Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Embroidered Uniform Guard
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I followed the Hyeoncheon Taoist to the Great Purity Hall. His movements were light and efficient, without any waste—I wondered if that was the effect of the Wudang Sect's secret lightness skill, Cloud Traversing Step. When we arrived at the Great Purity Hall, the full view of the dojo came into sight. It was a building of ordinary size, where roughly five or six people gathered for training.
The inner disciples were nowhere to be seen at the moment. When I asked the Hyeoncheon Taoist about it, he replied,
"Those children have been sent to the Wudang main sect for a briefing on the situation. I sent them yesterday, but even at the latest, they should return in three days."
"Wouldn't the Taoist's disciples, who have learned the Wudang Sect's signature martial arts, be helpful in subduing the demonic cult?"
The Hyeoncheon Taoist shook his head.
"You wouldn't say that if you saw the demonic beasts. They're not something amateurs can handle with numbers alone. It would just increase the sacrifices."
"......?"
"My disciples haven't been training long enough to surpass first-class realm. I can't put the future pillars of the Wudang Sect in danger."
Clink.
The Hyeoncheon Taoist entered the room and served tea. The aroma was so fragrant that it seemed like high-grade tea. He sat down, lightly savoring the tea, and spoke.
"In conclusion, we just need to subdue the demonic beasts and the freak with the flute who controls the fanatics."
"Hm... Does that one practice martial arts?"
The Hyeoncheon Taoist gave a wry smile.
"That's the ambiguous part."
"Ambiguous how?"
"I couldn't get close because of the demonic beasts and fanatics they control. I could have approached at the risk of my life, but the danger was too great, so I retreated. I couldn't confirm his martial arts."
"......"
It seemed like a laughable answer at first glance, but I realized the situation was somewhat serious.
No matter how berserk the fanatics had become and boosted their combat power, a peak expert was still a peak expert. Normally, someone like the Hyeoncheon Taoist should be able to infiltrate with lightness skills invisible to the eye and unleash sword qi at the enemy leader. The fact that he couldn't even get close enough to strike the flute freak meant the fanatics and demonic beasts were no pushovers.
'Hm... Did I step into something I shouldn't have...'
But that was then. Encounters like this weren't common, and I had a gut feeling that passing it up would be a big mistake. After pondering deeply, I asked about a suspicious point.
"Is the freak male or female? And what's their goal?"
"That one just played the flute, and I could only confirm a human silhouette. Didn't utter a single word."
"It seems like quite some time has passed since the Taoist infiltrated that village. What's the state of the village now?"
"...I don't even want to imagine. But when I entered, the whole village was already gripped by madness, so it probably hasn't changed."
"......"
I felt the need to steel my resolve. If the first infiltration already involved blood-soaked human sacrifices where hearts were ripped out alive, then now it wouldn't be strange to see human corpses littering the streets and cannibals roaming about. I was used to brutality, but suddenly facing such a scene might devastate my mind.
'Oh, right.'
I realized not an obvious question, but a crucial point. I shared my thoughts with the Hyeoncheon Taoist.
"Demonic cults are religions at their core, right? Their goal is to expand their influence by increasing worshippers. But even after you discovered their identity, they haven't shown any particular reaction?"
The Hyeoncheon Taoist nodded as if impressed.
"Exactly. You've pointed out something truly important. I spent days circling near the village, watching them closely, but not a single human left the village. I even heightened my inner vision from the mountain peak to monitor entries and exits, but there was no change."
I frowned.
"The flute freak is plotting something."
"Indeed. If he guessed my identity, he must know a subjugation force will assemble soon. Yet he hasn't mobilized or rampaged... He's probably preparing some even more vicious sorcery inside the village. Accumulating power with darker spells, or creating even fiercer demonic beasts."
"The longer we delay, the worse it gets."
"Right."
No matter how urgent, I now understood why the Hyeoncheon Taoist had pulled me in, even at the risk of leaking Wudang Sect secrets. Even for a renowned righteous faction elder with wide connections like him, finding peak experts wasn't easy in the world. And gathering them overnight was no small feat, so he had no choice but to try me.
I took a sip of tea. The warm liquid soothed my throat and calmed my mind.
"But what exactly are these demonic beasts you've been talking about? What do they look like, and what powers do they have?"
"That's... hard to explain. Give me a moment to organize my thoughts."
The Hyeoncheon Taoist pondered deeply. Then he took out brush, ink, and paper from a nearby table and slowly began drawing with the brush. Having learned the basics of poetry, calligraphy, and painting from Mangnyang, I could tell the Hyeoncheon Taoist had considerable skill in painting as well.
