Chapter 237
Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 237
Chapter Title: Rapid Training
“W-What…?”
- Kieee-!
Mujin’s bewildered voice was drowned out by the monsters’ shrieks.
I was the closest one, so I barely caught it and responded.
“…They swarmed in before dawn. Even a rough guess puts their numbers well over five hundred.”
This morning.
The emergency bell rang far earlier than usual, jolting me and my companions out of bed in a panic.
As soon as I flung open the door to the main hall, this was the sight that greeted me.
A massive horde of monsters had surrounded the Wudang Sect headquarters, close enough to touch if I fell forward.
At first, I thought Soso, that woman, had decided to go all out, but I quickly noticed something odd.
The monsters encircling Wudang were just growling—they weren’t pressing closer.
“They’ve been standing in place for a whole hour now, just screeching.”
“Huh….”
Mujin let out a small sigh after hearing me, then Ye So-ha spoke up from beside him.
“Small-scale raids are no longer a threat, so they’ve mobilized their entire mobile force to apply psychological pressure.”
Her voice carried absolute certainty, like she was stating an ironclad law.
Cheong backed her up right after.
“We’ve already checked the surroundings with spells. It looks like every monster scattered nearby has gathered here.”
“…Yeah. Seems that way, especially since that one’s with them.”
Daoist Hyeonjin was the one who replied to Cheong.
His eyes were fixed on a spot in the monster horde.
Following his gaze, I spotted a familiar black-and-red striped hide.
That one.
The pickaxe monster that killed Daoist Hyeonjin’s senior brother Hyeonun and left Wujija on the brink of death.
“That bastard…!”
- Crack.
Daoist Hyeonjin glared murderously at the creature standing arrogantly in the center of the horde, grinding his teeth viciously.
His fists trembled as he struggled to contain his rage at seeing it again.
“Daoist Hyeonjin.”
When I called his name, his bloodshot eyes turned to me.
“You haven’t forgotten what I said, right?”
“…….”
His face twisted at my words, and he squeezed his eyes shut.
Then he took a slow, deep breath, releasing the tension from his body.
“…Yes. I haven’t forgotten.”
He opened his eyes, now calm and cold, and stared at the pickaxe monster.
I nodded at the sight, but Mujin asked gravely.
“What do we do now?”
“…….”
I fell into thought for a moment.
Soso’s intent was clear.
As Ye So-ha said, small raids were pointless now, so she was overwhelming us with sheer numbers.
The problem was…
- I-Is this okay? What if they all charge at once…!
- Don’t jinx it!
- B-But look at that number…!
That pressure was actually working.
You could tell from the Wudang disciples’ trembling voices and shaky eyes.
“…This is bad.”
Our morale was already in the dirt before we’d even done anything.
We were supposed to start intensive Taiji Sword training today, but there was no way we could focus like this.
This wouldn’t do.
We needed to at least eliminate worries about monster attacks.
And as far as I knew, there was only one way to do that right now.
Clicking my tongue, I turned to Ye So-ha.
“Miss Ye. That spell you prepared—when can we use it?”
“…It’s ready anytime, but… you don’t mean now, do you?”
I nodded at her question.
“They’re shaking in their boots like this—how could they train properly? We need to create an environment where they can focus.”
“But….”
“I’m not saying use everything. Just the ‘first’ one should be enough.”
After some hesitation at my persuasion, she sighed and nodded, then looked at Cheong and Hong.
“Hong, Cheong. Get ready.”
“Yes.”
“Got it.”
The two headed straight for the Upper Purity Palace at her command.
Seeing this, Mujin asked cautiously.
“Is this okay? I’m worried we’re burdening those two unnecessarily.”
“They’ll be fine. Don’t worry. The issue… is elsewhere.”
Ye So-ha said that and turned to me.
“Young master, you’ve thought this through fully, right?”
“…Yes.”
I answered softly to her question.
When planning this, I’d asked Ye So-ha for two main things.
One was to prepare some way to protect them since Taiji Sword alone would lead to heavy Wudang casualties.
