Chapter 44 The Heavenly Sword Saint

Chapter 44: The Heavenly Sword Saint

On the day we resolved Young Lady Cheongyeon’s matter, the Sword Saint Elder said he would stay here with us for a while.

His reasoning was that since the people back at the main house believed he had already entered seclusion for training before the Blood Pledge Summit, appearing too soon might instead arouse suspicion in Jegal Jigang.

Of course, to me, it seemed like nothing more than the excuses of a doting father who simply wanted to be near his daughter.

“You don’t understand. I’ve never seen a girl who surpasses our Qingyan, whether in wisdom, beauty, or martial talent. Seoyul is quite exceptional herself, but compared to Qingyan, she’s merely a firefly before the full moon.”

This was what the Sword Saint suddenly interjected when the conversation turned to Zhuge Zhijiang and mentioned that he had seen his daughter, the Heavenly Sword Peak Zhuge Seoryul.

Of course, everyone acknowledged Young Lady Cheongyeon’s exceptional wisdom.

But to say she surpasses Heaven’s Grace Sword Peak in beauty or martial prowess…

“Ah, well, I see.”

As we reluctantly smiled and nodded, the Sword Saint pounded his chest in exasperation and continued.

“You lot seem skeptical of my words. The reason Qingyan hasn’t reached her peak yet is because she’s never been particularly interested in martial arts. She’s always been fascinated by so many different things that she hasn’t trained properly since her teens.”

Given that, the image we saw on the battlefield—so diligent and earnest in her training—made it hard to believe.

“Ah, yes.”

“Do you think that’s all? It’s just hidden by her bangs now, but Cheongyeon’s beauty is truly…”

“Father!”

Only when Young Lady Cheongyeon appeared from somewhere and screamed did the Sword Saint startle and stop speaking.

“Ah, Cheongyeon. Your father was merely…”

Lady Cheongyeon grabbed the old sword master’s arm and dragged him away, leaving him with these words.

“My father is wonderful in every way, but sometimes his pride in his daughter gets a little out of hand. Please understand.”

The Sword Saint, a bumbling fool? It felt like some illusion was shattering.

I thought he was a legendary hero, but meeting him feels like meeting the guy next door?

Bisaeng murmured suddenly.

“I’m… incredibly jealous.”

……I felt the same way.

Growing up without ever feeling my father’s affection, myself; Biseoyoung, who lost a mentor who was like a parent since childhood and lived a hard life; Bae Jong-gwan, whose father passed away when he was young; and even Seolpung Jo Jang, who lived alone in the mountains with only his grandfather—all of us were starved for a father’s love.

To us, the sight of a father and daughter genuinely cherishing each other was undeniably enviable.

But Master Geomseong didn’t just show us the image of a clueless father flustered by his daughter.

Grandfather Geomseong, overjoyed to have met such talented young people, took each of us aside one by one to guide us.

That was the Sword Saint we knew—truly worthy of admiration.

If the image of Geomseong, helpless with his daughter, was unexpected, the image of Geomseong when he grasped his sword was beyond imagination.

“Haah!”

Team Leader Seolpung unleashed his Beast Fist, charging like a tiger and aiming to strike with a Tiger’s Claw.

Whoosh!

But he could only halt before the sword thrust out directly in front of his arm.

“!”

And in the instant the squad leader faltered, the sword tip that had been before his arm was now pressed against his chin.

“Ugh!”

The Sword Saint smiled faintly and said.

“You’ve already died ten times.”

It all happened in less than half a second.

Even the formidable Captain Seolpung seemed like a mere child before the Sword Saint.

“Thank you, Master.”

After the sparring match, Seolpung bowed respectfully, and the Sword Saint replied.

You’ve already prepared everything to move on to the next stage. However, it seems the wall you can’t cross isn’t in your body, but in your mind. I don’t know what the circumstances are, but try to observe your inner self more closely. Then you might find the clue . And your martial arts cultivation seems overly focused on the ‘East’ right now. That’s not necessarily bad, but an ‘East’ devoid of ‘Heart’ can become scattered. If you can grasp the subtlety of ‘Heart in the East’, not only the wall before you, but the next stage beyond it won’t be impossible either.”

Captain Seolpung’s internal energy had now reached eighty years. The next stage was ninety years, and the stage beyond that finally referred to the ultimate barrier: one hundred years.

His utter nonchalance in uttering such staggering words left us utterly dumbfounded.

Indeed, the teachings received from the absolute master, the Sword Saint, were invaluable, incomparable to years of training.

Still dazed, the squad leader pondered the Sword Saint’s words before snapping back to his senses and hastily offering his gratitude.

“Thank you! Truly, thank you! Elder!”

It wasn’t just Squad Leader Seolpung.

Master Sword had bestowed this teaching upon every single member of the squad.

He also said this to me:

“You are now but one step away from reaching the pinnacle. And that one step is the Igi Seonggang.”

