Chapter 237 His and Their Time – 2

Chapter 237: His and Their Time – 2

South of Guozheng, Yunnan Province, the Biyongshisanda.

With the number of demons visibly dwindling, the warriors of the Thirteen Dragon Clans no longer faced mortal danger. Yet lately, they found themselves confronting a different kind of peril.

“Can’t you hold it straight?! Are you planning to swing your weapon like that now and regret it later in the afterlife?!”

“No, sir!”

“Swing your weapons with full force! One thousand repetitions!”

“Do it!”

The members of the Boryong Thirteen, who had already swung their weapons thousands of times, forced their bodies, which felt as if they would tear apart, to move once more and began swinging their weapons again.

The thought that training this recklessly might send them to the afterlife before they even faced an enemy rose to their throats, but no one could actually voice it.

Today’s training instructor was the notorious Sergeant Oh Jo, infamous for his foul temper and even more notorious for his vicious aftertaste.

Through repeated drills, the warriors had learned the hard way that saying nothing and training silently was the only way to reduce the training load.

Then, one of the trainees, gritting his teeth as he followed the drill, suddenly whispered to the trainee right beside him.

“Haa, haa, tomorrow, who’s the instructor? Haa, haa.”

Then, the almost-collapsed warrior beside him answered.

“Huff! Huff! Tomorrow, it’s… Dang Yeo-eun, the squad leader, huff, huff!”

This news was nothing short of a blessing for the male members.

Dang Yueyun, recently hailed as Yunnan’s most beautiful woman, was a goddess-like figure in the Dragon Thirteen. There was scarcely a male warrior who didn’t admire her.

…At least, that had been the case until recently.

But at that very moment, the warrior who heard the name Dang Yeo-eun forgot even to gasp for breath, muttering with a face twisted in despair.

“No… After the Viper, now the Ice Witch? I’m deserting.”

“Hold on. Haa, haa, deserting… if you get caught, haa, haa, that Ice Witch might end up training beside you. Haa, haa.”

“Eeek! Absolutely not!”

That was it.

The members of the Thirteenth Dragon Squadron had recently begun joint training and now viewed Tang Yeo-eun not as an object of affection, but as an object of terror.

This was all because her training had been excessively harsh.

She was a drill sergeant who was harsh on others and even harsher on herself.

So, to team members who complained about her grueling training, she would offer them the chance to train alongside her. Those who experienced it once would break out in cold sweats just seeing Dang Yeo-eun’s face afterward.

These days, such talk even circulated among the martial artists of the Dragon Thirteen.

‘Training like Team Leader Dang Ye-eun might make dying at the enemy’s hands seem like the easier life.’

That’s what they say.

Come to think of it, it was Tang Yeo-eun who first proposed the joint training of the thirteen martial artists of the Flying Dragon Sect.

Although the number of warriors had decreased, she remembered Sun Woo-jin’s warning about an impending attack from Zhuge Zhijiang’s followers and the possibility that Zhuge Zhijiang might even request the Blood Sect to launch an assault in the worst-case scenario. It was for this reason that she had strongly advocated for the joint training of the members during the squad leader meeting.

The decline in the number of demons does not necessarily signify the Blood Cult’s decline. It may instead foreshadow an even greater threat to come. Therefore, we must use this respite we now have to prepare for the potential dangers that may lie ahead!

It was an astonishing change, to say the least.

It meant that she, who had always passively accepted life and, even as a leader, only done what was assigned to her, was now actively diving into the management of the Dragon Thirteen.

She had always been someone whose influence could not be small.

She was a direct descendant of the Sicheondangga and recognized as the third-ranked young prodigy among the Dragon Thirteen’s elite masters.

Yet now, having even become the adopted granddaughter of the White Crane Sword Master, Yang Mun-heon, she had begun to take a genuine interest in the operations of the Dragon Thirteen. Her influence had grown to a level that was by no means smaller than that of the thirteenth generation master, Pung Yang.

But Tang Yueyun attached no significance to such matters whatsoever.

She simply carved out time as always, dedicating herself to training to the absolute limit.

