Chapter 1
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Piercing Sword Sect Luoyang Branch
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The first time I saw my master in the marketplace, I thought he was some dim-witted quack peddler.
Why?
Every time he passed through the village, he'd gather up a bunch of snot-nosed kids and bribe them with candy to recruit them into the Piercing Sword Sect. Honestly, who would fall for that?
Kids these days weren't that stupid.
By seven or eight years old, they already knew everything there was to know about the world.
And if they sensed someone was a pushover after a few words, they'd scheme to pick their pockets clean. They were that cunning.
Against kids like that, who would join up just for a piece of candy and some tales of past glory?
"Mister, do we look that naive to you?"
"Sure, we live out in the sticks, but we're not completely clueless about the world."
"And for folks from Yunnan, who doesn't know the Piercing Sword Sect went totally bust?"
"The grown-ups say if things keep going like this, the sect won't even hold onto its spot at the bottom of the Nine Great Righteous Sects and Eight Schools—they'll get kicked out."
"Hee hee hee, what now, mister? You don't have many disciples left. If the Nine Great Righteous Sects and Eight Schools boots you out, you're really done for, huh?"
The kids snickered as they teased my master mercilessly.
Even if it was just silly talk from immature brats, hearing insults to one's sect should make anyone's blood boil.
But my master didn't get angry or frown. Instead, he popped another candy into each of their mouths.
As if to show that even if the sect was broke, he could still afford to feed them sweets all they wanted.
He kept at it until their wariness toward him naturally melted away, emptying his pouch to buy more candy for the kids.
To me, it looked like pointless foolishness, but my master just chuckled heartily and patted their heads.
"Nom nom nom."
"Mister, can I have just one more candy?"
"Me too, me too! One—no, I have a little sibling at home, so could you give me two more, for them too?"
"Hahaha, of course! I told you to eat as much candy as you want, didn't I?"
"For real?"
"We can really eat until our bellies burst?"
"Of course! If you join our Piercing Sword Sect, it won't just be candy. You'll get to stuff yourself every day with thin noodles, dumplings, fried pancakes, and chicken."
How about it? Want to follow this old man and take a look at the Piercing Sword Sect?
A ripple of excitement spread among the kids at my master's bait of food.
One meal a day.
In this backwater village, where they'd barely cook rice from barley or coarse grains, and the rest of the time forage for wild potato roots or fruit from the mountains—or just go hungry—that temptation was hard to resist.
Candy was one thing, but thin noodles, dumplings, fried pancakes, and chicken every day?
"Hmm."
"Thin noodles, dumplings, fried pancakes, and chicken—every day?"
"That's weird. The grown-ups said the Piercing Sword Sect was flat broke..."
Even as the kids started wavering, my master didn't rush. Like a seasoned fisherman, he held still, waiting for the fish to bite.
Then, the moment the float twitched and ripples spread across the calm water, he hooked them all in one go.
"If you say right now you'll come with me to see the Piercing Sword Sect, I'll give you each a custom martial robe and wooden sword as a special gift."
A martial robe and wooden sword.
Standard issue for any formal disciple upon joining.
But my master wrapped it up like a grand gesture, blowing the kids' minds.
With their mental defenses already half-down from the food bait, the robe and sword sealed the deal.
Most of the village kids ended up trailing eagerly after him.
That was the moment I realized I'd been dead wrong.
No matter how worldly and sly the kids thought they were, they were still just kids.
And my master wasn't some bumbling peddler—he was a master angler who knew exactly how to reel them in.
Crunch, crunch.
'Looks like a doofus, but he's got some real skill. Won't work on me, though.'
Why not?
Because when I turned ten, I was heading to Huayin County in Shaanxi to become a disciple of the Mount Hua Sect.
'The Piercing Sword Sect in this Yunnan backwater has no future. I'll join Mount Hua somehow, become a great swordmaster, and make my name echo across the world.'
Some might scoff at such childish ambition.
But to me, it was a plan born from half a year of deep thought and research.
So I stood firm, resisting the candy, true to my convictions.
