Drawing the Moon
...What did you say?
My eyes widened at the old man's words. What did this old geezer just say?
I wanted to demand an explanation, but with Wolseongeom standing right in front of me, I couldn't utter a word.
"Is something the matter?"
"No, it's nothing."
I rolled my eyes toward Yoo Chun-gil, but he only met my gaze with his signature, infuriating smirk.
He didn't care at all that he was throwing me to the wolves; he just stood there, laughing at me.
What the hell do you think you're doing...?
I cursed him out with my eyes, but the old man's grin only widened.
Of course I'm panicked, you crazy old bastard.
If he's so quick-witted, why is he suddenly pulling this crap? I couldn't understand him.
Don't make me laugh.
How else was I supposed to look at him in this situation? Who was I going through all this trouble for? And now he says he won't help?
It was utterly absurd.
Verify what? What on earth did he want to confirm? As I stared at him with questioning eyes, Yoo Chun-gil added:
...What...
Handle this on my own without the old man's help?
I thought it was absolute nonsense. It had only been a few days since the mind method entered my body. What could I possibly do?
I had zero confidence.
But.
"Then, I shall look forward to it," Wolseongeom said.
Damn it.
The die was already cast. I was standing at the edge of a cliff.
And that crazy old man had just pushed me off.
Normally, what does it mean to prove something?
Especially when it comes to proving one's qualifications?
If I had to define it, it was simply showing the value of one's existence.
The value that I, as an individual, possessed.
Whether I was someone who could back up my words or not.
This test was the act of demonstrating exactly that.
Honestly...
Up to this point, it was fine. If they wanted a demonstration, I could just give them one.
After all, I had the ghost of the Sword Saint, Yoo Chun-gil, by my side.
Though the time he could possess my body was fleeting at best, a mere instant.
That brief moment was more than enough.
As much as I hated that godforsaken old man, I had to admit that much.
He's on a completely different level.
The life he lived and the weight of his soul were incomparable to mine. Even though I still wasn't entirely sure if he was truly the Sword Saint Yoo Chun-gil.
Even if he wasn't, I now knew he was a monstrously powerful martial artist.
But.
He wants me to do this alone...?
Without Yoo Chun-gil's help, what could I possibly achieve?
As those doubts began to sprout, I found myself standing in the middle of a training ground.
Holding a real, unsheathed sword in my hand.
The heavy weight of the hilt settled in my palm, and I could feel gazes piercing me from all directions.
I glanced to the side. Ominous, glowing eyes stared back at me like will-o'-the-wisps.
Led by Wolseongeom, they were the very people who had been interrogating me earlier.
Most of them possessed the Moon Eye, their gazes locked onto me as if determined not to miss a single twitch of my muscles.
...I'm going to get indigestion at this rate.
Just enduring their stares made my stomach churn.
I had to do my absolute best not to let my discomfort show.
The training ground was far too vast to stand in alone.
Standing there with a real sword evoked a strange sensation.
What should I do?
What was I supposed to do here?
Even as I stood there, I had no idea. So, I looked at Wolseongeom.
"What would you like me to show you?"
"Show me what you can do."
Damn it. What a helpful answer. In other words, he was telling me to satisfy them on my own.
Tsk.
What I can do? As if I have anything like that.
This whole plan only worked because I had that old man.
Without him, what could I possibly do?
As I thought about it, doubt and irritation flared up inside me.
What the hell is he thinking?
If it was going to be like this, why did we spend all night planning?
If things went south because he didn't help, Yoo Chun-gil would suffer too.
In fact, to achieve what he wanted, it made more sense for him to help me.
What is his angle?
Why did he push me off the cliff?
I couldn't understand it. I couldn't understand it, and I certainly couldn't respect it.
How could I respect a decision that put my life on the line?
Part of me wanted to beg him to possess my body right now and get this over with, but...
...Would that old man really put me up here without a plan?
Despite my annoyance, a persistent thought kept nagging at the back of my mind.
Knowing that wretched old man's personality, he wouldn't have set me up like this without a reason.
What does he want me to do?
He said it was a verification.
A verification that I can handle this much on my own.
He said he wouldn't help me just for that.
So what am I supposed to do?
If I can do it, what exactly is it that I can do?
I didn't know. I cast a quick glance around me.
...Why are their eyes so vicious?
It felt like sparks would fly from their eyes at any moment.
Holding back a sigh, I raised my head.
What I can do.
He must have made me do this because there is something I can do.
Holding onto that thought, I focused my mind.
What could I do? I closed my eyes and struggled to recall.
Then.
"The moon does not choose the ground upon which it rises."
The sight of what the old man had shown me once before flashed in my mind.
The absurd act of trying to create a moon with a sword.
The scene when he shattered the Sochung Sword.
That very moment came back to me.
How did he do it back then? As if trying to recreate that moment, I slowly tightened my grip on the hilt.
With that, my mind gradually began to cool down.