And that remained true even at this very moment.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

The crimson energy from Dang Yeo-eun’s sword, swaying like a fairy dancing, spread out like an illusion.

It was a sight as if a crimson halo were undulating outward, consuming the entire world.

“Ooooh!”

Watching the scene, the sword master Byeok Rijung let out an involuntary gasp.

It was because Yang Mun-heon’s White Crane Sword Technique was unfolding perfectly in her hands.

No, in some ways, it seemed even more mysterious and beautiful than when Yang Mun-heon himself had performed it.

Byeok Rijung suddenly felt a lump rise in his throat.

All this time, his sworn brother had shown no interest in grooming a successor, always so carefree, leaving him alone to fret and worry.

Yet how fate had led him to raise such an outstanding successor—as the heir apparent of the Yang family, it was nothing short of a profoundly moving event.

But unlike the deeply moved Byeok Rijung, Dang Yeo-eun was far from satisfied with his own sword.

This was because his White Crane Sword Technique, unleashed from the realm of the Third Form of the Moonlit Sword Dance, was being blocked far too easily by his foster father, Yang Mun-heon.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Yang Mun-heon’s lightly swung sword shattered the crimson energy Daeng Yeo-eun unleashed like glass cracking into pieces.

He even parried her sword with ease, speaking casually as he did so.

“Heh heh heh! Your energy is so red that the White Crane Sword Technique you wield should rightly be called the Red Crane Sword Technique.”

Dang Yeo-eun gritted her teeth.

She knew better than anyone that her foster father was one of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Masters and had recently advanced even further.

Yet, even so, she could not accept this helpless version of herself.

She had to become stronger, as quickly as possible.

To be his strength, the one he loves.

So that she would never again send him off alone and remain behind to wait.

But contrary to her earnest desire, the crimson energy she unleashed all faded away in vain.

And Yang Mun-heon’s sword was already poised before Dang Yeo-eun’s throat.

“Haah.”

Yang Mun-heon laughed hollowly at her, who sighed with a look of utter emptiness.

Ye-eun, walls are meant to be leaped over. If you forcefully push against them, will they break? When intensity becomes excessive, it inevitably turns into impatience. Therefore, while your body must strive with all its might, your heart must always maintain composure.

It was the moment she heard those words.

Dang Ye-eun felt as if she’d been struck on the back of the head with a blunt object, her eyes suddenly snapping open.

That single sentence made her realize the state she had been in all along.

That was it.

He hadn’t been fierce; he had become impatient.

Even though she knew full well how wrong that was for a warrior.

It was nothing short of a colossal blunder.

Moreover, the sword technique she was wielding was none other than the White Crane Sword Technique.

The White Crane Sword Technique, which requires a light and soft heart, like dancing, to wield the sword.

With such a sword technique, how could the sword strike carry any power when her heart was filled with impatience?

Dang Yeo-eun thought.

‘To wield the White Crane Sword Technique, one’s heart must be more…’

Suddenly, she recalled memories from the past.

Memories that made her feel at ease and free…

Most of them were memories of being with Seon Woo-jin.

Memories of reconciling with the mysterious figures known as the Blue-Red Twin Swords alongside Seon Woo-jin, shedding all the constraints the world had forced upon them and roaming freely; memories of laughing and talking together while learning the Moonlit Sword Dance at the Sword Tomb; and even the memory of kissing while cradled in his arms.

Though Dang Yeo-eun herself didn’t realize it, as she recalled those memories, her eyes naturally closed.

A gentle smile appeared at the corners of her mouth.

Then, a contented smile also appeared on the lips of Yang Mun-heon, the White Crane Sword, who was watching her.

I had been waiting until Dang Ye-eun’s impatience reached its peak to say what I just did, and it seems that waiting paid off.

Wasn’t Dang Yeo-eun, shocked, sinking into that state of utter oblivion?

A moment later, Dang Yeo-eun’s sword, her eyes closed, slowly rose and began to sway and dance once more.

It had been beautiful before, but now the sword dance was utterly breathtaking, like a fairy descended from the heavens performing a dance.

Noticing that her White Crane Sword Technique had changed again from just moments before, Byeok Rijung called out to Yang Munheon with astonished eyes.

“Brother!”

