Meridians and Wooden Swords
“You want me to do… what?”
What did he just ask me to do?
“Meridian Channeling. I need you to stimulate and open Yeon-woo’s acupoints.”
“You do realize it’s been a full seven days since I was last here, right?”
To drop something so preposterous out of nowhere on someone who had just returned after days without contact?
“That is precisely why I am asking now. Once you vanish, who knows when you will show your face again.”
“Hmm.”
The Dark Shadow Demon Lord straightened his posture, holding a bundle in one hand as he pointed an accusing finger at Woon-hyeon.
“Why can’t you just do it yourself?”
“As you well know, my body has yet to fully heal. If we wait for my strength to recover, it will be too late.”
Thanks to the spiritual pills and medicinal herbs provided by the Dark Shadow Demon Lord, combined with the wild herbs Yeon-woo had gathered, Woon-hyeon’s ravaged body had improved at an astonishing pace. Even so, complete recovery remained a distant goal. It might take days, several months, or perhaps even years. Such was the terrifying potency of the Tang Clan’s Blood-Severing Intestine-Melting Poison.
“Still… isn’t that ridiculously hard? Doesn’t it consume an insane amount of inner energy?”
“Which is exactly why I am entrusting it to you.”
“……”
“……”
A strange, delicate silence settled between the two men.
Beneath his white half-mask, the Dark Shadow Demon Lord’s brow arched in amusement.
“You know, looking at you now… aren’t you placing an awful lot of trust in me?”
“I place my trust in Yeon-woo.”
He trusted the sheer worth of that child—the very reason the Demonic Cult went so far as to keep an enemy commander like himself alive just to claim her.
“……!”
The Dark Shadow Demon Lord let out a low chuckle.
‘Trusting me… that wasn't quite what I meant.’
He had meant to ask why Woon-hyeon believed he was even capable of performing Meridian Channeling in the first place.
And for good reason. Meridian Channeling was a divine feat utterly impossible for anyone short of a grandmaster. In stimulating the acupoints, the circulating energy had to be calibrated with flawless precision—neither a hair too much nor a sliver too little. Because it reshaped and tempered the physical vessel over a prolonged period, it was never a task that could be completed overnight. A lengthy procedure naturally demanded a vast ocean of inner energy.
In short, it required both astronomical internal reserves and transcendent energy control. Unless one was an extraordinary master among masters, even attempting it was out of the question.
‘Then again, I can do it.’
After all, he was the best.
Smug satisfaction crept up the Dark Shadow Demon Lord’s nose.
“Very well. Where is this pitiful mortal who shall receive the supreme honor of my Meridian Channeling?”
“Anyone listening would assume you were a venerable monk with a century of austere cultivation under your belt.”
“Hey, close enough. So where is she?”
“I rang the bell before you arrived. She should be here shortly.”
No sooner had Woon-hyeon spoken than the rapid pitter-patter of small, hurried footsteps echoed outside. Smiles tugged at the corners of both men’s mouths at the same time.
“Oh, and guess what? I brought beef.”
The Dark Shadow Demon Lord gave the cloth bundle in his hand a light shake. Woon-hyeon let out a soft laugh, readily chiming in.
“It seems we shall finally feast after quite some time.”
Sitting cross-legged on the floor, the Dark Shadow Demon Lord peered down at the girl lying demurely before him. Yeon-woo had her little hands neatly folded over her belly, her eyes shut tight in solemn concentration.
Resting his chin on one hand at an angle, the Demon Lord began poking her plump cheek with a slender finger.
“Did you really listen to what he told you? This hurts like hell, you know.”
“Yeah. I heard.”
Stimulating acupoints, unblocking clogged vessels, and reshaping flesh and sinew—it was, in essence, the deliberate restructuring of the physical body. Agony was entirely unavoidable.
“He said if I do this, my five senses will sharpen way faster.”
“Well, that part’s true.”
And it wouldn’t stop at just the five senses. Her sense of qi, raw stamina, skeletal structure, and even the future formation of her dantian would be profoundly enhanced. Meridian Channeling was nothing less than the art of forging a vessel perfectly tailored for martial arts.
‘Though in her case, she was already born a monster.’
The rhythmic prodding of his finger grew slightly quicker. Looking thoroughly annoyed by the pestering, Yeon-woo’s small face scrunched into a frown. Then, all of a sudden, his finger froze mid-poke.
‘Wait a second.’
She was a born prodigy, wasn't she? Did that mean it might not even hurt her?
A fresh wave of curiosity surged through him. The Dark Shadow Demon Lord smoothly slid his left hand toward Yeon-woo’s lower abdomen.
“I’m starting, okay?”
Should I just dive right in?
Yeon-woo snapped her eyes wide open, glaring fiercely at him. Chuckling under his breath, he raised his free right hand to gently cover her eyes.
“Just trust me, kiddo.”
“I! Am! Telling! You!”
“It went whoosh, then bam, and then suddenly fwoooosh!”
“And it just worked! Huh?! Seriously?!”
Woon-hyeon stared with a deadpan, thoroughly unimpressed gaze at the shrieking, flailing Demon Lord.
“I have not the slightest inkling of what you are trying to convey.”