The old man chuckled softly as he looked at the young man's back.
The boy who had been cursing him out with his eyes just moments ago had suddenly shifted his entire aura.
Watching this, the old man smiled with satisfaction.
He was truly intriguing.
In his decades of life, he had met all kinds of people, but this young man was unique even among them.
Surrounded by people glaring at him, ready to pounce at the slightest mistake.
Placed in a highly tense situation where he had to spin a lie into truth.
It wouldn't have been surprising for an ordinary person to crumble under such pressure.
Yet this young man, Bang Seong-yeon, showed no signs of breaking.
No matter what crisis befell him, he maintained his composure.
As the saying goes, even if you are dragged into a tiger's den, you will survive if you keep your wits about you.
Bang Seong-yeon was the perfect embodiment of that proverb.
Look at him.
Bang Seong-yeon stood with his eyes closed, holding his sword.
His breathing, which had been erratic just moments ago, had calmed.
His chaotic energy had settled into place.
The old man smiled, thoroughly pleased.
The boy likely didn't realize the kind of value he possessed.
And furthermore.
The old man had no plans to reveal Bang Seong-yeon's true worth to him.
As the young man closed his eyes, his energy began to ripple.
Watching the hazy shimmer of the Cheongwol Mind Method, the old man narrowed his eyes.
The homework the old man had assigned to Bang Seong-yeon.
He had told him to perfectly replicate the mind method he had demonstrated before they reached Cheongwol Gate.
But that task was inherently flawed.
It would take at least a year.
Even if one possessed a talent perfectly suited for the Cheongwol Mind Method, that was the bare minimum.
Even the old man himself had taken three months to achieve it.
Bang Seong-yeon had found the knack for it in just a few days.
It was truly absurd.
Had he not said he simply remembered what his body experienced and replicated it?
He spoke of such an impossible feat as if it were the easiest thing in the world.
Did he even know how many physical reactions occurred within the body when a single movement was executed?
Furthermore, when performing martial arts, one had to manage the flow of internal energy as well.
And he claimed to copy all of that simply by memorizing it?
At this point, it was the old man who couldn't comprehend it.
Why on earth had a guy like this been living as a mere Third-rate nobody?
Even if he had experienced the miraculous fortune of having the Sword Saint inhabit his body.
Even without such an event, Bang Seong-yeon was not someone who should have remained stuck at the Third-rate level.
Looking at it now, something was definitely strange.
But for now, there were more pressing matters to observe.
The sly foxes casting their suspicious glares.
The old man was curious to see what Bang Seong-yeon would show them.
Swoosh—
With that, Bang Seong-yeon began to move.
Observing the deeply lowered stance, the tension in the thighs, and the grip on the wrist holding the sword, Yoo Chun-gil's grin split wide.
Bang Seong-yeon's sword moved.
Wroooooom—!!!
A vibration rippled through the tip of the slowly swinging blade. As his waist rotated, the sword gradually sliced through the air.
The old man laughed out loud at the sight.
The way he swung the sword overlapped with someone else.
It was none other than himself.
Bang Seong-yeon had channeled Yoo Chun-gil through his own body, and at the tip of his blade...
The moon that Yoo Chun-gil loved so dearly was rising.
The boy who had been trembling in fear just moments ago was nowhere to be seen.
*Screeech—!!!*
A single strike.
It was merely a single swing.
In terms of time, it was a mere instant, and the movement itself was nothing grand.
Yet.
"...Ah..."
"...That..."
Those who witnessed Bang Seong-yeon's sword could only gape in shock.
They, too, were martial artists of Cheongwol Gate.
There was no way they wouldn't recognize the strike Bang Seong-yeon had just executed.
The Blue Moon Sword Dance. First form.
Moon Wave.
The first moon, which could only be drawn after awakening the Moon Eye.
That beautiful spectacle had unfolded from Bang Seong-yeon's hands.
What was more...
"Just now... that was..."
"His..."
Not all Blue Moon Sword Dances were created equal.
Only one person in the world could execute a movement so wild yet noble.
No, they had believed that with his passing, such a sword would never be seen again.
Yet that very sword had been drawn by a youth who had not even reached twenty.
It was so shocking that even Wolseongeom, who had maintained a completely expressionless face from the beginning, wore a look of astonishment.
At that moment.
Bang Seong-yeon, who had stood frozen after executing the Moon Wave, finally reacted.
He opened his closed eyes.
A blue light gleamed in his eyes, and perhaps due to the lingering effects of the mind method, a faint blue energy drifted from his body.
Perhaps because of the technique he had just performed, he looked exceptionally mystical.
While everyone's attention was locked onto him.
"Ah."
Bang Seong-yeon let out a soft exclamation.
"Wow."
He chuckled dryly and added:
"This..."
His voice sounded somewhat incredulous.
"Is actually easier than I thought?"
Hearing that, Yoo Chun-gil burst into roaring laughter.