Chapter 354
Chapter 354
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 93
>Chapter Title: Timber Sword Manor (4)
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Jeongmyeong Sache of the Hengshan Sect looked around with a startled face amid the upheaval of the righteous alliance.
"Where am I?"
Everything around her was dyed pitch black, and she couldn't see a thing.
She had definitely been watching something just moments ago—what in the world was this?
It was while she found this bizarre.
-Shing!
The sound of a sword being drawn echoed from somewhere.
She turned her head toward the source of the noise.
There stood an elderly man with a calm demeanor, his dark skin mottled with burn scars across his face, holding a single sword.
Jeongmyeong Sache's eyes widened at the sight.
"Amitabha. Could this be the former Clan Head..."
No voice came out.
It felt as if the words were resounding only in her mind, like she was thinking to herself.
But soon enough, rather than questioning it, she had no choice but to focus on the old man before her.
And for good reason—this was undoubtedly him.
The Clan Head of Timber Sword Manor, one of the Six Heavens hailed as the pinnacle of the current martial world: Extreme Timber Sword Lord Gu Cheon-mu.
"How...?"
She knew for certain he hadn't yet emerged from the workshop.
So why was he standing right in front of her?
It was in that moment of bewilderment.
-Pat!
Suddenly, Gu Cheon-mu swung his sword at her without warning.
It was merely a single, light stroke.
Yet the instant she saw the thrusting blade, her mind grew chaotic.
"No way...?"
Countless sword forms were visible within this simple move.
For her, a swordmaster, this was an utterly shocking strike.
But her shock was fleeting; with the singular resolve to block the sword aimed at her, she drew the blade from her waist.
-Shing!
To counter this enigmatic sword, she unleashed the fourth form of the Hengshan Sect's Wall Source Seven Forms Sword: Lingering Vow Halting Flow.
-Shwaaah!
Her sword traced an elegant trajectory, attempting to parry the oncoming strike.
However,
-Clang!
Her five-form sequence couldn't overcome that single stroke and was deflected. Before she knew it, Gu Cheon-mu's blade pierced the center of her chest.
-Pfuk!
"Ghuk!"
She clutched her chest and staggered.
"Jeongmyeong Sache!"
Someone supported her.
It was none other than Moyong Hak, the eldest son of the Moyong family.
"M-Moyong layman?"
"Sache, are you alright?"
"What in the world..."
Her eyes went wide.
The surroundings had brightened before she knew it, and the Gu Cheon-mu who had stabbed her had vanished from sight.
As she puzzled over what had happened,
-Throb!
A pang shot through her chest, and an utterly profound sword intent dominated her mind.
In that instant, she realized.
What she had seen was not reality.
Jeongmyeong Sache's gaze turned to the massive stele standing before the cliff's edge.
"Sache?"
"Aaah. Indeed... Indeed..."
She let out repeated sighs of admiration.
Seeing her reaction, Moyong Hak asked with a baffled expression.
"Sache, what in the world is the matter?"
It wasn't she who answered his question.
Gu Ung-seong, the second son of the former Clan Head, replied with a smug look.
"You've undergone the Clan Head's trial. Those who pass through it receive his teachings in their mindscape, so to speak."
"Mindscape?"
"Yes."
A mindscape was precisely the mental realm one entered upon reaching a trance-like state of no-mind.
Did that mean Jeongmyeong Sache had entered a mindscape upon seeing the inscription on that stele?
Moyong Hak stared intently at the "Sword Path Sword Apex" carved into the stele.
A grand aura emanated from the script, making his chest feel refreshingly clear.
But that was all.
"Why?"
Jeongmyeong Sache had plunged into a mindscape upon seeing it, so why did nothing happen to him?
As he wondered, Gu Ung-seong chuckled.
"Heh heh heh. Staring that hard won't make it happen."
"What?"
"The Clan Head said that to comprehend the sword intent inscribed on the stele, one must possess at least the minimal qualifications."
"Minimal qualifications?"
"Yes. My own insight is too shallow to put it into words, but it seems he meant that to read the sword intent, a swordsman must have a profound understanding of the sword."
"......"
-Grit!
At Gu Ung-seong's words, Moyong Hak ground his teeth.
He was one of the Six Dragons, hailed as the greatest of the later-generation disciples in the Righteous Alliance.
