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I can say without hesitation that there are two martial arts whose principles I can truly discuss.
One is the martial arts I mastered when I was part of the Orthodox Faction, and the other is the Absorption of Yin to Nourish Yang that I made my Fate-Determining Technique.
I can talk endlessly about how a man and woman should achieve Yin-Yang Union, but if you ask me to discuss the martial arts of the Wudang Sect, I know nothing beyond the Taiji Wisdom Sword I acquired, its derived Mind Methods, and a few miscellaneous techniques.
'Apart from what the Taiji Sword Empress cultivated, I know nothing!'
Sword arts include the Five Elements Sword Technique and the Taiji Wisdom Sword.
The Internal Energy Art is the Taiji Divine Art.
The Movement Art is the Cloud-Riding Skill.
...That's all. The Taiji Sword Empress conquered the Central Plains with only the Taiji Wisdom Sword. So honestly, while I could make Sagong Hee into the Taiji Sword Empress, molding her into a Wudang Sect expert on par with the Taiji Sword Empress was somewhat beyond me.
Because I simply didn't know. I had never seen or trained in Wudang's martial arts except when facing them as an enemy.
So I gave up on explaining the origins of Wudang Sect martial arts or their detailed principles when teaching Sagong Hee. It was the same when I taught Sam-gu. I have only one method of teaching a servant.
"Watch and follow."
No explanation. I simply unfold the Martial Form and let them observe it with their own eyes.
"This is the Taiji Wisdom Sword."
I gripped an iron sword and slowly settled into the stance.
Flowing from a light Starting Stance, the Taiji Wisdom Sword was so fluid it was impossible to tell if it was a sword art, a dance, or a gesture expressing the wind of nature with the body.
Just follow.
"Burn it into your eyes until it surfaces even in your dreams. Remember. Remember again. If you seem to forget, I will show you once more."
I freely displayed before the current Sagong Hee the martial arts that the future Sagong Hee had once unfolded, absorbed through blood and preserved in my memory. There was no reason to think about the posture or direction of the sword swings.
"If a hundred times is not enough, I will show you a thousand."
As the Sagong Hee in my memories guided me.
Like a butterfly dancing in a forest, I swung and thrust the sword. Moving under the power of the harmony that unites with nature and flows with it, a vast taiji symbol was drawn at my feet.
"Can you follow that?"
"It is impossible for me."
"Impossible? The word itself says 'I'm possible'!"
"Pardon?"
"No, I mean you can."
The Blood Cult Leader once said.
That the word 'impossible' did not exist in her dictionary. That believing it cannot be done is the problem itself, and she championed the philosophy of grit: keep doing it until it works.
"Think of Emperor Gaozu of Han! Did he win every time against the Hegemon of Chu? He never gave up and only barely seized victory at the very, very end. If he had given up, thinking it was impossible to defeat Hang Jeok, the Chu dynasty would have remained in history, not the Han dynasty!"
"Th-That may be, but...."
Sagong Hee pointed at the traces of the Martial Form I had displayed, her face deeply troubled.
"This is a martial art where the Sword Wind scatters and the earth overturns without the sword even touching the ground. Could I really do this...?"
"No, I'm telling you to copy the posture of how the sword moves! There are people who follow Martial Forms just by looking at a Secret Manual, so why can't you follow it when I show you with your own eyes?!"
"Th-That is...."
Sagong Hee glared at me with an aggrieved look.
"I-If it were a written text, I could understand it right away. But with my eyes alone, I can't grasp it at all...."
"Argh, dammit!"
I threw the sword. Before it hit the ground, the Qi-Controlled Sword Art of the Taiji Wisdom Sword sent it soaring through the air to embed itself at Sagong Hee's feet.
"Practice! Damn, I'll go prepare lunch."
"Ah, my lord! What is for lunch...?"
"If you don't enter the introductory stage of the Taiji Wisdom Sword, it's just rice and salt!"
"Abuse...."
"Quiet!"
I shouted down Sagong Hee's complaints and entered the kitchen. In the kitchen, rice that had been soaking since morning had already turned glossy in the pot, and a carp caught in the streams of Wudang Mountain was still alive and flopping in the basket.
Thwack!
I struck the carp on the head with the knife. I burned the splattering blood with Samadhi True Fire, then trimmed the scales and separated bone from flesh with the blade, spreading it out wide.
"Should I slice it raw, or grill it...?"
"Um, excuse me...."
