Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: The Reason There's No Sword Energy
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That night.
As was to be expected, we ended up sleeping on the streets, so we decided to fill our bellies with all the food we'd received during the day.
Unlike preserved rations, this stuff would spoil if left out too long.
We'd gotten so much that unless we ate our fill, most of it would go to waste, so the group dove into the meal with surprising ferocity.
Everyone except me.
"Haa..."
I let out a sigh so deep it seemed like it might bore a hole in the ground.
I could feel the eyes of the others, who were eating beside me, turning my way, but I had no spare attention for that right now.
"Haaa..."
Who would've thought that neither the Heavenly Bow Carefree Sword Technique nor the Imperial Sword Form would exist.
I was already well aware that this world differed from what I knew in many ways.
I knew that, but still—wasn't it too much for the Nangong Clan to lack the Imperial Sword Form?
A Nangong Clan without the Imperial Sword Form was like beef noodle soup without beef or mapo tofu without tofu!
I screamed internally, but that wouldn't make the nonexistent Imperial Sword Form suddenly appear.
In the end, I sighed again.
"Haaaa..."
"You're just gonna keep sighing and ruin everyone's appetite!?"
Unable to endure my barrage of sighs any longer, my master finally snapped at me.
I shot him a resentful glare.
"If Master hadn't shattered my dreams and hopes, I wouldn't be like this."
"What? You little punk...! You think it's my fault the Nangong Clan doesn't have that Imperial whatever-it-is!?"
"...Can't argue with that."
Unable to refute his perfectly logical point, he smoothed out his expression and resumed eating.
"Munch munch..."
I bit into a dumpling from the dumpling shop we'd gotten earlier that day and pondered.
Why were there no Heavenly Bow Carefree Sword Technique or Imperial Sword Form?
Those two techniques were the quintessential symbols and ultimate moves of the Nangong Clan, always appearing in countless martial arts novels.
With sky-high probability, it was the signature ultimate technique unveiled by the Nangong Clan head, the one dubbed the Sword King, in moments of crisis. That was the Imperial Sword Form.
A sword that intimidated foes into paralysis, then obliterated them without a trace amid storms and thunder—a true emperor's blade!
"......"
I briefly recalled the descriptions of the Imperial Sword Form, then snapped back to reality and sank into gloom.
But the gloom didn't last long before it turned to resignation.
Yeah, maybe I'd expected too much.
This world had no lightness skills, and sword energy or sword aura were dismissed as nonsense.
Strictly speaking, the Imperial Sword Form was just the product of countless martial arts novel authors' imaginations.
I'd been the fool for unilaterally assuming such techniques definitely existed.
Realizing this, I cleanly let go of my lingering attachments.
Fine, whatever. Can't do anything about what's not there.
Was I gonna sprawl out in the Nangong Clan's training grounds and demand they invent a new technique? Of course not.
Time to give up neatly and focus on what needed doing right now.
I took a deep breath, blowing all my regrets far away, then lifted my head.
Looking at the three people staring at me, I opened my mouth.
"Alright then. Shall we start the sword energy transmission?"
It was time for the reward for handing over the Yellow Dragon Divine Pill: instruction on using sword energy.
First, I approached a nearby tree and plucked off four long, flexible branches.
"What's that? We're practicing with those?"
I shook my head at Hwaryeon's question.
"No, this is just for the explanation before the real transmission begins. If things go as I think, it'll take quite a while."
"...Aren't you underestimating us a bit too much?"
"It's not like that. Once you hear the full explanation, you'll understand."
To Hwaryeon's complaint, it might sound like I was belittling their skills at first glance.
But I absolutely wasn't looking down on the group.
This wasn't about talent... more like—what should I call it? Habits? Bad habits? Something like that.
"First, I'll properly show you what sword energy is. Instructor Hwaryeon, draw your sword and step forward."
"...When did I become an instructor?"
"Just now. Come on."
Hwaryeon shot me an exasperated look, let out a small sigh, and stepped forward.
Facing her, I held only a single branch in my hand.
"Alright, let's exchange one clash. Come at me."
"...What did you say?"
Hwaryeon's expression turned even more incredulous.
Her eyes flicked between my face and the branch in my hand, then darkened with intense anger.
"...Don't regret this."
I tried telling her I wasn't underestimating her, but she wouldn't listen anyway.
Well, one clash and she'd get it.
