Chapter 212
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 212
Chapter Title: Dokgo Lone Sword (1)
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Since we'd already come down to Suzhou, Mount Putuo—where the Dokgo Lone Sword lay dormant—was practically right around the corner.
Boarding a boat once more and drifting along, we made our way to the Zhoushan Archipelago, where the serene majesty of Mount Putuo blanketed the entire island.
However.
Just like at Mount Tai, we'd hit another roadblock this time.
"I'm terribly sorry, but our sect forbids men from entering. It's our sect's ironclad rule—please understand."
"......Pardon?"
Just like Mount Tai, another sect had firmly planted itself here without fail: the Sword Pavilion.
It was a sect I'd heard of before.
A mysterious sect made up solely of women who wielded the sword!
The world of lilies, where they honed their blades and scabbards for slaying polar bears!
Was all that wild erotic fan art I'd churned out and sold coming back as karma?
Unlike the Mount Hua Sect, this time I couldn't even step through the entrance before being turned away with a guest-repelling decree.
"Is there really a rule like that anywhere in the world?"
"Then explain the Shaolin's no-women zones!"
"Hm."
Using the Shaolin shield here, of all places.
But the area around the Northern Bright Secret Vault did have an unusually thick aura overall, so it wasn't strange for a sect to have been built around it.
Just look at it so far.
In Yunnan, there was the Stone Forest, a famous scenic spot brimming with nature's mysteries, and Lake Dongting in Hunan was the same.
We could chalk up Dunhuang near the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult or Phoenix Mountain in Liaoning to their barren surroundings.
For traditionally renowned mountains like Mount Tai or Mount Putuo, it would actually be stranger if no sect had coiled up there.
But! Why!
Of all places, why a women-only zone!
"My apologies."
"Take care."
I couldn't exactly demonstrate my power by slicing their signboard in half right in front of the sect, so for now, a tactical retreat.
"Kyau!"
Taking in the sight of the wolf pup frolicking freely and letting out playful growls, I sorted through breakthrough options.
There were plenty of candidates.
But none really appealed.
Option one.
The manliest thing a man could do: cross-dress.
Of course, I was confident that with this body's looks and my acting skills, I could pull it off.
But somehow... that felt off.
Truth be told, I just didn't want to go that far.
By the same logic, grinding Jade Transformation Preservation for some random technique made no sense either.
And I'd overused Sleep Gas so much at Mount Tai that I didn't have enough left to blanket the Sword Pavilion—which looked at least three times bigger than Mount Hua Sect.
"Should I just wipe them all out...? I could slit their throats before they even scream..."
I muttered to myself, trying to psych myself up.
But somehow, that didn't sit right either.
I'm Geum Sihyeon, lover of peace and love & peace.
I couldn't demolish the holy land of lilies over one measly technique.
So, only one option left.
Time to bring back the elite liquor agent of the Ghost Killer Squad, master of shadows, the invisible Geum Sihyeon—the Hundred Flowers Academy's runaway ninja.
Back to basics.
"The moon's so bright tonight, junior sister..."
"It really is, senior sister..."
Sometimes, reality can be even more tantalizing than imagination.
Not just the Sword Pavilion—the entire Zhoushan Archipelago was practically a women-only zone.
And so, on this night too, in a moonlit nook of the Sword Pavilion, a secret rendezvous was underway.
Of course, getting caught meant corporal punishment, and excessive promiscuity could lead to near-expulsion.
But was there anything that flooded the brain with dopamine quite like forbidden love?
Besides, they all practiced martial arts—inner cultivation methods based on seductive techniques, no less—so they formed a breathtakingly beautiful tableau.
"Ngh, already...?"
"Shh, my cute little kitty."
"Where'd you even learn to talk like that...?"
The two humans were on the verge of melting together like slugs.
Tak!
"...?"
"Senior sister, did you hear something just now...?"
A very faint footstep echoed clearly in their ears.
They hastily refastened their easily undone attire and heightened their senses to the limit, bracing for whatever might come.
But.
"Kyauu—"
The moment they spotted the adorable creature mewling cutely atop the wall...
"Wow..."
"It's so cute... Where'd it come from...?"
They were utterly captivated by an overwhelming cuteness they'd never seen before.
Impeccably pristine white fur, not a speck of dirt.
Fluffy enough to knock you out in ten seconds if you hugged it.
And those utterly harmless, sparkling jewel-like eyes that drew them in completely.
They didn't even notice a shadow briefly capturing their sticky embrace before vanishing.
.
.
.
Guided by the Northern Bright True Energy, the thief reached his destination and let out a hollow sigh, as if abandoning stealth, muttering curses.
"Shit."
Infiltrating here undetected by crawling along the rafters had gone smoothly enough.
But his target was far too exposed.
The training ground smack in the center of the Sword Pavilion.
