The Hyeonhwang Blacksmith
Inwol was as astonished as Cheonhwa himself.
He had never imagined he would succeed in entering the Vast Heaven Qi Art so effortlessly.
I’ve learned any number of martial arts until now, but none of them has ever come this easily.
It had felt even simpler than when he first studied the Balanced Heaven Qi Accumulation Art. Cheonhwa had grown in every way since then, yet even accounting for that growth, the ease was excessive. It was as comfortable as slipping into clothes tailored perfectly to his body.
The moment that thought struck him, one possibility rose to mind.
Could it be because I mastered the Balanced Heaven Qi Accumulation Art?
The Balanced Heaven Qi Accumulation Art was a mental method that forged the vessel needed to learn every martial art of the Zhongnan Sect. In other words, it laid the foundation for every other technique that followed. That alone would explain how he had entered a higher mental method with such ease.
Cheonhwa shared his conjecture with Inwol.
Inwol tilted his head, clearly doubtful.
“I’ve never heard that the Balanced Heaven Qi Accumulation Art possessed any such function.”
Those who fully mastered the Balanced Heaven Qi Accumulation Art were rare, yet not unheard of. Was Cheonhwa special, or was some other condition at work?
Then Cheonhwa suddenly recalled something the Chimjung Tree itself had once told him.
At the Chimjungsu training grounds, every challenger besides me possessed too great a total of internal energy and could not pass the trial.
Given the accumulation efficiency of the Balanced Heaven Qi Accumulation Art, no one could amass a vast amount of internal energy through the foundation art alone unless they had consumed elixirs. That meant everyone except Cheonhwa had trained the Balanced Heaven Qi Accumulation Art alongside higher mental methods. No one had ever purely devoted themselves to the foundation art until they mastered it the way Cheonhwa had.
To confirm whether his guess was correct, Cheonhwa asked Inwol.
“Uncle-Master Inwol, among those who mastered the Balanced Heaven Qi Accumulation Art, how many concentrated on it alone the way I did until they achieved mastery?”
“I don’t know the exact number who reached mastery, but I know this much with certainty. Aside from the era when the founding patriarch still lived, there has not been a single one.”
As he spoke those words, understanding dawned on Inwol’s face.
“You mean… because you mastered the Balanced Heaven Qi Accumulation Art first?”
“That is what I believe. Setting aside innate talent or constitution, the only real difference is the order in which the arts were learned.”
“It is a theory with real weight. Depending on the martial art, the sequence of study can matter greatly.”
Inwol nodded, conceding that Cheonhwa’s reasoning held merit.
The reason no one any longer sought to master the Balanced Heaven Qi Accumulation Art first was simple: the time required was far too long. One had to cling to the foundation art for a minimum of five years, often as many as ten. Even after that long investment, a martial artist still could not escape the second-class realm. Meanwhile, those who skipped full mastery of the foundation and moved on to higher mental methods reached the first-class realm in the same span. It was only natural that a culture had formed in which studying higher arts was considered wiser than remaining fixated on the basics.
“The Balanced Heaven Qi Accumulation Art is a foundation art. It is essential for learning any martial art of the Zhongnan Sect. Higher mental methods are arts meant to be learned after the foundation. If we connect those facts to the present situation…”
“Then the higher mental methods were designed on the premise that one first masters the Balanced Heaven Qi Accumulation Art?”
“Yes. Otherwise it would never have been this easy to enter one.”
Inwol let out a hollow laugh at the absurdity of the implication. Whether Cheonhwa’s conjecture proved true would require time and verification. Yet if it was true, it meant they had been learning and teaching the mental methods incorrectly all this time.
And at the same time, it would mean Cheonhwa has inherited the founding patriarch’s final will.
In terms of the Zhongnan Sect’s martial lineage, that would make him the legitimate successor without exaggeration. It was as good as driving a stake through the seat of future head disciple.
He never seemed particularly eager for the head disciple’s position… yet the way things are going, he’ll be forced into the seat whether he likes it or not.
Inwol looked upon the future Cheonhwa had brought upon himself with a touch of pity. Cheonhwa, for his part, merely tilted his head at the odd weight of that gaze.
Training grounds.
Cheonhwa circulated the true qi of the Vast Heaven Qi Art—Vast Heaven Qi itself—and unfolded the Five Elements Fist.
Unlike when he had used the true qi of the Balanced Heaven Qi Accumulation Art, a powerful force of Jin Release now filled every strike. With each thrust of a fist form, the aftershock of that force made his sleeves snap and whip. In the empty air, the sound of bursting atmosphere rang out.