I twirled the branch, and Hwaryeon drew her sword, charging at me with a murderous aura.
A ferocious blade hurtled toward me, poised to cleave me in two, and I swung the branch to meet it.
"......!"
"Watch out!"
Never imagining I'd actually try to block with a branch, Hwaryeon's eyes widened, halving the force behind her sword.
I smirked at Seol-i's scream in my ear and smacked Hwaryeon's sword with the branch.
-Clang!
"Huh?"
"What...!?"
Defying all common sense, an impossible metallic ring echoed as Hwaryeon lost her grip on her sword.
The sword flew weakly, clattering to the ground with a pitiful metallic sound, but no one in the group paid it any mind.
Their gazes fixed on the branch—utterly intact despite clashing with a razor-sharp blade.
Hwaryeon narrowed her eyes at the branch in my hand, her shocked face sharpening.
She must have spotted the faint haze shimmering around it.
Meanwhile, my master muttered blankly.
"...No way that branch is the legendary Adamant Wood, right?"
"Of course not. It's just a plain old branch."
Right in front of my master's eyes, I snapped the branch in my hand.
-Snap snap.
While my master and Seol-i stared dumbly at the four broken pieces falling to the ground, Hwaryeon retrieved her fallen sword and spoke up.
"...You manifested sword energy with a branch?"
"Correct."
I picked up a fresh branch to replace the broken one and infused it with more qi than before.
A clearer haze rose around the qi-wrapped branch, drawing everyone's focused stares.
"This is sword energy. It's internal energy accumulated in the body, projected outward to envelop the branch. That's how I could repel a sharp sword without it getting sliced."
"Internal energy... outside the body?"
My master muttered with a confused expression.
Not surprising he couldn't grasp it.
For someone who'd spent their life using internal energy only to enhance physical abilities, the idea of projecting it outside the body was utterly alien.
But compared to my master, Hwaryeon and Seol-i seemed to accept it more readily.
Put simply, my master was just old and set in his ways...
"You punk, you're thinking something rude, aren't you?"
"No way. Look into my pure, innocent eyes."
As expected, my master's instincts for that were peerless.
I flashed a continuous smile and batted my eyes, and he turned away with a look that said he regretted seeing it.
"So? How do you project internal energy outside the body?"
Having fended off my master with eye contact, Hwaryeon pressed me.
"Uh, by channeling internal energy through the body's acupoints... Wait, hold on!"
I urgently stopped Seol-i and Hwaryeon, who were about to try moving their qi right away.
"Why?"
"Come on, at least hear me out first. You channel it through the acupoints, but you need to control the strength."
"...Control... the strength?"
This time, even Hwaryeon and Seol-i wore baffled expressions.
Seeing that, I was sure disaster would've struck if they'd released their qi immediately.
My suspicions were solidifying.
There was only one way to confirm it properly.
I hesitated a bit, then forced the words out.
"...By any chance, could you teach me your qi circulation methods?"
"What? What are you...!?"
"......"
Seol-i gasped in shock while Hwaryeon fell silent without a word.
Even I, who'd brought it up, understood their reactions.
Asking for their qi circulation methods.
Put bluntly, it was like asking them to hand over their weaknesses.
Even among close allies, it was an incredibly rude request.
I knew better than anyone how outrageous it sounded, but it was essential for teaching qi projection.
I was about to explain the details when Hwaryeon spoke first.
"Just the circulation method is fine, right?"
"Actually, the circulation method... What?"
"Miss?!"
Her words startled me, my master, and Seol-i alike.
By the way, those two call Hwaryeon "Miss," huh. First I'd heard of it.
No, no! That's not the point!
"...You sure?"
"Why wouldn't I be? We're the ones who asked you to teach us your family's ultimate techniques."
"Ah..."
Seol-i belatedly realized this and looked sheepish, glancing at my master.
My master met his disciple's eyes, clicked his tongue softly, and nodded.
With his permission, Seol-i followed Hwaryeon's lead and taught me her circulation method.
Hearing both of their methods, I couldn't help groaning in agony.
I'd hoped otherwise, but as expected.
I absolutely couldn't teach qi projection like this.
"Ugh..."
"Young hero? Is there a problem?"
"Yeah. A huge one."
The group looked puzzled at my answer.
And I dropped the bomb right in their faces.
"As expected, it looks like we'll need to change your circulation methods."