Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Subduing Demon Hall
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The next day, I began learning the advanced applications and combat techniques of the Thunder God Style one-on-one with Triple Excellence Lee Gwang once more.
Of course, everything I'd learned up to now had been part of the Thunder God Style too, but according to him, advancing to the intermediate stage meant learning the secret techniques of the Thunder God Style, along with new combat methods.
I felt like I'd finally gotten on track, and my nose tingled a bit.
"Unfold the Thunder Shadow Swordsmanship again."
"Yes."
Standing in the morning training ground, I assumed a mid-stance.
That was because Triple Excellence Lee Gwang had given the command.
Since it was something I'd done a hundred thousand times up until yesterday, I executed it naturally without a second thought.
Once the forms were complete, he nodded in satisfaction.
"The excess has been shaved away. Don't you think it's a bit faster even to your eyes?"
"Uh..."
Come to think of it, the breathing that used to hitch between forms flowed without interruption.
I'd performed it unconsciously, but my sword speed definitely seemed quicker.
As I stood there in surprise, Triple Excellence Lee Gwang said,
"Now you've mastered the Thunder Shadow Swordsmanship. It also means it's time to learn its advanced applications."
"......!!"
"Your swordsmanship merely strung together forms, with clumsy inner energy circulation and breath allocation. Your profound inner energy hid the flaws, but to an expert a cut above you, it would have looked full of openings. However, by entering a state of self-forgetfulness, you unconsciously eliminated all unnecessary movements and gaps, and imprinted them into your body. That's why you can advance to the next stage."
I understood Lee Gwang's words.
Unnecessary movements and openings!
Over those hundred thousand repetitions, I'd constantly corrected my posture and been drilled to execute sword forms swiftly and precisely, while shedding extraneous thoughts and maximizing focus.
That had elevated my swordsmanship realm.
Amazed, I looked down at my hand.
Bruises were etched into it like welts, hardened in place.
I'd swung it so much my palm felt like it was on fire, so it was only natural.
Triple Excellence Lee Gwang spoke up.
"But there's something I want to ask."
"Yes, please go ahead."
"You're a disciple of the Thunder God Style too, so you know the spear is far stronger. Why cling to swordsmanship? You would have been better off specializing in the spear."
Lee Gwang's words weren't mere regret.
He truly believed spear martial arts were vastly superior to the sword.
And given his level of skill, it was true.
I pondered deeply before answering.
"Because I want to attain the ultimate essence of self-defense."
"Self-defense! Indeed..."
My words cleverly reinterpreted the weapon philosophy he'd explained before.
His logic was that the spear represented the pinnacle of combat techniques, while the sword was the pinnacle of self-defense arts.
I'd turned it around to say that mastering the essence of self-defense was enough for me.
Lee Gwang smiled faintly, pleased.
"Good. It's not bad to have a martial artist like you around. It might be good to have someone walking a different path from So-cheong."
Then he raised his wooden sword forward and said,
"Originally, our Thunder God Style served as protectors in the White Lotus Cult's religious rites, sometimes even standing in for the high priest to conduct them. In the process, the power of thunder spirit moved the sword path, transforming it into a sword of light, and that became the signature technique of the Thunder God Style."
"I'd never heard that."
"Of course. It's a secret passed only to those who've mastered the Thunder Shadow Swordsmanship to a certain level."
It wasn't strange that I was only now hearing the history of the Thunder Shadow Swordsmanship.
By Triple Excellence Lee Gwang's standards, my previous swordsmanship had been utterly crude, so he hadn't considered me a successor and naturally hadn't taught me everything.
'In other words, as far as swordsmanship goes, I've earned Lee Gwang's recognition.'
Triple Excellence Lee Gwang's wooden sword began to move slowly.
Pajijik.
Soon, it sparked with bluish thunder spirit energy—the same phenomenon that occurred when I summoned thunder spirit for the Thunder Shadow Swordsmanship.
Staring intently at the wooden sword enveloped in thunder spirit, Triple Excellence Lee Gwang suddenly shouted.
"Hah!"
Pakang!
"Huh..!!"
It was astonishing.
The rippling thunder energy suddenly converged into one, sharpening into a blade of lightning.
It was truly sword energy overlaid with thunderbolt, its sharpness almost beautiful.
Having demonstrated that much, Triple Excellence Lee Gwang said,
"This is the great accomplishment realm of the Thunder Shadow Swordsmanship: Heavenly Thunder Blade. The way you've been coating your sword with thunder spirit energy and launching it wastes energy and is too slow. You need the Heavenly Thunder Blade to contend evenly with peak swordsmen."
