Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Infusing Inner Power
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‘…The tree split in half?’
Stunned by the sheer power, I widened my eyes and stared at my wooden sword.
‘Did I really do that?’
It was unbelievable destructive force, even seeing it with my own eyes.
Gwang-yu’s demonstration hadn’t been this intense.
Of course, it was just a demo, not a spar, so he must have held back…
Does that mean this is normal?
With no peers training alongside me, I had no idea what “normal” even looked like.
“Phew… I let my guard down and nearly got split in two… My favorite pleasure spot almost became my grave…”
Right then, Gwang-yu—who had swiftly planted his hand on the ground and leaped off before the tree split—wiped cold sweat from his pale face and muttered to himself.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to kill my master. I had no idea the Seven Demons Seven Swords would come out that strong…”
Fiddling with my silver hair tied up in a single ponytail out of guilt, Gwang-yu took a deep breath as if trying to calm himself and looked at me.
“I’m the one who told you to infuse inner power into the form. You just did it perfectly, little bean. If anyone’s at fault, it’s me for underestimating you and lounging around on that tree.”
‘I thought Gwang-yu was up there watching my training, but he was just slacking off?’
Classic Gwang-yu, the king of play.
‘According to him, I successfully infused inner power into the Seven Demons Seven Swords just now?’
No wonder it felt unusually powerful.
I wasn’t even used to channeling inner power into forms yet, but if it already had this much destructive force, what would happen once I could wield it freely?
The body that consumed the Golden Immortal Lotus seed was something else entirely!
Honestly, when Gwang-yu casually told me to infuse inner power into the forms without any explanation, I doubted it would work. But seeing the results right in front of me filled me with confidence.
“Little bean, what was that killing intent on your sword just now?”
“Killing intent?”
“Yeah, it’s not like I was scared of your sword or anything. But just in case… if this master did something wrong to you, I’ll apologize for it all. So forgive me?”
He was pretending otherwise, but Gwang-yu clearly seemed shocked by my Seven Demons Seven Swords.
“I’m not mad at you, Master. Don’t worry.”
‘The reason killing intent came from my sword was probably…’
I recalled the transparent, arrogant bird that had tricked me with lies and even pooped next to the Red Fruit.
‘That damn bird.’
“Ahem, good to hear.”
Gwang-yu hurriedly brushed off and straightened his disheveled clothes from fleeing the tree.
“Shall we try again? Last time, only the Seven Demons Seven Swords got infused. This time, channel it into the full Seven Demon Sword Formation.”
“Got it! Let’s do it!”
“Wait, hold on!!”
Gwang-yu, who had been watching me raise my wooden sword with determination, freaked out and rushed over to grab it.
“Not me—aim at the empty air over there.”
“Oh, right, Master. Sorry! Slipped my mind.”
As I lightly apologized, Gwang-yu half-pleaded in a whining tone.
“Please, for this master’s sake. Don’t forget when lives are on the line.”
“Okay, I’ll try!”
As per Gwang-yu’s request, I faced the empty air—where nothing could break—and pointed my wooden sword forward, focusing on the qi flowing through my body.
“Seven Demons One Sword!”
The moment I swung hard.
Whoosh—
‘Huh… what?’
For some reason, unlike the Seven Demons Seven Swords that unleashed monstrous power, the Seven Demons One Sword didn’t infuse any inner power at all—just a hollow whoosh of wind.
‘Why isn’t it working like before?’
Was inner power only channeling into the Seven Demons Seven Swords?
“Seven Demons Seven Swords!”
Puzzled, I swung repeatedly at the empty air.
Whoosh—
But it was the same result as the Seven Demons One Sword.
‘It worked just now! Why not again?’
Maybe…
I glanced back at Gwang-yu, who was watching from behind.
“Little bean, you’re not thinking it only works if you aim at me, right?”
“It’s boring if you’re just gonna slack off anyway?”
“No, little bean. I’m the snake who loves lounging more than anything in the world. So could you put that wooden sword down?”
Seeming to calm my excitement, Gwang-yu raised both hands and spoke soothingly.
“But it’s not infusing inner power like before!”
