Sima Chak, the Wicked Moon Sword, sent a message to me with a look of doubt.
[I do not understand. How can you, who cannot even cross the wall beyond the wall, reach the realm of the Heart Sword?]
How should I respond to this now?
The Heart Sword.
The sword of the heart.
-A sword of the heart? Like our flying?
Right, that was what he wanted to hear.
As he said, that was a state of being able to use the sword according to your will using intentions and thoughts alone.
It was called the Air Sword or Flying Sword in the legends, but those who achieved that state were rare to find.
But the Heart Sword seemed like a different realm.
It was a completely different track of sword mastery.
The origin of this term was Baek Muja, a person from the distant Zhou Dynasty.
If a swordsman could be called the best, then he was the one who could be called the origin of everything related to the sword.
There were things similar to swords, but he was the first person who made the frame of proper swordsmanship technique.
-The origin?
‘You know the basic technique taught to people first learning the sword?’
-I am a dagger, though.
‘….’
The Three Growth Sword Technique.
-Three Growth Sword Technique?
It was a sword technique that consisted of three forms of the sword. Heaven was a longitudinal cut, Unrestrained was a horizontal cut, and the Human was a stab. These were the basic types of the sword.
-Ahhh! Was that it?
That’s right.
The basic sword form that created the framework.
His words, from he who was considered to be the origin of the sword, had been handed down orally through an unbroken line of swordsmen.
-Is this that?
It was said that the sword had three levels.
The first was a state of unification which stated that there was nothing that could not be cut by the sword.
-Is this the level that you achieved?
That’s right. The second was the state of the sword. In this state, even a blade of grass could become a sword in the hand of the holder.
-Even a blade of grass?
When the qi was strong enough to create wind pressure, even a blade of grass or a wooden stick could become sharp enough. Of course, I didn’t know if splitting a rock with a blade of grass was possible.
-What is the third one?
A state where you could wield a sword by using your will. Even without a sword, you could always have a sword in your heart. This meant that you could stab and cut anything without using your hands.
Actually, the third and final level was not really meant to be this, but everyone thought it was to have the sword in your heart to strengthen your will.
It was unknown if even Baek Muja, who created this path, had reached the final stage. However, my father-in-law seemed to think I had reached the state of the Heart Sword.
-I mean, it’s not uncommon to think so. You did kill them without touching them.
Wasn’t this closer to assassination and sorcery?
-But isn’t it similar? If you showed them an illusion of being stabbed, then they could really get stabbed and die, right?
‘…!?’
… was that so?
In a way, it was very similar to the sword that Baek Muja talked about. Was the Heart Sword a similar concept designed to deceive the five senses?
It seemed that you could stretch out your hand, raise something, and faintly reach it.
It seemed that this stuffiness would go away if I moved my hand a little, but I do not think I have reached that level of realization yet.
Anyway, if you were determined to deceive the senses, as Short Sword said, then it would truly resemble a Heart Sword.
Did my father-in-law misunderstand it?
I should clarify it.
[Father-in-law, this is not the Heart Sword. It’s a kind of sorcery…]
[Do you think that can be done only with sorcery?]
I didn’t think that it was easy to believe.
An ordinary person’s prejudice against illusion was similar to sorcery. Although it dazzled the layperson, no one believed it could do real harm.
Apparently, even my father-in-law thought the same.
[It’s not a lie, but reality…]
I was about to explain, but the old woman was sighing in vain again.
“What are you people doing? Now that you tried to give up on your mother, shouldn’t you all take your life?”
The one who she spoke to was none other than Cheol Um-yu, her son. She seemed to want him dead as he was about to reveal her secret.
She called him an adopted child and then wanted to kill him when they tried to harm her. In the end, this was a false relationship.
It was just in name, but it was the same as practically enjoying the situation.
At that moment, Cheol Um-yu took a stance with a sword in his hand and brought it to his neck.
“I will follow the orders of my mother.”
He was ready to kill himself with that, but I snapped my fingers.
Snap!
It was subtle, but his hand stopped before the blade reached his neck.
The sorcery would stop him from doing anything for a while. But then his hands trembled as he mumbled something and released the spell.
Pak!
At that moment, I grabbed his wrist and forced him to look at me.
“What is this? Why don’t you let me die?”
That wasn’t the only thing that was shocking to him.
