The body moves as the heart wills, and the sword that has weathered countless crossroads of life and death is as one with the body itself.
The state of wielding the sword with true freedom is called Sword-Mind Unity.
This is not a state one reaches naturally simply by raising one's martial level.
In the end, one's martial level is determined by how well one has unified one's own Essence, Qi, and Spirit, and how skillfully one wields them.
To achieve Sword-Mind Unity, one must not only unify Qi and Spirit, but also be backed by a deep understanding of the sword itself.
The Murim Alliance Leader, who had been sending dubious glances, was taken aback, and even Tang Jincheon, who had been pondering how to lend a hand, widened his eyes in astonishment.
The only ones present who were not surprised were Seomun Hwa-rin, who already knew, and Tang So-wol and Seol Ri-hyang, who felt a sense of dissonance but did not yet understand what it was.
Raising the sword slowly under the gaze of all those around him, he followed with a vertical slash.
Though the swing was unhurried, the tip of the blade did not tremble in the slightest. The clean line traced through the air showed no hesitation.
Taesan-apjeong. One of the techniques of the Three Talents Sword Technique—hardly worthy of being called a sword method—and the most fundamental way to wield a blade.
For that reason, there was no room for skill to come into play, and because it was a strike delivered with all strength released, there was no room to show off the capabilities of a trained body.
All that remained was pure enlightenment.
He had been able to imitate it before, but after achieving Sword-Mind Unity, the level was different.
Even a movement ingrained in the body through repeated training could not perfectly match the ideal drawn in the mind.
But now it was different. The sword moved exactly as he thought, literally.
If my heart does not waver, then my sword will not waver either.
If my will does not break, then no matter what my sword faces, it will not break either.
…Of course, that's just how the saying goes. If I meet a greater force, I'll be knocked back or my sword will shatter.
But that only means I haven't achieved the result yet. It doesn't mean there's a problem in the process itself.
Every single sword strike is my best. The finest blow I can unleash at this moment.
Instead of cornering my opponent with a set of fixed techniques, I use a sword method that draws out what is needed at the necessary moment—a Sword-Mind Unity is the most useful enlightenment for someone like me.
No, wait. The order is a bit different, since I achieved Sword-Mind Unity before my regression, which is why I wield such a rootless sword in the first place.
I let out a quiet chuckle inwardly and withdrew the sword I had lowered to the very end.
Perhaps because I had strained my Simnyeok with a body that was not yet fully recovered, I was already feeling a bit tired.
Still in the posture of returning my sword to its sheath, I took a moment to steady my breath, then turned my head toward the Murim Alliance Leader.
"Is this enough of a proof?"
"…It is. More than enough."
The Murim Alliance Leader let out a deflated sigh along with a deep exhale. He shook his head as if he found it absurd.
"I am nearing sixty, so I have lived no small number of days. Born a beggar, I rose to the undeserved seat of Murim Alliance Leader, and I believed my experiences were not lacking either… yet I find myself astonished once again."
"I have only grasped the first thread of enlightenment—I have not yet reached the full Transcendent Peak."
"Come now, young man. Excessive humility is its own rudeness. And of all things, Sword-Mind Unity… Hah. No matter how I think about it, this is not an enlightenment a rising talent barely past the Age of Twenty should have obtained."
The Murim Alliance Leader kept tilting his head. It was a natural reaction. In Sword-Mind Unity, the most important thing is how deeply and in what manner one understands the sword.
That is why even a Transcendent Peak martial artist who has wielded a sword their entire life may fail to reach Sword-Mind Unity.
And even among those who have achieved Sword-Mind Unity, the way they incorporate it into their martial arts differs from person to person.
For example, I place the sword entirely under my will, projecting the ideal sword strike envisioned in my mind's eye onto reality.
But before my regression, the Sword Demon—one of the few powerhouses of the Demonic Cult—did not treat the sword as a part of himself. Instead, he wished to become the sword itself.
That was why he displayed his Sword Art with his hands and feet rather than a sword…
Honestly, setting aside whether it was strong or whether its level was extraordinary, from my perspective it was utterly bizarre.
In truth, most experts of the Demonic Cult are bizarre, but I suppose I should say the Sword Demon was particularly off-putting even among them.
Perhaps it was because he held an Enlightenment that was the opposite of mine.
As I shook my head to brush away the memories of the past that had briefly surfaced, the Murim Alliance Leader seemed to have thought of something strange as well, as he too began to shake his head.
"Surely you're not saying that even a young hero like you is an old man who has undergone Rejuvenation."
"…Hah!"
At those words, Seomun Hwa-rin's eyes went wide. She looked genuinely taken aback.
Well. Strictly speaking, I had experienced something similar.
The only difference was that it wasn't just my body that had gone back in time—everything except my memories had returned to the past.
"Senior Seomun Hwa-rin. The Alliance Leader was only joking, so please don't take it so seriously."
"Hah, but what if she has undergone Rejuvenation like I have? And what if she is far more skilled at hiding her identity than I am? Wouldn't that explain everything!"
"Surely the Tang Clan would not have taken me as their son-in-law without verifying even that much."
"Ah."
Seomun Hwa-rin, who hadn't thought of that, stared at Tang So-wol with her mouth agape.
Tang So-wol, receiving that gaze, shook her head with an awkward expression.
"Well… Senior Baekbal Nachal. At first, I also thought young hero Cheon was an old monster who had undergone Rejuvenation and hidden his identity, but…"
"Hurk!"
Seomun Hwa-rin clutched her chest like someone struck by an unexpected blow. Perhaps it was because she had unconsciously compared herself to Tang So-wol and Seol Ri-hyang after meeting them for the first time in a while. It was a remarkably wholesome sight.
