Man's Determination Conquers Heaven (4)

"Everyone who ever found this place was someone who never stopped striving."

What reason could drive a person to scale such a sheer cliff merely to reach a cave? For a martial artist of the Zhongnan Sect, nine times out of ten the answer would be training.

"That is why the Founding Patriarch left behind the sword scars together with those inscribed words—for the benefit of every hardworking junior who would come after him."

"Inscribed words?"

Cheonhwa turned his gaze in the direction Okwon Jinin indicated.

There, carved deep into the rock by the edge of a sword, were three lines of characters.

"Those words are the very sword-intent of the Thirty-Six Swords Under Heaven, and the purest essence that runs through every martial art of Zhongnan."

"……"

Okwon Jinin's explanation never reached Cheonhwa's ears. His gaze was nailed to the inscription as though some invisible force had seized him.

What… is this…?

Shock crashed through him. The instant his eyes touched the characters, his Heart-Intent Consciousness flared awake of its own accord. It was the dense will-intent steeped into those strokes—no, could something so vivid and mysterious even be called mere will-intent?

The strangeness did not end there.

Thump!

The moment he sensed that will-intent, the Balanced Heaven Qi Accumulation Art responded.

Woom!

As if answering the call, the carved characters began to shine.

Beside him, Okwon Jinin only belatedly noticed the anomaly. With an intuition bordering on precognition, the old Taoist grasped what was taking place.

Can it be that he has resonated with the Spiritual Nature infused into the inscription?!

As though confirming the guess, the will-intent of the characters and Cheonhwa's Heart-Intent Consciousness linked together.

"Hah—!"

Cheonhwa sucked in a sharp breath. A flood of will-intent hammered through his mind. Amid the torrent of information, the meaning of the words carved into the cave wall rose first and clearest.

Middle Path of Ten Thousand Swords.

Six Harmonies of All Under Heaven.

Man's Determination Conquers Heaven.

The meaning of the inscription echoed endlessly through his mind, as though commanding him never to forget it. Already drowning in surplus will-intent, his head felt ready to split; the world before his eyes began to blur.

Yet before he could even mind the headache, a new wonder unfolded. Light pouring from the characters coalesced into a pale, translucent figure. The figure stood facing the wall, longsword raised high above its head—the exact opening stance of the Thirty-Six Swords Under Heaven that Cheonhwa knew by heart.

Then the figure began to move.

From the first stance, Binding All Under Heaven, through the twelfth stance, Falling Sun of the Realm, it performed every one of the first twelve forms taught to entry disciples. Every trajectory matched ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the sword scars carved into the cave wall with perfect precision.

Next came the middle twelve forms, those taught only from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the rank of named disciple onward. Techniques that marked a first-class expert—sword winds and more—unfurled one after another: forms that seemed to summon wind, rain, drifting clouds, and falling thunderbolts.

Wait…?

After watching the middle forms to their end, Cheonhwa felt something odd. Whether he questioned it or not, the figure continued without pause into the final twelve stances—forms usable only by Peak Experts. Amid rising sun, setting moon, and cascading starlight, the sequence closed with a grand, world-covering sword form of solemn weight.

Just as I thought…

Having seen it all, Cheonhwa was certain.

Neither the middle nor the latter forms ever stray far from the shapes of the first twelve.

Every stance of the Thirty-Six Swords Under Heaven traced simple trajectories that never abandoned the fundamentals. Not excessively fast. Not excessively soft. Not excessively forceful. Not excessively ornate. A sword of the Middle Path that leaned toward nothing—and at the same time an upright, almost stubborn sword that rejected every flashy flourish. That grave, heavy, majestic blade could exist only because of foundational skill piled high enough to become a mountain.

Having completed the entire Thirty-Six Swords, the figure turned at last to face Cheonhwa. All along it had been asking him, without words:

No lie or empty phrase was possible before that question. The true answer drawn from the deepest part of the heart was the only reply it would accept.

What is my answer?

Cheonhwa looked inward. He had entered the Zhongnan Sect to gain strength. He sought strength so that he might carry his will through to the end. That will was resistance against the injustice poured upon him, and the foundation that would keep him from being swept away by the countless hardships still waiting ahead.

If a master was one who could uphold his will to the very last…

Then I will gladly become a master.

The moment that answer was heard, the figure seemed almost to smile.

With those final words the hazy figure shattered into motes and vanished. At the same instant the light streaming from the inscription subsided. The link of will-intent broken, strength drained from Cheonhwa's legs and he nearly collapsed where he stood. Okwon Jinin caught him in time and examined the boy.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes. I am only a little tired."

His complexion had worsened, yet nothing was wrong with his body. The real trouble was the residual will-intent still circling inside his mind—knowledge, experience, thought, emotion, will, ideology, resolve, and more. The sensation of being steeped in another's will-intent was far from pleasant. Left alone, it felt as though it would slowly devour his spirit.

Having confirmed Cheonhwa's condition, Okwon Jinin spoke.

"You were overwhelmed by the will-intent. Circulate your energy and calm your interior. I shall stand guard beside you."

Cheonhwa immediately began regulated breathing as instructed. Following the formulas of the Balanced Heaven Qi Accumulation Art, will-intent guided his true qi along the meridians and through his body. The wild external will-intent was gradually swept into the current of his internal energy and began to settle. Before long the will-intent that had been thrashing through his mind grew quiet—only quieted, not gone. Still, it would cause no trouble for the time being.

