"…You'll die."
Seol Ri-hyang glared at me with a stern voice and twisted eyes.
Thinking this wasn't so bad either, I grinned and opened my mouth.
"Oh dear. To think I'd hear such words from you, Seol Ri-hyang—born with the Pure Yin Constitution, a veritable bundle of talent."
"No matter how amazing my constitution is, compared to you, Cheon Hwi, it's just at the level of cold hands and feet."
"Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?"
I chuckled and took Seol Ri-hyang's hand. As she said herself, her body temperature was as cold as if she had cold hands and feet.
And just as I felt cool, it would feel warm to Seol Ri-hyang.
As I held and kneaded her hand for a while, Seol Ri-hyang's sharply raised eyes slowly began to soften.
In a noticeably gentler tone, Seol Ri-hyang spoke.
"…So? Why did you suddenly bring up talent? Just so you know, if that was aimed at me, I'll bite your tongue the next time we kiss."
"Isn't suicide a bit too extreme?"
"Not my tongue—yours, Cheon Hwi."
"Goodness. Even more extreme now."
I shrugged and briefly explained what had happened today.
Seol Ri-hyang, who had been listening quietly until the end, slowly opened her mouth.
"Isn't that just because you don't have any talent for teaching, Cheon Hwi?"
"What."
"Well, even if it's not talent, you definitely lack experience. I do spar with you often, and Tang unni does too… but our weapons and martial arts are completely different. And rather than teaching something, it's more like pointing out your weak points during a sparring bout."
She was right.
All I did was spar with them and point out where they were sloppy, or mention that a certain angle of attack would be more vicious if they pressed in there.
So how to solve that problem was something each of them had to figure out on their own—it wasn't something I could help with.
And that made sense. What would I know about hidden weapons, poison arts, whip techniques, or Yin arts?
I'd never worried much about Tang So-wol, since she had Tang Jincheon, or Seol Ri-hyang, who had brought a stack of martial arts manuals from the North Sea Ice Palace.
But that was only possible because the two of them were, at their core, geniuses.
For ordinary people, trying to teach something in such a haphazard, seat-of-the-pants way would be hopelessly inefficient.
Come to think of it, I'd spent a lot of time thinking about how to take down opponents, but I could count on one hand the times I'd crossed swords with the intention of teaching someone.
Occasionally I'd join Tang So-wol and Seol Ri-hyang for an instructional bout… or there was Jin Baek of the Zhongnan Sect, whose death in my place before the regression still weighed on my mind.
When I'd visited the Zhongnan Sect some time ago, I'd spent a few days teaching him in earnest.
That was all. Those three were the only ones I'd ever wanted to teach.
Tang So-wol and Seol Ri-hyang were geniuses without a doubt, and Jin Baek, though somewhat lacking in martial talent, was a fellow with remarkable mental fortitude.
No, in truth, his martial talent wasn't all that lacking either. He wasn't on the level of the Zhongnan Sect's next Sect Leader, but he was enough of a promising rising talent to be considered respectable.
Receiving that kind of appraisal from a prestigious sect like Zhongnan was proof that he was a fairly talented martial artist.
It was just that his mental fortitude was so strong it didn't stand out.
Before the regression. He was the one who, though he remained with the Zhongnan Sect, went around proclaiming that the martial arts were incomplete and that he would restore them himself.
In truth, the martial arts hadn't been lost. It was just that, through long wars and the experience of Clan Extermination, the swords of the survivors had become tainted with a thick killing intent and had been corrupted.
An era when even the once-lofty Taoists swung swords gleaming with killing intent and resentment, and even the most devout monks did not hesitate to stain their hands with blood.
Even in those times, when everyone sought only their own survival and the world was being dyed in demonic darkness, he had stubbornly tried to erase all killing intent and recover the original path of the sword.
Well. He failed because his talent was somewhat lacking, but the very fact that he could maintain an upright heart in such circumstances was remarkable in itself.