Cheol Su-ryun shouted at me.
“What are you doing? Let him die!”
“Mother is right. Leave me alone.”
He was truly a loyal one.
It seemed a bit wasteful to leave him to die like this, so I looked at him and said,.
“If you are going to die, I want to be the one taking your life.”
‘…?!’
He frowned at these unexpected words, but I didn’t care as I continued.
“There is no one in my sect who is so good at sorcery like you, and I think you can fill that role very well.”
He had stood beside Cheol Su-ryun for a long time. Aside from her, he was quite skilled at sorcery.
“… to follow you who killed my brothers and threatened my mother?”
He asked as if this was absurd, to which I smiled.
“Your brothers who tried to abandon their older brother and a mother who was encouraging her son to kill himself?”
Hearing this, he closed his eyes and pursed his lips. He tried not to express it, but who would not be disappointed?
He sighed as if he had made up his mind.
“Blood Demon. It isn’t something for you to decide.”
And then he tried to use his other hand to kill himself. He definitely wanted to die, so I then told him.
“Mu Jong-yu.”
Hearing this name, he went stiff and looked at me with trembling eyes.
“What… is that name?”
It was his real name.
This was part of what the Will of Cheol Su-ryun had given me.
“Mu Jong-yu?”
Cheol Su-ryun’s memories were all jumbled up. Even though I said his real name, he was unable to understand and tilted his head.
It might strike him later, so I said to him alone.
“I am sure you are curious about your blurry past.”
“That…”
The confusion and agitation were clear in his eyes as he laid his life down. The reason for that was simple.
It was probably because he had doubts about his past.
Actually, it wasn’t just him; his dead brothers would likely have the same thoughts.
“How do you know that name?”
“Is that important? You must be curious about your past.”
At that moment, Cheol Su-ryun shouted in puzzled surprise. It seemed that her confused memories had sorted themselves.
“Blood Demon! Do not do anything….”
Before she could even say anything, I placed my finger on the forehead of Mu Jong-yu.
“Think once.”
Snap!
“Huk!”
As I lightly pushed my finger, his head tilted back as if something had pierced it. His eyes trembled violently.
Forbidden memories were coming back at once, so it must be making him dizzy.
-Seal?
The Revolting Mother kidnapped these children and raised them all. One of them was Cheol Um-yu. As she kidnapped him, she also slaughtered the rest of his family without leaving anyone behind.
-She killed them all? So he was considering the murderer of his family as his mother?
That’s right.
It was because Cheol Su-ryun had placed a seal that forced them to not think of all the bad memories.
I lifted the seal, but I wasn’t sure how he would react to it since he was quite old.
“I am simply asking unfilial children to kill themselves, but you are doing something useless!”
“I said that I would guarantee your life. It is not your business what I do with others, Cheol Su-ryun.”
At those words, she gritted her teeth.
She knew very well that she could not argue against this. She was just that eager to silence her children.
To prevent them from speaking the truth.
At that moment, the man tilted his head back and shook his body as he straightened himself.
Cheol Um-yu was probably in shock as he frowned.
Soon after, he turned his head to her, but his gaze had changed from loyalty to hatred. It was because she was the one who killed his family.
I asked him.
“Are you still going to follow her words?”
Hearing this, he gritted his teeth and said,
“I…”
Should I make this offer a bit sweeter?
“If you follow me, you will no longer have to kidnap women for slavery. And we can release the seals she placed on you.”
At this offer, his eyes shook.
“The treatment is certain.”
“… can you release the seal on my other brothers who are not here?”
There were people who didn’t come here.
That wasn’t difficult, so I nodded.
He dropped to one knee and bowed to me.
“Even if I am lacking, I hope the Blood Sect leader will accept me, Mu Jong-yu.”
He called himself Mu Yong-ju as he entered the sect, embracing his true name.
Speaking with that name meant that he had given up on the life that Cheol Su-ryun had promised.
Laughter bubbled up my throat. I wasn’t sure, but I had taken a chance.
-You really need to get what you want in any way possible for your pride, huh?
Short Sword clicked her tongue.
Why would I miss the chance?
After the extinction of Mount Mo, the number of people who were skilled in sorcery and such had dwindled.
Yet, a person who had been learning sorcery for decades alongside Cheol Su-ryun was now under my command. Looking at the future, I could train more sorcerers.
