Namgung Jong, who had not only lost the sparring match but also received unsolicited advice on martial arts, sputtered in disbelief.
But I was sincere.
"As I see it, the Namgung Clan's sword is ultimately a sword that seeks to touch the heavens, to become the heavens themselves. Am I wrong?"
"Th-That's right."
"And the Changgung Muae Sword Art and the Jewang Geomhyeong are both martial arts born from different interpretations of what the heavens are."
"That is also true."
"Then, Brother Namgung, what do you think the heavens are?"
"…"
"Could it be that the Sword King uses the Jewang Geomhyeong, so you've chosen to primarily train in it to follow in his footsteps…"
"Kugh!"
Namgung Jong staggered, swallowing a groan like a man who had been struck a heavy blow. But this was not the end.
"It is truly presumptuous of me to speak about the Namgung Clan's martial arts, or to make remarks about Brother Namgung, the young head. Still, as a swordsman, let me add this: the sword handle is always held by the one who wields it."
"The one who wields it?"
"Yes. It is good to follow the great martial artist who is your father, the Sword King. But that must be your own complete and whole will."
"I have always swung my sword by my own will."
"Do you truly believe that? The Jewang Geomhyeong can only be learned by the head of the Namgung Clan, so you must have thought that since you will one day become the head, you should also focus on mastering the Jewang Geomhyeong—without thinking deeply about it, isn't that so?"
"Kkeok!"
"Perhaps the thought of wanting to be acknowledged by the Sword King also played a part."
"Th-that's enough!"
"You were doing so well, so why did you stumble like this at the very end… Isn't it too anticlimactic a conclusion?"
"…"
"Of course, that isn't necessarily wrong. You might want to shoulder the Namgung Clan, or you might want to admire someone and emulate them. But I'm asking whether all of this was a decision made entirely of your own will."
"I am…"
"So it's just inertia from childhood. If your answer was given while steeped in vague habit, I'm saying it's worth thinking it through from the start. Like today."
"…"
"Do not be swayed by anything. You must simply sharpen the single sword held in your heart. And the moment you grasp that sword in your heart with a whole will…"
That is the path that leads to Sword-Mind Unity.
I did not say the last part.
Partly because my path and Namgung Jong's path are different, and I felt I was pushing my own words too hard; partly because if I got excited and blurted out my enlightenment, it would clearly backfire; and partly because I knew that before the regression, he eventually found his place, so in the end, everything would resolve itself.
…And a small part of it was for Seomun Hwa-rin, who was flapping her short arms in the distance, pretending to seal her mouth shut.
The atmosphere quieted. Seomun Hwa-rin approached cautiously and cleared her throat.
"Hem. This one sees that you, Geomryong, haven't done anything terribly wrong. It's a path everyone walks at least once, but… the way you built your martial arts is just too different from Hwi's."
"Pardon?"
"The wall you just ran into was the first obstacle Hwi had to break through. Conversely, a wall you'd cross without effort becomes a towering cliff for him."
Namgung Jong had learned good martial arts in a good household, had borne the expectations of his family on his shoulders, had striven to meet them, and had actually produced results worthy of that effort.
"Hwi, on the other hand, came to his senses already fallen among blood-stained blades, swinging his sword just to survive. This one is the same, and most of the Unorthodox Sects are no different."
"Yes, well. When I first picked up a sword, my wish was just to eat my fill."
As I nodded along, Seomun Hwa-rin shrugged her shoulders as if to say, "See?"
"People like me and Hwi know all too well—feel it desperately—why we train in martial arts. It's only natural, since the reason came first and martial arts were merely the means. …But you, Geomryong, are the opposite."
Grasp the sword first. While the meridians are open, build a body suited to learning martial arts, and master them as quickly as possible to stay ahead of others. Why one wields the sword can be pondered later.
"This is how most prestigious clans pass down and develop their martial arts. A sect can simply pick a promising disciple as the next Sect Leader if things go wrong, but in a clan, the direct line matters above all else."
Come to think of it, that's true. A sect, when in dire straits, can simply take in a talented newcomer as a disciple.
If there's no one, they can elevate the best among the remaining disciples to Sect Leader.
But a clan is different. It's hard enough to bear that many children, and even if possible, it only deepens the power struggles.
Thus, failure in raising one's offspring is not tolerated. There's a reason they put a sword in a child's hand first.
"Even when the Seomun Clan was intact, it was similar. I had learned the basic arts, but I didn't take an interest in going further because I didn't know the reason to formally enter sword training and carry on the family martial arts. I was far from the Head of Family Position, and being a woman, few reproached me for it… but Geomryong, your story is different."
He probably charged forward with no room for other thoughts. Only after hitting a wall would he begin to look back and ask what went wrong.
"If Geomryong finds his reason, he will break through this wall in a single bound. And Hwi, your case is the exact opposite."
"The opposite, you say…"
It was I who answered in Seomun Hwa-rin's place.
"It means I took up the sword with pure will, but I do not know what to put into it."
"What do you mean by that? Brother Cheon, the martial art you displayed at the end was certainly fierce, but by no means was it a low-level art. Surely at its core there must have been some intent of your own…"
"There isn't."
"?"
"To me, the sword is simply a tool for killing people. Sword Art is merely a technique for cutting people down."
"What do you mean…?"