When the circulation ended, Cheonhwa offered his thanks.

"Thank you."

"I merely did what an elder ought to do. More importantly, I would like to hear what you saw."

"Sect Leader, you did not see it yourself?"

"I saw the light rise from the characters and link with you. Then, not long after, you nearly fell."

The answer left Cheonhwa with an uneasy feeling.

"How long was I connected to the will-intent?"

"At most five breaths."

Far too short. By Cheonhwa's own sense, at least a full quarter-hour had passed.

Why such a discrepancy?

For counsel he frankly recounted everything he had experienced. After listening, Okwon Jinin stroked his beard and sank into thought.

"First I must explain will-intent…"

"That will not be necessary. I awakened ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Heart-Intent Consciousness during the promotion examination."

The old Taoist looked openly startled.

"You awakened Heart-Intent Consciousness? What do you mean by that?"

"It is…"

Cheonhwa explained how he had come to perceive will-intent and awaken Heart-Intent Consciousness. Only then did Okwon Jinin nod in understanding.

"I wondered why the Spiritual Nature responded. So it was because of your Heart-Intent Consciousness."

"Then what happened just now is indeed related to it."

"Indeed. Had you been unable to sense will-intent, you could never have experienced so clearly the illusion created by Spiritual Nature."

Spiritual Nature—the crystallized essence of the most profound will-intent, sometimes called the wellspring of miracles. When it settles into a living being it produces a spiritual creature; when it settles into an object it forges a divine weapon. Naturally the inscription of sword ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠scars also carried the Spiritual Nature left by the Founding Patriarch. Every strange phenomenon Cheonhwa had just experienced had sprung from that Spiritual Nature.

"Then the identity of the phantom I saw…"

"Was almost certainly the Founding Patriarch himself."

"Why did such a thing happen to me?"

"I cannot know for certain, yet I suspect it is connected to the question you heard."

"Can one without talent never become a master…"

Cheonhwa murmured the question the Founding Patriarch's phantom had sought to convey all along—a phrase branded into him by will-intent so that even if he wished to forget it, he never could.

"As the answer to that very question, the Founding Patriarch left behind Zhongnan's martial arts."

Every art the Founding Patriarch created had been designed with ordinary and dull talents in mind. Among the arts Cheonhwa already knew, two leapt immediately to mind.

"The Balanced Heaven Qi Accumulation Art and the Thirty-Six Swords Under Heaven."

"Correct. Both were created by the Founding Patriarch."

From the Balanced Heaven Qi Accumulation Art and the Thirty-Six Swords Under Heaven all the way to the Nine Palaces Footwork and the Five Elements Fist—the four introductory arts of the sect had been composed so that anyone, regardless of talent, could learn them. That fact alone proved the Founding Patriarch's will still lived on within the Zhongnan Sect.

Then why had he sought a path for the talentless to become masters?

The answer rose from the knowledge still quiet within the will-intent.

The martial world of the rivers and lakes was a merciless realm of blades and mountains of corpses. No matter how righteous a principle one raised, the weak were simply crushed. Therefore the Founding Patriarch had sought to create a means by which the weak might stand against the strong. The result was the martial lineage handed down through the Zhongnan Sect to this day.

So similar…

Cheonhwa thought. His own answer and the Patriarch's were almost the same—yet one decisive difference remained. Cheonhwa had thought only of overcoming for himself; the Founding Patriarch had considered others as well.

The vessel is different.

Cheonhwa felt overwhelmed by the Founding Patriarch's breadth of spirit. Walking one's own path while still caring for others was never easy. Having weathered the storms of the world alone, Cheonhwa felt that truth in his bones.

Why did this opportunity come to me?

Just as when he had awakened Heart-Intent Consciousness, the will-intent transmitted from the Spiritual Nature of the sword scars was itself a rare fortune. At present it caused only headaches, yet if he patiently digested it over time it would prove as beneficial as any spiritual medicine. Had it been a pill or a secret manual he could simply have called it luck and moved on. But this case left too many points that refused to be dismissed as mere chance. Because the fortune was of will-intent, some clear intention had to lie behind it.

Did it respond because our mindsets are alike? Or is it telling me to succeed as he did?

If the former, he could accept it. If the latter, he had no confidence he could bear the weight. He was still struggling to adjust to the position that had changed only a month ago. If he were now ordered to inherit the Founding Patriarch's will as well, he would surely break before he could carry it.

Perhaps sensing the boy's troubled heart, the Sect Leader gently stroked his back. The simple warmth of another person made the crushing pressure ease, if only a little.

"How old are you this year?"

"…I do not know. I was an orphan."

"Judging by appearance alone, you cannot yet be ten."

"Is that important?"

"It is very important. It means you have not even reached the age of setting one's will upon learning."

To be young meant there was still much to learn, and also that one was not yet ready to shoulder heavy responsibility.

"Therefore you need not produce an answer right this moment."

Even if he did not know now, the future might be different.

"So I shall help you find the path you yourself desire."

That, after all, was the role of a senior who had walked the road first.

"……"

Cheonhwa lifted his head in silence and looked at Okwon Jinin. The old Taoist smiled with gentle kindness and nodded.

That day the boy truly felt, for the first time, that he stood inside the sheltering walls of the Zhongnan Sect.