Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Rare Human
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'It didn't feel like I was wielding a sword. It was more like I was painting a picture with a brush.'
When I executed the form, my breathing grew a bit ragged. Gwang-yu looked somewhat surprised.
"It's not a difficult form, but to replicate the movements perfectly after seeing it just once... You certainly have talent."
"Really? What? Does that mean I'm actually a genius?"
My worries were short-lived. The thrill of succeeding made my chest swell with pride.
Gwang-yu pressed down on my excited, dopamine-fueled self with his large hand.
"It's too early to get arrogant. You're only mimicking the movements so far. The real key is infusing them with internal energy."
'Can't I just get by with mimicking the forms? No wonder it didn't have that intense feel like when Gwang-yu swings his sword...'
How could I become like Gwang-yu?
"So, how do you infuse internal energy into a form?"
Having surpassed mere mimicry, I now greedily wanted to master infusing it with energy perfectly too.
Gwang-yu looked deeply satisfied at my passionate, eager eyes as he answered.
"Just follow my instructions from now on, and you'll naturally come to understand it."
'What are you going to make me do?'
"Since it's the first day, let's just do a light warm-up."
'Music to my ears.'
As I sighed in relief, Gwang-yu smiled gently and said,
"Repeat Seven Demon First Sword through Seven Demon Fourth Sword a hundred times. Begin!"
After Cheon-seong left for sword training.
"Golden Immortal Lotus, please be our master!"
"Please be our master!"
Another incident occurred.
Jang-ryu and Chae-chae were pleading with Golden Immortal Lotus to take them as disciples.
'Did Seol-i foresee this happening?'
Golden Immortal Lotus recalled the whisper Cheon-seong had given her before leaving.
"If my big brothers ask you to take them as disciples, could you help? So they can grow stronger. That way, the cult's forces would get stronger too."
Golden Immortal Lotus couldn't fathom Cheon-seong's intentions at all.
'If they get stronger, won't that just create more rivals? If there's a secret technique needed for greater power, I'd hoard it myself, let alone share... And worrying about the cult's forces!'
Having observed human lives for ages through her long cultivation, Golden Immortal Lotus knew well how treacherous humans could be.
'They might be allies now, but humans can turn at any moment. If the cult loses power, just discard them. Though I haven't seen everything yet, Seol-i doesn't seem the type to betray someone for personal gain.'
And another mystery: Cheon-seong entrusting Jang-ryu and Chae-chae suggested some other purpose.
"Why should this one do that? No, let me ask again. Why are you so devoted to the cult?"
Golden Immortal Lotus's question was met with an immediate answer from Cheon-seong, without hesitation.
"The cult's future is my future. If the cult falls, it's as good as me dying."
'That wasn't just talk. It was close to certainty, not prediction. Like she already knows the answer.'
Golden Immortal Lotus sensed something extraordinary in Cheon-seong as she said it.
'Did her future-sight ability reveal that? When we first met, she wanted strength to save her sick father. Why does it feel like she's trying to save the cult instead of her father now?'
"...Very well. I'll do as you say."
After much deliberation, Golden Immortal Lotus decided to trust Cheon-seong's foresight.
'He's the human I chose, after all. I have to place my faith in him.'
"This one doesn't have much to teach. Only that I'm a spiritual being with healing powers. I've already given all the internal energy I can transmit to humans to Seol-i."
'Of course, regardless of promises, if their words were spoken lightly, I can't accept them as disciples.'
Golden Immortal Lotus decided to test Jang-ryu and Chae-chae.
To see if they were loyal enough to stand by Cheon-seong's side.
"And the one I chose as my master is Seol-i. Thus, any teachings I give you will never surpass hers in your lifetime. Is that acceptable?"
'Humans always crave to be the best. That desire can corrupt even their good hearts. Choose now. Which side are you on?'
Golden Immortal Lotus leaned toward them not being as righteous as Cheon-seong believed.