Given the circumstances, this was the first time he had ever taught someone with truly ordinary talent, or even talent that fell short of that.
For a while, to keep an eye on what was happening around the Vajra Arhat, it seemed he would often have to help look after the rising talents on the training ground together with him…
"That's the situation. I have no idea where to start or how to go about it."
"Hmm. This is a bit complicated. But do you really have to stay close to that elder?"
"Yes. I don't know the details myself, but I'm certain of it."
"What kind of nonsense is that… Ah, right."
Seol Ri-hyang wore a bewildered expression, but soon seemed to recall the matter of the seal and nodded her head.
"Anyway, I understand the circumstances. But do you really have to teach them well?"
"Hm?"
"You said the justification matters. It wouldn't hurt to teach them poorly."
"That's true, but… If I'm going to do it, I want to do it well. Besides, I've never properly taught anyone before, so I'd like to gain some experience while I'm at it. Who knows, it might come in handy later."
"Later? Ah, you said your martial art is a unique art you created yourself, right? It would be a shame for a sword like that to disappear. Are you thinking of taking on a disciple someday?"
"A disciple would be good, and children would be good too."
"Hmm… As Sister Hwa-rin said, if you have many children, at least one of them is bound to have Sword Talent."
"…Isn't that a little too early to talk about?"
"You're the one who brought it up first, Cheon Hwi."
Seol Ri-hyang shrugged her shoulders and sat down in front of me, her back turned to me.
Perhaps because she had just washed, her black hair, which fell all the way to her waist, was damp and carried a different kind of shine than usual.
"Dry it for me."
"If I'm not around, what are you going to do, coming out with such a half-hearted towel job?"
"I'll just wait until you come back."
"At that point, you should just dry it yourself…"
I shook my head and pressed her hair between my palms. Then I channeled my internal energy and rubbed it gently.
The internal energy vibrated, emitting heat that wouldn't catch fire, but was more than enough to dry the moisture around it.
It's nothing like the Blazing Yang Art. There's no way I could learn something like that at this point. What I just did was an application of the Samadhi True Fire I learned from Seomun Hwa-rin.
Originally, I used it for Intent training, but now it's just used to dry someone's hair whenever they come out of a wash.
A similar case to how Seol Ri-hyang gets treated like an icehouse during the hot summer.
For that reason, as I carefully dried Seol Ri-hyang's hair, she opened her mouth before long.
She must have been thinking about our earlier conversation this whole time.
"In the end, the fundamental problem is that you've never taught anyone before, Cheon Hwi. So what can you do? You just have to hope you get better with a little practice."
"Hoo… Still…"
"Wanting someone who's just picked up a sword for the first time to suddenly become a peerless master is just greed, isn't it? There's no choice but to take it one step at a time. …And besides, that wasn't really your true purpose in the first place, was it? You weren't trying to teach the future of the Murim Alliance."
"Huh?"
"The point is, you're willing to do things you'd never normally do just to get close to Elder Vajra Arhat. If that's the case, why not just ask the Elder directly what would be best? You close the distance, earn his favor, and learn something new in the process… That's killing three birds with one stone."
"…!"
Seol Ri-hyang was right. Since things had come to this, why not just ask Vajra Arhat directly?
I shot up from my seat.
"Thanks. You've solved all my worries. I'll go right now and—"
"Hey! Cheon Hwi! Who just stands up like that out of nowhere!"
"???"
My enthusiasm surged and then stalled. Seol Ri-hyang pushed her head in front of me, looking puzzled.
"Dry my hair before you go."
"…Fine."
So this was how Seol Ri-hyang felt when I asked her to cool water down in the summer.
But that was that, and this was this. How could I give up ice water in the middle of summer?
***
Following Seol Ri-hyang's advice, I asked the Vajra Arhat to teach me how to instruct the rising talents.
