Chapter 236
Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 236
Chapter Title: Rapid Training
“How’s it going? Getting the hang of it?”
“…Yes. Fortunately, the feel of swinging the sword itself remains sharp and clear.”
As if to prove the answer wasn’t an empty boast, the strokes grew smoother with each circle, the interruptions fading as proficiency took hold.
A rate of mastery far quicker than expected.
As dangerous as it is, the effect is undeniably real.
This should let us finish preparations on time.
While I nodded in satisfaction, Priest Hyeonjin sheathed his sword, steadied his breathing, and spoke.
“Honestly, it’s astonishing. A martial art like this actually exists in the world. And it wasn’t even created recently, was it?”
“…Yes. At least a few hundred years old, I’d say.”
Feigning ignorance in my response, Elder Mu Yeop—who had approached unnoticed—shouted loudly.
“Now do you get it? Why I was so obsessed with this martial art?”
“Ob—obsessed? You were aware of that… Whoops.”
The slip of my inner thoughts escaped before I could catch it, and I clamped my mouth shut.
But it was a touch too late. Elder Mu Yeop’s piercing gaze began stabbing at me from head to toe.
“Ahem, ahem.”
Clearing my throat awkwardly and averting my eyes, he clicked his tongue briefly and tossed me the cup in his hand.
“Ah, thank you.”
I spotted the cup brimming with clear water and downed it in one gulp. Meanwhile, Elder Mu Yeop addressed Priest Hyeonjin.
“Oh, right—I almost forgot to mention. After dinner, I’ve arranged for all the junior disciples to bathe. They haven’t had a proper wash in days, so make sure they clean up thoroughly.”
“Bathe… you say?”
Priest Hyeonjin, hearing this, asked back in a flustered voice.
“Is it really okay to use water so freely? The valley stream has dried up completely—there’s nowhere left to get more.”
The unfamiliar news sent a wave of bewilderment through me.
Haven’t bathed in days?
We’ve been soaking in full tubs this whole time.
Oblivious or not to my baffled stare, Elder Mu Yeop shrugged nonchalantly.
“You heard it yourself. In four days, it’ll all be over—win or lose. Why hold back now?”
“Ah….”
Priest Hyeonjin let out a sound of realization and nodded, sipping his water contentedly.
In the meantime, as I eyed Elder Mu Yeop with suspicion, he guessed my intent and cut in first.
“I heard Senior Brother Mujin gave separate orders for your group. You’re benefactors fighting for Wudang’s disciples, after all—no way we can repay that debt, so at least extend some courtesies.”
“…He did?”
Even so, it felt like such a wasteful use of water—I felt a pang of guilt.
As I scratched my cheek awkwardly, Elder Mu Yeop chuckled, clearly amused by my reaction.
“Don’t paint Wudang as so stingy. Without you all, we wouldn’t even be worrying about water rations. Besides, we don’t know how long we’ll need to hold out, but our reserves are ample enough.”
“Even so…”
“Well, if you feel that bad, just teach the Taiji Descent Sword Method properly.”
“Got it… Wait, what did you say?”
What did this guy just say? Taiji what?
“The Taiji Descent Sword Method. Taiji Descent Sword Method.”
“…….”
“Keuh, even I think it’s a great name. Rolls off the tongue nicely, doesn’t it?”
…I nearly spat out, “What bullshit, you madman.”
Where the hell did “Descent” even come from?
“Uh… ‘Descent’…?”
“Can’t keep calling it just Taiji forever. A proper martial art needs a proper name.”
“…….”
“There were other candidates, actually. Like Supreme Taiji Sword or Invincible Taiji Sword.”
“Supreme… Invincible…?”
His otherworldly naming sense left me speechless, mouth agape.
A man his age, and his sensibilities are at a five-year-old’s level.
“But in the end, Taiji Descent Sword Method has the best ring to it. What do you think? Hyeonjin, you like it too, right?”
“…….”
My eyes met Priest Hyeonjin’s as he struggled to keep a straight face.
‘We have to stop this. Can’t let that lame name stick.’
‘No way in hell we’re allowing it.’
Our minds synced in an instant.
I gave Priest Hyeonjin a solemn nod, then stepped forward with a steely expression to face Elder Mu Yeop.
“…The martial art’s name is Taiji Sword Method.”
“Huh? No, that’s too plain. Taiji Descent Sword Method has so much more punch…”
-Thud!
A heavy foot stomp cut Elder Mu Yeop short.
I had unleashed my aura, pressing down on him with overwhelming force.
Beaming at him—radiantly, oh so radiantly—as he froze in place, unable to budge.
“Taa. Iji. Sword. Method. Any objections?”
Say you object, and you’d better be ready.
A chill glinted from my curved smile.
A bead of cold sweat trickled down Elder Mu Yeop’s forehead, vanishing into his beard.
“A-alright. Taiji Sword Method it is.”
With his reluctant concession, I nodded and withdrew my aura.
“…Taiji Descent Sword Method was cooler, though…”
I turned away, ignoring the mutter as he shook off the pressure.
The training ground was now empty save for the three of us.