"It looked like this."
After drawing for about half a shichen, the Hyeoncheon Taoist completed the picture. When I saw the finished drawing, I stared at it speechless.
"......"
What the hell was this? Could something like this even exist in the world?
It resembled a wriggling mass of flesh. The entire body seemed made of bubbling foam, with countless eyeballs floating on the surface. Hundreds of tentacle-like appendages, resembling hands, swayed protrudingly. Seeing my expression, the Hyeoncheon Taoist sighed.
"The real thing is even worse. And huge. A horrific demonic beast not even in the Classic of Mountains and Seas."
"There are several of these?"
"Three in total. But they moved incredibly fast, with immense strength, and sword strikes barely worked. Their bodies were like flowing liquid. Sword qi penetrated, but it would take everything to bring them down."
A peak expert like the Hyeoncheon Taoist had to brace for death because of three such beasts!
But judging by the drawing and description, it made sense. I thought that facing one unprepared would leave me dazed. The Hyeoncheon Taoist's deep mental cultivation allowed him to calmly observe the enemy's traits and attacks before escaping. It now made sense why he said amateurs couldn't handle them.
I looked at the Hyeoncheon Taoist.
"You're not suggesting we fight these head-on, are you?"
"Of course not. Taking them down like regular soldiers would require at least a thousand troops. We just need to fell the flute freak."
"Do you have a plan?"
The Hyeoncheon Taoist spoke with confident conviction.
"The flute freak doesn't show himself usually, but at noon, he appears in the village center and plays the flute. He performs human sacrifices atop a strange altar. During the sacrifice, he's defenseless, so we strike and take him down."
"What about the demonic beasts?"
"They appear after the sacrifice to devour human blood and flesh. Not before."
"What do you need me to do?"
The Hyeoncheon Taoist hesitated vaguely before speaking gravely.
"Clear a path for me to behead the freak."
"......"
As expected, I hesitated.
In other words, his plan was to strike swiftly before the beasts appeared and sever the freak's head. My role: eliminate the fanatics to let the Hyeoncheon Taoist reach the flute freak and protect him. It truly meant risking my life, and fear welled up.
'Damn it. Should I bail right now?'
I didn't like facing my fourth death here. And if I died cleanly and reincarnated, fine—but if captured by the cult, vivisected alive, or tortured? Even if I reincarnated, my mind might shatter like sawdust.
Maybe just run.
But the temptation of Wudang secret arts was too regrettable.
After agonizing, I said,
"...Fine. But first, Taoist, you need to guide my martial arts a bit."
"What do you mean? Isn't your martial arts already at a peerless realm?"
"Well..."
I let out a short sigh.
"You'll know once you see."
I led the Hyeoncheon Taoist to the Great Purity Hall's training ground. Grabbing nearby weapons, I channeled inner power and demonstrated the Thunder Spirit Eight Forms, Thunder Shadow Swordsmanship, Thunder Cloud Palm, and Thunder Shadow Step in sequence, striving to show my realm through each stance.
Rumble...
Energy surged belatedly. Thunder qi subtly gathered in the training ground, as if a shower of thunder essence might pour down any moment. It was a phenomenon from my Thunder Dragon One Qi Art reaching its limit.
The Hyeoncheon Taoist, who had been watching my demonstration seriously, let out a great sigh after a moment.
"Haha, such...!! Your inner power exceeds mine threefold, yet your martial skill barely surpasses second-rate! How can such disproportion exist?!"
His voice carried astonishment and incredulity. As expected of a peak expert, he could accurately assess my level. Embarrassed, I sheathed my sword and said to the Hyeoncheon Taoist,
"That's why I'm hesitating to help you, Taoist. My inner power is strong, but my understanding of martial arts is low."
"Hmm... You must have had a fortuitous encounter. Probably a spiritual elixir? I thought you were a hidden master who shed your shell and reverted to youth."
"Reverting to youth is just in wuxia novels..."
"But your inner power defies any other explanation. The only one who could match you in inner power... probably just the White Lotus Cult Leader in the current martial world."
The Hyeoncheon Taoist chuckled after a moment.
"Haha! To think you're truly a teenage boy... What a world, Primordial Heavenly Lord."
Muttering his Taoist invocation softly, he didn't seem displeased. From his perspective, teaching a mysterious revert-to-youth geezer was worse than teaching a boy. With keen eyes, he evaluated my other arts too.