The other was not to rely solely on my sword aura—strengthen the sacred barrier’s firepower as a backup.
“Strengthening the sacred barrier’s firepower means accumulating holy power. I told you that, right?”
“Yes. I remember.”
“But activating the spell early means the holy power Hong and Cheong were supposed to hand over will have to maintain it instead. The barrier’s firepower will drop to one-third.”
In other words, our backup plan was flying out the window.
“You won’t regret it?”
“No. It’s necessary.”
As I answered firmly, a fog suddenly began enveloping the entire Wudang headquarters.
Hong and Cheong had activated the spell.
*
“Fu, fufufu. Now they won’t even dream of leaving Wudang.”
Yukgan grinned smugly at the sacred beasts densely surrounding Wudang.
Last night.
Unable to afford more losses, Yukgan had moved every sacred beast linked to her right up to Wudang’s doorstep.
Shrinking the encirclement made the net thicker, while growling right in their faces would crush Wudang’s morale.
And it seemed her plan was working at first glance.
“Hohoho…! Trembling like cornered mice before a cat.”
Yukgan gleefully watched the anxious Wudang Taoists through her eyes.
‘With their morale down, that guy won’t dare act rashly either.’
In three days of this, no matter how strong he was, he’d end up as Bloodwood’s kin.
‘He’s unbelievably strong already, so as kin, he’ll be even more powerful. Then I’ll keep you close and use you.’
Yukgan smiled brightly at the pleasant imagining.
That’s when the anomaly hit Wudang.
“…What’s that?”
A fog rising around Wudang.
The way it spread rapidly and blanketed only Wudang thickly—it was no natural phenomenon.
“A formation? Hmph, pathetic tricks.”
Yukgan sneered, curling one lip.
She dismissed the change as insignificant.
If they wanted to huddle and hide, no need to interfere.
“Yeah, hide tight. Don’t even think of coming out.”
‘And when the clone finishes growing, be reborn as Bloodwood’s kin.’
Unaware of Jaseong’s group’s plan, Yukgan just smiled, thinking it perfect.
*
With Cheong and Hong activating the spell, thick fog blanketed Wudang headquarters.
At the same time, the irritating monster shrieks vanished.
The spell must have blocked sound too, greatly aiding the Taoists’ mental stability.
Plus, no more worries about attacks, so we could focus purely on Taiji Sword.
As planned, we split into three groups centered on me, Daoist Hyeonjin, and Mu Yeo-ja, training via sensory sharing.
There were individual differences, but Wudang disciples learned Taiji Sword at impossible speeds.
Despite Ye So-ha nagging us to be careful, we stubbornly filled a full two hours swinging our swords.
When we cut the sharing, people everywhere lost balance, collapsing and groaning.
- Ack!?
- Uwak!
“…Heh.”
Seeing them flop around like their lower bodies were paralyzed, I couldn’t help but chuckle dryly.
Ye So-ha started nagging again at the sight.
“I told you. The side effects are severe. Listen when people talk.”
“Yeah…! This is…! Pretty bad.”
I barely maintained balance with Breath Control and agreed.
I thought two hours would be fine based on yesterday, but the aftereffects were worse than expected.
It felt like my sense of balance itself was wrecked.
Forget swinging a sword—I could barely stand.
“This won’t keep happening, right?”
“Yes. But you’ll need to lie still for half an hour at least. Longer for some.”
Half an hour past this agony.
Wasting time like that, I smacked my lips.
Filling two hours wasn’t bad, but losing half an hour hurt.
Tomorrow, no greed—one hour max.
As I resolved that, Ye So-ha glanced around and whispered.
“Hey, time check?”
“Why, something to say?”
“Yeah. Perfect timing for a break—let’s move.”
I was barely standing with Breath Control—move now?
“Can’t we just talk here?”
“No.”
She answered firmly and led the way; I followed with effort.
Luckily, all Wudang disciples were down, so no need to go far for privacy.
“So, what’s this about?”
After confirming no one nearby with qi sense, I asked why she’d pulled me aside.
Her meaningful reply.
“Young master, what’s your plan if things go wrong?”