"I haven't known Seol-i long, but I think of her like a little sister. And I know she has the potential to surpass me."
Chae-chae spoke first in response to Golden Immortal Lotus's question.
"But I have no intention of falling behind her in skill."
'Giving up already? Just mediocre humans after all.'
As Golden Immortal Lotus, expectations unmet, began to lose interest—
"I don't think less teaching means less skill. I can fill the gaps with persistence and effort. I won't be a big brother who's a burden to Seol-i."
Jang-ryu nodded in agreement with Chae-chae.
"I feel the same. We've received the same teachings as everyone else in the cult, but we've trained day and night to grow stronger. And we will continue to do so."
'Come to think of it, Seol-i mentioned they were promising talents in the cult.'
Golden Immortal Lotus now somewhat understood how they reached their positions.
'I lose. I was too naive about Seol-i. Maybe she has a better eye for people than I do...'
Golden Immortal Lotus reflected on her assumption that all humans were blinded by desire.
'Rare as they are, there are humans who live without being consumed by desire. Seol-i is one such rare human.'
She also hoped Jang-ryu and Chae-chae could become such rare humans.
'If so, teaching them would be worthwhile.'
"Very well. Then this one shall teach you the internal energy cultivation method that draws out the maximum from your energy. Mastering it alone will maximize what you already have."
"Thank you, Master!"
"We'll serve you with utmost respect from now on!"
They say twins are connected?
The moment Golden Immortal Lotus gave permission, Jang-ryu and Chae-chae beamed identical smiles at her.
"Then, with that respect, prepare this master's bedding."
"Of course! Preparing the master's bedding is a disciple's duty, right? Jang-ryu, come help!"
"Got it!"
'No more worries about bedding from now on.'
Golden Immortal Lotus smiled contentedly as she watched the twins work in perfect sync to prepare her bed.
"Huff... Gwang-yu! You devil! You said it was light training since it's the first day!"
After sword training ended, I dragged my exhausted body back to the lodging, venting my frustration.
"Repeat Seven Demon First Sword through Seven Demon Fourth Sword a hundred times. Begin!"
"Haha, Master! You're joking, right?"
"Little Bean, training is training. Once we begin teaching and learning, there's no joking. Take it seriously during practice."
My master Gwang-yu was, in my past life's terms, a devilish drill instructor.
'Pushing me to the brink of collapse! And from the hundredth, he deliberately added one extra each time!'
After repeating Seven Demon First Sword through Seven Demon Fourth Sword a hundred fifty times, I finally got just a tiny sense of infusing movements with internal energy.
'Barely a fingernail's worth of insight.'
Still, seeing hope was something!
When I first arrived at the Heavenly Demon Cult, everything seemed pitch black!
I'm Seol Cheon-seong, the luckiest ever!
Fortified by harsh part-time jobs in my past life, my positive mindset carried me into the room.
"Are you done now?"
"Yeah, my whole body aches, and I'm dead tired."
Too drained to even lift a finger, I collapsed onto the unmade bedding.
'If I close my eyes like this, I'll fall asleep instantly.'
"You come back covered in dirt and plan to sleep without washing? There's a bath behind the building. I prepared a wooden tub with heated water ahead of time. Bathe and then sleep."
Golden Immortal Lotus watched me sprawled out, still in my dirty clothes, with a look of disgust, then grabbed my arm and shook me to get up.
"Can't I skip washing just for one night? I'm so exhausted..."
Despite my dying groans, Golden Immortal Lotus was firm.
"If you won't get up, no choice. This one will have to carry you to the bath."
"Fine, fine. I'll go wash. I'm going!"
Suddenly recalling that incident, I bolted up and shuffled down the hall like a corpse revived from a coffin, then halted.
'Wait a minute...'
"What if the Tang Clan guys barge in while I'm bathing?"
Wait.
Did I just raise a death flag?