The Nameless Sword Scripture
Jang Muhwi carefully opened the box.
Inside lay the secret manual he had seen in his previous life, perfectly preserved in its complete form.
A whirlwind of emotions swirled in Jang Muhwi’s eyes.
This was no ordinary manual.
To him, it was like an old friend.
He reached for the book but suddenly froze.
His gaze had caught the faint inscription on the lid of the box.
Chuljikbulso.
If you leave, it will burn.
It was clearly a warning.
Jang Muhwi paused for a moment and searched his memories.
What exactly was supposed to burn?
In his previous life, hadn’t only a portion of it survived the flames?
What if taking the manual caused it to burn?
Obtaining the complete manual would be impossible then.
After a brief moment of contemplation, Jang Muhwi swiftly grabbed the manual.
He flipped open the first page.
Damjungyuhwa Heojeongido
It was the opening line of the manual.
Within simplicity lies splendor. Only through stillness can one attain the Dao.
Beneath the text were lines that looked as if someone had painted an orchid.
Jang Muhwi knew exactly what those tangled strokes represented.
They were sword paths.
To master the core of these sword paths, the first step was identifying which line came first.
But there was no time for that now.
Jang Muhwi quickly turned to the second page.
He believed the warning written on the box.
Whether it meant the manual would burn if taken outside the cave, or if removing it from the box triggered the flames, he couldn’t be sure.
What mattered was that the manual would eventually burn and disappear once time ran out.
That was exactly what had happened in his previous life.
No matter what method he tried, preserving the manual was impossible.
He couldn’t stop something when he didn’t even understand its cause.
What if the effect activated the moment the box was opened?
There was simply no time to waste.
Jang Muhwi had only one choice.
Learning it could come later. For now, he would memorize it.
He decided to commit the entire manual to memory as quickly as possible.
Fortunately, he didn’t need to memorize the parts he had already learned in his previous life.
Swish.
In the silent cave, the only sound was the turning of pages.
Anyone who saw him might have mistaken him for a scholar.
Swish.
Memorizing a manual filled with intricate sword paths was something an ordinary person could never do.
But for Jang Muhwi, it was possible.
He had lived like a weed, struggling to survive.
He couldn’t afford to kick away any opportunity that came his way.
Thanks to that, his memorization ability was second to none.
Some of it was natural talent, but most came from the keen eye he had honed while living on scraps and reading people’s moods.
Even after turning back time, the survival instincts of that weed-like existence had not disappeared.
Jang Muhwi didn’t even pause to breathe as he etched every sword path and mnemonic into his mind.
Swish.
Jang Muhwi’s hand stopped.
At the same time, a soft sigh escaped his lips.
“Hoo. That should do it.”
Jang Muhwi quietly looked at the torch.
He was checking how much time remained.
The torch had grown dim, telling him that quite a bit of time had passed.
At least three sijin must have gone by.
Three sijin was more than enough time for the mechanical formation to undergo changes.
Yet the manual still showed no signs of burning.
It remained perfectly intact.
Come to think of it, he hadn’t even checked the title on the cover.
He needed to confirm the exact identity of the sword art he had called the Mumyeonggeomgyeol in his previous life.
When Jang Muhwi looked at the cover, he tilted his head in confusion.
No matter how he looked at it, there was no name written for the sword art.
Just as he had named it, it truly was a nameless manual.
To think that the name he had given it in his previous life fit so perfectly!
It was then.
The torch let out a crackling sound and went out.
The oil had finally run dry.
It was time to leave.
Jang Muhwi sharpened his vision and scanned his surroundings.
Nothing around him had changed.
He carefully placed the manual back inside the box.
Then he turned toward the altar and offered a respectful bow.
It was a courtesy to the master whose face he had never seen.
Jang Muhwi cautiously exited the chamber where the altar stood.
The moment he stepped out of the room, his eyes widened.
The surroundings had suddenly grown bright.
It looked as if fireflies were dancing inside the cave.
Jang Muhwi reached out his hand.
Swoosh.
Just as one of the firefly-like lights was about to settle onto his outstretched palm—
Jang Muhwi narrowed his eyes and quickly pulled his hand back.
The light brushed past his sleeve.
Crackle.
The spot where the light had touched burst into flames.
A small but distinct black hole now marred his sleeve.
A single tiny spark had burned through his sleeve in the blink of an eye!
Jang Muhwi threw the cloth that had covered his face into the cluster of lights.
Whoosh.
The cloth passed through the lights, burst into fierce flames, and crumbled into ash before falling to the ground.
The lights illuminating the cave were not fireflies.
They were sparks.
Sparks filled the entire cave.
And their numbers were steadily increasing.
Crackle.
Only now did Jang Muhwi fully understand the inscription on the box.
If you leave, it will burn was not a metaphor. It was literal.
It didn’t refer to removing the manual from the box, nor did it mean carrying it outside.
It meant that anyone who entered this place would burn the moment they tried to leave.
Jang Muhwi first calmed his mind.
Passing through the dense wall of flames blocking his path was impossible.
He quickly retreated backward.
Then he focused his mind and carefully observed his surroundings.
This was not a crisis. It was an opportunity.
This was a place even the Taoist masters of the Kunlun Sect did not know about.
If they had, they would have already taken this manual.