For him, who prided himself on having no peers among his peers, it was wounding to his pride to hear that even he couldn't read the sword intent left on the stele.
"Not even qualified?"
As the blood heir of a sword clan that vied with the Nangong family for supremacy among the Seven Great Families, it was mortifying.
Gu Ung-seong inwardly sneered at his reaction.
In truth, it wasn't something for Moyong Hak to feel ashamed about, despite all the talk of qualifications.
To reach the level where one could plunge into a mindscape upon seeing the script left by his father, one needed to have attained a considerable realm in the sword.
Though Moyong Hak possessed outstanding skill worthy of being called one of the Six Dragons, it was hardly likely he had reached the level of Jeongmyeong Sache, an elder of her sect.
"Don't feel inferior. Even among those camped out here, not many have reached the mindscape."
Probably less than half.
They too had their pride shattered like Moyong Hak and were sitting there stubbornly in hopes of gaining even a fragment of insight.
Of course, those who actually grasped even that sliver would be exceedingly few.
Then Jeongmyeong Sache spoke.
"Amitabha. Truly, his reputation is well-deserved. The claim that the former Clan Head's mastery of the sword rivals the best in the world rings true now more than ever."
"I'm grateful for your words."
"This poor nun has reached a realm beyond my daring to approach."
Jeongmyeong Sache voiced her honest feelings.
Though she had zeal for martial arts, as a Buddhist nun she was free of greed, and thus lacked the drive to challenge sword intents—but through this, she had gained numerous insights.
That was why she now understood why so many clung to that stele.
To grasp even a portion of the sword intent yielded this much; fully comprehending it would be no different from receiving direct transmission from one of the Six Heavens.
"How virtuous. How virtuous—to leave behind such insight."
Even aspiring to Sword Path and Sword Apex showed tremendous breadth of mind.
Thanks to it, though unintended, she too had obtained a clue to enlightenment, leaving her satisfied.
"Ah!"
Having been so enraptured by the sword intent that she forgot her purpose, she suddenly recalled why they had come here.
To seek counsel from Ji Oe and Gok O.
Having never actually seen them in person, she promptly asked Gu Ung-seong.
"Gu layman, where are Senior Ji Oe and Senior Gok O?"
They had to be among those before the stele, but with everyone in meditation, it was hard to identify them by presence alone.
At Jeongmyeong Sache's question, Gu Ung-seong moved to answer.
"Ah, the two seniors are over there..."
But then someone before the stele rose from their seat.
-Thud!
The one who stood abruptly burst into mad laughter.
"Hahahahahahaha!"
The laughter boomed so thunderously that most of those seated in meditation snapped out of their reverie and looked up.
Jeongmyeong Sache gazed in bewilderment as well, and Gu Ung-seong said,
"What a coincidence."
"A coincidence?"
"That's Senior Ji Oe."
"Ah!"
He appeared to be a man in his mid-fifties, with notably black hair but white-streaked beard and eyebrows.
"And the one wearing the scholar's cap beside him is Senior Gok O."
Next to Ji Oe, who was laughing uproariously, was a man in a scholar's cap shaking his head.
From his profile—his back had been all they saw before—he seemed around Ji Oe's age, with a somewhat protruding lower jaw.
Jeongmyeong Sache thought it perfect timing and moved to call them.
"Ji..."
But before she could.
"This time, I shall break your sword for certain, Clan Head Gu!"
-Pat!
Ji Oe suddenly launched his form skyward, then swung his sword toward the cliff beyond the stele.
-Shwaaah!
Sword qi erupted from his blade, carving marks into the cliff wall.
The marks formed letters like brush strokes,
Sword Path
continuing just as on the stele.
After carving up to Sword Path, Ji Oe proceeded to inscribe Sword,
-Shwick!
But after drawing a single stroke of the Wood radical for the final character Apex, his form plummeted downward with exhausted power.
-Thud!
Ji Oe's face twisted fiercely as he landed.
'Ah...'
Jeongmyeong Sache inwardly sighed without voicing it.
She had been amazed the moment he began carving words into the cliff with sword qi.
It contained a profound sword intent nearly matching that left by Clan Head Gu Cheon-mu.
She had been on edge wondering what would happen if he completed it.
Yet it remained unfinished.
'How regrettable. Had he completed that sword, it might have formed a sword intent matching or surpassing the Clan Head's.'