"I-is that so."
"First activate the thunder spirit, gather the dispersed thunder energy, overlay it naturally from the sword tip, and visualize the blade form. Then you'll form a refined Heavenly Thunder Blade without waste."
Skak.
When Triple Excellence Lee Gwang lightly swung his Heavenly Thunder Blade horizontally, it flew from the wooden sword and slashed the wall five paces away.
Scattering sword energy at range like that was an extremely advanced technique.
"Once you can use the Heavenly Thunder Blade naturally, you won't fear ranged weapon users. And there's another ingenious use, but I'll teach it after you master the Heavenly Thunder Blade."
"Yes!"
That day, following Triple Excellence Lee Gwang's instruction, I spent the entire time practicing summoning and forming the Heavenly Thunder Blade.
Remarkably, in just three hours, I managed something resembling a blade on my sword—fast even by my standards.
Gathering the wriggling thunder energy at the sword tip was even fun.
"You've already awakened the Thunder Shadow Swordsmanship to a proficient realm. With diligent practice, you'll master the Heavenly Thunder Blade in less than a month."
I raised my hand.
"I have a question."
"Go ahead."
"I understand the Heavenly Thunder Blade is a method to stably form sword energy infused with the five elements thunderbolt power. But how does it differ from realms like sword flame or sword aura? Can you achieve those with the Heavenly Thunder Blade too?"
At my question, Triple Excellence Lee Gwang sat on a chair and replied.
"Then what do you think sword flame and sword aura are?"
"Sword flame is the swirling stage before sword aura, and sword aura is the supreme realm a swordsman can attain."
This wasn't my personal view.
It was the martial philosophy I'd heard from Immortal Hyeoncheon in the past.
I'd asked a Wudang Sect peak expert about it, hoping to confirm it more solidly.
Triple Excellence Lee Gwang gave a wry smile.
"That's a rather half-baked definition. Well, it's probably what most people think."
"Isn't it?"
"Let me ask again. Sword energy makes a weapon as sharp and sturdy as a famed sword. So why do peak experts bother expending mental energy to generate sword flame in combat? Forming sword flame doesn't particularly increase physical power."
"......"
I'd never thought about it.
I'd faced Immortal Hyeoncheon and Ghost Shadow Swordsman using sword flame, but I'd barely held on with my inner energy, so I couldn't sense the difference between sword energy and sword flame.
As I hesitated, Triple Excellence Lee Gwang said,
"Listen well. Sword flame is a technique created to overwhelm an opponent's sword energy."
"Technique...!!"
"Surprisingly, many in this world can deploy sword energy. Even without being peak experts, there are plenty of first-class experts who forcibly gather energy into sword energy form. That's led to the development of combat techniques using sword energy. Sword flame is a fighting technique made to easily defeat those with weaker sword energy."
Lee Gwang continued his explanation.
"Naturally, it's worlds apart from true sword aura realm. Your definition is what people who don't know what sword aura really is say."
"......"
I inwardly stuck out my tongue.
This was the philosophy Immortal Hyeoncheon had preached—a martial dogma—and Triple Excellence Lee Gwang had casually demolished it.
If Immortal Hyeoncheon heard, he'd fly into a rage for sure.
But I didn't say that and kept questioning.
"Then what is true sword aura? What power does it have?"
"There are scarcely any experts who've reached the true aura realm in this world. And they mostly conceal their power, so their true faces rarely show. Those at that level devote themselves to cultivation, uninvolved in worldly affairs."
"Hmm, I see."
"No need to worry about it now. You must master the Heavenly Thunder Blade first and enter the secret techniques before we continue this talk."
I had no time for more questions, just as Triple Excellence Lee Gwang said.
From that day, I rose at dawn and spent most of my twelve hours confined to the training ground, focusing solely on forming the Heavenly Thunder Blade.
Thanks to my monstrous inner energy, I could emit thunder spirit like breathing, but concentrating it into blade form was an entirely different matter.
A battle of focus and endurance!
I struggled for about a month and six days like that, finally managing to properly form the Heavenly Thunder Blade.
It had taken far longer than Lee Gwang predicted—likely due to my lack of talent.
Woooong—
"Ooh..."
The faint glow of the Heavenly Thunder Blade hovering over my wooden sword was dazzling.
Triple Excellence Lee Gwang, watching from the side, gruffly said,
"The light's too strong. Means you can't control the thunder spirit fully yet."
"Yes."
"Make it faintly visible, almost invisible. The fainter, the stronger the Heavenly Thunder Blade."
