Chapter 456. I'm the Expert at That, You Know. (3)
Fft!
The tip of the sword shot forward without a tremor.
Fft!
Again.
And again.
Time and time again, the sword tip thrust out in rapid succession, reaching the exact same point before stopping there over and over.
It’s wavering.
Yu I-seol’s face tightened slightly.
At a glance, it seemed as though the blade were stopping in the same place each time, but she knew very well that her sword was trembling by the smallest degree.
“Huu.”
After letting out a short breath, Yu I-seol withdrew her Plum Blossom Sword.
It’s not easy.
The Plum Blossom Sword Dang Family had made for her was certainly sharper and far better balanced than the one they had used in the past.
But as with everything in this world, every advantage came with a drawback.
As the blade became lighter, it could move with even greater brilliance, but that also meant the tip wavered all the more easily.
Yu I-seol quietly looked at the Plum Blossom Sword.
The sword of Mount Hua placed little distinction between men and women.
Unlike the ordinary righteous sect swords, which focused on pouring strength into the blade, Mount Hua’s sword centered on speed, change, and illusion.
If one could unfold a sword that was sharper and more varied than anything else, then even a woman could reach the pinnacle without issue.
But how could it be as easy as it sounded?
The more varied the changes in the sword, the more perfect the control it required.
A sword that deceived and bewitched opponents through countless transformations. The moment one lost proper control over it, Mount Hua’s sword became nothing more than a demonic blade.
I need to put a center into the sword tip.
Chung Myung had spoken endlessly about fundamentals.
At first, she had understood it only as a simple statement that the basics mattered, but lately she felt as though she was beginning to understand why Chung Myung stressed it so much.
The more one focused on flashy, eerie changes, the more the sword lost its center and started to waver. To hold that center, one had to return to the basics.
Use the lower body to anchor the sword’s weight, calm the mind, and completely control one’s own blade.
A dazzling sword and a heavy heart.
It felt like she had to make two incompatible things coexist.
“Huuu.”
Yu I-seol exhaled deeply, wiped the sweat running down her forehead, and slowly lifted her head to look at the moon in the sky.
It had been some time since the tip of her sword had made plum blossoms bloom.
But the realm she longed for still felt far away.
The plum blossoms she wanted were not this level. They needed to be more refined, more vivid…
Yes, plum blossoms that seemed alive.
Before she knew it, Yu I-seol’s feet began moving of their own accord.
After a long while, the path she arrived at was none other than Yeonhwabong.
Breathing in the cold night air that already felt as though winter had rushed in, she wordlessly began climbing Yeonhwabong. Then, in her ears, she heard a familiar cutting sound.
The sound of a sword slicing through the wind like silk.
Now familiar enough to be almost ordinary, the sound made her steps quicken a little more.
“……”
At last, when she reached the summit of Yeonhwabong, a forest of plum blossoms unfurled before her eyes.
She clenched her fist and stared at the sight, unblinking.
Plum blossoms that seemed alive, one by one.
No matter how many times she saw them, she could never rid herself of that feeling of being pulled in. The white and red blossoms swayed as though shaken by the wind, then scattered again, painting the empty air.
Yu I-seol etched those plum blossoms into her eyes again and again.
But then, all at once, the blossoms that had been fluttering like an illusion vanished. It was as though everything she had seen until now had been a dream.
“Ah…”
A faint sound of disappointment slipped from Yu I-seol’s lips.
Where the plum blossoms had disappeared, there was only Chung Myung, sitting down in annoyance with his sword planted into the ground.
Yu I-seol stared at his back, her eyes darkening slightly.
Honestly…
She had already seen that sight many times.
To her eyes, the plum blossoms were so perfect that calling them mere beauty still felt insufficient, but to Chung Myung, they still seemed unsatisfactory.
I want to hit him.
With a vein twitching faintly at her temple, Yu I-seol muttered inwardly.
The Mount Hua disciples all said in unison that Yu I-seol was a training maniac.
But she knew who was truly crazed over training.
The one who was already ahead was also the one pouring in the most effort, so catching up to him could only feel hopeless and impossibly distant.
Chung Myung stood motionless for quite a while, as if lost in thought. Watching his back, Yu I-seol quietly turned around. A martial artist lost in thought was not someone to meddle with carelessly.
Just as she was about to retrace her steps, Yu I-seol suddenly stopped in place again. Looking back at Chung Myung’s back, determination flickered across her face.
Someday, I’ll be able to…
Slowly descending the mountain once more, she tightened her grip on the Plum Blossom Sword hilt.
“Nguh.”
Chung Myung gripped the Dark Fragrance Plum Blossom Sword tightly.
“This is driving me insane.”
Then, with an agonized groan, he pulled the sword out and laid it across his knees.
It happened every time he trained, but there was nothing more frustrating than knowing something in his head and being unable to make his body do it.