"Of course, among the martial arts I've learned, there are quite a few that carry their own meaning. But aren't those someone else's goals, not mine?"
If I were to put into words the meaning at the core of my martial arts, it would be killing… but I have no desire to become a murderer.
"Setting aside the fact that I love the sword and wield it by my own will, if you ask me what it's for, it's nothing special. I simply wield it because it's necessary."
"Wait. Surely not?"
At Namgung Jong's dumbfounded expression, Seomun Hwa-rin nodded.
"Do you understand now? If Geomryong, you ran toward the end without ever looking back at yourself, then Hwi has stood up on his own but doesn't know where to go or how to get there."
"Isn't that far more difficult?"
"So Harmony Realm martial artists come more often from the Orthodox Sects, is that what you're saying?"
"Heh… even so, Harmony Realm martial artists do appear in the Unorthodox Sects from time to time."
"Correct. Just as I recovered my clan's martial arts and used them as a foundation to resume training and reach Harmony Realm, most people find a divine art somewhere and ascend to Harmony Realm through it."
Having said that, Seomun Hwa-rin kept glancing at me out of the corner of her eye. Even if she told me, I wouldn't seriously learn the Seomun Clan's martial arts. If she shared them, I'd use them for reference at most.
When I showed no reaction, Seomun Hwa-rin drooped her shoulders, looking disappointed. She continued in a voice that was plainly sulking.
"…If not that, then you'd have no choice but to enlighten yourself. If that were to happen, your martial art would already have reached the realm of a divine art."
"That was my plan from the start."
When I shrugged, Seomun Hwa-rin's lips pouted even more.
This isn't mere stubbornness. Well, I can't say it's not stubborn at all, but it's a conclusion I reached with good reason.
Regardless, the wall I ultimately need to overcome isn't a realm—it's the Heavenly Demon.
And the Heavenly Demon is a being that even Harmony Realm martial artists couldn't withstand even when they joined forces.
Since we happen to be at the Namgung Clan, let's suppose I got lucky and mastered the Namgung Clan's martial arts—whether the Changgung Muae Sword Art or the Jewang Geomhyeong—and reached the Harmony Realm.
Would that change anything? I don't think so.
The Sword King was certainly a great martial artist, but he wasn't someone who could deal with the Heavenly Demon.
And there's also the question of whether I could wield the sword better than the Sword King by swinging it like a madman until the day the Heavenly Demon invades the Central Plains.
After all, the Heavenly Demon Divine Art was so extraordinary that it made you wonder if it was even a martial art to begin with.
I could tell it was Force Qi Skill, but the sheer scale of it was enough to cover the sky, and the precision required to harm only those inside without damaging the building made me wonder if it could truly be called Force Qi Skill at all.
No matter how advanced a level the Heavenly Demon had reached, it was too strange that he had taken down that many Harmony Realm martial artists without a single wound on them.
In the past, I had simply thought the Heavenly Demon was a truly monstrous genius, or perhaps that he had reached a level beyond Harmony Realm—one just before Ascension, like the legends of old.
But after my regression, as I watched the Demonic Cult's schemes unfold one by one, I came to understand.
The Heavenly Demon had planned his invasion of the Central Plains over a long period, so perhaps he had found some way to learn the weaknesses or counters of other Harmony Realm martial artists.
If that was the case, I needed to create variables he wouldn't anticipate. As many as possible.
That naturally included my own martial arts.
…The problem was that all of this presupposed that I would build up enough martial level before the Heavenly Demon invaded.
I know this is a difficult task. But it's also something that must be done.
It hadn't been long since Seomun Hwa-rin told me not to be impatient, yet here I was, barely suppressing the urge to rush. I forced myself to speak calmly.
"For now, how about one more sparring bout? This time, let's go all out from the start—I'll use the sword I'm most confident in."
"That's a tempting offer. But there are others waiting, so how about we postpone it for a bit?"
"Others waiting…?"
Even after suffering defeat in a match that was purely a contest of swordsmanship, and even after realizing the problem that had been holding him back without his awareness, his eyes remained unbroken.
Seeing him accept everything like the vast sky and move forward to the next step, I was convinced once again.
As I thought, Changcheon Muae Sword Art suits Namgung Jong better than Jewang Geomhyeong.
"Understood. If we go one more round and then you face me again, it should be around sunset by the time we're done."
"And what about tomorrow?"
"If it's possible for you, Brother Namgung, I'd like to keep sparring tomorrow as well… Would that be alright?"
"I can go all day, so don't worry."
We exchanged a glance and nodded at the same time, Namgung Jong and I.
After that, Namgung Jong finished his sparring matches with Tang So-wol and Seol Ri-hyang, then faced me once more before earnestly seeking advice from Seomun Hwa-rin.
The next day followed a similar rhythm. And the day after that. And the day after that.
In the middle of it all, Tang So-wol asked whether I liked sparring better or her better, Seol Ri-hyang froze my door handle shut saying I should pay more attention to them before lunch, and Namgung elders quietly showed up upon hearing that Namgung Jong had been holed up in the training ground with a guest all day… but none of that was particularly important.
But the truly important thing was something else entirely.
It was the fourth day since we had entered the Namgung Clan as guests.
Hwangbo Gwang, whom we had assumed had left, smashed through the Namgung Clan's front gate and stormed in.
With an Aura completely different from before, both fists drenched in blood.