Chapter 17
Translator: penny
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Second Sister Mok Jieun
Second sister Mok Jieun.
Among our Mok Family Clan's four siblings, she possessed the greatest talent for martial arts.
The eldest, Mok Jicheon, who would become the next family head.
While he lacked any great talent in martial arts, he excelled in all sorts of other areas.
And then there was our youngest sister, Mok Jiyeon, who had recently joined the Mount Hua Sect as a disciple.
She was certainly talented enough to earn recognition there, but compared to Mok Jieun—who was poised to become the next Sword Queen—she fell far short.
'And I...'
To be honest, in terms of martial arts talent, I ranked dead last among the four siblings.
I'd never risen above the rank of a lowly foot soldier in the Red Serpent Sect until I grasped the true essence of the Blissful Creation Art.
That said, hearing praise for my martial arts from my second sister was a first.
Even in my previous life, when she'd grabbed me and we'd talked, she'd only said things like, "You've suffered a lot. Keep at it." Never anything specific like, "You've improved a ton."
The feeling of being acknowledged for the first time by a 'genius' was strangely intoxicating.
I felt the corners of my mouth twitching upward without realizing it and let out a snort of laughter.
'Get a grip. No matter what, I've lived several more years than her.'
No matter how much of a genius my second sister was, I was a man who had stood shoulder-to-shoulder with one of the Ten Strongest Under Heaven at their peak.
It was ridiculous to get all excited over something like this.
I schooled my expression and asked her,
"So, what brings you here?"
This was the training ground attached to my private quarters.
She had her own separate training area.
So her showing up here was a rare occurrence.
I wondered if something was up, but she replied nonchalantly.
"I heard you're heading out into the martial world?"
"Yeah. Did Big Brother tell you?"
Mok Jieun nodded in affirmation.
I was about to keep the conversation going casually when I suddenly hesitated.
The reason was utterly absurd.
'Wait, what did I used to call my second sister?'
I couldn't recall the nickname I used for Mok Jieun.
I hadn't called her 'hey' in a rude, informal way, but I hadn't called her 'sister' either.
She'd always called me 'Jimyeong-ah,' but... what had I called her? The memory wouldn't come.
I racked my brain, thinking back to the past,
'Damn. I never actually called her by name.'
Realizing that left me dumbfounded.
It really drove home just how distant we siblings had been.
As I stood there stunned on my own, Mok Jieun suddenly drew her sword from its scabbard.
"Want to spar?"
Showing up out of nowhere to challenge me to a match.
That was so like her.
'Not a bad idea.'
My stance corrections weren't fully complete yet, but refining them through sparring sounded good.
No matter how much you train alone, nothing beats actual combat experience.
Plus, around this time, it wouldn't hurt to get a look at my second sister's skills.
"Sure."
I readily agreed and drew my sword. She looked faintly surprised.
She probably hadn't expected me to accept after suggesting it herself.
'Was I like that before?'
Come to think of it, the old me hadn't enjoyed sparring with anyone.
To be precise, I just hadn't cared much about martial arts in general.
Soon enough, Mok Jieun reverted to her usual impassive expression.
With her sword lowered, she said to me,
"I'll let you have the first move."
"In that case, I won't hold back."
The impromptu friendly spar began.
'Start with the Mok Heavenly Sword Art.'
Just like in my solo practice earlier, I slowly raised my sword.
In real combat, this would be the perfect setup for a parry, but this was just a spar.
And my second sister had yielded the first strike, after all.
I focused solely on perfecting my stance.
That was the swordwork she'd just praised, so letting her experience it firsthand would be good.
I lowered the sword just as slowly as I'd raised it.
I couldn't yet infuse it with the weight of the heavens, but it carried more than enough of the essence of heaviness.
Enough weight to turn most opponents into paste if they tried to block it.
She, waiting with her sword right in front of her face, swung hers lightly.
Clang—
A sound that was hard to believe came from swords clashing.
This was a collision of heaviness against heaviness.
But her swing was light, unlike mine.
'She's already incorporated swiftness?'
This meant she had mastered the Mok Heavenly Sword Art to a great degree and was forging her own path.
Honestly, I was shocked.
I hadn't reached that level until I was nearly forty.
My second sister was twenty-three now, right?
'That's why they call them geniuses.'
As I froze in surprise and halted my attack, she lowered her sword again and asked,
"Is that all you've got?"
"As if."
This body of mine still couldn't properly channel full heaviness, so it felt a bit off to show more... but it seemed like my genius sister needed her nose rubbed in a little.