That much I already knew.

“But have you ever considered what this ‘qi’ actually is?”

“Huh? Qi… isn’t it densely condensed energy?”

“Yes, everyone seems to think that because of the name ‘hardened energy.’ So, to create hardened energy, everyone just tries to tightly compress their energy. But I don’t see it that way. Ki is like water, not ice, isn’t it? It flows freely and can take any shape— . But how do you use that water to cut something? Does it become hard if you condense it tightly?”

It was like a Zen koan.

Yet I instinctively sensed this was the most crucial question to elevate my own realm.

Cutting something with water.

Not with ice, but with water.

How?

As I pondered his words and sank inward, he smiled faintly and quietly moved on to the next person.

Moreover, the Sword Saint did not impart his teachings solely to our group members.

“If there are young warriors in other teams who have reached the pinnacle of their art, would you call them over? If it’s alright, I’d like to offer my help. There may be many who can guide first-rate warriors, but those who can guide warriors at the pinnacle are likely few.”

Since this could elevate the entire Thirteenth Division’s strength, we had no reason to refuse.

The group leader went and brought back the leader of the first group, Qingfeng Jianlong Han Jiaoxing, and the spear-wielding dragon of this group, Saguanyil. I, the young lady, brought back the dharma sword-wielding dragon of the third group, Dang Yueyun.

They all pledged secrecy and were then able to receive guidance from the Sword Saint.

It goes without saying that everyone was astonished and deeply moved.

Only Squad Leader Ma Yugyeom was not.

I was the one who went to speak with Mayu Gyeom.

It was because, among our group members, Ma Yugyeom held me in the highest regard—and strangely enough, that was actually true.

The idea that Mayugyeom thought highly of me felt awkward somehow.

But for that very reason, when I went to find Mayugyeom, I ended up unable to even talk to him.

He was passed out drunk, sprawled out on the side of the training ground, not even in the dormitory.

“In broad daylight?”

Asking the fourth team member who had guided me there, he answered with a dark expression.

“I don’t know why, but he’s been like this since yesterday. If you ask him why, he just gets angry. If the deputy squad leader were here, I could at least try talking to him, but he’s suddenly gone too…”

His words hit me like a bucket of cold water, jolting me awake.

What? Mae Ye-kyung is nowhere to be seen?

“Assistant Chief Mae Ye-kyung?! Since when?!”

“He hasn’t been seen since last night. Actually, the assistant chief has looked really stressed lately, so maybe he just wanted some time alone to think…”

“Got it!”

I cut him off and immediately rushed off.

‘Mae Yeokyeong disappeared? The same Mae Yeokyeong who died at the hands of the Jugeui around this time of year…. Damn it, I’ve been too preoccupied with Lady Cheongyeon’s affairs to pay enough attention to these two!’

Just as I was about to run off, I suddenly stopped and asked him again.

“But when did Squad Leader Mayu start acting like this?”

“The squad leader? He started drinking like this yesterday. But honestly, he’s been acting strange ever since the Bloodline Summit.”

Since the Blood Pledge Meeting…

If that’s true, it seems Mayu Gyeom’s downfall definitely wasn’t because of Lady Ma Yeo Gyeong.

Suddenly, Young Lady Cheongyeon’s words flashed through my mind.

That the Blood Demon seemed to have sent some kind of telepathic message.

But it still defied imagination.

What could the Blood Demon have told him? And what kind of words could possibly shatter the formidable Mayu Gyeom like that?

Could it be the secret history of the former family head and the Jianchang Sect that led the Blood Demon to the Blood Sect?

But there couldn’t have been enough time to cover all that in such a short moment?

And Ma Yugyeom didn’t seem like the type to be shaken by such a story.

Or did he mention his father, the former head of the Ma clan, Ma Won-il? Could he still be alive? Was that why he became the Blood Sect’s puppet?

Considering what the Sunwoo family suffered at the hands of the Black Blood Demon in his past life, that was certainly a possibility.

After all, it was his twisted hobby to turn martial artists into puppets and toy with those connected to them.

But according to the rumors, former Sect Leader Ma Won-il had been buried alive in the Wu Huang Tomb alongside other martial artists, and was already dead when the Jianchang Sect fell.

Therefore, the possibility of him being dug up after being crushed and turned into a puppet seemed slim.

Moreover, considering whether that fact alone could have caused Ma Yu-gyeom to crumble like that, it still felt somehow incomplete.

Rushing toward the guards, my mind swirled with chaotic thoughts. I shook my head vigorously, trying to clear them.

Anyway, the most important thing now was finding Lady Mae Yeo-gyeong.

I desperately hoped we could find her before something happened, but the thought that she hadn’t been seen since yesterday was slowly creeping into my mind, making the possibility seem slim.

I returned to our team and shouted to the members.

“Second Squad Deputy Leader Ma Ye-gyeong hasn’t been seen since yesterday! And I have a really bad feeling about this!”