The Five Elements Fist was a fist method without any particular profound principle of its own. Its advantage lay precisely in that emptiness—it could be freely filled with whatever content one chose. When paired with the Vast Heaven Qi Art, whose energy suited the principle of Strength, it could be wielded as a Strong Fist.
The same held true for the Thirty-Six Swords Under Heaven, which contained the principle of the Middle Way.
Cheonhwa raised his wooden sword, circulated Vast Heaven Qi, and performed the Thirty-Six Swords Under Heaven. Even though it was only wood, sword force carved the air in sharp, destructive arcs. The balanced sword of the Middle Way, which had favored neither extreme, transformed into a Strong Sword that boasted ferocious Jin Release.
The process by which the principle of Strength melted into the forms was seamless and natural. From the beginning, the arts must have been designed to change according to the nature of the energy being circulated. He had done nothing more than swap the true qi used for the internal-energy operation of the forms, yet he was discovering entirely new aspects of martial arts he already knew. It was nothing short of wondrous.
My internal energy is already spent. I should rest a moment.
Cheonhwa let the wooden sword hang and regulated his breathing. Martial arts that contained the principle of Strength consumed internal energy heavily in order to produce powerful Jin Release. It was a trait that arose from trading the readability of linear trajectories for sheer power. Thankfully the functions of the Vast Heaven Qi Art had improved his internal-energy efficiency; without that, a mere five or six forms would have drained his true qi dry.
The silver lining is how quickly I am progressing in the Vast Heaven Qi Art.
Three months had passed since Cheonhwa began learning the Vast Heaven Qi Art. In that short span his achievement had climbed at a steep angle. The speed at which he accumulated internal energy, in particular, was extraordinary. Middle-dantian mental methods were already known for rapid accumulation, and the four-stage functions of the Balanced Heaven Qi Accumulation Art kept him in constant circulating breath that accelerated the process further still. Even so, the growth rate was excessive—truly worthy of being called “renewed day by day.”
Each day was made new.
And as a result, even this has become possible.
Cheonhwa gathered his internal energy and released it above his open palm. The true qi that left his hand gathered like cloud or mist and held its shape without scattering. Ordinarily true qi dispersed the instant it left the body; once accumulation surpassed a certain threshold, however, it no longer scattered so easily. Such a cloud-mist of true qi was proof that one had become a first-class martial artist.
To think my internal energy has already piled high enough to stand at the entry of the first-class realm. This growth is absurd. It feels exactly like watching the Balanced Heaven Qi Accumulation Art while under the effect of a Qi Building Pill.
Perhaps the fully mastered Balanced Heaven Qi Accumulation Art itself served as a Qi Building Pill for every other art. A mental method that tailored every martial art of the Zhongnan lineage to one’s own body—yes, it was exactly the kind of art the founding patriarch would create while searching for a way to turn anyone into a master.
And even this is not the full extent of its potential.
No one could yet know what changes would appear once he mastered the Vast Heaven Qi Art, nor what functions he would gain if he later learned other internal-energy mental methods. Already he found himself looking forward to the future.
Once Cheonhwa reached the first-class realm, the long-awaited permission for an outside excursion was granted. Of course a mere novice disciple could not be sent alone, so one of the second-generation disciples was assigned as escort. As it happened, Inwol had business outside the sect and was chosen to accompany him.
“What business takes you out, Uncle-Master Inwol?”
“We need to place an additional order for materials.”
“Is it related to the training equipment?”
“It is. The equipment is wearing out faster than expected. I intend to secure materials in advance so we don’t end up in the same situation as last time.”
Ordinarily, disciples who passed the third promotion examination tended to slack off. Yet the novice disciples of this flower-named generation continued training exactly as hard after the third examination as before. Cheonhwa understood the reason all too well.
The ambush by the Dark Night Assassination Pavilion during the third promotion examination. That day’s sights must keep replaying in their minds…
The novices who had survived that slaughter ground threw themselves into training so the same thing would never happen again. Even Yeonhwa, who was normally the first to grow lazy, trained in grim silence. The second-generation disciples who taught them could not possibly fail to notice. The bitter smile at the corner of Inwol’s mouth said everything.
“And what about you, Junior Brother Cheonhwa? What purpose earned you permission to leave?”
“This.”
Cheonhwa showed him the branch of the Chimjungsumok he carried across his shoulder. Until now he had left it in Gakhyeon’s keeping to hide it, but if he was going to have a wooden sword made, concealment was no longer possible.
