novelraw Chapter 70 : Chapter 70
Chapter 70 : Chapter 70
Chapter 70 - Where Does the Quick Sword Originate From?
Initially, Biyoung had anticipated two reactions.
The case where she would accept his words without much comment, and the case where she would openly express her disappointment.
Given Jeong-i’s character as he had seen it so far, the former was more likely.
But it would not have been strange even if she had expressed her disappointment.
What did spirit medicine mean to martial artists?
They would jump out of their sleep if they heard they were getting a spirit pill, and in extreme cases, they would even betray their comrades or sect to obtain one.
The situation did not change even though she had already had the experience of absorbing a Six-Flower Pill.
Rather, having experienced the immense efficacy of the Six-Flower Pill, she might have become more greedy.
‘So I thought she might be disappointed.’
Jeong-i.
She did not show any of the reactions Biyoung had anticipated.
Instead, she only left an enigmatic answer.
The answer that she ‘wanted to receive something else’.
“From me…… what do you want to receive?”
There is an adage that if the true meaning of words is ambiguous, one should read the person’s expression.
But Jeong-i’s expression was even more peculiar and enigmatic than the words she had spoken.
It was a face that seemed to be intentionally arousing curiosity.
“There was something we promised. We haven’t started yet.”
A promise.
Biyoung, who had been searching his memory for a moment, soon clapped his hands with a smack!
“Ah! Energy circulation?”
Only then did Jeong-i hide her peculiar smile and grin.
“That’s right. When did you keep telling me to come every day, and now you don’t even remember saying it?”
As she said, Biyoung had made one promise with Jeong-i.
The promise to release the energy of the spirit medicines accumulated in her body.
Now that he thought about it, it seemed that what Jeong-i had said she wanted to receive was about the energy circulation.
‘No, then she could have just said that. Why did she have to make such an enigmatic smile…….’
Biyoung, the junior disciple, used informal language, and Jeong-i used formal language.
It might seem like the sect’s hierarchy was turned upside down, but that was because the two’s dispositions were so firm.
Biyoung, who had reincarnated from the World’s Fastest Sword, used informal language not only to Jeong-i but to all the senior brothers, and Jeong-i also used formal language to everyone.
But that did not mean that Jeong-i always maintained a low posture.
She only used formal language in her speech; her actions were filled with the responsibility of a senior sister and a noble grace.
Especially when she showed such peculiar behavior, even Biyoung could not treat her carelessly.
“Ahem. I didn’t forget the promise. I just postponed it for a while because going down to Diancang Mountain came first.”
“Then that’s a relief.”
“Your energy circulation, Senior Sister, will begin in five days. I have to help the senior brothers absorb the Six-Flower Pill, one per day.”
“I have to wait another five days. It makes me feel like I’m being given the cold shoulder in many ways……”
Again.
That enigmatic expression again!
Feeling as if he was being constantly swayed, Biyoung began to explain in a deliberately serious tone.
“It can’t be helped because you have a lot, Senior Sister.”
“I have a lot?”
“Of course. Your swordsmanship is the best among the senior brothers, and you’ve absorbed many spirit medicines, including the Six-Flower Pill. Even a rising star of a prestigious orthodox sect can’t obtain that many spirit medicines at your age, Senior Sister.”
It was not something he was saying to appease her; it was a fact.
Just by eating one Six-Flower Pill at the age of twenty, one could gauge how important that person was within the sect.
But Jeong-i had taken several spirit medicines comparable to the Six-Flower Pill.
Of course, because of that, she had to blow away more than half without even absorbing it, but she could achieve dramatic growth just by releasing the tangled energy in her body.
“Your potential for growth, Senior Sister, is limitless. But a sect cannot become strong by relying on only a few people. Let’s take care of the senior brothers who haven’t properly laid their foundation yet, and then let’s start from there.”
Did she know that it was advice that came from experience?
Jeong-i was lost in thought for a moment.
The answer that came after a brief silence once again deviated from Biyoung’s expectations.