My team members, having been through various events together, had come to trust my instincts completely.

Without hesitation, they all began searching together. With the help of Sak Muheun, who had a knack for tracking, they managed to find her in less than a day.

Her, drained of all her blood, looking like a dried-up corpse.

***

In the early dawn of the same day Seon Woo-jin discovered Mae Yeo-gyeong, Do Hee-young, a female member of Team Five, rose with a dazed expression, as if sleepwalking, and went outside.

The women sharing her room sensed her movement but merely sighed and paid it no mind.

They had seen her too many times lately, waking with a start from nightmares she couldn’t recall, or getting up in the middle of the night, complaining of feeling suffocated, and going outside.

But none of them could have noticed that she had gone out barefoot.

Do Hee-young stepped outside without hesitation and began walking into the forest.

Her eyes still hazy, as if she hadn’t fully regained her senses, she muttered incessantly.

“West, I have to go west.”

How far had she gone?

After leaving the Thirteen District and walking deep into the jungle for quite some time, she heard an unfamiliar voice and suddenly snapped back to her senses.

“Kekekekeke! As expected, Elder Doodang was right, Brother!”

“Exactly! He said we’d only have to wait until today, and sure enough, Lady Black Blood Demon’s暗示法 is truly remarkable!”

Startled, she looked up to see the first of the Twin-Blade Seven Fiends, Jimaek, and the second, Guyoji, now transformed into Fiends, grinning at her.

“Ah…! Hah!”

It was only a matter of moments before she, still a second-rate martial artist, was subdued by the two peak masters.

Her pressure points seized, she could not move an inch, forced to gaze at them while tears streamed down her face.

The second brother, Gu Yo-jil, who had been greedily eyeing her, spoke.

“How about we taste this bitch first, brother?”

The eldest, Jimaek, rebuked him.

“Are you blinded by small change and willing to lose the gold?! The moment those bastards realize this bitch is gone, everything will be for naught!”

“But… just for a moment… I understand, brother. I was short-sighted.”

Gyu-jil bowed his head, his face dejected. Jimaek then spoke to him in a slightly softer tone.

“We can catch a bitch like that anytime. But for Dang Yeo-eun, the bait to catch her isn’t easy to come by. Besides, you know we only got two blood-soaked corpses after begging the Elder Dang, right? We can’t waste even a single one.”

“Yes, I understand, Brother.”

Having lost five brothers in their last attempt to capture Dang Yeo-eun, the two had sworn vengeance.

And the ultimate revenge they envisioned was capturing Dang Yeo-eun.

They believed it was the perfect way to satisfy their own desires while avenging their brothers.

So they had offered up all the wealth they had gathered over the years, begging the Black Blood Demon Lord Duwang.

They begged him to make capturing Tang Ye-eun possible.

As a result, Dangdang accompanied the Blood Demon as an attendant to the Blood Demon Summit. There, he cast a suggestion spell on her, the thirteenth-ranked member who appeared to have the weakest martial arts skills. He also handed over two Blood Beasts to Yi Xiong.

Finishing his words, Gimak pulled a small vial from his sleeve.

Ji Mak’s eyes gleamed greedily as he looked at it.

“Hehehehe, finally, I get to use this.”

He then carefully opened its lid, pried open Do Hee-young’s mouth, and poured it inside.

Unable to move even a finger, Do Hee-young shuddered at the slimy, soft sensation of something passing through her mouth and down her esophagus.

Moments later, she lost consciousness.

What they had fed Do Hee-young was the Blood Potion, the pinnacle of the Blood Cult’s soul-capturing techniques.

While other soul-capturing techniques could be countered with stronger, purer internal energy, the Blood Essence, once inside the body and controlling the person, made it impossible to escape the soul-capturing technique until it was extracted.

Moreover, the righteous faction figures were still unaware of the very existence of the Blood Essence.

Even if they had, they wouldn’t have been able to extract it.

The blood seal, imprinted with its master through the blood seal, released Do Hee-young’s blood channels and then asked.

“Which faction do you belong to?”

She answered with a blank expression.

“I’m in the Fifth Division.”

At her words, Jimaek and Gyuyoji wore expressions of regret.

She wasn’t in the same Third Squad as Dang Yeo-eun.

They hurriedly asked.

“Well, then, were you perhaps close with Dang Ye-eun?”

But she shook her head and replied.

“No. I understand that Third Squad Leader Dang Ye-eun doesn’t really have anyone she’s close with. The only person she converses with somewhat closely is Third Squad Deputy Leader Myeong Sa-hyeon.”

At those words, Gimak and Gyoyojil exchanged glances.

“That bastard’s the only one, brother.”

“Right. It’s a shame to use this precious blood treasure on a man, but it seems unavoidable.”

Then he began giving instructions to Do Hee-young.

To avoid detection of her soul-stealing, they had to handle the matter as quickly as possible.