Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: The Reason There's No Sword Energy
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“What?”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
The group reacted with fierce opposition.
But this was truly an unavoidable issue.
Hwa-ryeon and Seol’s, as well as the master’s, qi circulation method was, to be honest, nothing special.
It was just fast. Continuously fast.
You could really feel that it was a simple, brute-force method solely for enhancing physical abilities.
Yeah, that simplicity and brute force was the problem.
If you just brute-force circulate your qi at high speed, of course the qi’s momentum becomes overwhelmingly fierce.
The problem was that moving qi with such fierce momentum caused an enormous amount of internal energy to leak out of the body.
In simple terms, it was like pouring water into a small cup until it overflows wildly.
With such massive waste of internal energy, the dantian would naturally empty out in no time.
And if the dantian emptied? Instant defeat. Death.
Moreover, there was a problem even before that.
Could the meridians withstand endlessly fierce bursts of internal energy?
Normally, when releasing internal energy outside the body, it’s done through the meridians.
For example, to leap over a high wall, you release internal energy through the Yongcheon acupoint on the sole of the foot, which requires delicate control.
When I was a kid, releasing internal energy at full power without thinking and smashing the ceiling into my head... that’s a dark history I should keep to myself.
On top of that, the sudden full-power release shocked the Yongcheon acupoint, leaving me limping for a while.
Anyway, the conclusion is that releasing internal energy requires delicate control.
But could people who’ve never adjusted the intensity of their qi circulation in their entire lives suddenly master it overnight?
Absolutely impossible.
“Besides, we’re not learning to manifest sword energy just because it’s novel and fun. We’re learning it to use it while deploying our martial arts.”
“Hah, but changing the qi circulation method...!”
Having heard my explanation, Hwa-ryeon rarely stammered.
She had realized the grueling path ahead of them.
Changing the qi circulation method didn’t just mean swapping that one thing.
In typical martial arts novels, why do sects and clans practice matching internal arts and techniques?
Because the way each internal art circulates qi supports and maximizes the power of their martial techniques.
But if the circulation method changed?
Of course, the power would drop.
So, saying they needed to change the circulation method meant they also had to overhaul their sword techniques entirely.
Prettying it up as “overhauling” was just words—it was basically reestablishing their swordsmanship from scratch.
“......”
“......”
“......”
The whole group stared at me with utterly flabbergasted expressions.
Staring like that won’t change anything. I wish I were joking too.
It took me four years just to refine the third-rate Three Pure Qi Arts, so how long would it take them?
I had to rework my internal art from the ground up, so I didn’t need to touch my swordsmanship much.
It was just basic swordsmanship with three forms anyway.
But the group didn’t need to change their internal art itself; instead, they had to reestablish their swordsmanship to match the new circulation method.
“Hah, hahaha...”
In the end, the master let out a hollow laugh, and Hwa-ryeon clutched her forehead.
Seol was...
“Heh, this is a dream. Gotta wake up quick...”
Straight-up denying reality.
*
The next morning.
“Yawwwn~”
I yawned hugely as I drove the carriage onward toward Hefei.
I’d spent the whole night with a sore throat explaining qi intensity control and hadn’t slept a wink.
“...Sorry. You must be exhausted.”
“It’s fine. You’re just as tired.”
Sitting beside me instead of the master was Hwa-ryeon.
The master was inside the carriage, diligently researching their martial arts with Seol.
After nagging me all night without letting anyone sleep properly, they were going at it hard.
“At least no one’s backing out saying they can’t do it. That’s a relief.”
“We paid a high price, so we can’t quit before even starting.”
Hwa-ryeon’s resolute answer.
I liked that she seemed unlikely to give up midway.
“Yeah, please safely manifest sword energy and spread it far and wide across the world.”
“...You really seem to want other martial artists to use sword energy too?”
Her suspicious tone made me flinch for a moment.
Seeing that, Hwa-ryeon’s eyes widened slightly.
“No way... you’re serious?”
“Yeeeah... pretty much?”
Hwa-ryeon couldn’t hide her bewilderment at my answer.
She’d asked, yet she was the flustered one.
I chuckled at the sight.
Whether I laughed or not, Hwa-ryeon hurriedly poured out words.
“W-Why? Sword energy is Young Hero’s signature technique. Why share such an art with others...?”
As she rapidly spilled her words, Hwa-ryeon belatedly realized something and widened her eyes.
“...You intended to teach it to us from the start?”
“Correct.”