Lady Ye So had apparently left while we were talking.
Probably off preparing that large-scale spell.
Our own warped senses were normalizing, too—it was time for the next phase.
“Now that we’ve settled on a name for the martial art, shall we resume training?”
Having hammered the feel of the Taiji Sword Method into their bodies via sense-sharing, it was now time to make that sensation fully their own.
“As Lady Ye So explained earlier, if we’re passing the Taiji Sword on to the other Wudang disciples starting tomorrow, you two need to master it by the end of today.”
“…Achieving great attainment in a martial art in a single day. Outsiders would laugh if they heard.”
I shrugged at Priest Hyeonjin’s wry smile.
“Better than not doing it at all. It’s such an unusual and intricate sword art, after all.”
“True enough.”
Elder Mu Yeop chimed in, as if his grumbling had never happened.
“And that’s because it’s a martial art ‘without forms,’ isn’t it?”
A martial art without forms.
Just as he said, the Taiji Sword wasn’t like other arts, mastered by drilling individual forms one by one.
It was simply a sword method for freely drawing circles to defend against attacks and subdue foes.
That was why the cave’s sword marks had seemed so haphazard at a glance.
The Wudang ancestor who carved them wanted to teach later generations not to cling to rigid patterns.
“So feeling the sword art’s sensation isn’t enough. For true mastery, you need to ingrain it completely into your bodies.”
Ingrain.
Make the martial art truly your own.
And the best way to do that? Sparring, of course.
-Clang!
I drew my sword again, radiating menace as I bore down on Priest Hyeonjin and Elder Mu Yeop.
Their faces stiffened at my ominous aura.
“If the two of you can fend off my attacks successfully, we’ll call training over.”
“…You’ll go easy on us, right?”
“Who knows? Would it even count as training?”
My indirect refusal to hold back ratcheted their tension higher.
I grinned at the sight.
“I hope you two succeed quickly. The longer it takes, the more it’ll hurt.”
“…Are you trying to kill us?”
I curved my lips at Elder Mu Yeop’s pointless question.
“Oh, right—they say humans surpass their limits when death looms.”
“W-wait…!”
-Thud!
Ignoring his frantic shout, I lunged forward, feet pounding the ground toward the pair.
*
By now, the sun had set, leaving full night in its wake.
“Ugh….”
A groan of agony sounded from beside me.
I glanced over at Priest Hyeonjin, who had exited Elder Mu Yeop’s training ground alongside me.
His freshly changed Daoist robes were a mess again already.
Bruises bloomed red and purple across his exposed skin, face included.
“You okay?”
“Not okay… at all….”
A miserable grimace.
Hm, if he’s whining this much, he’s probably fine.
I smirked and patted his shoulder.
“Eek—!?”
A shrill yelp erupted, followed by a resentful glare.
Of course, I laughed it off, and soon Priest Hyeonjin was rubbing the spot with a small chuckle of his own.
“Hahaha… haa.”
But the laughter didn’t last, dissolving into a sigh.
“Why the world-weary sigh?”
“…Feels weird. In four—no, three days now—our lives might end.”
A face etched with inner turmoil.
I shot him a sidelong glance.
“Isn’t that why we’re going through all this trouble—to stop it?”
“…Yes.”
Priest Hyeonjin forced a smile and turned to me.
“Young Hero Goon, you’re truly remarkable.”
“…Out of nowhere? Remarkable how?”
“Aren’t you? Barely in your twenties, yet facing this crisis without fear, staying calm from start to finish.”
I gave a wry smile at Priest Hyeonjin’s words.
“You really think so? That I’m not scared?”
“Yes? You’re not?”
“Of course I am. What kind of person isn’t afraid?”
How could I not fear failure?
Especially when precious lives hang in the balance.
Suddenly, Hwa Ryeon’s pale face floated in my darkened vision.
If I fail… Hwa Ryeon…
“…….”
I shook my head to banish the horrific image.
Don’t think about it.
That won’t happen.
I won’t let it.
“…Sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
Priest Hyeonjin apologized softly, looking apologetic at my reaction.
I forced a smile and shook my head again.
“It’s fine. And you’re right—I am pretty great. Restored the Taiji Sword and all.”
Teasing lightly on purpose, Priest Hyeonjin chuckled awkwardly in agreement.
“Yes, thanks to you, I feel like I could handle a hundred of those monsters without breaking a sweat.”
“Oh, bold confidence! Should I expect that many tomorrow during the raid?”
“…On second thought, maybe twenty would be more realistic.”
His words set me laughing.
“Pfft—haha! Got it. Twenty it is—I’ll hold you to it.”
“Hmm, thinking further…”
“Hey, come on.”
I teased him as he kept dialing back the number, chuckling all the while.
In the end, Priest Hyeonjin settled on twenty.
But it all proved unnecessary in the end.
Starting the next day, the monsters didn’t scale Wudang’s walls.
What we saw instead was
-Kieeeek-!
-Kraaang!
-Kyaak!
Hundreds of the massive beasts swarming right up to our doorstep, completely encircling Wudang.