My master, intrigued by my resolve, asked me,
"Kid, what's your name?"
"Jang So-cheon."
"Jang So-cheon. Fine name."
My master nodded slightly, then smiled warmly and continued.
"Alright, So-cheon. Do you hate candy?"
"No."
"Then why not take it? Are you holding back because you want something else?"
I hesitated for a moment—should I be honest?
Then I figured I hadn't done anything wrong, so no reason not to tell him my plan straight up.
"When I turn ten, I've decided to become a disciple of the Mount Hua Sect. I didn't take the candy because I thought it wouldn't be right to owe a debt to the Piercing Sword Sect before even joining Mount Hua."
The moment those words left my mouth, the village kids all burst out laughing, clutching their stomachs at me.
An eight-year-old from rural Yunnan declaring he'd head to Huayin County in Shaanxi at ten to join Mount Hua? Easy to say, but was it even realistic?
I knew it wouldn't be easy.
So I expected my master to laugh too, but instead, he looked more serious than ever and asked,
"You want to join Mount Hua? Why choose them?"
"Because Mount Hua's Plum Blossom Sword is the best in the world."
"Hmm, the Plum Blossom Sword is top-class, one of the best worth counting on your fingers, but calling it the absolute best? Hard to agree outright."
Then,
my master fired off a few more questions.
"So-cheon, how much do you know about the Plum Blossom Sword?"
"I heard it's as beautiful as plum blossoms in falling snow, and its twenty-four forms flow together seamlessly like one..."
"Hahaha, you've studied up on it early. But tell me—have you ever seen the Plum Blossom Sword you're so enamored with?"
"Well... no. Just rumors. Never seen it myself."
"I see."
My master nodded slightly, then explained the Plum Blossom Sword's strengths and weaknesses at my level.
Of course, barely a tail-end mention of strengths, mostly dwelling on the flaws.
"So-cheon, Mount Hua's Plum Blossom Sword overemphasizes flashy changes, with too many unnecessary flourishes and forms."
My master's one-sided claim.
"A true sword must be swift and simple, cutting the foe's breath short. But Mount Hua obsesses over style, making it all show and little substance."
Again, his one-sided view.
"Our Piercing Sword Sect's sword is different. Faster, sharper, and deadlier than any other."
Hmm, that much I could grant.
"Piercing Sword pursues simplicity. Strike first, faster than the enemy, and sever their breath. In theory alone, Piercing Sword's blade could be called the world's best."
One strike, one kill.
Strike or thrust faster than the foe, somehow.
Next to impossible, but if you could pull it off, it wasn't wrong.
"...It comes with impossible premises, but it's not entirely without merit."
"Hahaha."
My master roared with laughter at my lukewarm response, clearly amused.
Then he waved the gathered kids back to make space, drew the sword at his waist,
and said,
"I'll show you Piercing Sword's blade right here. Watch closely and judge for yourself if thrusting a sword faster than anyone in the world is impossible—or not."
For kids in rural Yunnan, seeing a Piercing Sword Sect expert's sword up close was a rare treat.
They stared wide-eyed, and I did the same.
Even if I'd sworn to join Mount Hua, when had I ever watched a martial artist's sword this close?
Brimming with anticipation, heart pounding, I opened my eyes wide and watched.
"Hard to show twice, so everyone watch carefully."
With those words, my master's body bent back like a drawn bowstring.
Then he kicked off the ground like a released arrow, soaring toward the sun in the sky.
I knew it was practically impossible, but my eyes saw it clearly.
The sword pierced the sun.
Just like the ancient archer Yi shooting down the suns with his arrows.
The moment I saw it,
goosebumps erupted all over me, and my body shivered uncontrollably. A feeling I'd never known in my life.
What was it?
No illusions or flourishes—just pure, unrelenting intent to pierce through. A sword stroke filled with that alone.
As it cleaved the sky, shining vividly. I realized.
A sword is a tool to cut down enemies. It has no need to be beautiful or flowery like a flower.
