Heavenly Realm
Pow!
Master Myung-ryong struck my back hard, causing my Qi to surge vigorously. Blood welled up in my mouth. I spat it out, got back on my feet, and prepared to launch the Six Harmonies Sword Technique with the Six Harmonies Opening Slash.
Boom!
My internal energy drained away rapidly. I clenched my lips shut, enduring the feeling of my brain shattering under the strain and the profound exhaustion. By now, my eyes were probably bloodshot. I was drowning in torturous thoughts and imaginations about why the heck I was doing this.
‘Endure, endure, endure!!’
I put every ounce of strength into completing the Opening Slash. It was a simple move, yet while doing it, I genuinely felt like I wanted to die. My arms, legs, heart, and ribs screamed in protest while I clung desperately to my sanity. I pleaded with my mind, convinced I would die if I continued this; for the love of whatever is holy, please stop! But in defiance of my thoughts came Master Myung-ryong’s cold words.
“Fifty-one.”
That was just one attempt completed. Despair swirled chaotically in my mind.
‘Ugh, more! I can still do more!’
I swung!
I swung!
I packed my Intent into the tip of my sword!
“… Sixty.”
I swung!
I swung!
I collapsed while swinging! Stars filled my vision!
Huh? What was I thinking about again?
Whoosh!
“Get yourself together!”
As Master Myung-ryong slapped my cheek, I barely came back to reality. Surprised, he commented, “Your mental strength is incredible. How come you’re not crying out even while you’re dying?”
I answered weakly, my thoughts too muddled to be respectful.
“… I don’t have the energy… left…”
“Oh, right. My bad.”
With that casual reply, Master Myung-ryong patted my back and said,
“Let’s call it a day.”
Those words felt like heavenly bliss, as if I had received divine grace. I nearly cried tears of relief. But my joy was short-lived as he continued,
“Kiddo! Tomorrow, let’s aim for sixty attempts or more.”
I gritted my teeth in frustration. I could feel my insides curling up in anger.
“… Mi… insane… first… recovery…”
“Exactly! First Recovery!”
Master Myung-ryong clenched his fist triumphantly.
“What can I say? If your mind doesn’t keep up, your body suffers!”
“……”
It was the first time I found such undeniable logic so infuriating!
‘Gah, damn youuu…’
That night, I collapsed, utterly dead to the world. The next day, I was dragged out again to repeat the Six Harmonies Sword Technique, alternating between fainting and waking up. This terrifying drain of stamina and internal energy showed no signs of ending.
I began to understand what type of master Master Myung-ryong truly was.
Unlike Lee Kwang, he genuinely cared for his disciples. However, his methods were marked by a degree of stupidity and eccentricity that was second to none. His indifference towards his disciple’s suffering was astounding. I now understood why the peak masters of the Wudang Sect feared Master Myung-ryong.
“Ughhh…”
Groans escaped my lips as my face hit the dusty ground once more.
Here I was, returning to the cave in a semi-conscious state.
‘Ugh… my insides hurt…’
It felt like my lungs were being punctured!
After the second day, I thought I was beginning to break down inside. No matter how impressive the Infinite Divine Technique was, it couldn’t fully protect the human body from such horrific consumption. Reluctantly, I pulled out acupuncture needles from my satchel, desperately stimulating my meridians.
I used my medical techniques to temporarily mend my lost energy, followed by healing my internal organs with the True Qi Manipulation Technique. I sighed under my breath,
‘Ugh… my lungs are a bit damaged… inflammation in my spleen and pancreas… and a few meridians are severed… my heart feels weak, too.’
I rushed to ease the inflammation with acupuncture, pressing on the vital points and restoring the meridians. After a solid hour of desperate self-healing, the acute pain subsided. With a sigh of relief, I thought,
‘Seriously… if I hadn’t learned medicine in Goryeo, I would have died here absurdly once again…’
What kind of Wudang Sect training was this brutal?
An ordinary person would have died at least five times by now!
At that moment, medical techniques seemed trivial, but they were crucial in determining my life or death in this situation. Feeling the dread of potentially dying unexpectedly if this training continued, I realized I needed a contingency plan.
How could I survive this?
As I pondered deeply, I recalled that there might be a good solution within Huatuo’s Medical Vision.
Huatuo’s Five Animals Play!
Secret Technique!
Snake Technique!
Szzzzz…
During my limited rest time, I decided to use the moments to their fullest rather than just sleep. Among the techniques passed down by the Huatuo Clan, Huatuo’s Five Animals Play contained secret techniques modeled after animal forms, particularly the Snake Technique.
I started to regulate my breathing according to the prescribed movements.
Gradually, my consciousness faded away.
And when I awoke again, precisely three hours had passed. Checking my condition made me realize I had completely recovered!
“Great!”
The Snake Technique truly allowed one to feign death and enter a hibernation-like state!
Initially utilized by doctors trained in Huatuo’s Medical Techniques to save lives, it also had the effect of rapidly restoring the body during a period of rest. I had quickly healed my bodily injuries using the Snake Technique. Its recovery effect far surpassed the usual internal arts!
Honestly, I wondered what use this technique would have once I gained tremendous inner strength, but right now, it was extremely beneficial! I decided I’d express my gratitude to the Huatuo clan later.
Then, I practiced some more.
I swung!
I swung!
I packed my Intent into the tip of my sword!
I swung!
I swung!
I packed my Intent into the tip of my sword!
…
I packed my Intent into the tip of my sword!
I died and died again, constantly teetering on the edge of consciousness.
I suddenly began to feel annoyed.
A normal human would’ve gone mad by now.
When would it end…?
Am I even using the correct opening technique…?
What am I doing here again?
