The Celestial Gate's Guardian
“There’s a gate and a path, so why would crossing it require any special qualifications?”
Geomseon shrugged at my question and answered.
“It does. If it didn’t, why would a gatekeeper like me even exist?”
“There wouldn’t have been a gatekeeper when the gate first appeared, would there?”
In the end, the gatekeeper was nothing more than something the immortals arbitrarily added after the gate was made. When the gate first came into being, there wouldn’t have been any nonsense like this obstructing seekers.
“Even without me, you wouldn’t have been able to open this gate.”
“Then it’s fine. Would you mind stepping aside? It’s not like you can go beyond anyway.”
If the gate itself was what tested me, then what need was there for a gatekeeper?
“Ara! That’s enough! You can train in Taoist magic somewhere else, can’t you?!”
Baru, watching the scene, grew flustered and tried to stop me. It seemed the image of immortals as grand beings was deeply ingrained in her mind. She probably thought it was disrespectful to pick a fight with one.
“Training in Taoist magic?”
Geomseon’s eyes widened at Baru’s words, then he let out a hollow laugh.
“Is that why you’re trying to cross into the Spirit Realm?”
“Yes. Among the places I know, the energy is strongest over there.”
“I’m so dumbfounded I don’t even know what to say.”
The Spirit Realm was a place one could only reach after a lifetime of training and ascension. To them, it was an ideal, a paradise, the most sacred of realms. Hearing someone casually say they wanted to step foot there just to train must have been utterly absurd from an immortal’s perspective.
Even I thought Geomseon’s reaction was reasonable. If he had been someone precious to me, I might have agreed with his opinion, but he was nothing more than an outsider. There was no need to listen to him.
“Isn’t it rather fortunate, then? I only plan to stop by the Spirit Realm briefly before leaving again.”
“You… You’re treating the Spirit Realm like some ordinary tourist spot?”
“Maybe I am.”
The last time I visited the Spirit Realm, I had gone with exactly that lighthearted attitude. Nothing had changed since then.
As I nodded, Geomseon placed his hand on the sword at his waist.
“I volunteered for this gatekeeper post to avoid dealing with troublesome people, yet the commotion has followed me all the way here.”
Hmm. He didn’t seem inclined to move aside. Did I have to defeat Geomseon to cross into the Spirit Realm? It felt like the tail was wagging the dog. Fighting this old man seemed far more troublesome than simply heading to the Spirit Realm.
“Ara! Are you even listening to me?!”
“Baru.”
“What?”
“Aren’t you curious about what the Spirit Realm looks like? It’s where the immortals you so admire reside. You must want to see it at least once.”
I didn’t know what the Spirit Realm meant to a divine spirit, but from her reactions so far, I could tell she regarded them like idols. If that was the case, then surely she would want to see the place they reached at the end of their training with her own eyes?
Whether my guess was correct or not, Baru couldn’t easily open her mouth.
“But… not like this…”
“We’re just going to take a look and come back.”
“Just… take a look.”
“Do you know? The Spirit Realm is the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen.”
“The Spirit Realm…”
Baru’s dazed eyes betrayed the storm of thoughts racing through her mind. The scales between her moral dilemma and her desire to see the Spirit Realm were clearly tipping back and forth.
— Donated 1,000 won.
No one in the chat expected any dignity from Baru. It seemed she had traded her dignity for cuteness. Since it was obvious she would agonize over it and eventually succumb to her desires if left alone, I placed a hand on her shoulder.
“This place will soon be filled with chaos, so you should return for now, Baru.”
“Huh? Wait. Ara.”
After sending Baru back to the rocky mountain, I turned to face Geomseon once more.
“Have you ever seen the Spirit Realm?”
Geomseon’s gaze was serious as he asked. If I had been an ordinary person, he wouldn’t have posed such a question. He would have simply assumed I was spouting nonsense without ever having seen the celestial realm. But since I was someone who had passed through the immortals’ formation and was now trying to cross the gate as if it were natural, he couldn’t help but be suspicious.
Part of me wanted to say yes. I wanted to describe the Spirit Realm I had seen and overturned, just to watch his eyes widen. But that would mean revealing my ideals to the world, so I had no choice but to shake my head.
“How could I have?”
“…I suppose not.”
Geomseon nodded, seemingly convinced on his own, and blocked the path to the gate leading to the Spirit Realm.
“I am the gatekeeper of this place. If you wish to reach the gate, you must defeat me.”
Was it possible to defeat Geomseon with this body? I didn’t know. If I had the body I used in Apis, I would have been confident, but right now I was far weaker. That was precisely why it was exciting. Where was the fun in a fight whose outcome you could already predict? Because I didn’t know whether I would win or lose. Because I didn’t know what I would gain after giving it my all. That was what made crossing swords with an opponent enjoyable.