"Your spear and sword arts resemble secret techniques of a prestigious martial clan. But low attainment means you can't fully utilize your inner power. You're barely outputting three-tenths of your true energy, not full power."
"Three-tenths?"
Lower than expected. The Hyeoncheon Taoist nodded.
"Naturally. Your inner power is world-shaking, but your true qi movement and focus are clumsy. A skilled master could read and block your qi flow, subduing you easily. No matter how strong the force, if it misses or flows away, that's it."
"As I thought."
I smiled bitterly. His points hit home. The Iron Blood Sect's top elder, Ghost Shadow Swordmaster—with less than half my inner power—had toyed with me in swordplay and beheaded me. Even sparring the Hyeoncheon Taoist now wouldn't change the outcome much.
The Hyeoncheon Taoist pondered, then asked,
"What is the inner art you've cultivated?"
"It's called Thunder Dragon One Qi Art."
"Fortunate. The heart method I'll teach you is Mystic Heaven Divine Art, which you can learn without issue."
"Why?"
He explained calmly.
"Your Thunder Dragon One Qi Art is the essence of thunder qi, and lightning symbolizes earth in the five elements. Mystic Heaven Divine Art possesses metal properties."
"Earth generates metal in the five elements cycle."
The five elements have mutual generation and conquest. Metal and earth qi harmonize mutually, so cultivating both posed no problem.
"You know five elements theory well. Exactly."
The Hyeoncheon Taoist continued,
"With Mystic Heaven Divine Art, you'll gain powerful vitality and recovery to support Thunder Dragon One Qi Art's domineering offense. Since they mutually generate, no qi deviation either!"
"......!!"
"The full oral transmission of Mystic Heaven Divine Art will take just one shichen. In the remaining time, I'll go over your spear and sword arts from the basics."
I realized I'd encountered another fortuitous opportunity.
"Understood."
I could receive one-on-one guidance from a peak expert like the Hyeoncheon Taoist on Mystic Heaven Divine Art and peak martial arts. Though uncertain if I'd get the full secrets due to the cult subjugation, just his instruction would advance me a step.
As he said, the Mystic Heaven Divine Art transmission ended in one shichen. Precisely, not the full art—he taught a simple true qi guidance method to open the required meridians. He said he'd teach the full art after the subjugation.
Guidance on Thunder Shadow Swordsmanship and Thunder Spirit Eight Forms was revelatory. Sparring him with minimal inner power, every wooden sword clash felt like he read my mind, drawing all my attacks. He hadn't lied about reading every attack.
Clang!
"Your wrist true qi is sloppy."
My wooden sword flew from the Hyeoncheon Taoist's block. Though brief, sweat poured like rain over my body. Sparring without inner power highlighted my many flaws against him.
"Too slow on true qi."
"......!!"
"With so much inner power, directing it is like steering a massive river. To eliminate hesitation, memorize true qi flow within stance transitions."
The Hyeoncheon Taoist said,
"You just felt your own deficiency. I don't know your swordsmanship, so I can't pinpoint flaws rashly. Ponder which stances lack what and why, then refine them."
"Thank you."
As he said, sparring itself felt like study. No special ultimate arts taught, yet my skill surged.
Against the Iron Blood elder, he exploited every flaw mercilessly, leaving me flailing cluelessly. But the Hyeoncheon Taoist sparred for "guidance," fully grasping how to enlighten me.
For the next four days, I ate, slept, and trained solely with him. We couldn't spare more time, needing to subjugate the cult swiftly. We took turns monitoring the cult from the mountain peak, otherwise focusing on advancing my arts.
As a result, I largely eliminated stance flaws, achieving a higher sword realm. At least in Thunder Shadow Swordsmanship, I could now unleash definitively greater power. Pleased with my progress, the Hyeoncheon Taoist said,
"That should suffice. Not three-tenths, but five-tenths now."
Over four days, he guided Thunder Shadow Swordsmanship flaws intermittently and taught variations using Great Purity Swordsmanship. They'd prove invaluable in real combat. I grasped the implication in his words.
"Shall we head for subjugation now?"
"Indeed. Delay more, and who knows what other monster might emerge."
"......"
After pondering, I replied.
"Let's go."
My plan: help the Hyeoncheon Taoist as best I could, but bolt alone if things soured. I owed him for the guidance, so some aid, but not my life.
Plus, slaughtering fanatics with the new arts would build effortless combat experience. No need to miss this chance.