Outside the kitchen, Sagong Hee poked her head in and was checking my mood. I had told her to practice martial arts but here she was watching me, which stoked my irritation, but the sight of her staring at me like a puppy was so pretty I decided to let it slide this once.
'If it weren't for that face.'
If it were Sam-gu, I would have smacked him on the head with my fist. I laid out the wide carp fillets onto the grill. Fetching embers from the brazier and lighting the fire, the flames of the firewood blazed up fiercely.
"My lord, I have a question."
"What."
"My lord, you wield Samadhi True Fire that can even burn smallpox, so why do you not use Samadhi True Fire when you cook?"
"......."
The novel question made my head go numb. I half-wondered if she was asking to mock me, but Sagong Hee's expression was serious.
"Gyeon-hui."
"My lord, I am Sagong Hee."
"In the sense that you are Hee like a puppy, you are Gyeon-hui. Anyway, Gyeon-hui, no matter how much of a martial artist one is, using martial arts for every aspect of daily life is a mistaken path."
"What?"
Sagong Hee tilted her head. Seeing her blink at a concept she couldn't grasp made my lust surge, but if I devoured Sagong Hee here, the meal would grow cold and flies would swarm the carp.
'I want to devour Sagong Hee instead of the meal. But I must endure. If I give in now for nothing, I'll only end up more inconvenienced.'
The rule is that one can indulge in a woman's body longer and more vigorously only after eating a hearty meal and then waiting the time it takes to burn one incense stick before properly savoring her.
It was not once or twice that I had lost myself to carnal desire, thrown everything else aside, engaged in the Affair of Mutual Joy between Man and Woman, and regretted it later.
"Ahem. Incorporating martial arts into daily life as training is, of course, effective. Especially for methods like the Internal Energy Art, it is good to circulate inner energy throughout all twelve hours of the day. But using internal energy to cook rice and grill fish is madness."
"Why?"
"Because there is no need."
One can cook rice and grill fish perfectly well with natural fire.
"No matter how outstanding human skill is, it cannot overcome the laws of nature set since the moment Pangu separated heaven and earth. Even if I use my internal energy to light a fire under the pot, would that be the true flame of nature?"
"......."
"All artificial things began from trying to defy the laws of nature. Before the vastness of nature, humans are presented with two choices. To live in harmony with nature, or to attempt to overcome nature."
"Overcome... nature?"
"Yes. Though this isn't the sort of thing to say at Wudang Mountain. Heh. Enough small talk. Go back and hone the Martial Form."
These were words that would make the Wudang Sect's Taoists draw their swords and charge if they heard them, considering they established their sect atop the mountain to cultivate harmony. Yet this was the esoteric principle of the Taiji Wisdom Sword that the Taiji Sword Empress had realized.
'The Taiji Sword Empress sought to overcome the laws of nature.'
Yin-Yang Union.
That men and women become one is a law of nature. The Taiji Sword Empress denied the Natural Order of Yin-Yang Union until I took her virginity. Though born a woman and enduring a monthly cycle, she had never once accepted a man.
'Honestly, it was a body that made any desire to do it flee.'
The shape and curves were beautiful, but the visual problems visible to the eye were overwhelming. Even I, a Blood Jiangshi at the time, was mentally repulsed when facing the captured and bound Taiji Sword Empress.
— Impossible is nothing. It can be done, flame-possible! You just shut your eyes and thrust in hard! Mhm!
...The Blood Cult Leader was controlling me.
Never was it my own desire that drove the Six Phoenixes into the Taiji Sword Empress. Of course, despite never having been used by anyone, her interior was naturally a Renowned Vessel, and I thrust and thrust and thrust again until I extracted the essence of the Taiji Wisdom Sword.
Honestly, it was good. If only the visual element were absent, it was a body I would never tire of thrusting into for a lifetime, and it proudly ranked among the best women I had taken in my life.
That very Taiji Sword Empress was now nothing more than a useless servant, but she was more than fulfilling her role for eye candy. I recalled Sagong Hee's naked form when I had stripped her as I finished grilling the carp.
The flesh turned golden brown. I sprinkled salt on top and flipped the grill—
Viiing.
"......?"
An energy that should not have been there was felt beside me. At the pure yet yin-leaning energy of the Taiji Wisdom Sword, I turned my head, and there was Sagong Hee, eyes sparkling at me, having used the Sword Control Art of the Taiji Wisdom Sword.
"My lord! I succeeded!"
"Oh, ohh!!"