Where a massive Avalokitesvara statue beamed a compassionate smile, flanked by a gigantic boulder.
And a single sword embedded in that boulder as if rooted there.
Just seeing the two characters "Northern Bright" etched on the hilt made it clear this was the key to the Northern Bright Secret Vault.
After agonizing for a while, Geum Sihyeon pulled a mask from his bosom and donned it, then gripped the sword's hilt.
The instant he channeled Northern Bright True Energy into the sword...
Kugugu...
Drdrdr...
Defying Geum Sihyeon's hope for a quiet opening to the vault...
A vibration erupted, exaggerated enough to feel like it was shaking the entire Mount Putuo.
"Ha."
A hollow sigh pitched over the intense rumbling beat.
And soon.
"What was that sound...?"
"An earthquake?"
"Ngh, junior sister, doesn't this make it... even better...?"
The slumbering Sword Pavilion began to awaken.
Geum Sihyeon had briefly considered hurling an invincible meteor bomb at the vault entrance to enact "If I can't have it, no one will."
But the one who already had it would suffer more.
And with full martial arts collection just one step away...
"Can't do that."
Geum Sihyeon set down the wolf pup, which had burrowed back into his bosom.
And then.
"I'm counting on you."
"Kyau!"
As a precaution for such an event, he activated the pre-planned operation "Divine Beast" with the wolf pup.
"Wow."
Was it because this was the last stop?
Or was the Dokgo Lone Sword something special compared to the others?
The design was completely different from all the previous Northern Bright Secret Vaults.
The others had felt like typical treasure rooms from a game, but this one evoked an Eastern-style tomb for some reason.
The walls were covered in murals of women wielding swords, so vividly depicted that the grandeur of their forms was palpable.
This had to be related to the Dokgo Lone Sword.
It was do-or-die anyway.
Trusting the wolf pup—which had grown tremendously while sucking up my inner energy and was probably stronger than Nangong now—to handle defense on its own,
My footsteps naturally slowed as I took it in.
Manuals could take book form, but just gazing at these murals felt like something slamming into my frontal lobe.
One lap, two laps.
Double-checking for anything missed while surveying the whole.
It was safe to say the murals captured a single sword birthing 360 variations.
I committed them all to memory, then swung the stone-dusted sword I'd been gripping, imprinting the forms into my body firsthand.
"Hmm..."
Arrogant as it might sound,
The intent was simple.
Can you clearly feel every transformation the sword can weave, and actually perform them?
Turning my head, there it was:
A massive iron door engraved with exactly 360 strokes.
The purpose was clear.
Only one who could cleanly swing a sword infused with Northern Bright True Energy precisely along those strokes would be allowed to proceed.
Swaaak—
I swung experimentally a few times, tracing the strokes.
The Northern Bright True Energy glowed faintly along the lines like engraving a picture, then vanished into the door after a few seconds, as if absorbed.
The meaning was straightforward.
Fill every stroke with sword strikes—precisely—within the time limit.
"Haha..."
A dry laugh escaped me.
If this had been the first Northern Bright Secret Vault after learning the Northern Bright Divine Art?
I wouldn't have gotten a single technique, let alone treasure—I'd have been booted at the entrance.
If my realm hadn't reached Harmony, I'd have understood it in my head but couldn't have executed it with my body.
But.
The current me.
Ultimate Sihyeon could do it.
From one to ten, a hundred, three hundred sixty.
I danced with the sword.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—the onomatopoeic rush of air in an instant felt like it could copy 360 characters.
A divine prowess worthy of being called whoosh-whoosh!
Then.
Kugung, kigik—!
The iron door creaked open with a heavy groan.
And simultaneously.
Kubam...!
"Hm..."
The entrance I'd come through sealed shut completely.
This was clearly supposed to be a fateful encounter spot.
Why did the theatrics feel so much like a trap...
.
.
.
Beyond the iron door.
After passing a long corridor lined with fragmented murals depicting forms from countless arts using swords, blades, spears, whips, sabers, staffs, and more.
I finally arrived at a place where,
Unlike the Heavenly Demon Cave where I'd seen the previous Heavenly Demon in a hallucinatory overdose haze,
"......"
A room with an elderly man in his seventies, eyes closed in lotus position, radiating unmistakable vitality.
No matter how I looked.
No matter how I observed with Soul Moon Divine Eyes.
No matter how I circulated Northern Bright True Energy.
I had no idea how he existed here, but... he was alive.
"Uh... hello?"
I offered a cautious greeting.
The old man's eyes snapped open.
His piercing gaze pierced right through me.
And then.
"Kiruruk—!"
As a bird emitting a cry eerily like the defeat-and-elimination mascot gull of Busan landed on his shoulder,
"Welcome to my Sword Tomb."
The old man uttered meaningful words.
Sword Tomb?
Isn't this the Northern Bright Secret Vault?