Of course, Chung Myung now was incomparably stronger than the Plum Blossom Sword Saint had been at this age. The man in his previous life had also been called a genius who would go down in Mount Hua’s history, but compared to Chung Myung now, he was little more than a late-generation disciple.
He was confident he could beat his former self at this age just by swinging a sword with his feet instead of his hands.
Thinking that way, there was no reason to be so impatient, but…
“Nguh. That’s only easy for people who don’t know anything.”
A sigh burst out of Chung Myung.
For now, calm down.
The foundations that had been painstakingly built were only now starting to do their job.
Put another way, the base he had first laid when he began becoming stronger had barely had any effect until now.
He had only clawed his way this far thanks to the towering understanding of martial arts he had accumulated in his previous life, along with the half-forced absorption of spiritual pills.
And now it was finally time for the foundation he had carefully shaped with a craftsman’s spirit to show its strength.
That meant he would keep getting stronger from here on out, but…
Still too slow.
Without realizing it, Chung Myung’s brow furrowed.
If he could keep training steadily for another few decades, surpassing the realm he had reached in his past life would be nothing.
But the problem was that, no matter how he looked at it, those decades did not seem likely to be given to him.
The Demonic Sect was beginning to move again.
In the past, once the Central Plains discovered traces of the Demonic Sect, it had taken less than five years before all-out war broke out.
What guarantee was there that it would take any longer this time?
“Nguh.”
Letting out another pained sound, Chung Myung flopped backward onto the ground.
Staring quietly up at the bright full moon, blindingly brilliant overhead, he frowned slightly.
“Sect Leader Senior Brother.”
No answer came.
“If you’re up there watching, say something. Did that bastard fall into hell or what?”
Still no answer.
“Tsk. Fine. What would a senior brother know, anyway.”
- What the hell did you say, you little brat?
“...No, seriously? You only answer when it’s convenient for you?”
Chung Myung sighed and gazed vacantly up at the sky.
I guess I’m uneasy.
- Remember this, disciple of Mount Hua. This is not the end. The magic will return again. And when it does, the true demonic world will open. A demonic world no one can stop…
That bastard’s final words had been stuck in his mind the whole time.
It’ll return.
The man had clearly said that the magic would return again.
Until now, he had tried not to think about it because he had far too much to do, but once the possibility of meeting the Demonic Sect again loomed before him, that line became unbearably irritating.
Magic…
Normally, one would think it was simply a prophecy that the Demonic Sect would rise again. But given Chung Myung’s situation now, he couldn’t reduce it to something that simple.
Did that bastard call something other than himself “magic”?
There had not been enough time for them to have a real conversation, so there was no way to know.
“Thinking about it won’t give me an answer anyway.”
Chung Myung grumbled, then sprang to his feet and grabbed the Dark Fragrance Plum Blossom Sword.
Whether the Demonic Sect raged about or the Heavenly Demon returned again, there was ultimately only one way to deal with all of it.
“I need to get stronger.”
Strong enough to handle it if the Demonic Sect rose again.
Strong enough to cut off the Heavenly Demon’s head without hesitation if he came back again!
“I’m still nowhere near enough, and Mount Hua isn’t either.”
Merely restoring the past meant nothing.
The past was not something to reclaim. It was something to surpass.
Chung Myung’s sword once again began blooming clear plum blossoms.
Plum blossoms that would not fade for a long, long time.
* * *
Chung Myung’s eyes went wide, blinking over and over again.
Before him was a very familiar cart. But what caught his eye was not the cart itself, but the baggage stacked atop it.
Round sacks were piled dizzyingly high on the cart.
“...What the hell is all that?”
“Luggage.”
“No, I know it’s luggage…”
Were they moving house or something?
“Did you decide to move to Southern Edge Sect while I was gone?”
“What about Southern Edge Sect?”
“We should beat them all up and throw them out.”
“……”
Hyun Young turned to Chung Myung with a face that said, What a splendid idea.
No, don’t take a joke seriously…
Chung Myung had lost the will to speak, and Hyun Young kindly explained.
“Unfortunately, it’s not moving luggage. It’s the baggage you lot are taking to the North Sea.”
“...So what kind of baggage is all this…”
“I already gave Jo Gul a rough explanation. The things on the bottom are wool, leather, and a change of clothes.”
“……”
“And the top is full of food. Those boxes are gifts for the people of the North Sea.”
“What gifts?”
Hyun Young shrugged.
“First impressions are the most important, aren’t they? Even if they’ve received word in advance, the people of the North Sea aren’t likely to welcome people from the Central Plains. So if we prepare gifts, won’t that make things a little better? There’s no one in the world who hates gifts.”
“……”
Even while the two of them were talking, the rest of the group kept loading the remaining baggage onto the cart.
“It’s all loaded, Elder!”
“Hmm. You checked carefully to make sure nothing was missing?”
