After finishing my swimming, I descended the mountain.
It’s time to go back now. I don’t have a set target, but I’m leaning towards something. I’ll continue hunting demons and aim for the Yodan.
As I stomp down the leaders of the minor demons, I’ll surely be able to catch the major demons eventually, and if I seize their Yodan, I’ll grow even stronger.
Anyway.
I talked with the two of them as we made our way down to the mountain foot.
“Geunhyeop, how’s your body feeling?”
“Very good. Why do you ask?”
“Before we head back, I want to take a look at your martial arts skills.”
“Ooh! Sounds great!”
“What? You want me to show my martial arts? Go on, show me. I want to watch too.”
Hayoung sat down and Serin stood up as if she was ready to inspect.
“I’ll show you right now!”
She immediately took her stance.
Then she unleashed the Flowing Stream Sword Technique.
—Swoosh!
My sword cuts through the air. I can feel my sword force has become powerful. Additionally, the connection and speed of my attacks have improved greatly. After consistently training and experiencing real battle since I first learned it, I’ve become accustomed to it, raising my proficiency.
“Wow, you’re doing great.”
After she finished her initial series of moves, Hayoung clapped lightly. I looked at Serin with a smug expression.
“Well done. You’ve definitely improved compared to before.”
“Haha! Isn’t that right?”
Her soft tone naturally made me smile.
“But it’s still lacking.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your skills have improved, but compared to your inner strength, it feels quite lacking. In other words, you have more inner strength than what your skill level suggests.”
I nodded naturally.
That was a valid point.
“Geunhyeop, I will spar with you. Please step forward.”
“Okay, I’ll go. I’ll take this seriously, so be ready.”
“Of course.”
There’s nothing to worry about when facing a top master.
—Swoosh!
I once again unleashed the Flowing Stream Sword Technique and attacked Serin. Of course, Serin didn’t flinch and lightly stepped aside, effortlessly blocking all my attacks with her sword.
It really feels like she’s a top master. I felt assured that whatever I attempted to attack with would be easily parried.
“The power you put into your sword is quite good. Keep going. Continue until you’re out of breath and can no longer swing your sword.”
“Ugh!”
Utilizing the Cold Mind Technique and the Cloud Flow Body Technique to the fullest, I continued swinging my sword until I finally ran out of breath and stopped my assault.
“Phew!”
I hadn’t landed any effective hits.
Serin sheathed her sword and said, “Well done. Your endurance in battle is quite impressive. I suppose it’s because you have abundant inner strength.”
“Phew, phew… yeah, I think so too.”
Right now, my inner strength is much higher than it should be for my skill level. While I’m depleting my inner strength by utilizing techniques, I can fight for longer.
“Oh, but we talked about the strength of your sword too, right?”
“Yes. Geunhyeop’s situation can be considered quite unique in many ways. To be frank, your martial arts achievement is about second-rate, but your sword strength and endurance in combat are at least first-rate beginner level.”
First-rate beginner level, huh.
That’s a bit embarrassing.
“Wow. Is it really that much?”
Serin nodded.
“Moreover, that’s not all, is it? Geunhyeop can unleash the essence of the ghostly energy that enhances sword strength, and you can unleash it in one go to deliver a truly powerful hit. It’s entirely different from an average martial artist.”
“That’s true.”
“This type of martial artist is unprecedented, so to be honest, I’m not sure what advice to give, but what needs to be done is clear.”
What should I do?
As I was swallowing my spit and concentrating, Serin said, “First, it’s natural to improve your martial arts achievements. So I’ll put that aside for now. Geunhyeop needs to learn to control that ghostly energy better.”
“Ghostly energy, huh. You’re right. If there’s a characteristic, I should develop it.”
“Yes. So I think it would be good to properly define your martial arts.”
“Define it?”
“To investigate what kind of martial arts it is and how it should be used.”
Hearing that, something suddenly clicked in my head. Instead of just thinking about it, I should write it down or create my own personal secret technique.
To do that, I need to properly reflect on and define my martial arts, as Serin said.
“Yeah. That makes sense.”
“To do that, you need to first name your martial arts. Spirit Strike. That’s the name of the technique included in your martial arts. There’s no name for your martial arts, but the technique has a name. We need to quickly resolve this absurd situation.”
“Ah, that makes sense.”
Alright.
Let’s come up with a name for my martial arts.
“What? What? Are you going to name it? Leave it to me! I’m an expert in this area!”
“No, Chilly Lotus, you’re not even a Taoist martial artist, right? How can you name a martial art?”
“I was the one who came up with the name ‘ghostly energy’ in the first place!”
“That may be true, but—”
“Besides, this martial arts is different from those of martial artists, right? Although it uses inner strength, it becomes a special force from the moment it’s unleashed.”
Hayoung’s words silenced Serin.
“My Taoist skills are the same. They bring out accumulated inner strength in the form of techniques. So I believe the power handling that ghostly energy is closer to Taoism. Don’t you think?”
“No, is that really the case?”
“Or do you want to refute me?”
“Um.”
After listening to Hayoung, I thought about it.
Actually, isn’t she right? Hayoung is a Taoist, and she uses accumulated inner strength to conjure up flames and other phenomena.
I’m doing something similar.
Though my way is different in that I convert built-up inner strength into ghostly energy, I still utilize that energy to create a stronger force.
Yeah, that’s it.
As a modern person, let’s think about this with game examples.
