Sword God Reborn

Chapter 246 : Everyone, drop your swords

The faces of the Demon Repelling Squad members who had gathered in the training ground since the crack of dawn were greatly contorted.

"Good grief. To wake up at dawn at this age for group training..."

It would be different for other ordinary rising stars.

At the very least, those belonging to the Demon Repelling Squad were the successors of quite influential families, or in a comparable position. Or they had thoroughly learned martial arts with a small number of people in an outstanding sect.

Naturally, it was awkward to gather like this at dawn for training.

Complaints came out from here and there, but only a few showed it openly.

Hwangbo Sung, Gyo Mun-cheok, and Tang Su-gun just kept their mouths firmly shut.

"Read the room, you people..."

Gyo Mun-cheok glared at the few warriors who were voicing their complaints.

At Gyo Mun-cheok's authority, the warriors avoided his gaze but still muttered.

"Good grief. Who was it that caused this mess in the first place?"

"..."

As if he were at a loss for words, Gyo Mun-cheok closed his mouth with a reluctant expression.

In fact, since he had brought it upon himself, he had no excuse.

'To think it would be to that extent.'

Gyo Mun-cheok swallowed a groan and recalled yesterday's events.

He had lost consciousness in a single blow.

But at some point, he had woken up to the cheerful sound of 'paak, paak!'.

What he saw was shocking.

The sight of Hwangbo Sung and Tang Su-gun, whom he himself was not sure he could defeat, flying away was shocking, and the sound of the other warriors being slapped on the cheek was even cheerful.

It was a terrible memory that could not be forgotten.

Brrr!

"Damn it. Did I catch a chill?"

Was it because it was dawn? For a moment, a chill seeped into his body.

"Training. Honestly, haven't we passed the stage where our skills will improve by leaps and bounds just by gathering like this for group training?"

"That's right. My master also said that when you get close to the peak or reach the peak, the only answer is individual cultivation or fierce practical experience, right?"

"What on earth is he going to make us train..."

"Maybe he'll make us spar with each other?"

"Sparring, that's the most plausible thing."

Various words were exchanged here and there.

Honestly, they were expecting it, even if just a little.

In any case, although they had been thoroughly beaten by Cheon Mubaeck, apart from that, since he had said he would look after their martial arts, they couldn't help but be expectant.

They had witnessed a glimpse of the reality of the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero, not just the vaguely felt fame.

Although they were frogs in a well who were arrogant, full of ambition, and didn't know the fear of the world, at the very least, no one denied the greatness Cheon Mubaeck had shown yesterday.

Because the pain engraved on their cheeks was too clear to deny.

Then, someone suddenly said.

"But, you know. He said he would test us every day, but no way... is he really going to slap us?"

"..."

For a moment, a heavy silence fell.

Although it was in the past, the shock of that time was not erased.

The dizziness of the whole body flying away powerlessly, the lava-like heat felt on the cheek, and the pain of a few molars being shaken without restraint.

He's going to do that every day?

"...I don't think I can dodge or block that with one day of training."

"One day? I can't dodge it even with a month of training."

"You're full of confidence, aren't you? I don't think I can block it even with half a year of training."

"Half a year... if you get slapped every day, hehe, you'll get hit over 180 times."

"..."

As someone mentioned a specific number, everyone fell silent as if by magic.

180 slaps...

Hwangbo Sung shuddered without realizing it. Gyo Mun-cheok, who was next to him, stared at him.

"You seem to be feeling a chill too, brother?"

"...Hmph. The dawn weather is cold."

More than the expectation of being able to grow stronger, a hint of fear appeared on the faces of the rising stars at the thought of the slaps that would pour down every day.

Tang Su-gun said quietly.

"...How about we all just rush at him together?"

"..."

Although it was a quiet voice, it was enough to cut through the dawn.

"...So if I use poison, and we all rush at him together."

"We'll all die."

"......!"

It was then. Everyone froze at the not-unfamiliar, calm voice that had suddenly interjected.

Especially the face of Tang Su-gun, who had mentioned poison, was a sight to behold. Hwangbo Sung and Gyo Mun-cheok inwardly let out a hollow laugh. Because it was the first time they had seen the ever-quiet and gloomy Tang Su-gun's face turn pale as if he had seen a ghost.