I wiped the sweat from my brow.
All my hardship had paid off—I could now produce proper sword energy.
If I'd learned it alone, it would've taken at least a decade or two; the thought made my vision blur.
There was no faster path than having an excellent master from a prestigious martial lineage.
"Now, keep the Heavenly Thunder Blade on your sword without letting the energy break as you move. Also practice releasing the attached energy at will outward. Once you can, your Thunder Shadow Swordsmanship will enter a whole new phase."
"Understood!"
Mastering those additional applications took me several more months, as Lee Gwang explained.
During that time, he never commented on whether my progress was fast or slow.
Once, impatient, I'd asked if I was going too slow, but he always replied calmly.
"You're doing very well."
If Lee Gwang said it was fine, I had to believe him.
I threw myself into perfecting the Thunder Shadow Swordsmanship at least.
The fruits of my efforts came about half a year later.
Kwagwang!
The Heavenly Thunder Blade launched from my wooden sword left a massive gash on the wall.
I'd finally become able to attack at range with it.
Exhausted and panting, Lee Gwang said,
"Now, refining your Thunder Shadow Step will eliminate nearly all your major weaknesses, Baek Woong."
"Th- Thunder Shadow Step?"
"One glance, two feet, three galls, four strengths."
Chanting the adage passed down among martial artists, Lee Gwang suddenly shifted his form with a whoosh.
I clearly saw an afterimage appear, as solid as his real body.
"You've learned the power for deploying swordsmanship, and how to think. Now don't you need footwork?"
It was the pinnacle of movement techniques I'd never seen before.
'Illusory Body Shift?'
But I realized it wasn't.
The density of movement was vastly different, and it chained like pulled links.
Lively as a swimming carp, without wasted motion—like a dance.
Pabababat.
His shadows scattered like flower petals.
Lee Gwang had taken exactly seven steps.
But those seven steps hid tremendous footwork.
Fixing his final step, Lee Gwang said,
"Thunder Shadow Step signature technique: Heaven Pillar Kill! Master this, and I'll grant you qualification as Thunder God Style successor."
"...Really?!"
I cheered inwardly.
Successor qualification!
Even now, Lee Gwang half-regarded me as successor, teaching me secret techniques and applications.
But official recognition was different.
The moment I earned it, I could truly inherit his martial arts on equal footing with Jin So-cheong.
In other words, this trial itself was close to Lee Gwang's final test.
Nodding, Lee Gwang said,
"You have three years. Master the Heaven Pillar Kill within."
"Three years?"
"Yes."
Considering it'd taken nearly a year for the Heavenly Thunder Blade, this gave three times as long.
I could anticipate the Heaven Pillar Kill was a difficult signature technique.
And if Lee Gwang said three years, it was probably something that might take a decade even.
Lee Gwang continued,
"And I'll add another task. While mastering the Heaven Pillar Kill, go challenge dojos with Jin So-cheong."
"Challenge dojos—meaning other sects?"
"Yes."
"That's, uh..."
I felt considerable bewilderment.
Challenge dojos!
'Damn it. I could die.'
Easy to say, but I knew bone-deep how dangerous it was.
Back when I'd foolishly challenged the Twin Sword Clans of Luoyang, I'd toppled even the clan head, but an elder appeared and nearly took my head under the pretext of a spar.
For martial sects, honor outweighed life, so even prestigious ones often beat challengers to death in groups.
Challenging dojos required the challenger to steel themselves for death—a perilously reckless act.
I quickly resolved myself and shouted boldly.
"Fine! Let's do it!"
"Good. Give it a try."
The remaining time was spent learning the Thunder Shadow Step.
As before, he pointed out my excessive extraneous movements and lectured on proper posture for swift motion.
Up to then, I thought my days of peaceful, steady training would continue.
Just learn as taught, and tag along for dojo challenges.
But the next morning, heading to the training ground from my quarters, Master Triple Excellence Lee Gwang was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, an unexpected figure awaited me, baggage already packed, waving.
"Junior brother, you're here!"
"Jin So-cheong senior brother? What brings you..."
Jin So-cheong laughed heartily.
"Why, to go challenge dojos today, of course. We must reach Zhengguo before dawn, so let's hurry."
"Hah... This is too sudden."
Grumbling, I grabbed weapons from the training ground.
I hardly felt hunger without eating anyway, so no other preparations needed.
Strapping a decent sword to my waist, I suddenly sensed something odd.
"Wait, senior brother. Zhengguo? That's..."
"Right you are, junior brother."
At his following words, my face twisted.
"The village at the foot of Mount Zhongnan."