She stood there, mouth agape without a word for a moment after my playful affirmation, then let out a deep sigh.
“What? Upset you feel tricked?”
“No. I’m just glad we paid upfront. It would’ve cost even more later.”
Adjusting her posture and speaking primly, Hwa-ryeon glanced at me and quietly asked.
“Why do you really think that way?”
“Hmm, because I want the world to be like that?”
Hwa-ryeon made a face like she couldn’t comprehend.
Of course she would.
In a world where no one can use sword energy, what does it mean if I’m the only one who can?
A bit embarrassing, but doesn’t it basically mean I’m the best in the world~?
“But that’s not what I want.”
Yeah, that’s not what I’m after.
What I want isn’t weaklings swept away like fallen leaves by a single sword energy blast, but worthy rivals I can clash with evenly.
What I want isn’t pathetic ground-bound hack-and-slash fights, but a spectacle of sword energy from martial artists soaring through the skies.
What I want is the embodiment of the illusions that lived only in countless people’s hearts.
Yeah, that’s what I want.
A world alive with romance, dreamed of by every reader who’s loved martial arts novels like I have.
I hope the flap of the butterfly’s wings I send out now and in the future becomes a massive storm that brings that romance.
Having heard my answer, Hwa-ryeon looked faintly appalled.
“...Anyway, Young Hero’s always been a weirdo. Even as a kid, with your lightness skills and all, never caring what others thought.”
“I’d prefer a positive spin like ‘extraordinary.’”
Hwa-ryeon shook her head at my joking remark.
Giggling at the sight, something suddenly came to mind.
“Speaking of weird, that reminds me—back then.”
“Back then? When?”
“That time. When you challenged me to a match with real swords, why’d you add that weird condition?”
Even now, it struck me as an incredibly odd condition.
One that ensured I’d learn Hwa-ryeon’s circumstances, win or lose.
“Ah...”
At my question, recalling the condition she’d proposed, Hwa-ryeon gave a wry smile.
“Truth is, I wanted you to travel with us, Young Hero. And I was certain that once you knew our situation, you’d join us.”
And indeed, here you are by my side—she said with a small laugh.
But from my perspective, I couldn’t understand how she’d been so sure I’d join.
“You were certain? How?”
“I told you. Ten years of knowing you, for better or worse. Just as you read my expressions, I know your heart to some extent. Especially that you’d been craving adventure for a long time—I knew that ages ago.”
Her words left me slightly dazed.
Like suddenly becoming aware of something I hadn’t realized.
Just as I’d watched Hwa-ryeon for ten years, she had watched me.
Realizing that made a corner of my chest gradually warm.
Somehow, it was hard to properly face Hwa-ryeon.
The mood felt subtly soft and fuzzy.
I threw out a playful question to change the atmosphere.
“S-So that’s why you made that weird proposal? To lure me in?”
“L-Lure you? Don’t be so blatant...!”
Seizing the opening in her fluster, I was about to launch the next jab when my senses caught something.
-...Klang! Clang!
-Aaack!
“...!”
“W-What’s wrong?”
The clash of metal on metal.
High and low screams from people.
A fairly intense battle was unfolding up ahead.
“Whoa, whoa.”
I immediately halted the carriage and jumped down.
At my sudden action, not just Hwa-ryeon but the master and Seol inside the carriage poked their heads out.
“Young Hero?”
“What’s going on?”
“Looks like someone’s under attack up ahead. I’ll go check it out first.”
“W-What?”
No time for a long explanation.
I lightly wrapped my qi around my body and dashed forward along the road at full speed.
-Boom!
Internal energy released from the Yongcheon acupoint on my sole propelled me faster, trees by the roadside blurring past.
*
“W-What the...?”
Dae-un stared wide-eyed at Ja-seong’s back rapidly receding into the distance at unbelievable speed.
In terms of speed alone, it wasn’t like running on two legs—it was like riding a galloping horse.
How could a human move at such velocity?
Amazed, Dae-un suddenly recalled something Ja-seong had said in his first year at the martial hall as a kid.
To be precise, it was what he’d shot back defiantly when Dae-un had yelled at him not to spout nonsense about lightness skills.
-One day, I’ll create a lightness skill and shock everyone, so get ready to be floored!
“...Hah.”
Lightness skill.
A fictional martial art from novels, said to make the body feather-light and cover a hundred li in a day.
Having witnessed yet another illusion take form after sword energy, Dae-un let out a hollow laugh.