Cheon Mubaeck walked over with a thud.

"The result is obvious. You'll all die."

"..."

In the silence, the gazes of the crowd were all focused on him. The silence fell as if they had never been chattering.

"You think you can just all rush at me?"

"Th-that is"

"Then it won't end with a slap. Your heads will fly."

Tang Su-gun's complexion turned pale as if he were about to faint.

Cheon Mubaeck clicked his tongue.

"Your martial arts are all empty shells."

"......!"

At Cheon Mubaeck's sudden roar that cut through the training ground, everyone froze.

It was a natural thing.

Who would be calm when the martial arts they had learned their whole lives were being belittled and disparaged?

In fact, fellow martial artists do not speak to each other so openly.

Although they could point out each other's shortcomings in a roundabout way, there was only one case where they would speak in such a way.

A superior.

Only those whose seniority was much higher, or the famous masters of the martial world, or masters of a different class, would point it out so directly.

In a word, it meant that Cheon Mubaeck did not see them as martial artists of the same level.

"Why? Do you think I'm wrong? What's the point of your internal energy reaching the peak? What's the point of honing your sword and saber? You can't even dodge a single slap, can you?"

"..."

Cheon Mubaeck was now openly mocking them.

A few warriors twitched and put their hands on their scabbards, but they couldn't draw.

Although their faces flushed red, they were people who had the judgment to hold on to their reason.

They endured it by force.

That being said, the menacing gazes on Cheon Mubaeck did not disappear.

'Of course, the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero is not wrong, but...'

Hwangbo Sung gritted his teeth.

Born as the second son of the Hwangbo Clan, he had never feared anything in the world.

His innate talent for martial arts also shone. Although he did not have a divine body, his physique was excellent, and he had received all sorts of expectations since he was young.

He had accompanied it with bone-crushing effort to defeat his relatively mediocre older brother and become the successor of the family.

Of course, Hwangbo Sung was not arrogant. He did not consider himself the number one in the world, the sole and honored one. Because even Gyo Mun-cheok and Tang Su-gun next to him were skilled people whose victory he could not guarantee.

Then what was this heat boiling inside him?

Resentment? Anger? Self-loathing? No.

'I can't say anything.'

Even if Cheon Mubaeck roared like that, he was angry at himself for not being able to refute.

Even just a single slap. How could he refute the words that he was an empty shell when he couldn't even block it?

That kind of anger was not just with Hwangbo Sung. It subtly flowed among the other warriors as well.

Cheon Mubaeck nodded at the atmosphere that was transmitted through his skin.

'A common enemy doesn't necessarily have to be on the outside.'

Cheon Mubaeck quietly recalled an old memory.

When was it?

Among Cheon Mubaeck's many past lives, there were also many connections.

Among them, there were a few impressive figures who remained clearly in his memory even after passing through several lives.

'He was the Stone Platform Instructor of the Namgung Clan.'

It was when he was living as the Sword King...

He was an instructor who had been personally invited by the haughty head of the Namgung Clan.

Although his individual martial power was not that great, he strangely had a knack for creating an excellent martial arts group.

The Azure Dragon Squad and the Flying Dragon Squad, which he had raised with his own hands, were still famous as the powerful swords of the Namgung Clan.

Originally, to raise a high-level martial artist, the guidance and instruction of a master was very important.

Therefore, the master also had to have a deep knowledge of martial arts. He had to have theoretical knowledge, and naturally, his own level also had to be high.

But the Stone Platform Instructor's level was, at best, at the entrance of the peak.

It was a contradiction to say that he was a skilled person whom the head of the Namgung Clan would grab by the ankles.

There was his own teaching method that completely shook Cheon Mubaeck's thoughts.

-What I am raising is not a single excellent warrior, but the most powerful martial arts group made up of tremendous unity.

-They are already talented warriors. Although these people may be excellent warriors individually, they are uncertain as a group.

The conclusion of the Stone Platform Instructor's teaching method was simple.

-I just have to become a thorough villain. If I become a demon so evil that they want to tear me to pieces, they will unite and gather on their own without even having to say anything.

Cheon Mubaeck had chosen a proven method.

