The Sword's Path and the Forum's Wisdom
“Attention, recruits, gather 'round! Ten days have passed.”
The same training ground, the same wooden sword, the same corrections. Shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, lower body. The teachings of the Pacheon Sword Sovereign were no different from the first day, and Baek Cheong’s movements were no different either. If she tightened one spot, another would loosen, and if she fixed that, yet another would collapse. The only thing that had changed was her stamina. Thanks to the bones and meridians tempered by Danmun pills, she no longer fainted after half a shichen of training. However, her time on the forum was still tight. After training, she would return to her quarters and barely manage to split her Divine Sense just enough to skim through the posts. Writing or replying was out of the question. Truly, the life of a body cultivator was a sorrowful one.
. . .
The next morning, as she entered the training ground, the Pacheon Sword Sovereign stood in the center holding two wooden swords. He handed one to Baek Cheong, but he spoke words different from his usual routine.
“Today, try wielding it as a Flying Sword.”
Baek Cheong froze, still holding the wooden sword. She had not expected the Pacheon Sword Sovereign, a man who walked the path of a sword cultivator through body cultivation, to speak of Flying Swords.
“Your body is not yet ready to accept the Hand-Held Sword.” The Pacheon Sword Sovereign spoke in a dry, emotionless tone, but it was a conclusion he had reached after watching her for ten days. “However, since you clearly understand the Sword Principle, I wish to verify it by changing the method to a Flying Sword.”
A Flying Sword involved imbuing the blade with spiritual energy and controlling it with Divine Sense. Though it might seem similar to a puppet, a puppet moved using a power source like a spirit stone, while a Flying Sword moved with the cultivator's own spiritual energy. But the fact that it was controlled by Divine Sense was the same. And for Baek Cheong, who could control five Five-Element Puppets simultaneously, handling a single wooden sword was a breeze.
“I will try.”
The Pacheon Sword Sovereign nodded and set down his own wooden sword. “First, make the sword levitate.”
Baek Cheong poured her spiritual energy into the wooden sword. As the energy seeped along the grain of the wood, she extended her Divine Sense to wrap around it. Slowly, the wooden sword rose from her hand. It hung silently in the air, without a single tremor. The Pacheon Sword Sovereign’s eyes flickered slightly.
“Downward slash.”
She controlled her Divine Sense as instructed, guiding the wooden sword. There was no need to worry about shoulders, elbows, or wrists. The wooden sword drew a straight, vertical line from top to bottom. It was a movement that required no correction.
“Upward slash.” From bottom to top.
“Horizontal.” From left to right.
“Reverse horizontal.” From right to left.
“Combo.” From downward to upward, upward to horizontal, horizontal to reverse horizontal. There was no delay when transitioning from one movement to the next. The movements that had refused to connect no matter how much she was corrected over the past ten days flowed like water when using the Flying Sword.
‘This is way easier than the puppets.’
With the Flying Sword, all she had to do was move it while keeping it imbued with spiritual energy. Compared to controlling five Five-Element Puppets at once, this was child’s play.
The Pacheon Sword Sovereign gradually increased the difficulty of the movements. Sword rotations, emergency stops, changes in direction, speed variations. He covered everything from the basics to the difficult techniques of Flying Sword arts. But Baek Cheong was not blocked once. In fact, there were even times when she predicted the flow of the next movement and moved before the Pacheon Sword Sovereign could give the order. Based on her realization of the sword, combined with the control of her Divine Sense, the Flying Sword moved entirely like her own hands and feet.
. . .
The training continued until the end of the day. After about a shichen of basic movements, the Pacheon Sword Sovereign issued a series of complex tasks, and Baek Cheong digested them all. Finally, the Pacheon Sword Sovereign stopped the training and let out a sigh. It was a sigh that was hard to distinguish as either admiration or regret.
“You are better than most of the rising talents of the Heavenly Sword Sect.”
The Heavenly Sword Sect was the holy land of sword cultivators, considered the best in the cultivation world. Being better than their rising talents was a top-tier compliment. But joy could not be found on the Pacheon Sword Sovereign’s face. It was a different feeling from the dry, emotionless expression she had seen for the past ten days. A very faint, dark shadow was cast over it.
“If you have this much talent for the Flying Sword, you will not be lacking as a sword cultivator.”
Baek Cheong understood the meaning behind those words. No matter how excellent she was at the Flying Sword, she could not inherit the Pacheon Sword Sovereign’s true transmission. ‘Have you given up on the idea of a transmission disciple?’ Externally, it had been decided to announce her as a transmission disciple, but in reality, she had been a nominal disciple from the start. However, Baek Cheong had felt the sincerity in the Pacheon Sword Sovereign’s eyes when he had mistaken her for having the Jade-Refining Body. She had even wondered if he had truly considered her for a transmission disciple. The shadow cast beneath his dry face told her that his expectations had now been folded away.
‘It’s a relief, but...’
Living as a body cultivator was a terrifying thought. But it would be a lie to say she didn't feel a sense of regret mixed with her relief. It meant she was missing out on the great path that would surely lead a cultivator to the Transformation Stage.
“Show me the Meteor Strike sword form with the Flying Sword.”
Before long, the Pacheon Sword Sovereign pulled himself together and nodded. With the Hand-Held Sword, she couldn't even perform simple movements, let alone the Meteor Strike. But with the Flying Sword, it might be possible.
‘Destruction that plunges down as a single point.’
Baek Cheong recalled the Sword Intent, poured spiritual energy into the wooden sword, and sent it high into the air. Following the sword path that gathered the scattered energy and concentrated the destructive power into a single point, the wooden sword plunged toward a single spot.