“You are going through a lot of trouble taking care of the senior brothers and me, Junior Brother.”
“……Trouble, what trouble.”
Biyoung replied bluntly, but he felt a warmth in a corner of his heart.
Biyoung, who was running here and there to save the sect that had been completely ruined after his reincarnation.
The words Jeong-i had just said might have been what he had wanted to hear the most.
‘Did he fall from the sky, or spring up from below the ground?’
Looking at Biyoung awkwardly scratching the back of his head, Jeong-i held such thoughts.
He had not heard the history of the Diancang Sect in Simao like them, nor had he been taught martial arts by a surviving sect elder.
But Biyoung was more dedicated to the Diancang Sect than anyone in Simao, and the Diancang Sect’s martial arts he had learned were also unparalleled.
Hadn’t he even shown the Sun-Shooting Sword Art, which she had thought she would never be able to see again?
Her regret for the lost martial arts was greater than others’, never smaller.
In that sense, Biyoung was like a light and a beacon to Jeong-i.
“I don’t feel disappointed. In the future, if you get any good spirit medicines, please share them with the senior brothers first.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
In fact, since it was a spirit medicine he had obtained on his own, it was not her place to interfere even if Biyoung handled it as he saw fit.
Nevertheless, at the consideration of giving her a heads-up, Jeong-i also felt her heart warming.
However,
“Ah. Speaking of which, want to study a little in advance?”
“?”
“The energy circulation you’ll be learning from now on is a bit complicated. It’s on a different level from the heretical internal energy cultivation method you learned in Simao. So, how this works is……”
A martial art that was considered the most difficult among the Nine Sects One Union in terms of the complexity of its cultivation method.
The Profound Heaven's True Energy Unification Art.
“Aigoo……”
Less than five minutes after Biyoung began his explanation, her warm heart had cooled down.
***
The next morning.
The swordsmen of the Diancang Sect, who had risen early, were lined up in one place.
The five swordsmen who had come together from Simao, and the newly joined Absolute Protector.
And there was one man standing facing them.
“Welcome, gentlemen!”
The man’s handsome jade face sparkled in the morning sunlight.
It was a scene that anyone would have admired, but the people standing opposite him only had sullen expressions.
‘His nose is going to pierce the sky.’
‘Why is his voice so thick?’
‘Gentlemen, he says. What a nasty setting he’s chosen.’
In the man’s hand was a thin wooden stick, which he must have gotten from somewhere.
Looking at its thin and long shape, it seemed like it would be effective for pointing things out.
“Gentlemen! This morning is a historic day when the rising stars of the Diancang Sect have properly gathered. From this day forward, I will teach you the martial arts of the Diancang Sect. You there, Absolute Protector!”
Although he could have been flustered by the sudden call, Absolute Protector stared at Biyoung with sunken eyes.
“Is your injury alright? Can you move your body?”
“I can.”
It was a half-hearted answer, but there was no clearer expression of his intention.
Because Absolute Protector was not one to go back on his word.
“That’s a relief. There will be no brandishing of swords for the time being, so even if there is an injury, it will not be a major hindrance.”
Biyoung’s words were directed at Absolute Protector, but their impact spread to everyone.
“J-junior Brother.”
“Yes? Senior Brother Solbo.”
“What did you just say? That there will be no brandishing of swords for the time being?”
“That’s right. From now on, sword training is forbidden until I give permission.”
“!”
A junior disciple forbidding sword arts to his senior brothers.
It was a scene where the sect’s etiquette was turned on its head, but no one could openly rebel.
Because it was something that Jeokseo, the greatest elder of the sect, had asked of Biyoung.
“Why. Are you pissed?”
At the all-too-blatant question, Eung Gajin’s face contorted fiercely.
“If you say so, I have to do it. But, at least let me hear the reason.”
“The reason is simple. You senior brothers have been running before you even learned to walk. That’s why your skills haven’t improved much. So……”
It seemed like he was steeling his resolve, and on the other hand, he also looked happy.
