he failed to reach the Spirit Realm, he would be nothing more than a human shield for arrows.

"Luckily, the duration of my time-travel ability keeps getting longer these days. Each use lasts a full twenty days, so by that math I should be able to pierce the sixth meridian in about three months. But... damn it, there's a seventh meridian!"

Yeop Pung muttered inwardly as he looked at the newly formed seventh meridian in front of his heart.

This thing isn't going to interfere with opening the Spirit Sea, is it? Don't tell me it's going to drag on another seven or eight years. By then everything will be over...

He let out a sigh, but there was nothing else he could do. Finish the sixth meridian first, and worry about the rest later. All he could do was hope the seventh meridian wouldn't complicate things further.

While he cultivated the sixth meridian, he would not neglect his martial techniques either — the Falling Star Sword Technique, the Star Spirit Body Art, and the rest. Arts like these demanded constant honing.

At present, Yeop Pung was confident he could defeat any Profound Realm expert with the linked forms of Star Cloud Eight Desolations. But if the opponent was Spirit Realm, that was a different story. He didn't need to look any further than Heukgu — the little beast could dodge those linked forms with ease.

The gap between Spirit Realm and Profound Realm was overwhelming in every respect. Right now, Yeop Pung's only means of standing against a Spirit Realm expert was the time-slowing barrier of the Myriad Realms Wrist Ring. That barrier could be used only once per battle, and it only worked in close combat. Whether it succeeded was purely a matter of luck.

Just thinking about it made his head ache. In a few days the people of Makmun Dao Sect would be visiting, and when that happened he could not hide in the back and leave all the glory to that Yi Hwawu.

That's not my way at all! But how am I supposed to face a Spirit Realm expert?

Yeop Pung narrowed his eyes and looked at Heukgu. The creature was sitting on the table, crunching happily through a large peach. Heukgu froze in alarm.

"M-Master? Please don't look at me like that... I'll stop eating..."

"Get out of here!"

Yeop Pung was in no mood to bicker with him. The greatest obstacles when facing a Spirit Realm expert were their formidable physique and Profound Qi Manifestation — condensed masses of Profound Qi launched as tangible, long-range projectiles.

Even the same Falling Star Sword Technique, when used by Yi Hwawu, could fire sword qi from ten meters out and kill a man. The power was terrifying. A Profound Realm expert would die without even getting close to him.

If only I had a long-range attack like that...

The thought had barely formed when something else clicked in his mind.

That's right — I obtained a sword spirit not long ago. Inside the formation, the Sect Master controlled his sword spirits with ease, sending them flying this way and that. I should be able to do the same.

The instant the idea struck him, he acted on it. He summoned his golden Profound Qi and channeled it through the meridians of his right hand. The newly settled crimson sword spirit answered his call, racing along the meridians to the tip of his finger.

It works! Controlling the sword spirit is this simple!

Yeop Pung pointed his index finger at Heukgu and commanded the sword spirit.

"Fly at that one!"

Heukgu's fur stood on end.

I said I wouldn't eat anymore! Why is he doing this again!

The flying sword gave him no time to react. It punched through his body in an instant. Heukgu shrieked and dropped the half-eaten peach. His whole body snapped backward, and he tumbled to the floor with a thud.

"It's over. I'm dead..."

Sprawled on the floor, he muttered to himself as he patted his body all over with his tiny paws. After a long moment of groping, he realized he was completely unharmed and opened his eyes. He stared at Yeop Pung in bewilderment.

"Master? Were you... messing with me just now?"

Messing with you? Who's messing with anyone.

Yeop Pung recalled the sword spirit hovering in midair, looking thoroughly unimpressed. He no longer wanted to look at Heukgu's absurdly durable hide.

This is completely underwhelming!

He studied the crimson flying sword within its golden glow. The illusory blade was riddled with countless hairline cracks. Though it radiated a faint, transcendent pressure, its actual power didn't even match the Black Frost Sword.

"This sword spirit seems to have suffered serious damage... Just as the Cheonun Sect records said. When Emperor Shinmu destroyed the Seven Peaks Heaven-Locking Sword Array, these ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sword spirits must have been damaged as well. The Sect Master probably poured tremendous effort into restoring them to this state. Facing a Spirit Realm expert with this would be a stretch, but against an opponent of the same level, it could serve as a decent trump card."

Yeop Pung set aside his disappointment and recalled the crimson sword spirit. With no better idea presenting itself, he decided to focus on cultivation for now. He tried drawing in the hundred years of sword qi the Sect Master had mentioned, pulling it through the sword spirit. To his surprise, it worked.

That, at least, was a small relief. The Makmun Dao Sect's visit in a few days, the next use of his time-travel ability in six days, and the study of the Seven Peaks Heaven-Locking Sword Array's formation texts — Yeop Pung had a mountain of work ahead of him.

But the moment he tried to focus on cultivation, Heukgu cried out in amazement.

"Master, Master!"

"What is it?"

"Look at this!"

When Yeop Pung opened his eyes, Heukgu was merrily flying five mosquitoes through the air.

"Huh... five of them?"

Yeop Pung was baffled.

"This morning you could only control three mosquitoes."

"That's right, that's right!"

Heukgu was beside himself with excitement.

"When I used my power earlier while playing with you, Master, I felt like I'd gotten stronger. I checked, and my ability really has gotten enormously stronger!"

Heukgu's ability truly had grown a great deal — by about as much as twenty days of accumulation would account for.

"What the hell did you do? Or what did you eat?"

"I didn't do anything?"

Heukgu looked completely lost.

"Ah, wait, Master. When we took those people out earlier today, I felt something get sucked into my body."

What?

Yeop Pung was startled.

Don't tell me this bizarre ability grows stronger by killing people?

Honestly, when he had first encountered Heukgu's black energy, he had sensed something sinister in it. And the way Heukgu controlled souls was cruel beyond measure. Put bluntly, it was no different from body-snatching. The moment Heukgu withdrew his control from an insect, it would die instantly.

And the method by which this black energy grew so quickly was slaughter? It was far too brutal. But Yeop Pung felt no great aversion to the fact. Killing enemies and growing stronger was, to him, an entirely natural principle. What he needed to confirm now was whether Heukgu's ability truly grew through slaughter.

"Go catch some rabbits or pheasants from the back mountain — or a few stronger profound beasts. We'll roast them for dinner. And after you kill them, check whether your ability has gotten stronger."

After giving Heukgu his orders, Yeop Pung sank into cultivation. Absorbing the hundred years of sword qi that lingered over Pyeongun Peak, he threw himself into training, and his skill improved at a visible rate. Heukgu, who had always been clever, began seeking out ways to strengthen himself just as Yeop Pung had said. He did not show his face again for days.

On the fifth day of Yeop Pung's focused cultivation, Han Un's voice called from outside the cave.

"Yeop Pung. The people of Makmun Dao Sect have arrived. The Sect Master is calling you to Wangcheon Hall."

Inside the cave, Yeop Pung slowly opened his eyes.

So it's come. Unfortunately, my skill hasn't improved all that noticeably yet. I'll just have to take it one step at a time... Can't be helped. Playing the dutiful extra isn't so bad.

Yeop Pung emerged from the cave and headed for Wangcheon Hall on Cheonun Peak with Han Un.