Thwack!
A dull sound echoed as it struck the training ground floor. Since it was a wooden sword, the power was negligible, but the sword path itself was a different story.
‘So this was it.’
What she had only understood with her head had finally gained substance. The Sword Intent she had realized from the sword manual had been embodied through the Flying Sword. Only then did she fully understand the meaning of the Meteor Strike.
“Good.” The Pacheon Sword Sovereign nodded shortly, looking satisfied. It was a brief compliment, but coming from him, it was on the generous side.
“May I try the second sword form as well?” Baek Cheong cautiously asked if she could perform the Galaxy Single Line. The Pacheon Sword Sovereign raised an eyebrow slightly, then nodded without a word.
‘From a point to a line.’
Baek Cheong gripped the wooden sword and poured in her spiritual energy. She endlessly traced in her mind the sword path that started from the point of the Meteor Strike and extended like starlight into a single line. Soon, the wooden sword started from a point. The sword began to cut through the air, drawing a line. But as the sword path passed the halfway mark, the spiritual energy imbued in the sword began to run dry. At the same time, the wooden sword’s path wavered slightly. The sword path blurred, and the tip began to scatter.
‘Not enough.’
With the spiritual energy she had gathered through natural intake, she couldn't complete the Galaxy Single Line to the end. She could do it if she imbued the sword with the spiritual energy she had been hoarding in her Dantian.
‘That’s a no-go.’
It was the spiritual energy she had been carefully saving to break through her cultivation bottleneck. Baek Cheong bit her lip and withdrew her Divine Sense. The wooden sword lost its strength and fell to the training ground floor.
“You will not yet be able to handle the consumption of the Galaxy Single Line. It is something that can only be handled once you reach the Core Formation peak, so there is no need to force it.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Try it again when your cultivation level rises in the future.”
The Pacheon Sword Sovereign turned to walk away, then stopped once. He was filled with lingering attachment and regret, but he simply moved on.
***
On the way to her quarters. Her legs were fine, her arms didn't ache, and her shoulders didn't feel like they were about to pop out. Every time the Hand-Held Sword training ended, she would practically crawl, but the Flying Sword left no strain on her body. Aside from using her Divine Sense and spiritual energy, it was no different from the morning.
‘At this rate, maybe being a sword cultivator isn't so bad?’
Baek Cheong entered her quarters with a light step. She threw herself onto her bed and took her familiar posture. She calmed her Divine Sense and logged into Mumyungbang.
“Hehe...”
She hadn't been able to properly browse the forum for over ten days. Because of that, an unreleased urge to stir up chaos was surging within her. She wanted to post a bait thread right now and watch the other users get hooked. But alongside the urge to troll, something else was occupying her mind.
‘The third sword form.’
After performing the Meteor Strike with the Flying Sword, the structure of the sword manual had become clearly graspable. If extending from a point to a line was the Galaxy Single Line, there was a sword form that extended from a line to a plane. But it was only a guess; the shape hadn't been captured.
‘As expected, this.’
Baek Cheong’s lips curled into a mischievous smile without her realizing it. It felt like her urge to troll and her curiosity about the sword form were merging into one.
[Shushuk- Shuuk! Shuuuuk- Shook! What comes next?]
As soon as she posted, she folded her arms with a satisfied feeling. It was a calculated bait, from the title to the content. Sword cultivator users would recognize the content, but to the majority of users, it was nothing but nonsense.
Before long, replies started to pour in. They were the trio who lived on Mumyungbang all day, posting replies like forum addicts.
Baek Cheong’s face brightened when she saw the familiar realm ID. They were the sword cultivator users who had replied to her question post before.
Shuuuuk- Shook! starts from that point and extends long in a single trajectory, so these two sword manuals must be connected in a single system that leads from point to line.
As expected of Daoist Friend (811.12). They even realized that the two sword forms came from the same manual.
‘This guy is always like this.’ Daoist Friend (88.4) was grateful for taking the bait, but they were always picking fights. She brushed them off with a reply and continued to look at the sword cultivator users' replies.
Even the sword cultivator user who had analyzed the feints and killing strokes of the Meteor Strike had appeared. They had shown up again without fail and were analyzing it seriously.
Wouldn't it be like a single drop of water becoming a river, and a single river filling the sky?
The replies from the users shimmered before her eyes. A single drop of water becoming a river. A single river filling the sky. The sword path began to draw itself in her mind. One line into two, two into four, four into eight. Countless sword paths unfolded in the air, forming a single plane. ‘This is it.’ The shape of the third sword form was completed in her imagination. How it would look if performed with a Flying Sword, what flow of energy was needed. The structure of the Sword Path, leading from point to line, and line to plane, was captured like a painting.
“Ah...”
Of course, performing it herself was a different matter. She had already had to withdraw the Galaxy Single Line halfway through due to a lack of spiritual energy; the third sword form, which spread into a plane, would surely require several times more. But the understanding alone was valuable enough. Baek Cheong stared blankly at the sword path floating in her mind for a long time. She came to her senses late and left a reply.
When she had realized the Meteor Strike before, she had fallen asleep without leaving a thank you. This time, since she was awake, she left a reply saying it had been helpful.
Baek Cheong curled her lips as she enjoyed the bewildered replies of the users. “As expected, Mumyungbang is the best.”
It felt like her ten-day thirst was quenched in one go. A slightly uncomfortable feeling lingered, but she ignored it and moved on.
‘Surely, Sword Intent couldn't have been imbued just by this much.’
In truth, she knew the reality of that uncomfortable feeling, but she just tried to ignore it.