I didn't want her stuck as a frog in a well forever, after all.
I swung the sword slowly again, just like before.
She frowned at the repeat setup and swung back, but right before our blades met, I twisted my wrist.
'Not this time.'
With just a subtle flick of my fingertips, my sword veered sharply off course.
Whoosh—
Her blade sliced through empty air.
"Huh...?"
Her eyes went wide in shock at the whiff.
That proved she was still just a frog in a well.
The essence I'd infused was illusion.
For someone from the Mok Family Clan who'd only ever practiced the Mok Heavenly Sword Art in isolation, this would be a first—but it was a technique countless warriors in the Central Plains employed.
'Like the Plum Blossom Sword Technique, for instance.'
The Mount Hua Sect's Plum Blossom Sword Technique, which my youngest sister Mok Jiyeon had learned as a disciple.
Back in the day, I'd experienced it firsthand from Choyeonn, who tried to kill me—it really felt like stepping into a grove of plum blossoms.
But my illusion was different.
'Create a canopy over the heavens.'
This was the path I'd forged upon mastering the Mok Heavenly Sword Art.
Swords multiplied above her head as I swung.
Eventually, they formed a canopy, blotting out her sky.
This was a method to fully capture the weight of the heavens,
'Ugh.'
But my body's flexibility was still lacking, making my wrist throb.
So holes gaped in the canopy here and there.
Clang—
And Mok Jieun's strike—infused with swiftness and heaviness—tore through the canopy I'd created.
One clash.
No, counting the earlier one, two clashes.
That alone was enough to make me drop my sword.
'Ha, well...'
We hadn't used internal energy since it was just a friendly spar, but I never imagined I'd lose my grip on the sword.
Even with the wrist pain causing gaps in the heavenly canopy...
'She blocked that?'
She was even better than I'd expected at this stage.
"What was that just now...?"
My second sister stared at me with wide eyes, clearly shocked by my swordplay.
"Illusion."
At my curt reply, she closed her eyes as if realizing something.
'She gains enlightenment from just this much?'
It had been a spar that lasted less than a minute.
Geniuses were the type to learn something even from that.
I shook my head and took a step back.
I even decided to stand guard and protect her meditation, in case I interrupted her epiphany.
'Did experiencing the illusion she'd only heard about actually help?'
I'd wanted her to escape being a frog in a well—not grow even bigger while still stuck inside it...
This was problematic.
As I stood watch over her, a sense of regret kept building.
'If only my second sister had more internal energy, she could've easily made the Ten Strongest Under Heaven...'
Mok Jieun, the former Sword Queen.
Her swordsmanship had been superior to anyone I'd faced, but that didn't make her equally strong overall.
In the end, martial arts required internal energy as the foundation.
Compared to the kids from prestigious clans raised on elixirs from childhood, Mok Jieun—the second daughter of the modest Mok Family Clan—lacked sorely in that department.
Some might praise her for reaching Sword Queen status despite that, but seeing the extent of her talent up close today only amplified my regrets.
'It's not like I can use the Blissful Creation Art on my own sister...'
If I could boost her internal energy all at once like I did with Somwol, I could've made her the World's Greatest Martial Artist down the line.
But the Blissful Creation Art wasn't omnipotent.
Setting aside the taboo of familial bonds, my heart just didn't stir for her at all.
The Blissful Creation Art was fundamentally a technique that converted desire into internal energy.
If that desire didn't well up from within me, no amount of intimacy with a woman would yield gains.
'She is pretty, though...'
Objectively speaking, my second sister was a stunning beauty.
The entire Mok Family Clan was known for their good looks, after all.
Big Brother Mok Jicheon had a handsome, manly face; our youngest sister was adorable and lovable.
And me, the Flowery Playboy? No need to even mention it.
Likewise, Mok Jieun was exceptionally beautiful.
Long eyelashes framing large, captivating eyes.
Flawless, pale skin and sharp, defined features.
In some ways, she outshone even Somwol from the Azure Moon Tower...
'Impossible.'
For some reason, my heart remained utterly unmoved.
Was this the shackle of family ties?
It wasn't just my second sister—this applied to our youngest sister too.
Even during my Lecherous Demon days, obsessed with women, I'd never felt a thing for either of them.
Thus, using the Blissful Creation Art with them was out of the question.
'Eh, whatever. I'll just grab some elixirs later and give them to the family.'
I didn't need elixirs anyway.
Later on, I'd stock up for my siblings.