Anyone would find it strange if I suddenly produced a byproduct of a spirit creature.
Fortunately he had prepared an excuse.
“Uncle-Master Gakhyeon gave it to me.”
“Uncle-Master Gakhyeon?”
“Yes. He said it was a personal reward for discovering a hidden function of the Balanced Heaven Qi Accumulation Art that no one had ever known.”
The Chimjungsu training grounds could be used only by those who discovered them on their own. Naturally he could not reveal where he had obtained a branch from the depths of that place. Gakhyeon had told him to claim it as a gift and invent a suitable reason.
Cheonhwa had worried whether the excuse would hold.
So the rumor was true—that Jinhyun’s dying request made Gakhyeon take special care of Cheonhwa.
Contrary to his fears, Inwol accepted the story without the slightest suspicion. Everyone knew Jinhyun and Gakhyeon had been close friends; there was no chance Gakhyeon would ignore his friend’s final words.
“It looks like quite a rare material. Did Uncle-Master Gakhyeon say anything when he gave it to you?”
“He told me not to wander off on any side paths—just have the wooden sword made and return.”
“Hahaha! That answer is pure Uncle-Master Gakhyeon.”
Thus Cheonhwa and Inwol talked as they walked, and after half a day’s journey they arrived at their destination: Xi’an.
The moment they stepped inside the city walls, Cheonhwa felt eyes gathering on him. A young man carrying a tree branch as long as he was tall naturally drew stares. At least it was night and the streets held fewer people; by day the attention would have been far worse.
“Even at night there are more people about than I expected.”
“This is the heart of Shaanxi Province. Night has its own flavor and vitality different from the day.”
“Is the place we’re headed the same?”
“Daytime is best, but night is fine as well. That place knows neither day nor night.”
The location they reached was a blacksmith of a scale Cheonhwa had never seen before. On the signboard four characters were carved in bold, elegant strokes: Hyeonhwang Blacksmith.
“This is the forge that has crafted the swords of the Zhongnan Sect for generations—the Hyeonhwang Blacksmith.”
“It’s an enormous forge.”
“It is known as one of the Two Great Forges of Shaanxi, so of course the scale is large. Let us go in.”
The instant they set foot inside the forge, a wave of heat slapped their faces. At the same time the ringing of hammered iron filled their ears. Yet Cheonhwa’s attention was drawn less to the unfamiliar scenery of the forge than to something else entirely.
Why does every single person here know martial arts?
He could scarcely believe what his senses told him. From every blacksmith at work he felt the distinctive qi signature of someone who had trained in martial arts. At a glance it was clear this was no ordinary forge.
To display their qi so openly… rather than having no intention of hiding it, they simply don’t know how to restrain their energy at all.
While Cheonhwa was still taking in the surroundings, Inwol called out.
“I am Inwol, second-generation disciple of the Zhongnan Sect. I wish to see the Master of the Forge. Is he within?”
“Ah, so it is the Cliff Sword Great Hero. The Master is inside. Please come this way.”
Guided by a blacksmith, Cheonhwa and Inwol proceeded deeper into the forge. There stood a powerfully built middle-aged man with disheveled hair and a thick beard. He had apparently just finished work and was rising to stretch his body.
A first-class martial artist.
Cheonhwa gauged the man’s realm from the qi he radiated. Most of the blacksmiths were third-class or second-class; this man clearly stood at the highest level within the forge.
“Master! The Cliff Sword Great Hero has come to call!”
“Inwol is here?”
At the blacksmith’s words the middle-aged man turned his head. He was Gu Un-cheol, Master of the Hyeonhwang Blacksmith.
“Welcome, Inwol.”
“It has been a long time, Master Gu.”
“It is still far too early to be placing orders for the new formal disciples’ weapons. What brings you today?”
“Today I have come not on sect business, but for this child’s request.”
“I am pleased to meet you. I am Cheonhwa, a novice disciple.”
Cheonhwa bowed his head in greeting. Gu Un-cheol barely acknowledged the greeting; his eyes were fixed entirely on the branch Cheonhwa carried.
“Is that the material for the commission?”
“Yes. I would like you to make a wooden sword from this.”
“Let me see it.”
Gu Un-cheol all but snatched the branch away and began examining it from every angle.
“Heavier than it looks. And hard—harder than ordinary hundred-tempered refined steel. Where in the world did you obtain material like this?”
“I am sorry, but I cannot tell you that. More importantly—can you make a wooden sword from it?”
Gu Un-cheol’s face turned grave.
“Impossible.”