“Yes!”
Hyun Young nodded with satisfaction.
“Soso!”
“Yes, Elder!”
“Did you pack all the medicinal herbs and wound medicine?”
“Yes!”
Dang Soso slapped the bundle slung over her shoulder and grinned.
“We prepared everything without missing a thing, so don’t worry!”
“Good.”
After scanning the carts with a hawk’s eye, Hyun Young personally checked once more to see if anything had been left out.
“This is something Sect Leader specifically entrusted us with, so not a single thing can be neglected. The North Sea is a long journey, so there will be many things needed.”
“No, I mean… isn’t it enough for a martial artist to just pack weapons?”
Chung Myung’s muttering was met with a fiery response.
“Like hell just a finger’s twitch is enough!”
“You’re the one who cooks, huh? Huh? You cook?”
“If you head out like that, people are going to tell you to eat grass, you monstrous bastard!”
At the fierce backlash from Baek Cheon and the other disciples, Chung Myung flinched.
“...Fine, setting the luggage aside, why are we using these carts? If you pile this much onto them, the horses won’t even be able to pull them.”
“We don’t need horses.”
“...Huh?”
When Chung Myung turned his head, Baek Cheon calmly shook it.
“Young Hero Huang said the North Sea is so cold that horses freeze to death there. So we can’t bring horses anyway.”
“...Then?”
“We pull them.”
“……”
For a moment, Chung Myung’s eyes wavered.
“You mean the senior brothers?”
“Well, we did pull them last time too, didn’t we? It wasn’t bad as training. Right?”
When Baek Cheon sought agreement, Yoon Jong and Jo Gul nodded.
“Yes, well.”
“We haven’t pulled them much lately, so I was starting to feel a little stiff.”
At their calm, casual conversation, Chung Myung’s mouth fell open.
Was this all right?
Was it really okay to do this?
If they were worried about the horses freezing to death, couldn’t they just have the horses haul the carts partway to the North Sea and let people pull them after that?
A dozen questions flashed through his head in an instant, but by then they were meaningless. If the people involved were determined to do it, what could he say?
“...Why is that one acting like that?”
“Hm?”
At Chung Myung’s uneasy gesture, Baek Cheon glanced that way. There was a man beside the cart, staring blankly ahead and muttering to himself.
“Mahaprajnaparamita-hridaya-sutra… Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva…”
Could the Heart Sutra sound that sorrowful?
The Mount Hua disciples all looked at him briefly, then shook their heads in unison.
“...Poor man.”
“I can see why he’d lose his mind.”
“But thinking about it, that gentleman went through all that trouble all the way to Sichuan and came back with nothing. We at least got swords out of it.”
“Yeah, that’s true… And after all that, even the abbot he trusted abandoned him and left.”
“Amitabha. May he attain enlightenment.”
Listening to that exchange, Chung Myung looked up at the sky again.
Sect Leader Senior Brother.
Mount Hua seems to be getting a little weird…
This really isn’t what I intended, you know?
“Is everyone prepared?”
At that moment, Hyun Jong approached from behind and asked.
“Yes, Sect Leader!”
The Mount Hua disciples straightened up to greet him.
“...It seems you’ve prepared thoroughly.”
After examining the heavily loaded carts with care, Hyun Jong nodded, clearly satisfied.
“Baek Cheon.”
“Yes, Sect Leader.”
“The North Sea is a faraway place. Be especially careful.”
“Yes!”
“Keep a close eye on Chung Myung and make sure he doesn’t cause trouble.”
“...I’ll do my best.”
“Good. That’s enough.”
Then Hyun Jong looked at Chung Myung and said,
“Can you do it?”
“...I was fine until just a moment ago.”
Glancing at the group that would be going with him, Chung Myung let out a small sigh.
Hyun Jong swept his worried gaze over everyone and spoke.
“Remember only this.”
There was a solemn light in the eyes of the Mount Hua disciples.
“You do not have an assignment you must complete at all costs. The moment things become even slightly dangerous, retreat at once and return to Mount Hua. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Sect Leader!”
When he finished, Hyun Jong nodded heavily.
“Then please take care and come back safely.”
“Then we’ll depart!”
Led by Baek Cheon, the disciples gathered at the front of the carts.
“What about Hye Yeon monk?”
“...Load him on for now.”
“Yes!”
Jo Gul hurriedly gathered up Hye Yeon and tossed him onto the baggage.
“Chung Myung! You get on too!”
“……”
“Sect Leader! Then we’ll be off!”
The Mount Hua disciples strode out of the mountain gate, pushing the carts with great pomp.
Chung Myung climbed onto the cart in silence, then looked at the slumped, listless Hye Yeon and the senior brothers cheerfully pulling the carts, and he smiled with satisfaction.
At this point, I don’t even know anymore.
Let it all go to hell, then.