They had gone to great lengths to disguise it as a natural poisonous fog.
In other words, this was a secret cave that only those who had received permission could enter.
So why would they set up an arrangement that killed the person who received that permission?
It made no sense.
In the gangho, if there was a lock, there had to be a key. If there was poison, there had to be an antidote.
There was no reason to drive someone who had obtained a difficult Giyan to their death.
Jang Muhwi quietly observed the sparks.
Fortunately, they had not entered the chamber where the manual was kept.
His gaze followed the movement of the sparks.
They decorated the inside of the cave like a galaxy.
Upon closer inspection, there was a distinct flow to their movement.
A small spark would emerge and then split.
The split sparks would flow as smaller sparks before splitting into two again.
Then where did the very first spark come from?
Jang Muhwi looked at the massive incense burner in front of the chamber.
A faint spark was rising from that direction.
Sparks were flowing out of an old incense burner?
Jang Muhwi quietly approached the burner.
A subtle fragrance pricked his nose.
Slide.
When he pushed aside the lid of the incense burner, the source of the scent was revealed.
It was a red flower.
Twelve crimson petals swayed gently, radiating a strange heat.
Jang Muhwi immediately recognized the flower.
It was the spiritual herb known as the Yeolhwacho.
The Yeolhwacho was a rare spiritual herb said to bloom within the lava fields of Nanman.
It was said that if one absorbed it well, they could reach the state of Yangyeolbulchim — immunity to extreme heat.
But the Yeolhwacho had another hidden use.
It was possible to use its intense heat to instantly clear blocked meridians.
If done properly, this was a chance to open his Imdokyangmaek.
Jang Muhwi looked back and forth between the Yeolhwacho and the flames.
After a brief pause, he grabbed the Yeolhwacho with his bare hand.
Just holding it made his palm burn fiercely.
Without hesitation, Jang Muhwi swallowed the herb whole and sat in a lotus position.
There was no need to dodge a rice cake that flew into his mouth.
Swallowing it before someone else could take it was simply Jang Muhwi’s way of surviving.
With his eyes closed, Jang Muhwi quietly focused on his meridians.
The Yeolhwacho began creating new sparks inside his body.
Though weaker than the ones outside, they still carried enough power to scorch flesh.
At the same time, his meridians began to boil violently.
The pain was so intense it felt as if his five organs and six viscera were being torn apart.
But if he lost consciousness here, everything would be for nothing.
Jang Muhwi had endured far worse pain than this.
He would not lose his mind over something like this.
He knew all too well that pain was the domain of the weak.
Bang. Bang!
A tremendous roar echoed in his ears.
It wasn’t a sound from outside. It was the sound of the Yeolhwacho’s sparks striking his blocked meridians.
Bang. Bang!
Like a hammer striking a massive iron gate, the sparks hammered at the blocked acupoints within his meridians.
If these had been his old meridians, they would have already burst.
The fact that he could even attempt this was thanks to the Giyan he had obtained at the Dragon Gate Assembly.
As expected, the saying of the gangho that one Giyan begets another was not wrong.
How much time had passed?
“Cough!”
Jang Muhwi spat out a bowlful of black blood.
But his eyes shone brighter than ever.
It was proof that his meridians had been opened.
The newly opened path was what martial artists called the Imdokyangmaek.
Now he could freely circulate energy throughout his entire body.
However, he could not let his guard down.
If he stopped circulating his energy, the newly opened paths might close again.
Jang Muhwi closed his eyes once more.
The energy of the Yeolhwacho had vanished without a trace.
It seemed that once the Imdokyangmaek was opened, the spiritual herb had been naturally absorbed into his body.
Jang Muhwi continued circulating his energy for one sijin before finally opening his eyes.
The cave was still brightly lit.
The sparks remained exactly as they had been.
Jang Muhwi turned toward the altar.
Then he began to bow deeply.
So deeply that his forehead touched the ground.
After paying his respects, Jang Muhwi walked toward the sparks.
Step. Step.
The sparks burned his clothes.
But his skin remained completely unharmed.
He had obtained the Yangyeolbulchim that the gangho spoke of.
The pack he had brought with him also burned away in the sparks.
Fortunately, there had been nothing important inside.
It was a shame that his spare clothes had burned, but what mattered was that he had obtained what he wanted.
Jang Muhwi carefully exited the cave.
Just as he had when entering, he slowly climbed down the cliff face.
Jang Muhwi avoided using his internal energy as much as possible.
He needed to wait until his newly opened meridians grew stronger.
Until then, it was common sense not to expend energy unnecessarily.
Still, he needed to find clothes to wear immediately.
─✧─
After finishing his business and obtaining new clothes, Jang Muhwi left the entrance of Kunlun as if nothing had happened.
The warriors standing guard there tilted their heads when they saw him.
It was because of Jang Muhwi’s appearance.
But only for a moment. They soon turned their heads away.
Though his attire was excessive, it wasn’t unusual for beggars to visit Kunlun.
Once he passed through the mountain gate, Jang Muhwi turned his gaze toward the row of taverns ahead.
It had already been a full day since his last meal.
No matter how skilled a master one was, one still needed to eat.
To calm his stomach, which was rumbling as if war had broken out, Jang Muhwi headed toward the largest inn.