If that happened, the strength of the sect would only increase further.
‘I am lucky.’
But Cheol Su-ryun was not as she cried out in anger.
“You betrayed your mother!”
“Betrayed!? Ha! In return for raising me, I have done enough by taking care of you for decades! Huh! Instead, how should I make you take responsibility for destroying my family?!”
There was a ferociousness there that no longer had consideration for his ‘mother’. There was not a hint of kindness left there.
Cheol Sun-ryu was now a mortal enemy to him. If I removed all the restrictions on him, his stance would not change.
Mu Jong-yu then spoke as he bowed.
“If the sect leader wants it, I will tell you right away where the ice coffin containing that monster’s body is.”
He was ready to give up her weakness with his own mouth. At this, she shouted.
“Blood Demon! Are you going to break the pact!? Then I will never tell you anything about him!”
She was desperate to stay alive now. It was clear that she was afraid of losing her original body.
I looked at Mu Jong-yu and shook my head.
He was now under me anyway, so I could always find her body. I then walked to her and said.
“You aren’t in any position to bargain. I can find the ice coffin at any time and end you.”
“Then you will never know what you want to know.”
“You are coming out strong.”
“Kill him. If you do, I will teach you.”
Killing for the sake of a secret. To this, I replied strongly.
“Now you are mine.”
“Ah!”
Hearing this, Mu Jong-yu’s eyes lit up. It had only been moments since he came under me, but he must have been unaware that by going up against Cheol Su-ryun, he was also going against the information I needed. To show this much genuineness would help him understand things.
-Did you consider that too?
Short Sword clicked her tongue.
Do you think it would be easy to understand a person’s heart and get them under me?
Well, there was that too, but it was through Jang Mun-ryang. I could guess the weakness to an extent.
I was just making sure that it was a right guess.
Well, if we were going to find the tomb by gathering the five yokai swords, I could just go ahead and take them.
And then the lord would never know about the secret of the swords.
“…”
I had come out strongly too, so she was now silent as if she was troubled.
“Then, promise me.”
“Promise?”
“Promise on the name of the Blood Demon that you will not visit the ice coffin for three months.”
A change of terms, to which I shook my head.
If we sealed this pact, her people would surely move her coffin within that period.
-What will you do now?
What could I do?
I nodded and said,
“Fine. Let us do that.”
“Sect leader!”
Mu Jong-yu tried to say something, but I raised my arm and stopped him. And I told her.
“I promise in the name of Blood Demon. Tell me.”
“… what did you say you wanted?”
Now, it looked like she would be honest.
I then asked the thing I was most curious about.
“The lord, why is he collecting the five swords? One of your adopted sons, Yang Jong, said it was to overcome something. What is it?”
To that, she exhaled and said.
“Can you handle it?”
“Handle what?”
“Do you think you can deal with that man after knowing that?”
These words made me wonder about the man’s identity even more.
“Just answer what I asked.”
To this, she snorted and said.
“The man has lived longer than me.”
That was something I had guessed. Even the golden-eyed man had been alive since the time of General Gu Yaja.
There was a high chance that the one-eyed, golden-eyed man, the lord, had lived even longer.
“How long?”
“I don’t know to be precise. He seemed to have lived long enough that the imperial dynasties had changed several times.”
“Enough for the emperors to have changed, huh.”
Even my father-in-law was shocked by this. In response, she simply sneered and said.
“Even if I had lived this way for over 200 years. Why would there not be other ways to live longer?”
I agreed with her.
Though for her, it seemed that even centuries were not enough.
Judging from the fact that he had been through changes in multiple emperors, then he might not be the man with the golden eye. Yet, if he lived that long, then he should be stronger than this old one.
“So what now?”
“I thought that man was the strongest warrior who managed to reach immortality.”
What?
She was talking like it was a past thing.
“But there was this wall even he couldn’t get over.”
“Wall?”
“The wall of the Sword Immortal.”
‘Ah!’
Then did the lord try to fight against the Sword Immortal and lose?
Actually, the Sword Immortal was revered as the best swordsman in the world. He would not have remained a legend if he had been defeated even once.
But her following words were completely unexpected.
“It is a funny thing. To lose to the descendants of those who succeeded the vision of the Sword Immortal and not the man directly.”
“… descendants of the Sword Immortal?”