But it didn't look easy.
Stopping at a single stroke on the final character meant the gap still remained.
-Drip...
Blood trickled from Ji Oe's mouth.
In frustration, he slammed his sword into the ground.
-Pfuk!
"Damn it!"
Gok O spoke to him as he spat rough words.
"Brother Ji, you're too hasty."
"What's hasty about it?"
"How can you so rashly challenge Clan Head Gu with an incomplete sword intent?"
"Ahem."
At the rebuke, Ji Oe coughed awkwardly.
He had no retort; Ji Oe was the type who couldn't hold back and immediately issued a challenge the moment he grasped even a hint of insight.
"It's not far off. Once I complete my Fourteen Swords, I'll surpass that sword intent."
"Sigh. Naming them One Sword, Two Sword, Three Sword every time you finish a form— isn't that too half-hearted?"
"What's half-hearted? What matters is the sword intent. Grandiose form names mean nothing."
"That's why your sword intent feels monotonous."
"Complex isn't always better, as I've said."
Before they knew it, the two were debating their respective sword paths.
The surrounding swordsmen, accustomed to this, returned their gazes to the stele, attempting to enter mindscapes once more.
Gu Ung-seong shrugged.
"It happens often. The two have stayed here so long they're thick as thieves."
"Amitabha. So it seems. In any case, though I hate to interrupt the seniors, we must seek their aid."
"Please do."
"Moyong young master, shall we..."
-Flinch!
Jeongmyeong Sache trailed off, furrowing her brow mid-sentence.
Seeing her demeanor, Moyong Hak called puzzledly.
"Jeongmyeong Sache?"
At his call, she held up a hand signaling to wait, then asked Gu Ung-seong.
"Gu layman... forgive me, but who is that person?"
"That person?"
Puzzled by her question, Gu Ung-seong followed her gaze.
She was looking toward the stele.
Ji Oe and Gok O were loudly arguing before it, but by now an unfamiliar figure had approached them.
'Huh?'
He couldn't see the face from the back, but the reason Gu Ung-seong found it strange was simple.
The stranger wore a saber at his waist.
'A saber?'
It wouldn't be odd elsewhere.
But this was Sword Valley.
The holy ground of the sword.
Only permitted swordsmen could enter.
'What? How did he get in?'
As he wondered, Ji Oe and Gok O halted their debate and naturally turned their heads aside.
Their expressions turned peculiar.
'No way?'
'Who is this guy?'
The reason for their looks was that no one had sensed the intruder approaching.
Ji Oe and Gok O were master swordsmen who prided themselves that within Timber Sword Manor, no one save the Valley Lord could match them.
From their perspective, it was only natural to be shocked.
Then the mysterious figure spoke.
"To dare discuss Apex with a mere sword."
Ji Oe was dumbfounded by the arrogant tone.
Approaching without presence was one thing, but what gave this fool the right to spout such insolence?
'Hmm? A saber?'
He noticed the saber at the stranger's waist.
What was this guy?
How did he bring a saber in here?
As he opened his mouth to ask,
"Hey..."
-Flinch!
A chillingly sharp preemptive energy made Ji Oe and Gok O leap back simultaneously.
At the same time,
-Shwick!
Something slicing through the air rang out.
The two swordsmen, having evaded the sharp aura, turned their heads.
Their pupils shook wildly.
-Craaaack! Boom!
Before their eyes, the stele symbolizing Sword Valley—the Sword Path Sword Apex stele—was splitting in half.
At the sight, every swordsman seated before it rose in shock, unable to contain themselves.
Their initially stunned gazes soon turned to fury.
Ji Oe and Gok O were no different.
Gok O drew his sword and aimed it at him, his voice thick with rage.
-Shing!
"What are you, exactly? How dare you enter this place and commit such an outrage?"
"Splitting a stele inscribed with sword intent of this meager level and calling it an outrage... How laughable."
"What?"
-Clang!
Before Gok O could retort.
A flash of light streaked, and his sword split apart, clattering to the ground.
-Ching!
At that single saber stroke, Gok O's pupils shook madly.
'No... impossible.'
He hadn't even seen the saber swing.
The man with thick brows and a stern face sneered down at him.
"Only the saber can discuss Apex."
[End of Chapter 93: Timber Sword Manor (4)]