I had swung over five hundred times, and I had no idea how many days had passed. What was clear was that far more time had passed than I anticipated, and the fatigue was evident even in Master Myung-ryong’s eyes.
While time flowed in a state of nothingness, I found myself pondering,
“…?”
Reincarnation.
Transmigration, rebirth, and cyclical flow.
In Buddhism, the world of reincarnation includes the realms of hell, hungry spirits, beasts, asuras, humans, and heavenly beings.
Strangely enough, a thought crossed my mind—why did I see the cycles of reincarnation reflected in the sword techniques of the Six Harmonies Sword Technique?
It dawned on me; I was becoming one with the void.
Wandering in the depths of emptiness, all I could see was void.
My body vanished, my efforts dissipated, and ultimately, even life faded away without a trace. What remained was but a faint persistence of consciousness. For hundreds of years, this endless mental state would linger in the nature of existence, untouched.
If it were death, it would be the truest form of it. If the disappearance of life is termed parinibbana, then I had reached that state where the corporeal form was fully gone.
Nevertheless, one thing remained—a hidden issue. Though my body was absent, my consciousness persisted. In this absurd situation, I found myself checking for the semblance of a body, but alas, there was nothing.
Consciousness moves wherever thought drifts; thus, I directed it toward the sky. According to the theory that the soul ascends toward heaven while the body returns to the earth, I seemed to have become a spirit.
Did I die?
Am I done with the cycle of reincarnation and truly dead?
I wasn’t entirely surprised by that, yet suddenly, I felt that wasn’t the case. If I actually died, such a grand phenomenon wouldn’t occur. I’d surely be pondering why I died while staring at the barn’s ceiling.
Oh.
That’s right.
My mind was just observing my body, after all.
Ssssss…
In that moment, I had an inkling of the essence behind the phrase “[I pack my Intent into the tip of my sword!]” I felt like I had grasped something fundamentally profound. In a state devoid of distractions, the single act of ‘swinging’ floated timelessly in those brief, fleeting moments. Thus, I was able to forget all energy and direct everything toward focus.
Keening!
That razor-sharp focus converged the threads of Intent at the tip of my sword. The thread transformed into a luminous orb, glowing brightly as it traveled along the blade. The azure light, initially fine, thickened and solidified, gradually morphing into an utterly clear form.
Fwoosh!
“Ah…!!”
My consciousness returned to my body, and I let out a sigh in relief.
This was sword energy!
My sword had indeed manifested sword energy (劍氣成)!
And not via forced, excessive expenditure of internal energy, but as an authentic energy born with little to no burden on my internal power.
I gazed in disbelief at the shimmering white light. Master Myung-ryong and the Sword Demon had somehow gotten closer without me noticing, and they both exclaimed simultaneously,
“You did it!”
“Wonderful!”
They exchanged fleeting, dumbfounded glances before turning back to me.
“Truly… an insane training method, and yet you achieved it!”
The Sword Demon, while astonished, couldn’t hide his joy.
“Phew! I knew you’d succeed!”
Master Myung-ryong stated confidently, but I was acutely aware that I would’ve long been dead without my medical techniques to stubbornly hold on. From Master Myung-ryong’s stunned expression, it seemed he hadn’t expected this outcome either.
I couldn’t help but smile wryly. Perhaps from all the torture, my body felt remarkably resilient, even with my internal energy at the lowest levels. In fact, it felt like my overall strength had genuinely grown.
‘Could it be that due to the harsh recovery process, the energy from the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng had ever more firmly melded within me?’
Kaboom!
As I withdrew the sword energy, the white light rapidly disappeared. Unlike mere sword qi or flames, sword energy possessed an existence inherently derived from another dimension. With this, I was no longer a novice in the realm of Intent.
I became aware of the stench clinging to my body now—sweat, dirt, and blood all mingled into an offensive odor. Wrinkling my nose, I asked,
“Ugh… how long has it been?”
“About three months.”
“… What? Has that much time passed?”
By the count, I anticipated a max of about one and a half weeks. Yet, significantly more time had gone by. Master Myung-ryong chimed in,
“It seems you mistook the count of your repeated near-deaths. At some point, you lost consciousness and became an emotionless machine, mindlessly swinging your sword. Then, suddenly, you realized the sword energy today.”
“I’m sure I woke up at one point to treat my injuries.”
“What you did, I suspect, was cast techniques instinctively as a matter of survival. Your sense of time is definitely broken.”
“……”
That was a ridiculous situation.
So, it meant I had swung the Six Harmonies Sword Technique several thousand times in a near-death state without any rational thought?
I was left speechless, and the Sword Demon grinned.
“Three months isn’t that long; rather, it’s quite the speed. You should take pride in yourself.”
“Is that so…?”
“Absolutely. Enduring that insane training regimen makes you an extraordinary person!”
Master Myung-ryong patted my back.
“Well then, relax today and start training again tomorrow. The Sword Demon and I have been busy studying the Heavenly Sword and Ground-impact Technique and have discovered improved methods beyond before. We plan to share those insights with you shortly.”
“Really?!”
I eagerly welcomed the news. Master Myung-ryong reassured me,
“Of course! Plus, now that you’ve realized your sword energy, you’ll easily grasp our insights.”
“Thank goodness.”
“Ha ha ha! Glad to hear it.”
Master Myung-ryong laughed heartily.
“Understanding what it means to manifest sword energy? You have become an unrivaled master in martial arts now!”
“……!!”
Master!
My heart raced at those words.
Many claim to be masters in this world, but finding a true master—one who holds the title of Master—is exceedingly rare. It meant my level of martial arts had ascended beyond intermediate, at least among peak experts—a significant leap in my overall abilities.