He started by saying he couldn't understand those without talent, and gave a bitter smile, but the more I spoke, the brighter his expression became.
Thanks to that, for over ten days I worked alongside the Vajra Arhat at the training ground, reviewing the martial arts of the Murim Alliance's warriors…
It didn't take long for the training ground to fill up.
"…I never expected it would come to this."
"Heh heh. Someone who reached the Harmony Realm at such a young age. And the very person who's been making waves lately offers to review swordsmanship—pride or no pride, you'd have to at least take a peek."
"Don't tease me, Elder. Anyway, the real question is what to do with all these people…"
"I'll ask someone else to borrow a larger training ground. You just do as you always do, Benefactor."
With that, the Vajra Arhat stepped away for a moment, and when he returned, he said he'd secured another place and we moved.
Surprisingly, it was a familiar spot. That made sense—it was the grand training ground where the Dragon Phoenix Gathering had been held.
The scale had grown, but once a task was set, it had to be finished somehow.
Normally, it would have taken half a sijin. At most, it should have ended within a single sijin, but it stretched to just over two. Still, we managed to wrap things up one way or another.
My body was fine and my internal energy was sufficient, but I was a little mentally drained.
"I'm a bit tired."
"It seems the White Moon Sword Lord Benefactor finds crowded places uncomfortable."
"Indeed. If they were dead people, no matter how many there were, I wouldn't be this worn out."
"…Still as hard to understand with your jokes as ever."
A joke, he said.
Well, if that hadn't been a joke, I would have just looked like a blood-crazed madman. The fact that he took it as a joke probably meant that some trust had built up between us over the past few days.
Of course, from my perspective, I had been completely serious. I suppose it was because I'd seen so many corpses before the regression.
…And that, too, was all the Heavenly Demon's fault.
As I nodded to myself, the Vajra Arhat suddenly rose from his seat and spoke.
"Then would you like to rest for a while at my quarters, benefactor?"
"Ah. I have no interest in men."
"…That was absolutely not my meaning. Above all, I am a disciple of the Buddha."
The Vajra Arhat let out a deep sigh and continued.
"It's just that before I received the position of elder, when I had left the Shaolin Temple and was working with the Murim Alliance, I received some gifts from those who came from the Potala Palace."
"Gifts from the Potala Palace… I can't help but imagine something unsettling. Aren't they the ones who are devoted to Vajrayana?"
"Haha! It's true that the monks of the Potala Palace hold Vajrayana in high regard, but they said it was a gift, not a curse. It's harmless. No, rather, it's good for the body."
"What exactly did you receive that this elder is so confident about?"
"It's a small bell. Strangely, it holds a spiritual efficacy that clears the mind when you listen to its sound."
"Such a thing exists?"
"I too was half-doubting at first, just like the current White Moon Sword Lord benefactor… But the effect is real. Since you said you were tired, why not listen to it once before you go?"
The Vajra Arhat said this while pressing his palms together. After a moment of deliberation, I nodded.
"Very well. Since this Elder speaks so highly of it, I'm curious. I'll take you up on your offer."
"This way, please."
The Vajra Arhat led the way as if he had been waiting for those words. The place we arrived at was a rather splendid-looking building.
Since it was an Elder's residence, the Murim Alliance must have spared no expense in building it.
But once I stepped inside, what I felt was a familiar monotony.
It was as if the interior didn't belong to the mundane world but led straight into the heart of a temple.
He had fashioned his own home like a temple, and he guided me to a room where a small Buddha statue was enshrined.
It was probably a place that served a similar role to the main hall of a temple.
It was then, as I idly glanced around, that the Vajra Arhat proudly produced a small bell that fit in one hand.
"Ah."
The moment I saw it, I understood.
I understood why, before my regression, the Vajra Arhat had suddenly gone mad as if possessed by another person.
A hand bell. But not just any hand bell.
The sound that small bell makes drives people insane.
All so that it could seize their body.