As they were the most outstanding among the rising stars who had joined the Righteous Alliance, their insight and talent were outstanding.

They were also the ones on whom the Stone Platform Instructor's method would work best.

"Drop your swords."

"...?"

"You're not at a level to do anything with a sword, so everyone, drop your swords."

"......!"

In an instant, the surroundings boiled over.

This was not just a simple criticism, but no different from denying their lives as martial artists.

But at the sight Cheon Mubaeck had shown yesterday, no one could easily step forward.

Because it was obvious that if they defied him, they would face the same end, unless they were a fool.

At the sight of the crowd, which had more patience than he had thought, Cheon Mubaeck shrugged his shoulders.

'I thought one or two would defy me by now.'

Did I give them too much of a shock yesterday? I should have gone a little easier.

In any case, Cheon Mubaean was satisfied just by the fact that the gazes on him were all unusual.

And the fact that they did not dare to refute his words was also satisfactory.

"Since there seems to be no particular refutation, let's start now."

* * *

"Isn't this treating us with too much contempt?"

Hwangbo Sung voiced his complaints from time to time.

At that, Gyo Mun-cheok shrugged his shoulders.

"Why, were you expecting training that would push you to the limit?"

"Hmph. I am a body that has mastered external arts to the extreme. I am a master at training the body. But you're making me do this kind of trivial thing?"

Gyo Mun-cheok's gaze fell on the Demon Repelling Squad, which was following him up the mountain.

"What kind of training is just climbing up and down a mountain? It's something we did when we were not even ten years old."

That was right.

Even while harboring complaints, the reality of the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero's training, which they had been secretly looking forward to, was too absurd.

Just climbing a mountain. It was understandable for Hwangbo Sung, who had already reached the peak realm, to grumble.

But Gyo Mun-cheok's expression was strange.

"It's not that trivial..."

Except for a few outstanding warriors, the majority of the warriors were sweating profusely.

It couldn't be helped.

They were wearing 10-geun (≒6kg) sandbags on each ankle, and they were carrying stone blocks weighing over 100 geun on their backs.

In fact, it was a ridiculous story.

Would warriors who were said to be able to break rocks and split mountains even break a sweat just by carrying heavy things and climbing a mountain?

"Since our internal energy has been sealed, we have to endure with pure physical strength and balance, and that's not easy."

Gyo Mun-cheok was amazed.

A single bead of sweat was already flowing down his brow.

Although Hwangbo Sung was a master of external arts and was showing an outstanding appearance now, how could the other warriors be the same?

"I didn't know he could seal our internal energy so easily."

"I thought he was going to kill me."

"The pressure point that seals internal energy is practically a death point, right? It's a common thing to kill someone by mistake while trying to seal their internal energy."

Cheon Mubaeck had sealed their internal energy.

In fact, sealing internal energy was a high-level study.

Internal energy is sealed just by pressing a pressure point?

If it were that simple, why wouldn't everyone use it universally?

It was simple. Because it was an extremely difficult thing to do.

Sealing internal energy meant blocking the flow of qi in the body. If you made a slight mistake, it could easily become a death point because it could even block a person's life force.

You had to press the pressure point thoroughly with a very delicate and highly concentrated operation of internal energy, and the level of the caster had to be more than just high.

"Ugh. To think he sealed it more easily than using chopsticks..."

Someone let out a lament.

Everyone was astonished at the sight of Cheon Mubaeck, who had just casually pressed and said 'next' without a second thought.

"But, was this mountain this high?"

"No. It's not a very high mountain."

"But why does it feel like we've been climbing for two hours, but we can't see the summit?"

"...Huh?"

For a moment, a silence circulated among the crowd.

After some time had passed.

Gyo Mun-cheok, who had realized something, gritted his teeth.

"...I didn't see Young Lady Zhuge."

"Uh. That's right. Isn't Young Lady Zhuge not receiving training... huh?"

Only then did Hwangbo Sung's face, who had realized something strange, also contort.

Their internal energy was also sealed. They had to rely solely on their body's balance, senses, and physical strength.

In such a situation.

"He even set up a formation? What kind of..."

Sweat drenched Gyo Mun-cheok's face.

(End of Chapter)