“Hm… I can’t pinpoint the exact cause, but if I had to guess the difference between then and now, it’d be the killing intent.”
“Killing intent?”
‘Come to think of it, when the inner power worked, Gwang-yu said he felt killing intent from my sword.’
“How do I put killing intent into the sword?”
“You probably need to think about slashing someone with it.”
“Think about slashing someone…”
‘Should I test it on Gwang-yu?’
Imagining Gwang-yu in the empty air, I focused all my nerves on the sword tip.
“Seven Demons One Sword!”
But again, just the motion—no sensation of qi from my body transferring to the blade.
“Argh… it’s not working!”
Frustrated, as I tousled my hair with small hands, a sparrow flew by in front of me.
Chirp chirp!
‘That’s it!’
Inspired by the sparrow, I raised my wooden sword again.
‘When I targeted Gwang-yu, the qi flow was mild. But thinking of Pippy, it surged fiercely and rapidly. So that means…’
What I needed to imagine in the empty air was…
‘Pippy!’
“Seven Demons One Sword!”
With conviction, as I pictured the bird shit Pippy had left behind, the steady qi flow roiled like crashing waves.
The moment I swung without losing that sensation.
Crackle!
Lightning struck out of a clear sky,
And—
“Aaaack!”
Gwang-yu’s scream rang out.
‘No way! I definitely swung at the empty air!’
Turning my head half in doubt, there he was.
“Little bean, why me…”
Gwang-yu, charred and battered from the lightning.
“Little bean hates me…”
Training ended earlier than usual because Gwang-yu was traumatized from the successive attacks.
I’d soothed the battered man into something resembling his normal self, and now we were at his favorite dumpling house to cheer him up.
‘Though his whining shows no sign of stopping…’
Sighing, I picked up a dumpling and placed it in front of Gwang-yu.
“How long are you gonna sulk? I said sorry and bought you dumplings and noodles at your favorite spot. If I hated you, I wouldn’t bother!”
“Really?”
Gwang-yu sniffled, eyeing the dumpling I’d served him.
“Yeah! If I hated you, I would’ve just slashed you with the sword from the start.”
“You nearly did.”
My attempt to comfort him only made Gwang-yu’s face droop even more.
“Ahem, that was a mistake. Eat your dumpling!”
I hurriedly changed the subject and piled another dumpling onto his plate.
“The more I watch, the more amazing it is. Does sharing blood make swordsmanship hereditary too?”
Hearing Gwang-yu’s admiring mutter made me suddenly curious about those “people with the same blood.”
“Who shares my blood?”
I perked up my ears and asked. Gwang-yu looked quite flustered as he met my gaze.
“Uh, just some people! These dumplings you bought are so good! Let’s eat before they get cold. Dig in!”
‘Something’s suspicious…’
I eyed Gwang-yu suspiciously as he scarfed down dumpling after dumpling despite claiming no appetite. Then, as if remembering something he’d forgotten, he set down his chopsticks.
“More importantly, I think there’s a spy hiding inside the cult.”
“Didn’t we catch the spies last time?”
Recalling the Tang Clan infiltrators nabbed at the memorial, I bit heartily into a plump dumpling.
“Not external ones—among the actual cult members.”
‘A spy among those loyal to the cult?’
I’d been too busy handling immediate threats to consider it.
“Why do you think that?”
“The infiltrators who’ve breached the cult knew our internal structure in way too much detail. And every incident, someone caused chaos in the guards to let security slip. Only an insider could pull that off.”
“But who? They’d die if caught.”
“Probably someone with real power in the cult. Like you said, it’s a huge risk to their life, but they act boldly anyway. The fact they flaunt the spy’s presence so openly yet never get caught…”
I heard Gwang-yu out, but doubts lingered.
‘Why would a powerful cult member spy? If the cult gets attacked, they lose everything too. Better to strengthen the cult and hold onto their power, right?’
“Anyway, just be careful, little bean! If you catch ’em, slash ’em down in one stroke like you did to me today! *Sniff*”
Gwang-yu gave the advice then immediately covered his mouth, sulking again.
But I couldn’t focus on his whining.
‘This is bad…’
The Young Cult Leader’s face had come to mind.