Tang So-wol, who had unintentionally driven a knife into Seomun Hwa-rin's heart, smiled brightly and continued.
"But as it turns out, he was simply exceptionally talented!"
"Th-That so…"
Seomun Hwa-rin replied in a voice barely squeezed out, then slowly composed herself before speaking again.
"Ahem. Well. I understand that you can no longer address me as you once did. But could you refrain from calling me by my alias?"
"Ah."
Perhaps because she had heard Seomun Hwa-rin's story, even if briefly. Tang So-wol, recalling that the woman did not particularly care for her own alias, nodded.
"Very well. I've been calling you Lady Seo all this time, so Lady Seomun is… hmm."
"I'm not so shameless as to insist on that."
Seomun Hwa-rin said this while looking a little sulky, though she made an effort not to show it.
Well, it was true that she was long past the age of being called a young lady.
Tang So-wol, who had been pondering for a moment, clapped her hands lightly as if she had thought of a good idea.
Clap!
"Ah! Then I'll call you Sister Hwa-rin!"
"Sis…ter?"
Seomun Hwa-rin asked back with a bewildered expression. Tang So-wol nodded, still smiling brightly.
"Yes. If an alias won't do, then there's nothing left but the name. We've traveled together all this time, and looking at her appearance alone, no one would ever take her for an elder… And above all, even if the process was a bit questionable, didn't she still look after young hero Cheon's martial arts?"
"That is… so it is."
Come to think of it, when I explained what had happened after Seomun Hwa-rin kidnapped me, I had mentioned that she'd looked after my martial arts a bit.
In truth, it had been a calculated move to win my favor because she wanted to take me in as an adopted son… but whether she herself knew it wasn't quite right, she'd phrased it as simply giving some guidance as an elder who had first mastered the Seomun Clan's martial arts.
Since she'd said it herself, Seomun Hwa-rin knew full well there had been a slight favorable distortion, and in her embarrassment, she fidgeted with her hair for a moment.
Tang So-wol whispered softly, still wearing her smile.
"And there are things I'd like to discuss with Sister Hwa-rin on many fronts. Mostly concerning young hero Cheon."
"Hic!"
Seomun Hwa-rin hiccupped like someone who had done something wrong, then cautiously glanced at Tang So-wol. She nodded carefully.
As a bonus, Seol Ri-hyang also flinched for some reason and began watching Tang So-wol's expression.
…I don't know what's going on, but I hope it gets resolved smoothly.
As I took a step back, the Murim Alliance Leader, who had been watching the three of them with interest, nodded.
"Hmm. Hmm hmm. Anyway, I understand the situation. The Murim Alliance's prestige may have taken a hit, but no one died or was seriously injured. Given that, if you've received a promise from Baekbal Nachal… no, from a Harmony Realm martial artist like you, Seomun Hwa-rin, to lend a hand, there's no need to blow this up further."
"R-really?!"
"Of course, this isn't a final decision. Though I am the Alliance Leader, I can't decide everything for the Murim Alliance on my own. But I can put forward the suggestion to end things here and move on. And."
The Murim Alliance Leader paused for a moment. He straightened his back and held his neck tall.
Yet what emanated from that posture was not arrogance, but sheer uprightness.
Straight, and straight again.
The kind of bearing that only a person who has held to their own standards through the harsh storms of the world can carry.
At this very moment, the Murim Alliance Leader was not the Alliance Leader, but a renowned hero of the Orthodox Sects. Uicheon-singae, Gwak Hu.
"After this incident, I looked into you separately. You barely touched anyone who wasn't directly involved in the Seomun Clan's extermination."
The newborn Black Heaven Sword Gate that I had exterminated wasn't quite enough to be called a prestigious sect, but it was a fairly sizable one.
One Transcendent Peak martial artist, three at the Peak Realm. And there were plenty who had reached first-rate as well.
There was only one reason why the Seomun Hwa-rin could produce so many talents in just over a decade from the clans and sects she had exterminated.
It was because of the standard Seomun Hwa-rin had drawn for herself.
It was true that the Seomun Hwa-rin of the past had been driven mad by revenge, yet even so, she had made her own efforts not to cross the line of humanity.
At the time of the Seomun Clan's extermination, she had only beaten to death those who had participated in it and those who had tried to stop her.
In other words, if one was young enough to be considered a rising talent, she simply let them run away.
Thanks to that, the newborn Black Heaven Sword Gate flourished quickly, and Seomun Hwa-rin could only watch as the bad karma she had let slip came back around even greater.
In the end, it was finished by my hand.
"Perhaps that's why, though you earned fear for your cruel hand and the blood you've seen, there was no one who denied that your revenge was wrong. Except for you alone, that is."
He smirked.
The Murim Alliance Leader raised one corner of his mouth and continued in a voice full of conviction.
"I'm angry that you hid your identity and pretended to be a rising talent to cause a disturbance at the Dragon Phoenix Gathering… but even so, I can hardly say that your desire to escape the brand of the Unorthodox Sects and live a life worthy of a human being was wrong."
The Murim Alliance Leader, a martial artist who had spent his life pursuing chivalry, offered words of sincere encouragement to Seomun Hwa-rin, whose eyes were wide open.
"So prove it, then. Prove that your wish was not wrong."
"I…"
Seomun Hwa-rin had things to say, but she could not bring herself to speak them, only moving her lips silently.
It was clear she was startled by the unexpected support of the Murim Alliance Leader.
Seomun Hwa-rin would do well. If not, I could simply lend her a hand.
I still remember Seomun Hwa-rin's words—how, even with death before her, she had asked that her final moments be forgotten.
Not the fire that consumed the hall, not the blood staining the white snow—only that she be a single red flower.
After the camellia that blooms in the bitter winter falls, spring arrives.
And so it would be for Seomun Hwa-rin.