Boom.
With a low rumbling sound, Hongryeon tumbled to the ground. Anyone who witnessed this scene would be utterly shocked.
Her beautiful red hair was dirtied with dust, and her training uniform was torn in several places.
The only fortunate thing was that she had no external wounds at all.
“Hah… Hah…”
Suddenly getting up, Hongryeon clenched her great sword. She aimed at a beautiful woman with deep navy blue hair that seemed to hold a mysterious aura.
Every time she locked eyes with those unfathomably deep orbs, she felt herself shrinking. Yet, gritting her teeth, Hongryeon charged at her.
-Quaaaang!!
Despite the powerful strike, akin to a tiger’s blow, the woman merely took a step back. With that simple move, she dodged the light-speed attack and merely prepared a lightly clenched fist.
-Pwaaarng!!
Slow yet precise, the punch sought its target. With no way to evade, Hongryeon could only raise her energy to unleash her protective martial arts.
But even that protective technique, which could withstand the fangs of beasts, couldn’t hold up against the woman’s light punch.
“Ugh…”
Pain reverberated through her insides, but there were no internal injuries. Surely, the woman had chosen to hold back. Hongryeon grit her teeth in frustration.
Anger at her own weakness.
“Haaaah!!”
What burst forth was a fierce shout.
But once again, despair settled in as she swung at nothing but air.
With each following strike, her frustration mounted.
Still, she didn’t bow her head.
Hongryeon’s gaze was focused on the beyond, far out of reach.
Meeting that gaze, the woman smiled.
“To achieve martial prowess, one must cultivate the body, energy, and mind. Hongseong trains the body and cultivates the spirit. But the heart that wields them must be hardened by oneself.”
-Quaaaang!!
Behind the smile lay an unstoppable force.
Even as Hongryeon was knocked to the ground, her heart remained unbroken.
And she was glad for it. She found joy in it.
The woman held her sword.
“Remarkable progress. As your master, I’m truly pleased.”
Despite the soft tone that flowed from her full lips, there was no mercy in her hands. Just a single swing of her great sword felt like being hammered with a colossal mallet.
Tensing her body and raising her energy, Hongryon braced herself against the penetrating pain.
Yet, what prevented her from crumbling was her steadfast heart.
And thus,
The woman,
Sword Saint Na Yerin, the master and the head of Hongseong clan, leaped into the air.
“Haaaah!!”
The tremendous force falling like a star was something only another star could block, a truth Hongryeon knew well.
-Quaaaang!!
When the two red stars collided, there was only one left standing.
The Sword Saint, undaunted by the immense power, smiled down at Hongryeon, even as one knee bent to the ground.
“The weak heart is beginning to strengthen. As your master, I am indeed proud. But you still fall short.”
Her voice was calm, yet brimming with joy over her disciple’s growth.
“As you know, Hongseong Divine Art is a martial art of the shadow. Those who fail to cultivate their minds and engrave righteousness within them will become a bane upon the world, like the traitor you know.”
The traitor who, consumed by darkness, slaughtered both peers and master, seeking to destroy everything in existence.
Unlike herself, who struggled with everything apart from martial arts, this traitor was flawless and adored by everyone in the Hongseong clan, expected to be the next head.
Dun.
In the end, even while mentioning her Senior Sister, whom Sword Saint Na Yerin had trusted and followed like a real sister, she couldn’t wipe the smile off her face.
“So please, you must not forget the teachings of the Hongseong Clan that value righteousness. Do you understand?”
“…Ha. Haha… I’ve had that drilled into my ears since I entered. Master.”
Hongryeon slowly closed her eyes and spoke in response to the praise.
She moved the fallen figure and infused her with internal energy. She adjusted the strength, but it would probably take a few days for her to recover.
Yet despite that, Na Yerin couldn’t hide her smile.
Of course. Ever since their sparring match, Hongryeon’s heart had always felt broken.
Burdened with pressure, she’d always kept her head down.
That’s why it felt so sorry to see her struggling to take on what Na Yerin had to do.
So, every time sparring ended, she’d say she would do it, only to be turned down by her disciples, resulting in her sulking more than once.
But many things had changed in a few days.