With such a peculiar smile, Biyoung spoke of his future plans.
“From now on, you will not hold a sword until you have perfectly mastered the Flying Eagle Steps.”
“!”
The Flying Eagle Steps.
The basic footwork of the Diancang Sect, and the martial art that forms the foundation of the Eagle Talon Twelve Swords.
“It might have been fine when you were fighting no-names in Simao, but it’s different now. You will have to cross swords with first-rate masters of the Jianghu in the future, but with your skills, you can’t even face second-rate masters, let alone first-rate ones. It’s so bad that your skills are inferior to a guard who hasn’t even learned swordsmanship, that is the reality of the present.”
At that statement, some lowered their heads in shame, and some looked to one end.
At the end of their gaze was Absolute Protector.
The strongest swordsman among those standing here, even though he had not learned swordsmanship.
‘You should be embarrassed. More than now.’
Watching the various reactions, Biyoung gave a triumphant smile.
What is the first thing one must do to grow?
It is to look back at one’s current skills cool-headedly.
The sense of victory from driving out the Tiger-Bear Stronghold was brief; the rising stars of the Diancang Sect had to feel a bitter taste as they looked at Absolute Protector.
‘His expression is annoying, but he’s not wrong.’
‘Even if we fought again now, I wouldn’t be able to beat Absolute Protector.’
‘How long could I last if I met a master of the Jianghu?’
‘Hic. Just fighting Absolute Protector is terrifying, but fighting a master of a prestigious orthodox sect?’
Although they did not like Biyoung’s suddenly changed tone of voice, everything Biyoung had said was true.
“There are many reasons why you gentlemen could not defeat Absolute Protector, but the most fundamental one is that your foundation is weak. Senior Brother Danseol! What is the biggest characteristic of the Diancang Sect’s swordsmanship?”
“The quick sword.”
“That’s right! Then where does that quick sword originate from?”
“…….”
Danseol, who had been lost in thought for a moment, soon came up with the correct answer.
“The feet.”
“As expected of Senior Brother Danseol!”
Biyoung nodded his head greatly as if satisfied.
“The quick sword of the Diancang Sect comes from the feet! The lower body! No matter how good your hand techniques are, if the power of the lower body does not support it, there will be no sharpness in your forms! The reason your swords, gentlemen, are so feeble is all because of that!”
At the continuous assault of truth, even Jeong-i shook her head slightly.
It went without saying that the faces of the others were crumpled like tissue paper.
“So, from today, instead of useless hand techniques, we will focus only on footwork using the lower body. Keep in mind that only the swordsman who has received my permission can move on to the next stage!”
For those who had devoted years to sword practice, being told not to hold a sword was a form of torture.
It would not have been strange at all if someone from one side had burst out in complaint, saying they couldn’t do it.
But even though they blushed and panted, no one refused Biyoung’s words.
Why?
Because they had seen Biyoung’s swordsmanship with their own eyes.
Having witnessed such a terrifying swordsmanship before their eyes, they could not bring themselves to say they couldn’t do it.
“We’ve heard enough. Let’s just start without any more chatter.”
“Ahem. Your manner of speaking to your instructor is rude. Senior Brother Eung-ga.”
“……!”
I want to beat him.
I want to wrap his whole body in sticky glue and beat him until dust comes out.
But since Biyoung’s word was absolute during training time, Eung Gajin could only clench his mouth shut.
“Before the main training, I will first show a demonstration by a skilled assistant instructor.”
“?”
The students(?) exchanged glances with widened eyes.
There was no one here but us, so where was this skilled assistant instructor?
‘It’s that fellow.’
But only one person.
Only Uma seemed to know the identity of that assistant instructor.
“Assistant instructor! Forward!”
In time with the instructor’s command, a man appeared from the corner of the pavilion.
He was an incredibly cute-looking person, with a shyly grinning expression that resembled a squirrel.
But, the faces of the rising stars watching him were filled with an expression of disbelief.
“Y-Young Master Yi?”