“Aargh, you’re driving me up the wall, seriously!”
The Dark Shadow Demon Lord thumped his own chest in pure exasperation.
“That kid! Her body wasn’t built for ordinary Meridian Channeling at all! I was this close…!”
He glanced down at his own trembling palm. He had come terrifyingly close to having an enormous chunk of his demonic qi completely drained.
What kind of absurd body had zero understanding of internal cultivation, yet greedily devoured external energy the instant it entered, as though lying in wait all along? It wasn't energy she had cultivated herself; it was merely an outside force meant to gently tap her acupoints before being drawn back. Yet her meridians had attempted to swallow it whole. Gluttonously, as if she had been starving for demonic qi since the dawn of time.
“We both almost suffered qi deviation! Both of us!”
“Which explains why you put her to sleep in such haste.”
Woon-hyeon had indeed sensed something amiss. A colossal torrent of energy had stirred, signaling the start of the ritual, only for every shred of presence to vanish into thin air a heartbeat later. Immediately after, the Dark Shadow Demon Lord had bolted out of the room, leaving Yeon-woo fast asleep.
“In that case, it ended in failure.”
“Failure?! Who said anything about failure?!”
Woon-hyeon raised an eyebrow. “Did you not just say she devoured your demonic qi? As you well know, with Yeon-woo’s constitution, if she absorbs demonic qi before mastering orthodox martial arts…”
“She’ll be corrupted by demonic energy far faster,” the Demon Lord finished the sentence. Just as pristine white paper absorbed black ink swifter than anything else.
“However!”
The Dark Shadow Demon Lord pointed a thumb at his chest, his lips curling into a wicked smirk.
“I am not the kind of man to bow before a trivial hiccup like that!”
“Even after knocking the child unconscious?” Woon-hyeon remarked dryly. “Where does such confidence even come from?”
“Fine, so I panicked a little! Whatever! Once she wakes up, I’m trying again, so consider yourself warned.”
Just moments ago, he had wailed that her body couldn't handle it, only to reverse his stance in the blink of an eye. Woon-hyeon merely shook his head in quiet disbelief.
From that day forward, Yeon-woo underwent Meridian Channeling under the Dark Shadow Demon Lord every single night alongside her sensory training. To everyone's great relief, the process caused her very little pain. Her physical vessel had been blessed from birth with the ultimate foundation for martial arts.
Thanks to her uncanny constitution, Woon-hyeon could push the intensity of her daily training as far as he pleased, while the Dark Shadow Demon Lord thoroughly restored her battered, exhausted body every night without fail.
“Take this.”
Yeon-woo blinked her round, dark eyes as she accepted what Woon-hyeon held out to her.
“I know what this is. It’s a wooden sword.”
It was a simple wooden blade—the very kind she had gripped for the first time during her sparring match with Gwan Hyeok back at the Guan Clan Residence.
“Indeed. Starting today, you shall learn the way of the sword.”
“The sword?”
“Yes. All things under heaven have their proper order.”
In his heart, Woon-hyeon wished nothing more than to teach her the authentic swordsmanship of the Namgoong Clan right away, but she was not yet ready. Attempting to run before one could walk invited nothing but disaster.
“Before you learn sword techniques, I will first impart the fundamentals of the weapon. First among them is how to hold it. Watch closely, then follow my lead.”
Woon-hyeon lightly gripped his wooden sword. He tilted and turned his hand in various directions so she could observe every angle, and Yeon-woo mirrored his movements with her own weapon. The grip was angled more diagonally than a clenched fist, yet stood more upright than a handshake.
“If you put too much force into your grip, your wrist will stiffen, ultimately slowing the velocity of your swing. Conversely, if you relax your hand excessively, you risk losing your weapon in the heat of battle.”
“Mmm…”
Yeon-woo’s brow furrowed in deep thought. She repeatedly tightened and loosened her fingers around the hilt, testing the balance.
“Never forget that the essence lies not in gripping with raw strength, but in exerting control. Support the hilt firmly with your bottom three fingers, and dictate the blade’s trajectory with your thumb and index finger.”
“I-It’s hard.”
“It is only natural that it feels difficult.”
Woon-hyeon walked over toward a nearby clearing. There, strung tautly between two wooden posts, hung a single strand of thread.
“Once you become intimately familiar with the blade, you will be able to cleave solid stone, no matter how blunt your edge may be.”
Swish.
Woon-hyeon gave the wooden sword a seemingly effortless flick of his wrist. He did not bring it down with crushing weight, nor did he drag a sharp corner across the target. It was merely a subtle, casual flick.
Yet the thread snapped cleanly the very instant the wooden sword made contact, dropping lifelessly to the ground as though severed by a razor-sharp edge.
“Whoa.”
Yeon-woo’s eyes sparkled with open awe. Woon-hyeon turned back to look at her.
“Today, you shall practice downward swings until you can sever this thread. It is an ordinary string, so it should not take you overly long.”
Looking closer, Yeon-woo noticed another thread tied neatly beneath the one Woon-hyeon had just cut. It was adjusted precisely to match her height.
Gripping the wooden sword firmly with both hands, Yeon-woo stepped forward and stood before the thread.