She welcomed her disciple, who had come seeking guidance with a much more relaxed face, and as always, even though she was defeated, she didn’t break.
She didn’t give up.
That brought immense joy to the Sword Saint.
“Remarkable progress. Truly remarkable. Hahaha. I’m so proud.”
Gently patting Hongryeon’s head, Na Yerin thought that Hongryeon’s heart had been easily shattered because she had to take care of the other disciples in place of her inadequate Master, who couldn’t do anything except martial arts.
Like a sandcastle swept away by the wind, her heart must have weathered greatly.
Now, she had built a new tower.
Not the same old sandcastle, but a sturdy stone tower.
Although it was still a small stone tower, if this continues to be built up, she would surely surpass her own level.
“Green emerges from blue.”
How could one not be delighted in the return of favor when a disciple surpasses a master?
Let alone, when it comes to training one’s heart, a master cannot offer much help. That’s why she always felt sorry; seeing her disciple grow on her own made her so proud and affectionate.
Na Yerin lovingly patted her disciple, who lay against her thigh, like a daughter.
“Ouch.”
“Oh dear, I’m sorry.”
As she patted through her messy hair, she accidentally plucked out a few strands, failing to hide her awkward expression.
Once Hongryeon woke up and began practicing her breathing techniques, Na Yerin found herself with nothing in particular to do while she contemplated the sparring session.
After all that swordplay…
-Grrr.
Her stomach… was hungry.
But she couldn’t go to the kitchen. The last time she went there because she was hungry and tried to gather some food, she got scolded by Hongryeon and Ryuhyun for rummaging around like a lost child.
She was a master, a Sword Saint.
But since her disciples always made her feel so apologetic, she had to swallow that grumbling inwardly.
Should she head to the food storage then?
However, the food storage had been smashed during the fight with those ridiculous cultists who infiltrated last time.
Most of the food, which had been kept there, rotted away due to being infested with the demonic energy that exploded during the skirmish.
She was sure they had bought new supplies and stored them near the sect.
She thought she’d sneak a handful of barley and nibble on it.
With that in mind, the Sword Saint started walking, feeling the dirt beneath her bare feet as she headed toward where the new storage was supposed to be.
And there, she discovered a group of her disciples gathered.
What could it be about?
Curiosity piqued, she approached only to be startled.
There was a man.
Hongseongsan is Mount Yeongsan, and unusual beings come seeking the spirit of that mountain.
Soul, spirit, oddity.
To block the things filled with negative energy, Hongseong Clan has settled here in the territory of Hongseong Mountain.
Thus, Hongseong Clan prevents the arrival of a man, the symbol of positive energy. In the worst-case scenario, they might suffer from the peculiar negative energies he brings.
But a man is here?
With a momentary stiffened expression, she headed towards him to send him off, and as her steps paused near her disciples, she recalled Ryuhyun’s words.
According to the request of the village innkeeper, a guest would be arriving today, and they were to protect him as the Guardian Spirit.
She recalled her lovely disciple begging her to ensure he doesn’t cause any trouble because he had been a great help to Hongseong Clan.
Feeling a wave of relief, she saw a robust man with a friendly smile surrounded by refreshing energy, indicating that her disciples had already deployed the Guardian Sword Technique.
In that case, she could relax.
The relieved Sword Saint was about to move back to the food store when…
What on earth is that?
She widened her eyes.
Sparkling, beautiful, vibrant.
It was a type of candy she had never seen before.
He was distributing it to her disciples.
Seeing them take it without discrimination, Na Yerin hesitated.
Should I get in line too?
He wouldn’t be stingy with the Clan Leader, would he?
Ultimately unable to resist, she scampered over to line up and waited. When her turn came and she received the candy, her eyes met his.
In that instant, the Sword Saint forgot everything, purely admiring the man before her.
This guy.
Really a remarkable person.
People are said to consist of three things: heart, energy, and body.
The body is the vessel, containing the soul to function in the world. Therefore, those without a body enter the realm of death.
Energy fills the vessel, giving movement to the person. Since the vessel exists to be filled, it naturally accommodates anything.
Hence, the energy contained within the vessel increases its weight and value. Just like how a bowl of water and a bowl of luxurious oil have different values.