"Sun-Piercing... So this is Piercing Sword's Sun-Piercing Sword..."
The illusions in my heart shattered, and the elegant Plum Blossom Sword started seeming like mere excess.
The plum blossom I'd cherished vanished in an instant, without a trace.
In its place burned the image of my master's sword piercing the sun, searing my heart like a brand.
I couldn't contain my excitement and blurted out in a high-pitched voice,
"I... I want to become a disciple of the Piercing Sword Sect."
The words came from my own mouth, yet they shocked even me.
I couldn't believe I'd so easily abandon my half-year dream of Mount Hua.
But deep down, I was certain.
One strike, one kill—the Piercing Sword Sect's secret art.
The Sun-Piercing Sword was worth betting my life on.
And I wasn't alone.
All who'd witnessed my master's sword together wanted to join the Piercing Sword Sect too.
"Hahahahaha."
My master grinned like a fisherman returning with a full boat and led us to Piercing Mountain.
Just like that, all us village kids, me included, became disciples of the Piercing Sword Sect.
Now, twenty years later.
"Damn it all."
I regretted that choice.
"I should've stuck to my guns and gone to Mount Hua instead of getting hooked by master and stepping into the Piercing Sword Sect..."
"Senior brother! Quit grumbling and hold that sign straight! You're jiggling around so much, the symmetry's all off!"
"If I'd gone to Mount Hua, I wouldn't have to fix up this rundown branch hall like some old ruin, or fuss over a crooked sign—I could've just focused on training..."
"Yeah, yeah! Right there! Senior brother, perfect! Hold it just like that. Yes, exactly. Now hammer the nail in carefully, got it?"
"I wouldn't be gripping a hammer instead of a sword, pounding nails like some laborer!"
"Argh, senior brother! Enough whining—hammer it and finish up! You're killing my back holding this ladder!"
"Aaaargh!"
Wham! Wham! Wham!
I vented my boiling frustration with savage hammer blows.
Yeo Chu-sam, who'd spent nearly half a shichen aligning the branch sign's symmetry, freaked out and yelled,
"What the—senior brother! Who hammers a sign like that? It's crooked now! Senior Uncle Yu Gwang's gonna chew us out again—damn it!"
Wang Mun-gi, who'd been griping about back pain from holding the ladder, suddenly roared and hurled me off it.
"If you're done, get down already! How long you gonna dawdle up there? Can't you see us slaving away below?"
Among us brothers, he was stuck with the grunt work because of his massive build—and he had the strength to match.
Whoosh!
I went flying into the air unexpectedly. Eyeballing it, at least three zhang up.
"Ha, throwing your senior brother 'cause you're pissed, and yelling at me for sloppy hammering. But I'm still the senior brother here..."
Was it the pressure of repaying the three thousand taels borrowed against the branch hall from the Gold Money House by month's end?
Or worry over Senior Uncle Yu Gwang, who'd left five days ago to scrape up emergency funds and hadn't been heard from?
Today, my heart felt unusually restless.
"Sigh, harsh life in exile. Living like beggars in this branch. When the hell will we pay off the debt and head back to my hometown in Yunnan..."
As I grumbled mid-air, I steadied myself with Eagle Claw Seven Forms Lightness Skill.
Then, like the immortal cranes the legends say sages ride, I elegantly righted myself and landed lightly on the ground.
If anyone had seen it, they'd swear an immortal descended from the heavens—flawless, without excess.
But what good was that?
The branch hall sat in Luoyang's remotest alleyway—no one ever passed by.
"Who'd come to a rat-infested back alley where the branch hall's stuck?"
Sigh.
Staring at the dilapidated branch hall like an abandoned shack, a sigh escaped me naturally.
And the worms in my gut started clamoring for lunch. Bickering with that damn sign had made time fly till mealtime.
"Sigh, screw it. If senior uncle gripes, we'll fix it then. For now, let's go eat."
I turned my back on the slightly crooked sign to the left and followed Yeo Chu-sam and Wang Mun-gi into the crumbling branch hall.