Then Yang Mun-heon smiled warmly and nodded.

“Yes, Ye-eun has crossed another wall.”

Even without being by Seon Woo-jin’s side.

Even without going to Gwanggeomneung, Dang Yeo-eun’s growth was still continuing.

***

Son Eun-sang, the absolute ruler of this era, one of the Heavenly Lords, and the demonic master revered as an idol by Yeon Tae-jin of the Lower Moon Sect, was now dressed in pure white robes, appearing fresh and delicate, following the instructions of the demonic master of the Life-Death Sect, Ma Jong-hwan.

Ma Jong-hwan spoke, sweat pouring down his face.

“Spread them wider.”

Son Eun-sang then carefully spread the opening with both hands.

Ma Jong-hwan glared at the spot and said to Son Eun-sang.

“I’ll withdraw now. We absolutely must maintain this state.”

Already intensely focused on his instructions, Son Eun-sang could barely open his mouth. He gave a slight nod, indicating he understood.

Ma Jong-hwan then swallowed hard and slowly began to pull the sword embedded in the patient’s chest.

Even for someone known as the ‘Master of Life and Death,’ this was a first, making tension inevitable.

A man alive despite a sword piercing his heart—had he not seen it himself, he too would never have believed it.

“Just a little more… just a little more… Got it!”

Ma Jong-hwan finally pulled the sword free and let out a sigh of relief.

But unlike him, Sohn Eun-sang still couldn’t speak.

Her immense energy was completely sealing off the patient’s bleeding.

It wasn’t merely blocking the blood flow; she also had to continuously preserve the vital energy the patient was clinging to. It was a task of such delicate yet brutal difficulty that only a master of her caliber could even attempt it.

Ma Jong-hwan suddenly smiled warmly as he watched Sohn Eun-sang, who was silently focused solely on maintaining the patient’s condition.

Then he said to her.

“Please bear with us just a little longer. We’ll do this as quickly as possible.”

Son Eun-sang then flashed him a bright smile.

It was undeniably a beautiful smile.

Ma Jong-hwan began suturing the inner heart with utmost care.

Even with the heart wide open, there was no bleeding. A fresh sense of wonder welled up at Son Eun-sang’s ability to maintain the patient’s condition.

And a slightly different feeling too…

Ma Jong-hwan struggled to control his gaze, which kept drifting toward Sohn Eun-sang’s face, and refocused on the patient.

The fact that the patient was still alive was nothing short of incredible luck.

Had this patient not been an extraordinary master, had he not used the Gwisikdaebeop before being stabbed, and had the attacker not harbored no intention to kill, it would have been utterly impossible.

Therefore, Ma Jong-hwan’s anticipated scenario was this:

‘Perhaps the one who thrust the sword had warned this man beforehand. That he would pierce the heart, but would also seal the heart with the art of the flying sword. So if he wanted to live, he should use the Gwisikdaebeop beforehand to put his body into a state of suspended animation. It was almost certainly an impossible request, but this man had no choice but to listen to that absurd demand.’

Moreover, the patient’s luck didn’t end there.

Had he not rushed straight there upon receiving his son Ma Mengyun’s letter, and had he not been able to increase his speed with the timely help of Sun Eun-sang, he would never have arrived in time.

Had that been the case, the last shred of life this patient clung to would have already dissipated.

The conclusion was that all these circumstances had come together at the right moment, enabling him to save this man.

Of course, one cannot overlook his own efforts to steadily nourish the patient’s vital energy through acupuncture and tonics, amplifying it enough to draw the sword, nor Son Eun-sang’s efforts, who poured immense energy into continuously circulating qi within the patient when even that proved insufficient.

A moment later, having finally sutured the heart, chest, and back, Ma Jong-hwan took a deep breath and said.

“Phew! That’s it, Eun-sang. Slowly, very slowly, resume this person’s blood circulation.”

Ma Jong-hwan and Son Eun-sang had now done everything within their power.

All that remained was to hope that fate would still be on this man’s side.

Having grown much closer while treating the patient, Ma Jong-hwan and Son Eun-sang clasped hands tightly and began watching the patient’s condition with tense eyes.