The last fight had ended in my defeat. I thought it had been by a hair’s breadth, but that didn’t change the fact that I had lost. What about this time? With a body stronger than it had been that first day, could I create a different result?
Probably.
With a small smile, I pressed my acupoints.
“Going all out from the start?”
“We already had our warm-up last time. Do we really need to repeat the same thing?”
If he liked tedious things, I was willing to play along. At my words, Geomseon snorted.
“No, that’s fine. Just because I’m old doesn’t mean my tastes have aged too.”
Geomseon drew his sword and brought it down from above. The sun set, and darkness draped over the world. The moon and stars, startled by the premature night, failed to rise into the sky.
“Let’s begin.”
*
The first time I met this woman, I had simply thought she possessed talent. Regardless of what kind of life she had lived in that distant place, she carried a wealth of knowledge and seemed like someone worth teaching. A talent capable of responding even to the Heart Sword—Geomseon hadn’t wanted to let her go.
Unfortunately, his attempt to take her as a disciple had failed. She didn’t seem particularly interested in swordsmanship. Even so, Geomseon wasn’t disappointed. She was someone who would one day become a martial artist worth fighting.
But he had thought that story would only come after decades had passed. Not now.
Geomseon looked at the woman drawing up her inner energy while burning her own life force. So that was why she hadn’t been able to exert proper strength back then—because of the limits of her body. No matter how much water you poured, if the vessel was too small, all you could do was struggle in vain!
Even now, that fact hadn’t changed much. Thanks to her strange acupoint technique, her inner energy was overflowing, yet the vessel remained far too small. What allowed her to hold onto a vessel that should have shattered instantly was purely her own ability.
Seeing her demonstrate that mysterious technique once more, Geomseon couldn’t help but marvel repeatedly. Previously, he had thought her level of mastery was too high for her body, but he hadn’t been able to pinpoint exactly where she was looking. Now, however, it was different. Geomseon could roughly guess where she had been looking.
In his opinion, she was looking at a place similar to his own—or perhaps even higher.
The world was vast. No matter how many years one lived, new things kept appearing.
The moment the woman took a step, Geomseon moved his hand. The blade of his sword and her fist collided, testing their strength against each other. Previously, he could have worn down her energy as much as he wanted, but now it was different. As her level rose, the intensity of her energy had increased.
After pushing her fist away with force, Geomseon swung his sword in a relentless flurry. Last time, she had struggled just to overcome his sword energy. Would it be different this time? Did she have a way to respond?
Watching the woman parry his strikes, Geomseon inwardly gasped as the distance between them rapidly closed.
She was responding head-on! Geomseon tried to create distance the moment he realized it, but she moved her feet faster. As the sword’s range reached its end, the fist’s range arrived.
This was getting troublesome. It seemed the beast had no intention of releasing its prey. He would have to stay on the defensive for a while.
The sound of sword and fist clashing echoed across the once-quiet forest. Birds, gripped by fear, took to the skies in frantic escape, while deer and wild boars turned their heads and fled. Even those with fierce fangs recognized their place and retreated.
And the very source of that explosive sound, Geomseon, was breaking into a cold sweat.
Geomseon, who had once wandered the world, had faced the Heavenly Demon Divine Art before. He had tried to cleave its tyranny with his own sword. That was why he had believed the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, while certainly worthy of being called a divine art, could never reach the lofty heights of the sun. But what about the tyranny before him now? What about the fist aimed at him?
Could the tyranny contained in this fist truly fail to surpass the heavens?
No. It had already touched the sky.
Geomseon’s lips curled upward slightly. This woman hadn’t started a fight recklessly because she couldn’t die. She had charged forward because she was confident she could win. The more he looked at her, the more he coveted her. He wanted to teach her his swordsmanship. But how could he spark her interest in the sword?
First, he had to win and then talk to her, didn’t he?
Should he go all out?
In the midst of their fierce exchange, Geomseon spread his inner energy around him. The energy soon took the shape of swords and attacked her with razor-sharp blades.
Anyone else would have been struck by the invisible swords and had their defeat confirmed, but she was different. She swiftly retreated to avoid the strikes while simultaneously throwing punches into the air, erasing the swords Geomseon had created.
It was a response as if she had seen this sword technique before.
“Remarkable. How did you figure it out?”
“I’ve seen someone else do something similar.”
“Oh? I thought it was my own unique idea.”
So there was someone besides him who used formless swords to perform sword control. They must be a highly skilled swordsman.
“If you already know, then there’s no reason to hide it.”
Geomseon continued creating formless swords in the air until their number reached a full twenty.
“Can you break through?”
Geomseon spoke in a teasing tone, as if mocking a subordinate. The woman smiled and moved her feet.