I marveled at the servant's rapid achievement.
Mastering martial arts this quickly was admittedly unexpected, but since it brought forward the time when I could freely plunder her internal energy, how could I not be pleased?
"I levitated a sword! And a kitchen knife at that!"
Sagong Hee had levitated a kitchen knife first, not any other blade. She used it the most for cooking, but a kitchen knife, being a bladed edge, could certainly serve as a weapon.
"Gyeon-hui, watch closely!"
I levitated the practice longsword set by the kitchen entrance into the air. Then I tossed a bundle of green onions I was about to put into the sauce high into the air.
"This is the essence of the Taiji Wisdom Sword, the Qi-Controlled Sword Art!"
Sasasak—!
The longsword instantly julienned the green onions floating in the air.
I had just said that overusing martial arts in daily life was meaningless, but with my servant levitating a kitchen knife for the first time in a while, I couldn't resist giving a demonstration.
"Now, try it yourself! Let's cut the green onions first with the Taiji Wisdom Sword!"
"Eh, eit!"
Clang.
The kitchen knife struck the handle of the grill instead of the green onions, and the grilled carp, whose white flesh had been cooked and steaming, was sent crashing to the ground. To make matters worse, the flesh side hit the dirt, not the skin side.
"......."
Papapap.
I flicked the falling green onions with the Qi-Controlled Sword Art and struck Sagong Hee's forehead.
***
Ultimately, I grilled the marinated pork ribs meant for dinner as lunch instead, and for the evening meal I used freshly caught carp to make dinner and ate with Sagong Hee.
'Her martial arts truly are excellent.'
Having inherited beauty and martial talent from her demon mother, Sagong Hee clearly possessed the full potential of the Taiji Sword Empress.
If the path to becoming the Taiji Sword Empress were expressed in numbers, she had reached about the fifty-percent mark. In barely over a month.
Caw— Caw—
The night crows call. Moonlight draped thickly outside the door. After clearing the dinner table and finishing the dishes, Sagong Hee sat demurely on the bedding, gulping audibly.
"Gyeon-hui."
"Y-Yes."
When mastering martial arts, she became a daring heroine. When learning housework, she became a scolded child. And now, it was time to become a woman.
"Recite what I have taught you over the past month."
"....I learned how to please my lord with my hands, breasts, and feet."
"Was that all I taught you?"
"......I learned how to masturbate. As my lord once placed his hand inside my petals."
In truth, I had only refrained from the main deed. I had already taught Sagong Hee many things.
I had only left the flower unpicked. I had freely bitten and sucked her flower, staining Sagong Hee with my color, and before long, learning the night's work had become her second favorite thing after mastering martial arts.
'Since I can teach all the night's work myself, she could stand to learn a bit of housework.'
Though it left me with lingering regret, I shook my head and steadied my thoughts. Sagong Hee was beautiful and good at the night's work, so it was fine if she was a little lacking in housework. A face that pretty was worth its weight in gold.
"Um... my lord...? You've been staring at my chest for a while... are we doing chest service tonight?"
"Hm, it has certainly started to fill out considerably. But not tonight. I've summoned someone to teach you. Come in."
"Pardon?"
Creeeak.
When I opened the door, a courtesan wearing a bamboo hat was bowing politely in front of our main gate. She glanced briefly at Sagong Hee as she entered the room, then smiled brightly at me and knelt.
"Thank you for seeking out this humble girl again today."
"M-My lord...? Could it be...?"
"Yes. A courtesan from the Pleasure House just outside. I often avail myself of her services."
"Ohoho, for the past few days, I've been exclusively on retainer for this house. Because he is such a generous patron. My introduction is belated. My name is...."
The courtesan removed my pants with a bewitching face and opened her mouth toward my member.
"Jin Sa-wol. Ah."
"......."
Sagong Hee's face turned pale as she looked at me. I grabbed Jin Sa-wol's head and pressed down on Sagong Hee's waist to keep her from escaping.
"She is simply a woman with a similar name. Just watch. See what it means to serve with the mouth."
"Y-Yes...."
Ignoring Sagong Hee's complicated expression, I thoroughly enjoyed Jin Sa-wol's oral service with Sagong Hee beside me.
"Fufu, watch closely, young miss. Though I am but a lowly courtesan, I can teach you such things. Ah."
"Huh? D-Don't tell me."
"Yes. Watch and learn. The Bedroom Arts of a woman."
This was a demonstration by a skilled instructor.