However, what isn’t suited for the vessel cannot be filled. Just like how a fragile clay pot cannot hold heavy water without breaking, energy is closely related to the body.
But the heart is slightly different from the others.
While energy and body determine the vessel itself and its value, the heart represents the owner of the vessel and its contents.
No matter how cheap a vessel holds rotten water, it does not greatly affect its owner.
But the heart is different. No matter how low the value of the vessel and contents, if the owner’s presence is strong, it cannot be disregarded.
Thus, those who have mastered martial arts to a certain extent valued cultivating the heart, and the Sword Saint felt the same way.
However, training the heart was never easy.
But what is this?
Energy and body are truly the epitome of ordinariness.
Yet the heart, which belongs to it, is not remarkably powerful, almost comparable to her own reaching the heavens.
Not just one or two wills.
Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands.
Perhaps it’s as if hundreds of thousands of wills had been tightly packed together and molded into a human form.
There’s a limit to imbalance.
One can see plenty of those whose energy and body are larger compared to their heart.
Take Hongryeon, for instance.
Having mostly mastered Hongseong Divine Art and being born with a strong physique, her energy and body are second to none.
But the heart?
Her heart’s growth is still insufficient, as she has not yet properly mastered the Falling Star Technique.
Aside from her, there are plenty of those like Ryuhyun or other masters from various sects who can’t control their emotions.
But seriously, with such a strong heart, how did this ridiculously ordinary body and Qi end up here?
Even the Sword Saint couldn’t help but almost open her mouth the first time she saw someone like this.
What kind of life must they have lived to have such a strong heart?
Yet, the reason she didn’t say that out loud was simple. It was thanks to Ryuhyun, who was anxiously watching her, worried she might slip up.
The Sword Saint stared at him intently.
What a pity.
If he were a woman, she would’ve pulled him in as her disciple.
What a pity.
If she’d met him when he was younger, she could’ve introduced him to a fitting master.
She had so much she wanted to say, but the reason she couldn’t utter a word right now was because of the traces left on this strange man’s body.
‘So, he’s learned the Chae family’s Taijiquan… Looks like he’s been discovered already.’
He was her rival, but he had refined it within the clan of someone she could trust regarding martial arts.
The traces of the Chae family’s ancestral Taijiquan, received and directly improved from the Mount Hua Sect, were now imprinted on this man’s body.
Even though it was a judgment from her rival who made him learn Chaeji Taijiquan, to her eyes, it was undoubtedly a good choice.
Chaeji Taijiquan was one of the few martial arts in the world that prioritized will over Qi and body.
It might just be the perfect martial art for someone whose heart was abnormally strong.
Of course, since it was also a martial art, if he didn’t train his Qi and body, he wouldn’t be able to reach a certain level.
But even so, if he continued to train diligently based on that strong heart, he could achieve the realization of ‘Yu (柔)’ in the not-so-distant future.
Tsk.
It was already a raw gem that someone else, her rival no less, had touched. To lay hands on it would be akin to a taboo for a martial artist.
It was practically the same as stealing someone else’s disciple.
Na Yerin gazed at him regretfully for a while before shaking her head.
It’s just greed. Pure greed.
Wanting to add something to it, wanting to leave her mark on it, was nothing but greed.
The Sword Saint looked at her hand. The beautiful sweets resting on it.
She couldn’t just take this and walk away, she had to do something…
What could she possibly say to him, who would have to suffer under that eccentric Doje?
For someone like her, already poor with words, bringing up anything unrelated to martial arts was quite a torturous task.
But they say that if you think hard enough, you’ll find a way.
Just as she always did, she found an answer.
And according to that answer, she naturally patted his shoulder.
“Keep it up.”
Perfect.
This would be just fine for Hongryeon or Ryuhyun to hear and not scold her, right?
“Can I take one more? I want to give one to Ryun…”
With a nod, he silently granted her permission, and the Sword Saint decided to show a little more thoughtfulness.
Clenching her fist tightly for encouragement, Na Yerin took a light step towards where she was supposed to be.
In her departing hand, she held a pretty and delicious sweet meant for Hongryeon.
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