The martial arts used by martial artists are akin to passive skills. Sword techniques can be seen as skills that enhance basic attacks, and body techniques can be seen as skills that boost physical attributes. Mind techniques relate to mana recovery skills.
But the ghostly energy I use… is more similar to an active skill.
It feels like depleting mana to strike a big move! Well, of course, it’s not entirely accurate to say this, and martial artists have active skills as well when considering sword energy.
But the nature of my ghostly energy is much closer to that.
Consuming built-up inner strength to swing a weapon and deploy techniques seems less effective than depleting it all at once to unleash a large attack.
That’s my ghostly energy.
“So, the name should be—”
“Ghostly Soul Divine Technique.”
Before Hayoung could speak, I decided on the name of my martial arts.
Ghostly Soul Divine Technique.
This will be the name of my martial arts that I will master and develop to its limits. It literally means mastering the soul of a ghost, and there couldn’t be a better name than this.
“What? Ghostly Soul Divine Technique? You’re already talkin’ about divine techniques? With your second-rate status!”
“My second-rate status isn’t important.”
“Not important at all.”
“Because I will become an incredible master through this divine technique.”
“Wow!”
At my bold declaration, Hayoung’s mouth dropped open. I relished in that gaze as I looked at Serin.
“Ghostly Soul Divine Technique… That’s a wonderful name.”
“Right?”
“However, the name of the divine technique and the appearance when using that technique must be kept hidden.”
“Hidden?”
“There are two reasons. First, it is a secret technique of Geunhyeop. Secrets should naturally be hidden. Second… Geunhyeop’s Ghostly Soul Divine Technique is different from normal martial arts. It feels almost ominous.”
“Oh! So it could be mistaken for sorcery.”
“Yes.”
Serin nodded gravely.
Indeed. The explosion of ghostly energy feels ominous even to me. So how would others perceive it? Naturally, they would think it’s sorcery, especially since it’s different from normal martial arts.
“Okay. I’ll keep it hidden. But it’s such a shame that it could look like sorcery and I can’t showcase my achievements.”
I expressed my slight disappointment, and then—
—Swoosh.
Serin came over and took my hand.
“Geunhyeop.”
“Huh?”
“Geunhyeop didn’t gain such powers through evil acts. Rather, you have obtained them through righteous actions, haven’t you?”
Her face was incredibly serious.
“Ah… you’re right.”
“The power gained through righteous effort, that you have mastered and enlightened yourself to wield, is a proper martial art. Not being able to showcase it doesn’t diminish Geunhyeop’s efforts, so there’s no need to feel upset.”
“Ah.”
That was such a kind thing to say.
It seems Serin misunderstood that I had become skeptical about the essence of martial arts, seeing me feel disappointed and trying to console me.
Truly a kind-hearted person.
Not having someone like Serin would be such a loss… Soon. If Serin attempts to tempt me, I might take that opportunity to make a move.
“Thank you for saying that. You’re right; this isn’t something strange. It’s proof of my efforts.”
“Exactly, Geunhyeop.”
Serin smiled with satisfaction.
Seeing her face, I said, “Then my Ghostly Soul Divine Technique, strictly speaking, could be called a genuine martial art, right?”
“Yes?”
“It’s genuine martial art. Genuine martial art.”
Genuine martial art refers to legitimate martial arts.
“Uh-huh.”
Serin mumbled while pondering.
“Yes. It does seem correct to call it genuine martial arts.”
“Of course!”
“Um, but from my perspective, it seems more akin to less legitimate martial arts or sorcery, you know?”
Suddenly pouring cold water on me!
“You don’t know because you’re a Taoist! And I can’t call it something evil since it’s my own constitution!”
“What are you saying? Anyway, don’t show it to others like Jade Flower Sword said.”
“I wasn’t planning on doing that.”
The conclusion was roughly reached.
“Alright, then it seems I’ve defined my martial arts. Next is application. Geunhyeop, the Ghostly Soul Divine Technique is your unique martial art. However, from what I see, it doesn’t seem to be a martial arts form with unique techniques.”
“Right. It feels like I use my ghostly energy abruptly.”
“Then wouldn’t it create a synergy to combine your Ghostly Soul Divine Technique with existing martial arts?”
“Oh?”
“Yes! For example, while deploying the Flowing Stream Sword Technique, suddenly using ghostly energy to shift into the Spirit Strike.”
“Yeah! That sounds possible!”
To put it simply, I would naturally blend the Ghostly Soul Divine Technique into the sword techniques I’ve learned!
This is amazing!
“Hehe, I feel like I’ve understood a bit about how to handle the Ghostly Soul Divine Technique. From now on, I’ll aim to learn various sword techniques’ foundations.”
“Ohhh…!”
I pondered the Ghostly Soul Divine Technique interwoven with every foundational technique.
“Wait! Right now I can use Spirit Strike on slashing techniques, right?”
“Yes.”
“If I were to use it on stabbing techniques, I should give it a different name, right?”
“That would be appropriate.”
“Great!”
I’ve set my next goal.
I’m already familiar enough with the slashing skill, Spirit Strike. So now, let’s create a stabbing skill.
“Serin! Quickly teach me the martial arts! Focus on the stabbing techniques!”
“Hehe, your enthusiasm is really a sight to behold.”
Auntie.
I might not have become the top master yet, but I’ve become a ghostly swordsman!
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